"YOU THINK HONESTY IS WEIRD YOU SON?!?!

SON, WHERE YOU FROM?!?! - Homeboy Sandman

 I was trying to find lyrics to Eclipsed by Homeboy Sandman but I could find any. I flashed back to one of my earlier rants about rappers not leaving written documentation of their works, if for nothing more than historic and archival purposes.


It was then that I remembered that the song in question did indeed have liner notes! My excitement was dampened when I realized that the PDF that Stones Throw put out with Homeboy Sandman's First of a Living Breed was protected, preventing me from copy and pasting. Grr

Voice, Flow, Delivery - Brand Nubian

A group is only as good as the sum of it's parts, and Brand Nubian added up nicely together.

Derek (Sadat) X, Lord Jamar, and Grand Puba blended incredibly well together on tracks-each of their styles blending, coming together like a jazz band, each one supporting the other.

Voice

Sadat's voice was very unique. The way he stressed different syllables and went up and down inflecting his voice and tone was quirky and stylistically dope. There were times when was barely even rhyming words. He could go an entire 16 bars with rhyming just a few words, similar in some ways to Masta Killa.

Flow

Lord Jamar was smooth as all hell. His flow was dripping with confidence and attitude. Whether he was talking about beating punks down, or proselytizing 5% teachings, he did so with an ease that allowed the listener to ride with him along with the beat.

Delivery

What Method Man was to the Wu, Grand Puba was to Brand Nu. Charisma, charm, affable, and overall likeability. He had the style and personality to crossover into a more general and diverse group of listeners however that is not an indictment on his skill. He too was effortless with his delivery. He was versatile with his, he could switch-up his pacing, be a "rock-the-party" type of MC, and also manage be substantive

I feel like these days many groups....wait, are there even anymore groups coming out?! As I type this I am realizing what are considered "groups" these days is just a solo artist and his set of weed carriers friends/rappers. In either case the individual pieces sound to similar to who ever the "lead" MC is. What makes a group dope, in addition to complimenting each other, is the uniqueness of the individuals.

Anyway, with Brand Nubian, it just worked. Dope group. 

Check the song below

Voice - A$AP Rocky

"This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot

I'm hot cuz I am, you ain't cuz you not

This is why, this is why, this is why I'm hot." Mims

This is not my typical post about voice. Normally, I would highlight an MC who I think has a good rap voice. This however is more about voice in the way that authors or trained actors use when they are taking on a role on an individual that speaks with an accent or in a particular dialect.

This is all I could think about when listening to young Harlem upstart A$AP Rocky. Despite being from Harlem rocky draws most of is inspiration from Texas, namely Houston, rap culture. I am not talking about Geto Boys, Big Mike and Scarface Houston (although that would be awesome). I am talking Lil Flip, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Houston. His D.J. Screw inspired 'throwed' flow has got him some buzz and a decent little fan base. 

 

Borrowing from, or being inspired by, artists that are from a different region from you is nothing new. Again, I grew up on Willie D and Bushwick Bill so I can relate. I have also read a bunch of interviews with Southern rappers whose early works were a facsimile of their Northern cousins. More recently Cam'ron and the Dips found inspirations in Midwest aesthetic, and 50 Cent's southern twang wasn't just about his gun wound. Purple City, a below the Mason-Dixon line inspired album remains a favorite for me.

As a an MC, well, lets just say Rocky is still at the rapper stage. Sure, he shows some promise, but he has a way to go for his overall development. I can't help but wonder is he would be getting the same buzz if he had a flow similar to Murder Mase, Herb McGruff or some other cat from his borough. Clearly these days rapping like your from Swishahouse is more profitable than raping like Harlem's own Children of the Corn.

 

But at the same time I respect A$AP for being inspired by other artists, and not simply to make a buck. A few weeks ago I went to see a non rap show where the opening act announced that they were all from upstate New York, then proceeded to whip out banjo's and play Bluegrass. For a second I was expecting the Klan to roll up in there! Point being, artists find inspiration all around.

I remember my high school Spanish teacher Mrs Aguilar giving me a look of disgust whenever I would call her Mrs "Agallah". Granted, I was being a wise ass but I was sorta giving a shot out to Angel Aguilar aka 8 Off -Agallah, aka Agallah the Don Bisop.


Any dude who has been at it for as long as he has, and been ripping mics, producing, and in the mix with such a large cross section of MC in the history of the genre deserves a post. From EPMD, to Smooth Da Hustlah , to Sean Price, to The Diplomats, ...Mr Aguillar keeps it Hip-Hop. Nice to see him still at it.

Voice, flow, swag and presence



I know he is not that nice on this joint but it gave an excuse to post more Sean Price. P!


Saratoga Ave freestyle from dallas penn on Vimeo.


BTW, that Purple City tape was slept on...check for it.

Voice - Guru

"...And while we're blaming society

he's at a party with his man, 

they got they eye on a gold chain, that the next mans' wearing"

"I'm booby trapped by the capitalist/tryna subsist..

...sometimes happiness is hot grits and catfish...or a bowl of cookie crisp..." The Rza as Bobby Digital

I got a text from my man the other day that simply read, "It's a Black Rob morning". While I don't ever remember us having a long convo about Rob, but I knew EXACTLY what he meant.

Some rappers voices, deliveries, lyrics, songs, are like comfort food. Warm apple pie, mash potatoes, and mac and cheese.

Here are a few other rappers that evoke that feeling for me...

Black Rob



G-Dep



Too Short
"...I was only 14 when I first ..."




Scarface
"...I wanna die but it aint for me/I try to talk to my dad but my old man ignores me..."



Rakim
"Planet Earth..."



Buckshot
"Check the dialect from the diaphragm my man"

Ode to Derrick McKey

If you have ever played sports then you can relate. We have all played against a dude who from his outside appearance, does not appear to have any one standout skill. Not the most athletic, mediocre jump-shot, average ball handle and not very strong overall. One minute you are convinced he is a bum, the next thing you know, the game is over and homey just hit you up for 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and you had no idea how he did it. McKey, the former Indiana Pacer, was good for that.

There are a few MCs that are like that. Their flow is basic. Nothing special about their wordplay, not going bowl you over with super clever smilies. No deeply philosophical lyrics and not considered hot because of their "swagger." You just look at your track list, realize the songs are finished, and somehow, without you knowing, he had your head bobbin the entire time.

This is what I thought about after listing to Diz Gibran's mixtape - Soon You'll Understand. Maybe it is the Lord Finesse-like voice, or maybe the sincerity in his delivery, but one thing is for certain...dude went for 18 and 9 one out of nowhere. Decent little debut indeed...

"I peddle to the corner like a child on a big wheel"- Pusha T

The legendary Gil Scott Heron told us that the revolution would not be televised, but dude never mentioned anything about vlogging. After watching the Malice of the Clipse on his appropriately titled vlog maliceoftheclipse.com, I could not help but have grand dreams, if not visions for the future.

Malice Video Blog 1 from Malice of the Clipse on Vimeo.

Homie is not the first rapper to state the obvious - “I either never have, or no longer do, sell crack all day long” - however, he is the most recent. What makes this more interesting is the fact that Malice, along with his brother and partner in rhyme Pusha T, have damn near perfected their craft in "crack rap." Some would say murder music was to Mobb Deep as crack rap is to the Clipse.

The whole thing got me to thinking... what if several other rappers came out and said the same thing? That, in effect, the stuff that they were rapping about was a lie. (See future post on why telling all truth on wax is a ridiculously unreasonable and incredibly limiting and unfair expectation). What would happen? Would fewer aspiring rappers feel the need to rap about drugs/excess/etc? Would fans keep buying their music? If the former happened, record execs would still be happy...right? Would they actually begin to seek out talented artists? Would fewer artists aspire to or feel compelled to write exclusively about excess and materialism?

Its fun to dream.