Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #14: Random Rap...

Memoirs Of Redefinition Radio #14: Random Rap Thoughts (7-8-06 show)

I actually wrote this a while back and completely forgot about it...well not exactly. It's moreso that I forgot that I never posted it. Then lo and behold the other day cleaning up files on my lap top I made the "Christopher Columbus" styled discovery...Enjoy!

THE TEMPTATIONS

The Temptations is a group that I heard a lot as a kid. My Dad is from Detroit and that’s where my parents met so they were definitely into the Motown Sound. “I Can’t Get Next To You” is a song that I don’t remember hearing until much later. Once I did, it became a favorite. I love the idea of how it takes an approach of fantasy to describe the complexities of love. At least that is how I take it. They sing about having the power to “live forever if I so desire”, “make the seasons change just by waving my hand”, & “build a castle from a single grain of sand”. Yet despite being able to achieve the impossible what they can’t do is win the heart of the woman they most desire. Even in it’s seemed futility it is beautifully poetic. Not to mention, love can certainly often feel that way, futile that is, ...not to get all mushy on you…ha.

CAT STEVENS

I have known some people who don’t have a very deep Hip Hop background but are fans of Cat Stevens and when he comes up I present the “one” Cat Stevens song I know, “Was Dog A Doughnut”. Usually they never heard of it. When I play it they love to question whether or not it’s really Cat Stevens. I suppose this all lends to Hip Hop’s on going ability to find the treasures that people throw away and breathe new life into them, but more on that in a second. “Was Dog A Doughnut” is from his 1977 (yes, I incorrectly said “early 80s” on the radio show…sorry, that’s what happens when an artist is so ahead of the game*) album “Izitso” which is the same year he began to study Islam and lose interest in the Music Industry. While Cat Stevens fans may not regard this as one of his hits, Hip Hop has long embraced it. It’s been reinterpreted and/or sampled by Fearless Four, K.M.D, DITC, and many others.

FEARLESS FOUR

“It’s Magic” is what ties our previous two songs together. When I interviewed DLB (the youngest member and leader of the Fearless Four) several years ago he explained that this song was lyrically based on The Temptations track and musically based on the Cat Stevens track…excellent combination I must say. Fearless Four is one my all time favorite rap groups. This song was my first time I heard them and it immediately became my anthem of the time. What initially caught my attention was its subject matter. This a time where rap was mostly about partying and everyday happenings for the most part (there’s a few exceptions with tracks such as “The Adventures Of Super Rhymes”, etc…) while they chose to take a more esoteric route. “It’s Magic”, as the title suggests, boast of the MCs special abilities that gives them a very clear edge over the competition. At the tracks’ opening they suggest they are out to prove, “Not only is the hand quicker than the eye, but the mouth is quicker than the ear”. The chorus sums it up perfectly with,

“It’s Magic that will make our talent rise
It’s Magic, but not apparent to eyes
It’s Magic, not known to any other MC
It’s Magic, of course what else could it be
The statements we make may be conceited and grim
But what is normal to us is an illusion to them”

LOVEBUG STARSKI

Lovebug Starski is a Legend in the rap came. He’s been MCing while spinning records since the early days of Hip Hop. He was one of the only at the time to appeal to a variety of crowds; disco and Hip Hop, old and young, etc… Some even say he came up with the term “Hip Hop”*. He’s probably most famous as a key DJ at The Disco Fever, a Hip Hop club landmark. He also had a string of successful records. His first singles all took a social conscious approach with “Positive Life”, “You Gotta Believe”, and “Do The Right Thing”. “Live At The Fever” is a B-side cut and is probably the best example of the type of rhymes and entertainment he would provide while he was rocking on the wheels of steel. He’s a master of entertainment and crowd control. You can hear him go into his famous “bob didi bob, dang a dang dang…” stylings at the close of the record right before he declares, “At the Fever we make you a believer”....Indeed.

THAWFOR

I first heard Thawfor* via an artist I used to do production/artist development for named SPO (known for his work in Rubberoom). Anyway, it was probably about ’89 and he gave me a tape of some home demos. A couple things caught my ear and I was curious to how he would develop. It wasn’t too much later that a bunch of us MCs who were connected with me and/or SPO decided to do a Freestyle Session at SPO’s house. Thawfor had a definite shining moment that night while freestyling the lyrics that would become one of his first professionally recorded songs via his long partnership with the production unit The Opus. However, “Touch Down” is produced by another key Chicago Production crew called J.P. Schmedrick. The music is very relaxing and melodic while Thawfor’s approach to MCing is aggressive but passionate (but not necessarily passive-aggressive...know what I mean...). Lyrically he presents a concern for the spiritual path of mankind, which is certainly a worthy topic. Honestly it’s hard for me to exactly pinpoint a specific thing that I really like about Thawfor, but perhaps that’s a good thing. He’s just a solid MC with a strong voice, a powerful message, excellent and imaginative writing and a great flow. He has variety of music worth checking out. They were mainly imports or rarities so some searching may be in order to unearth them but if you enjoyed this you are bound to find his other work intriguing as well. He also has a new album, that I haven’t heard yet, at his site: www.thawfor.com

ALL NATURAL

All Natural have been a key piece in the Chicago Hip Hop scene for a very long time. In the Early to Mid 90s they had a much talked about demo locally that has since produced a Chicago classic song as well, “50 Years”. Around the same time they became one of the first Chicago Hip Hop artists to sign a deal with a prominent national Hip Hop label, Wildpitch Records. Unfortunately, this deal came about as Wildpitch went out of business so no material was ever officially released. None-the-less they kept on course and created their own label, Family Tree, which has since blossomed into a full fledged crew with the likes of Iomos Marad, Daily Plannet, Mr Greenweedz, etc… “The Future Is Now” is from their second album, “Second Nature”, and it’s the track that most impressed me on that release. Tone B Nimble’s scratched hook borrows from the aforementioned “50 Years” which Capital D also references in the early parts of the first verse. The heart of the song is best explained by Capital D lines such as, “(Many MCS) can only talk about they things they used to do or boo hoo about their favorite Old School producer and ain’t got a plan for the future” or “too many brothers brag about what they finnah (fixing) to do or want props for the things they meant to do”. Continuing he does some self-analyzing with “I love the Old School but I won’t reverse. I move forward blessed with the gift of speech, I move forward to uplift and teach and plus learn and enhance my expansive my mind when I cease doing that I cease to rhyme…”.

LABTEKWON

Labtekwon is one of the greatest MCs you may have never heard of. He’s been making music in his hometown of Baltimore for well over a decade. I was introduced to his music courtesy a guy who was working at one of the labels (American Records) that I was doing promotions for at the time in ‘94. He told me about his history and then sent me a tape. From there I got in touch with the man himself and he continued to send me his music for years and I went on a mission to help the world hear him and hear about him. His ’98 album, “Nile Child”, is probably the best of his albums and is filled with impressive lyricism and concepts. However, the song that most often makes people ask me, “Who Is This?” is “No Time To Chill”. The beat is very catchy with this sort of mystic feel to it. It’s also a great means to hearing the diversity of his amazing flow. He speaks eloquently and complex. He “justifies” the flaws of men who are enchanted by materialism and a lack of thinking by “rationalizing” , “OK, I get it. It’s a pathetic twisted satire, a mockery of clarity…a parody”. Without question Lab is an interesting human being. He has mastered all forms of delivery and flow as well as keeping an open mind to tackle all sorts of subjects from the serious and deep to the comical and/or….shall we say “basic human needs”…

T SKI VALLEY

T Ski Valley had a hit in ’82 with “Catch The Beat”. Beyond that he actually had about another 10 or so singles. Back in the day I had and/or knew about a few of them, like his “Valley Style” (using “Billie Jean”) or “Sexual Rapping” (a rap version of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”). Anyway, a few years ago I stumbled across the rest of his catalog and the best of that batch would have to be “Never Let Go”. Lyrically he proceeds to paint out many of the ills of society and relationships but advises and encourages everyone despite the trails and tribulations you should “hang on and never let go”. I was actually driving around in a rough moment in life a while back when this song came on and actually hit me for the first time and I found myself saying to myself, “You know what T Ski, you’re right”*….maybe it can do the same for you J

*Cat Stevens: you like that excuse J
*Lovebug Starski: It’s said that Lovebug created the term Hip Hop as just
something he would say when entertaining the crowd. Then it was Africa
Bambaataa that apparently was the first to use “Hip Hop” to describe the
movement or culture as we know it.
*Thawfor’s names stands for “Thawghts” (thoughts) “Forever” if you were
curious.
*As it turns out in my case T Ski Valley appears to have been “wrong” and I
got the Ex-girlfriend to prove it. However, that shouldn’t tarnish the songs
image any…not the image of my ex-girlfriend for that matter, see the above
comments on The Tempations song... J

-connect with the artists
www.myspace.com/thetemptations64
www.myspace.com/catstevens
www.myspace.com/labtekwon777
www.allnaturalhiphop.com
www.thawfor.com
www.myspace.com/fearless4
www.myspace.com/tskivalley
lovebug starski:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=90719522