Contradictory Hiphop opinion, with a bitter and twisted attitude…
ARTICLE: When did it become Armageddon?
Sep 19th
When did it become Armageddon? (By DAP)
And DAP Says…
“When The Hell Did It Become Armageddon And Why Didn’t Anybody Tell Me I Needed A Late Pass??”
“Turning And turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; The center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”
-W.B. Yeats: “The Second Coming”
Damn!!! And I thought all I was going to do was celebrate my 27th birthday on September 6. Humble greetings and salutations to all. This is DAP, writing to you all once more: By now, it’s safe to say that everybody knows what went down on September 11, 2001. There will be investigations, rumors, rumors of rumors, and the inevitable military actions, wars, pre-emptive strikes, and so forth. Well, let me say some thoughts and rants that are running through my head…
I’m not gonna say if this was a case of the “Chickens Coming Home To Roost”. Nor will I say that this is the result of the “Drum Major Instinct”. Although, the context of these speeches may apply to this situation. These events, like it or not, have etched a place in history and will be mentioned along with other tragic events that have affected us in the past. Of course, they will be compared and remembered with the same conviction and attention as the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, as much as I’m still upset, I have to say what I feel, and I hope that no one gets offended, although many of you will be: I honestly believe, in my heart, mind, and soul, that these attacks are a CLEAR ILLUSTRATION of the old saying, which I never understood when I was kid, until now: “Absolute Power Corrupts”.
It is this sense of ‘power’, in the hands of certain people and groups, that created this catastrophe. And it is this power that has manipulated people for personal gains. This was shown in the hijacking of those planes and subsequent MURDERS of the passengers and crew. What pisses me off is the fact that whomever those highjackers answered to DIDN’T put their lives on the line. Maybe it’s me, but I got a huge problem with people killing others for the sake of religious martyrdom or use the concept of ‘Belief In God’ for their own twisted use. And for that, I pray that GOD punishes them and sends those assholes to Hell!!!! Yet, I must say that they are NOT the ONLY ONES RESPONSIBLE for innocent people’s deaths.
It is my honest opinion that the policy makers of this country, both PAST and PRESENT, as well as those in the Middle East, have initiated ideals that have shown their blatant ARROGANCE. I’m talking about the type of arrogance that says to one group of people or a nation, “Since WE have the power, WE will do this to you and THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT” or “This is what WE want BECAUSE WE SAY SO”, with no regard of what people say in the matter. Although many of these ‘leaders’ will say that those ‘plans’ were done in an effort to protect “Us” from “Them” or what they call ‘peace’, we can clearly see by last week’s events that they did NOT. And for that, once this crisis is over, I hope and pray that they will also face punishment!!!! In any case, there will be a war and more innocent people will be killed. Of course, these people will be called ‘Collateral Damage’. Now, don’t misinterpret me. I’m not against the US fighting. Furthermore, I support all persons who are serving the military. All I wanna know is ‘WHO are we fighting and for HOW LONG??’ I say this because, with all due respect, if Bush and his staff makes even the slightest error, we will see even more serious shit. Also, I know that they will not be on the battlefield or in the air. Yet, they’re making decisions that affects many.
Yes, there is probably enough proof to point at Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists group located in the East, but let it be known: THERE’S ALSO TERRORISTS HERE too!!! Except, these groups refer to themselves as Skinheads, Klansmen, Militas, White Supremacists, and the like. Therefore, I hope that they will also be taken out too. Unfortunately, I know in my heart that NOTHING is gonna happen to these assholes. These past few days, I’ve seen and heard people talk about how they’re ‘Proud To Be An American’ or ‘We’re ALL in this together’ and waving flags, yet have shown blatant disrespect and hatred to anybody who LOOKS like an Middle Eastern or Muslim. Once again, America rears its ugly head. Now, I want this to be perfectly clear. I know that war is imminent and those who don’t fight back will not survive. I understand that. My beef is that once you break it down, it’s gonna be another example of regular folk here and abroad suffering the most while the powerful, poltical and economic, will still maintain power & wealth or gain more.
Either way, we’re fucked!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I appreciate ya’ll reading this and apologize for the serious tone this time out. Until the next time,folks…
-DAP
ARTICLE: The death of Aaliyah
Sep 15th
The death of Aaliyah (By Truplaya611)
(Originally written as a narrative essay).
R&B music will never be the same. As I was walking around the campus of UMES, listening to the radio on my walkman, on August 26th, I heard some tragic news. Ocean City’s 103.9 OC 104 reported that singer Aaliyah had died in a plane crash while in the Bahamas. My initial reaction was total shock. I was thinking, “Could it be, my baby Aaliyah dead?” I couldn’t believe it, dead at only 22 years old.
My love for Aaliyah goes way back to when I was younger. Her first single “Back and Forth” caught my attention immediately. Her voice was like no other artist. And when I saw her music video, it was love at first sight. I know that sounds silly, but I would say that it is somewhat true. Even though I didn’t have the money to buy her first album “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number”, I would always listen for her songs on the radio.
When “One In A Million” hit record stores, I knew I had to get it. Thankfully, I received it as a Christmas gift. Since this was the only Aaliyah album I had during that time, I cherished it like no other. Of course there were other rap, and R&B artists out there, but Aaliyah’s CD was always close by.
Recently, before her death, Aaliyah released her third self-titled album. Who would have known this would be her last. I know I didn’t, but God has a plan for all of us. According to various news reports, Aaliyah was shooting a video for her next single while in the Bahamas. Her plane crashed a few feet off of the runway. Officials believe that there was too much weight on the private plane. Some members of her crew were also killed. Aaliyah was laid to rest on August 31st in New York City.
This whole ordeal has been a lot for me. Even though I didn’t know her personally, it felt like I knew her through her music. I will admit, when I was watching a documentary about her life on MTV, I got a little teary eyed. The music, and entertainment industry has lost a great, talented singer, and actress. From this loss, I shall grow stronger. Rest in Peace Aaliyah, you’ll always be in my heart.
Until next time, Peace & 1 Luv.
-truplaya611-
ARTICLE: Lost…
Sep 14th
Lost… (By Redeem)
So the world has entered the Chaos Theory then. Yes, I’m talking about the recent incredible tragedy and not NSync supporting Slim Shady on tour.
People of our generation are not used to these kinds of scenes. Yeah, we’ve seen a lot, more then neccessary, but these are movie war scenes, something of this scale is just utterly mindblowing. I honestly thought I was becomming desensitised to ‘shocking scenes’ beamed live into our living rooms via the usual CNN route. After the Columbine massacre, I was left with the feeling of, ‘ well, not much more is gonna be able to shock me now ‘. But the sheer audicity of such a large scale attack and the strategy used, was and still is, unbelievable.
As usual, all the nutters are now coming out to sunbathe in thier usual rays of theories and predictions. I’ve heard enough of these for a lifetime, the reincarnation and my next birth.
Terrorists will always find a way, but as a regular traveller on various airlines, the ease at beating the security is more then worrying. That’s gotta change, and hopefully already has and NOT just during these next few months.
Life WILL have it’s global tragedies that will touch us all, whether it’s a stunning terrorist attack, a school slaughter or a Royal princess’ death, it’s all the same thing, a Loss of Life. Unfairly taken. You can’t get used to it, or desensitised, which I’m thankful for. I dont wanna get accustomed to these kinda events. The outcome of this is unknown, it has already involved us all, whomever or wherever we are. This is evident from the lack of laughter on the high street, the non-important celebrity gossip in the lunchroom, the constant need for an update on whether they’ve hopefully rescued at least one innocent victim.
Time has changed, before we look for revenge toward a certain target, I hope you will all pay your respects, however you feel it’s best. I haven’t been to a church since my school days, but that will change this weekend…
Until next rhyme.
Spread the Word,
…..Redeem……
INTERVIEW: Champions Of Nature
Sep 6th
Champions Of Nature Interview (by A to the L)
Hip-hop masters Champions of Nature release Salsa Smurf through Wordplay on September 10. The track promises to smash the hip-hop charts this autumn and is already being tipped to be one of the anthems of the year. It is the second single to be taken from the critically acclaimed hip-hop compilation “Wordlab 2″, which was released in August. I recently had a chance to talk to crew member L-Dolo about life as a Champions of Nature member – here’s what he had to say…
Can you give a little background info on the crew members and their backgrounds and influences?
Dolo: Well the crew members are: Apollo, Jhest, AM, Supa T, Lewis Parker, and me – Dolo. We’ve been working together since the release of our first EP (“The Fuck-Off EP”) which was around March of 2000. Before that, a few of the crew members – me, Supa T, Lewis Parker and Profound (who used to be a part of CoN) – we did some stuff with Braintax on Lowlife Records around ’98. We’d met each other quite a few years before that – with AM, Apollo and myself going back to around ’92.
What does Salsa Smurf actually mean?
Dolo: Its just a dance really… its originally a tune by Special Request, an old electro group who were on Tommy Boy.
How did you get involved with the WordLab project?
Dolo: Basically, we released it ourselves first. The guys at Wordplay Records kept playing our stuff, and saying how much they were into it. The Salsa Smurf track was already done, with a video and everything, so they went with that as the track to put on the album.
What’s next on the horizon for Champions Of Nature?
Dolo: Well we’ve got another independent release coming up, probably around the end of September. We’re also working on an album – its probably about half done now, and we’re hoping to drop that next April. Basically we’re just looking to get a deal at the moment…
I’m always interested in hearing how hiphop groups decide what to record, and how to record it. What process do you go through? Does one person decide a topic and everyone writes? Do you all just throw ideas out?
Dolo: Well, we start with the beats first. We all get together, and people just play their beats, and whoever feels each beat just takes it and rhymes to it. On certain things, like Salsa Smurf for example, the beat had been done for quite a long time, and we all got together, played the beat, and everyone just wrote for it there and then.
How does UK rap compare to its US counterpart?
Dolo: Well it depends on what level you’re talking about really. Obviously in the UK its not selling commercially… in terms of skills, from what I’ve been hearing, there’s more real skills in London at the moment. The big difference is the change in America, where rap has kinda become the “pop music” of the moment… so its hard to compare that with the scene here, because over here most people are doing it just for the love of it – they’re not really making any money. Another difference I’ve noticed is that over here in the UK its more freestyle-based – in the US people in the same position as us are concentrating on recording, and getting music out there to make some cash. Its more professional really I suppose…
Do you have any desire to “make it big” in the States, or is it a case of getting the recognition at home first?
Dolo: Well I do know that our stuff is selling in the States as well – but to be honest we aren’t really bothered. I’m more interested in just coming with skills – and the only way we gauge other people really is on the level of their skills. Cos that’s what Hiphop is about.
What hiphop artists are you listening to a lot at the minute?
Dolo: Nothing really to be honest… I’m just trying to think back to the last thing I bought… and I don’t know – I haven’t bought anything for a little while. Its kinda changed – you used to talk about one shit tune on an album, and now you talk about an album only having one good tune.
Finally, there’s been reports of you guys taking up knifethrowing jobs in the circus – whats the real story?
Dolo: Well yeah… Gerry Cottle has offered us jobs but… we ain’t taking em! Its a bit of a risky business. The story behind the Champions Of Nature is that we were all in a freakshow that used to be in Gerry Cottle’s circus, but we escaped after realising that music was the only way to go forward. (Gerry Cottle has seen the story and has issued a press release offering the group real-life trials as knife-throwers’ assistants. The job involves having blades thrown at them at 60 mph as they spin on a wheel by a blindfolded knife thrower.)
Thanks again to Dolo for taking part, and for Serena at for setting this up.
ARTICLE: Hiphop and free speech
Aug 20th
Hiphop and free speech (By DJ MF)
A couple of months ago, without much fanfare, US Congress fired off the first shot in what could be an assault on free speech in music, and more specifically hip-hop, by “urging” the hip-hop industry to regulate content in lyrics before the government could get around to it.
The system proposed by US Congress included a ratings system similar to the film industry, and mandatory posting of lyrical content in stores that sell “offensive” music. On the surface this is not a problem, but if you delve further you begin to see the ramifications.
This would mean that every album sold by a store with “offensive” content would have to have its lyrics catalogued and available on demand to anybody who wants to see them. Just think of how large a collection that would be, and how much hip-hop falls under this umbrella.
Also think of how hard it would be for smaller record shops to keep a collection like this, especially if they didn’t specialize in hip-hop.
Eventually, many smaller shops would find that keeping a hip-hop collection would not be cost feasible. Furthermore, the bigger stores would come under heavy pressure from outside groups to ban questionable material outright.
One should also question why hip-hop is being singled out. It isn’t the only type of music out there with “offensive” lyrics, but the American government seems intent on trying to silence hip-hop alone. What about other genres? In my opinion, Britney Spears telling me to hit her one more time or B4-4 telling someone to get down on them is more offensive than an MC who tells a true tale of living in the ghetto. And those pop-genre acts are marketed to 12-year-old kids. Could race have anything to do with it?
What does this mean for hip-hop then? Well, most obviously this means the muzzling of the culture. No longer will artists be allowed to say what they think, but they’ll be forced to adhere to guidelines imposed by the government in order to ensure that their music can even be offered in stores, thus disabling their right to free speech.
And if you think that the US government is bluffing, just look at their recent actions. Former vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has already tabled a bill to punish companies that “market” harmful entertainment to children; representative Bennie Thompson has even gone so far as to tell industry that the government will “regulate [them] out of business if they don’t get [their] act together.”
Then there’s question of what happens in Canada. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a major push by the Canadian government to enact something similar if the US goes through with this. And then not only can you say goodbye to free speech in hip-hop, but eventually all other kinds of music as well, because you know they won’t just stop at one genre.
As Public Enemy so eloquently stated years ago, “Fight the power!”
DJ MF
ARTICLE: Observations
Aug 17th
Observations (By Truplaya611)
Over the past several weeks, I’ve noticed some things, and I would like to share them with the alt.rap.com community. First, more hit music stations are popping up. There was just a new one added to the DC area. When I was down on the eastern shore, in Salisbury, I saw a billboard advertising a new hit music station for the DelMarVa (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) region. More hip-hop/urban stations!, more hip-hop/urban stations!
While I’m on the radio topic, sometime late nights, when I’m flipping through the dial, stations from all over be coming in. I could hear stations as far north as the New Jersey/Philadelphia, PA area to as far south as Norfolk, VA. Keep in mind that I’m in Maryland. It’s been happening a lot too, with the warm, muggy nights and all. I’m not complaining though, it’s kinda cool listening to a wide range of stations.
Mobile internet access is growing. Pretty soon, that’s going to be the next trendy thing (if it hasn’t gotten there already). I can say I’m guilty of accessing AOL Instant Messenger (AIM Mobile) from my cell phone. 8-).
It’s back to school time. I start college at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on August 25th. Classes don’t start until August 30th, but you know all new students gotta go through orientation. I’ll let altrap.com in on the scene down there once I get situated.
Aight, just a little somethin’ for ya mind.
Until next time, Peace & 1 Luv.
-truplaya611-
SINGLES REVIEW
Aug 16th
Verbals by A to the L
Champions Of Nature – Salsa Smurf (Wordplay)
This looks like being the next single from the new Word Lab 2 compilation. In the album review I said that I didn’t really feel this, but I have to admit that after a few listens here, its started to grow on me. Still not a classic by any means, and that damn Salsa Smurf vocoder chorus still gets on my wick. On the flipside is a track called ‘Jazzy Styles’, which uses an old refrain from a Jazzy Jay session, that I ain’t heard in a long time.
RATING: 7 / 10
Roots Manuva – Witness (Big Dada)
Heavy heavy bass sounds and electro tinged effects on this one. ‘Witness’ is the first single from Roots’ new “Run Come Save Me” longplayer which is due to drop later this month. Check the albums section soon for a review of that. But back to this… Roots matches the incredible beats with his own ragga influenced flow, providing a mesh of lyrics and beats that could come out of nowhere else but the UK. (“Taskmaster burst, The bionic zit splitter / Breakneck speed, we drown ten pints of bitter.”) Classic. And whats more you get a nice ass laidback remix by Part 2, and an exclusive third track ‘Son Of The Soil’ which is equally banging.
RATING: 9 / 10
INTERVIEW: Rodney P
Aug 3rd
Rodney P Interview (by A to the L)
Rodney P. The James Brown of UK Rap – the hardest working man in (UK Hiphop) showbusiness. Rodney has been on the scene for the last 15-16 years, blessing us with his Ragga tinged emcee style. From his beginnings with the London Posse, to his career now as a solo artist, Rodney has represented UK Hiphop to the fullest. With renewed interest in the London Posse album “Gangster Chronicles”, due to its recent re-release on Wordplay, I had a chance to chat (eventually – after a dead phone battery episode) with the unfortunate Gunners fan himself…
Rodney I know you’ve done this whole question a million times before, but for the benefit of all those who don’t know, give the people a little background info…
Rodney: Yeah, we started out in 1986… we went on tour with Big Audio Dynamite, and that was really when we formed. We did the first tour without a name for the group, and then on the second tour we went to New York, and the kids we were meeting over there kinda named us. We were from London, the accents were different, and they started calling us the London Posse. So when we came back to London we needed a name we could put on the posters to go on tour again, and we just kinda ran with that. In those days it was me, Bionic, and the human beatbox Sipho. Then DJ Bizznizz came along for the second tour. Then we went to Big Life and we did the record deal – the first single was ‘London Posse” / “My Beat Box Reggae Style.’
Are you still talking to the other guys nowadays?
Rodney: Yeah man. When I see them. Though the only one I really see nowadays is Bizznizz – me and Bizznizz are still working together now. With Sipho and Bionic – I don’t really see them that often anymore, but when I do see them… its all good.
“Gangster Chronicles” came out first time around on Mango Records in 1990. How do you feel about Wordplay re-releasing it now?
Rodney: Thats a good thing. Its gotta be a good thing. I mean if the label feels that they can put it out and make money off it, then that means there must be a demand for it – and thats gotta be good. Plus we own all the rights to it so we getting paid.
What are you working on at the minute?
Rodney: I’m working on my album at the moment… sorting out my label. I’m doing a label with Braintax (from LowLife Records) – its called “Riddim Killa” – and we’re working on that, and trying to put out my album later this year. I’ve got an EP out in about a month’s time. I’ve got a single out at the moment called ‘Murderer Style.’ Things are happening.
UK Hiphop has always seemed to suffer from a lack of big time exposure, and back up from the record labels. Do you think the situation is improving, and what can be done to improve it even more?
Rodney: I think it is improving, but its nothing to do with the labels. Its to do with all the people who are into UK Hiphop. I think people are kinda taking their destiny into their own hands, and making things happen themselves. You can just sit back and wait for people to give you stuff. At the end of the days thats not gonna happen. Thats why things are getting better – its the man in the scene thats really putting the work in y’know?
In your opinion, besides the money aspect, whats the main differences between US and UK Hiphop?
Rodney: For me, I’m a big fan of American Hiphop… thats what I came up on… American Hiphop is still the best Hiphop in the world, and there’s nothing really that can compete with that. But right now I think its lacking a bit of honesty – thats what its lacking more than anything else. I’m a fan of honesty in music, and I think good British rap… thats what its giving you. I still say to you, that the majority of rap coming out of England is complete fucking bollocks… but the good stuff is generally very good.
There’s been a lot of good vibes about the recent Nextmen and Creators albums, and also the Redman / Adam F collaborations, where we’ve seen US rappers working with UK producers. How long do you think it’ll be before we seen the situation switched and we see Rodney P on a Dr Dre or a DJ Premier beat?
Rodney: You know what? I’m not overly impressed by those kind of albums to be honest. Nextmen are friends of mine, I don’t really know the Creators… but I’m not really into the “Rent-A-Rapper” kind of thing. And I’m not into the “Rent-A-Producer” thing either. I’m into organic vibes you know – things that grow. I’m not into giving a man half my fucking budget just so I can have his name on the front of my record. I’m not into that shit. I mean its all good – we gotta heat things up on all levels – but that ain’t my angle.
I’ve seen you speaking in other interviews about working on some Garage? Are you still doing that, and will it feature on your album?
Rodney: Oh yeah I’m still doing that, but its a separate project. At the end of the day, I make Hiphop. Thats what I do – I been cracking my head to this Hiphop ting for years. But really and truly – I’m a music fan… and I like Garage… so I’ll indulge.
How have you survived and kept your name alive for the last 14-15 years?
Rodney: Hopefully its by being quite good. At the end of the day, a lot of people come into the scene – they come, they go, they’re here one day and they’re gone the next. My whole thing is that I love this shit regardless. And for me its not really about… I mean I’m a rapper, and I do this thing and I wanna make money selling my records, but even if I didn’t – I’d still be a Hiphop fan. Thats what keeps me here – I enjoy being in the clubs. I enjoy watching the rappers kill each other with their deadly lyrics. I fucking enjoy hearing the newest, latest beats that’ve got the clubs jumpin’. I LOVE that shit.
Any final words to everyone who’ll be reading this?
Rodney: Final words? Umm… big up the Arsenal!
Fuck you – I’m a United man!
Rodney: Spare me brother. You live all the way in fucking Belfast and you support Man United?
Well I’m an old school United fan – I was with them when they were shitty back in the Sexton days…
Rodney: Well you get credit for that… but its all about the Gunners brother. Seriously though… final thoughts? Just stay true to the music… don’t be in the fraudulent bullshit ting, because this Hiphop thing is meant to be heartfelt.
Thanks again to Rodney P for taking part, and for Serena for setting this up.
INTERVIEW: Frukwan
Aug 1st
Frukwan Interview (by A to the L)
Frukwan is going through some tough times. Over the past couple of years he’s watched his best friend, and fellow Gravedigga Poetic fight a brave battle against cancer. Stunning the doctors who has diagnosed him as having only 3 months to live, Poetic showed his incredible will to live, by not only making a mockery of the medical estimates, but by working on, and completing the new Gravediggaz album with Frukwan. Its cruel that with his passing on July 15th, he won’t be able to take advantage of what will undoubtedly be another Gravediggaz success. With the new album scheduled to drop later this month, and with a part to play in organising a memorial for Poetic, Frukwan is a busy man…
Frukwan, I wanna thank you for taking time out to speak with me, at what must still be a pretty difficult time for you. How has the new album turned out?
Frukwan: The new album has turned out exceptionally Gravdigga-ish. The tracks are deep. Gravediggaz are still dealing with the elements of shock treatment, where we still have the dark, morbid sounds, and the issues and topics are still dealing with the mentally dead. We still digging into the graves of the mentally dead – we want to bring the awareness out of the culture of Hiphop – how we act, and how we live. There’s so much hate in the world, and we’re trying to find some kind of solution where everybody can get along as one and have fun.
How many tracks are on the album and are there any guest appearances?
Frukwan: There’s 18 tracks on the album with guest appearances from Prodigal Sunn from Sunz Of Man, and also Shogun, Berretta Nine, and 4th Disciple from Killarmy
Who handled production this time around?
Frukwan: The production was handled by Poetic The Grym Reaper, myself Frukwan The Gatekeeper, Tru Mathematics from the Wu Elementz, and 4th Disciple.
What made you choose the title of the album “Nightmare In A-Minor”?
Frukwan: Well we felt that with the name Gravediggaz, we’ve always been labelled with that “horrorcore” image – its something we can’t get out of, or get away from. It looks like its gonna be stuck with us as long as we have the name Gravediggaz. So therefore “Nightmare In A-Minor” is just another extension of “The Pick, The Sickel, And The Shovel” and “Six Feet Deep”.
Obviously while you were recording, everyone was aware of how bad the situation with Poetic’s illness had become. Did that make it a harder album to record?
Frukwan: Actually with Poetic’s situation on everyone’s mind, it made him work harder. And that meant that I had to work harder because he was working harder. We all knew that he had this illness, and that it was catching up to him, but still he kept fighting it because of his love for his music. That was the most important thing to him besides his health and his family. It was like he always meant to leave something behind because he already knew the situation and we already knew the situation. We were all aware that his situation had stretched beyond the limitations that were placed upon him by the doctors.
Are any of the lyrics reflective of the mindstate you and Poetic were in during the recording of the album, or are they any tracks which touch on his cancer battle?
Frukwan: Oh yeah – he actually rhymed about it in a song called “Burn Baby Burn” on the album. He talked explicitly about his fight with the cancer and how it kinda damaged his body, but it didn’t catch his mind… I praise Poetic… he will always be my best friend, and what I have to keep in mind is that what I’m doing is not only for Gravediggaz… its for Poetic. I wanna try and bring some awareness out that we all have to take care of ourselves, and we have to love each other.
How do you feel about the situation with Tommy Boy, who are re-releasing a lot of the classic Stetsasonic albums? Were you or the other Stet members consulted about that?
Frukwan: Well actually – no. I haven’t heard anything from the old Stetsasonic guys. But from what I understand… I heard that its been re-released – I’ve actually seen it in the stores… And I gotta be truthful… even with Stetasonic… I was proud to be part of the first Hiphop band in the whole rap business, and in the history of rap, you know? It maybe didn’t get the notoriety that rap bands have now, but still, I was proud to be a part of that beginning. Plus I felt that Stetsasonic opened up doors around the globe, going to foreign lands and doing shows and tours. Those people didn’t speak the language, but they appreciated the music – and that was like 15-16 years ago. And now to come back and go back across the globe and tour again, and to see how other countries and other languages have adapted to rap music, to the point where they’re speaking in their native tongue. Its just a blessing to have been a part of that.
Whats next for Frukwan? Will there be more Gravediggaz projects after this one, or are you even thinking that far ahead?
Frukwan: Speaking on that… we’re in the making of another Gravediggaz album as we speak. We’re just taking our time with it. Poetic has other tracks that he’s done, and that we just didn’t use this time… so we gonna continue with the Gravediggaz. We can’t just let it fade out like that without no… we just can’t do that!
Do you have a message to the fans about Poetic, the Gravediggaz, and the new album?
Frukwan: To the fans – thanks for the deadly support. Without the fans there would be no Gravediggaz – people wouldn’t know about the Grym Reaper Poetic aka Tony Titanium, and they wouldn’t know about Frukwan aka Sun Star the Gatekeeper. I just wanna say – keep it real – keep the music real to your heart. Love the music, and love yourself, and just spread the word that this is a way of life that’s universal for everyone to touch upon. Keep your heads up… and just represent Hiphop.
The Gravediggaz “Nightmare In A-Minor” is released on August 28th on Titanium / Sun Star Records (Frukwan and Poetic’s own label)
Thanks again to Frukwan for taking part, and for Lisa at Meridian Entertainment for setting this up.
SINGLES REVIEW
Jul 30th
Verbals by A to the L
Karl Hinds – Don Gramma (Remix) (Wordplay)
The lead single of the Word Lab 2 compilation (reviewed here) features the added skills of Blak Twang and Seannie T. Electro tinged beats, aggressive rhyming skills and some nice lines feature throughout. The flip side features the original mix (not much difference between the two versions really though). The original is the UK answer to Big L’s ‘Ebonics’ and its a real need-to-listen-to single. Trying to describe the whole mood and style of this track is hard – on one hand it is a blatant copy of the L single, but it represents the UK so unashamedly with the culture and language differences celebrated rather than hidden behind Americanisms.
RATING: 8 / 10
Slum Village – Raise It Up (Wordplay)
The Slum Village album, after so much hype was a bit of a damp squib. The reason? Well tracks like this certainly didn’t impress many people. A simple ascending / descending piano routine playing over a dull beat (nice snare though). Critics have claimed that producer Jay-Dee’s reputation as beatmaker supreme helped to disguise the fact that the emcee skills were a bit… weak. Well critics were actually correct – cos I ain’t hearing anything standout here. Backed with a Jay-Dee remix of Fall N Love (which isn’t much better), this one unfortunately goes into the “Future Use As A Coaster” file.
RATING: 1 / 10
