Fonix #13 Guilty Simpson, Reflection Eternal and O.G.C
Fonix #13. I have been keeping myself busy working on a series of drawings on recycled cardboard. This means that I am listening to music a lot. Also, on my way to and from work, I am listening to music. I hate riding a busy A or F train to Brooklyn without it. If you don’t headphones on the train, you leave yourself open for a bum (or homeless person to be politically correct) to hit you up for money, or left to read other people’s magazines, books, etc. I threw in a classic album into this Fonix entry to stay true to the commitment to include music from then and now. For that reason, I included The M-Pire Strikez Back by O.G.C. OJ Simpson and Revolutions Per Minute are a couple new albums that are worth checking out.
OJ Simpson, Guilty Simpson, 2010
I am not sure why the Random Axe album is being pushed back, but I have been waiting for that album to drop for a couple minutes now. I was searching for any news on the Random Axe album and I saw that Madlib and Guilty Simpson had already dropped their newest collabo, OJ Simpson. Both Guilty Simpson and Madlib are respected solo artists, but I thought it could be an interesting combination for an album. Madlib’s samples and soundtrack-like sounds can be a backdrop for Guilty Simpson’s story telling. It has taken me a couple times of listening to it, but the album grew on me and is still growing on me. Between each song where Guilty Simpson adds lyrics, there is a completely lyric-less track where Madlib goes off and tells his own stories through samples of Richard Pryor stand up or black exploitation (Blaxploitation) films, mixed in with beats. My first reaction was that this album could have been cut in half because there are 24 songs and 11 of those tracks are a prelude, interlude or intermission. It was frustrating to sit through them at first, but there are some funny and entertaining tracks in there. So before you remove them from your Ipod or MP3 player, give them a chance at least once.
Hip Hop in Detroit from ashley wilson on Vimeo.
Style
Guilty Simpson has a unique voice and approach to hip hop. Simpson is from Detroit and he reps it hard and often. He has a battle style, competitive spirit that can switch pace or content with ease. He raps are versatile and strong, but he’s not too hard to pay respect to Dilla. A neighbor of mine says that he thinks that Guilty Simpson is better doing collaborations or teaming up with other artists. That probably has something to do with the strength of the tracks that Simpson has released with Sean Price and the fact that the Random Axe album is highly anticipated. Ode To The Ghetto is an album that was a great intro for me to Guilty Simpson. The sound on Ode To The Ghetto could have been a bit more consistent, but it is the album where I first got a glimpse of what Random Axe will be like (on the track titled “Run). The sound wasn’t as consistent because there were several producers working on the album (Black Milk, Mr. Porter, Madlib, Oh No, Dj Babu and Dilla). It was a solid album, but there was something missing that I couldn’t put my finger on.
Madlib has an impressive list of tracks. Right off the top of my head, The Auditorium by Mos Def (on The Estatic) is an example of another classic track that Madlib has produced in the past couple years. To go a bit further back, Madlib released his Shades of Blue album in 2003. I never really hear much about that album except for people that are fluent in hip hop. Shades Of Blue is one of the albums that either puts me in a mood or I have to be in the mood for it. It’s a combination of remixes where he samples Blue Note jazz albums. It’s a great album that interprets some dusty jazz records into a mixture of hip hop beats, jazz trumpets, drum solos and keys. Madlib is one of the best producers out today and it’s because he can do just about anything. He is always testing the the boundaries and the comfort level of music in hip hop.
Lyrics
The song that chose to write about from this album is called Trendsetters. It is head bobbin’ track that is full of high-treble effects and a funky combination of drum machines and bass lines. Guilty starts off with a couple shout-outs and adlibs, but he follows a quick vocal sample and hits the ground running. The driving sound could easily be the background music for a car chase scene in a movie. The song is short, but it’s not the reason that I chose it. Guilty drops a hot verse and then the beat rides for little bit before it fades out.
I’m your girlfriends favorite poster
I slay a joker with my favorite toaster
and play the sofa
I make ‘em over
clean ‘em up when the Nina bust
keep it peace like two fingers up
Deuces
I’m ruthless, dufus
learned about trendsetters
my pen measures
soak sheets like bedwetters
hold weight
fed sweaters
who cares?
your man is chillin’ so hard
consider it a cold case
I’m gettin’ fat off rap
an y’all nauseous
more big faces than a Bad Boy portrait
I’m a hell of a guy
me whack?
before that
you might see an elephant fly
Dumbo
I cut shit up and make gumbo
fuck humble
humble got a nigga funds low
and I can’t have that
find me posted up where the cash at
smokin’ on a kush hash back
YEAH!
Top Tracks
Prelude, Introduction, OJ Simpson, New Heights, Karma of a Kingpin, Coroner’s Music, A Friend’s Help Interlude, Back On The Road Again, Hood Sentence, Cali Hills, Outside, Bow Wow Interlude, Mic Check 313, Trendsetters and 100 Styles.
Links
Guilty Simpson on Stones Throw
Revolutions Per Minute, Reflection Eternal, 2010
Do Talib Kweli and Hi Tek really need an introduction? If you haven’t heard of these two, you need to do some homework. The Blast is one of those classic albums (and videos) by these vets (see video below). Revolutions Per Minute is a really good album overall. The words and sounds vary in each song. As you would expect from Talib Kweli, he has some tongue twisting spiritual, political and personal stories that work perfectly with the vibe of the music which can vary from understated, eerie, soulful or like a military drum roll.
Style
Reflection Eternal is a talented duo that are individually and collectively strong and respectable. With Train of Thought, they established a unique sound and approach. They celebrate the NYC/Cincinnati connection that Tanya Morgan (not to be confused with Tracy) later titled his album Brooklynatti. Collectively, Reflection Eternal has all of the bases covered. They are both dynamic and versatile to change up the sound/feel of a song at will.
Talib Kweli is one of those mc’s that is not afraid to say something political. In The Proud, he comes at political corruption with respect to the police being exempt from the laws that they enforce. Also, in another verse, he talks about how 9/11 brought NYC together and rallies pride after that horrible event that changed our world. And in the remaining verse, he talks about the media and its reaction to the Unabomber bombing in Kansas City. Initially, people thought it was the work of Islamic radicals and not the solo act that spoiled the truth that everyone was so ready to accept. In Lonely People, Talib talks over a Beatles sample about the depressing reality of night life in many cities across the world. With all of his political talk, he balances it with soulful, introspective commentary that builds you up. At times Kweli will go off the beat to get his point across or to finish a thought. It is a way to keep your attention on his lyrics, but it emphasizes this thoughts and makes his message clear. Kweli is the epitome of a conscious mc and he has been inspiring hip hop fans since he broke into the world with Black Star.
Hi-Tek (DJ Hi-Tek) on the other hand is a wizard behind the boards. He has the skills to switch between classic boom bap beats, soulful claps, dj skills/scratching, synthesized keys or deep, dark and moody sounds. He also has been steadily productive and inspirational since the Black Star bomb dropped on the hip hop world. Since ’98, Hi Tek has worked with a long list of mc’s including 50 Cent, Beanie Seagal, Big L, Blackalicious, Cannibus, Bootcamp Clik, Cocoa Brovaz (Smif N Wessun), Common, D-12, Little Brother, Mos Def, Phife Dawg, Planet Asia, Styles P, The Game and Xzibit (among others). Beyond his signature sound, you can always catch him reppin’ Cincinnati with his signature “C” Reds hat. He has made that hat an icon the way that Jay-Z made the Yankees hat an icon.
Lyrics
The song that I chose from Revolutions Per Minute is Ballad Of The Black Gold. The reason for it is both the combination of the message and the quality of the music. It is representative of some of the best that these two pioneers have to offer. The song comes just before the song that I can’t stop listening to (Just Begun). While Just Begun, is a great album, it has too many guest appearances and I want to highlight a song that focuses on these two.
The Ballad Of The Black Gold has a melodic sound/sample which fluctuates up and down that starts over at the beginning of each bar. A raw snare and a deep, electric bass drum make up the beat and then the sample comes in before Kweli starts with the chorus.
(Chorus)
this is the ballad of the black gold
they call it Texas tea
but its bigger than a cowboy with a lasso
it’s deeper than a black hole
create monopolies
except they collect a fee when you pass go
crisis international
the government defacto
we got no control in this fiasco
darker than the bath robes
bubble hotter than tobasco
you got more than what you bargained for
asphalt
(verse)
you never see
hungry, happy people that ain’t rational
they blast you at the gates and they attack you at the capitol
run up in your palace find the heads of state and crack a few
get a taste of power, and then they become fascists too
the fiscal conservatives
don’t know what their purpose is
spend money on the war
then they cut your goods and services
murderers, corporate monsters
breakin’ records and honors
at 40 billion a year
they’re breaking record profits
stop it
how they bankin’
when the auto industry is tankin’
leadership is sankin’
the pollution and the water’s stankin’
loyalty
to petroleum
royalties spoil the economy
we won’t get it poppin’ til we oil free
if you’re oil rich then we invade it
they call it occupation
but we losin’ jobs across the nation
drill baby drill
while they make our soldiers kill baby still
there is desert where the blood and oil spill
(chorus)
Top Tracks
City Playgrounds, Back Again, Strangers (Paranoid) featuring Bun B, In This World, Got Work, Lifting Off, In The Red, Ballad Of The Black Gold, Just Begun (featuring Jay Electronica, J. Cole and Mos Def), Get Loose (featuring Chester French), So Good, Ends and My Life.
Reflection Eternal “Ballad of the Black Gold” from Sam Ellison on Vimeo.
Links
Reflection Eternal’s Home Page
The M-Pire Strikez Back, O.G.C., 1999
Where do I start with this album? The M-Pire Strikez Back is a classic O.G.C./Duckdown album that dropped in 1999. After Da Storm introduced the world to the lyrical skills of O.G.C., they followed up with this solid sophomore album. Each member has their own style. Starang Wondah (Big Will, Big MF Will, Hurricane Starang, Da Beast From Da East) is a clown and his always cracking jokes, acting crazy, providing ad-libs into songs and showing his skills with the Brooklyn bravado that is a common characteristic in the borough. Louville Sluggah (Louie, Henny, Hennyville Guzzla) has always sported his “duke, I’m a smack ‘em with a bat, so my hands don’t sting” attitude, with the short guy that can hold his own confidence. Top Dawg (Big Kahuna, Top D-O) has a knowledge is power, dread-lock image, balanced with the raw battle style that O.G.C. (Originoo Gunn Clapaz) is known for. Taken from the Duckdown.com website, Louiville describes O.G.C. in his own words:
O.G.C. is one of the original groups from Duckdown since the 90′s and they released two projects as O.G.C. and they add vocals to the Bootcamp Clik albums too. They teamed up with Heltah Skeltah (Rock and Ruck/Sean Price) to make the Fab 5 and I had always wanted to see that project become a reality. I am not sure what happened with that, but O.G.C. has been MIA for some time now. Since 2005, I haven’t heard anything come from O.G.C., but I have heard albums come from the other founding acts/groups from Duckdown (Black Moon, Buckshot (solo), Sean Price, Heltah Skeltah, Smif N Wessun, etc.). I really had no idea what happened to them until Duckdown posted something on Facebook about Dru Ha visiting Starang Wondah in jail. Here’s a link to see the story.
Click Here for Dru Ha’s story about Starang Wondah and his trip to see him.
Regardless of the legal problems that Starang had in the recent past, The M-Pire Srikez Back is a great album. So many artists/groups don’t come as strong as they did in their first album and even fewer step their game up. O.G.C. stepped it up on this album and it is worth it to mix the album in your rotation.
Style
O.G.C.’s style is tough to isolate to a couple words because each group member brings their strengths to form a cohesive group. As a group, they fit best into the Duckdown/BootCamp mentality where they keep their family close, build with them and protect them. On The M-Pire Strikez Back, they stayed away from the natural disaster theme or, or a theme in general to show their raw skills. They show their lyrical versatility over tracks by several producers. Similar to Da Storm, where Big Tigger from Rap City introduced a track, they had Joe Clair (formerly from BET’s Rap City) on an interlude talking some ish! Besides that, the only thing that is similar to Da Storm is that O.G.C. show their skills.
Musically, The M-Pire Strikez Back represents Brooklyn by mixing some Caribbean drums into their hip hop beats. It represents Brooklyn because there is such a large Caribbean population there (Haitians, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Trinis, etc). Top Dog’s style plays off it well and connects those dots. The whole album doesn’t sound like reggae though. It is without a doubt a hip hop album that has influences from the Caribbean.
Lyrically, O.G.C. are masters of the tag-team game and Starang Wondah plays tag team with himself and Louville and Top Dog. I say that because he throws one rhyme out and then he comes back with a response the way an mc would in tag team, but its the lyrical style that Starang has mastered. Beyond the three mc’s lyrical differences, each mc has a unique quality to their voice. It makes them easily identifiable, but it offers a change in pace and approach which keeps each song fresh until it ends.
Lyrics
It is hard to decide what song to chose for the lyrics. It could have easily been a number of the other songs on this album. My first instinct was to choose If You Feel Like I Feel because it makes you want to get up and do something or move, but there is another song that I always want to hear called Set Sail. It is a great song that is smooth and still shows the skills of each mc.
The song starts out with a couple smacks of the snare drum and then a paced rhythm of the high hat that break and a deep bass line comes in to reset for the main beat and melody within the chorus. Once that break happens, the bass line comes back and the beat begins. The order of MC’s goes from Louiville to Top Dog to Starang.
(Louiville Sluggah)
I puff la til I die
mami don’t ask why
I roll up and puff
and put it down like such
I roll the honor dutch
this nigga never get enough
it sounds wicked
like when the Ville still packs a biscuit
a free week from studio and shows
all that means is that I’m checkin’ extra ins-on-do
run up in my home
bang her walls
then I bust off
’cause I can’t take no more
then I flee
with my p-e-o-p-l-e
with love up in the background yellin’ come back inny
a nigga five fity in a all black milleni-
-um
I made a promise so I’ll be back and give her some
smwooah
that’s the way its supposed to fly
either with me or against me
until I die
Vill Slug
killed ya
served many
puffin’ plenty
if I see some love in her
like a treat I tell her
give me some
(chorus)
(Top Dog)
my day starts
my mission moves me closer to the door
it’s sunny outside
yo sun say no more
my chest achiin’
from the smoke that I takin’
in
yo please
don’t pass no green weed again
because it’s nasty
I don’t give a fuck let it pass me
the last one that gave me that shit
must have been Jabs, B
sayin’ y’all just smoke
that’s all that you do
I read it up in The Source and Vibe article
hard to do
to think it come naturally
how could it be?
police is comin’ after me
drivin’ my whip
I had to put out my spliff
crack the rooftop
and let all the smoke go out
OH
(chorus)
(Starang)
A-Yo
niggas tried to play my crew
and got they ass chewed up
we in here about 18 deep
all crewed up
it was hot outside
I had my shirt off, tattooed up
last time I came around
had to fuck some dude up
my mom said
damn boy I think your head screwed up
but now we MFC for life
you know how we do chumps
yo a nigga stay flippin’
cause Starang stay whippin’
somethin’ nice for me and my MFC to sit in
A-Yo
all my gang bangin’ niggas everywhere
bang-on
my west coast niggas
I’ll be there soon
hang on
niggas mad at Dru and Buck
because them niggas put Starang on
see me in the streets
now bitches wanna clang-on my dick
see my face up in the mix
I push a GS4 now
but I’ll be pushin’ a 6
that nigga Starang Wondah
William H, fuck a Hummer
I’m a push this LP
and push another next summer
(chorus)
Top Tracks
Shoot To Kill, M-Pire Strikes Back, Sometimey, Shit Happens, Bounce To The Ounce, If You Feel Like I Feel, Slo Mo, You’re Not Sure To See Tomorrow, Suspect Niggaz (featuring Buckshot and Havoc), Dirtiest Players In The Game (featuring The Fab 5), Set Sail and Boot Camp MFC Eastern Conference.
Links
Ronin
Categories: Fonix
