RT @TodoCorazon17: So this is a good thing bc Delvin got the decision & should have got the TKO. But what if Hernandez would have got the n… 10 hours ago
Did the never-ending P90X yoga session earlier. Feeling very relaxed #oooooooohm! 10 hours ago
2010 marks Lauryn Hill’s 35th birthday. Normally this event passes without fanfare in industry circles, except this year fans and media became prematurely excited at reports the sequestered star would be making a return by headlining this year’s Rock the Bells tour and performing all the tracks from her timeless debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Unfortunately, the promising news turned out to be false and Hill remains in a self-imposed exile. And over the past few days, the internet has been littered with articles bemoaning her absence, while others bluntly proclaimed the former L Boogie as forever lost. But with the attention given to her absence, the greater question remains as to if Lauryn Hill is needed in today’s Hip-Hop world?
L Boogie’s 1999 Album of the Year triumph at the 41st Grammy Awards for Miseducation… was the culmination of several previous years that saw female emcees making huge strides in Hip-Hop culture. From 1996-1999 women in Hip-Hop not only held their own in the sales market, but presented diverse depictions of femininity and womanhood that served to deconstruct old stereotypes and hint at unlimited boundaries of expression. See below a short list of the biggest selling female Hip-Hop artists, and also note how different they were in style.
Da Brat- Anuthatantrum (Gold, 1996)
Missy- Supa Dupa Fly (Platinum, 1997)
Salt N Pepa- Brand New (Gold, 1997)
Foxy Brown- Ill Na Na (Platinum, 1996), Chyna Doll (Platinum, 1999)
Lil Kim- Hard Core (2X Platinum, 1996)
Eve- Let There Be Eve… (2X Platinum, 1999)
Others such as Rah Digga and Bahamadia didn’t post huge numbers but were highly respected by their peers and critically praised for their lyrical acumen, which many times surpassed their male counterparts. In addition, other female artists were highly visible with well-received singles like Queen Latifah (“It’s Alright), MC Lyte (“Cold Rock a Party,” “Keep on Keepin’ On”), and Queen Pen (“All My Love,” “Party Ain’t a Party”).
Through this renaissance of sorts for femcees, Lauryn Hill was at the forefront, and not just for women. With the success of Miseducation, Hill was being pushed by the media and fans to be the face of Hip-Hop culture, notably seen in her being chosen by Time Magazine in 1999 as the face of “The Hip-Hop Nation.”
Hip-Hop culture has seen periods where an emcee by sheer force of their phenomenal music becomes an iconic catalyst that advances the art form. In the 80s, artists like KRS-One and Rakim stand out. Throughout the 90s and 00s there were several, including Tupac, B.I.G., Ice Cube, Nas, and Jay-Z. But in Lauryn Hill, Hip-Hop for the first time had a female vision at its helm.
But the hopes many had of Lauryn Hill leading Hip-Hop culture to glorious expansion and change into the 21st century was not to be. Amid personal woes and discontent with her immense celebrity, Hill retreated inward starting in the early 00s, where she remains to this day.
Her departure has unfortunately marked a steep decline in female expression as well. Every year since 2000 the pool of female emcees has steadily shrunk, and the ones that do remain today and get airplay have little diversity in content and presentation amongst each other. In fact it can be argued that female representation in Hip-Hop is at its lowest point, in which media and fans have given more attention to proud harlots like Kat Stacks than underappreciated talents like Jean Grae.
Society by nature always strives for leaders in all forms, whether it is social, political, economical, or religious. Lauryn Hill rejected the messianic calls from fans and press, but in the short time that she was on top the former Fugee created a legacy that still reverberates today. On The Score, she helped redefine the expectations of the female rapper, and broke down any remaining barriers with her tour de force debut. Today, her influence can be heard in numerous artists like Janelle Monae, Jazmine Sullivan, and Algebra Blessett.
Instead of hoping for her to be the Hip-Hop savior she never was or wanted to be, we should all be thankful for her contributions and champion the women today who carry on her artistic traditions. It’s a dual responsibility of media and fans. Hip-Hop media by nature is chock-full of sensationalism, publicity stunts, and needless drama. Publications and writers many times feel forced to cover much of this since it’s always guarantees big hits and readership, but unfortunately those events will not push the culture forward, and should never dominate a writer’s pen over the driving force of Hip-Hop which is creative musical expression. The goal of the Hip-Hop journalist should and always be, to “shine light” on those individuals.
Fans serve as the “constituents” so to speak, who “vote” on artists by purchasing music, attending concerts, and offering feedback to media outlets. If you don’t like what you hear on the radio or see online, you should be doubly insulted because you are being presented with what is believed you want and has been proven to sell. That is why it’s important to support female artists like Janelle Monae and Jean Grae beyond lip service. There is immense power in your hands.
After The Miseduation of Lauryn Hill, we all wanted a female Hip-Hop Messiah, but being L Boogie was good enough. As briefly as she wore the crown, it inspired many and moved us forward artistically. If she ever returns, she will be welcomed just as we do with Sade’s appearances once every decade. But until that day comes, let’s be sure to support and celebrate the aspiring great female emcees and singers today who carry on her legacy.
Concept albums are normally tackled by veteran artists years into their career as a means to challenge themselves and shake up the expectations of their audiences. But for Janelle Monae, who attempts to challenge herself on every song, she’s created a driven debut that continues the story of her 2007 EP Metropolis: The Chase (Suite I of IV), based on the seminal 1927 science-fiction film Metropolis. Such compulsive ambition usually results in a masterpiece or a disaster, and in this case Janelle Monae has crafted one of the best major label debuts in recent memory.
Immediately, you are transported to Monae’s vision of Metropolis via the orchestra-only intro “Suite II Overture.” There is applause at the beginning which conveys the intended perspective that the listener is eavesdropping on a conceptual movie or performance rather than a standard album. The track in tone lays out the complexity of the upcoming story with its alternations between assonance and dissonance, punctuated by frenetic violins and sprawling harp arrangements.
The next voice we hear acclaimed poet Saul Williams on “Dance or Die,” who simply states the themes of each verse before Monae rhymes the conditions that are ravaging her Metropolis. As the title suggests, the “dance” or power of music becomes the starting point for the mind’s liberation. The track builds in revelry with horns and guitar riffs adding to the initial drum focus, and a full-blown celebration breaks out mid-song. Monae emphasizes education to prevent degradation while the chorus singers, representing the workers, await the coming of the android unifier Cindi Mayweather.
The guitar riffs smoothly move into the whimsical “Faster,” which ups the frenetic pace with DJ scratches. The jam session feel works perfect with Janelle’s startling lyrical imagery, which gives allusions to Greek mythology and contemplates whether to flee an unhealthy relationship (“You kill me softly with the sun/You melt my wings and call it fun/I should run..” ). “Locked Inside” keeps the funky vibe going with arrangements and refrains that hint at her influences like Michael Jackson (“Baby Be Mine,” “Rock With You”). Still, the song is stamped with Monae’s own originality, an again her lyrical depth shines through (“When I look into the future I see danger in its eyes/Babies die before they’re born and no one ever smiles/The writers and the artists are all paid to tell us lies/To keep us locked inside…” ).
The first semblance of a ballad doesn’t come until “Sir Greendown.” Monae’s voice is accompanied by murmuring background singers, which gives the song a striking, ethereal feel. The dreamy love song comes in just over 2 minutes and functions more as an interlude and lead-in for the challenging, self-determination themed “Cold War.” Here, the beginning organs explode into percussion and guitar, and Janelle displays her struggle in finding peace with her identity, and challenges us to do the same (“I was made to believe there’s something wrong with me/And it hurts my heart/Lord have mercy ain’t it plain to see…This is a cold war/Do you know what you’re fighting for?”)
The LP’s second half retains its early potency and focus. While up-tempo tracks dominated early, Monae later explores more ballads, and by extension more vulnerability. Some are rife with double-meanings such as “Oh, Maker,” which functions as a standard love song and also storyline wise as the android’s conflicted feelings for its creator (complete with concluding, otherworldly synthetic chords). That adherence to storyline makes the distorted, autotune vocals for “Mushrooms & Roses” appropriate. While the Monae’s urges us to “love without fear,” the screeching guitar and overall tone reflects the rock “power ballads” of the 80s.
Janelle Monae (or perhaps android alter-ego Cindi Mayweather) has received many accolades for her unique personal style and stage show, but not enough acclaim for the strength and versatility of her singing voice. On “Neon Valley Street,” she can bring it to unguarded, light melodic levels usually reserved for jazz singers, and at times is reminiscent of a prime Lauryn Hill. Selections like “Come Alive” showcase the young vocalist’s ability to build to piercing, impassioned funk yells and chants.
“Say You’ll Go” is another multi-layered piece in songwriting and production that shows another Monae influence in Stevie Wonder (“Rocket Love”). She references the aforementioned work in her lyrics, which ask if her lover is ready to completely trust in the power of their union (“Love is such a novelty/A relic painted masterpiece…An underwater rocket love/Exactly what I’m searching for/If you’re brave enough to go then tell me so…”). Towards the end, she strips away the backing vocals and string instruments to sing softly with the piano before adding operatic vocals for a satisfying, albeit mysterious finish.
Suite III’s journey ends with “BabopbyeYa.” Here, Monae pulls elements of Classical, Tribal rhythms, and Swing music together for an exciting finish. She incorporates the authoritative accent heard by many jazz singers of that era, and you feel her pain as Monae calls and by song’s end wails in vain for her missing lover. The track is brilliant in its pacing, and is neatly split into several parts marked by clear transitions; the final being a spoken word piece (“I hear echoes of your laughter in the corners of my mind/While I memorize each detail of your intricate design/In your hair is a symphony/Your lips a string quartet/They tell stories of the Neon Valley Street/Where we first met..”). “BabopbyeYa” brings closure to the album, but still hints at the final Suite IV which will conclude Monae’s vision.
Aside from rare self-indulgent moments (“Neon Gumbo,” “Make the Bus”) The ArchAndroid is a fantastic debut that should serve to be Janelle Monae’s coming out party for the uninitiated. At a mere 24 years old, she is a woman with an uncompromising vision of her art. The genuine emotional honesty of her work is inspiring and profound in today’s popular music climate. Instead of simply mimicking her influences, Monae has used them as inspiration to push and in some cases break our conventional music boundaries and labels. Years from now, it’s very likely we all will look back at The ArchAndroid as the major label debut that launched the career of a legend.
Black music has many streams of expression, 2 of the most prominent being Hip-Hop and Reggae. And when you go back far enough, these traditions are seen to have their roots in the music of Africa. This truth is the basis for Nas and Damian Marley’s unique collaboration Distant Relatives, which aims to not only bridge the gap between their cultures, but also raise funds for a school in the Congo. And this focus has resulted in an album that will undoubtedly enrich the musical legacies of both men.
From the outset, it’s very obvious to listeners that both men took their time and built up a genuine, strong chemistry over the estimated year and a half recording period. The duo comfortably trade quick bars over the first single “As We Enter,” easily handling the several rhythm changes punctuated by horn and piercing drums , which is reminiscent of Welcome to Jamrock’s “All Night”. “As We Enter” serves to establish the direction of the LP, as Damian Marley proclaims them to be “street intellectuals,” and Nas posits their purpose as “real revolution rhymers.”
K’Naan guests on “Tribal War,” which address the in-fighting the plagues people of color around the world. Damian Marley crafts a beat of urgency using bongos and sorrowful chorus signing, as each emcee tackles the issue from different perspectives. Nas parallels international conflicts such as those seen in Darfur with American gang warfare, while K’Naan reflects on how Africa’s contributions are ignored or belittled in today’s society (“I drink poison/Then vomit diamonds/I gave you Mandela, Black Dalai Lamas/I gave you music/You enthused in my kindness/So how dare you reduce me to Donny Imus?”). And Damian Marley addresses the futility of man’s violent nature (“We nuh want no more of that/Everyone deserves to earn…Man a war tribal/Over colors/Over money, over land, and over oil, and over God” ).
Damian’s brother Stephen Marley assists on 2 tracks, “Leaders” and “In His Own Words.” On the former, Stephen handles chorus duties over a traditional, reggae-flavored track. But it’s Nas who shines in his 2 verses, using allusions to the Biblical figure of Esau, Prohibition gangster Bumpy Johnson, and Marcus Garvey to argue that a leader can come from any facet of society if they’re willing to answer the call.
On the latter, the trio gives listeners the first overtly spiritual track in “In His Own Words.” Again Nas works with 2 verses, and sharply notes his struggle with balancing his art, and how it has brought him closer to God (“How I balance between the streets and the theories of/collegiate literature/I hold mirrors up/Give combinations of pain, joy, fear, and love/Through my perspective/I can see Jah reflection”). Stephen’s bluesy, paced vocals provide a nice contrast with Nas’ faster flow, and Junior Gong brings it home lyrically in rhyming on the unity of creation (“All things are related/And creation is a package/Generate together/And we increase the wattage/A how them a go manage? Tell Babylon them can’t do Rasta damage”).
Since Damian Marley handled the majority of the production duties, the beats are void of any contemporary-styled Hip-hop rhythms. However, Junior Gong shows his versatility and knowledge of his partner’s strengths by making strategic rhythm changes to accentuate Nas’ style, as heard with the beautiful, guitar driven transition on “Count My Blessings.” Instinctively, both Nas and Marley fervently attack the songs with strong drums like “Friends,” “Dispear,” and “Strong Will Continue.” Ironically, the track with the closest link to boom-bap (“Nah Mean”) is dissected and dominated by Damian’s patois (“We nuh like dem colonial regime/Nah mean/Mi Queen hafi rock and come in/Nah mean/and jump pon mi big trampoline/Nah mean/And boost up her self-esteem”).
The remaining guests do exceptionally well in maintaining the theme of the album. Reggae fans will be delighted in hearing legend Dennis Brown helping in the remake of his classic “The Promised Land.” The seminal, bass-heavy funk of the song is perfect for any reggae/dancehall artist as Damian shows in his verse connecting America and Africa. But Nas also doesn’t misstep and incorporates end of days imagery in his portion (“If these are the last days/And 100-foot waves come crashing down/I’ll get some hash and pound/Pass around the bud then watch the flood/Can’t stop apocalypse/My synopsis is catastrophic”). Joss Stone compliments the child singing chorus on “My Generation,” and Lil Wayne shows his underrated adaptability with a succinct verse on his role with today’s youth (“This generation/I’m a represent/A generation led by a black president…So when you finish reading Revelations/Thank God for my generation”).
The album concludes with the poignant, lush ballad “Africa Must Wake Up.” The song is a call for those of African descent to not only remember their lineage, but establish an identity for the future, as sung by Damian (“Yesterday we were kings? Can you tell the young ones/Who are we today?”). Nas utilizes his 2 verses to speak on African culture’s discoveries in religion, architecture, and astronomy which assisted in humanity’s development. K’Naan reappears to offer a short, rhetorical refrain in Somali (“And when a country is built. Aren’t you the ones to tear it down?/ And when one attempted to tell the truth, aren’t you the ones to cut him down?). Nas ends the LP on a unifying note, explaining that because civilization derives from Africa, we are all family just spread out across the globe regardless of race.
Distant Relatives is an amazing achievement for both artists. For Damian Marley, it shows in these 5 years since this last LP (Welcome to Jamrock), he has grown as a producer and can lay claim to being one the most talented of Bob Marley’s children. Nas continues to evolve and age gracefully. Since 2002’s God’s Son, Nas has opted to use music to look inside himself for identity, rather than media, fans, or trends to define him. Instead of attempting to relive past glory (Illmatic) or personas (The Firm), he’s doing something many emcees become fearful to do; grow up with their audience and challenge themselves. And with the way he handled the varying production from Marley, Nas again shows why 19 years after his first appearance he’s still one of the premier lyricists in Hip-Hop.
Distant Relatives is a rewarding listening experience in its musicianship and lyricism, and one you can expect to go back to in the years to come.
Rhymefest (Che Smith) is on a mission of liberation. Not just liberation of himself, but Hip-Hop as a whole. It’s been 4 years since the positive accolades he received for Blue Collar, but since then Rhymefest has had to contend with numerous album delays and struggling to keep his name afloat. To that end, he’s released 2 creative mixtapes in the Michael Jackson dedication Man in the Mirror and The Manual. Now, he’s ready to deliver his most ambitious project to date on June 8 with El Che, inspired byArgentinean revolutionary and his namesake Che Guevara.
But are Hip-Hop fans ready for his vision? Will they accept a more serious Rhymefest challenging them on social and political issues?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Congratulations on finally getting the album done. There was an initial release date in May, so was the pushback more to do with you adding material or with the label?
Rhymefest: No, it was distribution. We’re getting the album distributed through EMI. EMI is going through a bit of a shakeup themselves, [I’m saying that] without trying to throw salt on anybody. But no matter what’s going on with the business, the fans will say its Rhymefest’s fault. So what I need to do is take a picture with a copy of the album and let people know it does exist.
Personally, if they preorder and it doesn’t come out June 8, I’m willing to go anywhere in the country and do whatever they want. Whether it’s cleaning their crib, going to work with them, going to club, and rapping for them! I’m willing to do whatever I got to do but I know it’s coming out June 8. It’s [just] a distribution issue from when they receive the CD’s to getting it out in the stores.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Before we get to the tracks, there’s a lot of imagery on the album cover alone. Let’s start with Frederick Douglass’ second autobiography you picked, My Bondage and My Freedom. A lot of people are familiar with the first one, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. What made you go with the selection you chose over his other writings?
Rhymefest: Well, what was important to me is it described the younger Frederick Douglass. It gets personal with his life story. Really what I’m doing through music is suggestive reading. Like, do you know how Frederick Douglass taught himself to read? That there were some white people that helped him? How much he helped Lincoln in constructing the case for the Civil War?
These things are very important to know. Before Barack Obama, before Martin Luther King, there was Frederick Douglass. That dude is pretty ill. So ill that I named my son Frederick Douglass’ father’s name, which was Bilal. My son’s middle name is after that.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: The other book up there is Invisible Man, which is very profound coming from an artist. We know in the book the protagonist felt invisible because no one saw the true him, just stereotypes. As a rapper, how do you use that to your advantage, since Hip-Hop culture is overrun with stereotypes and caricatures?
Rhymefest: Hundreds of people hit me up all the time and say, “I wish more people knew about you. You’re the most underrated rapper.” I get that all the time. If these people say this, but they know about me, if all y’all just went out and brought the album, who cares? I feel like me and my fans are part of a secret Hip-Hop society that the larger society may not understand. But we are making moves.
If I sell 15,000 records I won. I paid for this shit myself! If I get that $150 grand, I can use that and put out another album in 6 months. The hardest part was getting over the hump of getting it out, because of the whole shakeup with J Records. I just recently got off of J Records and Allido Records. And really this album is coming 7-8 months after I left the record label. So that I means all I had to do these past few years was just get off the fucking label! But I had been too much of a slave to understand that.
Now I feel like Frederick Douglass. When he became liberated, he was able to break free and become the orator we know now. J Records helped me to become known as Rhymefest, but after that they held me as a slave. Now I’m able to break free and be who I am. When I made the Man in the Mirror and The Manual mixtapes that was because the label wasn’t putting out singles and albums.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: How much did fear hold you back from initially taking that step? A lot of artists feel that can’t do it out their own, and that their creative side will be hampered if they try to handle too much business.
Rhymefest: Hmmm fear…no. Kanye taught me that the only limitations we have is ourselves. If you are successful or a failure, it’s dependent on you [and] no one else. What held me so long to the label was that they were giving me a stipend even though I wasn’t coming out with any records. They put me up in New York in the financial district, had me living in corporate housing. I didn’t realize that time was passing me by. I’m doing all this stuff, mixtapes, but not making any albums or selling any records.
There were people at the label getting kickbacks. I saw how the money thing works. Like we’re going to do a $450,000 video, but you can only use these 3 directors. But it’ll be directors they already got. So when they go into Clive Davis, they can be like look, we spent this much money, but it still didn’t do what we thought it would do. But they really didn’t spend that much money. They really got a kickback. But the artist sometimes doesn’t realize that.
I’m not blaming anyone. For the period I was there, J Records treated me very fairly. But I don’t think they knew what to do with me. They weren’t used to operating from the grass roots, which is the type of artist I am. They were used to paying their way through things. That doesn’t work with me because I’m the type of artist to say something. I don’t do politics very well, I do truth and justice. But I’m learning it better through being independent.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Last year you stated there was a general lack of respect in Hip-hop for tradition. Have you seen any improvement since then amongst your fellow artists and fans?
Rhymefest: I was wrong. One thing I didn’t realize is that Hip-Hop doesn’t exist anymore. C’mon, think about the 4 elements: graffiti, breaking, deejaying, and emceeing. Emcees don’t exist. That’s somebody who gets on the stage, doesn’t have to rap, but can hype up the crowd while the DJ is playing. He has all the chants, all that shit. Everybody now is “listen to me, listen to my raps.” No one can hype up a crowd no more like that. Emcees are dead.
Let’s look at graffiti. Ain’t nobody really tagging no more [laughs]. Like “look at this mural I made, and we’re competing over this shit.” People do it, but it’s not what it was. It used to be a phenomenon.
Let’s look at breaking. They have b-boy events, but it’s a very small circle. It’s not like Drake comes out, and people are breaking. Not saying it’s a bad thing, it just doesn’t happen no more.
Deejaying is all a political game now. DJs and rappers are against each other. Rappers don’t value a DJ on stage no more. It used to be Eric B and Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. There are no more DJs who precede the rapper’s name.
So Hip-Hop as we knew is like jazz at this point. I can’t really get mad. It exists on a scale so small you might as well call it dead. But even from Disco we got techno, Bass music. From Hip-Hop we got Soulja Boy, Drake; the hybrid singing rap. We got to call it something else because it ain’t Hip-Hop. It’s not bad; it’s evolved into something else.
When this is read people will have opinions, and some are not sophisticated enough to have this conversation and think about it on a plane that’s not black or white. “Oh you’re dissing it!” No, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying Hip-Hop has evolved to a whole ‘nother culture. It’s very interesting that it’s mixed corporatism with music, cheap and easy. But the beats have gotten better, and there needs to be melody, not just lyrics. A lot of rappers used to not have that. More rhythm, you really have to be a dope singer and rapper these days.
Now I can’t do that, it’s not what I do. Now I could be mad like “these niggas is singing rapping!” But I think we have to call it something else, another genre like Hip-Pop. It’s important as we cross different thresholds in history that we mark and define them. Right now it’s time to define what we do as something else, not just Hip-Hop.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: This reminds me of what changes we heard in the 80s to popular music like New Wave and how synthetic sounds dominated. Do you hear that as well in music today?
Rhymefest: Yes! But I also hear a bit of 90s R&B. If you listen to Drake, you can hear it. I hear a little bit of Jodeci in his stuff being brought back. I also hear 90’s rap patterns on some of these tracks. I would update my respect comment for Hip-Hop and say we need music appreciation, respect for music.
If you’re going to rap, and you hear people say “man, you sound like A Tribe Called Quest.” Go back and listen to those albums. People used to say I sounded like Biz. So I got real familiar with Biz Markie. How can I update my style? Look at some of his patterns and update and make it hot!
Music is really for trained ears. When you listen to jazz, you can’t just sit there with no one explaining it to you, how the horn and piano talks. Hip-Hop is the same way! How you gonna just sit down and listen to KRS-One’s By All Means Necessary if no one puts it in context for you? Same with Criminal Minded; how can you appreciate it? You can still listen to it.
You can’t even appreciate Pac right row! Let’s move up for the readers who don’t know about KRS and don’t care. You can’t understand Tupac unless you have Tupac in context. You can listen to a few songs and say that’s dope, but you need the story that goes with it. When you listen “White Man’s World” or “Trapped,” you have to understand where he was in his career. Then you listen to it and it means another level to you.
Good music is truly like the Bible.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Being a true, original artist has always been in conflict with monetary gain, because normally what makes you the most money is the antithesis of true art. For yourself, do you continue to feel pressure with that? Because the acclaim can still come, but it’s normally years after the fact. You referenced jazz, and the Bebop movement comes to mind.
Rhymefest: You gotta realize this; who gave Dr. King the biggest obstacles to his goal for civil rights for all, Black or white people?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: His own people.
Rhymefest: Who give Malcolm X the biggest obstacle? And we know that because of who they say killed him, his own people! When Clive Davis signed me I told him” I don’t know why you signed me, you made a mistake.” He said why, and I said because I can read [laughs].
He laughed and patted my on the shoulder, like “nigga you don’t understand I run the world! You’ll never get anywhere!” I know I will not be understood and heard until I’m out of here. I already prepared for that, bro. It doesn’t matter if I sell 3 million or 3000. Number one, I don’t rap for money, I have other ventures I do.
Number two, I’m really trying to do something. I’m with kids, walking them home with Safe Passage programs and all that. I can walk through my neighborhood. I see shorties fighting and I go out and say “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but this is a little girl. That ain’t the way; we have to move like this…” I’m not scared of my people, but I realize these are the ones that are going to kill me. These are the ones that will talk about me like a dog while I’m here.
It’s all good. True love is unconditional. True heroism is to stand in the face of your obstacle and say “I love you even if you kill me.” You can’t have a true revolution without love.
Me and Rick Ross had a real deep discussion about this. I gained a lot of respect for Ross after we sat and talked. He asked me whether I wanted to be feared or loved. I said was Al Capone feared or loved? He said feared. I said was Dr. King feared or loved? He said loved. Ross said he rather be feared. I said man, Al Capone died by himself of syphilis, isolated. Dr. King loved so hard he was feared, and they had to assassinate him.
At the end of the day, true love makes motherfuckers scared. It inspires true fear, not the fear where motherfuckers laugh at you and lock you up. Every true revolution starts with love, whether it’s love of your block, love of your kids, or love of these people. You have to start with love. If you start with fear you just look crazy.
When motherfuckers stop fearing Mike Tyson, everybody started knocking him out. When everybody stopped being afraid of Suge Knight, everybody started talking shit. But Muhammad Ali loved so hard, that he scared the world! I love my people so much that I ain’t got time. They don’t love me though, but it’s all good.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: I wanted to ask you about the “Prosperity” track on the album, where you speak on the Black Church. It reminded me of what W.E.B. DuBois said in The Souls of Black Folk about the church being a cornerstone of black culture, a “safe place” so to speak in the early 20th century. These days it appears to be the exact opposite. What are your feelings on religion and the church in particular in today’s society?
Rhymefest: Yo man you’re very intelligent, very informed and you’re asking things if I’m not knowledgeable, I’ll make myself look like an asshole. I really admire you. You’re something I haven’t seen in awhile G; you’re a real fucking journalist! What the f**k?!
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: [Laughs] Thank you. That’s why any of us should be in this, to improve the culture.
Rhymefest: And that’s one of the reasons Hip-Hop is suffering. We’ll blame the artists, labels, but no one blames journalists, DJs. If someone really asked one of these ignorant ass rappers if they really feel they’re hurting the youth and didn’t let them deflect to another question, maybe artists would hold themselves to higher standards. Because artists do leave interviews sometimes like “what the fuck, what do we have to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”
You’re holding me to a standard that I hope you wouldn’t just do with me because you know I can answer it. I hope you hold every artist to it. Because we as fans need to know what we’re getting and who we’re getting it from. Just wanted to say thank you man.
[Now] back to your question about “Prosperity.” I’m always going to do something about the church and God. My music always has a celestial spirit. I was trying to separate the business of church from what church is supposed to be doing for us. If you look in the Bible, Jesus walks in the the church and says “how dare you use my father’s house as a market?,” and starts knocking stuff over. That was some strong stuff to do back in the day, revolutionary! People don’t look at Jesus that way or violent, but I don’t think Jesus had a problem with violence. How can Jesus have a problem with violence knowing how radical his Father was? You think Jesus wouldn’t kill for God? God was just like they need to hear this. But Jesus knew love was the best way, but he still shook them up and scared them.
With “Prosperity” I was sitting at home watching BET and that guy Kerney Thomas, the one that screams “Gooooooooooooooood, will change your life!” What the fuck is this?! In Chicago they’ll have Sunday morning service. Then they’ll say go home and come back to church for an evening meal with a night service. For those who missed, you can come on Monday or Wednesday with 3 services; this shit is a business! It’s a God damn business!
Some places you have to fill out slips to join, where they’ll take your tax and wage information and automatically deduct your tithes to be a member. Or if you don’t have money, you can donate your time. But then they have you working the shit like a full time job! “You didn’t show up today, sister.” What the fuck?! Is this God?
I’ve studied different religions. If you look at the mosque, they’re like “come in, the bucket’s right here, you know what you’re supposed to do.” Nothing is passed around and people take care of their responsibilities. It’s between them and God and no one makes you feel bad and tries to sell you Heaven. So on “Prosperity” I felt I had to deal with that issue.
And that’s not to say Islam is better than Christianity as a religion. I’m talking about how religion deals with the business of tithing. Even in Jewish synagogues, they’re not making it a damn business. I don’t think that corporations should be in the churches. I don’t think there should be Coca Cola banners in church, TD Jakes. I say names.
Government should not be involved in church. I don’t believe in faith-based programs. The government can always say “whoever is bringing Dr. King to town, we shutting you’re church down.” And back in the day black ministers did that. That’s what happened when government gets involved in religion. And then you start to have extreme governments as well when the church influences, and then you have a problem because everybody ain’t Christian or Muslim.
I’m not for mega or corner store churches. There should be one or two community churches. [But] these damn mega churches? C’mon man that’s not Godly. That’s a scam! Those dudes and some of them mosques are doing the same thing the dudes on the street are doing, but they think they’re better because they’re doing it within the house of God which is truly more blasphemous. At least a street motherfucker is ignorant and that is an excuse.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: If Jesus were to come back now, it’s likely he’d tear down many things in these churches.
Rhymefest: If you think I’m wrong, all you have to do is ask yourself this one question. If Jesus came back, which church would he join?
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Profound, indeed. Let’s talk about 2 album tracks in “Say Whassup” and “Chocolate,” where you’re basically celebrating the beauty of women and black women in particular. Why is that so difficult for Hip-hop artists to do, even though the majority of us have been raised by women?
Rhymefest: Interesting that you bring that up because on “Truth OnYou” I’m saying something totally opposite. On my singles I give the commercial on how we’re going to act. I know sometimes we feel different and you hear that on the album, but the singles are what we want to put out there about ourselves because that’s important. “Say Whassup” I got Phonte on it, and it says we don’t have to have sex right now. Let’s just have a conversation and build something really sexy, have something build up between us.
I realized this from going through a lot of different relationships and having drama from one night stands and going after someone simply from sexual attraction, and having children that are unexpected and dealing with this person for the rest of your fucking life! [laughs] Sometimes I just want to chill out with a chick. Man, can I just get a chick with good conversation? I’ve had big asses; I’ve had long hair and pretty eyes.
The price and value of pussy has really plummeted. But the price of a good woman has skyrocketed because it’s rare! Good pussy is everywhere, like a diamond in Africa. Now the value of a good woman is like digging for oil. So when you hear “Chocolate” and “Say Whassup,” that’s me looking for a good woman. I’m out here looking for conversation, someone well-read.
I know this girl, and I told her the problem was she never had a God damn book in her hand. What’s the last book you read? Motherfuckers don’t read anymore. You got iPads; you don’t even have to flip the pages if you don’t want to. Your mind is like your body, if you don’t exercise it, it gets weak. It’s the same thing with your spirit. People are just lazy; what the hell are you living for if you can’t do the simple shit?
You already won the biggest battle. Out of millions of sperm one got to the egg and became who you are. You fought a million motherfuckers and won. So you get here and you don’t want to be shit? You’re a waste of everything!
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Your name is Che, but the album title of El Che and the content has a lot of allusions to the Argentinean revolutionary Che Guevara. Once you get outside of Hip-Hop he’s pretty controversial due to his Marxist beliefs and some of his revolutionary activities. What made you comfortable using him?
Rhymefest: Those people [who don’t like Che] were taught wrong. The exiled Cubans who talk about Che murdered this person, what about the people George Bush murdered? I don’t see you moving out of America or calling him evil!
Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, may God bless them both! They had an illiterate country [in Cuba]. They made the country literate; they educated the people. The greatest doctors in the world come from Cuba, [they have] a strong military. Guess what happens when you try to get a government right. The people that they killed were trying to kill them and take over. Let’s talk about the Bay of Pigs, you know about that? You know they were trying to assassinate the man through cigars, hairs, the CIA, Mafia, and the United Fruit Company? What do you know about that? What about the fact the white Cubans were some of the most racist people in the hemisphere, and Che Guevara said no, you have to open these universities to the brown and black people. If you don’t open them, then we’ll knock the doors down.
What about Malcolm X and Che Guevara having conversations about sending black men from America to Cuba to be trained for urban combat and guerilla warfare? When Castro came to America and the white hotels wouldn’t give him a room, he went to the Hotel Theresa in Harlem and the black people opened their doors to him. There is a history the white Cubans in Miami don’t talk about.
After Hurricane Katrina, Castro offered to send 500 doctors to America. What were the people criticizing Castro doing? People say Che was racist? He went to Africa to try and train the people in the Congo to get the French out of there. People don’t want to debate me on that. That was revolutionary love.
You want to do something, address this white racism that goes on in the Cuban community against black people in America and Afro-Cubans. If Elian Gonzalez was a black Cuban would it have been the same outrage? Cubans and Haitians in Miami should be working together. But everybody wants to be separate. This idea of supremacy because of color or a caste system is wrong.
So when I say El Che, I take everything that goes with that.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You expect the US Cuba embargo to be lifted soon, maybe even this presidency?
Rhymefest: Yes, it’s already being worked on. As much as people talk about Cuba, they want to get over there and see their relatives, too. We will see it in our lifetimes. But we just can’t open up the doors and have the Mafia run back in and take over like they are in Florida. Cuba has to stay for the Cuban people, and not become a playground for decadence again.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: You raise an interesting point about the Mafia being involved, as people like Meyer Lansky had infiltrated the government and monopolized the country before the Cuban Revolution eliminated them. But even today we have artists adopting personas and names of Mafia members who despised people of color and help ravage their communities with narcotics. Why do Hip-Hop artists overlook these facts?
Rhymefest: Well Guevara wasn’t about corporatism and how much money I can get and floss. Guevara attracted woman and people to him because he was a warrior. Nobody wants to be that anymore, we want fast money and the life. All these ideas we rapped about are ideas that were planted in us.
It’s not cool to do a song about the effects of domestic violence. That’s what made Michael Jackson so dope. He could do a song like “Smooth Criminal” and make that shit party and make it dope with a message in it. He could do a song like “Billie Jean” with a message in it about a one night stand, or a “Human Nature” and make that shit a pop song. Nobody can do that now without making it fallaciously sexy.
So you think rappers can do that? Shit, those rappers have been run off a long time ago or isolated: me, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, and Dead Prez. They made people think we ain’t shit. They demagnetize us so fans will say “they ain’t shit, they ain’t hot, them niggas ain’t on BET or the radio!” We have to do for self. Instead of saying why don’t black people get Oscars, we have to say why the fuck do we want your Oscar? Let’s make the Source Awards better. Nominate them and have them lose to some shit we did. Have it lose to Why Did I Get Married 2 [laughs].
That’s why this independent thing is so important. It’s important to buy that Little Brother Leftback. I’m happy they sold before without promotion. It’s important to buy El Che because if people don’t buy it, I’m not making any more records for free. I’ve gave y’all music for free. If you don’t support it, it tells me you don’t want it.
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: On the “Talk Yo’ Shit” track, you make reference to the decisions Wale made on his debut (“Even before Wale bricked/I tried to pull him to the side and say those white boys won’t sell your shit!”). Was that more so in reference to his label or the type of songs he chose to make?
Rhymefest: I think it goes hand and hand. They make you think you got to have a hit, this is all you got. So you start thinking about how to make a hit over a good song. Music listeners are very sophisticated and they can see through it. Wale has so much talent, and he has charisma. He’s a propagandist king. He knows how to get people to listen to him, how to garner a crowd, and get the right people in his corner. All he needs to do now is do something from the heart and show people he’s serious.
I can’t say I know everything he did [with the album]. But if you go out and try to fool people, they’ll step away quietly. You got to come from the heart. We can say whatever about Gucci Mane and Wocka Flocka, but they’re coming from the heart. No matter what you think about it [laughs]. So people feel it. I think smart people strategize themselves out of shit sometimes. Smart people are real quick to say f**k somebody [laughs]. I have a problem with that sometimes.
That’s what Malcolm X did. Elijah told him to be quiet about John Kennedy’s assassination and Malcolm X was like “fuck him!” That messed everything up [laughs].
Beats, Boxing & Mayhem: Your closing thoughts on El Che for those who may still be on the fence?
Rhymefest: June 8 is the decisive date for not only for Rhymefest, but for Che, [which is] who I am. I guarantee this will be out, and I hope everyone who supports real Hip-Hop will make a move to purchase and appreciate it. And thank you again for a wonderful interview.
