Good Hip-hop is good Hip-hop, be it north, south, east or west. Each brings something special to the table that help make the whole thing better. I grew up on North-east Hip-hop, and it had a way of causing me to nod my head and muse (think) about what the artist was saying. I always liked when I could listen to a song and get something that I didn't get the last time, like "yo, this dude is ILL, that was madd deep."
It seems like today, you can listen to a song one time and get everything the artist is saying the first time thru, in fact - you don't even have to listen, you already know everything they're gonna say before the first hook is over. lol. I'm just jokin (a lil). I do think there is some benefit to todays more straight forward approach to rhyming, I just hope that we are not dumbing down the music as a reflection of the dumbing down of the culture/generation.
With most of todays music you don't sit and listen, you don't stand still and think. You MOVE! And that's cool, I would like incorporate more of that into my mix, but I also want headz to think. So, my music is always searching for a new way to communicate simple truth. And I'm deep, but hopefully not too deep. If you can apprecieate thoughtful lyrics, (or when you wanna take a break from shakin and snappin) I'll be there, holdin it down with convos over beats. Food for thought for After the Muzik Stops.
Why do I rap for/about Jesus Christ?
Well, here's how the story goes.In Philadelphia born and raised - Nah, the playground is not where I spent most of my days. Runnin the streets, defying any form of authority I could find, testing the limits of the law and of my partents love, that was me. At around 17 years old I met the Lord while flipping thru a bible (funny story why I was flippin thru the bible in the first place). I read Psalm 90 verses 1 and 2 and my mind was blown by the concept of eternity and the fact that the God presented in the bible was portrayed as being longer lasting than eternity itself. At that moment I felt like my soul had just won the lottery or struck oil. Do you know what it's like to feel spiritually rich? Like your soul found a treasure that even if your body could never spend it, you'd still be chillin, feelin like a million bucks on the inside.
My past time switched from runnin the streets, to sittin in the crib tryna find more bible verses that dealt with God and His eternality (big word - stick wit me). Over time, my circle of friends would change, and I began to run into other catz that were pursuing what (who) I was pursuing. I ran into a cat who was rappin for the Lord. And Red Man's What the Album had just come out, but this dude was blowin even that out the water! So, what did I do? I lied and told dude that I did the same thing. Then I went home and wrote as many corny Christian raps as I could. My scheme worked. He let me start rhymin with him. But little did I know, God's scheme was working better than mine.
Over time, I would meet others who did the same thing, but they were more grounded in The Faith. It was thru their ministry that I truely learned the Gospel. And the more impressed I became with the Gospel message, the more important it became to me to get better at telling it (on and off the mic). So I began to sharpen my rhyme skills in an attempt for my rhymes to be worthy of telling this BANGIN Gospel that was/is saving my soul. And as I continue to learn God's side of the story, I intend to get better and better at telling it - even to/thru todays version of Hip-hop.
