Hip hop, if nothing else, is about place. As the great American folk music of today, hip hop conveys space and location like nothing else, able to capture the spirit and history and experiences of a neighborhood and all its residents in the form of rhythm and rhyme. That's why rappers hold it down for their blocks. That's why they shout-out their area codes. Why they put on for their cities, for their homes.
Jimmy Powers is the "travelling man" evolution of the rapper, a vagabond transplanted from Boston to San Diego and everywhere in-between. His debut solo album, Cali-Foreigner, is a culmination of his worldly experiences, experiences that have seen him establish a name as the front man of hip-hop trio, Clay Pigeons; perform with an array of respected hip-hop veterans from Hieroglyphics to Sean Price to Strong Arm Steady and even Canibus; and last year, become nominated as a finalist for the San Diego Music Awards' 'Best Hip-Hop' award.
Jimmy Powers projects these varied experiences through a lens of humility, honesty, and blue collar work ethic on Cali-Foreigner. He forges a new home on the album, a hybrid of his East Coast roots and his West Coast state of mind. He reminisces on his past with love and respect in the heartfelt ode to his mother, "Janice Marie," and in the hit single, "Same James," in which he presents a laundry list of the strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and autobiographical moments that make him who he is. But he also looks towards his future as a battle-ready, word-bending West Coast lyricist with songs like the break beat-fueled "New Era News" and the trunk-ready title track, "Cali-foreigner." Jimmy Powers portrays the essence of the new, world-wise emcee, fusing the hip-hop of disparate regions with introspection and a nose-to-the-grindstone dedication to the craft.
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