By shelz.
Welcome back folks. We are getting into another week of track heists and beat clearance indifference with the latest And the Beat Goes On. Thankfully for this column’s sake the rap fam has let loose its death grip on Just Blaze and Scoop Deville’s flavors of the month. However, it does appear that Statik Selektah has produced the latest candidate for the aural overkill award. “So Close, So Far” seems to have caught a few ears and will probably catch a few (million) more. So we are going to start this week off with Crooked I going over it, hope he’s the definitive replication and move on.
As one quarter of the four horsemen, sworn to uphold the tenants of true lyricism and keep fans that prefer the traditional sound to the fusion follies from fading away, Crook has quite the responsibility on his shoulders. Not only does he have to please legions of fans who think Slaughterhouse may be the last bastion of “that real Hip-Hop,” he also has to compete with three other apt wordsmiths. So getting garbage out of him is a no-no.
Statik’s track is smooth; the sputtering sax loop adds a little jazzy feel. Crook’s delivery is laid back as he discusses snitches, haters, Republicans, banging other men’s chicks and his own upper level lyrical talent. His intensity picks up as the song goes on adding a definite contrast to the calm track. Nice.
Next up is Curren$y and his homage to his past employer, Master P. Spitta digs way down to the bottom of the crate and pops up with “Bout It, Bout It” for his Smokee Robinson Mixtape with the ever-present Don Cannon. Its funny how listening to that track now reminds you of an ornery bee on a hot summer’s day. I think P’s somewhat staccato and growling delivery on this song back in the day saved the listener from being hypnotized. Unfortunately, Curren$y falls into the groves of the track and lets its overpower him. So you will need to have someone around to snap you awake if you listen. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Continuing class, we have “On to the Next One” from Cassidy off his latest street album Apply Pressure 2. Cassidy actually gives the kick off to his dude Jag who runs his half of the song pretty well. His content is a bit cliché. However, when you are relatively new to the masses, covering already covered material is okay if you can produce a refreshing way to say it. Does he? That’s up to you. Cassidy on the other hand has such a wonderfully unique voice and delivery, when he continues to spit money, broads and ice, we can deal.
16 – On To The Next One ft Jag
Moving right along brings us to Deena Jonez borrowing Drakes Fear. Honestly, I never heard of this girl until now. However, I’m glad I found her. She manages to fill 2 ½ minutes of track without talking about her top half, her bottom half or what she can do with them if she takes you home and that’s hella uncommon these days. The theme of being the hard working thinker destined to grab some sort of lime light is kind of Donny Goines-ish but it’s a premise Hip-Hop should be glad to promote in these times of consumerism driven lyrics . She speaks of having the back bone to not cater to those who wish her to follow the stereotypes. Kudos to that.
Last we have Wale and his latest compilation of exclusive freestyles provided by DJ Devol. Now this isn’t a freestyle over a swiped track. It’s more of an interpolation which means it stands as its own entity. But hell, close enough. Anyway, here we have a digitalized and super slowed down flipping of Lenny Kravitz’ “Fly Away.” It’s not the original hook, so this song is quite different on many levels. However, Kravitz is cool and Wale is trying really hard to get there. So when they meet its not all bad.
Anyway, that’s it for this week kiddies. Below you will find some classic booth work from 50’s henchman. With Banks slowly meandering back into the spotlight these days, it’s time for all of us to get reacquainted with the dude’s skills. Can he still put it down like this? Only time will tell. R.I.P. Rap City. Until next time folks…
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