Hot Raps for the Masses

Word. With the PB&J party only TWO WEEKS away you can imagine that I’m pretty pumped. There’s still one slot open too if you’re up for a 11 hour car ride one way for a 4 or 5 hour show (though this will be the best 4 or 5 hours of your life). I’ve been busy finishing up student teaching (wow that went by fast) but now I’ve got a moment so I’ll drop a post.

Today I bring Glue. You may remember them from my Non-Traditional Christian series (part 1 or part 2). I’ve worked out a way to include one of their gems in this blog. I try really hard to only throw up legitimate copies of songs that were promoted by the artist. You can easily find any song you want to listen to on sites like youtube or imeem but I want to keep it legit. There are a lot of dope artists breaking their backs to make music and make a living and there are also a lot of people working hard to promote that music and ensure a sustainable industry. I want HRFTM to add to the scene, not take away. This is why I believe in investing in a CD rather than downloading a free copy off rapidshare or mediafire. All this to say that this post comes close to that fine line.

One of my favorite songs by Glue is Fighting Ends. There are no live renditions that I could find, there’s no MP3 copy at the Sphere, but it is available on their myspace. Using a little net magic I was able to pull it and embed it to this post. Both myspace and glue are credited but if I get any angry letters/e-mails I’ll take it down and just put up a link. This works in Firefox on linux, not sure about anything else but it’s really not that complicated so it should. Worst case it autoplays the song or maybe the internet will collapse. (Cross-browser and cross-platform are not my areas of expertise.)

Wow this is going to be a long post. This is a pretty crucial song. Take notice though that I threw up the explicit category for this post. The worst you’ll hear in Fighting Ends is “damn”, but some of Glue’s other songs in the player are more colorful and the myspace player randomly chooses the next song. Here’s the player. Don’t click till you’re ready to hear the song.

The Player

Alt link: myspace popout player or Glue’s myspace.

Also check out the lyrics:

Kill these distractions that keep me from my loved ones,
Who tell me that I’m on the humble road to being someone,
People talk about, people reach out too,
People are my business so I’m blessed to have a mouthful
Of advice, but at what price, do I start to pay the overdue fees?
Challenged by the mortal power to set all the zombies free,
It doesn’t come easy when you lose the angel strength,
Numb to your bleeding elbows you lose a lifetime off your reach,
To catch the glimpse of your purpose, to make eye contact with death,
To finally have an answer, dealing with the pitch black left,
By the big unknown it took 66 books to describe,
Without mentioning our obsession with asking the question why?
The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus,

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

Chances are you’re gonna see it in their eyes,
But don’t be surprised when the volume of the voice starts rise,
I can’t believe I’ve been standing here all night,
What kind of insight, can talk theology,
Without starting a useless fight,
From the makeshift pulpit, 3 feet off the floor,
With every glass of water I drink, the liquid recycles through my pores,
So I’m ready to begin digging graves and playing records,
On a second wind provided by the search for something better,
I swear in this environment the world always spins backwards,
The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,
I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

The spectrum is exhausted, costing millions piece of mind,
The bi polar angst of a world constantly wasting it’s time,
Conquering your rebellions to better the wealthy cause,
By brainwashing role models to give you drugs and bruised jaws,
We suffer now so blatant; songs start to get repetitive,
They sell you life for $20 dollars but never included medicine.
And we hardly have patience for the first scratches to heal
But we’re convinced the last 5 years haven’t been real,
We’ve experienced it all but haven’t lost the will live,
We’ve seen people take their lives but something’s got to give,
If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer, we all relate to getting older,
Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over,
Life never leaves but stays away from changes burn,
Death will answer questions but has to wait its proper turn.

The message at the core of this song is an almost jaded exhaustion from being called to rap. The feelings can be extended beyond to include any debate or any suggestion of advice but Adeem is mostly speaking as Glue’s front man MC. I love the way he displays the gospel in his message. Never does he use the word Christ, but it’s like looking into the Grand Canyon. The rocks don’t spell out “Jesus”, but to those who believe God created the universe it couldn’t be a clearer picture. The references are subtle, but they’re there (finally having an answer, setting zombies free, “66 books”, strength death refuses, etc).

The first verse sets up Adeem’s struggle with even just finding his purpose. Welcome to just about everybody I ever come in contact with. This is why Purpose Driven Life sold millions of copies. It really is a struggle to find what you’re supposed to do and simply becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically answer those questions. God doesn’t just hand out career cards to everybody. I suppose it’s an effort to produce simpler lives in us that much more often he lays out daily tasks rather than 10 year goals. However Adeem has caught a “glimpse” which was to rap. I feel I’m in a similar boat with my call to teach.

You also start to get a sense of the difficulty of the task in the first verse. Strong language like “tortured” shows some of the jaded feelings:

The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus

This goes directly into the chorus which again is not so cheery.

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

Never understand, Curse of giving guidance. Harsh words. Yet it’s finished with Keep the strength death refuses. Sounds hopeful to me.

The second verse goes to the stage, the makeshift pulpit. Frustration ensues, what kind of insight can talk theology without starting a useless fight? Ever felt that way? Ever read a Christian forum or seen disputes in the comments of youtube videos? I think we have done an injustice to God and to children today in letting them assume that their part in the gospel is always offensive, on the attack, rather than letting the Holy Spirit attack while we respond with meekness and fear. Wise words take insight. Despite this frustration Adeem sticks fast to his convictions:

The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,

While ultimately it’s out of his control:

I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,

The third verse starts with a Listener-esque tirade against some of the claims of the world. We suffer now so blatant. However, Adeem ends with more hope:

If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer

I’m not sure if the connection is referencing Christianity or merely humanity in itself (which, as an extension of God’s creation, ultimately would pull us closer to him). Stay encouraged in your advice giving which you have been called! Arguments will ensue, advice will be ignored, but if you have been called what else can you do? Remember the promise.

I’ve made it this far into my analysis without referencing the beat of Fighting Ends. Phenominal. Driving and complimenting Adeem’s emotion. I especially like the interlude between the verses and hook. The play between the vocal sample cuts and piano are nothing short of beautiful. Maker’s talent is pretty much unparalleled in my book. DJ DQ tears up the cuts as well.

So word. Most epically long post on HRFTM yet. This track comes off Seconds Away, which is most definitely a CD you should invest in. I’ll leave with another lyric to stay encouraged in your struggles:

Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over. Peace.

Heh. Mini update here. Caught this out of the sphere forums. If you hate autotune as much as I do you’ll enjoy this little project. Reminds you of so many artists who didn’t need that crap to be dope. Check The Death of Autotune. Some of the songs have explicit language so just watch for your kids and enjoy.

I keep waiting to finish up the “non-traditional Christian” discussion but I’ve realized that it’s not really going to be a 2 part series. Defining a Christian can’t happen in two posts. It took Jesus 3ish years of earthly ministry to define a Christian life, not to mention the apostles and what the work the church and Holy Spirit have done since then. Long story short this is the next installment in the series.

Here’s how this is going to go. I got three freestyles to show; one pure freestyle then two battles. I’ll present them in the order of traditionalness. The second two videos are not for the chilluns. Word. First up: Redcloud.

Redcloud – Cornerstone 2007 Freestyle

If this doesn’t convince you to go see Redcloud in person, I don’t know what will. If you’re new to freestyles first try imagining doing that up on a stage. Next go around the room and freestyle about the things you see on a daily basis. Now realize that Redcloud is putting himself at the mercy of the crowd, going for 6 and a half minutes, and stays on beat the whole time. Redcloud reps Yah (Yahweh) the whole time. God has blessed him with the gift of freestyling. Redcloud is arguably one of the best Christian freestylers. Check out his other freestyles on youtube where he is prompted by people’s ideas written on paper. Amazing.

I show this video first to establish some legitimacy with freestyles to be used by God. Plus Redcloud just dropped a hot rap and this is Hot Raps for the Masses. Onto the next video.

Playdough v Zeale32 – Battle in Dallas

First off, again notice the skill. Both emcees are very talented, not missing a beat the whole time. It’s hard for me to imagine people having enough skill to get up there and go back and forth. A couple good zingers too. My favorite comes from Playdough:

Zeale32 ain’t that fresh; is that your name or your e-mail address?

We’re starting to enter the realm of the possibility of writtens: pre-written and memorized verses used as a “freestyle”.  Now I don’t think either emcee used them, the “your mom” jokes sound pretty spur of the moment, but that’s a thought that is always in the back of my mind. A good battler will try and tie his raps as close to the immediate situation as possible letting the audience know he/she is real. Redcloud has the crowd hold up objects that he has no prior knowledge of. The more a rapper does this the better they are.

When looking at the words and what’s actually spoken it’s important to remember that there’s a mutual understanding by both parties that they are entering a battle. It’s essentially a dual and in that sense it’s honorable. Look at the body language of Playdough and Zeale32 before and after the song. I wasn’t there, but I don’t see any animosity in the video. Neither person appears to be taking the remarks personally; they understand the context of the contest. I understand how battle’s can be harmless.

I also understand Ephesians 4:29:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

I understand how this battle could be not glorifying Christ. I hear the language being used. I understand how invisible bitterness, resentment, and hard feelings could be building in each emcee’s hearts. Is this just two friends joshing sarcastically? I don’t believe sarcasm is inherently ungodly. Or is there malice and evil being sown no matter how small?

Honestly I’m undecided on this one. I’m still pondering. One thing is for certain, this hasn’t convicted me to stop listening to Playdough. I’ve got two solo albums, three Deepspace 5 projects, and numerous guest spots that attest to the truthfulness of his Christianity. If you doubt it, buy this cd ($7 is a STEAL for this classic) and listen to his verse on Elementary. Or read them here.

For the final video:

Adeem v Mac Leathal – Scribble Jam 2001 finals

I’m mostly concerned with Adeem on this one. He’s a part of Glue with Maker and DJDQ. Based on his lyrics from his work with Glue I believe Adeem is a Christian. Take into consideration that this is from 2001 and the earliest Glue album I have is from 2004. Who knows what happened in those 3 years.

First, again, notice the talent. Mac Leathal hits hard with some strong lyrics despite obviously being a little nervous. But then Adeem get’s his two rounds in and my jaw hits the floor. His lyrics are EXTREMELY on point and are delivered like he was in a studio. Flawlessly he tear’s up Mac’s one liners. This is a historic battle from the hip hop Olympics that are Scribble Jam.

As far as content goes, I don’t really have anything new to add from my comments on Playdough’s battle. If you want to test Adeem in Glue you can check their site or thier myspace (listen to Fighting Ends). I admit that Adeem/Glue is a harder sell than maybe even Qwel, but I’m telling you there is something in their lyrics. Don’t write them off because they appeal to a different sub-group. At the very least I respect Adeem for his talent and I think you should too.

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Well that wraps it up for this installment of the “non-traditional Christian” series. I promise to go deeper into Playdough and Glue in future posts. Also look out for a post on upcoming shows you should attend including one from Redcloud in West VA on the 27th of September. A 6 hour drive is not enough to keep me from taking off work to go see him. All I need is a place to stay…

PEACE.

Word. This post could easily be several pages long and take me 4 or 5 hours to write. Considering that it’s 11:54pm right now and I have to be at work at 7:30am hopefully that won’t happen.

It took me awhile to pick which song to show for this first part of the ‘non-traditional Christian’ rappers. My podcasting plugin is still broken so that limited me to youtube videos. I have also been trying very hard to keep the content on HRFTM legit in terms of copyright stuff. All the mp3s I use are available for free through the sphere. I haven’t uploaded any music without permission (though I am tempted cause there’s so much really good stuff that isn’t free.) Honestly my conviction on that is a topic for another post. I knew I was going to use Qwel and Glue in this series. There were other Qwel songs that show his spiritual side a little better but this one is available legitimately on youtube and is not just a song uploaded with the album cover as the video. One last note: I have created the new category, ‘Explicit’, for posts. This is not a slam or judgement on the artist (I have also added ‘Explicit’ to Mr J’s Constance) but simply informing what I precieve my typical blog readers would consider to be explicit material. Such content may not be suitable for all ages but I believe is important to look at. Without further adieu:

Qwel – The “IT” in Keeping IT Real

This is a great song from the Chicago rapper Qwel over the beat of the highly renown and extremely talented Maker. I love this song but didn’t want to use it at first because of the recording quality. The video picks up Qwel pretty well so you can understand him but doesn’t do the beat justice. This beat is beautiful. The strings samples are great as are the horns. The drums are also amazing. I don’t know if Maker records live drums, maybe plays them himself, or has them revealed in divine dreams but his drums work is always spot on. Sometimes after listening to so much rap the drummer in me gets bored of the drums. I either have to switch genres for a bit or put on some Maker beats. If you want to hear this beat clearer, get the song off itunes.

Onto Qwel. This is his Synopsis of The “IT” in Keeping IT Real.

I hear tons and tons of arguments about what “real” means in the term “keeping it real”.  Serial killers keep it real by serial killing.  I think where the phrase hinges is more relevantly the word “it”.  What are you keeping real?   My personal definition of “it”, I think it’s the same “it” from “Just Do It”….

Many of Qwel’s songs express his frustration with the current Hip Hop industry. I can’t really blame him. I don’t follow the mainstream rappers at all. I recognize names but I don’t know the songs. Too often those that “make it” do so out of some gimmick and not on legitimate talent. Maybe what’s produced is catchy, but what’s the real substance of what’s being said? From the song (Yah refers to Yahweh):

The late great planet E
The hand of greed squeezed, fannin these flames
Nine to five will be the ant theme, but man, it’d be great
Time’s a lie, Yah’s alive, why’s it man that we praise?

Word to that. So why is Qwel a ‘non-traditional Christian’? Well if you were paying any attention to his intro to the song on the video you would notice his ‘colorful’ language. Pretty much a faux pa for the Christian market. If you search for Qwel videos on youtube you will undoubtedly find some freestyle battles from scribble jam that may not represent our views of a Christian. My retort? Honestly I’m just trying to figure out people the same as everybody else. I don’t know Qwel personally, I’ve never met him just as I’ve never met David Crowder, C.S. Lewis, or MacArther (who wrote all the commentary in my big bible which I blindly followed for many Sunday school/bible study lessons.) What I do know is that if I was famous in any respect I bet there would be video footage of me on youtube that would not make me look the most holy.

However, I understand that since we aren’t going to meet every artist we listen to we have to discern based on what they produce. To be honest the ‘colorful’ language doesn’t really bother me. Qwel isn’t using the four letter words the way I did in seventh grade to sound cool. Qwel’s words sound just like a part of his vernacular.  To me, in determining if some speech is offensive I have to consider where that person comes from. Sometimes in a sub-culture the ‘f-bomb’ really isn’t any more offensive than ‘fiddle sticks’. I do think this door swings both ways though so I’m not advocating this song get played as the background music before your church service. Qwel has recognized this and posted on the sphere forum saying he was working on his cussing. Listen to The Harvest, where The “IT” in Keeping IT Real comes from, and his latest CD The New Wine and you will notice the difference. If you look to the heart of Qwel’s songs I believe you will find Christ.

Again, I’m just trying to discern people the same as anybody else. I wanted to have this two part series to look at something different. There are lots of different kinds of people in the world and sometimes we have to think differently when interacting with them. I know there are rappers that try and use ‘godliness’ as a means of gain but I don’t think Qwel is doing that. Judge for yourself and check out the rest of the lyrics to the song here (click ‘Qwel’ then ‘The Harvest’.)

I would love to get some feedback on what everybody thinks so feel free to leave a comment or two. For the next part of the series I’ll be looking into a Glue song as well as Mark 9:38-41. We can write people off becuase they don’t live up the the standard of holiness that we don’t even keep ourselves but that will lead us to eventually ignore a part of God. With that I leave you with part of Qwel’s A Little Something (off of The Harvest as well.)

I thank Yah for His presence and conception of light
Cause in this struggle only the humble catch the lessons in life
I thank Yah for ever and for sending us Christ
For the Message and the Blessings For the rest of my life

I thank Yah for His reverence and conception of love
Cause this deception is perception, sense perfected Above
I thank Yah for the rains and for taking my pain
I thank Yah for His Son and for the sake of His name

Labklik – Conquistador (feat. 3NP) Download

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

from: Sphereofhiphopmp3.com

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Just a quick post here on a dope track recorded before I started listening to hip-hop. The track sound real gritty probably because it was made in somebody’s basement. Though it doesn’t sound like Nas’s latest professionally mastered CD the beat is well constructed and Listener (from Deepspace5) kills his verse. I really like the trumpet in the background; it makes the song epic. I got a chance to see listener a couple summers ago when he was doing his tour of homes. Cool guy though he’s eveolved from traditional “rapping” to “talk music” which is kind of like spoken word but still over dope beats. He sounds kind of cynical when he raps but there’s a lot of meaning behind what he’s saying. Check out Ozark Empire to see what I mean.

I think I’m going to try and get some more interaction on this blog by having mini-quests similar to the Pelt family’s blog. I got a couple of itunes downloads sitting around (I hate itunes) and I might even splurge for a cd from the Sphere. Leave some feedback with any ideas you have too, whoever you are that are reading this. Peace.

Mr J. Meridos – Constance

from: mrjmedeiros.com/

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Mr J, of The Procussions, lays down this real track in a music video that will make a room silent. Mr J is a story teller. This is hinted at in tracks such as Life of Brian and Water’s Edge, which he did with The Procussions, but to truly hear his stories you have to listen to his solo CD (available from his site.) Constance brings up a discussion that is usually ignored/repressed and the music video forces people to deal with the situation even more . Human trafficking is real and present today and it is intimately connected with pornography. Even if most of the content available in the United States is “legit”, “legal”, “consensual” (not coerced through economical or other circumstances) there’s no way every picture and video meets that criteria.  What percentage is enough to make people turn away from pornography? What percentage is enough to make a person feel guilty? The government can crack down, internet providers can crack down but this is a capitalist society. Human trafficking wouldn’t be a “500 million dollar market” if the public wasn’t willing to spend the money. Nobody’s being held at knife point to enter their credit card numbers, that’s at the other end of the camera. We in America are readily willing and hungry to drop our digits in this recession, or click on the ads, or give the site more hits (they’ll make more money on their ads). Constance is disturbing and convicting. Think of what goes on in the underground through torrents, rapidshare, and p2p networks where someone can go right now to get Dark Knight recorded off a hand held camera.

I like Mr J, he’s very talented and very inspired by the holy spirit. This video is hard to watch but it’s good to remind us of the reality of this suffering that we can be connected to and responsible for. The world says, “Suspend that, push it out of your mind, let this help your imagination take care of you.” I’m glad God is using people like Mr J to shake us out of that.