Straight out of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, emcee Black ELement contacted me about a feature. I’m picky about the unsigned cats we put on here but this guy filled all the prerequisites for my submission policy. Black sent me “I Can’t Call It”, the first single from his upcoming LP, A Major Minority. Produced by Ryan Durkin, the song sees BE flexing some supreme lyrical ability over knocking drums. I was impressed enough to immediately look the kid up. You can listen to some older tracks at his label’s site, Empire Records.
Labelling has become common in Hip Hop, audiences classify MCs after one song and place them in one of two categories: mainstream or underground. Black Element can only be described as otherground; something refreshingly melodic, and just as much entertaining as he is innovative.
In the age of the mailman and the guy at McDonalds claiming to be rappers, the MC is no longer taken as seriously as he used to. Black Element is an MC who is the true definition of what an MC should be. Someone who cannot be defined in a couple of tracks, someone who desires more from his listeners in order to fully grasp his mission. Black Element is not afraid to use all the different colors on his palette to paint on his canvas. He is not afraid to take his music in any direction, and feels that Hip Hop has to grow as an art form by taking chances.
Growing up in middle class America in New Jersey, Element found Hip Hop through his older brother who introduced him to the likes of Nas, The Roots, and A Tribe Called Quest just to name a few. Black Element then relocated to the suburbs of Boston for the remainder of his adolescence where he focused on perfecting his craft.
In 2002, he met Talib Kweli who left him with the simple message “Do whatever you feel, don’t worry about what everyone else is doing”. Ever since then, Black Element has been living by the credo “Do You” and has not looked back. Now he looks forward to change Hip Hop one listener at a time.
DX reports that female MC Jean Grae is done with this rap thang. I’d be disappointed if it’s for real. That chorus on Soda & Soap is as fresh as they come. More importantly, the joint with 9th is so god damn fiery I strap on a jimmy hat just to listen to it. And knowing that little tidbit I’m sure Jean can now retire in peace. Job well done.
The legendary Brooklyn producer Easy Mo Bee, whose production credits most notably include a series of classics with The Notorious B.I.G. and the rest of the old Bad Boy Records camp, gives a great interview where he touches on moments from his long and storied career and talks about rap music today.
A wise and humble master of his craft, Mo Bee always makes for a great interview. His deep, friendly voice is the kind that makes you want to curl up with the last of your matzah and listen to him tell stories for half an hour. And the giant gap in his teeth makes him all the more charming.
Some highlights:
Bought his first turntable and mixer off the $62.51 he made every week from working at a health food store
Got his start producing for Big Daddy Kane on It’s a Big Daddy Thing
Diddy was “like a slave driver”, calling him at two in the morning when working on Ready to Die
Went to NYC Tech for one year and quit after getting a job at Con Edison; to this day he wishes he had gotten at least an associate’s degree: “College never ever hurts”
Almost went to Kingsborough Community College to train to become a radio announcer
Made Flava In Ya Ear in his underwear
Says there’s less emphasis on the DJ today
Has a Razr
Misses being in the studio with artists as opposed to emailing tracks; interaction in the studio means better records
Greatest strength is in God, greatest weakness is women
Biggest achievement is working with Miles Davis
Current state of hip hop: “It’s OK”
Interview takes place in Unique Studios, where Biggie and Tupac recorded Runnin’ (From tha Police)together; ever since they died, it hasn’t been the same
Currently: “You could say I’m going the independent route”
You can hear Old Man Easy tell more stories in the Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life documentary. He recently co-produced the best song by far on 8 Diagrams.
Seeing as how Nigerian music has been getting madlove over the last few months, it was only fitting for Mike Love to put together this Fela mashup. If you haven’t explored Fela Kuti now is as good as time as any. The guy is the papa bear of an African music scene that is painfully underexposed.
And speaking of bears (what a transition!), Grizzly Bear has been running shit in indie world. I posted on a project they were working on a while back, and there will undoubtedly be posts dedicated to them in the future. Meanwhile, this song is just amazing.
Nothing says “successful album!” like when you get an under the radar release in Australia, while a US date is still in limbo, you know kinda like Raekwon, Bishop Lamont, Stat Quo and Detox.
Tracklisting:
1. Aint No Stoppin Me 2. All Night Long 3. Cash Flow 4. Fantasy 5. Get That Money 6. Guess Who’s Single 7. Here I Am 8. Give It To You 9. Step Back 10. Tambourine 11. Turn Me On 12. We Belong Together
If you are a hardcore Eve fan go ahead and order it here. If you do, you better let ML know what you think.
My main beef with Hip-Hop is its exclusivist nature (we get it…your shit is the real shit…no one cares). So I am always happy to share a rapper that exposes himself to different influences. Atmosphere has always been hit or miss for me, but this performance is worth checking out.
In the same vein, Thao Nguyen recently opened for the Ying Yang Twins. Thao talks about how the fans weren’t feeling it. But I bet one of the poor souls who came to see the “rap” show was moved to check out Nguyen. One can only hope.
If I haven’t been posting too often lately, it’s because I’ve been really busy with exams. That picture at the top of the post shows what my posture is like now from too much studying.
So I’m going to take a break from posting for a few days and I’ll be back after the 25th, the day of my last exam. Meanwhile, the rest of the ML fam will keep it moving, keep it moving along. If there are some ML features you want to see when I get back, let me know in the comments.
I was listening to some Curtis Mayfield over a lonely dinner (that’s right ladies, I’m a big, sad teddy bear) and I heard a line that I had to go back and listen to again.
On the title song of his 1973 album Back to the World, Curtis (not that one, silly) drops this none-too subtle jab at the teen sensation:
I’d hesitate to say that Soulja Boy will be out of a job anytime soon. He’ll host a reality show or two before he’s out on the street. He’d also be a fine candidate for Dancing with the Stars. Though some may argue that Curtis Mayfield passed long before he could watch and respond to Soulja Boy’s YouTube shenanigans and that Back to the World is about GI’s returning from Vietnam, I think the evidence speaks for itself.
Diss or not, this gives me an excuse to post a classic song from one of my all-time favorites. Curtis Mayfield was funky as hell and still smooth enough for soul audiences. His distinct voice can be heard over some of the finest compositions ever, many of which are heavily sampled in rap music. Listen to any Curtis Mayfield album (especially Short Eyes) and you’ll hear a lot of familiar music. Aside from having a classic sound, he was exposing the perils of the hood long before N.W.A. On Pusherman, he assumed the role of a dope dealer – a convention that’s as much a standard in rap music as saying your own name during the intro of songs.
Rap music owes a lot to Curtis Mayfield. And if he doesn’t like Soulja Boy, nobody should.
As a side note, there have been far too many posts about Soulja Boy on ML these days.
Oliver Wang runs a stellar site called soul sides and he recently had an interview with Jeff Mao, one of the co-founders of the late Ego Trip Magazine. Its a great read; Mao gives some insight into one of the most interesting and important magazines in Hip-Hop (we’ll just forget about Miss Rap Supreme).
