Ay, it’s like a ritual
You been invited, let the mortal body
stimulate the place
With the grace, nevertheless, I stress
Let the music put a smile on your face
As for the ritual, when it comes to spiritual
excellence
You know I always leave you with the taste…
—Slum Village, “Thelonious”
RIP to Baatin—RAISE IT UP! My heart goes out to his
friends and family, and to Detroit, one of the most creative spots on
the hiphop map, period, not to mention one of the hardest hit by our
economic downturn. In recent times, the D has lost some of its
brightest, most beloved figures. The loss of yet another founding
member of Slum Village (RIP, Dilla) hits hard to anybody who
loves this music, as “the S” is one of the best, most innovative groups
to emerge in the last 15-odd years. Baatin’s spiritually minded
mantras, for me, often took those earlier Slum songs to a lofty,
underexplored plane (just as his dirtier raps helped SV wallow in a
wonderfully prurient one).
He will be missed. Especially as Rock the Bells—going
down at Showbox at the Market on Friday, August 14—was going to
feature a reunion Slum Village performance; I’m sure Elzhi and
T3 will hold it down for their comrade. RTB’s lineup does not
want for big-time talent, either: Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek (motherfucking Reflection Eternal) have reunited for the tour,
not to mention Slaughterhouse (the hellfire-spitting supercrew
of Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, and
Royce Da 5’9″), Raekwon, Supernatural, Pete
Rock, and recent Vancouver arrival Khingz.
I’m no region-hater, but you know damn well since the South assumed
the top shotta breadwinner position, there’s been no shortage of
bullshit rap from the Dirty stutter-snaring your ears from every
friendly radio station. Of course there’s some decent-to-good shit
coming out, too, between the usual big names (Wayne when he
actually raps, Rawse when I can suspend disbelief, Bun B always), underground heroes like Huntsville, Alabama’s
G-Side, and underappreciated guys on the nationwide scene like
Trae, Z-Ro, Killer Mike, and Atlanta’s Gorilla
Zoe. What I always liked about Zoe was his voice—a deep,
molasses-over-gravel drawl. Interestingly enough, his new album,
Don’t Feed Da Animals, is reportedly Auto-Tuned the fuck
out—didn’t he get Jay-Z‘s (obvious, didactic,
pandering-ass) memo? This doesn’t really bode well, but even still, the
Wayne-assisted lead single “Lost” is syrup-addictive—an aching,
losing-oneself fame fable with that kind of old-soul emotional depth
that is the domain of Southern MCs at their best. Oh, I can hear you
now: “Aw, this motherfucker wastin’ ink on Gorilla Zoe, what about
my album?” Well, your album sucks, and I said all that to
say this: Zoe is hitting the King Cat Theater (which should do more rap
shows) on Thursday, August 13, with Logics, Dyme Def’s
Brainstorm, and Jay Barz.
While I’m pluggin local talent, allow me to direct you to www.sotaboys.com, where you can DL that
new Shapeshifters mixtape from the SOTA (State of the
Artist) boys, a promising trio of young MCs with good taste in beats
and vibes. Free downloads are always recession proof. 