Rebirth of the Under Ground
Hip Hop Music Finds Its Way Back
It’s the end of summer and you could feel the nip in the air as the sun tucks its self for the night. I arrived at the venue and was greeted by KsoTasty, dressed in army fatigues, shades and a baseball hat, she escorted me through the basement and out to the back yard, warning me to watch me head as I ascended the stairs because of the low ceiling, I assured her that at my stature it wouldn’t be a problem but she insisted. She introduced me to the people who were already in attendance Ano this is everyone, everyone this is Ano. A quick glance around and a nod here and there to everyone and I proceeded to the front of the stage where the host and the main artist for the night was still making final adjustment to the lighting. I didn’t know what to expect but to my surprise I could see that he put a lot into this function, and this was indeed a labor of Love & Hip Hop. The back yard of his Bed Stuy Brownstone was transformed into a NYC Event replete with custom back drop surrounding the stage and the Rabbit Ears Production banner hanging high above the DJ’s equipment that was situated in the center of it all. The stage stood a couple of feet off the ground and had to be around 8 feet in length and 8 feet in width, in the center beneath the stage a spot light illuminated through transparent PVC square, you could activate the light by depressing the button just to the left of the light. There were four by ten beams that flanked each side of the stage and another that extended across the top, adorned with green and red flashing lights that reminded me of the holiday season ahead. At the back of the stage I could see the Serato DJ set up with a few microphones and speakers in each corner of the yard. Artificial turf met the end of the stage and white folding chairs lined up from one side to next fill the space. In the front of the yard, people where enjoying the southern style eats that was provided first come first served, but I’m certain that there was plenty to eat. You could smell the aroma of burning backwoods and cigarettes that breeze through the evening air. Jux approached me with his trade mark smile and scowl something only a few can pull off with ease. What up man was his usual salutation followed by a dap, he then introduces me to this scruffy looking white guy Sean, someone who clearly worked with him building bridges I thought. Thanks for supporting me man, this shit is a lot work and your boy not even here to help set up, I assumed he was referring to the other marquee artist on the bill that night, BoneAppatite. You’ve come a long way I said, and now the student has surpassed the teacher, he and Sean both laughed. We chatted a little but his attention was fixed on getting things done before the rest of the people arrived, so he was off barking orders to someone about this and that.
I planted myself in the nearest seat and wondered, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is real Hip Hop now regulated to the underground, back yards, the local sessions held in some nondescript venue? Where has the real Hip Hop gone? or really the New York based Hip Hop music, we were once the Kings of Rock, we rocked the bells, and told ladies how to jingle it baby, the boogie down broke bridges and started jams in the parks. Well now the shifting tide has turned and we are left to reminisce over you. So why go through the trouble of putting on a show, what is there to gain from such and endeavor? What does he have to prove? This man I’ve known maybe half my life, it was until the latter years, that I’ve come to respect him and call him a brother. The early years growing up in our neighborhood were times of uncertainty and the streets had a way of holding on to you and never letting go. Back in those days you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his aggression. He was a part of the Five Percent Nation an off shoot of the Islam faith created by Father Allah when he left the NOI in 1963. The Gods and Earths they were called, man and woman respectfully, I knew him as Powerful, and more so I knew about his brothers and family that lived right across the street. They were not the ones to mess with, they rolled deep and you knew as a shorty growing up to stay clear. Reaganomics and the war of drugs plagues our streets back then, it was truly the night of the living base heads. Brothers where being snatch up in droves and put in prisons, with more and more being built to accommodate America’s lust for incarcerating young black and brown men. With that understanding his story is most likely one of redemption and triumph, overcoming the circumstances dealt to us as young black youth in these streets.
When ever the transformation happened he’s in a better place in his life, he’s got a good job, utilizing his skill set, married with a teenage son that resembles him to a fault. And like most creative types, the art and performance has to be manifested, the hunger has to be fed, the tension builds and the flow of lyrics and rhythm must be released. Although I knew that he spun records back in the day, I didn’t know that he was also a lyricist that could bless the microphones. He came to me with a project that he wanted to get done, and I was recommended to him from another artist who was recording out of my studio. We recorded several projects in my now defunct studio and would have recorded more, but I moved from that spot and my new space wasn’t conducive to commercial endeavors. With my recommendation he began to build his own set up so that he could record when the moment of inspiration hit. When art is an important factor in your life, an artist must continue on that journey, he or she must traverse the obstacles that lay in their path. So if the mountain didn’t go to Muhammad when he called it, Muhammad had to go to mountain to deliver his message. JH Jux has brought that mountain to Brooklyn built his stage on it with his own two hands, and is about the delivery his sermon to the people.
Show time everybody, welcome to Rabbit Ears Production & F.G.B. Record first Starving Artist Show Case, my name is Moe, I am your master of ceremony tonight, and we have the Yung Legends coming to the stage, Yung Jamezz and Papa Doc took the stage, mini versions of Jux and Bone Ap, and the young rappers delivered their opener with enthusiasm and style, sounding confident and looking the part. Jamezz hit the ground running with his solo effort that included lyrics “I got a hot mom, got a fly dad” which made this family affair more, truer than what we seen in most recent years. Young Tizzy was next to hit the stage with a little help from BoneAppatite. You could hear the chorus playing on the backing track and the rhythm and flow of it was a bit complicated, so much so that the artist had to wait for one or two revolutions in order to find their place and jump in on beat. Young Tizzy’s flow was infectious, his style and pace was gaining more stability as he went along. BoneAppatite commanded the stage with his presence his swagger was on 100%, and his voice boomed through the speaker monitor that stood at the back of the stage and to his right. Not having a the right set up didn’t seem to affect the performers, one microphone was louder and brighter and the other was dull and lower in volume, each man seeking the better microphone for their part of the song. For the next song Jux, Tizzy and KsoTasty ripped the stage with a nasty rendition of “Eat My” each artist playing off of each other, the lyrics were raw and uncut and not for the younger clan, but the audience enjoyed it as the chorus played and the smoke and drinks became heavier. The opening acts were just a warm up to set the pace. But now coming to stage was something unexpected in the form of Sean Patrick, the white boy I met when first stepped into the joint. By this time more people were sitting in the chairs and Sean it seems had a following, C’mon Sean someone yelled. Sean approached stage right and grabbed his guitar that was adjacent to the stage resting in an old bucket. Looking like more of Limp Bizkit than a Jason Mraz, he adjust the microphone stand so that his acoustic could be heard through the system and began to play his melancholy melody of heartbreak and sorrow, you could feel the sadness in the lyric and knew that this was personal. He sang a played his guitar and harmonica with ease all the while some of the audience busied themselves with chatter and laughter, not concerning or maybe just not interested in his type of hype. But like all singer songwriters this is par for the course and they become immune to the non-believer, the gift is in the release, the chance to let it all out right there.
BoneAppatite hit the stage as the first of the two main acts performing that night. He and Jux had been selling their brand of Hip Hop from hand to hand as CD mix tapes. This business of music has been around a very long time, from Bessie Smith to Michael Jackson selling music in the streets meant that you could get your music to the masses, when you couldn’t get your favorite Be Bop artist on wax from the general store, there was a guy booth legging for the poorer communities. So when the technology became cheaper to acquire, young dudes were popping off in the cribs with the pc and Protools, mixing their 8 tracks of vocals and two tracks of music down to a stereo file and burning it to a cd. They would then hit up the one stop duplication joints that popped up in the NYC and Jersey area in the mid-nineties with art work that they made themselves. Most of the Artist was not concerned if the recording was distorted or that the mix wasn’t balanced right, all they were focused on, is if their voice could be heard over everything else. BoneAppatite has a presence that can’t be missed, standing 6 feet 2 his lean form can be intimidating but his charm has a way of disarming you. He doesn’t lack confidence in his ability but sometimes this can be burden when you don’t practice for a show. I’ve heard of the most talented street baller out maneuver his opponent on the court with style and finesse, but these flights of fantastic foreplay on the court would never work in the NBA. So much talented is wasted because of poor decisions and the lack of a work ethic. It is one thing to be able to write a hot verse and make a hot record but this is only the production part of it for musicians, after you composed and record your songs, you then have to go out and perform that tune in all its glory. The audience is sophisticated enough that they can discern whether or not you are the real deal on the microphone, even when they have never heard your music before, people want to able to connect to an artist from the jump. The first few bars, the sound of their voice, the word play, all this is taken in by the listener. If your goal is to start that buzz for your artwork, you can’t half step. You have to lay it down with the machismo and execution of a Big Daddy Kane; you have to represent to the fullest in your first impression, because you only have that one chance to capture the heart and minds of the people.
BoneAppatite starts his set with Jux on the song M.O.B. (money over bitches) with Bone taking the lead and Jux adding his vocals to the chorus. The duo jumps into a Party Ain’t a Party and go tick for tack on this track trading lyric for lyric in this combination of party and bullshit type song. I have come to recognize that it takes an exceeding large amount of energy to move the crowd, to master the ceremony is one of the most difficult things to accomplish and is a task best undertaken when your vision is presented in way that is undeniable. During what must have been his last song, he grabs a chair and places in center stage, the long intro provided him with a long enough interlude to engage the people and ask if everyone’s high? Because I’m high he states, y’all have to be high with all this liquor and weed in this place. You could hear that the ending of the intro was approaching and I am guessing that he missed his mark, with no DJ present he tried to salvage the moment but it was visible that frustration got him a little tight.
Closing down the show was the man who put this function together, hitting the stage on his solo effort, his lyrics drew me in from the first lines, “I never wanna to be the Coolest, just the most paid, felt like that ever since the first grade” his flow is not complicated in that manner, but it is fitted perfectly for that type of track that played in the background. He takes us deeper into his world when he says “I sold a lot of crack, I smoked a lot of drugs, my Daddy came too late with them damn hugs” his blatant honesty about his past life is reflected in his art, and like I’ve said before this is where you get it out, this is the time for the release. I could understand where the drive comes from, it’s important for us to tell our story to give people a glimpse into a life that was at times, hard and unforgiving. His lyrics provides the code to the streets, not in a glorified amplification of what we hear from the average round the way rapper, who spit stories of riches and crime like it’s a movie trailer for the new Frank Lucas biopic. This to me sounds more honest and reflective, in no way fanciful and glamorous it was gritty and venerable. He has a way of embedding life lesson within the pages of his song, not steeped in metaphors when he wants to get his point across, but out in the open so that you could feel the pain of the gaping wound. You get the sense that this is no fabrication; James Jux is the personification of his alias, black gloves, black mask in your building hall way, black trench coat to conceal the shot-gun. Inspiration is drawn in from the real world and his art is a reflection of those things. But you can only live a hard knock life once and if you lucky enough to escape unbroken then you are obliged to give back. For those who came out to support, they were treated to something special, something that you seldom see in these days and times, an artist who is willing to put his all behind his music and art, for the love of Hip Hop. There are so many people with dreams deferred and goals that go unfulfilled, because we believe that we are too this or too that. The truth is you can make your own lane, start performing where you’d like to, and make the music that matters to you, as long as this will make you happy. This was moment of inspiration that can spark the flames of creativity, and the artist that blessed the stage tonight will surely reap the benefits of being a part of this show. This night was a pebble that will turn into a stone, that will grow into a rock and then some day it will be a mountain. Real Hip Hop will not wither away into obscurity but it will rise again to educate and entertain the people who seek it. JH Jux, black mask, black gloves, and the realist dude in Hip Hop.
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