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Liberator 4.2
In 1988 I was in the fourth grade and Hip Hop was all I listened to. My guy Bobby who lived across the alley from me was a few years older and had a decent record collection of all the tight Hip Hop at the time, he would make me mix tapes of now classic artists like Steady B and BDP, which I liked, but of course only being 10 I had little idea of the significance of these artists at the time. 1988 also marked a golden year for the music and culture of Hip Hop. Blueprint's (one half of Soul Position) "1988" manages to pay homage to the beats and MC's of the golden age, without biting them. It must be noted that Blueprint made his way into the game as a producer being the founding member of Greenhouse Effect as well as one of the driving forces behind Ohio's influential underground scene along side Lone Catalysts, Mr. Dibbs and Illogic. There’s a long list of rappers in the world but that list gets way shorter when you talk about MC's that produce as well. One of Blueprints main selling points is that he is as good a MC as he is a beatmaker. He has no problem with discussing this fact on the record's tightest cut "Fresh," in which he discourages biters by questioning the point of producing yourself if you're not "Fresh" in the first place. On the self-depreciating humor of "Tramp" he admits falling for an unscrupulous woman. One of the best cuts on the album is "Liberated" where he bids his farewell to a girlfriend, coming to the realization that "you don't love me, you just hate being alone." He offers strong beats with witty storytelling that was the staple for Hip Hop in the year of 1988. His self produced brand of Hip Hop is in the tradition of the mighty MF Doom and Kool Keith which comes with much more respect than it does record sales. words: Amahl Grant |
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