That part of it I really respect, but obviously the first core foundation. He said he was influenced by Scarface, Ice cube and Treach, you know those are things that he acknowledged cause you know we all learn from somebody, you don't just come out the womb and rap and dress how you dress, you observe stuff and learn. You know everybody is influenced by somebody, so you know you have to look at the impact Scarface had on Tupac, you know Pac was highly influenced, I mean you can look at him, you can listen to him. His consistency is crazy, so you know, talking about someone with 25+ years, maybe 30 in this rap game is crazy, cause most people from that era aren't staying like that. you know people have always kind of considered them to come from the East, so early on for Face to be from the south, well Southwest, but it's still the south. Really with Face, I always look at his impact as a lyricist from the south, so he's not really from a place where they consider. Like he always talks really highly of me, he literally just named me one his top 5 MC's period again and that's crazy, cause it's somebody who's incredible that think you're incredible, but that's just an added bonus. I then investigated and it took me on a different journey to understand what Five Percenters, Nation of Islam, and what they were getting at, what they were saying, and that's the lasting foundation of one of my biggest appreciations for hearing somebody challenge my belief system and my thought process, my perception that way.įace, one of the greatest things is that being a fan of Face and actually him being a big brother. I was just thinking it was like New York slang, I didn't know what he was saying, it was like my brain couldn't process that somebody said they were God.
I remember the first time hearing that as a not practicing Catholic, but as a baptized Catholic, it freaked me out. So, my family is from Louisiana, my mom and I went to catholic school til I was in seventh grade, so ain't nobody talking about they God over here. All those people are legends, but I think what it really was with Rakim, I was hearing Brand Nubian, I was hearing a lot of MC's that once again were talking about socio-political stuff but he's the first rapper I ever heard say "I'm God". Rakim, I think his appeal for me, is just probably being who he is, a God MC and a legend. He was killing it and he had a big vocabulary and he was doing history, and that was something I really got into, you know I really have a passion for history. I never really thought I could rap anyway, the first time I did, you know I was messing around and my homies didn't understand some of the things I was saying, so KRS-One made me feel like it was okay to be myself as far as how I talked. I grew up in Watts, but my homies always let me know I talked a little different, they would always say I used big words, so I think that was the big commonality. Those people specifically? Like KRS-One had a bigger vocabulary than most MC's, though everybody has a bigger vocabulary for some reason than most MC's now a days. What aspects of their styles did you draw from and why are they vital? You draw inspiration from KRS, Rakim, Scarface, and Ice Cube. This has been one of my most favorite moments being part of the DAR team and with True's guidance, support and encouragement, here is how that conversation went. We covered everything from inspiration and beginnings to new releases 20 years later. I can't describe this moment, to say it's unforgettable is an understatement, I had one of the best and one of my favorite MC's on the phone and I was able to ask him questions and hear candid insight and perspective. Three weeks ago, I contacted Ras Kass' press team (very dope people) and collectively we were able to set up a phone interview. I quickly learned that Ras Kass was a brilliant artist, a master of the craft and could easily rank alongside Cube, KRS, Rakim, you know, the legends, after all he himself would become one. That debut album was epic, it had lyrical ability, wordplay, rhyming and album concept at its finest.
"Soul On Ice" was his debut album back in '96, as this year is the 20th year anniversary of that release. So, it should come as no surprise that Ras Kass would be ranked as one of my favorite MC's.
Wordplay, rhyming, stories, themes and of course the incredible delivery of it. Introduction By who knows me and my love for hip hop KNOWS I am huge on every aspect of lyricism.