Posted on October 29th, 1995
Last June Santa Monica police gave brothas and sistas who were out to see Souls Of Mischief a warm, fascist welcome. The party was turned out before it even got started. Nevertheless, Souls--who had kept themselves on rap fanatics' minds in between albums with their much publicized lyrical battle against former ally Saafir The Saucee Nomad--got a chance to get their rhyme on at a Unity joint a couple of nights later, rockin' all the hits off their '93 Til Infinity debut. They even previewed a couple of numbers after Pep Love came on and brought the house down with an electrifying rendition of "Rock On".
RapPages caught up with these fly bros in between doing photo shoots and interviews for their second effort, No Man's Land, on Jive Records. The first single, "Rock It Like That", is a nice li'l jam produced by Opio. It's a head-nodder and, like some of the other cuts on the project, it's lyrically and musically well-woven. Plus, for longtime, die-hard fans tired of their horrendous-sound-quality bootleg, those "Souls Of Mischevious niggas" have dusted off and pulled out of their archives the infamous "Cab Fare" joint (yeah, the one that samples the theme music of that 70's TV sitcom, Taxi), and there's talk of it being the second single. [Web Ed.: "Cab Fare" was taken off of the final release of No Man's Land due to sample clearance problems]
At the dawn of the all-important release of record number two, the HieroGlyphics crew wear their experience like Brooks Brothers suits. These aren't the kids that jumped on the sceen to vie for a piece of the Hip-Hop pie--they've definitely been through and have seen a lot more. Experience is written all over their faces. The four of them step in, obviously worn out from takin' care of business earlier this muggy Thursday. They recline, sit back and chill under the barrage of questions.
Tajai speaks on their sophmore project with definite confidence. "It's definitely a Souls album," he promises, sounding rather businesslike. "It's not like we totally changed everything up, but we did."
A laid-back A-Plus supports his man's apparent contradiction by adding, "It's a paradox that completely fits. We didn't change at all, but we changed completely from the last album."
They call No Man's Land a "sonic quality in Souls Of Mischief-tron". For those who picked up the Low Down Dirty Shame soundtrack earlier this year, you've got to peep some of the new flave on the Hiero contribution, "Get the Girl, Grab the Money and Run." Perhaps it was the subject matter of that song that explains the early buzz on the street saying that Souls had gotten themselves into "playa/pimp" mode on their anticipated return. The new "Sho for Real" continues the lady talk, but is not exactly in the same vein as, say, fellow Bay area denizen Dru Down. No Man's Land is obviously a more musically solid effort than the last album, with smooth, soul-nutured grooves backed up with lyrical styles that reflect the foursome's individual change and growth.
Looking back at the time spent since the release of their debut, the group's memories drift to tours of faraway lands. They all enjoyed the experience that took them to Japan, where they found themselves kickin' it and checkin' out Japanese rappers who honor and uphold Hip-Hop. Souls say that even through the language barrier they can detect the dope lyricists from the busters. It's the same way Japanese can tell busters from the bomb rappers. It's not only about tight tracks, it's all about yo' flow.
Tajai professes that there is much more bullshit than dope shit out these days. Opio claims, somewhat optimistically, that rap music's "already got cancer, but cancer is sometimes curable." A-Plus interjects, "Other countries will take over."
Based on all the places they've been, the group maintains that every city in America treats Hip-Hop the same as they were treated that Wednesday night in Cali. Sounding omnious, but ever so truthful, souls let off a round of statements like: "They gon' shut rap down"; "They gon' shut Blacks down, let alone rap"; "Ain't gon' be no music"; "Martial Law." No one needs to know who is sayin' what to know what they are saying.
Recalling the incident in Santa Monica, Tajai explains, "Rap is a tension-reliever. If it wasn't for Hip-Hop, it would be jumpin' right now." He sinks back into his thoughts, serious for the first time, perhaps thinking how it really would be if we didn't have rap, or where he would express his frustrations and thoughts if the medium of Hip-Hop were not around. As if they were connected or balanced in some strange way, A-Plus speaks up, showing the positive side of the bullshit, pointing to the realities of life that simply cannot be ignored.
"We talk about the bad conditions that we have as people, but it'd be hard to succeed even without these conditions. While we do have these conditions, we still gotta be tryin'", A-Plus says. "If shit ever changes, it's gon' be somethin' more f**ked up right there. That's what makes life a challenge. Even when you gone, it's gon' be a challenge for somebody else. We takin' care of ours." A-Plus' words cut deep like reality, but he posses the rare ability to color them with optimism.
For a minute the air becomes a little heavy, but these brothas show hella resilience. The phone rings, like the end of round 12, and they pause for the cause.
Despite the attack on rap coming from all sides, Souls sound like some brothas who plan on staying grounded in their Hip-Hop roots that, quite franly, are the jazz and blues forthe 21st century. These young men are resolved to withstand, to keep their foundation, and to get more people to be a part of it, all without sacrificing their beliefs for an industry that will suck you dry if given the slightest opportunity.
Opio perks up in time to proclaim that, no matter what, Hip-Hop will survive. He sits back, his looks modified by the absence of the locks he once sported when the group made its debut two years ago. Like a mist that rolls in, he silently rolls back out and chills for the remainder of the interview.
Phesto, who has also been mostly silent from exhaustion, simply says, "Buy the album, it's tight."
Souls, lost in No Man's Land, will hopefully find their way back home with lyrical agility and finesse. Their guidance is an energy born of determination to come back strong. End
Copyright ©1996 StinkE Productions