Behind The Scenes
A Look At The Creation Of "3rd Eye Vision"
A few blunts were rolled; Casual, Opio, Tajai,
and Matt taking their respective turns. A group song was recorded in a round.
All four members went into the sound stage and, in one take, freaked a verse
each. Del squatted on the floor, twisting his hair and bobbing his head.
Casual stood on one wall, Opio on the other and Tajai moved between them all.
As if they were rapping to an audience, the crew was hyped in the moment and
pumped out a tight song. After a mix down of the song, Domino
played the DAT of the currently recorded Family Album songs for Casual to
listen to. Rewinding and advancing at a moments notice, I was given snippets
of some songs and full exposure to others. One that stood out was "Mics of
the Roundtable"; a visual rap about a Hiero crusade. Casual talked about how
he pictured the video in his head: "I'm standing in the desert with a Hooded Robe, Fat
Sandals, a gold rope belt, a staff, and Sun Glasses just to freak it!"
Del and I talked about new rap acts. He listens to almost everything that comes
out, so there really isn't any group he hasn't at least heard. He's
incredibly "well read" in regards to how much he knows about rap music.
Tajai explains that the crew is about being true to what they are: Rappers.
"I mean, we Rap and that is our life. We ain't trying to come out and do
some phony shit. We stay true to what we are."
True indeed. From the sounds of what I heard, fans will be more than satisfied with the
latest outing. As far as the masses, if they've been sleeping this long, it's
a wonder if they'll ever wake up. Truth be told, Hiero is doing what they
want to be doing, making the music they want to making. To me, they are
artists in the purest sense of the word. "Cab Fare," is the perfect example.
People who listen to it know it's got a catchy beat and a hook.
Stylistically, it isn't Souls; it's a demo, and it's simply a fun song. Knowing that,
it didn't represent the group the way they were; it never made any of the
albums. Upholding their musical integrity to not release a potential hit, I
give them the utmost respect. Del's "Eye Examination" dropped as a B.Side in '91 and
it?s still one of the most original rap songs to come out of the 90's.
1997 could
very well be Hiero's year. If not to be a true "mainstream" success, they
will at least uphold their territory as rulers and originators of true rap
music as well as the underground.
- Jake Rosenberg