When it comes to storytelling rhymes, the first name that should come to mind is Slick Rick. Uncle Ricky has been telling elaborate and well thought out stories since the 80’s; and if the authorities would leave the brother alone then he can finally drop another gem for his fans. But as an emcee, one should be about to construct and deliver a decent story.Detroit’s own Elzhi, of Slum Village fame, is most known for his witty wordplay, clever punches, and battlesque lyrics. On his solo effort, Witness My Growth: The Mixtape, the listener is taken through a double disc journey through the development of this Dirty District artist. The songs all show El in top form, even his earlier tracks that have him sounding like a hungry little kid killing a hissing instrumental tape. There are a number of stand out tracks, but the most gripping is the jam “Boomerang Slang.”
The instrumental for this joint, produced by Houseshoes, is nice. The combination of the piano chords and the chorus sample provide a heavenly backdrop for some serious lyrics. Though the beat is not as complex and intricate like SV’s usual producers (e.g. J Dilla (R.I.P.), Waajeed, and BR Gunna), but the simplicity of this nice beat does enough to support this standout track.
The hook pretty much puts the concept of the song in perspective: life is like a boomerang, as one life is lived in a particular way, another life, connected to the first, is living with similar complexities.
However, it’s Elzhi that makes this song so riveting. The first verse is a story that depicts “the unfinished stories of the streets.” Starting with an average day that went wrong as a dude robs another, gets into an shootout with the police, whom the same cops had a previous altercation (called police brutality) the same night with another person. The story then begins to tie in the lifestyles of his grandmother that is sadden by her grandson’s death; to the brother who is attending another funeral of one of his loved ones; listening to the preach at the funeral who’s lifestyle is far from holy; who’s shady doings leads to the use of drugs, fornication, and the spending of the church’s money on a woman that he impregnates; who’s drinking and smoking leads to the birth of a defected baby. The verse has so many stories that all intertwine.
The hook pretty much puts the concept of the song in perspective: life is like a boomerang, as one life is lived in a particular way, another life, connected to the first, is living with similar complexities. Elzhi is also trying to get the notion across that because of these tragedies of the streets, urbanites are portrayed to the world as negative without any ambitions to better themselves; however, there are people who strive to raise themselves above adversity.
The second verse is less of a story, but the lyrics are just as potent as those in the first verse. The verse, in a way, is a vivid list of all the hardships of living in the ghetto. When one listens to this verse they begin to think about how much senseless violence occurs in cities nowadays just so heads can stack paper and knock of so called enemies. The saddest part is that El reveals that a lot of the violence is killing off the young people, hence the line “young cats spitting fire armor/ never see sweet sixteen/ … /stray bullets floating off track/killing young kids, jump roping on their property/ where they once lived.” Sad. Elzhi continues his tirade on the senseless violence and death that occurs in the ghetto, with a few instances in which he lets the listener know that some people are hustling in order to get themselves out. The line “I want to be in that limo askin’ for the Grey Poupon, for a change” laments a voice of hope; but previous lines place a dark shadow over this dream. By the end of the verse, Elzhi says, “It seems to me that cats rather rest in peace instead of keeping it.” This is such a bleak way to end this street commentary, but is appears to be so true.
Ironically, the song begins with the adlibbing of the words “I think cats need to be, put up on some ol’ motivational type
rhyme.” It seems that Elzhi wants to motive change by showing as much of the negative as possible; this is not the type of motivation that most are accustom to, but it is an instating way of doing so without pleading to people to change. After the last round of the hook and the song fades out, the listener is left to contemplate on the mal state of the world that he is living in. Without being given an option of how to change the problem, the listeners can only put the song on repeat with two hopes: to catch a hidden agenda for change, and to refresh their memory of the street evils that they need to avoid in order to survive. This is probably the only song that is out by El in which he gets so vivid and graphic about life, as most of his tracks consist of battle lyrics. This rare treat leaves the listener to seriously think about life and the world he lives in.
Loading ...
August 7th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Transmute, you have done it again. A great find and a great topic to write about. Especially a topic which exists(conscious messages, or genuine messages in general) that many people overlook, or are simple trying to avoid. Thanks for shading some of your brilliance to the stark state of hip hop my brotha, you r the TRUTH.
August 8th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Great article