Emcee of the Month: Rocky Rivera

Sorry I'm late everyone.

I've searched and searched for decent video interview of Rocky, but I couldn't find anything to my liking.  Fortunately, a fellow blogger (Hanalei Somar from the little I know) has been able to track Rocky down during a recent visit to NYC.

Here's an excerpt from their conversation.  It's a really good read.

During her recent visit to NYC, I was able to catch up with the extraordinary hustler/emcee, Rocky Rivera, for a quick talk about trick habits, community support, and her new life as the Gangster of Love. This is a full transcript of the interview intended for the upcoming ACV Cinevue blog article “Quality In the Age of Viral Video: Time with Rocky Rivera.”


h!: What are you up to in NYC? Any special projects going on right now?


Rocky Rivera: I have a mixtape coming out, June 7th. We haven’t even announced it yet. It’s called the Popkiller Mixtape; it’s basically a collection of beats furnished by the artists or producers themselves. The concept behind Popkiller is really a critique of the mainstream, but at the same time, it’s a way for me to utilize the same tools to get my message across. Whether it’s guerrilla advertising; basically trying to get my main message across using the same methods that a pop artist would use while simultaneously trying to keep the underground true. So, that’s really what Popkiller is about. It’s about utilizing those same methods to getting a really substantial message across, something that should actually be shared with the masses. 


 h!: What is “La Madrina” a part of? 


Rocky Rivera: It’s the first leak off the Popkiller Mixtape. It was a free download, and we’ll be doing more in the following months. But “La Madrina” is from Popkiller. I’m doing one last video for the Rocky Rivera LP, “Girl Like Me,” which is coming out in a couple weeks. We’re really transitioning into the next project. The video will be coming out in May, which is the final single from my Rocky Rivera LP.


h!: Aside from Jessica Hagedorn, there are other nods to sheroes that come across in your music. Dolores Huerta in “Heart” and even some Angela Davis peppered through some of your work. Is it important for you as a woman artist to pay homage to these revolutionaries? 


Rocky Rivera: “Heart” was such an exceptional beat for me, because as a female artist, I always have to keep my own personal life at a distance. There’s this whole double standard of being a woman in a male dominated industry. I know the challenges of that. For me to be able to channel that kind of inspiration from these different women on such an emotional beat was such a way for me to get in touch with my emotions and my own history, without really revealing too much of myself and my private life. It was a way for me to put myself in their shoes, and really think about their struggles. The things that made it possible for me to do what I have to do today. 


Whether it’s Dolores Huerta, whether it’s Angela Davis, whether it’s Gabriela Silang, or whether it’s cocaine QueenPin, Griselda Blanco. These are women’s stories that need to be told. These are important stories. I feel like I’m a storyteller. As a journalist, I’m a storyteller. I am the vessel in which their stories come back to life. I would take that role, but at the same time, it’s not the only thing that I do.

For the full interview, have a look here.

For good measure, here's Rocky track "Heart".  Like I've said before, I'm a sucker for those four-bar soul samples.





peace.

Emcee of the Month: Rocky Rivera

For reference to these comments, see here.

As I've mentioned many times before, the first hip hop that really inspired me arose from the efforts of northeastern and southeastern rap artists. So whenever I heard hip hop from the west coast, it always struck me oddly. I just couldn't wrap my ears around the sound of west coast dialects, and I feel I missed out on a lot of good music due to that barrier.

What makes this track so fun for me is that, for the first time I can remember, I am attracted to the west coast speech sounds in a completely new way. It doesn't feel nearly as foreign as it did 12 or 13 years ago. And I don't know whether it's Rocky Rivera's doing or simply the development of my sense of hip hop performance, but it sure is nice discovering the ability to enjoy west coast hip hop.

Thanks Rocky.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Rocky Rivera

There's nothing like a bunch of lowriders on hydraulics in a hip hop video.

Here's the homegirl Rocky Rivera featuring Davinci in the clip for "SF CITY RETROSPECT".

I'll be back on the next one to make some comments. I hope you enjoy!

peace.

...For the Kids.

This is one of the most amazing and heartwarming videos I've seen in quite a while.

You know, I've heard my share of complaints from older folks about their inability to understand hip hop lyrics. Many say the words are too indistinguishable or that they move too fast for them to decipher what's been said. For me, this video beautifully illustrates a core aspect of rap performance that is much more important than lyrical comprehension. Rap lyrics are the textual conduit for the rapper's percussive and melodic aesthetic. In fact, I would argue that what an emcee says in a verse is rarely as important as how s/he musically shapes the verse into something pleasing and exciting for the listener.

"It's not enough to know which notes to play, you have to understand why they need to be played." George Carlin commenting on the blues

This brilliant kid has already made this discovery (as kids will do if we simply leave them to their explorations). As soon as he reaches the age of adding lyrical content to his already sophisticated sense of musical awareness (and if he keeps rapping), he's going to be an absolutely magnificent emcee.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Rocky Rivera

Yea, I knew this was coming.

Since then, I've learned that Rocky is a Filipino Bay-area emcee who is also a mom. Her career as an emcee is relatively new, although she's been writing for a long while. She's been a hip hop journalist for Mass Appeal, The Source and XXL.

And she's super-fresh.

I've been listening to Rocky Rivera's Pop Killer MXTP for the last week or so and I have to say, I haven't heard too many emcees with the type of exquisite aggression Rocky puts on wax. She rhymes with an elegant relentlessness that is difficult to shape. I'm also incredibly impressed with her ability to construct a rich image life in her writing, a skill that's been developed by all of the best emcees in hip hop history.

I'll be listening to more Rocky in the next few weeks, because I'll most certainly be buying her album in the next couple of days. She doesn't have too many interviews or freestyles on youtube, so I'll be researching that a little more to see if I can find something along those lines. For now, I'll leave you with my favorite track from the Pop Killer MXTP called "Daydream" featuring Nitty Scott.

I'm a sucker for those two-bar soul samples.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Murs

I've been debating with myself tonight. Should I look for Murs' most recent offerings or post one of his tracks that initially caught my attention? After skimming through a few clips (all of them impressive I might add), I felt it best to post this:

I first encountered this track while doing college radio at Louisiana State University in 2005. The format of the station was primarily indie rock with a little underground hip hop thrown in for spice. During one of my normal regular-rotation shifts, this song popped up in the mix. Now, most of the hip hop the station kept in the library was familiar to me. But I had never heard Murs' stuff before and I was immediately impressed. It had been a while since I heard an emcee as direct and unapologetic as Murs is here. And in relation to many of the cultural difficulties still facing the south, this song seemed especially appropriate.

Plus, it's super-fresh.

peace.

Uhhhh...

Where did THIS homegirl come from!?

All I know at the moment is that her name is Rocky Rivera and she kicks rhymes like an absolute animal. I'm off to investigate.

I wonder if we're looking at December's Emcee of the Month.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Murs

A Bit of Context:

I like this cat's live feel quite a bit.

With the immeasurable availability of free downloadable music, hip hop artists must spend more time and effort developing who they are as live performers. It's simply the only way can still make a living as musicians. Even the most lucrative artists aren't selling much more than three or four million records per release.

Therefore, artists like Murs who are more than competent live performers stand more of a chance at success.

Lemme go check Murs' tour dates. I wonder if he's going to be in Philly any time soon...

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Murs

Here's a really good clip of Murs performing at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas back in 2008.

Considering I just got home from two days of twelve-hour rehearsals, I'm going to hold of making any observations about this until tomorrow. However, I will say that judging from this video, I'm willing to bet Murs is quite the performer.

Enjoy!

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Murs

They couldn't find a tripod some decent lighting for this?

There are two more parts (here and here). Please have a look.

Obviously, I didn't choose to post this video because of the production value. Nevertheless, of all the interview clips of Murs I found this one is by far the most insightful. It's always fascinating to hear these artists give these kinds of accounts describing their thoughts and beliefs on their music and the surrounding society. So many times these interviews are unable to illuminate all but the most pedestrian elements of an emcee's inspiration. This is quite refreshing.

I'll have a few more thoughts on this interview tomorrow.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Murs

Murs may be one of the best rappers you've never heard of. In fact, I would go so far as to say he may actually belong in the No Wack Verses Club. Honestly, I've never known Murs to write anything other than outstanding stuff.

Here's a freestyle like you've never seen (for all of my folk guitar-loving friends).

This is going to be a good month.

peace.

The Rhymes of Our Lives

Lords of the Underground - Chief Rocka

I'm going to be honest here. It took me a while to pick up on what these cats were saying. I mean, there's quite a bit in this song that makes very little cognitive sense. But then I heard Mr. Funke spit:

They don't understand how I feel about the funk/

I walk with the funk/

I talk with the funk/

I eat with the funk/

I sleep with the funk/

I live off the funk/

I'd die for the funk.

Somehow, that allowed everything to come together. It's funny how things happen that way.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

I've said quite a bit about this month's emcee, so with this post I'll try to keep it simple.

I can only think of two or three emcees ever that so thoroughly and consistently attack the art of rapping with the energy, hunger, and ambition of Black Thought. And absolutely none of them are 40. This guy is an utter phenom. There's no other way to put it.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

And there you have it.

(The track starts at :33. I have no idea why.)

I'll be back with a few quick thoughts tomorrow. For now, I think Thought is fairly capable of stating his own case.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

I thought I'd post an interview tonight. I haven't done one of these for some time.

Black Thought is one of hip hop's more private artists, which is what makes this interview so wonderful. Here he discusses what keeps him inspired to write and perform, possible writing projects other than rap lyrics (c'mon Thought!), and the synergy between he and Questlove. It's a wonderful seven minutes allowing a glimpse behind the curtain of one of hip hop's greatest emcees and showmen. Check it out.

peace.

Lordy, Lordy

Yup, he's 40.

Man, I'm getting old.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

Did you have a listen?

While I was in graduate school, I got really into the blues; specifically the works of Robert Johnson, Son House, and John Lee Hooker. There was something primal and tangible about their music. My response to their recordings was much more about the feeling I experienced than my intellectual understanding of the words they sang. That's the attraction of blues, isn't it? It's the musical exploration of both immense joy and undeniable pain in a very foundational and visceral way.

For me, Black Thought's sense of hip hop performance does much of the same.

You see, I feel Thought is an emcee who has an acute understanding of the primal impulses that make hip hop what it is. At its core, hip hop music is a celebration of a society's ability to retain its confidence and sense of self worth in spite of the seemingly insurmountable conditions it faces. It is the flower growing from the concrete; the unmistakable feeling of painful, aggressive jubilation that can only live down in the bowels of a culture successfully resisting the oppression of the ruling class.

Black Thought deliberately, and quite artfully, accesses these sensations in his lyrics and performances with a clarity and abandon few emcees can duplicate. Every time he performs, it's as if he was at a block party or playground cipher; he moves his listeners with a provocative optimism that is so incredibly of-the-people. Truthfully, I know of no other rapper (including most of my favorites) who consistently evokes such a fundamental sense of what it means to be an emcee.

Seriously.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

As is the protocol for this month, I'll be back on the next post to discuss this a bit further. For now, enjoy the talents of Black Thought: specialist in microphone incineration.

peace.

Plant the Flag

Wooo man...

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

Did you have a listen?

Yes, that is Black Thought rhyming at 15 years old.

What's fascinating about this track is that the foundations of Thought's vocal and poetic sensibilities are so clearly evident. Here we witness the beginnings of how he perceived writing hip hop verse, creating rhyme patterns, used vocal inflection and variety, and developed his aesthetic.

Twenty-five years later, we get stuff like this.

Hotness.

peace.