In our last issue, we took a look at the rap duo, Tez & Tajiee, declaring them the next big rap stars, likening them to Jadakis and Fabolous. These radio-friendly artists had big things ahead for them, but they themselves felt they sounded too much like other rap acts and went back to the studio to work on something completely different. What we get is a completely different sound that really doesn't change the group's standing. The music is hot, the lyrics are intelligent and the production is top notch.
Fiya contains an awesome background beat that sounds pretty new to me and gets the party started and keeps it going for a strong five minutes. The verses are a perfect compliment, but I will be honest and state I didn't enjoy the hook (We're on Fiya!!). It sounded very awkward and too much as if the group was trying to act different. This is an unfinished product so I hope the group tweaks the hook with a more enjoyable flow. Other than that, the duo certainly puts forth a new sound with a quick flow, a head nodding sound and a killer wit. They even make fun of the reviews that commented on their mainstream similarities. I come through with a fabulous flow (F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S)/Like I'm working with Clue. Lyrical geniuses.
Tez & Tajiee still have their foot in your asses and have so much to look forward to. These guys are ready for the radio, they can handle what comes with fame (N**** love me/so they hate my guts/but they still walk around/like they ate my nuts) and they are still the next big things. Speaking of the next big things...
Mike Henzey (Undefined) and Frank DeMaria (Concept) are students of the rap game. They grew up on rappers from the old school and studied the business from all aspects: writing, rapping and producing. These two artists are not amateurs. They know of which they speak and together as members of Crisis Center Productions (CCP), they are turning the rap industry on its ear. Tired of the new bling bling, booty girl shaking rap presented on MTV, the duo have taken the art form back to its roots of battle raps and real stories. The rap game is in a crisis, but CCP could be just what the doctor ordered.
The duo has released an eight-track CD with three original songs, each with clean and dirty versions for your listening pleasure. The top track, The Hurt, gets an extra clean version without an opening intro an instrumental version. Yo, I don't need but one verse to show rappers up/I'm like surgical enhancement/I blow rappers up. One verse is all they needed to show what this group is about. These guys are awesome battle rappers who can definitely string rhymes and make words hurt worse than sticks and stones. They are not content with being second best and all other rappers are on notice (Because before they heard me, they swore you were hot.)
It is in their second song, Trick Photography, that the duo truly show how good they are. Kids yelling thug/ain't never raised a fist/kids think it's love/start claiming that their pissed/Never held a gun/next day their filling clips/10 years in the game/and I ain't never seen no crys/Never iced my wrists/never froze a chain/face a 1000 kids/never flowed the same/fuck politics/what's that got to do with rap/a battle based on skill/what that got to do with crack/Before you even try to get the idea off your breath/vultures in the sky gonna bite that shit to death/Rappers should confess/you ain't never touched a pen/someone else wrote your shit/Your ass should never breathe again. This song contains awesome underground beats with a killer set of rhymes attacking how bad the rap industry has gotten over the years. Everything is just a trick, a photograph that doesn't truly tell the whole story.
All I Hear Is, the final track, continues this trend of attacking the industry, discussing the comments made famous by rappers, like how much money they had and how many booty girls they get. CCP doesn't buy this jibber jabber and address these boasts with some strong, intelligent words that you don't often hear on Hot 97 or Power 105, here in New York. CCP reminds me very much of Mike Control, a great underground rap act with grand potential taking the rap game by storm and creating crisis for mainstream acts who thought they were the end all and be all of rap. You're not; groups like Mike Control and CCP are bring rap back to its good old days, making rap meaningful once more.
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