I don’t really listen to my local rap radio station anymore. True, the Billboard Top 10 was completely hip hop just a few weeks ago, but what kind of hip hop was it? All I hear is ignorant bullshit and I can’t stress it enough; if it wasn’t for Eminem’s inspirational Lose Yourself, I would have thought all rap was about shooting guns, smoking weed, flaunting bling bling and smackin’ a ho. Of course, for real rap with real meaning and a real respect for the pioneers that came before them, you can always turn to Crisis Center Productions’ DJ Concept and Undefined.
Run DMC, KRS, Public Enemy/Rakim/Kane, Slick Rick/ What it meant to me/Road to the riches/come on kids stay step with me/I can go for days/and those days were the best for me
I think I start out every Crisis Center Productions review the same way, but it is true; these guys love hip hop, understand hip hop and respect hip hop right down to its roots. Continuing to put out one hot song after another, the group put out a new three-song EP, entitled Crisis Center 2.0. The lyrics I typed down are from the song Beautiful Music, which is a true life struggle from rags to riches that has been forgotten by today’s hip hop. We weren’t all born with G-Unit neck chains that spin.
The best independent rap duo’s Beautiful Music is about how rap music of old got them through rough times and is essentially why they created CCP, to bring back rap to its building blocks; the origin story of Crisis Center Productions. …Back to real hip hop/because that’s the only purpose/It’s beautiful music/designed to touch your soul/everyday struggle plus life treats you cold/make it to the night, take a look at how we’ve grown/It ain’t done yet/Next step, lock and load/lock and load/It’s beautiful.
The song’s great lyrics are matched by the great beats and backgrounds, a basic, but poignant and powerful loop that you can vibe to on its own (that’s why the instrumental is also on the CD). If you like the music, you have to check out Vodka and Milk, which really brings back the old school DJ scratch and spinning. That takes me back. This song takes old school and merges it with a new and effective flavor for your ear.
Elevated flow/extraordinary fitness/on to some next shit/y’all can tell the difference/1-900-Crisis/swerve through your district/spit heat at crowds/til they look like burn victims/whoever talk can stickem(?)/who above us/cats want to pop shit/but they duck us/stay Vanilla Skies/smoking chocolate dutches/Crisis Center here/bad news for motha f***as.
O.k., they mention weed, but it isn’t the focal point of the song. This is some serious rap shit here. You can just sit there, bob your head and groove to the words they are saying. Rapping is a rhythm all in itself. It’s just like a piano or guitar solo, only with words and many rappers have forgotten that, just spitting out words for the sake of spitting words. CCP remembers that they are using the medium to say something. They come out strong and they know how to have fun with words, too.
From the first ray of summer/Crisis Center numb ya/spit, rake and puncture/through your skin structure/Break your f-ing neck like we Busta…Busta/leave you stuck like acupuncture, but I ain’t even stuck ya…Pop off your legs just to stump ya/just so you can never run for cover/I’ll straight up Forrest Gump ya.
Damn. That one verse from Corner of the Block was better than most of the crap coming out today and Fabolous has a record contract. Go figure? It had metaphors, it was rough and it cut you at your knees without even cursing for the sake of cursing. They actually said f-ing instead of using the full word. They didn’t need to. If it was a battle rap, their opponent would have gotten all quiet like that dude from the Free World.
This, right now, is my favorite rap band. They keep you wanting more and every time they tell me they have something new, I’m out checking my mailbox everyday, because I can’t wait to listen five times in a row, just to memorize the lyrics. I could have listened all day without it going stale. CCP puts out real music that stands the test of time, the kind of song they play that makes you say, “Oh Shit. That used to be my jam back in the day,” and you still remember the lyrics. In ten years, people may be saying Da Band WHO, but rest assured, Crisis Center Productions have proven themselves and are here to stay.
Send your questions and comments about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.