Survival Skills: Rap Legends
This entire write up could – and perhaps should - be dedicated to just recalling the previous endeavors and high lights that either KRS-One (Kris Parker) or Buckshot (Kenyatta Blake) had a hand in. Listing all of those would take forever, but a quick recap is certainly in order.
Parker partnered with deejay Scott La Rock (who deserves a book written about him) during the ‘80s and basically laid the foundations for what followed rap wise in the ‘90s. Hip hop would not be what is today without his contributions. The rapper might be hyper critical of the general culture, but the manner and authority with which he speaks at least makes it a valid view point.
Blake, one of the generation of rappers that Parker spoke to on wax and urged to live properly, was one third of Black Moon. That group released Enta Da Stage early in the ‘90s to little chart acclaim, but critical renown. Black Moon’s first disc came on the cusp of hip hop’s assimilation into a wider American culture. It can’t be said to have been the most digestible disc recorded during the era, but on occasion, timing is everything.
Since the glory days of both emcees, they’ve each remained integral in the NYC rap scene. Parker, while not ever reaching the MTV audience has consistently released music with a thoughtful bent to it. Blake, meanwhile, went on to found Duck Down Records with Dru-Hu (Drew Friedman) subsequent to beginning the Boot Camp Click thing.
Anyway, the pairing is a sensible one. Both emcees hail from a specific time in rap history. And while their flows sound a bit dated at this point, the production represented on Survival Skills comes off as a spate of specifically tailored works that attempt to properly back these emcees.
It’d be really easy to guess what KRS-One raps about – there’s even a George Bush joke in there somewhere. But what makes Survival Skills an interesting listen is the litany of top tier producers and guest emcees that the duo wrangled to put in work.
Marco Polo provides the bass heavy beat for Talib Kweli to contribute bars to as all involved figure that other emcees just don’t compare. It’s probably true – for the most part. But the generational differences between Kweli’s late ‘90s style, Blake’s early ‘90s style and Parkers’ old tyme style doesn’t come off perfectly with the youngest rapper sounding most at home on the beat. Still a good listen to say the least.
It isn’t surprising to hear Smiff ‘n Wessun crop up – the duo constitutes a portion of the aforementioned Boot Camp Click. But when Slug from Atmosphere makes an appearance, brows should be furrowed.
After more than a decade in the game, I should probably quite my whining about the Minnesota bred emcee. My main complaint is that Slug’s only really able to talk on the subjects of gettin’ wasted and girls. Here he does a little of both, but’s able to move past that and contribute positively to the track. Who knew?
Despite that and the fact that there isn’t a loser track amidst the 14 offerings, I’ve gotta wonder if Survival Skills would be afforded the same respect if it was helmed by a different pair of emcees from a bygone era.
