Playlist Picks, Missing Left Eye, & Unearthing Nefertiti
Monday 4/27/20
Happy Monday and here’s the latest playlist for ya!
Playlist Highlights:
“Tina Turn Up” - Billy Dean Thomas/Rilla Force
Born and raised in Harlem, Billy Dean Thomas is an innovative hip hop artist, composer and visual artist who likes to be called “The Queer B.I.G.” They rap about social justice and the hardships of growing up in NYC, but also pursue incredibly creative projects like “Black Bach”, where Thomas pairs up with a classical guitarist and reimagines “Bach’s Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BWV 998” with...rap bars. On “Tina Turn Up”, Thomas explores a whole new sound that will get you, well, turned up. In its first beat, the track will snag you right in with its powerful, thumping club percussion and finger snapping rhythm, and then it will continue to blow you away seconds later with the start of Thomas’ rapid fire flow.
“Boy Bye” - BigKlit
As her name suggests, BigKlit is a provocative rapper with attitude and a penchant for raunchy lyrics. Identifiable by her snarling vocals and intense instrumentation, she is right up there with the likes of Rico Nasty in elevating female-driven punk rap and trap metal. The NYC-based rising star blew up in 2019 when her racy track “Liar” spread like wildfire on TikTok, reached #1 on the US Viral Top 50 twice, and by now has close to 11 million Spotify streams. If “Liar”’s aggressive sound and lyrics weren’t enough, the music video for it is two and half minutes straight centered around the rapper chasing down and chopping up male genitalia. With “Boy Bye”, BigKlit continues her man-hating theme, and takes that satisfyingly snarky catchphrase and turns it into an infectious and bouncy hook that will totally become your new boss bitch anthem.
“Angel” -Kali Uchis
Kali Uchis isn’t a rapper per se, as the Colombian singer-songer usually navigates the R&B and Neo-Soul realms, but with her new track “Angel” it seems she can slink her way into ambient hip hop/trip hop just fine. Coming off her new EP TO FEEL ALIVE, it’s surprisingly well produced considering that Uchis admitted with its release that she had put it all together in her bedroom while under quarantine. With a mesmerizing psychedelic beat looping throughout, and Kali’s cooing bars undulating forward, this track will leave you in a dreamy and ethereal trance you won’t want to get out of.
This Week In Rap Herstory: Remembering “Left Eye”
The first pop song I ever took notice of as a child was TLC’s “Waterfalls” back in 1995, when it played on my older brother’s boombox in the bedroom we shared. I didn’t know what the words were or what they meant at the time, but nevertheless the song stopped me dead in my tracks and had me obsessed. Aside from the memorable hook, my five year old ears particularly perked up at the sound of one baby-voiced female, who chimed in halfway through and rapped her way through words faster than I could ever have imagined someone doing. A short while later, I learned that this voice belonged to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and after listening to that song dozens more times, I can safely say that I have her to thank for setting me on my path towards female hip hop obsession.
This past Saturday, April 25th, marked the 18th anniversary of Lopes’ death, when in 2002 she was killed in an automobile crash in Honduras at the age of 30. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news, and I remember being hit hard, it being one of the first times I dealt with the death of someone meaningful to me. No doubt, Left Eye was the fulcrum of TLC—she was the one who curated their iconic image, she had the biggest creative hand in the album titles/artwork/music videos, and she was one of the main writers of the group’s lyrics. Most of all, she was the rapper of the group—the indispensable key that set TLC apart from other artists and made them true pioneers. Not to knock T-Boz and Chilli—of course I love them too—but without Lisa they were merely an R&B duet, and I knew that sans-L, TLC would never be the same.
This fact was solidified for me when in June of 2003 I attended TLC’s first performance without Left Eye (and what was deemed to be their last), where it truly felt like the end had come. They’ve never really made a true comeback since, but without a doubt TLC left their mark in music history, scoring nine top-ten hits (including four number ones), four Grammys, and four multi-platinum albums. Having sold over 85 million records worldwide, TLC is the best-selling American girl group (tied for global first place with the Spice Girls) to date, and VH1 listed them as their number one girl group of all time and number 12 female artist of all time. Right before her death, Left Eye was just beginning to pursue a solo career, scoring two top-ten singles and making one album that never even got released in the U.S. Who knows what the 2000’s female hip hop landscape would have looked like had Left Eye been able to continue on this path. But for now all we can do is honor her legacy and keep on listening to Left Eye’s mastery. Listen to some greatest hits above & below!
Throw It Back - Nefertiti’s Short Reign
Born in Chicago, rapper Nefertiti moved to L.A. and was a product of it’s early 90’s rap scene. She was also an Islamic political activist that spent much time lecturing in her community, while also assisting Jim Brown with his Amer-I-Can program. The rapper’s Islamic beliefs were instilled in her through her parents, who were both employed by the Nation of Islam founder, Elijah Muhammad. At a young age, Nefertiti had developed her poetic skills to the point where she was noticed by and signed to PolyGram/Mercury Records. She then recorded and released her first solo album in 1993, called L.I.F.E., an acronym for Life In Fear Of Extinction. It was also her last.
Despite the west coast rap upbringing, Nefertiti and her sound didn’t fit any of the LA rapper stereotypes at the time, which left her and her album in a league of their own. She wasn’t a gangsta rapper and she also stayed away from commercial pop-rap, and while her album fared well critically, as an odd duck steeped in political and religious content it tanked commercially. After her one album flopped, it’s hard to say what pushed Nefertiti away from trying again and away from making music period, as it seems she then moved on to an acting career, with her most memorable role being in the Mario Van Peebles directed movie "Panther,", where she argues to the Black Panther men that women need to have a role equal in the party.
In terms of the album itself, Nefertiti sounds like the lovechild of MC Lyte and Queen Latifah, with her deep powerful voice and rough, masculine flair. The album’s sound and production definitely show 90's west coast influence, with the prevalence of hard drums like on the track “Family Tree” or chopped and screwed funk samples such as on “No Nonsense”. It’s easy to discern why the album wasn’t commercially successful, as Nefertiti spends many a bar rapping about things like Islam, ominous warnings about the ozone layer shrinking, and conspiracy theories—"who you think you foolin’ with that phony Constitution/tell it to a child that don't know no better". Most of the tracks are slow and aggressive, though Nefertiti’s punch really shines on some of the album’s more uptempo songs—highlights being “Visions Of Nefertiti” and “Miss Amutha Nature”. As a female rapper in the 90’s who was uncompromising of her vision and art, Nefertiti alas fell into the immense category of forgotten feMCees. But thanks to the internet and some virtual good samaritans, perhaps there is at last opportunity for new audiences to stumble upon Nefertiti and begin to appreciate her contributions. Revisit below!