Is it just me, or has rap music taken a turn for the mundane?
\nHas it stagnated, steeped in the gansta ethic? Have its purveyors
\nforegone originality, and instead depend on expletives and Tipper
\nGore’s nifty little sticker to sell records?<\/p>\n
Before I get a rash of angry emails, let me say that I know
\nthere is some truly original rap out there and it’s quite possible
\nthat the creators of this unique rap have never ever seen a gun,
\nlet alone been involved in a gang. They may also believe that a
\nwoman is someone who deserves respect and not simply a ho.<\/p>\n
And I am grateful for the existence of these artists so that
\nblack people like myself, who do not identify with gangstas in any
\nway shape of form, have someone representing
\ntheir<\/i> “black” experience. Bands like PM Dawn and Arrested
\nDevelopment revealed that not all blacks are packin’ heat and out
\nto eliminate cops.<\/p>\n
Perhaps one of the most original rap albums to come out in the
\nlast decade is
\nOne<\/i> by Me Phi Me. With the components of acoustic guitar,
\nMichael Franks on backing vocals and songs exalting tolerance and
\nself esteem it’s like rap through the looking glass! Billed as a
\n“worldwide fraternity”, Me Phi Me has a credo: “I Believe that you
\ncan be what you want to be\/ High as the sun deep as the sea\/ You
\ncan achieve thus the fraternity Me Phi Me.” They also have a
\npledge: “Some people desperately want to be a part of the crowd.
\nSome people are special, they stand out in a crowd…And then
\nthere’s the Me Phi Me: We Stand Alone!”<\/p>\n
This is the essence of the album and it does not let up until
\nthe final chords. Me Phi Me is unflinchingly direct in its
\nassertion that your individuality should be valued above all things
\nbecause without it you are a vestige of a person. The greatest
\ncompliment to individuality is self esteem.<\/p>\n
Me Phi Me gets this across without the least bit of corniness.
\nIn the song “…and I believe” (the CREDO) he raps: “This is what I
\nbelieve\/It only takes one to get the job done\/Listen to Me
\nson\/Listen to Me girl\/We can rule the world\/Get together but never
\nconform to others again\/We got our own brain\/So I don’t need
\nyours\/Because alone I am a powerful force.”<\/p>\n
Me Phi Me also attacks conventions with “It Ain’t The Way It
\nWas”. Here a young man convinces an older woman that they should
\ndate despite the gap in their ages. “So now I have this woman every
\nnight every morn\/Based upon my heart and mind not on the date I’m
\nborn”.<\/p>\n
The most striking aspect of this album is the arrangements.
\nInstead of the slick urban hip hop back drop on most rap
\nrecordings, Me Phi Me has opted for a cool and breezy acoustic
\nladen sound. This is further accentuated by jazz artist Franks’
\nbreathy vocals. And don’t let this mislead you into thinking the
\nmusic may sound wimpy. It most certainly packs a punch. Play this
\nrecord as loud as the neighbors can tolerate it and you’ll be
\nmesmerized by the sound.<\/p>\n
Now one discouraging note: this album is woefully out of print,
\nbut copies can still be found if you forage through the used cd
\nbins or shop eBay. It’s also unfortunate that
\nOne<\/i> was Me Phi Me’s only shining moment and has since
\nslipped into relative obscurity. But it would be nice to know that
\nthe message got through: “Never take a break from loving yourself \/
\nBecause you can keep goin’ all night long.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":25369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6304],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-36575","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-me-phi-me","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36575"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36575"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}