are you listening? vol 4...back in the days on the boulevard of Linden

de la soul has a track off the album Stakes is High named 'Supa Emcee'. It asks the simple question—'Whatever happened to the...EM-CEE'. Its track two after an intro that contains an amalgam of recordings of members of the De La Soul and, presumably, the hip-hop community recalling each persons first experience listening to their debut record Three Feet High and Rising. Stakes is a landmark record that describes the trials and tribulations of a life in hip hop since the days of that lofty debut at a time where, as far as hip hop was concerned the stakes were high. The south and the west coast started to water down the product. In New York, where the art form was created and mastered, greed seemed to take precedence over the art. producers shooting rappers, rappers shooting gang members, and meanwhile a music business holding the strings controls the action. Hip Hop allowed itself to be taken advantage of...

these days, for the most part, Hip Hop is nothing more than free advertising for the latest fashion, car, alcohol or gadget. A capitalist's best friend. And for every 50 Cent who is smart enough to invest in himself there is any number of mic jockeys who go into debt recording two terrible records, dump even more record company money into some ridiculous video that features gold, platinum, an Astin Martin and don't forget the ladies...

'times done changed for the...EM-CEE'..

they come out of the wood work, somebody's cousin got a beat from from somewhere and all of a sudden he's all over the radio, and the TV—he or she will live the high-life, champagne, sex, and all the money in the world until the record company calls the margin in, then they are back to sitting on their cousin's porch, talking about when...

'every woman and man wanna...EM-CEE'...

i can count my own two hands the amount of Hip Hop cds worth talking about since the release of Stakes, there's the first NERD, the Black Starr record, a Roots record, Mos Def's first solo cut MF Doom and Kool Keith also get big ups here and its sad. I remember driving with Kareem so many years ago listening to Stakes and actually having the conversation that it would be the last great Hip Hop record. We weren't all that far off. The industry has gone wild, just as De La had prophesied on Stakes...

the final track on that record is a glorious number dubbed 'Sunshine', where in which De La dream of a better life for themselves and for Hip Hop. As the songs fades into silence a voice abruptly checks in stating 'when I first heard Three Feet High and Rising I was—'...

it was the voice of Q-Tip. Front-man of the legendary A Tribe Called Quest. Tip has been absent from the conversation for many years. His first solo try, that was after the systematic disintegration of Tribe, was Amplified, nothing more than a poorly produced pop record. A shame considering the kind of water Q-Tip used to carry when he picked up a mic. He disappeared into the obscurity of cameo's and Budweiser commercials. Until last week when he released Kamaal the Abstract, a long, and i mean long awaited, follow up to the failure of Amplified...

in Kamaal, Tip delivers a throwback, that is to say a stellar Hip Hop record. One that understands, melody, arrangement and savvy while still knockin' blocks with well produced beats and satisfying the hard rhymer in all of us. Tip can still rhyme with the best of them and his voice is as distinct and potent as ever. Short and succinct, Kamaal comes off like a Stevie Wonder record, grooves all over the map, offering a promise that maybe there is still another voice that can carry the torch from Linden Boulevard....

truth be told, i've always had a soft spot for Q-Tip, his hailing from the thorough borough and all, but there isn't any nepotism to be found here in the Queens family. In Kamaal, Tip has scored a bona fide hit for the sake of soul of Hip Hop and those of us who remember where they were when Three Feet came out...

i was in a hospital bed and first heard some its tracks via a mix tape called Canon's Rap that was given to me by Robbo. Three Feet along with Tribe's People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm that restored my faith that Hip Hop cold last the long haul. On the precipice of another loss of faith it would only be apropos that Q-Tip once again brings that faith back to the fore. To stand alongside the likes of Mos, and Doom and handful of others that still understand what it is to light up a microphone...

do yourself a favor, and get your hands on a copy of Kamaal the Abstract, not for Q-tip, but for Hip Hop and the return of its Supa Emcee...