There’s not a lot of hard-rock rap anymore. No, I’m not talkin’ about some Linkin Park/Jay-Z mash-ups shit; I’m talkin’ about M.O.P. style mash-out music. Not “music to drive-by” as much as “rap-to-stomp-someone-out-to-while-wearing-Tims” (or maybe Nike boots like the kids do these days). While the aforementioned Billy Danz and Lil’ Fame are still puttin’ in work and Sean P and the BCC are still reppin’ Timberland trees, it’s hard to find that good ol’ hard-rock head nod music these days which is why I fuck with Detroit’s Guilty Simpson.
Though he’s been making noise on Detroit’s underground hip-hop scene since the late 90’s the rest of the world found out about Guilty on J Dilla and Madlib’s 2003 collaborative album Champion Sound. Amongst all of Madlib’s pot-head weirdness and Dilla’s Detroit play-baller boasting we got a sobering dose of gun-toting reality rap from Guilty on the song “Strapped”. Since then Guilty has popped up on Dilla’s releases like The Ruff Draft EP and The Shining. Now signed to Stonesthrow Records, Guilty will drop his solo debut, Ode To The Ghetto in March. Featuring production by Dilla, Madlib, DJ Babu and his homies Denaun Porter and Black Milk, the album shows there’s more to this self-proclaimed “thinking man’s thug” than bullets and beatdowns. This year will also see him dropping an album as a member of Random Axe, a supergroup including Sean Price and Black Milk. Will Guilty go on to be one of the greats? The jury is still out. Listen to a couple joints from his LP and decide the verdict yourself.
The Future feat. MED – Produced by Madlib*
Kill ‘Em – Produced by DJ Babu*
88 Keys feat. Guilty Simpson – Just Like A Man
Sorry about the drops . . . it’s a promo.