Big Rube Impression

Part poet, part preacher. A true sage, an eloquent dropper of words of wisdom which attempt to find a level of the highest common denominator, rather than dumbing it down like a lot of new elementary hip-hop. Big Rube, Dungeon Family member, is a unique artist. A modern day street philosopher, Big Rube’s wordplay and messages ring both hard and true. Wherever his verses are found, they manage to both enlighten and challenge, presenting in a maze words something for all of us to take home and think about.

Many Outkast jams are celebrations of experimentation-odes to musical and vocal creativity. Happy to bring their friends along, their guests seemed to always rise to the occasion, bringing the best in whatever they did. Big Rube was no exception. Commanding undivided attention with his baritone voice, Rube’s spoken word ruminations on two Outkast tracks are some of my favorite moments in hip-hop. Presented with a stage just for himself, Big Rube waxes wise wherever he lays his words, each time taking us along for an epic journey.

13th Floor/Growing Old

Taking the reins of the song only after a few seconds, Rube combines his trademarks of introspection, religious imagery, and a relentless search for self-improvement. Over relaxing piano chords, Rube’s voice sounds tremendous as he takes us through a social critique on top of a platform formed by textbook in rhyming and alliteration. Rube sets the town for a song that has one eye looking back at the past, morphing into a preacher, urging his listeners to become better tomorrow than they were yesterday.

Lyrics



Liberation

This time as the bookend to the almost nine-minute classic Outkast cut, Big Rube’s verse is a stream of consciousness take on everything from mortality to cowards. In cryptic language that begs endnotes, Rube’s unique lyrical juggling seems both effortless and methodical. Lines like “you can’t imagine it/unless you looking at the canvas of life/and not through the peephole of mortality” seem ripe for all sorts of interpretation, while others like “You got more juice than Zeus/slangin lightning trying to frighten/plains dwellers, of the Serengeti” are sonical showoffs, with Rube guiding you along the way. Like an abstract painting, what you see in this verse is a reflection of who you are. But like a good painting, it making you think is a victory in and of itself.

Lyrics



Alphabet Acrobat

With his spoken word verses probably the closest thing in hip-hop to poetry, his appearance on the great Def Poetry Jam series is not surprising. Big Rube adopts an A-Z structure to his poem, dropping a few bars for each letter in order. Although this structure has been used before, it never seems forced, and the structure doesn’t ever overwhelm his words but rather seems to guide his thoughts, providing an outlet to his creativity. Rube finds time to drop gems as always (two favorites are “Cuz I grip a Grey matter glock” and “I’m young yet I yearn for the year when the youth learn”) and wears his larger than life voice naturally on his huge frame.

Cunninlynguists-Mic Like A Memory

The stark honesty of this jamandahalf is almost unrivaled in any song I can think of. I'm going to admit right now, I've slept on Cunninlynguists something heavy. With a discography that seems like it's filled with introspective hip hop cased in a Southern shell, I feel like I should have been playing this group for years. My loss.

In this surprising jam off of their 2001 debut, Will Rap For Food, the trio from Lexington, Kentucky and Atlanta weave tales of self doubt, personal struggles with drugs and depression, and tragedy over a beat jazzier than Salt Lake City's finest. Mix in a Common sample, and you got a hard hitting tale that in the end manages to be inspiring. Kno (the group's producer) mixes in a trumpet loop that is both invigorating yet haunting, at the same time reflecting the song's dark tales while keeping its triumphant spirit. What "Mic Like A Memory" is all about is finding oneself, whether it be through your family, through your friends, or like Deacon's confessional verse, through music. With three heavy verses that show off lyrical dexterity, tight flows, and an honesty that is rare in modern music, Cunninlynguists show off the skills that you've either known for years, or like me, you've been sorely missing. 

 Cunninglynguists-Mic Like a Memory (http://jamandahalf.com) by jamand1/2 

B.o.B.-Don't Let Me Fall

Well god dern BoB. Since the last time the young Bobby Ray hit these pages, I think it's safe to say that he's certified blown up. His hit single, "Nothin' On You" (with its accompanying impossible game) hit platinum last week, a helluva feat for a 21 year old artist whose album hasn't even come out yet. It would be easy for BoB to put out an album with thirteen Nothin' On You clones and call it a day, but BoB is not that artist. As he demonstrated during the March 5th concert, BoB is not just a hit single, but is an artist with boundless talent who wants to use his music to push rap while expressing himself to the world.

Today's jamandahalf is the first song off of his debut album, "BoB Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray" and is both his introduction to the world, and a plea to ____ (a girl? his fans? his family) to not let him fall. The song starts off with an uptempo piano loop, eventually accompanied by the beat, and then finally by roaring guitar riffs. The jam acts as a showcase for BoB's talents: an effortless flow that switches from one verse to another, his singing skills on the hooks, dope word play with a heavy streak of honesty (mixing swagger with a hint of vulnerability), and a catchiness that never feels forced. These combine to make a heavier song than his first hit, but one that just feels just as good singing at the top of your lungs rolling down the highway. On the first song of his debut album, BoB also revels in his command of seamlessly combining rock and rap, as only someone who plays multiple instruments can (BoB plays the trumpet, guitar, piano, french horn). It's a bold, dope, follow up to "Nothin on You," and a sign that there are nothing but great things coming from the kid from Decatur, GA.

Download Here

Outkast-ATLiens

There was a time when Outkast really was “Outkast.” Not too long ago actually. That was before this whole “Put out a double cd, break up, get back together, make a bs period piece, break up, come back and put out a classic jam and a half (Art of Storytelling Part IV), break up, supposedly work on single album and a joint album” phase they’ve been on since after Stankonia. Big Boi’s been around; but Andre 3000’s been missing, on the reg. But god dern, when Outkast was really “Outkast,” they were the greatest musical duo of all time…

Outkast’s second album, also called ATLiens, was a bridge between their insanely promising debut, and their polished masterpiece, Aquemini. With a general theme of outer space and extraterrestrials among us, Outkast included, jams such as Elevators, 13^th floor, Two Dope Boyz define and highlight ATLiens. The breadth and depth of ATLiens is unparalleled in rap history, and the ease that Big Boi and Andre are able to completely switch sounds, content, and style on individual tracks shows their unreal musical versatility. While the whole album is one giant jam and a half, and many song could have higher lyrical merit, or a sicker beat, none of them are more a jam of a half than the album’s title song.

Outkast is what Southern Rap could be…no, Outkast is what Rap should be. Over a pounding Outkast/Earthtone Ideas beat, both Dre and Big Boi lay down lyrical magma. Big Boi starts off, laser beams blazing. Did he just say he was cooler than a polar bear’s toenail? Yeaaa he did. Did he say it tickles to see you try to be like Mr. Pickles? Uh huuu…Did Dre tell you that he put his glock away because his lyrics are “a stronger weapon that never runs out of ammunition”? Si chaval. ATLiens (the jam, not the album) may not be the most introspective, otherworldly Outkast jam of all time, but play it a couple times. It's two rappers, who on only their second album, are asking the world, who better? ATLiens is the jam and a half.