103 Days and Marching - Chris "Preach" Smith

Photo Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson

It has been 100-plus days since the death of young
Michael Brown at the hands of Ferguson, Missouri
police officer Darren Wilson. 100-plus days that have
seen the army of those who are insistent for justice
out in the streets, protesting. Not rioting. Protesting.
100-plus days of stalling, bureaucratic and judicial bait &
switch that is the literal embodiment of a phrase
often invoked by those who don’t want to seriously
confront this pandemic of Black lives being taken
by police: ‘get over it’. Let’s also note that in these
100-plus days and counting, we’ve seen a Black man killed
for holding a toy gun in a Wal-Mart, a mentally ill
Black woman killed by cops in Cleveland, a Black 
man in Utah shot and killed while wearing an anime
costume. And in this past weekend alone, a young
father was shot and killed in a dark project building
hallway in Brooklyn and a 12 year old boy was shot
in a Cleveland playground while holding a BB gun. He
later died. This is in addition to the senseless deaths
that include Eric Garner on Staten Island earlier this
summer. The people of Ferguson and their insistence
for justice in alignment with many other people in 
New York City, Chicago, Florida and all points in between
are determined to NOT ‘get over it’.

And that’s what scares the privileged powers that be.
So much so that the grand jury in Ferguson, already
compromised in terms of integrity by leaks, is still
deliberating on a verdict everyone expects will be in
favor of Officer Darren Wilson NOT being indicted. The
fear is apparent in Governor Jay Nixon’s calling for a
‘state of emergency’ BEFORE any verdict is announced.
A state of emergency that will call in National Guard
troops. Not for those Ferguson and greater St.Louis
residents buying guns and ammunition to ‘combat’
non-violent protesters. Not as a deterrent against the
Ku Klux Klan who have openly supported violence
against protesters and Anonymous to the point of 
threatening to shoot anyone wearing a Guy Fawkes
mask. There’s a real fear apparent. A fear that belies
the fact that you cannot continue to ask a populace
to be calm in the face of such state-sanctioned violence.
Not when they are being slain just for breathing while
Black.

You cannot ask for calm while protecting an officer
who has a history or bigotry and aggression, further
shown by a recent tape of Wilson haranguing someone
prior to an arrest. You cannot ask protesters for calm
as this same Officer Wilson is given the freedom to
prune and further manicure a press-ready image to
appease those bigots who see ‘thug’ whenever they
see a person of color. His meeting with reporters in
secret is appalling, but not unprecedented if you can
recall the Trayvon Martin case and the treatment that
George Zimmerman received. The Wilson defenders
have even taken to the desperate tactics of crowdfunding
efforts that suggest Black teens ‘pull their pants up’
or like the former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani
saying ‘Black on Black crime’ is why white cops act 
how they act. Such racist tropes and actions are the
crude tools used to protect privilege and profit. It’s
when ‘get over it’ becomes stripped of fake niceties
and is revealed to be these three words: ‘you don’t
matter’. And you’re seeing more of that pop up in 
the media out of the mouths of many who either 
directly depend on that to pay their bills or indirectly
will support it to cover their happy hour tabs. 

Make no mistake, there are many other things going
on that are tied to the movement for justice for Mike
Brown. There’s reasons why you will see some reactions
from people you may work with, have known infrequently
via social media or other means be so quick to either
paint Brown and all the others as superhuman bogeyman
figures or to tell you to get over it. It’s about their
fear. An infantile, embedded fear that they have been
the monster they’ve talked about others aiding. And 
it will only grow. Given what we’ve seen these past
100 plus days, it’s a certainty. But the longer people
agitate, the longer that THIS stays on the table rather
than other stories they’d like you to focus on, the more
that there will be change enacted on a wide scale in some
fashion. As Deray Mckesson, one of the organizers of the
protests in Ferguson illustrated on his Twitter feed recently,
the Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted over a year. It’s about
endurance, it’s about insistence, about determination. It’s
what comes about when fear gets transformed into the 
chrysalis of steely courage before the protest. 

Photo Credit: Inscripto

When you give thanks this Thursday, give thanks to those
out there on the streets in Ferguson. Give thanks to the
folks marching, organizing. Give thanks and support to 
those parents who lost their children, to the families who
stood up despite their tears. Support them if you can, how
you can. And most of all, pay attention. 

'Resurrection' Twenty Years Later - Chris "Preach" Smith

The fall brings forth much more than the final
flourish of foliage. It’s a time for celebration and
reflection to go along with the newly found chill
in the air. And in that spirit, I find myself writing
this with a bit of amazement that Common’s
highly regarded second album, Resurrection, turns
twenty today. Amazement…and a certain sense
of clarity.

I remember that trip to Hot Waxx on The Ave. to
get my cassette copy all those years ago. The trek
home on the Q4 with the album in my ears, being
transported to Chicago. Resurrection dropped at the
beginning of my senior year in high school, a week
from my birthday. I was coming of age, in that little
bit of precious space where you’re not exactly a man
but you’re past being a child. Life was asserting itself
and I was caught up with all of the possibilities. So
this album wound up becoming part of the year’s
soundtrack. It wasn’t until later when I fully realized
how Resurrection was meant to be a coming-of-age
chronicle in so many ways. This was when Com was
going by Common Sense still, and building on the
success of Can I Borrow A Dollar? that had dropped
two years earlier. Most were checking for him ‘cause
of “Soul By The Pound” and “Breaker 1/9”, which got
some decent rotation. Second albums can sometimes
scuttle rather than solidify careers in rap as we all
know. But thanks to Com and the pristine production
from fellow Chi-Town native No I.D., Resurrection
wouldn’t fall off the mark. Thanks to the lead single,
“I Used To Love H.E.R.”


“I Used To Love Her” is without question one of the prime
moments of hip-hop on many levels. For one, this track
that had hip-hop personified in the form of a beautiful
woman is still impactful to this day. It wound up sparking
a beef between Com and Ice Cube that was vicious and
fueled the East Coast/West Coast conflict for a couple of
years. It’s also significant because in the overall context
of the album, it is a strong piece of wisftul reflection. If
you remember, the album itself was divided in half - The
East Side of Stony and the The West Side of Stony. Stony
as in Stony Ave. in Chicago’s Southside. It’s important
because this track, which was second on the album sets
a brillant pace. You get walloped with Com’s insightfulness
and (to keep it real) prophetic power because when you
listen to this track again and look at the state of contemporary
rap you can’t help but feel a bit somber. “I Used To Love
H.E.R.” also jars because of what H.E.R. stands for - Hearing
Every Rhyme. And truthfully, do you do that with some of
these more popular rappers these days? Also, you have to
appreciate that this was the first of only two singles to propel
the album’s success.

Resurrection had many other tracks that spoke to me
heavily. ‘Communism’ resonates with me as one of
those joints, with bittersweet horns and a laid-back
harmonious stride that Com spits on effortlessly as if
he was out on the corner past midnight getting lyrics
off his chest in short breaths you see in the cold. “Book
Of Life” also jars because it illustrated struggle as a
young Black man who doesn’t have many prospects
trying to make it. Take these lyrics:

I tangle for cash
hopin it’ll last until the end of the week
but all I eat is fast food
and you know how junk food goes right through ya
so I return to the A-rab then on the way back
I stop at the liquor store then grab me a six pack
knowing that when I’m done with that I’ll be back
to get some more

That’s just one sampling of Com’s powerful yet
straight-forward lyricism. On their own, a lot of
Com’s lyrics from this album stand out as prose 
worthy of Richard Wright but with more hope to
be claimed. That’s the engine that pulls the album
forward, the lyrics. Com also showed on Resurrection
just how in tune with the ‘hood he was on all levels.
‘Chapter 13’, a track discussing the merits of how
far material riches get you, ends with a joke/parable
that would’ve made Redd Foxx grin. It’s a cut that
doesn’t get a lot of recognition but stands out for
the back and forth Com has with Ynot, who holds
his own rather well AND produced the beat. I mean,
it’s old-school neck-snappin’ and signifyin’ at its best,
between Com’s ‘Poor Man’ and Ynot’s ‘Rich Man’ as
you’ll see in this excerpt:

Yes check it
I didn’t grow up po po po
but once you get grown
and out on your own
bills upon bills upon bills is what you have
before you get your check you already spend half
see I make the money money doesn’t make me
I ‘m a reflection of my section and my section 8 me

Don’t get me wrong, Resurrection also flourishes 
because of the joyfulness to be found in the album.
‘Nuttin’ To Do’ is a bluesy and quick paced track of
reminiscing that has the same pop one hears from
opening a can of cold beer and just as much body.
Even the ‘WMOE’ radio segment that serves as the
midway point of the album is lively, giving you the 
feeling as if you’re out in a bar or house party catching
the album. (Side note: watch ‘Cooley High’ with this
album playing. Thank me later.) The most striking
track that ties it all together is ‘Pops’ Rap’ featuring 
Com’s dad, Lonnie Lynn. Hearing it now is poignant
because it was both a father and son coming together
in a new and unexpected way. But it reminded you 
of how you sat with your own pops and other older
heads on the block and got that wisdom. Wisdom you
may not fully internalize until later. It made me seek
and then really hold onto peace with my own father
over the years. For a good deal of cats out there, they
cite this as inspiration. It’s all the more poignant ‘cause
Pops wound up being a fixture on all of Com’s albums
until his passing earlier this year. And credit has to be
shown to No I.D. who also grew into the household name
he has through his skillfully crafted production here. He
managed to provide a rhythmic watercolor picture of 
Chicago as Com saw it, a blend of tough reality, social
and political awareness, good times and soul that simmers
like Harold’s hot sauce. There’s also an inset reverence 
for hip-hop as savior and teacher throughout that Com 
displays in lyrical dexterity and that No I.D. matches with
samples from Grandmaster Flash to ODB to the Whatnauts.

Finally, one has to look at Resurrection as one that explores
the arena of finally embracing maturity. I mean, as positive
as Common is and has shown himself to be throughout his
career to this present time, the album does contain a heavy 
use of the ‘B’ word. Com does reference women as ‘ho’s’ 
in the album. It’s a contrast to his reverence on ‘I Used To
Love H.E.R.’ but it also is the illustration of a young Black
man finding his way. It’s a snapshot of how much he’s grown
as a man and an MC when you consider his discography as
he got down with the Soulquarians. Resurrection is an album
that is meant to hone the gold given to us as wisdom as we
get older and move past childish things and ways. It deserves
its place as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. I got 
the chance to listen to some of it with my Pops. I hope to share
some of it with my children in the near future. Because there
comes a time where we all have to bring back the essence we
came up with to move ahead in life. This album is just one of
the blueprints on how to begin.

Labels And Viruses - Chris 'Preach' Smith

Photo Credit: Slate/Reuters

Okay. I’m beginning this article with a disclaimer.

First off, I don’t plan on going into the impact of the
Ebola virus cases - all three of them confirmed - has
had on mainstream media in full detail. I will call out
one thing - the rampant fear-mongering that exists
that they fuel. And more importantly, how that adds
to the tide of ignorance that is a calling card of late in
this country. It all boils down to labels. 

I’ve been thinking about that, the knee-jerk labeling
that has gone on in these recent weeks. Look at the
case of Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who 
contracted the disease while helping a young woman
who was sick herself with it and then came into the 
country without fully disclosing he had been in contact
with anyone with the virus. As his condition was then
discovered and it worsened, you had officials in Dallas,
Texas look to possibly criminally charge someone on 
their deathbed. Think about that for a second. Rather
than cop to the fact that they were not fully prepared
for such a medical crisis as this(as evidenced by Nina 
Pham, an attending nurse becoming affected by Ebola)
they would rather crucify Duncan. I’m going to pause
here and say that he should’ve fully disclosed what he
was doing. But looking to criminally charge someone 
after the fact when that person is at death’s door is 
avoiding the real issues. I mean, even Governor Rick 
Perry would agree - if you could get him away from his
‘trip’ to Europe long enough. And as that happens, we
see a gradual direction of labeling Liberians and those
from other affected nations like Guinea and Sierra Leone
as ‘high risk’ to the point where we are now setting up
flight screenings and discussing travel bans. Nations in
the Caribbean have already begun. 

What it reminds me of is when HIV/AIDS had its rise 
in the United States back in the 1980’s. I was a young
child, but news about that disease hovered at the fringes
of my world. Labels came to the forefront then, too. There
used to be an insult thrown around on the playground:
‘African booty-scratcher.’ There were two cutting sides to
that. To be African was to be different in the eyes of some
who fell for the hype of what you were told those from the
continent were. The other sinister edge rose around that
time as some ‘scientific’ research tried to claim that the 
virus was due to the consumption of diseased monkeys. 
The fallout also hit Haitian emigrants as well - I distinctly
remember a local school coming under fire for not allowing
kids who had arrived here to go because they feared they
could be carriers of HIV. Now such labeling rears its ugly
head again because of the same old strain that we still
can’t fully address here in the United States - racism.

There’s close to 9,000 who have died in West Africa to
date because of the Ebola virus. Yet you still have people
who feel that Liberians & others have brought this on themselves
solely because of ‘cultural reasons’. Let’s break it down:
there have been incidents where people have been tricked
into thinking they could cure the disease through some
form of ‘bush medicine’. But the greater issue in the 
affected countries has been an infrastructure too weakened
by civil war and crippling corruption over the past few 
decades. But that information is drowned out because
that doesn’t garner ratings for networks. It doesn’t have
more value than clicks. As I write this, Nigeria has effectively
declared itself free from the virus. But there’s a nagging need
for outlets here to constantly degrade those of African descent
no matter what. And some of our own fall for it in different
ways. It’s compelled Liberians here to begin a social media
campaign with the hashtag ‘I Am Not A Virus’. And it’s a damn
shame it has come to that. The media at large has helped to
add to this labeling with near hysterical updates on an hourly
basis. You’ve got Navarro College in Texas issuing a statement
saying that they wouldn’t accept students from those affected
countries and only backtracking after the outroar online. There
are people who are believing that it’s a manufactured crisis by
the government. All this flying in the face of common sense.
Take into account that there’s an outcry of an ‘outbreak’ in this
country when the amount of confirmed cases are less in number
than the amount of people who run Young Thug fan clubs. You’ve 
got people flying on planes dressed in plastic now. And some
people being heavily germophobic when the day before they
would cough on your neck on the train without covering their
mouth. Don’t be surprised if you hear of immigrants from West
African countries getting assaulted in the next couple of months.
Why? Because there are those here who will always trumpet 
xenophobia as patriotic exceptionalism.

Am I telling you not to be concerned about Ebola? No. What I am
saying is, exercise some sense. Do your research and think critically.
Because diseases do spread. Labels spread. And ignorance spreads faster
than anything.  

'Ready To Die' Twenty Years Later - Chris 'Preach' Smith

I began writing this article in the same way I
sat and first listened to Ready To Die by The 
Notorious B.I.G. two decades ago - I waited for
some downtime when night fell across the block.
Got something cool to drink. Put on the album
and zone out. And while the drink of choice may
have changed from now since then, the most
potent thing is the undisputable fact that this
album is undeniablly part of not only hip-hop 
culture but the landscape and soundtrack of 
New York City. Today is a major milestone for 
an album that when it first dropped, only sold
57,000 copies that week and has now exceeded
quadruple platinum in sales. That fact, among 
many others has cemented Ready To Die as a 
phenomena that provokes thought, appreciation
and a touch of nostalgia.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ready To Die was one of the last albums I had
religiously listened to on TAPE. Take a moment to
think about that time when your Sony Walkman
bulky as it seems now, was your companion as
you caught the bus to school or traveled around
with your friends. When the album did drop, most
waited on one of their boys to cop it, then grabbed
a Memorex or Casio to make a dub. But this was
different. Ready To Die had you putting down some
change. The iconic cover grabbed you, for one. You
wanted to know how such an ominous album title
was used in conjunction with the striking and simple
imagery of a smiling baby boy with a perfect Afro
in the picture. But as you listened, the message
got louder and louder. Now I had been hearing about
The Notorious B.I.G. from two years before thanks
to underground radio. In 1993, he put his own 
Timberland stamp on the game with ‘Party and
Bullshit’, from the soundtrack to the comedy
‘whodunit’ flick starring Ed Lover and Dr. Dre, ‘Who’s
The Man?’ Biggie’s voice is the first you hear on that
soundtrack, lacing cats with his distinctive voice on
a suave dance-infected beat by Easy Mo Bee. Big 
describing a ‘round the way party scene somehwere
in Brooklyn complete with lines like ‘but all we wanna
know is where the party at/and can I bring my gat?’
made the streets come alive in a descriptive and taut
manner that made you groove even though you knew
he was speaking the truth. It proved he was ready, 
and with the help of Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs who was now
making his own bold play with Bad Boy Entertainment,
Big was in position to show the world how ready he was.
Ready To Die took everyone by surprise, fulfilling the
ambition of strong-arming the rap landscape like it was
a chain robbery over by the 3 train subway stop at
Saratoga and Livonia from the West Coast gangster
element heavy at the time thanks to Dr. Dre and ‘The
Chronic’ among other efforts. In doing so, Biggie filled
a void in East Coast rap. It wasn’t a major one but let’s 
take into account that by this time, the era of Big Daddy
Kane, Rakim and Run-DMC had run its course. It was 
time for newer voices to emerge, and especially time for
THE next major MC to dominate the landscape. 


When you listen to Ready To Die in full, you can’t 
help but get reminders that this album and Big himself
was a concise and vibrant MC that oozed personality.
Even at his most vicious, Big was like one of the
older heads who you knew from off the corners. He
knew your moms, joked around with everyone. The 
charm and chill Biggie had is evident. Look at ‘One 
More Chance.’ The original track is another Easy Mo
Bee banger that lets Big drop lyrics flecked with
references to R&B gems from H-Town, Miki Howard
and others as he speaks on his affairs with different
women with brash and crass overtones. It’s a far cry
from the utterly flawless remix and video featuring
his wife, singer Faith Evans. But we all know that’s
for another discussion. ‘One More Chance’ was a newer,
Moet-tinged way of being a player. One prevailing thing
throughout the album is Big’s indulgence with ‘hoes’
and ‘b——-s’. It 

Photo Credit: Vibe

Big had no airs about who he was, and no need to
hide his vulnerability. Here’s a dude who’s six-foot
plus, dark-skinned and heavy-set moving the crowd
effortlessly. In some respects, Biggie and Ready To Die
can be considered as another bridge between the
toasters of Jamaican reggae and its dancehall iteration
that was huge and hip-hop. Look at his guest verse on
the Supercat track ‘Dolly My Baby’. It reflects another
element of the Caribbean influence in New York City on
a whole and the planet of Brooklyn and its evolution
in the midst of post Reagan/Bush era politics. ‘Respect’
is pure ‘shotta’ theme music with Diana King laying down a
near guttural hook as Biggie drops autobiographical
lyrics. Let’s pause here and appreciate these opening
lyrics:

Nineteen-seventy something, n***a I don’t sweat the date
My moms is late so I had to plan my esccape
out the skins in this world of fly girls
Tanqueray and Hennessy until I cold hurl

Another poignant element of Ready To Die is the 
whole aesthetic of ‘live fast, die young and look good
doing it’ that America touts regularly and denies that
it does to the end. ‘Dynasty’. ‘Scarface’. Even the movie
Big would get a nickname from, ‘King Of New York’.
Biggie covered all of the psychological aspects associated
with that on this album. There’s braggadocio galore on 
‘Everyday Struggle’ but also the weariness that 
undercuts it. And even a bit of social commentary that
points to how the MC saw his struggle and his wish 
for his daughter to avoid the same pitfalls:

I’m seein body after body and our Mayor Giuliani
aint tryin’ to see no Black man turn to John Gotti
my daughter use a potty so she’s older now
educated street knowledge I’m a mold her now

The first two lines alone speak to the murder rate
related to drugs and then mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s
heavy crackdown on drug traffic in the city with a
bit of a hint that John Gotti could get away with
certain acts of ‘organized crime’ due to complexion.
The vulnerability comes to a head in the final track,
‘Suicidal Thoughts’. It’s one verse, interlaced with
Puff’s pleas for Big not to pull the trigger. It’s a track
I know some people won’t talk about for different
reasons. Suicide in the Black community as a taboo
being one of them, as well as how The Notorious B.I.G.
was shot and killed in Los Angeles, California just
three years later (God. Three years.) while caught up
in the heart of the East Coast/West Coast turmoil.
But it is a solid song, as well as a throwback to all of
those gangster flicks with Jimmy Cagney as the lead
bad guy who shoots his way to the top but ultimately
loses it all. It thematically ties the album up neatly,
but leaves you thinking long after the music fades out.


The other day, I passed by St.James Place, Biggie’s 
old stomping grounds after the Michael Jackson 
Birthday Block Party. I used to be around there 
a lot since one of my closest friends lived just down
the road on Frankin Avenue. Bed-Stuy is still 
Bed-Stuy, but in a more tenuous manner now.
Rising rents and the wave of newcomers reflect 
just how the borough is changing. It’s not the 
gritty atmosphere Big spoke of in ‘Things Done 
Changed’. St. James is now home to multi-million
dollar brownstones. There’s more white faces up 
and down Fulton Avenue. It gives heft to the words
I hear from a lot of my friends who are native New
Yorkers. One of Biggie’s classic lines from ‘Juicy’ 
can further hammer home the point: ‘time to get
paid, blow up like the World Trade’. Now he was 
referring to the attacks on the World Trade Center
the year before. But when you stop and consider 
that both he and the World Trade Center, a spot that
became linked with him in a classic photograph and
a cover photo for The Source, are gone? Makes you 
pause. 

Ready To Die is more than just an album, just as
The Notorious B.I.G. was more than just an MC.
It is a time capsule of an era when rap was pure 
and expansive enough and not narrowly commodified
like the majority of contemporary rap albums are
now. It is a testament to one of the greatest MC’s
the culture will ever produce. An album that is a
toast to the hustlers, a boots-on-the-stoop account
of life in the streets, a ribald R&B infused soundtrack
for the nightlife and an introspective look at the mind
of a young Black man trying to survive the struggle
he was dealt. There’s many things to take from this
album as I said before. There’s many questions that
still lie in the folds of the lyrics Biggie dropped in such
an immaculate way. (A major question of course is,
would Jay-Z be where he is now if Big was alive?)
And that makes Ready To Die a true prism of music
immortality. I think Big would want it that way.

 

Revisiting 'Nouveau Western' and MC Solaar's New Frontier - Chris 'Preach' Smith

For many of us who were devotees of MTV in
their glory days in the early to mid 1990’s, there
was no end to moments of inspiration through
music. Where hip-hop was concerned, the main
wellspring was ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ of course. But a
keen eye in 1994 would soon note a certain
shift. A new frontier that was brought about by
forays into international rap via the bridge of
fusion created by rap and jazz. And in the midst
of these early days, one name and one song
sticks out. MC Solaar and his remarkable track
from his second album, Prose Combat, ‘Nouveau
Western’. Solaar managed to craft a track that
although underrated by some and ignored by
others, made an impact in a subliminal fashion
that you might not expect until you take a closer
listen.

Photo Credit: soundamental.org

Let’s begin with MC Solaar. Now. many will know
him from his work with Guru of Gangstarr. Mainly,
the track ‘Le Bien, Le Mal’ in 1993 off of Guru’s 
highly influential Jazzmatazz album. Sleek and
full of horns and funk, it was a bold step for hip-hop
and yet one that directly channeled the spirit of
Black American expatriate culture and dressed it
up for a new era. France has been well documented
as a haven for Black Americans disillusioned with
their country, from James Baldwin to Melvin Van
Peebles to Josephine Baker to many more artists 
in between. France has also been a shelter for the
numerous emigrants from their former colonial
lands now thriving as independent nations. MC
Solaar’s parents took advantage of that soon after
he was born leaving Dakar, Senegal to settle in the
suburbs of Paris. But his love of hip-hop wouldn’t
be born there - it found life during a stay with his
uncle in Cairo, Egypt where he got down with the
Zulu Nation and Afrika Bambattaa. On his return
to France to finish schooling, Solaar steeped himself
in the culture and began rapping. 1991 was a major
year for him and producer Jimmy Jay. They had a
smash first single, ‘Bouge De La(Get Out Of There)’
and opened up for De La Soul that September at
their Olympia concert date. His debut album, Qui sème
le vent récolte le tempo dropped the following month.
Solaar then spent the next year touring through
Poland and Russia and heavily in West Africa. Once
he linked with the UK acid jazz label Talkin’ Loud, that
led to his work with Guru and set the stage for his
second album. Take note: Solaar stepped onto the 
acid jazz scene just as groups like US3, Incognito and
the Brand New Heavies were settling into our CD players
and turntables. He was distinct, compelling, and 
even though he rapped in French you felt his lyrics 
were cool as hell. With his name now buzzing on a 
global scale, Solaar would release Prose Combat in 1994
and break new ground. Especially with his first single.


‘Nouveau Western’ at first listen is just a bold
embodiement of CHILL. But when you get into
the meat of the track, the metaphors are striking.
Firstly, the sample source. The steady chill rhythm
is taken from a classic hit from the iconic French
musician Serge Gainsbourg. It’s a track he did with
actress/singer and bombshell Brigitte Bardot, ‘Bonnie
& Clyde.’ The song itself is based on a poem reportedly
written by Bonnie Parker before she and her man
Clyde Barrow were shot by cops, ‘The Trail’s End’.
Solaar was the first musician to use this sample,
which is significant. More on that in a bit. But think
about this: ‘Nouveau Western’ was a heavy piece
of commentary on racism and colonialism and how
it’s peddled as cowboys blazing a new frontier. Peep
the beginning of his second verse:

“They say watch out for sambo
but watch out for Gary Cooper
modern cowboy around the corner”

You can check for that in two forms. One, Solaar
speaks on the way Westerns are throwback pieces
to a simpler time for whites, code for ‘when people
of color knew their place.’ The second meaning is
a possible reference to aggressive cops. Now, quite
a few folks wouldn’t peep that until NTM came on
the scene a couple of years later with their highly
anti-imperialist tone in response to the growing
right-wing extremism of the National Front led by
Le Pen. We also saw that meaning in La Haine, a
gripping film from 1995 that depicts the struggles
of emigrant youth in the hard streets of Paris. (A
side note: Solaar’s music is also featured in the film.)
The core of ‘Nouveau Western’ is in Solaar’s third
verse where he goes for the throat and bluntly
expresses how the U.S. exports Western movies
as a blueprint for capitalistic minds to grab and
snatch land and money from others, and how
a person of color won’t get the same benefits. Now
we go back to the Gainsbourg track. Two things
must be noted. One, Gainsbourg and Bardot did a
song about two infamous American bank robbers
and made it seductive, almost rebellious. If you
want more proof of that, check out the video they
did for it. And second, Brigitte Bardot would go from
this to her present unfortunate position of bigoted 
xenophobe against Arab emigrants in France in a
vocal manner. So one could say Solaar was on the
money with the sample choice.



The video for ‘Nouveau Western’ itself is symbolic
of the times - heavy use of steadicam, set in various
locations in New York City, Paris and out in the
American west. Even in the locales you get some
meaningful symbolism. The first frame has us out
by the famed Moulin Rouge as if it’s raising the curtain
on a titilating, bold spectacle. Even the Chinatown
settings sit with you in a way when you realize that
the business Solaar is rapping in front of, really the
entire block doesn’t look like that anymore as yet
another victim of gentrification. It only goes to show
how MC Solaar was a true navigator of a burgeoning
frontier not only in hip-hop, but overall culture. The
song itself, by using the Gainsbourg sample was then
sampled by hit house musician St.Germain, also from
France. This would lead to the rise of ambient music
in Europe having a poignant hip-hop feel in a small
part along with others like Tricky and Jamiroquai.
‘Nouveau Western’ should be seen as a quiet piece
of the homestead in hip-hop culture that broke new
ground besides just being a really chill track. And MC
Solaar should get more props for his part in creating
that new frontier back then.