Hip Hop Response
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http://www.ithacatimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=28&SubSectionID=91&ArticleID=7874
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12/10/2008 10:32:00 AM Email this article • Print this article Hip Hop Holidays
Local hip hop finds a
Hip Hop Response younger face with artists
rising son, thousands of
one, and jsan & the
Luke Z. Fenchel
analogue sons
Regarding the history of hip-hop in Ithaca, a subject which I attempted to abridge in my last
column "Hip-Hop Holidays," it is safe to say that this journalist has been schooled. Fresh Air
Leslie brill, erica
In his response to the column, Mike Johnson challenged my designation of the bands pollock, andrea king,
Thousands of One and Jsan and the Analogue Sons as part of a broader musical movement and ethel vrana join the
incorporating elements of hip-hop. ranks at the state of the
art gallery
Further, Johnson questions the legacy and influence of Elliot Martin, whom I designated the
forefather of Ithacan hip-hop. Johnson points to two talented emcees: Mbusi and Rev1 (Ché
Broadnax), as well as DJ Cappel. (My original piece also mentioned Jayhigh (Josh Higgins) A Movie a Day:
and Rising Sun (Daniel Lisbe).) Part 5
James cagney, william
As Matt Saccucimorano, who has worked with Martin on both of those groups, told me powell & myrna loy: just
earlier this week: "As far as I know, Elliot has never rapped, and never will." (I was unable to a few delights from this
reach Martin for comment.) As Johnson asserted, Martin "has not done anything hip-hop month's chapter of 'a
related, except Reggae, which isn't hip-hop." movie a day'
Martin's work in John Brown's Body and Black Castle is no more hip-hop than George
Clinton or James Brown. While all of these artists are unquestionably influential to hip-hop,
none of these artists rap, which is one of the four essential tenants of the musical genre (the
others are DJ-ing, break dancing and graffiti art).
Saccucimorano told me that though Martin has a lot of respect for rappers, I was off-base
calling his music the forefather of hip-hop, and I agree. If Martin is the forefather of anything,
then it might be called an "urban roots" movement that combines socially conscious lyrics,
virtuosic band members, percussion and an occasional drum machine for flavor. This
movement certainly may have a hip-hop element, but it is only one among many: dub,
Reggae, Latin and trip-hop.
I still maintain that Jhakeem Haltom's spoken word may fit comfortably in the context of a
hip-hop tradition, but what is so exciting about Thousands of One is the way the band fuses
soul, funk, so-called world music and so many other elements that a genre might do the
group disservice. "When people ask me who I am," Haltom explained by phone over the
weekend, "the question always has parameters. I think of Bob Marley, who when he was
asked whether he was a revolutionary, replied 'I am what you describe me as.'"
Jsan is indeed Reggae, and his approach fits within the Jamaican toasting tradition rather
than a hip-hop tradition. I maintain that his connection to a hip-hop scene through production
of Gunpoets is important to the musical and cultural movement, but I regret it if I implied that
the Analogue Sons were strictly a hip-hop band. It should be noted that both bands have
invited emcees up to rap, and have done a great deal to foster a positive musical community
in town.
As for the history of hip-hop in Ithaca, a much longer piece is long overdue, but surely
cypher:dissident deserves more credit than I gave them. Formed in 2004, cypher:dissident
(Chris Edwards, E. Rich, Jayhigh, Rev1 and Rising Sun, as well as DJ Capell) all combined
politically conscious lyrics with traditional hip-hop beats. Though the group no longer exists,
it was unfair not to, in Johnson's words, "shed light" on these artists.
That said, as a musical style, this group of names has only scratched the surface of hip-hop
in Ithaca. Emcees like Black Boy, D-Roc, The Nomads Rastax, Tony Love (formerly
Breeze), the group AKA, as well as an artist who went by the name of Sugar Bear who dates
back to the early '80s have all contributed to the city's cultural history.
Dan Vittucci, who runs Unity Studios at the Southside Community Center, has recorded "at
least fifteen hip-hop artists" in the last year. Likening it to punk bands that might be relegated
to alternative venues like No Radio Records, Vittucci said, "It is as not easy for these guys to
get a show as some funk band." Thanks to Jeff Claus, Olan Mack, Fe Nunn and Ira Revels
at the Southside Community Center, many in Ithaca's community are getting a chance to
learn how to lay down tracks.
Where else is contemporary hip-hop? It thrives mainly outside of the public spotlight, in
bedrooms and basements and house parties across town. I found Rahmel Mack (aka Ave
Mack) and Darell Tate (aka Money Mars) working in one such shadow this weekend. Mack
12/11/2008
Hip Hop Response Page 2 of 4

Click here to subscribe to has a new mixtape called So Let It Be Written So Let It Be Done, which doesn't have one
the Ithaca Times or any skip in its 21 tracks. He also runs his own record label - Empire Kings - out of a bedroom
Finger Lakes Community studio in his apartment, and has produced Tate as well as many others. Look for Wicked
Newspaper Windows in early 2009 which has the blazing "I'm Good."

Tate, at 20 years old, might just be the emerging genius in Ithaca's hip-hop music scene. He
has performed in front of a massive audience at GrassRoots and Afrika Bambaataa. His
"clone music" subtly tweaks commercial rap in an effort to enlighten his audience.

Both Mack and Tate are on the radar of Lisbe's Gunpoets and Haltom's Thousands of One,
but many other hip-hop artists are not. Mack has also worked with the emcee Diamond
Ricelli and DJ Illmatic. Their rhymes are not always on message for members of Ithaca's
self-proclaimed hip-hop scene, and this contributes to their low profiles despite their obvious
talent.

Part of this has to do with the controversial position of hip-hop in Ithaca, as well as the
contested definitions about what hip-hop, and hip-hop in Ithaca is and should be.

Ithaca College Professor Sean Eversley-Bradwell explained that one may find hip-hop in
Ithaca if one looks for it. "All rap is hip-hop, but not all hip-hop is rap. Mary J. Blige gets the
title of queen of hip-hop, but she is also an R&B artist. The Miseducatoin of Lauryn Hill is
one of the most well-known hip-hop albums, but it is not exclusively rap."

But hip-hop in general, and in Ithaca specifically, unlike many other musical genres has an
ongoing culture war surrounding its content. In Ithaca, this debate centers around what
constitutes so-called "positive" hip-hop. "When we saw Def Jux," Jayhigh explained, "we
realized that hip-hop didn't need to be ignorant and stupid."

The Gunpoets brand of hip-hop might be called "conscious." Rising Sun presents a positive
message, and I have heaped praise on his band, which inspires as it entertains.

Rising Sun explained how he strives to keep the message of his shows positive: "When I'm
responsible for a night of music, I want everything: the emcees, the DJs, the guests the
entire night to represent what I stand for as a man and as a musician."

But if Rising Sun does a public service fostering young artists, his role as gatekeeper strikes
me as a bit more tenuous. Johnson praised artists who "have been performing pure, real
hip-hop," a pointed statement, which speaks to the political polarity that one encounters
when searching for a definition of the genre.

"Though personally as an activist I can get behind Dan," Rev1 explained, "it makes me
worried that Dan gets to define hip-hop, and beyond that, I'm not sure how it makes me feel
that a white kid from upstate New York gets to define a movement that grew out of urban
resistance and counterculture."

Rev1 continued: "It isn't so much that there isn't an audience for other forms of hip-hop, but
the infrastructure is crippling those artists."

Some of the members of cypher:dissident insist that other types of hip-hop in Ithaca simply
"won't fly." "There is a weird juxtaposition of living in a land of waterfalls and talking about
how you have to double your crack sales," Rev1 said.

If Gunpoets are perceived to be the only legitimate hip-hop game in town, no matter how
morally good the collective intentions are, a clear feedback loop is forged that is
exclusionary at best and oppressive at worst.

This is by no means wholly the fault of Rising Sun, an artist whose prerogative obviously
entitles him to create and define his art however he sees fit.

Certainly club managers I have spoken to are wary of booking hip-hop shows. Though at
various times, all of the major venues in Ithaca have hosted hip-hop shows, many promoters
spoke off the record about their hesitancy to do so. (It should be noted that this is not a
blanket condemnation: on Dec. 20, Castaways is hosting a hip-hop party that is clearly not
focused on a so-called "conscious" message. But this resistance to hip-hop as a genre
smacks of prejudiced, perhaps no less reprehensible than the despicable sign at the door at
the Second Floor Bar - which bans certain clothing - an institution I often wonder why
anyone would visit.

Professor Eversley-Bradwell raised a salient point, which makes things even more complex.
Though my role as a journalist might be to promote a broad spectrum of artists, "some hip-
hop thrives in the underground, outside of the mainstream." Eversley-Bradwell continued:
"Though there might not be a visible hip-hop scene at the Haunt, underground might be
where hip-hop wants to be. If the market has had a negative impact on content and artistic
ability, one shouldn't forget that making music is an artistic expression."

Keeping that in mind, it only seems fair that those who do want more of a public spotlight
should be given the opportunity to do so on Ithaca's stages. Emcees like Diamond Ricelli
and DJ Illmatic feel that in a self-proclaimed politically-correct environment, they have been
shut out.

"I don't mean to talk down to them, and I completely respect Gunpoets as artists and as
human beings," Illmatic explained, "but those guys who are saying that hip-hop artists aren't
positive when they aren't singing about CNN headlines, or the Iraq war should be wise to the
fact that the news infrastructure is as controlled as the musical media infrastructure." He
continued: "We just have fun. Just because we're not rapping about what they consider to

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Hip Hop Response Page 3 of 4

be politically appropriate, doesn't mean that we're not being authentic."

The question of authenticity is also a complicated one in hip-hop, as it is often deployed,

through the phrase "keeping it real" to create inauthentic music. Diamond Ricelli's "Stripper
Song" might have a good beat, but might personally not be my favorite hip-hop song of the
year. But to question his authenticity seems a more complicated question.

"My mother is at a lot of these shows," Jayhigh maintained. "She doesn't have to hear about
violence and raping your mother and all of that. I'm a rapper and if somebody's whack I'll tell
them that they're whack."

Jayhigh continued: "I had this conversation with Money Mars, and I told him that. You know,
he was rapping about crack on Plain Street and I said, 'Nobody needs to hear about that.'
One, you might get people in trouble, and two, this is Ithaca. Nobody wants to hear about
that."

Money Mars, caught at work, was stunned and practically speechless. "You just have to
listen to my music. No one can judge and say what's right and what's wrong and what's
good and what's false. By singing about politics one might be spreading lies. When I'm
talking about spinning rims and these things I don't even have, you just have to listen to
what I'm saying. You just have to hear it."

And on this point, I stand resolutely by Money Mars' words. As Professor Eversley-Bradwell
pointed out, "hip-hop - like academic work and journalism - deserves to be critiqued and
examined." But first and foremost, it deserves to be heard. Hip-hop is in Ithaca, but the more
you listen, the more you hear.

And perhaps that begins a conversation about hip-hop in Ithaca, as well as few related
issues. As far as I know, as a cultural movement and as a manifestation of resistance and
revolution, hip-hop has never been about what your mother - or her generation - wants to
hear.

Gunpoets will perform Dec. 27 at Castaways, along with Ave Mack and Jayhigh. Thousands
of One will perform this Saturday at the Chapter House with Money Mars; they will also open
for Sim Redmond Band on Dec. 31 at Castaways. Jsan and the Analogue Sons will appear
at the Chapter House on Dec. 20.

Diamond Ricelli will appear this Saturday at Pancho Villa with Flatline, a group from Owego;
he will appear again at Castaways on Dec. 20 with many others. For more information visit
www.myspace.com/diamondricelli (not all of his songs are stripper songs). DJ Illmatic, who
has a mixtape in early 2009 featuring Paul Wall, is reachable at
www.myspace.com/djillmatic. Though he doesn't have any shows on the horizon, any
upcoming appearances will be posted here.

Ave Mack has not only the stellar So Let It Be Written, but three other fantastic mixtapes,
including a collaboration with Diamond Ricelli called Birth of a Dynasty. For more
information, visit www.myspace.com/avemack or www.myspace.com/empirekings.

Look out for more of Money Mars in 2009, with what I wouldn't be surprised will turn out to
be the best album of the year. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/moneymars.

---

Live Wire, and Luke Z. Fenchel, welcomes all comments, and will hopefully continue this
conversation in his December column. He is available at livewire.ithacatimes@gmail.com.

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