Official Decree of the Hippity-Hoppity
I, BKP, declare that from this moment henceforth, the latest album from the Twin Cities hip-hop group Heiruspecs will be the official after hours music of the Twin Cities.
As you all may or may not know, I seem to find myself out and about at odd hours of the night that usually involve very few digits in their digital representations. Sometimes it’s a quarter of 4 and you’re the only one in downtown Minneapolis on a Monday morning, and sometimes it’s just shortly after midnight and you’re mingling with the last few buses out of the city center in an attempt to get home. Either way…when it’s late and it’s dark — and, at this time of the year, when it’s ass cold — a girl’s gotta have some music to keep herself warm.
I know what you’re thinking: “Why the new Heiruspecs album?” Well, have a seat. Have a seat right here and let me tell you.
There is nothing QUITE like listening to “Without Much Sleep” as you walk through downtown Minneapolis at 4:15 on an chilly January morning when there is quite literally not a single other living being about. The lights of Nicollet Mall twinkled and glistened like sugar crystals on a gingerbread house and the snow that had just started to fall that morning was lining the streets untouched and pristine like frosting on a cake. This is pure magic, I assure you.
Another reason would be that this album literally makes me proud to be from the Twin Cities. Not that I wasn’t before — not by any means cos golly gee I love my cities. It’s just that this album has a heady feeling of being local to it and it makes me sit back and think, “Shit. I am from the same town that this stuff is coming from. I am a local just like these guys are locals.” That’s a very powerful feeling. What’s even better is that it makes me THAT much more excited to leave because it means I will have something amazing to come back home to.
The first time I listened to this album, I experienced the most amazing sensation of the sounds coming in through my ears aligning with the visuals coming through my eyes. I’ll be honest, I was completely unfamiliar with the music — and for the most part, the genre — until very recently. But within the first two full listen-throughs, it became completely obvious that this album is a perfect aural demonstration of 612 meets 651. Having grown up in St. Paul, I feel I am fairly informed enough to say that 651 has always struck me as raw and gritty — where shit is just plain local. Minneap, on the other hand, has a certain air of swank and class to it — however authentic that may or may not be. But these two cities somehow work together to create a crazy atmosphere, if you will, that this new album represents flawlessly. Listen to the instrumentals of this album and tell me that you don’t here the 612 threaded through it. At the same time, listen to the lyrics on any of the songs and try to deny the blatant reality of St. Paul that gushes from the rhymes. So here we are. I have spent a significant amount of time attempting to share with you the epic influence this album has had on my life as of late. Maybe you feel me, maybe you don’t. It doesn’t matter, not in the long run, I suppose. This is about the Heiruspecs album, but it’s also not about the album. It’s about appreciate music that represents something unique to you and where you’re from. It’s about music and identity.
This album is mine, yours, his, hers. You should move with me, move with me.
Peace out.
01/26/09
8 months ago • 0 notes