By Sunez aka SkillastratorLO

Sometimes a bandana that lagged in the wind he wailed through the grooves. Or more than a handkerchief, something to hold and flare his punchlines out to the audience with. With prose that loosened the grip of any and all foes, the guise of a playful survivor’s antics but really soldiering with the semantics of a wartime’s  tactics, one of the stylistics living mathematics past 120 didactics.

So tonight, at the juncture of the set when we’ve passed the songs that introduce your skills and finally reach the precipice of musical conversation where notes and words merge into rhythmic representations of the listeners’ hearts. Now the microphone needed to hold to its stand  as his facade of sweat shined of steeped brilliance, he pulls out another select Ralph Lauren pocket square. Of a wine dominant foulard with a devastating print that was crafted in the mill of Como sourced from Mantero. The fabric of elegance a tool to control the glisten and verse us into songs we never thought could be performed so dynamically. 

Rim, a Master of the Cipher in the toughest musical cloths. One of the greatest MC mentors, an athletic weaver who enthuses the song with the joy of rhyming and has a wordplay that exudes grit and comedic craft, he has personified the charismatic realism that is Brooklyn Hip Hop bridging the 90’s through this era with his work. He has done this as a solo MC earning his features with the late Sean Price (Remembered In Perfection) as well as showing the brotherhood of personal to musical camaraderie creating exceptional duet LPs with Eddie Kaine, a rising star of the era.  At this time, the end of this 2023 year, I can’t consider him anything less than an Essential MC of this era. He is a staple of the mecca, NYC, and his works have an increasing resonance with the live early 90s era (i.e. 2021’s Phresh Waves LP or 2022’s Meta LP with Eddie Kaine) without sounding derivative or deliberately retro. 

The works for Rim are about concentrated supremacy. LP’s that show deft skill, craft and personify his persona. Beginning with triple threat MC/DJ/producer Finn offering the beatscapes for Rim to scrape on the M!ND STATE LP. The chime, chime, chime then together with the echo’d snare on “Closed Mouths,” he dives in the pocket and back strokes, “Only spit with the hitters, these cats kitty litter, thinking you could ride with the wave until you need a skipper, one way bicker/ I won’t let who sour turn me bitter/ saw some play the bigger person until they kicked the liquor/ some strive to see you fall/ that hate be the tripper/ it’s cold as metal in winter when we gotta break fast for dinner…” Rim maneuvers between straight talk and the beautifying of his lines by poetic abstraction. Finn’s beats create thick drum atmospheres with excellent musical blends as the wavering bells and a gorgeous horn on “No Assembly” “…Blended covidly on them city streets/ watch you on the creep/ the real ones is obsolete/rats are protected so it make it hard to plug a leak/ take a leap/ if you think it’s worth it/ if not, niggas will Earth you/ I’m my own boss but i move on you like I’m the worker/ I learn from mistakes push for the numbers to elevate/ but I medicate and watch cats moving like a snake.” The high kick and tisk on “Live Life,” for a tough trio with Eddie Kaine (“the main focus/remain focused…separate the space creators and the shape shifters”) and Maffew Ragazino (“…made the most difficult course look like the path of least resistance/ but I cannot take all the credit my ancestors lent assistance…every single thing I do not have was meant for me…”), the deep slow bass drum on simply sublime digital key notes on “Sitting Duck” where Rim double times in a relaxed tempo where he stretches out the last vowels of his punchlines beautifully or the lead video single that is the epitome, a perfected textbook exhibition of New York Hip Hop today with UFO Fev and Eddie Kaine brilliantly adding on.

Watching the video seals it and it also amplifies the great pocket presence as he claps right in break sync with his bars leading with a impeccable verse, “Yo, we locking the raw/ and we locked in accord / that tough act will get a round of applause/ when ghetto laws get followed and broke/ you can’t hang or shorten your rope/ for stash hoes I slash holes inside of my coat/ stripes make you official and not an image could mimic/ but couldn’t really be in it if you was British/ and consignment running it back I need a Heisman/ all hands is clocked in we on time and/ we could shoot the power refine/ nobody cares what you said cause what’s done is how you define…” It’s signature Rim as he’s able to build on extracting the integrity out of street ethos while cleverly using simile and wordplay to keep the pockets gliding and the wittiness witting. A brilliant LP to lead off the year. Essential.

With J. Beers producing, Verse Ability LP continues the cleverness as on the chugging drum with sand, crush and click effects, “Pale Ale” versing, “Me and my niggas defying moving with hope had to make an alliance it’s chemistry that’s why we greet each other with ‘what’s the science?’ and you’ll never get a job done if you ain’t applying/ selling/ or buying/ or Lauryn Hills to mount you in Zion…” Fused with a drawled chorus by Passport Rav and a conversational build on the struggle holding onto authenticity the song binds itself in a wonderful groove. The beats take this approach throughout with that offer Rim pockets inside of meticulously crafted funk with many nice arrangements. The long glitch sound through the guitar licks and marching drum on “Steele Reserve,” with a nice piano backed bridge section for the chorus.  The drum sequencing is extremely active throughout from the bass thumping and the drum clicking alternating on “Oatmeal Stout,” the maraca shake on guitar notes and high treble drum making appearances in a very sparse timing on “Ballantine X,” the contrasting drum sets pounding on the vocal quip in the background with the stuttery drumroll halt stumble on the sides of “Bud Wiser,” or the Son’d percussives of maracas, gorgeous horn echo and polyrhythmic vegetables on the conga tumbao beats with the high cymbal snared drum thrown on top of “Hops” the production is the kind of brilliance that unwraps layers the more listened to. They are almost unnoticeable in complexity when Rim and his guest MCs cut through the pockets but on repeated listenings the joy of exposing the aural nuances is exhilarating. The Hip Hop range is broad from the fly partying of “Hops” with its alternating arrangements to the grim of the sparse pound of “On Point Ale” where Rim stories deftly through it. A powerful album and a potent display of Rim’s diversity and J. Beers’ depth.

On Rimbrandt – Oil Based LP, the producer diversity is a welcome blend from the steady spoke stream from Rim makes Nolan the Ninja’s use of an oft used bassline on “Kanye Braces,” or on Farma Beats’ take on the dancehall classic on “Ring The Alarm” or on DJ Skizz’ snare splatt “The Belt” the beats are pocket holders as Rim enlists some of the best swimmers today. Hobgoblin’s horn and drum crash glide on “Illustrious Provisions” or “Return of the Prodigal” with The Standouts giving a hypnotic cauldron of bubbling sounds on the sparse underbeat. The cleverness is everywhere on Rimbrandt from Sebb Bash’s menacing bass blare on “SlumBrandt” (“You don’t compute until you hacking”) or “When she showed me her moon I had to give her evil D” on “Still Open.” The beat diversity has Rim work his cadences from a calmness of enunciation on “Return of the Prodigal” and “SlumBrandt” to the more emphasized chorusing honoring of Digable Planets of “Like That” to the long bounce to bounce bar flowing on “Still Open.” Rim really has such a mastery of the diverse musicality in MCing over its fifty years and this is the main exercise of this LP, a clinic of techniques to stylistic excellence. 

ORDER THE NEW BOOKS BY SUNEZ:

(To order DM @sunez on IG, @sunez7 on Twitter or email sunez97@gmail.com)

The MANTRAS ACROSS THE MEDINAS LP LYRIC BOOK

By Sunez aka SkillastratorLO

All the lyrics to the powerful LP by @kingkvmal and I, #Sunez, with #ScienceOnMusic analysis of the lyrics as well as extended essays and builds on the creation of all the songs as well as the many issues and topics presented through them.

Mantras Across The Medina is an album uniting the soulful introspective verses of Chicago’s King Kvmal of C-Medina (Chicago) and the revolutionary poetry of Sunez Allah of Medina (Brooklyn). Both Gods of the 5% Nation of Gods and Earths, their brotherhood has merged to make these crafted songs on a myriad of subjects upholding their passion for freedom, justice and equality. It is a work created with love for their families, people, crews and their culture. Kvmal is one of the most underrated and unsung MCs to create music with a long rich history making him an unparalleled song crafter, producer and arranger of the Hip Hop song. Sunez, aka SkillastratorLO, of the LO Lifes and The Leftovers NYC collective, has been a premier Hip Hop writer/journalist/author for over 25 years. Having made his Hip Hop writing a creative and documentary element of Hip Hop, MCs from Prince Powerule (aka Marcano of The Leftovers NYC), Agallah, Willie Waze, Skanks the Rap Martyr and others have brought him into the booth to add on his poetry and prose on wax. Kvmal went further and pushed Sunez further into creating an entire LP of spoken word, verses and straight MCing with him.

The mission with Mantras Across The Medinas was to express the blues, heartache, emotion and layered builds they’ve accumulated through song.

PURCHASE HERE:  https://sunezkingkvmal.bandcamp.com/merch/mantras-across-the-medinas-lyric-book

THE REAL OF 2022

by Sunez aka #SkillastratorLO 

Sunez’ annual REAL OF work is the ultimate analysis of the best musicians and artists in Hip Hop music today bracketed into a revolutionary new system of ciphers that categorize this entire musical universe.

Sunez’ annual REAL OF work is the ultimate analysis of the best musicians and artists in Hip Hop music today bracketed into a revolutionary new system of ciphers that categorize this entire musical universe.

In THE REAL OF 2022 book, the following ciphers is the new innovative way to present the massive world of Hip Hop music this era the author has called The #InvisibleRenaissance (2010’s onward), has shown and still has not been completely seen. Instead of small or long lists of opinions judging the best, the presentation of this whole universe of great work into categories of styles, titles, truths and identities the artists fall into. They overlap consistently and the notations begin to cover all of the diversity. THE REAL OF 2022 proves the waste of so-called number one or top ten to top 50 album lists, often meant to promote the said media and legitimize pop acts, does not present the immense world of excellence, in bulk, that Hip Hop music is today. This continues the series of books begun with last year’s The Real of 2021 (And 2020!).

Included:

Real #ScienceOnMusic analysis:

Over 550 albums analyzed

Over 300 artists profiled

Over 460 pages total

Also the crate collector great MaxLO’s top list including his best 260 LPs & 700 verses of the year lists for 2022.

This book is something only Sunez could write. Cover immaculately designed again by the Almighty #Paragone of Celestial Productions 

#GoTryToFindAnotherWriterWithMyKindOfGrammar

THE P.E.A.C.E. COURSE:

BUILDS ON TEACHING THE KNOWLEDGE OF SELF

Sunez Allah has been a 5 Percenter, one of the Gods of the 5% Nation of Gods and Earths since 1999. Sunez, a prominent creative who has pioneered the establishment of the Writer element in Hip Hop as a writer/journalist/historian, published hundreds of articles, essential books, host of DJ Toshi’s Classic Storm Radio show and his own podcast, The Power Write Show. He is a member of the prominent Lo Lifes organization as well as the anti-gentrification collective, The Leftovers NYC.

Sunez has been an author and editor of major works on the 5% Nation of Gods and Earths including editing The Immortal Birth by Allah Jihad, The Righteous Way & The Righteous Way: The Golden Jubilee Edition, and The Righteous Way: Infinity Edition by Starmel Allah and co-editing the Knowledge of Self: A Collection of Wisdom on the Science of Everything in Life.

As a member of the 5% NGE, he has taught the longest running course at Allah School in Mecca, in Harlem, New York City. The P.E.A.C.E. Course book is a collection of prose, essays and builds written on the knowledge of self, the 5% teachings and his pedagogical insights amassed over these last 22 years. 

Art On Art: 

Creations That Born This Hip Hop Writer Element

by Sunez aka #SkillastratorLO 

Art On Art is a collection of poetry and prose by Sunez, a Hip Hop writer/journalist/historian for over a quarter century. Back in 1995, in order to make his work an element of Hip Hop, Sunez realized the works covering, analyzing and presenting other artists also had to be creative themselves. They needed to be Art On Art! Thus, the Writer element in Hip Hop would be fully born in complete outright acknowledgement. Embedding poetry and prose into music reviews, features, interviews and any other journalistic coverage of all sorts, his work has become an element of Hip Hop. 

Art On Art: Creations That Born This Hip Hop Writer Element contains over 120 poems, songs and works of prose that are inspired by the hundreds of artists, albums and events Sunez has written on since the 2010s, the beginning of this era he named (in 2012), The Invisible Renaissance.  Here in Art On Art, those poems and prose are extracted and left standing alone so that Sunez’ Art on all this incredible Art is highlighted.

With an immaculate cover created by Pecue, one of the leading artist/designer and music producers of this era, the many themes, insights and realities that Sunez has lived and seen are represented in this wonderful work of art.

To order DM Sunez IG, Sunez7 on twitter or email sunez97@gmail.com

 THE REAL OF 2021 (AND 2020!)

by Sunez aka #SkillastratorLO 

Sunez’ annual REAL OF work is the ultimate analysis of the best musicians and artists in Hip Hop music today bracketed into a revolutionary new system of ciphers that categorize this entire musical universe.

In THE REAL OF 2021(AND 2020!) book, the following ciphers is the new innovative way to present the massive world of Hip Hop music this era the author has called The #InvisibleRenaissance (2010’s onward), has shown and still has not been completely seen. Instead of small or long lists of opinions judging the best, the presentation of this whole universe of great work into categories of styles, titles, truths and identities the artists fall into. They overlap consistently and the notations begin to cover all of the diversity. THE REAL OF 2021 (AND 2020!) proves the waste of so-called number one or top ten to top 50 album lists, often meant to promote the said media and legitimize pop acts, does not present the immense world of excellence, in bulk, that Hip Hop music is today. This is the start of the ONLY book series that will.

Real #ScienceOnMusic analysis:

Over 800 albums analyzed

Over 250 artists profiled

Over 400 pages total

Also includes the crate collector great @maxlo201 Top 200+ LP & 500+ verses of the year lists for 2021 (And 2020!)

This book is something only Sunez could write. Cover immaculately designed by the Almighty #Paragone @celestialproductions 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

#GoTryToFindAnotherWriterWithMyKindOfGrammar

The Filtered Real: Essays From the Invisible Renaissance

A collection of #ArtOnArt & #ScienceOnMusic essays from a pioneer of the Hip Hop Writer element, Sunez aka #SkillastratorLO. Noted for dubbing this 2010’s decade’s best Hip Hop, the #InvisibleRenaissance, Sunez details the major artists, works, trends and insights of the era. Using the massive amount of works released in 2018 to springboard through the histories of countless greats and legends of the era, this collection will be an important historical document of this era’s music as well as a prime example of exemplifying the mantra of bringing #ScienceOnMusic and displaying #ArtOnArt. Artists featured include DJ Muggs and Cypress Hill, Napoleon Da Legend, Black Thought Dom Pachino, Ka, Planet Asia, Dom Pachino, Sean Price, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, Roc Marciano, Nas, Westside Gunn, Conway, Benny the Butcher, August Greene and more… #HipHop #HipHopWriter #hiphopjournalism #hiphoppodcast #HONORtheREAL

Never #RespectFAKE

#GoTryToFindAnotherWriterWithMyKindOfGrammar

To order any and all books: DM Sunez IG, Sunez7 on twitter or email sunez97@gmail.com

Sunez Allah aka #SkillastratorLO of the LO LIFES
#LOVEandLOYALTY A #LoLife

The organization of these principles around a counterculture, an expressive arts of creation that uplifts the ideas and thoughts of an oppressed people, is why I’m an honored builder amongst legends, knighted by heroes of Medina (Rakim Supreme Shabazz Allah/Rudy Lo, Thirstin Howl the 3rd, Bonz Malone) to further create in my element as a Hip Hop Writer (creative author/principled journalist/honoring historian) of #ArtOnArt & #ScienceOnMusic. So the world may find love that locks in with the action of loyalty though they may never find another writer with my kind of grammar…

Living and sharing the pillars of:

#KnowledgeOfSelf

#LoveAndLoyalty

#OriginalCreativity

Peace, Sunez Allah

aka #SkillastratorLO