story by Ronnie Reese
Marijuana and hip-hop go together like, well, marijuana and hip-hop.
While there are a slightly increasing number of rap artists who are
just saying no to the greenery, for countless others, love for the
Mary Jane remains consistent. It's tradition. When Chicago Innerview
asked lyricist Denizen Kane what it was that originally brought the
5-man Typical Cats crew together, he readily admits, "In the
beginning, it was weed," while laughing like someone who's probably
enjoying the fruits of living in sunny, danky Alameda County, California.
"I don't think you could find anybody that smoked as much as
we did."
Fortunately for Typical Cats - which in addition to Kane, includes
emcees Qwel and Qwazaar, producer DJ Natural and group scholar/man-on-the-street
Kid Knish - the cloud was lifted long enough for them to record Civil
Service (Galapagos 4), the follow-up to their self-titled 2001 debut,
set for release this fall. "The new album is rawer than a motherfucker,"
says Denizen, also an accomplished poet and member of the currently
disbanded spoken word group, I Was Born With Two Tongues. While he
likes the LP, Kane doesn't like having labels placed on what he does.
Or what he is. "I think every cat in the crew has something different
that they do. I never really felt tempted to define what it is that
I do. I just know that I do it."
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KANE'S INNER VIEW
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"I never really felt tempted to define
what it is that I do. I just know that I do it."
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What Denizen and the two Qs do is provide heavy lyrical muscle, leaving
DJ Natural alone to construct beats - not an easy task for three voices
that are similar in spirit, but have very disparate approaches to
rhyme. To Natural's ears, Qwazaar is the "flow technician…he
kills it," while Kane fuses his poetry base with a Native Tongues
style and flips it as his own. For battle-tested Qwel, "The writing
is the complete focal point," says Nat. "He's trying to
run laps around the competition."
It's been a challenge for the Queens, New York-based DJ and producer
to create music for all three emcees to shine on, but it's a challenge
he's happy to have. "I took this one as my baby and worked on
it for a couple of years," says Natural about producing tracks
for the new LP, and the results don't lie. "Easy Cause It Is,"
the first single from Civil Service, bangs like dirty Madlib remixes
did in 2000. "The way that people try to make beats that sound
like Primo's [DJ Premier], and do it badly, has inspired me more than
anything else," he explains. "I just want to make real music.
I don't like shallow posturing and bullshit.
"Civil Service has to do with building," Denizen explains.
"Hip-Hop is like a city in need of repair, like it's being gentrified,
or falling apart." It's an accurate assessment from the heady
emcee, who believes freedom is the tie that binds the Typical Cats
and allows them to make the impact they seek. While Kane flows on
higher ground, DJ Natural is the purist, the Low End Theory, DITC,
Pete Rock, break-mining hip-hop musician. Says Nat: "To get a
whole bunch of dope samples that fit together? That shit is hard.
"I don't think the best rap music has been made yet," he
concludes. "I'm just trying to make the best rap music."
Typical Cats :: Logan Square Auditorium :: October 22.