Hurry Up that Soul Music

"Soul Music, feat. Eleon" by Hezekiah

All right, I know I've been a little short on the hip-hop tip (go ahead and look through my posts, I know its true), but just because I don't post much hip-hop doesn't mean I enjoy and appreciate it any less than good rock & roll, techno or pop music. On that note, I'd like to present Delaware's finest (by way of Illadelph), Hezekiah.

Born and raised just south of Philadelphia in Delaware, he grew up with jazz and blues always playing on the family stereo, sang in church choir AND his Uncle's Funk band The Funk Disciples as a child. As a teen in the mid-80s, he started using a drum machine and multi track recorder to bring live hip-hop to life with his Cousin and Uncle in their living room (always the place to start). Once out of High School, he got up with a local crew, put together a mixtape that sold two thousand copies at shows and parties, then got himself situated in the then growing Philly underground scene. He hooked up with the Roots crew in 93, and has worked with many of the secene's other shining stars, including Musiq, Bilal, Bahamadia and the Jazzyfatnastees.

Jumping ahead a number of years - and you can hear the experience and time that went into this - we've got this as end-product: a new full-length album, Hurry Up & Wait, released by Soul Spazm. Fourteen tracks of beats, rhymes and soul-flow, ten of which Hezekiah produced himself in his bedroom studio. As a producer he brings a little something extra to his beats that I truly appreciate - this track, and most of his others, has the bounce of a late-90s Jay Dee, nee J-dilla, production: boom-bap drums, layers of keys and synths, booming basslines. Its solid stuff here and all over the album.

His flow is tight and rhythmic, not unlike some of Philly's other heads, and the guests he pairs up with are all highly complimentary to his style: the Roots' Scratch, Santi White from Stiffed, Bahamadia, Grand Agent, Cheif Kamachi, Richard Raw, Keziah, and honey-voiced Aaron Livingston.

You can buy the album direct from the label, here - also, check out some of the other Soul Spazm artists, including Grand Agent, who's got a new full-length coming up quick...

Ooh, and peep the video, featured on the OkayPlayer website, where Hezekiah is listed as a 'Now Hear This Spotlight' artist, and more MP3s and other goodies.