May 30, 2014

Joe Sinistr "Under The Sun" (The Source, 5/94)


"The funk returns to New York with the second track off the Terminator X compilation. Most will recall Joe Sinistr from the lyrical contributions he made on Erick Sermon's solo project. After putting "Pepsi on diets" and "devouring worlds like Galactus," Joe's mad verbal deconstructions got him off to a good start in the underground. And as "Under The Sun" proves, Joe has a lot in store for the future. Joe comes from the East Coast branch of the funk school. Which means that his tracks are gritty enough to play in the car, but not so overwhelming that they drown out his rhymes. The beat for "Under The Sun" - which is best described as one-half P-Funk and one-half "Star Trek The Next Generation" - sets the stage for Joe's "anything goes" lyrical expedition. Like Redman, his most obvious influence, when he turns on the mic he doesn't stop rhyming until the track is done. What does he rhyme about? To be honest, it's kind of hard to figure out. He hides his messages beneath layers of Kool Keith-like cryptic codes, lyrical dead ends and patchwork ideas. His rhyme scheme resembles what you would hear if you were to randomly go down your radio dial at three second intervals and record the results ... The emphasis here is not on what Joe actually says, it's on how he says it. And as long as the beats connect and his flow is on time, no one is going to be mad." - The Source (5/94) Peep the video for "Under The Sun" below. (Updated: new video link).