May 13, 2015

King Just "No Flow On The Rodeo" (The Source, 5/95)


"Although the infectious chant "Hey ya, hey ya, hey ya ho!" had heads assuming King Just - another Shaolin native - was a Wu-Tang affiliate, it nonetheless emerged as one of the brightest moments in 1994. From Tallahassee to Compton, Just's voice - with those of the Shaolin Soldiers - could be heard catching wreck. Aware of the comparisons to Wu-Tang made by many fans, and knowing that his Shaolin Soldiers were similar to the colorfully-titled Killer Bzz, Just, who happens to be one of Method Man's old homies, respectfully moves away from the sound of his debut. With "No Flows On The Rodeo," he begins to come into his own style, which, over warrior beats, displays a take-no-prisoners attitude. The single's drums avoid the circular swing popularized by the other group; its rhythm thumps hard; it's more distinct; and best of all, his lyrical flow has developed." Cont'd below...


"From the Raekwonesque verses heard on his first joint ("So feel the bast of the Hell-Raiser's gun"), he focuses on delf and begins to build a recognizable identity. To do this, he effectively combines the improvisational flair of a Keith Murray with the precariousness of an Ol' Dirty Bastard and fuses that to his own confrontational concepts. A psychotic lyricist who doesn't need to be grimy, Just's forte is the drunken technique - a cognent, metaphor-laden approach that swings on counterfeit, free cheese "... I'm thinking / of a fucking masterplan! / To be the man / that made me the man that I am / Goddamn / the nigga slams / like NBA jams," he bluntly states, a bit Meth-like but lending 'ams' his own touch. Still and all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and it appears that King Just has found a definite sound of his own that should work for everybody." - The Source (May, 1995).