Monday’s Mood: Johnny P – The Next (1998)

Some artists never achieve the success they really deserve. Chicago crooner Johnny P is among them. Remembered by most for his extra terrestrial hook-work on songs such as Do Or Die’s Po‘ Pimp or Scarface’s Smile, featuring the late 2Pac, he is most unknown for his solo-works, which is more than tragic, since it’s, well – awesome!

His sophomore-release (we’ll come to his debut sometime later) is his magnum opus. The Next features slow jams as the contagious Bed Time Story, sporting Jodeci-esque swag and vocal timbre somewhere in between Michael Jackson and fellow Chicagoan R. Kelly or Don’t Deserve It, a self depicting song, full of shame and realization, assisted by Do Or Die-chopper A.K..

But there’s even more than your average compilation of baby making music. There’s hella funk, too!

Munchies For Ya makes you wanna get freaky with, well – basically every girl next to you (better never bump that one next to your wife AND some unknown females). Deep bass groves, hard snare drums and sparse melody let Johnny’s voice take over and the rhythm hit’em – with force!
Talking about force – it’s all over the release, with features by Do Or Die, Scarface and Low Ride, vicious double time flows and smooth player antics are guaranteed. The Next came in a period, when Rap-A-Lot was making a big transition from their classic days with artists like Geto Boys, Seagram, Big Mello, Too Much Trouble and Ganksta NIP, to the shiny era with a more No Limit Records-approach. This is what the album probably suffered from – a lack of promotion and a somewhat unclear identity. RAL had never released an R&B-album before and the mistakes were obvious.

While being hell of a cool song, Take It Like A Playa, featuring sinister Dirty South-beats and explicit raps in corporation with a Mob Style-video, might not’ve been the best way to break a sensitive R&B-vocalist like Johnny P.
That’s where it all goes wrong: the album’s quality is unquestionable. P’s trademark adlibs and superb singing, the state of the art-production and overall-aesthetic – it’s top knotch. But you’re not gonna create a classic record without letting everybody know you DID.

That’s why The Next stays a gem among those that deeply love R&B and/or the Rap-A-Lot-catalogue. Either way – it’s a pick well worth owning and just what one of the album’s song states: Not 4 The Radio!

God bless the dead: Hip Hop’s obsession with Death Part 1: Seagram – Man of Honor

It’s obvious: death is the superior way to stardom for every artist. But there’s no culture that’s as obsessed with death and tragedy as Hip Hop. People love rappers. They love producers and executives. But they worship martyrs. And no matter if they died fighting for their beliefs or not: any Hip Hop casualty turns into instant hero.

Let’s sum up the real tragic deaths Hip Hop had to suffer from, in a series starting with:

 

1. Seagram – Man of Honor

 

Rap has always involved tons of braggadocio on honor, respect and all those values we’ve learned from watching Goodfellas, The Godfather and Scarface. But when the chips are down – most cats simply fold. Seagram Miller didn’t. Seag was signed to Rap-A-Lot Records, back in the days. A label that was known to clown around. But his street cred ran way deeper than that.
His signing to Rap-A-Lot was due to a friendship with Houston-OG Ganksta NIP, who was infatuated with the realness Seagram brought to the table. Not only as a rapper – but as a person. He was one of those guys, nobody would have thought to be as deep in the streets as he was. Member of the 69 Street Villains, an East Oakland gang that was infamous all over town, he’d seen it all. And he displayed it within his raps. And even more: his lifestyle. When he and his comrade Gangsta P where at the Oakland Twomps-area in the early morning hours, on July 31st, 1996, a stranger opened fire on the two. Seag then jumped in the line of fire, protecting his long-time friend from the bullets, being shot numerous times – fatally.

It’s haunting, he got killed in the same Dark Roads he named his first album after. And even more tragic, he set exampled for manhood and honor by living his lyrics. Not by being gangster, but by reflecting the downward spiral of street life and gang affiliation.