NEW MUSIC - '911 Freestyle' by Stratuzy

Augusta GA's got so much fresh talent bubblin' on deck it's not even funny.  Over the legendary Wyclef and Mary J. collab '911', rapper Stratuzy offers us a lyrical exercise of a freestyle.  He refers to himself as the "21st Century Odysseus" while taking us on a journey through his thought process.  Enjoy this cut and stay tuned for more from this young brotha who hails from the same camp that brought us Truez, Kumar, and AE.

The Experienced Listener Presents: 'Live From Shirley' by Jay Bussie, 2/15/16

Yes… PNCLBRKR still rocks with Jay Bussie and the Young Scholar Movement.  I’m always excited to hear new material from this brotha, and I recently was fortunate  enough to be greeted with his new 6-track EP, Live From Shirley, (Available on iTunes!!!). 

From the time I heard the intro Off the Top  I was glad to hear that this was the same ol’ Bussie.  Specifically, Bussie has created a unique sound for himself; the best way I can describe it is, “Make it sound like you’ve been here before”--- the vibe is kinda like the owner of a speakeasy that’s been open serving customers for years.  A lavish sound, but not as arrogant as some others who’ve tried it.  I don’t know who did the sampling for this track, but they really pulled some unique elements together; if I didn’t know better, I’d say there's some gospel harmonies sampled into the backdrop, with some near-Go-Go style drums in the foreground, and even a little Calypso here and there.  But we didn’t come here for beats we came here for Bussie; what’s he been up to?

I’m just imaging what turned a Shirley nigga so arrogant/

Without question it was the Paris trip/

Word?!  I’m always glad to see our people getting out of the area to see the rest of the world!  Perhaps this is where the more refined sound is coming from!

Nevertheless, on the very next track, Child of Pavement, Bussie lets us know that as he’s gone abroad what he HASN’T done is forget his homebase.  Over a much more street-conventional beat, he spits:

Due to the paper they making/

These rappers be thinkin they greater, But that’s a debate/

Cause what’s on my plate,/

The crew and I did without any favors/

Without any labels, without any majors/

Got in the game and stayed in our lane/

Created a legacy it was our destiny/

Soon as it came, nobody changed/

Nobody switched, kept it legit/

Fake homies get there to stay for a minute/

As soon as we finished they thought it was ending/

Public opinion about us diminished/

But same way we got it the same way we get it/

Had to come back to the streets wit a vengeance/

Hit up the homies and told ‘em let’s get it/

Started a business and stayed independent/

…I LOVE IT.  I’m very pro-Black-owned businesses, and that last line reminds me of Tristan Walker,the 30-year-old founder of Bevel  men’sproducts, who has refused to sell his company to Schick, Gillette, and Proctor& Gamble.  Read about him, he’s got the right idea…  

I could talk about any track on the Live from Shirley EP, they’re ALL dope.  But I’m gonna bypass Homecoming for some different subject matter found on track 4, Confident.  Young brothas need to really listen to this track because Bussie drops some jewels about the right kinda attitude to have when finding one’s way in the world.  Peep this hook:

Everything I been through made me confident/

Everything I been through made me confident/

I been through a lot of shit/

They can keep the fame and acknowledgement/

Everything I been through made me confident/

Never been concerned/

Never been concerned with the common shit/

Everything I been through made me confident/

Shootouts to scholarships/

Crazy I was scared to be dominant/

But everything I been through made me confident/

That’s it!  It’s all about gaining experience, just like David in the Bible from a shepherd to a champion to a king.  It’s really not about the standing or the falling, but about the learning process--- what you take away from every experience.  And speaking of experience, one thing I love about this track is that Bussie uses a new delivery that I haven’t heard up to now; smooth as always, but he kinda swaggers into all of his syllables and rides the beat more comfortably and more nonchalantly than usual.  Nothing like a little maturation!

I’m at a point in my life where I can look back at mistakes I’ve made and show the marks they left on me; fortunately, we melanin types tend to have keloid tendencies, so my scars heal twice over.  And after listening to Bussie’s Scars, I can say that he likewise knows the experience.  Scars is a track about missteps he’s made along the way, but also a track about his refusal to be intimidated going forward, and his commitment to continue to pursue the things that he wants by… pursuing the things that he wants.  ‘Sounds redundant, but I know some people who need to understand that simple principle:  nothing you want in life should be expected to come to you--- as Bussie says on the track, “If you want it, go get it, how Hazel raised me.” Pray about it, inquire about it, work for it, get close to it, whatever you gotta do, just GO.  Period.  And sometimes it’s not a straight path or an easy journey; but if you survive, you’ll recover, and you can make a dope track about ya scars on the other side of success, just like Bussie does here.

Speaking of maturation and such, I read an article recently where they say folks around my age--- early to mid-30’s--- tend to have less and less capacity for listening to music.  Crazy as it sounds, it’s kinda true; I rarely sit through entire albums like I used to, even good ones.  At the same time, there are some deserving young artists out there still grinding for their spot, so I’ll be doing my best to get them some spotlight whenever I can muster up enough concentration and patience.  Jay Bussie, keep at it, I appreciate that hard work!  On that last track My Life, when you say, “If you give me a mic, I’ll give you my life”, that’s a beautiful exchange.  Nothing but #RESPECT for you and your art.