"We're basically animated reality - just all superhero
powered-out and saving the world."
Nothing else could so aptly describe the concept of Grayskul
and their new album, "Deadlivers," which drops February 15th via
Rhymesayers Entertainment-a label respected by their peers in the industry and
loved by the fans who buy their music. This Minneapolis-based label is perhaps
the most appropriate place for a group such as this to reveal itself. The
comic-inspired concept will likely be well-received by a fan base that is used
to trying something new and a bit different, yet at the same time, "Deadlivers"
will expose the paradigmatic Atmosphere fan to a style and form that may throw
them for a bit of a loop.
In the stylistic vein of MF DOOM, Kool Keith, or even Handsome Boy Modeling School, this album acts as a form of escapism for the members
involved. It offers them the opportunity to write from a creative perspective
that might not otherwise befit their other musical endeavors. On this effort,
Oldominion's Onry Ozzborn and JFK link up with bassist Rob Castro to fashion an
almost movie-like soundscape-acting out the characters of Reason, Fiddle Back
Recluse, and Phantom Ghost El Topo respectively in the form of song.
Oftentimes, rappers are forced by critics and fans to limit their content to be
based off personal experience for fear of being labeled as perpetrators playing
something they're not. Grayskul circumvents this barrier by ducking from view
and reemerging suited up as their super-rap-hero alter egos, no longer stifled
or pigeonholed creatively by their true selves. Restriction and rule free,
Grayskul created a cohesive conceptual masterpiece, dark in tone, but
jam-packed with parables of morality often shrouded in multi-layered metaphor.
"'Prom Quiz' is about some misguided young woman that thinks
that if she goes to L.A. she's going to make it big and she ends up all.drugged
out and dead. Pretty much the L.A. porn star, speed addict, suicidal girl," describes
Castro regarding the lead single.
The allegorical nature displayed in "Prom Quiz" exemplifies
the usage of extended metaphor throughout the album, that acts as a vehicle
through which their final message is delivered. With "Prom Quiz", it's a warning
against excess, in this case carried out along a haphazard and misdirected
path, once pointing to fairly innocent and idealistic goal of achieving
stardom. Vices perpetrated through the song subject lead to an appropriately
harsh ending, perhaps an allusion to the fact that these guys are working
tirelessly to realize their desired end, instead of taking shortcuts or simply
expecting things to fall into their lap.
When asked about the approachability of such a seemingly
dense project, Castro answers, "At this point, I don't really think about what
others think. I'm just really excited to work with people of high caliber and
put out product that I'm proud of, and then if [listeners] get it, they get it,
and if they don't, they don't."
"It's weird, with this album coming out there are a lot of
people excited about it with all the guests and everything that's happening,
but people don't really understand the concept just yet because it hasn't
really been explained to anybody, so somebody that grabs the album might be
like 'what the hell?!' .These guys always do something crazy at their shows,
they'll walk out with aliens on their heads. Normal people just go to a show
and they see performers just rap and then get off the stage - call and response
or whatever and it's like, 'Yay! Great!' But these guys try to make a
production out of it when they go and perform, and people often don't get it,
which is dope. They'll be like, 'what the f*ck?' and yet be intrigued," added
Mr. Hill, who provided a bulk of the production on "Deadlivers."
Fortunately, it seems that whether or not the listener "gets
it", they're at least captivated. The mysterious nature of this project is
strong enough to solicit, at the very least, a feeling of inexplicable
attraction for the listener. This serves to bring them back for a second, more
closer, listening in hopes of unraveling the storyline to get at the pearl of
knowledge contained at the center of it all.
Upon initially shopping the Grayskul concept, primarily in
the form of tracks that came to be part of the "Thee Adventures" tour CD, the
response was even better than expected. Labels were falling over themselves in
an attempt to release this group's album and fellow artists across the country
were asking how they could get involved with the project. This love and support
served to further validate the members' desire to see this project into
fruition. It's appealing nature also facilitated the collaborations with
independent power-houses like Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, Canibus and others; all who
wanted to don the mask of supporting character in this storyline. The
opportunity to flex one's creative talent doesn't always arise in this
industry, so it really shouldn't have surprised anyone that Grayskul would have
received this extremely excited and sympathetic response from their peers.
On top of its unique conceptual format, "Deadlivers" also
brings a sonic wholeness courtesy not only of beats from Mr. Hill, BeanOne,
FaktsOne, and Onry himself, but from the bass provided by Castro in the guise
of El Topo. His addition to many of the songs is so seamless at times that it
is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the production; yet upon closer
inspection its role is obviously significant. In his own words, he "provides a
really nice, fat, low end that's not always in production nowadays." His live
instrumentation adds an organic feel that doesn't stray too far from the
structured nature of sequenced beats. He also supplies an element of
improvisation that, these days is lacking in many live performances, as well as
adding that extra special something between songs that connects them so as to
give the whole production an almost cinematic approach, like a fading segue
between scenes.
"Deadlivers" operates much like a movie or comic book, and
as such, revealing too much of the content would spoil the ending. Just know
that every necessary element is represented: a thorough plotline, an able body
of players, a successfully implemented vision, and a beautifully orchestrated
audio foundation upon which it is all built. So when the album drops, go cop it
and decide for yourself whether or not you "get it."
Mr. Hill, echoing Castro's sentiments, put it like this:
"It's just sincere f@#&ing music that we believe in. If people like it, they
do. If they don't, then that's cool, too."
Look out for Grayskul's "Deadlivers" on Rhymesayers
Entertainment on February 15th in fine retailers near you.
Contact: djethx@musicaentertainment.com
