I gotta say this one hit me hard. Not only do I have a tremendous amount of respect for Zumbi and his unparalleled ability to craft songs that bridge the gap between indie and mainstream while still remaining intelligent and real as hell, but it is entirely fair to say his work is the reason I ever gave hip hop a real shot, and consequently the reason I'm even writing on this blog today.
"Silly Putty" was a bit of a local hit in the early part of the 21st century, and I remember hearing it on the radio and being instantly captivated. The production was phenomenal and completely unlike anything I'd ever heard before, and the lyrics spoke frankly and sincerely about matters of the spirit with a wisdom and maturity that instantly made me a fan (at this point I didn't even know who the Grouch was, but his contribution to the song was obviously notable as well.) The song was especially important to me given that the type of music and especially hip hop coming out around that time was not to my liking at all. Sexually explicit for no real reason in very misogynistic ways, materialistic, unintelligent and just all around un-good. I guess it's all a matter of preference, but I will say that at 16 years old Zumbi convinced me to give rap a chance, and the rest for me is history.
Fast forward a bit, and I was staying at a friends house while completely unable to sleep. I did some digging around in his music folder looking for something to alleviate the boredom of listening to him snore and the discomfort of trying to fall asleep on hardwood. I found Mind Over Matter. I remembered "Silly Putty" and I let the album spin and was transported to another realm entirely. Amp Live's spacey drum and bass influenced compositions sounded to me at the time like the music one might hear in another dimension, perhaps even one that exists to accept us after we pass. Especially notable are the songs "Trippen", "How Many", "One", and "Innerlight (Icy Mix)" but the entire album is (in my very humble opinion) a serious standout in the history of hip hop and most especially in my journey into the culture.
Covid-19 is changing the course of humanity in all sorts of tragic and unexpected ways. Zumbi's death is to me one more reminder of how serious this disease is. But I didn't write this to speak on that. We hear it enough. I wrote this to take a moment to remember teenage me discovering hip hop, what I feel is the true "music fan's music", and for the first time being truly moved by poetry. I'm going to link that album. If you haven't heard it (very unlikely) please do give it a listen. If you have heard it, take some time to get reacquainted with it's magic and soul.
And if you don't already own it... I'm linking iTunes instead of my usual favorite vendor Bandcamp because it contains the Innerlight remix and Bandcamp, for some inexplicable reason, doesn't.
Stay safe and cherish each other. Thanks for reading.
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