MR. AL PETE TRAVELS THROUGH THE RHYME ZONES
Written by John E. Citrone/Folio Weekly - March 4, 2015
Jacksonville hip-hop has always been a fickle beast. Some great stuff has been released over the past 20 years that I have been in town. And there has been some real crap, too. It’s easy enough for me to criticize, as I have never been a true fan of hip-hop (as discussed in a recent column), but when it’s good, it’s undeniably good. I became most familiar with the local hip-hop scene through the Hip-Hop Hell and The Elevated Hip-Hop Experience events held many years ago at local original-music venues. (I even hosted one of those events, dressed in an oversized rabbit costume. Almost got my ass kicked that night, but that’s another story.)
One of the names that has been at the core of the 904 hip-hop scene – at least in my memory – is Mr. Al Pete. DJ, producer, collaborator and promoter, Mr. Pete has always been visible as a friend of local hip-hop artists and a creator of original music. He’s a die-hard Jacksonvillian, always paying tribute to family and friends in his raps, and referencing J-ville landmarks in his rhymes as well. His latest release, Notsucal: G3.5, is a collection of five original raps (and a short intro) doing much the same. So I thought it would be fitting to give you five reasons to listen to it.
1. DOWNTEMPO GROOVES.
What I really love about Al Pete’s grooves is their mellowness. My favorite hip-hop group of all time (if a non-hip-hop fan can have a favorite) is Digable Planets. Their use of downtempo jazz and funk samples was brilliant, especially in an age of increasing volume, bass-trap rumblings and excessive vulgarities. Pete takes a similar approach, eschewing gangsta rap clichés for a much more listenable style. To be clear, he drops plenty of F-bombs, and can be vulgar when the time is right, but his raps pivot on the groove.
2. SOME CLEVER (IF QUESTIONABLE) WORDPLAY.
Not sure what “Let my nuts hang and do some back flips” means, but Pete says it with confidence in “Intro” on G3.5. Other lyrical stand-outs: “Detail cleaning of my body/Exfoliate so I can be a sure shotty” (that’s sort of weird, right?), “Keep them bodies rockin’ like they’s trying to stay warm, like couples watching them porns” (relationship advice?), “Righteous, I might just, open up my curtains let the light touch my eye buds” (not sure what eye buds are, but I like the way this one flows).
3. BUSTING UP THE PHRASING.
About a minute into “Independence Day,” Pete breaks up his phrasing to emphasize his rhyme. “I’m extraordinar-Y, them thoughts are sounding so scar-Y, ’cause you all so used to all that contrar-Y” and so on. To me, a drummer, hip-hop is always most interesting when the phrasing is percussive and inventive. Content is important, but I am most intrigued by the way rappers phrase their rhymes, and Pete has a natural flow, even when he’s slicing and dicing his lines.
4. THE CRAZY BEAT MIXING OF “NO UNDERSTANDING.”
I had a difficult time listening to the actual rapping in the track “No Understanding,” as the jam beneath it shifts and moves in such odd ways. Jumping from straight groove to choppy shuffle and back again, and turning on a programmed beat over those samples, this tune is the most rhythmically engrossing on the record. Throw in a wobbly organ sample and some pitch-shifted vocals, and you’ve got one mysterious piece of music.
5. HE MIGHT BE OBSESSED.
Pete never stops working. Whether putting together remixes, promoting the scene, creating original rhymes or documenting his own growth through videos on his own website (mralpete.com), the man is tireless. He created GrownFolk Entertainment in the mid-2000s, a collective to promote hip-hop artists as well as his ventures in fashion and film. Though he can be given to typical hip-hop hyperbole (“Nothing will slow down this artist from rising to the top”), his sincerity and humility precede him. He doesn’t stop creating. That, right there, is worth the price of admission.
