by Khari Gzifa
Let me begin by saying that I personally love hip-hop and a lot of rap as well and, as a side note, this is your cue to stop reading if you didn’t know there was a difference. Trust me it will only get more confusing for you without an appreciation for the distinction. So when I received the assignment of reviewing Triple Beam Dreams, the new release from Kingpen Slim, a relatively well known rapper in the DMV, I was excited. I had heard good things about his music and I also loved the video for his song Dead, which is featured right here in the OnStage Video Showcase.
I listened to the whole project while in the middle of conversation with a group of brothers, so it wasn’t the focal point but it provided a nice backdrop for what we were doing. The first impression I got was from someone else, who asked, “Who is that playing on the stereo, I like that track”. So before I really even took a serious listen I had already been given cues to expect good things.
One might think that with a title like Triple Beam Dreams, this album would fit squarely in the “Been there done that” model, but you would be wrong for a couple of reasons. First, let there be no mistaking; Kingpen Slim is a talented lyricist. Most of what goes under the moniker of Trap Rap or the more generic term Gangsta Rap, is not really notable for the quality of the writing. That does not apply to this album though. Kingpen Slim obviously put some thought and effort into crafting the rhymes and will make you take note of a few couplets. Second, there is a thread running through this project that suggest KPS made a real effort to stand out by doing a couple of things that not every independent artist can do, i.e. secure features from artists with international followings and use samples that do not immediately lend themselves to rap music.
Here are some of the highlights of the album. On the song “No Photos” the track is a killer, an upbeat percussion heavy number that makes you wanna either rap or dance. And my favorite part about this track is that it's produced by Team Demo. As someone that has some musical history in this city, I remember promoting shows at the State of the Union on U Street with them (called Team Demolition then) and artists that they were working with way back in the 90’s, assuming that this is indeed the same crew. So it is a real treat for me to hear that they are still doing it and at such a high level. Kudos to Team Demo for an outstanding track!
On the title track, produced by LG, Kingpen Slim does a great job of riding the smooth vibe that features sweeping strings and keys as well as a mellow saxophone, as he weaves autobiographical tales that are both cautionary and celebratory. He also manages to name drop some people and places that will be very familiar to the DMV fan as well as those real hip-hop heads who actually read the liner notes of their favorite albums (guilty as charged, myself). “Drinking and Driving” is another standout cut. Produced by Holleywood, it’s a based on a simple loop, but complexity isn’t always required to make a track good. Think about a classic Premier track which may seem simple but is unbelievably banging. On this one, Kingpen Slim attempts to do what The Clipse have done successfully for years; say things that are trite and overused but say them in a way that gives them new life, and he does a pretty good job of it. He asks Black Cobain, another notable MC from the “urrea”, to bat clean up on this song and he does, by delivering a slick talking finale that underlines the point of the record. Obviously with that title there are no positive messages to be found in this cut, but it probably shouldn’t be taken seriously so much as just seriously enjoyed.
Continuing the trend of featuring artists with either top-tier independent credentials or major label connections, Jim Jones of the Diplomats and more recently of reality show fame, opens “Cant Stop Me” (produced by Mark Henry) which I would call a hood version of a Les Brown CD. Here, both artists lead by example as they both equally praise their own work ethic and achievements, and exhort others to do the same--or be left behind. One of my favorite lines from Kingpen is found on this cut, “They said put nothing over God, but I can’t stop until I hover over Hova”. I love that because of the way he uses the actual and metaphorical references to make one cohesive point of how much he wants to succeed.
One of the most unique sounding records on the album and maybe my vote for best track is “Sweet Thunder” produced by Cashflow, which features funk styled female vocals that really takes this track up a notch. “My Specialty” featuring No Malice from The Clipse and “Dead” featuring Styles P are both potential death traps for an indie artist because it pairs them with two lyrical titans. But Kingpen does a great job of hanging right with them, bar for bar. You certainly can’t tell just by listening who has a decade plus or more in the game at the highest level and who is the relative newcomer, still searching for his moment in the sun.
A couple of other standouts are the Tabi Bonney assisted “Sticky Situations” which has a sparse old skool feel almost like Ice-T’s “6 In Tha Morning”. Though I think Kingpen slipped up on this one by limiting him to only hook/bridge duty, and not getting a proper verse from the DMV vet and fellow FAMU Rattler. “The Haunting” produced by J Buttah is another good track, a rap ballad style cut where Kingpen tells intricate “stop snitching” tales with very current r&b styled male vocals from Trumaine Lamar that fit right into one of the more popular formats on urban radio today.
Finally, one of the most interesting tracks on the album is “Lollipop”. Now, granted it’s a self-flattering euphemism that I’m sure I don’t have to spell out for you here and not very different thematically from Lil Wayne’s more popular tune of the same title. However, actually sampling The Chordettes’ (a female acapella quintet from Sheboygan, WI) original 1958 classic was an unexpected move and provides a dichotomy that is not easily overlooked. The song is basically pandering to the ladies in the tradition of Candyman’s “Knocking Boots” from the Golden Era. In that, it is soft enough to get buy-in from the ladies despite containing messages that run counter to their own ideals for male/female relationships and interactions.
In summary, I once heard a legendary rapper state that he thought much of modern hip-hop and rap lacked what he called authenticity. He said that too many rappers were putting together albums where they look at the finished product and say “Song #1 is my club record, Song #2 is my ladies joint, Song #3 is for the thugs, my trap record…etc, etc.” Meaning they were making music as businessmen and not as artists. When I heard Jay-Z say that in an interview I didn’t really think much of his comments but as time went on his words haunted my listening experiences and I concluded that he had said some of the truest ish I had ever heard. Kingpen Slim has put together terrific records for this project and I suggest to you that they are all worth listening to. However, you may walk away from the project as a whole feeling a little bit like me and Jay.
With all of Kingpen Slim’s stellar skills as a rapper, this project does not do enough to help me to identify with him as an artist and person. He definitely displays that he can rhyme with some of the best and really sound like he belongs there; he chose great producers that gave him some beautiful canvases on which to paint his words and he showed a high degree of versatility over the course of several tracks. These are all high compliments for him and are well deserved. But I must still ask the question: Did he give all his listeners a chance to become fans? People often support musicians not because they are in love with the artist’s entire catalogue, but because they are in love with the artist. I think if Kingpen Slim really takes the time to be introspective and just present himself to his audience, warts and all so to speak, he will get a huge response. All of the requisite skills are present, even the compelling back story that includes being shot (there is a picture of him in a hospital bed in the album artwork). The only thing he needs to do now is to stop thinking like a CEO when he’s in the booth and just give people what’s in his heart, not what should generate a certain number of BDS spins or chart well with a particular demographic. As soon as he does that, the sky is the limit for Kingpen Slim.