Author Topic: Good Read On Canibus  (Read 102 times)

AlerG

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Good Read On Canibus
« on: February 07, 2003, 07:55:13 PM »
Q: Has Canibus Lost his fire? And what does “not rhyme like I used to but I still got skills…” Mean?

A: First, I think it important to know the location of the fire and to see why it was kindled. Bis’s fire is in his heart, not just his head if not then he would have quit along time ago. He loves this stuff. Many MCs rhyme because of the perks. They have a talent and they know they are nice so they use the talent. This talent varies because of where they are from, what they like and respect etc. The same thing applies to the listener. (He then began to apply the theory of relativity to hip hop…) Canibus’s fire initially was something to prove. It seems as if now he is at a point at where his fire is nothing to lose. Not saying that he is financially unstable, but that he has come to terms with himself and his fans and his opponents. This is the best thing because like in the Art of War, you must know yourself, friends and enemies. He can now be true to himself. The “don’t rhyme like I used to…” seems to imply this.

Q: Does he still have skills?

A: I actually think he has improved so much more than what he began with. In 98’ it was true he had nice metaphors, and punch lines (98 was also the year of super Mcs as Howl said and many people now are just products from those few), now he has metaphors and a more descriptive style. Its not hard for him to make a punchline and battle rhyme but there has to be more to rhyming than the “ooh factor of impressing with a nice line. Bis has the “damn factor—I didn’t know anybody could do that for so long or that well. Mic Club proved that his style of rhyming is about timing, endurance, pronunciation, and enunciation. Sorry to say this but Tupac (one of his favorite MCs) couldn’t do it like Bis. Pac’s approach was emotional and energetic. Bis’s approach is logical. Hip hop unlike other music enters through two passages the heart and the head. The head being the primary and then it eventually leads to the heart. Bis does this but not for the people who want to dance and have fun and be captivated by normal means (like 50 cent songs which are catchy and fun, and there is nothing wrong with that) he does it for people who appreciate words and word technique, because his style is technical. On MicClub his vocals though they weren’t as aggressive, there was more emotion in them and there was also more precision in the rhymes then what he exhibited before.
However I do feel the aggression in Liberal Arts “rhymes that vaporize, disableize and destabilize, pray to God say goodbye” sounds like he destroyed the rap game.

Q: Favorite Bis album?

A: Bis’s albums have never fit anybody’s standard of albums; you know what I mean? Some people think that they should have concepts (*angrily* what the hell is a concept song anyways? people want people to talk about a specific topic cool, but every song written is conceptualized. Do they mean braggadocios rhymes aren’t conceptualized. Hip hop is 80 percent braggadocios. It started that way from who could move the crowd more, now it is who has more street cred, ice, metaphors, stories, etc. My bad I got carried away.) Its like there is some formula set by the hip hop congress that it has to have hooks, storytelling, introspective, retrospective, battle, party etc, or its not a real song or album. I thought they were supposed to be reflections of an artist. Bis’s albums have always reflected him – his focus is on the rhymes, he values intelligence, but doesn’t dicredit anything as being null and void if they aren’t as technical as he is. Bis has always been himself more than I can say about Jay-Z or Nas. Problem is when he does something that you people don’t expect they get upset. Like “Broke Ass” is a fun song, people act like Bis doesn’t like to have fun. I really enjoyed CTHS it was funny and introspective you get to know Bis and know what Bis isn’t. So to answer your question MicClub is his best album. He has perfect endurance, precision, and etc. its not just battling, its precise and there are some serious emotional tracks and you get to see his ideas and mindset. See people talk about what they know and like. Bis knows hip hop, science and himself. Not drugs, guns, money, big booty hos, etc, but as an MC/writer he can talk about anything because that is where the skills to the art lay. But MicClub is his cd, no compromises, its real.

Q: Favorite song?

A : I’ll answer this with the answer first then explanation. Cenior Studies and Curriculum 101. I hopped on to the site and I saw people acting like the man is depressed no he is just matured and these songs reflect it. These songs are so multilayered. For instance the Cenior Studies starts with him telling reality and how artists careers are fickle, and how the outcome is just that you grow as a person. He mentions the past, and how he is firmly planted with dreams. At first it seems kinda bleek and predetermined that he has all this determination and dedication but things haven’t been the best; however, like he was in conflict with life he gets reinvigorated and gets his confidence back, then he gets technical and my favorite line and the violins come in at the right time “I can never get bored I write about Huxley vs. Wilberforce…” it resolves with him saying that he still has more potential and he has influenced many and will not give up. Curriculum also has that introspective aspect and the first line “that you’ll never understand Germaine..” seems accurate and that’s why he is interesting to me, because I don’t know him and I’m always in a loop.
These fans always want him to come with “concepts” (says it in disgust-- his concept is that he has to prove to be the best) and when he gets more emotional and introspective they don’t want it. There are so few MCs who have the work ethic and endurance, verbal and career wise then Bis.

Q: What separates Bis from others?

A: It could be his fans, they are different and don’t always seem to conform, but they ( some people on the site) seem to want him to blow so much that they forget why they like him-- the fact that he has always been himself and in a league all by himself. They want him to make club songs just for recognition etc. as opposed to him doing it to have fun.

Q: Bis versus Em ?

A : If it ever happened, which I don’t think Bis would want ( he doesn’t want to be know as the diss champion), my vote goes to Bis. Em is funny and knows how to make people laugh and be emotional, but Bis is the most technique driven Mc in the game. He can diss you too. See some MCs write songs to a beat and the song would be nothing without the beat. Others write because the beat invokes something in them, and still others have things in them they just need to invoke a beat, if that makes sense. Bis is the 2nd and 3rd category. More importantly on the battle tip anybody can be funny and diss but when its not about dissing its about endurance, all the words Bis knows and people think he can’t put stuff together for a freestyle is preposterous. Even though I respect Em ,on wax I give it to Bis. Live I give it to Bis.

Q: What about this new Bis attitude like on interviews and in the source?

A: This is the only thing that I get pissed off about Eminem about. I don’t care that he is white and consequently is liked by suburban kids because they can easily relate to him (even though its just a color thing, he is just as nice as an MC, its just how society is people want to be represented wheter black or white etc) because he is still furthering hip-hop and is in fact just spreading it. The problem is he acts like a punk (not just him all MCs play this dumb game) and says he doesn’t respect Bis, even though he was influenced by him early on in his career. I like Bis now because he isn’t on that dumb MC stuff. He is acting like a man. He knows where his faults lie and what the people want him to do, but knows that its childish. He always gives EM props and always has, he has almost always been a respectable battler. Even with LL he still respects him as an artist and doesn’t say he was never influenced by him. Bis is humbler because he is a man and has experienced things. I hate that stupid crap that people front about.

Q: Any final thoughts?

A: Yeah, Bis has more integrity for his craft than any of these MCs. He has more expertise also. Whether you like him or not he must be respected just because of his dedication. He has grown and doesn’t need a chorus to make accessible music. I don’t think it is his music, but the people who aren’t allowing themselves to be accessed by his music. He has some dedicated fans on the site though, even though they say some things they probably need to evaluate before posting sometimes; they all have good intentions, they just need to let the man grow as an artist and person.

Our music video which was featured in the motion picture Scary Movie 5 :

 

Entreri117

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Re:Good Read On Canibus
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2003, 08:09:37 PM »
Real nice interview...PROPS