STRAY TALKS: WHY LEMUELKNIGHT IS BEEHIVE's PHENOMENAL 'HIP-HOP' APOSTLE

An incredibly gifted mind, a multi talented person who touched upon so many subjects with the utmost sincerity, sympathy, and empathy and bared his soul openly and honestly on almost every song, but still remained guarded and combative... true to hip-hop's roots of expression, poetry, but also in brotherhood where strength of character and the Hearts of Men is displayed through written word.

Last night I slept late, no thanks to a busy schedule during the day. And like everyday, I read before going to bed. But then, over a cup of lipton, my cousin and I got into an argument about Hip-Hop and Rap in Beehive.

This guy maintained his hierachy of rap artistes in Beehive and I had absolutely no qualms about it. It was my 15yrs old lil brother who brought up the question:

"What about LemuelKnight"?

I've got to be honest with you on this piece. I'm not an artiste, let alone a rapper but I know the game just so well as an OAP and entertainment writer and I feel I've earned the right to a little bit of artistic sentiment. Here's my ranking in no particular order actually (forget the numbering):

1. LL Cool J

2. Kendrick Lamar, Eminem

3. Jay Z, Kanye,

4. LemuelKnight

5. Mode9

My cousin was outraged about my ranking. What he never know, most probably, is that Hip-Hop and Rap are, though synonymous, different. Hip-hop is a culture and rap is just part of it. An artiste can be a great rapper and not necessarily be Hip-hop oriented. To be both is a distinction. And exactly what makes LemuelKnight a phenomenon.

And though there are better rappers than him, LemeuelKnight is the only real Hip-Hop artiste currently in the game in Beehive.

I'll give my case based on an in depth journey into his Music from LISTEN CLOSE to AFRAP (with Embeatz) to M4TM .

This is an MC with a mix of Biggie Smalls, Cool J and a lot of himself.

I feel that LemuelKnight is very underrated as a lyricist simply for the fact that he never used outlandish or far fetched concepts for simile and metaphor, or rhymed words that sacrifice the integrity of his ideas and meanings by scouring a thesaurus or dictionary to find what fits..... just a man and his mind, a powerful voice, a presence that was almost impossible to dominate, and a mind that was a myriad of varying experiences originated from a past and bloodline that was as interesting, cultural, raw, and dynamic as his own music is.

Knight's balance of political flair, social consciousness, gangsta, speaking for the down trodden, reaching out to those who suffer, sticking it to the man, never backing down, always speaking his mind, being introspective and vulnerable while also powerful and assertive, is the definition of realism and balance. His flow was always a nice groove, his mind was always on a higher calling when he spoke or wrote, and his work ethic has only been rivaled in recent times by I.B or Viper X

He may have his dark secret, his shady past, and his controversy... but all that only adds weight to how big of a topic he is. . His music is timeless, as emotion and thought never show their age, and he will leave the game by living the life of an artist, who said too much, and who did too much too soon.

Nobody else can claim this, no matter how complex their lyrics, no matter how rich they get, or how deep and profound they make their 9th or 10th album. Even new acts that come out with reality and depth in their first years... imitation is the highest form of flattery, and without a high profile example in the mainstream to cause such a chain reaction through artists and listeners to appreciate more, and be more soulful and balanced... perhaps nobody would aspire to be an artist with a voice who speaks their true feelings and thoughts in hip-hop.

This. Exactly this.

Although LemuelKnight is never as lethal a lyricist as some of his peers in Beehive, his flow was always good enough. He rarely, if ever, used similes and punchlines but that's because he is always able to paint a vivid enough picture without using them in the first place. His lyrics are poetic, yet still always straight to the point.

As long as the flow is tight, no one cares... and Knight always had flow.

If there's one thing LemuelKnight has on just about everybody, it's the perspective of his music. Some of his stuff is on so high a level that I don't think we've seen an artist since that's been able to reach it. Brother literally came you from every angle. LemuelKnight is very wise beyond his years, probably more so than anybody.

Rather than argue, we all should just be on the look out for his first studio album, probably a 20-track-no feature- piece of art. Will he do that? I don't know.

By BraveHeart

-Poet, OAP and Visual Director-