The average rap song exists for one reason: “Shake ya tail
feather!” proclaims Nelly and P. Diddy’s hit from last
summer. The dance floor is all well and good, but sometimes you
want more out of your music. Enter the Procussions.
“There’s a whole lot of everybody doing the same
thing,” MC and producer Stro the 89th Key said about modern
hip-hop. “There’s a lot of really good music that gets
slept on.”
The goal of the Procussions, who will play a free show sponsored
by the Cultural Affairs Commission at noon today in Bruin Plaza, is
to create “sophisticated, spiritually minded” music
that shatters hip-hop stereotypes. Formed in 1998, the group hails
from Colorado Springs, Colorado and has two other primary members:
fellow MCs Resonant and Mr. J.
“We’d see each other all the time at local
events,” Stro said. “We decided to squash the minimal
beef that was going on and come together as a crew.”
The group recently relocated to Los Angeles, after finding
initial success at home. They were voted best hip-hop group in
Colorado in the Denver Post’s “What’s Hot”
poll of 2001-2002, and Resonant co-founded Basementalism, a radio
show which has become globally syndicated.
“We’ve had a really good college following, mostly
because we’re all from different backgrounds and attract a
wider audience,” Stro said.
Stro grew up in a military family and played in jazz bands as a
child, while Res and Mr. J were into rock and hip-hop music. As a
result, it’s difficult to categorize their innovative
sound.
“It’s hard for us to pinpoint it,” Stro said.
“A lot of people seem to draw an early ’90s feel from
it. We grew up on a lot of that stuff “¦ and we really like a
lot of what’s going on now. We really think it’s a
past-present-future sound.”
This sound includes influences of groups like Tribe Called Quest
and The Pharcyde, as well as drawing on sources outside of hip-hop.
Stro’s CD player is no stranger to bands like Coldplay and
Radiohead. This blend of sounds appears in full force on their
debut album, “”¦As Iron Sharpens Iron,” that was
released recently on their own Basementalism Records.
The Procussions seek to deliver a positive message, and whatever
they may lose in shock value (every track on “”¦As Iron
Sharpens Iron” is profanity-free), they make up for with
clever rhymes and lush production. Their tag-team flows explore
lyrical topics ranging from love to making the most out of life.
Live instrumentation and harmonies mesh easily with beats and raps
as the group briskly moves from song to song, never giving the
listener time to get bored before introducing the next hook.
Clearly, each member of the Procussions brings a lot to the
table.
“Mixing that all together adds a different flavor to
everything we do,” said Stro. “All of our individual
flavors brought together in one pot makes a brand new
flavor.”