INDIE 500: “Recession Proof” (Emilio Rojas)
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Its a cliche now, but “keeping it real” is a concept that many promote, but few actually follow. We know the rented Maybachs, the hired crew, the gun and body talk fakery are more the norm than the image portrayed on wax and in music videos. So its with some relief that I had a chance to check out Upstate cat Emilio Rojas. Rojas is part of a new group of MCs (Donny Goines, A. Pinks, etc) out of NYC who are more about word play than gun play. These dudes are hungry as hell and dead serious on the mic.
Recession Proof serves as a hour-long interview with Rojas, where the listener gets a real snapshot of who he is as a person and how he got to the spot he now occupies. Out of the booth, rappers are more like their fans than they care to admit: they have the same problems, the same stresses, the same basic motivations. But its rare to hear an MC speak on it with the honesty and rawness we see here from Rojas. Unless you’re a complete narcissist, it takes courage to talk about your familial situation in such plain terms as he does on “Don’t Go”. “Real talk” doesn’t get much realer.
Meanwhile, even though he’s a new cat, Emilio is smart enough to know that 2-dimensional MCs have a short shelf life. As much as heads appreciate knowing who you are and what you’ve been through, this is rap. You need to show you can get down. Fortunately, Rojas doesn’t disappoint. Whether flipping a Timbo track on “Let It Out (Bounce)” or “rolling with investment bankers” on “Young, Fresh & Fly”, Rojas does not hold back. Let’s take a listen:
In a world of hyped-up rap beef and inflated egos, its easy to forget that rap is ultimately about the music. Emilio Rojas may not have his own social networking site or a cartoon, but he’s spending his time focusing on what’s important – a smart move. On his first major mixtape, Rojas is able to forgo all the nonsense and take it back to key elements.
I hope Recession Proof is only the beginning of what we can expect to see from Rojas. If the state of hip-hop today looks a lot like the global economy, Emilio Rojas is providing a his own personal stimulus package.
Tags: Emilio Rojas, Recession Proof
“…more about word play than gun play…”
It’s about time… That said, I don’t mind the gun talk as much as the fact that it isn’t necessairily true. Jelani, a dude who I think deserves to be included on that list along with rest of the Notherground cats 6th Sense & Wildabeast, once told me that he’d never get caught rapping about sellin drugs and guns, b/c that’s not him. He wasn’t knocking the guys that do talk about that, as long as it was real to them. In the end, as cliche as “Keep it real” may have become, that’s really what hip-hop is about. No matter who you are, or what you represent, as long as you rep it well you can rep it. That’s my take. Granted, there are some areas that hip-hop has kind of blacklisted (homosexuality) but I think it’s changing.
You’re on point. I have no problem with cats speaking on their situation, but it has to be their situation. Nothing worse than a studio thug. I dig Rojas because he mixed it up and talked about who he is, which is the most important. “Do you” as Russell would say.
I checked out Emilio’s tape on the way to work today, I’m liking what I’ve heard thus far mostly because of his versatility and voice. You hit the nail on the head when you said “Emilio Rojas may not have his own social networking site or a cartoon, but he’s spending his time focusing on what’s important – a smart move. ”
I respect any MC that carves their own lane, and Emilio has started that process with this tape. Cool review !!
word I feel you on that one, he is definitely a multi-dimensional mc