By KYLE KOCH
John Westbrook Jr., a rapper from Topeka popularly known as Stik Figa, might be hanging up the mic. According to an entry on his Myspace blog, Westbrook's headed to college.
"i'm takin my black ass back to school come fall, can't believe i wasted so much time with this rap shit," he writes under the title "It's Official," dated December 30, 2008.
The pursuit of a college diploma is doubtless a safer choice than the frequently paperless chase of a rap career. But It Ain't Easy Bein' Skinny, Westbrook's new mixtape -- released in December for free through Illroots.com, is the rapper's own best argument against the necessity of higher education.
The collection of joints old and new boasts 24 tracks. Yet Westbrook's inventiveness, skill and charisma keep Skinny from feeling bloated. His dense rhyme schemes dance lightly on the production of each track like feet over burning coal; and his flows stutter, stretch, and arc with magisterial authority.
Strikingly, Westbrook's most notable success lies in what he does not do: He manages to communicate self-awareness without turning emo. Many rappers of late have been courting indie-rocking fans by morphing into sniveling Hamlets. Westbrook, on the other hand, walks the tightrope between self-effacement and swagger with the aplomb of someone who respects his genre. On "Black Kid," for instance, Westbrook traces the various pitfalls of black identity, voicing the maltreatment of light-skinned African-Americans by their own community and recalling the invisible experience of an urban black youth who travels to an all-white school in the suburbs. The song is thoughtful and poignant, but never saccharine.
Really, the content of this mixtape -- everyday struggle, the politics of poverty, MC bravura, etc. -- is just an added bonus. Westbrook could rap about his bowel movements and still get heads nodding. His rhymes, thick as thieves, carry the impenetrable strength of granite. He offers controlled aggression on "Baybee":
It's that educated ignorant / Rap stay belligerent / First and fifteenth flow / Fiend can't wait to get a hit/High definition/Spit slick, displayin' images / Serving food for thought today / Set a plate and listen in / Pendulum swing, destroyin idols made of clay / The fittest for survival, what my rivals wanna say / By the way, the world is mine / Keep the Eiffel on display.
All the tracks on this mixtape are worth a concentrated listen. Several, such as "Sure Thing," "Medicine," "Figa of Speech," and "The Truth," are worthy of permanent rotation. "Sure Thing," in particular, is a radio-ready, soulful track -- damn near a classic relative to recent local output.
Westbrook enjoyed minor accolades for his last album, TwentyFourSeven, from various online and print publications. But no one has stated the obvious fact that Westbrook may very well be the greatest MC in the greater Kansas City area. His next (and possibly last) album, the Babylon EP, is due in the Spring and could help solve any critical confusion.
For now, the city's hip-hop cognoscenti should hope Westbrook doesn't settle for retirement. The game -- or at least its likeness in Kansas City -- needs Westbrook's immense talent.
Download as ZIP: All of It Ain't Easy Bein' Skinny via IllRoots.com
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He's not retiring...just prioritizing.
...besides, never EVER trust a Hip-Hop retirement.
PS: this early in his career is it really a retirement or more like quitting?
Nonetheless, good review.
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