Hip-Hop never dies: UK based Zim rapper Rhyme Assassin ropes in 12 US hip-hop legends in one track

Harare – Who said hip hop is dead? It never dies but sometimes sleeps! United Kingdom based Zimbabwean based hip hop artiste Tichaona Brian Monera better known by his moniker and alter ego Rhyme Assassin is a true embodiment of the supposed ressurection of hip hop.

Rhyme Assassin achieved a Herculean task of assembling twelve United States hip hop legends to drop their verses in one song!. Titled Rhymes Apostles , the track is pregnant with rhyme and reason unlike the bubblegum kind of lyrics that has dominated the new school. Rhyme Apostles is lead single for his upcoming album Dedicated to Self to be dropped on April 3. The date is two days after the Fools Day to prove that the audience must not take the lyrical content for fool, it is real and all the emcees on the track delivered their bars and vocals with great finnese. On the track, Rhyme Assassin will be featured by internationally acclaimed Mcees Crooked I, Canibus, AFRO, Ruste Juxx, Craig G, Prodigal Sunn, Chino XL, Keith Murray, K Solo, Reks, and Antlive Boom. Jadakiss from the legendary trio LOX drops the intro with his signature voice that mesmerized hop heads in the 90s including this writer. Way before when probably newbies like Holy 10 were still bed wetting. Without erasing the fact that Holy 10 is an excellent lyricist. Rhyme Assassin cut his teeth in the cutthroat hip hop game way back as part of an outfit called Nameless when hip hop music was played on vinyl in Zimbabwe. In an exclusive interview with Express Mail Zim Lifestyle,Rhyme Assassin retraced his turbulent journey in the streets of hip hop before his relocation to the UK in 2002. He opened up on his local and international inspirations including Munetsi, Jnr Brown ,Mau Mau, Tehn Diamond among a host of other lyrists whose bars froth like they had washing powder for breakfast! He said the greatest influencers that kick-started his rap career were the likes of all-time greats such as KRS ONE, Run DMC & Big Daddy Kane, BIG, and 2 PAC. ” I grew up listening to their music on cassettes and vinyl. Because of my experiences and encounters with these hip-hop moguls, I embrace the hip-hop culture and started living out and expressing this in my lyrical content. “My inspiration to write was primarily from Canibus and Krs One. ” I can even recall the first day I listened to Gangstarr – Moment of truth, Dead Prez – Let’s get free and DMX – It’s dark and hell is hot. “Those were the early days when hip-hop was not playing much on Zimbabwe radio. “Our exposure to hip-hop was mainly from folks coming from overseas and bringing cassette tapes back home. ” I would use my pocket money to rent out hip-hop tapes for a couple of days or more so that I can just listen to the latest hip-hop beats,” he said. Asked on why he enlisted twelve artiste’s on a single track , he said his initial idea was for Rhyme Apostles to have four artistes but he drew inspiration from the Bible and thought of the 12 apostles of Jesus. “The Biblical 12 disciples inspired me and it dawned on my mind and this became the womb that gave birth to Rhyme Assassin’s 12 apostles on the track. “The new single is based on an idea that had been in for quite a while. ” My vision was to bring together some of the greatest lyricists and recognizable names in hip-hop. “Being on the same record with the likes of Crooked I Canibus, Craig G, Keith Murray and a host of other renowned hip-hop legends is an incredible personal triumph,” he said. Rhyme Assassin said the collabo was monumental but it was a turbulent journey. “The journey was not a straightforward one. It was long and challenging, but an enjoyable one. The one thing that made it worthwhile is the caliber of people that I was targeting. “These were real hip-hop heads, with a genuine love for true hip-hop culture. ” I was truly humbled by these guys’ acceptance and willingness to embrace me and work with me to bring my vision to fruition. “Every single one of them exhibited high levels of professionalism with such amazing humility. “Each demonstrated a love and a passion to collaborate with emcees with roots in Africa. “The emcees that made it on the record I those that reached out to and they were magnanimous enough to accept the invitation,” he said. Adding: “Shout out to those emcees who believed in me and were keen to be part of the project but could not make the financial commitment in time and were unable to be featured. “There will always be scope to do collaborative projects with them in the near future. ” Another noteworthy artist who made an enormous contribution to this project is Deep Voice, a UK producer who created the best used in the debut single. ” He created the beat some seven years ago along with other beats that I subsequently used. ” This particular beat was archived until now and it is just the right beat for the project. ” The bear will be mixed and mastered by yet another creative, P2doah, a Zimbabwean-based producer. We are also currently working on the video for the song. He said the single greatest desired outcome of his project is that of the greater realization of both artists and music lovers of the incredible power of collaborative music ventures across the industry. Listening to the unmastered version of the he single, Rhyme Apostles, it exhibits a clear and powerful demonstration of the synergy resulting from collaborations. “My wish for this single is that it will be timeless in its appeal and not just for a season. ” I am a firm believer in the need for the conservation of the truest essence of Hip hop culture expressed through lyricism. The caliber of emcees on the track have mastered this art and is an inspiration to me as I climb to my place of significance in the game. “My conviction is that hip-hop culture has a powerful potential to bring about societal and cultural cohesion globally. In that sense, the single has an apostolic assignment – to bring about a fresh crop of hip-hop artists whose focus is beyond their individual musical domains to champion a movement that will produce a generation of like-minded people. “The talents and skill sets of the participating emcees are as diverse as their fingerprints are. It is this diversity that I value and celebrates the most in this project. “The creative lyricism and different execution styles of the art make this project unequaled by any in hip-hop circles and that is what thrills me,” said Rhyme Assassin.