Underground Hip Hop

Kensho Kuma x Cloud NI9E- More than Life

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I am currently working on a collaborative album with Japanese producer Cloud NI9E. Here is something we’ve been working on.. Mixed by D-Wiz and graffiti by Marcus Murray.

More than Life

Verse 1:
Was a troubled adolescent, Rap was the cure/
but after twenty years, I had to mature/
stayed up hella nights, to master a verse/
but couldn’t monetize, my passion or worth damn/
I worked jobs I hated, even taught 6th grade/
lost my dignity and pride, just so I can get paid/
older brother was a gangsta, in the drug trade/
that was never me no, couldn’t make what thugs made/
In the lab every night, mixing down tracks/
with a well-known producer, giving dude racks/
ugh patiently waiting to make dividends stack/
but I had nothing to eat, I was living so wack/
Then I met a woman who had an effect on me/
connected at a deeper level, not just sexually/
she stimulated mental growth intellectually/
our time is more important than being the best MC/

Chorus:
Life is more than bars, it’s more than rhyme schemes/
more than what you sacrifice for your pipe dreams/
Life is more than clubs, more than chasing hoes/
more than hustling 24/7 making dough/
Life is more than cars, it’s more than nice kicks/
more than karats glistening, on an iced wrist/
Life is more than drugs, more than an image/
it’s about the real love, the reason that we living/

Verse 2:
When a boy becomes a man, the amount of growing pain/
is more than agonizing potna, people go insane/
music isn’t paying me and that’s an awful thang/
but still outside of venues, cyphering with awkward slang/
Use to by the main act, headlining every jam/
use to have the latest sneakers and the gear from every brand/
use to blow my loot on blow, needed more than several grams/
now I’m saving up, for a mafuckin’ wedding band/
Went from spitting raw, to scrubbing kitchen floors/
domesticated homie, feeling like I’m sixty four/
you tripping boy, if you think monogamy can make you soft/
rather make love to my woman than go chase some crazy broad/
old enough to know the game’s full of snakes and hateful frauds/
so I keep my ass at home and take my time creating songs/
‘ready been around the world, now my time to settle down/
looking forward to the day I see you in your wedding gown/

Chorus:

Global Gutter Gourmet Sampler

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When I’m in East Oakland, I’m eating carne asada super burritos. When I’m in 西成、it’s definitely もんじゃ and たこ焼き。In Berlin, it’s the fish sandwiches. Once I reach Prague, hook up the pork knuckles. Come have some appetizers from my “Global Gutter Gourmet” platter.. (they’re select tracks from an upcoming mix CD.) 地球上どこにいても、俺はドヤ街でうまい、ローカルなソールフード食べてます。ニューミックスCDから４曲召し上がれ。Graffiti by Marcus Murray and Mixes by D-Wiz.

Methadone (Hip Hop Against Drug Abuse)

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If you know me from real life, you know that I am a product of sobriety/recovery.. Although I was able to celebrate 8 years of continuous sobriety this past August, I remain extremely concerned about the normalization, satirization, and promotion of AUD/alcoholism, substance abuse, mental disorders, and dual diagnoses, prevalent in our culture. I have known certain artists for over a decade whom I have never seen sober. There are numerous men huddled by a bathroom stall sniffing lines at any given venue. Young people are conditioned to sing lyrics about pills and codeine without even knowing it. I am that one MC who’s gonna tell you that this is NOT cool.

This one is dedicated to anyone who has suffered from alcoholism, addiction, and/or dual diagnosis.. you are welcome to holler at me anytime..

Return of the Cypher

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If you know me from real life, you already know that I am one of the directors for the weekly Return of the Cypher party @the Boom Boom Room in the historic Fillmore district in San Francisco. I am proud to report that our event recently celebrated our 5 year anniversary!!

R.O.T.C. is an open-mic cypher accompanied by our in-house Get Down Band and legendary DJ Kevvy Kev. All emcees and vocalists are welcome to rock with us.. as long as they read the rules, acquire a wristband, and of course adhere to the guidelines stated in the rules. It is the most accurate representation of Hip Hop culture in the SF Bay Area.. and if you were raised by this culture, you will surely agree. Many of our patrons consider R.O.T.C. to be their temple/ mosques/ church , and religiously attend. Iconic legends that are in your iTunes right now regularly are in attendance. Large Professor, MC Akil of Jurassic 5, RZA, Killah Priest, Rappin’ 4-Tay, and Lyrics Born, have all stopped by and/or performed at R.O.T.C.!!

Our event features a special performer doing a set every week. We have had touring acts from every imaginable region of the U.S., as well as international artists that ventured from Japan, Mongolia, Bali, Vietnam, U.K., and Sweden. We also feature the monthly M.V.P (Most Valuable Poet) contest, where competitors go after the coveted R.O.T.C. dog tags, a beatsmith live production set known as the Boom Boom Bap Session, and guest hosts with varying flavors.

If you are a newbie emcee still mastering elementary skills, there doesn’t exist an environment more supportive than R.O.T.C. If you are a mid-tier flame spitter or veteran, our platform is the perfect place to try out new material, keep your bars sharp, and be reminded why you love rapping in the first place. If you are a veteran, please help us carry on tradition!! The essence of rap camaraderie is extremely powerful in our community; cats routinely cypher outside the venue after the party has ended.

 

Permanent Scars (Final Fantasy Instrumental)

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2 Mello is a multi-faceted producer who samples retro Nintendo games. I was immediately interested upon discovering his Final Fantasy- the 3-6 Chambers project.. (he flipped Wu Tang acapellas over Final Fantasy samples!) He also has Nas x Castlevania, Jay-Z x Chrono Trigger, and the full instrumental version for each project!! WHAT!? A beat from the FF batch served as the perfect, beautifully melancholic soundscape for some painful-ass bars I was chiseling when I lost my older brother this past July. This instrumental truly saved my damn sanity.

I present to you Permanent Scars. Props to 2 Mello. Mixed by DWiz. Pic by Sarah Arnold.

R.O.T.C. Official Newsletter

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I have started the Official R.O.T.C. Newsletter!! If you don’t know by now, Return of the Cypher is where Hip Hop culture resides in the SF Bay Area!! Every Sunday evening at the historic Boom Boom Room in the Fillmore District of San Francisco, we facilitate an organic, top-tier cypher, backed by our in-house live band. The event celebrated its 5 years anniversary this past summer, and the movement is showing no signs of slowing down.. please come through!! Please sign-up here!!

 

Never Be Famous

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Brand New Banger by Sticky Ricardo featuring Kensho Kuma!! “Never Be Famous” is scheduled to appear on Sticky Ricardo’s upcoming “Sticks and Stones” debut album; his project will also have appearance from the legendary Killarmy clique. This track is about being content with accepting that you’ll never “blow-up” by so-called “industry” standards and is written from the perspective of an independent artist dealing with everyday trials and tribulations. The graphic was created by Jane the Message and is modeled after the Japanese Doraemon font.

Never Be Famous Verse 1: “Yeah, rappers talm ’bout, getting more Prada/ your boy’s independent, shipping out product/ never sold hella units, gotta day job/ I’m performing at the local shows, on my days off/ yeah, use my vacation, for oversea tours/ I’m flirting with a mermaid, on foreign seashores/ hi! getting more supporters, more than before/ but we can’t buy a house or afford the decor/ and we blame one percenters and white older heads/ but I’m more evil when I’m outta bipolar meds/ ughh, Lithium, Depakote in pill cabinet/ but I hate feeling numb, rather feel passionate/ ’bout everything in life, success to the failure/ you talk a good one homie, let’s see you wager/ running with the immigrants, Mexican neighbors/ know the Japones is raw and get’s only greater/ invest my Bitcoin, in Vivranium/ and hire more teachers and librarians/ I don’t give a shit if I don’t rock in a stadium/ but tired of the students getting shot in the cranium/”

Chorus (repeat x 2): “I ain’t even tripping that I’ll never be famous/ ’cause I murder everything, when I hit the stages/ nothing but my real life, written on the pages/ we’ll be here forever, ’cause the way we flows ageless/”

Never Be Famous Verse 2: “My beautiful masseuse got me feeling great/ I’m on a cruise boat with friends and we grilling steak/ if you, talk shit my killers will seal your fate/ ughh, jets and helicopters on my real estate/ I got every pair of Nikes, that were ever made/ at the venues in your city, my records getting played/ Kendrick called last night, and asked for a feature/ my photo shoots packed with some Japanese divas/ (wake yo ass up!) damn, back to my real life/ what I do for a living doesn’t even feel right/ trapped in a meeting writing verses in my head/ I should be out touring in Europe, but instead/ my bitch of a boss, writing me a reprimand/ if I get one more, I’m fired so I’m stressing fam/ lemme get you tea, ah! mix it with some Diprivan/ kill all the cameras, return with some weapons (blam!)/ I ain’t even serious, my dreams and my nightmares/ always influence the rhyme schemes that I write here/ we respected for the way we rep on the mic/ but we speak for real people with some regular lives/”

Chorus (repeat x 2):

Kensho Kuma featured on Rikinish’s Debut Album

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Rikinish is a Japanese MC, producer, nomadic teacher, and R.O.T.C. regular; this past week, his debut album Everyday, was released through Orikami Records in France. Please be sure to support the official release!! Yours truly is featured alongside R.O.T.C.’s Jane the Message on a song titled “the Game.”

I am currently working on the “Lyricist ov the Lineage” project, which features new, old, and collaborative tracks.. I am going to compile 60-70 minutes worth of music, and have my uncle DJ Kevvy Kev mix it.. this one is the latest addition to the line-up thus far. Please be sure to check out the whole playlist.

Kensho Kuma “the Game” verse: “Not a freestyler/ want my name mentioned in the same sentence as a legendary writer/ Ernest Hemingway/ cats get resentful that they could never ever step in Kensho’s way/ I’m like Marley Marl, dropping science and math/ a lotta obstacles, popping up in my path/ but we separate, propaganda and facts/ and decisions get made properly with the stats/ yeah, you know the vulture type/ decent at rapping, but always acting stupid and can’t rep the culture right/ scene’s fulla punks frontin’ like millionaires/ but the foul stench of poverty is still in the air/ Kuma! developers be the villains in here/ leaving families without homes and children in tears/ regardless of era, I’m doing my thang/ I’m remembering Oakland, before them bike lanes/ yeah, snitching, literally meant you died/ now everything is vegan and gentrified/ feeling like kamikaze, sent to die/ and fuck pain, ’cause your boy been desensitized/”

“the Game” Chorus: “The game that we playing, life that we living/ we’ll be spitting raw, ’til the very last inning/ the mics we are gripping, the crowds we control/ the rules and traditions, we vowed to uphold/ the game that we playing, life that we living/ we’ll be spitting raw, ’til the very last inning/ anytime you see us on the stage, we wreck it/ it’s Kensho Kuma, Rikinish, and Jane the Message/”

Eyez Flash in $ Signz (2007)

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The solo project I’m currently working on, Lineage ov the Lyricist, will be comprised of new, old, and collaborative tracks.. Songs will be regularly uploaded to this playlist here.. I am aiming to upload a minimum of two songs per month. This one will be a lot less formal than my previous releases, and once I have more than enough material, it will be handed over to my uncle Kevvy Kev to be mixed.

Here is a track that I completed back in 2007. Eyez Flash in $ Signz chronicles my awkward relationship with money.. hey, I’ve been an globetrotting independent artist all my adult life. $ has never been a stable variable in my lifestyle. It’s produced by Infamous Mobb affiliate Darb and scratches were done by longtime collaborator DJ Icewater. I asked for Premier type scratched on the chorus, and he absolutely murders it..