I write this from the Past, Present, and Future. I write this from a place of amazement that Hip-Hop has nourished my soul since I first heard The Sequence in 1979 (R.I.P. Angie). I write this remembering the day I heard Nas’s Illmatic for the first time, knowing that I was listening to a classic. I write this remembering the first time I heard Organized Konfusion’s “Stress” for the first time, realizing that they were alien MCs. I write this remembering walking up the steps of Fat Beats feeling like I was stepping into the Mecca of Hip Hop. I write this from a place of pure Black Love for my people and my ancestors.
I write this from a place of total amazement for Queen Herawin’s new album Awaken the Sleeping Giant because it’s sonic nourishment we all need right NOW. I say this with my chest: she is a Goddess Level MC with an immaculate ear for beat selection. I want her to know that every song on this album slaps harder than Redman’s “Time 4 Sum Aksion” (I love this song!!! I’m just saying). You should be aware that every composition is a novel, with each verse a new chapter of wordplay!
On a personal level, I was having a tremendously stressful day yesterday and I could feel anxiety overtaking my every thought. Then I started blasting Queen Herawin’s “Anxiety,” and I felt like she was not only speaking to me, but her words began to heal my inner trauma. Her flows and concepts are as complex as Hieroglyphics, but if you open your 3rd Eye, you will understand where she is coming from! Her foundation as a lyricist is rooted in an NYC that no longer exists, but I can hear Sound Bombing MC’s decapitating foes at the Lyricist Lounge as I hear Queen and Ke Turner spit fire on “Power.”
She does not waste time complaining about the state of Hip Hop, instead she points us all towards our future on tunes like “Focus” and “Anger.” To say I respect her point of view would be an understatement, because she steps to the mic with the creative force of Nina Simone and John Coltrane. I have nothing but love for Queen and her brothers in The Juggaknots because they have brought so much unreal music to our culture! Awaken the Sleeping Giant is the album that I did not know needed, but now I can’t exist without it, which is why I copped her vinyl this morning. I write this from a place of knowing that Queen Herawin deserves all of the shine she gets because she is truly a Goddess Level MC.
Breeze Brewin & Queen Herawin Photo by @slimbojimboyo
