Poltergeist says yo...

From a purely artistic perspective, Poltergeist has gone through change. It is perhaps fitting, since he studies and, by extension, lives in the United States of Amerika - New York to be exact. He seems - or 'sounds' - to have immersed himself in the lifestyle, taking everything in stride, and becoming comfortable with the nuances of a first-world society in the process.

We support change; change is good, and is what artists need to go through in order to stay relevant. Artistic evolution, the lack thereof, is perhaps the worst injustice one can commit upon oneself. We were elated when Poltergeist sent us a batch of songs early last week, not in the least because of our appreciation for good music, but also because of our keen-natured selves. We wanted to hear just how much New York had influenced one of the emcees we revere and have respect for.

Poltergeist has always been a strong emcee in terms of concepts. What lacked was an engaging sense of delivery, the type which keeps the listener in tandem with the mood of the song, prohibiting that listener from veering too far off into the music to not get what the overall track is about. On 'Let you free', Poltergeist waxes lyrical about love gone wrong, a common theme among all who are old enough to have got their heart broken. And therein lies his strength; he is able to take the layman's experience, blow it into super-sized, non-pixelated frames, and project it on top of sonic soundscapes which help weave the narrative together.

His choice of beats is not bad either. Though he veers off into what has been, until now, unfamiliar territory for him (as witnessed on the bounce-heavy 'Wake up'), Po's heart still lies with soul-inspired beats. He does not forsake that which he loves, opting rather to take what he learnt from hanging out with his kin-folk in Maseru, Lesotho, and fuse it with what New York has to offer. The results are nothing short of astonishing, as the sample of songs we have received attests.

Poltergeist is preparing to release a mixtape in the near future. In the interim, do quell your anxiety by downloading the songs below. The file includes two other tracks from the archives, one of which was produced by our friend Phil the Kritik.

[Poltergeist at a Poetry Farm-organised event, circa '08]

Link: Poltergeist [approx. 30Mb]

Poltergeist

Hey y'all, princes and poets across the universal sphere, what's really good? Another day, another opportunity for us to discover more about artists in our beloved land, Lesotho. Today's post is on the emcee Poltergeist, a part of the Lesotho Rhyme Force crew who is now based out in New York City.

He's been on the scene for quite a minute now, and, through the extensive amount of work he's done with Corporate Nemesis, I've come to respect him as a well-rounded artist, fully worthy of a record label's money. Trust me, he is that good! We did some stuff with him over these past June holidays when he was at home. Didn't get a chance to edit all the tracks, but peep the link below for this one banger that he left.

Currently, dude is down with a label called Invent Horizons (check em out on myspace, a Ney York City-based independent label founded by Jonathan Tanners about three years ago. Big things are currently in the pipeline, so keep an eye out. The following extract is taken off of Po's myspace page:

About Po

Poletrgeist as an emcee emerged from frlorida streets in Maseru, Lesotho in 2002. I started rhymin after meetin up wit my boys poison foul, kislev, spit ferrocious, and Fairo to mention a few. These catz were all emcees and i loved and still love what they do lyrically so i started spittin as well. the crew, then Cutz on Rapz, was where i grew as an emcee under the wing of Fairo and the Catz mentioned above and alot more actually... Basically that's about it...if u wanna hear more just holla at yo boy. One.

So he's on the grind, and has recently started a hip-hop society at Columbia University, the place where he's stationed. I've decided to post a good number of goodies, so check em out and leave comments in the comment box. Respect!!!

Fresh joint:

Untitled Track (Biz-ark's mix) - approx. 4MB

An interview I did with him (he comments on important issues related to emceeing, air play, and the authenticity of certain elements in hip-hop):

Poltergiest interview - approx. 8MB (10 mins.)

P.S. If you want me to post up part two of the interview, leave a comment in the box.

Oh, wait up...more goodies. Check out this video of a performance he did!!!

Now, please say thank you! Happy weekend ;-)

Mortal sin!!!

Wassup people?! Sorry for not keeping my promises, but life goes on, right?



I've been enjoying home, can't complain really. That's a picture of Core Wreckah performing in Zaire back in 1970 (actually, it's at the Poetry Buffet which was held two weeks ago at the Maseru Sun Cabanas). It was a dope event overall, shout-out to Pytur, and the whole Poetry Farm collective.



My man Phil the Kritik is on the grind, working on his mixtape, Loud and Out Vol. 1. The tracks thus far are, to me at least, hot-a-lot (trademark that word!!!). A couple of artists are featured on it, but I won't be name-dropping lest I'm forced to re-tract my statements. It deserves a post all on its own. The lady on the picture is that pretty in real life!!!

Yo, later days. Keep warm people. Oh, the chick on the picture is that beautiful in real life! Peace!!!



P.S. As an extra, how would this look on a t-shirt??! I know, we dope. Shout out to Fairo.