N.Y. Oil came out of nowhere in October 2006 with the righteous anger and lyrical bombast of an Old Testament prophet. Oil posted and continues to release video blogs on Youtube.com, tackling issues as varied as Jesse Jackson’s inflammatory comments about Barack Obama, to this summer’s beef between gangster rapper Ice T and newcomer Soulja Boy.
When the father and champion of Hip-Hop culture speaks, he’s coming from a position of love for black communities.
Oil’s Hood Treason Deluxe 2 CD Edition is a jihad on mainstream rap’s violence, misogyny and materialism. On the no-holds-barred single “Y’all Should All Get Lynched,” Oil points the barrel at “coon-ass rappers” who benefit from centuries of struggle, but who repay it with lyrics that encourage genocide, drug dealing and materialism among black youth.
Women aren’t exempt from the Oil’s tirade. He excoriates video vixens because “little queens are getting influenced” by the lewd and dehumanizing scenarios promoted on screen. His frustration is palpable:
Malcolm and Martin paved the way for you to act like this
And that’s the best y’all could come up with? Y’all ain’t s—!
Another showstopper, “What up my Wigger, Wigger” targets the epidemic usage of the N-word among non-black Hip-Hop fans. Oil is merciless, referring to other races in the most offensive terms possible to drive home the unacceptable nature of this language, regardless of whether –er is substituted for an –a in the N-word.
But Hood Treason is no Devil Made Me Do It, the militant rapper Paris’ early ‘90s debut of intelligent but joyless Afrocentricity.
Oil often channels the humor and exuberance of the old school. “Hip-Hop Ya Don’t Stop” takes us down a collective memory lane; several references are sure to hit every grown head in the heart. For me, these were the programs many of us took part in:
I’m summer lunches
I’m Upward Bound/right before Reaganomics cold shut me down
On WIC I’m King Vitamin/If I’m rich then I’m Captain Crunches
The second half of the double-disc set is a bit weaker. It has overabundant recorded messages of support from underground rappers, and a well-intentioned, but flat, skit. The second disc is unnecessary, save for a few gems like the ironical Hood Treason, which features appearances by Oil’s daughter and son. It complains that a parent can’t listen to Hip-Hop on the car radio with his kids anymore.
I wouldn’t let younger kids listen to Oil—he uses a lot of profanity to express his anger. Of course, Oil’s targets are you and me, so that isn’t really a problem.
N.Y. Oil has already released another album, 9 Wonders: N.Y. Oil verses 9th Wonder, now available for download free at his MySpace page, www.myspace.com/nyoil.
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