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10.11.07 - Truce
II Headrush in the Frederick News-Post More recently, he released his first solo album, not as Geno, but as Truce II Headrush -- "the Enigmatic." It was evident he had listened to more than a little Beastie Boys in his day... and maybe some Digable Planets and the Roots. But I was just speculating, as I drove to work this morning, listening to the album from beginning to end (it's not a short album; I have a long commute). Given a few minutes, I asked the former-Frederick-resident-turned-hip-hop-MC a few questions, starting with, why the name? Without getting too philosophical, why do rappers feel the need to give themselves or somehow take on, an alias, or multiple aliases, and then use those aliases to rap about themselves, which, thank God, Geno doesn't do too often, but he did slip in a few ("Big Truce!"). He said rappers have always had these names. "When you step into a genre, there are certain specifics of the genre that you have to adopt. You can't rewrite the rules." Fifteen years ago, he went by Headrush, then got sick of the name and liked the vibe of Truce (it was during a peaceful moment in his life). He incorporated both, not wanting to completely eliminate Headrush, a name mentioned in several of his earlier raps. Along with that name, the image. Despite the cross-breeding of styles, for each musical genre these days, there seems to be a corresponding image, stereotypical or not. Obviously Truce II hasn't hit MTV yet, but still, sometimes I wonder where that thin line is where music stops being just music. I wondered, then, if Big Truce had anything in mind when he created his solo album. The package is done nicely. The CD shows Geno, in a brown skull cap, holding his son, both wearing a set of headphones. "The main image I want to portray is that I'm a regular guy," he said. "Hip-hop is such a masculine, image-conscious genre, somewhat elitist in that respect. I want people to listen to my lyrics and see me perform and identify with me and see a slice of themselves in what I do. It's less about trying to put forth an image and more about trying to not be an image. I'm corny, I'm introspective, I'm troubled, I'm happy, I'm depressed, I'm loved, I'm in love... I'd be lying if I said I never think about an image, but again, it's more so thinking of images I don't want to send as opposed to trying to be something. Does that make sense?" Yes, yes it does. I'll reinforce his keeping-it-real statement with the fact that he samples Ani Difranco a lot. In his words: "I absolutely love her." At heart, he's an old school hip-hop fan, but his ties to folk, rock, etc. can be easily heard right along with the carefree hip-hop beats he chooses -- guitars serenade, Beastie Boys are sampled, and then in comes Truce, pounding words down my throat like Zack de la Rocha. But he samples Ani. Keeping it real. I happened to be driving through Frostburg about a month ago, stopped downtown to get a slice of pizza, and saw one of Geno's fliers posted to a telephone pole -- which is why I had to ask what the hip-hop scene is like out in those parts. "There isn't really a hip-hop scene. I'm it," he said. He freestyles anywhere, everywhere. Word on the street is that his show in Frostburg made some waves (good waves), and he's scheduled to play in Cumberland in late October. He always performs with a band, though he is currently in between bands: his old, Blue Sky Research, and the latest, No Logo. Blue Sky Research is featured on "The Enigmatic," while Truce produced, wrote, arranged and engineered all the music, which is why the disc is considered a solo project. Lyrics on "The Enigmatic" are personal, but tend to come through abstractly, so that he takes things he's experienced and puts them on a higher plane, rather than telling them as a story, to make them universal. He disagreed with me -- "Have you listened to the album?" -- then proceeded to tell me things like the song "Lifeline" (great song, by the way) is about the fact that he will "always find a way to destroy relationships," despite his good intentions. "The format of hip-hop -- with so many rhymes, lines, words and lyrics -- tends to make it difficult to be poetic," he said. "Traditional songs can get away with only four lines being an entire verse ... The typical rap song has at least 24 lines in it. It's tough to be minimal when you have so much canvas to fill." I don't know if I implied that he should take a minimalistic approach, but, nonetheless, he makes a good point. He said, like most artists, he tends to write in bursts, depending on his life at the time. Unfortunately, the "current happy moment" of his life is destroying his creative process. But writer's block should end by winter, the season when he tends to gain momentum artistically. "I try to reveal myself, my flaws and my self-doubt," he said. "My music works as a catharsis for me, mostly. By putting my feelings on paper, I am able to control and conquer those feelings." Listening to the album this morning, I noticed what I thought to be an intentional, cohesive flow. I guess all albums (even my mix tapes) have a deliberate flow of melody or narrative, stringing them from one track to the next, but the success can be measured only if that path can be heard by the listener. In this case, it was, and Truce said the ordering of songs on "The Enigmatic" was given careful attention, as the catalogues his life for the better part of a decade (tracks on the CD were being made as early as 2000) -- "from selfish 20-year-old to 30-year-old father of three. Along that path, I went from a traditional, boom-bap style hip-hopper to what can best be described as an alternative, emo rapper." Musically, songs go from standard beats to more intricate, heavier sounds, incorporating guitar, tribal drums -- an evolution, Geno said. "That's why it's (called) 'The Enigmatic,'" he added. "All these different thoughts and influences (come) together to make an album that is all over the map, musically. At least for a hip-hop album." |