Plug One

Young God (left) and Kingston, the two producers in Blue Sky Black Death. Photo courtesy of Babygrande Records.

It’s not uncommon nowadays for producers to claim that they don’t listen to new hip-hop, and that they only listen to the classics from the early 90s. It’s a ridiculous statement because many of these same producers are making new hip-hop themselves; it’s almost as if they’re devaluing their own art. At the same time, they’re distracting the audience from discovering and enjoying the dozens of artists that have kept the art form alive and thriving.

One of those frequently ignored artists is Blue Sky Black Death.

Blue Sky Black Death consists of two West Coast producers, Kingston and Young God. The two made an audacious debut in 2006 with A Heap of Broken Images, a two-disc set released on Mush Records that included an all-instrumental CD and a CD with vocal collaborations. The second disc included Guru from Gang Starr, Rob Sonic, Lil Sci from Scienz of Life, Hieroglyphics’ A-Plus and Pep Love, former Jedi Mind Tricks rapper Jus Allah, Wise Intelligent and many others. It was unusual for a new group without a considerable track record, neither apart nor as a duo, to release a double album packed with so many guest stars.

After A Heap of Broken Images, Blue Sky Black Death signed with Babygrande. For better or worse, Babygrande has earned a repository for hardcore rap that blends backpack thug-isms and conspiracy theories. Its flagship group, Jedi Mind Tricks, personifies those contradictions to the extreme, espousing a worldview that seems informed by Scarface, Elijah Muhammad’s Message to the Blackman and William Cooper’s Behold a Pale Horse. But I think music critics often unfairly dismiss Jedi Mind Tricks and the rest of the Babygrande roster. Too often, they look at the label instead of listening to the music.

With each new release, Blue Sky Black Death refines and focuses its sound into something admirably symphonic and epic. There was 2006’s Blue Sky Black Death presents the Holocaust, which featured former Black Knights member (and Wu-Tang affiliate) the Holocaust; and last year’s Razah’s Ladder, a collaboration with Hell Razah, another Wu-Tang affiliate that briefly enjoyed major rap success as part of Sunz of Man. Razah’s Ladder was particularly impressive. Hell Razah’s lyrics were both street aggressive and philosophical-wise. Blue Sky Black Death’s beats, which incorporated classical instrumentaion alongside samples, made his rhymes sound like street day dreams.

Blue Sky Black Death’s new album, Late Nite Cinema, may be its most accomplished work to date. Released on April 29, it is drawing wide acclaim. After two and a half years of solid work, Young God and Kingston may finally be making an impact beyond Babygrande’s loyal hardcore fans.

I spoke with Young God on May 15. The 23-year-old producer is based in San Francisco; his musical partner, Kingston, calls Seattle home.

A side note: Please don’t misconstrue the statements Young God and I make in the following interview. While I have my issues with Jedi Mind Tricks, I respect what they’ve done as an influential and popular underground rap group. And I think Young God would agree that the overwhelmingly positive reception to Late Nite Cinema proves that it’s dangerous to pigeonhole the fans who flock to Babygrande’s message boards, and stereotype their views on what constitutes good hip-hop.

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