Tayrye is a new voice in the Memphis rap scene, having recently dropped his debut album The 7 Year Tribulation. As the title suggests, the subject matter on this album is a little heavier than that of your average commercial rap albums. Tayrye covers a variety of subjects ranging from Armageddon to unfaithfulness with the skill of a veteran MC.

Furious Stiles is a veteran of the Memphis Music scene, having released the compilation Black Day on Earth a few years back with his crew The Illdividuals and releasing his debut album First Two Letters in My Name in 2005. Since then, Furious has kept it moving with mixtapes and albums spotlighting him and his Mentalee Ill Records family (M.I. Rec). On his latest EP, Anguh Management Class, Furious Stiles continues to showcase what he calls Durty Hip-Hop, which is the Durty South style mixed with pure Hip-Hop.

Jimmy RS aka Sir Jimmy Is Dope, is a young Memphis-born rapper that definitely stands out from many of his peers.  A self-professed “astronaut” and admitted “hipster", Jimmy’s rap style is very lyrical and witty.

T.R.U.B.B.L.E. (To Reunite Blacks By Law Establishment) is an up-and-coming hip-hop artist in the Memphis area. His latest EP, Da Truth N Print, serves as an introduction to this artist before he releases his full-length debut. 

Tricks debuted at the 2007 Indie Memphis Film Festival, and received rave reviews at the 2008 Hollywood Black Film Festival. Filmed in Memphis in 2006 and 2007, it tells the story of a group of prostitutes who operate out of the Healing Touch Massage Parlor. The film explores the motivations and experiences of the women who work there and the situations that led them to their occupation. Tricks never fully condemns or condones the lifestyles of the women, it simply shows many of the obstacles and experiences faced by members of the “world’s oldest profession”.

Local spoken-word artist Elliott “The Immortal Hardface” Nelson has been a staple of several poetry spots in Memphis for the past few years. On his latest release, The Stimulus Package Soundtrack, Hardface pulls no punches. The opener, “The Ni**ers Will Buy It”, is about the marketing tactics used to get African-Americans to buy useless products. On the second track, “Doll Footz”, he speaks of his foot fetish in a very humorous way. The rest of the tracks take some African-Americans to task for their behavior and the “ghetto mentality”. “Real Talk” parodies the “hard thug” who foolishly fears no one, not even the authorities. This message is also carried out in the track “Ni**atime”.  Hardface then switches things up and gives us a track full of snippets of other poems that didn’t make the album in their entirety on “Bonus Footage”. “25 to Life” is a very graphic tale about a man who commits a foolish crime, goes to prison, and has to endure sexual abuse and the loss of his freedom. This theme also carries into the next track, “DooDoo on the Wall feat. MJ”.  On this track, Hardface uses a vocal sample from Michael Jackson that describes some of the abuses he faced while being detained by the police. It also has a somewhat ironic snippet from the “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” cartoon about child molestation. The track “Uncle Sam” continues this theme as it tells the story of a man being taken advantage of by “his uncle in a blue and red clownsuit”. Finally, “The Hater” deals with people who always have negative criticisms about another person’s actions. In Hardface’s song, hower, the “haters” are eliminated in a gruesome fashion.   

The Memphis-based band Free Sol recently put out a mixtape on Justin Timberlake’s website. For those who may not know, Free Sol consists of the singer/rapper Free, guitarist Elliott Ives, drummer “Kickman” Teddy, and keyboardist Premo D’Anger. They signed with Timberlake’s Tennman Records some time ago and have been working on their major-label debut. Their first mixtape release is entitled MasterPiece: A Rize 2 Da Top. I did not see a proper tracklisting, so I am making assumptions on the titles based on the hooks.

Veteran hip-hop group De La Soul performed in Memphis as part of their 20 Years and Rising Tour, a celebration of their debut album, Three Feet High and Rising, which was released twenty years ago in 1989. A cross-section of ethnic and social groups were in attendance, a testament to the staying power of the hip-hop legends. 

Memphis-based rapper Teflon Don recently dropped a new CD entitled God the Government the Game.

On the title track and in the liner notes he explains the three things that define his life: faith in God, his time spent in the military ("the government"), and his belief that "game" is useful skills that one has in addition to their regular job. These three themes are evident throughout the entire album. The first track “Intro-It’s Go’n Be Alright” is very uplifting and segues nicely into the title track. “Struggler” talks about how economic hardship lead some people to turn to illegal activities for profit. “Count My Money” is another cautionary track where he tells people to spend their money wisely, a far cry from the excessive “baller” mentality that many rappers live by. “Let’s Talk About” is another nice bit of social commentary where Don calls out drug dealers, crooked politicians, and the media’s scrutiny of African-American celebrities such as Kobe Bryant. That track segues nicely into another inspirational track, “Going Through Some Thangs”, and the heartfelt “Unborn Son” which is an honest discussion with his future offspring. There are some songs for the ladies (“The Way She Move”, “You Don’t Have to Go Home”), a few “crunk” tracks, (“I Represent” and “We Get Money”), and some profanity, but the album is very well-rounded and touches on a variety of topics.

I have been hesitant to write on this topic for some time, but I have to get this off my chest. As an African-American man, I have a problem with the whole “White Savior” image that is all over American cinema. I am sure that my readers out there know the plots I speak of all too well. Some kind-hearted European American shows up at just the right time and rescues the poor minority youth from their cruel existence. Almost as long as I have been watching films, I have been subjected to this, and it’s usually “based on a true story”.  Whether it was Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds giving hope and opening the minds of poor inner-city minority youth, or Hillary Swank doing the same in Freedom Writers, the White Savior is there to show us poor, misguided minorities that we can read and dream and reach for the stars because, darn it, poor minorities are people too! All we need is some nice white person who’s a rebel or an unorthodox thinker or a grumpy old man, such as Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Well, if cinema is any indication, the poor minorities would perish were it not for the White Savior. And on behalf of all minorities everywhere, all I can say is “We showl’ is appreciative of y'all White folks helping us out, boss!” As a matter of fact, if I’m “saved” again, I might just be ill.