Your MP3s Bore Me: “Double Homicide” by Mykill Miers & Pawz One.

[@fawnfindslove]

Thanks, once again, to DJ Wicked for presenting more L.A. underground for our consideration via the EP ‘Double Homicide’ by Mykill Miers, Pawz One and collaborators. I have listened in full, and didactically speaking this album may eclipse some prior YMBM selections. Despite the raunchy preview, hearing the album’s opening line, “Noam Chomsky on a rhyme spree,” raised my hopes that it would redeem itself. Around a theme of bloodthirst (figurative though it may be), the duo indeed constructed a work of solid technical merit and unexpected edification. From the countdown, I was drawn in by the use of ‘Murder Was the Case’-esque clips of reporters selling crime stories on the nightly news. In fact, there are distinct tonal qualities and effects elsewhere in the album reminiscent of the Death Row catalog, namely ‘Shot For Shot’, ‘Cult Classic’, and ‘The Basics’. Striking sonic highlights include the duo scaling a chain link fence against the backdrop of a prison yard alarm during ‘The First 48’ outro. The engineer did an effective job bringing the shimmery metal fence and ensuing stealthy, ‘Ride 4 Me’ lil-homie-style footsteps into the foreground, creating dimensional sound, drawing me straight into a precarious nighttime scene. In ‘Take Your Pick’, a rhythmic 70s-style horn section, drums and hi-hat accompanied me steadfastly as I listened to the lyricists reel off a chilling array of “deadly instruments”, the jazz vibe lending sophistication, grounding the album’s sordid content for a moment. Well-executed scratching mirrors the lyrical spontaneity, lacing the EP with expressive style. ‘Shot For Shot’ and ‘Cult Classic’ feature a range of textures, from the aquatic to the cartoonish which, in lightning turns, color adjacent vocals with their tonality. Also impressive is the dexterous work in ‘The Basics’, again at seamless play with the vocals, set against a boozy binaural backdrop. Complementing all of this, ‘Triple Murder’ features rappers of contrasting timbres pushing the limits of their voices. Props to Miers and Pawz One for creating an original sound that captures the right-left-right-you’re-toothless hard edge that, as a skinny, reserved teen/young adult, served me faithfully in mitigating personal- or collective-level tribulations. But about the time that Death Row’s dominance started to wane, I all but abandoned hip hop. The music coming out felt less and less like my ally, less and less bold and authentic, and ever more commercialized. It felt homogenized-I couldn’t as easily distinguish voices or styles. Performers once called artists began selling out to global brands. Though I could not articulate it at the time, a lot of it felt like mere material, mere content: D.O.A. But my love for hip hop preceded Death Row by more than a decade. It was rooted in poring over my sister’s LPs: ‘One Nation Under a Groove’, ‘Blam!’, ‘C’est Chic’, ‘The Man-Machine’. It was rooted in the experiences of seeing ‘Flashdance’ and ‘Purple Rain’ on the big screen and Egyptian Lover with my crew at the tiny Spectrum Nightclub in 1988. In leaving hip hop, I left a significant part of myself behind. With ‘Double Homicide’, these MCs seem bent toward raw realism, a worthy aim in an age of addictive, polished Egobook pretense. As I listened, I began hearing their willingness to be themselves at all costs-to say things that others will despise, be offended by, push back on. Forget tucking chains in; they seem unconcerned with accumulation and wholly focused on the process of releasing their work into the world. I disagree with things they say, but I also respect their commitment to creativity-in much the same way I could look past Flossy slaps in trade for ‘Up Jump Tha Boogie’, or look at Lee Friedlander’s nudes with identical objectivity as with his street photography. So, by being themselves, the duo gave me cause to bust myself out of today’s Like-Dislike-React ternary prison and scale the chain link fence of narrow interpretation. “No tricks or politics” though the lyricists claim, the album offers a wide-angle snapshot of the American experience from the Bush Sr. through the post-Trump eras, even broaching reproductive rights-though noncommittally and with formulaic bluntness-in the wanton carnival ride, ‘Stop Playin With Me’. But bellicose words, contentious topics, and thematic heft beg for beats to shake it off to; this EP inspired grooves and head nods. I’m still learning about sub-genres, but I wanted to bounce. Miers and Pawz One offer the careful and questioning listener some relatable substance and an invitation to insight with ‘Double Homicide’. It pushed me to go beyond value judgments, extract and enjoy its technical and thematic merits, and revisit a familiar place, only different… new… underground. [✨⛪Dear God, thank You for the morality imparted by Mykill Miers and Pawz One, such as never being on one’s knees in one’s endeavors and never being _SUB_-servient to any human being or entity. I am thankful to know that listening to a song about molly wopping can expel lurking ill feelings in ways that kickboxing in front of the living room mirror may not. Please continue guiding Your MP3s Bore Me and DJ Wicked with Your all-knowing Hand. And please help me express myself honestly without getting my wig split. If that is not possible, I am thankful for the consolation of knowing I’ll be chillin’ in Hades with some interesting company.]

[@TheRealDJWicked]

Great words. Always well spoken. This album certainly isn’t one for the luke-warm Hip-Hop fans… this one has an edge to it… most of the great ones do. Also, the importance of balance… a little bit street, a little bit conscious, a little bit political, good wordplay, witty punchlines, head-nod “boom bap” beats, plus scratch choruses too… a pretty well rounded project in my opinion. And yeah, these two aren’t biting their tongues for no one... “Let’s get it poppin’ like a racial slur.” ✌️

[@fawnfindslove]

@@TheRealDJWicked Thanks so much for taking the time. True, it does have all those elements - probably a strong driver of why I liked it in the end (or any album!). Overwhelmingly with Cloakwork though, the balance... lyrically, musically. I'm unsure if the play between vocals and scratching I described constitutes scratch choruses, but I think I'm catching on. Oh yes, that line stood out for me as well.

[@fawnfindslove]

Just realized the E.L. show was 1987, not '88.