One Track Mind

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Charles Stewart has already had the sort of musical career that would put most rappers to shame but he still has a lot of gas left in the tank. Growing up in South Central, Stewart (better known as Chali 2na, a reference to the baritoned StarKist mascot) befriended fellow Los Angeleno Cut Chemist and the emcees in Rebels of Rhythm; all involved eventually united under the Jurassic 5 mantle, releasing two of the irrefutable masterpieces of turn of the century hip-hop: 1998′s self-titled EP and 2000′s Quality Control. Chali 2na is also a founding member of Ozomatli and has pursued a solo career since before the dissolution of Jurassic 5 in 2007, releasing the first Fish Market mixtape in 2004 and his “proper” first solo LP, Fish Outta Water, in 2009.

On June 8th, Chali 2na released the second installment of his Fish Market mixtape series via Decon Records. The new album features guest appearances by numerous other emcees across its twenty-two tracks including spots by former J5 cohort Akil and J-Live, who features on this track (and is an erstwhile collaborator in his own right, having worked with talent ranging from Handsome Boy Modeling School to DJ Jazzy Jeff).

On “Across the Map,” Chali and J-Live take turns rhyming over syncopated drum machine bass hits and a prickly, time-shifted, Eastern-sounding sample that is weirdly effective. Chali handles most of the verses while J-Live tackles the choruses, but it is the latter who steals the show with his one verse. Taking on the elephant in the room when it comes to underground hip-hop–i.e. the skin color of its patrons in comparison to the (perceived) mainstream rap audience–J-Live raps, “They say my music don’t appeal to ‘my people’ / despite when I write that be who I’m trying to speak to… / They actin’ like, ‘Yo, it’s mostly white folks at your show because of the way that you flow’ / They think that brothers won’t go because I don’t spit that same bullcrap like the radio–oh, hell no.”

Coming from a pair of artists who have lived comfortably on the periphery of the big budget rap world, the sentiment feels geniune, to say nothing of the fact that so much music “for the ‘hood” is consumed by suburban white teens. However, neither Chali 2na nor J-Live have ever forsaken the punchiness and impact of a track for a lyrical wink, and the best part of their vocals on “Across the Map” is how they move and shimmy their way through what is an energetic and memorable listen.