Reinventing the Wheel: Mic Priest - Piece, Be Steel

In music, there is nothing more novel than a debut body of work. An opportunity to delve in the workings of a mind trying to grasp, and ultimately wield a new medium of expression. A medium that accommodates so many variables to get right. It is always exhilarating to take a moment and digest in whole. That way, you can trace the influences that morphed the musicality, trace the media that shaped the approach and even, trace the background that nurtured the creator.

Piece, Be Steel attempts to cover a lot within ten tracks. At first glance, it is quite evident that the project is a homage to the rudimentary elements of hip-hop. Drawing inspiration from old Chinese movies and western action flicks that glorify violence with no regard for nuances responsible for action, or reaction. It is drawn from the same cloth that drives the narrative that Sun Tzu’s Art of War is the ultimate literature of warfare and is still very much applicable to everyday life. This is not a bad thing, it is probably what earned Wu Tang’s 36^th Chamber its classic status and it is a staple identity of a phase in hiphop that still holds a cult of listeners to date.

“We pick the piece, and wonder what the safety’s for”

The title, Piece, Be Steel in itself is a double entendre that sets the album pace. Piece can mean anything from a gun to a chain and even to clothing which was what Mic Priest opened the floor with. Three Piece Suit Reverend had Greham chopping up Tope Alabi’s ‘Aiye le o’, a traditional dirge that has been reclaimed by Instagram influencers with skits and funny cuts. Priest goes toe to toe with instrumentals, samples and listeners alike. Creating a menacing atmosphere of a quiet night in an unsafe neighborhood. The gun bars don’t help matters, as they are carefully crafted to hold water within the context of a verse and as standalone quoteables.

This is a rap project, period. Expecting it to fall victim to the usual complaints tendered to this genre is a given. Subverting from the status quo would take a lot of effort as the project must be not be monotonous, slurry, excessively familiar, self-involved and ignorant. Priest almost fits this profile following Three Piece Suit Reverend with Moby Dick which caused a nauseating miasma of gun bars. Thankfully, Growing Pains was just right around the corner to provide much-needed relief.

He is a rapper and you can tell it from the get-go.

Looking through the list: a large vocabulary, check.

An ingenious way about words, check.

And the ability to swing from reflection/encouragement to menacing in the split of a second, check.

The type of person to say ‘the company you keep is your profit margin’ instead of the conventional, your network is your net worth. Or on Medicine Cabinet where PlasthicSlash says ‘the last laugh is the best pharmaceutical’ instead of Laughter is the medicine: simply because those expressions are too mainstream.  They don’t only say what they say because it makes the song better, they say it because they know this mastery is an acquired skill and only a handful of them exist. They say it because they can.

The producers, Greham, Illgod, Bemshima and Carnzilla amplify the quality of the project with the precedence they set for each song. They augment Priest’s lack of melody with samples or chords that will resonate as well with listeners. Unlike other individuals that try to toe this line of hiphop, it was very refreshing to see a variation in his beats. It attests to a wide range of influence that cuts across Rhyme Asylum’s gritty pre-grime feel to an Aretha Franklin-esque cut that would have RhymeFest penning bars for an untested Kanye West. Mic Priest’s flow stutters a little on the trap infused ‘Night of the Long Knives’ however, the gesture was well received. It is also worth noting that Mic Priest could have done more with his voice for the aesthetics created, rather than allowing the producers do it for him.

Piece, Be Steel experiments in bold ways without managing to alienate its core listeners. Although his flow pattern does little to provide a wild ride when talking listening experience, his subject matter (well some), production and overall atmosphere breathes life into each and every track on the project. It doesn’t feel repetitive, at all.  For a homage to the golden era of the culture, this is surprisingly a fresh of breath air. That is the power of a debut, it can stun and completely reinvent a wheel to which we have become so much accustomed. Piece, Be Steel is proof.

Listen to Piece, Be Still