After a long period of financial and personal setbacks, 3-D has finally completed the mixtape he has been hungry to unleash,  I'm Still Here, Asshole!!   The title is inspired by the 1995 film, Angus, a coming of age story about a junior high school kid, once bullied, but in the end, becoming the bull.  Having experienced bullying throughout his youth, 3-D found the movie and Angus' exclamation poignant not only in the film's context, but he mirrors the sentiment in reference to his own life struggles.

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This collection consists of freestyles and a few covers of iconic Hip Hop Classics, featuring production by Dr. Dre, DJ Premier and The RZA, among others, as well as sneak peaks to whet the listener’s appetite for The Hunger, 3-D’s debut release.  His brother, Wax Knowledge (fka 5-G) teams up with him on "The Next Episode," lending a verse over the music of the Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg classic. 

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Another highlight is "Where We Live," a remix using the music of "Rock Stars" by Non Phixion (another Premier production).  The song was originally re-imagined in 2007 by then up and coming UK emcee, Ricta, and this version featuring 3-D was intended for mixtape release back in 2008 to help signal his emergence as a full on solo artist.  Due to the unfortunate predicament of that period, it didn't happen then.  But it’s here now to usher in his re-emergence, and show some BXNY pride.

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Following the tradition of Pete Rock, Diamond D and other rapping beatsmiths, ISHA’s host and DJ, Funky Fingers lends a verse to “Protect My Rep,” a  cover of Wu Tang Clan’s “Protect Ya Neck.”  3-D performs the remaining verses, flexing his “Mr. Schizo” abilities.  In his re-working of the closing verse, where GZA took aim and fired at a Hip Hop label that lost its soul, 3-D similarly busts shots at a label known for being suspect.  As he raps, “…I got no respect for companies/ That claim they’re hardcore but flaunt that ‘Gump’ steez/ First off, look at the CEO/ Tight pants and kissin’ men like an industry hoe/ But he don’t know the meaning of raw/ When he’s lookin’ for that ‘Lollipop’ rap that’s softer than kitten paws/ I ain’t the type who believes the hype/ Pull ya pants up, ‘n’ get the bananas out ya tailpipe!”

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“Race Card” is a mosh pit banger in the tradition of Hip Hop elder statesmen Run-DMC, and the Nu-Metal genre which they helped create.  It shuts down the myths that he loses his Blackness when he hangs out with white folks, and emulates a white TV character.  “Kramer” had been an alias he adopted in the late 90’s, inspired by the Seinfeld show character’s money schemes and spastic demeanor.  This was long before Michael Richards’ racist rant.  However, he flips that negative association into fuel to point out the difference between “Black folks” and “niggas.”  (Chris Rock gets a shout out as well, since that very subject was a well-known routine in his stand-up act.) To further illustrate the point that liking Rock & Metal doesn’t make him less Black, he shouts out a list of Black Punk & Metal bands, and the song itself is a clever remixing of  “Re-Ignition,” a song by Punk/Hard Rock legends, Bad Brains.

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The closer is “Long Time,” a song born from 3-D’s ear for melodies.  Listening to Portishead’s “Cowboys,” he noticed the chord progression mirrored that of “Glaciers of Ice,” another RZA production from Raekwon’s 1995 …Only Built For Cuban Linx album.  Raekwon’s song features him singing at the end, “It’s been a long time…”  For his take, 3-D goes into “Amaretto Mode” singing and harmonizing, “It’s been a long time, Since I got to spit some rhymes…. Now it’s about time, For 3-D to blow your mind,” before switching to “Kramer Mode” for a 16-bar bitch-slap to any and all haters.

 

I'm Still Here, Asshole!!  is available for download at the Skill Trade Entertainment Bandcamp page.