MUSICAL FACTS: The Philly Three (Part 1)...The Appetizer

I love a good Philly Cheesesteak! I cannot count the number of times my family and I have made the spontaneous 3 hour trek JUST to eat a Philly for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and dessert! lol). And I hold the same kind of passion for good Philly-style Hip-Hop. Considering I promote all kinds of music, and as such, all genres of Hip-Hop, I probably should not reveal my bias towards East Coast rap, afterall, I pride myself on having a hybrid and eclectic taste. Now...Let it be known....I am a big time lover of funkdafied Fresh Coast (aka West Coast) and Southern boomtastic Hip-Hop. And I will get trunk-thumped out with the Mid-west on occassion....but yeah....at the end of the day, sorry, the birthplace of Hip-Hop is where my heart is.....yep!....I LOVE REGGAE MUSIC! (lol! 'What??? is? she? on???', you saying to yourself?.....You didn't know that New York rappers, and Hip-Hop, in general,emerged from a form of REGGAE entertainment? Oh ye of little history.....google is thy friend. Suffice to say, many of the main players who brought you the glorious gift of the Deejay and the Emcee, were of Caribbean origin....but I am off on a tangent....back to Philly and...

The Audacity of Rob Hodge:

FUNKY FRESH AND HOT OFF DA PRESS! After years away from the music scene, in he rolls draped with that dirty S-word .............. swagger. Not counting his mixtape, Rob Hodge has not released an official album since 'Born King' in 2006, so his recent and sudden drop of this brand new single, in lieu of promoting his new upcoming album, 'The Audacity" is bringing a wee bit of excitement for me. And I know, I know.......you likely have no idea who I'm talking about, or you know dude only by his quirky and sometimes almost-salacious commentary on twitter and facebook. Still, for those who need that 'google it' moment, here's a quick dip into his website bio:

"Rob Hodge’s music has helped heal broken hearts and uplift the downtrodden. Now, the soul-stirring music has captivated an audience that stretches across the Atlantic, from America to Africa, from conservative reverends to professional athletes and ballers. Rob’s music is the nexus between the conventional setting of the church and the tumultuous lure of street life. Simply put, Rob makes music with substance. By bridging the gap between commercial appeal and artistic integrity, Rob has created a lane for himself unlike anyone before him. From Philly to Paris, audiences have more than just heard Rob’s music – they’ve felt it. Rob stands for what he believes – his music represents the angst of an entire generation."

Yeah! nuff said! Whoever he paid to write that paragraph needs a big-spender tip....coz they got da bwoy well painted. Rob Hodge's music has bridged church and street since his official introduction on the scene in 2005. His style can be labelled RnB Hip-Hop, but that would put him too much in a box when he starts dropping throwback soulful samples on top of a mish-mash of beats. Suffice to say, this Philly native is also all Philadelphia when it comes to creative punchlines and flow within, sometimes, unusual Hip-Hop beats. "The Cure" is no different. Even on this more casual freestyle track, his blood and gore honesty, and easeful flow, to a deliriously hypnotic drum and old-school-style sample of a female vocal, leaves your finger to hover on the rewind touch-tab. Surely he can't be doing rap to these drums, right? At first the afro-beat drums seem all off to his flow, and the boom that lays underneath it, yet, by the end of the track, you realize Rob took it to da paint like a true baller.

Now I give him props as a preface to a good slap! The man has kept us waiting and then just drops a hot one, like he rolled up on some homies on da stoop in surprise, to share a verse, after being gone from da hood! Then he (?) has the audacity to be cheeky with it and be smoking a joint on the front cover, talmbout "The Cure"??? I know Tyler Perry's Madea character has popularized the notion of the weed-smoking Christian, but er um....did Rob get one of those Dave Chappelle notions, and run off to the woods to get blunted from reality? Er....Robby, son...Good Christians don't use herbs...well, except maybe some rosemary, a little oregano and thyme...but then again...the politically incorrect seems to be quite 'normal(?)' these days in Christian Hip-Hop. I wonder if it is a marketing ploy to attract the dope heads, then rock their knot with The Cure, aka Jesus The Christ? Hmmmmm....we shall see. Mr. Hodge has promised to release a track (though not singles from The Audacity) every couple weeks until he drops his official album in the Winter of 2012. Hopefully by then, we will be in the know about his controversial cover photo and his shout out to RocNation in the new single. Perhaps he will respond to the Q&A I slipped him....until then, I guess we await the full message of The Cure....and of course, the highly anticipated new album: "The Audacity".

Below is Rob Hodge's new single, 'The Cure'. Available for FREE DOWNLOAD from robhodge.net

FOLLOW Rob Hodge:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robhodge
Twitter: http://twitter.com/robhodge
Web: http://robhodge.net/
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/robhodge