Homeboy Sandman - The Good Sun
Artwork The Good Sun
The Good Sun- an LP I was able to discover through my brother back in my teens, still today an important record in my collection; classic but incomparable American Rap by the MC Homeboy Sandman from Queens. It got distributed by the New Yorker Label Water Music back in 2010.
His third of a total of nine albums by 2021 reflects Homeboy’s style pretty accurately. On the whole he does exactly the opposite of what most rappers do. Firstly, in the way he raps: His tracks have unconventional and thus interestingly formed rhyme patterns on the backdrop of headstrong beats, which come along very flowy. However, he tends to change patterns quite frequently, and in the process doesn’t stick to conventional rap-techniques.
Secondly, and on another level in the track “But I can rhyme though” he refers to the things people find weird and non-hip-hop about him – his status of an outsider, the way he dresses, a dislike for social media, his abstract lyrics - he counters to all these alleged shortcomings through his lyricism and pointedly in the hook which also gives the track its name : “Yeah, but I can rhyme though.”
Also, songs such as “The Carpenter”, “Table Cloth” and “Mean Mug” are all great examples of Homeboy’s unique, flowy rhythm integrating sublime and catchy wordplays.
So, Homeboy Sandman clearly does not conform to majority opinion or taste. He sticks to his way of expressing himself rather than adjusting to what the mainstream currently likes in order to reach more listeners – no to the contrary, he is critical and honest about his art, saying that his music only spreads if it is seriously good and people actually want to listen to it. Having observed this mechanism, he claims that nowadays all rap music sounds pretty much the same, due to most artists being too scared to find out their real talent but sticking to the way everyone else in the industry already goes about it. Thus, rendering music to be neither about innovation nor creativity, but reducing it how to earn money the best way.
In opposition to that, the New York MC sees himself partially as an educator. For him, words are weapons. In his lyrics he speaks out against racism, sexism and the propaganda of the mass media, thus covering a variety of social issues and elements of the human condition. “Strange Planet” is densely packed with such issues. Homeboy couches them through eloquent, poetic rap underlaid by a dreamy sample – Pure melancholy!
“Who's a native and who's a foreigner
Of course you could be just around the corner
But if your nation's got a different name there's hatred
Neighbor's hate with all of they aorta
They pop dosage and drink potions to feel happy
Some odd moments” -Strange Planet
Undoubtable Homeboy’s music and lyrics demonstrate some profound statements. Thus, it is not just about wanting people to listen to his music, he wants to have a say in social issues using his captivating rap to bring attention to them.
Listen to The Good Sun on Spotify:
