Letters to the Editor 5.1
SHOUT recently ran a critical review of local emceee Nate Mezmer's Kill the Precedent. SHOUT will run critical reviews from time to time because an artist may rarely get such feedback from friends and family. So we do our best to ensure such reviews are constructive, and maybe a little funny. Mezmer took offense to this review, so we decided to run both sides of the argument here for your consideration...
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ms. Starlight has respectfully declined Mr. Mezmer's offer for writing lessons.
POINT: By Dusty Starlight
Threatening to kill George Bush, either directly or metaphorically, does not a revolutionary make. Kill the Precedent, Nate Mezmer’s self-described 'call to arms' features over a dozen indistinguishable tracks and one ill-advised anti-war ballad. Mezmer's rhymes, delivered in a grating cadence and laid over simplistic beats, veer from political rage to club-calls for the ladies to feel it in their 'g-spots.' Mezmer's energy is impressive, but what he lacks in range or original ideas he makes up for in mimicry and imitation. Simply put, Mezmer will have something to say one day; he just needs to do his homework.
COUNTERPOINT: By Nate Mezmer
I understand that a writer is free to say what they want, but as a magazine (that seems to want credibility) you should make sure YOUR writers are on point.
From the beginning the 'title' of my album is completely misinterpreted, which leads me to believe he/she did not really listen to the words, or understand the lyrics? Furthermore, the first sentence of the review is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense whatsoever. Next, the fact that one of my tracks (Bound For Glory) is called an "ill-advised" anti-war song leads me to believe that the writer either doesnt know what "ill-advised" means or that he/she is an advocate of the war in Iraq! After that, he/she calls one of my tracks (Make It Hot 451) a club call to the ladies because it refers to "g-spots" in the hook, However the entire track is about performing hip-hop live at a show and basically crushing wack mc's who rhyme for the loot. I guess he/she didnt get that?
Finally, right after he/she blatantly disses me by stating that im unoriginal and also an immitation, it is written that "Mezmer will have something to say one day; he just needs to do his homework." My question to you and your staff is, are YOU doing your homework? Im of the few MC's in the bay area right now doing anything with hip-hop and social change!!! Besides Boots from The Coup (who is on your cover) and a handful of others, there arent that many cats out there right now doing it like that.
YOU DO LIST Adisa Banjoko as one of YOUR 'Scribes,' well here is what THE BISHOP had to say about my album:
"In a world of fake thugs and overmarketed MC's, its great to hear an artist like Nate Mezmer bring the real essence back to hip-hop."
Finally, your magazine asks the question of "where the left goes wrong" and then saves a page at the back addressing the Tookie Williams execution and 'solidarity.' Well, If this review of my album is any example of a magazine that has anything to do with the left, it is clear that something has gone wrong. DO YOUR HOMEWORK and i'll keep doing mine.
PEACE,
NATE
PS_If 'Starlight' needs any writing lessons tell him/her to peep my article on Tookie!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ms. Starlight has respectfully declined Mr. Mezmer's offer for writing lessons.
POINT: By Dusty Starlight
Threatening to kill George Bush, either directly or metaphorically, does not a revolutionary make. Kill the Precedent, Nate Mezmer’s self-described 'call to arms' features over a dozen indistinguishable tracks and one ill-advised anti-war ballad. Mezmer's rhymes, delivered in a grating cadence and laid over simplistic beats, veer from political rage to club-calls for the ladies to feel it in their 'g-spots.' Mezmer's energy is impressive, but what he lacks in range or original ideas he makes up for in mimicry and imitation. Simply put, Mezmer will have something to say one day; he just needs to do his homework.
COUNTERPOINT: By Nate Mezmer
I understand that a writer is free to say what they want, but as a magazine (that seems to want credibility) you should make sure YOUR writers are on point.
From the beginning the 'title' of my album is completely misinterpreted, which leads me to believe he/she did not really listen to the words, or understand the lyrics? Furthermore, the first sentence of the review is grammatically incorrect and makes no sense whatsoever. Next, the fact that one of my tracks (Bound For Glory) is called an "ill-advised" anti-war song leads me to believe that the writer either doesnt know what "ill-advised" means or that he/she is an advocate of the war in Iraq! After that, he/she calls one of my tracks (Make It Hot 451) a club call to the ladies because it refers to "g-spots" in the hook, However the entire track is about performing hip-hop live at a show and basically crushing wack mc's who rhyme for the loot. I guess he/she didnt get that?
Finally, right after he/she blatantly disses me by stating that im unoriginal and also an immitation, it is written that "Mezmer will have something to say one day; he just needs to do his homework." My question to you and your staff is, are YOU doing your homework? Im of the few MC's in the bay area right now doing anything with hip-hop and social change!!! Besides Boots from The Coup (who is on your cover) and a handful of others, there arent that many cats out there right now doing it like that.
YOU DO LIST Adisa Banjoko as one of YOUR 'Scribes,' well here is what THE BISHOP had to say about my album:
"In a world of fake thugs and overmarketed MC's, its great to hear an artist like Nate Mezmer bring the real essence back to hip-hop."
Finally, your magazine asks the question of "where the left goes wrong" and then saves a page at the back addressing the Tookie Williams execution and 'solidarity.' Well, If this review of my album is any example of a magazine that has anything to do with the left, it is clear that something has gone wrong. DO YOUR HOMEWORK and i'll keep doing mine.
PEACE,
NATE
PS_If 'Starlight' needs any writing lessons tell him/her to peep my article on Tookie!
posted by The Editor @ ١٢:٠٥ م
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