KC Hip-Hop From Black Clover Records: Mac Lethal and Joe Good

by dave heaton

Overland Park, Kansas – a hip-hop mecca? Not exactly. But that Kansas City suburb is where Mac Lethal lives, and he's an MC that people should – and will, I think – be paying attention to. The Love Potion Collection 2, released by Lethal's new independent label Black Clover Records, is an odds-and-ends collection, but if his upcoming Rhymesayers debut is anywhere as strong as this CD, it has 'classic potential' written all over it.

Don't be surprised that a hot MC could come from a mostly white Midwestern suburb – if you're surprised by that, you haven't really been paying attention to hip-hop these last couple decades. MTV and CD distribution made hip-hop ubiquitous. I was one of those suburban teenagers watching Yo Mtv Raps every weekday after school, and every Saturday morning (even better), and it seems likely that Lethal was too. Or at least his music marks him as somebody who grew up loving the craft of hip-hop, and grew into a skilled MC himself.

Mac Lethal made his name by winning MC battles, and it shows in the cleverness of his rhymes; they bear the mark of someone thinking on his feet. There's humor in his songs, and the sense that you shouldn't take yourself seriously. He'll rap about Taco Bell, about Omar Epps movies, about the Jesus-fication of 2Pac. But even at their most playful, as on CD opener "Walkin' on Nails" – a litany of likes and dislikes – his songs have depth in addition to spark. Over solid beats, he alternately rhymes funny and dark, filling his songs with the details of his day-to-day life, whether they're frivolous or heavy, as they often are.

His darkest songs contain layer upon layer of hurt and anger, along with memories of death and depression and general angst and confusion. Unlike others, though, he seldom falls indulgently into the pleasures of darkness; in other words, he's no goth, no metal-head. Only "Strike My Dead" pushes a bit too far in the rock/rap direction, more than seems necessary to get the emotions across.

Taken together his expressions of hurt resemble not narcissism but a search: for truth, understanding, some kind of peace of mind. He's deep, articulate, poetic even (on tracks like "Needle Point" and "Lady Snowblood"). Yet razor-sharp.

Also new from Black Clover Records is Joe Good's Hi, May I Help You? mix CD, released in advance of his upcoming No More Mr. Nice Guy LP. Joe Good – who also performs as half the duo SoundsGood – has a firm but amiable rhyming style. He'll come off as friendly and genial, and then cut through that sharply, bragging with the best of them or calling out fellow MCs and cutting them down – for pretense or phoniness or hiding their flaws behind a gangsta pose ("no wonder why those rappers gotta be thugs / they probably making better money off drugs"). His persona's much like the album title…that is, if you've heard it firsthand. "Hi, may I help you?" is what you'll hear when you walk into a Gates BBQ place in Kansas City, but it's yelled out aggressively, not exactly friendly. That's Joe Good, friendly but ready to kick your ass with his rhymes.

Hi, May I Help You? has a playful structure to it, fitting for a mix CD. He mixes in movie quotes and goofy routines (like a "Who's on First?" update). It all works though; fits with his persona. His rhymes are always engaging, whether he's doing it fast or slow, serious or light, or both. He shows dedication to the true art of crafting and delivering a rhyme, whether he's rapping over borrowed beats (from De La's "Rock Co.Kane Flow" and Gangstarr's "Skillz") or new ones.

Two tracks on Joe Good's CD (including the dynamite goof "Welcome to My MySpace," which should be blowing up the Internet) team him up with Mac Lethal – as the two are teaming up as well on this Black Clover Records endeavor. Their rapping styles complement each other nicely, and here's hoping the label's a success as well, because it deserves to be based on these two releases.

{http://www.myspace.com/maclethal, http://www.myspace.com/joegood}