The ZYG Brings A Sense of Tradition Into Hip-hop, Reflecting On It's Roots in the Bronx

The ZYG Makes his mark on The Bronx.

Hip-Hop MC & master percussionist steps into the hip-hop game with a different sense of raps place in the continuum of spoken-word and the oral tradition. The spirit energy that fueled Hip-hop can be found in the parks of The Bronx, The ZYG pays a visit to his musical roots and talks about the African, African American, and Caribbean oral traditions that are at the roots of rap music.

Standing in Devoe Park, The ZYG finds himself literally at one of the significant crossroads of Hip-hop, where Sedewick Avenue and Fordam Road intersect. Many years ago in this same spot, Hip-hop pioneers like Grandmaster Caz, and DJ Whiz manned their DJ equipment, powered by electricity stolen from a nearby street light. Several blocks down on Sedgwick Ave, Kool DJ Here threw the original hip-hop parties. A few blocks in the other direction, break dancers once performed in the center isle where Fordham crosses the Grand Concourse.

"I'm not a rapper, I'm an MC."

- The ZYG

MCing takes it's roots in the street poetry tradition, which itself draws from some of the Griot traditions of West Africa. Griots hold the multifaceted position of being oral historians, storytellers, advisors, teachers, philosophers, and seers, and rap is seen as a clear derivative of this tradition. This section of the Northwest Bronx was a blending of West Indian, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Black folks originating from the south; all of whom -being products of the African Diaspora- carried a version of the Griot traditions; calypsonians, toasters, pergones, and signifiers are all aspects of the Griot tradition that along with preaching, are root influences of MCing. Likewise, these where the neighborhoods where jazz, salsa, mambo, ska, calypso, soccer, soul and boogaloo mixed, mingled and merged, and eleké clad drummers sat in circles playing congas, shakers and cowbells.

For The ZYG, these are the traditions and cultural elements that informs his development, with his natural curiosities led to his exploration of the roots of his craft. "With jazz, a lot of the information -as well as a lot of mis-information- is at your finger-tips. This is a history that they try to bury. I'm so glad there's going to be a Hip-hop Museum." A short conversation with this young man makes it clear that he could be a tour guide for the museum when it opens.

With the self-assured proclamation, "I've got one foot in the rap game and the other in the music business." We can expect amazing things down the road from  The ZYG, who is currently finishing his freshman year of high school.
Before he picked up a microphone, legendary Hip-hop MC, Rakim Allah, was a tenor sax player. His sense of phrasing and flow as an MC was clearly shaped by his exposure to and participation in playing jazz. Likewise is true for the 14 year-old MC , The ZYG, who holds Rakim on the mantle among his other influences in MCing.

"I'm not a rapper, I'm an MC," explains The Z.Y.G. from behind his drum set in the band room at Mashpee High School. "A rapper gets up on the mic, spits a few bars and leaves. An MC can actually host a party and interact with the crowd. That's what I'm trained to do." As the son of a performing artist, who's career spans music, theater and spoken-word, it is of little surprise that The ZYG has this understanding. "When I first wanted to MC seriously, I went to my father and he asked me, 'do you want to rap because you have something to say or because you want to look cool?' I had something to say."

Similar to the poets of the ages, who you would find huddled in corners or at tables over a notebook writing their ideas and inspirations down, you'll find The ZYG jotting down lyric ideas on his phone or tablet. Learning from the tragic mistakes of others, he also knows to cloud what he writes.

Co-founding the Soul Poet's Syndicate as a collective for MCs, spoken-word artists, and media producers, "the best MCs come out of crews and collectives because being around other MCs makes your work stronger. It's like a workshop." The ZYG sees the potential for hip-hop to be another branch of the poetry movements of the 20th century like the Harlem Renaissance, Beatniks, Black Arts Movement, Hip-hop, and the more recent Urban Expressionists movement of the 1990s and early 2000s of which his father was a figure.

The ZYG is currently in the studio working on his debut solo E.P., "The Intro" collaborating with the Down Streeters at the boards, creating a project that nods to the old-school flavor of hard beats (he is a drummer, after all), and considered lyrics.

Follow him on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/thezyg808