This begins a new weekly dedicated to one of my favorite things: old rap, focusing on hip-hop of the 1980s and 90s. Every Wednesday, I promise a somewhat-comprehensive profile on some old rap, right here! I’ve got a lot to work with so I’m just going to jump in and pick one. First up is the Divine Styler.
Divine Styler, the Brooklyn born MC and producer, came up as part of Ice T’s Rhyme $yndicate and soon after dropped his debut album, “Wordpower” on Epic Records in 1989. Wordpower’s first single didn’t find commercial success, but it did find success with critics and much love on the underground:
MP3: Divine Styler - Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin’ (1989) (Recommended)
You’ll hear the sounds and tempo of “Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin’” echoed later by another Rhyme $yndicate alumni—House of Pain on their seminal “Jump Around”. Here’s another track from “Wordpower” titled “Tongue of Labyrinth” which was the original b-side to “Ain’t Sayin’ Nothing”:
MP3: Divine Styler - Tongue of Labyrinth (1989)
Divine Styler, on his 1992 sophomore release titled, “Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light” departed from a hip-hop sound for a more avant-garde, experimental, punk or new age sound. Influenced by his conversion to Islam and his need for innovation, this album was entirely different from his debut. This second album was released by Giant Records and was considered a commercial failure. Also, this album was dismissed by the hip-hop audience because it really isn’t hip-hop. However, like most things, this album did find an audience, and this album does have its cult following of people who love envelope-pushers and genre-benders. Here’s a track from “Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light”:
MP3: Divine Styler - Mystic Sheep Drink Electric Tea (1992)
The Divine Styler released his third and last album in 1998, titled “Wordpower 2: Directrix” on DTX Records, and it was a return to a more conventional hip-hop sound. This record went out of print quickly, but was saved briefly by James Lavelle who re-released it on his Mo’ Wax (unofficial site) label in 2000 (albeit, with an slightly altered tracklisting and entirely new cover art). Now Mo’ Wax is defunct as well, meaning all four Divine Styler releases are out of print and hard to come across. But don’t let that stop you from trying eBay or amazon affiliates. Here are a few tracks from the album(s) and a b-side instro from a Mo’ Wax promo:
MP3: Divine Styler - Before Mecca (1998)
Divine Styler - Make It Plain (1998)
MP3: Divine Styler - Directrix (1998) (Recommended)
MP3: Divine Styler - Directrix (Instrumental w/ hook) (1998)
Visit Divine Styler on what I believe to be his official MySpace.
p.s. If anyone has the bonus tracks from the Directrix Japanese release, you hook me up!
