Let me take you to a higher level

[zenmind]

There’s a KRS-One track that talks about getting to a higher level. I always loved the KRS-1 message: Disillusioned youth runs away to find himself, seeks wisdom in spiritual practices, lives in homeless shelters, gives back to the community. When I was first introduced to the hip-hop subculture, I didn’t get it. I was a rocker, a rhythm and blues bass player, and a jazz musician first. I could connect to the heavy R&B grooves of hip hop and that was my entry into it but when I was invited to the video shoot to see Aerosmith and Run-DMC, little did I know that it would transform me in a small way and lead me down a path of musical discovery.

I knew someone who was working on the set that day, about 20 years ago. I drove up to this old theater in Union City New Jersey. There were kids out front who were ready to break down the doors. My first task as I entered the building was to seek out Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. I was curious. They had descended into addiction and decay during that period. I was also a little angry that they were using this new act to gain personal fame. I was wrong about that. Each party helped the other in this instance. I found them in the basement of the hall. I walked up to Joe Perry and told him “Ten years ago, you would have been laughed off the stage for pulling a stunt like this one!”. I was angry at them, angry that they were so washed up, angry that they allowed others to sample their music, something that seemed so sacred to me. I now realize that I was very immature and foolish. The collaboration only yielded positive results for everyone and it opened the door to a whole new genre. My resistance to their new path was pure ignorance. I’ve since come to love many hip hop tracks. Tupoc’s CD “Me Against the World” is a classic. It’s a form of self-expression. My eyes are wide open now, with an ear to the street.