The global recession has hit many places very, very hard and the Motor City is no stranger to feeling the immense pain of joblessness and despair. Once the cherished home of America’s booming automotive industry in the early-to-mid 20th century, Detroit is now largely a ghost town of broken dreams, empty promises and urban decay. Ironically, the lack of opportunities in the area has armed many of its more creative inhabitants with an iron will, strong dedication to their craft and surprising originality (e.g., Eminem and J Dilla) rarely matched by other cities in the Midwest region.
Big Tone, a veteran emcee in the underground circuit, is poised to represent his D-Town roots, his vocal talents and most of all, his tireless hustle, on the main stage. The Art of Ink, his latest full-length, is a musical glimpse into the life of a Motor City baller who has given up his street dreams for a large piece of the American Dream. Has the hardworking rapper finally found the right combination of beats and lyrics to catapult him to musical superstardom or will he have to wait much longer for his moment to shine?
On this particular outing, there are a few good things going for the nimble wordsmith. One of them happens to be the masterful pairing of like-minded vocalists to create songs that are refreshingly in tune with the emcee’s go-for-broke mentality towards achieving results. For example, peep “Chocolate” (featuring the soothing R&B assistance of L’Renee). On this particular banger, Big Tone drops heavy knowledge on the link between his chosen craft, the art of hustling and his go-for-broke approach to making in it in the dog-eat-dog world of music. Secondly, L.A. native Blu [click to read] breaks bread and spits his west coast flavor of rhyme alongside the aforementioned emcee’s clever wordplay and bombastic expression. Last but not least, a fellow Detroit lyricist, Guilty Simpson [click to read], drops by to add gruff intensity and vocal artillery on “Pedigree,” easily making this song the album’s triumphant highlight.
A major grievance about The Art of Ink has to do with an overemphasis on the rapper’s D-Town street hustler background and thereby making his sonic creations less palatable to those wanting to paint a complete picture of this talented individual. Even though each track is laced with nuggets of wisdom earned through years of steady grinding in the streets, a majority of Big Tone‘s colorful personality is left in the dark as a result. Take the album opener, “Skin Deep” (featuring Monica Blaire). On this aforementioned song, the Detroit native tells the audience that the concept behind his full-length effort is directly tied with the visual art of tattooing and promises to expose his varied thoughts on wax. Nevertheless, he rarely mentions skin art on any other track off the LP and rarely skims the surface of his life outside of his entrepreneurship skills. As dope as BT‘s music is, his latest album should have been more appropriately titled The Art of Hustling.
There is an old adage that goes “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This is true to those who desire to make beautiful art even if the urban environment provides nothing more than a cold reminder that the world we live in is at a standstill. Detroit emcee Big Tone is one of those stellar dudes, making musical treats with guest rappers and singers on his latest full-length, The Art of Ink. Although the subject matter of his lyrics is limited to the trials and tribulations of being a successful hustler, it provides enough proof (no pun intended) that there are a lot talented people in the Midwest who are driven and eagerly awaiting their chance to make an indelible mark in Hip Hop music.
