Slept on Rappers

Soul Position

A rap duo originating in 2001, Soul Position comes from Ohio. However they are now based in Minneapolis near their record label, Rhymesayers Entertainment.

They are one of the most old-school, mellow groups I've heard since A Tribe Called Quest. Most of the lyrics are stories, which are very entertaining to listen to over and over, such as a guy wanting revenge and shooting a friend at a club, or "Hand-Me-Downs" which talks about the broken connection blacks have since the fight for equal rights and black stereotypes. With an old, sampled funky style, Soul Position combines intelligence alongside fun, subtley pushing in information as KRS-One used to do. Their styles aren't exactly the same, however they both seem to push stories and information out within their lyrics. Their newest full-release came out in 2002, which would make you wonder if they're still active. The thing is however, there are plenty of EPs that they keep releasing free of charge.

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Things Go Better With RJ & Al

Their newest full-release has 13 tracks, one being an introduction. Every song is innovative and interesting, all but "No Gimmicks" which seems to be more of a spoken word track, as the flow is on and off at some points, if this track wasn't included the album would be full proof. The best track on this album as far as all around flyness would be "Blame It On The Jager" (it came out before Jamie Foxx's song, don't even accuse them of bitin') which comes out saying:

One shot, two shot, three shot, four.
Someone shoulda stopped me from drinkin any more.
When I was sober that broad looked like Al Gore,
now she look a lot more like Demi Moore
-- Blame It On The Jager

But the most powerful and memorable bars on the album come from "Hand Me Downs"




My momma gave me Donnie Hathaway, "Young Gifted and Black"
I miss the positivity I wanna bring it back
but rap nowadays is by a bunch of ignorant cats.
No young gifted and black, just guns, bitches and crack
I react by turning off BET and Sambos tellin me what blackness is supposed to be
Used to give us world news now its all videos, replace Tavis Smiley with reality shows
-- Hand Me Downs