I never fell in love with anything

I never fell in love with hip-hop hell I never fell in love with anything. The thing with hip-hop and I is that I study it. I don’t look at hip-hop as a person or as a living being I look at hip-hop the way people look at math or history. Scholars don’t love the subject they study but find it interesting. As do I with hip-hop. The wordplay, the charisma, the viciousness (when need) keeps me entertain with hip-hop. Also does the history. The way hip-hop was evolved over the years is something that I might claim I love. Hip-hop comes from the very corners that I come from. Hip-hop is part of my environment. It was all around me growing up. From my youngest Uncle infatuation with NWA to my aunt blasting Monie Love through her speaker’s hip-hop invade my world. As most kids want to be a firefighter or a policeman as a child I wanted to be a rapper. From an early age I easily formed the most rudimentary lyrics. As I grew hip-hop continue to grow. Being from the south end of Boston I heard Jazz music playing everywhere. So obviously I would like a tribe called quest, de la soul, nevertheless I also came from the ghetto. So the street stories of people such s wu-tang clan, blackmoon, Notorious B.I.G and 2pac reached my soul. Illmatic and Reasonable doubt help also shape me. The fusion between soul jazz and blues on top of the gritty street stories help me find my way growing up as a teen. In ending I do don’t love hip-hop but study it like history. Things come in cycles so being a MC why not study the path of those who came before for me. As I was taught in school “those who don’t remember past mistakes are bond to repeat it” so why not “those who study the past control the present”

"Hip-Hop started out in the heart" -Lauryn Hill-

As a youngin, I grew up in the hood, branching out in Hyde Park and Mattapan, Boston Ma. Born into a Christian based household that wasn't big on hip hop, my parents thought She was too raw and vulgar, but at the time they had no idea what it truly was. I remember my first experience was listening to my older brother playing Tupac Shakur's "Ambitionz Az A Ridah" or The Fugees' "Ready or Not." At the time, I didn't realize the immediate impact that hip hop would have on me at a young age. It dictated the way I talked, the way I dressed, the bounce in my step, and my train of thought. I became Hip hop, hip hop became me. I constructed my own nickname from Jay-z’s “H to the Izzo.” I took the word “shizzle” dropped the “le” and gave birth to the name Shizz. I always thought differently than my peers, so when the Fugees broke up I followed Lauryn, and her style of music. She introduced me to MC's like Mos Def, Common Sense, Talib, The Roots, Jay z, Nas... And it’s been history ever since. When I had a bad day, I could always put on some Erykah or Mos Def to make shit better. Having my heart broken hip hop, she picked the pieces up and made me whole. When I felt misunderstood I could always run to hip-hop because I knew someone would understand me. The beats and rhythms, lyrics, and stories I feel myself within it. I recall making beats on pots and pans pretending I was a producer imitating the rhythm to my favorite songs. I’ve been hip hop long before I came to terms with Her. Hip hop is a way of life. Hip Hop breeds life. Hip hop and I, will forever be...

“Hip Hop is prosecution evidence
The out of court settlement
Ad space for liquor
Sick without benefits
Luxury tenements choking the skyline
It's low life getting tree-top high
It is a back water remedy
Bitter and tender memory
A class E felony
Facing the death penalty
Stimulant and sedative, original repetitive
Violently competitive, a school unaccredited
The break beats you get broken with
on time and inappropriate
Hip Hop went from selling crack to smoking it
Medicine for loneliness”

-Mos Def-