Percee P
NOBODY CAN ACCUSE Rhyme Inspector Percee P of jumping in too early. After growing up at the epicenter of hip-hop, then recording with a dizzying array of artists for nearly two decades, the rapper is just now releasing his first full-length solo album with beats and production handled by the equally revered and insanely inventive Madlib. The first single from the album, “Put It on the Line, ” has circulated among vinyl addicts for the past year. It’s a staunch reminder of how hard Percee hits: “I’m a sweet lover, but don’t sleep, brother. ” No other MC has waited as long to record a debut, but what Percee’s done in the meantime has made him a legend.
To appreciate how far the rapid-fire MC has come, one must understand the hip-hop environment as it was during the early 1970s. When DJ Kool Herc set up equipment at New York City parks to play music for the neighborhood in 1973, the pre-school-aged Percee was witness to the beginnings of what would become the dominant pop music of today. “When he did that, ” Percee explains, “it inspired [Grandmaster] Flash, [Afrika] Bambaataa and [Grand Wizard] Theodore to do the same around their way. ” These names, along with Jazzy Jay, Ricky Dee, the Starlight Crew, Disco B and the Fabulous 4 may be unfamiliar to younger hip-hop fans, but at the time they were superstars for their performances in nightclubs and at outdoor parties. “They weren’t on vinyl, but they’d already made a name for themselves.
