In the Hip-Hop Culture, death is very devastating. Hip-Hop is still young in the history of the world and when people die within it, we tend to reflect and think of what the fallen members have given us. In the culture the deaths of Apache, Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G.,,Ol Dirty Bastard, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, Big Pun, Big L, Sean Price, Coolio and so many others will have a lasting memory in our conscious. Learning of the death of Hurricane G, GL aka DJ Git Loose, and Rashad Sun made my spirit drop because these were not just people in Hip-Hop but people that hit home for me personally through music, affiliation or being NJ Hip-Hop that made me sick then I got the news that hurt my soul. Tame One of the Artifacts has passed away.
This is not a wikipedia on Tame One because if you knew his story you know the importance of the Boom Skwad, The Artifacts and all the countless projects he has made in his great career. This is a dedication and thank you to the MC that made Hip-Hop great to me and became a hero of mine.
One of my best friends in life, salute to Simply Put, used to go back and forth with me in high school about Hip-Hop and we would debate. He was a rhymer and I was the break new records guy. I remember when the 31 Bum Rush song came out and we used to laugh about there being MCs from the part of town we are in and enjoying how Hip-Hop was real and we can see it not only on TV but in our lives. When the Artifacts first came out they brought Anime to the game and Wrong Side Of The Tracks was that song that made you understand NJ had soul and bars. As time went on we went from A Rock and a Hard Place to the That's Them album and when the Art of Facts song came out I took my love for this group with me to college and progressed in my appreciation for Hip-Hop. El Da Sensei was the off beat lyrical dynamic that brought fever to the beat. Tame One was the word play savant that cut a beat and made it bleed with every bar he said on a song.
Tame One is an MC that made the word powerful in delivery and mind fucking your understanding of what he said. I remember the first time I heard "Word to my grandmom's tampons I drop Bombs...." I said what the F did he just say? I was hooked from there. I can remember hearing his verse on Come On Wit Da Get Down remix and hearing people say this is one of the best verses in Hip-Hop, and that smile that I made showed everybody that my guy, my hero is in the upper echelon of the world's best in the culture. I was so proud that the Artifacts were then coined my favorite Hip-Hop group from NJ, with no disrespect to anyone from the land at all. When they broke up for awhile I lost a lot of joy.
When the Artifacts parted ways after 2 albums and both MCs made there own moves I felt happy and lost at the same time. I believed they both were champion prize fighters but together they were incredible. Selfish me wanted them together to drop music but happy me was glad to still hear them and to see their growth in the culture. Tame went on and did Weathermen projects and joint projects that lead me to appreciate him and El differently. Tame doing songs with Sean Price, Del Tha Funky Homosapien and doing a project with Sol Zalez just kept me being a fan and appreciative of his work. My next big joy was interviewing Tame for Heritage Hip-Hop.
See I met El and brought shirts from him but Tame was different. He did not come out much and you had to find him. When we got in contact on Facebook and he gave me the opportunity to interview him it was like seeing Superman, Spider-man or Batman as a kid fly over head. I was blessed to hear this man speak, see him tag a wall, record his story and add to his legacy while building my own. It was a blessing to tell him how I loved HIS music and Loved the Artifacts as well. To tell him the song Back To Work was a dream come true for me to see him and El back together was incredible and I hope he felt the genuine love I have for his craft. I remember calling Simply on the phone and him rapping to Tame his verse on Come on Wit The Get Down Remix and the smile Tame had let me know God made this day a historic special day. Tame then let me hear part of No Expiration Date and said the new album is coming soon. That is when the Bat Signal appeared and I was ready to represent the Fathers of Hip-Hop Anime again like the kid that re found his first love in adult hood.
When No Expiration Date it was sad the DJ Kaos (RIP) was not alive to see it being 1/3 of the Artifacts, but God made one wish of mine come true that the Artifacts were back! To see Tame and talk to him when he was at Mooka's show or with Freaka on Elizabeth Ave was a true blessing. Tame One is a Hip-Hop hero not only cause he rhymed or tagged buildings, he is a hero because he embodied being his own man and doing things his own way. Selfishly I wanted an Artifacts sing for Heritage Hip-Hop and to see him and El in the studio working together so I could honor them in so many ways I felt they deserved and I feel lost because now an opportunity is gone and the thank you I wanted to give him is now gone into the wind.
See death is apart of life and life does not end with death. El Da Sensei now has 2 angels in Hip-Hop protecting him and looking over his life now. DJ Kaos and Tame One can never be replaced and to God be the glory as we all pray that their spirits made it home to where Heaven is not a mile away but present in their new journey's. As for me it hurts to see a hero die. No one will replace the gifts Tame One has given me personally or to the Hip-Hop culture. May his words and his legacy Rest In Beats and may his family live on as a testament to his greatness.
NJ Hip-Hop may have lost a great MC but the culture has gained another ancestor that will be a benchmark for greatness and word play. NJ Hip-Hop was made better because of Tame One and the Hip-Hop culture was made better with his Art, Penmanship and Intelligence that define Genius in definition of Hip-Hop. When you listen to Tame One just know you are taking in the life of a Creator, and Originator that set trends and we stand on his shoulders with today's Hip-Hop. Peace to his family, PPP, Boom Skwad, Artifacts , and all of us that will listen to his music and remember our brother in rhymes. God Bless you Tame. You will always be remembered and honored...Always.