Many Hip Hop heads have often compared this Oakland-native rapper/songstress to Lauryn Hill for the appropriate reasons. Her perspective of Hip Hop, albeit unique, Mystic is definitely one to express unadulterated truth and pure soul through her songs much like the great L’Boogie. The self-educated rapper keeps her sound diverse by alternating between soulful harmonizations, intelligent raps, and spoken word.

Although her 2001 underground masterpiece Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom stands as her sole body of work, Mystic’s larger than life music philosophy speaks for itself. Her album is a brilliant mesh of spirituality, lyricism and musicianship. On songs like the Grammy-nominated “W” with Planet Asia, she offers a sonic tour of the west coast. “The Gottas” finds her questioning rap’s images without morphing into a preacher, while on cuts like “The Life” and “Ghetto Birds” she takes the listener by the hand and walks them through familiar struggles. On the classic “Fatherless Child” she channels an emotional account of her father’s death from a heroin overdose.

It’s been three years since this beautiful rapper tintillated ears with her powerful addition to Hip Hop’s heavyweight catalog. Whether Mystic will ever record another album remains a mystery. But, she’ll always be revered for stepping up to assume the throne during Lauryn Hill’s Hip Hop sabbatical.

For now, the Bay Area femcee is helping out with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

This is the first of a week-long 7 part series in appreciation of commendable(often overlooked) women in Hip Hop. Downloads and links will be offered when available (for promotional use only). Suggestions, comments, and complaints are welcome as usual.

When Heather Hunter stormed the porn world in the 90’s, she was the first African-American to evolve in the mainstream adult entertainment industry. When she decided to switch careers and pursue Rap following her porn retirement, the likes of Lauryn Hill and MC Lyte had already set the standards higher than an average porn star could ever visualize. But, Double H is not your average pretty face with no talent.
Although, her rhyme scheme reeks of a carefully-crafted by-the-book style, her crisp and smooth flow is delivered with a sassy attitude. On her first single, Double H demands to be taken “”. It’s quite a challenge to be taken seriously as a rapper when you’re only known for your former career and for appearing in 2Pac’s “How Do You Want It” video. But her wish was granted when underground critics welcomed her debut album The Unexpected(Blo Records) as solid effort. So, before you dismiss Heather as a gimmick, keep in mind that she’ s been fully cosigned by no-nonsense Hip Hop purist and pioneer, DJ Premier who collaborated with Double H on The Unexpected.

Video(s):
So Serious(video) – Heather Hunter (appearance by Wyclef)

Audios:

5. (mp3): Supposedly the first single off Big Poppa’s Duets:Final Chapter album. The incarcerated Brooklyn don spits prophetic eulogies with a soulful assist from the legendary Bob Marley.
(props to spine)

4. Road To Zion – Damian Marley ft NaS (ram): From one Marley to another, this is one of the handful outstanding joints from JR Gong’s latest addition to the Marley catalog Welcome to Jamrock. God’s Son touches on the Black man’s plight in his un-conventional off-beat conversational flow.
(Art of Rhyme)

3. Take It Easy – The Fugees (mp3) If you’re one of the most respected rap groups ever and you reckon you’re vital enough to make a comback after an 8-year hiatus, then you better make it a classic comeback (I don’t think Fugees fans would settle for less). This is not vintage Fugees but it’s more listenable than most of that other shit out there, which goes to show how further down the standards have slumped these days. “I ain’t rhymed in a minute, but y’all ain’t catch up, and that ain’t blood on your shirt, that’s ketchup!,”
(courtesy of O-dub)

2. Three Sides To A Story – Joe Budden: Def Jam was supposed to be putting out a Joe Budden album entitled The Growth sometime this year. Joey himself dissappeared from mixtapes for a while only to reappear on Roc Cafe with claims of being signed to Roc-a-fella. No matter what happens to The Growth or Budden’s contract for that matter, “Three Sides…” a twisted 3-in-1 story, will go down in history as evidence of what he can do on the mic…..sometimes.

1. Something To Hold On To – Jay Electronica(mp3) : A delicate yet introspective song that’ll get you thinking without making you scratch your head. Nottz adds substance to the joint with dense layers of soulful instrumentations, while the much under-appreciated Jay Electronica complements the beat with his crisp and clear flow.
(Thanks to Frank for this one)