One week after Stizz released his third mixtape, One Night Only, I’ve decided it’s a perfect time to launch a new series, ‘A Look Back At’, and offer a retrospective on his warmly received 2016 effort Monda… I think there’s a reason I’m not a smash hit hip-hop writer.
Hailing from Boston, Stizz’s sophomore effort plays more like a late 90s regional Houston album than the work of an East Coast street star in the 21st century. The Houston comparison is perhaps not recognisable on a first glance, after all, the production is light years from that sound, dominated by producers Lee Rich, Tee Watt and M. Ali, and Dumdrumz, but it is rooted in the sensibilities of Southern trap music, with Memphis drums alongside a more recognisable contemporary Atlanta sound. Where the Houston comparison seems apt is in the structure of the album, alongside the lyrical style of Stizz, combined with his phenomenally relaxed flow that sounds as smooth as any other rapper out today.
The title Monda is a reference to a late friend of Stizz’s, who sadly passed from cancer a few months before the release of the album. The cover of the album sees Stizz reflecting on his friend, who he has permanently memorialised with a tattoo on his left arm. It is this theme of reflection and loss that permeates the whole album, with Stizz’s new found success and the speed of change in his life, going like “500 horses”, creating the moment to remember the struggles and successes on his road to fame. The opening track sets this tone, Stizz reminding himself to not “take for granted anything I’m making while I’m here”, remembering how he used to stare at the “mountaintops” from the very bottom, a clear indicator for how far he knows he has come already. There is an understanding from Stizz also that even if he desired to leave the street lifestyle behind him entirely, he cannot simply cut the ties to his past. Stizz explains that “I still get calls like, “Bro, whatshisname just got killed””, and on ‘500 Horses’, the opening bars see Stizz’s first action when returning home to visit the “cemetery” and pay respect for his lost friends.
The past is not simply a painful reminder for Stizz, however, who raps that, “Yeah we struggle, but I kept my smile intact” and “Through the nonsense we was able to enjoy life through the process”. Stizz, from a rap perspective, is carrying the city of Boston on his back, and he will not shrug that responsibility off having found success. Growing up in Boston may have been difficult, but these difficulties are etched into his skin, they are not something Stizz shies away from, instead he embraces his past as defining the man he is today. The hook for ‘Big Fella’, “Young nigga grew into the big fella” pairs nicely with this couplet from the first verse, “Talkin’ bout a struggle you don’t know bout/That’s why it’s so easy for me to get these flows out”, to reflect the importance of his youth on his contemporary success.
In this pride Stizz displays towards his city, his past and the journey he has come on the comparison to 90s Houston rappers becomes apparent. In particular, Stizz displays a similar lyrical honesty to Fat Pat, both proudly representing the cities they come from, and the nuances of growing up within these places. Further still, Stizz shares Fat Pat’s characteristic buttery smooth flow and exceptional hook writing ability. Although he does not display the singing-rapping style prominent in the Screwed-Up-Clique, Stizz shares their DNA of authentic, sparse bars that paint a vivid picture of growing up poor and black in an urban environment, of beginning to achieve his “Ghetto Dreams”. The ability to jump between past and present, braggadocio and humbleness, and to weave between the two within words, lines and verses seems heavily inspired, again, by the Houston rap scene. UGK, Scarface, Bushwick Bill, 8Ball & MJG and the SUC all had an amazing ability to make you understand the conflicting realities in their lives, the sharp juxtapositions between abject poverty and grandiose success, between serious tragedy and deep joy, between humility and swagger. They made uncompromising hip-hop for their own communities, and in turn they helped to put both Houston and the South on hip-hop radars for ever.
Today Houston is an established rap scene, with legends like Scarface and Z-Ro continuing to release strong efforts, whilst newer talent like Maxo Kream carry the flag for the next generation. Boston does not have this same rich tradition as Houston does, but with Stizz they have a poster child for a hip-hop movement that could add another city to an already rich map. With One Night Only Stizz appears to have taken another step towards this milestone, featuring some of the biggest names in hip-hop, and creating a strong chance for a real breakthrough in 2018 with a would-be deserved spot on the XXL Freshman list. Stizz’s refusal to forget his past and his city will see both of them destined for great things in the future of hip-hop.
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