Voltron Unlimited: The 4-Runners

A few years ago Sprite did an ad campaign in which rappers from all coasts were represented as members of the Voltron force. ...Oh you don't remember Voltron? lololololol... Well.. Voltron was the animated version of the Power Rangers basically. Except Voltron was composed of 5 lions, which is the krunkest concept for a mech ever (the red lion was my personal favorite).

Anywasy, The Sprite commericials were like a dream come true for any hip hop fan who was born in the eighties, full of nostalgic sentiments of rhyme and teamwork. It featured Common Sense as the Red Lion repping the Midwest, MY BOYS The Goodie MOb as the Blue Lion repping the Dirty South, Cali legend Mack 10 as the Yellow Lion reppin the West Coast (by the way, he's got a VERY posititve, pratically Christian-rap joint out now that I'm really diggin; doesn't sound Mackish at all, but I'm not complaining), Fat Joe as the Green Lion reppin the North, and Afrika Bambataa as the Black Lion reppin all hip hop.

Why did I bring this up? Because this type of cooperation is what I've been seeking to make my dream come true. As I've said before, though I like being free to move without anything to slow me down, I LOVE working with other cats too. The trick is, I don't believe in just teamwork. I believe in "teamwork with chemistry leading to synergy". If I don't have that, I'd rather not link up because it takes too much energy to reconcile differences.

So for years I've sought that "teamwork with chemistry leading to synergy" and haven't found it. Some cats that I used to have chemistry with, I no longer do because I've changed and they've changed to. However, I have maintained chemistry with one cat for a decade plus, so we've leaned on each other and forged ahead. Now, I've found two more cats with whom I have chemistry. They're both from NY, but we relate to each other extremely well.

One cat is my homie Joe. He's one year younger than me, but much more experienced; he's married for starters. Joe is different than the cats I traditionally work with; he's a hardcore rapper. But I was very impressed with his freestyle ability--- after all, it takes a strong intellect to freestyle well, and this cat was exceptional--- so i thought I'd try him. Turns out, there's more to Joe than meets the eye. While he's got a lot of industry influence, the thing about Joe that makes us highly compatible is that Joe's a student. Joe's attitude is this, as I paraphrase:

"I learn from everybody. I mean, even if somebody's giving me advice that
I've heard before but it's worded differently, I still listen. Why?
Because what we think is nothing new can be a totally different thing if we
receive it. Just because I rhyme doesn't mean I know everything; I could
learn things from you and you could learn things from me. That's how cats
improve, by being receptive to each other. And I'm not afraid to try
new things, so if you have an idea, holla at me. I'm not the type to
have a set way of doing things."

Yo, when Joe said that, I knew what the heck was up right then. We already got a track recorded, and it only took us about three days. It's not my traditional work cuz, like I said, J is hardcore. But it's a worthy track in my opinion.

The second cat is Clyde. Clyde is about 28, and he's got a lot of experience as a real time (not internet) battle rapper; he's made a name for himself dicing upcats in Downtown Augusta, but he's still an unknown. But what I like about Clyde is that he's a conscious rapper like myself. Clyde knows both sides of the equation, so he's not naive; he's a real MC who chooses to rap for something better... most of the time. He's a Christian like myself, but he admits he's in transition, which is fine because in reality we all are unless we're Jesus. A lot of his homies have made some bad decisions in their lives and have ended up in some bad places, so he's no stranger to the world. That right there is enough for him and I to create some sick tracks. But these are the two things about him that really hit me, as I paraphrase:

"I believe that the root of a good MC is being a good writer in
general. I was a good writer before I became an MC; it all boils down to
the same principles..."

"I was raised in the church. I haven't been in a while, but I plan to
go back. Before I left, my uncle spoke to me and said I would be a
prophet/minister and I want to follow up on that."

I'm really dying to get this cat to come to my church. If he comes there, I know he'll find the teaching to get him where he wants to be in Christ. And that'll put us even more on the same page, because Christ is the center of what I do.

And these two cats Joe and Clyde... they're HUNGRY man. How hungry? When we set up dates to hook up and they said they would be there at 2:30, they showed up at 2:30! When I didn't call one day, Joe hit me right up to make sure I didn't forget. It's good to know I don't always have to be the one on point and I got them putting out just as much effort.

The game is about to begin and I like the pieces on the board right now: the soul samurai, the phantom composer, the warrior priest, and the streets disciple. But before you say "Voltron had five (technically six... actually more than that cuz there was Vehicle Voltron... nevermind) members", Joe really put me on to something. He told me, and I couldn't agree more, that groups destroyed a lot of people and a lot of movements; the best groups aren't made, they evolve over time. So even though I know cats with potential, I'm not forcing the teamwork without the chemistry. It's one relationship at a time, and then let the bonds form where they may. Furthermore, I called this Voltron Unlimited because I don't believe we'll stop at five. Not even at seven. As a matter of fact, I don't know how big our number will be; there are maaany more cats in this area who may join us, and once we thrive in this area I have cats from Atlanta to Canada to Florida to the UK who may join us. But right now, I'm satisfied with this dedicated, experienced, and maturing group of four.