by René Cobar (@renefcobar)
Tha God Fahim, for the authentic rap fanatic, is an established name: the Atlanta emcee and producer has claimed his spot in the underground and, in many ways, has had a heavy influence in its direction over the years. His latest solo effort, Iron Bull, is about having the first word on that legacy: one that is still wet yet cementing by the day. The record is a true beat-to-voice ode that runs counter to the mainstream's now highly digitized style; this rap purity is where Tha God Fahim has always been at peace and where his messages travel furthest. In Iron Bull, the street poet rams each message through to leave the rest of the genre he loves on notice.
In "Man Of Steel," Tha God Fahim gets down to business, and as he touts his wins and virtues to an ominous piano-driven beat, his characteristic thought-to-thought swinging style shines. "Play to win or don't play at all - what's the point? / I stay on point like I'm skimmin' through a PowerPoint / It's unacceptable not to run it up," he says as each thought rolls off the tongue onto the next. This detail-oriented approach to words, each tied to the dynamic production Tha God Fahim deploys, alongside that of names such as SadhuGold, Camoflauge Monk, Eyeree, Nicholas Craven, and others, is how he entertains listeners, keeping them on their toes - above all, making them listen intently to his message of dominion and slick skill.
Tracks such as "Flame Wreck" and "Food For Thought" show the brotherhood that Tha God Fahim has built with rappers within his community and outside it: the former song is a continuation of Tha God Fahim's work with Atlanta's Jay NiCE, and the latter a hypnotic, hook-propelled composition with Brooklyn's Your Old Droog. The Brooklyn native states, "You got to shape your legacy before somebody else does / This from a cynic who would dwell in pessimism / My advice to y'all is create your own metric system," which echoes the theme of the record: shaping your image. These emcees share Tha God Fahim's rap purity and deliver messages that shrug at mainstream auto-tune antics in favor of street-born, loop and lyric pieces. The effect? A further counter clock movement in the underground that drives artists away from the mainstream and deeper underground, ideally to have them rise from it eventually.
So there lies the legacy of Tha God Fahim: his commitment to a purist style has endeared him to audiences and driven him and others further into the underground, cultivating the scene in a type of inversion that flourishes. Iron Bull serves as another warning that he is the one to dictate the conversation of this growth and how he champions it, whether he is fully aware of his influence. If persistent enough, these champions of a simple yet intricate and timeless style may still flip the script on the rap genre and bring about a renaissance of complex verses and moody loops - Tha God Fahim will get a mention among those who made it happen.