Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the premature death of underground Hip-Hop stalwart Sean Price at 43. Sean P (or Mic Tyson, or Kimbo Price, or Ruck of Heltah Skeltah) had an unparalleled second act in Hip-Hop, acquiring a cult following based largely on his deadpan sense of humor and unbridled intolerance for any affects of Hip-Hop’s new generation. He weaved those qualities into an assonant, yo-yoing technical palette that created a genuinely original sound—one of the hardest things to be in Hip-Hop.
Price was a lyrical marvel to the end, as his new track “Rap Professor” showcases. Over an absurdly funky, bassline-driven DJ Skizz production, P rhymes about a couple of his favorite topics: how nice he is, and how wack the competition is. His delivery isn’t quite as sharp as in his Monkey Barz heyday, but the rhymes are still intact. News of a posthumous record from P(!) may be unsettling to new school MCs who thought they’d heard the last of his disdain for one lifetime, but “Rap Professor” is the first track from the upcoming Imperius Rex album.
You can listen to “Rap Professor” below.
