Taking Care of Byssness
posted in: Artist Features • Music News • Urban
Jersey Girl: MC A.B.Y.S.S.
Braggarts, grand-standers, blatherskites”rap is full of them. If they’re not name-checking the labels on their clothing, they’re advertising their lyrical swerve or sexual prowess. Aspirational thinking (or flagrant machismo, as the case may be) is a key element in hip hop’s oral tradition. However, you’ll be called out if you don’t have the chops to back up your own hype, and your castle made of sand will melt into the sea (eventually).
A.B.Y.S.S. doesn’t have to worry about her kingdom crumbling any time soon. The New Jersey MC constructs verbal skyscrapers, but the fortunately their foundation is rock solid. Get.It.In is a relentless banger, where sinewy guitar lines add a sinister edge to a thumping anthem. Like a boxer set to enter the ring, the MC comes out swinging: I’m a demonstrator, not a hesitator / I’m going straight through the roof, f*** the elevator. One of the most refreshing qualities of A.B.Y.S.S. is her low threshold for the status symbols ingrained in contemporary hip-hop. In (Death of) Swag-Up, she takes the counterpoint to materialistic MCs, saying, No shades? / You ain’t got no ice? / Au naturel? / Damn you looking nice! The track is original enough on lyrical content alone ” add to that a rattling, percolating beat and you have something special.
A.B.Y.S.S., whose name is an acronym for Ask Before You Speak Stupidly, is fiercely independent”insisting on (Death of) Swag-Up: I don’t need a huge crew. Unfortunately, with chops like hers, a widespread following may be inevitable.
