written by Tonedeff on Apr 25, 2008


Remember Many Styles?

Just recently, Many Styles rolled through QN5 Manor for the first time in years to a) sample the neighborhood’s szechuan chicken and b) play me some of his new material.

For those unfamiliar, Many Styles – he was a stalwart member of NYC’s famed post-lyricist lounge era underground scene – famous among heads in the know for his intricate wordplay, eerily robotic staccato and oddly menacing stage presence. Along with the rest of us, who got sick of years of battling for $100, he stepped out of the rhyme arena to focus on his recorded music and released his self-titled independent album in 2004.

We’ve worked together on random shit for years – I produced 3 cuts on his album (“Charge”, “They Don’t Know” & “To Whom It May Concern”). Also, Pack featured him on the B-Side of the “Stomp” 12” along with Last Emperor on “Complex Simplicity“. He has a really beautiful command of rhythm that turns his verses into these sort of hypnotic hymns. Lyrically, his songs are like looking at the world from the opposite side of a circus mirror.

I remember a recording session we had years back. We were tracking vocals and he was laying down overdubs for a verse. I hit record and didn’t hear anything when he was supposed to come in. The main vocals disappeared for a second. I figured he missed his cue or my computer was fucking up. I stopped recording and said, “I think you missed the punch” and he told me “What? I didn’t miss it”. Much to my surprise, upon looking back at my screen I realized he did indeed record his dub – and it was so perfectly timed and modulated that it literally phase-cancelled the main vocal track. Producers know how ill that actually is. He’s a machine – that shit is nuts.

From whay I understand, he’s currently working on a joint project with a producer named Getty (formerly of Bronx Monks) and the shit is insane. I’ll reserve any further commentary for its’ release, whenever that is. Y’all should definitely check him out at his MySpace page and say whuttup, cause you’ll definitely be hearing more about him in the future. But for now, a blast from the past:


One of my favorite Many Styles battles VS Fort Knox

Hollerate!
Tone