Album Review
The Fly Stoner by Green R. Fieldz
Ordinarily, I’m not a big fan of gangsta rap. In fact, I even find Lou Reed a little too urban for my taste. That’s why I live out here. That doesn’t mean I like country music. I don’t, but I’m particularly averse to urban sounds.
The other day, however, I stopped at Sylvandale’s to pick up some cat food, and found a stack of free CDs near the checkout register. Attracted as I am to bright shiny objects, I picked one up and examined it. I found myself holding a copy of the promotional EP for Green R Fieldz’, soon to be released album, called The Fly Stoner.
A postcard that accompanied the CD shows the photograph of a young man seated at the base of a particularly robust cannabis plant, with several equally robust cannabis plants in the background, all under a clear blue sky. The young man is flipping us off. I don’t know why he has his middle finger extended. Perhaps the photographer had pissed him off, I don’t know. I’m trying not to take it personally.
I saw that Green R Fieldz hails from Mendocino County, which I could have guessed by the photograph, so I took the CD home to see what our local young men have to say to the world. The music blew me away. The three songs on this EP all rock!! I’m very impressed.
Despite a few regrettable lyrics, which I suppose are obligatory in gangsta rap, Green R Fieldz knows “the Game” in the Emerald Triangle, and “Gets Down” on the Fly Stoner. These three cuts just leap out of the speakers and grab you by the collar with monster beats, great hooks and pretty good lyrics too. I really didn’t expect to like this music, but here I am, a 50 year old white guy, rockin’ out to gangsta rap from Mendocino County.
Sure, this music is full of bravado, swagger, and foul language, it is gangsta rap after all, but I found it quite musical and clearly the work of a some very talented artists. Besides Green R Fieldz, this EP features guests Glasses Malone, Matt Blaque, Tony Mendocino, Remy RED and K-Loc. These people may or may not be part of “The Turkey Bag Gang”. I have no idea who these guys are, or how they make gangsta rap, but I’m sure music like this doesn’t happen by accident. These tunes are all really catchy.
Number 1 Supplier has an incredibly infectious chorus that sounds like it should be a number one hit. The song Don’t Get Down, gets down with a beat that takes no prisoners. While I wouldn’t endorse Green R Fieldz’ agricultural practices, as described in The Game, I can heartily endorse his music, and appreciate his honesty on the subject. . Grab one of these free CDs and see if I ain’t lyin’,… right in front of the register at Sylvandale’s, right there with the free swimsuit calendars and gro-mags.
I feel for the youth in this area, and its great to hear an articulate young voice tell it like it is. Some might not see this idyllic rural community as the kind of environment that would spawn gangsta rap, but you’d be hard pressed to find a place with fewer opportunities for young people. We’ve had failing schools, rampant drug abuse, and entrenched organized crime around here for years. Now we have our own gangsta rap, and it ROCKS!!!
Look for the full album by Green R Fieldz titled The Fly Stoner to be released on April 20, I don’t know where exactly to look for it, since Wildhorse Records closed down, but look for it. You really should hear what local kids with talent and brains do with themselves these days.
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