Some people you meet in life are there to lift you. They do it in
different ways. Some folks have your back. Some people always include
you. Some are funny. Some always make you smile. Then there are folks
like Da’Shade Moonbeam who are all those things and freakishly talented
to boot.
Let me take that back a bit. Freakishly talented is not
fair. That’s my baggage. I want Da’Shade’s talent to be something
untouchable and odd, so that the distance I feel between his and mine
can be explained away as a gift or an aberration. Truth is he works too
hard for that. He always has. The proof of this is simple to find. Just
go to any of the amazing shows he puts on around Austin (or the
country). His live shows are a carefully sculpted mix of over a decade
of writing, performance, MC mastery, dance, stage combat, and nerd
culture that culminate in a sort of inspirational, hard core, dorkgasm
of truth and power.
If you’re not yet convinced or at least
titillated, (what are you, dead?) allow me to offer an aperitif. Just
Me is the new CD out by Da’Shade and from first beat to final
reverberation it is the best combination of fun, hard, cool, and crazy
and a great introduction to Austin Hip Hop and one of its hardest
working ambassadors. Da’Shade does it all as the title implies and it is
one of my favorite CDs bar none.
Here’s what I would do if you’re
not used to new, local Hip Hop music. Use the first couple of tracks to
tune your ears in. You’ll get another taste of Fresh at the end so just
let it be what it is (which is a booty shaking call to . . . well . . .
shake your booty). Practice your head bounce. If nobody’s looking, toss
in a stank face and a shoulder roll. (Maybe use Google to look up stank
face and shoulder roll.) The point is to have fun. Serious doesn’t mean
you have to lose your sense of humor.
The Most Magnificent is an
old tune with some new hotness and a great track. At some point you need
to let yourself say, ‘uh’ or ‘what’ or ‘damn’ to this one. You also
have to laugh. There is too much toilet humor in this one not to. Next
is Love, a bad-ass little piece of reflection that feels borne from a
thousand notebooks worth of serious musing. It makes me long for those
old days when I dragged my butt all over Austin writing and making the
kind of mistakes that teach you more than you want to know.
Then,
Gotta Get On Up serves up a fat chunk of energy-drink-filled, Original
Gamer, jocularity. Seriously if you’re not a fan by this track, you’re
doing it wrong. Start again. You should be laughing your butt off and
dancing by now. This is maybe the best hook I’ve heard and is a great
example of Da’Shade’s incredible writing ability, verbal skill, and
serious mojo.
It just gets better from there. I wish I had Girl
Song ten years ago. My poor wife would have been defenseless. There
would have been candles and kisses and . . . that’s all I’m saying.
(note to self – no need for a time machine, set candle and kisses plan
into action.) They Are Coming is so much street nerd cool that I wish
they would come and I want to run with whatever crew Mr. Moonbeam is
hanging with when they get here. I feel bad for ‘em though. These folks
don’t play. (see https://www.facebook.com/cryhavocaction) Yeah that’s him too.
And that’s it, except for a remix of Fresh (featuring the always
amazing Nook) which gives the CD a bit of closure and cool. This is
Austin Hip Hop. It’s not the only think going on, but it is a great
example and I highly recommend it. You can get the tracks here: http://dashadespeaks.bandcamp.com/album/just-me-ep. You should also find Da’Shade on FaceBook, (http://facebook.com/dashade), twitter (dashade), and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/dashadespeaks)
and like him or friend him. Then find out when his next show is and see
it. Do it now before he hits it big and we lose him to his calling. As
for me, I’m gonna listen to the whole dang thing again and then I’m
going back to the lab (such that it is). I’ve got work to do and a
coolness deficit that must be dealt with.
~ Aaron Sanders
