Fall Took My Friend

In cartoons a good idea is accompanied by a light bulb over your head. Over in St. Paul, Minnesota one of the brighter ones just went out…

On October 17th, underground rap legend Eyedea was found dead by his mother. He was 28 years old. The cause of death has not been revealed yet, and the family has asked that their privacy be respected. It doesn’t really matter how, although if you feel the need to raise your fists to the sky and let out an overly dramatic “WHHHYYYYYYYY?!?!?” I understand. We’ll wait…

You back? Alright. Let’s do this. Eyedea’s albums were impenetrably off-kilter at worst, soul-baringly introspective at best, and lyrical tongue twisters at all times. Like I said, he was a legend, although definitely with a lower case ‘L.’ His albums and singles never hit it big in the mainstream. His live performances alternated between amazing and annoyingly indulgent, in a prog-rap-noodling sort of way. You know what though? Who gives a shit. He didn’t. He exercised complete control over his art and carved the exact creative path he wanted. Most importantly, motherfucker could rap. Motherfucker was rap. When it came to freestyling in general, and battling in particular, he was in a class all his own. Fuck. He was the teacher…

“…the only way you’ll beat me is if you pretend I’m your dick…”

I first heard of Eyedea shortly after Eminem was signed by Dr. Dre and began taking over the music world, as well as my Discman. I was hunting down any music and info I could find on Em when I learned that prior to landing his record deal he’d been an accomplished battle rapper. I began tracking down bootleg recordings of the battles. In the process, I heard a rumour that there was this other white kid that was also a battle prodigy. A kid named Eyedea. A kid that beat Eminem?! I had to hear this dude. Eventually I did. While I later found out the reports of their battle were much exaggerated, seeing and hearing this guy absolutely annihilate anyone that stepped into the circle against him, I have no doubt that, had it actually happened, Eminem vs Eyedea would’ve been the greatest battle of all time.

Don’t believe me? Just check out the videos at the bottom of this post and see for yourself. The best example is in ‘Blaze Battle 2001 – Eyedea vs R.K. Part 1.’ In Eyedea’s second verse (at the 1:33 mark), R.K. starts trying to mock Eyedea while he’s rapping. The way Eyedea improvises and incorporates R.K.’s own antics into his verse and uses them against him…well, don’t take my word for it. Scroll down and take his…

“This is a big fuck you to anyone out there that hates us / It ain’t my fault you fail to recognize what great is…”

Like many before and after him, Eyedea did nothing to dispel the notion that battle rappers can’t pull off a full-length album. (See: Canibus, Jin, etc.) Well, almost nothing. There was one solid argument made on his behalf: ‘E&A.’ It was easily his most satisfying project. Without dumbing down anything, he successfully channeled all of the old school bravado of his battle rap persona. You know, that kinda smug, sarcastic asshole that’s so witty he’ll have you laughing at his lines even when they’re aimed at you. His partner-in-crime DJ Abilities, meanwhile, took his layered and complex productions down several notches to give us minimalist beats that simply bang rather than trying to artfully challenge us with philosophy and noise. That’s a little harsh. I don’t mean to bash their other albums. One man’s Junk, after all, is another man’s jewel. They were abstract works of art and incredibly personal journals of two immensely talented artists that merit debate and examination, I suppose. This album, however, was just simply music. Great. Music. The whole album is worth a listen, but the highlights, in my opinion, were Reintroducing, Now and E&A Day. (Conveniently located in the right-hand sidebar, along with the first track of his I ever heard, the Slug-featuring live version of Big Shots. That exact, low quality version with the cheer at the beginning. Mo’ Proper!)

Eyedea is survived musically by Abilities, and the entire roster of Rhymesayers Entertainment, including brothers-in-arms Slug (buttery flow, repeats his choruses 800 times at the end of the song, obsessed with some bitch named Lucy) and Brother Ali (commanding presence, loving father, albino as fuck). Oh. And of course, by his music and all of the footage of him at his best: cleverly dissing the dick off of whoever is stupid enough to be standing across from him. Because a good Eyedea can never die.

Rest in peace, Big Shot.

– Nuv

[Editor's Note: If pouring out some of your 40 doesn't feel like enough, Eyedea's mother has set up a Facebook Memorial Fundraiser page where you can leave your thoughts as well as donate to help out with the memorial.]