Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. His next project War Machine 2 was released this Tuesday, June 5th and will be followed up by a full-length with DJ Burn One entitled Cheer For The Villain. Follow him on twitter @tefpoe. Get War Machine 2 here.
Every week in I'm Just A Rapper Tef discusses modern life, hip-hop, and the deep connection between them.
I wonder what the statistics are for local music videos. How many artists shoot videos in one day? Some are higher in quality than others, which has made the idea of having a music video more accessible to the general public. Every day I log onto Facebook and find myself watching random music videos from a surplus of rappers. Recently, WhiteOut and I released a new video directed by Rotting Peach Films. I had so much fun filming this video and the quality is extremely high. I hate being on camera, so I really dislike filming videos and taking photos. But it's something you can't live without in this industry. I wanted to do a blog highlighting a few videos that have stood out in my mind.
It would be really amazing if we had a public access show that featured local music videos. This is not a best-of list, and if you get pissed off because your video isn't featured in this blog, I really don't care. This current generation of hip-hop is too damn sensitive sometimes. I think the greater good here is that we are all introduced to new music from a few artists we may not be completely familiar with. If you know any videos that are dope and deserve to be checked out, feel free to post a YouTube link or two or more in the comments section for everyone to peep.
I want to now give you the opportunity to view the newest video from me and my comrade WhiteOut entitled "Feel Like I Do" produced by iKlevah. Be sure to check out the other music videos on included in this blog as well.
WhiteOut feat Tef Poe Feel Like I DO prod by iKlevah
Nato Caliph -- Physics 720 (and the Universal laws of . . ) Remix This is a video for the remix version of St. Louis Hip Hop artist Nato Caliph's "Physics 720 (and the Universal Laws of. . . )" from the Cipher Inside remix album on F5 Records. I remember when Nato showed me the incomplete version of this video. At the time I had never seen a local music video with this type of production value. Kenautis Smith blessed us with the track and Nato handled the rhyme. The video is directed by Kenny K. and is truly a dope idea.
The Union -- (Gritz Hoffa, Sosa, MVP) STREET KINGS I think this is one of the best local videos I've seen, mainly because it runs like a movie. Hoffa is one of my favorite local MCs and Sosa always holds it down lyrically like none other. Remrod did a marvelous job directing this piece. If you do a song titled "Street Kings," the video should look like this. The music production was handled by none other than the Band Camp. This is a high quality video, so enjoy it if you've never seen it before.
Snipes x BC x 19 -- In My Nina Overwater Entertainment CEO SNIPES gives you this Rick Ross-sampled song featuring fellow Overwater Entertainment artist BC of the Crown Holdaz providing vocals on the first and second verses. Snipes is from Memphis, but in my book he might as well be from Saint Louis because my circle supports him as if he were born and raised here. This track is dope but the video is really impressive in terms of quality. I've seen him perform this song live with his band backing him up and each time he's touched the stage I've been very impressed. This video is directed by Isaiah Conyers.
Rob Gullatte -- Trill Hip Hop I saw this video via Trackstar the DJ conversing with me over Google chat. Rob is from Houston, and to be real about you just don't expect to hear a cat from the H Town rapping like this. I think his entire ATP project is dope, and he's even been on the stage of the Gramophone here in St. Louis. This video really does a great job of capturing the song and showingcasing the characteristics of Rob as a person and rapper. It sort of feels like you're watching the Wu-Tang "Cash Rules" video, yet this is the southern version. Directed by Be El Be.
