proGrammar - Unabridged Press Blurbs
"Local rapper proGrammar has what I call
a hiphop heart; most rappers are about the biceps or the penis, but there are
a golden few-the sensitive descendants of Q-Tip ("I want to kiss where some
brothers won't"[sic])-who prefer to deal with matters of the heart. ProGrammar
will never be famous (he is too soft and intimate for a market that thrives on
hyper-macho energy), but he is worth watching."
-Charles Mudede, The Stranger, Vol. 12 No. 03, Oct.
3-9 2002
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"It gets no realer than this home brewed hip-hop. If you
can't handle the boom-bap, cup your hands over your ears."
"Ahhhh.....Imagination! Do you remember Imagination?
It's that thing you used to have when you were just a baby and you could entertain
yourself for hours with a plain cardboard box. As you grew to a pre-teen adolescent
you needed a little more to stimulate yourself yet you could still take something
as simple as a plastic action figure and create an entire cinematic adventure
every afternoon in your backyard. Now you've become an adult and your Imagination
is all but gone. The most you can do to entertain yourself is take your fat ass
to the nearest multiplex and watch the latest Hollywood trifle; And if there is
any part of the movie that requires any extra thought, you can't muster the effort
to get into it so you decide that the movie is crap! (I didn't even get that Matrix
CRAP!... KIDDING...stop the hate mail!)
If you can relate, then you are Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop used to have gobs of Imagination
when it first burst on the scene and started growing in fits and spurts. Alas,
now that Hip-Hop has matured into an adult, it seems as if all of the creative
juices that used to fuel its imagination have been sapped. The tripe that passes
as mainstream rap today sounds like it was all produced by Debbie Gibson (We love
you Debbie!) Today's materialistic rap trash should be burned in a big pile just
like how evangelists used to burn copies of Hustler Magazine (What a waste...I
could really use those mags now...)
Now that I've finished depressing myself (and you) here is the upshot: proGrammar
is the Internet's answer to the Hip-Hop creativity drought. I can't explain what
he's doing but if you're a little bit crazy you'll catch a vibe like I did. The
only comparison I can make is to say that his flow and delivery remind me of Sondoobie
from Funkdoobiest. Other than that, you're on your own: I can't compare his music
to anything! Now I've gotta warn you, before you go downloading this song or trolling
around proGrammar's website, his tracks are not for the weakhearted or neat freaks.
He has almost perfected the art of controlled noise and to anyone who knows, that
is the essence of Hip-Hop (or any music for that matter)! He's got something going
for himself; It's hard to put a finger on what it is but if you're willing to
tap into that old Imagination that you had as a kid, you just might enjoy it!"
-Dante, GigaTracks.com, January 2005
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"If you're among the more adventurous hiphop listeners, then have I got one for you—Somaphone 2 by Seattle native (and NYC resident) proGrammar. On it, Grammar sings and beatboxes bugged takes on classics like Stevie Wonder's "Hey Love" and Hall & Oates's "I Can't Go For That"—and goddammit, it works. Grammar's web site www.programmar.net is full to bursting with his quirky, self-produced tunes, all downloadable for free, with the exception of the aforementioned LP."-Larry Mizell, Jr., The Stranger, October 2005
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