SEEN

Nas caused quite a stir with his last project by proclaiming the death of Hip-Hop. What most people don't realize is that the Queensbridge MC was actually sharing this Biblical truth: "Without a vision, the people perish." Hip-Hop has lost its vision sometime ago when it traded in originality and passion for gangsta tales and materialism. Sure, Hip-Hop artists still have a knack for making catchy tunes, but there are not many MCs who create timeless songs. Many don't even know where to start. They need a vision to keep this artform from perishing. That vision is SEEN.

SEEN is an MC/songwriter who refers to his music as "Soul-Hop" because it is intentionally positive, yet unpreachy; melodic, yet bottom heavy; family-friendly, yet uncorny. He has been recording exceptional music (that never made it to the marketplace) for almost two decades, so songwriting comes natural to him. Millennium Gentleman is full of great music like "You Did It", which is a tribute to teachers, and "Long Way 2 Go", which is a realistic introspective look about the grind of reaching your dreams. Songs like "Go For It" and "Don't Stop" are powerful enough to encourage any thug, and clean enough to get play around your most devout church mothers. Songs like "Do That" and "Medicine Music" are just plain fun for the dance floor, while tunes like "Secrets" and "We Can Make It" reveal the heart and emotions of a man who has experienced some real challenges in the paths that he's taken in life.

What sets SEEN apart is his honesty. He had a small taste of the street life as a youth, but he spent most of his adult years as a counselor, teacher, and a school administrator. Those years that he spent as a teacher showed him that if someone is going to learn something, there has to be an example to demonstrate the lesson. For Hip-Hop in this Millennium, if we want change, that example has got to be SEEN.