Trinity's Roc Raida Tribute

Trinity is a new group - with three members, or could you guess that? - Actually, this group has some serious Golden Era clout - featuring Sadat X (Brand Nubian) and AG (Showbiz and AG) backed by DJ Jab. The album drops early 2010. My guess is that they will be big in Europe and Japan - where heads appreciate originators more than audiences in the US, which is depressing but true. I would be willing to bet that only about 10% of young people (18 and under, who listen to hip hop) could tell you anything about Brand Nubian. Now, in defense of young people, the history book of hip hop keeps getting longer, and there aren't a lot of good resources out there for them to learn from, especially if they don't have a guide of some sort - not making excuses for 'em, because it's a fact. All I'm saying is, Trinity isn't going to end up on BET or MTV - for whatever that's worth. (Not much).

Before I was sidetracked, the point of this was that Trinity has dropped this Roc Raida Tribute track (You know he died right? You should.). It's not the hottest track I've ever heard, both MCs show signs of aging, but joints like this are important - paying tribute to artists no longer with us demonstrates the lineage between hip hop and the oral tradition of West African Griots. Songs like these document the culture. Those who are part of hip hop need to write and preserve its history because no one else should be trusted to do it. That's why I'm not surprised that the first Roc Raida tribute track (at least that I've heard) came from two real true school artists like X and AG - and not some of the youngsters you see on TV.