Strange music group Ces Cru, consisting of members Ubiquitous and Godemis, sit down with Soren Baker to discuss Rakim, profanity in Hip Hop, and the origin of their name.
Soren Baker starts the conversation off by asking Ces Cru how they were comfortable to remake Eric B. & Rakim‘s “Juice (Know The Ledge),” which was originally released on the Juice soundtrack.
“I just always wanted to rhyme over that beat,” Ubiquitous says. “That’s kind of how it really started.
“It was fun to do that, and to like, throw a little homage to Rakim for making a classic,” he adds.
“What made Rakim, and still makes him such an important artist in your guys’ opinion for rap?” Soren Baker questions the duo.
“Basically he was Nas of his time,”Godemis says. “He was that dude that took rhyming to a new level.”
Soren Baker chimes in, noting that “Juice is a little different ‘cause he [Rakim] does cuss in that record, but most of his songs had no profanity…given that he’s so respected, and he’s looked at as a super hardcore lyricist… what’s your guys’ take on that?”
Ubiquitous admits that it’s a skill, however Ces Cru records will mainly use cuss words if they are necessary.
“I have rhymes where I’m cursing a blue streak at you,” Ubiquitous says. He also adds Lupe Fiasco to the list of successful Hip Hop artists who do not exclusively rely on explicit lyrics.
Check out the full interview below.