2018-19 Guide To Yellow Springs

32 the Guide to YelLow Springs y 2018 - 1 9 Y e l l ow S p r i n g s N ews By aaron maurice saari Last year, Yellow Springs resident Issa Walker visited a radio studio in Detroit owned by legendary rapper Eminem. As the influential program “Sway in the Morning” was live on the air, Walker, who profes- sionally goes by the handle Issa Ali, was Yellow Springs rapper Issa Walker, aka Issa Ali, performed with legendary hip-hop artist Taleb Kweli at Antioch College’s Music on Main concert in June 2018. y  Local rapper turns rhymes, heads  y offered the microphone as a beat he had never heard started to play. Issa Ali did not hesitate. “Look through the prism/look into the prisons/human slave system/humans raised conditioned,” he rapped. The video of Walker’s freestyle — put- ting lyrics and technically proficient rap to a beat — cuts off right as D-12, a renowned group from Detroit, and Royce 59, one of Walker’s idols, explode into shouts, a sign of respect in hip-hop. “Sway put the pressure on me because I’m from Ohio and we were in Detroit. The way he put pressure on me, it was intense,” Walker said. Pausing, he added: “But I killed it. That’s what Sway do. You either kill it or you get dogged on national radio.” The Sway he referred to is Sway Calloway, one of the most important people in hip-hop today. He began his career in the late 1980s as a rapper and b-boy (break-dancer), team- ing up with DJ King Tech to record several albums, which in the early 1990s landed them jobs hosting their own radio show in San Francisco. Other stations quickly began simulcasting “The Wake Up Show,” and soon it became for hip-hop what “The Ed Sullivan Show” once was for rock ’n’ roll. Walker said he won accolades from Sway and great appreciation from Royce, which Walker referred to as “co-signing.” This is when one emcee acknowledges the prow- ess of another. “It was one thing to deliver on such a big platform, but to have Royce co-sign me, that was...” he trailed off, unable to put such an accomplishment into words. Being a wordsmith, that’s not something Walker experiences often. “You’ve gotta rap about your environ - ment,” he continued, focusing on the contents of his freestyle. “And I love the braggadocio of hip-hop, so I brag about my master’s of public health degree. I brag about my mind. If I can make being edu- cated cool, that’s what I want to do.” Walker, a 2006 graduate of Yellow Springs High School, holds a bachelor’s of science degree in biology from Central State University, and a master’s of public health from Wright State University. “I’m still way into health and I hope to use my music to educate, perhaps go on lecture tours and talk to kids after I do all this music.” Walker’s music career has followed the trends of the industry. Full-play albums were once the norm for social conscious- ness rap progenitors such as Arrested Development, Digable Planets and The Fugees. Walker’s growth as an album artist can be heard from the early cuts by Village Fam, a local hip-hop group, through his second solo offering, “As Above, So Below,” released in 2014. Now he’s focusing on singles and creating professional quality videos for YouTube. When asked if this was an artistic move or a commercial one, he answered quickly. “Everything is singles now. People don’t buy whole albums, they just want to put the track on their playlist. So, there’s an industry game to play. And I know how to do it; in a way it is simpler. I know how to write hooks. My beats may sound gansta [referring to a particular subgenre of rap] and like we’re having a party, but the lyrics reflect my consciousness. I’m giving you something that’s real. But also something that’s hot,” he said, smiling. Walker was on his way to New York City for a month, but envisioned returning to Yellow Springs soon. “I’m gonna go soak it up like I do when- ever I’m in New York.” He paused. “For a while, that is, and then I come back home. I love it in Yellow Springs. I grew up here, and I can think here,” he said. In the summer of 2018, Issa Ali performed with legendary rapper Taleb Kweli at a concert at Antioch College. 1 • submitted photo by MATT finn GREEN ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION Grassroots advocates for Ohio’s Environment focused on Clean Water, Toxic Chemical Reductions, Urban Sprawl and Public Participation. P.O. Box 553 • Yellow Springs, OH 45387 www.greenlink.org GEC Not-for-profit Technology Services for Education and Local Governments www.mveca.org 937-767-0131 3536 Bryan Park Rd. | www.grinnellmillbandb.com • RENOVATED HISTORIC MILL • PRIVATE BATHROOMS • CONFERENCE/PARTY ROOM AVAILABLE   GRINNELL MILL BED & BREAKFAST