Hip-hop is, by nature, a storytelling genre. The bars laid down by countless emcees are strengthened by the tales which flow over them. If those bars are delivered from behind bars, do stories gain moreweight than from outside, in the free world?
For Houston-based Carlos Coy (better known by his stage name South Park Mexican) – what's told in
prison and before his 2002 incarceration hold the same power. Songs gain names like “When DevilsStrike,” “Jackers in My Home,” and “Bloody War,” so the tension on display is palpable. But that's without understanding the narratives behind each charged title. The first in that series details a tortured affair with his former best friend's wife and the costly court case which followed. The last recounts a time SPM was jumped. Both songs deliver their demons in minor keys, with mournful arrangements and equally unnerved wordplay. That's just one side to SPM's storybook. The collection Inside Stories Vol. 1 captures both.
The other highlights a prideful, boasting Coy. “You Know My Name,” and its lavish music video broadcasts a life of luxury, while “Mexican Radio” documents SPM's takeover of his home area airwaves – enough to have a local station play the track three times in a row. Sometimes this heightened state of self-importance is used to preach, like on “Garza West,” where Coy wishes those trapped in diagnostic centers would be treated with respect and human dignity. He also uses his potency to assess his own need for human dignity on “I Must Be High,” where Coy, now sober, remembers when his hook exclaimed “I must be high so that I can function.” In this instance, Coy's story changed, but the inside scoop found him understanding his original intentions.
No matter which version of SPM resonates with listeners during over two decades of recorded material,the stories accompanying every phase carry with them an intelligence and prowess which can never be restricted.
For Houston-based Carlos Coy (better known by his stage name South Park Mexican) – what's told in
prison and before his 2002 incarceration hold the same power. Songs gain names like “When DevilsStrike,” “Jackers in My Home,” and “Bloody War,” so the tension on display is palpable. But that's without understanding the narratives behind each charged title. The first in that series details a tortured affair with his former best friend's wife and the costly court case which followed. The last recounts a time SPM was jumped. Both songs deliver their demons in minor keys, with mournful arrangements and equally unnerved wordplay. That's just one side to SPM's storybook. The collection Inside Stories Vol. 1 captures both.
The other highlights a prideful, boasting Coy. “You Know My Name,” and its lavish music video broadcasts a life of luxury, while “Mexican Radio” documents SPM's takeover of his home area airwaves – enough to have a local station play the track three times in a row. Sometimes this heightened state of self-importance is used to preach, like on “Garza West,” where Coy wishes those trapped in diagnostic centers would be treated with respect and human dignity. He also uses his potency to assess his own need for human dignity on “I Must Be High,” where Coy, now sober, remembers when his hook exclaimed “I must be high so that I can function.” In this instance, Coy's story changed, but the inside scoop found him understanding his original intentions.
No matter which version of SPM resonates with listeners during over two decades of recorded material,the stories accompanying every phase carry with them an intelligence and prowess which can never be restricted.