Comments (1) ... Shihan took 3 years to record "The Poet" with notable music/production support from Dert, and The Tao of Groove's Roy Shakked, with guest vocal support from Ursula Rucker and Elsie of New Breed and Propaganda. The patience and collaboration has paid dividends in terms of a solid production that feels nothing like a collection of songs, but an album.

1. Intro: The Poet
2. Poemcee
3. Activism (feat. Ursula Rucker)
4. Love Like
5. The Iconoclast
6. Somebody Tell Me
7. Auction Network
8. What You Want
9. Who Could Be
10. In Response
11. Stop The Music
12. Frozen
13. Robots
14. Give It 2 Me (feat. Elsie of New Breed and Propaganda)
15. Follow Me

Known the world over for the quality of his spoken word poetry, appearing in all five season's of HBO's Def Poetry Jam, touring in productions like Nike Battlegrounds One-On-One Tournament, National Poetry Slam Championship Team, and Grand Marnier's SlamAmerica Bus to name just a few, Shihan mixes accappella spoken word tracks with smooth, indie joints swirled up at times in a nu jazz-hip-hop style, and keeps it fresh to the end. Shihan's lyrics stitch a fabric of philosophical critiques on modern life, stirring up controversy and thought along with a reverance for the duality of complexity and simplicity in everyday living.

As the tracks flip through, the style of the musical joints get closer to something commerical hip-hop radio could even latch on to, but probably won't. The style of "The Poet" carries on that of artists like De La Soul or A Tribe Called Quest: intelligent (sometimes humorous) lyrics in a smooth, spitfire cadence, clean, talented songwriting, and always a fresh groove.

From this point of view, the tracks to check are:

"Activism" laid-back and jazzy, featuring the incomparable Ursula Rucker

"Somebody Tell Me" slow-tempo beats in a smooth style, and female vocals that remind me of Les Nubians' harmonic delivery

"Stop The Music" a straight nu jazz-hip-hop affair

"Frozen" beats like a train in slow motion, ambient keys and a deep, minimal bass groove

The indie hip-hop style of Shihan is a major shift in Groove Gravy's roster which includes downtempo and nu jazz artists The Tao of Groove, and Highend, as well as numerous compilations including the "Nu Jazz Sessions" series, "Chill Pill", the "Brazil Remixed" series and "Masterworks Reworked", but I have to say, they did it right. You may find the more you listen to the music on "The Poet", the more you'll realize it's not such a different sound for Groove Gravy after all.


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The following was supplied with the press release about this album:
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In Shihan's Words...

Poemcee: My anthem: Letting you know who I am, what I am and why I am. It is what it is. 'No cash, no ass, no ice, this is return of the word.' Skills - nothing but a beat, a rhyme and life.

Activism: Sometimes you listen to something and you imagine how a specific person would sound over it. I met Ursula at Def Poetry a few years back. I've always wanted to work with her. This song came along at the perfect time and the music just hit both of us. What came of it is this song - Her style is so much a contrast to mine, but on this track they work so well together.

Love Me: This is the poem that "started" to spread my name on a national level. The response from this piece was overwhelming and I enjoy it so much because everyone can relate to wanting a love like this ...

The Iconoclast: An iconoclast is someone who talks against what's commonly believed by the masses. I'm talking about content, structure, God, the Devil, heaven and hell. People only like to hear what sounds good to the ears but the truth isn't attractive to most. And the music allows the listener to be pulled in before realizing what they are about to get hit with.

Somebody Tell Me (feat. Brutha Gimel and Gina Loring): It seems like people forgot [It seems as though people have forgotten] that Hip-hop is only as good as the people doing it. And somewhere along the way the MC's passion was lost in the bright lights of success. But I still remember what I do it for.

Auction Network: I believe "music is the new cotton" and people will sell themselves for anything perceived as important. I wrote this after watching the MTV Music Awards and getting sick watching 50 Cent perform his 'PIMP' song and the crowd going crazy. I've gotten a lot of mixed signals from this piece because no one wants to look in the mirror that reminds them of the ugliness, and my job as a poet is to not always make you feel good but to make you uncomfortable as well.

What You Want: It's the question and the answer, asking and answering and giving you what you want and what you need. This was the 1st song I recorded.

Who Could Be: This was the last song recorded and the hook was written in the studio right before I recorded it. It’s part poem, part rap; a peek into the life I live and why I live it.

In Response: I wrote this after my love for my wife was questioned by family friends. My belief system was different then theirs and I was furious when I wrote it [In the end though,] but in the end it showed them how much I care about my wife and that the love we share is ours and no one can come between it.

Stop The Music: Listening to the radio can be draining with all the negative messages in the music. I love my music too much to play it half ass.

Frozen: My favorite piece on the CD. I wrote it on the bathroom floor in my house while everyone was asleep. I sometimes feel like I don’t let people in close enough to ever really know me and this poem touches on that.

Robots: I wrote this after a conversation with Natalie (The Floacist from Floetry). We were talking about commercials on television and right after we hung up I saw this commercial and this is what I thought. One of my favorite poems to perform.

Give It 2 Me (feat. Elsie of New Breed and Propaganda): A lot of my poet friends didn’t know I rhymed because none of my poems rhyme and for the most part most poets can’t rhyme and most MC’s aren’t poets. This is a small display of the balance. And this was the 1st song I recorded with my wife. And Propaganda was working on his CD and had also written to this so we just decided to do the song together.

Follow Me: This is one of those songs that keeps the mood throughout. I originally wrote a different song to it. After listening to it more I just felt obligated to say a little more with it. Plus, Gina’s voice on this song really makes me feel what the song is saying.

~ Shihan

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