Albums

Bring It Back: MF Grimm (A True & Tested Real G)

blame it on JES7 January 21, 2013

Kind of slow today, so I wanted to bring this back into the cipher, and besides, Grimm doesn’t get as much of the positive recognition as he should be. Link is still alive.

In an age where the internet is heavily used as a cloak of anonymity, damn near any up-and-coming rapper can lay claim to being a street hustler who moves so much weight, they gotta use the scales that they weigh the whales with. Anyone can be a “true G.” In my eyes, a real G is one who can turn a negative upbringing and lifestyle into something more constructive and manifest positive out of negative. Protons vs. electrons. Protons always win. Enter Percy Carey, better known now as Grand Master MF Grimm (the MF stands for Mad Flows) whose life story is just as intriguing and humbling as ‘Pac’s. As a child, Percy was neighbors with Morgan Freeman who actually helped Percy get cast as an actor on Sesame Street which lasted for a few years. I won’t go into too much detail about his life, as I’m sure you’d rather hear it straight from the man himself (which you can down bottom in his interview with NPR), however, I’ll give y’all a few more trivial facts for those who are not familiar.

UPDATE: New link added.

Percy, who was already a seasoned veteran on the battle circuit, had recorded a few songs, including So Whatcha Want as well as having a guest verse on the remix to KMD’s What a Niggy Know (off Bl_ck B_st_rds which would not see the light of day until 2001). Percy, like most up-and-coming artists from the hood, was trying to balance out the artist and street lives, with the latter eventually catching up to him in 1994, when he was shot seven times in a murder attempt. Percy lost his hearing, vision and was paralyzed from the waist down, left in a coma, while his brother was unfortunately killed in the incident. After awaking from his coma, Percy immediately took pen to a pad and wrote the somber Scars & Memories, an open letter to his brother J Black. He eventually regained his vision and hearing, but was left as a prisoner to a wheelchair which he uses til this day. Fast forward to 2000, Percy was sentenced to life imprisonment for some hefty narcotics charges, which he eventually beat by studying law books in the prison’s library, reducing his sentence to three years. With the multiple “rude awakenings” Percy witnessed, he eventually decided to turn his life around, focusing on music and educating the youth, steering them on the righteous path. He even penned a deal with DC Comics’ offshoot imprint, Vertigo and wrote about his life story in a comic book autobiography titled Sentences: The Life Of MF Grimm which comes highly recommended (pick it up here). But enough at my attempt of trying to retell his story, let’s focus on his incredible musical discography, shall we? Below you will find a compilation of what I think to be some of his best work, with some incredible contributions by the homie DJ Eclipse.

DJ Eclipse’s Picks
01. Do It For the Kids
02. Emotions f. B-1
03. Get Down f. DJ Ekim
04. Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle (03-11-93)
05. Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle w/ Mr. Cee (03-11-93)
06. So Whatcha Want
07. Kool G Rap – Take ‘Em to War f. MF Grimm & B-1
08. The Gingerbread Man
09. KMD – What a Niggy Know (rmx) f. MF Grimm

Justice’s Picks
01. AIDS f. Kool G Rap, Akinyele & CJ Moore
02. Bloody Love Letter
03. Crumb Snatchers
04. Kings of New York
05. Kool G Rap – Money On My Brain f. MF Grimm & B-1
06. Scars & Memories
07. The Original

DOWNLOAD: (2)Deep: MF Grimm (A True & Tested Real G)