When The Getback took the stage for their headline slot at Streets Is Talking Radio’s 5 year anniversary celebration last month, they took the proceedings to another level. The Bay Area has long been known as a hot bed for hip-hop, within which we produce catchy records, inventive slang, unique personas, and influential subcultures. What we’ve been missing in recent years however is a crew that can infuse those strengths with impeccable mic skills, amazing writing, dizzying wordplay, multidisciplinary performance chops, and enviable live instrumentation. The Getback Crew, fronted by Rafael Casal, Chinaka Hodge, and Daveed Diggs and backed by Chukudi Hodge, Max Miller-Loran, DJ Dion Decibels and others, is the whole package.
On Casal’s latest video “Fuego” he showcases his gift of gab by pop-corning rapid fire boastings laced with a wide range of pop-culture references. It’s the type of frenetic flight of fancy that you keep waiting to land so you can catch up, but the blitz never ceases.
That speed and lyrical dexterity is counter-balanced by old world visuals filmed in Barcelona and Santiago, Spain. While that backdrop my strike some as un-hip-hop, it took me back to my time living in Spain while listening to a steady diet of hip-hop. It also conjured up a Love & Basketball-esque image of American kids playing professional basketball abroad in Europe walking the cobblestone streets with their headphones slapping tunes from back home. Of course, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that hip-hop is also a global phenomenon, long since transcending whatever stereotypical boundaries we confined it to. In fact, given Casal’s Spanish roots, “Fuego” is the perfect location for the slick talker to recount his journey.
Stay tuned for more from the emcee/poet/playwright/director/ __________. Also enjoy Rafael and Daveed’s last joint video off Diggs’s acclaimed album Small Things to a Giant if you haven’t already. GETBACK!
