LORD OF THE OTHERGROUND


Text: Travis Horikawa
Images: Cassy Song



It has long been a theory of mine that the same forces of nature that etched the Ko‘olau mountain range into the jagged, accordion-like monolith we’re all familiar with may have also shaped the wit and whimsy of those who grew up in its shadow. From atop the Pali Lookout, peering into the lush petri dish culture below, it’s tough to get a feel for exactly what I speak of. To do so, one must make the descent. Whether by way of the many conduits snaking through the mountains’ torso or via circumnavigating the coast, a trip to the bay area (Kaneohe Bay, to be exact) feels to me like a Lewis Carroll daydream, translated into haiku and dramatically delivered over a DJ Shadow instrumental. For theirs is a strange world populated by gangs of angry Pandas, musically gifted Bumblebees, and art that seems to float off of walls and into the collective subconscious. It is here that one of the “Windweird” side’s most promising pupils (and I mean that in a “Professor X School for Gifted Orphans” sort of way) has anchored root; growing, maturing, waiting for the opportune moment to impart his craft onto the ears of the willing. That time, ladies and gentlemen, is extremely fucking nigh.

He is known as Ghesol, which is a letter-play on his birth name, Jessel; the only logical rap alias for a man who doesn’t consider himself to be a rapper at all. Too handsome to be cast as an extra in Spike Jonze’s, Where the Wild Things Are, yet too physically imposing to pass as a regular human being, our guy makes an art form out of straddling two worlds. To be fair, aside from standing at the taller end of 6’2” with banana bunches for hands, the only truly menacing quality about him is what science has classified as a sub-adult marsupial asleep on his chin. Seriously, dude sports a beard that would have Genghis Khan filing for trademark infringement. Facial hair not withstanding, what’s most enduring following a conversation with him is the unwavering feeling that you’ve just exchanged words with a closet-philosopher, one who is eager to share his ideologies with you, but not yet prepared to reveal his true identity to the world. I credit this to his approachable and insightful disposition, coupled with an incredibly humble nature.

It was Sole of Anticon who summed it up best when he said, “Hawai‘i is the home of the shy emcee.” Ghesol could easily be the living embodiment of that sentiment, though the title “gentle giant” does not apply here. I’ve witnessed first hand his Jiu-Jitsu abilities, and unless you’d like to experience the full meaning of the term “BJ Penn-etration,” I’d reconsider a challenge. So it was with great honor, lightly coated with a tinge of apprehension (arm bars negatively affect my words per minute output) that I accepted Contrast’s invitation to do this piece.

I’ve known Ghesol for some time now and have been fortunate enough to ride shotgun on a few projects with him. The idea that I would have to put his pen-prowess to words was a daunting one, to put it mildly. With lyrics so profound that I once tore both pectoral muscles trying to recite one of his verses aloud using “air quotes,” you can understand why. Not one to sit down for a traditional face-to-face interview, he opted to have his album speak in his stead. It is his first official release on Grim Image Records, aptly christened Chin Music (see face-fuzz references above). Noise canceling headphones at the ready—because mynah birds tend to talk a lot of shit where I live—I hit play, put my back to the mattress and absorb. Regardless of what city you’re in, local hip-hop usually ends up sounding more like “low-cal hip-hop”– it resembles the real thing, but in the end you’re left hungry for something with a lot more substance. It became apparent to me from the intro that Chin Music would be a rare exception.



A nod to hip-hop’s “poor in the pocket, but rich in content” era, when the music was made for heads to bob as opposed to asses to... um, that thing that asses do in clubs these days. The album’s 14 tracks played like a Kurosawa epic, meticulously structured to tell a story using unconventional means. Complete with gratuitous fight scenes, “MMA,” subplots of new-found love, “Dreamland,” rapturous celebrations of youth and culture, “Hip Hop Fit” and “Saitama 2,” culminating in a mournful and melancholy ending with, “Brand New Day,” an introspective tale of life lived on Hawaiian time and the realization that there may be, if not greener, at least larger pastures beyond the boundaries of the Ko‘olaus. With his Best Supporting Actress, Shanon, adding grace and beauty unto your inner-minds’ silver screen, contrasting Ghesol’s thunderous cadences, the result is Sundance-worthy. Never before have I heard beats and rhymes come out of Hawai‘i that seem so alien when compared to its contemporaries, yet feel as native as the red soil asleep under the District of Ko‘olaupoko’s toes. A testament to our isolation and the artistry of evolution as it works to sculpt the life and culture of our islands into that indigenous “something.” Hawai‘i hip-hop is finally a part of that thing.

And as much as I would like him to remain our best-kept secret, Ghesol will soon venture past the confines of the Ko‘olau’s mighty walls, but not by the conventional means of through or around the mountain like the rest of us. Based on the tremendous strides Hawai‘i hip-hop will undoubtedly make following the release of Chin Music, he may simply step right over to the other side.


ジェソル
ハワイ出身のラッパー。彼のラップは率直で深みがあり、聡明な音楽と知恵にあふれた詩を届けてくれる。ルックスは強面で背が高く、大きな手をしている。彼の新しいアルバム、ＣｈｉnＭｕｓｉｃは、今GrimmImageRecordsで発売中！