in the limelight

lone catalysts

okay i am going to give a shout out because these guys just rock! they are from the 'burgh (for all of you out there who know what i mean) and the songs vibe with colorful beats and strong lyrics. two guys, j-rawls and j-sands formed the group in the '90s and now have a loyal fan base in europe and japan. rawls on the meaning of the name the 'lone catalysts' :

"At the time, we thought that there weren't many cats, at least in our area, trying to do it the way we were trying to do it. it's that raw hip-hop." (www.discogs.com) 

i remember the first time i heard this band. i found out about them from a good friend of mine, went to the tiny eclectic record store on east carson st. in oakland and bought it. i played it in my car that day, and then literally played it nonstop for two weeks. there is something in the intention in the words and the references to pittsburgh that had me hooked. the album 'hip hop' can be pretty hard to find in regular record stores. i ended up having to buy it again recently online. and guess what i bought? a record of mp3s. no more cds. only mp3s. or lps (my fav). i could get back into the discussion of my love of listening to lps again, so i will stop here. in any case, check this band out if you like underground, conscious, and intelligent hip-hop. it is worth the time and effort! they also collaborate with talib kweli on a song, but i am not going to say which one. listen for yourself.