COVERED: War vs. Casual
War became known internationally when they served as Eric Burdon‘s backing band after leaving The Animals. Their collaboration, “Spill The Wine”, was a massive hit and continues to receive airplay to this day. It also offered a chance for people to hear a side of music from Los Angeles many were not familiar with. It would take their separation before War became known for music under their own terms. Their second album, All Day Music, gave us “Slippin’ Into Darkness” and the title track, but it was with their third album, 1971′s The World Is A Ghetto, that would move them forward as being not only one of the best bands out of L.A., but California and the United States. The illustrated cover, a snapshot of their vision of the ghetto as being a place of unity and harmony rather than the slum it is often portrayed as, became as famous as their music and logo.
Casual has been down with the Hieroglyphics crew for years, and he is about to release a brand new album called He Still Think We Raw, with a title that’s pretty much a direct comment to people who may think he doesn’t have what it takes to rhyme in 2012. He’ll prove you wrong, and he has started by offering one of the tracks as a free download, called “Rock My Shit”.
As you can see, Casual pays homage to The World Is A Ghetto, showing that 41 years later, the means of the ghetto may still be the same, but if the world is one, it helped to make hip-hop a worldwide phenomenon, thus He Still Think We Raw is merely an additional stitch to the fabric of music, hip-hop, culture, and life in general. Proceed forward.
