July 29-August 4, 2004

music

Cult of Personality

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Chief Kamachi goes to the universe, not the university.

by Deesha Dyer

Many artists find themselves in the classic battle between what they believe and what will actually make them money. One look at TRL or the Billboard top 40 and you can guess which side usually prevails. Thoughtful, message-oriented songwriters sometimes end up cardboard puppets.

Chief Kamachi, a permanent figure on the Philly hip-hop scene, made up his mind early in the game that his art and his beliefs would never clash. Nothing would be sacrificed for the almighty dollar.

In his eyes, the industry is set up to control MCs. "I won't be a slave for nobody, for nothing," the 26-year-old says. "That's what a lot of artists have to get back to, they don't have that kind of heart."

Praised by some for his book-smart/street-smart style — Kamachi often intertwines history and Kemetic teachings with tales of urban survival in his lyrics — he is driven by his high sense of spirituality and quest for truth.

"I've studied in a priesthood order for 10 years," he says. "I had to go to the essence and strip down everything else. That's where I found myself."

So when he's not Internet-beefing with other MCs, he practices traditional African religion, meditation and yoga on a consistent basis. "I didn't come here to be a rapper, that's not my life goal and mission. I'm here to become an African priest, and serve the community as such," he says.

That said, he chooses the stage over the pulpit, and his God complex leaves it easy for listeners to stray. Not everybody's going to feel like pulling out a history book or a dictionary. That's OK. "I record music for myself," he says. "I can't create music for other people. They don't dictate my gift."

But for those looking to get schooled, the time is now. After a decade of patrolling the local hip-hop underground, Chief Kamachi has finally delivered a solo album.

He's well-known for his collaboration on The Army of Pharaohs' The Five Perfect Exertions — with Jedi Mind Tricks, 7L and Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia — and for his appearances with Rasheed, aka Maylay Sparks. Now Kamachi has come up with Cult Status (Good Hands/Eastern Conference).

The first single, "The Best" — which sports head-nodding production from DJ Kwestion (Skratch Makaniks, The Masters) and features Gang Starr's Guru — has met rave reviews from DJs and critics alike. But, as Philly's Most Wanted can tell you, a hit single doesn't mean much. An album might still show up in the $3 rack at Tower Records the same week it debuts. Not surprisingly, Chief Kamachi doesn't seem the least bit worried: "The chief is always the head of the tribe, the center of something."

The Germantown-born Kamachi developed a passion for hip-hop when he was 5, starting with breakdancing. He first tried his hand at rhyming in junior high school. Once he started to win competitions, the transition to MC was complete.

He began performing at clubs and parties, working to avoid being typecast as a battle MC. Unfulfilling deals with independent labels left him searching for an outlet. An entrepreneur in high school, selling mixtapes, Kamachi eventually settled on starting his own label, Ready Rock Records. His first single came out in 1997, "At War with Self" with the B-side "Copperfield." In the years that followed, Kamachi showed up on stages and other people's albums. His name slowly became known outside of Philly. But the hometown crowd wasn't — and still isn't — 100 percent convinced that Kamachi is the hip-hop messiah he claims to be.

Good Hands Records gave him the freedom to mold his debut album into exactly what he wanted, he says. Their visions just clicked. For Cult Status, Kamachi enlisted hot producers S. Dot (State Property) and Mighty Mi (High and Mighty). MCs Reef the Lost Cauze, State Store and Mr. Eon also make their presence known on the album.

Cult Status is the sort of manifesto you'd expect from a Kamachi-masterminded project. It's about who he is, and why he's here. It details his concern for the community. It expresses the frustrations he's felt as a black man, and as an artist.

"I go to the universe, not the university. The minute I make my money off of rapping, I'm giving back," he says. His aspirations, he says, include investing in businesses around the way.

Not buying into the stereotype that hip-hop artists are stupid and clueless, Kamachi says he's going to help lead a revolution and awakening in this world through music. All we have to do, he says, is pay attention, noting, "There is only one truth, and a wise man always disguises his teachings."

Cult Status album release party, Sat., July 31, 10 p.m.-2 a.m., $10, 21+, hosted by Guru of Gang Starr, with DJ Mighty Mi and DJ Kwestion, The Five Spot, 1 S. Bank St., 215-574-0070.