AZ: What a Legend Sounds Like

You can tell what a legend sounds like. I wish was born in the late 1970s. I could have actually been a teenager during the golden age of Hip Hop. I would have lived in a constant state of euphoria to say the least with all the great music that was out. Had I been writing up on artists then there’s no doubt in my mind I would have found the way to set up an interview with someone I say sounded like a legend off rip. The visualizer, AZ.

I don’t recall the first time I actually heard the godly flow of East New York’s Anthony Cruz. I was probably too young for it to pop up on my radar. If I'm not mistaken I became interested in hearing what he had to say because I had seen a list on google of rappers who had some Dominican in them and I had to check this guy out.

Maybe I had never heard him before, but the classic 'Sugar Hill' sounded too familiar. It speaks for the 30 degree fahrenheit nights on New York corners, the summer days with the pump open and the grandiose nights where you sit in the limo and muse over the past decades. Miss Jones had lent her seraphic sonant assistance for the chorus and together they created perfection to let you know "AZ’s foreal".

Sosa (as he sometimes calls himself) was interested in poetry during his early years and its no wonder why he's in a whole other league. His poetry evolved. His cadence. Bouncing around the fu***** beat like a game of Ping Pong with himself. It literally sounds like he’s teasing us. On some HA! You can’t rap like this” sh**. Dribbling down the court making every crossover look so effortless.

His lyrics, actual lyrics not just rappity rap. There was a message. Whether he was on his Mafioso or simply giving us game, you could follow the words and at the end of every 4 bars be like DAMNNN, look ay your homeboy and ask him did he hear that. Here’s an element I feel artist have let go of: Song presence… and A’s is everything but dim. He’s in control. He’s pitching you the story like you and the crew are all in front of the Bodega. From the bubbly sippin' to the crew and jailed friends homages, AZ was able to give us these different types of songs and master it… four syllables at a time.

Sosa introduced himself to most of the world in a classic way… Nas’ debut album Illmatic track "Life's a Bitch," a ghetto anthem. He kicks things off on this feature, then "Life’s a Bitch and then you die that’s why we get high cus you never know when you gonna’ go” is what he recites on the hook. Too real. Sounds like he had the crowd moving to it at any given show assuredly. By 1995 AZ’s debut album 'Doe or Die' (a classic and whoever disagrees FIGHT ME!!) was presented to the world. 

At times I find myself clicking away on the internet and getting lost in the world of threads. Many argue “if someone is said to be underrated by everyone, are they really underrated?” That's a great question. Why I call AZ underrated? Because for the amount of talent he holds he never quite got the props he deserved (rappers actually admitted he was a problem on the mic lol so minus them) or the success we saw other rappers achieve. The thing about “props” and “success” is that its like the Grammy’s… unfortunately ends up being a load of BS.

While many point the finger at the fact (or opinion) he was overshadowed by his The Firm peer or if it was the fault of labels and all the other things that go wrong I think all Hip Hop heads can agree that it was lack of awareness. Most cats my age I speak Culture talk with don’t know a lot of my faves, leaving me to speak to fans that have a few years on me. To say it was his talent is disrespectful. The man who said

“...But another chapter

A new way of life to adapt to 

cus the streets’ll gas ya 

and have you caught up in the rapture

Deja Vu I could ‘vision my killer crew

more hospitable consciously aware 

plus political… 

but once established we eating lovely

living lavish life 

like he House of Versailles

in Paris, I gotta have this” ? GTFOH.

I usually have a time period where artists are at my personal preferred stage of their career. The way I generate this election is through their style, their songs, and their production choice. Fu** commercial success and all that other fu-gay-zee sh**. For AZ it was 1994-1998. Mo Money Mo Murder ? Last Dayz? Betcha Don’t Know (The last 2 were off of his ’98 release ‘Pieces of a Man’). A very select few could rock sampled grooves with such rhythmic grace and remain smooth while narrating street tales and living his best life 90s style on his celebration tracks like "Just Because."

Although Sosa continued to release music throughout the 2000’s he didn’t receive the same attention as he did throughout his emergence. 'Doe or Die' had been on what we in the music world call "the charts". Which is great but I can argue all day on why it isn't everything.

Even if the "chart-topping" did, the knowledge-dropping did not take a pause. On my Youtube adventures I discovered “Problems." The video showed unlimited NY rapper attitude. (See video for reference 😂😂 ) The video shows a troubled AZ who bumps heads with a Sosa who’s splurging. The fly self-descriptive Boom Bap is off of his 2001 release ‘9 Lives’. 

“I did dirt through my days but hid my work

Even then still I made sure no kids got hurt.”

That’s beyond real. 

The 46-year old's latest release was this Tuesday this week, a mixtape called ‘Legacy’, streamable through Soundcloud. The tape is a compilation of unreleased work. 'The Hardest" and "So Good" give us a classic AZ feel and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I think what he’s hinting at is a ‘Doe or Die 2’ album for the Twenty 19 which has been rumored to have been in the works. If it sounds anything like its first one I’ll probably jump off a roof. Thank you for blessing us with your style Mr. AZ. The next not-knowing mother****** that asks me who you are, my reply will be simple. A rapper’s favorite rapper: A to the Z.