Rappers Space and J-Biggs debut headlining concert August 11
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
When sibling rappers and Committee members Space and J-Biggs check the mic at the Pageant for their August 11 performance, let’s pray to the hip-hop gods the mic is on-point.
And it’ll be a good thing for true hip-hop fans to do better than “CP time.” The benefit: Space, AKA Chip Price, whom some call a lyrical genius, is going to spit a mouthful of a cappella material on the crowd to open the show.
“If you feel intellectualism and true hip-hop, you’re going to feel him,” vouches older brother J-Biggs (William Jamie Price), who says his own show is more rhythm-oriented than Space’s.
For Space it’s all about lyrics and messages. His rhymes are laced with clever wordplay, similes and metaphors.
He may creatively twist words, but he doesn’t want anyone to get him twisted. He’ll bust rhymes about the underbelly and materialism of black life just like any other rapper, but for him hip-hop is bigger than that.
Space’s influences are his “big bro” J-Biggs and cats like Jay-Z, Method Man and Red Man and other rappers with flows like 1995.
“There was a lot of good music then,” Space said. “You had to dissect it to get into it. And I held on to that as rap got dumbed down. Now it’s gold, chains and dope.”
One wouldn’t exactly characterize Space as a church boy, but to him, “Life isn’t always about gold chains and dope.”
He’ll be spitting a mix of projects with The Committee and new material from an upcoming album.
J-Biggs already has already signed off on his CD. It’s Remember Goldie and features a joints by core Committee members Space, Toyy, Santone and Jai Davis as well as their extended family.
The producers are Ronnie Notch, Big St. Lou (who has done work for Shauna and Erykah Badu), Stevie Blasts (who has laid tracks for Nelly) and Space.
Space tried his hand at producing and walked away with some pretty good beats, good enough to also show up on his own upcoming drop.
Space is proud to represent on his brother’s CD. Not just because J-Biggs is his brother – it’s all in the title.
While “Remember Goldie” may suggest the character from the cult film The Mack, which will resonate with many rap fans, it’s the name of their dear, late grandmother who passed two years ago.
J-Biggs recorded some songs while she was alive and completed it after her death in August, 2004.
Remember Goldie also represents J-Biggs as a solo artist, since his past work has been packaged in Committee projects.
He said the concert is a gearing up for his album release.
“I’ve been recording in these last two months more than ever in my life,” J-Biggs said. “You have to stay fresh, because St. Louis is so fickle.”
For Space, the concert represents his reinsertion into the public rap game.
“Everybody knows I can rap and put on a show, but rap ain’t fun anymore, so I’m going to bring the fun back,” Space said.
The two have been grinding the streets, getting their music and performance out there, but haven’t approached radio.
Space said he was about as interested in commercial radio as he is “watching a Styrofoam cup roll in the street.”
“I’m not going to say you don’t need radio, but you have myspace.com, the internet and college radio,” Space said. “There’s so many avenues you can take. You can put it on the internet and kids in China can listen.”
And what those kids in China and other hip-hop fans around the world will get is an earful of pure and clever hip-hop.
Space sums up The Committee here: Bust guns, cussing and fussing, but ya’ll ain’t talking ‘bout nothing/ zero lyrical content, hot beats with no substance/ This what we see with MCs that be fronting/ Committee put it down with that sound that say something.
The two had this to say about their being the sons of prominent parents, American photojournalist Wiley Price and Platinum Group president Leata Price Land: “We got the Pageant, we’re the ones out passing out flyers and it will be us up there on stage,” J-Biggs said.
Space added, “We’d be fools not to use our resources, but if people think it’s all hookup and no talent, we can battle.”
Special guests at the concert will include: Jai Davis, Santone, Toyy, MZ Queen, Geno (Tax Free), Gage (Perfect Strangers), Capo (Perfect Strangers), Printiss Church (Derrty ENT), Hakeem tha Dream, Trust (All Stars) and Mz Em (Badd Girl ENT).
Door open at 8 p.m. Show time is 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door, which includes free admission to the afterset at Dreams. Call 229-7453 or 398-7012.
