Peace 586

After more than 15 years of creating a diverse and innovative collection of hip-hop hits, Rene Vasquez (Peace 586) is literally a living legend. Known for his years in the pioneering Christian hip-hop crew Freedom of Soul and more recently for his solo efforts Risen Son and 586, Peace 586 returns to the scene for possibly his last album in Generations. “The vision of this record was to show how...

After more than 15 years of creating a diverse and innovative collection of hip-hop hits, Rene Vasquez (Peace 586) is literally a living legend. Known for his years in the pioneering Christian hip-hop crew Freedom of Soul and more recently for his solo efforts Risen Son and 586, Peace 586 returns to the scene for possibly his last album in Generations. “The vision of this record was to show how God has used me throughout he years,” Peace 586 says. “I wanted to reconnect with the old school emcees and crews for one last time and show how I’ve been an inspiration to the future of this side of hip-hop as well.” On Generations, Peace 586 collaborates with some of the brightest stars in hip-hop including Pigeon John, LPG, Raphi, Remnant, and Mass Reality. He also brings old-school emcees I.D.O.L. King and Noel Arthurton of the Dynamic Twins out of hiding and collaborates once again with longtime friends Sup the Chemist of SFC and R&B icon Jon Gibson. The song with Gibson, Love’s Still There, is the album’s first single. It revisits the theme of their first collaborative effort This is Love from Freedom of Soul’s 1991 album Caught in a Land of Time. Peace 586 explains, “I said to Jon, ‘We did the This is Love thing, let’s just piggy back on it and tell ‘em that the love is still there’. He said ‘cool, that’s a good idea’. I wrote the rap verses first and he figured out the structure of the song and it was done.” The song carries the same message as the original, one of simple appreciation for God’s love. “It’s the only way that I can best describe our relationship,” Peace 586 says. “After everything I’ve done in my life, I’ms till loved by God. All my faults, all the wrong things I’ve done – God still loves me. And if He can love me, He can love anybody else.” The song Respect, with Noel Arthurton of the Dynamic Twins, is also very meaningful to Peace 586. “It was cool hooking up ‘cuz we got to touch base and talk because I haven’t seen him in 5 years. We got to talk about old times and reconnect about music.” While the two veterans were talking, they both noticed they were dealing with a disturbing trend: the new school was taking the old school for granted, and not thanking them for being trailblazers. “Young kids are still treating us as if we’re no-ones and not giving us credit for them getting their record deals or them getting their props.” Peace 586 says. “I just don’t feel respected sometimes – and he felt the same way, so we just wrote some verses on how we feel.” Mourning for the Art is another moving piece on the album, and features Sev Statik. “The idea for the song was pretty much Dax’s idea,” Peace 586 says. “It’s about how me and Sev Statik were both originally from New York and how hip-hop started there and it’s just not the same,” says Peace 586. “Dax just wanted to put us together and have something about how we long for the true artform to come back.” Progress featuring I.D.O.L. King is another highlight on the album, featuring a chilled-out bassline and soft strings. Peace 586 says that the song talks about how all emcees representing Christ should focus more on the fact they represent the same cause and lesson doctrinal differences. Uprok Records PO Box 12698 Seattle WA 98111 www.uprokrecords.com E Everything I is a song that features the first-ever appearance of the Saturday Night Freestylers, a band formed by Zane of the Tunnel Rats. The song is sure to be a favorite for many, with a melodic, singsong chorus and carefree rhyming. The album is capped with the anthem Here for Years, a song boldly proclaiming the lngevity of Peace and the Tunnel Rats over a processional trumpet sample. The song features Propoganda, Macho and Dokument of the Tunnel Rats. Generations boasts an impressive array of music production – handled primarily by Dert of the Tunnel Rats. Although Peace 586 is well known for his boom-bap beats, Dert explains that both Peace and the Tunnel Rats felt it was best for him to concentrate more on his rhymes for Generations for the album to really make a markt. “He has been througha lot and has helped a lot of people and if I can help him out and our team by contributing to a good album... it’s all good,” Dert says. “And yeah, I wanted to help bridge the gap from old to new with one of Christian hip-hop’s most respected veteran emcees.” Peace 586 says Generations more accurately portrays his abilities than his last release, 586. He also says he is counting his blessings to have been able to accomplish all he has in hip-hop. “I’m proud of this record because it shows me that I have favor with God and other industry cats,” Peace 586 says, “I never burned nobody and when everyone talks about me its always positive. That show in the record. I don’t think anyone in the Gospel industry could have done what we’ve done with this record, from the gathering of all crews to the production and the making of these songs!”