Shyheim - 4 The Headpiece (Interlude) feat. Down Low Recka, Du-Lilz, Rubbabandz

Details

Title	Shyheim - 4 The Headpiece (Interlude) feat. Down Low Recka, Du-Lilz, Rubbabandz
Author	The rap dude who knows a lot
Duration	2:03
File Format	MP3 / MP4
Original URL	https://youtube.com/watch?v=ux6_4FD9rlA

Description

13th track on Shyheims 1994 debut album "A.K.A. The Rugged Child"

When Shyheim dropped this album, he was 14 years old. And that's already the most remarkable thing about this LP. If you compare what he was lyrically capable of at his young age to what other "child rappers" did in the following years, you won't find anyone who comes even close. I would argue, even Eminems style on his first album "Infinite" (1996, when he was already in his early twenties) is not as refined as to what Shyheim delivered at a much younger age.
Shyheim is from Staten Island and was pretty much born into the surroundings of the Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah allegedly being one of his cousins. So it's not surprising that not only was he rooted there but also built his entire career in and around the Wu-Family.
And while other young rappers were clearly built up and marketed for the purpose of targeting young audiences, Shyheim did an album for grown-ups from the perspective of a kid. Hustling crack, prostitution, being shot in the streets - those are (among others) the topics on "A.K.A. The Rugged Child". And it becomes pretty clear that Shyheim didn't have to make that shit up, it was his reality.

So, if you put all of this together, his affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan, his skills, the things he rhymed about - and not to forget the pretty decent production by RNS - you can see why this album not only became an instant classic but also was very successful back in 94. And although 94 is known as one of the best years in Hip Hop history, in my opinion "AKA The Rugged Child" deserves a spot in the Top 10 of that year.
But it doesn't end there: Shyheim became so big for a certain period of time, that he shared the stage with Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Big Scoob and Big Daddy Kane in a legendary freestyle session in Madison Square Garden in 1995 (they all sound very angry tho). As far as I know - and as far as Shyheim himself says it - that was the only time Tupac and Biggie ever shared the stage for a freestyle session.
Shyheim would then proceed to acting, playing roles in TLCs video "Waterfalls" and in movies, he would collaborate with other big names such as Big L and overall be quite successful.
And no matter, how bad Shyheims career went after all that, nobody can take those things from him.
Because the downfall eventually came. His albums became less successful and he started to get in conflict with the law. In 2014 he really fucked up and killed someone in a hit and run incident. He went to prison for that an was released 2020. And thats it, I guess. Discogs lists a mixtape with french rapper Enza as a release from 2022, but on YouTube the upload was 8 years ago. So, nothing new here.
But if you want to know more about Shyheims life, you can check an interview DJVlad did with him after he was released from prison. That shit is wild. And Shyheim comes across as a very thoughtful and well reflected man.

I do not own any rights to this, I just see it as my duty to share the rap music gems no one knows about (anymore).