Sparrow – Rhyme Impotence (Throwback, 1995)

“Rhyme impotence, you can’t get hard cos you ain’t that hard // Rhyme impotence, you can’t get hard on the mic…”

I haven’t done a throwback in a long, long time (if I shared around my last throwback that would be a throwback too, so that’s a throwback to a throwback which is all too meta for my liking) but when this jam reentered my rotation my impulse swayed me to share this with those not lucky enough to have heard it. So, enter ‘Rhyme Impotence‘ from Baltimore duo Sparrow The Movement, who have without a doubt created one of the best hooks in hip hop. MC Fla-Fla provides the lyrics while DJ/producer SO12 is on the beat, formed of an intense string lick, dusty drums and a banging bass. One of my all time favourite tracks without a doubt. It’s recognition as one of the underground classics is demonstrated in its vinyl market, as on Discogs you’ll be looking at prices pushing $200, and remains the only record they’ve released … so far… Check after the jump to see where to purchase it digitally.

Now – and this is crazy – while I was looking around on this I noticed that Sparrow have an album coming out, Physics (which is also the title of the track which features with Rhyme Impotence on the 12″), later this year on SIX2SIX records. Featuring both tracks from their classic record as well as others recorded around their ’94/’95 era, Physics promises to be just that straight, raw, unadulterated dark boom bap. I don’t know what’s happening regarding release dates – seems like it’s September though – but I am truly excited to see how this comes out.

 Purchase ‘Rhyme Impotence‘: Bandcamp