S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.

When it comes to rap in pop culture, there are two types of people: those who generalize rap as a bad form of music that’s “just talking [over a beat] about drugs, sex, money, and violence,” and those who like the terrible, simple, monotonous garbage that infiltrates the radio. But since 1999, there has been a man who defies the stereotypes all the while re-setting the standard. A real street poet who lives the gospel he preaches, One Be Lo.

After robbing a pizza parlor in his hometown of Pontiac, Michigan in early 1994, he and Senim Silla were sentenced to 3-20 years in prison for armed robbery. After being released, One Be Lo formed Binary Star with Senim Silla, but they broke apart after two albums. His third album, Sounds of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music, or S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., is indicative of the higher intelligence present in hip-hop.