Rappers from The Empire State have always taken great pride in their craft, to the point where it’s tough to argue about where hip hop’s poetic standards were set. They didn’t revolutionize the game and raise the stakes by trying to create the catchiest hook, it’s about who can hit the hardest with the mic in hand. When you think about New York rap, you think of a gritty underground flavor glorified by raw cuts and elite lyricism that attacks the microphone’s proverbial jugular.
One of the unquestioned leaders of elevating that bravado is The Bronx’s own Lord Finesse, whose talents were introduced to hip hop in the late 80s on the strength of his vigorous microphone presence. When Lord Finesse grabbed the mic, he did it with a level of confidence so supreme that it transferred from his vocal cords to the soul of his listeners. The lyrical assassin captured his aura and constantly turned heads with strong wordplay, metaphors, similes, seductive multi-syllable rhyme schemes and a prodigious ability to concoct punchlines with the best of them.
Finesse isn’t anything to play with on the breaks, either. As raw as he was on the mic, he was equally impressive of a producer. Aside from producing a large portion of his own music, he worked with some of the top names in the game along the way. You can thank him for putting Big L on and also producing five tracks on L’s debut album
Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, including “‘
98 Freestyle,” “
Street Struck” and hit single “
M.V.P.” The Notorious B.I.G.’s “
Suicidal Thoughts” was also done by Lord Finesse and you can find him on cuts from O.C.’s first two albums as well as “
Add On” from Showbiz & A.G.’s
Goodfellas. For a more recent example, Finesse created “
Funky Ho’$” from Joey Bada$$’ highly publicized mixtape
1999.
Lord Finesse is one of the best rappers and producers of his time and generally speaking, it’s a shame how little he is mentioned. His sales simply do not reflect on how good he is at his craft or the influence he had on the come up. He never conquered the commercial scene, but make no mistake about it, Lord Finesse is one of the all-time greatest punchline rappers and lyricists to ever grace the mic.
Hip hop wouldn’t be the same without him. As he notes on “Hip 2 Da Game,” “rap without Finesse is like life without oxygen.”
