Jemini The Gifted One's debut EP, Scars and Pain, "merely serves as an appetizer for his upcoming album, most likely due to drop sometime next year. Straight out of East New York, Jemini is a lyrical king of complexity, utilizing words, lines and phrases to their fullest potential. He notes Rakim and Melle Mel as influences due to their ability to paint pictures in your mind so that you can see what they're talking about the first time you hear them. The 25-year old follows in his idols' footsteps in doing so... "You leave [interpretation] up to the listener. All you can try to do is write good songs," says Jemini. And good songs are definitely what he writes. Productionwise, the seven-track EP and the upcoming album are the products of a diverse production team led by the likes of Prince Paul, Organized Konfusion and the Fat Man. Despite the diversity behind the boards, each track has a similar design: hard drums complemented by horn, piano and voice samples. The first single, "Brooklyn Kids," chronicles Bucktown street life in the '80s, with plenty of guns, shanks and jacking-people-for-their-gear to go around... The screeching sound effects in the song's break seem to mimic police sirens, symbolizing the constant race that the game of street survival becomes." Cont'd below...
"Scars and Pain," the title track, is purely old-school flavor, with a slow tempo and a horn loop that seems to drag itself across the rhythm of the song. The title personifies the lyrics, a self-tribute to the difficulties of being young, Black and struggling in NYC. The second single, "Funk Soul Sensation," is the most innovative inclusion on Scars and Pain. Here Jemini utilizes a sort of call-and-response technique, with short verses delivered in two different tones of voices, creating the illusion of two MCs rhyming when there is only one. The Gifted One's full of surprises, surprises he definitely feels will shine through on the album. "It's gonna be nine to ten classic hardcore records," he promises, "because I'm always representin'." The most important element in Jemini's music is staying true to himself.... "I want to make good songs that people enjoy listening to, because when I do that I always get the inspiration to make another song." - Rap Pages, 6/95.
