2018 was a year I’ll never forget.
ComeToKyova was conceptualized late in 2017 and at that point in time, I was right in the center of a creative explosion that was happening in Ironton and Ashland. Movies of an ambitious group of Ashland filmmakers were flying off the shelves, and a crossover with the Ironton rap scene surely paved the way for future generations of creatives to make their own waves in the depressed Appalachian rust belt region.
I first met Ironton, Ohio rapper Rob Pimp on a movie set, and we became good friends and collaborators immediately; bonded by fictional torture, our visions aligned. Despite no formal name for the movement at the time, we were determined to see this burgeoning Kyova renaissance through to the end.
Enter: Pimp Chronicles, originally a ten-track mixtape that featured Rob Pimp rapping over a variety of sounds and cementing his status as the king of Iron City.
I remember it like it was yesterday, and Rob Pimp had asked me to do the artwork for the album. Passionate about photography at the time, I jumped all over the offer. More than anything, I loved contributing to the art in any way I could, and I made my contributions through pieces of album artwork: some classic, and some forgettable, but the experimentation was there. Having failed to release my own music, I had given up on my rap dreams, but I lived vicariously through this mixtape and the slew of other tracks that came out of the microregion in those few years.
Instead of the original vocal intro which has been deleted from Soundcloud, we start with “Dial Again,” and Rob Pimp immediately sets the tone for what you’re about to experience with a long-winded bar: “You thought it was gonna be a love story, Rob Pimp turned it into an action flick, I’m the man that realize that he want something then turn around and go after it and this rap game I’ve mastered it.” Rob Pimp mentions his phone blowing up and how he wishes he could just turn it off and relax a bit, urging listeners of his voicemail to dial again. “Fuck being best alive, I wanna be best ever,” proclaims Rob Pimp, understanding the mission: to become the best rapper Ironton has ever seen, and make his claim for best rapper ever. Meanwhile, LA comes in with a fast-paced verse culminating in his claim that he has the crown. A banger of a song, Dial Again serves as the perfect intro to this classic mixtape.
We find ourselves listening to a staticky G-funk beat with keys that sound like they’re synthesized in cursive. A nice little tone that works exceptionally with the groovy, funky bassline jumping in the background while Rob Pimp raps about meeting a girl at a party and seducing her by rolling up some weed and flying through the city. Rob Pimp fantasizes about the things that he would do to her and we get a second verse from Rob Pimp about similar subject matter before the club banger that never really saw much club play ends, leading directly into “Skit,” a film interlude about love and war, vulnerability, and loss.
“Figured I’d Tell You” comes in with a soft bouncing synth and a producer tag is heard, but I couldn’t make out the producer’s name. Rob Pimp sings “I know you didn’t wanna hear this, but I just figured I’d tell you, I know if I only had one wish, that wish would be to take care of you.” We see a clear progression and a narrative starting to appear here as Rob Pimp raps about beach vacations and taking care of the girl that he loves, presumably the one that he met at the party in the previous song. The second verse takes a different turn, likening his lover’s heart to a “black hole” and racing to catch her attention, claiming in the process that he has good vision and that he’s got his sights set on her. The chorus comes back in, and we hear the producer tag again while Rob Pimp repeats the first lines of the chorus a couple of times before the song ends.
Next up is a dark, menacing beat that takes quite a while to drop while we listen to another sample seemingly coming from a film, and the narrator talks about understanding scary signs. “Gotta stay down with the homies that was loyal to you when you start feeling like you’re on the way up,” raps Rob Pimp, citing his loyalty to his day ones. “I plan on stealing the throne with my posse and if that’s considered conspiracy, then Mrs. Clinton you got me,” is a funny, time capsule of a line regarding former Secretary of State and Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. “Remember that you get what you asked for” warns Rob Pimp, claiming that he’s “going far with this rap shit.” The most powerful line in the song, however, is “If you’re gonna be the one to tell me that I ain’t gonna make it I’mma tell you to go watch one of my movies.” Rob Pimp understands that his background as a versatile creative artist and performer runs deep like a battle wound.
“God Touch” starts off with a Legend of Zelda sample, a flute run through a distortion plugin to give a soft, saw synth vibe. Rob Pimp comes in with his signature machine gun flows, trading bars with fellow Ironton-rapper Klique, detailing their party lifestyle and love for drugs, guns, and rap music. “Me and your bitch had to part ways, she ain’t like the way I call plays, got the vision like a QB, I’ll take it back to Brett Favre days” rap Rob Pimp and Klique, before a brief respite and descent back into rap battle bliss. This is one of my favorite songs to ever come out of this region, and it has served as a major inspiration for this blog itself. Maybe you just had to be there for it to really make sense, but at one point in time I was convinced that this was the song that would blow the movement out of the water.
“Cold Man” is another dark and booming beat, with deep 808s and rising transition sound effects, as well as a psychedelic g-funk synth rising and falling while Klique leads with an intro verse and sings a hook about his coldness. This is the only skip on the album for me, as I find the chorus to be a little bit too repetitive and lacking intensity. The highlight of the song, though, is LA’s verse, switching from a fast flow to a laid back, drug-induced melodic singing, demanding that the listener not ask him where he’s going right now cause he is too cold to know where he’s going.
“Vibez” starts off with a bouncy synth and a hopping beat with a nice hi-hat pattern as Klique’s vocals about riding around and smoking with a love interest who knows every word to his songs flow like water. Klique’s vocals continue through a bridge before Rob Pimp comes in with a strong verse about how his team is up next and exposing the snakes in the process. Once again, for the second time in a row, LA comes in and steals the show with his infectious melodic singing and rapping about being focused on the “big shit”, making moves, and getting bread up. “This is that vibe can you feel it though?” He raps about being on the rise, and asks again “you can feel it huh?” I felt it. We all felt it.
The closer to the mixtape, “Mine,” features fellow Ironton-rapper Mac Carter, reminiscing on their early days of uploading music on MySpace, and comparing those days to how much has changed now. A chorus about a bunch of bad bitches and smoking strong weed is loud and powerful. Rob Pimp comes in with a braggadocio verse representing his rap prowess before heading back into the chorus, which serves as a prelude to Mac Carter’s verse about stacking dollar signs, having a bad bitch, and his whole squad being committed to the process. The beat decreases in intensity and fades out.
Pimp Chronicles is a classic mixtape to me because it represents a total unequivocal wave.
It encapsulates a moment in time when a group of talented individuals from a specific region came together, fueled by a shared passion and ambition. Their collective energy and creativity resonated through the music, making it more than just a collection of songs. It became a symbol of their movement, their struggles, and their triumphs.
Pimp Chronicles serves as a reminder of the power of collaboration, the importance of staying true to your roots, and the undeniable impact that a dedicated community can have on shaping the cultural landscape. It’s a testament to the enduring spirit of artistic expression and the ability of music to transcend boundaries and connect people on a deeper level.
Long live Pimp Chronicles. Long live 2018.