Hedi LaMarr Photography
The BPS sound is a throwback to hip-hop of the 1980s and early ’90s.
Rap is about much more than violence. It’s about community. It’s about connecting with others.
And the Black Poets Society — a local, live hip-hop band from the 1990s — is bringing back its unique brand of uplifting rhymes and positive vibes to prove it.
“Why can’t we talk about the black kid who’s graduating from college to become a doctor? Or the young Latino kid who’s the first in his family to graduate high school?” asks Seth Yosef, one of the Black Poets MCs, who goes by Row on stage. “Those stories [about violence by other rappers] are important because that’s what’s real for them, but there’s other topics to be discussed too.”
The group — also known as BPS — will bring their positive raps about good times, achieving one’s best and elevating one’s mind when they hit the stage for their second annual reunion show July 1 at the High Noon Saloon.
A crew of eight that includes a handful of MCs and many musicians, the BPS sound is a throwback to old-school rap from the 1980s and early ’90s, when songs about parties and romantic pursuits got you dancing and your heart racing.
When they first got together in the early ’90s, the group “tried to mimic our favorite artists like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest,” says Lacouir Yancey, who plays bass and raps under the name Bboy Spirit.
Others in the group include guitarist and MC Adem Tesfaye (who goes by D-iZ-iLL), drummer Nathan Greer (Stank Foot), guitarist David Anderson (DaV), drummer and MC Yorel Lashley (Thesis), keyboardist Ricky Flowers (FloRoc) and Theodore Yancey (The), another MC.
BPS formed after a few of the members started rapping at house parties and asked other musicians to join. After gaining a buzz, they recorded some songs and became the go-to local act that promoters booked to open for national rappers who came through town, including the Pharcyde, Guru’s Jazzmatazz and even their idols De La Soul.
A spin through their limited but energetic catalog shows a passion for life. The title track from the first BPS mixtape, Concepts, released in 1993, centers on what we can learn from personal interactions, while “AOF (Assessment of Freshness)” is a classic posse cut, with each MC boasting about his lyrical skill.
The Black Poets Society released a second mixtape, In Our Society, in 1995, but disbanded a couple of years later. Although they drifted apart musically and pursued different paths, the members always stayed in close contact with one another. They played their first reunion show last year.
Now ranging from their late 30s to mid-40s, the members have become seasoned musicians.
“We’re right in that age range to know what we want and where we’ve done enough not to go back,” says Yancey. “We’re good where we are.”
They plan to release a new full-length record sometime next year, Yancey says, and will perform material from a new mixtape at the July 1 show. But they’ll play old stuff, too, and fans from the past can expect that same old BPS vibe.
“We’ve always been about positivity. We’ve always been about family. We’ve always been about growth,” says Yosef. “You can expect a big jam session at the show. And you can expect to be dancing.”
