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Papa Shawn Boo tackles tough subject matter on ‘Almost50’
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Victor D. Infante
Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
There are times you can be listening to a track on Worcester hip-hop artist Papa Shawn Boo’s latest album, “Almost50,” and you just get caught up in the groove, in the rapper’s innate ability to deliver tight rhymes with a sense of effortless cool. Then, there are other times when you listen to the album and you hear something that makes you think, “This is messed up.” There are points on the album which are deeply uncomfortable, but the overall narrative Papa Shawn –who formerly performed as KQAUZ – creates is one of looking back at life as one approaches the age of 50, and taking ownership of both the mistakes he’s made and the trauma which has been inflicted on him. Papa Shawn takes a lot of the narrative of rapper braggadocio, and then upends the tropes, revealing the human mess underneath it all. It’s not always easy, but it IS effective.
The album begins with the swaggering “I Love That,” which serves as a sort of mission statement for the album: “I went from underdog/to being in charge/that’s how I know there is a God,” he raps. “I went from behind the bars/ kept in the yard/now I’ve got a job/I love that you discriminate/you think I can’t rehabilitate.” Ultimately, this entire album is about growing up and changing, and that’s what’s illustrated here: That you’re not a captive of your past. Still, there’s some glee as he shoots down the naysayers, and it’s utterly earned. In a lot of ways, the next song, the battle rapfueled “Challenge,” inverts the prior song’s theme: “I’m almost 50,” he raps, “my lifestyle’s valid.” Then, he has some fun talking smack about newbie rappers coming up behind him, offering to give them some help: “First class I’ll ask/
Papa Shawn Boo's most recent album is "Almost50."
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dles and thread, incantations and what have you.
And I loved how he bribed coroners for autopsy reports and butted heads regularly with law enforcement authorities and his editor who was always forced to squash the story. The banter was priceless.
Not only did “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” make being a reporter look dangerous and cool, it made me want to become a reporter uncovering the big story, no matter how thankless and Sisyphean the task. You could hold your head up high as you rode out of town (and you would be arrested if you ever returned) after uncovering the truth and stopping an unconceivable evil from killing again, even though no one would ever know or read about it.
I always wanted a true Kolchak moment to call my own. But there are only so many vampires, zombies, werewolves, killer robots, invisible aliens, devil dogs, prehistoric primates, humanoid lizards, witches, medieval knights with anger management issues, headless motorcyclists with axes to grind, succubae and Spanish moss murderers to uncover.
Then, in the summer of 2017, it looked like was going to have my first, fullfledged Carl Kolchak moment, when the grisly discovery of three dead baby Nigerian Dwarf goats (one in North Brookfield and two in West Brookfield) put the good, God-fearing people of the Brookfields in fear, while the local authorities searched for answers to no avail.
Not only were the three baby goats’ necks snapped, the animals were found on the back porch and twisted around to face anyone coming out of the house. All evidence pointed to a very sick individual, not an animal, killing the pets. You think? Or maybe an evil, so unthinkable, and older than time itself.
In full Kolchak mode, I started poking around for the dark truth and prepared to butt heads with local police at an expected press conference. And like any good Kolchak premise, it started with an opening voiceover as I drove into town.
“If by chance you wander into the Brookfields on August 7 of this year and your name was Billy or Nanny or Scape, you would have had good reason to be terrified. During this time, the Brookfields were stalked by a horror so frightening, so fascinating, that it ranks with the great unsolved mysteries of all time. It’s been the fictional subject of films, plays, even an opera. Now, here, are the true facts of the Jack the Goat’s Neck Snapper.”
Not only did I have an opening voiceover, I had my list of questions ready to shoot off to the local authorities. First, I would start sheepishly with my questions, none of which were based in fact.
“Chief, do we have a serial goat killer on our hands?”
“Is it true that all the goats’ necks were snapped from the inside out?”
“Isn’t it true that the three goats were drained of every drop of blood and the goats had two puncture wounds on the back of the neck (pointing with two fingers) that were made by the fangs of a vampire?”
“Isn’t it true that the goat killings are part of a voodoo ritual that the board of selectmen have been conducting for centuries to combat the ravages of time?”
“Isn’t it true that there was a series of unsolved ritualistic goat killings strikingly similar to these 117 years ago done by the same neck snapper?”
Then, I would become more accusatory with my questions, like I was the big, bad wolf.
“Chief, you have two choices — admit you have a serial goat killer on your hands or keep telling the public that the goats died of self-inflicted wounds and poised themselves in provocative poses, post-mortem, by themselves?”
“How many goats’ necks have to be snapped before you take your head out of your (expletive)?”
Then I would end with the big finish.
“The goat killer will kill again and keep killing unless you equip your police force with crosses, stakes, hammers and a pocketful of hay. Take your hands off me,” I said as I abruptly ran out of the station and we broke to commercial.
To my chagrin, the press conference didn’t happen, which, in the long run, is probably a good thing as far as my job is concerned. But, I so wanted that Kolchak moment.
Last year, in the heart of the pandemic, I decided it was time to show my everlasting kinship with Kolchak at the only place you can dress up as a fictional character and not get ridiculed for it.
No, I’m not talking Provincetown. I’m talking at a comic con, in this case Rhode Island and the NorthEast comic cons.
And, unlike the others dressed in costumes of super-heroes, time lords and extraterrestrial creature, I would bet that I was the only one who dressed as a fictional character from pop culture who actually followed that career path,
To my surprise, a lot of people realized who I was dressed as, even a woman in her early 20s who needed to take a picture with me to show to her father, who turned her onto “The Night Stalker.”
Finally, my Kolchak moment.
One thing the last two years has made me is very nostalgic, very nostalgic of movies, television and music of my youth that were so much better written, acted and sung than most of the pop culture being offered today.
And while I usually try to celebrate NOT to lament someone who lived a long, productive life, the loss of Sidney Poitier, 94, has made a personal impact on me.
Easily one of the greatest actors to ever live, Sidney Poitier lives on with the great body of work he produced over the years, including “Blackboard Jungle,” “The Defiant Ones,” “Lilies of the Field,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “In the Heat of the Night” and my personal favorite, “To Sir, with Love.”
Everything Poitier was ever in is a bona fide classic and he always gave a larger-than-life performance even when he was subtle and showed nuance. Poitier said more in his telling eyes than most actors say in loud gestures. Truly, a one of a kind actor.
Do yourself a favor. Watch “To Sir, with Love” or any of the above mentioned classics again. Better yet, watch it with someone who has never seen a real Sidney Poitier movie before and watch the magic of Sidney Poitier unfold in their eyes.
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’Do you know what a rhyme is?/OK, let’s write it down, kids.”
It’s a good laugh, but things take a turn with what he calls, “the realest (expletive) I ever wrote,” the song “10 Kids 5 Baby Mommas.” It’s hard not to hear the hectoring voice of disapproval in your ear as his persona raps about having his first child at 17. “I was cool,” he raps, “so I dropped out of school.” This is, musically speaking, a bit of a trap for the listener: It’s clear Papa Shawn knows that in a lot of contemporary rap, this would be where the story ends, but he revisits the themes here repeatedly throughout the album, each song adding a layer to the story. Still, here he’s playing up the cool rapper image, reveling in youthful folly. The thread rolls on into the extremely catchy, “Mic Check 1213.”
It’s the next song, the moody “I Wrote It,” where Papa Shawn begins to subvert tropes, where his persona recalls fathering his first child. The persona here is scared and broke, but also excited about being a father. He begins building a life, envisioning a future, not knowing it was built on an unsteady foundation: “She said, ‘We can get on Welfare’/I was like, ‘Oh, hell yeah/maybe we could get food stamps/I was young/I was so scared.” There’s something affecting about the song’s honesty and sense of perspective, a point of view he reinforces in the next song, “Howcome?” Here, he runs across an old friend, and wonders how their kids don’t know each other, even though they were once close and both still live in the city. Again, there’s an honesty about the song, about how people grow apart with age, and you can’t always remember why, or even if there are amends that need to be made. We grow up. We change.
After the R&B sizzle of “All She Does,” we enter an odd section of the album, beginning with the song “LUCID,” wherein the persona expresses contempt for his lover’s intelligence, and then, “She’s Sneaky,” which is raunchy to the point of discomfort. Of these three, the first is blisteringly engaging, and the latter two are, frankly, hard to like if they’re not already to your taste. They’re not pointless, though: All of them portray a disconnect between the persona and his partner. Something is
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Richard Duckett and Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK
Editor’s Note: Because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, all events are subject to change. Please visit Worcestermag.com and Telegram.com for changes, and consult the venue’s website or social media before attending.
Evanescence will perform Jan. 20 at the DCU Center in Worcester.
PHOTO COURTESY KALEY NELSON
Ready to Rock
Evanescence and Halestorm are two great heavy metal bands fronted respectively by two Queens of Rock, Amy Lee and Lzzy Hale. It is Lee and Hale’s friendship that is largely responsible for Evanescence and Halestorm going on a groundbreaking U.S. tour together. The tour was scheduled to bring them (and guest Lilith Czar) to the DCU Center Dec. 18. However, due to multiple COVID-19 cases within the touring party, the show has been postponed to Jan. 20. It will still be a major rock event. (RD)
What: Evanescence with Halestorm and Lilith Czar When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20 Where: DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester How much: Tickets starting at $35. www.Ticketmaster.com. Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72-hours prior to event entry are required.
An Album to ‘Covet’
“Covet,” the 2020 album by Reverend Dan and The Dirty Catechism, is an absolutely delightful blast of punk, one that somehow manages to remain surprising from song to song. “I Guess,” for example is a fun and engaging pop punk tune, bright and enthusiastic. Compare that to the next song, the Pogues-esque drinking song, “Come Back to Me,” and you might easily think it’s from a different band. But no, it’s just an example of the band’s immense range, one it maintains even on more pyrotechnic songs such as “Circus Fire” or “Chasing After You.” The band’s commitment is evident on each track, and it makes the album immensely listenable. (VDI) What: The Dirty Catechism, Think Machine, Hardcore Driven and Crimson Wing When: 8 p.m. Jan. 15 Where: Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester How much: $10
ValleyCAST, the arts and culture arm of Open Sky Community Services, has collaborated with the New England Sculptors Association to bring a unique member exhibit of sculpture to the Whitin Mill in Whitinsville titled “Inside & Out.” Over 30 sculptures are included in the exhibit and displayed inside the gallery, out on the Community Plaza, and around the grounds of the Mill Complex. Artists from all over New England are represented. Viewing begins Jan. 18; call or email the receptionist to schedule a visit: (508) 234-6232, Dorcas.Carlson@openskycs.org. Prizes for favorites will be awarded by people’s choice for first, second, and third place. Voting ends Feb. 23. There will be a closing reception and awards ceremony from “Owl,” by R. Douglass Rice. SUBMITTED PHOTO 5 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25. (RD) What: “Inside & Out” Where: Spaulding R. Aldrich Heritage Gallery, 50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville When: Regular gallery hours Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Closed Jan. 17 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Feb. 21 for Presidents Day. www.openskycs.org.
