An Evening with Sheist Bubz

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to kick it in the studio with one of Harlem’s finest, Sheist Bubz. In case you didn’t know, Sheist is known for many things: moving discs as a stalwart of the mixtape circuit, holding it down as a long-standing Dipset affiliate, calling himself “the Emperor,” and being a Varsity letterman in 10th grade. But having enjoyed the pleasure of spending a couple “Purple City” certified hours with him on Saturday (get me!?), I now know there’s a lot more than meets the eye. Sheist is not only one of the more gracious and genuinely funny guys I’ve met in a while, but he’s also full of surprises—like when he pulled out a membership to the New York Racquet Club and proceeded to describe a tennis outfit that included more Gucci items than I knew existed. I sincerely hope we’ll get the chance to play in the near future. Sheist Vs. Gritz: Battle of the Sexists. (Only joking—neither of us are sexists.)

I first caught the Dipset bug in the summer of ‘03, starting with More Than Music. It wasn’t long before I’d dug through all the mixtapes and solo albums on offer and began checking for extended Dip fam (something I never did with Wu-Tang, incidentally). Aside from the “Purple City Byrdgang” banger, Shiest and Co. caught my attention with 2005’s unexpected Paris to Purple City, which featured collaborations with eight French artists. Not every track worked, but I appreciated the ambition and desire to push beyond the same ol’ same.

(Random sidenote: another great example of Purple City ambition occurred when I was interning at National Public Radio. One of my duties was to open the mail, generally consisting of mad books, CDs, and press releases for things that might in some way appeal to NPR’s uber-liberal, Crocs-wearing, middle-aged white core audience. Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I opened a package and found The Don Bishop Agallah’s You Already Know album. At first I was like, “Know thy audience, Agallah!”, but on second thought I appreciated the effort—as well the fact that no one on staff argued with me taking it home.)

Anyway, the best part about Bubz is that he keeps it 100% independent and doesn’t seem content to just be another cog in the machine of low-budget rap music. He’s got a hilarious idea for a show in the works, and if I walked away from the evening with one thought, it’s that somehow, some way, this man needs to be on TV.

Look out for Penthouse Music coming soon, and check Sheist’s new video for the track “Playboy Swagg”:

What’s really Gucci!?!?! (© Sheist Bubz)