Scientifik

Scientifik

Genres: Hip-Hop, underground hip-hop, old school, rap, boston

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About Scientifik

A pioneer of Boston hip hop, rapper Scientifik (Born Dinitry A. Behrmann on July 24, 1972; died June 4, 1998) recorded at least two LPs in the 90s (Criminal and The Most Blunted, if he finished the Black Jesus album it would've been three.) But it is Criminal, which was denied a proper domestic release due to industry politricks, that lives on in the boom-bap afterlife of folklore, vinyl bootleg, hissy dub, and mp3 download. Criminal boasts a mid-90s dream team of producers – deities RZA, Buckwild, and Diamond D contribute beats – as well as a tragic, dramatic back story. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this record retains a cult following. It ain’t hard to tell why the music is still captivating. On the mic Scientifik is certainly competent, and by 1994 standards he operates correctly, dropping jewelz and relating crime sagas in a soldierly, commanding voice that flexes just enough to reveal his famished intensity. It doesn’t hurt that some of the beats are absolutely tremendous bangers. The mid-album string of “Jungles Of Da East,” “I Got Plans,” and “Lawtown” is as good as it gets; each song typifies that ol’ brooding, moody, Gotham City at midnight hardcore rap sound that safe harbor mixshow DJs and their insomniac fans once coveted. Criminal is a work teeming with skills that successfully panders to the consensus of aficionados; this is the album’s primary strength and its ultimate weakness. Even if we adjust for the era’s overflow of beloved gems and our current nostalgia for the cerebral street music of yesterday, we are left with mega-quality sans distinction. Guest verses from hugely magnetic legends Diamond D and Ed OG only accentuate Scientifik’s dearth of album-carrying charisma. Criminal lacks the dimension and enjoyability of similarly shelved and/or sabotaged mid-90s projects like Jemini the Gifted One’s Scars and Pain, even if its standout songs shine brighter. Early life: Behrmann was born in 1972 in Flatbush, Brooklyn as the third youngest of four children. His mother died when he was 10 years old, so Behrmann and his siblings went to live with their grandmother and aunt in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Behrmann had already begun rapping by the time his family made the move, and soon became a local star on the city's growing hip hop scene under the stage name MC D-1. Full info on his career: In 1990, Behrmann entered a rhyme contest hosted at Club Seven in New Hampshire, and battled a rapper by the name of Ed O.G, who would soon became a star in the Boston hip hop scene. Behrmann won the battle, and later built up a friendship with Ed, who would go on to executive produce Behrmann's debut album. Behrmann attended Lawrence High School, but became so busy with his hip hop career that he dropped out two months prior to graduation. Scientifik signed to the definite. label sometime in the early 1990s. He released the single "Jungles of da East" in 1994, which was soon followed by his debut album Criminal. Although the album featured an all-star production team, it received minimal promotional support. Behrmann ended up selling copies of the album out of his trunk around Massachusetts, and got local college radio stations to play songs from the album. Towards the end of his career, Behrmann became interested in religion, self-help and philosophy, and these things became prevalent in his lyrics. His lyrics contained many references to the Five-Percent Nation and Louis Farrakhan. He began to spend more time in New York to secure another all-star lineup for his sophomore (Techincally his third album) project, Black Jesus. Towards the end of his life, he went through a mental crisis, and began to seek psychological counselling. His tragic death: On 4 June 1998, Behrmann was driving on the Interstate 495 in a maroon Toyota sedan when it is believed that he shot his girlfriend Beverly Cora before shooting and killing himself at 3:30 p.m. near the Route 213 exit. The car careened off the highway, struck a tree, and rolled over several times. A 9 mm handgun allegedly used by Behrmann was found by police about twenty feet away from the vehicle. The couple had been together for eleven years, and had no history of violence. No motive has ever been determined.

Taken from Last.fm

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