Songs Rhino loves, #22: G Yamazawa - “North Cack” [original mix] (ft. Joshua Gunn & Kane Smego)
A North Carolina anthem.
It occurred the other day that I was reminded of a discussion I had hosted on Facebook back in May of this year about rappers who are not often mentioned as being among the greats but who deserve to be listed in that kind of company, and a friend of mine by the name of Ryan Black who knows rap very well suggested the very underrated G Yamazawa, a Japanese-American rapper who is from North Carolina. Here’s what I said to Ryan Black when he brought G Yamazwa’s name up:
“Oh man, G Yamazawa is an animal! The original 2017 mix of “North Cack” with Joshua Gunn and Kane Smego on it is a banger, an anthem, and a classic. Yamazawa says, “I’m the truth, man – you lookin’ real false”, and then he says, “I’m Carolina barbecue sauce with the ‘slaw”, and then he says, “I’m the safe, the seller, and the vault”, and then he says, “I’m the best, the effect *and* the cause – I’m the law!” Such a perfect verse and chorus, delivered in a sleepy laconic drawl that makes him sound like Lyrics Born’s younger brother. Kane Smego brings it too, and the beat slams hard – if only Joshua Gunn had gone in, it’d be a perfect song! The remix is terrible apart from an excellent brief guest verse by the North Carolina legend Petey Pablo, which is a pity, because it’s full of appearances by more of Yamazawa’s friends, and unfortunately all of them suck. But the original is a flawless victory!”
The original mix of “North Cack” is available on Spotify here. The music video, which is unusually excellent, is on YouTube here.