An Unofficial Documentation Of Edo G’s “ Sayin’ Somethin’ ”.

Teck-Zilla(テクジラ)
4 min readFeb 19, 2017

To say I’m a huge Edo G fan would be a big lie. At best I’m a passive listener who occasionally checks him out by chance/accident but not to provoke the ire of Hip-Hop purist the first Edo G song I really( multiplied by 100) listened to was “Sayin’ Somethin’ “

The track which was released in 2000 is off his “Truth Hurts” album and was produced by “The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer”(I would delve more into that in another article), the one and only DJ Premier.

In usual Preem fashion, we have 4 main elements in this beat.

1- Chopped up samples : Preem replays this sample in a way that follows the tension-resolution pattern in music. He uses a 4 bar pattern where the 1st half creates the tension and the latter half resolves it.

2- Neck snapping drums: The drums follow the boom-bap style. Not too aggressive and not too soft. Just right in the middle.

3 — Thick bassline: The bass essentially follows the sample beefing it up.

4 — Vocal samples for the hook : Voices of Edo. G, KRS One, Big L and another was used.

Besides the dope sound-scape provided by DJ Premier, this song could have just been another braggadocio track-by any rapper- but not Edo G as he delivered what I would call an outstanding performance.

The verses are essentially 14 bars each with a recurring 2bar refrain before the hook comes in.

“The very thing, is a ‘Bury thing
Either everything is workin, or you workin for everything

That pretty much set the tone for the accompanying verses where he tackles various issues be it personal or general.

The 1st verse starts off thus..

“ If the opportunity was to present itself
I might just have to go and reinvent myself…”
A very interesting line if I may. Despite his underground legendary status & huge cult following, there lies a second thought at the back of his mind to completely reimagine himself.

“…Hook up a chick and advance, don’t stick whenever the chance
Sometimes I hit, most the time my dick in my pants
…” At a time when all rappers were talking about much action they get Edo G is painting a different portrait. Reminiscent of Gangstarr’s “Discipline

The 2nd verse:

Will them dogs that smoke blunts witchu, throw a punch witchu
Or hold it down when you down and the mutts hitchu
?…” That’s another quotable for you. That eternal question about loyalty is asked in the most direct manner. This makes me cue up Cormega’s “Are U My Nigga

He follows up with this contrasting line
“…We all got tools — I hate tellin good people bad news
Everybody livin by they own rules
…”This is something EVERYONE breathing can relate to. We all have to consume the good with the bad and make the best out of it.

You can get rolled up, like a ounce in some Garcias
Compare my accomplishments, to my losses
Everybody wanna wonder what the winner does
On my worst day now, it was better than it was
” The interesting think is Edo G mixing braggadocio alongside the gems without losing the main plot. This verse in particular has mad quotables as you can see. Following the previous line, he continues with the “hey sh*t is rough but it could be worse” and rolls with the punches like a grown man.

…Cause money kept, is twice as good as money burned
And money won, is twice as sweet as money earned
Will there ever come a time, when the cryin ends?
Cause death is just a moment when the dyin ends” Those 4 bars may look plain on paper but just read between the lines and you would most definitely get the bigger picture. We all have financial challenges and those 2 lines pretty much sums up the human psyche about those 2 different situations. Be smart kids, #SaveMoney

The last 2 bars are quite morbid. The gospel truth is ,we all start dying from birth.

The 3rd verse…

Alcohol and weed is my vices
To see my daughter smile is priceless
…” Now that is a timeless quotable. Normally these two things NEVER together but he makes it a good point here. He’s but only a man with flaws and not adverse to showing his vulnerability towards his offspring.

“…I leave the nicest lifeless
Return like Christ in a crisis
Take this +American Pie+, and distribute out slices…
”In the same breath, he dishes out cold threats to foes and alludes to some street pharmaceutical endeavours.

When I appear like an apparition
Your repetition, kept you in the same tradition, same position
Same ol’ rapper, same ol’ mission, the game won’t listen
We got two thousand new ways, to shine and glisten…
” He even takes time to give advice to emcees who are stuck in their ways.

…But if you ain’t under God, you goin under hard
And we gon’ be the main event and y’all are undercard” Here he shows us a little spirituality. It’s clear as day what he is talking about.

I have always wondered what made me LOVE this song and often times had discussions with peers about it. The beauty in the imperfection of life, the grit and grain. The hopes and fears and what lies in between. Those are the things that make for a dope song.

Edo G may not be the greatest lyricist of all time but making a timeless song is way beyond being a super lyricist. It’s the pure ability to channel your uniqueness from the heart to wax. Easy said than done though.

With that I leave you all with this everlasting quote!

Either everything is workin, or you workin for everything.

Keep up with Edo G via twitter @edogboston

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Teck-Zilla(テクジラ)

Chemist/Beat maker/Sound Engineer/UI-UX/Coder/Writer/Martial Artist/DJ IG:teckzilla108 http://str8buttah.org