Rhyme Fighter - Black Rob - Brief Article

Interview, April, 2000 by Matt Diehl

Listening to Black Rob's gripping debut Life Story, you can hear why he's been called an "actor on wax." His gritty rhymes first turned heads on Puff Daddy's No Way Out album and his own hit "I Dare You" off the Slam soundtrack. Those were no preparation for Life Story's hardcore street power, however: While classic Bad Boy hooks pump up jams like "You Don't Know Me," it's songs like "Jasmine" and an ingenious update of Slick Rick's old-school classic "Children's Story" that form Rob's unflinching lyrical journey into the world of a thug. "A lot of the songs and stories relate to my life experiences--robberies, revenge, messin' with females, almost getting killed," Black Rob explains. "That's my life. But I don't glorify violence, and I hate jail. The rap game saved me, man: I've got three children, and I wouldn't even think of putting my hand in somebody's pocket or doing something stupid now."

Since the age of fifteen, when he was arrested for robbery, Black Rob, twenty-eight, has been in and out of prison. He's also spent many years homeless. Inspired by rap's storytelling masters like Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Slick Rick, Black Rob's own vivid recreations of his hard-knock life impressed Puff Daddy, who signed him after one audition in 1996. Both fans and critics see him as the heir to the Notorious B.I.G. "Being compared to Biggie, that's the best feeling a rapper could have," Rob says. "Me and Biggie share a storytelling ability--he was an actor on wax, too. His stories were so vivid and torrid, he made you feel them. And we both have the hardness. When I come out on the mic, you know it's me."