Black History Month: A.D. Is A Scholar Not A Saint
If the underground Hip-Hop scene were like the days of gold mining, all one would have to do is search the internet for the riches of intellectual stimulation.
The Hip-Hop band, Jus Cuz is definitely one of those gems. The two members are Adrien “A.D.” Odate Jr. and his cousin Ernst “Young MiScHifF” Bernard. Their music will keep your bobbing while opening your eyes and ears to their message.
In a deep conversation with A.D., we learn about his childhood, inspirations, his path to discovering what he was meant to do, Hip-Hop and life and the band’s album available for download on their website.
People can be entertained and receive a message at the same time; there is a belief out there that cannot happen. Don’t subscribe to that theory, it’s BS. All one has to do is open their mind enough to accept the message and be educated by it. Unfortunately, mainstream media tends to further drive home the point that audiences need to have their brains softened by mind, numbing puerile entertainment (which admittedly can be entertaining). To be enlightened by films, one needs to go to the independent films. To be enlightened by Hip-Hop, one would need to go underground.
Jus Cuz is another fine example of the art, heart and intellect that goes into the music that is found in the underground scene.
Adrien “A.D.” Odate Jr. was born and raised in the South Bronx. He is born from an immigrant family, his ancestry is Haitian. A.D. was destined to entertain from the start, a person doesn’t speak as well as he does, have the sense of humor and intellect he possesses without putting that to use in a way that the world doesn’t get to see and hear. While pursuing his life dedicated to music, he is married, works by day as a personal trainer and is about to be a father for the first time.
A.D. talks about his family and his beginnings.
“I lived on a block where two out of the four buildings on the block were literally burnt down. Two of them were being run by slumlords. Not necessarily, having been in a non-vermin environment, my grandmother was the matriarch, my mother was still around; we weren’t exactly well-off economically and were living in a large family setup. When someone would come from Haiti, they would come and be cared for here [that neighborhood] until they got on their feet and moved out.”
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