Musically and lyrically, Directrix mirrors the darkness Styler witnesses around him, even inside the soul, as on "Oneself Duel." The arrangements are driven by mechanized drum patterns, digitally altered voices, occasional string samples and sound effects, as Divine expertly keeps the music sparse yet engaging. The amazing two-fer of "Before Mecca" and "Hajji," recorded before and after his pilgrimage, respectively, are unparalleled in their thought and reflection. Divine's conversion to Islam and pilgrimage to Mecca deeply inform Directrix, but rather than preach, he simply empties out the inner workings of his mind. An a cappella Arabic vocal, a spoken-word piece and minimal beat set the stage for Divine's entrance on "Satan Dynasty Killa I," chanting his "I refine the myth" mantra over thunderous bass. label Mo' Wax has graced 2000 with Wordpower 2: Directrix.Īppropriately, the Styler makes you wait four tracks in to hear his voice. An album was announced, then the giant label shakeup came, and Divine Styler's follow-up was lost in the chaos. Suddenly, Divine's flow made sense coming out of a hip-hop underground that embraced the same literate, scientific and Islamic concepts Divine had tried to push more than 10 years earlier. Just as suddenly, he surfaced in 1997 with a 12-inch titled "Before Mecca." He also contributed to last year's Spectrum compilation from the Quannum collective, teaming his packed raps with sounds by DJ Shadow. A fanzine bearing his name, In Search of Divine Styler, even appeared.
Meanwhile, MCs like Wu-Tang's GZA adopted pieces of Divine's dense, convoluted rap style. In the time that's passed between that album and this, Divine completed one more full-length (the unsung Spiral Walls), got dropped from his label, then vanished from sight altogether.
Styler was an early cohort of Ice-T and dropped the original Wordpower in 1989, an eon ago in hip-hop years. His most recent work has been with Len, Swollen Members and DJ Shadow.Divine Styler is a name from way back, and in the short-memoried rap culture, he is all but forgotten. He appeared (along with Sadat X and Cockni O'Dire) on several tracks on the final House of Pain album, Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again (1998). He has done several tracks with John Tejada but they're scattered on several compilations and albums by Tejada. Many of the songs on Spiral Walls Containing Autums of Light are songs of praise to Allah, and the 1999 song "Make It Plain" (recorded for the Funky Precedent compilation) details the joy he feels at having finally found a way of life he loves after decades of uncertainty and woes.Īside from those major albums his tracks are scattered among other artists' albums and projects. The Beat Junkies' DJ Rhettmatic also appeared, along with DJ Shadow, on his third LP, Wordpower 2: Directrix (1998), which trafficked in Information Age paranoia.ĭivine Styler is a convert to Sunni Islam after a number of years spent in the Nation of Gods and Earths he influenced the decision by Everlast to become a Muslim. In 1998, Divine Styler hooked up with the Quannum posse, teaming up with his dear friend and fellow Rhyme Syndicate alum Everlast, Styles of Beyond and the Beat Junkies. His second album, the wildly experimental Spiral Walls Containing Autumns of Light, also failed to sell well. His first LP, Word Power, was hailed by critics and fans, but was not a commercial success. Divine Styler (born Mark Richardson 1968 in Brooklyn, New York) is an alternative rapper who first emerged as part of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate.
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