Remembering G-Side – Huntsville’s Pioneers Park The Spaceship For Good

Remembering G-Side – Huntsville’s Pioneers Park The Spaceship For Good
By: Josh Boutwell

This week Huntsville rap duo G-Side (ST 2 Lettaz & Yung Clova) officially announced (via Spin Magazine) that after more than 6 years together they were officially parting ways (supposedly a mutual split with no beef thankfully). G-Side along with the infamous Block Beataz production crew and Slow Motion Soundz paved the way for many of Huntsville’s finest to shine and get noticed via their use of blogs and the internet. Long before it was the “cool” thing to do G-Side was pimping the internet with their brand of “country rap tunes” not just branding themselves to the South or even the U.S. in general, gaining a big following overseas (which has lead to several shows across the pond). G-Side’s (and Slow Motion Soundz) impact on Huntsville’s burgeoning rap scene far exceeds just good music, though it was the good music that got us all hooked to begin with.

Back in 2007 I heard “Alpine Tick” for the very first time and then the “Sumthin 2 Hate” album in full and instantly fell in love with G-Side’s brand of hip hop. It wasn’t quite “crunk” (as crunk was coming to a close) nor was it quite Dungeon Family and nor was it remotely close to “snap music.” G-Side and Block Beataz were unique combining soulful, laid back tracks with rowdy, hard hitting songs forming something that Alabama’s music scene had yet to see. Whether it was R.O.A.’s NWA-influenced gangsta rap or Tha Last Mr. Bigg’s rowdy fight music or Rich Boy’s version of crunk (all great artists), Alabama really hadn’t set itself apart from the crowd save for Dirty’s reign in the early 2000’s. Despite how great that first album was, the rest of the world or even the state was catching on.

2008’s “Starshipz & Rocketz” cured that sending the internet and blogs going nuts over G-Side’s certified classic with some of the most amazing beats combined with equally amazing songs and lyrics, but it was 2009’s “Huntsville International” that became the bloggers darling and really started gaining G-Side more and more attention from not just America but overseas as well. Some folks in the mainstream even started to pay attention as G-Side book ended 2011 with “The One…Cohesive” at the beginning of the year and “iSLAND” at the end of the year, gaining exposure on MTV Jams and several magazine features including a large article in Spin Magazine.

G-Side got all of this attention without ever signing a major label deal, that’s right, Codie G and Slow Motion Soundz handled the marketing and promotion all by themselves. No huge budgets, no major labels, just amazing music. G-Side and Slow Motion Soundz blueprint has lead to many artists going the same route, using blogs and internet, to get more exposure and sometimes sign major deals. Big K.R.I.T. used the internet to get out his critically acclaimed free album “K.R.I.T. Wuz Here” (much like G-Side’s free album “Huntsville International” a year before) leading to his signing to Def Jam. It was YelaWolf’s (a fellow Alabamian) free album “Trunk Muzik” (which was also collaborated with DJ Burn One, much like “Huntsville International” again) that led to his signing to Interscope Records and eventually Eminem’s Shady Records imprint.

Though it may sound like I’m eulogizing a great group (and a personal favorite of mine for several years) I’m really not. I will miss hearing ST & Clova together over that B-B-B-Block Beataz production but this is just trying to remember all of the amazing music G-Side as given us and really spotlighting the impact they’ve had not just on Huntsville or Alabama but hip hop in the modern era in general. Plus, there’s no reason to get too down, ST 2 Lettaz has announced his first solo EP with Block Beataz to be released this coming up week and a full length LP later in the year and Clova has already started promoting his own record label (Lambo Music Group). ST intends on staying “Slow Mo till’ the world blow” however. In a day and age of horrible 360-record deals, terrible music on the radio, and a genre (rap) of music that some have claimed to be dead for years, two Bama boys proved that you can make a go of it while the radio ignores you and the mainstream doesn’t want to hear what you have to say. Stephen “2 Lettaz” Harris and David “Clova” Williams proved that there is definitely still a space for meaningful and soulful music, good music.