A clouded aquarium schooled with piranhas, a blue velvety sofa and a wall-sized graffiti mural of a hippo snagging a ride off the back of a whale. Drop one foot over the threshold of Ian Aliman and A.J. Jeoffroy's apartment and you'll find the random assortment of oddities that tend to clutter every college apartment. \nIt's 1:45 in the afternoon; Aliman, a graduate student, is spreading the cream cheese on his bagel, and Jeoffroy, an alumnus, is taking a drag from his start-of-the-day cigarette. It's a typical slow beginning to a typical college student's Saturday. \nBut just a moment later, when one finger mashes the "on" button of a CD player loaded with new beats, their chins start bobbing to the lower decibels, they thrust open their mouths and freestyle verses tumble, not from the lips of Aliman and Jeoffroy, but from emcees 2 Scoopz Malone and Halfblown -- aka Partnerz in Crime. \nThey are practicing for an event they hope could expose their performance to the right people, bringing them up to a new altitude of hip-hop. Tonight the IU auditorium will host the Roots and Partnerz in Crime will be one of the three opening performances for the concert. \nFor both artists, the Roots is an inspiration to their craft. \n"That was like my childhood," said 2 Scoopz of the hip-hop artists. He remembers seeing them in New York before they were nationally known. "They can make a huge club sound like a small club," he added. \n"A hip-hop group with a band, and I mean, I was like 'This is so fresh,'" said Halfblown. "The CD is tight. Then you hear these muthafuckas live." \nWhen asked what each will say to the Roots when they have the opportunity to speak with the group on Thursday, both, in unison, replied, "Can a muthafucka get on?"\n"No, I'm kidding," relented Halfblown. "But, you know, I would say, 'Here's where I'm at now. Where do we need to take this to be where y'all are at?' ... or in another sense, can a muthafucka get on?!"
Gettin' on the gig\nPrompted with the question of how the two emcees landed this gig, it seemed appropriate they would tell their story in the form they know best. Above a newly released beat by Ace Ha called "One Night Stand," Halfblown flowed into freestyle.
I got somethin' to say, so I'm 'a have to spit/ talking 'bout the night that it was fate, kid/ Sittin' back relaxin' on the couch playin' video games/ tryin' to get on the phone holler at a dame,/ but I had a call, so I had to click over/ It was my boy Aaron, and he wanted me to come over
I said no because I had some things to do/ He was like 'Yo, I've got some real good news'/ He said, 'You wanna open up for the Roots?'/ I was like 'Yeah, dog, I ain't got shit to do'/ He was like 'Cool, we gonna have this meeting with the Union Board/ Then we'll tell you how to get it up on the third floor/
So we showed on up,/ I was kinda messed up/ cuz we done puffed d' dutch/ But, yo, I started thinkin' straight clearly/ how these cats off the top, yo, they fear me/ They wanted me to rap, then we got the damn gig/ It was all good, so I hit up my kid --
The beat was passed, and tag, 2 Scoopz was it…
Yo, they knew we was all natural with no chemicals,/ so they hired us and the Twilight Sentinels,/ so we could perform for the Roots/ and drop the shit for new recruits/
So what we did when we murdered this/ It all started with a man named Berkowitz/ He is the president of Hip Hop Congress,/ and he knows that me and him got a complex/for wrecking every microphone/ that we see cuz we like to light the room/ So he hired us real quick/ for a 15-minute skit, and yo, that's it --
Then, bounced back to Halfblown…
And it's almost through/ Can't forget that we had to hook up a man Wushu --/\n(2 Scoopz) True --/ Cuz he's the DJ at the ones and twos/ and it's P-I-C, Halfblown and 2 Scoopz/
2 Scoopz…
And without a DJ the show would be through/ so we need my man because he's my dude/ so we hooked up the DJ/ and then we gonna play/ on the, the replay --
Halfblown…
The replay? I just hope we in the Weekend edition/ I ain't trippin'/ I just wanna be on the front page -- that's volition/ With a big ass grin,/ sittin', puffin' and drinkin' some gin.
For those hip-hop-impaired, the Union Board contacted Aaron Berkowitz, president of IU's Hip Hop Congress, to pick some local emcees for the opener. Berkowitz knew who to call, even though the two emcees are technically not members of the campus club. \n"They've helped out Hip Hop Congress for four years, and we've really appreciated it," said Berkowitz. "It's their time to be recognized." \n"They just love interacting with the crowd to make sure everyone is having a good time. A lot of other emcees are self-righteous and use inside jokes, but these guys don't do that," he added. \n"We do party music," said Halfblown. "... You have to get (the crowd) right off the bat, and you have to keep it consistent. In the middle, remind them you're still up there, and when you're done, you have to make them want to not hear anyone else but you." \nThat's the strategy Partnerz in Crime plan to take when they grab the mics on Thursday. Like some joke, they will only get a cliché 15 minutes to shine, but 2 Scoopz has no doubt this will only promote their music further.\n"When we get our 15 minutes," he said, "We'll try to push it 20."
The beef of the battle\nBefore Scoopz was Scoopz, he was just a Jewish kid growing up in Soho -- or as he refers to it, "So-hood." Aliman remembers his first attempt at rap was creating new lyrics to the Beastie Boys' music. \nMeanwhile, Jeoffroy, a half-Haitian, half-Lebanese kid from Florida, first started rapping in the third grade.\nBut when they finally met at an IU battle, their common affinity for hip-hop did not immediately fuse their talents into Partnerz in Crime; instead, in the final round, 2 Scoopz and Halfblown faced off, but it was Halfblown who took home the booty. \n"Me and this kid had mad beef for like two years after that," laughed Halfblown. "We had the same friends, but we would never kick it. If there was a party, I'd call up my friends and be like, 'Yo, is Scoopz gonna be there? 'Cuz if Scoopz is gonna be there, I ain't gonna go.'" \nFor the two years they had known each other, never had they interacted except in battling competitions, where each would trade insults, back and forth. All that changed in the basement of one house party.\n"For some reason, we had never ciphered before, you know, building off of one another," recollected Halfblown. "Then, our buddy, Arthur Hall, suggested it to us."\n"When I heard them together for the first time, I was like 'Hey! That's a good idea -- a white guy and a black guy -- and they sound awesome together,'" said Hall, "Ian can adapt to any beat, and A.J. has some awesome hooks. They're always coming up with funky stuff."
Aiding and abetting hip-hop\nWhen 2 Scoopz and Halfblown started spitting together, Halfblown was in the process of putting together his first album, aptly titled "Senior Thesis" because, due to some personal legal problems, it took him literally four years to finish. The tracks are split into four sections: freshman year, sophomore year, junior year and senior year. Halfblown says they recount his feelings, observations and experiences during each of those school years. Scoopz later became a feature on several tracks. \n"We had a party to celebrate the release," said 2 Scoopz. "With the party expenses aside, we ended up breaking even on the album in like four hours." \nNow, the emcee duo is back in the studio, recording a second album together. Some of the songs they are working on cover themes such as female sexual empowerment and party beats. They anticipate even more success as they continue to refine they're talent as a team. \n"We have it all," said 2 Scoopz. "There's play with words, and then there's play with delivery ... you have to have a good delivery, so the audience can hear your sound." \nIf anything, they hope their experience opening for The Roots will pique the interest of local venues for more gigs. Scoopz and Halfblown admit that commercialism can be nice, but they continue hip hop for the sole passion of the art. \n"I love hip hop; I love it," confessed 2 Scoopz. "I breath it, eat it, shit it, sleep it."
For more information on Partnerz N Crime, visit the Web site www.partnerzncrime.com.
