Once upon a time, in the year I would turn thirteen, there was a magical and somewhat satirical lyricist (so he would claim) named Apache. Apache came on the scene in the year 1993, spreading his colorful unique perspective of gender, race, and affiliation with his one and only release, the aptly titled Apache Ain’t Shit, which in retrospect is quite fitting for the album. The Flavor Unit MC that hailed from the cypher of Queen Latifah stepped into the video land of lore with his one and only Q-Tip produced hit single Gangster Bitch, the song that would make and unfortunately break his career.
Mirrored in the shadow of his big hit, Apache was left to fate as a cult classic one hit wonder.
Up until recently I had never heard Apache Ain’t Shit in its entirety; outside of Gangster Bitch and a guest verse or two on deep album cuts by Flavor Unit artists, I hadn’t heard a peep of Apache since. At the time his major competition was Spice-1, another wickedly mad lyricist that seemingly disappeared overnight, so it seemed odd even then that Apache and his debut album would vanish from view. For those that are not in the know, Gangster Bitch was one of the most provocative songs of its day. It was a dirty song on the level of Millie Jackson, but had a double entendre wordplay and playful vibe that still makes people scream how they want to gangster boogie at the appropriate time in the hook, which you have to hear the song to get the vibe.
Apache Ain’t Shit is an album that goes over most people’s heads with a quickness.
Don’t get it twisted, there is a lot of relationship banter on this album, and not necessarily on the serious side or the nice side. Tonto is a passionate autobiography about Apache’s penis (who goes by the track’s name) and for all intent and purpose is the Magic Stick song well ahead of its time. The title track goes on with this theme opening with Apache laying some serious pipe to a chick he has whipped, then brutally kicking her out the minute he had pleasured himself, which opens up into a track exclusively about how women claim Apache Ain’t Shit in part to him being a self-admitted selfish lover. Woodchuck keeps the same type of energy with a cast of guest verses that verbosely brags about how much sexual intercourse Apache and his crew has divulged in and their experiences being good woodchucks chucking proverbial wood. Who Freaked Who is the battle of the sexes squabble battle between Apache and Nikki D, arguing in lyrical jest on who is the better lover leaving the other turned out.
Still, when Apache isn’t talking about slinging pipe, he’s talking about hustling.
Get Ya Weight Up and Make Money are pretty self-explanatory deep hip-hop cuts about making money however you need to make it, primarily with a street emphasis. Do Fa Self is a bit of a cliff notes guide to the youth about making your money the right way, even if it is the street way. The hit single Gangster Bitch merges Apache’s two loves, sex and money, together, with a good partner that unfortunately gets caught running packages for him, which leads him to look for a replacement in good time. Deeper album cuts such as Blunted Snap Session, Wayz Of A Murderahh, A Fight and its track sketch Kill D’White People are a rumble roused hip-hop as you can get, maintaining some political discourse while discussing the societal turmoil that has created the hostilities around the hood and on the microphone.
Overall, Apache pushed the envelope of hip-hop with his one and only album.
Apache Ain’t Shit is pure hip-hop to the core, but it is amalgam hybrid of gangster rap with hip-hop sensibilities; in other words it is a window seat into where gangster rap could have splintered off into had it not been co-opted by industry politics and studio made gangsters. Apache, had he been able to make another album, had the potential to destroy anything on Death Row Records in their prime, and very well may have signed with them. In retrospect, Flavor Unit really didn’t know what to do with him though he had a significant influence on the rap and style of Queen Latifah (which is eerily obvious on Black Reign) and Naughty By Nature’s Tommy Boy years. Apache was just too over the top, which even in the 1990s wasn’t ready for a lyricist like him.
Unfortunately, due to a series of unfortunate industry situations, Apache never recorded again; Flavor Unit by and large went defunct as a rap outfit after Queen Latifah’s Order In The Court album. As a result of circumstance and a change in tastemakers Apache Ain’t Shit has become Apache’s legacy, especially now that he has passed away in 2010. Sadly, Apache is becoming lost to time, barely being mentioned in the pantheon of lyricists that changed the landscape of hip-hop and created a new lane for people to explore into. Without this man there is no Naughty By Nature, no Lakim Shabazz, and definitely no Queen Latifah. He should be celebrated more, revered more, honored more.
Ignoring his legacy only proves the point he made with the album, Apache Ain’t Shit.
