The Artifacts were a throwback hip hop duo from Newark, NJ. Their music ref… Read Full Bio ↴The Artifacts were a throwback hip hop duo from Newark, NJ. Their music reflected and emphasized three of the four elements of true hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, and their specialty, graffiti writing or “bombing”; both Tame One and El Da Sensei are proficient at all three. With unique styles that play off each other well, Tame and El’s graff-rap was well received by underground audiences and continued in the Jersey rap tradition of Redman and Lords of the Underground. The crew scored an underground classic with their debut single in 1994, “Wrong Side of The Tracks,” serving notice to their graffiti bombing missions and their Jersey heritage. The debut album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, followed soon afterward. Tight, funky production provided the duo’s B-boy stance the chance to take shape. Although it contained more of the same, the 1996 follow-up album, The Art of Facts, was not nearly as successful critically, getting lost amid the burgeoning kingpin gangster attitude of Jay-Z and Nas. The Artifacts were hard-nosed backpack hip hoppers in the halcyon days of hip hop’s golden age revisited, before hip hop’s mainstream explosion and the elevating gangster hardcore style that led to the violent deaths of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. The duo split in 1997 and now release singles as solo artists.

Other artists known as Artifacts:
1. Artifacts, an alt-rock band
2. Artifacts, a hardcore punk band

1. Artifacts are london-based alt-rock noisemakers, who bring together a concoction of electronic layers, wall-of-sound guitars and heartfelt crescendos to create soaring-yet-introspective laments. With time on their side and "a plethora of fragile moments" to win hearts and minds, the five-piece have been marked as a band to "surprise and grow" as they spread across London and the south east. "They really are an exciting new find. Punctuated with dramatic, noisy guitar lines, haunting vocals and melodies; they deliver a plethora of fragile moments followed by sound scapes of pure ecstasy." - Artrocker. "Noisy guitars embellished with synths struck like percussion" - Clash

2. Artifacts (formerly known as Take A Right On Tulsa), a Hardcore band from the Pasadena/Houston Area, Artifacts is hitting the local Houston Hardcore music scene with a bang. Infusing traditional hardcore music with ambient and melodic sounds to create quite an unique blend music. The Line up includes: Vocals: Tyler Hill, Guitar:Miguel Villatoro, Guitar: Pablo Hernandez, Bass: Jorge Salinas, Drums: Justin Campbell. Artifacts has also shared the stage with Upon A Burning Body, Winds Of Plague, Stick To Your Guns, Sleeping Giant, Oceano, Circle Of Contempt, MyChildren MyBride, The Red Chord, Chelsea Grin, Those Who Lie Beneath, Suffokate, Molotov Solution, I Declare War, Dr.Acula, Monsters, and Broadway. With their ever aspiring band and steadily increasing fan base, Artifacts is sure to gain acknowledgment and respect among the Hardcore music scene and soar to new heights.

Whayback
Artifacts Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[El Da Sensai]
I calculate that eighty-five was the year
I first grabbed the pen, daydreamin of the cheers
Ahead from rockin shows, no Girbauds that sag
The windbreaker suits and backspins that was mad
I stress progress roll joints at my rest
til the ill wee hours, and I knew it was the best
I hit mad spots, many crews got dropped

While I was gettin props niggaz was dealin on the block
Stayin in crib on the weekends was Marley Marl
was freakin the cuts Mr. Magic was speakin
That's how I got my first taste, makin tapes
til the rhyme skill was great and my style would escalate
Practice made my perfect tactics
Now my dap gets clap, cause I'm the rap snap fanatic
But now in nine-trey I got the T-Ray track
And my trunks, my roots are growin styles from whayback

..

[Tame One]
I flash back to fat Kangol hats, with plastic
Back when steppin on kicks in eighty-six got your ass kicked
Bombers and sheepskins, were common when I first started rhymin
Still I found time to go bombin
Me and my pals rocked Cazals with no glass
Dark flavored Clarks, Lee Denims off the ass
Back when Mr. Magic had it goin all the way on
the beat with BDP, added flavor like a crayon
Indeed MC's would represent with the skills
But now in ninety-three a lot of them can get the dillz
It seems like a little sumthin missin in the mix
But now I got a deal, so it's up to me to fix
When niggaz put me up on, with funky raps to cut on
Word is BOND, if I hear another wack rap song
I might snap and it's an actual fact
that I'ma kick it like that, cause this is strictly bout the whayback

..

[El Da Sensai]
Aww man damn, whayback, things was kinda fat
Had the Godfather knot, a Starter hat, things are kinda wack
now, packed up, my cardboard and stepped away
I didn't have a choice, the culture was slayed
B.D. had died, and things were dissapearin
The West coast was here and all these wack beats appearin
DJ's were breakin down record store doors
to get the Biz Dance and the Chante Moore's
Peace to Buck Four, Rocksteady on the floor
New York and Dynamic crews plus many more
Remember the time when you didn't pack a nine
Niggaz just came to hear some, funky ass rhymes
But all of that's over, cause brothers want to act up
No clubs to go to, they'll just pack rap up
That's how the media wants it to stop
So peep the verse and last showin of Graffiti Rock
So check it, the brothers want to wreck it
To get what's expected, cause hip-hop, should be respect
Gotta get it back, to get it on track
Artifacts kickin styles illy on the whayback

[Tame One]
Like back when my Timberlands were only size sixes
I used to take pictures shootin spitballs at bitches
Cross New Jersey Transit just to see a rapper kick it
But now I ain't with it, cause niggaz just ain't worth the ticket
Shit man, I remember jams that were slammin
Gettin me and my man in, was harder than backgammon
DJ's would scratch back to back from boom baps
And rappers with real raps, could drop shit real fat
But now kid, as I recollect, rappers out who caught wreck
respected, just got stuck up in my tape deck
Real deal hip-hop, when Biz used to flip-flop
His fat ass, on stage'd do a dance, in busted Reeboks
Niggaz musta forgot, when real rhymes was hot
Cause now if you ain't gold, you ain't got no props
But fuck that, I'm above that, I don't play that
The Artifacts staff drops math about the whayback

..

"It's a demo.." "Back in back in the days"
"You gots to chill.." "Back in back in the days"
"South Bronx" "The Bri to The Bridge"
'South Bronx" "Back in back in the days"
"Jimbrowski..
that's what it is" "Back in back in the days"

"Like that y'all, it's like that y'all
It's like thatta that, it's like that y'all" (4X)

Overall Meaning

The song "Whayback" by Artifacts is a nostalgic journey through the early days of hip-hop culture. The lyrics share memories of the "golden age" of hip-hop, when graffiti art, breakdancing, and MCing were all at their peak. El Da Sensai and Tame One paint a vivid picture of the clothing, music, and social scene of the time. They reminisce about the joy they felt when rapping in front of appreciative audiences, the struggles they faced when trying to gain entry to exclusive hip-hop clubs, and the frustration they felt when they saw the culture they loved begin to change. In the end, the song is a call-to-action, urging listeners to keep the spirit of hip-hop alive by remembering and honoring its roots.

Line by Line Meaning

I calculate that eighty-five was the year
Reflect on 1985 when I first grabbed the pen, daydreaming about the cheers

I hit mad spots, many crews got dropped
Visited many clubs and performed, as other MCs got left behind

Back when steppin on kicks in eighty-six got your ass kicked
In 1986, stepping on somebody's sneakers would get you punched in the face

It seems like little sumthin missin in the mix
Something seems off in the current state of hip-hop

I didn't have a choice, the culture was slayed
The hip-hop culture was dying and there was nothing I could do about it

Remember the time when you didn't pack a nine
There was a time when the only thing you needed for a good hip-hop show was funky rhymes

No clubs to go to, they'll just pack rap up
There are no clubs showcasing good hip-hop today, because rappers have brought it down

Like back when my Timberlands were only size sixes
I remember when I had smaller feet, and used to take pictures shooting spitballs at girls

Real deal hip-hop, when Biz used to flip-flop
True hip-hop was once represented by artists like Biz Markie, who supplied real rhymes

Niggaz musta forgot, when real rhymes was hot
Rappers have forgotten that true rhyming used to be recognized and respected

It's like that y'all, it's like that y'all
This is how things used to be back then

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc., EMPIRE PUBLISHING
Written by: TODD RAY, ELLIOTT WILLIAMS, RAHEM ROSS BROWN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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