The dogged determination to prevail at any cost that both Strange and COGNITO share couldn't be a better match. The Fairfield, Calif.-raised father of two has poured his heart into albums, toured relentlessly, and stayed in the studio late numerous Friday nights when he could've been chilling at home with his family – all for the love of the game.
Growing up in the North Bay, COGNITO fast became intrigued with the burgeoning local hip-hop scene led by E-40 and B-Legit. The two hip-hop heavyweights exposed the young emcee to the hip-hop community, tapping his services at the Sick Wid It offices and schooling him in the art of promotion. He is the first to admit he was not the best student. But writing stories was his strong point in school. He started writing rhymes at 16, taking his cue from the people he was around. Yet it was hard to take rapping seriously as a career. A white rapper just wasn't considered normal yet. It wasn't until three years later, when Eminem's The Slim Shady LP released, that COGNITO's path became clearer.
“I don't think being a white rapper has held me back,” relays COGNITO about the always-controversial topic of the White Rapper. “It got me seen more. It got me out there. I stand out because I am white. But let my music speak for itself.”
As for the Eminem comparisons, COGNITO is flattered but suggests otherwise.
“When Eminem dropped minds were blown. I look at the Eminem comparison as an honor. He's the best rapper in game. But never once has a guy I work with said I sound like Eminem.”
At age 21 COGNITO earned himself a new title; father. In order to care for his family, he put hip-hop on the back burner for the next year, popping into the studio every so often to record tracks with producing partner D Buck. Mike Mosley, who had worked with E-40, TQ, C-Bo, Richie Rich and Tupac, heard COGNITO's music, and in 2002, offered him a deal with his Steady Mobbin' label.
“When Mike wants to offer you a record deal,” COGNITO states, “you take your career serious.”
COGNITO never dropped an album, but he did make a handful of important connections in the industry, one being QD3 producer Femi, one of the two producers he still consistently works with today. He continued doing shows and brushed up on the record industry rules.
2006 was a big year for COGNITO. He hooked up with Master P and his newly formed Gutta Music to release Recognition. It was an honor to be affiliated with P, a hip-hopreneur COGNITO had admired since hearing his West Coast Bad Boyz compilation in 1997. COGNITO would score his biggest hit to date, “Shift Kits,” from the Shift Kits and Hood Chicks DVD.
COGNITO stayed busy touring with fellow Bay Area rapper Andre Nickatina. When Nickatina took some time off, COGNITO hit the road solo. As fate would have it, COGNITO and Strange shared the same booker. Together on a string of show dates, COGNITO witnessed Strange's impressive stage show and extreme professionalism. COGNITO even shared a joke with Tech: He had previously recorded over Femi's “Slacker” beat, a song that appears on Tech's Absolute Power (2002).
The groundwork for the COGNITO-Strange merger was set in motion. Three years later when hip-hop activist Violet Brown, a longtime supporter of Strange, approached COGNITO about shopping a deal to the indie powerhouse, he was with it.
One conversation with Strange Music co-owner and CEO Travis O'Guin and another with Dave Weiner, Vice President of Strange Music West, plus one visit to Kansas City, the label's home, and COGNITO knew he was home. “I know it sounds cliché, but you can do anything you want,” tells COGNITO. “My motivation has been people saying I couldn't do this. I'm hardheaded. At the end of the day, you have to go get it and no one is going to give it to you. But I look at my progression. Seeing what I'm accomplishing on my own and knowing that if I go get it, it could happen. There hasn't been a goal I shot for that I haven't achieved when it comes to my music.”
Building on his own persistence, COGNITO is quick to admit his success has been buoyed by his supportive team: Violet Brown, Femi, Mike Mosley, Darien Smith, his studio engineer for the past seven years. The 29 year old has had an amazing team behind him, which has catapulted him to where he is today. Currently, COGNITO is working on his Strange debut, Automatic, scheduled for a February/March 2010 release.
“Stylewise, I'm a storyteller,” COGNITO points out. “Whether it's a club track or a serious, depressed track, I'm going to tell you a story and get my message across to you. I like when people can relate to a song. That's what I love more than anything.”
“I don't follow trends,” he adds. “I pride myself in making my music real. I don't like to front, but I also like to have fun. Take me serious, but don't take me too serious. Listen to me with an open mind. I want to be an inspiration like my musical influences were to me.”
As COGNITO prepares for the next stage of his career, he is more than ready for the full-time grind.
“From 21 until now I have given this everything. I don't stop until I achieve my goal. With Strange backing me, I feel that I can accomplish all my goals. I got a shot like this and I'm going to run with it and make it happen.”
Stranger
Cognito Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I remember when they used to point they fingers and laugh at me
Why? cause I'm a Stranger.
I Remember when they never attended my shows and cursed my name
Why? cause I'm a Stranger.
Now! They pay me big money to do verses to do shows
Why? cause I'm a Stranger.
Now! I'm in every magazine except MTV awards or on all of ya billboards all over seas
(Big Scoob)
It's the criminal the general the villain wow
I'm at the pinnacle and critical so hear me out
See I'm invincible and fin to blow so get ya chow
Spread my tentacles the friend and foe I'm reaching out
I'm tryin' to touch 'em, cause a ruckus, make 'em scream and shout
A gutter movement with my music's what I dream about
I want the Juggalos and niggaros to feel the crowd
One nation under a groove and all goin' wild
White kids walkin' and talkin' like D-boys
Black kids rockin' and moshin' at Strange noise
Gang bangers funkin' for nothing they feel the club
Red and blue gunners and thunders nothin' but love
That's my shit, that's the reason why I'm a Stranger
Nigga that's real spit, found a way to channel my anger
Hopin' it comes quick, for I'm back floatin' with danger
Back on some dumb shit, in the gutters hustlin' for paper
You feel me nigga? Yeah real spill nigga
(Music is my motherfuckin' savior you dig.)
(Steve Stone)
Stevie Stone!
Ruthless and strange connect game
Analyzin', doc's sayin' I'm insane
Vandalize 'em, I'ma fuck up your whole team on that 151 I'm flammable propane
Different mile different hoop different scoop
Got a short temper I'm more bearing the new (uh-hu)
MY head is manic I'm Fightin' tuggin' n' pullin'
and I seem to be a problem so worry 'bout what I'm doin'
schizophrenic, Spasmatic, cause havoc
Three man giving them shit I'm maniac
Pumped, I'm ready to get it crackin'
on the front lines, stoppin' and traffickin' all your affections
Bloody Cal Cognito, Stevie Stone
I hate niggas, show resistance, we at yo door
tame niggas, hurry quickly pick up the phone I'm gone, I'm in my zone, p'zone.
but I get that call from a Stranger (Himmi Hyme!!)
(Tech N9ne)(x2)
It's that murderer spit that'll hit quick and I'll change ya
This clicks full of danger, killer misfits that'll bang ya, blame ya anger
On the game if you cant maintain pain, ya
Gangsta but ya brain can't hang flame came from a Stranger
(Loki)
Hey Cog, Yo whats up Lok? rally up the boys
Whats up? And uh... get my duffel bag from the garage
Which bag you want me to grab? You know the one
All right I gotcha, All right
Now look here when a fakin' playin' undertaker
It comes to it and I will put you under acres
Some do it, Clean as a whistle with a dirty weaponry
Throwin the 45 in to the river while doing 70
Fuck the party and revelry, I can hardly ever be less than the way of doing dirt
When the evil it feels so heavenly (AHHH HUUUHHH)
Can you feel that? the sensation you get from the Hash marks lacerations that mark another field cat (AHHH HUUUHHH)
Now I'm murder nervous I got the killer jitters
drummin' my fingers on the steerin' wheel
But then when it get real bad
I takes my whiskey straight with no chaser and kill that
I'm over it homie, why in the fuck would I even feel bad?
The raw deal's back
pistol whip slick him with sweat, that hit to yo chest
I puts that shit down to rest, more sick than the rest (bitch)
I'm in the practice of cutting off heads, so I can go and take a shit down your neck.
(Kutt Calhoun)
Stranger... Yeah ahhh huh
I heard the word on the streets that the red one was gettin murked
Some niggas on the South Side of town is feelin' jerky
losing weight and gainin' hate cause they pockets are really hurtin'
Wanna pull the shades down on the nigga and call it dirt
Not only that my nigga they knowin' the way you swervin'
They know about the deuce click alliance and how it's mergin'
With the click clack plan to bring emphasis to the surface
And get the word on you with the interest of bein' worried
NIGGA!!!
Bet I don't, homie its scurvy begin to tuckin' nigga
Bet I don't, have no remorse when you get the tuckin' nigga
Bet I won't, not when niggas be like me shoot it how I shoot it stand up and take a pee like me (bloods)
spittin' through your toofas, I'm a modern Frank Lucas
So you can comprehend that this American gangsta
That slayed ya
All through the hoods like blue magic
Overdosed from my needles learned ya not to take packs from a Stranger
Hahahahah bitch ass niggas, Yeah.
(Tech N9ne)(x2)
It's that murderer spit that'll hit quick and I'll change ya
This clicks full of danger, killer misfits that'll bang ya, blame ya anger
On the game if you cant maintain pain, ya
Gangsta but ya brain can't hang flame came from a Stranger.
(Tech N9ne)
We're every where you turn, you cant run from it, real shit always prevails
Cognito, tell these motherfuckers the fuckin' deal man.
(Cognito)
Bandanas and night bandits with knife antics
Blood on a white canvas from innocent bystanders
When ya wife panics chrome nine drops in no time cops
Surround yo area searchin' a full nine blocks
Pull up my alias
Some times the laziest make for the meanest individuals stereo-typical
Plus he's known to be very invincible barely predictable
Buried a pistol drug erupt and carried the nympho carefully and slow
Back to reality here's the formality I'm sicker than last night
This ain't one two or three it's a fortality
That's the shit you do when tryin' to live on a poor salary
Battery criminal flattery steady pourin' out of me
Had to be drugs and alcohol naturally why you askin' me
Resolve both of 'em that's my problem your problems catchin' me
As soon as Kutt give me the signal im through your kitchen window
I'm creepin' and you in danger rearrange ya label me a Stranger.
Strange Music baby, me and Trav reapin' the benefits of all our blood, sweat and tears.
(Tech N9ne)(x2)
It's that murderer spit that'll hit quick and I'll change ya
This clicks full of danger, killer misfits that'll bang ya, blame ya anger
On the game if you cant maintain pain, ya
Gangsta but ya brain can't hang flame came from a Stranger.
(Tech N9ne)
When the smoke clears, nothin but the Snake & Bat will appear
STRANGE Music!
The lyrics of Cognito's song Stranger (ft. Tech N9ne, Big Scoob, Kutt Coulhoun, Stevie Stone), delve into the idea of being an outsider, a stranger, and the stigma that comes with it. The persona of being a stranger is viewed through different lenses, from being an outcast to becoming a success, having loyal followers, and being feared. The lyrics reveal how being different could lead to alienation and ridicule, but it also highlights how embracing one's uniqueness can lead to artistic brilliance and success. The song touches on the themes of being misunderstood, misfits finding community and acceptance, and the correlation between pain and creation.
The different verses of the song portray different aspects of being a stranger. Tech N9ne's verse talks about the ridicule and disdain he faced initially, being laughed at, and not having people attend his shows. Still, he has now attained success and fame, being in demand and on magazine covers globally. Big Scoob's verse speaks about the desire for his music to change people's lives, bring people together, and facilitate empathy. Stevie Stone's verse eludes to the struggle with mental health and the effects of substance abuse. Loki's verse brings a darker perspective, speaking of violence and the feeling of invincibility that comes with it. Lastly, Kutt Calhoun's verse emphasizes the notoriety that comes with being a gangsta and the fear that one instills in people.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember when they used to point they fingers and laugh at me
People used to make fun of me and criticize me
Why? cause I'm a Stranger.
They treated me this way because I am an outsider and different
Now! They pay me big money to do verses to do shows
Now, the same people who criticized me pay me well to perform and create music
Why? cause I'm a Stranger.
They still treat me differently because of my outsider status and differentness
It's the criminal the general the villain wow
I am a powerful and dangerous force in the industry
I'm at the pinnacle and critical so hear me out
I am at the top of my game and have an important message to share
See I'm invincible and fin to blow so get ya chow
I am unstoppable and about to take over, so prepare yourself
Spread my tentacles the friend and foe I'm reaching out
I am expanding my reach and influences to both allies and adversaries
It's that murderer spit that'll hit quick and I'll change ya
My powerful lyrics and delivery can have a profound impact on people
This clicks full of danger, killer misfits that'll bang ya, blame ya anger
Our group is made up of powerful and dangerous individuals who can influence others to feel and act a certain way
We're every where you turn, you cant run from it, real shit always prevails
Our presence is everywhere and our impactful music will always stand out and triumph
Bandanas and night bandits with knife antics
We engage in dangerous and menacing behavior, using bandanas and knives as props
Buried a pistol drug erupt and carried the nympho carefully and slow
We are involved in illegal activities, including burying weapons and carefully smuggling drugs and people
Back to reality here's the formality I'm sicker than last night
Returning to a state of normality, I still maintain my powerful and impactful presence
As soon as Kutt give me the signal im through your kitchen window
We are ready to take action and invade personal space at any given moment
I'm creepin' and you in danger rearrange ya label me a Stranger.
I am powerful and dangerous, and if you go against me you will be in danger. This is why people label me as a Stranger
Contributed by Colin B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.