Originally from Brentwood, Long Island, K-Solo (born Kevin Madison) grew up with EPMD's Parrish Smith and -- along with Redman and Das EFX -- a part of the Hit Squad family.
He had a guest spot on EPMD's Unfinished Business in 1989 and released his first solo album, Tell the World My Name, on Atlantic in 1990. Time's Up followed two years later, and signaled the end of the rapper's association with the now defunct Hit Squad and EPMD.
K-Solo then moved to the West Coast and signed with Death Row, recording an album in 1996 that was never released amid the label's considerable legal troubles.
Spellbound
K-Solo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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S to the O L O
I'm Spellbound
When I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
[x4]
Like this...
[Verse One]
Hey - what I'm about to say
May hit a lot of people in a real strange way
Some - said I should've spelled this a long time ago
But I stayed amateur while others turned pro
P-R-O now I'ma throw - letters in my word
So I can make a Spellbound flow
Read it slow, see how it S-O-U-N-D sounds
K S-O-L-O Spellbound!
When I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
I'm Spellbound
When I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
[Verse Two]
First I'd like to say I'm the K-E-V-I-N
My last name is M-A-D-I-S-O-N
And when I R-A-P they call me K S-O-L-O
My rhymes are heavy like a rock, so I'ma throw them like a bolo
Rhymes are def, beats are hittin' it's workin'
The alphabet's in the coffee pot to keep the spellin' perkin
I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
I only spell so all can T-E-L-L
Rhymes I got or write will S-E-L-L
For rappers who don't believe me go to H-E-L-L
Rhymes I write are made by M-E
Turn the M around and it spells W-E
We K-I-C kicked the B-E-A-T on the S-T-R-E-E-T
No one got rhymes like T-H-E-S-E
These rhymes you can R-E-A-D
Read! See how it sounds - My fundamentals are spellin'
And K S-O-L-O Spellbound!
When S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
I'm Spellbound
When S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
[Verse Three]
I'm not a G-A-M-E to say the S-A-M-E
R-A-P-P-E-R whose style's O-L-D
I'm N-E-W for Y-O-U
Any C-R-E-W paralyzin' vowels
A-E-I-O-U nothin'- you're frontin' - and rappers almost Q...
U-I-C-K to T-A-L-K
Some are real quick to W-A-L-K
You can S-A-Y say what you M-A-Y
When I spell or write a rhyme I won't P-L-A-Y
Play around when it's time to get down
Read it slow when K S-O-L-O is Spellbound!
When S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
I'm Spellbound
When S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
[Verse Four]
Oh yeah, I must drop this line
For MC's who try to spell or put spellin' in the rhyme
They can't get it - I'm the B-E-S-T best
Spellbound got a hundred while you failed the T-E-S-T test
Next time try things I didn't spell
Verbs and nouns, action words and adjectives
Add it together and ask R how it sounds
And maybe a rapper out there could be spellbound
But for now I'm the S-P-E-L-L K-I-N-G
And this song I S-I-N-G
And thanks to E-P-M-D, I-M O-U-T-T-A H-E-R-E
Spellbound!
When I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
Check it out
Like this...
I'm Spellbound
[x4]
S to the O-L-O
Nineteen Nine O K-Solo ? with EPMD
Biggie Smalls
S to the O-L-O
[Fade out]
In K-Solo's song Spellbound, the chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of spelling well. The song is about the rapper's ability to spell words correctly and use them in his rhymes. He explains that he has had this skill for a long time, and now he is ready to showcase it to the world. In the first verse, he talks about how some people were suggesting that he should have spelled words in his music for years, but he stayed amateur while others turned pro. Now he feels that he is ready to take on the challenge and make a "Spellbound flow". In the second verse, K-Solo introduces himself and spells out his name, emphasizing his skill as a speller. He boasts about his rhymes being heavy like a rock and declares that no one has rhymes like his. In the last verse, K-Solo challenges other rappers to try to spell words correctly and use them in their rhymes. He suggests that they start with simple words like nouns, verbs, adjectives, and action words.
Line by Line Meaning
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Listen closely
S to the O L O
Referring to himself; K-Solo
I'm Spellbound
Fascinated by how well he can spell
When I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
When he spells with great skill
Like this...
As demonstrated in this song
Hey - what I'm about to say
He has something important to say
May hit a lot of people in a real strange way
His message may be unexpected
Some - said I should've spelled this a long time ago
People encouraged him to show off his spelling skills sooner
But I stayed amateur while others turned pro
He remained a beginner while others became experts
P-R-O now I'ma throw - letters in my word
Now, he will show off his spelling abilities
So I can make a Spellbound flow
A flow that captivates people through spelling
Read it slow, see how it S-O-U-N-D sounds
Listen carefully to how it sounds
K S-O-L-O Spellbound!
He can spell so well that he is spellbound
My last name is M-A-D-I-S-O-N
His last name is Madison
Rhymes are def, beats are hittin' it's workin'
His rhymes and beats are working well together
The alphabet's in the coffee pot to keep the spellin' perkin
The alphabet is heating up (like coffee) to help his spelling improve
For rappers who don't believe me go to H-E-L-L
For non-believers, he tells them to go to hell
Turn the M around and it spells W-E
Referring to himself and his audience as "we"
No one got rhymes like T-H-E-S-E
No one has rhymes like his
Read! See how it sounds - My fundamentals are spellin'
His skills involve spelling, and people can hear it
I'm not a G-A-M-E to say the S-A-M-E
He is not playing around with his message
Any C-R-E-W paralyzin' vowels
Any rap crew is in awe of his spelling ability
A-E-I-O-U nothin'- you're frontin' - and rappers almost Q...
He can spell all the vowels, and he calls out rappers who can't spell
Next time try things I didn't spell
Rappers should try things beyond just spelling
Verbs and nouns, action words and adjectives
Different types of words to use in rhymes
Add it together and ask R how it sounds
See how the rhymes sound when put together
And thanks to E-P-M-D, I-M O-U-T-T-A H-E-R-E
Acknowledging the group EPMD and ending the song
Contributed by Claire W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bunbun
Maaan, I'm from the west coast and I remember Spell Bound. Hell of a track, intelligently put together with the spelling the words. K-Solo, I for sure will always remember your contributions to hip hop. Respect 🙏🏿
Mr. C. Note
This man was lethal
SWATS 214
The creativity that went in this song. Nuff respect to K-Solo. The 80s and 90s were the best times in hip hop. I miss listening to this song on my cassette tape lol. The young cats don't know what it was like to hit the rewind button on a classic like this.
videovixen203
Kevin Madison owes DMX an A-P-O-L-O-G-Y.
Ricardo Cuevas
Goosebumps! Amazing track. Unreal how good K-Solo is.
Yao Black
You might not believe it but this shit was hittin back in the day. We loved creativity and a style that was butter and K was the embodiment of both.
CLBMG
Who the hell would thumbs down a damn near 30 year old classic???
profesae
CLBMG Mumble Rappers man
RFJersey
CLBMG Drake
Shuri Witwicky
Classic?