In the realms of hip-hop music, there’s a pantheon of
artists who are no longer with us that embody some of the grandest mythologising I’ve seen out of any media discussion circles. Artists like The
Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Tupac Shakur, Eazy-E, not to mention more recent
deaths like Sean Price and even Lil Peep. However, at least in more underground
circles, one name keeps coming up as an artist that thousands the world over
are still mourning to this day: Micheal David Larsen, otherwise known as Eyedea.
I wound up discovering the guy’s music after his untimely
death in 2010, but it didn’t take long for me to understand why the guy was
missed as much as he was. As creative as he was an impossibly heavy
contemplator, his music didn’t so much make me tune in as they sent me on a
philosophical rollercoaster with how far he’d delve into what makes human
beings tick. I even consider the album First Born by him and producer DJ
Abilities to be one of the best hip-hop records of all time, a showcasing of a
man who was a force to be reckoned with. Imagine if Kurt Cobain took more
inspiration from Public Enemy than Iggy Pop and the Pixies, and you have an
idea of not only the man’s creative output but also the legacy he left behind.
With all that in mind, when news first hit of a documentary all about the man
himself, I kept a very close eye on it, just waiting for the chance to check it
out for myself. But now that I have the DVD in my hands, I can’t help but think
that I set myself up for a colossal fall.
