OBEY YA VERSE VOL. 2 COMIN SOON!!!

In every area of entertainment, Boston always gets overlooked. It seems like the people in Beantown have to work harder just to get noticed and that doesn’t apply to only athletes, but Hip-Hop artists as well. “We’re the hottest in the Bean,” Stick up says of his group Pinnakul. “And we’re the most slept-on too.”
Stick up doesn’t plan to be ignored anymore though. He and his rap partners, Smokes and TR, are about to open the world’s eyes with their lyrical ability and prove why they are the most talented emcees in Boston, Massachusetts.
It hasn’t been an easy road for Pinnakul though. They’ve seen more dark clouds than sunlight, but then again, these three rappers haven’t had the luxury of living the “normal” life. Stick up lived with his mom and extended family in a broken-down three bedroom apartment because money was tight. Smokes grew up in the ghetto and was thrown into a rough life on the streets. As for TR, his family migrated from the West Indies all the way to Boston, Massachusetts looking for more opportunities and seeking a better life. Though they may be considered outsiders compared to the average person, Hip-Hop united all three of these individuals and they’ve been friends since they were kids. “We would freestyle in the cypher and everybody was talented,” TR recalls. “From there, we tried doing open mics, go to the studio and move around the neighborhood. We all used to chill in the neighborhood and it just started from there.”
In 1993, they formed Pinnakul with several other buddies, but throughout the years, it has mainly been the trio of Stick up, Smokes and TR. They were different from many other crews though. Instead of trying to make bubble-gum songs that could make an artist the flavor of the year, they decided to hone their skills in the street and gain recognition among their peers. Although they were continuously performing at small venues and recording songs in the studio, they never officially unveiled an album in the 90’s. “We didn’t release a lot of music because we weren’t even into putting out CDs or anything like that. We had a lot of material, but we would never put it out because we were still kinda young,” TR explains. “Everyone was still doing their own things individually and we come together to do songs, but I guess we never really had the business sense back then. We just did the music because we loved to do it.”
Although they have been faced with many personal problems relating to incarceration and family ordeals, they got back on the same page in 2004 and began taking their passion for Hip-Hop to a higher level. They recently launched their own imprint, Pinnakul Entertainment, and are on the verge of making their mixtape debut with Obey Your Verse, a spin-off from the popular Sprite slogan.
Don’t expect them to spit about electrolytes and sugar though. The title is a direct reflection of their craft. “Your verse means everything to you, not the image, the fancy clothes or the jewelry. Your verse is your swagger and your verse reflects on you and who you are,” Smokes explains. “When people listen to that mixtape or verse, people will feel like they’re walking in our shoes and will be able to relate to what we’re saying.”
Obey Your Verse may appear as a mixtape, but Pinnakul treated it more like an album. Most of the songs are original and each track has its’ own flare. They pay tribute to their Hip-Hop roots on “East Coasting” and on “A Way Out,” they share their desire to put their life back together.
Pinnakul also proves they can bring the party to the listener. On the club banger “V.S.O.P.,” they energetically rhyme about nightlife and the most popular alcoholic beverage amongst young people in America. “Everyone drinks Hennessy and if you think about it, no one has come out with a song about Hennessey, so I thought it would be a good look for us to do,” Smokes says. “It was something different and would create a good buzz too. Like when you go into the club, everybody’s drinking Hennessy. When a dude goes inside a liquor store, they buy Hennessy. So it came together from there.”
Evidently, Pinnakul isn’t a group of rappers feeding you lies about spending their money on diamonds or shooting gangsters up on the corner. Instead, they Stick up to telling experiences from their life and do it in an entertaining manner. “The main thing you’re going to get is our originality,” Stick up explains. “You’re gonna get our life in rap form as best as possible as we’re going to give it to you. We don’t have a distinctive sound because we’re all different. We’re all from the same hood, but we don’t sound the same. But still, you’re going to get realness.”
If there were only more emcees who kept it real.