What It Is! is an album by American jazz percussionist Kahil El'Zabar, which was recorded in 2012 and released on Delmark. It was the debut of a quartet comprising three young players from the school of Chicago's AACM: tenor saxophonist Kevin Nabors, pianist Justin Dillard and bassist Junius Paul. The album includes five originals and two jazz standards by John Coltrane: "Impressions" and "Central Park West".
The Down Beat review by John Murph states "Kahil El’Zabar moves toward the center this time around and releases one of his most accessible discs yet. The adventurous drummer and bandleader steers an impressive quartet, composed of some of the newer generations of the AACM, and emphasizes blues, swing and groove."
The All About Jazz review by Troy Collins says "Whether navigating funky R&B, modal post-bop or expressionistic abstraction, El'Zabar's young sidemen invest their efforts with palpable conviction, imparting even textbook extrapolations with heartfelt urgency."
What It Is is a slang phrase popularized in the 1990s as a greeting or as another way to ask an individual about their well-being or general perception of things (similar to "How are you?", "How is it going?" or "What's Up?") It is a shortening of the greeting, "What it is, what it was, and what it shall be," popular in the 1960s among African Americans.
It also may refer to :
Don't Feed da Animals is the second studio album by American rapper Gorilla Zoe. It was released on March 17, 2009.The album peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard 200, number 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and number 1 on the Billboard Top Rap Albums. The album sold 29,000 copies in its first week, and 134,660 copies to date.
Don't Feed da Animals received mixed reviews from music critics. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews credited the album for toning down on the skits and featured guests to showcase Zoe's vocal delivery but found it lacking with more luxury rap and silliness. Juon called it "a slight improvement over [Gorilla] Zoe's debut, but his personality still tends to get lost in the mix and he sometimes seems to be a caricature of Southern rap instead of one of its stars." David Jeffries of AllMusic said that while the album carried the usual ear-grabbing club tracks, it was kept down by the more sophomoric lyricism in tracks like "S*** on 'Em" and "Lost". Brendan Frederick of XXL said he saw some growth in Zoe's brag-rap lyricism along with introspective in the track "Lost," saying that he found his "comfort zone somewhere between singsongy rap and electro R&B, proving that this boy from the hood is finally starting to man up."
*PART 1*
(Spoken)
Waited a long time for this,
Feels right now.
Uh, Uh, Ha
Allow me to introduce my self;
Want you to come a little closer;
I'd like you to get to know me a little better...
Meet the real me.
Sorry you can't defie me
Sorry I break the mold
Sorry that I speak my mind
Sorry, Don't do what I'm told
Sorry If I don't fake it
Sorry I come so real
I will never hide what I really feel
No eh oh
Hmm, So here it is
No hype, no gloss, no pretense
Just me
Stripped.
*PART 2*
Sorry I ain't perfect
Sorry I ain't give a (what?)
Sorry I ain't a diva
Sorry, Just know what I want
Sorry I'm not virgin
Sorry I'm not a slut
I won't let you break me
Think what you want
Oh eh Oh
(Spoken)
To all my dreamers out there:
I'm with you
All my underdogs:
Heh, I feel you
Keep thinking high
And stay strong
Keep wishing on...
Stripped.