Vid Pick: Ciphurphace w/ Jake Palumbo – The Righteous Hour

SpaceLAB emcee Ciphurphace has been featured here quite a bit, and with a name like Ciphurphace, you aren’t wrong in expecting him to be a beast on the mic.

His latest single is a collaborative effort with Jake Palumbo titled “The Righteous Hour.” Off of Ciphurphace’s In Phaced God We Trust EP, the song is pure lyricism from start to finish.

I caught up with Ciphurphace to learn more about what exactly is The Righteous Hour, and his until now secret deal with himself regarding his working relationship with Jake Palumbo.

When IS the righteous hour???

I appreciate you asking that question. 

The Righteous Hour is that one moment in time when everlasting righteousness is flowing through your veins. You feel it deep inside your heart and soul. It's when you feel the world is yours, and you're unstoppable.

When I was penning the lyrics to this record the time was "Righteous" o'clock. There was no doubt about it.

The Righteous Hour can strike at any time for any and all aspects of a person's life.

It can be when the freshman college quarterback is on that final drive to win the championship for his football team, or when the high school senior aces one of the school exams, or when a woman is experiencing intense labor complications, but in the final hour she gives birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl! "The Righteous Hour!"  

What’s your favorite line, or set of bars, from this song, and why?

My favorite set of bars are the first four from my second verse

Distinguished lyricist, holder of the Forgotten Doctrine 
The WaterOx grins, view locked in, captured by modern dated stock lens
This is Dennis Coles rockin' moccasins, an unadulterated toxin
Still shine, kill rhymes wit' an ill mind like an intoxicated Hopsin

Those four bars represent the quintessential Ciphurphace when it comes to writing style, lyrical substance, cadence, flow, wordplay, punchlines, etc.

I gotta shout out some bars from Jake Palumbo’s verse, too

By 2008, I traveled every major highway
I done wrecked a rental car in Ciph's driveway 
And put back together wit' a box of epoxy 
Conquer territories we inherit by proxy

These are my favorite because it's such a funny, true story. Long story short, Jake hit the Southwest for a mini tour back in 2008. He rented a car. He was driving home from a show in Phoenix to my place in Tucson. He arrived at some ridiculous time in the AM, and when attempting to park the car in my parking spot at my apartment complex, he knocked one of the side mirrors clean off.

The insurance was declined on the rental. He was in panic mode. When I woke up in the morning, I took him to get some coffee and a box of epoxy. He glued the side mirror back on the whip, and returned it. Life went on.

Why was it important for you to have your Moonshine Burrito partner in crime, Jake Palumbo, on this song with you?

Well, here's the deal … when I first met Jake, our very first collaborative effort was a remix of a record called "Writes Of Passage,” back in 2006, off my debut solo album, An Honest Day's Work.

Since that remix I've had this personal unwritten clause to have at least one guest feature verse from Jake on all my solo projects. He doesn't know anything about this, but he will when he reads this.

For some reason, I forgot to ask him to be on my Sick Leave EP, which was released in 2014. When I asked him to drop a verse on "The Righteous Hour” I guess it was my way of saying I was sorry for neglecting him on the Sick Leave EP.

On the flip side, I regret asking him to be featured on the song because my EP was explicit-lyric free until he decided to jump in the booth and spit expletives into the mic. My CD cover artwork was all finalized and ready to go, but because of Jake I had to hit up my graphic artist so he could add the "Parental Advisory" sticker to the cover.

Is there more to come from the In Phaced God We Trust EP, or are you moving on to another project now?

The EP has seven tracks. "The Righteous Hour" was the fourth single. At this point, I don't have plans to release any more official singles, but I may be releasing another video, or two.

I am currently working on three new projects – an EP with Per C. Wells, an EP with The Kollectiv (the first single, “D.E.A.D.," will be dropping on August 8th), and a third project that can't be revealed right now.

I have plans to release a follow up to my debut EP on SpaceLAB, as well. The EP is entitled Seoul Phood, produced entirely by Jake Palumbo, with nothing but Korean samples being used. 

Stay tuned!

For more Ciphurphace, check out his entire discography on Bandcamp.