Video: Verb Tec & Vanderslice – Time Is Of The Essence

Verb Tec cherishes moments in “Time Is Of The Essence”.

Philly rapper Verb Tec and producer Vanderslice released their collaborative album, ‘No Struggle No Progress‘, independently on December 10, 2021.

Along with the album, they released the official Lendl Tellington-directed music video for album standout “Time Is Of The Essence” which is available to give a watch below.

“This is a song about home and grace. I filmed part of the video at my grandmother’s house in Baltimore which has always been home to me in the larger sense, because it’s always been that stable, familiar place. This was the first song we recorded during our first studio session for the record (shout out to the only engineer I trust with my mixes: Scott Stallone) at Found Sound Studios. The energy was high and joyous. This was mid-2021, when we thought the pandemic was coming to an end. We were wrong.” –Verb Tec

Tec’s conscious raps and sharp lyricism are reflective of his identity as a Black man, loving father, husband, and former school teacher–all of which come to a head on ‘No Struggle No Progress’.

Heavily inspired by Curtis Mayfield’s self-titled debut album, ‘No Struggle No Progress’ tells Tec’s personal story of struggle and triumph through his “undying quest for freedom and justice” over soulful Jazz and R&B-inflected Hip-Hop stylings of the ’90s and early aughts.

More About Verb Tec:
Cedric Hardy (a loving father, husband, and former high school teacher), otherwise known as Verb Tec (a gifted emcee on an undying quest for freedom and justice through music), first found his way as a musician at the age of ten years old playing the trumpet.

His love for Black music transitioned from Sade and James Brown via his parents’ records, to A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and Wu-Tang Clan in high school.

After learning the fundamentals of writing raps, Tec recorded lo-fi demos on an analog four-track and entered local talent showcases.

During his time at Temple University in Philadelphia, Tec participated in local rap shows, battles, and released his own music independently.

Tec’s affinity for classic Boom-Bap and soul samples was inspired by legendary producers such as Pete Rock, J-Dilla, and The Alchemist among others, while his politically-charged lyrics are derivative of Chuck D of Public Enemy, KRS One, and The Coup’s Boots Riley.

As a wordsmith, Tec is a student of the sharp lyricism of emcees like Black Thought, Pharoahe Monche, and Rakim.

Everything came to a head when Tec met producer Vanderslice in 2004.

Vanderslice gave Tec a beat CD and they became fast friends and frequent collaborators.

Their relationship is based on an uncanny musical chemistry and an unwavering dedication to quality over quantity.

The two have been recording demos together since they met.

Tec stepped away from music for almost a decade until, in 2015, the dynamic Hip-Hop duo began working on the foundation of what would become 2018’s ‘The Freedom Papers’.

Tec and Vanderslice reconnected two years later to begin work on their latest album, ‘No Struggle No Progress’, released in December 2021.