Ragging Pony: Rapper. Trianglist. Badass. ~An Elegíe for a Pioneer~

Needless to say, the lack of formal academic study on the roll of the concert triangle in modern hip hop is perhaps the greatest travesty of the current millennium. Much critical attention has been heaped upon the beats, lyricism, and culture surrounding the genre of hip hop, yet critics remain shamefully silent when discussing the role of the triangle.

The triangle, in the context of predominantly bass heavy hip hop, is the epitome of extreme. It hovers, much like a silken butterfly, over the primal grind of the electronic beats, sustaining an angelic high over the blare of subtones. Handled by a skillful maestro, the triangle is nothing short of majestic, orgasmic and sublime.

Lauded as the “Godfather of Triangle” in the elite triangle-conscious communities, no one has done more to elevate the stature and role of this underappreciated instrument than the Brooklyn born rapper and percussionist, Ragging Pony. Mr. Pony has worked with some of the biggest names in popular hip hop: Usher, Nelly, Timbaland, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent to name but a few of his recent collaborators. No matter what rapper he is paired with, Ragging Pony’s triangle virtuosity is unmistakable, ringing heavenly through the sometimes bleak slant of the lyrics.

Like most trianglists in the hip hop genre, Ragging Pony was not formally trained. He learned how to play triangle in the streets. At the tender age of ten, Mr. Pony fashioned his own triangle accoutrement from a twisted piece of barbed wire and left home to study under the tutelage of the local triangle gang, the “Idiophonic-Chronic.” In an early interview with GQ, Mr. Pony revealed, “I learned all the basics in the hood with my posse. Ya know: rudiments, double-stops, dynamic sensitivity. All that shit. But trianglin’ is in my blood. My great granddad left Africa with only the shirt on his back and the triangle in his pocket.”

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Dr. Dre shared some charming anecdotes about Pony’s work habits. “We were working on “Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang” when I said to myself: yo, we need us some triangle to make this jam really pop. We got the bass drum on 1 and 3. Got the snare on 2 and 4. I want some tinkle-tinkle in there.” Ragging Pony arrived at the studio with multiple steel enforced cases containing his arsenal of triangles and beaters. Dr. Dre continued, “Ragging P warmed up for nearly three hours before he let us even record one take. I mean it, he’s that serious. He got like, 50 of these triangles of all different sizes. Maybe more. So. Yeah. He’s that good.”

Ragging Pony, a self-professed triangle connoisseur, experiments with many varieties of triangles but settles almost exclusively on the Remo 15A, known as the Stradivarius of triangles, for recording.

Being a hip hop triangle superstar has taken its expected toll on Ragging Pony. He is frequently accused of being a “sellout” by many of the underground hip hop trianglists. Few have been as vocal as East-LA born idiophone idol, MC Killah. As a representative of the chill West Coast triangle sound, Mr. Killah is happy to voice his complaints, recently telling a reporter for the LA Times, “Man, that Pony don’ know shit about the triangle! He’s a panderer. Straight-up. I mean, how many times can you accent 2 and 4? Lame.”

There is a notable stylistic difference between the two coasts. The New York “tinkle-hop” triangle performers frequently mute the triangle with their palm shortly after the mechanism is struck, choking the vibration and muting the sound. The result is pleasingly staccato and a perfect accompaniment to the dance club. East coast trianglists weave in and out of the beat, employ double time phrasing, and commonly implement fast sixteenth notes, displaying a musical dexterity reserved primarily for classically trained musicians. West coast musicians, located in the greater Los Angeles area, are known for their effective use of legato, stunning technique, and general sparseness of sound, free of all tonal surplusage. While a New Yorker would accent the downbeats with metallic flourishes and ornamentations, a West coaster would strike the triangle on beat one then let it ring gloriously until the next measure, much like the ringing drones of the Saint Catherine church bells.

And of course, East coast trianglists use stainless steel beaters whereas bronze is favored in the West.

Tragedy struck this weekend in a Boston dance club during an impromptu “triangle-throw down.” Similar to its vocal counterpart where rival rappers competitively deliver their best lines to establish dominance, trianglists from all over the country flocked to “The Silver Pyramid” in Boston to flaunt their skills. Things started civilly, with factions of both the East and West warming up with pianissimo rolls and simple patterns. However, these territorial groups couldn’t commingle indefinitely: soon there was a crescendo evident in both the volume of the triangle duelers and the passion in which they played. Ragging Pony led the East coasters, arrogantly playing thirty-second notes and pouting his lips. The West coaster responded by slowing their playing even more and experimenting with vibrato, waving their cupped hands over the resonating triangles and slouching further into their chairs. Violence erupted and the trianglers flooded into the street. Dave Meyers, a local newsstand owner and witness to the mayhem, described what happened next in an interview with Downbeat, “So all of a sudden I hear this tingle-tingle type sound, like ice-cream truck music on speed. I goes outside and there’s all these black guys hitting these metal triangles and looking really pissed off about something.” Years of feuding was brought to a head when an unidentified Californian, distinguishable solely by his languid playing style, shoved his triangle beater into Ragging Pony’s left eye, ending his career and his life. Interest in the work of the recently martyred Mr. Pony spiked as the result of his death, fulfilling his dream of exposing the integral role of the triangle in the world of modern hip hop.

Note: The Ragging Pony Estate will release a posthumous album for solo triangle in memory of Mr. Pony, One Voice: One Triangle, in late 2008.