DEFINING SENICA: Senica Da Misfit

ARTICLE SKYY HOOK

Since his passing, I’ve often wondered how I would describe my friend Senica Da Misfit to someone who didn’t have the privilege of knowing him. What I’ve come to realize is that Senica meant different things to many different people. This fact intrigued me and made me dig deeper to find out why.

If you asked his brother Danny, you would hear that Senica was a family man with a good heart. He was a devoted father who loved God and telling corny dad jokes. There is nothing he wouldn’t do, no distance he wouldn’t run, no mountain he wouldn’t climb to ensure his family was taken care of.

You see, Danny who helped raise Senica, instilled a sense of purpose and self awareness in him. This in turn allowed Senica to be secure enough in himself that he had the fortitude and steadfastness to provide for his family while simultaneously chasing his dreams. It wasn’t one or the other. He worked hard from 9-5, so that he could rock a stage or a mic, or an MPC, or a script, or a set for all hours of the evening. Most rappers would not think this to be ideal but Senica had a wife and kids to provide for first above all else. That’s the man Danny brought him up to be and that’s the man he was.

If you asked his DJ and best friend since childhood DJ Dark Fada he may tell you Senica was a kind soul. Senica was a guy who was easy to get along with and once you knew him you had a friend for life. Senica made music with people all over the world. Some he knew personally but most he actually didn’t. He was pursued for his beats and features relentlessly and he and Dark Fada often never met the artists they collaborated with until it was time to bless a stage. Senica never skimped on or repeated a verse and rarely if ever charged artists who requested his presence on a track. He often felt that being heard from was the most important thing so as long as people wanted participation from him and Fada he saw no reason not to participate.

In the coming weeks, months and maybe even years, we will see just how many projects are still left out there that we don’t even know about yet. With each closing day as news spreads of this tremendous loss to the world and subsequently to both the Rap genre and Hip Hop culture at large, more details are revealed about projects Senica had ongoing with artists that his friends and colleagues knew nothing about. So, his voice will continue to reign anew among speakers and headphones far and wide for some time.

If you asked journalist Dart Adams who Senica was, he would say, “Senica was a constant in the game. A star who deserved to shine bright who was always right on the cusp of his greatness and moment. Everyone was just waiting patiently for that minute to come when he blew up to the place he was supposed to be. Nobody waited more patiently than Senica himself. He just got better with each second that he was on standby.”

But if you ask me and you did, I have to say Senica is like Nas… half man and half amazing. His presence drew you in, his kindness kept you there. His talent while immeasurable, it made him a giant but he never threw it in your face or made you feel lesser than him because of it. Well, unless of course he was behind the mic where no rules apply and all gloves are off. He spoke from his gigantic heart always and had a way of making you feel like you were the only person in the room even if there were a bazillion others standing all around you. As he paid attention to your every word no matter how frivolous the conversation may have been.

I have the career that I do now, because Senica agreed to give up his Saturday nights for me a decade ago and co-hosted my first radio show with me. The show entitled, “The Crossover” was a nod to one of my favorite EPMD classic joints that showcased up and coming indie and underground Hip-Hop artists. We gave a voice both to them and to each other. And we had a ball in the process. From this show other shows were spun off and eventually Skyyhook Radio was created. The rest as they say is history but it all began with this guy in Severn, Maryland who thought I sound like Riley Freeman when I got mad. He took the word friend and created a new definition for it. As with all things Senica, he made it something most could never live up to if they were trying to be Senicaesque. Never, not once did he say no if he didn’t have to. Anything I ever needed, Misfit was right there. It was like having my very own super hero at the other end of my phone. Because that’s who he was to me.

This loss is one from which I may very well never truly recover. I think that goes for all who knew him. His presence is still so completely prevalent and it’s throughout Google, YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify and in forthcoming HBO and Netflix projects as he had just begun getting accolades doing something else he dreamed of doing… acting.

To answer the question I posed at the beginning of this piece, how I would describe Senica to someone who didn’t have the privilege of knowing him personally? He was everything to everyone. Whatever you needed at the time, he would provide. That giving spirit and selfless nature will be what stays with those who knew him and loved him as much as the timeless art he created during his all too brief time on Earth.