Episode I: The Combs Wars

Said ya can’t dis the homie for free/ If anyone’s gonna talk shit, it’s gonna be me

“Somebody suggested that the song might not be such a good idea because I might burn a bridge,” says comedic rapper Rob Deez of his track “Seth Combs,” concerning a CityBeat contributing editor.

But you, Seth Combs, you were drunk that night/ the Jack Daniel’s had made ya bitter/ So ya hopped on your mobile device and ya started talking shit on Twitter

“It was the night of the [2009] San Diego Music Awards, and [Combs] said on Twitter that ‘Josh Damigo sucks balls.’ I thought, Wow, that’s kind of mean. Josh is a brother.… I’ve been collaborating with [Damigo] for around three and a half years now.” Damigo won Best Local Recording at the SDMAs for his album Raw.

I thought Twitter was the end of it/ But it turns out I was wrong/ I guess ya also like talking shit in CityBeat/ Well, I like talking shit in songs

CityBeat’s September 15 issue included this Combs comment: “I’m now convinced that the San Diego Music Academy voters are smoking the same shit as Slightly Stoopid. How else can you explain Josh Damigo’s win…?”

If you wanna dis my boy Josh Damigo by usin’ a CityBeat/ then I’m a dis you and piss on your ego by usin’ a shitty beat

Deez hadn’t met Combs before recording the track (“He definitely goes to different shows. I think he’s more like a Casbah kind of guy”), so in verse he wondered, “What’s up with that weird beard? Where did that come from?” and speculates, “I bet you wear tight pants…you probably smell like a hippie.”

Deez’s MySpace profile quotes a 2007 CityBeat article that states, “This is either the shit, or just shit.” Deez says, “I kind of like that quote. I take it as a compliment.… I might use it in my press kit.”

On October 20, Deez and Damigo performed at U-31, where Combs was bartending. “So, naturally I played ‘Seth Combs,’” reports Deez. “It was cool ’cause it was my first time playing it live, and he was there. Seemed appropriate.”

Count on hearing Deez sing “Seth Combs” when he plays Java Joe’s at Cafe Libertalia on Saturday, October 31, or download the track from sandiegoreader.com.