Christmas-time mixtape number two! This time from the former CH understudy.
In all of 12 hours, brandUn DeShay started and finished this side project to hold all of us over until Volume: Three! comes around in approximately February. He says at the end that this is kind of like his version of Lupe's Enemy of the State and it's definitely got that vibe going for it. He goes the old route of simply going in over other rappers' beats and lyrically demolishing them. Not a lot of hooks. A couple features. And some dopeness. That's what you'll get here. And once you see the tracklist, you can guess for yourself which instrumentals he's going over. I'm partial to the "Good Kanshay West" joint since I thought I was the only one who knew how insanely classic the original "Apologize" joint is. All of it's great, though. brandUn raps better than your favorite rapper raps. And he can produce better than your favorite producer, but that ain't what this tape is about. You should download it, regardless.
brandUn DeShay -
Your Favorite! MixTape
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Your Favorite
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Bringin' Normal Back
So I got three Christmas-time mixtapes that I need to update my occasional readers on. They're all insanely dope and if you don't download each of them, then [insert fatal threat here].
The first one is ... Charles Hamilton. Finally. It was only over six entire months since his last project. Which is absolutely no deal when discussing anyone else, but this is CH we're talking about. His blog is still deaded so there's no daily unfiltered updates, but he's on Twitter. For whatever that's worth. Regardless, this is all Charles rapping over all Charles production. Who knows what else he's working on at the moment, but I'll take this any day. It doesn't disappoint. I don't wanna say it's "growth" exactly, but you can definitely tell a slight direction shift in how he put his music together for this project. Any previous connoisseur of his catalogue will be able to tell. DOWNLOAD IT.
Charles Hamilton -
Normalcy
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Classic: Exhibit C
I just bought this two seconds ago. So I think you should too.
Literally the only reason that Jay Electronica isn't the most hailed emcee out today is because, for whatever reason, he doesn't frickin' release full projects or anything for purchase. Welp, him and Just Blaze put this single up for sale. And it's monstrous. I swiped a picture of Jay Elec transcribing the lyrics himself off of Rappers I Know. Some people don't get what the dude's about and some people would kill someone for talking sideways about his music. I mean, half his appeal though is the mystery surrounding his surreal presence on the mic. So maybe it needs to be like this for him to keep that cult presence. On the other hand, the other half of his appeal is better-than-everyone-elseness, so it's all good.
Jay Electronica - Exhibit C [iTunes Link]
Love on a Two-Way Street
Hey, you heard of Macklemore? ...
I don't know if Ryan Lewis used the original "Love on a Two-Way Street" by The Moments or if he straight messed with Jigga's Al Shux beat, but I do know that I sweat it. The very first joint off the instantly classic The VS. EP is called "Vipassana" (... which is an insight into the nature of reality, courtesy of the all-knowing Wiki ...) and it's tinged with the same notion of gorgeous accompaniment that made "Empire State of Mind" the most anthemic single of the year. It's gotta completely different aura to it, though. You know Macklemore ain't gonna be on the same wave as Hov. Psh. Decide for yourself which one you like more. You might be surprised.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Best Thing Out in Years
Easily, the best new artist that I've been introduced to this year is Seattle's Macklemore. He's a straight poet. I feel like I'd be degrading the dude by calling him a rapper. He brings the gruff voice of a weathered spoken word artist and crafts the most important stories you're going to hear this year onto the interpolated compositions of his producing counterpart Ryan Lewis. He's got some older material, but I've never heard it before. All I know is that this VS. project is pretty much better than anything else you're listening to. Experience it. And then attempt to talk about it afterwards. I'm having trouble doing so.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Build Me Up Buttercup
In my book, no one beats an ODB hook. No one. But a similarly acronymed artist decided that he'd give a pop classic chorus a rendition, even though Dirt McGirt already had pretty much retired it to perfection years before. B.o.B (interchangeably noted as Bobby Ray now, I guess) dropped what could possibly be a joint off of his proper debut album The Great Adventures of Bobby Ray. I've already chalked the LP up as a classic simply from the perfect "Nothing On You" that you should search for and obtain right now. Back last year and earlier in this one when Hi! My Name is B.o.B and Who the F#*k is B.o.B? dropped, this man was up in my essential newcomers category with Charles Hamilton. And that's about as high praise as I can give him. Uff a hater. It all comes back to CH, doesn't it? And that doesn't even take into account that the first joint below is from Rhymefest ...
Monday, November 23, 2009
Let Your Hair Down
You know I don't usually like to, but I gotta post a freshly leaked joint. Here's a "Sampled" post featuring two songs, kinda on a double-take. The sample in question is Yvonne Fair's "Let Your Hair Down" from 1975, and the first sampling culprit is Jay-Z's "Where I'm From". Early, gritty stuff from Hov. But then there's the fresh new K-West wannabes [(c) Shad] single "Angels", which probably just samples the Jay track, but explicitly the part of it sampled from Fair's original. They are Dirty Money, by the way. While I'm not feeling Diddy's crew too much, luckily there was someone who thought he could improve the song. And he did. And he wasn't Rick Ross, damn it. Lupe tha Killa, Killa, Killa ... oh, and for all future reference, if I'm titling the post a random generality that can somehow be about a woman, Keira Knightley will be the accompanying picture. Just saying.
Guess Who's Back Back Back
The blog is nowhere to be found, so I guess we'll just have to take it from his Twitter 140 characters at a time. But regardless, Charles Hamilton is back.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Heartbeats
This is the funniest "Sampled" pairing up ever in my opinion. brandUn DeShay and Sage Francis. Though the emcees couldn't be anymore different, that's not what makes it hilarious. You'll have to listen to the songs for that. These joints sample (or are just freestyled over) "Heartbeats" by the Swedish techno group The Knife. And I will now write the details of that exact sentence again, as I trust no one's inference skills ...
The Knife - Heartbeats
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Other Man
Donuts records are still popping up this many years later. To me, not much that could be better. The emcees that actually go in over his joints are genuinely trying to honor him. No harm in that. I think Jay Elec wins this round, but you judge for yourself. If Wiki is to be trusted, this record mainly samples off of Luther Ingram's "The Other Man", but in my short spin of it, I couldn't find this joint's sampled part. Oh well. CH mixed the sample a little different, but you can still definitely tell what it's inspired from.
J Dilla - Gobstopper
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Not in TN No More
I told you to call me crazy. I hope you did.
After three games, Allen Iverson has asked for a leave from the Grizzlies. Read this gorgeously and stupidly constructed column from a little earlier in the summer and see why I am unequivocally disallowed from here on to ever believe or put faith in an athlete I haven't met personally. That's why I trust John Wall. When you walk into your dorm the same time as him after his first collegiate ball game and get to break down what happened with him on the way down the stairs ... well, let's just say I believe in John Wall. Never again, though, in the artist formerly known as The Answer.
And while we're on Wildcat legends ... Jodie Meeks dropped 5 threes on the lowly Knickerbockers and was good for 19 points. Yeeeah. He got in at the end of the first quarter and proceeded to swish three perfect long shots to close out the period and drain another one to open the second. That's a way to force your coach to give you an extended run for the first time in your career. So there's my important basketball notes in the early season. And who cares that the Lakers are 5-1 (tied for the league's early lead) without Pau at all and now with Bynum temporarily down? I sure don't care. Well ... that's a lie. I was screaming bloody murder at my League Pass Broadband for the champs somehow allowing the junior high Thunder and the Chuck Hayes-lead D-League Rocket squad take them to OT on consecutive nights. Oh well.
... but do take my word for it.
Classic: Eternal Sunshine
No one has a grasp on what it is that makes Jay Electronica ... Jay Electronica. You're lying if you say you do. He's abstracted abstractness. He has masterful skill over crafting interestingness. I spend all of my time trying to understand the genius behind it all while I'm listening to his music more than actually listening to his music. It's popular amongst the heads to label him as the third incarnation of the God MC. And while I balked at it at first, I've held my tongue ever since I heard the following song. It's perfect. I don't know what makes it perfect, but it's perfect. How can this man be the next to walk the footsteps of Rakim and Nas before he's ever put together a comprehensive album or even a real single? Just listen and you'll know. He's Jay Electronica. What else do you need to know?
Jay Electronica - Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)
... but do take my word for it.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
BP3 Tour Footage
I meant to write about this like the day after. Man, I've been terrible on the interwebs recently. I saw the Jigga Man last month at Northern Kentucky University. It just made it perfect that though NKU is a pretty little-known school, I got an amazing friend who goes up there. This show changed my life. There's no two ways about it. I've always been pretty tough on where I hold Jay amongst the all-time greatest in rap, but now it's crystal clear to me. He's number two behind Andre on my list now. This man's staying power is unparalleled and he put on the greatest live set I've ever had the privilege of seeing in my life. Beyond epic. Wale skipped out on us for the BET Awards, but J. Cole and N*E*R*D held it down.
... but do take my word for it.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Do It, Do It
I'm halfway crazy-hyped and halfway crazy-disappointed with this new Wale joint. The former because it features the vocally perfect Melanie Fiona and the moster-in-waiting J. Cole. The latter because I recognize the sample from Lupe's "Theme Music to a Drive-By", which I'm pretty sure wasn't placed on his debut album because they couldn't clear the sample. And "Theme Music" is easily one of my favorite songs ever, as detailed in this past post. Oh well. I guess Roc Nation has its privileges after all. The beats utilize the song "(Do It, Do It) No One Does It Better" by The Spinners.
Wale - Beautiful Bliss (feat. Melanie Fiona & J. Cole)
Lupe Fiasco - Theme Music to a Drive-By
Young Gunz - Future of the ROC
... but do take my word for it.
Monday, October 19, 2009
You Talkin' Bout Brenda?
Just was on LaV's blog and checked out a new song he dropped. And I was very happy about the instrumental. Check 'em out. And just for the record, one of the most elite lines crafted of any and all time is: "There's only one girl on my agenda./You talkin bout Brenda?/Naw, I'm talkin bout Linda, from last Septemba ..."
LaVish - Reminisce, Pt. 1
Consequence - Getting Out the Game (feat. Kanye West & John Legend)
... but do take my word for it.
Tom's Diner
I can see why this song's been spun back so many times. This probably has the catchiest completely bland vocals and songwriting ever. But who am I to talk? If it possibly inspired 2Pac, even if like twelve years after his death, then it's all good by me. We'll just focus on three different interpretations of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" joint.
DNA - Tom's Diner (feat. Suzanne Vega)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Comeback #5: You'd Think They Hated Tofu
And it wasn't to cease. While Lloyd and Weezy had a monopoly on 106 & Park for like a year with their original incarnation of the Spandau Ballet-sampling "You", Andre decided he could one up everyone's new favorite guest emcee. With (barely any) help from Nas, a remix quickly became an epidemic on the blogosphere. Who knew that he had it in him? He'd just finished getting the streets up out their seats with "Walk It Out" and now he was talking smooth to the ladies outside of Whole Foods.
Lloyd - You (Remix feat. Andre 3000 & Nas)
Classic: Riot
I'm a Wyclef stan. While on The Score he pretty much just made me laugh with his crazy off-kilter and free barely-rhyming. But I loved it. While Pras was off ... um ... doing whatever he was doing every third verse and Lauryn was redefining the art of intrinsic rhyming, Clef played the role of the court jester who obviously had skills, yet seemed bored with any and all semblance of convention. And once the Fugees split, he's been on an absolute tear ever since in regularly providing his fans with new product.
Wyclef Jean - Riot (feat. Serj Tankian & Sizzla)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cuz If You're Not Really Here ...
So this girl made me go and see the movie Fame. I thought it was gonna suck and be some unholy kind of cheesy, but naw, it was actually alright. The music choices were essential. From "Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor" by Frédéric Chopin (which I only know cuz Alicia Keys gorgeously interpolated it for the intro to her last album) to "Ordinary People" by Johnny L. But my favorite was the insanely perfect rendition of "Black & Gold". Now I'd never heard this joint until I was introduced to the cover version by Phony Ppl, but it's a perfect song. I still got it stuck in my head.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
This is a Poem
Life changes. A week ago ... I possibly had swine flu and my laptop was stolen. This week ... I don't have swine flu and my laptop was returned. Oh, and I moved into the Wildcat Lodge (the UK basketball players' dorm) and I might have a girl. Literally nothing better could have happened over the last seven days.
So here's a poem I wrote a week ago at the height of everything going terrible. It was just in case. And I now feel comfortable sharing it. Even though I'm going to blur the names. You can connect the dots yourself if you know me.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Runnin' on Walls
So my laptop got stolen for a minute. My bad.
Since I've been M.I.A. (no "Paper Planes") for a lil' while, I just wanna throw up a crazy nice collabo joint that you should prolly already have in your collection. If you aren't already a huge fan of one of the dudes on this track, then you don't like anybody. And I don't know about you, but I just really like this song.
XV - Mirror's Edge (Benzi Remix feat. Mike Posner, Bun B, & GLC)
... but do take my word for it.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Clash of the Titans
Me and my new best friend Daniel Orton! HAHAHA.
I swear, he's the coolest guy ever and he's now instantly bound to be my favorite basketball player ever once he gets his NBA chops. This picture also got me a post on KSR (my favorite website ever). So I'm crazy pumped. And I'm not even gonna mention how I beat him in ping pong, too ... whoops.
... but do take my word for it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
No Longer Inna Scope
So ... anyone who's been following Charles Hamilton over his short career had prolly already threw their detective hat on and figured out that he wasn't going to have a smooth go once major label politics got involved. Well, major label politics got involved. And it hasn't been a smooth go. Three months into his self-imposed internet exile, CH has been released from Interscope. Word is that it was mutual thing that's been in the works for a while now, but I couldn't care any less. I just want him to come back to his blog and talk. Regardless of any of that, we were given a gift out of this situation, good or bad.
Charles Hamilton -
This Perfect Life
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Instant Classic
I really like it when I find dope music accidentally. This time it was off of brandUn DeShay's twitter. Just happened to click on some dude's site that he was complimenting and I found one of my favorite songs of the year. Yeah.
So now I'm an instant fan and advocate of all things ChRis BaRz. I'll give the Maryland representer a proper post once I've had time to digest his debut project and learn up on his style, but for right you'll have to get this single joint up on your iPod and find out what you(& I)'ve been missing. Class[Sickz] Out The Dark coming soon ...
ChRis BaRz - When the Stars Come Out
... but do take my word for it.
Hold On: LaVish
It's fitting that transitioning from brandUn DeShay in the "Hold On" series is LaVish. I first heard this Los Angeles native rap next to brandUn on the song "Confidently Modest" with Casey Veggies, too. I decided I needed to get familiar with more of his music as the new class of emcees out of LA seem to be bringing some other kind of energy breaking away from the Snoop/Pac/Dre stereotype of the coast. And he was. Funny thing I found out was how young the dude was. And regardless of that, he still was well on his way to establishing his signature.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Classic: Whatever You Say
I'm cheating on this one. I'm using it as a "classic" and a fake "sampled" joint. But you'll forgive me.
Little Brother - Whatever You Say (Pete Rock Remix)
Maxwell - Whenever, Wherever, Whatever
Monday, September 14, 2009
Hold On: brandUn DeShay
First up was me introducing Mike Dreams on my blog, but y'all should already know this cat. I've been the biggest fan of his from the very first beat of his song "Go Fly a Kite" that played on his MySpace once I curiously clicked on his Blogger profile from a comment on a Charles Hamilton blog post. He's one of the most original and insanely witty emcees in the rap game today and has a genius ear for production. And when I say genius, I really mean it. The sounds that he creates, whether with sampling or his monstrously original keyboard skills, are simply incomparable to any other beat crafter in the game. But he doesn't make beats, he makes compositions. He'll make sure and remind everyone of that. And he's agreed to contribute to my "Hold On" remix. He's brandUn DeShay.
Comeback #4: If Ya Say Real Talk, I Prolly Won't Trust Ya
Then my world was rocked.
I remember first catching this on the once formidable Spine Magazine site. On paper it looked like one of the most random and uncalled-for collaborations ever. Hand-in-hand with that I thought it might even be a blend of an old verse or something. I know Unk is from Atlanta, but would both of the original ATLiens really jump on the most annoying dance track of the summer along with the newest crap NY trend rapper, Jim Jones? Turns out ... yes they would.
Unk - Walk it Out (Remix feat. OutKast & Jim Jones)
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Hold On: Mike Dreams
I've had this song that's been "under construction" for a good while now. It's my "Hold On (Remix)" joint, revamped from my debut album lead single by the masterful London producer Charlie Hilton. The seeds of this song go all the way back to the very beginning of the summer and is still nowhere close to being done, but I wanted to start a short series highlighting all the contributors to what will become of this epic song. And here is me doing that.
The newest emcee to come into the fold is Mike Dreams, formerly Young Son a.k.a. Sean Kingston's twin brother a.k.a. Gravy's second cousin, removed.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Comeback #3: My Life Gon Be a Bowl
Stop number three on the 3000 comeback tour actually came when the album came. Andre utilized this crazily titled R&B joint, that happened to have a rap verse tacked on the end, for the Idlewild movie itself. It's a great scene with the cuckoo clocks aptly explaining what "chronomentrophobia" actually is a fear of. The fear of clocks. The fear of time.
And only Dre could put together this spoken-wordish slow-flowed dictation and still seal it as dope. It seems like he was just trying to do as many variations on his flow as he could muster for his three different rhyming ventures on this album, and they all worked. That's a crazy rare feat.
Andre 3000 - Chronomentrophobia
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Comeback #2: Don't Like What I Write? Shoot Me a Bird
Stop number two on the Andre 3000 tour came due to another leak a little while after "The Mighty O". This song was a modern day super group cut in the vain of "Swagga Like Us" or the newly crowned "Forever". While hip hop history doesn't seem to quite recognize it as such right now because Idlewild is wrongly ignored in general basically, it definitely delivers quality on an insane level. The emcees involved? Andre 3000 and Big Boi, of course, plus Lil' Wayne and Snoop Dogg. That's as close to owning the world that you're gonna get without an NY emcee in the mix.
OutKast - Hollywood Divorce (feat. Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sonic the Campbellton
After a hundred years since my official debut album hit an mp3 site near you, I finally finish another complete project! Here's Sonic the Campbellton!!!
In case you've missed me explaining it before, this is a concept project that I scribed into life over beats produced solely by Charles Hamilton. I'm the biggest fan of Demevolist instrumentation for any and all occasions and I thought I could hold my own over some of my favorite CH compos that he so generously released for free (like everything else his entire career). So yeah ... download it and link it up to everyone you know in every way of social networking you know how! Maybe I could get it on 2dopeboyz ... that would be a dream ...
Chris Campbell -
Sonic the Campbellton (Mixtape)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Classic: Heaven Somewhere
While there's a few bloggers who I've stumbled upon that share the feeling with me (most notably, Pinboard), everyone else seems to absolutely hate Common's Electric Circus album. It's the one that knocked him into near hip hop obscurity as a general outsider in the years before Kanye and Be rescued him. But you know what? Screw everyone else's opinions. It'll say right here and now that EC is my favorite Common album. Yeah, suck on that one.
I may write a full length review one day on it, but for now I just wanted to post one of the most classic posse cuts that has ever been assembled. And the super crazy thing is ... it's all R&B singers ... and the song ain't even a "We Are the World" remix.
Kwelity
Talib Kweli jumped on the Novel wagon super quick. And I'm crazy disappointed this man hasn't blown up in the public conscious since releasing stuff all the way back in 2002. Just goes to show you that life ain't fair ... cuz this man has more talent and vocal ability than Omarion, Mario, Mario Winans, Marques Houston, Jeremih, Lloyd, and Day 26 rolled into one nasally pop&blues act. But, regardless, I just really like this song. And it's produced by Dilla back when he was still around to hear the final product.
Talib Kweli - Stand to the Side (feat. Novel & Vinia Mojica)
... but do take my word for it.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Fear Our Right Now
John Wall. Darnell Dodson. Daniel Orton. Jon Hood. DeMarcus Cousins. Eric Bledsoe. I see your Fab Five and raise you my Kill Your Dreams Six.
... but do take my word for it.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Snippet #2: Obamamania?
Question: Everyone knows that every rapper and their momma hopped on the Obama bandwagon come election time, but do you know the very first artist to lend bars in support of our current president?
Hint ... it's not will.i.am or Jigga or Crooked I or Ludacris or anyone who put out a mixtape tribute to the man recently. What if I told you it was all the way back in 2004?
And It All Comes Out
So it all leaked. All of it except for two bonus joints that are supposed to be Rhapsody exclusives. I'm talking about Jay-Z's album of course. And I'm sorry, but you'll have to look elsewhere for those links. Not on my site. But after maybe possibly sneaking a listen to BP3 myself, I'm definitely gonna buy it. It's (obviously) not as focused as the great American Gangster, but so many of the individual cuts are ridiculously dope that I'll be forced to support it. Every Kanye and No I.D. cut brought the heat, as I expected, and J. Cole's feature is super straight. Add in the powerful Alicia Keys hook on "Empire State of Mind" that got me all hot and heavy and you got yourself quite the repeatable iTunes selections. I could listen to that woman all day. Her voice even looks sexy, if you can conceive that. The album ends on a great cut too with Mr. Hudson singing over a "Coldest Winter"-esque beat on "Forever Young" while Jay gets back in full on "Beach Chair" mode. Oh, and ... my album's on Rhapsody, too, in case you forgot! Jigga can't hog all of that site.
But he sure can put together a commercial with them that gives me chills. If you don't realize everything going on then ... I don't know what to say.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Where's Chronic?
Somehow he's still doing it. Chris Rivera has released two more freshly put together volumes of unreleased Charles Hamilton music. This now makes five full length collectives. Wow.
The only reason we even know Charles is still alive is because there were pictures of dude at the rapper Esso's release party for his Off the Wall mixtape a lil' while back. [For the record, Demev producer Woody went all out on his Michael Jackson beats for that tape, but Esso is such a boring emcee that it didn't really matter. Sorry.] And CH was still full on in his usual pinkness and Beats headphones, so that let's you know he's still for sure himself. Then there was more recently a heavy video with his former boo Briana Latrise where she discussed that he was doing really well. She said it was a personal and executive decision for him to stay away from the internet and straight focus in on his music.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Tanya Morgan. Don't Ask
So last night I saw Tanya Morgan live. I hate to admit it, but I didn't know a lot about their music before last night. I studied up on their bio and main rotation singles so I could at least vibe heavy on their choruses and just absorb the rest of the performance. After three different local Lexington acts, two of which were crazy dope (Kuntry Noize and Divine Carama) and one which was some respectable white dudes (Loose Change), Tanya Morgan came out with crazy energy to knock the roof off.
Ilyas started off by immediately hooking everyone on a double-time flow verse that he straight dumbed out on. He became my hero right then and there.
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