"... I told him, 'make no free sacks,
I need 60.' He said, 'Damn, shorty, I'll be back'
Then I replied that I'd been goin through tha same thing that he had
True I got more fans than the average man but not enough loot to last me
to the end of the week, I live by the beat like you live check to check
If you don't move yo foot then I don't eat, so we like neck and neck
He said, 'we thought you was rich ever since you left the deck'
I said, 'I am, aggin, that's the catch' ..."
-CyHi da Prynce from "Hear Me Out" in 2010
"... and he kept askin me, 'what kind of car you drive? I know you paid
I know y'all got buku of hoes from all them songs that y'all done made'
And I replied that I'd been goin through tha same thing that he had
True I got more fans than the average man but not enough loot to last me
To the end of the week, I live by the beat like you live check to check
If you don't move yo foot then I don't eat, so we like neck to neck
Yes we done come a long way like them slim ass cigarettes
From Virginia, this ain't gon stop so we just gonna continue ..."
-Andre 3000 from OutKast's "Elevators (Me & You)" in 1996
Not so much a tribute as it is a blatant re-usage, but it's nice for CyHi to convey that Dre's '96 truth spitting still applies for a newly signed G.O.O.D. Music rapper 14 years later. I really hope Kanye uses his John Legend/Common type of management on da Prynce more-so than his GLC/Consequence/Really Doe type of management. Cuz he's got bars and I actually wanna hear legitimate music from the dude.
... and Free Enes.
Showing posts with label Common. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Common. Show all posts
Saturday, November 20, 2010
CyHi: Ode to 3000
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
G.O.O.D. Fridays
14. Kanye West - Chain Heavy (feat. Talib Kweli & Consequence)
13. Kanye West - Looking for Trouble (feat. Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, Big Sean, & J. Cole)
12. Kanye West - The Joy (feat. Pete Rock, Jay-Z, Charlie Wilson, & KiD CuDi)
11. Kanye West - Don't Look Down (feat. Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, & Big Sean)
10. Kanye West - Take One for the Team (feat. Keri Hilson, Pusha T, & CyHi Da Prynce)
9. Child Rebel Soldier - Don't Stop!
8. Kanye West - Christian Dior Denim Flow (feat. KiD CuDi, Pusha T, John Legend, Lloyd Banks, & Ryan Leslie)
7. Kanye West - So Appalled (feat. Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, RZA, & Swizz Beatz)
6. Kanye West - Lord Lord Lord (feat. Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, Raekwon, & Charlie Wilson)
5. Kanye West - Good Friday (feat. Common, Pusha T, KiD CuDi, Big Sean, & Charlie Wilson)
4. Kanye West - Devil in a New Dress
3. Justin Bieber - Runaway Love (feat. Kanye West & Raekwon)
2. Kanye West - Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, & Bon Iver)
1. Kanye West - Power (Remix feat. Jay-Z, John Legend, & Swizz Beatz)
... and do the John Wall.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
G.O.O.D Music Cypher
Somehow the BET Awards outdid themselves on this year's incarnation of the Cypher series. No one else in the world, nor I, thought they could one-up the Mos Def/Black Thought/Eminem viciousness, but they did. I'm gonna start by going in on the world renowned G.O.O.D. Music cypher. BET definitely owes Kanye big for wanting to push his collective through their channel's otherwise crappy award show. And just to add a little flavor, I'll rank the performances of the emcees in each one.
Kanye West - Cypher 2010 #5 (feat. Pusha T, Big Sean, CyHi Da Prynce, & Common)
5. Common - Sorry, OG. The sucky thing is that I thought he performed an insanely great verse for seeming to be out of his element amongst these youngsters. The main thing he gets graded off for is the painful "the incomparable ... remarkable ... articles ..." dictionary reading in the early going. Ugh. But then he picks it up even with a recycled ESPYs bar. He personally struck a chord with the hardest with the "cold to myself" line. He ended it as strongly as possible "Requested from the the years I invested/Arrested, developed, addressed it, enveloped/the body of the black party from Farley to Bob Marley/Go home or go hard, at home is life hardly."
4. Pusha T - He did all he could, throwing around effortlessly smooth movie references (Book of Eli, Street Car Named Desire, Jerry McGuire) as well as slickly fluid song weavings of Bone Thugs, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and even his new label head. But the competition was just that sick. He kinda left it hanging though without that one stand-out punchline that cypher audiences so sickly crave. And it also doesn't help that he was the first to be introduced and everyone else after was able to eclipse him. Newbies first, I guess. "With good company, and better jewelers/to the good life, we G.O.O.D. Music ..."
3. Big Sean - Even though I wholeheartedly disagree with his LeBron-related championship ring prediction, Big Sean killed it as Pusha's follow-up. At that point, I was feeling like Sean was going to go down as the champ, hands down. That's how dope this cypher event was. He even through in a little change-of-pace on his goofy motorboating line, and that's especially notable because Sean is famous for never switching up his flow ever. Add that into his shock "wet dream" opening, his sick banana clips/guerrilla warfare line, admitting he watched last year's cyphers on his couch, and his Mercedes 700 CLK nastiness and you got yourself some pre-debut album hype "I'm Big L, Notorious, Big Pun/Shawn Carter, Sean Combs, and Connery all in one/Whoever told you sky is the limit is lookin' dumb/Cuz I'm 22 and I'm moonwalkin' on the sun."
2. CyHi Da Prynce - While he started off a little too simple with the bread/Quiznos line, he destroyed every bar from there out. Major ups for referencing himself as "MJ with the big nose", making a dually hilarious hanky/lanky rhymed, the "can't bleep it out" genitalia line, and the run-off of eight straight bars of rhymes starting with "flexible" and ending with "federal". Intrinsic rhymers, take notes. This was as big a coming-out party as you could get for a slick street spitter like CyHi. I'm sure 80% of the audience had never heard of him before. Mission accomplished. "Let me stop it, I forgot this was a big show/If bein' dope made ya broke, I am piss po'/I'm Big Poppa plus I'm 2Pacalypto/My mind is a weapon, what I need to pop a clip fo'?"
1. Kanye West - Could it be anyone else? Even though he cheated by spitting a freestyled intro and a sick closing verse (assumingly one from his new album). Just focusing on his closer ... it was perfect. There's not a guy who can put together such relatable and sick sounding bars like Kanye does so consistently. I don't know if it's because he has such gifted lyricists around him again such as Mos Def and Pusha replacing slackers like Jeezy and Wayne, but whatever it is happens to be working. He sets up the sickest childhood metaphor to his life remarking on him being an only child lost in the world, asking where the lonely kids go when the bell rings, and saying if he didn't have ends then he wouldn't have as many imaginary friends. His deeply thought reflection as well as vocal inflection play up the performance to an unimaginable degree. It's not the normal cypher braggadocio, but it definitely is Kanye West. And there's nothing out at the current moment better than that. "Fresh air, rollin' down the window/Too many Erkels on your team that's why your wins low (Winslow)/I sold my soul to the devil, that's a crappy deal/Least it came with a few toys like a happy meal."
... and Free Enes.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Kweli vs. Kanye
"My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper. Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him. Man, I love him for that."That's enough for me to compile a "Favors" segment on them. From Quality to the aforementioned College Dropout to as recent as Ear Drum, this one-time underground duo traded bars. They have extensively more stuff together, but it's all Kweli over Kan beats on albums and unreleased compilations alike, like on "Young Man", "I Try", "What I Seen (Lonely People)", "Get By", "Good to You", and "Momma, Can You Hear Me". But I decided to just link up when they were both vocally on the same joint. You just gotta deal with it. Or utilize Google.
2002
Talib Kweli - Guerilla Monsoon Rap (feat. Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, & Kanye West)
Talib Kweli - Get By (Remix feat. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Busta Rhymes)
2004
Kanye West - Get 'Em High (feat. Talib Kweli & Common)
Consequence - Wack N****s (feat. Kanye West, Common, & Talib Kweli)
2005
Kanye West - We Can Make It Better (feat. Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common, & Rhymefest)
2007
Talib Kweli - In the Mood (feat. Kanye West & Roy Ayers)
... and do the John Wall.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Clock with No Hands
The Roots - Clock with No Hands (feat. Mercedes Martinez of The Jazzyfatnastees)
Kendrick Lamar - P&P 1.5 (feat. Ab-Soul)
... and do the John Wall.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Jigga vs. Talib Kweli
"If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli."And any Black Star aficionado should immediately remember the lesser known response in "Ghetto Show" where Kweli says:
"If lyrics sold then truth be told, I'd probably be, just as rich and famous as Jay-Z."This all happened after Kanye helped to bridge the gap between these two Brooklyn emcees on the remix to Kweli's own Ye-produced single. And now you got enough music for a new "Favors" segment on this blog right here.
2002
Talib Kweli - Get By (Remix feat. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Busta Rhymes)
2003
Jay-Z - Moment of Clarity
2004
Talib Kweli - Ghetto Show (feat. Common & Anthony Hamilton)
... and do the John Wall.
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.
Common - Heaven Somewhere (feat. Omar, Cee-Lo, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, & Lonnie "Pops" Lynn)
Com did an amazingly crazy thing when he assembled his chorus-singing features for this album. He retained each one to record a powerfully personal verse on the album's closing track, singing about what "heaven" means to them. And it turned out beyond perfect. The Soulquarians collective, who helmed nearly all of the electro-soul-funk production of the rest of the album, took this song and tweaked it masterfully to highlight each singer independently and reflect their message of heaven. All this comes after a strong spoken word-styled intro by Common that sets up the opus. It's an extensive track, but trust me when I say that you need this joint in your life.
... 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?
"Why is Bush actin' like he tryinna get Osama?
Why don't we impeach him and elect Obama?"
That couplet is from Jadakiss' remix to his (only?) smash single "Why". And they come from Common. This was Com just months after Kanye single-handedly resuscitated his public perception with a feature on The College Dropout while Be was still just "under construction". How many people actually followed politics close enough in 2004 to know who the newly-nominated United States senator from Illinois was? Certainly not me. Barack didn't gain national steam until well into 2007. I just wanted to let you know who started the movement in case ya didn't already know. Hidden sneakily in between references to his ex-boo Erykah Badu, religious ponderings, and Britney Spears dissing while also in the mix of Jada, Styles P, Nas and Anthony Hamilton, it could have slipped by anybody.
Jadakiss - Why (Remix feat. Styles P, Common, Nas, & Anthony Hamilton)
... but do take my word for it.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Soundz of Spirit
One of my favorite and most rewarding things I've ever bought was this DVD I randomly found in a Wal-Mart or something called Soundz of Spirit. It was right when I was heavy getting into hip hop and pretty much all I knew was that Andre 3000 and Cee-Lo were my heroes. Now guess who two of the folks on the cover of this DVD are ...
This DVD was a documentary of the inspiration and creative process behind the music writing, poetry, and other forms of art by urban artists. And it may actually have been the initial seed that sprouted me into my full fledged writing. I certainly have nothing specific to directly reroute it to prior to when I watched this documentary the first three times. In addition to 3000 & Mr. Green, the film featured my first iteration I'd heard of KRS-One's infamous "MC vs. rapper" speech. I absolutely loved how he dissected it then, but the 27th song/sermon/interview where I heard him explain it is another story. Sprinkle in some absolutely gorgeous singing by the likes of Goapele, Hope Shorter, and Jennifer Johns along with all the mental hip hop exploration of emcees such as Common, Talib Kweli, Del, and the Nappy Roots crew and I had an hour full of defining soul moments.
Another amazing aspect of the DVD was that it came with a soundtrack that infused many new faces into my budding music collection. While even the little known Cee-Lo cut called "Beautiful Fool" would have made my heart content, I also was introduced to groups such as Dilated Peoples and Blackalicious. But just for the sake of this post, one of the heavy hitting tracks on this collection that I wanted to link up is Hope Shorter's "Rain Don't Last". It's simple and elegant and powerful and I just really like this song.
Hope Shorter - Rain Don't Last
... but do take my word for it.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Twitter Reviews!
So I just gotta say, I did buy the new Asher Roth album. Man. First purchase recently since I did my usual roundup of the newest Kanye, Common, and John Legend cuts that always seem to pervade the CD waves at the same time.
Welp, here's my magical Twitter summary of each song 140 characters at a time.
1. Lark On My Go Kart: interesting free-word association over nintendo-sounding beat. good for an intro i guess.
2. Blunt Cruisin': just a weed song. beyond boring with the ULTRA-slow flow, dumb ad-libs. maybe the worst song i've ever heard.
3. I Love College: best part is the MC Lyte intro. i hope she got a lot of money for that sample. like every penny of the billion mtv plays.
4. La Di Da: nice soundscape with way better flow than the others. genuine writing w/nonsense chorus that im definitely still feel anyways!
5. Be By Myself: awesome beat with perfect cee-lo feature. how could this turn out bad? it couldnt. single-intent, but still sweet. cee-lo!
6. She Don't Wanna Man: crazy catchy single. some purposely dumb lyrics, but its such a good premise & keri hilson chorus that its great.
7: Sour Patch Kids: love the production, real nice life-analyzing lyrics. big surprise. different look for him, but i find no blemish in it.
8. As I Em: the eminem song. chester french fits perfect on it & the words are pretty intense & well-aimed. different kinda white guilt. ha.
9. Lion's Roar: hit or miss with this one. its the clubby im-hittin-on-you-hard track. busta's crazy on it. beat's fine. feelin it less tho.
10. Bad Day: intentionally ridiculous dream-sequence track with big jazze pha chorus. pointless, but pretty fun. feels like a PG eminem cut.
11. His Dream: perfect singing chorus by miguel stands out. very introspective-ish. sad storytelling. winds up a really good song. deep.
12. Fallin': school days reminiscing. his most interesting flow yet. sweet nottz beat. practically laughing through all his memories. GREAT.
13. Perfectionist: there's usually a reason why songs are deemed "bonus". beanie's boring on it. the HARD reggae parts are misplaced. aight.
14. The Lounge: terribly annoying intro & chorus, but the verses are REALLY good. hilarious ponderings delivered masterfully. what IS rap?
15. Y.O.U.: european bonus track, pretty painful. i hate to complain about a slick rick track, but the sample is shank-in-the-ear worthy.
Yup. I read it in another review and it's my main issue as well: Asher seems to enjoy going off on intentionally purposeless verse rants. Like, they literally mean absolutely nothing. It only hurts because he really shows on other songs that he can rhyme entertainingly with purpose. But overall, I really have to say I enjoyed Asleep in the Bread Aisle. Besides "Blunt Cruisin'", "I Love College", and "Y.O.U." (which I personally find unlistenable), there are no skip-worthy joints. Once he defines himself beyond that one white frat boy, he's got potential for a legit name. Here's hoping he can have have a career past "College".
... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Chester Connects
I don't know what the did to get straight on the inside of the hip hop industry, but Chester French did something. This line-up for their new mixtape (rock bands have mixtapes?) is like a nightmare The Game name-dropping track.
Chester French
Jacques Jams, Vol. 1: Endurance
They're more indie-pop than anything. Maybe I'm just dumb blind to the connection, but for all I know Biggie prolly bumps em in his grave. Maybe Jedi Mind Tricks already samples them extensively. Maybe Heltah Skeltah has been writing punchline references about these white dudes.
- Solange
- N.O.R.E.
- Kardinal Offishall
- Cassie
- Pusha T
- Bun B
- Talib Kweli
- Mickey Factz
- Janelle Monae
- Common
- Diddy
- Jadakiss
- Wale
- Pharrell
- Jermaine Dupri
... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
For all intensive purposes, these songs sample the same thing.
Before I was up on my Nina Simone game, I thought the dude on these choruses was awesome ... now I'm ashamed.
I'm pretty sure Common's version features a live version of the song, but oh well. They're both dope while having very differing sample styles and different approaches to the rest of the production and lyrics. I'm partial to Common's, but Wayne's is worth it just for the way-too-long weeded rant at the end. Which do you like better? It really kinda sucks, but Nina didn't even like rap music. "Her body moved, but her mind was mannequin."
Friday, January 2, 2009
Best Albums of '08
10. Year of the Gentleman - Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo struggles to go wrong in my book. Except when his demo tracks for girl pop groups appear. Those are in desperate need of leakage control. But every single one of his rolled-out, guaranteed hit records feel fresh and real. He also does an amazing job funneling tracks for his releases, as I have over 60 songs by him that were cut from any formal release. He's the rhythm and blues equivalent of Wayne in the booth with his amount of material that finds its way on the internet. He should control those mixtape-wise and he'd be even bigger than he is now. Musically he pushes it further than most of his genre do, which is highly welcomed. This is his best album to date and he moved away from the raunchier songs of his last release. Truly gentleman-like. It's a feel good album, but one that hits on lots of emotions and situations. Surprise track: "What's the Matter"
9. L.A.X. - The Game
Game doesn't quite have classic status yet, but he is legitimately three for three on immensely dope releases. Unfortunately I gotta put this one just barely a notch behind Doctor's Advocate & The Documentary. While it's a selfish wish, I was hoping for a part 3 song of Game's drunk flow confessionals a la "Start from Scratch" & "Doctor's Advocate" and though each track was super nice, that one never came. But Game is never short of street narratives and amazing production choice. I crown him as the best beat picker ever. Conceptually, he is a dominant rapper from track to track. Each one has a purpose and hits its mark. While all the plentiful features do fit, it still seems like Game could have carried more of the album on his home. His persona is so built up at this point that he legitimately knows who he is as a rapper, which few artists ever fully achieve or perfect effectively. Surprise track: "L.A.X. Files (feat. Shorty)"
8. Universal Mind Control - Common
To appreciate this album, you have to accept its purpose. If you want your fix of the real deep, introspective Common Sense that has finally gotten recognition in the mainstream, check for albums 2, 3, 4, 6, & 7 from him over the years. Or wait til '09 for his Kanye & No I.D. helmed project. This specific album is meant to be a light, musically-exploring, envelope-pushing, dance-provoking journey through the mind of a fun-loving intellectual. Some blogs have accused this LP of being a failing cop-out plea to the clubs to pump his music. Forget that. Once I saw Brooke bust a dance to every changing track of this album in my car on our way to a UK game, I knew Common achieved just that. Throw in a song with an amazing ode to 80's rap flows, a much wanted new Cee-Lo feature, and a stadium-blasting "Gladiator" banger, I definitely enjoyed it more than most blogging stiffs. Surprise track: "What a World (feat. Chester French)"
7. Evolver - John Legend
Slightly more-so than Ne-Yo, John Legend is the quintessential male R&B singer today to me. First off, "Green Light" is a whole other world of catchy with classic Andre 3K that any person could appreciate. That song met dead center between "Hey Ya" and "Ordinary People" and actually worked. Kanye, Brandy, & Estelle round up the small list of features and each match up perfect. Every Legend album, including this one, is an inevitable know-every-word-to-every-song-and-sing-along-a-lil-too-loud CD. The album jumps pretty dramatically emotionally from song to song, but it doesn't detract from the collection as a whole. Critical reviews I've read that downplay its appeal are basically complaining of a lack of monotony. I personally don't want 12 soppy-yet-comfortable tracks to lace every singer's new project just to keep continuity for album reviewers. But that's just me. Surprise track: "No Other Love (feat. Estelle)"
6. Untitled - Nas
Award for the most pointed album of '08. Nas' legacy will be a very strange, albeit legendary, one. Or maybe the other way around. His lyricism, at least at one point, is otherworldly, but his albums have always been wildly inconsistent. He's oftentimes contradictory, finds himself on the brink of nearly-incoherent musings, dabbles in inexplicably boring production, and for whatever reason just will not get that DJ Premier collab in motion. Well ... forget everything I just said for the unfortunately-titled Untitled. If you're willing to listen (actually pay attention) for 54 minutes, then you're in for an experience sonically and philosophically. Besides the radio-friendly singles "Hero" and "Make the World Go Round", none of the other songs will let you feel comfortable. But Nas must have actually listened to his producers beat tapes more than once this go around. Whether it's Jay Electronica, Mark Ronson, Salaam Remi, or any of his other contributors, the soundscape is intense and worthy of Nas' blessing. Let's hope this is his permanent forward-thinking creative direction for the rest of his legendary career. Surprise track: "Testify"
5. Tha Carter III - Lil' Wayne
For all of my slight distaste at the man himself and my slight distaste for the ridiculous hype this album got due to volumes worth of leakage, it was frickin' fire. Wayne is the master of saying something enough to simply have people take his word for it and defend him. While he never has delivered on being the best rapper alive, but he did deliver an epic experience with the third installation of Tha Carter series. Songs aren't played, they are unfolded. The musical experience is heart pounding, the choruses are larger than life, and Weezy teeters on the line of genius and junkie for the most part amazingly. If you're ever looking for quotables outside of Will Ferrel movies, Young Carter is your source. I still mumble-hum "please don't shoot me down ..." and "you can't ... blame ... me ..." randomly without knowing I'm doing it. Kanye, Jim Jonsin, David Banner, and others stepped their game up to get on here. Surprising track: "Playing With Fire"
4. Volume: One! For the Money [Mixtape] - brandUn DeShay
I'm dead serious. I've rarely become an instantaneous fan mid-song with an artist like I did with brandUn's music. Checking the production credits, he produced half the tracks, too. This album is sonically like nothing I've ever heard before. I was, and still am, completely blown away. The only reason I even have ever heard of brandUn is because I frequent Charles Hamilton's blog and I like to check out commenters on his posts who seem cool. Little did I know I would open a musical genius and future collaborator's profile when I initially clicked on his name. "Music is a talent, you can't plan it like Pluto. You gotta thank God, but with more than a kudo." While I'm an avid writer and you can't beg me to freestyle, brandUn says he barely writes anymore. As long as he continues his free-thinking word association and immensely clever concepts, I want him to continue. What separates him from all other indie acts right now is that his music establishes his personality. He's abstract but relatable. He talks about all different things in his rhymes over all kinds of tracks that just feel good. He's quite liberal with his collabos (as evidence by him lending me multiple beats), but he's never outshone. Dude is the future of quality of music and you better become a fan now. Plus, he's cool as hell. I can't vouche for any of the other artists yet. Surprise track: "Guilty Finisher (feat. Aris P & Tah Sed)"
3. Staff Development [Mixtape] - Charles Hamilton & Demevolist
I really, really liked the first tastes of dude's music that I found on various blogs, but it wasn't til this third release from the Hamiltonization process that I reached Stan status with CH. This honestly could've been a list ranking Charles' top 10 mixtapes in order and it wouldn't have been too far off. But Staff Development really stood out in my mind. While it showcases all of Demevolist Music Group in its songs, CH obviously stands out supremely. The production is so incredibly busy and progressive and this is the sound that he has grown to embrace and distinctively own. Always one to claim that he doesn't rap, he just blogs on beat, it actually feels like it here. Choruses on here are permanently etched into your system. I've already extensively written up about Charles, so I won't rehash what makes him better than any other rapper you are currently listening to. You can't go wrong with any download off of iamnotcharleshamilton.com, and that stands doubly for Staff Development. Plus, a track off here is my number one song of the year, as well. Surprise track: "Anti-Bullying Zone"
2. The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
I thought there was nothing in the world that could possibly knock this classic disc out of the top slot once it came out. Oh well. But definitely by no fault of either member of Gnarls. The Odd Couple is absolutely something else. To me, their first effort was as classic as anything was gonna get. But this effort laps it. Every song explores a specific emotion to its furthest extent and Cee-Lo provides Danger Mouse's alternate-universe sound scape with a human's powerful cry of existential searching. Even in all the layered levels of life-exploring lyricism, every track maintains its undeniable pop appeal. Lo's retardedly nice vocal range is showcased on here and once you get yourself familiar, he'll be up there in your favorite singers ever, no matter the genre. While there's a new solo album from him as well as a Goodie Mob reunion to look forward to, I'm also non-secretly anticipating the third Gnarls incarnation. Get up on this and have a new record that you accidentally find yourself bumping on the regular. Surprise track: "Surprise"
1. 808's & Heartbreak - Kanye West
Gnarls' was my soul's album, Kanye's was my heart's. While some blogs have inconsiderately labeled this effort an "emo love note", I find it highly applaudable that a world-class rock star rapper would sidestep his designated career path for unashamed genuine heart bearing. It moved me enough as a collection that I had to create my own ode to heartbreak utilizing 808's through a three tracks series on my last mixtape. Kanye's use of auto-tune is highly scrutinized, but in the context of him trying to convey an emotion hitting certain notes accentuated by auto-tune, it's artistic. Now I'm one to write off "Pop Champagne" as a hot mess, because there's no actual reason for it to be used there. But Ye creates a vocal aura here that commands your ear by specific auto-tuning along with reverb, distortion, delay, and other vocal mechanics. I don't hear anyone complaining about electric keyboards and that anything but an original grand piano sucks. So I don't quite understand the issue here besides its over-saturation by less talented artists. But that ain't Yeezy's fault. If you're specifically going into this album wanting to hear some straight street hop, you'll be disappointed. If you're wanting to hear a rehash of any style from College Dropout or the others, you'll be disappointed. If you're open-mindedly going into this album willing to experience aural pop art, you'll be blown away. This is one of the albums that is hailed as a masterpiece by everyone who owns it, and proclaimed as complete garbage by everyone who hasn't heard it and given it a second or third spin. Either way, it's still my album of the year. And it won't lose to Herbie Hancock this go around at the Grammy's. Surprise track: "Street Lights"
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Intimate Friends
It's sad to me that Common and Alicia Keys have done more movies together than studio records. That's 1 to 0 if anybody's counting.
Common himself rumored about an "I Want You" remix with her, which woulda been fire, but it hasn't come about as of yet. But if you wanna link em up music-wise in another way (besides the less-than-stellar UnPlugged version of "Love It or Leave It Alone"), why not do it with a double sample article?
Both the Kanye-produced Alicia single and debut track from Common Sense (circa '92 again!) use the beautiful opening to Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations' 1977 song "Intimate Friends". Get up on your Motown history with this one!
Alicia Keys is fine. Just thought I'd mention that again before I closed the post ...
Friday, December 5, 2008
Classic: Thieves in the Night
"'Give me the fortune, keep the fame,'
Said my man Lewis. I agreed.
Know what he mean, cuz we live the truest lie.
I asked him, 'Why we follow the law of the bluest eye?'
He looked at me, he thought about it, was like 'I'm clueless. Why?'
The question was rhetorical, the answer is horrible ..."
I was slack jawed the first time I got to this song on the Black Star album. I have to admit getting on the train of thought quite late, first hearing of Talib Kweli and being intrigued because of Common and his feature on Kanye's "Get 'Em High". At least I got on it, though.
Black Star is the ridiculously intense duo of the aforementioned Kweli and fellow Brooklynite Mos Def. Hip hop never got any more raw to me than the 13 tracks that blessed my ears on their first, and currently only, collaborative LP. This specific track featured eye opening and soul provoking verses along with a Run-D.M.C.-like back and forth chorus between the emcees. And it was quite impressively helmed production-wise by 88 Keys who took a track away from Hi-Tek, the main producer of the album.
"Hidin' like thieves in the night from life,
Illusions of oasis makin' you you twice."
If Mos ever wasn't fully engulfed in some other production show-biz wise, the world would be so much better off with a sophomore Black Star collabo LP over a decade after the fact.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Between the Sheets
Everybody knows "I love it when you call me big poppa". It's a cultural reference for this generation as well as the last one. What surprised the heck out of me is when I heard a shuffle-playlisted Gwen Stefani song have the exact same instrumental sample to it as Biggie's biggest hit.
So of course I had to engulf myself in a Wiki search to make myself a quick pseudo-genius on its history. The sample is by, prolly the most hip hopified group ever, the Isley Brothers. The song is 1983's "Between the Sheets" from an album of the same name. Stefani's "Luxurious" jacks pretty much the same composition from the song on a poppy/girl-rock tip. Another song that much more subtly snatches it is the way-older-than-when-you-thought-he-started Common song "Breaker 1/9". Far cry from "Universal Mind Control". We're talking '92 here. Pre-Michael Jordan retirement jokes. Now that's old.
Maybe my favorite thing about this quick research is that this exact song, though a completely sonically different portion, is a sample in the famed "Ignorant Ish" released by Jay-Z multiple times.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Classic: Retrospect for Life
I pray, quite often as a matter of fact, that Lauryn Hill blesses the world with more music at some point in the future. In my mind, Ms. Hill is the only voice out there that can compete with Ern right now. Dead serious.
Back in the day when the Fugees were everybody's favorite group, Lauryn made one of her extremely rare features on an amazingly touching Common track. This is circa 1997, mind you. Fresh off The Score. So this is serious. Lauryn humming under Common's lyrics gives me chills now nodding to the set-up of me and Ern's "My Life" track. It's just the stuff. I'm a sucker for piano loops in any given rap track, but a frickin' sucker for one with Lauryn Hill singing her soul out over that piano loop.
Find out if he stayed or not. And why he had to make that decision at all. This is real people music. And Common's jumped doubly ahead of every other rapper on my Classic series in number of tracks featured. Ha! It's crazy surprising to me, and I guess I take this track's perfectness for granted, but this is the only collabo between these two legends. Don't be the one who doesn't know.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
#4: Washington
Just found my Kerry post deleted, but for review:
Numba 4 is ... Kerry Washington!!!
She directed the video for this song with Alicia Keys and Kanye West in it, which might be my favorite off of Common's last album: I Want You (direct link)
And she's gorgeous.
... and so concludes another masterpiece
Monday, October 20, 2008
Classic: I Used to Love H.E.R.
Any hip hop heads should already know this track. By heart, actually. It's 101 type stuff and quite possibly the most perfect representation of all the potential any rap song could ever have with its creativity, delivery, presentation, hook, and reminiscent yet prophetic message.
Common is a legendary MC. But he suffers from delayed-appreciation syndrome with the public. We'll forgive him for his 1992 debut with his voice cracking, but let it be known, all six records since then are essential. Even Electric Circus. Don't believe the hate hype on that one.
"I Used to Love H.E.R." is the song that every rapper in history wishes that he wrote before Common. But no one did and no one ever will match the level of perfection in which he orated it. The "yes, yes, y'all" refrain is hauntingly brilliant and so raw that you can't help but go along with it between verses. And producer No I.D. pushed all the right buttons production-wise to create a thoughtful, yet attention-keeping atmosphere. Fittingly, he's making a grand return to the forefront of world-scope production by helming all of Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 with Kanye West. The song even started one of the greatest (and unexpectedly) lop-sided beefs of all-time, ending with Common lyrically demolishing the then gangsta-of all-gangsta-rappers Ice Cube and his Westside Connection crew.
I can never recreate the level of jaw-dropped amazement I had when I very first sat down with this track and hung on every word til the climactic end. I swear I prolly spun it back five or six times in a row once I understood it. I had a cultural lens to look through simply from Common pulsating through my ear buds way back then.
I met this girl when I was ten years old, and what I loved most ...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Began, Began with Time
Tonight I'mma be posting the remix of the century! And it's not even gonna be the Lupe "Paris, Tokyo" remix! Anybody feeling T.I.'s "Whatever You Like"? Me too. And that's all I'm saying till I post it.
Anybody ever heard a for real rap song about God besides the kinda-ish "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West? Definitely not on the radio, besides the one spin that DMX's "Lord Give Me a Sign" got before he re-upped on the crack doses. This blog's one for pointing out contradiction, ain't it? Well, I wanted to post an honest, pure God-pondering track that ain't preachy and has a vibe to it. Give retro Common and pre-Gnarls Cee-Lo a chance to explain it to you over wax. Nobody not specifically labeled a "Christian rapper" does it like this anymore!
And just for a bonus here goes the aforementioned:
I'm not asking you to take them as missionaries, but I just wanted to familiarize y'all with another side of hip hop you don't see all the time. Or ever.
... and so concludes another masterpiece
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