After a short (read as: forever) intermission on "The 3000 Tour", it's back. Today's reminiscence comes due to, what I can only assume is, Andre's dabbling in charity work for his fellow southerners' music. He extended beyond his ATLien reach all the way over to Alabama and hopped on the official remix of 2006's summer jam out of nowhere. I thought the "Walk It Out" thing was completely crazy and unexpected, but chalk this up as an even bigger surprise. I just wish Jimmy wasn't a tag-along for a second time ...
Rich Boy - Throw Some D's (Remix feat. Andre 3000, Jim Jones, Nelly, Murphy Lee, & Game)
Ain't a hood aggin but a aggin from the hood
See mama stayed on me so I turned out pretty good
But if you wanna try it sucka, Nike, we can do it
Ha ha sleep, Tylenol PM if I pull it
Sh-sh-sheep, count em for the rest of ya life
Yeah yeah ya partner got away but now he vegetable-like
So so I sent his mom and dad a whole case of V8
He could die, any second, how much long it's gon take?!
Gon get it over with, oh what if, you were in my loafers then
You might be the dope and I would flush it down the toilet
Like the boys in blue, when they come through with them boots
And they kickin down the do', and they don't care who they shoot
But we do care who they shoot, so we do what we must do
So we act like we run track, then we run straight to the back
But they comin from the back, so we run back to the front
They say "get down on ya knees". We say "what the f you want?"
They want cheese, they want bread, they want dough, they want mo'
Than I wanna give em but if I keep talkin they won't know
That my cousin in the back, and we call him Roto-Rooter
Slash plumber, cash runner, and he fire on them computers
Log out!
No one else could get away with this. Dre's verse has absolutely nothing to do with anything involving throwing anything, much less D's. But he does tell a darn good story, whether rooted in his own personal history a couple decades ago or just to write just for the sake of dopeness. It's not the usual Andre musings of life the he's given since the new millennium, but it's very witty, humorous, and even a standard of perfection if you're gonna compare it to any of the crap verses that follow. I don't know why the St. Lunatics took two minutes out of their eternal irrelevancy, but they did. And then Game decided to wrap the whole deal up by spitting the most recyclable throwaway car verse of all time. There's literally no redeeming moment in the song after the genius intro involving a certain Lil' Jon and Dre's ensuing demolishment of this song's purpose. So that results in me having spun back this first verse prolly a hundred times while the song itself maybe has like 3 plays on my iTunes. That V8 line is one of the greatest ever, I ish you not.
... but do take my word for it.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Comeback #6: Roto-Rooter/Plumber
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Random Basketball Notes, 27th Edition
So I think I've proven that my long column privileges need to be revoked. My Iverson hopes were quickly dashed and now my musings on Gilbert Arenas have been shot to Hades. Crap.
And while Allen quickly found a new home at his old home in Philly, Gilbert will probably have an even tougher road to a potential new destination. AI didn't play a "prank" on a teammate that invoked the most stereotypical assumptions of NBA athletes as well as leading to a felony charge upon further investigations. Gil shoulda known that people like you a lot more if you just inexplicably complain about everything rather than own and display hundreds of firearms. Funny how that works.
But who really cares about them, huh?
My real NBA story of the season so far, besides inglorious amounts of injuries to every single team, is the ... *drum roll* ... Lakers. These Lakers are legitimately playing the worst basketball I've seen out of them since Kwame Brown was on the roster. Since the Cleveland Christmas blowout, we've managed to get rocked by the Suns, Clippers, Blazers, and Spurs all on the road. And while some people quickly excuse road losses against any decent opponent, I say, "screw that". Trust me, I just said it. Playoff series are won by the team who can break the other's home stand. Unless you trust your guys for every Game 7. Which I don't. And then we've let the Kings (twice), Warriors, Rockets, and Mavs all hang with us before squeaking out wins with Kobe ball-dominating and often shooting a terrible percentage.
And yet even with this subpar run piled on with Pau missing 17 of 40 games, Kobe playing with a gimp shooting hand and handicapped back, our bench sucking 90% of the time, questions of Andrew being able to play effectively with Gasol, and a still mysterious Artest Christmas concussion incident ... the Lakers have the best record in all of basketball. Suck it, suck it, suck it. 31-9. Currently a game and a half in front of the Shaq-lugging Cavs. It's unbelievable. While everyone clearly isn't healthy, we now have the complete roster at our disposal for the moment with Luke Walton now in the picture. So we'll see the full starting five with its full bench mob in the coming days. Watch out, league. These sucky Lakers are the best team out of all of you.
Speaking of the Kentucky Wildcats ... (?) ... they're undefeated. 18-0. We've been tested by all our opponents this month (Louisville, Georgia, Florida, and Auburn) and had highly shaky seconds halves, but we wound up beating all of them. Our RPI seems to be decimated by the day since our opponents from our (supposed-to-be) signature wins (NC, UCONN, and UL) have all had relative floods of losses come their way. Let it be known, though, that I appreciate each and every win, because runs like these are never guaranteed to come back around. But still ... we definitely got some work to do. John Wall has tapered off noticeably in the recent games. You wouldn't ever have suspected that if you look to ESPN headlines and highlights for your information. He's easily become the face of college basketball (as well as SI and Sporting News) and a breakaway candidate for Player of the Year at this point midseason. But fans who watch him day in and day out would be more inclined to look up that he's only shot 44% from the field in the last 6 games since our Drexel beatdown for the program's signature 2000th win. And while that's still a perfectly legit and applaudable percentage for a guard or literally any freshman, it doesn't even touch the 53% that he had been shooting in the first 11 games he had played. You can chalk that up to improved competition or increased defensive attention or anything else you want, but true UK fans will notice there's just been a slight drop-off in #11's game impact. He's still easily the greatest thing to come to Lexington in a decade and the most talented baller out there, but this is just an observation. Which I believe is highly correctable, by the way.
The flip-side to that is the recent emergence of DeMarcus Cousins as potentially the best big man in the collegiate ranks. Though he's prone to a record amount of first half foul trouble, he's actually become our go-to player, as hard as that is to believe. He proved it immensely in the last four close games that when the ball is dumped down to him late in the game, he will deliver. And that's something that I never thought I would see after the Stanford overtime game where he nearly blew the W singlehandedly in regulation. On a per 40 minute scale, Cousins is averaging 31 points, 18.5 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks. That is monstrous, ladies and gentleman. And that's not even mentioning his magical free throw turnaround since the Cancun Challenge where he's shot 75% from the stripe in 12 games after hitting at a clip of 50% in the first 6 games. He's proven that even when the opposition's entire game plan is to get him pissed off, in foul trouble, and try to make him hit someone, he can still remain cool and be amazingly productive, regardless. He's a beast who's improved exponentially from where he was physically and mentally earlier in the season. And I believe he's the one who is going to define our continued national legitimacy with his unstoppable work in the post. Wall will continue to garner all the attention and be the next big thing, as he deservedly has earned and very well will be, but look out for Boogie. I'm telling you.
Now let's just hope my idiotic predilections are only ruthlessly disgraced when it comes to professional sports. Because I can't afford to be wrong about my University. Plus there's the fact that Wall & Cuz are right down the hall at this very moment ...
... but do take my word for it.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Cross My Heart
Here's a follow-up to the original "Exhibit C" post. Turns out Just Blaze wasn't the first one to mess with this sample. Exile and J. Cole beat him to it. In terms of when the songs were released, at least. And if you're familiar with these guys' production styles, you'll find what you expected in that Exile's rendition is crazy busy and over-layered to where you can envision how heavy he was destroying those MPC pads and Jermaine's is the most smoothed out to were he just flows mellow and sings out the hook. Find out which beat chopper you prefer.
Billy Stewart - Cross My Heart
Exile - It's Coming Down
J. Cole - Get Away
Jay Electronica - Exhibit C
... but do take my word for it.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Best Songs of '09
There's no reason you should hold my personal year-end opinion over anyone else's since it's strictly subjective when trimming literally thousands upon thousands of songs from 2009 into a single 10 joint list. So you can either ignore me altogether and scoff at my attempt, or you can enjoy my personal guide to what my ears consistently were bumping in the 365 days that made up last year. Oh, and by the way, Coldplay sucks. I don't care how many awards they win or how many songs they do with my favorite rappers.
11. Bonus: "Hurricane" - 30 Seconds to Mars feat. Kanye West
This was the surprise track of the year for me. I, like most rap fans, can admit to never having heard a song by 30 Seconds to Mars before. And the song motivation itself could easily be chalked up to a midlife crisis collaboration by Kanye in-between his 808s and Taylor Swift heartbreak. But it’s actually an amazingly epic composition. I can deal with the slightly whiny hook by the lead singer because the lyrics are so heavy and the production is so prolifically explosive. I can only assume that Ye at least did the drums, but regardless, this “Hurricane” is fit to play in the climactic scene of the next crazy huge billion-dollar-budget action movie. Mark it.
10. "I Figured It Out!" - brandUn DeShay
This song is everything you don’t hear in any rap songs. Nowadays or ever. It’s a track stripped of all posturing. It’s raw and emotional and just tells a story. It intros with gorgeous strings immediately as the story unfolds and the production continues to crescendo until the climactic and glorious presentation of the sampled hook. It’s put together brilliantly and is a standout track for me from brandUn’s second full-length project. You should already know that all his music is dope, but this one finds its niche in a section of hip hop that doesn’t exist: genuineness.
9. "In Case I Actually Get Her" - Charles Hamilton
Your immediate greeting in this song is the gentle acoustics of Rihanna's "PS (I'm Still Not Over You)". CH then jumps straight into the closing of his conceptual opus, Well isn't This Awkward. If you don't enjoy all the things that make Charles Charles, then you may not enjoy this too much. But the "lo fi" mastering with rough sample dubbing, the dead pan delivery of lyrics driven by heartache, and the over-harmonized hook singing are exactly what make this the epitome of Hamilton music. His lyrics are always witty and he shows a masterful focus in bringing an alternative close to this full project over a song from his love obsession. You'll know right away if the track's going to strike you in a strong way. It captures a completely different emotion throughout as he deepens the pitch of the selective portion of the original RiRi joint and makes it a classic CH composition.
8. "Nothing On You" - Bobby Ray feat. Bruno Mars
B.o.B is one of those artists that I (and many others) really hope is smiled upon by the industry. It very rarely happens to someone who actually deserves it, but here's hoping that Bobby breaks the mold. The ATLien who can rap, legitimately sing, and actually play guitar comes correct on this lead single from his future debut album. He infuses his full-scale musicality and understanding of catchy, substantive songwriting effortlessly. I don't think anybody knows who Bruno Mars is, but he can sing any chorus he wants to from here on out. This lively ode to (*gasp*) monogamy is a genuine hit created in a similar vein to "I'll Be in the Sky" (an entrant in '08s top song list). If this song is any indication, Bobby Ray's proper debut should be huge and make its mark in progressive rap music forever.
7. "Otherside" - Macklemore
I strictly have 2dopeboyz to thank for this one. Otherwise I probably never would have been introduced to the Seattle emcee Macklemore. Once the Red Hot Chili Peppers riff sample comes on with this song, I'm swept away. This was one of the very few rap songs in recent memory that absolutely demanded me to spin it back over and over again immediately. It has an insane energy of importance to it that's punctuated with Macklemore's clear diction of an untackled subject matter in rap. And while you would think that any song discussing the ramifications of the cough syrup-abusing epidemic would come off boring and preachy ... it's anything but that, damn it. With his very opening bar, Macklemore joined Shad in becoming the only rappers to convince me of their respective greatness immediately. I've never heard a rapper rap like him, and with that, this song instantly catapulted itself to a premier representative of the entire year in music altogether.
6. "Heart of a Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)" - KiD CuDi
Even more than "Soundtrack 2 My Life", this song was the soundtrack to my life. CuDi's three-year-old single "Day N Nite" ruled all of 2008 and he made sure to ride that momentum into something spectacular this year. I have to prevent myself from just dishing on the entire album so I can save that for the top LP list. This song specifically is the second track in Act II: Rise of the Night Terrors and represents CuDi mentally preparing himself for everything that's about to come in his life. It's all about deading the effects of what's haunted you all your life previously to accept the potential good out of a situation that may not seem to be positive at all. If you can somehow create confidence from a place in your life that gives rise to pretty much every feeling besides confidence, then you can go somewhere. And I really don't care if you feel like the song's that deep. Cuz it is to me. Plus, if you're not in the mood for psychoanalyzing, then just scream the hook as loud as you can to your heart's content and forget about everything else. No, no, no, no, no, no, nooo, YEAH, nooo, YEAH ...
5. "Exhibit A" - Jay Electronica
Everyone was hanging off "Exhibit C" (including me), but it just so happens that its prequel hit a little closer to home for me. The production on this joint is bonkers. It's a perfectly crafted beat if there ever was one. And I've never been a big Just Blaze believer, either, so I don't exactly know where this came from. Mr. ElecHanukkah made sure he took full advantage of it, too. The elusive emcee remains as the intellectual name-dropping alternative to Game and has the enlightened bars to back it up. Every run of falling keys is a powerful moment and this is one of those obscure tracks that people will point to years down the road and still hold in insanely high regard. Trust me. I spit that wonder rhymer sh/me and my conglomerates/shall remain anonymous/caught up in the finest sh/get that type of media coverage Obama get/spit that Kurt Vonnegut/that blow your brain, Kurt Cobain, that Nirvana sh ...
4. "Fear" - Drake
"Best I Ever Had" didn't convince me. "Every Girl" sure as hell didn't convince me. And I still haven't gotten through a full listening of "Money to Blow" without falling asleep. But "Fear" was the track to finally break through to me. Up until this So Far Gone addition was released, I would have sworn that Weezy had drained all the realness out of Drake that he'd worked crazy hard to establish with Room For Improvement and Comeback Season. But no, it just turned out that Aubrey was waiting for one of those once-in-a-lifetime DJ Khalil beats to come bouncing his way to force him to rap about something again. In what's pretty much his own anti-"Forever", subject matter-wise, Drake details what his newfound fame hasn't done for him. And the song just feels good to listen to. Even with the obligatory autotuned hook. I'll take all of it. He claimed this is the transition record between his latest mixtape offering and the content that's gonna make up his debut album. And that statement better hold up, cuz this song is on classic status. [... *looks at Drake* ...] And don't let me down, man, cuz my roommate has hung out with you twice already and he's got me believing in you as a person. So ... yeah.
3. "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys feat. Drake
I should've been convinced earlier by "Houstatlantavegas", "Little Bit", and "Brand New" that Drizzy was straight when dealing with R&B songwriting. But no, it took a collaboration with the love of my life for me to see how legit he was in crafting a classic. He smartly only provides just the slightest hint of background vocals for this song, though, and let's Alicia take care of everything else. The beat was dually produced by Miss Keys and Drake's in-house producer 40, and I will swear by the tandem in all future ventures. The deep drum pulses and vibrancy of the piano baselines sprinkled with 40's signature atmospheric mastering make this a surefire hit. The only thing that would keep me from crowning it a Billboard charter is the fact that Alicia had a similarly powerful track, "Lesson Learned", on her previous album that was never released as a single at all. Regardless, though, Drake's edgy songwriting pushes Alicia in a slightly deviated musical direction from normal that only brings back perfect results. I think this new album is the best in her catalogue, and this specific song is the beacon that I find myself winding up at the most. Every line has an urgency to it and the emotive effects linger long after the song's finished playing.
2. "Fo Yo Sorrows" - Big Boi feat. George Clinton, Shorty, & Too $hort
How? Can a rapper really have a premier song of all of 2008, follow it up with a premier song of all of 2009, and still have those songs' album nowhere in sight? Yes. Frickin' Sir Lucious Left Foot is still a figment of our imagination. But somehow I can't seem to get too mad at that fact when this song is better than most entire albums dropped in '09. This is funk at its finest as obviously influenced by Mr. P-Funk himself, reprising his "Synthesizer" collaborative role. Too $hort even manages not to ruin it with his expectedly welcomed novel misogyny and drug talk. The fluent double-time as well as slow-flowing Big Boi personas are in full effect here commanding his shared stage, but the driving force behind this unbelievable composition is the retardedly perfect Shorty hook. For those who think life is unfair/cuz I blow my smoke in the air/as if no one is standing there/then I'll roll one tonight, fo yo sorrows/in my chair, as I sit back smiling from ear to ear/with a fistful of your girlfriend's hair/yes, she'll blow one tonight, fo yo sorrows. Don't judge it until you're singing every word of it in some imitative voice that you'll never have down right. And since Andre is nowhere to be seen, this is Big's murder blow to anyone who ever held the notion that OutKast wasn't a two-genius crew. This song gives me the stank face every single time. It's beyond ridiculous.
1. "Pretty Wings" - Maxwell
My song of the year comes as the return-to-form track from an artist fresh off an eight-year hiatus. The only funny thing is that I never knew who he was in the first place. Upon first listen, I knew that "Pretty Wings" was something really special. Upon fiftieth listen, it still had the same perfect luster with each note and was well on its way to being the most played song in my entire iTunes collection. It stumbled into my life in the exact same fashion as Alicia Keys' "No One" had years prior. The music video managed to be leaked to my attention before the mp3 ever even did. All I saw was the beautiful woman in the still image and that was enough for me to check it out. That video and its gorgeous accompaniment were profoundly impacting and I'm still in love with every facet of instrumentation in its composition. Literally every song on the new album is a classic to me, but even in all their collective glory, "Pretty Wings" alone will forever define 2009 with every chime. Sometimes what's meant to be is for it not to be. But this song will still be there regardless, so life's all good.
... but do take my word for it.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Til Erybody Know My Name
The third Christmas mixtape is from DC newcomer Chris Barz. And like fellow DMV representer Wale, Chris has the backing of the amazing Best Kept Secret production team. And neither Chris nor BKS disappoint.
The final track on this project is "When the Stars Come Out", which is a song that I hailed as an instant classic on my very first listen. And the subsequent spins haven't changed that one bit. I even got to catch up with his impressive EP entitled Do You Know Him?. All that was left after that was to wait for his proper release with some assistance from singer Jesse Boykins III (a frequent Mickey Factz collaborator) and Tabi Bonney (he of "Put It in the Pocket" fame).
Chris Barz -
Class[Sickz] Out the Dark
With a free-associating rhyming style and gravelly voice, Chris Barz will inevitably draw comparisons to Lil' Wayne upon first listen. That's neither to his betterment nor detriment, though. He easily distinguishes himself through his vast diversity in attacking the lush instrumentation of his BKS beats. Whether it's the ATCQ-influenced "House Party", the self-doubting and guidance-seeking poetic interlude of "Letter to God", the story-rapping about an inter-career relationship spanning between "Dreamers" and "Dreamers Part II", or the uplifting head-knodder of "Fall (Keep Movin')", Chris keeps you on your feet from track-to-track. He has the natural blend of lighter braggadocio lines mixed amongst the topical tracks that go deeper and can delve linguistically more complex into organic poetry-type rapping. You can't judge this project from any single song itself as it prospectively broadens with each new track. Here's hoping for his continued success with this and all future projects as he keeps spitting dopeness. And maybe even if he possibly jumps on the "Hold On (Remix)". Ha.
And on a final note, I cannot stress to you how greatly this album is produced. Chris made a perfect choice is going over mostly all Best Kept Secret joints. Between this project and helming Wale's The Mixtape About Nothing, I don't know how they haven't taken over more of the rap game. Certain producers can create an epicness about them, and BKS definitely does this.
Tracklist:
1. Hustle Music
2. Mr. Barz, Mr. Barz
3. Wherever We Go (feat. Jesse Boykins III)
4. What's the Definition of a Class[Sickz]?
5. School Ain't Workin' (No Money)
6. Dreamers (feat. Jesse Boykins III)
7. Dreamers Part II - Somethin' Stupid
8. Interlude - Letter to God
9. You Cool
10. House Party
11. OK Baby
12. Til Erybody Know
13. On the Radio (She Crazy feat. Tabi Bonney)
14. Fall (Keep Movin')
15. When the Stars Come Out
... but do take my word for it.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Your Favorite
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
Tracklisting:
1. Gucci DeShay
2. Shayke
3. Lil' Shayne
4. Good Kanshay West
5. LupShay Fiasco (feat. Cameron Ryan)
6. Shay-Z
7. New KanShay West (feat. Merciless)
8. D*E*R*D (feat. H! Cl@s)
9. LL Cool Shay
10. camdUn
... but do take my word for it.
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
Tracklist:
1. New Music From Charles Hamilton
2. Enter The Scope
3. WorkinInTheLab
4. Coodies
5. August Rush
6. Air Agains
7. Loserville
8. She's Purrty
9. Laptop Therapy (Jackie Blue)
10. Suicides
11. Baby Says I Want
12. See & Say
13. 20Hamilt10
... but do take my word for it.
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]
... but do take my word for it.
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.
Macklemore - Vipassana
Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)
... but do take my word for it.
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.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - The VS. EP
It's absolutely insane. Spoiler: I thought that nothing could possibly eclipse the impact that Cudi's Man on the Moon had on me this year. But I was wrong. And that will be reflected in my "Top Ten" features this month or whenever I write 'em up. This is musical crack and hits on every topic you could ever imagine telling a story about. Cuz Macklemore doesn't rap. Rappers don't make music this good. Damn. I gotta get myself caught up. If his catalogue is anywhere near as impressive as these seven tracks, then I might have a new favorite ... poet.
... but do take my word for it.
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 ...
Rhymefest - Build Me Up (feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard)
Bobby Ray - Don't Break My Heart
... but do take my word for it.
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.
Jay-Z - Where I'm From
Lupe Fiasco - Angels Freestyle
... but do take my word for it.
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.
Charles Hamilton - Charles Hamilton is Back
I love reading all the comments on other sites about this track. People have been told that this joint is heat by the blogging powers that be. Acting as if this isn't the exact same stuff he put out all of 2008-2009 before his hiatus. So all the sudden, people are talking about how hard he went in over this beat. I'll give you 350 of the 370 tracks I have involving CH, and all of them are just as dope as this. So while I'm happy everybody likes it, I'm sitting here hysterical at the notion that this is any different from the flames that he'd been putting out. I just think that people don't have enough time for "concepts" in their life. Everything's gotta be an easily accessible single that you don't have to go in with any background on. Oh well. Charles Hamilton is back. What am I complaining for?
... but do take my word for it.
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
brandUn DeShay - Heartbeats Freestyle
Sage Francis - Who Farted? Pt. 1
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats (Cover)
Plus I'll throw in an acoustic cover by Jose Gonzalez that's pretty sweet. I know you'll love me for it. This post is a classic one for the ages. I don't care what no one says. And this is all inter-connected by the fact that brandUn sampled Jose for the joint "Behind The Mirror" on my No Really, I'm a Rapper EP. But you already knew that, right?
... but do take my word for it.
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
Big Pooh - Plastic Cups (feat. Chaundon & Joe Scudda)
Charles Hamilton - Cable In The Classroom
Jay Electronica - Abaracadabra
... but do take my word for it.
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)
2Pac - Dopefiend's Diner
Mike Dreams - Tha Diner
Charles Hamilton - Ghosts
All these attack the sample completely different. Pac took the melody and retold a ghetto tale that a fitting posthumous backdrop to match the emotional invocation of his (gasp) CuDi-esque sing-rapping. Mike Dreams, though uses the vocals as a story set-up in which he fills in the detail gaps between Vega's verses. And then there's Charles, who unconventionally almost disregards the sample altogether in his song composition. He cuts the sample and slows it down a smidgen while heavily lays over an unrelated tale of his struggles in ... not letting a ghost stress him out. And I like all three of them.
... but do take my word for it.
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)
I said, "What time you get off?"
She said, "When you get me off"
I kinda laughed but it turned into a cough
Cuz I swallowed down the wrong pipe
Whatever that means, you know old people say it so it sounds right
So I'm standin there embarrassed. If we were both in Paris
I would have grabbed her by the waist and kissed her, but
We in the middle of Whole Foods, and those foods
Ain't supposed to beef, but you'd think they hated tofu
Check-in line got rowdy, my vision got cloudy
I started seein circles like some audi
Emblem, I'm hearing them say, come on man
Do this own your own time, get the hell on, man
I walked out. (Hm) I got bout
Half-way to my car when I heard shawty shout
"3000, forgot your credit card. Smart move
And by the way, my little sister loves your cartoon"
Well, here's my name and numb ...
If I ain't the one, lose it, if I am, use it
If a man chooses, and he can, lose it
And he don't, don't take it personal, he might be might be swamped
With makin mozzarella, no, makin worlds bettter
Cheese will come. Believe me, I'm, never focused on the cash
Ask Mel Gibson. Jesus Christ, I'm bout the pass ... ion
How could you not love it? Not only did he prove he was eternally street savvy, he proved he could crush any R&B joint like Luda and Fabo wish they could. But all we had to do now was wait on an almost weekly basis. There was another summer jam waiting in the wings that needed to be twerked from annoyingness to having the renewed dopest emcee in the game on it ...
... but do take my word for it.
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)
He's got six (and soon to be seven) solo albums to go with the two and a half Fugee records. And I proudly own a physical copy of every one of them. His latest offering from '07 was The Carnival, Vol. II and he capitalized on all his amazing music connections with this one. Don't hold me to it, but I'd say Clef's got a better collaborative posse than Wayne, Akon, or any other hip hop artist out there. Besides collaboing with those two titans I just mentioned, do these names mean anything to you: T.I., Shakira, Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige, Chamillionaire, Norah Jones, will.i.am, or Raekwon? That's just this one album ...
But this "Riot" song specifically, that's what kills me. I'm an undercover System of a Down junkie and I think Serj has one of the greatest voices in all of history. And when two musical geniuses come together like this who are 100% different stylistically and still produce a classic product, it makes me very, very happy. It should make you feel like that, too.
... but do take my word for it.
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.
So why don't you enjoy a few versions of it right here and decide for yourself who killed it the best.
Sam Sparrow - Black & Gold
Phony Ppl - Black & Gold (Cover)
Adele - Black & Gold (Live Cover)
Katy Perry - Black & Gold (Live Cover)
Guillemots - Black & Gold (Live Lounge Cover)
Now while there's gonna be 2% of the dope music in this next movie, I'm going to see Couples Retreat tomorrow night with the girl who I hope's gonna be my girl shortly after. Peace out.
... but do take my word for it.
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.
This is a poem ... in case I die of swine flu.
God, I loved You the most.
Yeah, I know it's hard to believe and over the years it seems like I wrote more love poems for A____ and B_____ and S____ and A____ and T___ and J____ and T_____ and C_____ and K_____ and A_____ and K______ and L_____ and S____ and A_____ and C____ and, unfortunately, Caroline than I ever did for You,
But that's only because I knew that You .... loved me back.
And I know it seemed like I had more passion for Kobe's fourth ring and Coach Cal's hiring than I did for Your Word,
But that's only because You brought a contentedness over me that allowed me to actually sit still.
And I may have screamed at the top of my lungs louder for a "foul" on a near-daily basis than I ever screamed Your beloved name,
But that speaks nothing to the tingling of my skin and the vibrancy of my soul when I thought of You.
And I may have taken too many pills of my depression medication every once in awhile,
But that's only because I couldn't cope with the fact that there weren't more hours in the day that I could train to be willing to spend those newfound hours doing things that pleased You.
God, I'm sorry for what everyone perceived through me to take priority over You.
I don't know why I stressed so much over my Calculus III and Materials Engineering tests.
I was gonna get a "C-" regardless and I coulda spent over half that time praying.
And if I'd've dedicated less time amassing an iTunes catalogue of over 20,000 songs,
Maybe I could've helped J__ come to grips with the fact that You do exist.
And God, I wish I didn't cuss so much,
Cuz those were just cop out rhyming words for the rapper in me when I gave up in delving into more potentially beautiful linguistics.
I have all these regrets and, moreover, the wish that I'd've found the words to better convey my emotions in any given situation.
And I wish life was the stage of a forever-looping slam tournament so that I could've been more confident of when it was my turn to speak.
But that's the funny thing, God.
You would've let me speak whenever I'd wanted to.
But all that's over.
I'm now standing in front of You at these gates trying to remember where I left all my burdens at.
Oh, yeah ... Jesus is over there and has an extra backpack on today.
But God, If I don't die of swine flu,
I swear to you ...
I will NOT be afraid to read this poem.
... but do take my word for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
