It's just a simple ha ha, but it's inspired Talib Kweli, the entire Lox crew, and a few other cats to conjure up some quick freestyles. Scoop DeVille sampled Soul II Soul's acapella track "Back to Life" to create the driving melody to the new Joey Crack radio joint. I recognized it immediately as the sample to the first Juggaknots song I ever heard. And then I Wiki-ed it and found a Maino track spinning the sample as well a little more generously. So here they are to compare.
Juggaknots - Clear Blue Skies
Maino - However Do You Want It
Fat Joe - Ha Ha (Slow Down feat. Young Jeezy)
... but do take my word for it.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Back to Life
Monday, March 1, 2010
III: Laptopical
III: Laptopical is finally here.
My brand new full length project, the third and final one in my "laptop trilogy", is now available to the public on this 1st of March in the year of 2010 featuring original production by Chris Campbell and Charlie Hilton as well as retakes of tracks produced by DJ Khalil, Mr. DJ, Elite, & Just Blaze. I do have to throw out the word of warning that the epic "Hold On (Remix)" listed as track 12 is not currently in the zip file for download. It's still pending completion with some amazing emcees lending their verses to the Charlie Hilton reinterpretation of my lead single from I Get That a Lot, but trust that I'll get that joint out the minute it's ready. I just didn't want to hold back this project any longer that I'd started producing for as far back ago as July '09. So here's the follow up to The Laptop Mixtape and Vol. 2, A Laptop Chronicle that have defined my progress as an emcee since 2007 to where I am today in this whole music thing.
Chris Campbell
III: Laptopical [alt. Mediafire link] [alt. bandcamp link]
Tracklist
1. Fear Freestyle (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [originally by Drake; prod. by DJ Khalil]
2. The Reason I Smile [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Pretty Wings" by Maxwell]
3. The Disorder [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Brand New Start" by Alter Bridge]
4. MJ is Hip Hop (Interlude) [mixed by Chris Campbell]
5. Why Oh Why (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson]
6. Giving In (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Give In to Me" by Michael Jackson feat. Slash]
7. No I [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Wicked Game" by Chris Issack]
8. Probably Won't [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner]
9. Me [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down]
10. B.I.G. (Interlude) [mixed by Chris Campbell]
11. Da Art of Storytellin' Part 2 Freestyle [originally by OutKast; prod. by Mr. DJ]
12. Hold On (Remix feat. brandUn DeShay, LaVish, Mike Dreams, Chris Barz, & Aaronn Ralph) [prod. by Charlie Hilton, sampling "Hold On" by Chris Campbell feat. Steven Gilpin]
13. Oh So Much [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "No Other Love" by John Legend feat. Estelle]
14. Pseudo Making It [prod. by Chris Campbell, sampling "Not as We" by Alanis Morissette]
15. I Can't Win Freestyle (feat. Aaronn Ralph) [originally by Pack FM; prod. by Elite]
16. Exhibit A Freestyle [originally by Jay Electronica; prod. by Just Blaze]
... but do take my word for it.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Best Albums of '09
So this year was a weird one in the rap world. For the first time ever, the mixtape game caught up and lapped its secular album counterparts. To reflect that, I'll have a separate EP/mixtape Top 10 because there honestly would only be about 3 of these joints that would survive on a combined list. That's dirty. Unless some record exec comes up with something serious, this industry's gonna die a whole lot sooner than later. There's only gonna be like three and a half dudes left that could put out hit albums from any given genre. Or albums are gonna be weeded out altogether and you're only gonna be seeing singles for the rest of forever. Oh well. Let's move on, shall we, with the few LPs that did escape the grasp of the label heads. And we'll make no further mention of Robert Plant, ever.
10. Asleep in the Bread Aisle - Asher Roth
Yes. This shows how lacking 2009 was. But I can't lie, the album that was forced out immediately on the inexplicable hype of "I Love College" had some quality to it. If you wanna go back and read my track-by-track Twitter review, go ahead. For a few months at least, the resident thugs of rap were asked to step aside and make way for the MTV-friendly blonde frat boy who could twist a rhyme scheme a lil' bit and make all the teenage girls swoon. He was just as easily discarded from the limelight, but not before the blog campaign to support the guy's debut album as the first 09 Freshman to get a release. With strong features such as my man Cee-Lo, Miss Keri Hilson, double time Busta Rhymes, pre-Jigga-hating Beanie Sigel, and the always great Slick Rick, I genuinely enjoyed approximately 85% of this album. When avoiding the topic of weed smoking and hitting on anything that walks, Asher can be pretty interesting. Who knows if the guy will ever recover for a major sophomore follow-up, but he undeniably had his impact on 2009. Surprise track: "Fallin'"
9. Brooklynati - Tanya Morgan
These guys came to Lexington last semester for a show and I'm very proud to have attended. The trio with a girl's name released Brooklynati to their cult-like following those privileged enough to be amongst them knew what to expect. With Ohio natives Ilyas and Donwill plus the Justus League's resident New Yorker Von Pea, Tanya Morgan is all about the rapping. With stylistic inspiration of the old Native Tongues crew and the Soulquarians, all the production by Von Pea and Brick Beats nestle in on a range of boom bap to soul hop. Jermiside, Phonte, Che Grand, Kay, Blu, and even Ms. Info all join the party on features. The hook are most always chant worthy and transitioned perfectly into their hyped live show, which forever cements this album as essential in my book. Brooklynati is fun, lighter listen than the rap world's grimy alternatives. It's all about style and dopeness with this crew who you can tell just loves hip hop more than the majority of rap acts out. Surprise track: "Hardcore Gentleman"
8. This Perfect Life - Charles Hamilton
Yes, I know this never got its proper release. But it should have, so we'll treat it like it did. I already gave a long rundown of the circumstances around this project, so I'll just talk about the music itself. This was unfiltered CH. It was completed before the industry exile and represented all the aspects of composition that Charles loved to experiment with. The beats were all self-produced with heavy drums over roughly chopped samples that had been utterly decomposed. And over this signature lo-fi sound, Charles rapped in his free-associating, lazy manner while distortedly crooning on the hooks. Each song was heavy on this album. Whether discussing the industry, racism, or the motivation to live, Charles did it his way and with witty thoughtfulness. This music was the epitome of his bare-all diary reading, making it everything that caused his fans to connect with him on the most instinctual level while it also was exactly what made his detractors disregard him in the first place. You either love or you hate this failed Interscope CD. Just like you do with all of Charles' music. Surprise track: "Post-Lynching Ceremony"
7. Padded Room - Joe Budden
Joey's another hate-him-or-love-him type of emcee. Especially when he's on his mentally tortured steez. This album is the second in a series of (kinda) conceptual releases. Besides a couple of weird momentum shifters, this record's pretty much halfway to an old school Eminem-type project minus the white boy angle and at half the speed. Filled with hallucinations, drug binges, depression, and suicidal notions, Joe narrates you through his inadequacies in life. The main problem a lot of people had with this release was the lineup of unknown producers. I'm not going to give him the Nas title of having a lead ear, though. I don't mind most of the beats, even though some of them seem to fall short in contributing to the darker mood that you'd assume he would've wanted. And I'm never one to complain as long as Budden is going on thought-provoking rants or just simply telling a story about whatever. Somehow this is technically his sophomore release, but that's a nonexistent point with Joe's veteran status on the mic. While it doesn't always stay on track from song to song, I don't really care. If you don't mind your hip hop in emotional turmoil and somewhat disorganized, then this will be found in your rotation. Surprise track: "Exxxes"
6. Slaughterhouse - Slaughterhouse
The blogosphere's darling supergroup actually got a release. Color me surprised. New Jersey's Joe Budden, Detroit's Royce da 5'9", New York's Joell Ortiz, and Los Angeles' Crooked I all took a pause from their mixtape campaigns and joined together to make the hardest album lyric-by-lyric in years. Sure, it's a lot of murder, murder, murder talk, but when the emcees doing the talking can rap like these four can, it's anything but recycled. In my opinion, you know you're dope when people can't agree on what to hate on you about. I read some reviews saying that Slaughterhouse is too monotonous with their hardcore lyrical aggressiveness on every track. But then I also read some reviews complaining about the concept tracks of "Pray", "Cut You Loose", or "Rain Drops" when they switched their collective style up. So ... ya know. This album, bar for bar, is stank-face-inducing. But I have to air my one and only gripe ... You should NEVER have Pharoahe Monch on your tracklist and confine him solely to a chorus. It's a dope track, but "Salute" could have been an all-timer with a single additional 16. Ha. Surprise track: "Not Tonight"
5. Attention:Deficit - Wale
I feel like this album got the "disappointment by popular demand" treatment. You know, when something's really dope, but everyone listens (or doesn't listen at all) to it after they've read that it's a sellout attempt that couldn't compare to The Mixtape About Nothing. And then that person perpetuates that one quotable description and everyone jumps along with it. Attention:Deficit is dope. Yeah, he has commercial features by Lady Gaga and Gucci Mane on his singles, but he also K'naan and J. Cole features along with BKS and Dave Sitek beats. Is that selling out, too? And I don't care how dumb Gucci's mumbling rapping (I had to fight myself to not put that in quotations) is, nothing could ruin the inerrant greatness of "Pretty Girls" as a bomb single or any other classification. Dude puts a go-go singer that all of us non-DMV residents have never heard of and it rocks like none other. Wale's musical stylings are still the same as any of his other projects, his awkward rhyme schemes at times are still there, his punctuating punchline referencing is still adamant, and his diverse subject matter is still present. The quality gap between this debut album and his mixtapes that reviewers quip about simply isn't there. If you liked Wale before, you'll enjoy this album and spin it ridiculous. Don't believe the non-hype. Especially if you extend your iTunes version of this album by tacking on the joints that didn't make the cut, like "Ice & Rain", "Letter", and "Bittersweet". Surprise track: "Contemplate (feat. Rihanna [sampled, but close enough])"
4. The Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z
I don't care what anybody accuses this album of being. This is destined to be a classic in my book. With three legit smash singles in the calling-out of "D.O.A.", the (NWO) anthemic "Run This Town", and the hometown opus "Empire State of Mind", this album easily meant more to commercial hip hop than any other release last year. But the heart of it to me is the deeper digging chemistry of Jay with Kanye and No I.D.'s work on the boards plus all the chances that he took with hip hop's newcomers. Some call it a desperation reach to remain relevant, but I see his collaborations with J. Cole, KiD CuDi, and Drake as spotlight generosity. His album was gonna be on easy platinum status whether or not anyone else was on it, so don't kid yourself. And if you were lucky enough to get in on a leg of the Blueprint 3 tour, then you heard, saw, and felt the purpose that each track served. Hov brought back his quiet flow, experimented with some techno sounds, and even threw out a full blown indie collabo with Empire of the Sun. It's already cliche for me to repeat, but if you want the old Hov, buy his old album. Surprise track: "Venus vs. Mars (feat. Cassie/Beyonce)"
3. The Element of Freedom - Alicia Keys
I think it's her best album. If I don't know what to listen to at any given minute, I scroll down just a little bit through the A's and double-click that gorgeous spoken word intro and let this album ride. Ms. Keys (I will never refer to her as Mrs. Beatz) creates some of her most catchy melodies and accompaniment of her career and still somehow finds a way to take her vocals to different places even on her fourth album. It only takes managing to get to track 2 ("Love is Blind") to find that out. The LP's sole blemish is the God-awful Beyonce collaboration, "Put It in a Love Song". Alicia rarely does any collaborations in any way, shape, or form, and this track kinda shows why the majority of pop artists probably shouldn't break into her artistic circle. Forgetting that that song exists ... the three lead singles ("Doesn't Mean Anything", "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart", and "Empire State of Mind, Part 2") are all anthemic and have already carved up the charts. The insanely classic "Un-thinkable" that just so happened to be written by Drake needs some single treatment, too. That cut is too big to be denied. Alicia is 4 for 4 on studio projects and I don't think she could drop a disappointing album if she tried. Surprise track: "Love is My Disease"
2. Man on the Moon: The End of the Day - KiD CuDi
This debut destroyed any defining barrier that was possibly left in hip hop. No one can convince me otherwise. CuDi hit the emotional vein of a generation of listeners who have never heard someone live through their music for them. Kanye tried, but he'd already been rich and critically acclaimed ten times over again by the time 808s came around. So while Kan's music was easily full of brilliant expression, CuDi hits that nerve in a more genuine way and did it on his very first attempt. He sorta rapped and sorta sung his way into the consciousness of a fan base that he created himself. He didn't go out seeking his niche in music, he just made it and let people flock to it as they pleased. Yeah, "Day N Nite" was a smash hit that was released years before this album dropped to the public, but that joint was included on this album by default of the record label. Man on the Moon is about a journey. An incomplete journey. An incomplete journey filled with lowest of mistakes followed up by five minute highs and rounded off by further disappointment. It's about not being good enough and knowing that even though you're not good enough, sometimes that's good enough. It's about not understanding your purpose. It's about knowing that even though you may never know your purpose, the journey to try and understand it anyways may very well be your purpose. It's about being the man on the moon. And KiD CuDi managed to pick the most epic instrumental landscape ever in which to articulately melodicize his way through this journey. And it would have been the album of the year in pretty much any other year ever. Surprise track: "Up Up and Away"
1. BLACKsummers'night - Maxwell
The first time I heard "Broken Wings", I knew this was gonna one of my favorite projects of the decade. I admittedly had to do some Maxwell research as I came to my age of musical appreciation right in the middle of Maxwell's hundred year break from music-making. But that hiatus only made this album more perfect. And let me emphasize the last word in that sentence. Perfect. This LP, though only 37.3 minutes long, is perfect. Each of the 8 songs, plus the musical outro, is perfect. Maxwell has as distinctive a voice as anyone in music history and he uses it to its full effect crooning over every track of his own production. I've listened to this whole project 22 times straight through. And that says nothing to the spins of each individual joint. I can't imagine a greater R&B record than this. I literally can't. While I thoroughly enjoy contemporary artists such as John Legend and Anthony Hamilton who are insanely great at what they do, no one I've ever heard has crafted an album like this down to every micro-detail of its development. I guess some of the greatest music ever comes in the briefest of packages. From "Bad Habits" to "Cold" to "Pretty Wings" to "Help Somebody" to "Stop the World" to "Love You" to "Fistful of Tears" to "Playing Possum", Maxwell crafts an immaculate atmosphere of absolutely wherever he wants to take his listener. While you may think the subjects of heartache and desire are familiar, this album is enough to make you rethink that. The brevity keeps you dying for more of this audible experience. I cannot articulate how much I need blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT in my life. And my future woman's life. Surprise track: "Playing Possum"
... but do take my word for it.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Zodiac
This is about as dope as it gets. brandUn got the professional treatment on this video. Quality is through the roof and it's 100% in his lane. This vid producer is legit. Here's to hoping it leads to even bigger and better things. Shoot, dude just got a beat on the newest Curren$y tape and he's got Vol. 3 coming up in a minute. This is gonna be that year.
... but do take my word for it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Never in Charge
Essentially one of the funniest videos I've ever witnessed.
Charles Discharged from jeff on Vimeo.
Random note: I got my tickets to the Drake & k-os show on April 27th. I cannot tell a lie. I'm hyped.
... but do take my word for it.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
How Thoughtful
Great surprise today with this release. I guess I haven't been paying attention as of late, but you should know that any QuESt release is all quality. This one is a warm-up mixtape in the same vein of There's Only One Month Left. That means the focus is more on adding his vibe to industry beats with a few all original joints sprinkled in. And I ain't mad as he takes on such recent tracks as "Angels", "I'm So Appalled", and "Exhibit C" plus past bangers like "I Know" and "Boss' Life".
And by the way, how dope is that cover art? I sweat QuESt's flow regardless and the fact that he isn't afraid to go dark on some of his subject matter. He sounds like nobody else out there and I'll be straight with any project dropping from dude. Even though his manager dude wouldn't get me back about a feature on "Hold On". Haha. He'd kill it too since he's already destroyed some Charlie Hilton production and would sound perfect following up brandUn DeShay on the track. Oh well. I ain't bitter.
QuESt -
How Thoughtful
Tracklist
1. How Thoughtful
2. Exhibit Q
3. Still Calling on Them Angels
4. Trouble
5. Lyrics to Go
6. Elevator Status
7. Life of the Responsible
8. Love Until We Bleed (feat. Lykke Li)
9. QuESt is Active
10. No Future
11. Neato
12. The Anecdote
13. Haiku
14. Swear I'm Putting On
15. Just a Little Closer
16. How Thoughtful (Outro)
17. Letter to a Man's Broken Heart
... but do take my word for it.
Dreamer's Poetry
So Mike Dreams just released his first full album since getting some 2dopeboyz love. And in his honor, I will pause that last statement. I don't know if we're #offthat yet, but you can ask him on Twitter. It's all good.
My favorite track might be the intro. It's legit prolly the best beat I've heard so far in this early year and Mike effortlessly runs throughout the entire track setting the atmosphere for the rest of the songs following. He's definitely got a knack for kicking off metaphor after metaphor referencing any and everything to fill out each verse. And though these aren't the big name producers you'll see on everyone else's projects, Mike definitely has an ear for quality beats throughout. His singer features are really nice highlights and the entire collective project feels like it should. Like an album. Funny how that works when you put the time in like he did and developed out this LP. If you're cool with a break from gutter hip hop and don't mind being uplifted for 17 tracks, then this is the early 2010 album you need to pick up.
Mike Dreams-
Dreamer's Poetry [Purchase link]
Tracklist:
1. The Dreamer (Intro)
2. Success Is ...
3. The Greatest Never Heard
4. We Goin' Worldwide (feat. Christina Fisher)
5. Gettin' Ours
6. I Go Crazy
7. Feelin' Out This World (feat. Christina Fisher)
8. Start Over Again (feat. Oli)
9. We'll Be Alright (feat. Ashley DuBose)
10. DreamGurl (feat. Oli)
11. Weekend Jam
12. Highway
13. Heaven's One Step Away (feat. Garey Hannah, Sr.)
14. Never Forget
15. Flight Dream Melody (feat. Margeaux Davis)
16. Hip Hop Anthem (Hello World)
17. Stay Forever (Outro)
... but do take my word for it.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Comeback #6: Roto-Rooter/Plumber
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.
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.
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