MF Doom - Deep Fried Frenz
Charles Hamilton - Brighter Days
Wale - The Friends N Strangers (feat. Tre)
... and do the John Wall.
Showing posts with label MF Doom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MF Doom. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friends & Strangers
MF Doom - Deep Fried Frenz
Charles Hamilton - Brighter Days
Wale - The Friends N Strangers (feat. Tre)
... and do the John Wall.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Big Odd Octubree Log-Off
brandUn DeShay - Odd Octubree (feat. Tyler, The Creator, Casey Veggies, & MF Doom)
Charles Hamilton - The Big Log-Off (Esc.)
... and do the John Wall.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Real Respect
I couldn't believe it when I first saw it. Mos Def is off on MF Doom like none other. This video is absolutely classic material. Mos spits the masked man's bars like something else. Please watch this. It might double up your respect for both emcees. And Lil' Wayne better watch out if Doom ever picks up on the challenge that's thrown out there.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Classic: Biochemical Equation
To appreciate the legendary RZA as a rapper, you have to come to grips with his off-beat rhyming. And not off beat like in ... different. Off beat like in ... he fricking doesn't rap on beat. But there's an art to it, I swear!
I am pro-[Doom+Wu] in all situations. While Metal Face could never be legitimately compared to any rapper in history, he's mentally somewhere is a realm that possibly you could see the Wu-Tang's galaxy from if you looked really hard for it through a ridonkulous zoom telescope. Probably. Maybe. Whether he's producing for the whole Clan or allegedly prepping a duo album with Ghostface, it's definitely material to look for.
Who knows how the Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture album came about, but I'm glad it did. This beat is so far beyond amazing that I want it to be my life's theme music. Like from this very millisecond onward.
"I'm/ not/ givin/ mine/ a/way to Satan,
Al/though/ I/ know/ that/ he's awaitin."
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Classic: Deep Fried Frenz
I saw this on Charles Hamilton's blog and I was like, "aw snap, that's classic." So I clicked over to my blog to cement is as a Chris Campbell-authorized "Classic".
You'll prolly immediately recognize the Whodini vocal sample of, "friends ... how many of us have them?" Doom has always been a completely incomparable producer, so I always love his older material when he went over his own stuff. Now all his beats seem to immediately go to Ghostface Killah and the collabo album ain't even come out yet! But he rides this beat to perfection. And anyone who claims Metal Face goes completely rhymes nonsensical, catch this track and try to say the same. Everyone can relate to this cautionary tale. He's been missing for a minute now, but he's got plenty of material released in the first half of this decade for anyone to enjoy.
Though definitely not his first project to feature heavy comic book-sampled story lines, they're featured prominently as heard on the last minute of this track. It's an interesting take on interludes of sorts blended into the flow of the album. When you listen to enough of his various alter-egos and according albums, the story lines become natural and expected. So don't be scared the first time they cut in.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Dear Diary ...
I did a word association post way long ago about my favorite songs featuring the word "nobody". And I wanna do another one. So I'm gonna do another one. Here's another one.
The Idle song uses the same instrumental composed by Alicia, but everything else is 100% original. Idle Warship is another Talib Kweli group to join the ranks of Black Star, Reflection Eternal, and Liberation. Dude's starting to get an alias complex like MF Doom or Madlib ... connect those dots ...
It's really sad back in the '90s that Nas offed Cormega. If he hadn't, Mega prolly would be in everyone's top NY rappers list ever. Dude's got a real heavy poetic influence in his rhymes for such a hard-persona emcee.
But Ms. Keys' "Diary" is one of my favorite songs ever. Forever ever. There was a point in my life last year where, I swear, I had to watch the video for that song on my iPod every single night or I couldn't fall asleep. She made me content like nobody else could at 1:30 on any random night. Below isn't the video I'm talking about, but it's a taste of the song.
... and so concludes another masterpiece
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Message from a Black Man
These joints are prolly the most obviously triple-sampled ever, ever. Usually there's lyrical interpolation involved in sampling to not be a blatant rip, but these MC's said, "Nah, forget that son, I'm keepin' it real." That was in my Dave Chappelle typing voice if you couldn't tell. Jacked that picture from another site who did a similar post.
They all take their beautiful plucking from the song "Message from a Black Man" by The Whatnauts. I know it's in no way plagiarism cuz they each obviously got the sample cleared, but you think producers ever listen to music from somewhere close to abouts ... now? So which one you like betterest?
Verse-wise they each get different looks, though, cuz even though they each are from NYC and have a 6 degrees link [see: as-yet-unwritten classics "Verbal Intercourse" & "Biochemical Equation" as well as at 3:11 of this video], no one's accusing Metal Face, Bobby Digital, or Escobar of sounding anything alike.
... and so concludes another masterpiece
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Women in Hip Hop
I'm not gonna use this post as a doctoral thesis on their role in hip hop (maybe some other time), but in leu of me and Ern's back-and-forth rap track "Here I Is", I wanted to share the greatest hip hop dude-and-chick duets you may or may not have heard before.
Sorry, but Miss Rap Supreme is unfortunately not characteristic of how impressive female emcees can spit. The first two tracks are beautiful, albeit uncomfortable, love stories with true perspective. Amazing and emotional storytelling. The second two are straight hard-hitting, no nonsense lyricism. I need to get better up on Apani B's music. I only have two tracks from her currently, but she's something else on the mic. But I still hold my firm opinion that Lauryn Hill is the greatest non-testosterone laced rapper of all time.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Post-Lyricism My Post-Rear End
I should be writing my lab report right now, but I just spent way too much time reading way too long entries about way too much of nothing. If you think you can handle it, read this then this then this then this to wrap it up.
This blogger spends paragraph upon paragraph labeling as many aspects of rap as he can think of within the contextual and ideological confines of whether or not it's "post-lyrical". Now let it be known I got a B in college art and an A in college music by two very impassioned teachers, so I can vaguely parallel the historically defined "pre-" and "post-" era garbage. But what kills me here in reading every single word of these pieces is the author's lack of any point. He stretches the notion of this all-encompassing "Nas formula" that has the wrath of God in the judgement of any given rapper today or yesterday.
Here's my point. We all want to judge it, but the whole purpose of anything deemed "art" in this world is to achieve a level of sacredness in which the product simply is. While any given "industry" can and will destroy every bit of sanctity in the process, intentions can be used as a substitute basis of comparison.
We've come to a point in pop culture where it is stereotypical to try to not be stereotypical. So whether any given artist follows a "Nas formula" because he wants small-circle respect, or uses "nonsense" metaphors because he wants to create a bigger-than-life persona, or glorifies violence because he wants to be known as "real", or whatever any aspect of anything could be deemed a gimmick ... I don't care.
I'm just passably smart enough to realize if the music that I listen to is the product of a loving creator. MF Doom raps different not because he's clichely trying to be different, but because he is different. Kanye does not use auto tune because it's the current industry fad and he's trying to attain some conceived level of higher artistical genius, but because the usage of that technology emotionally and audibly manifests the feelings that have come over him since the death of his mother and his called-off engagement in a way his normal voice can't. Andre 3000 does not utilize any facade of intelligence or message or metaphor. He writes rhymes and what comes out comes out. Why is it impossible for the multitude of self-described intellectual rap listeners to comprehend artistic integrity that's non-intentionally meant to be any sort of way? It just is. And people either like or not. The fans that they may or may not have been "aiming for".
I just got pissed reading all those essays cuz I love to analyze any and every detail of life. Nothing's above questioning to me. But why try to contain the souls of the few well-intentioned lyrical and musical artists who actually have talent by imposing this B.S. notion of any pre-condition? It's like someone just walked up to me and told me my mother doesn't love me. Rather she simply gave birth to me under the condition that that is what was expected of her and she raised me accordingly to the status quo forced upon her and her only satisfaction of the process was that some cliche attainable goal was achieved.
And I don't like the idea of that.
And I know I immersed myself in the whole intellectualist plot to explode everyones' brains by writing out my response to it, but whatever. I hated what I was reading. Hated it. But I'll get over it.
And if that location isn't sacred, what's left that is? (c) Me
... and so concludes another masterpiece
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I Guess We Not the Best ...
So I'm kinda pissed. I spent a good while writing up and hilariously linking up a DJ Khaled post and home dudes at the Google account services kinda deleted it into oblivion. I had posted the tracks "I'm On" featuring Nas and "Go Hard" featuring T-Kayne. So I guess I'm not doing that anymore. So here's a new post!
Danger Mouse is the beast of a producer behind the on-going Gnarls Barkley project. Hopefully you already recognize his fro and glazed stare from his and Cee-Lo's billion performances at every single awards show and late night program. I'm telling you, that hair is hiding a genius-sized musical cerebellum.
I wanted to give you all an extended taste of his sound catalogue, so here's some linkage unless it gets busted down like Michael Vick volunteering at the Humane Society again.
He's very selective when it comes to what projects he gets involved in, but the product always seems to be inventive and fresh. And that's whether it's producing for a band that's not even real, teaming up with alt-rocking Brits, or duoing with the one and only Thomas Cee-Lo DeCarlo Sinatra Green Burton Callaway.
I sweat it, even if I haven't gotten around to loving Sparklehorse, Beck, and The Black Keys yet. I guess even I need ongoing culturing in that sense.
... and so concludes another masterpiece
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