G.O.O.D. Fridays

I'm gonna bring this post back up to the top for however many new G.O.O.D. Friday joints Kanye has left. This is pretty much the best thing to happen in commercial hip hop in a minute. Ye basically releasing posse cuts with a random combination Jigga, Mos, Wu-Tang, and the entire G.O.O.D. Music roster every single week? Keep it going. But why can't Swizz Beatz keep away just spend more time with his wife?

14. Kanye West - Chain Heavy (feat. Talib Kweli & Consequence)
13. Kanye West - Looking for Trouble (feat. Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, Big Sean, & J. Cole)
12. Kanye West - The Joy (feat. Pete Rock, Jay-Z, Charlie Wilson, & KiD CuDi)
11. Kanye West - Don't Look Down (feat. Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, & Big Sean)
10. Kanye West - Take One for the Team (feat. Keri Hilson, Pusha T, & CyHi Da Prynce)
9. Child Rebel Soldier - Don't Stop!
8. Kanye West - Christian Dior Denim Flow (feat. KiD CuDi, Pusha T, John Legend, Lloyd Banks, & Ryan Leslie)
7. Kanye West - So Appalled (feat. Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, RZA, & Swizz Beatz)
6. Kanye West - Lord Lord Lord (feat. Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, Raekwon, & Charlie Wilson)
5. Kanye West - Good Friday (feat. Common, Pusha T, KiD CuDi, Big Sean, & Charlie Wilson)
4. Kanye West - Devil in a New Dress
3. Justin Bieber - Runaway Love (feat. Kanye West & Raekwon)
2. Kanye West - Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, & Bon Iver)
1. Kanye West - Power (Remix feat. Jay-Z, John Legend, & Swizz Beatz)

... and do the John Wall.

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Kweli vs. Kanye

In Kanye's College Dropout outro, "Last Call", Ye says the following about Talib Kweli:

"My relationship with Kweli I think was one of the best ones to ever happen to my career as a rapper. Because, you know, of course later he allowed me to go on tour with him. Man, I love him for that."

That's enough for me to compile a "Favors" segment on them. From Quality to the aforementioned College Dropout to as recent as Ear Drum, this one-time underground duo traded bars. They have extensively more stuff together, but it's all Kweli over Kan beats on albums and unreleased compilations alike, like on "Young Man", "I Try", "What I Seen (Lonely People)", "Get By", "Good to You", and "Momma, Can You Hear Me". But I decided to just link up when they were both vocally on the same joint. You just gotta deal with it. Or utilize Google.

2002
Talib Kweli - Guerilla Monsoon Rap (feat. Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, & Kanye West)
Talib Kweli - Get By (Remix feat. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Busta Rhymes)
2004
Kanye West - Get 'Em High (feat. Talib Kweli & Common)
Consequence - Wack N****s (feat. Kanye West, Common, & Talib Kweli)
2005
Kanye West - We Can Make It Better (feat. Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common, & Rhymefest)
2007
Talib Kweli - In the Mood (feat. Kanye West & Roy Ayers)

... and do the John Wall.

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Jigga vs. Talib Kweli

This one's a little more hypothetical, but I love the premise. Every Black Album aficionado should immediately recognize the line:

"If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli."

And any Black Star aficionado should immediately remember the lesser known response in "Ghetto Show" where Kweli says:

"If lyrics sold then truth be told, I'd probably be, just as rich and famous as Jay-Z."

This all happened after Kanye helped to bridge the gap between these two Brooklyn emcees on the remix to Kweli's own Ye-produced single. And now you got enough music for a new "Favors" segment on this blog right here.

2002
Talib Kweli - Get By (Remix feat. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Busta Rhymes)
2003
Jay-Z - Moment of Clarity
2004
Talib Kweli - Ghetto Show (feat. Common & Anthony Hamilton)

... and do the John Wall.

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Vizzy Vizzy Vizzy Vizzy

I root for XV. The guy makes really, really good music 85% of the time. Great stuff. And his newest effort even ups the ante as he only has one major miss in the catastrophic "Gettin' Busy". Everything else is great. Even though it never made it onto wax, I did love the fact that he gave my dude brandUn DeShay a winning verse on his "Bruce Lee" contest joint. I've been checking for XV's stuff ever since, even though he had a day-and-a-half squabble with Charles Hamilton. But then again, who hasn't? Vizzy has quite a line-up with him on this one with guest features from Talib Kweli, Mike Posner, Killer Mike, Colin Munroe, GLC, and more plus the production of Seven, Omen, and Woody. That's on some other kind of indie monstrous.

XV - Vizzy Zone

Tracklisting:
1. Theme To Vizzy Zone
2. The Flying V
3. Tunnel Vision
4. Gettin' Bizzy
5. We Zonin'
6. Reset Button (feat. Talib Kweli)
7. Nevermind
8. She Go, I Go (feat. Chiddy Bang)
9. Falling Awake
10. Mirror's Edge (feat. Mike Posner)
11. Vizzy Zone (feat. KiD CuDi)
12. Passport
13. Isn't It Awesome
14. May The Force Be With You (feat. Killer Mike & Mac Miller)
15. Familiar
16. Best Is Yet To Come (feat. Colin Munroe)
17. Ending Credits (Interlude)
18. Talk My S***
19. Mirror's Edge (Remix feat. Bun B, GLC, & Mike Posner)

... and do the John Wall.

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Not YAOWA

I really like EPs. I really do. There's something pretty nifty about a music compilation that's compacted to the point that you can take it all in within 15 or 20 minutes. There's nothing wrong with Big Sean's new 18 track mixtape or XV's 19 track one, but I like going through the 6 songs of Ortiz' newest extended play. It's not YAOWA and it's not Free Agent, but it's Farewell Summer. And that's nice enough for me. Track 5 should be an alternate Slaughterhouse line-up. It's sick.

Joell Ortiz - Farewell Summer

Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Murder (prod. Statik Selektah)
3. Battle Cry (prod. The Audible Doctor)
4. Sing Like Bilal (Remix feat. Sheek Louch) (prod. DJ Premier)
5. So Wrong (feat. Talib Kweli, Brother Ali & Jean Grae) (prod. Frank Dukes)
6. Farewell Summer (prod. Don Cannon)

... and do the John Wall.

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Back to Life

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.

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Kwelity

Talib Kweli jumped on the Novel wagon super quick. And I'm crazy disappointed this man hasn't blown up in the public conscious since releasing stuff all the way back in 2002. Just goes to show you that life ain't fair ... cuz this man has more talent and vocal ability than Omarion, Mario, Mario Winans, Marques Houston, Jeremih, Lloyd, and Day 26 rolled into one nasally pop&blues act. But, regardless, I just really like this song. And it's produced by Dilla back when he was still around to hear the final product.

Talib Kweli - Stand to the Side (feat. Novel & Vinia Mojica)

... but do take my word for it.

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Soundz of Spirit

One of my favorite and most rewarding things I've ever bought was this DVD I randomly found in a Wal-Mart or something called Soundz of Spirit. It was right when I was heavy getting into hip hop and pretty much all I knew was that Andre 3000 and Cee-Lo were my heroes. Now guess who two of the folks on the cover of this DVD are ...

This DVD was a documentary of the inspiration and creative process behind the music writing, poetry, and other forms of art by urban artists. And it may actually have been the initial seed that sprouted me into my full fledged writing. I certainly have nothing specific to directly reroute it to prior to when I watched this documentary the first three times. In addition to 3000 & Mr. Green, the film featured my first iteration I'd heard of KRS-One's infamous "MC vs. rapper" speech. I absolutely loved how he dissected it then, but the 27th song/sermon/interview where I heard him explain it is another story. Sprinkle in some absolutely gorgeous singing by the likes of Goapele, Hope Shorter, and Jennifer Johns along with all the mental hip hop exploration of emcees such as Common, Talib Kweli, Del, and the Nappy Roots crew and I had an hour full of defining soul moments.



Another amazing aspect of the DVD was that it came with a soundtrack that infused many new faces into my budding music collection. While even the little known Cee-Lo cut called "Beautiful Fool" would have made my heart content, I also was introduced to groups such as Dilated Peoples and Blackalicious. But just for the sake of this post, one of the heavy hitting tracks on this collection that I wanted to link up is Hope Shorter's "Rain Don't Last". It's simple and elegant and powerful and I just really like this song.

Hope Shorter - Rain Don't Last

... but do take my word for it.

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Snippet #1: Put On?

This is just a super short styled entry I might make a series if I have enough random interesting questions. Nothing like how extensive the Drake post went, though.

Question: How many crazy big features and co-signs can you get without ever hitting mainstream whatsoever?

I mean, I'm sure he's over it by now, but if you ever find out then I think Phonte would like to know. Here's a random assortment of some of dude's musical collaborations on his and their albums:

Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, Drake, will.i.am, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, AZ, Blu, Royce da 5'9", DJ Shadow, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, DJ Jazzy Jeff

The Alchemist, Buckshot, Consequence, Cormega, CunninLynguists, Elzhi, Hi-Tek, Jean Grae, Kardinall Offishall, Masta Ace, Murs, Rhymefest, Sean Price, Slum Village, Witchdoctor, 88 Keys

A-Trak, Akrobatik, Anthony David, Darien Brockington, DJ Khalil, eMC, Eric Roberson, Evidence, Fakts One, Flying Lotus, Oddissee, Joe Scudda, Kenn Starr, Median, Kev Brown, Supastition, Kidz in the Hall, Playaz Circle, Stat Quo, Jake One, Chaundon, Wordsworth, Skillz, Statik Selektah, Tanya Morgan, Yahzarah, United Soul, 4hero

... but do take my word for it.

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New Wale

Who could possibly get most of Slaughterhouse, all of State Property, Talib & Jean, Bun B, Black Thought, and a disposal of singers and other rappers to boot for one project??? An apparently very patient Wale.

Wale -

Back to the Feature

Pretty much anyone who cares about rap was waiting for this one. Will it be the critics' darling like The Mixtape About Nothing? Probably most definitely not. But it's a lot of rap that you need in your collection.

Wale's proved he can push a concept joint like almost none other, but here he just wants to feed the fans a collection of dudes rapping like their lives depend on it. Collabos between writers can only push the product in positive ways. I even like what I hear on this tape from a few rappers I usually don't care too much for. What's crazy is how easily Wale still manages to standout regularly. The host emcee could have gotten lost in the fray of guest appearances on literally every single song, but Wale's rhyming style is so distinctive and enticing that you're practically waiting for him on every track.

Now my one complaint. 9th Wonder. Back when dude was with Little Brother, I thought he could literally do no wrong. Their sound was so defined that I swore and abided by it. It just worked some other kind of perfection to my ears. But on here ... some of the beats feel stale to me. I hope you don't hear it the same, but I can't help it. 9th is renound for having an unbelievable amount of compositions at his disposal, but on this project you can pretty much understand why. Some don't seem to have gotten much individual attention besides some conveyor belt treatment. There's the soul sample and the drums and ... yeah.

But don't let that detract you. If the tape fits your mood, that's the last of your worries. And the MCs shred every bar something unholy. They had to. This is a Wale tape.

... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.

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Do Em All Over Again

Back around '06 when I was in my CD collecting prime, I made sure and copped Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip on the strength of the guest features plus Reflection Eternal's classicness. It remains one of my absolute favorite gems of a CD. Unfortunately, I think it turned out about 17 times better than Hi-Teknology 3. That one kinda made me sad.

Tek's production was so perfectly refined. Every song created a highly unique atmosphere to go with perfect selections of guest emcees. And featured singer Dion lent his chamelion-like crooning to a few of the cuts keeping subject transition smoother than anything you could ever imagine. It's so hard for me to choose a favorite track off the project. "So Tired" comes on the ridiculously laid back tip with Bun B and Devin the Dude lending their expertise. "Where It Started At" is one of the few believable NY anthems featuring a crazy collective of Kweli, Jadakiss, Raekwon, and then-relevant Papoose. And "Keep It Moving" has my favorite suprise deal emcees with Q-Tip and Kurupt perfectly complementing each others' 180 degree style differences.

But I think my favorite is churned out by the collaboration of Tek, his father, Wu-Tanger Ghostface, and the unknown Pretty Ugly. It's one of the most genuine chick joints I've ever heard. It's so much more than the usual "girl gone wrong" tracks that are prevalent in hip hop nowadays. Maybe the immense production sets the metaphorical and aural tone immediately. This story makes me feel like I actually knew Josephine. Maybe I actually do. Maybe I know a couple of her.

Hi-Tek - Josephine (feat. Willie Cottrell Band, Ghostface Killah, & Pretty Ugly)

It's the acoustics. It's the gentle, but excited, piano keys. It's the chord progression highlighted by synth touches and choral portions of the bridge. It's the chemistry between Tek's older generation father singing the chorus introducing a woman's story that's picked up by the younger rappers. It's just a really nice finished product. Too many songs have a certain aspect of it that's great, but you're disappointed by the whole thing itself not living up to its potential. This song fulfills. As does the rest of Tek's second magnum opus.

... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.

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Chester Connects

I don't know what the did to get straight on the inside of the hip hop industry, but Chester French did something. This line-up for their new mixtape (rock bands have mixtapes?) is like a nightmare The Game name-dropping track.

Chester French
Jacques Jams, Vol. 1: Endurance

They're more indie-pop than anything. Maybe I'm just dumb blind to the connection, but for all I know Biggie prolly bumps em in his grave. Maybe Jedi Mind Tricks already samples them extensively. Maybe Heltah Skeltah has been writing punchline references about these white dudes.

• Solange
• N.O.R.E.
• Kardinal Offishall
• Cassie
• Pusha T
• Bun B
• Talib Kweli
• Mickey Factz
• Janelle Monae
• Common
• Diddy
• Jadakiss
• Wale
• Pharrell
• Jermaine Dupri

How does that happen? Does everyone really sweat "She Loves Everybody" that much? Like, dead serious? I prolly need to give the dudes some more quality listens. Their single grew on me being played every single day on MTVU when I eat at the Commons, but the other material hasn't quite sunk in yet. Don't wanna dissuade anyone from possibly finding your new favorite band, though. They're on the funny tip of musicality, relieing on a lot of white boy college humor (like one Mr. Roth) to connect with their fan base. But I'm blown away with all the cosigns they've gotten. This group is so not hip hop. But they have the knod from commercial and underground artists alike. Pretty crazy. I'm definitely jealous.

... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.

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Who Can't Rap?

It's always been an issue. Ever since "H to the Izzo" when his raps first popped up on the scene, everyone's had an extreme opinion on whether or not Kanye West can rap. Like ... at all.

I've always been one to say his lyrics are under-appreciated while the majority of heads will say he's the most overrated rhyme dropper since MC Hammer. I won't even participate in someone questioning his producing ability, but his spit game has always been under a harsh microscope. It's beyond a love/hate thing. It's a genius/scum-of-the-earth thing. No need to remind anyone, but the debate got even more heated once the 808's project rolled around.

One thing I gotta say is that they can funnel all of their suppressed anger towards his usage of the accursed autotune, but I'll focus more on the bars he's dropped on other artists' records whether they noticed or not.

N*E*R*D - Everyone Nose (Remix feat. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, & Pusha T) "In the club always the flyest, always got her hands the highest. She stopped drinkin Diet Coke, she on that coke diet. "

Madonna - Beat Goes On (feat. Kanye West) "Is it impromptu I want you? Now I'm goin to tell you what I want to do to you. Your girlfriend, she wants to? Beautiful. Just flew in from Paris. Voluez Vous."

Lil' Wayne - Lollipop (Remix feat. Kanye West) "Don't worry why my wrist got so freeze, tell yo girl like Doritos that's not yo cheese."

88-Keys - Stay Up! (Viagra feat. Kanye West) "Make a old aggin give keys to Jaguar, just to keep from all the teasin laughter."

Young Jeezy - Put On (feat. Kanye West) "I feel like this but aggins don't know the stress, lost the only girl in the world that know me best. I got the money and the fame and that don't mean ish. I got the Jesus on the chain and that don't mean ish. So when the Jesus pieces can't bring me peace, yo I need just at least, uh, one of Russell's nieces."

DJ Khaled - Go Hard (feat. Kanye West & T-Pain) "I flow sick. Aggin, how sick? Sea sick. Got your hand out? Don't look at me, snitch. You lookin at who made me rich. You lookin at who made me rich."

T.I. - Swagga Like Us (feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Lil' Wayne) "My swagger is Mick Jagger. Everytime I breathe on the track I asthma attack it. Why he so mad for? Why he gotta have it? Cuz I slaved my whole life, now I'm the master."

T-Pain - Therapy (feat. Kanye West) "You know how all that gossip is. Next mornin, Bossip, Perez. And me, girl, I take out. Media Takeout, I need a break now before I break now."

John Legend - It's Over (feat. Kanye West) "News flash: shorty we over. We like Def Jam and Hova. We like Bobby and Whitney, except without the kiddies. We like Pamela Anderson's career, except without the titties."

Estelle - American Boy (feat. Kanye West) "Dress smart like a London bloke, before he speak his suit be spoke. And you thought he was cute before? Take a look look at this peacoat, tell me he's broke."

Malik Yusef - Promised Land (feat. Kanye West & Adam Levine) "They say we needin a prophet that could touch on the topics and make it hotter than the tropics. Well you got it."

Really Doe - Plastic (feat. Kanye West) "I see you shinin, shinin like a mirror ball. Why when we're abroad we don't never hear of y'all? You local, retard. I'm the king of the world, so the king of your city by default."

GLC - Big Screens (feat. Kanye West) "I have more beats than I have rhymes. How they say you got more girls than you got time to spend with em? So I throw em all on a team. Only problem is it seem they all wanna ring."

Jamie Foxx - Digital Girl (feat. Kanye West & The-Dream) "When you send a picture, cut off the face and cover up the tattoo by the waste. Let the emcee search till I reach third base. And when I get home I'mma hit home plate."

N.A.S.A. - Gifted (feat. Kanye West, Santigold, & Lykke Li) "And I just want my credit. Don't get it, twist it or dread it. I am the king and will not be headed to the morgue no time soon, brethren."

The-Dream - Walking on the Moon (feat. Kanye West) "Where you come from on this lonely night? I swear God must have made lightning strike and I bottled it up. You hit the red carpet and modeled it up. We hopped in the 'Rari and throttled it up."

T-Pain - Flight School (feat. Kanye West) "With all the cars, the clothes, the lights, the boats, I guess I was just tryin to sow my raw oats in the penthouse position with penthouse snitches. See I pimped my crib so I must exhibit."

Keri Hilson - Knock You Down (feat. Ne-Yo & Kanye West) "Wo is me. Baby this is tragic, cuz we had it. We was magic. I was flying, now I'm crashin. This is bad, real bad: Michael Jackson. Now I'm mad, real mad: Joe Jackson. You should leave your boyfriend right now, I'mma ask him."

I mean, I still like his singing anyway, but if it takes this list for you to realize that one of the most polarizing musicians of our generation this side of Lil' Wayne's syrup cup at least can really rap some of the time, then I don't know what to tell ya. I'm not saying that the Ye is Pharoahe Monch or anything, but he's got them words working a lil' bit. Just admit it. Just a lil' bit. And even if you don't like the words themselves, he's still got mic presence. Until he rhymes exclusively about his Louis Vuitton luggage and doesn't hit us with any real tracks, then I still got faith in dude. Even though I kinda expect a corny Louis V commercial jingle at some point from him. My only wish is that he'd hang out with Talib Kweli a lil' more like old times. Ha.

Edit: And I'm NOT posting the tracks cuz that would get this post murdered in a millisecond.

... put 'em both together and you got yourself a super spork.

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Classic: Teenage Love

Slick Rick is my dude. The picture with this post was taken by me in the third row of the Legends concert with Tyler & Daaaaaave last year. Of course I was blown away seeing Big Daddy Kane, Dana Dane, and Whodini, but Ricky & Doug E. Fresh frickin' killed something else.

So you should prolly know at least half of "Children's Story" off the top of your head and recognize "La Di Da Di" on the first beat, but my favorite Slick Rick song is "Teenage Love". I'd actually heard the sampled chorus off of Talib Kweli's ridiculously amazing bonus track "For Women" before I heard the original. So I had that immediate connection to the song already.

Slick Rick - Teenage Love

This one just hits a lot different than Ricky's usual song matter on women. This one sets aside his usual stone-emotion pimp persona and assumes a fragile, understanding dude. Even if it just lasted this one song, I believe it. No matter the other stories he tells. The song got a more recent ode with Alicia Keys' "Teenage Love Affair", even more so with the LL & Swizzy remix that directly sampled it. Slick Rick is my dude.

"Don't, don't, don't hurt me again ..."

... this was whatcha all been waitin' for ain't it?

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Jealous Love

I absolutely loved the following tracks individually and wanted to slap myself when I didn't realize they used the same sample after reading Talib's liner notes on Right About Now. They both take powerful lines from Bobby Womack's 1975 song "Jealous Love". All the MCs involved are ridiculously nice. I think Jean Grae destroys it something else though.

Little Brother - Hiding Place (feat. Elzhi)

Jean Grae - Where You Gonna Run (feat. Talib Kweli)

"Where you gonna run ... ? Where you gonna hide ... ?" It kinda sucks cuz you know both producers knew they struck gold when they originally mixed their respective tracks. Just happened that 9th Wonder's got on wax with LB before J. Cardim's did. And, like I said, both tracks are bonkers, but once I heard Jean spit, "Ten years deep and my tenure's still deep. My bad, I'm sorry, I don't like when phrases repeat." Uh! But Phonte slaps it nasty, too (of course), so which do you like better? Oh, and the picture with this post was just the first thing to pop up on Google images when I searched where you gonna run. The picture actually had something to do with the Nina Simone song, "Sinnerman", but oh well.

... this was whatcha all been waitin' for ain't it?

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Blank

I've been dookie on updating this since I've gotten home for the semester. Truth be told it's cuz I was sleeping. And watching the Lakers send the Celtics into a dismal spurt. Hahahaha. Been waiting since June for that one.

But I can make it better.

Today [January 1, 2009] will be my day of music making. For all intensive purposes, I'm spending the entire day over at Shtee's house and we're making clash-of-the-musically-inclined-minds "compos". (c) brandUn DeShay

Everybody's been so cool to me when they hear about the lil' deal, and that's prolly given me more motivation to make the best collection of sound I can over the next two months. I want every millisecond of these songs to be a hundred times better than anything on any of my mixtapes. I want to be able to listen to my own stuff for the first time because I'm funneling it from God instead of me, and I'm very willing to listen to Him. I don't wanna disappoint me or my A&R or anybody who would actually get hyped at the potential of hearing me on wax. I've always had my words, and now I just gotta find brand new beats for them to nestle into.

Shout outs to brandUn DeShay, Charlie Hilton, Praverb, and other open-minded and well-intended musicians. You all make yourselves better every day as well as the people around you. And, not to ruin one of my inevitable 2008 lists, thanks to Charles Hamilton who achieved becoming my favorite rapper this last year. Kind of a big deal.

Kanye West - We Can Make It Better (feat. Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common, & Rhymefest)

I just really like this song. It's my corny "ring in the new year" song I decided to choose as I rolled through my 17,423 iTunes songs.

... this was whatcha all been waitin' for ain't it?

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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.

Alicia Keys - Diary (feat. Tony! Toni! Tone!)

Cormega - Montana Diary

Idle Warship - Industry Diary

Joe Budden - Dear Diary

Little Brother - Diary of a Mad Black Daddy (Skit)

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

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Classic: Thieves in the Night

"'Give me the fortune, keep the fame,'

Said my man Lewis. I agreed.

Know what he mean, cuz we live the truest lie.

I asked him, 'Why we follow the law of the bluest eye?'

He looked at me, he thought about it, was like 'I'm clueless. Why?'

The question was rhetorical, the answer is horrible ..."

I was slack jawed the first time I got to this song on the Black Star album. I have to admit getting on the train of thought quite late, first hearing of Talib Kweli and being intrigued because of Common and his feature on Kanye's "Get 'Em High". At least I got on it, though.

Black Star - Thieves in the Night

Black Star is the ridiculously intense duo of the aforementioned Kweli and fellow Brooklynite Mos Def. Hip hop never got any more raw to me than the 13 tracks that blessed my ears on their first, and currently only, collaborative LP. This specific track featured eye opening and soul provoking verses along with a Run-D.M.C.-like back and forth chorus between the emcees. And it was quite impressively helmed production-wise by 88 Keys who took a track away from Hi-Tek, the main producer of the album.

"Hidin' like thieves in the night from life,

Illusions of oasis makin' you you twice."

If Mos ever wasn't fully engulfed in some other production show-biz wise, the world would be so much better off with a sophomore Black Star collabo LP over a decade after the fact.

... and so concludes another masterpiece

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Is JT Hip Hop?

Justin Timberlake. Complicated answer, debatable and prolly Column worthy. Real answer, no. Solves it for me.

Nelly - Work It (feat. Justin Timberlake)

Snoop Dogg - Signs (feat. Justin Timberlake & Charlie Wilson)

Sergio Mendes - Loose Ends (feat. Justin Timberlake, Pharoahe Monch, & will.i.am)

Black Eyed Peas - My Style (DJ Premier Remix feat. Justin Timberlake)

Craig David - Hot Stuff (feat. 50 Cent & Justin Timberlake)

Talib Kweli - The Nature (feat. Justin Timberlake)

T.I. - Dead and Gone (feat. Justin Timberlake)

Decide for yourself. I always was a "Signs" fan for the hilarity of Justin cursing something hard in the chorus. And I always thought he said "homies dead and gone" on the T.I. song, but nah, he said "old me's ...". So not as funny.

... and so concludes another masterpiece

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The Cipher: Bittersweet

In its short three years of existence, the "Cipher" series has gained quite a bit of recognition as the solely reserved non-industry segment on the BET Hip Hop Awards. On the surface that's all quite apparent. While it's sad that grouping legitimate emcees in a celebration of the true foundation of rap is relegated to a few two minute segments yearly, I'm obviously happier that BET puts them together rather than not. And all praise for DJ Premier scratching every year.

BET Cipher Series - feat. Everybody

But I still feel I'm watching an eerily sold out product even though I enjoy every single addition to the series. It seems that BET makes this the annual equivalent of "Saturday sinners, Sunday morning at the feet of the father." (c) Talib Kweli

It's like the producers are trying to make up for all of the garbage they flood the masses with every single day by putting together a cut that'll have all the hip hop heads celebrating. Here are a few reasons why I so strongly get that vibe in elaboration after I've just got done bobbing my head and cheering.

1. Rappers are prominently featured that BET could absolutely not care any less about.
There was a big debacle that I remember awhile back about a Little Brother video being blacklisted from the station because their video was, infamously quoted, "too intelligent." Fans were in a big ole uproar over it, especially since The Minstrel Show was just such a monstrously dope album altogether. But when the next year came around, Phonte got a lead spot in a cipher. A more recent and even quicker-responding example is Q-Tip, whose video was also disgustingly quoted as being ... "different" as a reason for why it wasn't on online polls to be put on 106 & Park. And guess who gets a closing cipher appearance before his album even drops?

2. Nothing wrong with international rappers, but interlingual?
There's just something about a rapper spitting in Japanese while the dudes around her "ooh" and "uh" as if they're hanging on every punchline. For me personally, it's hard enough to pay attention to Dizzee Rascal's heavy accentuation, much less the aforementioned Hime or the French Flo or K'naan slipping into Somalian. Unless Fuse TV is on the brink of buying out BET, these artists have no chance of ever getting another two milliseconds on the station. And I'm serious, Willy Northpole was sweating Hime's tanka usage.

3. Hurricane Chris got a spot in there ...
Yeah. I know everybody's waiting for next year's Rakim-Lady Sovereign-Soulja Boy spit down.

Now I just gotta say it again, I absolutely love these cipher segments! But you know when something seems a little too good to be true and you just know the motives behind it are in no way honorable? I can't complain about the final aired product, though. I'll suffer through an I-don't-know-why-everybody's-bigging-upping-him Ace Hood verse if it means there's gonna be a Lupe, Rhymefest, or Jadakiss to come correct afterwards. Maybe if BET replaced Rap City with some form of a Cipher show that actually showcased real talent on a regular basis then I'd shut my mouth and actually enjoy the thing.

They say the game got the belly of a beast ... (c) Lupe Fiasco

... and so concludes another masterpiece

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