Duet

One of the things I hate the most in all of rap music is the fans who either because of lifelong placement or stupid fanboyism become single-coastal. I don't want to hear that you think the five greatest rappers of all time are Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hu$$le, Ice Cube, Ice-T, and The Game. I don't want to hear that the five realest street emcees out are Unk, Lil' Scrappy, Gucci Mane, Yung Joc, and Andre 3000. And most of all, I don't want to hear that you think the five greatest rapping duos of all time are M.O.P., EPMD, Mobb Deep, Run-D.M.C., and ... Wu-Tang Clan. Just so you can be a [insert curse word here] hip hop single-city elitist. Which is what happened over at Unkut. It makes me hate that geography is even a subject in school.

I know the tagline for the entire website is "A Tribute to Ignorance (Remix)", but it's just so damn ... ignorant. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. If you don't think OutKast is even a contender for the greatest rap group/duo/anything to ever come out of hip hop, then you are a complete idiot. Or else you've never listened to an OutKast record, whatsoever. Or you are a complete idiot. It irritates me so much worse than it should, but it legitimately does. It's worse than any basketball argument that I'd frequently participate it. Karl Malone is the greatest NBA power forward to have ever lived, but I really don't care if you agree with me or not. I might write a column on it, but I don't for real care if I convert everyone's thinking in the world. Kobe Bryant is the greatest basketball player to have ever lived, but I gave up a long time ago on worrying if anyone else realized it. But the thing with OutKast is just ... it's inarguable. I don't care if Dre Three Stacks circa 2001 dropped his afro in your soup. I don't care if Big Boi took your woman while you were at someone in your immediate family's funeral. OutKast is still the single greatest duo ever and has countless hits of universal music with indisputable artistic integrity and progression in an industry full of stagnancy and trend-followers. I will outright say that hip hop would be boring and uninspired without them and their incalculable influence on all of their peers and future offspring. Ugh. I hate it when people are homers.

I'm not gonna sit here behind my glowing Mac computer screen and try to convince you Michael Porter should have been in the consideration for 1st Team All-American last year. I actually have a brain capable of logic and pride simultaneously. Just because you live in New York does not give you the entitlement to disregard any and all emcees who don't claim a familiar burrow. And similarly, just because you were raised in the Dirty South does not excuse you for claiming crunk was in it for the long hall. Or snap. Or crank. Or whatever other crap is coming out now. The East, West, South, and Rhymesayers are all guilty of it. And it's crap. You are why hip hop is ever accused of dying. Homers. All of you. And I'm so blindly enraged by it at this very millisecond that I can't even write anything else about it. But, yes, I do happen to know that Wu-Tang isn't a duo ...

... but do take my word for it.

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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!

RZA - Biochemical Equation (feat. MF Doom)

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."

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

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Best Songs of '08

10. "Who" - Joe Budden

16 minutes of hip hop dissertation. Joey is the rapper I want at Senate hearings waxing poetic. Who ruined hip hop? The rap world points lots of fingers, and all targets are dissected here. I can't explain anything better than simply listening to this track would. Perfect example of blogging on beat. (c) Charles Hamilton

9. "Going On" - Gnarls Barkley

Truthfully, I could simply put The Odd Couple track list on here and feel justified. But this is the one that squeaked slightly ahead to blow my auditory system away. The beat comes in resounding majestically as Danger Mouse is so accustomed to doing, and Cee-Lo soulfully and lyrically traces the soundscape like something else. "The touch and feeling of free is intangible, technically. Something you've got to believe in." There's an immediate sense of specialness in great songwriters, and Cee-Lo definitely has it. 

8. "Street Lights" - Kanye West

Spoke on it a couple times already, but I think this song is gonna be a staple on soft rock stations in future decades ... if there are still soft rock stations in future decades. The melody of this song is simply intoxicating and you'll know every single word after first listen. Kanye has an amazing ability to select a distinctive noise and turn it into an integral portion of the overall composition. Exhibit A is the first noise of whatever instrument you hear once this song starts. "See I know my destination, but I'm just not there." A masterpiece among many on 808s.

7. "Playing With Fire" - Lil' Wayne

This is Weezy's lane. His strength as an emcee is in his vocal inflection and amorphous flow. As seen by its ranking in my '08 Top 10 Albums, the latest Carter was very impressive to me as a not-exactly-fan of Dwayne. The story is emotively invoking and listener-involving and I can't ask for a whole lot more and still hold my non-hater card. Personally though, I think this is as far as he should have ventured into rock music, but who am I to tell the (self-proclaimed) best rapper alive what to not do? All in all, too bad the song no longer exists because of Rolling Stones sample issues.

6. "An Ocean of Stars" - brandUn DeShay

It's not like his whole mixtape wasn't absolutely amazing, but this is the song that slapped me in the face. Ranks up there with the greatest all-time stories ever told in a rap song. And I'm talking "Renee" and "Children's Story" and "Art of Storytellin', Part 4" up there. No joke. This song consists of the most saturated metaphors you'll find this side of a Lupe cheeseburger song and yet they're all relatable and understandable. "I said I could take you higher." Yup. brandUn's a beast. Expect Volume: Two! for the Show to be in on the '09 best-of lists once it drops. Guaranteed.

5. "I'll Be in the Sky" - B.o.B

Some have said Bob is almost too 3000-like. Maybe that explains why I'm drawn to his music so naturally. But I don't think that's it. I'm pretty sure it's more cuz he's so ridiculously talented and has the uncanny ability to spit about something interesting and couple that with stellar unique beats and catchy choruses and still be distinctive. Wait ... that sounds like Andre. Crap. But I swear to you, this song reeks of Bob and no one else. You'll have the piano accompaniment stuck in your head the rest of the week. And you won't even be annoyed by it.

4. "Royal Flush" - Big Boi feat. Raekwon & Andre 3000

This dropped crazy early in the year, but it's frickin' OutKast and Wu-Tang!!! Even though Big's album is delayed like crazy, this single is flexing lyrical firepower. Big succinctly dissects world issues and reminds you who he is and why you better pay attention, Chef spits classic hypnotizing Wu matters, and finally 3K flies off somewhere else and chronicles his and your life in more bars than any other rapper could fill with name drops. "Do you B) hit the streets hard with a flare? Or do you A) go to school for heatin' and air? Dare make an honest livin'? Or make a crooked killin'? Do a little bit of both until you're holdin' on a million?" That is OutKasted. Are you ready for potentially 3 records this year from the two dope boyz prolly currently driving in something else besides a Cadillac? I don't think you are.

3. "Love Lockdown" - Kanye West

I'm still not tired of this song yet. I can't tell you how fiendishly I check the net for when this would finally leak. I bumped the live VMA rip countless times waiting for it in full glory. And with all of Ye's re-tweaks, the product was perfected as the love-or-hate R&B venture of one of the world's few true rock stars. The music video still freaks me out, but I love it. I've just been enraptured by the composition and direction of the song since its first public inception. You may be almost too used to it by now from the radio, but this song sounds absolutely nothing like any other R&B or rap composition and while the lyrics are somewhat generic, they're genuinely heartfelt and meaningful to anyone. It was a completely different direction from a completely different artist that no one foresaw. And, again, either you love it or you hate it. But I'm leaning more towards the former.

2. "Air Conditioner" - Charles Hamilton

The song that cemented my view of Charles Hamilton as the real deal. It features his signature distorted/echoed/layered chorus that completely overrides his self-proclaimed lack of singing ability and metaphorically explores life through the breeze of an air conditioner. His flow is so laid back, but accentuates the smooth humming sample loop and tells a love story (imaginary or not) that's simply thoughts resting rhythmically on a bed of cool music. "Because you're not even real (I feel you), therefore you gotta be real (I'm near you), and yet you follow me still (my rear view), shows where you are." That chorus is imprinted in my mind more than anything else in the world ... Except ...

1. "Day N Nite" - KiD CuDi

"The lonely stoner seems to free his mind at night. He's all alone, some things will never change. The lonely loner seems to free his mind at night. At, at, at night." I'm convinced. Trust me. Single of the year. Cudi made people wanna flow like him.

Top 10 Songs of '08 zip [DOWNLOAD IT]

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

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Classic: Don't Go Breaking My Heart

This one's just for me. Definitely in my top ten songs of any and all genres from any and all time. Get up on it.

Ol' Dirty ... - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (feat. Macy Gray)

Third all-time saddest premature hip hop death in my opinion behind 2Pac and Biggie. Doesn't get shouted out enough as others such as J Dilla, Jam Master Jay, or Aaliyah, but was definitely a legend.

If you're having a bad day, either get up on your sertraline game or listen to ODB/Dirt McGirt/Baby Jesus sing. Either one. Here's a bonus beautiful tribute by the Clan.

Wu-Tang Clan - Life Changes

... and so concludes another masterpiece

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