When you dig into something...

So this weekend Huey and I went to a nice vinyl store and I have to say whenever you do some crate digging you gotta combine a little bit of good taste, skill and luck to make it a good digging session.

Bill Cosby to the Led Zepplin is all I can say.

I just wanted to say that from my experience you can find what you seek in the most unlikely places.

Leave yall with a little Black and Gold


Sam Sparr - Black and Gold (live)  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3vnPCFy-Wg

Wale - Black and Gold - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gKfFuysvBI

4 UR Daily Beat

Quote of the Day:
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”~Dalai Lama
 
I saw Inception recently and just today read the producer - Chris Nolan's take on the whole thing. And he said something interesting that dreams and reality aren't that different, just the restriction of natures laws give you the notion of the impossible. But in an infinite universe of infinite possibilities who knows....



That put me into deep thought....did you know that your heart usually beats around 60-80 bpm when your awake and drops to 10-20 bpm when you sleep.


Lower heart rate > longer life...it also means you breath less 
Tortoises who are the basically the longest living species on Earth breath at a much slower rate some live to be 150 + years but don't take my word for it...

So slow it down n be happy because Currensy X Anime X Jazz = Great success!


I'll leave ya with some jazz to slow that rhythm down so you can enjoy the muzak


Shout out to Creative Control for always doing a great job!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCdpgbBL4yM&feature=related




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eua4CmvjlxQ

Old School

I know a lot of people have heard of Arrested Development, but your mind probably immediately pictures the television show which is one of my favorites but I'm here to write about the hip hop group from the early 90's  founded by "Speech and Headliner as a positive, Afrocentric alternative to the gangsta rap" .

A classic album no doubt. My favorite song is split between Everyday People - Tenenesse - with a sample from Princes "Alphabet Street."








Def. one of the original leaders in hip hop. Classic. Nuff said. Enjoy and Have a great day.

Gutter Rainbows!!

Links for face-bookers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irN6JcmwOYk

Gutter Rainbows comes out this coming January, enough said

Everything Jay

After Just Signing with Jay Z's Roc Nation, I think Jay Electronica is ready to release Act II at some point, and he also released two songs within two days.

The first one is the "shiny suit theory" with Jay-Z, and it sounds so good...



Links for face-bookers : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7q8xhsCaL8

P.S. I wouldn't be surprised if this link got taken down, looks for other sites to post the full version

The Second one is him solo, with snippets of John Kennedy



Links for face-bookers : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE4CFBY9RGs


Jay is on point with his stuff like always,

Kanye is making good stuff once again. People should learn that an artist's ego outside of music shouldn't have anything to do with the artists music themselves. Although I dont agree with some of Jay's and Kanye's viewpoints on several things, they still make amazing music, this latest G.O.O.D. music release says so otherwise



Links for face-bookers : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLRMKamjxpo

New Music

Madlib's Brother Oh No and The Alchemist combine to form gangrene, and since I've been listening to to this song over 10 times, i highly suggest you cop their album that's coming out in 3 days



I'm not sure how the album is overall, but i like this song by Cassidy

A Quick Note - people like to compare how 'great' stuff was back in the day, and as much as I would like music (or at least hip-hop) to return to that 90's sound, there's still plenty of good stuff to find today. However, I found the perfect comparison for both of the respective eras.

I'll let you see this, i'm keeping any opinions to myself on this one

90's



Now...i feel slightly ashamed just even putting this up here



Last Name Ever...First Name Greatest....go figure -_-

New Music

This should get anyone excited. Doe or Die 2 comes out in November, and one of the best producer/DJ's of these past few years is handling all the tracks.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrHuS_O3i4Q

Smif and Wessun are coming out with an album next year produced by Pete Rock (entirely)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQCX8zi2HQ8

Sadat X's album didn't get enough attention (it was released around March of this year) so here's his single produced by Pete



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBn3DJGZVw




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU3I79I2LwI

Kanye's Album is coming out this november, and of course, Pete Rock is on production

From the Underground

During school I barely have any time to listen to music, let alone discover anything new. So I had some free time, and discovered the producer team 'Jr and PH7', who came out with an album a year ago called 'The standard' (I realize i'm late on stuff like this haha)

they are also from Germany, and have made some of the rawest production I have heard in a while...

Check this 'new' stuff out, including their single 'Top Rank', featuring Black Milk and Guilty Simpson, two of the best out of the D (...Detroit)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqGhKCzirUg&feature=player_embedded

Support real music ya'll

Yesterday Was Nice..

So I was meeting up with one of my good friends (Corey) yesterday, and his Brother (Royce) happened to be over. Corey told me about his brother and how he magically disappeared from the earth for more than 2 years.

Turns out he went to L.A. and came back a dope MC, which I have never heard of before. He's now signed to a contract at a record label (I think) and now is performing at my University's annual music fest. Quadstock (which is otherwise a shit festival, but might give me a reason to see one worthy performance by Royce and leave before I see the other so called 'acts')

The first one has him on the first verse, and the production is dope (Shout out to GMK), and on the second, he covers Erykah Badu's Window Seat.

Make's me want to work on my MPC and finally master this EP ive been working on since Summer....but school comes first right? -_-

I'm Lookin forward to whatever Royce and GMK are working on next, enjoy this






links for all you facebookers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIlCXn2kO4E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBNp1uolQuU

90's Hip Hop Throwback

I know a lot of people have heard of Arrested Development, but your mind probably immediatly pictures the tv series which is funny but I'm here to write about the hip hop group from the early 90's founded by "Speech and Headliner as a positive, Afrocentric alternative to the gangsta rap" . Its one of the few groups to promote sustainablity and environemental concern (see track "greener") and I think their dedication to their message will always stand out in hip hop, especially in defining alternative hip hip and southern hip hop in general.

A classic album no doubt. My favorite song is split between "Everyday People" wchich samples Sly and the Family chorus and "Tennesse" which samples a vocal Princes "Alphabet Street."

Tennesse



People Everyday - Sly and Family 1968 (click to view)



People Everyday - Arrested Development (1992)

Upcoming fall releases

So it's been a while, and since im not looking forward to another shitty year of school, there are some things I CAN indeed look forward too, these are albums that will hopefully get me through BS like last year...so yeah here are some songs from upcoming albums




Chaundon has been part of the Justice League (who 9th wonder, Khrysis, Big Pooh, Phonte, etc.. are a part of) for a long time, and after collaborating with many of the Justice League members and making 6 mix-tapes, he's releasing his first album, it's definitely something to look forward too. It comes out November 10th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkhWFY73by0



Phonte & Nicolay have teamed up again as The Foreign Exchange and are now set on releasing their third studio album, the album is coming out Oct 12th.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3AQ4tLFKYE



The Roots, after releasing their album How I Got Over, are teaming up with John Legend again and releasing another album, Wake Up, coming out September 21st

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdA596FaQCw



The one im most excited for, Black milk's album, Album Of The Year, is coming out September 14th

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOMldtCNyZ0

Summa Time

I found a classic sample today. I really enjoy it and all esp. since its summer time. So with out further ado here it is. Not a big fan of French but Curren$y is nice.

Michael Franks - Lotus Blossom




Curren$y and French Montana

The French Connection

The french hip hop scene has always intrigued me, I'm sure most people are familiar with the movie Ocean's 12, and the legendary laser scene and the awesome song to go with it, but how familiar are you with the roots of the track.

It was produced by french hip hop group - La Caution dubbed "Thé à la menthe" or the tea with mint.

More Updates and a banger

Black Milk's new Album, Album Of The Year, is dropping sometime this September, supposedly this song is not on the album, but whatever he's going to have on it will not dissapoint.

Here is the link for those of you guys on facebook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbQPN7KpQWI

If you guys love Nujabes, you'll love this guy Kuroisoul, I don't know why he hasn't blown up, but here's the link for you guys on facebook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho0B-6NxEpM

For 5 bucks i'd say it ain't a bad deal at all.

Updates

Whats up everyone, I know I'm extremely late on this, but there's an actual proper mixtape that Jay Electronica put together himself called Victory.

You can download it right here 

Anyways, Villa Manifesto by Slum village is going to be released July 27th ,and it's also their last album that's ever going to be released. So you guys should look out for that



One of the songs released from the album, "Lock it Down". Nice to hear from Elzhi and T3 again

Lookin' 4 Love

Kero One is one of my personal heroes as he MC and producer who had a dream and went after it. He has good taste in music and that what music really comes down to, quality. One of the few notable Korean American hip-hop artists that I know of besides Chan.

"Kero One originally worked as a web designer, making 50 copies of his first single with home equipment and personal credit cards. One of the copies was purchased at a record shop in Tokyo by a Japanese DJ, who generated interest for Kero One by playing it at a club. A Japanese record label then requested 3000 copies of the single, which led to performances throughout Japan. In 2005, Kero One released the self-produced album, "Windmills of the Soul,"" (Wikipedia)

"In All the Wrong Places" beautifully samples Ahmad Jamals "Dolphin Dance"





You may have recognized it as main sample in Common's "Resurrection" minus the scratching etc.


Hope it relaxes you like it did me, remember you don't have to look far for love, just into your heart.

Here's one last fav:

What the F*CK is a Jay Electronica?

Yeah yeah, I've heard everyone say who the best new artist is...every one from Big Sean , Nipsey Hussle, Fashawn, the list goes on and on. I like some of these new guys alot, especially Freddie Gibbs, Fashawn and J Cole, who really take this Hip Hop S*it seriously (unlike some guys named OJ...smh).


However, there is one guy in the rap game who has worked his ass off to get little attention for his skills. This guy is a true example that skills and talent don't get you fame, and now, in his thirties, is now selling out shows all over the place and working with Just Blaze and supposedly Premier.


Jay Electronica....who?.....huh?....what the fvck is a Jay Electronica?. He's the Dopest MC you have never heard of, and as of right now the best MC to never release an LP ever...yeah I said it (and he's also a damn good producer too). It's sad because some of my closest friends who follow hip hop don't even know who the hell he is, which is abysmal to say the least.


Jay is from New Orleans, the Magnolia Projects from the 3rd ward slum (for those of you who know the song Exhibit C, you guys know what i'm talking about haha), and has worked with Just Blaze to produce serious heavy hitters like Exhibit A, Exhibit C, including a mix-tape that's literally called "What the F*ck is a Jay Electronica". I wish I discovered this blog earlier, so I can tell you guys about Jay, who is just an insane lyricist and producer


You can download the Mix-Tape here (it's better than 99% of the LP's that get released today): 


http://www.mediafire.com/?yodtehq2zwg


I've been bumping this in my car since I downloaded it...and If you don't like any of what this man is making...well...prepare to renounce everything you even know about hip hop and join the church Robert Freeman joins in this weeks episode of the boondocks:
Seen here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jT863-8wD4

And here's a sampler of what i'm even talking about...it's a shame that people still don't know about this guy...makes me want to shake my head over and over again.


Exhibit C - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc09HB7nEbA
By the way...what do you think of that 4-3 series win by the lakers? hahahaha

The choice is yours

1991 Black Sheep video of 'The choice is yours', followed by its rebirth this past month.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9F5xcpjDMU



Kia Soul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfJnqbudMzs




Almost makes me want to test drive the new kia!

Wizzay

State of the...Blog + Jam of the week (the last?)

Elzhi is one of my most favorite MC's, and if anything is one of, if not the Best and most underrated MC of this generation. His lyricism and flow is unmatched really, and it's sad that he's so good, that it seems like only Elzhi can defeat himself in a battle of skill, making him undermined and having no one really pay any attention to him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNXqJ205f7U


It's extremely hard to believe that he wrote this at around age 18,19. This song is amazing. The beat also matches his lyrics, making an amazing sound and with a meaningful message.

and NOW , something else to note.

Ive seen how this whole blog thing has ran, and really, I'm not pleased with the way things have gone. Me and DJ Occur initially promoted the blog as something where we show some of the techniques that producers use to make records, and how they sample, and what samples those producers and artists use. And maybe a data base for future producers to use as a facilitator for making music.

We also wanted to include recent material from artists and producers nowadays who still make music that would follow the format of the blog, and post stuff every now and then that deviated from music itself, you know stuff related to sports or movies or whatever. We also wanted to include news articles, )artist info on what they would be doing in the future, who they would be working with, 

Granted I did initially go beyond my own subjective parameters for what I wanted to write and how I wanted to present it (included extra but somewhat useless producer info, artist info, extra stuff). But things got out of hand way too fast.

People out of nowhere started joining, and the thought of having another team member on this was an exiting thought, until 3 members became 5, and 5 became 8. Pretty soon not only did people post Long articles, but some 'contributors' posted only one article and looked like as if they left the blog. People were not only being inconsistent, but never said a word to anyone else about it, which is kind of a bitch move...

I initially wanted the blog to be initially simple, until people posted articles with as many as 4-5 videos, and so many people posting that the reader/listener didn't even get to see what a person just posted, and instead just left a whole bunch of un-listenable articles.

We've already removed the inconsistent people on this blog, and will probably remove just a few more if there's no consistency. Even if we go back to have a BUNCH of contributors, we'll all have to post short articles, but ones that are straight and to the point and stuff that YOU guys will love. So were gonna go through some huge renovations, some extreme makeover blog edition stuff, and hopefully we'll start off on the path we started, but then quickly deviated from.

Oh, and I'm actually curious, How many of you actually read this thing? I know you guys have got other priorities and stuff (trust me I had two 15 page papers assigned to me, I go through BS just like you guys).

Leave a comment below, or click one of those funny/interesting/cool boxes to let me know if you've read some of this blog at least once at some point haha

Appreciate the support guys!

Peace

Joni Mitchell Never Lies!

Memorial Day has passed.
Pools are Open--
The Summer sun is kissing our necks....

Yet nothing can cool me down like Janet Jackson's "Got Til It's Gone" featuring Q-Tip.

Blackness & Afrocentricity never looked cooler than in this video


The song features a sample from Canadian Songstress Joni Mitchells "Big Yellow Taxi"

AWW I SEE NOW

Bobby Womack is one of those under-recognized over-sampled living legends that your mom and pop probably made love to. (eww?) Besides providing us with such soul staples as "Thats the Way i Feel About Cha" & "Across 110th Street" ---Mr. Womack wrote and produced for some of your favorite artists: Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, Patti Labelle.

Consequence, Little Brother and Kanye Sampled Bobby Womacks "I'm Through Trying to Prove my love to You" in 2004





The Sample Occurs at (1:38)

I didn't promise you a rose garden...

Tell me this isnt how you make a sample .....

Talib Saturday

Jam of the week, update and study/get through bullshit/feel good music

So I bought a mixer for my project, something relatively cheap and yet effective. Its from the Behringer XENYX series, and hopefully it does me some good until I feel like upgrading.. Now its time to hunt down that MPC 2500, a few more electrical cords, some speakers and I'm on my way



A banger from JayLib, this song got me through another bullshit week of school..man I can't wait for summer...and for you guys who go through meaningless work during school like I do, I got some instrumentals/songs from some of my idols you can listen to below.





(One of my favorites from 9th wonder)



(One from Pete and 9th wonder, Class Is In Session)

Jam of the Week - hostile?

It seems like everyone labels every artist on the mainstream level with some level of disdain ad stupidity. Granted that is true to some extent, people need to realize that A&R's and Companies like Universal will want to promote crappy music just to appeal to those who just listen to dancefloor music...a.k.a most of america (sad truth)

BUT one of the people i find to be the best among the mainstream, the diamond in the shit-made rough, is...get ready for it...


KID CUDI

"oh my god, you suck, he's so wack, he has no lyrics, he can't do anythingf;oierahfoierhfoHF"

some of you might be thinking this, but honestly, he's made some completely original stuff, and granted he's not be the next coming of Big L, he certainly holds his own on every track and comes with a style no one has discovered. He might not be the best rapper ever of all time...but his 'presense' (I guess you can put it that way) and the production that comes with it sounds pretty good.

It's a form of hip hop that I didn't really knew existed, and I guess Kid Cudi is the first to show me this. If it mkes you feel better, he's signed to Kanye's Record label, and Kanye is about to come out with an album that's sure to lead hip hop back in the already disfigured loop of the society of music.



This one is one of my favorites, when you have to deal with the bullshit of a University for a week, this is the kind of song  that calms you down


If it makes you feel better I included another song...another Virginia reminder

Jam of the week - The journey

Yo, Here's an  update for you guys

about a month or so ago I said I'd be looking to buy equipment to make beats this summer, I finally found my first main piece of equipment. Thanks to craigslist, the last thing I'd consult to buy anything, it gave me the best brand turntable money could buy, plus amazing cartridges. (The Technics 1200 brand with Ortophan cartridges.)

At that point it was 350, so I snagged it as quick as i could and I could not be more satisfied, just one step further till greatness...

Jam of the week :



This was stuck in my head all week. This reminds me of my trips to the east coast when I hit up the bro's (shoutout to Sanj and Sai), especially when I went down to Richmond...oh and it's also good because it's Little Brother...you can't even go wrong with them, even though this is the third week in a row im posting about them haha

Enjoy.

NASA sampling

Stylistically very different from the majority of songs posted on here, the sampling is pretty solid and good example of using uncommon avenues to create solid sound.

-Sanj

Weekend Classics

So I've decided to post a few favorites from this weekend just browsing through my collection.
Next week is all about the money week, be on the look out for the greatest debate of all time, settled here.

One Be Lo of Binary Star makes an awesome Alphabet Soup


reviewing some RJD2 classics and of course this popped up:
CunninLynguists - Seasons (MastaAce) prod. RJD2


good ol' cyne ("Cultivating Your New Experience")
Samurai Optic - CYNE


Takin' it back....



Listen to some truth-

Fatal Attractions

I tribute this out to those who know...leave that spaghetti alone.

Glen Close by Binary Star is truly an example of the penultimate of the 90's hip hop. This hip hop dynamic duo of One Be Lo/One Man Army and Senim Silla.

Ay yo, when I shoot a rhyme I make you shudder/
I shoulda shot an Emcee for tryin to steal my butter/
He's bitter cuz I'm better, so now he drinks the bottle/
I did a dirty duty with a cutie she's a model/
I met her at the party scoped her body, name was Patty/
She's pregnant with a shorty, said that I'm the baby's daddy/
Just paper/ sweet potatoes not much later had a daughter/
Coulda said "I'll see ya later"/ but I stayed to child support her/
I didn't love the baby's mother/
Now she's colder cuz I told her/
For the better that my other lady's name was Heather/
She's like whatever, whatever, a tear she cried it but she dried it/
Deeply hurted, broken hearted, but she tried to hide it/
But finally she pleaded that she didn't want to end it or suspend it/
She wanted me to sever ties with Heather/
So we could be together/
I said I'd think about it/
but I know she don't believe it/
She kissed me on my cheek and as she drove away she speeded/
The next day, I'm greeted by her mother/
Oh brother, she think I'm stupid/
Tryin to play cupid undercover/
Talkin about how me and Patty made the cutest couple/
Then invited me for supper/
Now don't think that I'm petty/
But I know what desperate ladies put in their spaghetti/
That's why I told her that I ate already...

Jam of the week & a bonus!

One of my favorite groups of all time, Little Brother, has recently broken up. I was listening to one of their albums, GetBack, and one of their songs really got to me this week.



I think's it a great song, Illmind really knows how to produce song!

The song it was sampling sounds even better, by Junior!



Oh yeah, and by the way, if you haven't watched the first episode of Boondocks Season 3...well...your missing out on something great. Let's just say they made fun of people ''riding'' Obama when he was running for President. Remember that Will. I. Am. song? It might have sounded like this: he remade it with Thugnificent.

Pray for the Funeral

Been meaning to this up for a while, just been mad busy with school stuff. Here's a sample that Cudi took from Band of Horses and put on his mixtape A kid named cudi more specifically the heart breaking track the prayer. The song from the Band of Horses is called the Funeral. I guess Cudi wanted to keep the same vibe going "The Funeral and now The Prayer". But either way there both dope in my opinion you really gotta listen maybe you can relate.

IMOGEN X KHALIFA

Another great sample off Kush and OJ, from Imogen Heap

Reality Check

Reality Checks are always welcome, a guide back to the present. A moment of clarity. Lyrics are top notch, top 10 of hip hop.

Check it. That is all.

Guns N Roses

A lot of people say the Blueprint 2 is wack, I am not in that majority. One of my favorite cuts off the album is Guns n Roses feat Lenny Kravitz. Some of the lyrics in there were just crazy, the simple witty Hova that we all respect. I thought Lenny made the song himself, but it is actually a sample from Cake song called Arco Arena. I leave u with this, Even a broken clock is right two times a day.

ITSSSS CHAAA BOOIIIII!

SHAKE

I look for any excuse in to post a video with the lovely Stacy Dash. Luckily this Game song not only features the voluptuous nubian princess, the song rocks too. This song is on the new R.E.D. room mixtape, and it seems like Game has gotten over his name dropping phase, so u might wanna check that out the tape. This song is called Shake and it features a a sample from the great Sam Cooke. Hope yall lke the song, but i gotta SHAKE!

DONT FUCK WITH THE FUCKIN WITCH!!!!!

So im in STAT class bored as shit. Looking at old and new interviews of my favorite artists, trying to get see where the head is at. A lot of artists just talk about up coming albums, mixtapes, clothing lines, new artists comin up u kno promotion shit. It gets repetitive, but the one i found for all u bumbaclots is definitely my favorite one. My man Em way back in the day when he was still on his drugs (his best days unfortunately). Check this shit out cracks me up every time.

Jam of the Week

Every week it seems like I find a really good song that is worth sharing. These are songs that are worth repeating every time. Here is the first one off of Skyzoo's Album, The Salvation



Production and Lyrics are Stellar, another reason to buy this album!

AND now on a different note:



Two songs have used this sample effectively. Two producers with two different styles.



The single off of the Last Little Brother Album, produced by Khrysis.



From the Madvillany album, produced by none other than Madlib.

Kush & OJ

Kush & OJ has really worn on me, and I will now consider it as arguably the top mixtape of 2010 (no disrespect to Fabolous or Curren$y). This whole vibe of the mixtape is so chill and I can play it from start to back. Wiz Khalifa as an independent artist, in my estimation, is about to make as big of as a buzz as anyone in the next few years. Wiz has a delivery unparalleled and a personality that is infectious. You can definitely put me in the fan club which I joined after Flight School, shouts to Salty Balls who's an original fan from Prince of the City. With that said check out this sample from Loose Ends- Hangin on a String. This is a song that my parents used to listen to when I was young so it really hits home with me.

YEAAAAAAA BIAAAAATCH

Seriously? (Guru Rest in Peace)

In all honesty I thought I faced the bad side of music when J Dilla passed some few years ago, and Nujabes in Febuary, but no. Apparently a few more legends in music need to die because God just likes to mess things up for us.

Guru Has died today. Once again I'm not so much sad, but mostly angry, annoyed to some extent, especially considering Gangstarr is one of my musical influences.  To put it in short, He was responsible for the entire Jazzmatazz movement (integrating Jazz with Hip Hop, which worked and sounded great), as well as, of course, founding Gangstarr with DJ Premier...I don't think I need to tell you how much of an Impact Gangstarr has had on the hip-hop world, and me...if you don't, do some homework.

A few months ago he had a stroke, and was hospitalized. His so called "best friend" Super (douche) producer Solar (Dumb name) had supposedly controlled Guru's twitter accounts and communications, and didn't let his freinds or family visit him in the hospital. Apparently, this wasn't fully proven true (maybe it was, I don't trust Solar at all), of whether Solar did control Guru's communication. But Guru did later recover from the coma following the Stroke. (family says he never did, which is most likely the real truth)

And today...he dies of a battle with Cancer, and The Final letter he supposedly wrote has  signs that  Solar obviously wrote this letter:

URL: http://www.tzumii.com/breaking-hip-hop-legend-guru-has-died.html

Guru basically says (paragraph by paragraph) that

1) Solar is his family, Solar is the one that supposedly stuck with him the entire time through his life and that all awards and tributes should be accepted by Solar (Not the guy Guru worked with on 6 LP's from 1989 to 2003...hmmmm)

2) He then completely disregards Premier (ex-DJ as he says) and anything he has done with him, saying that the work he did with Solar is greater than anything Gangstarr has made.

3) Solar basically rides Guru, saying that he's a great black American hero and all that.

What I also fear is that the mainstream media will suddenly also ride Guru like a rodeo show, saying REST IN PEACE WE ALWAYS LOVED YOU, just like they do to J Dilla, when they didn't even give him attention or love when he made music...when he was alive that is.

Guru once said :

"you better watch the motherfuckers around you, nobody's invincible, no plan is full proof, we all must meet our moment of truth" - I guess some people will finally understand this in the context of his letter...



Rest in Peace.

Oh yeah, For those of you who know who Freddie Foxxx a.k.a. Bumpy Knuckles is, I hope Solar runs into him on the street. That's all I'm sayin

Eeh...

Not much has been going on, I got introduced to another set of Music I'm very interested in. My friend Alex showed me this guy named Pretty Lights, who makes his music and posts it online FOR FREE. I highly encourage you guys to download his stuff, its pretty good to say the least.

URL : http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/



Anyways, Not much else goes on in Seattle really..more rain and more sun I guess..

I am on my way to getting an MPC 2500 and it's accessories :), just bought a whole bunch of vinyl records to eventually use.

One of my favorite shows is going to Return for a Season 3 (The Boondocks)...So I thought i'd provide some more music from the past 2 seasons.



 Tom Scott Covered this song originally made by Jefferson Airplane...It was in Season 1, Episode 12

I'll leave it up to you to discover who sampled this in what song...should be pretty easy.



This is for those, who watched Episode 13 (season 1) and didn't know what Dewey says to Huey when he says "your a revolutionary?? where are your sandals...where are your capris??"

It's not mentioned directly, but it's a good song, and I'd thought i'd share it with you guys. (Just listen to what Phonte says...)



A classic by a Legendary group, This is what Huey plays on his Boombox when he walks out of his house in Episode 14

Never Off

Its been a glorious day of sounds capes as I grooved to two of my favorite lost but not forgotten hip hop heads.

First up is Y Society, I took at listen at their album "Travel At Your Own Pace", the lyrics are great and postive at the same time, it has the hip hop groove to it that just wants to make you jump around. Its a shame that it took me three years to find out. One song in particular jumped out at me called Never Off (On&On)

Turning this:
John Dankworth. Return From Ashes


into this:
Y-Society - Never Off (On & On)


and that is hip hop folks...I really don't what else to say. The song speaks for itself, the artist even gives away all the instrumental away for free, and the apple store charges like $5.00, doesn't make any sense.

Damu The Fudgemunk of Y Society - Bandcamp

At 5:08 of Never Off there is a snippet of another song by a legendary group called the Mountain Brothers. They are some of the finer Asian-American Hip Hop artists, based out of Philadelphia they formed their group in college and are known for hits like "Galaxies" and "Paper Chase".

Its is from "Paper Chase" where we hear the line "its a fine line trying to get the money plus represent for me" and its is a classic sample. Galaxies is dope! Check it out.

Paper chase


Mountain Brothers - Galaxies: The Next Level [HQ]

A Far East Movement

I used to listen to these guys back in the day and now it looks like they're blowing up in the commercial sphere. Very Crafty! Reminds me

X vs. Damien

When I think of NY 90s rap DMX, Earl Simmons, or Dark man X however you call him he was one of the greatest out at the time. To this day his first album is one of the most solid and slept on rap albums ever. One track in particular that stood out from the rest was Damien. He goes back and fourth talking to a "Guardian Angel" by the name of Damien. Damien makes him do all types of sinful deeds in order for him to have a better life. From some previous knowledge the name Damien is also the same name as the "Devils Son". I do not see and coincidence at all.

DMX then built on this Damien story and ended up making three different tracks that featured these stories where he tries to get away from the sweet sinful life Damien wants him to follow. The second installment of the Damien tracks features a known Devil worshiper Marilyn Manson on the hook. Some belief that X was a supporter of Lucifer, some belief that he was just doing these songs to sell, and some belief that there just stories he made up. Whatever his real motives were the Damien series of songs is nothing like you will ever hear. Listen to them in order to get the whole story.

DMX really fell off though, here are some of his mug shots. CRACK IS WACKK!!!!

Nothing is Impossible

One of the best samples in recent memory. This Twista and Kanye song has so much soul its crazzy. With that said nothing is impossible! The sample is amazing too, I know y'all gonna vibe to this one!

“Impossible” by Kanye West (featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole)

 

It's Impossible- The New Birth

Fringe Hip Hop Mondays

I have been listening to these to amazing artists by the names K'naan of Somalia and K-OS of Canada. Each is  a lion in his art. The reason I bring them up together is that they are part of the hip hop collective fringe, in effect they are out there. They rap about things that are far away from murdering people or drugs but rapping on a more personal note about their life and dreams in a way that is closer to laypeople like myself who doesn't involve myself with murdering etc.

I'd like you to take a gander at two works by these guys and let me know what you think. Fringe or not?

K-os Superstar

Hot Music - Soho 

.

K'naan feat. Chubb Rock ABC's (2009)

                   

Chubb Rock Treat 'Em Right (1990)

Music From Others

I like it when people give me music to listen to, more than If i find music and share it with people. It's just as good as stumbling on music that you really like...and that you haven't listened to/discovered yet. Recently I was talking to my cousin and he wanted to get his suggestion heard...so here it is for you guys :



I don't know much about Wax Tailor, but this sounds awesome. Especially with the cuts and scratches

Props to Sanjay Iyer for giving me new music to listen to!

Album Reccomendation

These days when I hear of people talking about the man known as Marshall Mathers (Eminem), people say he's too "inappropriate" or his latest material is wack to some extent. Some of that is arguable, considering the album of his I'm about to talk about blows any of his other stuff out of the water.

I'm not a fan of Eminem, and some of the stuff he had released was just too dark for my own liking (if you do I don't mind, I'm speaking from my own perspective). But his album Infinite, his very first LP, in which he sold out of his car (selling less than a 1000 copies) is better than anything Eminem released after that...and I honestly think it needs to be re-released, considering that amount of amazing lyrics and beats and music should not be ignored...and yes it has indeed fallen on deaf ears.

His lyrics and flow on this album are immaculate to say the least...


Eminem is heading skyward
for those who thought that I would make you bored and treat you like a piece
of plywood
I've got miracle lyrical capability all in me
with the agility to escape a killer bee colony
So get your cameras and capture how miraculous
I rap for all you Draculas and showed you all how whack you was
I meant it as a dis, cause you don't posses the pizzazz as this
I'm hazardous enough already as it is

The beats are composed by Denaun Porter A.K.A. Kon Artis, who is another great producer in my opinion.

On a personal note, from what I've heard people think this album was also bad because he basically steals AZ's and Nas's flow. Honestly, to you backpacker idiots and cynics that like to compare everything against everything else, it takes a huge amount of talent to come anything close to Nas...let alone AZ. I Wish Eminem stuck to the flow he layed down on this album. I honestly can say the flow is very similar to AZ's, but really, Eminem pulled through on this album, and its everything Hip hop should be. So stop whining.

You guys need to check out this album, I don't care what you think about Eminem, this album is DOPE!

Staying Still

Ever since 2001 chronic by Dr.Dre came out it has been in my rotation of CD's. One track in particular Still D.R.E, the beat is legendary

 

However when one great song is made another is right around the corner. Later on in the early 2000s the man himself, Raphael Saadiq, came out with a much softer version for the non-gangsters. But it is definitely worth listening too.

Armagideon Time - Prepping you for 2012...sort of...well musically

Recently I have been hearing about the end of the world, but who hasn't for the last few hundred years. I saw two documentaries that kind of have me in agreement that things need to change in the world. If you have time go watch Collapse and Food Matters. This song is a throwback, I saw it on the incredible movie "Ghost Dog". I thought its title Armagideon Time was appropriate w/ all of the crazy sham stories I've been hearing. I think it'll sober the most confused individual though. Take a listen and enjoy.

Armagideon Time by Willie Williams (1980)



Sample - Real Rock by Sound Dimension