January 2009

After the 2005 release of French Cuisine, fans became aware of the laid back quality inherent in the work of the Parisian producer Alif Tree. That disc was all jazz vocals and sparse, yet warm production spread out over nearly an hour. The interesting thing about that disc was the range of influence listeners were able to hear – everyone from Nina Simone to Steven Reich were represented in some way. And, really, that’s why it was a good disc.

Read more >

The easy way by which to divide rap into communities is to say the West Coast rap sounds different from the East Coast. And all of that sounds different than the South – or St. Louis. And an interesting way to go about making that point obsolete is to name your first mix tape Fried Chicken & Watermelon. According to U-N-I, they did so to make apparent all of the ridiculous stereotypes that pervade life.

Read more >

The first time I heard Count Bass D, he threw down a few bars on the Harvey Lindo produced Kid Gloves — A Modaji Long Player. And I have to say that I wasn’t anything short of impressed.

A few years went by, without my hearing the gentleman’s name again. But that wasn’t for his lack of output; I guess I just wasn’t looking hard enough.

Apart from releasing a few long players himself lately, including one that was a give a way, Count Bass D found the time to visit the Los Angeles based Dublab and rock the MPC for nearly fifty minutes.

Read more >

Putting out on of the strongest, most listenable, jazzy and laid back albums of last year – or maybe the last few – hasn’t given Tha Connection the slightest notion of slowing down. And while thus far into 2009, we haven’t had any new releases or sightings from the Long Island duo, a free promo of theirs dating from the beginning of last year was just posted by the dudes over at Rhyme House. And if you missed it the first time around, do yourself the favor of snaggin’ IT before it disappears – this time perhaps for good.

Read more >

Finding The Ultimate Music Machine this morning at The Smoking Section, almost immediately proved to me that it was going to be a good day.

My initial introduction to the Alchemist was on the first Dilated Peoples album. The Platform came at a time when the underground of hip hop seemed to be bubbling up onto the radio. Jurassic 5 had just become stars and Dilated were soon to follow. And the fact that their first disc was full of pretty outstanding production and rife with interesting guest spots instantly endeared that release to me.

Read more >

The printing of last years’ Digging for Dirt: The Life and Death of ODB has prompted Slate contributor James Parker to wax poetic about the deceased rapper. And Big Baby Jesus certainly provides enough nuanced personality quirks to take up a great deal of space.

What results – in the article, not the book – is simply a distillation of ODB’s past running up to his musical maturity and stardom.

His personal life is left out for much of it – having only a brief mention of his 13 kids. The following quote though really does give context to the struggles this rapper endured after the lights were turned off and the crowds went home:

Read more >

By Dominga Martin

As we brave the last days of winter...a few hot tracks crossed my desk just in time for Spring|Summer anticipation.

While some new artists have embarked on the scene with mellow ballads and sexy tracks that sound as if they've been heard before. Possibly because the current music scene consists of dripping beats, bouncing to ballads sung by urban gentleman ready to benefit from the sound Usher has made popular.

These new artists are paving a way for themselves with a sound to call their own.

On the hot list for 2009 is B.o.B, hailing from Atlanta with his single "I'll be in the Sky" he sounds a bit like Andre 3000, however, it's his sound that is reminiscent of the cross-cultural artist from Outkast.

Read more >

Amongst the initial clutch of Def Jux releases was a single from Mr. Lif that detailed a fictitious kidnapping. And now, at the end of the Bush Regime, Lif comes back again to critique the political and social goings on in this nation. There’s a great deal of journalistic focus on this record which purportedly details Lif’s neighbors and their mortgage troubles alongside a veritable laundry list of social ills.

Read more >

The unsolved 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay is, in many ways, part of the legacy that Run DMC helped cultivate. Of course senseless acts of violence can never be rationalized completely. But as a part of rap culture’s constant posturing, there’re enough tough guys in the game to a make a mess of it for everyone.

The trio of Jason Mizell, Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels, assisted in the shifting of hip hop from a niche culture into the mainstream consciousness. What the group did – their fashion, swagger and sophistication – has all gone on to be part of what the rap game is today.

Read more >

It’s been about a decade since the world has had the pleasure of a new Rakim full length. And if his new disc comes to fruition this year, 2009 might be the biggest year in hip-hop for another decade.

Beginning as a teenager in the mid 1980s, Rakim teamed up with Eric B. to release three seminal rap albums. Even today, the production style and approach to rhyming from these three discs has continued to be as important an influence on hip hop as anything else. Every rapper that’s released any work surely owes a debt to this duo.

Read more >

Last March, everybody’s favorite LBC rapper released Ego Trippin’ on Geffen Records. Much like his more recent work, Snoop maintained his core fan base, but didn’t gain enormous attention for the release from the media at large. And that’s a bit unfortunate. While subject matter and production hasn’t really been in flux for the rapper over much of his career, if you enjoyed his earlier Doggystyle (1993) – and who didn’t – Ego Trippin’ has all of the same trappings, plus a country song.

The title of that disc, though, is a bit confusing.

Read more >

There really are too many positive things to say about music in general and hip hop specifically. What that music does for and to people is pretty remarkable – and it’s been around for less than forty years.

Everyone has specific tastes and peculiar loves in terms of what they seek in a rap track – beats or flow. And my one qualm with producers are the vocal hooks that end up making the toughest tracks sound a little bit more than wimpy. You do obviously need some chorus to make radio-listeners take that repeated phrase and carry it around in their head.

But apart from that, I’m not too picky.

Read more >

“If you don’t know, now you know…”

Well, it’s due out this Friday, so I would imagine that during the sneak previews and such that media folks get on Thursday night there should be a bootleg version of Notorious uploaded somewhere within a few hours. Here’s hoping.

As if the myth that’s risen around Biggie since his death wasn’t enough to keep his name in the mouth and on the lips of every other rapper on the planet, the lead up to the release of the film has deepened that admiration. And thanks to DJ Parler (Par-lay), listeners, fans and fanatics can have an audio taste of what awaits them in theaters this weekend.

Read more >

I don’t know if any of these are actually valid reasons to hold up Edutainment in the same light as earlier Boogie Down Productions like Criminal Minded (1987) or By All Means Necessary (1988), but all of this flies through my mind while I’m in the middle of the sprawling 1990 release.

There are a great many spoken word pieces, which separates this disc from the first two releases from BDP, but sits it in the same realm as Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop (1989). Also, as on that earlier disc, KRS One seems to be investing himself in his Jamaican heritage – you’d know where his parents are from if you’re familiar with the first two discs.

Read more >

I never had any intention of writing about an occurrence like the senseless death of Oscar Grant, but the topic has been a pervasive force in the media for the last two weeks. And because of that, it’s been on my mind.

I was in Oakland on New Years’ Eve and what’s more, I was a stop away from where the shooting happened. And really, what transpired at the Fruitvale station could have occurred at any stop in Oakland. Each platform was busy, packed with folks who intended to have a memorable evening out and begin the New Year properly.

When talking about rap though, not murder, in Oakland a few names consistently come up. The whole Hiero Crew, Too $hort and of course Boots Riley from the Coup.

Read more >

Documenting an historically significant even has to be a task that not too many are up to. And in Freestyle: Art of the Rhyme, DJ Organic (aka Kevin Fitzgerald) who hails from Arizona, takes on not just the events the gave rise to the Lyricist Lounge, but that too of the West Coast equivalent – which oddly enough, took place in an organic grocery.

Read more >

Interplanetary space funk hasn’t had too many allies as of late. Every beat now seems to have some high tech (not Hi-Tek) aspect to it - some wizardry that only the most computer savvy producer can manage to figure. There are of course those that still believe music hit its peak in or around the ‘70s.

Dam-Funk, part of the ever deepening and eclectic Stones Throw consort, seems to like that era of funk as well.

Read more >

I’m always stunned by the self assurance of not just rap dudes, but musicians in a very general sense. To be successful, you’ve got to be more sure of yourself than anyone else on the face of the earth.

14KT is that sure.

And probably, coming outta the Athletic Mic League helped build that kind of backbone. First coming to national attention during the ‘90s, AML unleashed a slew of singles and discs from the likes of Binary Star and their Michigan (aka Water World) brethren. Since that time, the rap world has seen One Be Low transcend the genre with overtly poetic and thoughtful raps that not too many can really even grasp fully, little lone emulate. So, for 14KT to be self assured, in light of that, isn’t really a stunning thing at all.

Read more >

Before we even get into talking about Kid Cudi, the fact that Kanye West is not the new Common Sense, or the new Mos Def, Talib Kweli or the new supa-producer needs to be postulated. I still haven’t figured out why Kanye is so faithfully dogged by comparisons to those that he bears only a passing commonality with.

It seems that Kid Cudi is probably in for much of the same deal.

Read more >

The evolution of hip hop as an art form to some extant has been dependent on the socio-economic surroundings of particular scenes. New York rappers and producers have been noted for using a huge range of music in their songs – De La Soul is an obvious example. And West Coast acts seem to be laid back in a way that Southern folk aren’t. That isn’t applicable across all musical works, but it does work to explain a great deal of the g-funk that was flying off of the racks during the early ‘90s.

Beyond the L.A. contingent of Dre, Snoop and 2 Pac, Northern California stepped up with a number of stylistic variations. Of course, the formula of hip-hop isn’t all too malleable, but working within its confines can allow unique voices to emerge.

Read more >