May 2009

StonedThe careers of both Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister have enough caveats tossed in to keep even the most passive music fan enthralled by the wide ranging endeavors that these Austrians have gotten themselves into.

Beginning in the early '90s, the duo deejayed clubs and the like in their native country mixing together an ethereal composite of dub, hip hop, electronic elements and some stray bossa nova grooves. Soon enough, this mixture ensured that the burgeoning European and British electronic music movements embraced these wayward producers amidst not just their work as a duo, but in their individual endeavors. Read more

Thee FunkLiving briefly in Texas, Sly Stone (nee Sylvester Stewart) and his family moved to the Bay Area during the '50s. And while at the point in the countries evolution the Beats were waning, to say the least, and the seeds of hippiedom hadn't yet been sowed, the area seemed as good as any other to raise a family in an atmosphere of diversity.

During high school, at the age of 16, Stone recorded and released a local hit called "Long Time Gone." Of course, this would only be an initial glimpse into what he would eventually achieve. But it probably served as some sort of early incentive to continue making music. Read more

DroughtsIf Drake is familiar to you, most likely it's as a result of his small screen role as some wheel chaired character on Degrassi. And regardless of the fact that Kevin Smith apparently directed some of those episodes, any relationship with that enterprise shouldn't necessarily make a career. But I don't really know about show biz.

In addition to acting, Drake (nee Aubrey Drake Graham) was not only born in Canada, but apparently was raised in a pretty swank part of Toronto. So when adding all of this together, it wouldn't necessarily seem as if it would end in some sort of underground rap accolade. But it has. Read more

2Part of what's made the Wu Tang legacy such an enormous shadow that drapes itself over all of hip hop is that fact that the production - save for 8 Diagrams - is pretty timeless. Any of the crew's albums could have come from the same time and place as 36 Chambers. And while that might just mean that Wu sounds like dusty funk beats from a '90's dungeon, it'd still be hard to order those discs sequentially based upon the music.

But of course, the Wu isn't everyone's flavor. Even if it's not though, the crew's Method Man not only has one of the most recognizable flows in rap, it's probably one of the best. When coupled with Redman's similar style and timbre, the duo and its 1999 Blackout! should be recognized not necessarily as a water shed moment, but as an indispensible piece in not just the Wu canon, but in '90s rap. Read more