We just had our one year anniversary on the 3rd, so we decided to take a trip to Chicago and check out the North Coast festival. We’ll cover the festivities in the next post, but first we wanted to talk about the theme song for that week.
Chiddy Bang wasn’t at the festival, but I finally got my hands on their mixtape, Air Swell. The mixtape was put together to promote themselves throughout the UK. It contains samples of famous UK musicians and at first I thought they were based outta the UK until I found out the EP is just based on the UK.
The first track I had to check out was a remix of “Stylo” by Gorillaz, but wasn’t all that impressed after listening to it. However, I did find a song that blew me away [...]
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Nuttin’ But Stringz was nuttin’ like I expected. About a year or two back, someone had posted up on a forum about a rap duo who played violins. I love when hip-hop brings on classic instrumentals; strings just sound so good with a baseline and an MC that can flow.
Unfortunately, the duo didn’t stack up as I had hoped. Their use of the violin is definitely their strong point, but anything past that just seemed second-rate. Fortunately, I managed to pull a song that’s good for a party mix, which I didn’t expect from a group that’s highlighted for their violin playing – let’s just say I expected more of a classical vibe.
The duo seems to be leaning towards pop – just saw them on Dancing with the Stars (on a YouTube clip) – but their talent for the strings will hopefully push them back into the art sometime in the future.
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Thought this would be a good time to bring up the November ballot for the legalization of marijuana in Cali (CuDi seems to be a big pothead). As a pothead myself (well, former), I’ve struggled with justifying the legalization, but I figure what it comes down to is education before illegalization (not the other way around). America needs to start leading by example, as we once did – except for that whole prohibition thing… and slavery… and health-care… but other than that we kill… I don’t mean literally; fuck, I’m digging myself a hole. You know what I mean!
The reason I chose Up Up & Away wasn’t just because I wanted to talk about marijuana, it’s also because of why CuDi seems to be doing hip-hop right. I’m not into most mainstream hip-hop, but CuDi has one sick flow. It reminds me of a drumline: quick, snappy and on key. I don’t have as much appreciation for the rest of Man on the Moon: The End of Day, but some of his latest singles are equally as impressive as this.
If you’re looking for more stoner music then check out my article on beats to blaze.
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I wanted to pay tribute to Guru’s lifework in honor of his passing just under two months ago. He may not’ve been the most well-known MC, outside the underground, but he had (has) one of the most distinct voices in hip hop. I listened to Gang Starr a while back in college and was impressed when I first heard Guru’s flow. I was never too engrossed in his music, especially his solo-work, but I’ve always had mad appreciation for the impact he’s had on hip hop. Here is one of my favorites from Gang Starr – it may not be their most well-known, but it’s what first introduced me to Guru’s talent (among a few others).
Some of you may have heard about the whole controversy surrounding Guru’s death – check it out @ Pitchfork. All I have to say is that it’s sad to see Solar, recent producer for Guru, trying to gain off a friend’s death. But I guess we don’t know the whole story (I guess). What do y’all think of the situation? R.I.P. Guru
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I haven’t been listening to much Apathy in a while, but I thought I’d feature one of his best to possibly rekindle my interest in him again. I was heavily into Apathy and some of the other Demigodz, along with Jedi Mind, a couple years back, which were some of my favorite groups from the East Coast at the time.
I’m not the biggest fan of East Coast hip hop, if you couldn’t already tell (the site is mainly West Coast/Midwest hip hop). I just relate more to the West Coast/Midwest vibe, but I am trying to gain some knowledge of the East (it’s embarrassing when ya don’t know much about its birthplace), so if you have anything to recommend I’d love to hear it. If you like this one I’ve got a few more East Coast classics up my sleeve, so post up and I’ll do the same.
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“Uncommon Valor” is an epic tale of two soldiers in the Vietnam War portrayed by Vinnie Paz & R.A. the Rugged Man. The story starts off with Vinnie Paz telling of a U.S. soldier, which after seeing the corruption of war, is questioning the motives of his government. The tale moves on to a more memorable and fact based account by R.A. the Rugged Man, telling of his own father, Staff Sgt. John A. Thorburn, a highly decorated war hero. R.A. speaks of his father’s near death experience in Cambodia during Operation Rolling Thunder, and his exposure to Agent Orange, which leads to severe physical & mental disabilities in two of his children, one eventually passing away.
Personally, this is one of the most vividly & well spoken stories I’ve come across in hip hop. It talks about the trials of war in such an honest & unaltered way, yet this isn’t the most appealing part. What really blew me away was how each MC displayed such an articulate way with words, especially R.A. His account of his father’s tragic story, vocalized in such a phonetically rhythmic way (or however you’d put it), is another example why the East Coast is known for their conscious rap. I really need to shift my focus on the East Coast for a while, I have not delved far enough in this fine rap region.
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I realized a few days back that I didn’t have much East Coast hip-hop on here, so I thought I should contribute something. R.A. the Rugged Man was the first thing that came to mind, he caught my attention when I started listening to Jedi Mind, Apathy, Celph Titled and all the other locally known East Coast underground acts. I was introduced to him by one of Jedi Mind Tricks’s songs, “Uncommon Valor”, where he spits faster than an M-16 (it’s about the Vietnam war). R.A. is one of the fastest flow-ers (not flowers) coming from N.Y. with some phonetically fresh phrasing to back it up. “Chains” is a good example, but probably not the best (i’ll post that soon enough). Check it out and tell me if you’re just as impressed…
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