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.
[audio:Chemical.mp3|titles=Chemical](Download Link in Full Article)
I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of the old school/golden age era of hip hop (basically, anything before the mid-90’s). It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I have mad respect for a lot of it, but my biggest issue with it is the beats. The reason I have such a passion for hip hop, as I do today, is because of its adoption of a wide variety of instrumentals from various sources. I’m not saying that this didn’t happen in the 80’s & 90’s, it’s just more prevalent nowadays because of technology and the internet. This brings me to today’s feature, “Bug Powder Dust (K&D Session)”, which takes some classic rhymes and lays it on a smooth trip hop beat…
“Bug Power Dust” was originally created by Bomb the Bass, an electronic/hip hop group. The song is essentially a homage to William Boroughs’s life & works, more specifically his famous novel, “The Naked Lunch”. The song was later redone by Kruder & Dorfmeister, which are known for their downtempo remixes of pop/hip hop songs. What I like so much about this tripped-out remix is its combination of my two favorite genres, hip hop & trip hop (I like the hop). The MC, Justin Warfield, flows above the beat so seamless it feels like this should be the original. He has a similar style & sound to one of the Beastie Boys, but I can’t figure out which one, any ideas
Prodigy also did a remix of the song, which can be found here, but I warn you, it’s got nothing on Kruder & Dorfmeister’s! Also, in the full article is the original version/music video – check it out and give me your thoughts on them all.
[audio:BugPowderDust.mp3|titles=Bug Powder Dust (K&D Session)](Download Link in Full Article)
Lately I’ve rehashed a couple songs that I’d mentioned before, but only because they’re incredible tracks – “There U R” being among the most incredible of them all. I’ve been a long time fan of Restoring Poetry in Music, and I thought for my 100th post I’d feature a track from, if not my favorite, one of my favorite hip hop albums to date, Pyramids in Moscow.
“There U R” is a relaxing meditation on rekindling that love from long ago with Raw Poetic’s smooth & sincere lyrics. Backup vocals are done by Patrick Fritz, and really put a nice touch on an already heartwarming track. P-Fritz also supports my claim, which I’ve spoken about many times on this blog, that mixing a singer’s voice into a rap song can bring a whole ‘nother element to the piece. Basically, rap + singing = good!
Give it a listen and let me know how you think the two play off each other. Also, if you like this song then definitely check out “Sleep Walkers“, it’s my favorite song by RPM (followed closely by “There U R”).
[audio:ThereUR.mp3|titles=There U R](Download Link in Full Article)
In Chicago for the weekend, so I’m gonna make this short (gotta get wild soon). I posted Mayday’s self-titled album when the site was just starting off, and I had to give it another shout out (or at least one of its singles). This is one of my favorite beats along with some of my favorite flows, and I know most of y’all won’t go back to September ’09 in the blog, so I thought I’d do it for ya (it’s not me just being lazy, it’s a sick track/album). It’s short and sweet, and a good intro. to Mayday’s mission (statement).
Oh, and if you’re feelin’ this then follow us on Twitter, so you know when we post more sweet shyt (and so we know you like us).
[audio:MissionStatement.mp3|titles=Mission Statement](Download Link in Full Article)
I was “tumbling” around when I came upon this beauty at a scribe., a Tumbler blog. I swear when you’re looking real hard for something you never come up with shit, but when you least expect it you fall into something you love – Illogic being a prime example. It’s hard to find rappers that go beyond the lyrics to weave their rhymes into the beat. I find many flow to a rich & intricate beat, yet their rap is stale and often boring. Illogic may not be the most expressive, dynamic MC, but he knows his way around a beat, especially “Celestial Clockwork”. So far I haven’t been too impressed with the rest of his album, but I’ll definitely have another go around soon. I can tell this guy’s got something…
[audio:CelestialClockwork.mp3|titles=Celestial Clockwork](Download Link in Full Article)
I finally made up my (indecisive) mind and picked a song from Panacea’s 12 Step Program. I first narrowed it down to three that I liked, all for different reasons, and finally came up with “Blue Oceanwave” because of Raw Poetic’s catchy flows and memorable lyrics. Although, lyrics tend to alter each time I play ’em back in my head, so eventually the lyrics started to repeat as something completely different (I tend to do this a lot with music).
The reason I was so hesitant on featuring this one was because of the rave-sounding fire alarms played throughout the chorus. It’s not that they are that bothersome to the beat, I just think the song would do better without ’em. Actually, play it back and tell me what you think I wanna know if this is just me or if others feel the same way.
By the way, the two other songs that came close were “Collard-Fried Grey Sky”, which has a hypnotically beautiful beat, typical of K-Murdock; and “Black Coffee”, the first 30 seconds are pure funkadelic fresh(nass). You can check ’em both out at BandCamp.
[audio:BlueOceanwave.mp3|titles=Blue Oceanwave](Download Link in Full Article)
I wanted to feature a song from Panacea‘s new album, 12 Step Program, which also released this week, but unfortunately none of the songs hit the spot (yet). Panacea usually takes sometime to really feel the sound, so hopefully I’ll feature something soon off the album.
But we’re here for a little Bone Thugs, featuring a song off their new album, Uni5: The World’s Enemy. I was a little skeptical of Bone’s new album, I usually am after a group has been around so long. I rarely see a group that can last this long and still produce a quality album. I find most either try something new that just doesn’t work right or just keep on producing the same old shit. Well, to be honest, the album is worthwhile for a listen through, but it’s in no wear near their best work, which I think most would agree on. However, the album has a good classic Bone Thugs sound, and some of the singles just hit it right, specifically “My Life”.
“My Life” is a good example of why Bone has been so successful. The group mixes up rap with some backup vocals to create a full range sound. I find with a lot of hip hop that most discount what a good ol’ R&B singer, for example, can bring. I know a good amount of people who don’t enjoy, appreciate and/or understand rap, so mixing in some vocals can go along way for these people, and to be honest, myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love rap – as you should know by now – but the more variables a song brings (obviously done in the right way) the better a song can be. But obviously this is just my humble opinion. What do y’all think How do you prefer your hip hop
[audio:MyLife.mp3|titles=My Life](Download Link in Full Article)
Way back in ’08 I was obsessed with a little known group from Minneapolis called Doomtree. I was just getting over my fixation with Flex, a song from their False Hopes album, when I heard news of an upcoming release. “Drumsticks” premiered on the group’s site a couple weeks later, and the beat blew me away. Its natural sounds with a heavy kick bass made the hairs on my neck stand up. I couldn’t wait for the release, and when it rolled around I was in for a surpise… unfortunately, not a good one. The album didn’t come close to that of False Hopes, and although, it packed in a few noticeable tracks, the album as a whole was nothing praiseworthy. I still love this track, though, and I know you will too.
I actually wanted to show y’all the video of “Drumsticks” that made “the hairs on my neck stand up”, but all I could come up with was something they did after the release (found here). I gotta say the video isn’t all that impressive; partly because of the “bicycle gang” (not my thing), but mostly due to the shotty camera work and poor video editing. So instead I put up a video from another song off the album, “Game Over”, which is not only a good listen but highly entertaining, and also has some nice shots of the city.
Enjoy it all, and make sure you share your thoughts. I can’t tell y’all enough how much I love to hear your opinions, it helps me determine what and what not to post up on here!
[audio:Drumsticks.mp3|titles=Drumsticks](Download Link in Full Article)
“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.
[audio:UncommonValor.mp3|titles=Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story](Download Link in Full Article)
Crown City Rockers put on a smooth jazz sound with flows from Rasshan Ahmad. “Balance” takes on a nice laid back vibe with Ahmad’s freewheelin’ flows, which’s meant more for phonetical flavor than anything of a serious matter – it’s nice to get away from the political rap, once in a while. Crown City requires less thinkin’ and more feelin’, which is always good for a spring stroll around the city, unless you’re living in Minnesota where the forecast is rain… fuck it, I’m feelin’ a rain dance comin’ on anyway. Also noteworthy, the feature of this track, Scarub’s ever so soothing sound.
Hit me up with some feedback, I’ve got a lot more Bay Area relaxers if y’all feel it.
[audio:Balance.mp3|titles=Balance](Download Link in Full Article)