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Showing posts with label Hip Hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hip Hop. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, September 26, 2008
Top 5 Dead or Alive?
Notorious BIG. It's been a while since I've listened to Ready to Die or Life After Death, and yeah, it's been far too long. The stories he could paint through his lyrics over slick beats will always be a treasure to listen to.
I'm not really sure where Biggie ranks in the greatest rappers of all time. Is his impact what it is because he was murdered, arguably, in the midst of his prime? We'll really never know. We'll really never know if he could have had the longevity to withstand the changes music have undergone. Nor will we ever really know if music would be what it is today if he had not been murdered.
Point of the post? Notorious BIG biography coming soon!
I'm not really sure where Biggie ranks in the greatest rappers of all time. Is his impact what it is because he was murdered, arguably, in the midst of his prime? We'll really never know. We'll really never know if he could have had the longevity to withstand the changes music have undergone. Nor will we ever really know if music would be what it is today if he had not been murdered.
Point of the post? Notorious BIG biography coming soon!
Friday, July 25, 2008
And In Music News....
Clipse get Rick Rubin production!? Score one for good music. Why does this mean something? Well during my aforementioned drives to work, I of course listened to music. Some of it being music from a few years ago. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury was one of those albums. It was a doozy of a CD. Dark, but sick beats. So it got me thinking, I heard that the Clipse's next album wasn't going to be strictly Pharell (or the Neptunes rather) and I was concerned. The Neptunes provided the type of cohesiveness 95% of all music is lacking these days, most particularly with rap. Everything is so formulaic. Club Track + gangsta track + 5 of the producers of the moment + one mushy song = album. Old, lame, and the sounds of the album is all over the place. I don't want an album full of singles, I want an ALBUM.
Anyway, they appear to be doing some of that hot producer of the moment stuff. But cohesiveness can be achieved through sound and not necessarily the use of the same producer. Only time will tell. Till the Casket Drops, hopefully coming soon.
And in other music news, "But you can't blame me.....if I set this stage on fire," apparently is synonymous with "Don't play with me, cause cause you're playing with fire." At least according to the owners of the Rolling Stone's publishing rights. That's right. Those loveable d-bags are suing Lil Wayne for his song "Playing with Fire." I'm just a law school kid. I don't do the whole copyright infringment stuff (yet), so I can't tell you what will happen. But someone might want to ask the Verve how things went over with "Bittersweet Symphony."
Likely outcome? Rolling Stones: 2, Lil Wayne and the Verve, 0.
By the way, I strongly recommend both Clipse's "Hell Hath No Fury," and Lil Wayne's "Carter III" if you're a fan of hip hop / rap music.
Anyway, they appear to be doing some of that hot producer of the moment stuff. But cohesiveness can be achieved through sound and not necessarily the use of the same producer. Only time will tell. Till the Casket Drops, hopefully coming soon.
And in other music news, "But you can't blame me.....if I set this stage on fire," apparently is synonymous with "Don't play with me, cause cause you're playing with fire." At least according to the owners of the Rolling Stone's publishing rights. That's right. Those loveable d-bags are suing Lil Wayne for his song "Playing with Fire." I'm just a law school kid. I don't do the whole copyright infringment stuff (yet), so I can't tell you what will happen. But someone might want to ask the Verve how things went over with "Bittersweet Symphony."
Likely outcome? Rolling Stones: 2, Lil Wayne and the Verve, 0.
By the way, I strongly recommend both Clipse's "Hell Hath No Fury," and Lil Wayne's "Carter III" if you're a fan of hip hop / rap music.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Break for Blogging
I'm in need of a break from school. On a side note, I just installed Service Pack 1 for Windows, Vista. I strongly recommend it. Solved a number of problems I'm having. Anyway I'm listening to my MP3 player and catching up on some old favorites. Decided to revisit some "classic" music I haven't heard in a while. In no particular order:
Soul Position, 8 Million Stories - I remember how pumped I was about this album. I think it lived up to the hype. I wasn't so excited about Things Go Better With RJ and Al, but Blueprint was once one of my favorite lyricists and RJD2 was really sick (before he did the jump to pop music).
Deep Puddle Dynamics - The Taste of Rain....Why Kneel? - This album was soooo sick when I first heard it. It was Slug and the dudes from Anticon. I will always be thankful to JJ for putting me on to this.
Anticon - Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop - In retrospect this was the dumbest possible title that a group could have come up with. But listening to Anticon will always distinctly remind me of some of the Bay Area's finest independent hip hop. Anticon really changed up their sound after time, but this album was one of their collective (and weird) best.
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly - I remember driving to SF to try and see them perform on a whim. It was coincidentally the same night this album dropped. Unfortunately, Slims was sold out, but I drove up to Ameoba and copped the album. I remember listening to it all of the way home. I haven't felt that same excitement of tearing open the packaging of a CD, excited beyond belief to listen to it in a long while.
Aesop Rock - Labor Days - Another big ups to JJ (along with Atmosphere) for putting me onto Aesop. The dude was so good. This, to me, will always be his crowning achievement. I hold onto this album dearly, and absolutely love it.
RJD2 - Dead Ringer - this album was super hyped. This guy was supposed to be the next DJ Shadow. He wasn't, but he did a great job impersonating him with a bit of a spin. I still love hearing this album, and I'll never forget seeing him in SF. He put on a super dope live show. Fortunate to see him in a rare appearance where he actually used the records from his album as opposed to scratching over a CD pre-playing the tracks.
Sage Francis - Personal Journals - Another good JJ recommendation. Sage was so sick to me. A big fat white dude who won the Scribble Jam MC battles but actually could put together a good album (J.U.I.C.E., I'm looking at you). Not all punchlines, but really introspective.
This whole period of my life is a blur. I've been fortunate to see all of these guys live. The shows, the dates, mostly blurry, but this was the era when I would hunt these CDs down, trip to SF and Berkeley just to find a rare album or count the days till the albums dropped and I could go online and buy tickets to the show. Oh youth, I miss you. These are fond memories I recollect. Crashing on JJ's futon and feeling so free in the bay. These days will always be missed.
JJ has since moved to NYC and it's been a long time since I've seen him. He makes his own music and it's dope. These influences have progressed into many different avenues of musical interest. But I'll always keep these albums relatively close.
Soul Position, 8 Million Stories - I remember how pumped I was about this album. I think it lived up to the hype. I wasn't so excited about Things Go Better With RJ and Al, but Blueprint was once one of my favorite lyricists and RJD2 was really sick (before he did the jump to pop music).
Deep Puddle Dynamics - The Taste of Rain....Why Kneel? - This album was soooo sick when I first heard it. It was Slug and the dudes from Anticon. I will always be thankful to JJ for putting me on to this.
Anticon - Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop - In retrospect this was the dumbest possible title that a group could have come up with. But listening to Anticon will always distinctly remind me of some of the Bay Area's finest independent hip hop. Anticon really changed up their sound after time, but this album was one of their collective (and weird) best.
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly - I remember driving to SF to try and see them perform on a whim. It was coincidentally the same night this album dropped. Unfortunately, Slims was sold out, but I drove up to Ameoba and copped the album. I remember listening to it all of the way home. I haven't felt that same excitement of tearing open the packaging of a CD, excited beyond belief to listen to it in a long while.
Aesop Rock - Labor Days - Another big ups to JJ (along with Atmosphere) for putting me onto Aesop. The dude was so good. This, to me, will always be his crowning achievement. I hold onto this album dearly, and absolutely love it.
RJD2 - Dead Ringer - this album was super hyped. This guy was supposed to be the next DJ Shadow. He wasn't, but he did a great job impersonating him with a bit of a spin. I still love hearing this album, and I'll never forget seeing him in SF. He put on a super dope live show. Fortunate to see him in a rare appearance where he actually used the records from his album as opposed to scratching over a CD pre-playing the tracks.
Sage Francis - Personal Journals - Another good JJ recommendation. Sage was so sick to me. A big fat white dude who won the Scribble Jam MC battles but actually could put together a good album (J.U.I.C.E., I'm looking at you). Not all punchlines, but really introspective.
This whole period of my life is a blur. I've been fortunate to see all of these guys live. The shows, the dates, mostly blurry, but this was the era when I would hunt these CDs down, trip to SF and Berkeley just to find a rare album or count the days till the albums dropped and I could go online and buy tickets to the show. Oh youth, I miss you. These are fond memories I recollect. Crashing on JJ's futon and feeling so free in the bay. These days will always be missed.
JJ has since moved to NYC and it's been a long time since I've seen him. He makes his own music and it's dope. These influences have progressed into many different avenues of musical interest. But I'll always keep these albums relatively close.
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