Thursday, January 2, 2014

Boom Bap Playlist

Artists have been recreating that 90s Boom Bap sound I loved the first time. Here's a playlist of artists who are bring it back. I'll keep adding more to this as I find more great artists.

Germany gets down!

Simple One (the emcee) & Captain Crook (the beat maker also known as Klaus Layer) remind the US how to represent real hip hop!  Boom Bap happens to be my favorite genre of rap music. This sound is why I say the early to mid nineties was a very strong period for hip hop. 



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Prentice Powell -The System

 I found this piece and decided it was too good to not showcase it.  It exemplifies exactly why I feel there needs to be a home for spoken word in the hip hop culture. Unfortunately, it seems that the art form has not been acknowledged when it comes to rap music. Rap is just that, Rhythm And Poetry, right?  Watch this video and tell me if I'm wrong. 


Prentice Powell- "The System".   Performed on the Arsenio Hall Show



Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Chuck D's AutoBiography of Mistachuck. < This album is amazing, I don't care what anybody says




One simply doesn't just listen to Chuck D. You have to fully understand and experience what he speaks about. He speaks truth in every track. I can't tell you which track resonated the most with me. Each one here has done so in it's own way. The thing I really like about Chuck D (or Mistachuck, as he preferred to be referred to for his solo career) is that he makes references to all of Public Enemy's tracks as well as his own in every album. In order to listen to and understand him, you must own all of Public Enemy's and Chuck D's solo albums. You must listen to them like your livelihood depends on it. If you still don't understand, you must play it several times and pay attention to what he's saying. You may need to do some research. If you can't do that, then , "I've got nothing for you, man."

Stand out tracks include:
No
Generation Wrekkked
Free Big Willie
Horizontal Heroin
Talk Show Created the Fool
Underdog
But Can You Kill...
Paid


5/5 Stars

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Kanye West's Yeezus







I just finished listening to the album, and a lot of it is lol. He made me laugh when he said 'I speak swag-hili". I was hoping the album had more substance to it. He mostly brags about "bitches" and riches. If I wanted to hear that from him, I would have bought a JayZ cd. The beats are definitely on some next level strange ish, so I can respect the production. I also found it interesting that "I Am A God" received complaints based on the title alone. He basically said a lot of the things that other rappers would say, and being a celebrity will give a person a god complex. Why is it that when Kanye says it, all of a sudden, he's a spoiled douchebag? People are definitely playing favorites when it comes to Kanye in general. I was hoping for his album to be something you sit down and give it your undivided attention to. I wanted this album to have depth and substance. Some of it does (3 songs) but the rest doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because there are too many bitches and p*ssies sprinkled throughout the album. It gives me the idea that he may be over compensating a bit. I'm glad I streamed it first. Here's a brief breakdown of the tracks:


On Site: That was weird, however the lyrics were decent. I enjoyed the beat transition. It was a very unique experience, to say the least. I'm definitely not used to listening to such a bizarre beat.


Black Skinhead- I like it! Kanye definitely changed the game with this one. I love the message. Great energy.


I am a God- I tried to listen to this track while erasing any and all opinions I've heard pertaining to the title. The content of this song is similar to what a lot of other rappers have said. They brag about their stuff and being entitled. Kanye did it here, and people shut down. Jay Z has made his living off of rubbing his riches in every bodies faces. Many celebrities do this so Why does Kanye get dubbed as "entitled" and spoiled?


New Slaves- I heard this first when he was broadcasting the videos across the country. I loved it then, and I still love it now, however the auto tune gets in the way. That gets remedied when the sample at the end starts up, so there isn't much of a loss there.


Hold My Liquor feat. Chief Keef and Justin Vernon- This track was tedious for me. Not because Chief Keef was on it but I just couldn't get into it.


I'm in it: Another track where sex was the main topic. However I like the reggae influence and the singing. The 3rd verse was dope "I be speakin' swaghili"! Love that!


Blood On The Leaves- I was hoping this track would have been a bit more in depth. It sounds like it's a track about a failed relationship. another spin is in order.


Guilt Trip Feat.Kid Cudi- Unfortunately, I lost attention on this so I can't really comment.


Send it up-This track doesn't have much substance. It's more of a story about going to the club. The "memories" part made me laugh!


Bound 2 feat Charlie Wilson- This started up as promising. I love the sample. the lyrics not so much.


I usually listen to an album at least 3 times before I decide to give it a review. I listen to it in my car, with headphones at my computer and in my Ipod. Sadly, I checked this album out on my computer, and I can't even give myself the chance to listen to it in my car or in my Ipod.


All in all, this may be some next level swag music. To be honest, I didn't even like this level's swag music, so, there's that.


I want to rate this album higher, I really do. Unfortunately I can't. I'm going to have to give it 3 stars, and that's mostly for the production. I would have appreciated it better if it were an instrumental album. His lyrics are a 2 at best.


Stand out tracks are On Site, Black Skinhead and New Slaves.




Monday, May 20, 2013

Kanye West's New Slaves and Black Skinhead: The Aftermath

Ok, I'm sure everybody has checked these two videos out, and come to conclusions ranging from "Holy shit!  This is HOT!" to "I don't get why people follow his music. He sucks."  If you haven't seen them, here they are:

Black Skinhead:



New Slaves:


Long story short. I LOVE both songs, and here's why:

Check the comments on the US Magazine article pertaining to the videos.  Responses like these can be found all over the internet. Notice how folks are quick to call Kanye all kinds of racist names, and say the same things to those who refute the racist comments. Some are saying that Kanye is racist, and that he shouldn't focus on slavery and that he has no right to talk about something that he didn't experience.

Hmmm

Using that logic, should American Jewish people stop talking about the Holocaust if they didn't experience it?
What about American Whites who speak about their ancestry, and the wars that occurred in their home countries?

But anyways, the point is that people say this is a "post racial" America and that Kanye is just "another Black man with a chip on his shoulder."  Nevermind that he mentioned for profit prisons (which are locking up other races as well as Black people, by the way), and what Black people have to deal with EVEN IF they may have money.  Sure, Vibe Magazine can point out the hypocrisy in his lyrics for New Slave since he's rich now (I'm sure Bruce Springsteen, and other artists who have spoken out against this sort of thing have been pointed out by numerous magazines, fans etc).  They can call him "arrogant" because of what he did, but what Kanye says is true. So many people were quick to dismiss, ignore, and minimize the performance, and message because he's Kanye, and they DIDN'T EVEN LISTEN to what Kanye was saying.  Based on the comments made on these performances and everywhere else on the internet, especially when it pertains to Black culture"...Racism still alive, they just be concealing it".





Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Is Hip Hop Destroying Black America?

I had the opportunity to get behind the scenes look at my local college radio station. I noticed they played the same songs each week, but in a different order each day.  They would rotate a new song or two in the regular playlist from time to time. As a result, the listener gets pummeled with the same message over and over and over, which desensitizes them. As a result,some people seek out the life depicted in the songs, and some don't. This same effect could be seen with Rock and Roll. For a while "sex, drugs, and rock & roll" was the mantra for the genre, and may still be.  Some people succumb to it, and some don't. People use music as an escape, and as a result, they are listening to the radio and wishing they were in that life (just like watching TV sitcoms did for a lot of people).  It gets perceived as how life should be, and so it's imitated. Since Blacks make up a small percentage of the population, a larger section of that group will appear to succumb to it more often than others. Other ethnicities will display a broader selection of people who have bowed to certain ideals presented to them because there are more of them to draw from. I feel that is why it looks like American Blacks in general are doing far worse than other ethnicities in this country.  Thanks to the media, we have seen the American Dream being shoveled into our faces through various outlets, and as a result, people are bragging about getting: money, sex (in various ways and methods), drugs,material possessions... you get the point.  People desire these things, and will stop at nothing to get them. So before we accuse hip hop of doing this to a select group of people, we must recognize that America has been doing this to the WHOLE. WORLD., for quite some time, and this is just a cog in the machine, so to speak. The poorest of the poor come to North America in search for some of these things. They flock here because in some way, shape or form, media has told them that America is the place to be if you want to be somebody, meanwhile America's poor (and not so poor) people are seeking this out as well. The American Dream does not help Blacks at all because the same media that touted riches for everybody who entered, is the same media that systematically and continuously crapped on that particular ethnicity for so many years, in various ways and told them to shut up about it at the same time. Could you blame them for screaming for the American Dream, since it seems like everyone has it and they don't, especially when statistics are routinely made in order to drive the message home ?  From my standpoint, the image of the snake eating it's tail comes to mind.  I feel that hip hop is not the culprit here, it's this gangster ass pyramid scheme of a culture that belongs to North America.