Song of the Day: Yeungling -- Ari Lennox

Fun. And stunning.

Listen here

Song of the Week: Bpos - Dope

Nothing like a little bit of positivity to run the week out. Bpos is a collective from San Francisco that reminds me why I love rap groups. Multi-vocal chorus's, different flows, and great energy. So much fun to listen to. Enjoy!

Song: Here

The Art of Peer Pressure

In my last big article I talked about the humanity and life that the artist necessarily gives to his music, and now I'd just like to talk a little bit about how we as listeners bring our own existence into the work, and in that way create or make its meaning manifest.

On Wednesday morning I read that my D.A.R.E. officer had been found deceased in the drivers seat of his silver ford focus from a self inflicted gunshot wound. I think he was the first police officer I ever met, and the guy that made me think it would be OK to have police officer as my plan B career choice, because simply put, he was just a nice guy. He didn't try to scare us straight, he just treated us like what we were, a bunch of little kids that only really knew about police from cops and robbers. He was gentle, and kind, and I knew that that was what I wanted to be and do with my life.

After reading all the comments and closing the article, I tried to move on and go back to work but "The art of Peer Pressure" just kind of came up in my head. I didn't summon it, I was just tapping my fingers, and there it was, mid beat just humming along in my head.   Now there's something really special to me about "The art of Peer Pressure". It moves, but in a different way. It's not slow or fast, and maybe its because of the clack and the drum, but it's steady in a cold cold way. Kendrick raps softly, and he just keeps going. He lays on word after word of his story saving only the title, select verses, and the chorus to explain it. It's a song that personifies its content, a long aimless drive that just goes until it breaks. In that content he illuminates the duality of who he is and who he becomes, and the strange unresolved tension that that masking presents. I would especially like to present that. This song is unresolved. They drive around, they break in, they drive out, and drive around, and the song ends. Kendrick is still his troubled self, there is no resolution.

And where is there resolution. A cop dies broken, and the criminals hate themselves for the crime, but its all they have to be and what else can the cop do but do his job? Everyone's hurting. Everyone's speaking soft. One was gentle and one was not, and one is being gentle with himself and the other is dead. And yet everything just keep doing. A cop dies broken, and the criminals hate themselves for the crime, but its all they have, their job and their identity.

We made a right, we made a left, but we were just circling life.

***

In writing this I wasn't sure if it was something that I wanted to write about. I didn't want to trivialize something as incomprehensible as a loss of human life, but there's a Jewish tradition that goes that even if you visit the grave of a stranger you leave a small stone on their grave in recognition of their life, their death, and your witness to them.  I'll leave this as my stone. A symbol of my witnessing of a life.

Relevant Music: La Femme Fetal

Relevant Music: La Femme Fetal - Digable Planets

With a lot of talk going around about the abortion issue I thought it would be pretty relevant to look at this track from Digable Planets album Reachin'. It's an interesting perspective from way back (19 years actually) in '93 told with plenty of rhythm to a very funky jazzy beat. The presentation is from the perspective of a young man who is called to a friends house whose had an unexpected pregnancy where they discuss the motives for restricting abortion, the perspective of those trying to restrict it, and the justifications for having one. I don't think any argument about abortion is flawless and this is certainly flawed, or could be argued against as there really may not be a right and wrong answer to the question of abortion. What this song should be best taken for is a fairly light, and if not persuasive, then well told argument fro pro choice. What makes it so enjoyable, like much of the Digable Planets music, is it's laid back and collected tone. It's nice to not have something or someone screaming their opinions down your throat. This song give's you a little perspective and space to think it out for yourself too.

La Femme Fetal

Album Review: How I Got Over

How I Got Over - The Roots

This album is spectacular. It has a full live sound from an accomplished and talented band, of the most underrated MC's in the game (Black Thought), multiple appearances from John Legend, catchy choruses, and a high level of consistency and professionalism throughout the whole album. This isn't a thoughtless rampage of fat techno house beats with lyrics about getting money cars and women, its a spacious real musical sound with thoughtful sincere lyrics. I'm ready to call this the album of 2010. It can be playful, dark, soulful, but always always entertaining. I'm going to list my favorite songs, and its going to be the whole "A" side of the album. Turn the volume up, and play them through some big good box speakers. Buy the album, youtube cannot do it justice.

Walk Alone

Dear God 2.0

Radio Daze

Now or Never

How I Got Over

And that's only the A side.

Thursday Special: Deadly Medley

Deadly Medley - Black Milk feat. Royce da 5'9'' and Elzhi - Album of the Year

Detroit goes really strong in this song as all three hail from the motor city, and all three do a fantastic job with their verses, crafting funny and memorable lines. Although I personally think Elzhi was the weakest of the bunch (and his lines were pretty good), but that Royce Da 5'9'' absolutely knocked this song out. Black milk was good, and his beat on this song is classic showing that he took a couple of notes on the late great fellow Detroit rapper/producer J-Dilla.

Enjoy the song and my favorite lyrics from the three.

"My shit is martin luther your shit is martin lawrence" ~ Black Milk

"You can't take the heat get yo ass out the kitchen

Matter fact take yo ass back in there and wash the dishes" ~ Royce da 5'9''

"I left detroit rappers in fitteds decapitated" ~ Elzhi

Retrospective: Roots Manuva

Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me

Way back in early April I had Witness by Roots Manuva as my song of the week, this June I bought the whole album and thought it would be a nice idea to visit the material again. The things that I loved about Witness, it's bumbling, heavy, sloppy, electronic beats and odd offbeat (usually nonsensical, at least to me) rhyming, were things that I really enjoyed about songs throughout the album, but weren't mixed as well together. Join the Dots with Chali 2na from Jurassic Five (who I really like as part of Jurassic Five) didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the album. It lacked the stumbling quality, and like Chali 2na's rapping style was very clear and almost forceful. Trim Body (or Kicking the Cack, as he may not actually be saying words) I loved even though it really didn't have that same clear beat or any rapping at all, instead it just had that slippery, funky electronic sound that fits so well in the album.

Album Review: Midnight Marauders

Midnight Marauders - A Tribe Called Quest

I just recently bought this album so maybe I'm still in the honeymoon period, but I knew songs like "Award Tour" and "Electric Relaxation" for a long time and I still think they have a very fresh and live sound to them. I really think this album will last for me, its already been 18 years since it was put out, and it sounds great in every category, from the writing to the production. The beats are funky, and the rhymes are playful, although it sounds darker to me than The Low End Theory, which has to be in my top ten albums to listen to. The interplay of jazzy samples, funky bass, and thumping boom bap drums makes the album just enjoyable to listen to, and the rhyming is absolutely top notch. The two songs I mentioned above are excellent and some other great ones are:

8 Million Stories

Sucka Nigga

We Can Get Down

Oh My God

God Lives Through

New Release: Elzhi - The Elmatic

Elzhi - The Elmatic

This album has gotten a lot of press recently and it is absolutely deserved. If there's one thing i hate it's jumping on a bandwagon and just bumping up what other people have said without any original thought. That being said, believe what you hear, this is special.

The Elmatic, is not just a tribute, it's an update, a reworking, and a cover. It takes every track off of the Illmatic, a classic album for any genre, and rerecords them with a live band, and Elzhi rapping over them in a similar style, rhythm, or beat pattern to the original. No one is here to say that Elzhi is a better rapper than nas, or that this album is better than the original, but this album is great in its own way! Performing these songs with a live band gives it a much fresher feel, and Elzhi does a wonderful job emulating Nas while still telling his own story and leaving his own mark on the aalbum.

Halftime, one of my absolute favorites off the original, gets a spectacular rendition by Elzhi and his backing band, but also represents the two albums well. It sounds different in the best way possible. I just love both of them so much. Nas rapping, it's better, and more memorable ("You couldn't catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer//That's like Malcolm X, catchin the Jungle Fever"), but I LOVE Elzhi's smooth quick agile delivery. See and compare for yourself. The Original. The Update.

I don't think I even mentioned the best part. It's Free. All of it. It's not a pay as much as you want, its just free. I'm trying to find someway to buy it, because I want to support Elzhi now, but so far as i can tell this is free mp3 download only.

If you didn't click on any of the download links here it is.

Song of the Week: Take Notice - J Dilla feat Guilty Simpson

Take Notice - J Dilla Feat Guilty Simpson - Ruff Draft

The sound of this song is like it's album title, rough. It's slow and minimal, the keys and electronic aren't over the top or overwhelming. The whole sound is incredibly refreshing after listening to a lot of more modern pop which can be heavily overproduced and bogged down with too many odd loops and electronic samples. The song immediately establishes a nodding rhythm and sticks to it. J Dilla's attitude certainly comes through on the song and is even better illustrated by this blurb (from the youtube video)

"J Dilla introduced Guilty Simpson to Stones Throw by saying, "You should sign him." He was signed."

Enjoy.

Song of the Week: Witness the Fitness

Witness - Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me

I usually like to go with an albums more unknown song when I know I love an album pretty thoroughly, but Witness is just too good to pass up. The whole song is really smooth with cool electronic fills working alongside a catchy chorus. It has stumbling almost drunk kind of fun quality to it (one with less babbling). Enjoy.


Song Here

Artist Spotlight: DJ Rockwell

I first heard DJ Rockwell about two years ago randomly on some internet radio station that "stumbleupon" had taken me to. I thought it sounded cool and wrote down a note to myself that said "Relax - Rockwell". Two months later I tried to find this song again, going only off of that note, not even remembering what it sounded. It was a four hour journey into the corners of the internet to find it but I was well rewarded with this song (which I have uploaded to youtube for ease of access). Since then I've tried to keep updated and follow his profile on soundcloud, and I've always been surprised by how much I've liked his stuff. Since that first listen hes gone more instrumental (his free album can be downloaded here), but still has a great mix of obscure samples (Like this one which has some sounds from the movie Brazil) and steady beats. Here are my favorites besides those already posted:

Feelin High
Knockin Doors Down

Album Of Note: Jake One - White Van Music

I was going to do a song review of Jake One's "God Like" but i decided to stop messing around with tracks (Trap Door, and The Truth were both on White Van Music) and just recommend the whole album. His production work is usually compared to MF DOOM's but I would say there's a big difference between the two, with Jake Ones being more rooted in instrumentation funk and soul and DOOM's being much much weirder and varied in sampling and sound (Compare these two DOOM Beats. Here and Here.) In an age where most pop is a mash of overproduced electronic synthesized noise (which can be done well: Dan the Automator, and the Gorillaz) it's really refreshing to hear a full live sound with a compliment of horns, woodwinds and bass. It reminded me a little bit of the "Suite For Ma Dukes" Orchestra playing J-Dilla beats. Its a full well realized and very dramatic sound.