Monthly Archives: May 2009

hip-hop, video

Nas: It Ain’t Hard to Tell (video)

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I just picked up the new 33 1/3 book by Matthew Gasteier on Nas’ classic debut Illmatic. So, naturally, I’ve revisted the album and listened to it about four or five times in the past couple days – just as a reminder of its near-flawless standing.

But listening to Illmatic can be as frustrating as it is rewarding, knowing now that his propensity for greatness was undermined by his inconsistency in the albums to follow (It Was Written, I Am …, etc.). Because in the post-Illmatic years, for every Nas Is Like (a DJ Premier gem) there was a Hate Me Now (feat. Puff Daddy). How do you reconcile that?

Perhaps that’s the curse of releasing one of the most influential hip-hop albums of the ’90s (ever?). Sadly – and inevitably – nothing Nas has done or will do can live up to Illmatic’s perfection. Needless to say, I’m eager to dig into Gasteier’s account/analysis of the album.

Meantime, here’s my favorite cut from Illmatic, the Large Professor-produced It Ain’t Hard to Tell that famously samples Michael Jackson’s Human Nature.

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DJ Shadow unveils DJ Hero details

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While my wife can wipe the floor with me in Guitar Hero, I kinda like my chances in the upcoming DJ Hero game. DJ Shadow, who apparently is the unofficial spokesman for the game, launched details for it on his site, along with some screen caps.

In-game characters include DJ AM and, our favorite, DJ Z-Trip, who was mum on details a couple weeks ago in an interview with KCRW but sent out an e-mail blast today:

“The past couple months I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but can now finally speak on it. I’ve been working on the new DJ Hero video game that will be coming out later this year. I’m also going to be a character IN the game! This is a big highlight in my DJ career, as it’s the first game of its kind. DJ Hero is being put together by Activision, the same people who do Guitar Hero, so this thing is gonna be mega!

But I guess we can’t really call ’em the wheels of steel anymore, eh?

hip-hop, video

New Chali 2na: Lock Shit Down (feat. Talib Kweli)

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Serial collaborator Chali 2na, late of the great Jurassic 5, is finally breaking out with his own solo album, due for release July 7 on Decon. Despite the somewhat cheesy title (Fish Outta Water … get it?), it’s good to hear one of the MCs from J5 steppin’ up.

The first single from the album is called Lock Shit Down, featuring Talib Kweli. And I guess the real question is whether Chali 2na and his baritone pipes can carry a full album or if it will only make us yearn for the J5 days.

Also, Chali 2na lends his voice to a new adidas campaign called “Inner Workings” with two animated videos featuring NBA stars Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose.

hip-hop, video

Beastie Boys + The Roots: So What’cha Want

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No surprise here, but The Roots remain the only reason to watch Jimmy Fallon’s show. So every time a decent musical guest is booked, the tantalizing notion of a collaboration with The Roots – like the one with Public Enemy – warrants some attention.

On Monday night, they teamed up with the old-as-dirt Beastie Boys (what’re they, like, 45?) for a top-notch rendition of So What’cha Want off the recently remastered Check Your Head.

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Jay Bennett (1963-2009)

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By now, Jay Bennett has been eulogized enough that you hardly need another written remembrance. To be honest, as astonishing/sad as it was to watch the news spread over social networks – especially Twitter – in a matter of minutes, I’m always appalled at how some people can turn the news of death into some trumped-up cry for attention, this odd compulsion to justify sorrow in 140 or fewer characters. Unless you knew him, pay your respects from afar and move on.

So in an attempt to follow my own advice, I won’t belabor the point here. Surely, I’m like most Wilco fans. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth rank as my favorite albums by the band, both with Bennett’s fingerprints all over them. Even after watching the documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart several times, I never was completely comfortable picking sides in the Bennett vs. Jeff Tweedy flap. Though Bennett’s recent lawsuit against Tweedy painted him as desperate and exploitative – at least that’s how Pitchfork’s unprofessional editorializing made it sound – there’s just no telling, really. In a way, I feel bad for Tweedy, a broken relationship now never to be repaired.

While I never quite warmed up to Bennett’s solo material, his contributions to Wilco are countless (and probably more valuable than we would know). Poor Places, from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, is one of my favorites.

hip-hop

Incoming: Gift of Gab, May 28, Blunt Club

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Gift of Gab (center) and the Mighty Underdogs.

To celebrate seven years as one of best weekly hip-hop nights in the Valley, the Blunt Club has booked a headliner worthy of such an anniversary bash: Gift of Gab, one-half of Blackalicious and a member of the Def Jux-backed Mighty Underdogs, is the featured guest next Thursday’s throwdown.

If you’re skeptical about why the man calls himself the Gift of Gab, take heed. My guess is, we’re in for some ridic freestyles next week.

Related:
The Mighty Underdogs: Want You Back (video)
The Mighty Underdogs: War Walk

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The Walkmen on WOXY.com’s Lounge Act

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While you can subscribe to the great Lounge Act podcast, the folks at WOXY.com are also cool enough to split these sessions into mp3s for individual consumption (which I used to do a lot until people asked me to stop).

The latest Lounge Act session comes from The Walkmen, who are in town tonight (Tuesday) as the opener for the sold-out Kings of Leon show at Mesa Amphitheatre. And I guess I wasn’t the only one who found this pairing a little awkward given the venue sizes of this tour. Singer Hamilton Leithauser makes it sound like the transition was a little tricky for The Walkmen: “We’ve been adjusting … we were a little lost at the beginning, I think, in the big rooms, playing some of our slow songs. It didn’t really translate that well.”

Sounds just fine here.

Get the rest of the mp3s here.

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The Twilight Sad: Reflection of the Television

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If it’s loud, cathartic and Scottish, I’m probably into it. (In all honesty, if it’s quiet, uplifting and Scottish, chances are I’m into it.) Between The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit, I’ve been introduced to a whole different level of anguish through song than I’m used to, a real visceral gut punch.

Few albums in recent memory are as striking in its imagery than The Twilight Sad’s Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters (2007). So I was happy to see Pitchfork unload a new one, Reflection of the Television, the first single from the band’s forthcoming Forget the Night Ahead (Sept. 22).

Reflection isn’t quite as unnerving and intense as the best work off Fourteen Autumns, but it simply feels like the calm before the storm. I’m excited to hear the rest of the album, which singer James Graham discussed with Pitchfork.