As Nov. 4 fast approaches — the alleged date for release of Q-Tip’s The Renaissance — we are treated to another peek at what the album might hold. Honestly, if The Renaissance is as good as Gettin’ Up and Move are hinting at, then the wait will all be worth it.
Check out the new video for Move, directed by Rik Cordero, whose work we saw earlier this year with Wale and the Roots.
Having spent a week with the new Murs album, Murs for President, I still haven’t formed a solid opinion on it. I do know that it’s no Murray’s Revenge (such a snob thing to say, I know).
Warner Bros. certainly opened up the purse strings on the promotional/production budget for this album, Murs’ major-label debut. Because Murs has embodied the underground everyman — God’s Work sums it up — it’s hard to reconcile a couple of the guest spots on President: will.i.am and Snoop Dogg. (I won’t even mention sampling James Blunt on Everything.) I know, the underground vs. mainstream argument is tired, but the very inclusion of at least will.i.am might turn off the most stubborn indie heads; after all, it’s hard to forgive the direction to which he helped lead Black Eyed Peas. (Sidenote: Not included on the album was the supposed first single, Dreadlocks, that was not well received.)
If that sounds like I don’t like President, that’s not really true. I do like it. I don’t love it. Not like I love Murray’s Revenge. Tracks like Can It Be (video below), though, keep me coming back, for the blue-collar style that always defined Murs: “I could have done a Nas and screamed hip-hop is dead / I got up off my ass and did something instead.”
The 37th installment of I Used to Love H.E.R., a series in which artists/bloggers/writers discuss their most essential or favorite hip-hop albums and songs, comes from MC/producer/writer Zilla Rocca, whose first solo project, Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca, was released Sept. 23 (a mixtape to which I give my highest recommendation). He’s also got a blog, Clap Cowards, and is the co-founder of Beat Garden Entertainment.
You can download Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca right here and get a taste below.
Ghostface Killah
Ironman (Razor Sharp/Epic Street, 1996)
“What you doin’ on our turf, punk?”
“Got a message for Smokey”
Enter Ghostface Killah’s “Ironman,” the most essential album of my life. People wear those “Dilla Changed My Life” t-shirts, but the Wallabee Champ aka Black Jesus did it for me in 1996 with his debut album.
Ironman was a reference to Tony Stark, the womanizing drunk billionaire who put on an ill metal suit and smashed supervilliains, but Ghost’s “Ironman” was a blaxploitation superhero with poisonous darts coming out his cabbage, suede butter cream joints carrying him into a cocaine spot, long cables with Jesus piece’s swaying side to side as he crushed his girl’s best friend late night January 17th.
Ghost displayed a poetic and emotional depth not found in the average Wallee shoe observer. And man oh man, was his slang diabetic. As a lover of words, I was hooked to Ironman before I even wrote for my first rhyme. Check Ghost’s bars from the opener “Iron Maiden”:
“Tremendously obnoxious, no blotches,
My telephone watch’ll leave bartenders topless,
Deadarm the prosecutor, smack the juror,
Me and my girl run like Luke and Laura
We sit back on Mayalan islands
Sipping mixed drinks out of a boat coconut bowls, we wildin”
I had never been pulled into a world via a rap album that was so exotic, gritty, and frankly so fucking weird until I hit play on this album Christmas Eve night twelve years ago. I couldn’t always process what the hell Ghost, Raekwon, and Cappadonna were talking about, but dammit it sounded good. They could be breaking into a stash house, pissing out the window on the turnpike, eating fish, or singing with the Delphonics. Hell, these guys would’ve made filing a tax return sound like some supreme nuclear Aramani explosion shit. The slang was that striking, god.
The beats on Ironman, produced almost exclusively by the RZA, had some of the most complex and oft-kilter arrangements I’ve ever heard on a hip hop record. Check “Wildflower,” “Box in Hand,” or “Winter Warz” for a clinic on making your ears into a swivel. “Daytona 500” is the greatest flip of Bob Jame’s “Nautilus” ever. The gospel choir on “Black Jesus” makes me wish I didn’t skip church every sunday. “Camay” is one of the sultriest, sexiest, pimpest beats ever laid down to wax. “All That I Got Is You” rivals Jay-Z’s “Can’t Knock the Hustle” for greatest Mary J. Blige cameo ever. The video for “Daytona 500” made Speed Racer look like Golgo 13 or something.
Ironman was dope because it featured Wu members everywhere, from Masta Killa to Method Man, but there was never a doubt that it was Ghost’s album front to back. He wasn’t as high profile as Rae and Meth before this album, but everyone knew Starks after this album dropped. This album singlehandedly made me want to do hip hop in some capacity, and I’ve been chasing that rush of listening to this album for the first time ever since. Ghost’s offerings have ranged from pretty good to classic over the years, but Ironman effortlessly touches on so many stlyes, moods, and vibes that I can never shake it–I have to listen to this album for the rest of my life. Thanks Ghostface!
Just the other day, I was speaking in amazement at what a hold Barack Obama has right now on popular culture, especially in the form of T-shirts. (I’m just as guilty for buying into it.)
We’ve all seen the shirts with Obama as Superman and others sporting cutesy slogans playing off his name: “Barack n Roll” or “Obama said knock you out.”
Just when I thought it had all been done, I find this reinterpretation of the cover for my favorite album borrowing Obama’s likeness.
The back of the shirt swipes a line from Award Tour:
.jpg)
It’s only a matter of time before someone overlays an image of Obama’s face on The Chronic cover, right?
No matter. You should still vote for the man. And if you don’t own Midnight Marauders, well, then we have some fundamental issues we need to discuss.
The 36th installment of I Used to Love H.E.R., a series in which artists/bloggers/writers discuss their most essential or favorite hip-hop albums and songs, comes from keyboardist Josh Charney of Los Angeles-based band Le Switch, whose debut album “And Now … Le Switch” was released last month on Autumn Tone, the label run by our pal Justin at Aquarium Drunkard.
Cypress Hill
Self-titled (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1991)
The first Cypress Hill song I ever heard was “Hand on the Pump.” I was 10, sitting in the front seat of my brother’s car when he popped the tape into the player and the looped sample of Gene Chandler’s “Duke of Earl” started coming out of the speakers. When the beat dropped, accented by a high siren and the words Cypress Hill, I was mesmerized. They were the first hip hop group I heard to incorporate jazz bass lines, soulful horn parts, and off course distorted in-your-face guitar. At the time, groups like Run DMC and the Beastie Boys had been consciously experimenting with the fusion of rock and hip hop. For me, producer DJ Muggs wasn’t trying to bring the two together, he was trying to make the funkiest beats he could and he did this by using his musical knowledge and taste.
“How I Could Just Kill a Man,” the second track on their self-titled record, is the epitome of their sound. The track has basically three things going on, a punchy hip-hop drum beat, a three-note upright bass line and a blaring high-pitched guitar riff. It’s danceable and unsettling at the same time. Add B Real’s nasally and playful voice combined with Sen Dog’s sparse baritone and the sound is complete. The album’s profanity and open discussion of marijuana use would make any 10-year-old boy hungry for more.
It wasn’t until I was older that I was able to appreciate the few yet effective instrumentals on the albums. “Ultraviolet Dreams,” for example, is almost like a psychedelic soul song, leading nicely into “Light Another.” Dj Muggs brings in the wah guitar to create a trippy blunted theme. It’s clear that the Los Angeles trio was attempting to do something original. The bottom line is you could take any one of those beats and add a singer, a MC, or an instrumental solo and it would work. It showed me that music is music and if the beats funky, people will listen.
Man, I really enjoyed watching the VH-1 Hip-Hop Honors on Monday night. More to the point, seeing the De La Soul tribute was great. What’s not to like about Q-Tip, Public Enemy, Mos Def, Cee-Lo and friggin’ EPMD covering De La tracks?
I mean, how cool would that be to see Chuck D spittin’ your rhymes, even if he got just like 90 percent of the words right? And EPMD bustin’ out Ego Trippin’ (Part Two)? Damn. Well played, VH-1.
And then Q-Tip and Mos Def come back out for Buddy? Calgon, take me away!
UPDATE: Culture Bully has mp3s of the whole night’s performances.
Cadence Weapon is about to hit the road for a Canadian tour, which doesn’t help me very much. However, it means his ’08 gem, Afterparty Babies, is getting a second push.
Here’s a new video for the song Real Estate, with Cadence in suit and tie as a real estate agent and DJ Weez-l dressed up as, well, DJ Weez-l.
Also, for anyone going to the shows in Canada, Cadence is offering a mixtape on the tour called Separation Anxiety. So who out there in Canada wants to hook me up?? You can preview two tracks at his MySpace.
Just in my last post I discussed VH-1’s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs countdown, which brings me to another gripe: Digable Planets’ Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) at No. 62. That seems criminal for a song that really helped usher in that jazz-infused hip-hop style, an important period for the genre, even if it ain’t your cup o’ tea.
But whatever. That’s just an entry point for a more important issue: Digable Planets are scheduled to appear at Club Red in Tempe as part of another Blunt Club night.
Doodlebug told me more than two years ago that the group was working on a new record; who knows if that will ever come to fruition.
It’s hard to believe it’s already been three years since I saw them in Tempe after they reunited. Admittedly, it was a total nostalgia trip – wading in that strange, gray area between fond memories and the cruel passage of time. But what was encouraging to me was seeing so many young kids at the show, a clear sign there’s a need for what the DPs are doing (or, at least, what they did).
BONUS:
(If you don’t know … “Hip-hop made a point last year, right? But Planets is the joint this year, right?”)
I gotta hand it to VH-1: I enjoyed watching its 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs countdown, even if I take issue with the list itself.
Where does A Tribe Called Quest fall in the list? Glad you asked. Check the Rhime, a song previously discussed (with a couple remixes) here, drops in at No. 30. Considering the high regard I have for Tribe, I find that placement totally unacceptable. I’m not even sure it’s my favorite Tribe song (though it ranks right up there). Can I Kick It?, Oh My God, Bonita Applebum and even Award Tour probably deserve mention. Hell, let’s say Scenario while we’re at it (though that was probably more a coming-out party for Busta Rhymes than anything).
That said, Tribe’s legacy doesn’t really seem tied to one song, like, say, Naughty By Nature and O.P.P. (No. 22). That’s obviously a good thing in terms of staying power and respect.
In the end, I’m not really sure what was taken into consideration for inclusion on this list — commercial success?, name recognition?, crossover appeal? — but you can’t put out a best-of anything hip-hop list and not include Tribe.
So I’m curious for anyone wanting to comment: What Tribe song belongs on this list? Is there one defining track for the group?
After rocking Denver at Unconventional ’08, DJ Z-Trip is now offering his 54-minute Obama mix as a free download, encouraging people to share it and its message.
From the man himself:
“I encourage you to download it and pass it along to anyone you think should hear it. Feel free to burn copies, share it with friends, family, co-workers, strangers, and especially anyone you know is on the fence about this election. I’m also putting out a radio friendly version, in case anyone wants to broadcast it.”
Nobody is going to mistake Z-Trip for Chuck D here – though you know he included Public Enemy in this mix: I got a letter from the government the other day – but this is the most political I’ve seen Z-Trip get, and you gotta applaud him for taking action and asking others to do the same.
[ZIP]: DJ Z-Trip | Obama mix
UPDATE: So you know that Giant Sand show that was supposed to happen Friday night at Modified? The one Catfish Vegas wrote up this great, lengthy post for? Yeah, well, it’s been canceled. Tickets can be refunded at the point of purchase, though Catfish can never get back that precious time he spent writing a post for me (and you). It matters not: Take a few minutes and give it a read. Canceled show or not, it’s worth your time.