Category Archives: hip-hop

hip-hop

Belief “Say Yes”

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I know, I’m on a hip-hop kick lately. I can’t deny it. It’s got a hold on me. Especially this track.

Belief is a producer/deejay born in LA who moved to New York to pursue his career in hip-hop production. He’s done plenty of work – including this featured track – with Murs, one of my favorite emcees.

Say Yes, which features Murs, C-Rayz Walz and Wordsworth, is quickly becoming my summer anthem. It’s an upbeat, feel-good jam – the joint you need for rollin’ down your windows and crankin’ the stereo. Check that chorus:

“Everybody say yes /
If you’re tired of the stress /
Tryin’ to get it off of your chest”

Belief also happens to be the producer of a great Murs track, God’s Work.

Belief (feat. Murs, C-Rayz Walz, Wordsworth) | Say Yes

BONUS:
Murs | God’s Work (produced by Belief)

cassette, hip-hop, samples

Kaleef “Golden Brown”

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Back in the day, you know, when Al Gore invented the Internet, I spent a hell of a lot of time on the Hieroglyphics message board. Peeps were trading tapes, mixes, CDs, records, you name it. You see, kids, this is how they did it before mp3 blogs. Mix tapes were meticulously recorded then sent out through real, actual mail.

Well, I still have a shit ton (heh, “shit ton”; that’s for Chris) of those mixes – yes, you might say I have tapes ‘n tapes. I’ve not taken the time to sort through and digitize them, though there are some gems in there. Like this track, Golden Brown by Kaleef. This was one of the greatest tracks I received on any mix, and I had (and still have) no clue who this Kaleef character is.

So I was quite thrilled to see the great Analog Giant drop a post with the original track from which Kaleef sampled. The song – also called Golden Brown – was composed by the Stranglers, yet another artist about which I admittedly know nothing.

No matter because this is one of my favorite exercises in listening to music, hip-hop especially: samples, how they’re used and finding the original source material from which the sample derived. I imagine if you’re a DJ or producer, the vast potential of sampling material must be overwhelming. This relatively unknown Kaleef track is probably indicative of the thousands of creative sample uses that go unnoticed.

Kaleef | Golden Brown
The Stranglers | Golden Brown (@ Analog Giant)

Here’s a few pics from Thursday night’s People Under the Stairs show with Psalm One and Time Machine. That was my first time seeing PUtS, and those guys bring serious energy with the good-time vibes.

Thes One and Double K are People Under the Stairs.

Double K rocks his T: “Hip-hop … is not on the radio.”

T

hes One ripped off some kid’s hat for this rap.

hip-hop

Tonight: People Under the Stairs

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To celebrate the joyous occasion of having my computer back, I thought I’d post TWICE today. Whoa, what a treat.

LA hip-hop duo People Under the Stairs (named for this Wes Craven movie?) are playing tonight at Big Fish Pub in Tempe, and I’m 96.7 percent certain I’m going.

Not familiar with PUtS? Catch up here. Thes One and Double K epitomize that laid-back, coolin’-on-your-front-porch kind of hip-hop. I just bought their new album, Stepfather, yesterday. But if you need a place to start, it doesn’t come any better than O.S.T., a souled-out homage to their hometown (The L.A. Song) and old-school lyric spittin’ (The Hang Loose).

Stepfather continues their DIY spirit – crate-diggin’ and soul-sampling freshness. Hip-hop is supposed to fun, y’all. It’s wholly obvious People Under the Stairs actually get it.

People Under the Stairs | Tuxedo Rap
(check the Michael Jackson sample)

hip-hop

The Roots: “It Don’t Feel Right”

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Thanks to Chris, Ben and Eric (um, I think; see below) who have been holding down the fort while my computer was undergoing repairs. We got it back except I think it’s in worse shape now. I can’t get to the Internet and every application I try to open takes forever. The Apple Store “geniuses” will be hearing yet again from me.

In the meantime, our new addition to the family arrived: This bad boy. In white. So we are up and running on this information superhighway once again.


On to the music … I’m pretty sure Analog Giant beat us all to the punch on posting new Roots stuff. But drummer ?uestlove is making a new track, It Don’t Feel Right, available for download at his MySpace. In fact, he’s encouraging everyone to spread the song.

From his MySpace blog:

“im letting you take this song. spread this shit like the flu. make it available on your pages for DOWNLOADING. …

“i dont believe in singles because radio and tv dont believe in us that much. so i am taking matters into my own hands. take this shit now before def jam stops me.”

An artist reaching out to the fans … that’s something we should all get behind. I don’t need to tell you how bad-ass the Roots are, right? One of the most talented and consistent hip-hop acts. If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing them live, I suggest you do. It’s a thorough education in all things hip-hop.

Their new album, Game Theory, which will be released on Jay-Z’s Def Jam Left imprint, drops August 29.

The Roots | It Don’t Feel Right

hip-hop, poop

Hey! Come on in, he’s out of town!

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Hi, I’m marathonpacks. I’ll be filling in for Kevin today, because his chromed-out 1972 eMac is being prodded with metal things by guys with ponytails and Dr. Who t-shirts. I’m tempted to type his Blogger password here ______________ and let everyone come and post whatever they want all day, kind of like letting that dude bang that chick on your parents bed when they were in Lake Tahoe. Well, while I’m sitting here on K’s couch thumbing through the endless 1980s Sports Illustrateds he (creepily) has lying about (really though, dude has a framed picture of Kent Tekulve over his bed), I thought I’d play you some music while you stand there and try not to look me because I haven’t put any clothes on yet this morning. And I’m thinking, what about talking about rap songs about really, really having to take a dump? After you turn around and come back because you realize you forgot your keys, I’ll explain to you that rapping about having to take dumps is actually a long-practiced tradition, finding its progenitor in the form of, um, the first ever rap song, “Rapper’s Delight,” more specifically in the second half of the “going over to your friend’s house to eat” verse:

I’m just sittin here makin myself nauseous
with this ugly food that stinks
so you bust out the door while its still closed
still sick from the food you ate
and then you run to the store for quick relief
from a bottle of kaopectate

And then there was a a bit of a lull in the genre, then a return with a flourish in 1991 with Ice Cube’s “Steady Mobbin,’” with its unforgettable and unnecessarily detailed couplet “Went to mom’s house, dropped a load in the bathroom. Jumped back in the low rider, comin’ out feelin’ ’bout ten pounds lighter.” The very next year, we were treated to what was until this month the coup de grace of rappoo songs, “Looseys” (mp3) from DAS EFX’s stellar 1992 debut Dead Serious. They were essentially a one-trick pony, but it was a great, great trick that combined the best non-sequitor pop-culture references to that point in rap music history, thick, twisty and dark East Coast beats, to make one of the most singular debuts of that year. “Looseys” loops what sounds very much like a Meters or Jimmy Smith organ lick and Drazyz and Skoob wax smelly about, well, you know. The end of the first verse:

I knew I had to hush
when I felt my belly drop and the spot turned to mush
Um, shush shush, I needed me a push
I felt loosey bubblin, trouble in my tush
Then the gush came gushin, rushin, splat!
The juice hit my BVD’s quick like that
Smack, I biggity-broke my ____ from behind
Tried ta shake it, fake it
but yo I couldn’t hide from looseys.

Then another lag for a few years, then Parappa the Rapper in 1999 devoted an entire stage of its (incredibly addictive after certain combinations of inhalants) video game to getting its star into a comfortable position to make with the odorific. Then, just this past month, the latest and perhaps best participant, Cam’ron’s “I.B.S.” sat comfortably down in the middle stall that is 2006 hip-hop, documenting either Cam’s struggle with the titular affliction or something about Joe Camel or something. Somewhere, at some point in the near future, “I.B.S.,” which, when you think about it, is the opposite of “Looseys,” will have to battle with its predecessor for the all-time craprap crown. Trust me, it’s gonna get messy.*

*Kevin, I’m totally sorry.

hip-hop, interview

10 questions (via e-mail) with RJD2

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Already, 2006 is shaping up as a prolific year for RJD2, the sound-collage king from Columbus, Ohio. He accompanied LA underground legend Aceyalone on Magnificent City and manned the decks for Soul Position’s Things Go Better With RJ and Al, his collaboration with Rhymesayers emcee Blueprint. This week saw the release of Magnificent Instrumentals.

Lest we forget, RJ’s solo work – Deadringer and Since We Last Spoke – has been hailed as “21st century soul.”

[mp3] Soul Position Keep it Hot for Daddy

RJ is in Tempe, Ariz., tonight with Blueprint and he was kind enough to answer 10 quick questions via e-mail in which he discusses “junk” records, this year’s projects and we discover he’s just like you and me – he likes (who else?) Sufjan Stevens:

1. It’s been a busy year for you with the Aceyalone and Soul Position projects. Have you had much time to think about or set out a blueprint (so to speak) for your next solo project?
RJ: Yea, im getting that thing going. i dont want to talk about it right now much, though, if thats ok. alot is up in the air.

2. How does your mind-set differ when you’re gathering samples and creating music for a collaborative project as opposed to your solo works (if at all)?
RJ: the things that i end up keeping for myself are usually things that have the potential to be developed into something bigger. i see the production work i do for other people as something that should have a different feel than my solo records.

3. When you do two projects like Magnificent City and Things Go Better with two different MCs do you tailor the production beats to each MC’s style? In other words, do you have the MC in mind when you’re making the music?
RJ: no. when im working with a rapper, i try to send them as much variety as possible, within the confines of something that could be rapped on. i have learned that sending a particular sound to people can leave out things they might want to work with.

4. Can you discuss similarities or differences in working with Aceyalone and Blueprint?
RJ: the new sp (Soul Position) album, to me, is a very stylized affair. i think it is mostly a soul/funk oriented record, sonically. the acey album is all over the place, in my eyes. acey wanted me to do whatever i wanted, and really trusted my vision for the record. blueprint has always been more hands on, but he’s also a producer, so that probably makes him more picky.

5. Let’s get a handle on your vinyl collection: How many LPs/45s would you say you own — and, as a follow-up, what’s your most prized or sentimental piece?
RJ: off the top of my head, i would have to say any of the columbus rock or soul records i have, or one of the few new things i have that sampled an rjd2 record.

6.When you go digging/shopping for vinyl, are you looking for albums that have potential in terms of samples or are you simply looking for good albums? (A side question: Where do you do a majority of your vinyl buying — thrift stores, garage sales?)
RJ: honestly, i havent been hyper-obsessed with records for the last two years or so, because my focus has moved over to gear, but in general, the challenge of sampling for me has always been to make something better, or make something good out of bad source material. so i have a lot of “junk” records, things you probably wouldnt want.

7. There seemed to be a phase for a few years where scratch-heavy “turntablism” was all the rage. With guys like yourself, Shadow, Z-Trip, Cut Chemist, etc., how do you see the art of DJing progressing?
RJ: i dont know. i guess it seems like there are a lot of different approaches to djing, producing, making electronic music, or hiphop, and they all seem to cross-pollinate every year or so. now, im just thinking in terms of music. i want to make something someday that will stand up next to “real” music, so im not just keeping my eyes on my peers, if you will.

8. In most reviews and stories, writers are quick to call your music “cut-and-paste.” That seems like a major oversimplifcation. Are you at all offended by that term?
RJ: no. i think that, or collage music, is an accurate term for the records i have done in the past. id like to think im moving more towards a more cohesive sound, but i think its accurate for my solo albums. really, any other kind of record is made very similarly-you cut the rhythm section, send the session down to another studio to get the strings done, the singer comes in two weeks later to record the vocals. my records are done just like that, except i end up pulling the source material from whatever i can find in my home.

9. The Brainfreeze project by Cut Chemist and Shadow seemed to spark interest in the original source material and artists they sampled. Is that an intended goal when you’re producing music, to perhaps uncover or reintroduce a long-lost artist/album to the public?
RJ: no. like i said before, one of my underlying goals is to not use good music as source material.

10. Finally, what artists, bands or musicians are inspiring your work — past and present?
RJ: right now, im into dungen, sufjan stevens, ELO, the teeth, dead sea.

RJD2’s catalog, including Magnificent City and Things Go Better, is available at eMusic.

Last night …

Saw John Vanderslice with Laura Veirs at Modified. John freaking Vanderslice. Played an hour and half and at least 20 songs, probably more. I won’t bore you with some full-blown concert review. I strongly recommend you see him as the chemistry with this band is unreal. Also, he’s selling John Vanderslice pillowcases. Seriously. (But do yourself a favor and spend the 12 bucks on a CD.)

If you didn’t see him on this tour (and there are only three dates left), maybe you should click here and download an entire live set that JV graciously provides on his Web site. And he did say that Phoenix (specifically Modified) was his favorite place to play in the country. Boo ya!

JV songs that zoomed to top of my rotation after last night:

  • Up Above the Sea: The keyboard/bass action is so menacing live.
  • Continuation: The opening few measures with that drum beat are begging to be sampled somewhere.
  • Time Travel is Lonely: Just listen. Dear lord.
hip-hop, samples

Cage samples Built to Spill: “Ballad of Worms”

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Yesterday I was reading the excellent A.V. Club at The Onion, whose Random Rules is a regular feature with an artist who discusses shuffled songs on his/her iPod.

This week’s guest is Slug of Minnesota’s Atmosphere. Included among Slug’s wide-ranging shuffled stops (Tom Waits, Lifter Puller) was Built to Spill’s I Would Hurt a Fly. Slug tells us, “This is actually my favorite Built To Spill song ever, and it’s totally because of a rapper named Cage.” I like both artists but had no clue their paths ever crossed in the form of a hip-hop track.


Turns out, Cage (on El-P’s great Definitive Jux label) samples Hurt a Fly for a track called Ballad of Worms (2004, Eastern Conference: All Stars III) – which details, quite graphically at times, his sick girlfriend who is on her deathbed: “I tell her, keep her head up / Even though I gotta hold it up for her.”

In the hands of Cage, Doug Martsch’s lifted vocals (“I can’t get that sound you make out of my head … “) still depress but in a more macabre tone. The sampled strings and guitars sound even more haunting and desperate than in the original Built to Spill track.

A few points to be made here: For one, this is sampling at its best. Not so much in terms of creatively reworking the sampled source but in recognizing a mood in a lyric and giving it a different meaning in a new context.

Secondly, why aren’t we seeing more of this? That is, hip-hop artists sampling more current indie acts. The hurdle of clearing samples aside, this marriage of genres would go a long way to help squash whatever preconceived notions fans may have of either style. It’s a little more than intriguing that a respected underground MC is sampling an iconic indie-rock group. If you’re a Built to Spill fan, maybe you don’t run out and buy Cage’s albums, but he at least piques your interest. And we might safely assume that Cage had some working knowledge of Built to Spill’s catalog, meaning he’s probably a fan himself. At the very least, you have to respect that.

Cage | Ballad of Worms
Built to Spill | I Would Hurt a Fly

hip-hop, radio rips

Soul Position on KEXP

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Hey, you. Have you picked up Soul Position’s new LP Things Go Better With RJ and Al? No? Come on, now. You’re only missing one of the hottest collaborations – between Blueprint, one of the tightest MCs out there, and RJD2, producer/DJ du jour.

I posted on Blueprint awhile back, and if you’re sleepin’ on RJ, well … sheeeeiiit. I’m here to help. RJD2, a sample-digging composer in the mold of DJ Shadow, already laid down the goodness on this year’s Magnificent City with Aceyalone.

Check this set from KEXP that aired Wednesday, and you’ll get a good taste of what Soul Position is about: good-time beats with rhymes that walk the line of humor and braggadocio. Who else is gonna drop a song about his cellphone minutes?

If you like it, pick up Things Go Better at eMusic. And tune for a related interview next week, when Soul Position visits Tempe on May 10.

Soul Position, live on KEXP, 5/3/06:

1. Unlimited
2. The Extra Mile
3. I Need My Minutes
4. Priceless

arizona, hip-hop

Murs and Z-Trip redux

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In a somewhat bizarre coincidence, I posted back-to-back days this about Murs and Z-Trip, totally oblivious to the fact that the pair had collaborated on a sampler CD based off Murs’ album The End of the Beginning. The two also hooked up on Z-Trip’s Shifting Gears for the good-time track Breakfast Club. (It’s about cereal. Seriously … cereal-ously? Yeah, that’s a stretch.)

Well, my man Jay set me straight (Funkfinger, holla!) and hooked me up with the goods from the sampler disc. Peep the tweaked track, God’s Work (one of my faves from End), with Z dropping some Queen up in the place. Damn.

Murs | God’s Work (mixed by Z-Trip)

Z-Trip feat. Murs and Supernatural | Breakfast Club

Meanwhile … we’re off to Tucson for a wedding. Which reminds me, June 15 at Solar Culture in Tucson: Tapes ‘n Tapes (fresh with their new record contract), Cold War Kids and Figurines. Don’t even get me started about why I have to drive two hours to Tucson to see this instead of staying right here in Phoenix.

hip-hop

Murs “Murray’s Revenge”

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My man the Analog Giant beat me to the punch a few weeks back when he posted about Murs’ new album Murray’s Revenge. But I have no qualms about a little repeat action, especially when it comes to an artist as good as Murs.

As AG let us know, Murs and super-producer 9th Wonder are back at it. My opinion? Murs, of the Living Legends crew, is one of our finest storytelling emcees since Slick Rick. Seriously. His rhymes weave narrative tales of love and LA. When everyone seems so critical of misogynist rappers, how can you not be lured in by a line from The Pain, a track from his last album, 3:16 The 9th Edition?:

“I wanna be picked up, held tight and kissed /
but things like this don’t hapen to dudes like me /
‘Cause I’m more Coldplay than I am Ice-T.”

If ever an emcee would appeal to the indie crowd, Murs is your man.

Murs (feat. Joe Scudda) | Silly Girl (highly recommended)
From Murray’s Revenge. Buy it.

Murs | Bad Man! (from 3:16. Buy it at eMusic.)