Albums I listened to this week [6/29/08]

Mutek - The Remixes
I can't even remember where I found this. I've tried to find out more about Mutek, but can't find very much. In fact, I am wondering whether Mutek is actually a magazine as opposed to a person. If you know, let me know.

Essentially, this is a compilation of ten remixed Hip-Hop tracks. Most of the beats on these remixed tracks sound like the type of tunes you'd hear during a Sunday brunch at a lounge with a live jazz band. The artists remixed on this album include: Nas, Beastie Boys, Gang Starr, Big Daddy Kane, Common, MF Doom, Skee-Lo, Crooklyn Dodgers, and Outkast.

Based on this album, I would definitely check out more of Mutek's remix work.

Highlights: "Nas Is Like [Mutek Remix]" and "Sure Shot [Mutek Remix]."
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Killah Priest - The Offering [2007]
Killah Priest is one of the more cerebral MCs in Hip-Hop. I definitely learned that after listening to View From Masada [2000], Heavy Mental [1998] and Black August [2003]. The Offering does not veer from this standard.

The album utilizes a massive amount of religious and/or spiritual references. For example, "Uprising" contains references to: The Beast; Three 6's; Christ; disciples; Bible scriptures; the Gate (referring I believe to Heaven's Gate); the pits of hell; and archangels.

Guest artists include: Nas, Hell Razah, Immortal Technique, Ras Kass, Canibus, and Kurupt.

Highlights:

• "How Many?"
• "Happy"
• "Priesthood"
• "Standstill" (featuring Bloodsport and Immortal Technique)
• "Inner G" (featuring Ras Kass, Kurupt and Canibus)
• "Gun 4 Gun" (featuring Nas)

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The Herbaliser - Blow Your Headphones [1997]
Herbaliser's album features repeat appearances by a female MC known then as "What?What?" (who many now know as Jean Grae). However, most of the tracks are of the instrumental variety, usually with a trip-hop or jazzy feel. Decent, but for instrumental Hip-Hop, I prefer Nicolay, Ayatollah, Nujabes, DJ Shadow and J. Dilla. Nonetheless, the album was solid and I'd probably check for another Herbaliser album.

Highlights: "Another Mother."
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LMNO and Kev Brown - Selective Hearing [2008]
I first heard about Kev Brown when he remixed Jay-Z's Black album, calling his version The Brown Album. He also contributed quite a bit to Jazzy Jeff's album, The Magnificent. His beats were consistently jazzy and smooth. He brings the same style to this selection.

This album gets bonus points from me by offering an instrumental version of all of the tracks. The album has 11 full tracks (with vocals and instrumentals) followed by the instrumentals of the same 11 tracks. THANK YOU!!!! Why don't other artists do this more often? This is so much wiser than putting together 11 nice tracks and 11 sorry filler tracks just to reach a 60 - 70 minute album.

Highlights:

• "Who's That?" (which samples Charlie Brown from Leaders of the New School's verse on "Case of the P.T.A." - "Who's that? Broooowwwwwn" - works perfectly for a Kev Brown song.)
• "Selective Hearing"
• "We Got This" featuring Oh No

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Nas & Phil Collins - Phillmatic
Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for 80's pop music and I'm a sucker for blend remixes. This album hits both on the head.

Sometimes I forget how many classic Phil Collins songs exist: "Land of Confusion," "In The Air Tonight," "Sussidio," "Against All Odds" and "Take Me Home" just to name a few. On this mixtape, Phil Collins vocals are blended with Nas beats while Nas vocals are mixed with Phil Collins (or Genesis, a group that included Phil Collins) instrumentals.

For the most part, the mashup works well. There are a few tracks that seem awkward because the vocals don't match the track or because the mixing gets sloppy. But these occasions are the exception rather than the rule. Listening to this album made me want to reconnect with some old school Phil Collins and Genesis. Moreover, it made me want to hear more from the DJs involved in this mixtape: DJ Crazy Chris, Simon Sez, Chong Wizard, and DJ Sixteen.

Highlights:

• "One Mic" lyrics (Nas) mixed with "In The Air Tonight"
• "Tonight Tonight Tonight" lyrics (Phil Collins) mixed with "Made You Look," "I Can," "If I Ruled The World," "Thief's Theme," "Dr. Knockboots," and "Nas Is Like."
• "Invisible Touch" lyrics (Phil Collins) mixed with "Ether."
  
• "Affirmative Action" lyrics (Nas) mixed with "Hold On My Heart."
  
• "That's All" lyrics (Phil Collins) mixed with "Halftime," "Phone Tap," and "Street Dreams."
• "Made You Look" lyrics (Nas) mixed with "I Missed Again."
  
• "Land Of Confusion" lyrics (Phil Collins) mixed with "Rule," "You Owe Me," "You Know My Style."

Black Sheep and Nice 'N' Smooth in Concert

On June 23, 2008, I went to Skully's for the third in Scion's series of free Hip-Hop concerts. (The first two concerts featured EPMD and Too Short).

The show opened with DJ J. Period and a hype man warming up the crowd.

The warm up session included a Hip-Hop trivia bit with free CD giveaways. I ended up winning this Notorious B.I.G. / J. Period mixtape (which is one of the best blend mixtapes I have ever heard):
The opening act was a band called Orgone. They got the crowd and the breakdancers going with some instrumentals.




Next up was Black Sheep. Actually, it was Dres because Mista Lawnge was nowhere to be seen. Dres performed "Similak Child," "Flavor Of The Month," and - of course - "The Choice Is Yours." He performed some more recent material as well.

Nice & Smooth closed out the show. Unexpectedly, Greg Nice was the life of the party. He jumped off the stage and performed two or three songs while standing in the crowd with audience members. He also dry humped a couple of females (you had to see it to believe it) and threw bottled water on the audience.

The duo performed many of their hits including: "Cake & Eat It Too," "Funky For You," "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow," and "Hip Hop Junkies." Also, Greg Nice gave the crowd a beatbox interlude. They closed the show with "DWYCK" which includes a guest verse from Dres of Black Sheep.

Albums I listened to this week [6/22/08]

NYGz - Welcome To G-Dom [2007]
Nearly half of the album is produced by DJ Premier. As a result, much of the album feels like a Gang Starr or M.O.P. offering. Guest artists include Royal Flush, J.U.I.C.E., and Blaq Poet. Welcome 2 G-Dom includes "G'z and Hustlaz" which samples the same beat used in "Gs and Hustlaz" from Snoop Dogg's classic Doggystyle album.

Highlights: "3 Man Weave," "Welcome 2 G-Dom," "Raps 4 U," "Bow Down" and "Laundry Kings."
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EMC - The Show [2008]
EMC is Masta Ace, Punchline, Wordsworth and Strick. With that group of MCs, I knew the lyrics would be strong. All I needed was quality beats. I feel like I got them. The Show includes production by:

• Marco Polo (who has produced for Boot Camp Click, Masta Ace, Pumpkinhead)
  
• Ayatollah (Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Sadat X, Cormega)
  
• Nicolay (Little Brother, The Foreign Exchange, Moon Baker)
  

Highlights: "Who We Be" and "U Let Me Grow."
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Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill [1991]
The masters of high hip-hop. B-Real's nasally delivery was a perfect match for DJ Muggs' production efforts. In many ways, this album's significance was not realized until the album had aged. For example, in a 1991 edition of Rolling Stone magazine, journalist Kevin Powell (who was on season 1 of MTV's The Real World) gave the album 3 out of 5 stars. Eight years later (in 1999), Rolling Stone identified the album as one of the "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Go figure.

Highlights: "How I Could Just Kill A Man," "Real Estate" and "Hand On The Pump."
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NameTag - The Rhyme Royal Mixtape
NameTag...he's from Detroit. He appeared on at least one song by Black Milk ("Say Something"). He raps. That's all I know.

I consider this listening to be my introduction to NameTag. Fortunately, the album leaves a better impression than his MC moniker. Seriously? NameTag? He should find a DJ named PostItNote. (I bet there's a deep or emotional rationale behind the name, but I just don't know it.)

The mixtape includes production by Black Milk (who has produced for Canibus, Slum Village, Pharoahe Monch, Skyzoo and Guilty Simpson).

Highlights: "Red Alert," "MC Means...," "So Raw Part 2" and "I Applaud You."
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UMC's - Fruits Of Nature [1991]
I forgot that this album had some fun gems on it. Fruits Of Nature was released in a time when it was still okay to be a "fun" MC (such as Digital Underground, Kwame, Black Sheep, De La Soul, Chubb Rock, Kid N Play, Nice & Smooth, Tone Loc, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Leaders of the New School, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, and Heavy D). Everybody didn't insist on being hardcore. It was OK to be everyday people.

Apparently, both of the UMC's are still in the rap game. Hass G produced Magic Stick by 50 Cent and Lil' Kim. Meanwhile, Kool Kim now raps under the name NYOIL (who released a fairly controversial track called "Y'all Should All Get Lynched" which was banned from youtube.com (but you can see it here)).

Highlights: "One To Grow On" and "Blue Cheese."

Albums I listened to this week [6/15/08]

Busta Rhymes - I've Already Outshined Your Favorite Rapper [2008]
Busta Rhymes will soon release his 8th solo album ("Blessed.") This mixtape is supposed to hold us over until the album drops. Hopefully, the album will live up to the mixtape which has a diverse supporting cast which includes Janet Jackson, Rick Ross, Mario, Plies, Lil Wayne, Baby, Bishop Lamont, Missy Elliott and Fat Joe. (On a side note, Janet appears on a remix of Feedback. Whenever I hear that song it seems like she is singing about a feed bag. Maybe it's just me.)
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Wiz Khalifa - Show & Prove [2006]
Wiz Khalifa hails from Pittsburgh. I'm not sure if Pittburgh would qualify as a Midwest or East Coast city. Similarly, I can't quite classify Khalifa's flow and style as either Midwest or East Coast. Highlights include "Pittsburgh Sound" and "I Choose You" (which relies on the same Willie Hutch sample as UGK and Outkast's "Int'l Players Anthem.") Also worthy of your playlist: "Gotta Be A Star Remix" and "Crazy Since The 80's."
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Wyclef Jean - The Carnival [1997]
Ahhh...this album is refreshing. This album was full of great songs: "Anything Can Happen," "Guantanamera," "Gone Til November," and "We Tryin To Stay Alive." The occasional Lauryn Hill appearance was the icing on the cake.
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Joss Stone - Introducing Joss Stone [2007]
This is Joss Stone's third album, but the first that I've taken the time to listen to in its entirety. I shouldn't have waited this long. The entire album is produced by former Tony! Toni! Tone! member Raphael Saadiq. Joss Stone obtained Common and Lauryn Hill as guest artists. Top songs: "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now," "Music," and "Bruised But Not Broken."
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Day 26 - Day 26 [2008]

Initially, I found this album to be fairly disappointing. I definitely enjoyed listening to "Exclusive (No Excuses)" when the band was being formed on Making The Band. For me, none of the album's early songs live up to that potential. However, the more I listened, the better it got.

Nonetheless, based on this album, Day 26 doesn't reach the level of New Edition, Guy, Jodeci, Boyz II Men or former Bad Boy artists 112. And with Diddy at the executive controls, I was baffled by the lack of big time guest artists. However, Diddy paid for some quality producers such as:

• Kwame' (YES THAT KWAME' - who has produced for Method Man, Talib Kweli, Lloyd Banks)
  
• The Runners (produced for Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, T.I., Ludacris)
  
• Bryan-Michael Cox (produced for Usher, Joe, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton)
  
• L.T. Hutton (produced for Mystikal, MC Ren, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Da Brat, Ashanti, Snoop Dogg)
  
• Mario Winans (produced for Jay-Z, Lil Kim, 112, Rick Ross, Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans)
  

Noteworthy songs: "Co-Star," "What It Feels Like," "Are We In This Together" and "Come In (My Door's Open)."
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Agallah - F.A.M.E. (F*ck All My Enemies)
Agallah is one of the more underrated producers in the game - most likely due to the fact that he doesn't produce for that many high profile rappers. In addition to producing many of his own tracks, he has produced for Sean Price, Jus Allah, Das Efx, Group Home, Krumb Snatcha and PMD of EPMD. This is a decent mixtape, but doesn't quite measure up to his 2006 release "You Already Know."

Best beats: "Get That Gat," "Respect The Jux," and "Real O.G."
Avoid: "Who's Knockin' At My Door"
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Chaundon - Carnage [2008]
It's my understanding that rapper Chaundon hails from North Carolina and is down with the Justus League (Little Brother, L.E.G.A.C.Y., Away Team). However, I'm not sure if that's true because I have also heard a mixtape from Chaundon called Live From The 718, which is a New York City area code. Also, the chorus of "3 Kings" includes a line that says "Kiss the rings / It's a New York thing."

At any rate, I'd recommend "Don't Take It Personal" and "Angie."

Guest appearances include: Darien Brockington, Jean Grae, Skyzoo, Torae, Sean Price and Phonte of Little Brother.
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Bill Cosby - I Started Out As A Child [1964]
My view of this album may be slanted by how dated it is (and the fact that it was released over a decade before I was born). For example, a set about the Lone Ranger did nothing for me. I'm sure folks found this to be funny back in the 1960s, but I'll take The Cosby Show in a heartbeat. I probably won't listen to this again.

Albums I listened to this week [6/8/08]

Andre 3000 - Whole Foods [2008] "Whole Foods" is a mixtape featuring some of the highlights of Andre 3000's career to date. Oddly, the album does not include any material from the debut Outkast album, Southernplayalisticadillalmuzik. Most of the selection is mellow and laid-back.

The song transitions are so-so. The transitions seem to rely upon fade-ins and fade-outs as opposed to blending. Also, several of the tracks that are normally several minutes long are cut short as they exclude verses by MCs other than Andre 3000 (such as "Throw Some D's Remix" and "Trans DF Express").

The album includes a solid lineup of guest artists such as: Erykah Badu, Cee-Lo, Esthero, Macy Gray, Big Boi, Gwen Stefani, Kelis and more.
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Braille - Shades Of Grey [2004]

A solid album. It really doesn't sound four years old. It sounds like it could have been produced in today's (underground hip-hop) soundscape. About three weeks ago, I purchased his most recent release ("The IV Edition"), but hadn't yet listened to it. After hearing "Shades of Grey," I will certainly move Braille's new material to the top of my "to do" list.
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Lupe Fiasco - It Was Written [2008]
I am a fan of Lupe Fiasco's lyricism and Fahrenheit mixtape series. "It Was Written" lived up to his reputation. As I expected, there were solid guest appearances (Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye West, Naledge, Evidence, Ghostface and more).
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Chill Rob G - Ride The Rhythm [1990]
I took it back on this one. I remember coming across a Chill Rob G video or two back in the day, but I didn't know that much about him. While checking out this album, I did a little research and learned that he was in the Flavor Unit with Queen Latifah. (I had no idea.) Most of the album was produced by Mark the 45 King (who also produced songs for Rakim, Queen Latifah, Gang Starr, Biz Markie, MC Lyte, Jay-Z ("Hard Knock Life"), and Eminem ("Stan")).

The song that stands out for nostalgic reasons: "The Power." See the video HERE.

I don't know if there was a mix-up at the record label, but the song is almost identical to "The Power" by Snap. See that video HERE.
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Trae - Tha Diary Of Tha Truth
I am surprised that Trae doesn't get more national attention. It amazes me that he failed to garner that attention when Houston was the temporary center of Hip-Hop's world a couple of years ago. 2004's "Same Thing Different Day" and 2006's "Restless" were strong albums, but for some reason Trae seemed to remain in the shadows of other Houston MCs such as Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Lil Flip and Chamillionaire.

"Tha Diary of tha Truth" comes across as a Dirty South all-star album. Guest artists include: Rick Ross, Shawty Lo, Rich Boy, Slim Thug, Young Jeezy, Jadakiss, Kanye West, Hurricane Chris, The Dream, and T.I. One of the definite highlights is "F*ck Yo Girl" featuring Young Jeezy and The Dream. I also enjoyed the contrasting styles between Trae and Jadakiss on "Don't."

Trae definitely deserves more pub.
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Poor Righteous Teachers - Holy Intellect [1990]

Two songs stand out on this album: "Rock Dis Funky Joint" and "Shakiyla."

"Rock Dis Funky Joint" relied upon a sample from "Slippin Into Darkness" by War. As was the case with many hit songs from that era that relied upon samples, a lawsuit ensued.

"Shakiyla" was PRT's venture into music directed to the ladies. The funky laid back sample carries the song a long way and allows me to overlook the horrible singing on the chorus. (Interestingly, PRT knew the singing was sub-par. In Brian Coleman's book, "Check The Technique," PRT's Wise Intelligent provided insight into the chorus. The chorus was performed by PRT's Culture Freedom. Wise Intelligent's thoughts: "His singing wasn't so hot.")
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Young Jeezy - The Prime Minister (Mixtape)
This is an extremely short CD with only 12 tracks. Moreover, only two songs exceed 4 minutes in length, with three more songs falling in at 3-4 minutes in length. No major highlights here. The vocoder voice box toy of the year shows up on a couple of tracks. Also, Jeezy raps over Lil Wayne's Lollipop beat.

Too $hort In Concert

This post is long overdue. Not long ago, I had the chance to see Todd Shaw (also known as Too $hort) in concert.

Growing up, I was never a huge Too $hort fan. I didn't dislike him, but he was far from my favorite. The bulk of my ambivalence regarding Too $hort often revolved around his beats. I'm not sure if I could really put my finger on it. The beats were slow and made for the trunk. Back in the day, I was a hyper kid that couldn't drive - not a good combination for slow trunk rattlers. Then there was the absolute vulgarity. Don't get me wrong. I listened to plenty of raunchy artists: Slick Rick, N.W.A., Geto Boys. However, there was something about Too $hort that seemed to take it to a different level. Sex (and a certain level of misogyny) was his forte'.

Nonetheless, there were a few Too $hort songs that I absolutely loved including: The Ghetto, Life Is...Too Short, and So You Want To Be A Gangster.

Last month (May 2008), I had the opportunity to see Too $hort in concert - FOR FREE! By free, I don't mean: "I had a hook-up" or "I was given a ticket." I mean that the concert was FREE for everyone in attendance. How was it free? It was sponsored by Scion. (Not only did they provide the free concert, they also gave away some decent promotional swag like bags, CDs and T-shirts. I know that this is no skin off of their backs thanks to their marketing budget, but I find the concert marketing to much more effective to me than a television commercial campaign. The reach may not be as broad with the concert promotion, but I'm more likely to consider a Scion than I was before. A commercial would not have done that.)

The show opened (as most of them do) with the DJ and a hype-man trying to get the crowd moving.



The opening act was a band out of California called Connie Price and The Keystones. The band included at least two drummers, three guys on horns, a guitarist / vocalist, a keyboardist and a bassist. They performed some of their own material mixed in with instrumental versions of some great hip-hop songs by artists like Digable Planets, Wu-Tang Clan, EPMD, Ol' Dirty Bastard and more.
Percee P followed with some material while Connie Price and the Keystones remained on stage to provide the musical backdrop.

His performance was solid. He showed a dedication to true Hip-Hop. He also exhibited the mentality of a hustler (in the sense of a hard work ethic) as he later blended in with the crowd to sell his CDs. A Man Of The People!!!



Then, Too $hort came through (with Connie Price and the Keystones still providing the musical backing).

He performed quite a few of the usual suspects: Freaky Tales, Bossy, Life Is...Too Short, The Ghetto, and Burn Rubber. I must admit that Too $hort's trunk-rattling beats sounded lovely when performed live by Connie Price and the Keystones.



Near the end of his performance, he brought Mixmaster Ice of UTFO onto stage to get some shine.


Am I likely to give his music more consideration now? Maybe a smidge. I don't mean that as a put down. I just don't consider him a lyricist. [But the show was FREE! I'm not sure I'd have much room to complain if all he did was walk out there and performed a mime routine.] Nonetheless, I loved the way he got the crowd into the show. He gave shout outs to all the areas cities (Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, etc.) and all of the races in the crowd (Asian, white, black, etc.). He also allowed some guys to get on stage to rock the mic for a little while. That was very kind of $hort Dog, but I don't think any of those guys will end up in Unsigned Hype in the near future.

Many of the female fans in attention were hoping to get onto stage to show off they extremely short skirts, tight tops and exposed bellies. Too $hort was more than willing to oblige. He also made sure to shout out the lesbians in the crowd. I was quite surprised how many were in attendance. I didn't even have to guess. The sexual orientation was quite clear.* Not that I mind...I'm just sayin'. I was actually shocked that so many women were in attendance. Isn't this the guy who proclaims that his favorite word is b!tch?

The entire show, as a whole, was well worth my time. Even though it was free, it would have been worth some of my money as well.



[* I'm not saying it was clear based on some alleged stereotypical appearance. It was the kissing, groping, and other more explicit displays of affection. Not that I mind...I'm just sayin'.]