Bloggerhouse Hip Hop

I just picked this up at Hastings, brand spankin’ new for .99 and it’s damn near the best .99 ever spent. Anyway, I originally picked this up on cassette back in 96′ in Carlisle, Pa. somewhere near the War College and I played the hell outta’ this tape from the minute I popped it in the Jeep. Of course, everyone knows that this is DJ Cash Money of the late 80′s duo Cash Money & Marvelous and at the time of this release he was actually a DJ on WKiss FM outta’ Philly. I don’t know if this was just a local release or what the deal was, being that it was released on a little known label called Spoiled Brat Recordings(?). If you look at the track listing below you’ll see just how dope this mix CD really is. I’d even go as far as to say that this is probably….no, without a doubt my favorite mix CD of all time!! Pick this one up folks, I’m actually excited to post this for your consumption…that’s just how dope it is!!  Hit the jump for more…
Read more…

This is a perfect example of how many CD’s I have. I was searching around and found 2 more Wyclef maxi-singles from The Carnival. Hell, might as well throw them up here.

Guantanamera

1) LP Version
2) Roxanne, Roxanne/Oye Como Ya Remix featuring Beenie Man & Kamani Marley
3) Guga Jungle Mix
4) We Trying To Stay Alive – Rock Steady Mix

I think this is an import from Canada, but I’m not sure. It’s got a couple of decent Guantanamera remixes and a nice remix of We Trying To Stay Alive, which is the real reason to have this (uses the same sample from Planet Rock). I still like John Forte, even though his debut wasn’t that good from what I remember, but maybe he’ll put some good music out now that he’s been pardoned by George W. Bush.

Cheated (To All the Girls)

1) Cheated (R&B Mix)
2) What’s Clef
3) Chickenhead (Icerider Remix)
4) Cheated (Rock Mix)
5) To All the Girls (LP Version)

This maxi-single is most famous for featuring the answer to LL’s diss, The Ripper Strikes Back, which I think was preceded by Canibus’s Rip the Jacker, which was preceded by the 4,3,2,1 verse from LL.

From the Beef series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmW447Lhvnk

Hell, let’s throw the songs up here too:

4,3,2,1:

Rip the Jacker:

The Ripper Strikes Back:

I combined the two Clef maxi’s into one download here:

http://www.zshare.net/download/68664346b9e0cd45/

A couple weeks ago, we had one of the closest “This or That” we’ve ever had. When I started debating in my head which Alkaholiks liked better, it was difficult, very difficult. It was also one of the few that I couldn’t really predict the outcome before I started writing it. The last time I checked last Sunday night, it was tied up with about two hours left. The final result ended up being 57-54 in favor of the sophomore effort, Coast II Coast won out in the end.

This week, we feature one of my original all-time favorites. Yes, I haven’t bought an album from his since 1995, but at one time, he epitomized what an MC was. Full of “piss and vinegar” and the swagger before it was a word, LL Cool J came onto the scene with both guns blazing as the poster boy for the new Def Jam label in 1985. He appeared on Krush Groovin’ decked out in his soon to be trademarked Kangol hat, a thick gold rope, complete with his cocky persona, Cool J was well on his way to be a superstar and a legend in the hip hop game.

While some could argue with putting in LL’s first album, Radio, into this mix, I’m going to bypass it. For me personally, it was an album that I went back to after being totally hypnotized by Bigger & Deffer. I’ll still probably throw Radio up in the mix of votes, since after all it was the introduction to LL for the world and both singles, “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” and “I Need a Beat” are classics in my book. I’ll also probably put Walking With A Panther in the votes as well. I loved the album, and still do to this day. If I had to rank out my favorite LL albums, it would be third, right after the two albums we are going to cover today. But LL caught a shit load of flack for the album. When hip hop was changing, becoming more lyrical, more passionate and more socially challenging, where Walking With A Panther is straight up beats and arrogant rhymes. So what two albums are we going to cover? Shouldn’t it be obvious?

Bigger & Deffer

My initial introduction to hip hop was through Run DMC and their Raising Hell LP. From there, I can’t really recall the precise order. LA DreamTeam was in there somewhere, so was the Beasties and the Fat Boys. But the album that got the most play from me at the time was LL Cool J’s “Bigger and Deffer” album. I really can’t remember my introduction to LL Cool J, but my then best friend had something to do with it, but I don’t remember the specifics. I played the album non stop. I had my tape, that I borrowed from someone and never returned, and I would pop it into my walkman just about anytime I went outside or did anything. I had the words down, and it’s an album I can still spit rhyme for rhyme.

If you were into hip hop at the time, you knew what the “Calling all cars, calling all cars….”, over the radio meant, it was time for “Bad” to drop. Back in these days, I was all about the lyrics and I knew “Bad” like I knew the back of my hand. LL displayed the “baddest b-boy image” perfectly on the song. It’s nothing that was going to make you better person after listening to it, but it was simply what hip hop was meant to be. Hip Hop started out in the parks, with MCs eventually trying to out do each other. It was all about competition and who could say the flyest rhymes. That’s what LL is all bout on “Bad” and most of the Bigger & Deffer album.

It’s not that L was just cocky, he could also back it up. Yes, the lyrics aren’t complex for today’s standards, but this was before Rakim really stepped things up to the next level. And it wasn’t just LL’s lyrics that made him one of the elite hip hop artists at this time, it was the energy he packed into his rhymes. You only needed to witness/hear tracks like “Get Down”, “.357 Break It On Down”, or the incredibly infectious “Go Cut Creator Go”. I used to rock out to “Go Cut Creator Go” in the mirror, much like previous generations would rock out to the Chuck Berry sample it takes its riff from.

Just about every song on Bigger & Deffer would be my favorite for a certain amount of time. I used to like the tempo change and minor delivery change found on “The Breakthrough” and the track still remains one of my favorites from the album. For a kid in the eighth grade who had yet to hear 2 Live Crew or Too Short, “Bristol Hotel” and “Kandy” were both on the risque tip, and of course “My Rhyme Ain’t Done” is the predecessor to all the Andrew Dice Clay wanna be x-rated fairy tales that would become a rage in the early 90′s. For me, the album basically ended at “Ahh, Let’s Get Ill”, which again packed as much energy as a electric plant. I can remember laying in bed with my headphones on, imagining I was LL rockin’ the stage. Ahh, those were the days.

Bigger and Deffer isn’t without it’s flaws, and it’s these flaws that probably keep it from being largely regarded as a “classic”. There was nothing more that I hated than the hip hop love song and LL was the early king of this. Anytime “I Need Love” came on Yo! MTV Raps, I would quickly mute it or change the channel. I can handle it a little more in my older years, but it’s still not anything I get crazy over. “The Doo Wop” is rather pointless as well. After listening to it once or twice, you really had no interest in ever listening to it again. Despite these downfalls, and the fact that it hasn’t really aged as gracefully as one would hope, Bigger & Deffer will forever remain one of the main reasons I got into hip hop.

Mama Said Knock You Out

It’s hard to believe this album is going to be 20 years old next year. It doesn’t seem that long ago I was a senior in high school, jamming Mama Said Knock You Out on the way to school in my little Jetta. My friends weren’t as hardcore into hip hop as I was, but they were on board whenever I shoved Mama Said… into the tape deck. L said “Don’t call it a comeback”, but that’s exactly what it was, a comeback.

As I mentioned in the intro of this little write up, LL had a misstep when he dropped Walking With a Panther. Hip hop was changing every six months or so, and LL was so…. yesterday in his sounds and topics that were found on that album. Mix in some really shitty R&B rap songs (a sign of things to come) and a lot of people wrote off LL. So what did Uncle L do? He adapted. He hooked up with one of the best producers of the day in Marley Marl, who in turn updated LL’s sound. His last two albums were produced by the LA Posse for the most part, who I like a lot, but they weren’t up on the expanding sound found in hip hop at that time. Marley on the other hand was THE man at the time. Next, LL eased off the excessive braggadocio rhymes. I mean, yes, he was still telling all the sucka MCs that they weren’t shit, but he through in songs like “Cheesy Rat Blues”, “Power of God” and even dropped some social commentary on “Illegal Search”.

Around this time, Run DMC who were my original favorite hip hop artists, had started their downward spiral, so I considered LL my favorite. Fully aware of the backlash LL caught for Walking With a Panther, I knew he needed to really come with it on the new album. That summer, the first single, “The Boomin’ System” dropped on Yo! and this immediately kicked up the anticipation a notch for the new album.

The actual video was ho-hum, but you had to be fixin’ for the album after hearing Marley lace L with a funky beat. We also had a sneak preview of what to expect when Marley remixed “Jingling Baby”, which appeared in it’s original format on the Panther album. The song was a hit in many facets of the game. I personally didn’t mind the original all that much, but Marley brought new life to the track and really gave the listeners something to look forward to.

Soon after “The Boomin’ System” dropping, the album would drop and it was official, LL was back. Before the title track was even released as a single later that fall, I was all over the track. Talk about packing energy into a song, “Mama Said Knock You Out”, is full of the stuff. It was what any good entry song should be for anyone about to do battle, it was just simply a bad ass song.

In some ways, he might have dumbed down his approach, but he more than made up for i
t in other aspects.

Going through the album the first time, I realized it was a much more diverse album than his previous album. Jumping into the second song, “Around The Way Girl”, it was the smooth R&B type thing LL was getting to be known for, but this track was actually decent, compared to the garbage R&B songs found on Panther. In fact, it was more than decent and can fairly put up there with the great female influenced jams of hip hop lore with “Electric Relaxation” and others. “Eat Em Up L, Chill” is another track that showcases LL’s diversity on the album. It’s fair to say that people overlook LL’s ability to switch up styles on a song and “Eat Em Up…” has Uncle L maxin’ to the fullest in a similar fashion as “Mr. Goodbar”.

LL didn’t lose steam though when it came to dropping outright bangers. Besides the title track, L brought the heat on the Rapmania recorded “Murdergram”, which just that, Cool J straight up murking fools. LL also had a few beefs to get off of his chest, and he did just that when he roasted MC Hammer, Ice T, and Kool Moe Dee on one track. Each got their own verse specially made up for them. The track first appeared on the House Party soundtrack, but it was full wrath was felt when the album dropped. You also had “Cheesy Rat Blues”, which had some people hating on it, but I’ve always loved the track. In my life, I’ve seen some people who I thought were my friends, but really never was so this track was one that I could always relate to.

Mama Said Knock You Out is an album that brought LL back to being relevant, if he wasn’t already. Featuring a healthy dose of just about everything and all over banging beats, LL was once again the man in charge. There were a couple songs that I wasn’t feeling all that much, with the album version of “6 Minutes of Pleasure” being somewhat drab (the remix is much, much better) and at the time, “The Power of God”, wasn’t really my thing (although I dig the song now). The weed carrier song, “Farmers Blvd”, had some decent verses from some of L’s homies, but for the most part, I would skip over this track, and still do. The beauty of this album though lies in the diversity found on it, something that the three previous LL albums didn’t have much of.

If you need any evidence on how much hip hop’s sound evolved in a short time, just check these two albums. In three short years, the sound found on Bigger & Deffer was remarkably different from that found on Mama Said Knock You Out. In the end, I think it will come down to those of us who grew up with Bigger & Deffer, and those that are younger who might be able to identify with the sounds found on Mama Said Knock You Out.

As for myself personally, I went back and forth one which album I would consider my favorite and even as I write this, I’m still not totally sold on my choice, but I’m going to go with nostalgia once again and pick Bigger & Deffer. I’ll concede the fact that Mama Said Knock You Out is probably the technically better album. But the songs on Bigger & Deffer just mean more to me. I have a strong suspicion that Mama Said…. is going to roll this week, but I’ve been wrong before (once I think…haha)

Dart Adams: I gotta go with “Bigger And Deffer” over “Mama Said Knock You Out”. No one expected that LL could deliver a monster LP like it. That album made LL Cool J as big as Run DMC and a legitimate superstar. He was on American Bandstand with that album. It was classic.

Kid Hum: I’d probably pick BAD cause it has more songs I like, but “Mama Said..” is my favorite Cool J song ever, hands down, for what its worth

As I said last week, we throwing down some WYDU Classics every week in the month of October to celebrate WYDU’s 3rd birthday. Before we do……

New Blog….
T.R.O.Y. from Philaflava

Before we jump right into it, I have to bring to attention a DOPE new blog out there. My homies from Philaflava have joined forces to bring possibly the dopest obscure, rare and classic hip hop blog since Bust The Facts. Jaz (from WYDU favorite Cold Rock Da Spot), Jason Gloss (the owner and mastermind behind Philaflava), Admiral, Roy Johnson, Blockhead (yeah, THAT Blockhead), Thun (of Oh Word fame) and some others that I haven’t figured out who is all involved over there yet. Some of the material they have been dropping is a first time for showing up on the web, and if you can do that these days, then you got something. They’ve dropped everything from sample sources, to a B1 discography (if you don’t know who B1 is, then you should head over there, take my word….if you do know who B1 was, then you know you should head over there, I don’t have to tell you), to some Busy Bee material, to some Spoonie G material, with some Knucklehedz singles mixed in as well as some Now Born Click. That’s just the first page, so it’s a dope site that all of you that feel you don’t get enough of an oldschool fix here anymore….In fact I got five tracks for the next WYDU Classic from the blog and forum.

This week, it’s all about beef…all the way from rare to the well done.

Kool Moe Dee was a legend back in the day. His first single “Go See The Doctor” produced by future New Jack Swing guru, Teddy Riley, took off. His self titled solo debut made a splash for Jive/RCA. A very solid debut album would lead into his most popular LP of his career, “How Do You Like Me Now”, which would produced the hit’s with the title track and “Wild Wild West”. It was about this time him and LL Cool J would compete in one of the greatest battles on wax that Hip Hop has ever seen.

Instead of highlighting this myself, I believe there is someone who has more of a detailed view and a better vantage point of the whole beef, a reader sent this excellent coverage and opinion of the Kool Moe Dee Vs. LL Cool J Battle back in the day and I’ve posted it before, it’s such a good read, we’ll do it again……all credit and props for this goes to Kevin:

In regards to HipHop, as far as I’m concerned there were always two types of HipHop fans:

1. Those that were just following HipHop through buying records and listening to the radio, but were too young to go to and hang out at the HipHop spots, like Latin Quarters, Rooftop, Bentley’s, Roxy, Danceteria, Union Square etc….and only went to the concerts

2. Those who following HipHop though buying records and listening to the radio, and were old enough to hang out at the all the HipHop spots as well as go to the concerts.

Now here is these points have on the Kool Moe Dee vs. LL Cool J rivalry because, Moe Dee may not have been popular amongst those young record buying HipHop fans, but definitely had some support from those older HipHop fans that were hanging out in the HipHop spots especially as he was still rocking at those spots, which in turn has an effect on your outlook on how the battle came about as well as it’s outcome and the full insight in regards to their rivalry

SO HAVE A CUP OF TEA AND SOME BISCUITS IN HAND, AND SOME A CIGAR IF YOU SMOKE WHILE READING THIS

When Moe Dee and the HIPHOP CATS were pushing and anticipating for a live battle between these 2, LL KEPT DUCKING AND RUNNING FROM Moe Dee…….and there are incidents to prove it

Now lets, review the Moe Dee vs. LL battle more carefully shall we………Now readers, make sure you’ve got a cup of tea and biscuits in your hand for the following info. Now here info about incidents that happen OUTSIDE their battle records that were made, which related to their beef:

Just so you know, the beef between LL and Moe Dee had been brewing for a period of time, since the mid-80′s. Moe Dee always suspecting that, LL was letting fame get to his head with a cocky attitude as if those that came before didn’t matter (that’s what Moe Dee and others had beef with Run)

Especially with LL spitting lines like “greatest rapper in the history of rap itself” etc, then with Moe Dee feeling like LL took his style, and at the same time abruptly brushing off rappers that came before him, was definitely adding logs on the fire of their beef

But here was one incident, which was the straw that broke the camels back for Moe Dee in their beef:

One show night in Boston, LL missed his plane and the show’s promoter asked if Rakim and Moe Dee could just go up onstage and rhyme for a while and hold the crowd over with some impromptu freestyle. They agreed, and within 15 minutes along with Grandmaster Dee cutting, Rakim, Jalil, Extacy, Mike C and Kool Moe Dee absolutely wrecking the crowd. Once word got to them that LL was in the house and ready to rock the stage they finally shut it down. Just seconds after the MC’s shut it down, whilst still on stage and LL took the stage walked over to a speaker and stood over all the MC’s that just saved the show, and began to explain to the crowd w
hy he got on last, and why his name is the biggest name on the marquee. He ranted on in an extreme condescending manner about how his sales showed how he’s a bigger star than those MC’s that were on the stage and how he’s the bigger & better MC than the rest of them

Now it’s known about the order of their records between 1987-1989; How You Like Me Now, Jack The Ripper, Let’s Go, and once these records were out, cats where just anticipating the moment when these two will nail their battle in the coffin and would just get on stage…….and as these two had a habit of meeting each other on stage that moment was so close you could taste and touch it.

So let’s list some of the incidents of their meetings which sparked the fire of their battle when it was on from 1987-1989:

One night at the Apollo, LL was there, and he performed Jack The Ripper….people thought Moe Dee wasn’t there, so LL acted and fronted like he was calling him out, and like if Moe was there then he would bring it to Moe…but while LL was performing, and face emerges from the crowd, a spot light is on that person, it turns out to be Kool Moe Dee, the crowd was like “OH SHIT THERE GONNA GET ON NOW” AND GOES NUTS….as Moe starts making his way to the stage, LL got nervous, and just rapped up his show, and quickly stormed of the stage…….once Moe got on the stage, LL was gone but the chanting MOE Dee’s name from the time he made his way to the stage and even when he was still on stage

Another incident at the Apollo, what happened was the Dj played LL’s jack the ripper, and LL was expected to come out, Kool Moe Dee came out instead and snatched the record of the decks, the crowd went wild, and the DJ played an instrumental, and Kool Moe Dee just ripped LL a new asshole in a freestyle, and told the crowd LL’s day was coming, and people in the crowd were saying the same thing as well as saying I HOPE LL COMES OUT whilst in the frenzy Moe Dee just put them in…. There battle created so much buzz and a live battle was so anticipated that Arsenio Hall, even offered to let these host and put on their live battle on his show, but LL brushed it off by saying that he’d rather settle it in a boxing ring

But here is one of the final incident, which was the nail in the coffin of their beef in 80′s…..this incident took place in late 88 or early 89 in Texas. Moe Dee was doing a show in …..LL shows up during his show and starts blowing kisses to the crowd….Moe Dee tries to step to him for a battle, but LL escapes into the crowd…but Moe Dee spots LL in the crowd and puts the spotlight on him challenging LL to a live battle, but LL refuses again….so Moe does a freestyle dissing LL even dropping the verbal “LL’s” on him gets the crowd to BOO LL outta the arena. Moe Dee acknowledged to the crowd the battle was done and dropped/slammed the mic down. Now of course all of these incidents were before 1990-1991 where there were further answer records to their 80’s records; To The Break Of Dawn and Death Blow.

(trav’s note: the audio he sent me gave me chills up & down my spine)

Link To All Of Part 5

Joe Sinistr – Under The Sun
Kilo G. – Release Me feat. Pimp C.
Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo – 2 To The Head feat. Ice Cube, Scarface & Bushwick Bill
Kool G. Rap- Mister Mister
Kool Keith – Yo Black (Buckwild Remix)
Kurious – Mansion And A Yacht feat. Sadat X & Mike G
Leaders of The New School – Classic Material (Diamond D Remix)
LL Cool J – Crime Stories
Lord Finesse – Shorties Kaught In The System
Mac Dre – California Livin

Joe Sinistr – Under The Sun (P.R.O. Division, from the 12 inch “Under The Sun” b/w “Krunchtime” as well as the Terminatior X & Godfathers of Threatt)

I’ve mentioned many times in the past that my favorite MC that only dropped two joints then vanished is Joe Sinistr. He appeared on Erick Sermon’s solo debut on the “Payback II” track. A year later, much to my delight, he was featured on Terminator X’s second debut album with “Under The Sun”. Dude was just straight ill. He would have made some major noise with the right funk type of production and backing. But it wasn’t meant to be as I never heard of him again after this track. It’s one of those things that bothers me the most in hip hop, what happened to Joe Sinistr? This track is some stank funk that just drips of the thick bassline that accompanies the track. The track was produced by Jam Master Jay and T-Funk, and they do it up well. Joe is one of those MC’s, like Redman in his early days (and even presently if you ask me) that sounds at home over these type of funk beats. It’s a shame that we never heard from Joe again. - Trav

Kilo G – Release Me feat Pimp C (Cash Money Records, from “The Bloody City” LP, 1995)

I was never much on any of the Cash Money releases, much to disdain of Noz from Cocaine Blunts. No real reason at that time, because I was more open to the “reality rap” than I am today, I just never had anyone recommend or I didn’t see it in The Source or on Yo! back in the day. It’s got a pretty smooth, player, Caddy, playistic type of beat going down for it, that is kind of cool. Worth a listen whether your a fan of early Cash Money or not. – Trav

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – Two To The Head feat Ice Cube, Scarface, Bushwick Bill (Cold Chillin’, on the “Live & Let Die” LP, 1992)

I wouldn’t call this obscure either, but I would call it one of my favorite posse tracks off all-time. I liked it from the first time I heard it. G Rap, Cube and Scarface all just tear their verses to shreds. Bushwick was a little outclassed on this one, but he still manages to do his thing. The track is on some “killin’” type of shit with an eerie sound effects and a fairly common drum break. Great track, just not all that obscure - Trav

Kool G. Rap – Hey Mister (White Label, 1995)

One day DJ Mike Nice was chilling out at Upstairs Records in Brooklyn and Dr. Butcher appeared out of nowhere with a stack of white labels in his hand. A couple weeks later a second pressing appeared at Mr. Bongos in London. This was right around the time The Kool Genius of Rap dropped his solo debut 4,5,6. G. Rap was known for his graphic story-telling. Drug deals gone bad, shoot outs with cops, talking like sex- he almost covered the full spectrum of extreme and explicit writing, almost. And then he wrote a song that no record label could ever release.

“Hey Mister Mister, what the fuck you doin’?
Hey Mister Mister… KEEP WALKIN’ PAST! Hey
mister mister, what the fuck you doin? DON’T
INTERUPT ME WHILE I’m BEATING ON MY BITCH
ASS.”

Yes, that’s right folk; an ode to spousal abuse. The internet has led to this song becoming more and more well known but it really is quite obscure outside the confines of cyberspace. There were two pressings of this Dr. Butcher-produced white label. Remember the honky-tonk western vibe of “The Symphony,” which G. Rap murked about a decade earlier- well think of a similar piano loop that is louder and angrier. Add in a little boy’s voice being scratched-in, pleading for G. Rap’s attention, a no-good bitch pilfering from G. Rap’s hustle, and G. Rap hitting her “until her face gets bigger” and we have a real winner here folks. Not only did this deserve a commercial release, it also deserved a video complete with a bloodied-up Superhead. Ah the injustice! Well, at least I had “Hey Mister” played at my wedding reception. – Original Philaflava post

Kool Keith/Ultra – Yo Black (Buckwild Remix) (Remix from the original that appeared on “Four Horsemen” LP, 1993)

Kool Keith rides this dark, menacing beat from DITC crowned prince, Buckwild. I was a big fan of Keith during his Ultra days and this song is perfect reason why. Keith was just ill as fuck during these days. He was truly one of the best MC’s at the time. The beat sounds a lot different than a lot of Buck’s material. As previously mentioned, it’s dark with a deep, fuzzy bassline that just draws along. It packs some bottom that sounds best on a good system. Not sure if this was ever commercially released or not. - Trav

Kurious Jorge – A Mansion & A Yacht feat Sadat X & Mike G (Columbia, on the “I’m Kurious” b/w “A Mansion & A Yacht”, 1994)

Another joint that at one time was pretty hard to come by and a lot of heads were clamoring for. Produced by the Groove Merchantz, this would have fit in nicely on the “Constipated Monkey” LP, but it didn’t make it for some reason. All three MC’s do their thing on this, with Sadat dropping a classic verse as he was on top of his game during this time. The song has a classic sound, like it could have almost dropped in ’84, if it wasn’t for the advanced rhyming found on it. - Trav

Leaders Of The New School – Classi
c Material (Diamond D remix) (Elektra, from a promo 12 inch of “Classic Material” b/w Spontaneous”, 1993

Another track that might fit the “obscure” label. They jump on a trademark Diamond beat, with the horns, a tight bassline and the gritty DITC feel to it. I wasn’t a fan of the original version of “Classic Material”, but Diamond remixed this joint proper. It’s just on some classic mid 90′s flava that makes people like me miss the “good ole days”. - Trav

LL Cool J – Crime Stories (Def Jam, appeared as a cassette only track on “Walking With A Panther” LP, 1989)

I forgot all about this joint. For a small time, cassettes were the main media being sold. So naturally, groups would put bonus tracks on just the cassettes. Digital did the same thing on “Sex Packets”. This joint isn’t one of the stronger tracks on the critically abused “Walking With A Panther”, but I always kind of liked it. It is slightly different than a lot of the tracks that appeared on that album. It’s more of a social message about not doing the crime if you can’t do the time. It’s upbeat in nature as LL does what he does best, just rip it apart. Good listen if you haven’t heard it - Trav

Lord Finesse – Shorties Kaught In The System

Lord Finesse like his protégé Big L was mostly known for his wordplay and ability to make sucker MC’s duck for cover. Hell, he single-handedly dissected and annihilated the entire “Lords of the Underground” with one 2 minute freestyle. Shorties Kaught In The System is track depicting the urban life, of a young male, trapped in a cycle of crime and desperation, trying to survive in his environment. And the harsh reality is, songs like these are no longer a necessity, but are considered “out of left field” and “unconventional” when it should be the norm. Unfortunately the world is so cynical now, but this track stands the test of time, and is even more important today. - Original Philaflava post

Mac Dre – California Livin’ (Strictly Business Records, from the “California Livin’” EP, 1991

Listening to this now, it’s kind of surprising this didn’t make noise than it did. Of course, unless you were Ice T or NWA, Cali wasn’t really accepted much in ’91. This almost sounds like some Coolio shit that would drop three to four years later. Has that upbeat, party like beat, such as some of those Coolio joints like “Fantastic Voyage” and the such. I’m not the best person to talk about Mac Dre’s legacy as even I kind of slept on him back in the day, but he was a talented artist and this song defintely lends evidence to that claim. - Trav

Catch Part III Here

The final chapter of covering our favorite albums for the year 1990. As I try to forgive E for trashing the album from which gave this blog it’s name, I figured we’d give a quick look at the year’s hottest videos for 1990. Video shows were a BIG thing back then, unlike now. There was no internet, so it’s how artists got their name out of the respected locales. As I’ve mentioned numerous times in the past, Yo! MTV Raps and The Source were HUGE in exposing me to music that I would hear no other way. Again, I go to The Source issue of Jan ’91 for:

Captain Video’s Top 10 Rap Clips for 1990

1. Public Enemy – 911 Is A Joke

2. Ice Cube – Who’s The Mack?

3. LL Cool J – Jingling Baby

4. Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance

5. A Tribe Called Quest – Bonita Applebum

6. Nice & Smooth – Funky For You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei2-4tKHcU4

7. Divine Styler – Ain’t Say Nuthin’ (Great to see this in the top 10…one of my all-time favorite beats and songs…great to see the video again as well)

8. Poor Righteous Teachers – Rock Dis Funky Joint

9. 3rd Bass – Gas Face

10. Above The Law – Murder Rap

Audio Two – I Don’t Care: The Album (First Priority/Atlantic)
Released: April 18th, 1989

If you visited this blog enough, you should know by now that I’m somewhat of an Audio Two junkie. One of my personal highlights of last year was conducting an interview with Milk D, it was like a classical music fan talking to Beethoven. While they were not the most popular group in hip hop history, they have forever left their mark on hip hop history by recording one of the top singles of all-time in “Top Billin’”. Audio Two was composed of Milk Dee on vocals and Giz as the DJ. They dropped a hip hop classic in “Top Billin” (my personal favorite all -time favorite hip hop single) in 87′ and then their debut album “What More Can I Say” in 88′. It earned enough attention to put them up among top releases in what many describe as one of the best years ever for hip hop. In 1990 they dropped their somewhat underrated album “I Don’t Care: The Album”.

Despite being a personal favorite of mine, the album did not get much critical praise and the album would not match the success of their debut. I think it was actually to braggadocios for people. The album was slammed for being “to one dimensional” (go figure, now it’s okay). Personally for myself, Milk was what MC’s used to be all about in the world of hip hop. Milk was all about telling sucka MC’s that he is the “baddest mamajamma” on the mic. Tracks like “Milk Does The Body Good”, was all about him being the flyest brutha, just cruisin’ in his Jetta. It’s either party starters or Milk bragging how bad he is. To me hip hop is built on that though, people forget that. Yeah, it’s fine to grow, but like the roots of a tree, the roots of hip hop also hold the art form into the ground firmly and thats what Audio Two did. It’s in your face bragging rhymes.

Milk and the album caught flack for some of the lyrics on “Whatcha’ Lookin’ At?” which contained some so called “bigotry” lyrics, with his “gay mutha’s should get punched in the face” line along with a few other questionable lines. As a naive high school senior, I loved it. Not saying it was right, but it added to the albums attractiveness. As far as lyrics, there is nothing ground breaking. racks like “Milk Does The Body Good (remix)” are straight badass lyrics. While it’s true Milks lyrics are not deep or politically correct, but to me, this is the stuff that drew me to hip hop in the first place. They are also of the first artists to dis MC Hammer on “Start It Up Y’all” with his “(Pos K & others) “So what’s up with Hammer? Yo Hammer can’t rhyme and 357 is a bunch of Ho’s”. Straight in your face lyrics and hard core beats. Don’t expect to be blown away by lyrics.

Beat wise, it’s all done by Milk. It’s a bit more musical that “What More Can I Say”, but that ain’t sayin’ much. Lot’s of familiar breaks (familiar because of Milk and the other old school cats) and some hard drums. Milk seemed to still favor the 808 approach to things that had started to pass by NY by this time. There is nothing mind blowing as far as beats go, but for a simpler time, this music was great. I r
emember playing this a lot on the way to my senior year in high school and knowing just about all the words. This is a classic to me, fuck everyone else….

Many Styles (I NEVER knew there was a video for this)

Kid Sensation – Rollin’ With Number One (Nastymix)
Released: July 2nd, 1990

Since the 1990 year was in the highlight of my high school years, sometimes I didn’t necessarily choose music because it was “quality” music. I chose it because it sounded good in the audio system I had hooked up in my little black ’82 Jetta. This was one such album that got play for the “big boom” it supplied. Don’t get me wrong, Kid Sensation’s debut album “Rollin’ With Number” wasn’t one of those talent devoid bass albums that were so popular with the white kids in those days. The Kid was more than adequate on the mic and the album’s topics ranged from socially and politically conscious (Hype It Up), to mackin’ to the females (Skin To Skin), to just straight up battle rhymes (I S.P.I.T.). Of course it didn’t hurt that his music packed some wicked 808 to back up the lyrics.

Kid Sensation came up in the Seattle/Tacoma area in the late 80′s with the Northwest’s main man, Sir Mix-a-Lot. He would appear on Mix’s “Swass” album, showing up as an early day Quasimoto, using an altered high pitched voice on tracks like “Square Dance Rap”, “Buttermilk Biscuits” and “Rippin’” as he he became Mix-a-Lot’s right hand man, “Kid Sensation dropped a 20 and didn’t even miss it”….. In late ’89/early 1990, Kid would drop his first single “Back To Boom” b/w “I S.P.I.T.” (the original version), and since I was a big fan of Sir Mix-a-Lot and the Swass LP, I was all over this release. I quickly snatched up a cassette single of the song and it would be a prized possession of mine for the next six months or so while Nastymix got ready to release a full length project. Coming from an area loosely lumped in the geographical region of the Pacific Northwest, this was as close as I could get to calling an artist “local”, so I was supporting mine when “Rollin’ With Number One” dropped in the middle of the summer of 1990.

Musically, “Rollin….” sounds very close to the first two Sir Mix-a-Lot albums, Swass and Seminar. I’m sure Mix had a lot of influence on his young protege first release and his fingerprints can be heard all over the album. Mix would also produce four out of the twelve tracks found on the album while Kid did five tracks. Bass is the name of the game as 808 kick drums dominate the albums sound, which makes for some good “bump in the trunk”. Lyrically, Kid Sensation was a notch above the average MC, although the lyrics will come off a little dated when listened to today just in flow and delivery (it is almost 18 years old after all). The lyrical flexing found on “Two Minutes” is a prime example that Kid was better on the mic than his rhyme boss, Mix-a-Lot, although you can tell a certain influence in Kids style from Mix’s own lyrical style.

This album gets overlooked all the time and there are probably several reasons for that. West coast hip hop was having a problem being taken seriously by the east coast rap fans critics and something coming out of Seattle had it even more rough. The Northwest in general is a place that to this day still doesn’t get much recognition for its hip hop artists and contributions. Being associated with Mix-a-Lot might have hindered his ability to be taken seriously as well, which I find rather sad. This was of course before Mix’s popularity explosion with “Baby Got Back” (which I like), but it’s tied to the whole location thing again. As I’ve said previously, this album had a lot going for it, variety, boomin’ beats and good lyrics, I just wish it would have more of a chance to shine.

LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out (Def Jam)
Released: August 27th, 1990

LL Cool J is like my Kool Herc. It was Run DMC and LL Cool J that really got me into hip hop. While they both kind of fell off in their later years, their early material is stuff that will always be stamped deep in my thoughts and memories. I had “Bigger & Deffer” on constant play in my walkmen back in ’86 and ’87. I can still recite every lyric on that release. Then I would go back to “Radio” and learn that album as well. In 1989, LL would drop “Walking With A Panther”, which got a lot of flack from the hip hop world. Hip Hop was evolving, no more was it just okay to spit battle rhymes about how dope you were, it was talking about Afrocentric in nature. Rhymes were more complex, while “Walking With A Panther” was just straight up braggin’ and boastin’ over fairly minimalistic beats. Despite all of that, I still loved the album (still do to this day), but LL was faced with his first “hurdle” in his musical career. It is at this point many an artist, whether it is in jazz, rock, or even country, slip up. Not Uncle L though, he came with possibly the greatest comeback in hip hop history with “Mama Said Knock You Out”.

“Boomin’ System” would be the first true single from the album, which dropped a little before the album would be released. Again, this was more bass for my trunk, although it had a different sound. It wasn’t just the straight up 808 kicks that my system was set up to do. “Boomin’ System” had some rolling, strung out basslines found on it. It was still an early favorite. When the album dropped right around the start of school, I would snatch it up the day it dropped. For most of that first semester of school, anytime it was my turn to drive to school with my car pooling friends, we would be listening to “Mama Said Knock You Out”. The title track would quickly become my favorite track on the album, long before it would be released as a single later that fall. It would became my favorite saying for the year. Corny, but I was also wearing a stolen VW logo on my fake dookie gold rope.

Cool J didn’t really change his blueprint for an album as far as topics and lyrics go with this. Of course the tit
le track, “Mama Said Knock You Out”, is a straight to ya face lyrical barrage. LL comes after everyone, “towering” over the comp, there was nothing pro-anything on this track, except maybe a pro-lyrical ass whoopin. He also had his jams for the ladies, something that he had been doing since “Radio”. This was the part of LL that usually provoked my index finger to hit the “FF” button on the walkmen, but how do you argue with the greatness of “Around The Way Girl”? It’s an anthem, plain and simple. Of course LL goes after the “sucka” MC’s on “To Da Break Of Dawn”, exemplifying why some consider him on of the best record battle rhymers to pick up the mic, as Ice T, MC Hammer and his favorite whippin’ boy Kool Moe Dee all catch LL’s wrath. Yup, lyrically, there wasn’t really anything new here, so what made the “comeback” so successful? The beats.

The first Marley Marl appearance on an LL joint would be the remix for “Jingling Baby”, a track found on the “Walking With A Panther” LP. The track was….eh so-so and the Panther LP, but a remix soon followed, done by the (by this time) legendary Marley Marl. The remix was a hit on Yo! and the rap charts. LL being the smart artist that he is, saw that he was on to something and had Marley do the entire “Mama Said Knock You Out” LP. It worked and it worked well. Marley added funky beats behind LL’s ferocious rhymes. From the straight up jeep banger of “Boomin’ System” where Marley would show early signs of his later sounds found on the Lords of the Underground albums to the almost New Jackish “Illegal Search, Marley made LL relevant again in the hip hop world.

The album has long been a favorite of mine and I would dare to go as far as to say this would still rank as one of the best albums of the 90′s. At one time or another, just about every song has been considered my favorite. Even the typically targeted “weak links” such as “Farmer’s BLVD”, “Six Minutes To Pleasure” (although the remix is MUCH better) or “Cheesy Rat Blues” have things I like about them. LL has long been considered an icon in the hip hop game and this album only cemented his legacy in the hip hop game.

C.P.O. – To Hell & Black (Capitol)
Released: August 7th, 1990

MC Ren always was kind of the redheaded step child when it came to NWA. You had Eazy doing his thing with the label, Dre obviously was the musical brains behind the crew, Ice Cube was seen as the lead vocalist, DJ Yella….yeah, well there was Yella. I’ve always thought lyrically, Ren was a notch above Cube when it came to spitting straight up lyrics. Ren would also get outshined on the business side of things as well. Ren would get his own label through Capitol records and the first release wouldn’t garner much attention. C.P.O. was a southern LA group made up of the large and in charge Lil Nation, Young D, Chip and DJ Train. Nation would be the MC and of course the late DJ Train was the DJ, Young D did most of the production on their “To Hell & Black” release in 1990. Ren though, would be all over the release, from guest appearing on the lead single “Ballad of a Menace” to also showing up on that single’s horrible video. He would also drop a verse on the album’s closing song, Gangsta Melody, ala Grand Finale type of thing and have a song named after him, with “Ren’s Rhythm”. 1990 was still before the west coast gangsta phase really took over. Yes, you had NWA and Eazy blowing up along with Ice T doing his thing, but it was still a early in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, while this group definitely had the gangsta culture ties, it wasn’t a hardcore “gangster rap” album.

Lil Nation was strong with the rhymes, commanding a booming voice and a tight, Nation was able to hang with Ren on both of the tracks he appeared on. The album almost contains a bi-coastal feel both on the mic and the beats. Tracks like “Flow To The Rhythm” and “Somethin’ Like Dis” both use commonly used break beats and samples for it’s basis. While not overly creative or original, it’s comes off as some party starting jams that the poppers and breakers (the west coast b-boys) could get into. MC Ren is listed as co-producer. One might question just how much production he did on the project, but the production does sound like some of Ren’s previous production attempts, “We Want Eazy” remix and “Ruthless Villain”, which he is rumored to have produced. Lil Nation just concentrates on rippin’ the mic and flexin’ his lyrical muscle.

The track “Homicide” is probably the most gangsterish and also Lil Nation’s strongest lyrical performance. It is also probably my favorite cut off an album that did get a lot of play from me. As I mentioned, Ren was my favorite member out of NWA, even back in those days. When I first saw the video for “Ballad Of A Menace” on “Yo!”, I was all over this release. It’s not classic material in the least, but it’s a strong release from the west coast that got over looked in those days.

I really need to hit up more live shows. In my older age, I guess I just don’t really want to deal with all the goofy ass people and such. In my younger years, I was one of those goofy ass people. I didn’t go to a show unless I had at least a six pack in my system and was always trying to run around acting like a moron. As I’ve grown older, I still don’t mind an occasional drink or two, but I’d much rather just kick back and enjoy the music. Maybe it’s my intolerance of morons in my old age, but I don’t care if you go to a Atmosphere concert or a Masta Ace concert, there are always some idiot that just doesn’t get it. Some idiot doing some hyro gyro bullshit, or some dumb chick dancing some bullshit dance.

When I went to see Ace last December in Denver, for the most part it was just real hip hop heads enjoying real hip hop music. But of course there were a group of white kids doing this rave dance bullshit….At an Ace concert??? To to top it off, they are getting all pissed cause they don’t have room to dance in the front row like a moron with eplispy. I was getting ready to mash someone in the mouth if they bumped into me one more time, but didn’t want to ruin a great concert. But YOU’RE IN THE FRONT ROW! Give me a break, of course your not at some tribal drum circle, you idiot, so of course we are not all going to form a circle around you so you can do your tree hugging dance…jackass. Going to shows up in Boulder is always an experience in of itself. Boulder is kind of a liberal tree hugging place to begin with. I saw Little Brother there last year or the year before and the mix of people was amazing. You had your traditional hip-hop people, you had the hippies, you had the neo-soul junkies, you had your normal run of the mill college kids. I had a good time just watching all the different people

Then the girls, we’ve all seen it, but you have some some tree hugging, hairy, smelly chick doing some wind walking whispering water dance. You’ve probably all seen it at a show at least a couple times in your life, the beat is rocking, and she is dancing like she is a sloth on an acid trip. This particular chick wasn’t at the Ace concert, but I’ve seen them at Cypress Hill and the Roots before. Then you have the groupies. At the Ace, two chicks were pretty much standing on stage, grabbing either Punch or Ace everytime the got close enough….DURING THE CONCERT….they gave them both some bracelet….those yellow ones (don’t get me started on those)…Punch actually put his on, but Ace looked at it and shoved it in his pocket. But every time they walked by, they would grab on them. Fuck, I didn’t pay to see you grab on the performer on stage, or see your ugly ass trying to dance on stage….

I bring this up because I’m planning on hitting up the “Rock The Bells” tour that is coming through Denver in August. With groups like Wu, Cypress, Talib Kweli, Nas and Immortal Technique, I’m expecting a little bit of everything. I’ve seen Cypress back in ’97 on the “Smoking Grooves” tour with Parliment and that was an interesting group of people. I’m sure this will be even more strange. Maybe I’ll smoke some weed so I’ll be a good and mellow mood.

Here is some live shows. One, the KRS I’m pretty sure I’ve posted up before, but it’s been probably over a year

KRS-One – Live at SOB’s

Next is an old school joint straight from the Golden Age. I got goose bumps the first time I listened to it. It is LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy live in Amsterdam. It’s almost two hours of golden age goodness.

Public Enemy, LL Cool J, & Eric B & Rakim Live In Amsterdam

Last but not least, a straight up albumbase jack, but just in case I’ve offended any of the “Sloth on Acid” dancers out there, here is a rip of a Atmosphere/Eyedea show in Souix Falls South Dakota of all places….consider it a peace offering.

Atmosphere and Eyedea & Abilities Live in Souix Falls

The fact I’m even attempting a post is amazing in itself since I have ZERO motivation. I swear I’m going to stop drinking for good one of these days. Until then, hopefully its nothing 4 glasses of water and a liter of Gatorade won’t fix. We’ll kick this post off with a few tracks. I just started this Sunday Lite thing (thanks to Stag for the name) and already I’m doing re-ups. Of course I originally posted these tracks when we weren’t even topping a 100 visitors a day, so I don’t feel too bad putting them back up.

Tha Alkaholiks have always been one of my favorite groups. The music was always fun, the vibe was that of a party of each of their albums and the production was always on point. Most of you probably remember when they made their debut (sans Tash, who was locked up on a DUI charge) on King Tee’s “Tha Trifflin’ Album” back in ’93. But what most of you don’t know, at least I didn’t until I saw these tracks on the net almost two years ago (the blog I found them on escapes me, or I’d give credit for them) is that they came up as the “Everyday Street Poets” or E.S.P in the early 90′s when King Tila hooked up J-Ro, Tash, and E-Swift together. They released a demo of sorts, although I can’t find much on that.

The sound quality is kind of lacking, but what do you expect, they are demo’s. The music though, is in vein of that found on their “21 and Over” debut, kind of fun and carefree, in a good way of course. Not sure if there is a full demo out there floating around or if this is it. If anyone knows anything about it, kick the knowledge.

Everyday Street Poets (E.S.P.) aka Tha Alkaholiks
Groove Yard – http://www.zshare.net/audio/esp-aka-alkaholiks-groove-yard-mp3.html

Everyday Street Poets (E.S.P.)
Getz Funky – http://www.zshare.net/audio/esp-aka-tha-alkaholiks-getz-funky-mp3.html

Everyday Street Poets (E.S.P.)
LA Law – http://www.zshare.net/audio/esp-aka-tha-alkoholiks-la-law-mp3.html

Craig Mack is known as the first artist to come out on Puffy’s (sorry I refuse to call him P.Diddy) “Bad Boy” label and the one that got dicked out said label in the mid 90′s. Mack didn’t fit into Bad Boy’s image or the direction the label was going, which is probably all for the better for everyone involved, although I haven’t heard much out of Mack since then. Every once in a while, he’ll pop back up on the scene with a track. He dropped a joint called “Wooden Horse (?)” in the late 90′s/turn of the century that was dope as fuck. It sampled a Sinatra tune and it actually worked good. I have it on a disk somewhere in this mess I have strung around my apartment. Back on track, before he was Craig Mack, he was “MC EZ” and his DJ, “DJ Troupe”. I want to say it was ’88 that he released a single “Get Retarded b/w Just Rhymin’”, but I’m entirely too lazy to verify that right now. “Get Retarded” is kind of a underground classic of sorts, not because the quality of the album, but because it’s not easily found and because of Mack’s place in Hip Hop history. It can also be found on “Ego Trip’s Big Playback” that was released in 2002…..I think. Regardless here is “Get Retarded” and I think I have “Just Rhymin” somewhere on my computer if someone wants it.

MC EZ & DJ Troupe aka Craig Mack – Get Retarded
http://www.zshare.net/audio/04-get-retarded-produced-by-craig-mack-mp3.html

Amazingly enough, I’m going to post one more track despite all my laziness. I’ve been chatting back and forth with another Hip Hop head this week and the topic of one James Todd Smith came up. While L.L. might have tarnished his legacy with some of the crap he has released recently, I doubt anyone can deny his greatness when he still had “it”. L.L. was THE B-Boy when came up. Yeah, he may have ducked Kool Moe Dee on occasion, but he’s go after just about anyone on wax. The dude was a beast on the mic. You just don’t see that kind of flair, ego, or ability anymore.

Here is a clip of him freestyling over “It’s Yours” beat, which I’m sure didn’t go over to well with T La Rock, who wasn’t exactly a fan of L.L.’s either. I’m not sure if this was on a radio show, which I think it is, or at a performance. It also has edits, so that lends me to believe that it was on a radio show. It’s labeled as 1985, which would mean he was just coming out, I don’t remember where I got this, probably Cocaine Blunts. The dude is a beast on this. Enjoy!

LL Cool J Freestyle over “It’s Yours” 1985
http://www.zshare.net/audio/l-l-cool-j-live-freestyle-over-its-yours-1985-mp3.html

Link Love

I’ve added quite a few new links over the past few weeks. I have no rhyme or reason where I put stuff on that list, but be sure to give it a look over. Despite what some moro
n said a couple of weeks ago, I try to remember everyone I told I would link up. If I missed someone, all you have to do is simply remind me. I’m not perfect and forget things, but I don’t mean any disrespect. I don’t ask for people to link me in return, I could careless if they do or not. I appreciate any link love, but I’m not doing this as some sort of popularity contest, hell I did this for months when we were only getting 50 hits a day. I don’t bomb people’s cboxs (I don’t care if someone does post a link to their site, it’s a good way for me to check your site out) asking for link exchanges, which is probably why no one heard of us for the first six months. I put links up to things I like, hell it’s my bookmark list.

With that said, I do have my favorites lately, From Da Bricks, Posionous Paragraphs, Cold Rock Da Spot, Souled On, …And You Don’t Stop, and Schooklyn Zoo. Of course there are my old reliables that are ran by people who I have the up most respect for and they will always have my support, Bust The Facts, Crooklyn’s Classics, Streets On Beats, and Miscreant Productions (holla at your boy, Tommy!) . Then there are my Colorado Comrades, To The Break of Dawn & Back In The Day. A new site that has popped up on my radar, Boomers Hot Shit, despite the, ummm, questionable name, it’s been, ummm, dropping hot shit lately, make sure you check it out.

Trav’s Top 5 Spins of the Week

1. Juggaknots – Use Your Confusion
Yup, I’m still on the Jugg’s dick. Might have to go back and change my Top 20 of 2006, or fuck it, it’s my list, they might just make the Top 20 of 2007, since I didn’t really listen to this album until then. I did the same thing with the Cunninlynguists last year. I had the promo version for a good 3-4 months until I sat down to review it for a site I was writing for and realized what a great piece of work it was.

2. (TIE) Masta Ace Discography & Jay Dee aka J Dilla assorted stuff
No change again. I guess you can argue that this could always be in the top 5, since I listen to Ace on the regular, but with those new Hits U Missed, I’m listening to him more than usual (Nawledge, if you are reading this, email me, contact info on the side bar). There was a lot of stuff on J Dilla this week with his birthday and the anniversary of his death just recently passed. I’ve been zeroed in on a lot of his material this week, even some of his sample sources, which shows why he was even more of a genius. You’ll be missed Jay Dee!

3. De La Soul – Buhloone Mindstate & Stakes Is High
So I broke down and joined that Last FM thing, I’m always into things like that anyway. Well it tracks your listening habits and all that, and this week De La was my leading artist plays, which kind of surprised me. I definitely listen to music other ways than just on my computer, but still, I didn’t realize that I had played De La that much this week. Well it started with someone reminded me of Buhloone Mindstate, maybe it was Scholar posting up “I Am I Be” last week on “Souled On”. I’m a HUGE De La fan, but when Buhloone Mindstate dropped, I was like a lot of people, it just went over my head. I eventually corrected my ways but I still find some mind blowing thing about that album every time I listen to it. And naturally when I think De La, I have to pull out my favorite De La album, “Stakes Is High”.

4. Atmosphere Discography
Yeah, I know it’s not always “cool” to like Atmosphere, but I’ve always liked their music. I’m an emotionally wacked out person anyway, so the Emo stuff fits me pretty good when I need it and this was one of those weeks where I put my mp3 disk of Atmosphere stuff in my headphones and bitch about drinking too much and women.

5. Brother Ali – Undisputed Truth
The advance of this has leaked. I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest Ali fan in the world, but I’m starting to like the sound of this album. In the past, Ali’s voice just graded on me after a few songs, and it still does kind of, but DAYUUM, Ant came correct with the beats again….which leads us into another episode of……

WHY??????
Why is Ant so highly underrated as far as a producer?
Why does Football end so soon and baseball can’t start soon enough?
Why do I have a bad feeling about the Steelers new coach?
Why don’t I have tomorrow off….fuck!
Why doesn’t “Paul’s Boutique” get the credit for one of the best produced albums that it is?
Why did no one ever use the Dust Brothers again in hip hop?
Why did I laugh so uncontrollably at the movie “Beerfest”? I guess it’s so stupid it’s funny.
Why do the first few months of every new year suck so much for new music releases.
Why do I hate Redman’s new album cover?
Why are there so few women bloggers?
Why does free releases via the internet seem like the new rave, ie Talib & Madlib and the new Little Brother? (not that I’m arguing)
Why does the RIAA continue to shoot themselves in the foot ie the DJ Drama arrest?
Why haven’t I listened to Nas’ or Jay’s new albums all the way through in months?
Why is this site so disturbing, yet so incredibly funny?
Why does the NBA Slam Dunk contest suck so much compared to what it used to be?

In Closing……Questions about the Site…forums?
It seems that we have some hosting space to use up. Chris, who created Bombfirst.com, has some bandwidth which he has offered to let us use in some capacity. Chris has been extremely helpful in the behind the scenes of this blog, coming up with the design and the such and might even be able to post some stuff up in the future, which I’ll never argue with the others posting and taking some of the weight off of me. Anyway, we have been kind of brainstorming on how to use this space to our advantage. We thought about maybe doing some type of a forum. My question would be, would anyone use it? I don’t want to try to do something like that if no one used the thing. I know I’m not the most active forum person in the world, I’m only really active on one forum (mastaace.com), but if done right, it can be a nice place to exchange music, discuss, learn and build on hip hop. Or do any of you have any other ideas on how to use this free space. I don’t want to use it for hosting files, for legality reasons, but I would hate to see this go to waste.

Last thing, I’ve toyed with the idea of changing the design of the site. Maybe I should talk to Chris before I go doing this, cause I have no fuckin’ clue what I’m doing when it comes to that. But it’s been b
rought to my attention from someone I have a great amount of respect for (thanks Mr. O-Dub) that sometimes having white lettering on a dark back ground isn’t always the best way to go about things. I personally never thought about it, but he has a point. Plus, since I’m a person that can never stay in one place for more than 3 years, I like change from time to time. Anyone have any thoughts on the design of the site? I mean, I like it the way it is, but I want to hear other peoples thoughts.

That’s it, that’s all, I’m going to lay on the couch and wish I had something other than fucking NASCAR to watch…..

Trav-O