Picture by Tori Boyd
I know the sound quality isn’t great but here is another gem from the Distant Relatives, Nas and Damian Marley from Rock The Bells 2009 in Chicago. I’m still salty I missed this shit. I’m not sure what the song title is but it is incredible that these two cats are on tour together and doing a whole album. I hope it is as good as it should be. Everything I have heard/seen has been really dope.
“We are not the same I am a Martian”
Don’t feel so bad because the whole world did too. Vibe Magazine is officially no more. They closed their doors after 16 years. Maybe they featured Lil Wayne just ONE too many times. If ya’ll don’t believe Lil Wayne is an alien by that picture then you all must be aliens. I can’t say that I am surprised about this or any other magazine shutting down especially with the internet. The internet is like the new Walmart. They just keep putting people out of business. Watch when journalists go out the door too because people’s attention spans are shorter than February. People don’t wanna read long, in depth articles that have a train of thought. Like music, if people don’t get it the first time, they won’t listen again. It’s a shame but it is the way of the world. I think Goodie Mob predicted it back in 98, “They Don’t Dance No Mo.” Damn shame people. Is anyone else under the belief that the world MIGHT be coming to an end? I’m pretty optomistic but crazy shit just seems to be happening more and more every day.
Enjoy some Goodie Mob
Drake rocking Fakes??????
After writing my post this morning about J. Cole, I was having another discussion with some people about Drake and the same points always come up about this new generation of emcees/rappers. Why are these average cats getting love and shine like they are the greatest things since the snuggie? Wait bad comparison. How about since honey mustard sauce from Chik-Fil-A. Yea much better. Maybe I am just getting older and losing touch with a lot of what’s going on now but the newest wave of emcees, minus a few, are so average that it hurts. I would almost listen to Soulja Boy because at least everyone knows that he sucks. It seems like just because hip hop is worse than it is ever been, people are getting passes for being halfway decent. Cats are standing out in the worst time period for hip hop. I just get confused because blogs, DJs and fans are acting like these cats are bringing hip hop back. I get confused because it seems like everyone has just forgotten what DOPE music really is. Does anyone listen to cats like Royce, Elzhi, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, The Roots????? I mean REALLY listen. Think back to the late 80′s and 90′s about how many classic albums came out and compare that to that last 8 years. The trend is obvious. I’m not sure if emcees/rappers nowadays compare their music to the times are compare their music to the classics but maybe that is the problem. Artist’s just catering to the times. I know when I think about music or write music or record music, I compare my music to the classic. As an artist who truly loves every aspect of creating music, I want my music to stand the test of time and not an artist who just stood out during his time. It just feels like these artists nowadays just want to stand out during their time, which nowadays, to a real emcee should be an insult. I don’t a lot of these cats are terrible but they are so average that it hurts. They are celerated for obvious punchlines, lazy concepts and decent hooks. Just because someone is rocking a decent beat with decent lyrics, although more thought provoking than “do that stanky leg” doesn’t make it a great song. I like what a lot of these cats stand for and their approach to music “appears” to be in the right place but the music simply does not support the hype. Maybe being objective and open to new music is a bad thing especially when it means that anyone with a microphone and a love for hip hop is considered to be a real emcee. Maybe we as fans of hip hop need to step our game up and set some standards because honestly, I’m sick of seeing decent rappers getting pegged as GREAT. Ya’ll as fans are falling off too. This new generation will be know as the “getting by’ers.” I’m gonna go listen to some more Pharoahe Monch because “ain’t no such things as halfway nice.”
My ace, Dakota Blue recently just dropped some new pictures of the Thunderheist, He Say She Say and Money Penny show he went too. I can’t say that I have heard any music from the artists but he said the show was dope and the pictures, of course, turned out ill. Check a few of my favorites and the rest of the set at Dakota’s Flickr.
Call me a hater or just schlow to hop on bandwagons(I call myself a trendsetter…smh) but I rarely rush out to listen to the newest internet rapper with a song/mixtape that everyone pegs as “dope, refreshing, a beast.” I tend to stick to my guns and welcome referrals from friend’s whose musical taste I trust. Today I went WAY out on a limb and put in “Roc Nation’s” first artist, J. Cole. Hailing from Fayetteville, NC, I figured dude would have a Little Brother or Petey Pablo feel. Ignorant I know. I got a couple of his mixtapes on Sunday night and put in The Warm Up this morning. Keep in mind I’m only 9 tracks deep so I haven’t given dude a fair shot but the music is cool. Dude definitely has some talent. None of the songs I have heard are bad. None have blown me away though. As an MC, I hate comparisons but if someone sounds like someone else, that’s what it is. Dude sounds like like Drake and Blu put together. Not a bad combination though. As a true fan of hip hop and the way that it CAN make people feel, I don’t feel right saying J. Cole is that dude because so far I haven’t gotten that feeling. Everyone knows what feeling I’m talking about. Regardless though, J. Cole is definitely a step in the right direction. It’s weird though because it seems like the newest trend in hip hop are the decent MCs with decent songs. Guys that show a personal, conscious side, love hoes, want to be fly and all kind of have the same style. Drake, Wale, J. Cole, Mickey Factz, (enter any other internet rapper), etc…………Like I said though, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. I suggest you guys listen to dude and decide for yourself. I hope he really is signed to Roc Nation and I hope he does well though. Like Wale and Drake, I like what he “stands” for. I guess we will really see when those singles and that album drops with exec’s in his ear. Oh yea, and my theme song for the day is from Chicago’s illest, Lupe Fiasco, Hurt Me Soul. For some reason, I woke up this morning singing this song nonstop. I been making up my own lyrics all morning. “My job is bogus, I swallowed a locust, I want my Jordans, my girlfriend’s snoring and I got no place to goooooooo.”
Enjoy
Shout out to Nia Long for clarifying what song I was singing.
I wasn’t fortunate enough to go to Rock The Bells this year in Chicago(2nd year in a row……sigh) but The League’s own, Tori Boyd, was in attendance with a press pass to take flicks. He hit me up yesterday morning and started sending me pictures. Needless to say, he got INCREDIBLE pictures. Some of them will even be printed and put up on my wall. Check out a few of my favorites. Apparently he has a TON more and they will be in my possession this week.
Check out some more of the pics at Tori’s Flickr
I didn’t get a chance to see Erykah Badu perform with The Roots on Jimmy Fallon Friday but I know they killed it. Check out the audio of the tribute they did to Michael Jackson. Usually I don’t fuck with tribute songs but c’mon it’s The Roots and Erykah Badu. They know what they are doing. The video footage should be up tonight or tomorrow and I will definitely put that up soon.
The road to stardom(haha) has many challenges but perhaps the most difficult is seeing pictures and videos of all the BEACHES dressed up for the award shows. Take a look at what I mean.
I know I better be invited to the 2011 BET Awards. GOOD LAWD thats a lot of money.
“rapped like a mummy, not for the money, I could have sampled Diana Ross a long time ago”
Ahhhhhhhh……The days when Common actually meant what he said. JK. This Monday is looking a little brighter than the usual ones. The temperature/fever has seemed to break and I got a 4 day work week that ends with BBQ’s and a Caribbean Fest. Gregory Isaacs on the 4th. I began my day feeling rather sheepish that I slept on this album for so long. I must have been too busy D’ridin’ Lil Wayne to pay Pharoahe Monch’s Desire enough attention. I remember my buddy, Tawwwwwwwwd telling me how ill it was but I never gave the album a fair shot. However, this morning that shit kind of changed my life. I have been wanting to hear some new Pharoahe Monch since his verse on The Matrix from Black Milk’s Tronic but it never dawned on me to relisten to Desire. Thank God I finally did because I’m obsessed now. Desire is incredible for real. Pharoahes flow and lyrical prowess are unbelievable. I actually paused the album for 5 minutes to try to do my freestyle imitation of Monch. I see a new style in my future. I used to bump his first solo project, Internal Affairs HEAVY back in high school and Desire does not disappoint. It is a little more political and serious than Internal Affairs but Pharoahe still rips every song. He is similiar to a Black Thought or an Elzhi in the fact that he never dumbs down his flow or lyrics for any song, regardless of topic. Pharoahe even goes hard on female tracks. It’s crazy. It is hard for me to pick a favorite song on Desire yet so in spirit of a great weekend, a 4 day work week and Michael Jackson’s life and death, here is the whole album. Listen intently with open ears. I think that was my mistake the first time. Actually my favorite joint on the album is the skit at the end of Let’s Go. Dude raps about giving himself a stranger(if you don’t know you better axxx somebody).
Download Pharoahe Monch-Desire
1. Intro
2. Free
3. Desire
4. Push
6. What It Is
8. Let’s Go
9. Body Baby
10. Bar Tap
11. Hold On
12. So Good
13. Trilogy
14. Agent Orange(UK Bonus)
15. Book of Judges(Best Buy Bonus)
16. Fuck You(Soundtrack Version)
There isn’t a lot more that I can say that hasn’t already been said about Michael Jackson, his music and his legacy. It is an absolute tragedy that the undisputed King of Pop, King of everything is dead. His life will forever be shadowed by controversy and mystery but his reach and the power of his music is universal. I can honestly say that I have NEVER seen a person’s life and death have so much affect on the world. The immediate outburst of sadness and loss flooded every media outlet. Twitter and Facebook were updated with NOTHING but shock and disbelief. Even when Obama was elected, the amount of buzz did not match what it was yesterday, when the rumors and ultimately the confirmation of Michael Jackson’s death reached the internet. This will undoubtedbly go down as one of the biggest moments in world history. I know our society places too much weight and attention on entertainers and celebrities, portraying them as larger than life and sometimes mythical characters. We often take the human out of celebrities and place them in such a light where we expect nothing but perfection. With Michael Jackson, that persona and that label almost seemed fitting but not fair. He grew up in the spotlight and never had a moment of his life that was not in the public eye. He had to become a man with the entire world watching, all the while fighting his past and his own demons. It is VERY sad. I cannot imagine what his life was like on a day to day basis. However, with all of the drama and controversy that surrounded Michael Jackson, especially in his later years, one thing that will go down in history and is a testiment to his legacy is the true power of his music. Michael Jackson crossed so manny barriers that might never be crossed again. From race to age, from language for culture, Michael Jackson touched nearly everyone person in the entire world with his music. That is overwhelming to even think about. His music transcended him as a person and brought common ground to people from the most different walks of life. There isn’t a person in the world(maybe a few) that didn’t know who he was and that has not heard his music. Often times cultural, language and racial barriers seem so difficult to cross that it is impossible to imagine having anything in common with large portions of the world. I can honestly say that Michael Jackson is one of the commonalities. He was absolutely adored for his music, as he should have been. The world will never see another Michael Jackson and regardless of his life and the personal decisions that he made, he should(and will) be remembered for the part of his life that brought an entire world together, his music. Michael Jackson is loved. Michael Jackson is missed. But Michael Jackson and his music will NEVER be forgotten. That is the true power of music. My thoughts, prayers and tears go out to his family, friends and the entire world because he touched nearly every human on this planet. That is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!! RIP Michael Joseph Jackson.
