Tag Archives: Mos Def

Blackroc “Ain’t Nothing Like You(Hoochie Coo)”

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The Black Keys

Today might come as a suprise to many of you, or not but Monday night, my guy Tom sent me a video for Blackroc’s video, Ain’t Nothing Like You(Hoochie Coo) featuring Mos Def and Jim Jones.  I saw this video on onsmash.com but wasn’t itching to listen to it, mainly because of Jim Jones.  Well, to my own surprise, this song blew me away.  Not necessarily Jim Jones on it but Mos Def’s hook/verse/bridge or whatever and the production.  This shit seriously sounds amazing.  For those of you confused what Blackrock is, Blackrock is a project put together by Dame Dash and The Black Keys featuring a bunch of hip hop acts like Ludacris, Rza, Pharoahe Monch, Q-Tip and Nicole Wray.  I wasn’t really checking for this project until I heart Ain’t Nothing Like You.  Now I think this might be one of the dopest, most creative projects of 2009.  I don’t want to count chickens before they hatch but it would be dope to see Dame Dash release another well-received project.  This song is infectious.  I wish Mos Def would have been the only one on the track but Jim Jones doesn’t sound too bad on it.  Shout out to Dame Dash and The Black Keys for making this project happen.  Enjoy this incredible joint on hump day and stayed tuned for the Blackrock project.  I will keep everyone posted.

 

Center Edge Territory

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I got an email from my guy Andres about a new SUPERGROUP that is emerging in hip hop and then read the confirmation on HipHopDx this morning.  Mos Def, Jay Electronica and Lil Wayne’s one-time protegee, Currensy The Hot Spitter have formed a group called Center Edge Territory.  Now, I don’t know if this is a cruel joke being played on Currensy or Mos Def and Jay Electronica REALLY formed a group but this is the most random shit I have ever heard.  Slaughterhouse seemed to make sense.  Even The Undergods with Canibus and Keith Murray made some sense but I am at a loss to why, how, what the F is happening with this group.  I know Currensy has been holding his own on the internet ever sense leaving Young Money but I never thought a group would be formed with Mos and Jay E.  Can anyone give me a possible reasoning.  Apparently they all met at Dame Dash’s studio or some shit and have recorded 6 songs towards an album.  I can’t even imagine what this shit is going to sound like.  I guess the only thing left to do is to tip my hat to Currensy for linking with some ill ass dude.  I will keep everyone updated with new information as we find out.  My next question is, are rappers REALLY suffering THAT bad where they have to form “supergroups” that make absolutely no sense? Where is Kweli????  Hip hop seems to be VERY confused about now. 

 

Mos Def, Black Thought and Eminem Cypher at BET Hip Hop Awards

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I feel like Katt Williams, “This shit right HERE!!!!!!!!!!!” I only watched a couple performances from the BET Hip Hop Awards last night and unfortunately Gucci Mane was 3 of them but I did get to see Goodie Mob tear shit up.  I heard about the cypher with Mos Def, Black Thought and Eminem and I just now watched and listened and (my jaw is on the ground).  I just want to let some people know that, if you rap/emcee and you are any where content with your skills and abilities on the mike, unless your Elzhi or Pharoahe Monch or one of these three guys, you NEED to work harder.  This shit is amazing.  Props to BET giving a little bit of shine to some of the games greatest and for the Goodie Mob performance.  With that said, I am going to retract those props to BET for letting Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane and Shawty Lo perform Gucci Bandana. 

I am going to watch the rest of the cyphers now.  I heard Budden spazzes too.

Get Ta Steppin

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Hi-Teknology

Everyone can breathe now, it’s finally Friday.  I got an urge last night after being in the studio with Rob Bates, Maja 7th, Dave Coresh, Chuck LI and Classick to listen to some old Rawkus shit again.  I’m not sure why I have been on Rawkus so tough lately.  Maybe I miss high school and feel like I need to go back.  BTW Classic shit coming from The League of OGs, Maja 7th, Dave Coresh and Chuck LI.  You can check Dave and Chuck on the Formal Introduction Tour in Memphis, Milwaukee and St Louis.  They put on a really dope show.  Anyway, last night I had my mind made up that I was going to listen to DJ Hi Tek’s first album, Hi Teknology.  This album came out back in 01.  Hi Tek released The Sun God with Common and Round and Round featuring Jonell for the singles.  Both tracks are really dope, in fact the whole album is really dope.  My favorite joint today is Get Ta Steppin featuring Mos Def and Vinia Mojica.  This is actually one of my favorite Mos Def songs of all time.  It has an incredible vibe that just puts you in a great mood.  You cant’ possibly be in a bad mood when listening to this joint.  I might put it on repeat all day and try to figure out the steps they are singing in the song.  I wonder what Vinia Mojica is doing these days.  She used to bless so many dope tracks.  Once again, Happy Friday to all.  Make sure you check out Dave Coresh and Chuck LI in Milwaukee, Memphis or St Louis and grab the tour mixtape from Dave. 

Body Rock

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Body Rock

The last day of vacation is always the hardest.  At least I don’t have to go to work tomorrow.  If you get a chance, come to Cobra Lounge in Chicago tonight and catch House on Mars, Mindsight, March on Command and Me perofrm.  It is the official album release party of Mindsight’s side project House on Mars and I got the opportunity to be featured on the album for a track called Bailout.  It turned out crazy.  I’m anxious to hear what people think.  This might be my only post today until I touch back down in Chicago later this afternoon but I wanted to bless everyone with a classic from Rawkus Lyricist Lounge Volume 1.  Anyone still have a cd or vinyl of that album?  If ya’ll aren’t familiar with Rawkus Records, do some research.  They had some of the dopest artists and best hip hop projects of all time.  Mos Def, Tash and Q-Tip dropped a gem, Body Rock from that project and I still bump  this joint on the regular.  I didn’t know there was a music video for this joint but I stumbled on it while searching on youtube.  A very pleasant surprise.  The artwork is CRAZY too.  Enjoy a classic joint and a classic video and make sure you come out tonight to Cobra Lounge and check us out.

Download Mos Def, Tash and Q-Tip

Worker’s Comp

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Mos Def

This is my first official broadcast live from the Jersey Shore.  Right now, I’m sitting at my step dad’s beach house and thanking my lucky stars that I don’t have to work for a week.  I was pleasantly surprised to read Large Marge’s post this morning.  I agree with him totally about Frakie Valli and The Four Seasons.  I used to bump and sing Sherry all the time.  Dude’s voice was incredible.  It’s a little hard for me to match his pitch now but I still try.  Field Mob is definitely an underrated group.  They were always different than anyone else and brought a fresh sound to hip hop.  They were no slouches on the mike either.  I’m glad Marge posted about them.  I was actually going through my Ipod the other day and came across their music.  Now I got to download all 3 of their albums.  I had high hopes from them when they signed with Ludacris and DTP.  They put out Light Poles and Pine Trees with DTP but didn’t see the type of success they should have.  Their lead single was So What featuring Ciara which actually featured a video model from my hometown, Topeka, Kansas.  Good shit Marge.  I haven’t had the chance to listen to a new album today but I have had Mos Def’s song, Worker’s Comp stuck in my head for 3 days.  Worker’s Comp is one of my favorite songs from The Ecstatic.  My only complaints is that it’s too short.  If you haven’t checked out The Ecstatic, I suggest you do so today.  It is an incredible album and will definitely be one of the best in 2009.  I will try to update the site as much as possible while I am on the Jersey Shore but I apologize if I leave everyone hanging.  I think you will be able to survive with all the classic material I have posted up until this point.  This would be a good time to dig through the archives of MikeSchpitz.com.  Happy Friday to everyone.  If you see me in the ocean on the boogie board today make sure you say hello.  Shout out to Large Marge for watching over my mom’s dog while we are on vacation.

The New Generation

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Drake

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.”

Pharoahe Monch-What It Is

How I Got Over

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The Roots

For all ya’ll who are a little late on things, The Roots are the house band for the Jimmy Fallon Show.  I can’t say I’m a fan of Fallon but The Roots definitely hold it down.  It ALMOST makes the show worth watching and OF COURSE the live perfomances with The Roots and musical guests are always ill.  Tonight, The Roots are using their newly found Late Night audience to release the first single and title track from their new album, How I got Over.  Dope ass name.  If you can stand watching Jimmy Fallon, tune in to hear The Roots new single.  If you can’t, you can guarantee that I will feature the song and video as soon as it is available.  Their album, How I Got Over is slated for an October 20th release and WILL BE amazing.  No question.  In the meantime, Check out Mos Def performing Quiet Dog with The Roots on the Jimmy Fallon Show

more about “Mos Def x The Roots, on Jimmy Fallon“, posted with vodpod

 

 

Hip Hop on a Higher Level???

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XXL XXL

A few of hip hop’s finest!!!!!!

Much like record industry, the magazine and print industry has suffered a major blow because of the internet and its accessiblity to information.  As soon as news happens, its on the internet.  Two of hip hop’s most “respected” magazines also seem to have lost their place in the hip hop world.  The most recent covers of XXL magazine have featured Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, Shawty Lo and OJ Da Juice and the following issue featured Fabolous and The Dream.  Now I don’t want to take a shot at any particular artist but if these are the people chosen to represent our culture for two months in a row, hip hop has definitely lost its way.  I can’t say that I am a fan of any of the artists featured, although I have listened to enough music from each one to be able to comment.  The fact that one of the only hip hop magazine’s continues to flood the public eye with artists who provide relatively no creativity, vision or passion for the culture is a shame.  I know it’s not fair to make the assumptions but let’s be real.  Fabolous is a label puppet.  He manages to stay relevant not do to his own talents but because he caters to the current state of hip hop.  When Nate Dogg was hot, Fabolous was on a track with Nate.  When The Neptunes were hot, Fabolous got tracks from them and now that The Dream is hot, Fabolous is using The Dream’s limelight to stay relevant.  It is a shame because Fab is no slouch on the mic.  He just really has no voice.  He says the same thing, the same way on every song.  He does whatever the label tells him to do.  These other artist don’t need to be addressed.  Their music is what it is.  XXL should be ashamed of themselves for continuously perpetuating how the rest of the world views hip hop.  If cats like The Roots, Blu, Wale, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco and Pharoahe Monch were consistently on the covers of magazines, MAYBE hip hop would not be viewed in such a negative light.  I mean Gucci Mane makes some of the most ridiculous(I mean ridiculously bad) music I have heard in recent years.  Is this how we want people to view the music and the culture?  This if my official challenge to XXL and The Source to grow some balls and help change how hip hop is portrayed in the mainstream.  You have the platform so now it is time to use it because if Fabolous, The Dream, Soulja Boy and Gucci Mane are hip hop on a higher level, I must be confused.

The Value of Music

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Unless you have been sleeping under a mountain or living in the lost city of Atlantis, you probably STILL have seen the decline of music sales of the last several years.  I’ll save my speculations of whys and whatfors but it is no secret that today’s record sales do NOT match the consumption.  In a recent trend, I have been seeing artists selling their new albums, Soulja Boy for $2.99 and Mos Def for $3.99, for damn near free.  As a music(hip hop) connoisseur, I must say that artists and labels should have done this AT LEAST 5 years ago and probably sooner when the decline first started happening.  It is too little too late now.  Music and particularly albums have damn near NO value now to anyone now.  Release dates mean nothing because albums are leaked on the internet at least a week before they come out in stores.  Singles leak almost a year in advance and now with the mixtape/single driven, disposable economy of music, people STILL aren’t going to buy an album even for $2.99(especially not soulja boy).  Artists like Radiohead have given their album out for the price people want to pay, free if you don’t want to pay anything.  Phonte from Little Brother was actually the person responsible for leaking their most recently album, The Getback with a message included for downloaders, “Don’t say Phonte never did nothing for ya’ll.”  It seems like people only act when they have no other choice(see Jay-Z’s new single DOA).  It’s a shame that artists are forced to lower the “value” of their music and themselves because of the internet but its a reality.  We just gotta find other ways to make money off music.  I can’t say it’s the worst thing in the world though because maybe artists will start making music for the love rather than for the money.  Do the Stanky Leg!!!!!!!!