The real hip hop is

Over here!

Now I cant really fault Nas for his Hip Hop is dead sentiment when I see and hear some of the stuff that passed for hi[p hop these days.

That said there is still an underground revolutionary movement fighting back against the machine trying to keep REAL hip hop alive. So to do my part I'm a present a couple of tracks that I think

Joell Ortiz spits that fire! Been listening to the Bodega Chronicles all day and Joell is nice with his. Solid mixtape/album all in all and one of the highlights is this track 125 grams.




"This is for those that don't know the half"

Another nice track is Nostalgia from Marco Polo featuring Masta Ace. Now Ace is one of my top 5 mcs of all time. I've been feeling him since Me and the Biz. Slaughterhouse, Sitting on Chrome, Disposable Arts, Long Hot Summer all classics in my book. Ace has successfully brought it with his one beat on beat style and while never making it big in the mainstream is one of the older hip hop stars who hasn't lost his skills and continues to put out solid work without sounding dated.




And last but not least.......

Classic! Spanning the next school and the new school Premier, Rakim, KRS-one, Nas and Kanye West.



After listening to these tracks how can we say hip hop is dead! Naa it may be on life support but its not dead yet.

Rakim Toronto

Pretty nice show if I say so myself


Paid in Full

the E to the P to the

I can turn the party out just by standin still
Make the ladies scream and shout while the brothers act ill
Take total control, of your body and soul
Pack a nine in my pants for when it's time to roll

You gots to chill - EPMD


Heard that EPMD was reuniting for a performance this fall at BB king in NYC. Erick & Parish Making Dollars (EPMD) they say have not performed together in 7 or 8 years. Wow, has it been that long?

I remember those Brentwood Long Island cats from Strictly Business back in 1988; "Jane Haircut like Anita Baker" and all that. One of the most influential hip hop groups in the past two decades up there with a Tribe Called Quest.

I remember cats using trademark EPMD terms like getting the Bozack and doing the Steve Martin. Ok well what can I say I'm old. lol

What an influential hip hop group though. Just look at the careers that EPMD have spawned. Das Efx, K-Solo, Redman, Stezo, Dj Scratch and on his own Erick Sermon brought the most beautifulliest MC Keith Murray to light. Hit Squad, Def Squad and all that. Strictly Business, Business as Usual, Business Never Personal, Unfinished Business. That word business in their album titles was a trademark. Those cats were all about the business.

And it was ironically business that broke them up in the first place. Beefs over money allegedly leading to home invasions and all that. Both parties took their acts on the road and went solo. Erick had way more success than Parish though producing crazy hits for many an artist as well as making a name for himself sampling Marvin Gaye for his (Erick's) hit song music.

They got back together and produced two albums in the late 90s but it just wasn't the same. The vibe couldn't be the same after all how can you be friends with a cat who had allegedly sent his boys into your spot to attack your friends and family. But this is EPMD so again it was a business decision. After all they did say its business never personal.

Anyway if you don't know about Erick and Parish go ask somebody. Here's a look at a couple of their hits. Headbanger wasn't really typical EPMD in my opinion but was more a product of the 1992 hardcore era still just on lyrical content especially the Redman verse this is a hellavu track.




You've got to chill with the Jungle Boogie sample combined with some Zapp was more indicative of early classic EPMD joints. Enjoy

Freestyle!

freestyle Fanatic probably the best around
as for corny mcs like Chuck D I shut em down

Scenario - Phife Dog


Was inspired to write about the art of freestyle by these wack mcs I saw on BET today. Challenger and Champion were both terrible but hey what do I know I haven't watched Freestyle Fridays since the days of Jin and this one cat from down south who won 5 weeks in a row.

So freestyling what is it? The art of going off the top of the dome, spitting that hot ish, creating a line on the spot so deliciously inventive that the crowd does a double take.

Yea its kind of hard, takes lots of practice and you just have to have the skillz to be able to think fast and spit faster.

Anyway I youtubed freestyle and came across a half decent Freestyle Friday battle between some cat called PL and another cat. First round PL dropped a line like "Those lines you should hold em in, before you win, Free will come out slap Julissa and host this show again" and the second round well just watch the video and see.




Pretty creative isn't it.

I mean yea a neatly constructed verse a la Rakim or Nas or some old otherworldly, crazy scientific George jetson type Can-i-bus type spitting is hot but watching and realizing that a cat just took what was in his surroundings, what he was witnessing, hearing, smelling or feeling around him and incorporated that into a line that made sense and fit into his rhymes there just aint nothing else in hip hop like that. NOTHING! And it doesn't matter if the cat is a big name artist with the bling or a lil grimy dude with 15 cents in his pocket. Its a gift and those who got it, got it, those who don't don't even try.

And yea plenty big name cats cant freestyle. Don't get it twisted. Just cause the rhyme isn't on their album yet doesn't mean its a freestyle.

And great freestylers do not necessarily translate into great records. Supernats output has been questionable and so has Jins but then a so it a go sometimes.

Anyway in the annuls of great freestylers certain names stand out; KRS-one, Craig G, Supernatural even this newbie Jin so here's a freestyle. Here is one of the great ones Supernat busting it down from the movie Freestyle

Guantanemera

If your name was Chun-Li, we'd be playin Street Fighter.



I could actually argue that the Carnival was a better album than the Score but I'd probably cause a whole set of hoopla amongst Hip Hop fans. I can remember when I first heard both albums though which is kind of rare given the amount of music I listen to. Heard the Score the Friday before Reading week late Feb 1996. Was actually on my way to the bus station to head for "the D" when I decided to kill some time and stop in Play De to see what was new. Surprise of surprises a new Fugee album. Somehow back then all the really good album releases snuck up on me. Anyway bought the cassette and well needless to say I killed that ish on the 5 hr bus ride and when I came back me and my boys was all over that album. My favorite song was Zealots with lines from Clef like
I haunt MC's like Mephistopheles, bringin swords of Damocles
Secret service keep a close watch as if my name was Kennedy
Abstract raps simple with a street format
Gaze into the sky and measure planets by parallax

and Lauryn with the
"behold, as my odes, manifold on your rhymes Two MC's can't occupy the same space at the same time".

That was some crazy we got to rewind that joint ish.

The Carnival well bought it late Spring or early summer of 97. Was finishing up Grad School and living in a basement in the Annex. I remember listening to it once and being like whatever, then when I settled down for the crazy intensive thesis write up this album was my theme music.

Anyway I've decided to revamp the blog a bit with the help of Youtube. Now I'll just be dropping a video (and I might throw in some reggae some of the time), and dropping a couple of paragraphs.

Peace!

one more time

I posted this one in may last year and no one got it so i'm bringing it back once again

Its kinda like that movie falling down with Michael Douglas
I feel the struggle is ill I smuggle this ......

this one is easy

I plan to grow dreads
but first a nappy fro
the longer the hair
the easier to scare a foe