As with any lifestyle, Hip-Hop gets old from time to time — slipping into a state where I don’t want to hear another boom bap, basic 4, hi-hat tap, two-step-able beat. Events and shows become an obligation as I stand in the back choking down a bitter by-the-glass wine or Heineken. Even wack music becomes more attractive than average music because there’s way too much of the latter and a few brilliant, multi-faceted gems of the former.

But when I start having discussions about how “It’s So Cold In The D” makes “Cupcakin’” seem fresh, it’s my chief indication that:

A) The rap game is barely making par right now (bogies heavily outweighing birdies)
B) The Game is barely making par right now (…smh…)
C) It’s time to dust off the joints that remind me this is a lifestyle, not a hobby — I can neither turn my back on it, nor do I want to.

Here are the cuts that supersede any of my 40 Degree Days. The cuts that make me do the ugly face when they come on at the club or crib. The cuts that make all of the common garbage pass by with an eye roll and a track skip, knowing the great music is still out there and can still be produced for the masses…

Ghostface Killah – Nutmeg
Whether the opening soul sample, the looped flute and bass line, or RZA’s “…uptown, boo doop!…” nearly incomprehensible gift of rap gab, the joint goes hard as much as it hits the refresh button. Ghostface never fails to entertain, even when a nonplussed Hip-Hop head like yours truly gets blank faced.

Busta Rhymes – Everything Remains Raw
The kick at the top is dope, but it’s that snare snap before Bussa Buss drops the first “raw” that brings the spine tingle. Why have I rapped “I, make, sure ev-ery-thing re-mains, raw” to myself or in a person’s face for no reason at all on so many occasions?? You will understand when I form Voltron.

Kanye West Feat. Talib Kweli & Common – Get ‘Em High
Kudos to any DJ who drops the needle on this because even the chicks who don’t know what they’re listening to will hit the floor with their drinks up. The beat goes tough and Kanye’s quips alley-oop to one of Kweli’s best frivolous verses on record — the kind you commit to memory immediately.

Outkast – Red Velvet
Little did you know that, hidden in the clos-et, is an Outkast banger catching Zzzz from everyone. On black sheep Stankonia, nestled between the bizarre “Humble Mumble”s and vastly overplayed “Ms. Jackson”s, is this electro-grime tale taking you to a ho (HO) tel (TEL) room (ROOM) shot up. Shit is quotable as soon as you drive that bitch off the lot, lot, lot…

On a recent post, King Petey said:

“music today aint movin me yall.

I find myself listening to alot of eastcoast mid nineties joints.”

True indeed. And I use the aforementioned from the past to pull my interest back to present day. We have to keep it moving, which is why we’re always looking for new talent here at TSS that gets us excited about the future.

On the same day theeducation system said:

YOU guys need to realize that you can’t just invent the next big thing and stuff it down peoples throats until it becomes big…

But it’s not even about that. It’s about being so frustrated with the current Big Things we’re forced to look outside of what’s being shoved down our throats and ears. We’re not trying to create talent, we’re trying to hear it… because these Big Things are uninspiring.

Raise your hand if you’re tired of rappers arguing on YouTube about the man-on-man world of video games, ring tone download sales and diamond incrusted chains. That shit is funny, but it ain’t fresh anymore. What’s always been dope in Hip-Hop is being different — and the only way to be different now is to make great music.

Not decent music… not good music… Great music. With a capital G.

Everything else just makes my lifestyle feel like a hobby.

Previously Posted — Being Bow Wow