Words By Patrick M.

For me, great Hip-Hop connects to the music I remember as a child and the songs I’ve listened to over and over again for the last fifteen years. The dynamic sounds of the ’90s: West Coast G-Funk battling with New York underground for musical dominance and bragging right. I obsess over that era, so much so that it affects my ability to enjoy new Hip-Hop.

But can you blame me? The music from that era is a different level of dope; the beats grimier, the rhymes wittier, the personalities bigger and the lyrics more raw. And one track that is the ideal of what Hip-Hop, specifically New York Hip-Hop, is supposed to sound like is Big L’s “Da Graveyard.”

The beat keeps it simple — a hard low piano chord and bass, a scratched chorus WITH a little high hat and snare. No complex synths, 808 polyrhythm, or Auto-Tune. Is it less musically rich and complex than the best beats of today? Sure. But the trade-off is that the beat becomes what it’s supposed to be; a platform for the MC. It’s up to the MC to carry the song and shape the mood with his or her voice and lyrical talents. No hiding behind a pretty sample.

And of course, “Da Graveyard” is five plus minutes of lyrical destruction. You can debate all day about whether Jay or Big L’s verse is the best, but personally I’m not going with anyone who is killing infants for ten cents, even if they’re waiting for me in the afterlife. But both verses are amongst the best of that era and the hardcore style, bragging and lyrical tricks used by those two screams NYC. The energy in the song feeds off the energy of Hip-Hop in NYC in 1995 with so many good MCs competing to make it out of the city and become stars. Moreover the Hip-Hop movement was just starting its reign of terror over music and American culture and was still little removed from its inner-city roots. You can feel the MCs hunger in the song.

Now Jay-Z rubs shoulders with the rich and famous while Big L lies in the ground. Now in ’09 Hip-Hop has matured and commercialized and maybe even be in decline. But the great music that’s been made along the way is eternal, and blasting “Da Graveyard” can always remind me of Hip-Hop’s potential and promise.

Big L Feat. Grand Daddy I.U., Jay-Z, Lord Finesse, Microphone Nut & Party Arty- Da Graveyard

Stray Shots

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Hollyweerd – Electricity Showroom Mixtape

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Chamillionaire – Hangin’ Wit’ Mr. Koopa-(2 Disc)

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DMX_And_The_Kennel_Family-Here_We_Go_Again__The_Mixtape_-_Bootleg_-2005

Ohio_Players-Skin_Tight 1974-Remastered-2007

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Vandalyzm – Megatron Majorz

Chaundon – Carnage

Stray Shots