It’s quite obvious that this is the LC show today as we presume the boys are off beating their collective meats in one hell of a competitive circle jerk pause. Since I have the time & space, I wanted to go back & shine light on the producers showcased in the consecutive/series of Fave Five’s we posted this week.

This isn’t in lieu of a regular The Week That Was. This is just an insightful series of pieces that needed additional light shined on them…

Shawn Jackson’s Fave Five

Read: Why Shawn cries a lot on the inside; What Hip-Hop legend used to be known as Baby John; How Yellowman usurps Redman. Read the rest of this entry »

Shawn Jackson is the best of both worlds — he’s laid back like the flow of his West Coast home, and raps with the flare of his East Coast roots; he’s unendingly cordial and friendly, and gully to the tune of a menacing gaze and air of someone who’d fuck you up; he bends beats to the will of his rhymes, and has the golden ear of classically trained musician.

With more glowing cosigns than you could shake a major label at, Shawn Jackson might just be Hip-Hop’s best kept secret. Blu named him as “The Future of Hip-Hop” in XXL, House Shoes will vouch for him as fast as for Guilty Simpson or any other family, and when Shawn first met Like from Pac Div, Like said in true fan fashion “You don’t understand, I have all of your music on my iPod.”

Without question, Shawn Jackson is one of the only rappers left standing who keeps me interested in Hip-Hop. There’s no pretense about him — he’s willing to smile and laugh when most industry folks stand on the sidelines baring near comical mean mugs. With Shawn’s deep understanding of how to make any beat his own, consider this look at his Fave Five a spin-off of the Beat Maker Series.

Bill Withers – +’justments

“It was an emotional album — the first album I respected top to bottom just based on pure emotion. It’s like a beautiful sounding album, too. I didn’t know Bill could sing. I think that was the first time I really respected a guy’s voice. Like he was definitely a manly dude, I’m not saying he was soft or nothing like that, but his voice just sounded crazy angelic. [Laughs] It’s just a dope record even to this day. I went out and bought a turntable just so I could play that record. I didn’t even have one when I had my records out. I had to go to a yard sale — I bought me an $8 table just Read the rest of this entry »

“Baby, I’m releasing an album on Christmas day,” House Shoes laughed and gently rubbed his fiancee’s pregnant belly. “No stores are open on Christmas, baby. How genius is that?”

This will be the first Christmas Shoes celebrates with his new family. A certain tranquility has set in on Detroit’s favorite DJ since the day he heard he’d be a father. His son will be named James DeShaun when he arrives in March — James, as in James “J Dilla” Yancey, and DeShaun, as in DeShaun “Proof” Holton. There was never a name seriously considered were Shoes to have a girl other than to take from his fiancee’s name (Leo) or, perhaps, just Buttercup… because “why not,” he joked. Buttercup Buchanan.

Shoes’ downy calm when around his fiancee or when discussing his son is most feverishly juxtaposed with the Newport-smoking, hail-storm-cussing, grizzly exterior of a man brow-beaten by time and circumstance. Once inside Shoes’ ring of trust he’s a gentle giant, but it takes years of loyalty to be viewed in his eyes as a genuine article worth a damn. Before you enter that circle, it’s in his music — not the music he spins, but rather the music he creates — you can hear House Shoes for who he really is. Sometimes thoughtful, sometimes cold and calloused, always with a profound understanding for the pull of humor and struggle on life.

Here are a few choice picks from House Shoes — a man who can spend endless hours digging for the records that move him in the dance between joy and pain.

Kaos and Mystro — Outcast Vol. 1

“Some Detroit shit — like ’89, ’90 — that was the first Detroit shit I heard that was on something serious. I was a freshman [in high school,] and I remember we had gym first hour and we would go in the locker room at like 7:30, and I’d have my radio. I’d have my radio on the bus — I got kicked off the bus in sixth grade for playing 2 Live Crew Read the rest of this entry »

Below The Heavens is a TSS-favored album of the highest order. It has become the yardstick by which fans and followers measure all other Blu projects. But much more is written and known about the project’s emcee than its beat maker.

Exile is one of the most artistically minded folks I’ve ever met, living in a house lined with touches of abstract art he’s constructed. He thinks and talks about the music he creates with similar rhythm to that of any painter or sculptor and clearly sees his sound in visuals. If you’ve ever had the chance to see Exile’s live MPC performance you’d be easily convinced of the physicality of his music.

With a new instrumental project, Radio — derived entirely from the media of its namesake — Exile takes the listener on an air wave journey through AM and FM, darkness and light, evil and good. Here’s a brief look into the inspirations of an artist whose music pays meticulous attention to sounds that create visuals.

Biz Markie – Goin Off

“The first thing I heard off this album was ‘Pickin’ Boogers.’ I guess I had to be about 13, hearing about ‘Big Daddy Kane eating boogers out his spaghetti.’ Read the rest of this entry »

14KT has generated the kind of word-of-mouth attention a beat maker could only dream of. A MySpace page can only do so much — beyond the parameters of the Internet the proof must be in the proverbial pudding. And it’s KT’s tapioca blend of silky smooth chunk and funk that made him the winner of Detroit’s Red Bull Big Tune beat battle, and sent him all the way to the semi-final round of the championships in New York earlier this month.

KT’s beats have always conveyed emotions to me better than any lyrics could, which is exactly the tenor of his recent instrumental release The Golden Hour soundtrack. What’s most prevalent in his sound is an obvious love and respect for all music. He’s a fan of artists and albums outside of his studio, his city and his genre. He’s a student of sound. And it’s with that understanding that I approached KT to ask him about five of his favorite albums to gain insight on the mind of a man who hears new music in the old. Who draws inspiration from the inspired.

Outkast – ATLiens

“This is my all-time favorite album. It dropped August 27, 1996. I remember riding my bike to the record store and Read the rest of this entry »

On an unseasonably warm Lexington, Kentucky, afternoon Motown’s resident bad guy, Trick Trick, and about ten of his boys rolled up to the front door of UK’s campus radio station. Trick Trick was on a promotional tour for his new album The Villain and was hitting all major college radio outlets in the mid-west, which is what brought the caravan of murdered-out Escalades into the University of Kentucky student center parking lot and what eventually led to one of the most interesting interviews I’ve done to date. Read the rest of this entry »

Generally what you hear from the final product of an album doesn’t represent the entire creation process. Scrapped songs and altered production ironically are the setbacks that constitute forward progress.

Still fresh with the aroma from the 4 Cigs caused by his debut album White Van Music, Jake One caught up with TSS to break down the origins of the album’s bonus track “Hurt U,” which features the efficacious pairing of Pharoahe Monch and Kardinal Offishall. Read the rest of this entry »

The moment the vibraphone and bassline drop simultaneously, you hear it: timelessness. It’s clear even through to the breakdown, as one of “them old heads” whistles away.

Six years later, “Guess Who’s Back” has lost none of its luster. It was and still is the Everest-like zenith of a truly classic album. Everyone involved donned the Teflon to assume a form that none of them may be able to touch again. Read the rest of this entry »

The album cover might be a lost art in these days of consumers who don’t make the trip to their local record shops to purchase physical copies. For many of us, album covers & liner notes have always been part of the experience of the album, an essential part. Hip-Hop has had it’s fair share of great album covers to go along with some not-so-great ones as well.

Needless to say, when we first saw Big Kuntry King’s album cover for his Grand Hustle debut, My Turn To Eat, there were mixed emotions. On one hand, we “got it”…but at the same time we had to think “who the fuck greenlighted this shit?”

So before we wrote it off, we decided to reach out to Kuntry to get some of the backstory & an explanation on the cover. And what follows are his words as told to the Crew’s D. Chanda regarding the thousand dollar burger that any fast food employee would be envious of.

One thing’s for sure — We can’t make this type of shit up on our own.

TSS: Let’s talk about the album cover.

Kuntry: (Laughs) Aww shit. You liked it?

TSS: I thought it was hilarious. Was that the intention?

K: You see, me, I’m a practical joker. I talk shit and have fun but I’m for real. So I said, ‘Well, do I wanna be a rapper showing my gangsta lean with my chain on? Nah, I don’t wanna do that same old shit.’ So what I did was put the money in the burger to represent my turn to eat so you can see the sense of humor about it but then say, ‘That’s what I want.’ When you see that burger, everybody wants a burger like that. I want that. That’s a lot of money in that burger. Almost damn six or seven thousand dollars in that burger. So it represents the hustle, period. You know, if we had light bulbs or question marks come on the top of your head, when we hustle, that’s what we should see: that burger with that money. Now let’s get it. It’s our turn to eat.

TSS: So the intention was to be both out-of-box and comical? Read the rest of this entry »

If you listen to rap music, chances are you’ve fallen in love with a Nate Dogg chorus. Even if you hardly ever listen to rap, you’ve probably found yourself signing along with the legendary West Coast crooner at some point in your life. His impact on modern music has been profound as he has shared the recording booth with everyone from Pac to Mos Def. Despite countless classic hooks and guest spots as well as some strong solo material, no DJ has ever tackled a best of Nate mixtape…until now.

Read on as The Crew’s DJ Sorce-1 gets the lowdown on the making of DJ Steve1der’s Nate In ’08, the first ever, all Nate Dogg mix.

TSS: Before we get things started, well done on the Nate in ’08 mix. I’ve had the idea to do a tape like that for a while, but you beat me to the punch. I’m a little bit jealous.

DJ Steve1der: (Laughs) That’s funny because it was on my plate for a minute and I finally had the time and piece of mind to do it recently. I’m glad I was finally able to finish it.

TSS: When I first listened to the mix, I was expecting it to be focused on his radio hits and guest spots. I like how you kept a balance between his recognizable stuff and his more obscure material. You were able to pull it off without the quality of the music hurting.

DJ Steve1der: I definitely wanted to make the mix his best work but at the same time make it interesting. I’m not up on all of his material, especially his solo stuff. Luckily I have some friends who put me up on some of his lesser known joints that were featured on the mix. I was glad to get a full CD worth of quality material and have it mostly be him and not too many of the other artists that he has worked with.

TSS: Do you own any of Nate’s solo albums?

DJ Steve1der: I have the 213 album The Hard Way, which is really slept on. It didn’t get much credit in the mainstream. I have some of the singles off of his Music and Me album, but I never really got into the album itself.

TSS: What equipment did you use to put the tape together? Read the rest of this entry »

Stay out in the scene long enough and some artists are going to stick in your life like spaghetti on a wall. Some become acquaintances, some become phone numbers in your Blackberry, some become friends. Some you’ll avoid the “So what do you think?” music conversation with, with every fiber of your being. And then some you’re a fan of the music as much as the person…

Enter: Buff1

When I met Buff he was nearing graduation from University of Michigan and he was doing shows as part of rap collective Athletic Mic League (which is still together, despite articles specifying otherwise). Since then Buff’s gone solo, released two hot-cake mixtapes and a 2007 underground diamond with his first LP, Pure. He was named “Best Solo Rapper” in Real Detroit magazine and struck a balance between aligning with Michigan Hip-Hop, and railing against an industry-wide standard to conform.

Today Buff is releasing his sophomore effort with A-Side Worldwide – There’s Only One. It’s rife with Lab Techs electro-soul and pulls the open hand of Pure into a lyrical fist. Through the raise-your-drink cuts, to the calling-all-troops tracks, to the pop-your-speakers joints, one overriding sentiment is clear — Buff is a tried and true blue Hip-Hop head. He lives it like he loves it, and their stories are one in the same.

Buff and I talked about his favorite picks for five different arenas of Hip-Hop. I asked him to expound on There’s Only One, the importance of family and being an emcee that prides himself on being a consummate showman who stays true indeed…

1. Favorite Album

You can make a strong argument for any of Outkast’s albums being their best but… from the cover art and the comic book theme, to the “You May Die” intro, to rhyming over no drums on “E.T. (Extraterrestrial)”… ATLiens is my favorite from my favorite group. It didn’t sound like anything else at the time and nothing else sounds like it today. And this album was when my favorite emcee, Andre 3000, started to really come into his own.

2. Favorite Live Act

Though Kanye’s “Glow In The Dark” show may be the best I’ve ever seen… I’m gonna have to go with The Roots because they’ve been doing it for over 15 years. On top of that, the band element always makes it a little more special to me… and Black Thought obliterates it every time — never messes up the lyrics, never loses his breath, never loses his voice, and he even freaks the lyrics different than they are on the records and does it without trippin himself up, he’s a beast! Read the rest of this entry »

At the mention of TSS, Wale said “That was one of the first sites to mention me.”

We’ll proudly pin that up with our collection of flair because Wale, more than likely, has next. His debut is set to be something heavy with Interscope backing and ‘Ye, Just, 9th, Neptunes and Swizz all behind the boards. “Eghck!” word to P. Thornton.

We still have a minute before we see if dude can deliver, but his track record is on point – from doing his go-go thing on 2006′s underground Hate Is The New Love to this past May’s The Mixtape About Nothing. Hitting the game up with free .99 tapes, Wale’s been serving up deals better than stolen iPhones. No wonder he could and did do a release party for a damn mixtape.

Set to get on with the Rock The Bells trek, Wale gave TSS Crew member D. Chanda his Fave Five tracks he’s done so far including a few from The Mixtape About Nothing, and kicked some little-known knowledge about himself as well.

‘Stronger’ Freestyle

“I love this one where I’m talkin’ about my football and all that. That brought me to talk about my football past and I never really mentioned it and I feel like it hit every point so well, youknamean.”

“The Kramer”

“Because of the artistic aspect of it how like it’s like drawing a perfect circle, you know what I’m sayin’, manually. You just look at it like ‘Shit, I just did that.’ It is impossible to draw a perfect circle, but if you did one, you look at it like, ‘Oh shit!’” Read the rest of this entry »

I thought it would be good to rerun this joint since it got swept under the Nas hype yesterday.

Mickey Factz’s Fave 5

Written by Drew Ricketts

Mickey Factz and GFC New York intend to be an entity responsible for changing lifestyles and expectations beyond music. Although Mickey’s raps have gained the most attention recently, he tinges them with hints of entrepreneurial swagger and earnest aspirations to become ubiquitous as a cultural icon. His dress, education, and hustle point to a dedicated vision but his rhymes often cover multiple aspects of his journey including hardships and hubris. So when his plans slowly unfold, they don’t seem like would-be mogul dithering, but honest work yielding higher plateaus. If not for his virtuosity on songs like “The Flood” and his In Search Of The N.E.R.D. mixtape, his claims would fall flat. TSS Crew’s Drew Ricketts asked Mickey to resurrect the Ghost of Dwyane Wade to name his Fave 5 tracks (no promo) and explain his reasons.

“Automatic” Feat. Curtis Santiago (The Leak #15)

This is my favorite song out of everything I put out so far. It has this infectious melody and comatosing chorus that just sucks you in. I can put a finger on what kind of genre of music this is, but whatever it is, I love it. I really just talk about how easy music is for me.

“Naturally” Feat. Jade (The Leak #22)

Being from a musical background, I felt it was neccessary to smooth out some of the lyrics. This is like the sequel to automatic, jazz style. I made a very bold statement that caused quite an uproar. I called myself the “New Age Rakim”. Very bold. But I aim high. I’m not gonna be like “I’m the new age Young MC.” I looked up to Rakim and I want to achieve his stature and higher. Read the rest of this entry »

Pic By Kyla, Graphics by P

Ta’Raach and Blu might be the hardest people in Hip-Hop to get a hold of. Last time I ran into Blu was at the Pete Rock vs. Primo show a few weeks back and when I saw him I was so happy I did a shuffle.

“Whoa! I get a little dance?!?” he asked.

“Of course!” I said. “You have no idea how hard it is to get at you. You and ‘Raach.”

“Whaaaat?” he said, and he side-smiled like “Who, me?”

Here’s the thing with Ta’Raach and Blu — neither of them has a car or phone. Technically Ta’Raach has a phone, but not one that I’ve been able to get him on. It’s a wonder these two dudes get a hold of each other.

Despite the frustration of trying to contact them, I developed a hypothesis as to why they stay just beyond arm’s reach. First of all, when you do actually see one or both of them it makes you do a little dance. Second, it adds to the enigmatic aura that is C.R.A.C. Knuckles. Third, and most confidently, it makes them the two least uptight people I know.

In this age when we’re all glued to our Blackberry or Sidekick, constantly receiving emails, text messages, phone calls & bulletins, it’s hard to imagine taking a breath and saying, “Fuck it. I’ll be there when I be there.” That said, I’ve never seen Blu without an ear-to-ear grin on his face, or watched him turn a blind eye to dap. I’ve never seen Ta’Raach stress over stage time or wristbands. But I have seen both dudes give love where love is given, take time for those who ask for it and laugh full-bodied at each other’s jokes as well as their own.

“Yooooo!” Ta’Raach gave me with a hug when I ran into him and Blu on another night. “Blu told me you were here, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Why wouldn’t you believe him?” I asked.

“Because Blu lies all the time.”

“Whaaaat?” said Blu, giving the “Who, me?” side smile.

“You do!” said Ta’Raach. “Blu lies, like, for fun. Just to see if he can.”

“Nah, I do not!” said Blu.

“Quit lying. You lying right now!”

“Man!” I said. “I told Blu I’m ready to do this interview when you are. I want to talk about ‘Cotton’.”

“Oh shit! You want to talk about ‘Cotton’?? We can talk about ‘Cotton’!” Read the rest of this entry »