Featuring Ben Folds Five, Talib Kweli & Spree Wilson, this vid is a nice change of pace in the Rap game where a dose of reality is always welcome. Read the rest of this entry »

“Sometimes I wish I could
Stop the world from spinning and step out of it…”
-Diaz Brothers feat. Matrix and A-Butta, “Keep Pourin”

I’d like to think I’m a special, unique snowflake, like my mom tells me…but I know I’m not. I’d bet a handful of you reading this had a similar development arc in your love for Hip-Hop. Mine went something like this:

…The “dumb deaf and blind interest in the pop rap fed to me by top 40 radio” phase
(He’s The DJ, I’m the Rapper; 2 Legit 2 Quit)

…The “who’s this guy with the cool voice on the Beastie Boys song” phase
(Midnight Marauders; Blowout Comb; Buhloone Mindstate)

…The “holy shit if Wu-Tang isn’t the best shit ever I don’t know what is” phase
(Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers); the entire first round of Wu solos; Forever)

And then it really got crazy. The whole initial independent/”underground as fuck” movement, centered around Rawkus Records was crazy. Progression, energy, meaning…if you wanted to hear everything you thought Bad Boy Records WASN’T…this world was yours.

A centerpiece of this era for many was the incredibly packaged double disc Lyricist Lounge Vol. One. Each and every track brings me back to a more innocent time, for me and for Hip-Hop.  Rappers didn’t have clothing lines, there were more fans than MCs, and I didn’t have credit card debt. Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve been on this late 90′s euphoric trip down memory lane.

I’m usually diverse with my musical selections, but recently, taking it back to a time where rappers were big enough to be stars without outlandish side ventures has been sort of a therapeutic experience for me. I’m talking Jigga circa ’97-’98, The War Report, Ghetto D, Wu-Tang Forever. Non-fiction like Share My World and Beanie Sigel’s The Truth? You know it. I even dug up that first And1 basketball mixtape. The days of Maurice Malone and Motorola pagers may be an afterthought, but the music serves as a scrapbook to all those memories of yesterday’s past.

Let me tell you where this is going.

This just isn’t some disgruntled “I-miss-the-old-days” bullshit post.

Like the most of ya’ll, I not only find it refreshing to go back in time…I find it necessary.

Here’s why: One of the critically acclaimed LP’s that found it’s way in my rotation was Soundbombing II. Like the majority of Rawkus releases, this compilation was ignored by mainstream media and didn’t garner glossy accolades or recognition. But in the days where rappers didn’t tout first week record sales like some sort of claim to credibility, none of that mattered. Read the rest of this entry »