Thursday, December 18, 2008
Ice Cube
Lets take a look at history. The following videos show ice cube in 1991, 1996, 2000, and 2008. to me it seems like he loses his anger but gains some old man wisdom. whatcha think?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sample Appreciation
Another challenge. Name at least 2 songs that sampled this. One of them should be REALLY REALLY easy.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
The Sample Game
Alright I figured I would start up a new game that will be done pretty frequently. It's basically called "Name The People That Have Sampled This Song." I figured I would start this off with a really easy one. There's quite a handful of people that sampled this so just get what you can. Badass tune by the way...Labi Siffre is dope.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
EPMD-We Mean Business Review
We all know EPMD or know something about them even if you have never heard the name EPMD. Perhaps Erick Sermon sound familiar? The man behind hits like "Music f/ Marvin Gaye" and "React f/Redman" Hell without EPMD who knows if we would have Redman, Das EFX, or Keith Murray. In short their contribution to hip-hop is huge and its a shame that this album won't sell well. But sales aren't what makes a good album so lets dive into it and check it out.
1.Puttin Work In F/ Raekwon-Has a kind of dark synthesizer with a stab of string in it. At first i found it kind of annoying but it has definitely grown on me. It's the usual average EPMD raps that still for some reason sound dope. Raekwon steals the show though like he usually does.
2.What You Talkin F/ Havoc (Mobb Deep)-Got some keys playing over a semi hard beat. It actually almost sounds like something out of an old horror movie. Either way its dope.
3.Roc Da Spot-Bouncy funk shit right here. Usual braggy raps that we expect from EPMD which is fine. Both E and PMD are trading lines and it sounds like some classic stuff.
4.Blow-I love this song. Thats all i have to say.
5.Run It F/ KRS-ONE-This song makes me ask the question. Why doesnt Krs-One reach out to Sermon to help produce a new album. He always sounds more invigorated and dope when hes over some quality production like "classic" with Nas, Rakim, and West. Back to the track though, this shit is hot HAH!!.
6.Yo F/Redman-The obligatory Redman feature complete with a mention of WKYA radio. This is hardly a bad thing. Reggie does what he does best and the beat is some more funky ass shit. Its quite the theme to have.
7.Listen Up F/Teddy Riley-I do believe Teddy Riley is using a vocoder. Whatever it is its HOT! I put this song on repeat like 20 times. The beat is funky as hell. The hook almost sounds like the hook for "crossover." Both Sermon and Parrish sound excited. It's great.
8.Back Stabba-The production on this is alright. Definitely a let down after "Listen Up" but Parrish and Sermon flow their ass off so its not awful.
9.Neva Defeat Em F/ Method Man-I love this song too. DJ Honda hooks up the beat with a funky ass guitar lick under the beat and it just pours with energy. Oddly Method Mans verse is censored. Doesnt matter though this track is too too dope.
10.Jane-I guess they dont number the Jane songs anymore. Whatever. This is old school sounding as hell. Its cool but not as hilarious as Jane 3.
11.Left For Dead-9th Wonder production. Eh. It sounds kind of halfassed to me but its cool to hear Skyzoo rapping among legends.
12.They Tell Me-This track is ok. I dont love it and I dont hate it.
13.Actin Up-Another average track. Lame way to end the album but whatever.
This album is hot as hell. Theres a few average tracks but the ones that are great are replayable for hours (see: listen up). This is exactly what fans were waiting for. Straight funky ass beats and EPMD bragging. No new steps forward but after not releasing an album in almost 10 years I don't think the fans would want anything different. Either way I recommend that everyone buys this album. EPMD!!!!!!
Rating: 8 out of 10
1.Puttin Work In F/ Raekwon-Has a kind of dark synthesizer with a stab of string in it. At first i found it kind of annoying but it has definitely grown on me. It's the usual average EPMD raps that still for some reason sound dope. Raekwon steals the show though like he usually does.
2.What You Talkin F/ Havoc (Mobb Deep)-Got some keys playing over a semi hard beat. It actually almost sounds like something out of an old horror movie. Either way its dope.
3.Roc Da Spot-Bouncy funk shit right here. Usual braggy raps that we expect from EPMD which is fine. Both E and PMD are trading lines and it sounds like some classic stuff.
4.Blow-I love this song. Thats all i have to say.
5.Run It F/ KRS-ONE-This song makes me ask the question. Why doesnt Krs-One reach out to Sermon to help produce a new album. He always sounds more invigorated and dope when hes over some quality production like "classic" with Nas, Rakim, and West. Back to the track though, this shit is hot HAH!!.
6.Yo F/Redman-The obligatory Redman feature complete with a mention of WKYA radio. This is hardly a bad thing. Reggie does what he does best and the beat is some more funky ass shit. Its quite the theme to have.
7.Listen Up F/Teddy Riley-I do believe Teddy Riley is using a vocoder. Whatever it is its HOT! I put this song on repeat like 20 times. The beat is funky as hell. The hook almost sounds like the hook for "crossover." Both Sermon and Parrish sound excited. It's great.
8.Back Stabba-The production on this is alright. Definitely a let down after "Listen Up" but Parrish and Sermon flow their ass off so its not awful.
9.Neva Defeat Em F/ Method Man-I love this song too. DJ Honda hooks up the beat with a funky ass guitar lick under the beat and it just pours with energy. Oddly Method Mans verse is censored. Doesnt matter though this track is too too dope.
10.Jane-I guess they dont number the Jane songs anymore. Whatever. This is old school sounding as hell. Its cool but not as hilarious as Jane 3.
11.Left For Dead-9th Wonder production. Eh. It sounds kind of halfassed to me but its cool to hear Skyzoo rapping among legends.
12.They Tell Me-This track is ok. I dont love it and I dont hate it.
13.Actin Up-Another average track. Lame way to end the album but whatever.
This album is hot as hell. Theres a few average tracks but the ones that are great are replayable for hours (see: listen up). This is exactly what fans were waiting for. Straight funky ass beats and EPMD bragging. No new steps forward but after not releasing an album in almost 10 years I don't think the fans would want anything different. Either way I recommend that everyone buys this album. EPMD!!!!!!
Rating: 8 out of 10
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Preliminary Review of Common-Universal Mind Control
OK. Thanks to the good folks at myspace i was able to listen to commons new album before i buy it (i was gonna buy it anyway. im a completist when it comes to my cd collection) and I have come up with my preliminary verdict. First off though i just want to say some CDs take a while to sink in so maybe this deserves a little more time to sink in. This is how i feel right now though
1.Universal Mind Control-First track on the album. Its got some 80s electro bounce to it. Theres a lot going on in this beat but for some reason it still feels like its missing something.
2.Punch Drunk Love f/Kanye West-Nope. Kanye West doesnt do this beat or any of the other ones on the cd. This song is quite dull to me. Definitely one of the low points.
3.Make My Day f/Cee-Lo-I love this song for some reason. I dont know if its the catchy drums, the barely out of tune sample, the bells, cee-lo's singing, or commons bouncy flow. Maybe its all of it. Whatever it is its catchy and cool.
4.Sex 4 Suga-I really dont like this song. The drums are annoying and the keyboards are boring. Not a fan at all.
5.Announcement-Cool song. Just laid back music with common kickin some rhymes. Nothing more nothing less.
6.Gladiator-Pretty cool song. The beat starts off with a voice saying "theres nothing you can do" and then breaks into an all out electronic jam complete with a frantic trumpet. Common is just along for the ride.
7.Changes-This is a good song. Common sounds like his old self and the beat is pretty happy and chill. Makes you feel like a brighter future is on the horizon.
8.Inhale-Starts off sounding like its going to be one of those generic neptunes beats that makes me want to shove a pencil in my ear. Luckily it didnt end up that way (and my ear is still fully operational). Its a feel good beat with common being common.
9.What a World-This kind of sounds like some semi crazy rock jam featuring a rapper. Its alright but definitely doesnt make me go OH SHIT LEMME HEAR THAT AGAIN.
10.Everywhere-The cd wraps up with this song. Another Mr. DJ production. Has some cool percussion and keys. Its definitely not what youd expect from common but hey i dont think its too bad of a song.
The Verdict: Definitely not like any other cd in his catalogue. Not as experimental as Electric Circus (which i liked better) and not as dope as say Resurrection or BE. Its not a bad cd but then again neither are any of his cds. Hell even Can I Borrow A Dollar was good for a few laughs and obvious samples. This CD though sees Common lyrically coasting through the tracks not really bringing much insight on anything. The beats are for the most part cool which surprised me because I really dont like the neptunes. But overall I wasnt too impressed. Its OK though common you havent lost me as a fan...7 dope CDs and one pretty good CD isnt bad at all. Ill be looking forward to your next CD.
Rating: 6.5/10
1.Universal Mind Control-First track on the album. Its got some 80s electro bounce to it. Theres a lot going on in this beat but for some reason it still feels like its missing something.
2.Punch Drunk Love f/Kanye West-Nope. Kanye West doesnt do this beat or any of the other ones on the cd. This song is quite dull to me. Definitely one of the low points.
3.Make My Day f/Cee-Lo-I love this song for some reason. I dont know if its the catchy drums, the barely out of tune sample, the bells, cee-lo's singing, or commons bouncy flow. Maybe its all of it. Whatever it is its catchy and cool.
4.Sex 4 Suga-I really dont like this song. The drums are annoying and the keyboards are boring. Not a fan at all.
5.Announcement-Cool song. Just laid back music with common kickin some rhymes. Nothing more nothing less.
6.Gladiator-Pretty cool song. The beat starts off with a voice saying "theres nothing you can do" and then breaks into an all out electronic jam complete with a frantic trumpet. Common is just along for the ride.
7.Changes-This is a good song. Common sounds like his old self and the beat is pretty happy and chill. Makes you feel like a brighter future is on the horizon.
8.Inhale-Starts off sounding like its going to be one of those generic neptunes beats that makes me want to shove a pencil in my ear. Luckily it didnt end up that way (and my ear is still fully operational). Its a feel good beat with common being common.
9.What a World-This kind of sounds like some semi crazy rock jam featuring a rapper. Its alright but definitely doesnt make me go OH SHIT LEMME HEAR THAT AGAIN.
10.Everywhere-The cd wraps up with this song. Another Mr. DJ production. Has some cool percussion and keys. Its definitely not what youd expect from common but hey i dont think its too bad of a song.
The Verdict: Definitely not like any other cd in his catalogue. Not as experimental as Electric Circus (which i liked better) and not as dope as say Resurrection or BE. Its not a bad cd but then again neither are any of his cds. Hell even Can I Borrow A Dollar was good for a few laughs and obvious samples. This CD though sees Common lyrically coasting through the tracks not really bringing much insight on anything. The beats are for the most part cool which surprised me because I really dont like the neptunes. But overall I wasnt too impressed. Its OK though common you havent lost me as a fan...7 dope CDs and one pretty good CD isnt bad at all. Ill be looking forward to your next CD.
Rating: 6.5/10
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
I was a little shocked today when I had a conversation with someone telling me they "loved bone thugs so much." So like usual i asked a few questions. "Oh hell yea theyre dope remember crossroads and first of the month and no surrender?" And the response i got back was "umm...no? but i tried is sooo goood." True, that song is pretty dope but its kind of scary to realize that there are "fans" of groups that only know the latest single (ok its a year or so old...eat me) and have no idea where the group came from. So just in case one of you uninformed people somehow stumbles across my page...heres some classic bone thugs videos for that ass.
Friday, December 5, 2008
So Im A Day Late...Sue Me
Happy birthday jiggaman! Yea im a day late but i dont give a damn. The reason i bring this up though is that today i caught a video online of Jaz-O acting like a 12 year old once again. At least thats my opinion. What do yall think about this?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Just another day
Not too much going on tonight. Caught a new video on youtube. Marco Polo feat. Masta Ace. Had to check it out. Pretty dope shit.
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