Random As Rhyme

The day is finally here, August 11th Slaughterhouse album drops. While I have a leaked version I am going to buy this album to support what these guys are doing. The album is crazy, lyricism at its finest and thankfully the production supports the lyrics as well. I am not going to review the album but rather list a bunch of great quotables from it.

These are also only the tip of the iceberg:

”Lyrical murderer, blame Rakim
I’m a sniper, shooting my way into ya lame Top 10
Pistol at your head if I ain’t next to Eminem”
-Crooked I

“We an outfit, equivalent to Voltron’s
That boy Crooked I is equivalent to four arms
Joell Ortiz is the body
The cannibal slash killer, kill you then eat your body
Joe Budden is the pair of legs
He runs shit alongside I, the apparent head”
-Royce 5′9 (Sick reference to the Mighty Robot Voltron)

“Fuck a rap group Slaughterhouse a machine”
-Crooked I

“I’m the one who always cause an affair
So every time your bitch burp, you smell my balls in the air”
-Crooked I

“So I can put my love below by her speakerboxx”
- Joell Ortiz

“Too many hood guys not enough good guys the way you say pussy in plural is pusseye”
-Royce 5′9

If you are what you eat home come I’m not pussy?”
- Crooked I

“If you Megan Goode I’m Forrest would dick her
If your flows Aquafina Im Katrina”
-Crooked I

“I’m the man in the booth with a few good men and you can’t handle the truth”
- Joell Ortiz

“See that bullet come around the corner like it shot form Angelina Jolie gun”
- Joe Budden (Wanted reference)

“The man think we evenly skilled he Mel Gibson all the shit he believe going to get his son killed”
-Joe Budden (ruthless!)

You say your the ultimate warrior I agree you died and come back and don’t nobody notice”
-Joe Budden (on point)

“After all this rhyming if I refer to you has a girl n!ggas will call us Common”
-Royce (reference to I used to love H.E.R.)

“I’m raising the bar so high trying to look at it is equivalent to star gazing”
-Crooked I

I’ve found out I have been pursuing a lie
cause ain’t no pudding in the hood where n!ggas shoot to survive
so where’s my single as dude in a suit and a tie
Who stole the whip man I’m loosing my drive”
-Joell Ortiz
The One Video

I had the privilege of going the the Toronto stop of the Rock The Bells Festival last night and I am pretty sure I damaged my ears really bad. But it’s worth every bit of hearing loss I now suffer from.
For those of you who don’t know what Rock The Bells is its an amazing hip hop concert that is better described as an experience due to the amount of top notch real hip hop acts you get to see. Take a look at the set list (after the jump) and you will have an understanding of what’s up.

Hosts:
PETE ROCK (Host)
SUPERNATURAL (Host)
KRS-ONE (Host)

Acts:
LOCAL BUD OPENER
THE KNUX
SLUM VILLAGE
M.O.P
SLAUGHTERHOUSE
TECH N9NE
KNAAN
REFLECTION ETERNAL
RZA
EPMD
BIG BOI
MOS DEF
NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY

Lyndsey and I arrived to the Molson Amphitheater (water taking mofos!) in time for Slum Village, which was a treat since I am a big Dilla Fan (I edited my first bmx video to one of his tracks) and they didn’t disappoint or fail to represent for one of the best that ever did it.

Next up was MOP and Slaughterhouse, I am a HUGE fan of both of these artists and I was glad I got to witness both of the perform. M.O.P. played a lot of material I forgot I knew the words too ended with Ante Up which helped pump up (get it?) the slowly building crowd for Slaughterhouse. As I have mentioned before Slaughterhouse is one of  my favorite acts right now and all of the members are beasts on the mic and have great on stage presence. Lyndsey who had no idea who they were really liked their set which says a lot, now I just have to get her singing along to woodstock hip hop.

Tech N9ne put on a good performance but I don’t really follow much of his recent work so it was kind of a seg-way into what was to come (his entrance was dope though). K’naan put on a great show to a hometown crowd and after hearing him live I want to pick up some of his studio work and take a listen since I admit I have been slacking on keeping up with this guy.

I forgot to mention that in between all of the acts Supernatural was holding it down, but once KRS came out the hosting kicked it up 1000 notches. You can’t listen to KRS without getting hype its impossible. My friend Kendall informed me that it’s because he is the god emcee, when he speaks you stand up and listen.

Reflection Eternal merked it obviously, you can’t go wrong with High Tech and Kweli, and RZA reminded everyone exactly why Wu Tang Clan ain’t nothing to fuck with. He also helped us celebrate his birthday  (it was also Royce’s Birthday) with some chanting and a bottle of vodka.

To the fans dismay EPMD did not not perform Da Joint but did put on a great show none the less and Bog Boi came out and smashed the place just watch the video and wait for Kryptonite to drop (2:30).

Next up was Mos Def who only had to say “Boogieman” for the crowd to crank up the volume a few more ear bleeding decibles, I am also forever thankful that Mos and Talib preformed together as Blackstarr.

The show was then officially murdered dead by Nas and Damian Marley. I had seen Nas before so I knew he would be live but Damian Marley also puts on an epic show and the dude who waves the flag for him has some sort of unseen energy source he did it non stop and with style.

If what KRS was saying about next year is true I better get some ear plugs and tickets. WU TANG?!

Also happy birthday to Joell Ortiz!
And KRS keep that RV rubber side up!

The first hip hop album that I ever listened to was the Bullworth Soundtrack and while it wasn’t your average starting point but it served as a great way to get introduced to a variety of different to shelf hip hop artists as well as a few unknown ones. One of the lesser know artists on the CD were the Black Eyed Peas at this point they had a nice underground head nodding style and I dug it.

The song was called Joints and Jams and sounds way different than the crap, excuse me, music they put out today.

After hearing this song I searched out more music by BEP and was greeted by some genuine treats, amazing fun and funky hip hop tracks. For example the track below,Bridging The Gap is another favorite of mine

Listening to the sound they had before in comparison to what they have now one can easily conclude why they switched.  Their old style appeal to real hip hop heads and back packers where as their new sound has a more mass, mainstream, pop appeal. More appeal equals more units sold which leads to more money in the pockets of will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie.  Some people don’t like to point fingers at exactly who killed the old sound but I am going to go ahead and point mine.

Who would have figured such a sometimes attractive sometimes not package such as Fergie could be the harbinger of death to what was once a great hip hop group? I am not sure how much influence she had over the groups new direction but things started changing around the time she arrived, actually I suppose one could also blame Justin Timberlake for lending his vocals on Where is the love, but I would rather blame and post pictures of her.

I wish the old BEP would come back and the new one would vanish but until that happens (never) there is youtube:
Fallin up
Weekends
BEP Empire – Produced by DJ Premiere bet he won’t fuck with them now

I have liked Wale ever since he did his mix tape about nothing, so when I found out that he was doing a new one called Back to the Feature, I made sure to pay attention to when it came out.

Then A long time passed…

It has now dropped and I have gave it a listen last night at the skatepark and I really dig it. Of 2009 “Rap Freshmen” class Wale is defiantly the one I’m riding with the most.

His rhyme style is tight, he flows well over basically any beat and his pop culture references make him seem like a dude I would get along with really well not to mention his album covers are awesome.

Back to the feature is free and you can get it here curtosey of Nah Right

Wale feat Lady GaGa – Chillin “This is the sore thumb of the record” – Wale

I actually hate popped collars. But I love me some MC Hammer, so I am a bit conflicted.

I’m feeling this line from Classified’s latest album so I decided to throw together a list of 10 great early 90s tracks. This isn’t a top 10 list per say but rather a part one of what could be many musical voyages down memory lane, enjoy.

In chronological order:

1990: LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out

1991: Naughty By Nature OPP

1992: Sir Mix A Lot – Baby Got Back

1993: Onyx – Slam

1993: Queen Latifah U.N.I.T.Y

1993: KRS – Sound Of  Da Police

1993: Snoop Dogg – Gin and Juice

1994: Warren G feat Nate Dogg – Regulate

1995: Old Dirty Bastard – Shimmy Shimmy Ya

1995: GZA – Liquid Swords

“I’ve dropped twelve albums with at least twelve songs in the past twelve years do the math right there that’s one hundred forty four on a one a month average and that don’t even count what I’ve produced for other rappers” – Classified quit while you’re ahead.

Classified has been quietly, but steadily, producing consistent solid hip hop. I caught on late but ever since I listened to Hitch Hikin music I have been a fan of this Nova Scotia born word and beat smith. When I heard he was dropping his latest effort, Self-Explanatory, I knew it would be worth the price of admission.

While this might be Classifieds thirteenth (!!) studio album it’s not cursed or hexed in any way, shape, or form. Classified is a unique hip hop artist since he isn’t flamboyant or boastful like a lot of the artists of today, he also doesn’t have to depend on guest artists to sing a hook via auto-tune for people to make a great track. As Class spits on Oh Canada he’s “still doing rap like the 1990’s but that’s how we like it off timed and grimy”.

Classified isn’t reaching to make the type of hip hop that’s hot right now he’s making the type that comes from the heart and works as an unfiltered emotional release.

Behind bloodshot eyes, a calm persona and laid back flow lurks an extremely creative mind which initially blew me away on the track Beatin in from Hitch Hikin Music.

With Self Explanatory Class just continues to explore his creativity.

The aforementioned Oh Canada is one of the best hip hop songs about being Canadian I have ever heard. It makes me proud to be Canadian and laugh at the same time all over a beat that samples the anthem perfectly.

All of the “Chose Your Own Adventure” songs pay homage to my favorite type of books as a child, and while I don’t recommend following it’s instructions until after you have listened to the album in it’s entirety go back and play with these songs later, it’s worth it.

As a testament to his skills other hard working hip hop rhymers such as Choclair, Maestro, Saukrates, and Royce Da 5′9 have contributed to making this album one that Canadian artists are going to have to step up their game to compete with.

At 21 tracks this album is a solid all the way through and has a lot of replay value. If you need anymore reason to go check it out here is some inspiration.

Stand Out Tracks:
Oh Canada
Inspiration
They call this hip hop
Up All Night
Still Got it
Trouble (single)
Anybody Listening (single)

Late 2008 a hip hop group formed called Slaughterhouse that has been doing some serious damage to beats of late.  It’s consists of Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and supposed to be beefing enemies Joe Budden and Royce Da 5′9.

While none of these mc’s have really had much commercial success, Joey had Pump it up, and Royce Rock City (but who still really talks about those?), they have been bubbling underground for quite sometime.

Once these four guys got on a track together, it was over.

They have put out about 4 or 5 tracks and each one is blatant lyrical slaughter, each artist tries to one up each other lyrically while still maintaining a group theme and their own individuality.

Here are the tracks they have produced so far.

This tracked dropped before the group was official. I thought it was a one off deal.

And now they are a group, this track is called Onslaught Royce mentions Tranzor Z and Voltron, that’s hype.

This track addresses the wack mc’s currently in the game and is aptly titled: Wack Mc’s

Fightclub, never talk about it

Move On Remix Yaaaaaaaaawa

When this group, hopefully, releases an album I am actually going to go out and buy it since I appreciate the level of lyricism these guys are bringing into the game. Give these tracks a listen and if you feel the same way I do see you at the music store whenever it drops.

I am a fan of all hip hop in general, but I am a big fan of some of the older stuff: Jurassic 5, Original BEP, Leaders of the New School, Big Dady Kane, A Tribe called Quest and so forth.

I am also a big fan of mixes, I love listening to music that just flows together and keeps the vibe going the whole way through.

So when Kendall put me on (he’s been puttin me on good music for some time now) I had to pause and take some time to take this one in.

The track list is way solid for this cd (although a lot of interludes):

1. J.Period f. Prince Paul, Questlove & Randy Watson– Rhythm (Scratch Intro)
2. Cannonball Adderly / Excursions Intro
3. J.Period f. De La Soul – Excursions (Tribute Remix)
4. Aquarius Interlude #1: Welcome
5. Q-Tip f. Busta Rhymes – Getting Up (DJ Scratch Remix) (The Renaissance)
6. Behind the Scenes: Ghetto Origins [Produced by J.Period]
7. What the Fuss f. Stevie Wonder (Shook Remix)
8. Queens Represent (Interlude)
9. Mobb Deep f. Nas & Q-Tip – Give Up the Goods (J.Period Remix) [Produced by Q-Tip]
10. Apache – Gangsta Bitch [Produced by Q-Tip]
11. ATCQ – If the Papes Come (Intro)
12. ATCQ – Check the Rhime
13. Behind the Scenes: Don’t Walk Away (Interlude)
14. ATCQ –Award Tour
15. Behind the Scenes: Award Tour (Interlude)
16. Hot Butter (Interlude)
17. J.Period f. Dres – Jazz Pt. 2 (Tribute Remix)
18. Behind the Scenes: We Got the Jazz (Interlude)
19. J.Period f. Blu– Jazz (Tribute Remix)
20. Skypager: Bob Power & Big Daddy Kane (Interlude)
21. Q-Tip f. Jay Dilla – Let’s Ride
22. Behind the Scenes: Bob Power You There? (Interlude)
23. Q-Tip – Vivrant Thing (Remix)
24. Q-Tip – Move (The Renaissance)
25. Q-Tip – Breathe & Stop (J.Period Remix)
26. Respect to Phife Dawg (Interlude)
27. J.Period f. Consequence & Kid Cudi – Buggin Out (Tribute Remix)
28. ATCQ Consists Of…
29. Behind the Scenes: The Native Tongues (Interlude)
30. De La Soul f. Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip, Monie Love & Queen Latifah – Buddy (Remix)
31. Respect to Ali Shaheed Muhammed (Interlude)
32. Q-Tip f. Busta Rhymes – N.T.
33. A Message From Talib Kweli
34. J.Period f. Questlove, Talib Kweli & Randy Watson – Youthful (Tribute Remix)
35. Q-Tip f. Amanda Diva – ManWomanBoogie (The Renaissance)
36. Chris Rock: Men vs. Women (Interlude)
37. De La Soul f. Q-Tip – Saturdays
38. De La Soul f. Q-Tip & Phife – Saturdays (Remix)
39. Q-Tip – She Likes to Move (J.Period Remix)
40. Dee-Lite f. Q-Tip – Groove Is in the Heart
41. Beastie Boys f. Q-Tip – Get it Together
42. Behind the Scenes: What Is Kapelka? (Interlude)
43. J.Period f. Skillz, Questlove & Randy Watson – What? (Tribute Remix)
44. Behind the Scenes: Busta Rhymes / Scenario (Interlude)
45. Busta Rhymes – Scenario (Unreleased Demo Tape)
46. Behind the Scenes: Hood R.I.P. (Interlude)
47. Hood – Scenario (Remix)
48. Aquarius Outtro
49. Behind the Scenes (Bonus): Reinvention (Kamaal the Abstract – A Million Times)

And the vibe all the way through is dope, its great for the office and the car and anyone listening will be able to appreciate the grove. I highly recommend it, and it’s legitimately free.

Also worth a peep are the history of hip hop mixes from the rub. 97 is like a fine wine aged to perfection.

Toast to that good music.

This weekend I had a chance to take in the movie  Notorious. This movie is probably the first ‘hip hop’ movie seen in theaters (skipped hustle & flow can’t remember any others). It’s also the first biopic I have seen at the cineplex.

Going in to the movie I was fairly neutral, I hoped for the best but was prepared for the worst.

The theater was packed, which is generally a good sign, one that meant good or bad this movie was going to make money (opened 4th in the box office at $24,000,000).

The movie itself obviously follows a straight forward story arc: Biggie goes to school where he is a good student, grows up sells drugs and starts rapping, does a bid, has adult relationships with his baby Mamma, Lil Kim and Faith, meets Puff, sells a lot of records, becomes friends with Tupac, then enimies with Tupac, gets in a car accident, makes moves to spend more time with his family and friends and work on a new album,  gets shot in LA. The end.

If you are going into this movie expecting more information than what’s already out on the internet about the life and times of Christopher Wallace, don’t.

Most things are where they should be (although a few people are absent) and the ending is wrapped up into a nice little package.

Most of the movie is spent on his love triangle (Faith, Kim Biggie) and build up and break down of the relationship with Tupac which lead to the rise of the West coast East coast rivalry. Outside of musical relationships the movie also does a good job of establishing the solid relationship Big had with his mother, and his friend D-Nice.

The actors playing the big roles in this movie did their homework and the portrayal of Little Kim and Puff being pretty well bang on.

Angela Bassett and Jamal Woolard also do a great job of being a believable mother and son.

The set crew for this movie also did a great job in making it period correct. The cars, clothes, gear and music were all period correct. (I had completely forgot about Mecca Clothing! There was also an e30 in the movie which is always good.)

My only gripe with the movie would be the clean gloss over one Sean Combs. Puffy comes off as someone who could do no wrong and was a guiding light in Biggies life.

A person who helped him turn it around for the better. Maybe this was indeed the case but I find it hard to believe that in their time together they didn’t have one rift in the relationship or not see eye to eye on an issue. A lot of people have been saying Diddy used Big, and that he is career poision so with Diddy having a heavy hand in this movie I suppose I should have known he would come out glistening.

All in all the move was enjoyable and I do recommend it to Biggie fans and non Biggie fans alike.

I didn’t feel it was a waste of time or money and it was great to get a little bit more insight into the life of Biggie Smalls.

Slightly more emceeing couldn’t have hurt though.

If you have not yet, find this, its dope: