Heavy D and the Boyz, “You Can’t See What I Can See”
Rest in peace, Heav…
An Ill Leo's Notepad
Bumpy Knuckles and DJ Premier, “BAP”
From their upcoming album The Kolexion.
Vinyl Thoughts: Gang Starr, Daily Operation
Every so often, an album comes around that changes the way you listen to Hip-Hop; for me, that album is Gang Starr’s Daily Operation. I know it isn’t the best Hip-Hip album ever recorded (that honor belongs to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back), and it isn’t even the best Gang Starr album ever recorded (Moment of Truth), but whenever I’m in the mood to hear some classic 90s Hip-Hop, there’s a 95% chance that this is going to be my go-to album.
Allow me to explain: Around 1992, years after the release of such classics like Paid In Full, King of Rock, and the aforementioned Nation of Millions, I noticed a change in the music that was being played on the New Orleans radio stations (especially after WYLD AM94 switched their format from Hip-Hop to Gospel). They began to focus more and more on playing gangsta-rap. Not that I didn’t like it, but the monotony of it all became unbearable. And since I don’t want to upset my friends from back home, I won’t even go into my disdain for Bounce. (Based solely on my musical tastes, I sometimes think I was born in the wrong region.) And while BET was still playing a better variety of Hip-Hop at that time, I didn’t have cable - so I had to rely on the radio to find out what was “hot”.
Then one day, my sister (who I was living with at the time) came home with a tape she had borrowed from her boyfriend - Gang Starr’s Daily Operation. One of the things that struck me the first time she played it was DJ Premier’s simple yet elegant style of production. No crazy high-pitched synthesizers, no handclap-laden 808s, just a pure, underground sound that I had been missing. Oh, and he was one of the few producers at the time who still put scratches in his music. I hadn’t realized how much I missed that until I heard this album.
And I can’t go without mentioning Guru’s rhyming. I had been a moderate fan of his because of classics like “Words I Manifest”, “Jazz Thing”, and “Just to Get a Rep” (my favorite Gang Starr song). But this was the first Gang Starr album I’d ever heard in its entirety, so it was easy to get blown away by his story-telling (“Ex-Girl to Next Girl”, “Soliloquy of Chaos”), battle rhymes (“Flip the Script”, “B.Y.S.”), social commentary (“Conspiracy”) and, well, his shit-talking ability (“I’m the Man”, “The Illest Brother“).
Daily Operation is, by far, my favorite Hip-Hop album of all time. Not only is this album the reason why I’m such a huge Gang Starr fan (the only thing more heartbreaking than their split was Guru’s death in 2010), it’s also responsible for turning me against commercial (and even some “middle-ground”) Hip-Hop. It frightens me to think about what I might be listening to had my sister never brought that tape home. I’d probably have every Nikki Minaj song ever recorded in my phone’s MP3 player.
Nah, scratch that. I’d deliberately puncture my eardrums with a hot butter knife before I ever listen to that shit.
Evidence, “You” (Produced by #LordPremier)
Finally, a Not-So-Crazy Reason to Hate Anne Hathaway
I have a bit of a confession to make: I never really liked Anne Hathaway. But it’s not her fault. Based on the trailers I’ve seen for her movies, she’s an at-least-decent actress (although I’ve avoided actually seeing her movies like Sarah Palin avoids facts). And she doesn’t seem like a bad person - not in the least. But she happens to bear a striking resemblance to an ex-girlfriend. The hair, the smile, the stature, the figure (oh, did I need to mention that the ex-girlfriend in question is white?) - basically everything except the voice and certain mannerisms. And since I don’t want to see anything or anyone that reminds me of my ex, I avoid seeing any movie with Anne Hathaway in it (but I do plan on seeing the new Batman movie). I’ll be the first to admit that that’s a crazy reason to dislike a celebrity.
Well, thanks to the above video, I now have a half-sane reason to hate her.
Seriously, people, rappin’ ain’t for everybody. And if you’re going to bite another rapper’s style (or “jack somebody’s swag”, as the knuckleheads are calling it these days), you should at least bite the style of a rapper who isn’t criminally over-rated, somebody who’s capable of spitting - what are they called? Oh, yeah - lyrics. Eh, but that’s just me.
Hopefully, Owen Wilson won’t go on anybody’s show to spit a wack-ass sixteen in the style of Nikki Minaj.
When you run out of substantive arguments, you have to resort to conspiracy theories. I’m sorry, but only an impossibly stupid or batshit crazy person would actually believe that a liberal/progressive would need to take money from a Republican - or that a Republican would actually pay them - to defend Obama. To defend Obama!
Maybe Joan thinks that common sense is overrated. She probably holds a similar view on sanity.
Elzhi, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”
From the Elmatic mixtape. If you haven’t downloaded it already, you owe it to yourself to do so.
(Via Nahright)
Uh, no Mr. Moore: The terrorists win when we let them get away with killing almost 3,000 Americans.
Seriously, some progressives are getting as bad as conservatives.
Damn. I hope Dr. Cosby doesn’t hold back next time…
(h/t @theuppitynegro)
Rachel Maddow Should Know Better
It absolutely pains me to have to respond to this video, considering the amount of respect and admiration I have for Rachel Maddow - arguably the last sane person at MSNBC. But when I take into account that she once bragged about her “devotion to facts that borders on obsessive”, it astonishes me to know that she chose to ignore the legislative realities that led to Obama and Holder’s decision on Gitmo and the Military Tribunals. I mean, why no mention of the fact that it was the House and Senate who blocked the funding that would allow the closing of Guantanamo? Why didn’t she say anything about local opposition to the transfer of those prisoners to American soil?
Look, I know Maddow and other liberals and progressives - myself included - don’t like this turn of events. But you can’t accuse the President of “kicking his base in the teeth” when he was clearly being held back by Congress. And since it’s “President Obama”, and not “Emperor Obama”, he can’t bypass them on everything.
I’m just so disappointed with Rachel Maddow right now.
