DOWNLOAD MP3 MzSasha-GimmeDaLoot.mp3 Summary: Quit saying females can’t rap About Artist: I know yesterday’s song didn’t have a great bio but I have even less about Mz. Sasha. I just stumbled upong her in this song and then found the youtube video below. Also check out two other song’s of her’s I found Here and Here thought I might be posting one of those up on this blog in the future About Song: This song is a cover of Notorious B.I.G’s Gimme Da Loot (one of my favorite classics). Favorite Part: “Don’t be mad at me
I plan to bring you back to reality
Immortal so it’s time hit em up with a fatality” (0:14)
“Mz. Sasha is the name repeat it one more time
you wanna hate, that’s fine take a number hater wait in line” (0:45)
DOWNLOAD MP3 TheKnux-TheTrain.mp3 Summary: Just a song About Artist: I don’t know anything about The Knux except that they are the duo that produced B.o.B’s Fame which I put up here the other day. About Song: Again not much info excpet this song is off of their 2008 album Remind Me In Three Days which I listened to and thought was pretty good especially on the production side (lots of electric sounds and cool beats) Favorite Part: I just really like the beat and the clapping. Just a cool little song Other The Knux Wikipedia The Knux Official Site
DOWNLOAD MP3 NasDamienMarley-Patience.mp3 Summary: Damien Marley is unmatched in this song About Artist: Nas is one of the living kings of Hip Hop from New York. Damien Marley is the youngest son of Bob Marley and has been making music since the mid 90s. About Song: This song is off of a collaboration album called Distant Relatives. This song samples yesterday’s gregshiphop song Sabali. Favorite Part: Damien Marley crushes Nas on this song, his verses (1:02-3:36) are amazing. “Pay no mind to the youths
Cause it’s not like the future depends on it
But save the animals in the zoo
Cause the chimpanzee dem a make big money
This is how the media pillages
On the TV the picture is
Savages in villages
And the scientist still can’t explain the pyramids, huh
Evangelists making a living on the videos of ribs of the little kids
Stereotyping the image of the images
And this is what the image is” (1:09-1:32)
“The average man can’t prove of most of the things that he chooses to speak of
And still won’t research and find out the root of the truth that you seek of
Scholars teach in Universities and claim that they’re smart and cunning
Tell them find a cure when we sneeze and that’s when their nose start running” (2:57-3:13)
DOWNLOAD MP3 AmadouMariam-Sabali.mp3 Summary: This song is beautiful About Artist: Anadiy & Mariam are an amazing musical duo with and even more amazing bio. Basically they are a couple who met in 1977 while at the Institute for the Young Blind in Bamako (the capital of Mali) where they are both from. As you may have guess they are both blind and rose out their struggle to end up eventually touring the world with some of Music’s most famous legends. Read More about their amazing bio here About Song: This song is a single off of their 2008 album Welcome to Mali. The song was produced by David Albarn who’s worked with lots of high profile groups including the Gorillaz (notice the similarity in style). I first discovered this song, and in fact this duo, because this song was sampled in another amazing song which I will post tomorrow. Favorite Part: I just love the sounds. Other Amadou & Mariam Wikipedia Amadou & Mariam Website
DOWNLOAD MP3 PhilAde-UsedToBe.mp3 Summary: Wordplay and real rap About Artist: Phil Ade is out of the DMV (DC Maryland Virginia). I’ve posted several songs of his in the past so LOOK HERE for better bios on Ade. About Song: This song is from Phil Ade’s next project called A Different World which is due out some time in April. The song samples is beat from Mos Def’s Ms Fat Booty which in turn samples Aretha Franklin’s One Step Ahead (one of my favorite Aretha Franklin songs). This sample was also used in a Kanye song off of one of his mixtapes which I can’t find for the life of me but I’m SURE kanye produced a track with this sample. Favorite Part: This song is all about Phil Ade’s flow and wordplay “I tryin tobe ridin something with Kurt Cobain doors“ (1:25) (aka suicide doors)
“I’m just getting what I work for,
what your feelins hurt for?
I was born a star but they say I’m down to Earth more” (2:00) Other The song is NOT from the Letterman mixtape pictured right Phil Ade MySpace
DOWNLOAD MP3 PharoaheMonch-ClapOneDay.mp3 Summary: A good Black History Month Song. About Artist: Pharoahe Monch is not a major player in Hip Hop, he’s not new but he’s not really a legend either. He raps about various social issues, and has great songs that describe our post civil rights society. I first got into him when I saw him perform the song DESIREM at the Rock the Bells Tour in San Francisco around 2007. Monch is mostly remembered now for his hit Simon Says which was sampled recently in Lil Kim’s diss of Nicki Minaj Black Friday. About Song:First it should be said that this song also features Features Showtyme & DJ Boogie Blind and is a song off of Pharoahe Monch’s third album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) which is set to be released March 22nd putting out only 2 other albums spanning back to 1999, I am very excited to hear this new album. Favorite Part: “Ya it’s suicide murder,
In hood like catalytic converters,
On the block like lego,
in the streets like we like,
three little pigs is what I be on these beats like” (0:25)
I like the Hood and Lego cleverness
The references to Tupac and N.W.A (0:39)
“…My homeland’s security cam’s are all on me
They watch through their fiber optics it donned on me that cops could just run in your spot what without warnin” (1:34)
“…cause I lost my focus like Governor Paterson” (1:50)
“No respect,
No manners,
it’s mad max with multiple…
….
the selective thematic,
collective dramatics,
I’m systemically pissed
clap automatics” (2:52-end)
I love how Pharoahe Monch just goes off on this pseudo acappella. Other Pharoahe Monch Wikipedia
DOWNLOAD MP3 Slaughterhouse-SunDoobie.mp3 Summary:Just some hard rap. About Artist: Slaughter house is a four member group who recently signed on with Shady Records (aka Eminems label). The group is made up of Royce 5’9” (who has strong historical ties to Eminem), Crooked I, Joell Ortiz (my favorite member of the group) and Joe Budden. While this group is relatively new and have only come out with one independent album each member has been grinding in the game of hip hop for many years. Shady Records is hoping the group as a whole can achieve a higher degree of success than any one individual member has been able to. About Song: This song is off of their upcoming Slaughterhouse EP due out Feb 8th. This song is fairly standard for Slaughterhouse’s “Go Hard” style. This song was produced by Alex Da Kid, who was a member of Eminem’s group D12 and who actually produced, one of my favorite beats, P.I.M.P. by 50 Cent. Favorite Part: I just like the energy and Joell Ortiz’s verse at 2:10.
Don’t be fooled by the aggressiveness of this song, there are some good lines in here. “You a knife at a gunfight,
our shit is raw,
you a square,
you silverware in a civil war”(0:50) Other: I like the sexy robot Slaughterhouse Wikipedia
DOWNLOAD MP3 LupeFiasco-WordsINeverSaid.mp3 Summary: Lupe speaks truth. BE SILENT NO MORE! About Artist: Lupe Fiasco is a Chicago rapper who is highly respected both for his extreme lyrical ability and his courage to speak truth in an industry where hyperbole rules. His last album The Cool was released in 2007 as his third album LASERS was caught in a battle between Lupe and his label who disliked Lupe’s radical message and refusal to put out more popular style content. People don’t talk much about Lupe much anymore because he hasn’t produced much new material but he should be a role model for other rappers who talk the talk but can’t walk the walk. About Song:This song is the second official single from LASERS, which fans have been waiting for for years. This song features Skylay Grey and produced by Alex Da Kid who recenetly produced B.o.B’s Airplanes (ft. Haley Williams). I love this song for it’s message. The EMO Linkin Park-ish sound isn’t really my thing but Lupe’s lines are both complex and meangful as you listen please LOOK AT THE LYRICS HERE Favorite Part:
This song is all about breaking the silence of complicity about taking a stand and being heard.
“Uhh, And a bunch of other cover ups
Your child’s future was the first to go with budget cuts
If you think that hurts then, wait here comes the uppercut
The school was garbage in the first place, thats on the up and up
Keep you at the bottom but tease you with the uppercrust
You get it then they move you so you never keeping up enough…” (0:50)
I like this part because it speaks to how the media and government cover up the fact that our educational system already is in poor condition AND is also the first thing that will get cut. Also really love the second part of this segment, something I very deeply believe in, which is how the lie of meritocracy is used to keep the poor in place by dangling the lives of wealthier Americans in their face, like a carrot in front of a donkey, to make the poor work harder for the benefit of the rich.
“Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit” (1:22)
Finally someone states the obvious, that the United States supports the oppression of Palestinians.
“Walk with me into the ghetto, this where all the Kush went Complain about the liquor store but what you drinking liquor for? … Just listening to Pac aint gone make it stop A rebel in your thoughts, aint gon make it halt If you don’t become an actor you’ll never be a factor” (2:18)
“Crooked banks around the World
Would gladly give a loan today
So if you ever miss payment
They can take your home away!” (2:41)
Again too true
“I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence
Fear is such a weak emotion thats why I despise it
We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth
So scared of what you think of me, I’m scared of even telling you
Sometimes I’m like the only person I feel safe to tell it to
I’m locked inside a cell in me, I know that there’s a jail in you
Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath, inhale a few
My screams is finally getting free, my thoughts is finally yelling through” (3:23)
DOWNLOAD MP3 ChipThaRipper-RollThatWeedBitch.mp3 Summary: BIG SPEAKERS ONLY (explicit) About Artist: Chip Tha Ripper is relatively new rapper from Cleveland. I first heard Chip on his 2008 mixtape Can’t Tell Me Nothing. He always has really speaker blowing beats, he has a kind of low raspiness in his voice which is part of his signature style. Chip isn’t normally as “Gangsta” as this song may make him seem. Check out some other Chip songs HERE or a good interview with him HERE About Song:This song is a cover of the party favorite Make It Rain by Travis Porter. The song is extremely misogynist much like it’s original. Despite that the way the beat BOOMS on good speakers is enough for me to post it. For those that are not familiar this kind of a song is part of a style called Snap Music (best exemplified by D4L’s Laffy Taffy) that’s been popularized by the South since the early OTs. The style, often about partying and women, has simple two step beats with a lot of bass. Favorite Part: The part where my speakers go BOOOM! Other Chip Tha Ripper Wikipedia Snap Music Wikipedia
DOWNLOAD MP3 ActualProof-InYourMindprodby9thWonder.mp3 Summary: Happy Black History Month About Artist: I don’t know much about Actual Proof except that they’re from North Carolina where they collaborate with producer 9th Wonder is from. 9th Wonder is one of my favorite producers and…. you can read more on wikipedia for more info. About Song: This song is off of Actual Proof’s mixtape The Talented Tenth. The title is a course named after W.E.B Du Bois’s essay of the same title. The mixtape has two halves the first is the Martin Luther King Jr. Experience and the second is the Malcolm X experience. While the mixtape itself doesn’t speak to the struggle of civil rights directly the theme of equal rights and the black struggle can be found throughout.
Back Cover of the first half of "The Talented Tenth"
Favorite Part: I really like that 9th Wonder did with the male voice kinda jazz singing in the background.
“Understand man’s mistakes when you make em yourself,
better felt than understood and explanation helps…”(1:59)
DOWNLOAD MP3 BoB-Fame.mp3 Summary: This song really pumps me up. The horns, the rap ahhh, heaven. About Artist: I’ve posted B.o.B (Bobby Ray) probably more than any other artist at this point so just look here if you want to reader a better bio from other posts. About Song:This song is one of my favorites off of B.o.B’s debut album B.o.B presents the Adventure of Bobby Ray. It was produced by a duo that goes by the name The Knux, who I’ve since really gotten into (check them out). The Knux samples a version of Summertime from the forgetable movie Stuck On You (which I never saw). I have to saw I was born the like this song. The genre of the track with it’s horns, guitar, syncopated beats, I mean I would die to get the official instrumental version. Not only that but B.o.B has some great verses over it. The verses are nothing crazzzy lyrically but it’s solid and works so well rhythmically with background. Favorite Part: First I LOVE the track’s instruments and rythem, absolutely love it (that’s why I included the video of the sample below)
“And I’m sayin I really ain’t with that complaining
Just look at the picture I’m painting
Yeah I paid my rent, vacationing, take trips all around be equator then,
Come back to the A hit the stage again,
Then I go up in the booth where they cage me in,
Feel regular but then I go insane again,
If you witness the condition that my brain is in,
You would see I’m in hell where Satan is…” (1:02)
The Chorus where B.o.B says “that, that that, that” like at 1:44
Popular, everybody wanna be popular
Little kids just be watching us through binoculars and then they go to school and copy us,
But, hey I’m not knocking ya but how can yall not see? its obvious cuz cops just be plottin on us and poparazzi be spottin us,
Cuz everybody just wanna be on MTV or BET
Or maybe season MVP
Or maybe even just prom king or queen
But everybody can’t be a G. O to the D
And everybody can’t be O. to the B.
But I don’t know, maybe this just how its supposed to be” (1:48)
I especially love the part at 1:12 where he says everybody can’t be a G (and then spells GOD) to add a double meaning and then says everybody can’t be “o to the b” when he’s really saying everybody can’t B.o.B. Other Talib Kweli Wikipedia The Knux Wikipedia
Check out where B.o.B and The Knux found the sample. I never saw the movie but apparently it’s from a rendition of summertime off of the movie Stuck On You (which I never saw)
DOWNLOAD MP3 Neptunes-FrontinftJay-Z.mp3 Summary: Throwback Thursday (kinda). This is an unreleased extended track. About Artist: The Neptunes are a production duo made up of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. They created hits for Mystikal, Mase, Clipse, Jay-Z, Kid Rock, Kelis, Prince, The Backstreet Boys, Ludacris, Britney Spears, Brian McKnight, Busta Rhynes, Fabolous, Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, N’SYNC, Common and just about everybody else. The duo also forms ⅔ of the group N.E.R.D. About Song: This song was a popular single for Jay-Z back in 2003. However THIS version is a previously unreleased extended version. It showcases Pharrell’s signature sound more and gives him more time at the mic. This version actually comes off quite differently than the official version that center’s more around Jay-Z’s rapping. I chose this version because not only have very few people heard it, but because I think it really brings out the vibe that the song was originally was created with before it got chopped up for radio play etc.
The original cover for the single Frontin'
Favorite Part: I really like the parts where Pharrell just goes off singing his little melodies with his harmonies (ie 0:42) Other: Frontin Wikipedia The Neptunes Wikipedia
DOWNLOAD MP3 TalibKweli-ColdRain.mp3 Summary: Talib and this song exemplifies the heart of Hip Hop. About Artist: Talib Kweli is a cemented figure in hip hop as a socially concious rapper. From Brooklyn Talib began rapping in the early 90s and was half of the group Blackstar along with Mos Def. Talib is highly respected in Hip Hop as a rapper true to Hip Hop who speaks to the struggles of our society. His most recent album Eardrum (2007) received great reviews and showed that Talib Kweli is still an active and powerful voice in the community. About Song: This song is the first single off of Talib Kweli’s next album Gutter Rainbows. This song was produced by none other Ski Beatz who was just featured on the blog a few days ago here. Favorite Part: GOSPEL, LOVE IT! (1:27) Other: Talib Kweli Wikipedia
DOWNLOAD MP3 JCole-PassMeByftBoB.mp3 Summary: A little light for J Cole, but also pretty catchy. About Artist: J Cole is a young rapper, signed with Jay-Z’s RocNation. As an up and coming artist he has quite the following though his debut album still has no release date or title. His first major appearance was on one of only a few features on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3. The only song of his that I’ve posted, though he has many good ones is Who Dat. This chorus of this song is sung by B.o.B (aka Bobby Ray) who I post way too much on this blog :) About Song: This song has been around for a little while now but it was recently rereleased with B.o.B on the hook. The track’s piano really adds to it catchiness which is why I put it up. The same piano really reminds me of Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life, though thats just me. Other than that the rap is better on the 2nd and 3rd verse, the chorus is OK (though I really like simple beat and chord progression in the chrous). Favorite Part: “Hey, Dear Mr. Policeman
Hey am I wrong, aint you suppose to keep the peace man?
I coulda swore I was driving pretty peaceful
So why the hell is you pullin over me fo’?
Is it this black Mercedez? (Oh now I get it, I get it, I get it)
Or cause I’m black? Hmmm, maybe
Hey, tell me why my hands start sweatin’ and I hold my breath everytime that you get behind me
I turn my music down, so you won’t hear a sound, man I’m nervous like I got a couple pounds on me
You pulled me over, you frown on me
With your flashlight, tell me what do you see
Thug niggas, drug dealers, its a trip, every nigga in this whip got a mothafuckin college degree” (1:46)
