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If you know anything about hip hop and the Grammy’s you know that the relationship is not good. Many people believe that the Grammy’s does an especially terrible job representing hip hop. Many people might be familiar with the outrage over last year’s Grammys when Macklemore beat Kendrick Lamar for best rap album. I wrote a recap and analysis of white rappers in hip hop that you can read it here. However the history of hip hop and the Grammys is even worse than that. Below is a video from Complex magazine breaking down how the Grammy’s treats hip hop.

Grammy Facts

• -Macklemore has more Grammys than Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, DMX, Busta Rhymes, KRS-One, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Big Pun, Young Jeezy, Ja Rule and Kendrick Lamar combined!
• -Iggy Azalea has more Grammy nominations in rap categories than MC Lyte, Lil Kim, and Foxy Brown combined!
• -The Black Eyed Peas have won more rap Grammys than Gang Starr, Geto Boys, N.W.A., and Tribe Called Quest, combined!
• -Drake has the same number of Grammys as Coolio, and Sir Mix-a-Lot, with 1 Grammy.
• -A female rapper hasn’t won a rap Grammy in over 10 years. Not since Missy Elliot’s Work It.
• -Of the last 92 rap related Grammy’s given, 41 of them have gone to either Eminem, Jay-Z, or Kanye West.

YG-ThankGodAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 YG-ThankGod.mp3
Summary: Take em to church.

About: YG is famous for his songs “My N*gga”, “Who Do You Love (ft. Drake)”, and was featured on Jerimih’s“Don’t Tell ‘Em. Back in 2009 YG partnered with Ty Dolla $ign to make “Toot it and Boot it”. Ty Dolla $ign is most well know for his song “Paranoid (ft. B.o.B.)”, but also produced Lupe’s “Next to it”(which was awesome). YG created a label, Pu$haz Ink, that includes Ty Dolla $ign and DJ Mustard among others. Big TC, who sings the soulful hook on this song, is Ty Dolla $ign’s younger brother.

Big TC is also incarcerated looking at life in prison for a murder charge. Ty Dolla $ign’s debut album is going to be call Free TC in reference to his brother and to wrongfully imprisoned people everywhere.

The core of Thank God was record from Big TC’s cell. Video below

This song is only one of many great song’s on YG’s 2014 album “My Krazy Life” which was was snubbed by the Grammys. Definitely one of the best rap albums this year. I’m sure YG being a blood had nothing to do with not getting nominated.

Favorite Part: This song is part of a great album with great songs, but this hook still jumped out at me. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered the story behind the song.

Big TC’s voice is just so soulful, so beautiful.

Other:
YG Wikipedia
Ty Dolla $ign Wikipedia
Thank God Lyrics (via RapGenius)
My Krazy Life <-Listen

KendrickLamar-SingAboutMeCoverByGregAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 KendrickLamar-SingAboutMeCoverByGreg.mp3
Summary: This is not part of the regular blog series… just a shitty cover I did in one take.

This song is a quick first take cover I made of Kendrick Lamar’s masterful “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst” (produced by Like of Pac Div).

I originally just wanted to save this song to my Soundcloud account but when I tried to save it I got the following message….

“Our automatic content protection system has detected that your track, “———- ——“, may contain copyright protected content and we’ve blocked it from being published on your profile.”

It feels shitty to be told a small piece of art that you made with love, in appreciation of a great song, is illegal and shall be blocked. Fuck You Soundcloud. How can you supress culture like that?

Lucky for me I pay for my own web host and, at least for now, that web host will still let me host this mp3.

Favorite Part: You have listen to the original song (I don’t do it any justice). The gunshots at the end of the first verse is one of the most power pieces of music that I know.

Other: Original album art by greg ; )

Tuxedo-DoItAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 Tuxedo-DoIt.mp3
Summary: Hooray for Friday!
Do you love Uptown Funk but can’t stand to listen to it one more time?
About Artist: Tuxedo is one part white soul boy Mayer Hawthorne, one part underground hip hop producer Jake One. They recently came together to form Tuxedo and plan to put out a debut album later this year.
About Song: This really gets at the disco vibe at the heart of Tuxedo. With Uptown Funk getting so much play time I thought now would be a good time to share this track.
Favorite Part: I love that funky disco vibe. Ain’t no reason why this song isn’t all over the radio.
Other:
Mayer Hawthorne Wikipedia
Jake One Wikipedia

TheophilusLondon-CantStopftKanyeWestAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 TheophilusLondon-CantStopftKanyeWest.mp3
Summary: Oh I really love this one.
About Artist: Theophilus London, original from Trinidad, is an underground somewhat experimental, rapper from Brooklyn. Kanye West needs no introduction.
About Song: This song is from London’s second album Vibes (2014). The cover art for the Vibes was shot and signed by Karl Lagerfeld, famous fashion dude from Chanel and Fendi.

Elements of the song are based on Norman Feels’ You Can’t Stop My Love
Favorite Part: There is so much I love about this song.
The intro “to grow old, in my arms, oh girl” is so beautiful and then layer on that “can’t stop, can’t stop” mmmm. Brings a tear to my eye.

And then in Kanye’s verse when the syncopated drums drop in. I really like Kanye’s line “But it ain’t ralph though” in reference to a rant he had on Sway in the morning.

I like this part in Londons’ verse…
“Please spend the night forever
The silence in my room is louder than kaboom
Let’s skip the north freeze for the southern breeze
The grass is always greener when there’s bumblebees”

The slow flowing outro is also so nice, something about the mix of the flowery parts with that sick drum pattern.

Other:
Theophilus London Wikipedia
Can’t Stop lyrics via RapGenius

NotoriousBIG-ReadToDieAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 NotoriousBIG-ReadToDie.mp3
Summary: Throwback Thursday
About Artist: The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie) is the one and only immortalized east coast rapper.
About Song: This song is from Biggie’s debut album Born to Die. This version is from a collection of original versions, before executive producer Puff Daddy (aka Diddy) changed them before their final release.

Fun Fact: Though Ready to Die came out in 1994 the song was outlawed in the United States in 2006 due to an uncleared sample. All copies were removed the shelves and a new ‘edited’ version of the album was released removing/censoring the illegal parts.
Favorite Part: This song is a classic and I love the jazzy, tribe-like, boom bap sound of this version.
Other:
Notorious B.I.G. Wikipedia

Wale-GirlsOnDrugsAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 Wale-GirlsOnDrugs.mp3
Summary: Wale all day.
About Artist: Wale is one of my favorite hip hop artists. He’s from Washington DC and has been doin his since the mid 2000s. There’s a bunch of Wale on this blog.
About Song: This song is off of his Dec 25th 2014 mixtape Festivus. The mixtape is in anticipation of Wale’s upcoming “Album About Nothing” which will feature Jerry Seinfeld and otther Seinfeld related stuff. Wale and Jerry did a cool project with Complex magazine and made this funny video spoofing an infamous call/rant Wale sent to Complex previously.
Favorite Part: Love the Kramer intro, but it’s really the kids singing on the track that I love. Just a solid Wale song
Other:
Wale Wikipedia

FloRida-GDFRAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 FloRida-GDFR.mp3
Summary: If you liked Turn Down for What or Talk Dirty to Me, you’ll love this. Get the Instrumental version here
About Artist: Flo Rida is the radio rapper known for such classics as Low (ft. T-Pain) and Right Round (ft. Ke$ha). Sage the Gemini is more of an underground California rapper but became famous with his single Gas Pedal.
About Song: This is a song off of Flo Rida’s upcoming album The Perfect 10, which I don’t think I’ll be listening to.
Favorite Part: This song isn’t very good. But the drop, oh the drop. I’m just a sucker for that sound at 1:09. I downloaded the instrumental and I have to say I like it more than this version so…
Other:
Flo Rida Wikipedia
Sage the Gemini Wikipedia

LupeFiasco-DotsAndLinesAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 LupeFiasco-DotsAndLines.mp3
Summary: New Lupe. Nice and smooth.
About Artist: Lupe FIasco is well known hip hop artist from Chicago. He is know for his positive “conscious” messages and his unmatched lyricism. Lupe it definitely in conversations about best lyrical rapper and his debut album Food and Liquor is a certified classic album. While Lupe’s influence in hip hop has faded dramatically since 2006/2007, which saw the release of Food and Liquor and the critically acclaimed The Cool, he still holds a place among hip hop’s elite.
About Song: This song is off of Lupe’s 5th album Tetsuo and Youth, which dropped today. I haven’t fully deconstructed the song yet so I can’t really say what the song is about but it’s smooth one.
Favorite Part: It’s weird but I like the banjo/guitar intro and outro. I also really like the chorus. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a math nerd or something else but I like this idea of sacred geometry. I also really like the generel instrumentation in the song.
Other:
Lupe Fiasco Wikipedia
Dots & Lines Lyrics (via RapGenius)

YoungOneEra-LifeIsAGameAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 YoungOneEra-LifeIsAGame.mp3
Summary: Good rap. Soulful hook
About Artist: Young One Era is a local Tucson artist! I don’t know anything about Versailles the Truth but I looked her up on soundcloud and she is actually more of a rapper than a hook singer.
About Song: I don’t know much about this song except that it came out in late 2014. Also that it was produced by J. Dominguez
Favorite Part: The production on this song is awesome. I love the video game sounds (Mario, the Donkey Kong drop at 1:55 etc). The rap is solid, and hook is the best part. So beautiful so soulful.
Other:
Young One Era Soundcloud
Versailles the Truth Soundcloud
J. Dominguez Soundcloud

MickJenkins-JazzAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 MickJenkins-Jazz.mp3
Summary: mmmm

About Artist: Mick Jenkins is a young 23 year old rapper from Chicago. He released his first mixtape in 2012 and is just now gaining a wider audience after his 2014 mixtape The Water[s]

About Song: This is a song from Mick Jenkins’ 2014 mixtape The Water[s]. It’s a really great mixtape with track 14 Martyrs being the most famous. The sample for the beat actually comes from a cover of Toxic by Britney Spears.

Favorite Part: I like how slow and jazzy the track is while Mick Jenkins goes in real hard. He really paints a picture with his lyrics that goes great with the music.

Other:
Mick Jenkins Wikipedia

FarEastMovement-TheIlleststRiffRaffScHoolboyQBoBAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 FarEastMovement-TheIlleststRiffRaffScHoolboyQBoB.mp3
Summary: Get Pumped

About Artist: Far East Movement is an underground four man asian american hip hop group from LA. Riff Raff is a crazy ass white rapper from Houston. ScHoolboy Q is an up and coming rapper who is part of Kendrick Lamar’s Top Dawg Entertainment (from LA). And B.o.B. is pretty famous pop/hip hop artist from Atlanta.

About Song: The song, which is Far East Movement’s most successful. came out in the summer of 2013 and this remix was released in spring of 2014

Favorite Part: The beat, especially the electronic horn type sound, is pretty awesome.

I love Riff Raff’s line “I’m in the buildin, more gold than Rumpelstiltskin”

And of course B.o.B.’s verse if off the chain..

“Badaboom badabambi
Every day in her hair like Pantene
Pro B, ain’t ready for a family
Fuck family, so she better have a Plan B
Plan B, never mind what the rumors say
Rumors say, never mind what the rumors say
Rumors say, when I walk into a room they say
Bobby Ray, bomaye, bomaye
I’m faded, my eyes are glazin’, dialated
You hate that that nigga made it so you jaded
Your momma, your baby momma, and your lady
Be bumpin’ my music naked while they’re shavin’
Thots be like “Bobby save me, Bobby save me”
But this ain’t no bank for checkin’, ain’t no savin’
I’m never known to accept a limitation
You want it with me well here’s the invitation
Bands, Bobby, there’s no more debatin’, wow I’m just amazin’
Damn, she started gettin’ naked ’till her panties start wavin’
Man, man I’m so sick, I’m so ill
Thermometers cannot monitor my level of chill
Grippin’ the grain, whippin’ the wheel”

Other:
Far East Movement Wikipedia
Riff Raff
The Illest Remix Lyrics (via RapGenius)

KanyeWest-ThrowSomeDsCousinColeRemixAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 KanyeWest-ThrowSomeDsCousinColeRemix.mp3
THIS SONG HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO A COMPLAINT BY THE RIAA.
Summary: Back to school swag!
About Artist: Kanye needs no introduction but I’ll just say… He’s one of my favorite artists of all time, a lot of people hate, but go back through his catelogue and tell me Kanye hasn’t cranked out some of the best music of the last decade. Plain Pat help Kanye launch his career and managed him early on. DJ Benzi is a kinda famous DJ and Cousin Cole is someone I’ve never heard of.
About Song: This song is from a project of Kanye West remixes that was hosted by Plain Pat and DJ Benzi called “Sky High”.

The song Throw Some D’s was originally by Rich Boy in 2007.The song was about putting Dayton rims on a car. The song was super popular and spurred remixes with verses from Lil Wayne, Andre 3000, Rick Ross, The Game and others. Kanye’s verse was on a mixtape remix that didn’t get much exposure was creative in that he re-interpreted the Throw Some D’s line to refer to breast implants instead of rims. Then in 2008 DJ Benzi and Plain Pat came out with project of different Kanye West remixes and this remix (with completely new instrumentation under Kanye’s original verse) was one of the tracks.

Favorite Part:
I love the chorus “Kanye got stacks, y’all already know that…” with the new instruments.
I really like how completely different this song sounds than the original.
This song makes me wanna bounce down down the strip with the top down.

Other:
Kanye West Wikipedia
Throw Some D’s(/a>

LaurynHill-BlackRageAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 LaurynHill-BlackRage.mp3
Summary: Raw and real.
About Artist:
Tthe one and only Ms. Lauryn Hill needs no introduction. While her musical career has completely fallen apart her immortal works on Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and with the Fugees have earned her a solid place in the pantheon of hip hop / R&B.
About Song: This song was recorded in her living room and is dedicated to the community of Ferguson MO where Mike Brown was killed. Elements of the lyrics and melody are borrowed from The Sound Of Music’s “My Favorite Things”

Favorite Part:
Though it’s a rought cut, I love how raw it is. That simple driving rhythm over her haunting melody is really powerful.

Other:
Black Rage Lyrics (via RapGenius)
Lauryn Hill Wikipedia