Posts in Category/Tag: Uncategorized

Jidenna – Bambi

February 16th, 2017

Jidenna-Bambi

DOWNLOAD MP3 Jidenna-Bambi.mp3
Summary: The Chief drops tomorrow!
About Artist: Jidenna is a member of Wondaland Records which is Janelle Monae’s crew.
About Song: This song is a track of off Jidenna’s long awaited, and many times postponed, debut album “The Chief” which is out tomorrow February 17th 2017. I’m giving it a first listen right now I and I gotta say it’s freshhhh.
Favorite Part: I love the mellow vibes. This song really typifies Jidenna’s style, though he goes in hard on some other beats. I also really love the lyrics of this one.
Other:
Jidenna Wikipedia
Wondaland Wikipedia

 

 

Mellow, Uncategorized,

Sam Cooke – Chain Gang

December 27th, 2016

SamCooke-ChainGang

DOWNLOAD MP3 SamCooke-ChainGang.mp3
THIS SONG HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO A COMPLAINT BY THE RIAA.
Summary: Not hip hop, but a great song.
About Artist: Sam Cooke is one of the kings of soul. Though he was murdered in 1964 at age 33, he had over thirty top 40 songs in the last seven years of his life. Sam Cooke’s music gave way to the likes of Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and James Brown.
About Song: I listened to this song growing up but was reminded of it recently when a clipe of it appeared in Donald Glover’s (aka Childish Gambino) “Atlanta” TV show (which is one of my favorites).
Favorite Part: I love Sam Cooke’s vocals (which is why he was such a sensation in his own time). I love music of this era and was a huge motown fan growing up. I’ve also been thinkin a lot about mass incarceration since watching “The 13th” on Netflix.
Other:
Sam Cooke Wikipedia

Not Hip Hop, Uncategorized,

Wale – The Need to Know (ft. SZA)

April 22nd, 2015

Wale-TheNeedToKnowftSZA

DOWNLOAD MP3 Wale-TheNeedToKnowftSZA.mp3
Summary: mmm. I love a little sexiness.

About Artist: Wale is a DC rapper who I’ve been a fan of for many many years now. In march Wale dropped “An Album About Nothing” an album that he made with Jerry Seinfeld (Wale’s had a history of Seinfeld related projects). Singing on this track is SZA who made a great Z (EP) last year and who is signed to Kendrick Lamar’s Top Dawg Entertainment.

About Song: This song is a track off of The Album About Nothing (2015).

Favorite Part: I love the concept and the sexiness of having a little discrete sumthin sumthin on the side. SZA does a great job on the hook, Wale sounds smooth, and the Seinfeld interludes are awesome.

Other:
Wale Wikipedia
SZA Wikipedia

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Action Bronson – Baby Blue (ft. Chance the Rapper)

April 22nd, 2015

ActionBronson-BabyBlueftChanceTheRapper

DOWNLOAD MP3 ActionBronson-BabyBlueftChanceTheRapper.mp3
Summary: A little jazzy piano boom bap.
About Artist: Action Bronson is an interesting guy. He’s a large white redhead New Yorker. Coming out of nowhere he’s got a pretty good following and his creativity in marketing and in his music, videos etc is something special. Chance the Rapper is a youngin from Chicago. He has a distinct voice, and while some find him annoying, I really like him (I’ve posted some Chance songs before on the blog)
About Song: Baby Blue is a track off of Action Bronson’s recent album Mr. Wonderful.
Favorite Part: I like the track and I like Chance the Rapper’s verse. It’s just a solid jazzy, classic hip hop kinda song.


Other:
Action Bronson Wikipedia
Chance the Rapper Wikipedia

Uncategorized,

The F*cking Grammys

February 8th, 2015

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.

macklemore iggy

Uncategorized,

Wale – Girls On Drugs (Prod. by No Credit)

January 22nd, 2015

Wale-GirlsOnDrugsWale-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

Uncategorized,

Raggaesta – Set Fire to the Rain (ft. Adele)

August 17th, 2014

Raggaesta-SetFireToTheRainftAdeleRaggaesta-SetFireToTheRainftAdeleAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 Raggaesta-SetFireToTheRainftAdele.mp3
Summary: Not Hip Hop

About Artist: Reggaesta is another remix artist that I’m really into right now who does Reggae music. He’s from Italy but his Adele reggae CD is super popular in Brazil and it really got me back into reggae.

About Song: This song is part of a full CD of Adele reggae remakes by Reggaesta. Of course the original Set Fire to the Rain is from Adele’s 2011 album 21.

Favorite Part: Just sit back and enjoy it.

Other:
Reggaesta Official Website
Adele Wikipedia

Uncategorized, ,

Announcement: Blog Is Back (Again)

June 28th, 2014

Alright I’ve been gone a while. Time to put some stuff up. A lot of this is gonna be the backlog sing April (and really since February), but I’ll try to get some new stuff in there too.

Uncategorized,

Justin Timberlake – TKO (Black Friday Remix)(J. Cole, A$AP Rocky, Pusha T)

March 1st, 2014

JustinTimberlake-TKOBlackFridayRemixJColeASAPRockyPushaTJustinTimberlake-TKOBlackFridayRemixJColeASAPRockyPushaTAudio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 JustinTimberlake-TKOBlackFridayRemixJColeASAPRockyPushaT.mp3
Summary:  Not New, still good.
About Artist: Nothing to say today. This is just a good hip hop improvement on a pop song.
About Song: This was a song I mean to post a while ago. Was probably bumping this most in December 2013 (maybe earlier?) This sons is just a better version of JT’s original TKO

Favorite Part:
Reminds me of the raw fcking power of just being in love.

Other:
TKO Remix Lyrics (via RapGenius)
Justin Timberlake Wikipedia
J. Cole Wikipedia
A$AP Rocky Wikipedia
Pusha Wikipedia

 

Pop Hop, Uncategorized, , , ,

Kanye West – Guilt Trip

October 7th, 2013

KanyeWest-GuiltTripKanyeWest-GuiltTrip Audio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 KanyeWest-GuiltTrip.mp3
Summary: #Summer2013 is a recap of the songs that made the summer of 2013 one of the best ever. Yeezus was one of the great albums of the summer, my favorite track on the album was ‘I’m In It’ posted previously here.
About Artist: Kanye West is my favorite. While he is known mostly for his personality the music he creates is always interesting and often unparalleled. He’s not afraid to try new things and yet somehow consistently creates really great music.
About Song: This is heavily samples the classic hip hop track Chief Rocka by Lords of the Underground, though I guess technically it feautes Pusha T’s Blocka which samples Chief Rocka. This was the last song from Yeezus that grew on me,.
Favorite Part: 

I guess I just like the first verse

Maybe it’s cause she into Leos
And I was into trios, plus all the trips to Rio
Couldn’t have helped, it’s gettin’ cold
Better bring your ski clothes, peeking through the keyhole
The door locked by myself and I’m feelin’ it right now
Cause it’s the time when my heart got shot down
Blocka, blocka, blocka-blocka, blocka
Pour a little champagne, cranberry vodka   <-The rymthem on cranberry vodka is dope
Feelin’ lied to like parents never said you adopted
Your feelings like Zulu, then nothing is a Shaka
I hit her with Jamaican dick, I’m the new Shabba
She lookin’ for her daddy, call me Big Poppa
On to the next saga
Focus on the future and let the crew knock her
Star Wars fur, yeah, I’m rocking Chewbacca  <- Love the Star Wars reference
The one Chief Rocka, number one Chief Rocka”

Other:

Kanye West Wikipedia
Yeezus Wikipedia
Guilt Trip lyrics (via RapGenius)

Uncategorized,

Kanye West – Bound 2 (ft. Charlie Wilson) #Summer2013

October 7th, 2013

KanyeWest-Bound2ftCharlieWilsonKanyeWest-Bound2ftCharlieWilson Audio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 KanyeWest-Bound2ftCharlieWilson.mp3
Summary: #Summer2013 is a recap of the songs that made the summer of 2013 one of the best ever. Yeezus was one of the great albums of the summer, my favorite track on the album was ‘I’m In It’ posted previously here.
About Artist: Kanye West is my favorite. While he is known mostly for his personality the music he creates is always interesting and often unparalleled. He’s not afraid to try new things and yet somehow consistently creates really great music.
About Song: This song off of Yeezus was the last one on the album and stands out in style because it is more a throwback classic ‘hip hop’ Kanye song as opposed to the experimental electronic stuff that made up the rest of the album.
Favorite Part:
I really like the old school Kanye feel of this song. And while the rhyming scheme is super simple I really like some of the lines…

First Kanye has these ‘punchlines’ that he uses at the start of each verse that I’d like to talk about

“All them other niggas lame, and you know it now
When a real nigga hold you down, you supposed to drown
Bound” (0:15)
This phrase “When a real nigga hold you down, you supposed to drown” is one I’ve struggled with. I really like the interpretation that when love is real it can be overwhelming and overpowering. I also recognize the violent domestic abuse undertones about men keeping keeping ‘their woman’ in place, and the idea that love/relationship is supposed to be painful for the woman. The two sides of this verse, one representing a positive intense love and the other an unhealthy relationship, really grabbed me and made me drawn to it in a dark way that I can’t explain.

“Close your eyes and let the word paint a thousand pictures
One good girl is worth a thousand bitches” (1:37)
This line is a little less dark. I really like the first part about closing you eyes and letting words paint pictures. The second part, like the fist punchline above, is problematic from a feminist perspective, enforcing this good girl bad girl dichotomy.

Other random lines I like

“They ordered champagne but still look thirsty
Rock Forever 21 but just turned thirty” (0:40)
I like how he says thirtey lol

“Uh, this that prom shit
This that what we do, don’t tell your mom shit
This that red cup, all on the lawn shit
Got a fresh cut, straight out the salon, bitch” (1:12)
I like the picture he paints of being younger and playing beer pong on the lawn”

I also like the second verse where he talks about being in the beginning of a relationship and just taking it a couple weeks at a time.

Other:
Kanye West Wikipedia
Yeezus Wikipedia
Bound 2 Lyrics (via RapGenius)

Uncategorized, ,

Kanye West – New Slaves #Summer2013

October 1st, 2013

KanyeWest-NewSlavesKanyeWest-NewSlaves Audio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 KanyeWest-NewSlaves.mp3
Summary: #Summer2013 is a recap of the songs that made the summer of 2013 one of the best ever. Yeezus was one of the great albums of the summer, my favorite track on the album was ‘I’m In It’ posted previously here <– CHECK IT OUT.
About Artist: Kanye West is my favorite. While he is known mostly for his personality the music he creates is always interesting and often unparalleled. He’s not afraid to try new things and yet somehow consistently creates really great music.
About Song: This track was the first song off of his sixth studio album ‘Yeezus’ which dropped the same day as J. Cole’s Born Sinner. This song grew on me and while I’m still not crazy about the beat the lyrics say things that for whatever reason other rappers don’t say.
Favorite Part:
This song is all about the lyrics and message for me. I don’t care about the beat so much. CHECK OUT THE LYRICS HERE. Highlights…

“Y’all niggas can’t fuck with Ye
I’ll move my family out the country
So you can’t see where I stay
So go and grab the reporters
So I can smash their recorders
See they’ll confuse us with some bullshit
Like the New World Order
Meanwhile the DEA
Teamed up with the CCA
They tryna lock niggas up
They tryna make new slaves
See that’s that privately owned prison
Get your piece today” (2:00-2:22)

This song prompted the ACLU to create to create a RapGenius account to explain and comment on the line about the CCA (Corrections Corporation of America)

Other:
Kanye West Wikipedia
Yeezus Wikipedia
New Slave Lyics (via RapGenius)

Uncategorized,

Daft Punk – Touch (ft. Paul Williams) #Summer2013

September 27th, 2013

DaftPunk-TouchftPaulWilliamsDaftPunk-TouchftPaulWilliams Audio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 DaftPunk-TouchftPaulWilliams.mp3
Summary: #Summer2013 is a recap of the songs that made the summer of 2013 one of the best ever. Random Access Memories was a great album so here’s a post to all the songs I couldn’t fit from the album. This song in particular holds a special place in my heart.
About Artist: Daft Punk is an electronic duo, pretty super famous. Paul Williams is some old school song writer who wrote hits such as “The Rainbow Connection” the theme to the loveboat and more.
About Song: Random Access Memories was a great ablum! My favorite song on the album was Lose Yourself to Dance which I posted here on gregshiphop earlier, Get Lucky was also pretty awesome, obviously. After those 2 songs there were 3 others that I really liked that all played in succession on the album Touch, Instant Crush, Within.
Favorite Part:
This song (and the 2 songs that followed Instant Crush, and Within) really spoke to me and reached a special place in my heart at the time.

I like how the ‘kiss’ at 2:31 brings the song alive. This song just captures so many emotions.

Other:
Daft Punk Wikipediak
Paul Williams Wikipedia
Random Access Memories

Uncategorized,

Daft Punk – Get Lucky (ft. Pharrell Williams) #Summer2013

September 27th, 2013

DaftPunk-GetLuckyftPharrellWilliamsDaftPunk-GetLuckyftPharrellWilliams Audio Player
DOWNLOAD MP3 DaftPunk-GetLuckyftPharrellWilliams.mp3
Summary: #Summer2013 is a recap of the songs that made the summer of 2013 one of the best ever.
About Artist: Daft Punk is an electronic duo and Pharrell is one of my favorite artists in Hip Hop. I love Pharrell’s sound, his voice, and just the vibe he brings to the projects he works on.
About Song: This was the hit single off of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories (released May 17th)
Favorite Part:
Like the rest of the album this song just jams on a little guitar riff that feels so good.

The voice/electronic solo at 3:27 is great. Everyone Sing Along!

A little Pharrell doesn’t hurt either.

Other:
Daft Punk Wikipediak
Pharrell Williams Wikipedia
Random Access Memories

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