Posts for category ‘hip-hop/rap’

So, after an afternoon of listening to U.G.K, I was sitting around the apartment on Sunday evening, not knowing what to do with myself. Women’s Final Four? Meh. I’ll have it on, but I can’t guarantee my undivided attention. Granted, I wasn’t bored. I despise the word ‘bored’ – can bloggers really ever say that they’re bored? In any case, a text message from my boy Rob came into my phone around 7:30 pm, “Hey, you wanna go to Jay-Z?”

Uhh….okay? Wasn’t aware that Jay-Z was in DC….so the potential for a trick was present. Well a trick it was not. The next thing I knew, I found myself at the sold-out Verizon Center in Chinatown DC with front row club level seats — witnessing Mary J. Blige and my first Jay-Z concert. Mary J. put on an absolute show. Jay-Z….he was pretty damn good. I could be picky with song selection and quantity, but I won’t. [My Top 10 Jay-Z Tracks]

Thanks to Rob for looking out and thanks to his boy John for giving up the tickets.

Jay Z & Memphis Bleek’s brief appearance.

And now, for those Washingtonians who may or may not read this blog, here are some DC-related links:

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Sunday afternoon is an afternoon for some Underground Kingz. And I never had the chance to pay my respects to the late Pimp C, who passed back in December. True to the game, Chad Butler died in a Hollywood hotel room from sippin’ on the sizzurp….just like the famed DJ Screw and Houston’s Big Moe (a political-science-major-rapper). Rappers: making songs about purple stuff that kills them since 2000. It’s only a matter of time until someone gets choked by a chain or run-over by a rim….if it hasn’t happened already.

On the sports side of this post, Terrence Kiel, former San Diego Charger and current NFL Free Agent, was once arrested at the Chargers practice facility on multiple drug charges – the main one being Kiel’s attempts to distribute the sizzurp. Oh yea, Terrence was also heavy into gambling debt, possibly involved with importing fake Nikes from China, once got shot three times in an attempt to car-jack his fly ride, and likes to pee in public.

Considering this nice little blurb from the Washington Times, Danny Snyder might be looking at signing Terrence Kiel as well.

On to the business, the Top 10 UGK Songs of All-Time
(along with a noteworthy lyric and not including the last album):


#15 – Choppin’ Blades - album: Dirty Money, 2001
Steppin’ out the Caddy, b—-, I’m fresher than Dentyne
Slicker than Crisco, sweeter than Nabisco
-Bun B

#14 - Use Me Up – album: Too Hard to Swallow, 1992
I can’t help myself, I know that I’m trippin’
But she got it goin’ on like Kentucky Fried Chicken
-Pimp C

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For the hell of it, 25 tracks in the rotation right now (in no particular order):

• “The Healer” New Amerykah, Pt. 1 (4th World War) – Erykah Badu
• “We Roll” ft. Jim Jones & Max B – Pete Rock
• “All Real” Rawkus 50 Presents – L.E.G.A.C.Y.
• “Gold Watch” The Cool – Lupe Fiasco
• “Time” ft. Talib Kweli & Dion – Hi-Teknology 3 – Hi-Tek
• “The Art of Storytellin’ Pt. 4″ Gangsta Grillz - Outkast
• “Mercy” Diary of an American Witchdoctor – Witchdoctor
• “Life Changes” 8 Diagrams – Wu-Tang Clan
• “Sunday!” ft. Keisha Shontelle & Chaundon – The Dream Merchant 2 – 9th Wonder
• “Rites of Passage” Immortal Technique Presents – Akir
• “Fighters” ft. Matthew Santos – The Cool – Lupe Fiasco
• “Dreams” Getback – Little Brother
• “Run” Oddisee Presents The Mirror Music Remixes – Wordsworth
• “I Know” ft. Pharrell – American Gangster – Jay-Z
• “The Cell” New Amerykah, Pt. 1 (4th World War) – Erykah Badu
• “Boy Meets Girl” M.A.D.E. – Scarface
• “Pardon Me Dude” Median’s Relief - Median
• “Next Single” Midnight Green – Modill
• “The World Is All Mine” ft. Sabrina Cuie – American Allstars – Clutch Player
• “Dear Self” ft. James Blunt – The Solution – Beanie Sigel
• “Slow Down” ft. Chrisette Michele – The Big Doe Rehab – Ghostface Killah
• “Surviving the Times” Greatest Hits – Nas
• “Rise and Fall” ft. Little Brother – The Format – AZ
• “Soon the New Day” ft. Norah Jones – Eardrum – Talib Kweli
• “Candy” UGK (Underground Kingz) – UGK

And for good measure……the Blues is worth checking out:

• “Trouble Blues” – Charles Brown
• “Like It Is, Like It Was” – James Brown (Black Caesar Soundtrack)
• “Confessin’ The Blues” – Little Walter
• “Big Chief” – Professor Longhair
• “Every Day I Have The Blues” – Professor Longhair
• “I’ll Play the Blues for You” – Albert King
• “Think Twice Before You Go” – John Lee Hooker
• “Your Funeral and My Trial” – Sonny Boy Williamson
• “Stormy Monday Blues” – Bobby “Blue” Bland
• “Drivin’ Wheel” – Little Junior Parker
  

And now back to the NCAA tournament.

You know I can’t do a Jay-Z top 10 without doing a Nas top 10…

Damn, this list was hard to do. And I’m not even sure that I’m satisfied with the one I put together. I had to leave off songs like Project Windows, These Are Our Heroes, Just A Moment, Revolutionary Warfare, Street Dreams, Still Dreaming, Where Are They Now?, I Gave You Power, Poppa Was A Playa, Rewind, Got Ur Self A…, Hate Me Now, and pretty much any track from Illmatic not listed.

I used to be in the middle of an argument, between my boy Adam and his brother Malcolm, about who was better…Jay-Z or Nas. At first, I was with Adam on the Jay-Z side of the debate. So look, I love Jay and all that, but after Hip Hop Is Dead (Nas’ best album since his best and first, Illmatic) and the preceding Street’s Disciple, compared to Kingdom Come (wack according to the standards Hova set for himself, but some bangers nonetheless)…I’ve had to throw my hat into Nas’ corner of the ring. Truthfully, it’s a wash between Jay-Z and Nas in terms of lyrical skills. But the whole package? Content, lyrics, flow, topic…..Nas, in my opinion, takes the crown. Hands down. So, here we go…

First, the last 5 that didn’t make the cut:

15. It Ain’t Hard To Tell
album: Illmatic, year: 1994, producer: Large Professor

14. Not Going Back ft. Kelis
album: Hip Hop Is Dead, year: 2006, producer: StarGate

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Jay-Z’s 10th album, American Gangster, came out this past Tuesday. This blog at fastcompany.com recognizes Jigga’s marketing acumen with tying his release to a potential blockbuster movie. The album, originally available on iTunes, was pulled, even though it was initially offered as a pre-order on Apple’s mp3 site. A sly Rocafella excuse for the removal was issued, citing Jay’s desire to sell the work in it’s entirety, and not as thin-sliced individual tracks. iTunes sales are included in SoundScan numbers, so Jay-Z might be missing out on some numbers; and why couldn’t iTunes offer the sale of American Gangster as an entire album only? I’m not sure. In any case, I haven’t copped it yet, but expect to soon. Whatever.

But in honor of all this, I present the top 10 Jay-Z songs of all time.

First, the last 5 that didn’t make the cut:

15. Excuse Me Miss
album: The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, year: 2002, producer: The Neptunes

14. December 4th
album: Black Album, year: 2003, producer: Just Blaze

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For one, songs from the 3000 and Big Boi solo albums are not included….damn this was hard. Thanks to my ipod play count for making it easier.

1. Liberation – Aquemini
2. SpottieOttieDopalicious – Aquemini
3. West Savannah – Aquemini
4. Crumblin’ Erb – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
5. Babylon – ATLiens
6. E.T. (Extraterrestrial) – ATLiens
7. Player’s Ball (Reprise) - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
8. Gangsta Shit – Stankonia
9. 13th Floor/Growing Old – ATLiens
10. Red Velvet – Stankonia

And just for the hell of it…. 7 more:

11. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
12. Slum Beautiful – Stankonia
13. Hootie Hoo – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
14. Myintrotoletuknow – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
15. Wheelz of Steel – ATLiens
16. Da Art of Story Tellin’ – Aquemini
17. Mainstream – ATLiens

Graduation takes a back seat to Late Registration and College Dropout. Yea, yea…producer rapper, we all know his lyrical repertoire will never live up to the greats, but Yay seems to be digressing. But I’d still rather hear Kanye’s egotistical, yet sometimes thought-provoking lyrics than that of what wanna-bes like Juelz Santana and Young Joc. There’s a hint of popcorn rap. Is this album more mainstream? Well, Kanye’s always been relatively “mainstream” as a rapper. Could be that this more simplistic approach contributes to increased sales and Kanye’s fly Malcolm X status…by any jeans necessary. The overall presentation is there. I mean, this is a nice album. The beats are well produced. Kanye has a nice voice and a rhythmic flow to his pitch. Is Graduation better that a lot of crap out there? Definitely. Do I personally feel that Common’s Finding Forever is better? Yes. Is Kanye’s third album a disappointment? I would say so, then again, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Good Morning
Not a bad way to start off Graduation….wake up everyone and hear Mr. West. A relaxed beat you can still tap your foot too which eases you into the album. The tightest part is when a Jay-Z verse comes in towards the end….from ‘The Ruler’s Back’ on The Blueprint. This is actually the full line, but Kanye only uses the parts in quotes: Yo, gather round “hustlers that’s if you still livin”. And “get on down”, to that ol’ Jig rhythm.
Song Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Champion
Smooth conversion to a nice change of beat….funny that Kanye uses a Steely Dan sample on this track. However, this song doesn’t jump out at me as being anything past “generic Kanye” — he’s not impressing anyone with his lyrics, but the catchy-ness makes the song a decent total package.
Song Rating 7 out of 10

Stronger
Club/Workout song that doesn’t really get annoying, assuming that it is not played out on MTV. Kanye definitely flaunts his arrogance here — are people who view his arrogance as unfortunate considered haters? Song also has that cross-over appeal with the 2001 Daft Punk sample.
Song Rating 8 out of 10

I Wonder
Some may think the broken verses he’s spitting at the start is annoying…I don’t mind them so much. But I think he could’ve cut it out after the first verse and cut back to normal after the chorus. This is Kanye’s quarter-life crisis song.
Song Rating 7 out of 10

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