Melvin Bliss's "Synthetic Substitution" is my favorite break of all time.
I love drum breaks and could go on for days about the greatest ones, but "Substitution" stands out. Those drums sound so immense, hit so hard and are so funky-- there's just nothing close.
On this week's 2 Busy Saying Yeah show, I mix and talk about 47 of my favorite songs that sample "Substitution", plus play the song itself.
1. Ultramagnetic MCs: Ego Tripping 2. Xperado: Watch Your Step feat. O.C. 3. Divine Force: Holy War 4. Ghostface Killah: Mighty Healthy 5. N.W.A.: Real Zaggin Don’t Die 6. Too Poetic: God Made Me Funky 7. Onyx: Throw Ya Gunz 8. Pharcyde: Ya Mama 9. Pete Rock & CL Smooth: For Pete’s Sake 10. Public Enemy: Don’t Believe the Hype 11. Willie D: Put the Fuckin’ Gun Away 12. MC Jr. Cas: Walk On the Wild Side [Club mix] 13. Almighty RSO: One in the Chamba feat. M.O.P. 14. Group Home: So Called Friends 15. T-Wiz: Good Thing Goin’ 16. Knowledge: Put On Your X 17. Def Jef: Black to the Future RMX 18. Top Choice Clique: Peace of Mind 19. Biz Markie: Cool V’s Tribute to Scratching 20. Supreme Nyborn: Versatile Extension 21. Ultramagnetic MCs: Pluckin’ Cards 22. Freddie Foxxx: Crazy Like a Foxxx 23. Percee P & Ekim: Now They Wanna See Me 24. Robbie B & DJ Jazz: Comin’ Correct 25. AMG: Trunk of Funk 26. Zhigge: Toss It Up 27. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out RMX 28. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out 29. Von Love: This Is How It Should Be Done 30. Choice M.C.: This Is the B-Side feat. Chill Phill & MC Sergio 31. Ol Dirty Bastard: Cuttin’ Headz feat. the RZA 32. Wu-Tang Clan: Clan In Da Front 33. Naughty by Nature: Yoke the Joker 34. Ghostface Killah: The Champ 35. Funk Lab All-Stars: La Da Da 36. Digital Underground: Tie the Knot 37. Too $hort: Hoes 38. EPMD: Mr. Bozack 39. De La Soul: Stone Age 40. Coolio: I Remember feat. J-Ro & Billy Boy 41. Method Man: All I Need 42. Scarface: Murder by Reason of Insanity 43. Eazy E: Eazy Street 44. Gang Starr: Code of the Streets 45. New Style: Drop the Bomb 46. C.E.B.: Get the Point 47. Brotha Lynch Hung: 24 Deep 48. Melvin Bliss: Synthetic Substitution
I'm currently working on turning this sprawling podcast into a streamlined, hard-hitting mixtape. When I get around to that, I'll share what I know about "Synthetic Substitution" itself and about Melvin McClellan, p/k/a Melvin Bliss.
This morning I woke up to the news that Guru of Gang Starr had passed away.
Since word of his illness first spread last month, I've been going back and listening a lot to their catalog, which is one of the strongest in rap. Here is a mix of many of my favorite Gang Starr songs that I made a few weeks ago:
To download the mix as a single, continuous track, click here.
To download the mix broken into individual tracks, click here.
1. Intro 2. You Know My Steez 3. Just to Get a Rep 4. Mass Appeal 5. Step in the Arena 6. Now You're Mine 7. The Militia feat. Freddie Foxxx 8. B.Y.S. 9. Take It Personal 10. The ? Remainz 11. Full Clip 12. DWYCK feat. Nice & Smooth 13. Who's Gonna Take the Weight? 14. Jazz Thing 15. Soliloquy of Chaos 16. Check the Technique 17. Credit Is Due 18. Speak Ya Clout feat. Jeru the Damaja & Lil Dap 19. It'z a Setup feat. Hannibal 20. Words I Manifest (Remix) 21. 2 Deep 22. The Place Where We Dwell 23. Suckas Need Bodyguards 24. Flip the Script 25. What You Want This Time? 26. Love Sick 27. Ex Girl to Next Girl 28. The Planet 29. Make 'em Pay 30. Execution of a Chump 31. DJ Premier Is In Deep Concentration 32. Take Two & Pass 33. Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot) 34. Rite Where You Stand feat. Jadakiss 35. I'm the Man feat. Lil Dap & Jeru the Damaja 36. Code of the Streets 37. Tonz 'o' Gunz 38. Next Time
I've only made it part of the way through E-40s two new Revenue Retrievin' CDs because I keep getting bogged down by the gratuitous cameos, which long ago superseded skits as the #1 totally superfluous cause of shitty rap albums. (By "superfluous cause", I mean other than intrinsic stuff like shitty rhyming, beats, lack of originality, etc.)
It took about 15 years for rappers to stop putting skits on albums; here's hoping they wise up about guest appearances sooner.
If there's a saving grace to the Revenue Retrievin' CDs (other than intrinsic stuff like E-40's slang and rhyme style supremacy) it's that he brought Rick Rock back on board to produce eight tracks, five more than on that career-worst turd from 2008.
For those unfamiliar with Rick Rock, he's the Bay producer who was the main architect of hyphy music-- just about every major hyphy record was either produced by him or really imitative of his style (e.g., "Tell Me When to Go", "Get On My Hype"). But Rick Rock's career is more than just hyphy music-- it stretches as far back as mobb music from the mid-90s and as far afield as major radio hits for the likes of Fabolous and Xzibit.
Last month, my London homie Rob Breezy assembled a really cool overview of Rick Rock's career, a mix entitled Rick Rock... Make the Beat Knock that I'm way late in recommending. It's got most of Rick's radio hits, some significant hyphy records as well as some classics I hear far too seldom (Ray Cash's "Bumpin' My Music"!!!!!!!).
The site that Rob runs (along with partners Davey Boy Smith & Superix), Southern Hospitality, is a great source for the latest regional American rap. They've also been cranking out quality artist- or scene-specific mixes and compilations at a crazy clip lately (Huntsville! The-Dream! Mr. Lee! Hypnotized Minds! Ryan Leslie! Livewire Records! etc., etc.). They keep those free mixes and compilations here.
I thought I'd round this out with a couple Rick Rock treats. The first is a video from a few years back in which you get to see Rick Rock slap a beat together in a few minutes. Watching it, it's obvious how well he knows his craft:
The second is a slept-on single from Rick Rock's short-lived Southwest Federation label:
Kinsmoke: "Do the On One" feat. Rick Rock (Southwest Federation, 2005)
This beat is maybe the most frantic hyphy record Rick Rock ever produced. And that's saying a lot.
The 12" also contains a pretty good remix featuring verses from the Federation and Battle Loc and a longer verse from Rick Rock himself (he actually raps pretty well!), but that version is missing the spoken introduction, which is a highlight for me.
The homeboys Trackademicks & Tap.10 just dropped the third volume of their [Re]Mixtape series, which features Tap mixing a lot of Trackademicks's recent remixes, both official and unofficial.
Trackademicks is one of my favorite current Bay producers and though I haven't had time to check out the whole release yet, it features a bunch of things that have been out for a while that I like. You can grab the latest [Re]Mixtape free here.
Here's one of my favorites from the previous volume:
Ready for the World: "Oh Sheila" (Trackademicks RMX) (2006)
Speaking of Trackademicks, Teedra Moses's recent street album, Royal Patience, features three collaborations with him and is also worth your time. Her Complex Simplicity, from 2005, was to me one of the best R&B albums of the last decade and her new music is strong, too. You can download the whole album free from her site.
Back when I was trying to figure out what Clash "T"'s "Non-Stop" was, I remember listening to the lyrics closely for clues and seizing on the references to "DJ Prince Ice" and "All City". My first thought (hope?) was that it was Prince Ice from the Bay.
Prince Ice spun for KMEL in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was a member of Sway & King Tech's All City Productions crew. Back in the day I used to go up to the Wake-Up Show regularly to kick it and bring Joe Quixx breaks and samples to play. Although Prince Ice wasn't the DJ for that show, he was often around, along with other guys like Fredwreck, Franzen, Alexander Mejia, etc.
I met Prince Ice plenty of times but didn't really trip until years later when I heard these two megamixes that he did:
I have really low patience for megamix records-- the only rap-related genre I hate more is cut & paste records-- but I love these two 12"s.
Drawing on what were probably the two best years ever for mainstream rap music, Prince Ice plays many of the hits as well as some slightly left-field stuff (Life-N-Def! Stezo! MC EZ & Troop! a King Tech remix of "Girls I Got 'Em Locked"!). Although both mixes drag a little towards the end, for the most part he flies through the selections in a way that's deft and super-smooth.
Kinda in the same vein, I saw that someone has uploaded a few more classic Dr. Dre mixtapes. I haven't had a chance to check them out yet but the previous ones I've heard were pretty face-melting.
DJ Shadow's Diminishing Returns is, on most days, my favorite DJ mix ever.
Shadow recorded it in 2003 as a BBC Essential Mix. Essential Mix is a long-running weekly show featuring mixes from big-name producers and DJs. More often than not, it's 2 hours of indifferently mixed techno from guys who make a lot of money in Ibiza.
Shadow's mix was a completely different thing. It's an amazing selection of eclectic, mostly unheard songs that's cleverly sequenced and masterfully mixed. It was far beyond what anyone else was doing at the time and, to me, remains the apex of the hip hop-influenced digger/DJ mix.
The first 80 minutes of the mix are largely built around unknown late-'80s rap. Diminishing Returns was made at about the same time as the random rap craze was taking off and it's hard not to hear it in light of that. DJ Ivory had already dropped one volume of Hear No Evil and Ultimate Breaks & Beats-based NYC obscurities were starting to draw a lot of attention from other DJs and collectors.
While Shadow covers some of the same ground that Ivory and others did, he leavens some of the oppressive purism of those mixes by incorporating a lot of other stuff-- current mainstream Southern sorta hits (8ball & MJG's "Put Your Hands Up") and oddities (Tow Down's "Country Rap Tune"), backpack experimentation (Beans's "Mutescreamer"), ancient regional goofs (SF's RSP Crew on "MC School") and neglected classics (Mantronix's "Hardcore Hip Hop"). There's some scratching, some doubling, some blends and enough variety in the mixing that it never feels static. Shadow then closes out the first half with a series of oddball covers (Gary Numan, Hall & Oates & Queen) and silly dialogue that act like comic relief before changing up styles completely.
The second part of the mix is largely made up of '60s psychedelic rock. As with the first half of the mix, most of the selections are things that were largely off the radar of both other DJs and collectors-- not necessarily incredibly rare or even unknown, but not sweated collectibles either. The selections are impeccable-- moody and haunting but also soulful and even a little funky. The mixing in this part is really outstanding because he takes songs that are really difficult to blend and makes them segue in ways that feel really natural. While the transitions are incredibly musical, he also follows a lyrical/conceptual thread from song to song. Seven years later, it still blows my mind.
Diminishing Returns is available directly from Shadow's website on CD or as a download. If you don't own it or haven't heard it, I can't possibly recommend it highly enough. He also has a lot of other worthwhile mixes for sale there, like the Miami bass mix I'd heard about for years but only heard recently.
***
There are a lot of great records that Diminishing Returns led me to. Some I stumbled on, others I sourced from the internet and a few I got from Shadow himself. Shadow never provided an official tracklist, but through collaboration most of the tracks have been identified over the years.
Out of all of the records on the mix, this one evaded me for the longest, bothering me like an itch I couldn't scratch:
I don't know anything about Clash "T" or any of the other artists on the EP this is drawn from. I asked Shadow about this song years ago and I remember him telling me it was from Ohio but there are no explicit signs on the label to bear that out.
The whole release is incredibly lo-fi-- it sounds like it was mastered from a 4-track cassette-- but I love the rawness and enthusiasm of it. Also, the way Clash "T" rides the beat is amazing.
In the tradition of my mix CDs paying tribute to DJ Quik, R. Kelly and Too $hort (the latter with DJ Eleven), here is a mix devoted to the kings of New York boom bap, Gang Starr:
To download the mix as a single, continuous track, click here.
To download the mix broken into individual tracks, click here. (new link)
1. Intro 2. You Know My Steez 3. Just to Get a Rep 4. Mass Appeal 5. Step in the Arena 6. Now You're Mine 7. The Militia feat. Freddie Foxxx 8. B.Y.S. 9. Take It Personal 10. The ? Remainz 11. Full Clip 12. DWYCK feat. Nice & Smooth 13. Who's Gonna Take the Weight? 14. Jazz Thing 15. Soliloquy of Chaos 16. Check the Technique 17. Credit Is Due 18. Speak Ya Clout feat. Jeru the Damaja & Lil Dap 19. It'z a Setup feat. Hannibal 20. Words I Manifest (Remix) 21. 2 Deep 22. The Place Where We Dwell 23. Suckas Need Bodyguards 24. Flip the Script 25. What You Want This Time? 26. Love Sick 27. Ex Girl to Next Girl 28. The Planet 29. Make 'em Pay 30. Execution of a Chump 31. DJ Premier Is In Deep Concentration 32. Take Two & Pass 33. Gotta Get Over (Taking Loot) 34. Rite Where You Stand feat. Jadakiss 35. I'm the Man feat. Lil Dap & Jeru the Damaja 36. Code of the Streets 37. Tonz 'o' Gunz 38. Next Time
Gang Starr is one of my favorite acts from the 1990s. There is no rap group I listened to more in that era, although De La Soul, Outkast & A Tribe Called Quest all run pretty much neck and neck.
Still, in recent years I haven't listened to Gang Starr much. Maybe it's because they haven't released any new music since 2003. Maybe it's because in the last decade the school of hardcore hip hop that they defined stagnated and played out so hard.
For me, this mix was about rediscovery. It grew out of an episode of 2 Busy Saying Yeah from a few weeks ago; after reading about Guru’s health troubles, I devoted a 2-hour episode to Gang Starr's music. It was my first time mixing a lot of the songs in years and it felt so good, so natural, that I knew I had to turn it into tape along the lines of my previous tributes to $hort, Kells, etc.
Unlike those mixes, which I struggled with for weeks and months each, this was a breeze. I spent an afternoon figuring out the track list, recorded the mix live one evening and then spent a few days puttering with the multi-track to clean it up, add drops and get it down to CD length.
I drew tracks from all six of Gang Starr's albums, and each is represented more or less in proportion to how much I like it: 1992's Daily Operation tops them all with 9 selections, although 1990's Step in the Arena, 1994's Hard to Earn and 1998's Moment of Truth all feature prominently with 7, 6 and 5 tracks, respectively. The first and last albums got kind of short shrift, although there were more songs I would have included from each if I hadn’t run out of space. They have one of the strongest catalogs in rap music and there were a lot of additional songs, verses and scratch parts I wish I could have included.
Big thanks to my man XJ, who laced the cover, and my main man DJ Eleven on quality control.
"Alright" is featured on Starlito's newest release, Renaissance Gangster, which you can buy here. I did. I recommend you do, too.
All 11 songs were produced by DJ Burn One and though not every beat fits Starlito as perfectly as "Alright", many come close. I love how Starlito's flow has evolved into a style of rapping so low-key and conversational it's almost not rapping, much like late-period Mac Dre.
Related stuff:
Kalefa Sanneh's 2008 NYT piece on Starlito's stalled career is poignant for at least two reasons.
Casual's one of my favorite Oakland rappers. He hasn't put out an album since 2005, but lately he's stayed busy with YouTube videos.
His recent clips are all lo-fi flip-cam things. In some, he raps. In some, he studies Egyptology. In a couple, he does both.
Although my eyes and ears kinda glaze over when he gets into a lot of the Kemetic stuff, I find it charming somehow-- I guess I'm interested in the fact that he's interested in the stuff. It's cool to see a gifted rapper who's on some totally different shit from every other rapper out.
Here's a sampling of some of my favorites.
Rapping over Three 6 Mafia's "Ridin' Spinners":
With weights, guns and subtitled commentary:
Nothing but a song, but I really like the song, "N.A.G.A.S.":
Rocking kufis, rapping about the Town, filming the cops filming him:
Rapping over crazy 8-bit beats:
Driving, punchlines:
Ancient Egyptian vocab:
Favorite line: "But I don't really know how to say that, though."
Watching all the clips inspired me to rip Casual's cassette-only Meanwhile... album. This is one of my favorite songs from that. I'm guessing on the title.
2 Busy Saying Yeah - Why you gotta keep bringing up old hits?
In this episode I play and talk about some of my favorite songs that got reissued in 2009. The bulk of it is soul and funk, although there's also disco, psych, gospel, rap and weird foreign hybrids of many of the aforementioned styles.
Most of the selections are from releases that are legitimately licensed and carefully assembled, with proper mastering, handsome packaging and thoughtful annotations. I have a lot of respect for those who take the time and effort to do it right. I hope you support them so that they can continue the work that they do.
1. Man: “And In the Beginning” Revelation 2. Little Francisco Greaves: “Moving-Grooving” V/A - Panamá! 3: Calypso Panameño, Guajira Jazz & Cúmbia Típica on the Isthmus 1960-75 3. The Blue Rhythm Combo: “Take the Funky Feeling” V/A - Tropical Funk Experience 4. Kukumbas: “Respect” V/A - Psych Funk 101 5. Chocolate Snow: “Inflation” V/A - Eccentric Soul: Smart's Palace 6. Lyman Woodard Organization: “On Your Mind” Saturday Night Special 7. Nite-Liters: “Valdez In the Country” A-Nal-Y-Sis 8. Demon Fuzz: “Disillusioned” Afreaka! 9. The Pretty Things: “You Might Even Say” Philippe Debarge 10. P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble: “Bada Que Bash” V/A - Spiritual Jazz - Esoteric, Modal + Deep Jazz From the Underground 1968-77 11. Lizzy Mercier Descloux: “Hard-Boiled Babe” V/A - Ze 30 - Ze Records Story 1979-2009 12. Gichy Dan's Beachwood No. 9: “On a Day Like Today” (Todd Terje's Friendly Children Edit) V/A - ZEVolution: ZE Records Re-Edited 13. Chemise: “She Can't Love You” V/A - DJ Spinna Presents the Boogie Back: Post Disco Club Jams 14. Cubie Burke: “Down For Double” [JM After-Session M&M Mix] V/A - John Morales - The M&M Mixes 15. Herman's Rocket: “Hanged in the Universe” V/A - Jean-Pierre Massiera - Psychoses Discoïd (1976-1981) 16. Chorus Reverendus: “Dans Son Euphorie” V/A - Wizzz! Psychorama Français 1966-70 17. Apostles of Music: “Wade In the Water” V/A - Local Customs: Downriver Revival 18. The Metros: “Since I Found My Baby” Sweetest One 19. Willie Hutch: “A Love That's Worth Havin'” Soul Portrait 20. Ronnie McNeir: “In Summertime” Ronnie McNeir 21. Andrew Brown: “You Made Me Suffer” V/A - Light: On the South Side 22. Sugar Pie DeSanto: “Use What You Got” V/A - Go Go Power • The Complete Chess Singles 1961-1966 23. The Daughters of Eve: “Help Me Boy” V/A - 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60s Garage & Psychedelia From U.S.A. & Destination Records 24. Brigitte Fontaine: “Il Pleut“ V/A - Dirty French Psychedelics 25. 24-Carat Black: “I Want to Make Up” Gone: The Promises of Yesterday 26. Sensational Saints: “How Great Thou Art” V/A - Forge Your Own Chains 27. Amazing Farmer Singers of Chicago: “I Got a Telephone In My Bosom” V/A - Fire In My Bones: Raw Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007) 28. The Relatives: “Don't Let Me Fall” Don't Let Me Fall 29. John Heartsman & Circles: “Up From Down” Music of My Heart 30. Azambuja & CIA: “Tema De Azambuja” V/A - Black Rio 2: Original Samba Soul 1968-1981 31. Tafo: “Karye Pyar” feat. Nahid Akhtar V/A - The Sound of Wonder! 32. The Animated Egg: “Sock It My Way” Guitar Freakout 33. Natural Elements: “Tri-Boro” 1999 34. Sport "G" & Mastermind: “Live” V/A - Random Rap 35. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou: “Koutoulié” The Vodoun Effect - Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1972-1975
I just got around to listening all the way through the homie DJ B.Cause's tribute to Roger Troutman, Playin' Kinda Ruff: The Troutman Legacy and it's a really enjoyable listen.
Although I know and love most of Roger and Zapp's hits, for whatever reason I never listened to much beyond the first 2-3 LPs. Josh's mix draws together all of the much-played, much-sampled classics, some of the rap songs that stem from them and a whole lot of other stuff you probably haven't heard, from pre-fame recordings with the Human Body to oddball collaborations from the 90s. Josh is an incredibly skilled DJ and knows his way around a multi-track, so he's able to make all kinds of transitions that I would never attempt sound smooth and natural.
Speaking of Roger, a recent Soulstrut post reminded me of this, which is one of my favorite performances by him:
Vontel: "4 My Homiez" feat. Roger Troutman (Fo' Life, 1998)
Vontel's an Arizona rapper. The album this is drawn from was partly produced by Battlecat, but this track was produced by Dre LeSean and Robert "The Professor" Anderson. Troutman's ad-libs are gorgeous.
This is not a great record, but it's an important one-- I'm fairly certain it was the very first rap record from the West Coast. Both tracks are traditional toasts dressed up with a little blues/funk backing. It's really derivative of the style of Rudy Ray Moore, who recorded a lot of traditional toasts, sometimes also with a beat. I'd be curious to know if Too $hort heard this, since it anticipates both his nasty subject matter and his spelling, although not his musical or lyrical style.
Given the way pop culture seems to constantly get more vulgar, I'm always a little surprised when I hear nasty lyrics that predate $hort, 2 Live Crew, etc. I guess songs like that were always being written and performed, if not necessarily circulated in the mainstream.
This recording, from 1964, has some of the filthiest, most vicious lyrics I've ever heard:
The recording comes from an album called Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me!: Narrative Poetry from Black Oral Tradition, which was compiled by Bruce Jackson as a companion to his 1974 book of the same name. Most of the recordings were made in Texas state prisons; this one is credited only to a man named Henry on the Ramsey, Texas prison farm. The last minute or so gives me chills; it's colder than even anything Suga Free ever recorded.
Since my last new rap show back in November there's been a slew of major rap albums released, as well as some great indie and mixtape stuff. I've sifted through as much as I could find time to listen to and gathered some gems.
It's a diverse selection of songs, covering Oakland, Alabama, Tennessee, New York, Louisiana, Houston, Atlanta, D.C., Virginia Beach and other places, and featuring everyone from buzz favorites to past-their-sell-date superstars. A disproportionate share of the music comes from Huntsville, Alabama, but that's just because they've been making a disproportionate amount of great rap music. Enjoy.
1. Yelawolf: Box Chevy Pt. 3 feat. Rittz 2. Juicy J & Project Pat: Ike Turner Pimpin' feat. Slim Thug & New Generation 3. MJG: Dope Track 4. Webbie: Money Getting Taller feat. Pimp C & Lil Phat 5. G-Side: This Is Life 6. DJ Paul: Hi Way (I'm Gone) 7. Mia X: Grown Woman Shit 8. R. Kelly: Put Some Money On It feat. Rick Ross 9. Whitefolkz: Take a Picture 10. Wyld Money: G-Spot (Remix) feat. Gucci Mane 11. Korleon: Ray Charles feat. Bohagon 12. Mac Shawn: And You Do Know That 13. Drag-On: Money feat. Neo Da Matrix 14. Proton: Fuck the Economy 15. T-Boz: Get It Get It feat. Yung Joc & Too $hort 16. Tabi Bonney: Duhh 17. Souls of Mischief: Fourmation 18. Mos Def: 24 Hour Karate School 19. Kanye West: I'm So Appalled 20. Freeway & Jake One: Know What I Mean 21. G-Mane: 5th Wheel feat. Spyda, PT & Bentley 22. Z-Ro: Bottom to the Top feat. Mike D 23. RapTite: That's My Shit 24. J. Stalin: Pot of Gold feat. Mistah FAB & Kaz Kyzah 25. Messy Marv & DJ Fresh: In My Bloodline feat. J-Stalin, D-Lo & J-Mo 26. The Knux: Fuck You 27. Josie Stingray: Gotta Get It 28. Natural Elements: Off Beat Bop 29. Clipse: Counseling feat. Nicole Hurst 30. Jay Electronica: Glass Everywhere (Act I Encore) 31. Redman: Coc Back 32. OJ Da Juiceman: Frank Sinatra 33. Lil Jon: All the Way Crunked Up feat. Pastor Troy & Waka Flocka 34. Project Pat: Burglar Bars feat. OJ Da Juiceman 35. Cam'ron: Ooh Baby feat. Vado 36. 50 Cent: Strong Enough 37. Black C: Stay With Me feat. Hermanata 38. Betta Half: Cruisen 39. G-Side: In the Rain feat. Bentley 40. L.E.$.: Sittin' Low 41. Starlito: Magic Carpet Ride 42. Dude 'N Nem: McDonalds
Statistical shits & giggles
Songs by artists who were more popular in the 1990s: 12 Songs from the Bay: 6 Songs from New York: 6 Songs from Huntsville: 5 Songs from Atlanta: 5 Songs from Memphis: 4 Songs ripped from videos: 3 Songs by artists from New Orleans who don't sound like they're from New Orleans: 2 Songs featuring artists who were platinum in the 1980s: 1
I spent part of the morning checking out Starlito a/k/a All Star's latest free album, the really enjoyable I Still Love You: Live from the Back of the Class. (Download here.)
I like Starlito's sleepy flow, he's a good lyricist and he chooses beats well. It's just good rap music.
The album was assembled by Atlanta's DJ Burn One, who runs the excellent BLVD ST blog, which rides about as hard as anybody for country rap tunes. Burn One has put together a number of great unmixed artist mixtapes this year, like KD's Soul Inn and G-Mane's Sunday on Da Porch and Smoke Some Kill.
He has also has made some of my favorite beats this year under his production alias, Mick Vegas, producing for rappers like G-Side, KD, Pill and P.Dukes. A lot of his productions are sample-based and sound pretty simple, but he chooses great loops and hooks them up well-- they frequently send me running over to my record room to track down a song I haven't listened to in way too long.
Case in point, this one from G-Mane's recent Sunday on Da Porch, which was entirely produced by Mick Vegas:
I recognized the Hi Records snare sound but couldn't remember who the artist was, which gave me a great excuse to revisit some records from Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright, etc. until I heard what I was looking for:
BTW, I'm super-juiced for the Numero Group's forthcoming 4-CD/6-LP anthology of Syl Johnson's 1959-1972 output. Apparently they've got 20 unreleased songs and I trust the booklet, packaging, etc. will be up to their usual, stellar standards.
(Still available for free download here and here!)
Anyhow, Aye Jay is a pretty well-connected guy and he started offering Cohen's watercolors to various art world friends for further embellishment--art stars like Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Frank Kozik, Matt Loomis, David Choe and lots more took Cohen's pictures and dressed them up with further layers of words, images, character, colors, etc.
A lot of the resulting pictures are pretty great but my favorite part is usually Cohen's interpretations of what the new pictures represent in the blurbs that accompany some of them. While these comments could easily succumb to cuteness or preciousness, many are perceptive and I find them endearing because they remind me a little bit of what it was like to be a kid and to constantly try and make sense of the world from whatever fragments of information drifted down to me.
To choose one more or less at random (i.e., I was able to scan this one in full without messing up the binding):
I take it that Cohen's orginal drawing is the colorful part; the remainder of the picture was contributed by Brent Rollins, who designed Ego Trip and too many great album covers to mention. Cohen's blurb beneath reads: "'Big up Cohen.' What does that mean? Respect? Respect Cohen? Hmmm... this one makes me think it is raining crayons. An umbrella is needed. Yeah, an umbrella. Just a regular umbrella is all that is needed. I am the person holding the umbrella-- I did not get damaged. I am the only one who has not gotten damaged yet." I hope he never does.
So, uh, not really the same thing, but sort of the same thing, The Rest Is Up to You got me thinking about songs where one artist has taken another person's music unaltered and just layered something new on top. These were the three that came to me off the bat:
Ice-T: "Soul On Ice" (Sire, 1988)
"Hustler's Convention" + "Harlem Buck Street Dance" = the best.
Ghostface Killah: "Holla" (Def Jam, 2004)
Ghostface Killah: "Big Girl" (Def Jam, 2006)
When I first heard that Ghost was releasing an R&B album, Wizard of Poetry, I was halfway hoping it would be along the lines of these.
This week's 2 Busy Saying Yeah is a mix of 38 Christmas songs, mostly rap, but with some soul, too.
As a genre, Christmas releases tend toward the superficial, the exploitative, the quick cash-in, but they can be pretty entertaining. This week I play a lot of seasonal-themed crap and also some of my favorite Christmas songs.
The rap portion of the show (roughly the first 70 minutes) features a lot of stuff I enjoy because it is so clearly throwaway product-- strip-club songs dressed up with tinsel (the Ying Yang Twins x2!), Xmas trees flocked with filth (Jiggie Gee), perfunctory remakes (Jim Jones, H-Town) and stuff that's only connected to the holiday in the most arbitrary way (the Jacka & Husalah). In many of the songs, the disconnect is gleeful.
The latter half of the show features some more traditional holiday music. There are plenty more throwaways, many of which nonetheless hit a nerve, like the Miracles' gorgeous take on "Merry Gentlemen", Sun Ra's goofy doowop or James Brown's "Let's Unite the World at Christmas", a song that never fails to put me in a more benevolent mood.
1. Run DMC: Christmas In Hollis 2. Jim Jones: Ballin' On Xmas 3. Ying Yang Twins: Deck Da Club 4. Hard Call Xmas: My Christmas Bells 5. B-Boy All Stars: B-Boy Christmas Shout Outs 6. Dana Dane: Dana Dane Is Coming to Town 7. C-Murder & Master P: Christmas In Da Ghetto 8. Kam: Holiday Madness 9. Poison Clan: Christmas Spliff 10. The Treacherous Three: Xmas Rap feat. Doug E. Fresh 11. Kurtis Blow: Christmas Rappin' 12. Super Jay: Santa's Rap Party 13. Jiggie Gee: Christmas Fuckin' Day 14. Juice Crew All Stars: Cold Chillin' Christmas feat. Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shante, MC Shan & Fly Ty 15. Sweet Tee: Let the Jingle Bells Rock 16. K-Nock: Where Dey At Yo! feat. 24-K 17. Snoop Dogg: How We Kick It On Christmas feat. Kokane 18. The Cold Crew: Rappin' Christmas 19. Audio Two: Christmas Rhymin’ 20. Outkast: Player's Ball 21. Trick Daddy: Ain't No Santa 22. Ghostface Killah: Ghostface X-mas 23. Ying Yang Twins: Carol of Da Bellz 24. Snoop Doggy Dogg: Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto feat. Bad A$$, Daz, Nate Dogg & Tray Dee 25. The Jacka & Husalah: Halloween Christmas Gremlins 26. The Jackson 5: Christmas Won't Be the Same 27. Marvin Gaye: Purple Snowflakes 28. James Brown: I'm Your Christmas Friend, Don't Be Hungry 29. James Brown: Hey America 30. James Brown: Christmas Is Love 31. Chocolate Snow: Let Me Be Your Christmas Toy 32. The Emotions: What Do the Lonely Do at Christmas? 33. Lou Rawls: Christmas Will Really Be Christmas 34. Stevie Wonder: What Christmas Means to Me 35. Sun Ra: It's Christmas Time 36. James Brown: Let's Unite the World at Christmas 37. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 38. H-Town: Knockin’ Boots For Christmas
Natural Elements is one of my favorite rap groups simply on the strength of a half-dozen mid- to late-90s 12"s and an EP. I was geeked to walk into the record store yesterday and see that after 15 years, they finally have a full-length album out:
1999 isn't their shelved Tommy Boy album, although it features many of the better tracks from it. It also features both sides of their Dolo single, their song from the Nervous comp, a great posse cut from a Mr. Voodoo 12" and a bunch of unreleased tracks. The credits say that everything was recorded in 1999, but a few of the tracks were released before then and a few sound like they might be more recent.
I hope it sells well enough that they release more material. There's a ton of great tracks Natural Elements did that still have never seen a legitimate CD or digital release, like the 2Face 12", Mr. Voodoo's 12"s, L-Swift's 12", the Fortress EP or this, which I would love to have a decent-sounding version of:
Here are a couple of rap covers that also would have made nice additions to 1999. I think the first was done as a promo for Stretch & Bobbito; although it has appeared on bootleg vinyl, every version I've heard sounds like a radio rip. The latter actually made it to a legit promo 12".
I'm really late in doing this but I've been meaning to offer big thanks to all who made my recent trip to NYC such a blast, including those who hosted me (Chairman Mao, mOma, Stimulus, Jared Boxx, Old Chris, Pablo & the rest of the Lost & Found crew, Radio Rios, Oskar Mann & the Never Not Working crew), those who passed through gigs (Amir, Jessica from Spectre, David Griffiths, Dave Tompkins, Mr. Finewine, Jonny Paychecks, Brian Coleman and everyone else) and, last and first, DJ Eleven, who is the most generous host and friend anyone could ask for.
I meant to key this post to Thanksgiving but got caught up actually celebrating Thanksgiving and then got sidetracked trying to find a copy of a record I was pretty sure I had stashed somewhere but evidently don't, Big Boe Melvin's version of "Thank You (Falletin' Me Be Mice Elf Agin)".
Anyhow, here's another version that's not really well-known. Aside from Sly's own remake, which on some days is my favorite song ever, this is about as close to good as covers of "Thank You" get:
When I was in NYC I picked this 12" up at Big City Records because the b-side is hilarious, but this is kind of a grower. The beat and Kangol-inspired flow are kind of whatever but it got me thinking about rarely rap songs offer any kind of realistic perspective on romance and wondering if the genre is somehow just fundamentally not engineered to do that.
December 4, 2007 was going to be about the best day ever: my lady and I had fancy reservations to celebrate our first 6 months together, I had gamed my Netflix queue to get the first 3 discs of Season 4 of The Wire in the mail and two of my favorite rappers had albums coming out (Ghostface's Fishscale and Scarface's Made).
That morning I turned on the computer and saw that Pimp C had died and it knocked me sideways. The news hit me harder than most rap deaths because it was so unexpected and it seemed so unfair.
I've been meaning to do some kind of tribute mix ever since. A few days after Pimp C passed, I devoted a full KALX show to his music, but due to technical constraints, time constraints and the goddamn FCC, it wasn't what I wanted it to be. This is.
This week's show is not a best of or a greatest hits, it's just a mix of some of my favorite songs featuring Pimp C. I spent a fair amount of time on sequencing but mixed it live, so pardon me if it's occasionally choppy. Also, to keep the mix short and maintain the focus I had to omit a ton of great verses by Bun B-- don't forget him.
1. One Day (UGK) 2. Playaz from the South (UGK) 3. Suicide Doors (David Banner) 4. Like That (Remix) (UGK) 5. Pourin' Up (Pimp C) 6. Chunk Up the Deuce (Lil Keke) 7. Sippin' On Some Syrup (Three 6 Mafia) 8. The Game Belongs to Me (UGK) 9. Big Pimpin' (Jay-Z) 10. Gravy (UGK) 11. Something Good (UGK) 12. Pregnant Pussy (UGK) 13. I Left It Wet for You (UGK) 14. Use Me Up (UGK) 15. I'sa Playa feat. Bun B (Pimp C) 16. Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You) feat. Outkast (UGK) 17. What Means the World to You RMX feat. Trina (Cam’ron) 18. I'm In Love With a Stripper RMX feat. Paul Wall (T-Pain) 19. Cause I'm a Playa (Project Pat) 20. 3 in the Mornin feat. DJ Screw (UGK) 21. I'm So Bad (UGK) 22. Freaky Deaky (Willie D) 23. Swang (Trae) 24. It's Supposed to Bubble (UGK) 25. Ridin' Dirty (UGK) 26. Swishas & Erb (UGK) 27. Comin' Up (Pimp C) 28. Ain't That a Bitch feat. Devin the Dude (UGK) 29. Havin Thangs (Big Mike) 30. Havin' Thangs feat. Big Mike (Pimp C) 31. Let Me See It (UGK) 32. Dirty Money (UGK) 33. Da Game Been Good to Me (UGK) 34. Get Crunk (Crooked Lettaz) 35. Murder Man Dance (Spice 1) 36. A Thin Line (Pimp C) 37. Cocaine in the Back of the Ride (UGK) 38. Talkin Smart (Project Pat) 39. Front, Back & Side to Side (UGK) 40. Used to Be feat. E-40 & B Legit (UGK) 41. Fuck You (Lil Boosie) 42. Choppin' Blades (UGK) 43. Murder (UGK) 44. Pocket Full of Stones (Port Arthur Remix) (UGK) 45. Overstand Me (Pimp C) 46. Look at Me (UGK) 47. I Don't Owe U feat. Ronnie Spencer (918) 48. Akickdoe! (C-Murder) 49. Family Affair (UGK) 50. Holdin’ Na (UGK) 51. Knockin Doors Down (Pimp C) 52. Bumpin’ My Music feat. Project Pat (Ray Cash) 53. They Down With Us (Scarface) 54. Pinky Ring (UGK) 55. Heaven (UGK) 56. I Miss My Homies feat. Silkk the Shocker (Master P)
Back to funk, freak the funk, hype the funk, swipe the funk and all that junk
Dr. Dre: "Puffin' On Blunts & Drankin' Tanqueray" (Death Row, 1993)
This long-unreleased video has been floating around for about a week but I'm still trying to process it.
I don't know which is most astonishing to me: that Dre looks even more awkward than his ad-libs sound, that Lady of Rage is wearing jeans at rib-height, that Daz waves around two different guns, that Kurupt looks to be about 15 or the possibility that a lot more stuff like this exists and might actually see a release. (Please, please let there be an unreleased DJ Quik album in better shape than the boot from a few years ago.)
The "Puffin' Blunts" beat always sounded to me like it was a built around an interpolation of this single, although who knows since this track was a little below the radar back then:
Robert Lowe: "Back to Funk" (Eastbound, 1974)
I've embedded the song but not posted a download link because the song is in print on Searching for Soul, the excellent Michigan soul and funk compilation that Scott Craig compiled for Luv 'n Haight a few years ago. The flip side is not commercially available, so you can have that one.
