I wanted to write a tribute to the 10th anniversary of Little Brother's classic debut "The Listening" but instead, I felt it was an excuse to make a video so I did. Besides, I wrote a lil something about them over here at my man XLUSIVE's website.
It's one of my favorite albums and it takes me on a soulful high with 9th Wonder's beats while still earthbound thanks to Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh spitting raps that anyone could relate to. Especially a 21-year old kid in 2006 who was getting ready to transition from college to the real world. This and The Minstrel Show helped me big time in that period.
I forgot to add how hilarious "Make Me Hot" (the true debut of Percy Miracles) and Roy Lee's skit are. What I also forgot is that I'm proud of that memory when I bought it. It was a cool moment with my uncle, who is no longer with us, and it was my first ever trip to a spa since I was having some lower back pain.
Also, when I saw Little Brother in San Diego in 06, I told Phonte that I found that album and he was admittedly surprised since it's hard to find. Still one of my highlights is that I took pictures with him and Big Pooh.
Enjoy and if you can find this album, go buy it or listen to YouTube. The instrumentals alone are a thing of beauty and I downloaded them a year or two after getting this album. Even though the trio is no longer together, I thank Phonte, Pooh and 9th for creating a masterpiece (2 if you count Minstrel Show) and continuing to make great music away from LB. Not to mention being hilarious and greatfollowson Twitter.
I'm surprised I didn't do this sooner because this is one of my favorite songs of all time. But seeing Blue Scholars on Sunday reminded me just how much I love this and why I do. It's one of the best discoveries I stumbled upon and the minute I hear that intro, I get lost for the next 4 minutes.
The story behind me hearing it a good one. Just a reminder of how friends matter and share goodness with each other. Let me take you back to 2008 for a second before I break down the music.
I got a text from a friend who works at a radio station in San Diego. She told me to check out these guys from Seattle that she had just seen and listen to this song "Loyalty". I think I was up late at my newspaper so I went to YouTube and checked it out.
First thing I noticed was it used the same Sylvers sample that the Foreign Exchange used for "All That You Are". Yet it had a dreamy, uplifting groove like something you hear when you wake up for the first time. The video added to that with the clear skies and sun in the background but that sound just stayed in my ears and went to my soul.
The other day, I found out that Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut was being reissued today for its 20th anniversary. I can't say how thrilled I was because it's one of the greatest and hardest debut albums ever. Even though I don't have $75 to spend on that full set, it had remember when I spent the summer of 2005 listening to it over and over and loving every bit of it.
(I guess November 1992 was a time for releasing volatile work. Ice Cube released his classic Predator album - the post-LA riot soundtrack until The Chronic came out in December. Spike Lee also released his biopic on Malcolm X in November.)
Anyways, being a huge Rage fan in 2005, I had never listened to a full album despite KROQ playing the singles nonstop. I remember my friend Adam loaned me a copy of the self-titled album to burn before we left for summer break. What happened next was a sonic fury that carried on the legacy of the MC5, Clash and Public Enemy.
I've been excited for Kendrick Lamar's album since last year and hearing it 3 times hasn't changed my mind when I say that it's one of the best debuts I've heard since "Food + Liquor". I'm happy that he and Big K.R.I.T. give me hope for the future in rap that rappers will have as much substance as they do everything else.
Besides "Food + Liquor", it also reminded me of Ice Cube's classic "Death Certificate" just because it captured what a young man in L.A. is going through. While it lacks the political bite of DC, one of my favorite albums of all time, the window and perspective of GKMC reminds of what Cube was trying to capture.
Is it a classic? How can you call something a classic 2 weeks after it comes out? It's an incredible piece of work that'll be remembered for a while. It's a great album. It'll be one of the best albums of the year. But let's wait and give it time because just because it looks like a classic, we still gotta let it play out.
That said, go cop it. Buy some extra copies for folks. Be a good friend like I was with my lady and let them have a copy however you can arrange it. Good music must be supported with your dollars and based on the last 2 weeks on Billboard, people are supporting Kendrick incredibly. 304,000 sold in 2 weeks for a debut artist? Who barely has a Top 40 single? Incredible!
Hard to believe that Marshall Mathers is 40 today. Craziest thing is that means he was 27 when the Slim Shady LP dropped. Since I just turned 28, that holds a lot more weight considering there's still a lot of living left in me.
I've watched Eminem from novelty act to serious MC to drug addict/questionable producer to serious MC once again. He's been one of my favorite rappers since I first heard "My Name Is" and everybody tried to rap it at school. While most of my friends loved the Marshall Mathers LP, my favorite will always be The Eminem Show because it was personal, dark and showed growing as a rapper with his skill and inspiration. Somehow he sounded overwhelmed, confident and hungry all at the same time.
People think Lil Wayne and Drake are superstars. But 10 years ago, Eminem was a real superstar. I remember when TRL was nearly shut down when he arrived. When he had the No. 1 movie and album in the country with 8 Mile. When Eminem Show was cranking out radio singles and album cuts on the radio all the time. When "Lose Yourself" was being compared to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and nearly every great song of the previous 10 years.
One of my favorite John Mayer songs was never released as a single. It's not a song you'd probably think of when you think of Mayer. I could've picked any of my favorite songs like "Neon" (another non-single) or "Your Body is a Wonderland." But today, I'm sharing a song that musically is as cool as anything he's done.
I first heard "Vultures" at a live concert I saw on TV in 2005 or 2006 (I've looked but I can't remember what show it was). The song got to me right away cause of that opening riff. So simple, yet funky with a groove that I could move to. It wasn't just John Mayer singing singer-songwriter ballads, it seemed cooler. Mature.
Then I heard the words. Even now when I hear them they inspire me when I feel down on myself or feel pressured. That chorus sounds like exactly what I'd say to keep myself going. It's not going to be easy all the time and I should embrace the struggle.
"Down to the wire
I wanted water, but
I'll walk through the fire
If this is what it takes
To take me even higher
Then I'll come through
Like I do
When the world keeps
Testing me, testing me, testing me"
I haven't done a music post in a while but I heard something this week that inspired me to share it. It's a great combination of two of my favorite groups of all time that embodies how creative, fun and unique they were.
"Bizarre Tribe - A Quest To The Pharcyde" is a mixtape that mixes vocals from The Pharcyde over beats from A Tribe Called Quest. Except it's not just a pure mash-up - there's live drums, recreation of the beats, original sample sources, clips from the ATCQ documentary and mixing in different songs.
For example, "Soul Flower (We Got)" has Pharcyde's "Soul Flower" rapping over Tribe's "Jazz (We Got)" and a recreation of "Butter." The song titles give you a hint of what's going to be the main mix but be prepared to hear other Tribe songs mixed in so seamlessly. That excitement is what I love about this project.
Created by Gummy Soul, a trio of DJ/producers Wally Clark and Amerigo Gazaway along with MC Kurtis Stanley, it's great for anybody who's a fan of Tribe or Pharcyde. Gazaway was the main force behind this mix and it's obvious he respects both groups' legacy as much as I do because it doesn't seem rushed or forced together with beats that seem out of place.
A month ago, I wrote about "Pyramids" - Frank
Ocean's nearly 10-minute ode to the past/present/queens/strippers/Egypt/and more.
Despite my initial thoughts on the song, it didn't take away from the fact that
Channel Orange was one of the most anticipated albums of the year for me and I
still wanted to hear it in depth.
That review would be overshadowed by Ocean revealing his
past with another man and him dealing with the heartbreak of that love not
being fully reciprocated. Surprisingly, I saw most respond to this very well.
It said a lot that in this day and age, a male R&B singer's career isn't in
jeopardy from who he loves.
That brings me to Channel Orange. I wasn't sure what to
expect from it but since I loved Nostalgia/Ultra, I knew was going to be
quality. What I didn't expect was that it was so similar in mood despite
touching on different themes.
Lately, I've been doing a lot of reflection on the summer of 2002. It was the summer after I graduated high school, my first summer driving more consistently, and a time of great transition as I was getting ready to move to San Diego for college.
I've also been thinking about my 10-year reunion that never or couldn't happen (at least without great effort) and the music of that summer has been hitting me closely. I listened to lot a punk rock at the time and thanks to KROQ, you'd hear a variety of pop-punk bands since folks were riding the wave of Blink-182's popularity.
Something Corporate, one of the many pop-punk bands emerging from Orange County, came out that year and released two singles. The first, "If U C Jordan" hit on radio right away since it was a nice kiss-off to high school and had a great video . But it was the second single, "I Woke Up In a Car" about being on the road that hit me a bit deeper and still does to this day.
I waited a couple weeks to hear this song because I wasn’t
sure what to expect. 10 minutes of R&B? How could Odd Future’s singer carry
a song for that long and it be good?
One of the reasons I like Ocean is because he’s creative. He’s
not the best singer live but he knows how to deliver a song. He has a mix of
confidence/introspection/storytelling that separates him from shallow singers
because it feels genuine. He’s also a great writer and aside from Ne-Yo and
The-Dream, I can’t say that about too many R&B singers since they fall into
clichés.
I've been listening to Christian rap consistently for a decade now. I started with Grits then graduated to Cross Movement and eventually Lecrae, Flame, Trip Lee and Da T.R.U.T.H. I think I can say plainly that it's great to hear brothers on the mic rapping about faith that I believe in. Yet I always wondered if I'd ever hear one of them blow up to be on the mainstream level.
As a fan of Lecrae since 2006, I'm very happy that he released this mixtape with Don Cannon. He's been arguably the most versatile Christian rapper in terms of flow, skill and content (not just preaching Scripture, but talking about himself, his struggles and more). He's released 5 excellent albums and has been featured on the BET Hip hop Awards and several mainstream sites within the last 2 years (as well as a joint with Statik Selektah).
Church Clothes combines all of his talents and adds them to beats behind producers like 9th Wonder, Boi-1da and more. Musically it's a stunning album considering most Christian rap albums have limited production. It's a reach for Lecrae to extend himself to secular producers as well as Christian ones but to me, it doesn't matter who you work with if you don't compromise yourself.
It's been a long time but I figure I'd give you a glimpse of what I've been listening to the last 3 months. So like Mos Def said, enough talk, let's move.
I had high hopes for this album because over the past six years, few MC's have grown as much. He's become the modern Ice Cube for his booming voice, political content and flag bearer for real hip hop. I'm a fan of his Grind Time mixtapes but after hearing he'd be having El-P produce this album, I got even more excited to hear how they'd inspire each other.
I didn't like "Big Beast" at first when I heard it in February but when I heard the whole album, it was powerful. It was like Killer Mike channeled his anger and passionate delivery and made an album to stand for mature hip hop that was still enjoyable. None stood out more than "Reagan", a song targeting hip hop's favorite Presidential punching bag with the same anger that Chuck D brought out 25 years ago.
When you hear the name The Isley Brothers, what do you think
of? The funk of the 70’s? The Quiet Storm era? The songs they did with R. Kelly
in the 90’s and 2000’s? Or even the old school Twist and Shout or Shout?
What about this. Do you think of them as one of the greatest
American bands ever? Or perhaps one of the most underrated groups in music
history? Follow me for a second.
How many bands/artists do you know have existed for over 50
years and have universal respect. The Beatles are still royalty. James Brown is
an American institution. The Rolling Stones could sell out any place in the
country. Ray Charles will never be forgotten especially thanks to his biopic.
Stevie Wonder? Bob Dylan? Legends.
The Isleys may not have made as much groundbreaking music as
the folks who came in that era. But they succeeded in so many genres that it’s
amazing they aren’t more recognized as an American institution.
This year, I’ve already bought more CD’s than I did last year. It feels weird yet it symbolized my budget cutting/dissatisfaction with 2011 music. But all the CD’s I bought now are at least 25 years old or older. Consider this my lesson for only downloading singles and having no idea of how they sound in context.
In the last two months, I’ve bought 6 CD’s. All of them between $6-10.
•Prince’s entire output with the Revolution (1999, Purple Rain, Around the World in A Day and Parade)
It's been a while since let's bring back Electric Relaxation to hip you to what I'm listening to.
M83 “Midnight City”
I stumbled on this song by accident, thanks to Lupe Fiasco’s
last mixtape. Lupe created a song that not
only was a perfect ending calling for justice and shouting out Occupy Wall Street, but gave you optimism that change could happen if we seek it. I had to
hear the original just to make sure, I got the same feeling.
I’m a fan of big sounding songs and electro music that
captures a grand feeling like MGMT “Electric Feel” or LCD Soundsystem “Dance
Yrself Clean”. I loved this song right away and I still can’t get enough.
Anthony Gonzalez was inspired to make this song being in Los Angeles and I
totally could imagine hearing this song driving down the streets late at night.
It sounds like pure energy and when you hear Gonzalez’
haunting vocals, it lulls you into a sense of calm before the music just
overwhelms you. And what’s better than a sax solo? Something straight out of
the 80’s yet it doesn’t feel cheesy. It just makes you feel good.
This quickly became one of my favorite songs of 2011 right
before the gun (similar to how Dance Yrself Clean became one of my 2010 faves
in the last month) and it’s still a fave in 2012 as folks catch up. I'm so glad
(I did listen to Hurry Up, I’m Dreaming yesterday. It’s
gonna take a few more listens cause on first glance, it didn’t have enough
oomph and was too dream-like and indie without the groove. Funny thing is
Gonzalez wanted that).
B.O.B. “Play the Guitar” f. Andre 3000
First time I heard this, I was curious to hear how B.O.B.
would sound since he said he was going back to rapping harder, not the poppier
stuff on his debut album. Well I don’t know because I was too busy replaying
Andre’s verse.
The song gets high marks for sampling Bo Diddley’s classic
self-titled track with his famous beats. It’s natural that Bobby Ray and 3
Stacks would fit on here since both play the guitar and have the light-hearted
flows to match it.
B.O.B. does have some ill lines and his usual razor sharp
cadence fits the beat perfectly without being overwhelmed. But this all about
Andre stealing the show, no surprise. The minute he starts his verse, he runs away with the track
literally with lines, double entendres and good advice to show why he’s
“Silverback Stacks” – going gorillas and killing this beat.
Every time I hear this, I feel like dancing a jig and
covering my face at what Bobby and Dre did on this. So far, it’s my favorite
hip hop track of 2012 and shouts to Salaam Remi doing wonders on the beat.
The Fray “Heartbeat”
Full disclosure, I’m not a big fan of the Fray’s
lighthearted music. I wasn’t fond of “How to Save a Life” or “Over My Head”
cause it sounded like Coldplay-lite yet they did do an amazing cover of Kanye’s
“Heartless” that I thought captured the soul and bleakness Kanye hinted at.
But this song got my attention. Maybe it’s the driving music
that sounds more rock-oriented than the piano-driven earlier music. Maybe it’s
the repeating of “You gotta love somebody, love them all the same.” It didn’t
sound like The Fray I remember and I like it.
If their latest album is more of a rocking direction like
this, I can dig it. Plus the lead singer said this song was inspired by his
time in Africa and meeting somebody who survived the Rwandan genocide. It’s
powerful and that urgency comes across in him singing this.
Kendrick Lamar “Cartoons and Cereal” f. Gunplay
I’m a Kendrick fan and dude deserves his own space on here
to explain his greatness. If you haven’t heard Section.80, you’re missing out
big time. We’re already moving on to his latest gem right here.
This song could’ve been a B-Side on that album cause it fits
with his themes of criticizing modern society and how the youth are being suckered
into it. Over a spaced-out beat,
Kendrick’s preaching some truth about waking up to reality while reliving
memories watching cartoons – something I can relate to in my former life.
“Things we will never learn soon. In this era where we wanna
earn soon, That’s an error, you can smell it in the air and everybody’s doomed”
Gunplay also has a powerful, soul-bearing 3rd verse that I’ve
come to expect and gladly appreciate from a Southern rapper. If Kendrick is
Andre 3000 on this beat (in terms of being spaced out), Gunplay brings it home
with talking about living the street life but not glamorizing it.
It’s an excellent song and Kendrick’s hot streak isn’t
cooling off.
(Disclaimer: I personally don't use nigga in my everyday speech. But since we are adults and I'll be darned if I let mainstream (White) publications say it with no fear, I'm going to say it here because I'm discussing the song and the word in general. This also isn't meant to be my complete opinion on the word because there's more to say.)
I guess this was inevitable. At some point, there’d be a popular hip hop song with nigga in the title that would somehow cross over and be a pop hit. I didn’t think it was possible but as Jay-Z once said “difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.”
It’s no surprise that America’s favorite rappers were the first to do it. Jay-Z and Kanye made history again as "Niggas in Paris" is the first #1 R&B/rap hit with Nigga in the title as well as the first Top-5 and 10 pop hit.
Let’s get this out of the way. I didn’t like Watch the Throne when I first heard it. Besides a few songs, it was too gaudy, too much focus on excess, Jay-Z’s still on lyrical cruise control (on the surface at least), and not even an inspired Kanye made me enjoy it like I would have in 2005/06. I’ve only liked one Jay album since he came back from retirement so hearing him isn’t exciting anymore.
But “Paris” was a highlight. It sounded like a foreign beat and it felt funky like what you’d expect to play in the background as you visit Paris. Not to mention, I got visuals of my Black heroes who spent significant time in France – Josephine Baker, Richard Wright, James Baldwin and more. I liked the song more than just the catchy hook or Kanye’s usual lyrical shine.
Yet like Jon Heder said in the sample, I don’t even know what it means…..that a song has crossed over with Nigga in the title (but only says it four times in the song). Is it all bad, quietly dangerous or even a sign of the further meshing of cultures that there isn’t more outrage? Or is this the final spawn of something that’s been bubbling for three decades?
NWA wasn’t the first act to use nigga in their lyrics. 70’s Black movies and Richard Pryor had already made that word a bit popular in the communities and other cats in the 80’s had done it, especially Ice-T and Schooly D. But Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella made that word part of their identity and Hip-Hop/Black culture would never be the same afterwards.
Their last album “Efil4zaggin” is the first (and to date, only) No. 1 album with nigga in the title and even then, they had to flip it backwards. It was also a sign of hardcore rap making a popular dent following the 3 million seller of Straight Outta Compton.
But as I remember an MTV special showed, Straight Outta Compton and Ice-T’s Power only used Nigga 40-50 times on their album. Cats on average probably use it over 100 times now. Yet NWA’s name and “F--- the Police” gave them a lot of shock value notoriety.
Even as more and more rappers started using nigga in their raps, White fans still knew that word was a no-go. My White peers knew never to say that word when they rapped songs and only the truly smart alecky idiots would dare say it.
Despite the widespread usage, songs like A Tribe Called Quest “Sucka Nigga”, Goodie Mob’s “The Experience” and Mos Def’s “Mr. Nigga” discussed what the word meant and people always got reminded that there was a flipside. Cee-Lo said it best on The Experience - "you ain't a nigger because you're Black, you're a nigger cause of how you act" (meaning it was about ignorance, not skin color). Of course, that got lost among every rapper and their mama using it.
I didn’t grow up using that word. I began saying “brotha” because I realized at some point, it’s better to reinvigorate a term of endearment than recreate one. Like the Last Poets said on Nas’ “Project Roach” - “We should resurrect brothers and sisters instead of trying to kill the word nigger” because that mentality still exists."
(Speaking of Nas, his last album was supposed to be titled Nigger and I would’ve supported it because his album had songs that discussed the word and it’s impact. Of course, it was forced to be changed but it didn’t tone down some of Nas’ songs that looked at how we see ourselves)
Every word we use, it has a capacity
And if you don't understand the words you're using
And understand the capacity of it
You are using words that is creating a destiny for you
That you don't even know, or even conscious of
I once wrote a poem discussing why I didn’t use the word yet at the same time, since my college was so White, I grew to feel comfortable when I heard Black folks use it. It was a reminder that I could be cool around my people and just be myself instead of always hanging around one group. That may sound hypocritical but it shows how it can be confusing.
15 years ago, it never would’ve been cool to have a pop hit single with it in the title. Let’s not forget it was barely 10 years ago when The Source tried to destroy Eminem’s career over 90’s tapes with him saying it. Times have changed and it’s coincided with the culture becoming far more integrated and younger folks having less awareness of cultural differences/history (and tastemakers being less sensitive about it)
A generation of kids have heard nigga in popular rap and are growing up thinking it’s normal – hence the V-Nasty’s of the world who say it and Black folks who defend them for whatever reason. That offends me more because when we don't check others, we've lost control of a word we tried to empower. Years ago, White people would listen to rap and know much better than say the word. Nowadays, people want to know why they can't say it or what's the harm.
I asked on Facebook how people felt about the song being a hit. Some could care less. Some were concerned over why folks are using that word still. But that small sample showed me why it’s no surprise that in 2011, the right, safe rappers could get away with doing it without most folks raising an eyebrow over it.
A friend of mine made a good point in an email that if 2 of the top Black artists are doing it, it’s troubling because of America’s fascination with violence and hate. Black artists used to uplift the people and now we’ve gotten so comfortable with using that word that it’s regression that it’s become so ingrained in popular music.
Both points are valid and it’s exactly why this song being popular is hardly eyebrow raising yet it also should be. "Niggas in Paris" to me is an ultimate sign of how far we’ve come on culture mixing but a question if it truly is progress – if anything it’s obviously surface progress. Is it cool if Top 40 plays a song with it so kids will have the awkward conversation of requesting it? The way I figure, pop hits have had that word in it for so long that having it in the title is the only logical next step.
It’s a confusing argument for me. I'm not saying we censor the word cause everyone has the right to do with it as they please but when that word escapes the boundaries of the group trying to reclaim it (similar to other harmful words) - what then? Does it lose it's power and is that a bad thing given the dark history of the word?
I guess the only thing I’m clear on is who should and shouldn’t use it and the fact that us using so much has created more problems than liberation.
Haven't done a Relaxation post in a while so let me reintroduce what this is about. Every so often, I'll post one of my favorite songs and break down why I love it. It can be an old or new song but it's just my chance to get my music critic on and show a little more than sports.
Maxwell has always been one of my favorite R&B singers. When I think of neo-soul, he's one of the first faces that comes to mind and so does this song. I remember hearing it on the smooth jazz station Mom would always play to put us to sleep after school and liking it but when I got older, it stuck to me like glue.
The song title alone is perfect cause hearing it makes you feel lifted up as soon as that subtle bass comes in. If you can't smile during that intro, frankly, you don't have a soul. It sets the mood perfect than Maxwell comes right in crooning the way he can.
"So shouldn't I realize You're the highest of the high If you don't know, then I'll say it So don't ever wonder"
If you've ever been with someone who makes you smile, that chorus hits you perfectly. I love how Maxwell lets each line breathe and you can feel his emotion with every word. That's how good singing is supposed to be. It's what's missing from a lot of R&B, that soul in knowing that every word means something you have to sing it like you mean it.
Maxwell's one of the smoothest singers around and this might be him at his most smooth/jazzy. I listened to it this week to help me relax after being overwhelmed by the Penn State news. It always puts me in a good mood and makes me feel I'm being elevated out of whatever state I'm in.
To me, this is the smoothed out, jazz version of Sly and the Family Stone "Higher" - instead of taking you higher with energy, it's taking you higher with love. Someday I have to see him live because his showmanship is heavily underrated.
I've been thinking about Nas' Stillmatic album all week. Not just because this week 10 years ago began the rebirth of his career when Jay-Z dropped "The Blueprint" (which I'll be blogging about sometime this month). Nas was 27 when dropped Stillmatic and on Saturday I'll be 27.
When I was 19, I bought Illmatic for the first time. Right away, I appreciated it as a classic record and even though I was already a Nas fan, it meant more to me because I was the same age he was when he wrote most of it. A few months later when I turned 20, I listened closer to "Life's a B---h", the classic duet with AZ. AZ's verse rightfully gets all of its praise but Nas' hit me closer. Peep the opener.
I woke up early on my born day, I'm twenty years of blessing
The essence of adolescent leaves my body now I'm fresh in
My physical frame is celebrated cause I made it
One quarter through life some God-ly like thing created
That was exactly how I felt turning 20. Since Illmatic hit me so close at that age, I'm curious if Stillmatic will hit me closer at 27 now that I've experienced enough to appreciate it even more.
"2nd Childhood" inspired me the first time I heard it. A classic DJ Premier beat and Nas putting on his street's reporter hat going through Queens. His first verse speaks on himself reliving his childhood then finding peace and happiness in being mature. It's a theme that comes up on the album a lot - Nas finally in a content state after chasing pop success and getting back to who he was as a person and an artist.
The next two verses see him describing two different people (31 year old man, 27 year old girl) who are still doing things they should've grown out of. It's sad hearing them because they aren't doing anything with their lives except running wild and watching life pass them by. If you're smart, you can catch the subtle digs at public education and the groupie lifestyle (the latter being something Nas spoke on with "Black Girl Lost").
I find myself going back to this song when I look at Twitter sometimes and I see folks in their 30's acting like I saw folks do in college. I assumed you grew out of that stuff but nah, they still continue in it. It confused me because I always look to older folks subconsciously for tips on what to do/what not to do as I get there. Yet, I still see some of them clinging on to acting like boys/girls instead of men/women. Real life episodes of "Baby Boy"
I love how vivid the descriptions are and it shows why Nas is the one of the best to ever pick up a pen. Primo's beat puts me in a daze and since it's a sequel to Illmatic, it gives you that same rush you feel when you hear "Memory Lane". It's almost like Nas was an old man at 20 reflecting then and now at 27, he can reflect after experiencing life.
For me, I'm realizing now that I thought I was an old man at 23. At that age, I had been to the Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, seen Kevin Love at a HS Tournament. Dodger Stadium to see Barry Bonds, USC-UCLA and in a Hollywood club watching the first Obama-Clinton debate. I was in deep as a reporter and with my then-girlfriend yet I thought I was missing life because I was working.
Now at 27, I realize I have a lot of perspective on those younger days and realize that I wasn't old at all. I can reflect and be happy. I'm not in my 2nd childhood but I can enjoy the fact that I'm gearing up for new experiences. I may not be in a totally ideal place but I'm inspired by a new chance to see life.
This is the last Nas-DJ Premier collaboration on wax (not counting "Classic"). If this is the last song the two of them make on an album, what a gem to leave us with - but please. Nas, from one Virgo to another, find a way to put Primo on "Life is Good", especially if you're in a good place again. I know y'all are fresh off tearing it down at Rock the Bells. One more song can't hurt right?
The first I heard this album was 10 years ago. I knew Sublime because "What I Got" was such a monster hit and when a friend at high school passed this to me, I figured I'd enjoy it. What I didn't expect was to go on a musical cruise that I never stop enjoying.
It's been 15 years since Bradley Nowell passed and I went from seeing him as a tragedy to one of the most underrated geniuses this city has produced. Sublime's mashup of reggae/punk/ska/hip-hop is still relevant today because when you hear them, you don't hear anybody else like them. You hear who influenced them but you still hear creativity and originality in bringing these styles together.
I loved the album in 2001 and replayed it to death. You have the easy breeze of "Garden Grove" with the hard rock of "Same in the End" and "Under my Voodoo" mixed with the Latin flavor of "Caress Me Down". It's the perfect mashup before mashups became vogue. Not to mention the hits that endured and still sound fresh on the radio today.
"April 29, 1992" is still one of the best songs describing the LA riots and at the time, I had never heard someone's perspective who wasn't Black. Bradley made me feel like it was a whole lot of anger going down and some White folks wanted to cause ruckus as much as we did. (Course I had a lot to learn about that day and glad I did).
After I had to give the album back - Mom wasn't too keen on me hearing certain stuff - I went to college and luckily I had a roommate who was a huge Sublime fan and schooled me on their influence on bands like Slightly Stoopid. He'd always play the Ziggens, a band Sublime was close to do on Skunk Records, and he'd tell me that there were plenty of bands who either borrowed from or dug from Brad's influence on the genre. I just soaked it up cause it added to my view on Sublime's greatness.
You can feel Bradley's soul in every lyric and with his death coming so soon before this album, you knew he thought this album would blow them up. Death often makes legends but it was clear that Sublime pre-1996 was destined for stardom. They already had local impact on KROQ and nationally on MTV. There was a budding ska-revival ready to burst through rock music. Had Bradley lived or not, I believe Sublime was going to be a major act.
Last year, I watched one of my favorite Youtube acts, DJ Funktual, break down this album and the other Sublime albums. It blew my mind even further because it showed Bradley's musical influences and how much he loved it. The self-titled album now became an album of covers and sampling so it proved how hip-hop Bradley was. Heck, even his reggae chops considering in Jamaican jams, folks would routinely honor or cover other songs in a way that would influence hip hop.
Take "What I Got" for example. It briefly samples Richard Pryor and a famous drum break before Bradley starts singing that first verse. The melody of that verse? It's a rip of the opening melody on Verse 1 of Beatles "Lady Madonna". Say what!!!!! Of course, most folks know Bradley's 2nd verse after the solo samples Too $hort and Lauryn Hill. But did you know that the hook samples one of Bradley's idols in Half-Pint?
That's 6 crazy samples mixed in with an original jam with original lyrics. Watch that DJ Funktual video and then go watch the others. You'll appreciate Sublime and Bradley more. Props to Eric and Bud for being a great rhythm section as well. All three of them had a unique chemistry and even when you hear Sublime With Rome now, it makes you appreciate Rome a lil bit cause it takes a special guy to have chemistry with those two (not counting the Long Beach Dub All-Stars 10 yrs ago).
I bought the 10th anniversary album two years ago. It's cool hearing the original track order and the original version of "Doin Time" even if it's jarring to hear "Garden Grove" close the album instead of set it off. By the way, if you never heard the Wyclef Jean, Snoop or Pharcyde remixes of "Doin Time", you're missing out.
So far, it has 6.1 million albums sold and it'll keep on selling for years and years to come. Somebody will listen to it and realize how timeless it and other Sublime albums are.
This week, I listened to 40 Oz. of Freedom for the first time (Gotta hear their cover of "Scarlet Begonias" with some help from the Funky Drummer). It was just as enjoyable as hearing the self-titled album as hearing the covers and shouts out to KRS-One and James Brown let you know they weren't some ordinary band. They are forever legends in the SoCal music scene and I'm proud to say they repped Long Beach just as well as Snoop Dogg.
R.I.P. Bradley Nowell and thank you for the music. One of SoCal's finest and a musical genius who stayed original while introducing many folks to reggae, dub, old school hip hop and punk.
I should've had this album earlier this year. I've been a Lupe Fiasco fan since I heard murmurings of him when I was about to graduate college. I downloaded several mixtapes in 2006 for the most-talked about MC in ages. I've written this blog saying Lupe's the most complete/versatile MC I've heard since Eminem. I've said The Cool is one of the best hip-hop albums of the last five years and it's still flying over people's heads how deep a metaphor that was and how relevant it is.
So why did I delay listening to Lasers? Why have I kept it in my Amazon wishlist all year without feeling the urge to buy it? Maybe because I heard too much press that this was Lupe's Nastradamus or Encore. Maybe because Lupe himself told people this album was a compromise and punishment for getting the public to protest Atlantic Records not releasing it sooner. Maybe I saw that it was 12 tracks, way shorter than either of his last 2 works.
Despite the brilliance of hearing "Words I Never Said", I also heard "The Show Must Go On" and thought it was "Superstar" Part 2 and Atlantic forcing his hand. I heard "All Black Everything" and I heard him break down what Lasers meant on his Enemy of the State mixtape. But I still waited because of that warning. After reading the XXL feature, I said why support it if Lupe hates it.
Well the wait is over. Thanks to joining Spotify, I finally listened to Lasers risk free. My thoughts are as follows. I blame Atlantic Records for trying to turn the best MC of the last 5 years into B.O.B. (and that's not a diss to Bobby Ray, that's Atlantic being short-sighted in the name of hits).
Four years after The Cool blew my mind and went gold thanks to a pop single in "Superstar", Lupe has an album that's pretty much left-field pop rap. By that I mean, it fits in perfectly with today's climate without totally sounding like Drake or Wayne or anybody else in the mainstream. At the same time, it's not what you expect from a guy who made "Kick, Push", "American Terrorist","Dumb It Down" or "Hip Hop Saved My Life".
The biggest flaw with this album is production. Too much techno, not enough soul to match the fire of Lupe's lyrics. It also wasn't cohesive. "Food and Liquor" and "The Cool" were great listens because the production was consistent and pleasing to the ear. Lasers is the classic case of hip hop's failure in grabbing hot producers to make hits without thinking about a solid sound.
The hooks on some of these are downright awful. The album opener makes me wish B.O.B. took that beat instead of Lupe. "Break the Chain" has some powerful lyrics but that beat sounds like it should be played in a club instead of a sonic force like "Little Weapon" on The Cool. It may grow on me but it's not a perfect fit.
"Out Of My Head" with Trey Songz isn't bad ---- that is, it would be dope if you replaced Trey with a female singer and had another hook/different lyrics. Instead, you just say "yep, Atlantic made him do it" and press next. The always cliche song for the ladies that just doesn't fit.
The worst case is "State-Run Radio", which has a title you'd expect from him but a silly hard-rock beat and a terrible hook that waters down Lupe's rant about Top 40 radio. I dang near cringed when I heard this on Pandora last month and I cringed hearing it again.
(Then again, maybe that's Lupe's point - make an overly pop song with a crappy, anthemic hook to prove how bad Top 40 radio. Yet it doesn't exactly work like DJ Premier making that same statement with Gang Starr's "Mass Appeal" or Radiohead's "My Iron Lung")
At least lyrically, Lupe still shows why he's an elite MC. "The Show Must Go On" grows on you because of the inspiration in his lyrics. The first verse walks you into his shoes and then sets you up for the double-timed 2nd verse before he picks up your spirits in Verse 3. He successfully flows to every beat and rides it as well as a technically gifted lyricist should.
There are two absolute gems on here that are some the best songs of the year. "Words I Never Said" matches a powerful Alex da Kid beat, a haunting chorus from Skylar Grey and some politically charged lyrics to create a sonic, lyrical masterpiece. It's everything I expect from Lupe and you may nitpick the facts, but you can't deny the passion and it fits with his past political songs questioning the government. The video is amazing too.
The second gem is "All Black Everything", one of the best written songs in any genre this year. Lupe reimagines Black history/American history if slaves were never taken from Africa. It's creative and a great story that makes you really wonder. The dream-like beat only reminds you that it's not real and it's a perfect accompaniment.
"Til I Get There" is a decent song that sounds like older Lupe and I liked "Beautiful Lasers." The album closer with John Legend also surprisingly works well.
Earlier, I compared this album to Nas' Nastradamus and Eminem's Encore. Both albums are terrible failures except for a track or two. Come to think of it Lupe's "Out of My Head" might as well be Nas "You Owe Me" and as much as Lupe admires Mr. Jones, he'd be better off studying how Nas rebounded the same way he's trying to by revisiting his classic debut.
Let's consider Lasers a pop compromise despite Lupe winning to put it out. The terrible production/desperate search for singles/bad hooks overshadows his solid lyrics and once again, let's blame Atlantic Records following Industry Rule No. 4,080. I'm honestly disappointed yet resigned to the fact that it may be for the better good.
Am I happy it debuted at No. 1 and has sold 440,000 copies so far? Yes, but only because it means we're getting another album that hopefully will show Lupe returning to form with minimal interference. So while I'm happy for his success, I'm disappointed he had to sell out to hopefully make the music he wants. Doesn't change my views on him, but this album is at best a 6 or 7.
