This emcee’s name was Del The Funky Homosapien?! Where was Del from? Who was Mistadobalina? His debut album was called I Wish My Brother George Was Here. What does that even mean? What’s with the album cover? I loved the Montreal Expos hat but why was he sitting in the forest and what’s the deal with all of the eyeballs? Flip the album over… Wait…. The album was produced by Ice Cube of Da Lench Mob and DJ Pooh? WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!!?
Read morePHONIKS "COSMOS"
Phoniks diggin’ in the crates
When Kendrick’s Section.80 came out in 2011, I was 31 years old and was living life man! But now? Man… I am 40 years old and while I still have my rap and hip hop that I bump on the daily, most of the time I like to just slow it down a little bit with some beats and instrumentals. I also work a ton so during the work day I need something that won’t distract me so beats are always good.
Read moreCURREN$Y "AIRBORNE AQUARIUM"
I always respect artists who have a great work ethic and pump out quality material. Not many artists can do this over a long stretch of time because priorities change in life and some lose that inspiration that once drove them to be so creative in the first place. Some also get their first check in the rap game and then start chasing paper instead of staying in the lane that originally made them blow up in the first place. I can’t say I blame them either. I was lucky to grow up with the things I needed but some of these guys were raised with nothing so the second they have a chance to change that for themselves and their families they are going for it. This can compromise your artistic integrity so there are a few in the game who say no to the quick buck and continue making music on their terms. Curren$y to me is that guy.
Read moreJID "SOMEBODY"
I don’t remember the first time I heard JID (aka J.I.D.) but at first listen I saw the talent. His voice and flow reminded me of early Kendrick and I also heard a little Anderson .Paak in there as well. The timing around me finding JID was sometime in late 2018 because I remember he was promoting his upcoming album DiCaprio 2 on Dreamville Records. If you don’t know Dreamville Records, it is J. Cole’s label and if Cole had signed JID, you know he saw the talent as well.
Read moreSAAFIR "LIGHT SLEEPER"
In this modern day age of streaming music, we are leaving a lot of classics behind. Maybe nobody feels like I do but while we all celebrate the golden era of hip hop and give love to artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, and Gang Starr, where does that leave a West Coast emcee like Saafir? Maybe I’m just stuck in my Cali bubble but I feel that Saafir’s album Boxcar Sessions might be a classic. Am I biased? Absolutely. But was Saafir pushing boundaries in the rap and hip hop scene in the mid90s? Absolutely. So you have never heard of Saafir? Well now is the perfect time to get schooled!
Read moreODDISEE "SKIPPING ROCKS"
I’m usually up on a lot of the upcoming boom bap hip hop guys but I completely missed the boat on Oddisee and the whole Low Budget Crew out of Washington, DC. I’m actually ashamed to admit it because their vibe is my cup of tea. Or should I say cup of coffee? I’m drinking a cup of coffee here as I write this before 7am on a Monday. I have an hour before I have to start my 9-5 but all I want to do is vibe out to beats like I do every morning. And during the day… And at night. FEED ME BEATS!
Read moreMAYER HAWTHORNE "MAYBE SO, MAYBE NO"
One Sunday afternoon at my parents, I saw a new release from Stones Throw. I always gave their releases a spin as they were tried and true. This was a video and what I saw blew my mind. Here was this white guy by the name of Mayor Hawthorne making R&B and Soul music that sounded like it was from the 60’s and 70’s. I watched this video over and over again. I even brought my dad into the room and told him to close his eyes and listen because I thought that the music was this special.
Read moreANDERSON .PAAK "HEART DON’T STAND A CHANCE"
Anderson .Paak’s Malibu album is one of the best albums that has come out in the last 5 years. I was familiar with some of Paak’s early work as Breezy Lovejoy through some of the LA hip hop guys I listened to but when I first heard Malibu it was a breath of fresh air. His voice was very unique and the beats he was signing/rapping over were some good ole jazzy hip hop and neo-soul type beats which were right up my alley. The producers he paired with (Madlib, 9th Wonder, Kaytranada, Hi-Tek) and the collaborations on the album (ScHoolboy Q, Rapsody, Kweli, The Game, BJ the Chicago Kid) were on point. Add in .Paak’s vocals shining through the album and you had all of the puzzle pieces for a classic album. And the album cover itself is a thing of beauty. I can stare at that album artwork for hours!
Read moreKENDRICK LAMAR "THE HEART PT. 2"
A lot of people debate on who the best emcee is and what their top 5 lists look like but in my opinion it comes down to Biggie, Jigga, Andre 3000, Q-Tip, and Kendrick Lamar. If you ask me this same question tomorrow it’ll probably change but on April 8th, 2020 this is my top 5 list. But when it’s all said and done, I truly believe that Kendrick will go down as the best ever.
Read moreELZHI "PS"
. Elzhi is a rapper from Detroit who I consider to be one of the best lyricists of all time. Elzhi recorded a few songs over some J Dilla beats back in the day which eventually caught Dilla’s attention. Jay Dee put him on his Welcome to Detroit album which helped give Elzhi some serious buzz as Dilla was one of the best producers in the rap game and respected by everybody.
Read moreTHE PAUL HORN QUINTET "HERE'S THAT RAINY DAY"
You know the saying love at first site? Well, I’m a love at first listen kind of guy and it’s the beat that usually pulls me in on a song. And when I first listened to Gang Starr’s classic Moment of Truth album back in 1998 it was the very last song on that album that really caught me. Before we get any further, there were plenty of bangers on that album. But, the last song on the album, “In Memory Of…” spoke to me in a way that none of the other songs did. DJ Premier was always one of my favorite producers for his early Gang Starr and Jeru work but “In Memory Of…” might be my favorite beat of his and it all starts with the sample he used.
Read moreREFLECTION ETERNAL "FORTIFIED LIVE"
I first heard “Fortified Live” in ‘97 in my bedroom at my parents house on the radio late at night. My ears caught that beat and I fell in love with the track immediately. I literally stopped everything I was doing to give this song my entire focus because it caught me within only a few seconds. Everything about this song is magical to me. The beat from DJ Hi-Tek lays the perfect foundation for a young Talib Kweli, the Mighty Mos Def, and Mr. Man from Da Bush Babees to absolutely rip the beat to shreds. After hearing, I picked up the Reflection Eternal single on cassette and the Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing compilation on CD which both had “Fortified Live” on them. I still love this song just as much now as when I first heard it as a teenager out in Southern Cali.