When there's no crank left

I was thinking about the Souljah Boy/GZA thing. Souljah Boy is right in a way, lots of people don't know who GZA is, certainly not the people who are buying his cds. It wasn't provoked more than any ringtone rapper provokes a legend by their existence. So when GZA called out Souljah Boy he made himself look a bit bitter.

The thing is, while Souljah Boy makes money he kills hip hop. Hip hop, like any musical genre will thrive as long as it is loved and nurtured. People like GZA and others engender this kind of love. They build a following, they're creative and make exciting music. When the following is big enough it becomes a mainstream thing. The mainstream is of course pop's home ground. Pop is fine but it doesn't usually bring someone to love the genre, search for its gems and contribute back in some way. It doesn't sustain itself, more than that, hip pop makes the rest seem old, outdated and irrelevant. So the massive success of the Souljah Boys and their attitude to the GZAs means that when the pop industry has moved on to another sound there won't be an underground, finally free from commercial expectations. Hip hop will have passed away. Nas wasn't far off, hip hop is dying, bring on the melodrama.

For a taste of the real, check out Pete Rock. He has some of the most loyal fans in hip hop. If you haven't heard any of his music, you've heard beats by people who make music because of him. Check out this video for his upcoming album and hear Kanye, 9th Wonder, Timbaland, Just Blaze and others rave about him.



Check him out making a beat on a mpc2000, Straighten It Out from his days with CL Smooth and Questions from his upcoming album.

flicking throgh 'the source'...

... you see some funny stuff
the ads for albums in particular

you know, like those ads for unknown rappers with albums like 'number 1 in tha game', featuring the hits 'cash and hoes' and 'pimps in tha hood' (featuring z-money), and the brand new club banger 'D.E.E.P.S.O.U.T.H.'

anyway, in a copy of the source sports (the first, i think) there was this ad


it had more writing on it too

one of the most anticipated albums of 1998
is coming sooner than you think

features the platinum #1 rap single

"deja vu (uptown baby)"
hip hop's new party anthem

this was all brought back to my mind when i saw a snippet of classic albums program profiling steely dan's 'aja' (an album i know nothing about). apparently lord tariq and peter gunz sampled a song of the album, in creating "hip hop's new party anthem"

i figured i'd check 'make it reign' out for the first time, so here it is



an okay track, i guess

other memorable ads from that issue of the source sports:

big pun
the album capital punishment
featuring the smash hit
i'm not a player, stlll not a player

charli baltimore
from the forthcoming album "ice"
featuring the smash hit "money"

and the pimped out

snoop dogg
da game is to be sold, not to be told

i knew (and still know) nothing about these albums, but these ads just always made me laugh
and magazines like the source and xxl are full of them even today

king tim

The haps

The city council is trying to have Suge Knight banned from Compton

Nas may be dropped from Def Jam if he doesn't change the title of his upcoming album 'Nigger'

Ghostface is disappointed you didn't buy 'The Big Doe Rehab'

Lil Wayne may be headed for jail

First GZA had a go at 50 Cent and Souljah Boy. Then 50 Cent responded. Now Souljah has contributed his insights

Check out this Redman video for I'll Be Dat:

Live show: Dr Octagon & Kutmasta Kurt 22/01/08

I actually did end up going! The show was at The Metro Theatre which is pretty crusty inside. It's like a cross between the uni bar at Utas and an abandoned warehouse. Everyone was checked for weapons as they came in the door so I felt like I'd been transported to an American school.

The show started with a DJ playing competently but uninspiringly the kind of music which would have been good to listen to at home but wasn't suited for a show. That was ok though because there was only about 5 people there at that time including the sound guys. I spent most of the time talking to another guy who was there on his own.

Aceyalone was up next and he was pretty much what I'd expected. Not really my style of hip hop but he freestyles like he has adhd. Unfortunately most of the people there (including me) didn't know much of his music so even though he was very energetic it lacked the hyped vibe he was going for. One of his biggest skills is his complex rhyme patterns which I don't think translated very well to the live show. His hooks often aren't very catchy which held back his show. He played Freestyle Fellowship stuff, something from Project Blowed and heaps of stuff I didn't recognise.

Kutmasta Kurt and his fake beard came out after Aceyalone and he did a short set before Keith joined him. Kurt, aka The Funky Redneck, got everyone going. He played a good range of his own and other music, talking things up and doing all the things a DJ should do.


Kurt was joined by Dennis The Menace who was Keith's hypeman and then shortly after by Keith himself. Keith was fantastic, he came on, the crowd went bananas and he got into it. It looked like he was enjoying himself. He tried to tell us that he had always wanted to be a singer and screeched into the microphone for a bit. He played a few songs from Ultramagnetic days but the highlight for me was when they played the skit before Blue Flowers, "Oh shit, there's a horse in the hospital!" Then they went straight into the song and everyone in the crowd went crazy.


The blight on the evening as far as I was concerned came after that. They played 3-4 songs from Sex Style and Spankmaster and Keith chucked out pornos into the crowd. It was an intensely uncomfortable thing and it was a bit frustrating to spend time at a concert staring at the floor.

Once they'd moved on from that they did choruses from about 10 of his songs. The whole crowd sang along and we had a great time with it. He did Halfsharkalligatorhalfman, Earth People, Housing Authority, Test Press, Apartment 223 and others I can't remember any more. My only disappointment was that he didn't do the whole version of Housing Authority but I knew when I went that I wasn't going to be able to hear everything I wanted.

I can't say that I had the best time 'cause that bit in the middle sucked but it was great to see Keith. He's a very wacky dude but hip hop could probably do with more guys who aren't obsessed with being tough.

Naturally 7

Apparently these guys have been around for a while but I only just heard about them. Their style isn't really my thing but they've taken beat-boxing to another level.

This is a video of them doing their thing in a Paris train. Watch out for the grumpy dude with the headphones.

'the realness': or 'the real hip hop is over here' (part 1)

this is the first in what i hope will be a long-running series of posts showcasing truly good quality hip hop
of course this is subjective but surely some assessment of good hip hop music can be made
basically this is a search for great tracks

okay, first up (for no particular reason) is 'the mask' by dangerdoom (featuring ghostface) from the mouse and the mask



just the music, but i think that's a good way to appreciate it

now i'm not going to do to much analysis, 'cause i understand that you can't really talk people around if they're not feeling it, but briefly:
- i love the killer diverse samples, bangin' drum loops and real structure and mood
- and the seriously dope rhymes from the amazing mf doom (he be flowin') and the wu-tang's ghostface killah (tight). two hot verses of vivid rhymes

and if you're wondering about that last bit, that's a bit of work from some of the characters from the adult swim cartoon network. see, this was something of a concept album, or a collaboration, with comic input from the characters on a variety of cartoons such as aqua teen hunger force, harvey birdman, attorney at law and space ghost coast to coast
bizarre stuff i know, but it works

also, the first video of this i saw on youtube of this had a whole lot of footage of mexican wrestlers in masks, which i believe is an AMV, but is awesome and seems to fit really well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQakz9-kvfI

hope you enjoy

king tim

When the shit goes down...

...you'd better be ready.

It occurred to me the other day that there was a time when I wasn't aware of the existence of hip hop. I listened to music while being oblivious to any distinction between genres. I even have a distinct memory of listening to and singing along to Cypress Hill's classic When the shit goes down (I think I sang 'ship' instead of 'shit' for some reason though), but not understanding that it was rap music.


I'd like to know when you guys first became 'aware' of hip hop, and if you can be specific, what song did it for you.

American Godfather

There are more remixes of American Gangster than is reasonable. There's Motown Gangster, American Gangsters (Sinatra and Jay-Z), British Gangster, Brooklyn Gangster, Crooklyn Gangster, Midi Gangster and heaps more. Lots of them are a bit lame but I thought this one is worth checking out. DJ Skee mixed Jay's acappellas with The Godfather soundtrack and has pulled it off pretty well even if it's not quite the next Grey Album.


Check out:
Blue Magic
Fallin'
American Gangster

You can download it for free so if you like it get into it.

Download Mixtape | Provided by DatPiff.com

"Take what Forbes figured then figure more..."

"...cos they forgot to account what I did with the raw."

First of all, American Gangster the movie. It was very long, but I didn't notice it dragging anywhere. It was very well made, and told the story of Frank Lucas, a real life drug dealer who built his own drug empire in Harlem in the 60s and 70s. Russell Crowe plays the policeman who tries to track him down. Denzel and Russell were both great, but I loved spotting the rappers in the supporting cast. Common is Frank's brother, TI is his cousin, and RZA was some dude I can't remember. My favourite though was British actor Idris Elba, otherwise known as Stringer Bell from The Wire. Elba is also a DJ and performed and produced the opening track on Jay-Z's album. It is rated MA15+, so don't expect kittens dancing on rainbows. But the violence is justified plotwise. Check it out!

Now, American Gangster the album. I freakin' love this. Jay was inspired by the movie and delivered a record with a stylised interpretation of his drug-dealing in the 80s. Diddy and the Hitmen provide six tracks, with 70s-style horns giving the tracks the "bounce" that Jay looks for. Kanye West's mentor No ID produces "Success", feat. Nas, while Just Blaze also has a shot with "Ignorant Sh**". Jay's rap is fast, clever and sharp. Good to see Grayhova inspired and doing the biz.

Kool Keith should keep it real, he should rap about space and mars

I'm not smoking blunts and looking for jazz records at the Roosevelt...I'm drinking water and wondering whether I should go to see Dr Octagon (aka Kool Keith, Dr Dooom, Keith Korg, etc) and Kutmasta Kurt next Tuesday OR leave that one and go to see Cypress Hill and Pharoahe Monch in February or possibly turn to a life of crime to feed my addiction. This is not a problem that I would have faced in Hobart since none of them would have toured there and I'm not yet hardened enough in my Sydney ways to not care. I saw The Roots last year and it hurt when Xzibit (and I think Ice Cube?) toured and I couldn't go.

I've heard that Kool Keith is one of the best live acts in hip hop. On the other hand, Cypress Hill are also touring veterans with a decent catalogue. Pharoahe Monch is insane and I'd love to see him live. I think I'll go and see Kool Keith because to not go isn't really an option. However, this doesn't mean it's all resolved, I'm still in internal turmoil. Woe is me!






How could I not see that live?

From the mean streets of Kingston...

Hip hop is dead. Or at least downsizing. What isn't downsizing is hip hop blogs and I'm here to contribute to the tide with very knowledgeable, well considered opinions. I feel that growing up in Tasmania has given me the ideal background to be a hip hop critic.

I'm keen for there to be an Aussie flavour to this blog, believe it or not Australian hip hop goes beyond Hilltop Hoods and The Herd and I'd like to get into some of that this year.

I guess I also want to talk about news that interests me, albums I'm listening to, explain a bit about why I like hip hop but mostly I want to hear about what my friends Tim, Gus and Simon are listening to and talk about what I'm into.

Anyway, here's an offering to start with. Gimme some more by Busta Rhymes. This is an excellent video, I'm a little sad that Busta has left his wackiness behind for the tough guy image.