Monday, August 08, 2005
"You don't know, my town is the truth...."
Put your lighters up - The Queen B reclaims her throne.
Lil Kim "Welcome 2 Brooklyn" (aka "Lighters Up") - hottest record out right now besides that Jeezy/Hova joint I linked to last week. This might be the best hip hop record Lauryn Hill never made. (mp3 links via 730 'n 'em)
On the music tip still, I got this email from a friend last week and thought I'd re-post it here:
"Hey man,
Thought I'd issue you an email challenge for Different Kitchen.
We are more than half-way through 2005, and I ask:
What solid hip hop records have been released this year?
There's been tons of great music (songs), but what about the
"album"?
I know that it's rare to get a "classic hip hop album" these days,
(on the level of Supreme Clientele, The Blueprint, or even Blackout,
the Meth/Red record) but I'm just talking solid record, meaning
it's worth my $ to buy the record, instead of iTuning the 3 or 4 hot
songs."
I thought about this for a while and couldn't come up with much on my end: Beanie Sigel, Common, The Game and, depending on your tastes, Slim Thug and Young Jeezy? I've heard good things about Sean Price and the 9th Wonder-produced Buckshot albums but haven't actually heard enough of either of them to offer an opinion on whether they rank up there or not. No doubt, Kanye's album will be ridick and as will, most likely, Outkast's joint (if it drops before year-end, which I doubt).
Some heads are also anticipating Little Brother too but I'm not quite as excited based on what I've heard so far. Fact is, making great, complete albums is a lost art in hip hop nowadays. I've made this point before but once again I have to say that, come December, I think I'm gonna have trouble finding enough albums to put together a top 10 hip hop records year end list.
Of course that might just be a function of my fairly narrow exposure to what's out there in hip hop nowadays. That being said and in response to Hashim's challenge a couple weeks back, let me put you up on game about some more underground-ish hip hop I've checked out recently (and for the heads who read this site for coverage of the more gangsta, mainstream street-oriented hip hop I normally write about, consider this taking your vitamins - you might not like it but it's probably good for you) :
- Pete Miser - this had been lying around my house literally for months before I finally played it a couple weeks back but I was pleasantly surprised when I finally did. As I recall it was a bit emo rap in parts with lots of songs about girlfriends and love gone wrong etc. and high concept in others (there's a joint about him finding out he's robot, android or something!). Dude reminded me of a slightly more gutter-sounding Eminem and the beats were alright even when he tried a live drum n bass thing (in 2005?!) at the end of one of the songs.
- Supastition - I got his CD around the same time as the Peter Miser. Coming off like a slightly less manic Canibus, this album is pretty good except for the recurring "Mad Rapper" sentiment running throughout that drags the vibe down overall. I get sick of MC's playing the hip hop police or complaining about how wack rap is nowadays. I mean if you agree with them (and I don't in general, my comments above about the lack of good full length albums for me to rock notwithstanding) and hip hop suddently became less wack, what the fcck would they talk about on their records?
- More heat from Maspyke - support these kids. I'm liking what I'm hearing from them so far.
Let me know if there are more albums in the vein of these ones that I should fccks with. Please don't say to check Quasimoto or Danger Doom though. I really doubt either of these joints are albums I could really sit all the way through and actually enjoy, but maybe I'm wrong?
And finally, shouts to Nomad over at Day By Day and my man MF Grimm whose new online magazine, American Hunger you should check out.
