With “Shutterbugg,” Big Boi proves that radio-friendly hip-hop in 2010 doesn’t have to be cookie-cutter R&B bullshit. Big Boi seemingly jumps on the electro bandwagon, but “Shutterbugg” is actually distinctly Outkast and not some Kid Cudi knockoff. Precisely spat double time flow with an A-town twang. And that Auto-Tune on the hook? It’s actually a vocoder (or a talkbox). On some Zapp & Roger shit. But let your friends think it’s T-Pain if that will get them to listen to it. Leave it to Outkast to breathe new life into mainstream hip-hop. MAYBE your local hip-hop DJ will play this between Justin Bieber songs.
This is FlyLo at his most extravagant. The quiet little electro ditties from 1983 and Los Angeles are gone. “Do The Astral Plane” is the soundtrack to an epic alien space battle, but instead of fighting, all the aliens are getting their groove on because the music is so nuts. Cosmogramma drops May 3rd/4th.
Chalk this one up as another classic for DJ Premier and a career highlight for Joell Ortiz. The paranoia and urgency of the song are incredible.”Project Boy” sounds like boom bap’s last hurrah.
The Slaughterhouse alliance was formed to highlight the group’s lyrical prowess, so each verse and even each line stands on its own. When two or more them get on a song together, it becomes a contest of who can deliver the most clever, memorable, or otherwise impressive punchline. Some of my favorites from “On Fire”:
All I got is a bunch of weaponry everywhere.
When I was a kid I used to machete my teddy bear.
I got a big dick, bitch.
That ain’t no punchline, I just got a big dick, bitch.
I get Rihanna on a track and won’t even rap on it.
Just let her moan on the song while I’m masturbatin’.
Fuckin’ screamer,
Later with your tough demeanor.
You fruit, I’ll V8 Juice your fuckin’ team up.
2009 saw Blu (aka GODlee Barnes) step away from the mic and toward the boards. He produced Sene’s jazz-heavy debut album A Day Late and a Dollar Short and two weird little EPs, NoSleepForADay and HerFavoriteColo(u)r. It seems as if the California native stepped away from the spotlight ever since he signed his deal with Warner Bros. Nevertheless, Brooklyn MC Sene has proven to be an equally potent lyricist. This is an alternate version of “QuarterWater” which appeared on Sene’s album. “Also peep “Follow Leaders.”
I’ll say it again, Revolutions Per Minute will be Hi-Tek’s best work. Every song we’ve heard off the album has had a vastly different sound and it’s all heat. This is what happens when artists shake any conceptions of “real” hip-hop and just make good music.
“So Well” is a strange marriage of East and West. MC Eiht smears his California flow over a New York style soul sample. DJ Premier is wearing the executive producer hat for MC Eiht’s album, so it’s required listening.
The video for “Janelle Monáe’s “Tightrope” is a rare example of a video enhancing the song. I don’t think I’ll ever listen to this song again without thinking of the crazy dance party in the video. Monae & co. can move! Grab the audio and give it some burn.
Untagged version of the Statik Selektah produced cut off Quiz Knows a Mixtape. Statik proves that there are still interesting ways to flip a soul sample. I would guess this is a leftover from Statik’s album 100 Proof (The Hangover).
