With “Spell Casting” Blame One gives a stream of consciousness harangue that touches on life and death, the creative process and tons of other stuff in between. This song was originally intended as a bonus track for the album, but didn’t make it for whatever reason. Blame One raps in a quick breathless monotone similar to Big Pun. If you haven’t checked out Days Chasing Days already, you should; Blame is an impressive lyricist and the production credits on his album include Black Milk, Exile, Oh No and GODlee Barnes (Blu).
Update: As Quan points out in the comments, this track is actually from Blame’s last album, Priest, Thief + Wizard.
Jay $tay Paid looks like it’s going to be a quality posthumous release when it comes out next month. As great as Black Thought sounds on a Dilla beat, there’s nothing quite like a local Detroit rapper tearing one of his tracks to shreds. Danny Brown and J Dilla are a perfect match.
Okay, this is a few days old, but it’s worth hearing. Not as surprising of a combo as you might expect. GZA made a few appearances on the Atlanta garage rock band’s SXSW tour, and seem to have become fast friends. As for the track itself, it’s…interesting.
The band’s playing is a bit too sloppy for GZA to ever gain a foothold, so he stumbles over the song’s reverbed haze. The verse was also clearly recorded separately from the Black Lips’s playing; GZA’s voice sounds too clear compared to the distant vocals on the backing track. The twangy, dusty vibe of the song isn’t too far removed from some of the spacier stuff on Liquid Swords. Nonetheless, I’d much rather hear GZA spitting with the El Michels Affair, or better yet, a full-length collaboration between the band and the Clan. It just makes more sense, especially in light of the Affair’s recent cover album of Wu-Tang instrumentals, Enter The 37th Chamber.
For some reason, we can spend countless days and nights watching Rick Ross dance. Heck, we’d buy a Rick Ross dancing DVD (only if offered infomercial style). Seeing YN unearth this gem above, reminded me of another gem ML saw first hand about 3 years ago:
It’s not exactly Christmas time, but I thought I would bring a bit of holiday cheer during these hell weeks that are finals. Hot Ham is back and better than ever with his witty remarks and looks dope rockin’ the Santa suit. HOT HAM!!!
Fellow DC people, if hearing just one dope track from Tanya Morgan isn’t enough, come out this Saturday to listen to one of the most anticipated indie hip hop albums of the year, their 3rd release, Brooklynati. Did we mention free Red Stripe from 7-8pm? Good Hip Hop+free Red Stripes? That’s a winning combination if I’ve ever seen one.
5.9.09
2001 11th St
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 299-0800
(U St stop on the green line for the Metro lurkers)
Little press blurb from our dude Alex:
After recently leaked collaborations with stars-in-the-making, Drake and Blu, and a performance with Wale in NYC, the buzz behind Tanya Morgan’s “Brooklynati” (out May 12 on Interdependent Media) is sweeping the internet. The trio from Brooklyn/Cincinnati produce their own beats and have crafted a concept album called Brooklynati, a fictionalized city that resembles an old-school influenced, hip-hop utopia. Features include Phonte from Little Brother, British expatriate Che Grand and California MC, Blu. Tanya Morgan recently performed at The Roots’ Jam Session in NYC, and the album will be reviewed in SPIN, Billboard, Time Out NY, and all the major hip-hop outlets.
Despite some formidable production credits (Statik Selektah, Large Professor, Pete Rock), Krumb Snatcha’s Hidden Scriptures languishes because of Snatcha’s often less-than-stellar performance on the mic. That doesn’t stop this song from being dope though. “Yesterday” is one of the best Pete Rock beats I’ve heard in a long time. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a hip-hop song with a vibe quite like this. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but for some reason it reminds me of this. Just my thought. Maybe I need more sleep.
Pay attention rappers. From now on, this is how you rap. Don’t send me anything if it doesn’t sound like this. Jerry Barrow had a copy of Brooklynati with him tonight and I damn near threw glitter in his eyes so I could snatch it.
