| Common is about to drop a new song called 'Doing It'. It will be released on a white label to college and mixshow djs within the next week or so... Mos Def is blowing up the spot for Rawkus Records.. I don't care what anyone says.. the illest verse I've ever heard on a Hip Hop record is his second verse in the song 'Brooklyn'. I hope they make it a single so us deejays can cut it up on the turntables.. That album is a classic.. As for Mos Def's group Black Star, they are in the studio recording an album for MCA records.. not Rawkus. All you Killer Priest fans be on the look out 'cause home boy is about to drop a new single entitled 'View From Masada'. Look for it around December. Jay_Z will soon be dropping his new lp just in time for Christmas. He promises it will be a more socially conscious approach toward Hip Hop... Also is it me or has Rakim's new single 'When I be On The Mic' dropped without much fanfare? The song is pretty cool, but I hardly hear anyone rocking it at least here in the Bay Area.. I had an interesting conversation with DJ Mind Motion of the Pirate DJs.. [They do a lot of the clubs out here in the Bay Area]. He was explaining that nowadays the average 21-22 year old club goer has very little knowledge of Rakim. He complained that it was hard for him to even play 'Eric B For President' which is a Top 10 classic. He noted the new generation loves Nas, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep and everyone else.. but all the classic stuff like Big Daddy Kane, Biz and yes Rakim is greeted with lukewarm response. If I hadn't seen such reactions myself I would've not believed Mind Motion.. But if you think about it, when Rakim first hit the scene in '86 a kid who was 21 was only 8 years old.. What the hell did an 8 year old know about Rakim? The stuff I'm really feeling right now that everyone should be peeping is all the dope music coming outta the Blackberry Music camp. DJ Revolution of the Sway & King Tech Wake Up Show has a slamming project called 'R2K Version 1.0'. Here he has dope cuts from underground artist like Freddy Fox aka Bumpy Knuckles, Rasco, Planet Asia, the late Big L and Motion Man. Also off that same label are a couple of break beat projects and a smoking single from Mykill Miers called 'The Illest'. Another simmering joint I've been bumpin' is Dr Oop's 'Subterrain' where he talks about the exploitation that goes on in Hip Hop.. It's definitely a phat cut.. Blackberry and Rawkus..when I see these labels I pick up the package knowing I can count on having some dope Hip Hop to get down to... Props to Spice One and his new single 'Can't Fade Me'. This is taken from the Ice Cube classic of the same name that was featured on Amerikkka's Most Wanted'. Spice customized it to fit his own backdrop as well as replaying the beats. It's dope as hell.. His new album isn't bad either... ya may wanna check for it.. Finally a couple of other gems not to sleep on include; The Terror Squad album..All sorts of cuts like 'War', 'Pass The Glock' and 'As The World Turns' are not to be slept on.. The new Cypress Hill 'World Wide' is pretty cool.. Lets see if they can drop a good album.. I wish Cypress could do like they did on their first lp when they dropped 'How I Could Just Kill A Man'. Am I off base for liking the Limp Biscuit/ Method Man song 'N2Gether Now'? .. I played it the other night and a few folks including Boots from The Coup called up and started clowning and questioning my tastes in music..My other partners at the station [KPFA 94.1 FM] took a long step back and started handing me other records to play because they weren't feeling the song either. I think Fred Durst comes off pretty cool in that song.. Am I off base? Am I missing something? I did this interview for the Arizona Republic the other day about the 'recent' trend in Hip Hop where Rap and rock are merging. the whole Limp Biscuit, Kid Rock, Rage Against The Machine thing has caught a lot of people's attention. I'll give all these people their props..but lets pay homage to the real forefathers of all this.. I recall groups like Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto, Michael Franti's old groups Disposable Heroes and The Beat Nigs as fusing rap with Industrial style rock from way back in the days. Some of those groups like Consolidated and Disposable Heroes were extremely political in their lyrics.. Whatever happened to them? I ran into one of the Meat Beat Manifesto guys at the PE show the other night.... But i didn't really get a chance to break bread.. Since were going back into time a bit.. Whatever happened to the pioneers of LA's Hip Hop scene.. before there was Dr Dre and Ice T.. I recall groups like Formula V with songs like 'Killer Groove', Rich Carson and Captain Rapp with songs like 'Bad Times 'I Can't Stand It'.. Remember the Egyptian Lover? Wasn't he like one of the first cats to go out and independently do Hip Hop and get paid? Does anyone recall Ice T being down with a group called the Zulu Kings that featured Mele-Mel and Bronx Style Bob? |