The first time I heard “Hypnotize” on the radio, I knew it was gonna be huge. Biggie’s impeccable flow had seemingly improved in the two-plus years since he’d released his debut Ready To Die. Puff Daddy and his Hitmen sampled Herb Alpert’s 1979 disco hit “Rise” in a way that had equal appeal to the… Read More “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1997)
Folks, the early ‘90s were a much simpler, more innocent time. It was a time in which you could believe that Shock G, the mastermind behind Oakland-based funk/rap collective Digital Underground and Humpty Hump, the outfit’s Groucho-nosed comedian, were two different people. At least I believed they were two different people. What can I say?… Read More “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground (1990)
When discussing the great hip-hop producers of all time, certain names come up repeatedly; Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock. All are deserving of the respect sent their way. There are others, though, who are just as talented and influential, but don’t get as many props. One of those producers is Muggs, best known as… Read More “How I Could Just Kill A Man” by Cypress Hill (1991)
“Hot Sex” isn’t one of the more thoughtfully constructed Tribe songs. The track didn’t even make it to an official Tribe album-it appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 Eddie Murphy/Halle Berry flick Boomerang (without even appearing in the movie! I wonder what that was about!) The song’s somewhat tossed-off nature, though, is what I… Read More “Hot Sex” by A Tribe Called Quest (1992)
There are lots of “mom dedication” songs in the annals of Black pop music. They didn’t start with hip-hop, either. The Intruders’ “I’ll Always Love My Mama”, The Spinners’ “Sadie”, even Jermaine Jackson’s utterly banal “Oh, Mother” all predated rap music’s popularization of open-hearted paeans to mama. One of the most, if not the most,… Read More “Hey Mama” by Kanye West (2005)
As I think I may have mentioned before, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Licensed To Ill-era Beastie Boys. Part of it might’ve been a sense of “oh, now white guys are rapping and you guys are all into it” that I felt from people and couldn’t really articulate as a pre-pubescent. Part of it… Read More “Hey Ladies” by Beastie Boys (1989)
One major way that hip-hop is different from all other types of music is that a single verse can turn a track from good to “holy shit”. Case in point: Ghostface Killah’s absolutely bonkers verse on De La Soul’s 2004 album cut “He Comes”. Trugoy and Pos are great rappers; by 2004 they’d come a… Read More “He Comes” by De La Soul feat. Ghostface Killah (2004)
“Grindin’” is hard as shit. It has proverbial ice running through its proverbial veins. It’s an interesting marriage of two pieces I can find problematic individually. I can’t say I’m crazy about hip-hop (or any music) that leans too hard into drug dealing. I think there’s a fine line between street reporting/storytelling and glorification, and… Read More “Grindin'” by Clipse (2002)
Sometimes a thing that can seem a little too obvious and on the nose can actually work. Case in point: Kanye West and Jamie Foxx going back to the well for “Gold Digger”. To backtrack: Kanye’s breakthrough moment as an artist was as a guest artist on Twista’s “Slow Jamz” (Twista was credited as the… Read More “Gold Digger” by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx (2005)
I’ve already talked at length about how awesome The Notorious B.I.G. was as a rapper. “Gimme The Loot” is a prime example of the narrative skills Biggie had. Telling a story via rhyme is damn near a lost art these days. Big excelled at it when even the worst emcees had to be somewhat proficient… Read More “Gimme The Loot” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
Five Star Jamz 