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)
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)
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)
At the beginning of “Get Ur Freak On”, Missy Elliott proclaims that this is “some new shit”, and, indeed, “Get Ur Freak On” was totally unique song. “Cutting-edge” was already a term often used to describe Missy and her co-conspirator Tim “Timbaland” Mosely, but “Get Ur Freak On” was particularly innovative. Seven years before Slumdog… Read More “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott (2001)
If NWA and 2Pac are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, two hip-hop related oversights that need to be corrected posthaste are the omissions of LL Cool J and Salt -n- Pepa. The latter trio broke down barriers in music as well as pop culture, and even though they never released a definitive… Read More “Get Up Everybody (Get Up)” by Salt-N-Pepa (1988)
When The Notorious B.I.G. blew up at the end of 1994, he wasted no time putting his people on. The Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Masters at Finding Intelligent Attitudes) boasted a bunch of Big’s homies from Bed-Stuy, and their debut album, Conspiracy, hit stores in the summer of ’95, just as their mentor was topping the charts… Read More “Get Money” by Junior M.A.F.I.A. feat. The Notorious B.I.G. (1995/Remix, 1996)
Imma let Chris Rock explain this one for you…
Five Star Jamz 