Archive for the ‘Opinions’ Category

WhiskeyTeeth x SteadyBloggin’s 100 Underrated Independent Hip Hop Songs of 2010

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

For our final 2010 post, WhiskeyTeeth.com & SteadyBloggin.com wanted to bring you 100 of the most underrated and overlooked independent hip hop recordings that dropped in 2010. There is a mixture of the experienced and the unknown within the collection, but the common ground they share is that they are all tracks that flew under the radar, didn’t get a fair shake in the blogosphere, or were great songs that didn’t get the props they deserved from fans and critics alike.

The 100 songs are split up into a four part download due to the 600+ MB size of the folder. Here is a list of the artists featured in the folders (Most of it is in alphabetical order):

aDaD & Exile, Aleon Craft, Atmosphere, Basic Vocab, Black EL, Black Milk, Blu, BMB (aka Spacekid), Celph Titled, Ceschi, Chuuwee, Cloudy October, Count Bass D, Debilorithmicos, Dela, Descry, Danny Brown, Dom Kennedy, Dr. Oop & Rogue Venom, Droop-E, ESQ, Earl Sweatshirt, Erik L & 7even:Thirty, Erik L & Illingsworth, Fashawn, Fel Sweetenberg, Freddie Joachim, Fresh Daily, Front Porch Poets, Gonjasufi, Incise, Intuition, Jermiside, JR & PH7, John Robinson, Junk Science, Kokayi, KON, KVBeats, Little Brother, MadKem, MaGr, Mally & The Sundance Kid, Maxilla Blue, MellowHype, Panacea, Poetic Republic, Quincy Vidal, Qwel & Maker, Raedawn & Main, Roq’y Tyraid, Miedlev, Moe Pope, Nemo Achida, Nocando, Nottz, Open Mike Eagle, Othello, Outasight, P.SO, Kenn Starr, Oddisee, MED, Random, Rugz D Bewler, Soul Professa & Roc C, Statik Selektah Sene, 7even Thirty, Shad, Shawn Jackson, Strong Arm Steady, Thaione Davis, The Burnerz, The Grouch, The Gent$, The NewOld, Truthlive, Finale, Ras Kass, 8thw1, Tyler the Creator, Von Pea, Writtenhouse, Young Gully, Zion I, and SkuFL.

Download Part 1 (A-F)
Download Part 2 (F-M)
Download Part 3 (M-S)
Download Part 4 (S-Z)

Regrettable Rap Purchases

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

With Christmas just around the corner, this is the time of year I like to pretend I have more of a disposable income.  Usually I’ll spend some extra dough on family and friends, but chances are the price tag won’t put a hole in my wallet and I won’t suffer any serious consequences as a result.  If I had a larger bank account, I’d probably end up buying dumb, expensive gifts for everyone, because that seems like the thing to do if you’ve got cash.  That being said, I’d be interested to see a report on rapper gift-giving for the holiday season, Brother Ali and The Beastie Boys excluded, based on what some of them buy throughout the year.  Rappers buy some really dumb shit…

Drugs

You know what I love?  Sprite.  And Jolly Ranchers.  And cough syrup if I’m feeling congested.  All three at once, I’m not so sure.  What do you think DJ Screw?  Big Moe?  Fine, don’t answer me, see if I care.  Pimp C?  No response.  I guess it must be that sleep apnea acting up again.  As much fun as it is to stumble out of the dentist’s office and listen to the batteries die in my walkman, it’s only fun in moderation.  Even then, I’m not exactly cheating death when I get my wisdom teeth removed.  I don’t understand the appeal of purple drank on a weekly (nightly?) basis, and I especially don’t understand the appeal of dying in my sleep from sippin’ on syzzurp.  Paying to die in my sleep is definitely not in my favorite past-times.

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Is Black Thought a Top 5 MC?

Friday, December 17th, 2010

After listening to Ghostface’s In Tha Park feat. Black Thought, first posted on T.R.O.Y., I have come to realize it might be impossible NOT to include Black Thought among the 5 best rappers today. Follow me on this one, go back to ’94 when A&R extraordinaire Wendy Goldstein signed them to Geffen Records. Months later (Jan ’95) they dropped their major label debut Do You Want More?!!!??!.

Many consider that very album to be a true blue classic with stellar tracks such as Proceed, Silent Treatment, Distortion to Static and The Lesson, but it wasn’t until later in his career that Black Thought truly developed into one of the best all-around emcees in the game. Like vintage wine, he got better with age. It happened to Steven Tyler, Phil Collins to even rappers like Lil Wayne and MF Doom.

Ghostface Killah -In Tha Park feat. Black Thought

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Cormega on collaborating with Lil B

Monday, November 1st, 2010

I usually don’t consider message board interactions to be good blog content but couldn’t pass this one up. After facing some criticism on his own fan forum, Cormega speaks out on his recent brief guest feature on a Lil B song. 10 pages of back and forth follow, spinning out into a wider range covering homosexuality in music, religion, Malcom X, Biggie and Eddie Murphy… and somewhere amidst all that you can find a few insights into the minds making up a (admittedly small) cross-section of modern ‘true-school’ rap fans. Key detail to consider: it doesn’t seem like most of the detractors have actually heard the song in question (you can hear it here).

Mega’s first post is this:

Theres a lot of younger rappers who dont study there history especially sadly in my own city. Theres young dudes who never heard of or listened to Kane or G Rap,Lil B is NOT one of them.I have heard him quote lyrics from dope MCs, not hot rappers so that enough merits respect. What some call old heads Lil B calls influences you’d be surprised how humble and respectful he is and the love he has for East Coast pioneers. Lil B is a better at marketing then some people that are paid at lables to market(check his youtube). He generated his own buzz and is generating more buzz by doing and saying whatever the fuck he wants. Hes a smart dude and he respects hip hop more then some of the rappers who got rich off exploiting it. Chasing The Rain is one example of Lil B making a dope song. The cooking dance generated a buzz that probably wouldve been a hit record if he was on a major. The kid knows when where and how to say things and apparently its working because people keep talking about him. People said hes the worst thing to happen and that he killed hip hop so he made a song called “I killed Hip Hop” ALOT of the top rappers sold out way before Lil B had a demo out let him live.
People say hes gay because of something he said well I know of a rapper who said “she look so good I’d suck on her daddy dick” and not only did people not criticize him they song along. PAUSE
Come on it 2010 almost 2011 lets stop bringing each other down its getting real tired!

Things get interesting as responses add on. Read the whole thread here: http://www.legalhustle.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21255. Make conclusions as you will.

In (a fairly likely) case you read all that (or just this post) and got nothing out of it, here’s a nice new remix of Cormega’s ‘Journey’ with OC, Large Pro and Sadat X to make up for your lost time (via Unkut).

DOWNLOAD: Cormega – Journey RMX ft Sadat X, Large Pro and OC

OFWGKTA Live in Los Angeles, October 20, 2010

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

OFWGKTA Oct. 20th Los Angeles Show Review
by Half Black Steady Bloggin’ Correspondant thekeenone

I’m a regular poster and contributor on Philaflava, and often get turned on to new music with that merry band of ignorant internet savages (HLB, what up).

Not too long ago, a thread popped up that posed the question, “Anyone heard of this EARL kid?”

After watching that first video, the entire board was hooked. We noticed we were not alone, and the OFWGKTA hype was spreading across the Internet and spilling over into respectable print publications faster than anyone could imagine, including OFWGKTA themselves.

When the news of the show at Low End was released, everyone was hype as fuck. Would this online phenom translate into a live show? Would people come? Would it turn into a Black Nazi Riot lead by Tyler himself, with Taco screaming “I’m a fuck every bitch in this room!” (that part happened) as he follows the battle charge?

Being an LA resident (sup Venice) I decided to go to the show along with fellow poster and delicious MC in his own right, Open Mike Eagle.

The place was packed. About 250-300 people. Here’s a shot of the crowd before they went on:

There was a nervous tension in the room that Low End host Nocando picked up on as well. We were all waiting to see, first hand, WTF is OFWGKTA?

Finally a bit after 11pm, the show started. Then this happened:

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Jews for Jay Electronica

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

For years Jews have played the background while standing on their tippy toes just trying to get a glimpse. The Jewish acceptance in hip-hop has always been matched against ambivalence. Sure, years ago you had The Beasties or 3rd Bass’ MC Serch, but the reality really was being Jewish in hip-hop wasn’t exactly cool. Ras Kass once said on “Uni-4-Orm” “Record industry rule numbers one, two, and three/Jews run it/Niggas run around in it/Believe me” and he couldn’t have been more accurate.

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Random Thoughts Pt. Whatver

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

10 Random Thoughts That Shouldn’t Matter, But Kinda Really Do

10 . Can we cut the bullshit and admit Slum Village hasn’t really had a good album since Fantastic Vol. 2? The group literally lost two members and are left with one fat delusional c-level rapper and if Elzhi happens to be in the group today, an extremely underachieving to straight boring ass rapper. Who give a fuck? None are buying this album. Nobody is even downloading it. Attention Elzhi stop wasting time on remaking other peoples albums and get focused and write your own damn one that matches your potential.  Holla at Black Milk for the beats too. Danny Brown is owning Motown rappers right now.

9. J. Cole is a faggot.

8. Earl is this years internet sensation. At 16 years of age, he’s managed to create more buzz about him with virtually no co-sign, label, budget or big named producer behind him.

7. Curren$y’s new album “Pilot Talk” isn’t that good and you know it.

6. Roc Marciano’s Marcberg is probably one of the best albums of the year and I didn’t even think this until recently. It’s taken something like 4 months for me to fully appreciate the beauty of this album. I knew it was dope when it dropped but the album continues to grows on you like a fungus. Shit is phenomenal.

5. The Roots latest album “How I Got Over” is great and you won’t fully admit it. Simple, effective and is sequenced to perfection. But a Black Thought solo album can’t hurt.

4. Do the borks people that donated money to Ras Kass for his album A.D.I.D.A.S. get their money back? I know Ras and Bis share similar fan bases and I’m well aware of their defense mechanisms, but this album was an abomination. Can somebody lock Ras in a studio with the following producers, Alchemist, Jake One, Black Milk, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Nottz and maybe DJ Khalil? ABSOLUTELY no friends allowed. Somebody is feeding John John these horrible ideas that his watered down lyrics over cheap beats actually sounds good.

3. Can somebody put DEL out of his misery already?

$10,000 you get an Ep! a 5-7 song project where you get to work with del on the concept, vibe and the content! with your executive producer credits. Come spend a day with SIr DZL and add your 2cents on the project you want DeL to make! Real Talk!

(The 3k and 10k offers will have to be interviewed before Del can agree to move forward, Do to The Jerks and Dobalina’s in the world! If you are seriously interested email Deltronfans@gmail.com subject ( Serious Business)

3.  Does Aceyalone see any money from Mad Men? I know it’s a RJD2 beat, but it I can’t help but think about how Aceyalone hasn’t made a good album since Clinton was on office. And nobody is buying those Reggaton albums he had the audacity to put out a few years back. He’s gotta need some coin these days.

2. How long will it be before it’s cool to start hating on Yelawolf?

1. You’re pretty much an imbecile if you haven’t already voted in our Best New Rapper Tournament.

Magneto’s Top 10 Rappers Ever (Entrant 1)

Friday, July 16th, 2010

And we’re down to the last one. Before we begin with the final entrant, I’d just like to address a few issues people have expressed about my rankings and the omission of certain artists. I expected that not everyone would like or agree with my list going in, and I’m fine with that. I knew people would say it’s rather “Cliché” and that is also a criticism that I was certain would be stated. However, one that people have misconstrued is that I made this list out of my PERSONAL favorite rappers. This isn’t about my favorites, this isn’t even necessarily a list of the most talented rappers, imo. It’s about the My Top Ten Rappers of Ever, based off a criteria that I laid forth, that I felt would give the most un bias result. Anyway, without anymore delay…Number 1..Jigga

1. Jay-Z

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The MC from Marcy Project that went on to become the most successful rap artist of all-time

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Joosik Energetik (ESSENTIAL West Coast Underground)

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Joosik surfaced long before the arrival of the internet so I’m not sure if his influence or critically ill debut Bar Codes on Tenni Shoes was as resounding in other parts of country. But I know the West Coast was hyped. His tape was one of the group of firsts that shifted how I thought about rap. Shot from Southern California to Northern California in the blink of an eye. My DivShare is fuckin’ up right now so uploading the tape in question isn’t going to happen. However, you can hear most of it hear. Maybe it’s just me, but I think the overall oddball nature is standing the test of time.

Here’s a joint from Bar Codes on Tenni Shoes:

Peace,
Employee

Epicenter Broadcast (OLD SAN JOSE UNDERGROUND SHIT)

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010



This foursome (Megabusive, Axeom, Koan, El Uno) from San Jose was an underground mainstay in the nineties when shit was still cool. The aforementioned Megabusive was a member and they are long-since defunct. Of all the crews running around San Jose during that era, these dudes were in the upper echelon. Putting together a lot of rugged, off-kilter, smoked out joints and laying them on tape. The above video was from an epic show at West Valley College in San Jose. Everyone who was anyone was there that night.

Peace,
Employee