DJ B.Cause makes some really great edits/blends/whatever you wanna call it. Here are two examples. The first puts Outkast over Marvin Gaye, for a result that sounds like what a summer evening feels like. The second takes a classic by a Motown doo-wop girl group and adds a bit of De La’s Oooh into the backbone, thus creating something that Scorsese would probably really like to dance to but wouldn’t know how.
Time to pick up the pace on our SLS series with a new edition. Somethin’ for your car, somethin’ for your hangout spot, or just somethin’ for you to chill to. Hella shouts to dirt_dog from TROY for the artwork. Download link, tracklist and a re-up of Volume One with proper artwork after the jump.
So today we go back to our weekly series dedicated to naming the top ten-est rap albums of all time. I picked the ten albums I wanted to feature in advance. Since then I have been listening to them pretty non-stop which has lead to many of them being second guessed, removed, and shuffled around. Today’s record was originally slated in the number two spot, but the more I listened there was just no way I could justify putting it above the albums to follow.
A Tribe Called Quest was one of the best groups of the 90s. THey have also become one of the groups that annoying white people that want to discuss hip hop but have no real grasp of the culture cling to. They are like Cypress Hill minus the weed or the Beastie Boys minus the nasally NY jewish voices. Additionally Tribe reached a creative zenith that neither of these groups came close too….fuck anyone who says Paul’s Boutique was this or that. The MCing sucked so the album isnt good. It would have been better suited as an instrumental album, but sadly that trend didnt really take off till years later.
Midnight Marauders was the high water mark of creativity and artistry for the group from Queens. It also marked the first time that Phife Dawg wasnt a complete liability. That said Phife is also the reason for the albums drop from number two to number 5. There was just no way i could put an album that he shared lead vocal duties above say, Illmatic, which was originally in this slot.
Midnight Marauders is the most complete work from the group, it was the moment all the key elements came into their own, with the exception of Jarobi who came into his own by no longer appearing after the groups first album. The scope of their content moved from very hip hop centric concepts like Buggin Out and having The Jazz to more universal topics like romance, the experience of a young man in the city and even just everyday problems one faces in their life. Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s production was cohesive throughout and wasnt limited to just the obscure jazz samples that made Low End Theory a landmark album that has ultimately aged poorly. The production is thick and lavish and creates a mood that ties the album together from start to finish. Q-Tip while not displaying the same level of craftmanship in Low End Theory offers a more complete performance combining content, flow, voice and lyrics to help him reach even greater heights as an mc. The guest appearances are not frivolous and include a top notch performance from Large Professor, getting booth guest vocal and guest production credits on Keep It Rollin and chorus appearances from Trugoy and Busta Rhymes on Award Tour and Oh My God respectively. The album also spawned two undeniable hip hop classics the aforementioned Award Tour and Electric Relaxation which ended up on every mixtape I made for my lady friend that year.
I think most would agree that Midnight Marauders is the magnum opus for one of the genre’s most creative acts and remains as poigient and fresh sounding today as it did back in 1993.
Personal note: I went to SUNY New Paltz and this album circulated the campus for about two months before its actual release. Albums that also leaked that school year and made the rounds were Black Moon’s debut and Nas’ Illmatic. So I guess leaked records were not just a symptom of the internet age.
At number 7 we have an entry from De La Soul, Buhloone Mindstate. It is the best De La record to date, and considering how bad their recent output has been, it is probably the best De La album period. Artsy types will often gravitate towards their first two records 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul is Dead, one of which is good and one of which is kind of a cluster fuck. Ill let you figure out which is which. Purists will often go with Stakes is High which is an average effort at best, and the worst of the 4 De La albums that matter, it also signified the beginning of the end for De La as an important entity.
Bulhoone Mind State is the high water mark of their artistic creativity and maturity. Marking the first time in the groups history that all three major contributors were on the same playing feild. Dave aka Trugoy was always a capable MC but was carried by the greatness of Posdnous and Prince Paul. This was the first time it felt like Dave could hang. It is also the only rap record that ever made it into the category of grown folk music that wasnt a Jay-Z post Black Album-esque snooze fest or some crotchety old folks telling the kids to pull their pants up.
The Lyrics are intense, layered, and personal. Posdnous delivers one of the greatest lyrical performances in the history of the genre. His lyrics are brilliant, revealing, and easy to grasp, while still holding true to his abstract style. His patterns are absolutely absurd. The high point being his verse on I Am I Be. Prince Paul’s The production is a cleaned up and more to the point version of 3 Feet High and Rising. They are soulful and not in a shitty Common post Resurrection vibe.
Outside of the weird asian guys rapping (which luckily isnt too long) the album is flawless. Truth be told I have recently become reacquanted with this album and it is the inspiration for this bizarre quest to change the way we look at rap albums, moving from an impact, historical significance and sales number model to one of artistry. Buhloone Mindstate is definitely one of the artistic high points in the history of the genre.
