You wanted it, now you’re getting it! We’ve been bombarded with this request since T.R.O.Y.‘s list dropped so without further ado here are the mp3s (+ bonuses) for you all. Remember the to best way to stay tuned into all of TROY’s updates is by subscribing to their feed, which you can do by clicking here. –Philaflava

Click to read The TROY Blog Presents 100 Greatest Native Tongues Songs @Complex.com

The zip files are below (2 files), all mp3s are not tagged; however you get 105 total. Make sure you check out Complex for the entire list and spread the word.

Greatest Native Tongues Songs (Part 1)
Greatest Native Tongues Songs (Part 2)

Click to read The TROY Blog Presents 100 Greatest Native Tongues Songs @Complex.com

…beyond their flamboyant presentation and bohemian sensibility, the Native Tongues were about constructing haunting, beautiful songs out of the fuzzy, bassy, scratchy, nearly forgotten remnants of virtually every black American musical tradition that ever seduced mainstream audiences. With a focus on the core members, we got the good folks from The T.R.O.Y. Blog to figure out The 100 Greatest Native Tongues Songs…

Visit The T.R.O.Y blog.

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.

DOWNLOAD: Outkast – So Fresh So Clean (let’s get it on reprise)

DOWNLOAD: The Marvellettes – Too Many Fish In The Sea (Oooh Edit)

Also, check out his Roger Troutman mix which I previously posted here.

All this and more can be found on B.Cause’ own blog Diamonds in the Dust.

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.

Sounds Like Summer – Volume Two

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01 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Summertime
02 LL Cool J- Jingling Baby (Remixed But Still Jingling)
03 Hieroglyphics – Oakland Blackouts
04 Jay-Z – I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)
05 TI – What You Know
06 Above The Law – Black Superman
07 Masta Ace – Good Ol’ Love
08 Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate (G-Funk rmx)
09 DJ Quik – Quik’s Groove 2
10 The Roots ft Raphael Saadiq – What They Do
11 Ahmad – Back In The Day
12 Domino – Sweet Potato Pie
13 Luniz – I Got 5 On It (Bay Area Ballas Rmx)
14 Jurassic 5 – Concrete Schoolyard
15 Treacherous Three – Feel The Heartbeat
16 De La Soul – A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays

Sounds Like Summer – Volume One

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01 E-40 – Nah Nah ft Nate Dogg
02 3xKrazy – West Coast Shit
03 Da Brat and The Notorious BIG – Da B Side
04 Erick Sermon – Music
05 Snoop Dogg – Lets Get Blown
06 Kilo Ali – Love in Ya Mouth ft Big Boi
07 King Tee – Dippin (rmx)
08 Dam Funk – (My Funk Goes) On & On
09 Scritti Politti – Tinseltown to the Boogiedown ft Mos Def and Lee Majors (Ali Shaheed rmx)
10 2Pac – To Live and Die in LA
11 Ice Cube – You Know How We Do It
12 Boogiemonsters – Honeydips in Gotham (Monster rmx)
13 The Dove Shack – Summertime in the LBC
14 Big Mike – Burban & Impalas
15 Rich Boy – Boy Looka Here
16 Big Tymers – Still Fly

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. 

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Links for the previous entries:

Number 10:

Number 9

Number 8

Number 7

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.

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