If Dre was the sound of G-Funk and Snoop was voice, then Nate Dogg was surely the harmony. Tying together lush production and smooth vocals with his rich, raspy melodies, Nate brought a defining quality to the music. Raised as a gospel singer in East Long Beach, he crashed onto the regional scene with his work on Mista Grimm’s “Indo Smoke” and Dr. Dre’s “Lil’ Ghetto Boy,” but it was his appearance alongside Warren G on “Regulate” that pushed him into the national spotlight. When Death Row Records collapsed under it’s own misdeeds, he took his talents from coast to coast, never failing to impress as the go to guy for that Californian vibe whilst giving career defining hits to the likes of Ludacris, Fabolous and 50 Cent. Many have tried to imitate him and some have even tried to snatch the crown as the king of the rap hook, but to no avail. They can come closer than close. Original they never could be. (more…)
So, cratesofjr posted a (very good quality) recording of a Pharoahe Monch/Jean Grae show that happened in Melbourne on Nov. 25. In that set there is one song, tagged ‘Unknown’, that may or may not be something new from W.A.R. Some of the lines he uses are familiar, others seem new, but neither myself nor anybody I asked could place it definitively. In interests of full disclosure I’ll admit that I’m not very familiar with Desire, so it might be something from there.
For moment I’m gonna just assume this is new, if I’m wrong by all means please correct me. Either way, this shit goes.
Not bad at all, I like it, especially the verse he did acapella. Monch looked like he was struggling a bit here, a little out of breath maybe, so I’m guessing this will sound better on record.
From the upcoming Blakroc album, pairing Black Keys with a whole bunch of rappers. The first single with Mos Def and Smedium Jones didn’t grab me. This one is much better, although still not quite up to what it could be. Both RZA and Monch seem comfortable with rock as a backdrop, yet neither really performs to full potential. RZA doesn’t go weird enough, a left field project like this might have benefited from a nod to his Bobby Digital or even (dare I say) Gravediggaz days. Monch just doesn’t do enough here period, his verse should have been at least longer and he could have feasibly tried a little harder too. It’s a good song, but it just misses a chance to be a great one.
