I'm lazy.
This is why the previous post is a year old. Cuz I'm lazy as shit. This is going to change. A little.
I've got a few big END OF 2009 lists to share, so I'll be posting them on here. Exactly three people will be excited by this news. The KobMaru has been missed, mostly by me. The 140 character limit of Twitter (where I've been hiding all this time as @captain_fuck) is starting to stifle me. Soon, I shall be back on here saying stupid shit about Michael Caine and Batman and Wesley Pipes and String Theory.
Also, be on the lookout for DIRTY PANDA CRIMES, a new podcast I've been developing with a few of my comrades. We've got one episode in the can and plan to record one or two more before we post.
You know you've missed me.
As Chico DeBarge once asked..."is the love still good?"
Yeah.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, October 10, 2008
Blood On The Tracks? ("I Don't Want To See This On Youtube!")
Number 1 inspiration for groundbreaking albums with intense replay value that everyone in the fucking world can relate to? Heartbreak.
The "break-up" album is a standard in popular music. Every artist with a long, storied discography who's had his insides shattered by some deceitful bitch at some point has managed to turn the whole painful ordeal into the kind of soulful, understanding tune-age that fills up the dead spots in all of us. Its a wondrous point in any musician's growth that everyone usually stands up and celebrates.
Well, apparently someone broke Kanye West's heart. My verdict? IMMINENT MUSICAL AWESOMENESS!!!
The first time I heard about Kanye's plans to drop a new album before year's end, I was only excited because the news came in tandem with the bit about him producing the lion's share of Jay-Z's Blueprint 3. I didn't start geeking out full-tilt boogie style until the 2008 VMA's.
I hate the VMA's, because they're boring and irrelevant, but I managed to stick around for the duration of the show (fast-forwarded, thanks to DVR) and caught the best fucking unveiling of a new song in the modern era of pop culture consumption in a long time.
Kanye, on a stark, dark stage, looking like a scruffy Marvin Gaye cover-act. That heartbeat bass. The glowing red heart on his chest. The hard-charging Taiko drums. That fucking CHORUS> "Love Lockdown" was, and is, a work in progress. It's a spare track that sounds like its not finished, incomplete. Not whole. Basically the voice of any man who's been hurt.
I've heard three million and seven remixes, but the song's untouchable. Every Kanye album has at least one song where he's stretches the boundaries of what is expected of him. Late Registration's "Addiction" is the closest thing in his catalogue to this kind of straightforward, swag-less love track, but if this is where his head is at, I want more, dammit, and I don't want to have to wait the extra month til he hastily releases 808's & Heartbreak.
Thanks YouTube! What? An even fatter beat? More twinkling piano keys? Another murderous hook? Did you tear up, because I don't care what it says about my masculinity, but I did.
Both "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless" perfectly capture what makes Kanye West so unique in the hip-hop landscape. He's a regular dude. In the producer's booth, he's a monster of epic proportions, an improbable beast who culls epic drum patterns with synapse numbing basslines and the slightest, barely off-kilter meanderings to create beats that blaze hotter than a red sun. On the mic, however, his swaggerific musings border on the hysterical, his posturing all the more endearing when coupled with his self deprecation, hypocrisy and indisputable passion.
"You gotta love it tho/somebody still speaks from his soul..."
He's one of a kind. Lots of underground hip-hoppers drop shit like this, but not the way Kanye does. He's a populist phenomenon. He takes whatever he's feeling and turns it into hit songs. There's something admirable about someone creating something so universal, and at the same time so personal. That's what art strives to be, and when Kanye West is left to his own devices, not forced to worry about making Jay-Z sound cool over soul samples, or giving T.I. something to trap over, that's what he achieves.
I hate that the man was obviously hurt, but I love that he's sharing his pain with us.
The "break-up" album is a standard in popular music. Every artist with a long, storied discography who's had his insides shattered by some deceitful bitch at some point has managed to turn the whole painful ordeal into the kind of soulful, understanding tune-age that fills up the dead spots in all of us. Its a wondrous point in any musician's growth that everyone usually stands up and celebrates.
Well, apparently someone broke Kanye West's heart. My verdict? IMMINENT MUSICAL AWESOMENESS!!!
The first time I heard about Kanye's plans to drop a new album before year's end, I was only excited because the news came in tandem with the bit about him producing the lion's share of Jay-Z's Blueprint 3. I didn't start geeking out full-tilt boogie style until the 2008 VMA's.
I hate the VMA's, because they're boring and irrelevant, but I managed to stick around for the duration of the show (fast-forwarded, thanks to DVR) and caught the best fucking unveiling of a new song in the modern era of pop culture consumption in a long time.
Kanye, on a stark, dark stage, looking like a scruffy Marvin Gaye cover-act. That heartbeat bass. The glowing red heart on his chest. The hard-charging Taiko drums. That fucking CHORUS> "Love Lockdown" was, and is, a work in progress. It's a spare track that sounds like its not finished, incomplete. Not whole. Basically the voice of any man who's been hurt.
I've heard three million and seven remixes, but the song's untouchable. Every Kanye album has at least one song where he's stretches the boundaries of what is expected of him. Late Registration's "Addiction" is the closest thing in his catalogue to this kind of straightforward, swag-less love track, but if this is where his head is at, I want more, dammit, and I don't want to have to wait the extra month til he hastily releases 808's & Heartbreak.
Thanks YouTube! What? An even fatter beat? More twinkling piano keys? Another murderous hook? Did you tear up, because I don't care what it says about my masculinity, but I did.
Both "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless" perfectly capture what makes Kanye West so unique in the hip-hop landscape. He's a regular dude. In the producer's booth, he's a monster of epic proportions, an improbable beast who culls epic drum patterns with synapse numbing basslines and the slightest, barely off-kilter meanderings to create beats that blaze hotter than a red sun. On the mic, however, his swaggerific musings border on the hysterical, his posturing all the more endearing when coupled with his self deprecation, hypocrisy and indisputable passion.
"You gotta love it tho/somebody still speaks from his soul..."
He's one of a kind. Lots of underground hip-hoppers drop shit like this, but not the way Kanye does. He's a populist phenomenon. He takes whatever he's feeling and turns it into hit songs. There's something admirable about someone creating something so universal, and at the same time so personal. That's what art strives to be, and when Kanye West is left to his own devices, not forced to worry about making Jay-Z sound cool over soul samples, or giving T.I. something to trap over, that's what he achieves.
I hate that the man was obviously hurt, but I love that he's sharing his pain with us.
"You Never Shoot A Guy In The Dick!"
It's been like 3 months since I popped on here to share my peculiar (but endlessly fucking desirable) insight into the world of popular culture, so I know some cats been fiending out there for awhile now (namely one kid whose name rhymes with Mack Turk). I've just been keeping busy with a myriad of other shit and, quite frankly, wasn't crazy digging on anything enough to waste verbiage on the internets about it.
I won't bore you with what I've been up to. If you know me well enough, you can fill in the blanks with triple shot screwdrivers, long conversations about Kurt Vonnegut and copious replays of TV On The Radio's live version of "Ambulance." If not, just pretend my busy months were some cool amalgamation of the works of Jack Kerouac and the cinema of Seijun Suzuki (shout out to Tokyo Drifter!)
Top Ten Time: Been Keepin' The Conductor Busy --
1) Did I mention TVOTR's new album Dear Science? Because its fucking awesome. Tunde, Dave, Kyp and the guys basically staked their claim as my favorite band on Earth (this month anyway...) and even managed to surpass the already insurmountable awesomeness that was Return To Cookie Mountain.
The album's production sounds like Prince, Thriller-era Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Fela Kuti and Aunt Jemima got together to create the most sugary, bass-y, hard-hitting, funky prog-rock syrup to unclog your ears in today's trying ass times. You'll have something to dance and fuck to while chewing on Tunde's ruminations in today's unsure society (and if "Lover's Day" doesn't make you want to fuck someone til their spine's twisted, then you're libido needs a check-up.)
2) Heroes is the new Lost.
I know people have been saying it for years and shit, but the new season just reminds me that for every awesome ass moment they deliver us (SYLAR AND PETER ARE BROTHERS???) there's another head scratching moment that makes me hate how sophomoric their writing team is (So, now HALF the cast can time travel and/or be indestructable? Really? Did you guys learn nothing from early 90s X-Men comics?)
If Claire wasn't so hot and Zachary Quinto so badass, I'd've dropped this shit like a bad habit before the writer's strike. Watch your back, NBC.
3) Burn After Reading was a nice Coens flick. If No Country For Old Men is their Hellboy (we're using Mike Mignola here) then this is their Amazing Screw-On Head, a random, satisfying cum shot release after a difficult, terse, and somber piece of work. These guys like to have fun, and this movie reminded me of that.
4) Shia LaBeuf and I should hang out. I just watched Eagle Eye and that dude is cool. Other than him, the only thing making me feel like a 14 yr old white girl of late is Fall Out Boy. Their Clinton Sparks hosted mixtape Welcome To The New Administration was surprisingly listenable, and the two songs from their new album are both pretty fantastic. This coupled with their highly bangable cover of "Love Lockdown" have re-ignited my public/secret affection for the musical stylings of Patrick Stump and his goofy hat/mutton chop combinations.
5) Empire of The Sun is a cool band. I know nothing about them (nor do I feel like digging) other than the fact that "Walking On A Dream" is a catchy fucking song. They also have the coolest album cover of the year (find it your damn self.)
6) Is it just me, or is "Dead & Gone" the new T.I., Justin Timba-Lake collabo a certified burner that blows away most of the rest of Paper Trail?
7) I'm more excited about Murs For President than I am about the actual election. Any dude who can sample the Green Hornet theme and a James Blunt song on an underground hip-hop album deserves to rake in some sales, which makes me feel even more guilty for not buying his album.
8) Phonte from Little Brother is a dope MC, and a cool ass dude. If listening to his interludes on the Justus League/Little Brother mixtape "And Justus For All..." doesn't make you want to quit your shitty ass job, buy an MPC, make beats and put out music, then I don't know what will you lazy backpacker.
9) I wish DIPLO could remix my life, and sample the horns from "Careless Whisper" like he did for Paper Route Gangstaz (it'd also be cool if Blaqstarr did some extra cuts for the EP.)
10) I read Quentin Tarantino's new screenplay. INSTANT CLASSIC.
QT + Nazis + French Film Overtones = AWESOMESAUCE.
Stay tuned, kiddies...
I won't bore you with what I've been up to. If you know me well enough, you can fill in the blanks with triple shot screwdrivers, long conversations about Kurt Vonnegut and copious replays of TV On The Radio's live version of "Ambulance." If not, just pretend my busy months were some cool amalgamation of the works of Jack Kerouac and the cinema of Seijun Suzuki (shout out to Tokyo Drifter!)
Top Ten Time: Been Keepin' The Conductor Busy --
1) Did I mention TVOTR's new album Dear Science? Because its fucking awesome. Tunde, Dave, Kyp and the guys basically staked their claim as my favorite band on Earth (this month anyway...) and even managed to surpass the already insurmountable awesomeness that was Return To Cookie Mountain.
The album's production sounds like Prince, Thriller-era Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, Fela Kuti and Aunt Jemima got together to create the most sugary, bass-y, hard-hitting, funky prog-rock syrup to unclog your ears in today's trying ass times. You'll have something to dance and fuck to while chewing on Tunde's ruminations in today's unsure society (and if "Lover's Day" doesn't make you want to fuck someone til their spine's twisted, then you're libido needs a check-up.)
2) Heroes is the new Lost.
I know people have been saying it for years and shit, but the new season just reminds me that for every awesome ass moment they deliver us (SYLAR AND PETER ARE BROTHERS???) there's another head scratching moment that makes me hate how sophomoric their writing team is (So, now HALF the cast can time travel and/or be indestructable? Really? Did you guys learn nothing from early 90s X-Men comics?)
If Claire wasn't so hot and Zachary Quinto so badass, I'd've dropped this shit like a bad habit before the writer's strike. Watch your back, NBC.
3) Burn After Reading was a nice Coens flick. If No Country For Old Men is their Hellboy (we're using Mike Mignola here) then this is their Amazing Screw-On Head, a random, satisfying cum shot release after a difficult, terse, and somber piece of work. These guys like to have fun, and this movie reminded me of that.
4) Shia LaBeuf and I should hang out. I just watched Eagle Eye and that dude is cool. Other than him, the only thing making me feel like a 14 yr old white girl of late is Fall Out Boy. Their Clinton Sparks hosted mixtape Welcome To The New Administration was surprisingly listenable, and the two songs from their new album are both pretty fantastic. This coupled with their highly bangable cover of "Love Lockdown" have re-ignited my public/secret affection for the musical stylings of Patrick Stump and his goofy hat/mutton chop combinations.
5) Empire of The Sun is a cool band. I know nothing about them (nor do I feel like digging) other than the fact that "Walking On A Dream" is a catchy fucking song. They also have the coolest album cover of the year (find it your damn self.)
6) Is it just me, or is "Dead & Gone" the new T.I., Justin Timba-Lake collabo a certified burner that blows away most of the rest of Paper Trail?
7) I'm more excited about Murs For President than I am about the actual election. Any dude who can sample the Green Hornet theme and a James Blunt song on an underground hip-hop album deserves to rake in some sales, which makes me feel even more guilty for not buying his album.
8) Phonte from Little Brother is a dope MC, and a cool ass dude. If listening to his interludes on the Justus League/Little Brother mixtape "And Justus For All..." doesn't make you want to quit your shitty ass job, buy an MPC, make beats and put out music, then I don't know what will you lazy backpacker.
9) I wish DIPLO could remix my life, and sample the horns from "Careless Whisper" like he did for Paper Route Gangstaz (it'd also be cool if Blaqstarr did some extra cuts for the EP.)
10) I read Quentin Tarantino's new screenplay. INSTANT CLASSIC.
QT + Nazis + French Film Overtones = AWESOMESAUCE.
Stay tuned, kiddies...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Been Keeping Busy
Once again, I've fallen behind on posting. I've got a few pieces I'm working on that might find their way on to the internets tomorrow, but for now I'll just give you an idea of the type of shit that's been consuming my time and attention (aside from work and drinking):
1) Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Joss Whedon kills it again with this musical, super-villain series of webisodes he created in collaboration with two of his brothers. It stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion and is all sorts of awesome. Too bad you didn't hear about it earlier, or you could have watched it for free at drhorrible.com Now you have to go to iTunes. See? It pays to be ahead of the nerdy curve.
Here's a trailer taste:
2) The Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
I loved their Wizard of Ahhs EP to pieces, but this full-length debut from The Black Kids (a semi-appropriate name, there's like 3 black people in the band) is just all sorts of fantastic. It's filled to the gills with kitschy, catchy dance pop bangers about unfaithful girlfriends, charming boys, and random sex. If you don't find yourself singing the hooks to "I Want To Be Your Limousine" or "Love Me Already" or the long-popular lead single "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" then you probably don't want to have any fun anyway, in which case, eat a dick.
3) THE DARK KNIGHT
I saw 3 times already and I'm probably not gonna stop there. I won't write a review, as I doubt I'd be capable of refraining from using words like "awesome," "orgasmic," and "kick-ass." You might see some Batman-related bloggage coming up, and if you're already tired of me talking about Batman, then go complain to Heath Ledger.
Too soon?
4) Olivia O'Lovely retiring
One of my top 5 fav porn stars is apparently calling it quits, or she might just be pulling an M.I.A. and giving fuck flicks a rest for the time being. Either way it is a sad day for lotion and tissues everywhere. She shot a short series of farewell scenes for the guys over at BangBros Her FuckTeamFive episode is pretty excellent, but her AssParade scene with Lacey Duvalle is the real keeper. Olivia will be sorely missed. Here's hoping she makes a Janine esque comeback in a few years.
5) Diplo & Santogold - Top Ranking
In the vein of M.I.A.'s Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1, Diplo and Maya Arulpragasm devotee Santogold have released a diverse and exciting mixtape full of remixes, dub songs, and covers. XXXChange's remix of "L.E.S. Artistes" is pretty awesome, as are Santogold's cover of The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" (here as "Guns of Brooklyn") and the Diplo mix of "I'm A Lady" with my Spank Rock collabing home girl Amanda Blank.
The track making the most noise is the M.I.A. featuring, Gorilla Zoe sampling cut "Get It Up." It's every bit as hot as the blogosphere would have you believe. The mixtape isn't too hard to find if you're interested, or hit up Hype Machine for some of the leaked tracks.
1) Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Joss Whedon kills it again with this musical, super-villain series of webisodes he created in collaboration with two of his brothers. It stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion and is all sorts of awesome. Too bad you didn't hear about it earlier, or you could have watched it for free at drhorrible.com Now you have to go to iTunes. See? It pays to be ahead of the nerdy curve.
Here's a trailer taste:
2) The Black Kids - Partie Traumatic
I loved their Wizard of Ahhs EP to pieces, but this full-length debut from The Black Kids (a semi-appropriate name, there's like 3 black people in the band) is just all sorts of fantastic. It's filled to the gills with kitschy, catchy dance pop bangers about unfaithful girlfriends, charming boys, and random sex. If you don't find yourself singing the hooks to "I Want To Be Your Limousine" or "Love Me Already" or the long-popular lead single "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" then you probably don't want to have any fun anyway, in which case, eat a dick.
3) THE DARK KNIGHT
I saw 3 times already and I'm probably not gonna stop there. I won't write a review, as I doubt I'd be capable of refraining from using words like "awesome," "orgasmic," and "kick-ass." You might see some Batman-related bloggage coming up, and if you're already tired of me talking about Batman, then go complain to Heath Ledger.
Too soon?
4) Olivia O'Lovely retiring
One of my top 5 fav porn stars is apparently calling it quits, or she might just be pulling an M.I.A. and giving fuck flicks a rest for the time being. Either way it is a sad day for lotion and tissues everywhere. She shot a short series of farewell scenes for the guys over at BangBros Her FuckTeamFive episode is pretty excellent, but her AssParade scene with Lacey Duvalle is the real keeper. Olivia will be sorely missed. Here's hoping she makes a Janine esque comeback in a few years.
5) Diplo & Santogold - Top Ranking
In the vein of M.I.A.'s Piracy Funds Terrorism Vol. 1, Diplo and Maya Arulpragasm devotee Santogold have released a diverse and exciting mixtape full of remixes, dub songs, and covers. XXXChange's remix of "L.E.S. Artistes" is pretty awesome, as are Santogold's cover of The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" (here as "Guns of Brooklyn") and the Diplo mix of "I'm A Lady" with my Spank Rock collabing home girl Amanda Blank.
The track making the most noise is the M.I.A. featuring, Gorilla Zoe sampling cut "Get It Up." It's every bit as hot as the blogosphere would have you believe. The mixtape isn't too hard to find if you're interested, or hit up Hype Machine for some of the leaked tracks.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Hip-Hop's Not Dead (THE NIGGER REVIEW)
French filmmaker/critic Jean-Luc Godard once said that were cinema as we know it to perish, not only would Rebel Without A Cause director Nicholas Ray have the talent and skill to reinvent it, but that he possessed the desire to do so. I feel like if Hip Hop really did die, the same could be said for Nas.
Before I go into details, I just want to say that Nas' new "Untitled" LP is the best rap CD of the year (sorry, Wayne.) Beneath all the swagtastic veneer and all of the image-driven bullshit, hip hop has always been elemental. It's like a flowing river of black strength that can be tapped into by anyone that finds something of themselves in it.
I know that's a bit too Iron Fist, but there's a magical thing happening in even the most derivative rap songs that more than explains how such an upstart musical genre could gain so much relevance in so little time. It doesn't just appeal to black people, but its undeniable that the strife and plight of black people in America is the flame that keeps the lantern burning.
Personally, I've always felt on the fence about the sociopolitical implications of hip hop as a whole and I've always been content to just enjoy drum-and-bass driven "black Superhero Music" as Jay-Z once called it. Hip hop at its best is uplifting, inspiring, powerful and fun, even when its shedding light on the dark corners of society we like to leave in the shadows. Nas gets this, and for the first time in a long time, I get Nas.
I used to fuck with Nas. Its blasphemy that I've never really listened to Illmatic but I've always enjoyed his brand of politicized power anthems and cinematically crafted street tales. I even didn't mind when he pretended he lost his fucking mind and did a booty-jam with Timbaland and Ginuwine (fuck you, I like "You Owe Me.") My perception of both Nas the artist and Nas the cultural entity were pretty shifted after the Jay-Z beef and the release of his last LP Hip-Hop Is Dead, but neither really for the negative. I just didn't consider him to be as ill an MC as most, and I kind of wrote him off.
I started to see him as this bitter, perpetual Number 2 raging out at the current state of black pop culture to try and stay in the spotlight. I thought the last album was an interesting concept, but the music made me feel like he was just grasping at straws. Promotional interviews and subsequent listens told me otherwise. Nas is the equivalent of a rock band who's been touring for 20 years and is just starting to understand how much they really love music (and it's really hard to argue with a line like "oh I think they like me/in my white tee/can't ice me, we here for life, b.") Nas is rap music's classic rock, and with Untitled, he just released his A Bigger Bang.
Nas has released the hip hop album we NEED in today's times. It's zeitgeisty, socially relevant, full of insight and, lest we forget, heavily bangable. Its the work of a seasoned veteran who's workman like skill makes an album this good look that easy to produce. I loved Tha Carter III but it lacks a cohesive structure and any real themes, and the last rap album I really got behind, American Gangster, was awash in themes and cohesion, but it lacked strong ties to the present with its movie-homaging and nostalgia.
Nas has made an album for right fucking now, and if you can't feel it, can't hear the utter necessity in his rhymes and the aesthetic wonder of the beats, then honestly? Fuck you. You're the reason Soulja Boy has money. You want to keep dumbing it down and shaking your ass, do it. Just don't bitch to me when music loses all its heart.
I think everybody has a little revolutionary in them, and its the mark of a true artist when they can bring it out in song. Untitled is equal parts soulful, militant, darkly comic, and frightening. The lead single "Be A Nigger Too," conspicuously absent from the final track list, was a great primer for what the album is all about. Controversy intertwined with true heart and an in-your-face intensity that refuses to be denied.
"N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Master and The Slave)" is a beautifully crafted anthem that is as heartwrenching as it is inspirational, echoing sentiments that permeate the LP. Even a clearly made-for-radio track like Polow's "Hero" or the Chris Brown and The G ame guesting "Make The World Go Round" sidestep the awkwardness Lil' Wayne experienced trying to crossover with T-Pain by virtue of the earnestness in Nas' approach. Mark Ronson produces a upbeat cut with Busta Rhymes called "Fried Chicken" that tells the cautionary tale of the black man's love for things that are so obviously not good for them. Only an artist as absurd and high energy as Busta could make a song this concept-y seem so real.
There's some controversy over the Salaam Remi produced track "You Can't Stop Us Now" that sounds nearly identical to the similarly named RZA song of off Digi Snax. Both men flipped the same sample, but I have to say I prefer Nas' take. The drums are more palatable and the hook actually means something. Nas crafts a worthy rallying cry that is undeniable in its sense of soul and self. RZA's track is hot too, but mostly aimless.
I could go on forever about tracks like "Black President," the fairly self-explanatory, Tupac-sampling, DJ Green Lantern produced track that closes the album or the title track "Untitled" or a personal favorite of mine "Y'all My Niggas," a song that makes even this culturally confused mullato rock a black power fist. Nas constantly splits time between inspirational soothesaying, rebellious fight music, social semantics and the pained, blatant, bloated bling-bragging designed to remind us that riches are a fucking joke. Nas seems equally a victim and an attacker of the paper chasing that's befell so many other rappers.
"I was thinking a little bit/what would it take to authenticate my niggerness?/ball ridiculous/26 inches when I call up the dealership?/aww, that's some nigger shit."
For my money, the best track on the album is "Sly Fox," the most biting, incendiary social commentary in a hip hop song in a long time. Nasir Jones declares war on Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, Bush (big surprise), CBS, Bill O'Reilly and pretty much anybody else who is pissing him off at the moment. "The fox has a bushy tail/and bush tells lies that fox trots/and I don't know what's real." "O'Reilly, oh really? No rally needed, I'll tie you up." The last time I heard a black man this angry I was reading a play by Amiri Baraka.
It's all there. All the ingredients for hip-hop brilliance, expertly baked into a seven-layer chocolate cake. Eat it up, bitches.
Before I go into details, I just want to say that Nas' new "Untitled" LP is the best rap CD of the year (sorry, Wayne.) Beneath all the swagtastic veneer and all of the image-driven bullshit, hip hop has always been elemental. It's like a flowing river of black strength that can be tapped into by anyone that finds something of themselves in it.
I know that's a bit too Iron Fist, but there's a magical thing happening in even the most derivative rap songs that more than explains how such an upstart musical genre could gain so much relevance in so little time. It doesn't just appeal to black people, but its undeniable that the strife and plight of black people in America is the flame that keeps the lantern burning.
Personally, I've always felt on the fence about the sociopolitical implications of hip hop as a whole and I've always been content to just enjoy drum-and-bass driven "black Superhero Music" as Jay-Z once called it. Hip hop at its best is uplifting, inspiring, powerful and fun, even when its shedding light on the dark corners of society we like to leave in the shadows. Nas gets this, and for the first time in a long time, I get Nas.
I used to fuck with Nas. Its blasphemy that I've never really listened to Illmatic but I've always enjoyed his brand of politicized power anthems and cinematically crafted street tales. I even didn't mind when he pretended he lost his fucking mind and did a booty-jam with Timbaland and Ginuwine (fuck you, I like "You Owe Me.") My perception of both Nas the artist and Nas the cultural entity were pretty shifted after the Jay-Z beef and the release of his last LP Hip-Hop Is Dead, but neither really for the negative. I just didn't consider him to be as ill an MC as most, and I kind of wrote him off.
I started to see him as this bitter, perpetual Number 2 raging out at the current state of black pop culture to try and stay in the spotlight. I thought the last album was an interesting concept, but the music made me feel like he was just grasping at straws. Promotional interviews and subsequent listens told me otherwise. Nas is the equivalent of a rock band who's been touring for 20 years and is just starting to understand how much they really love music (and it's really hard to argue with a line like "oh I think they like me/in my white tee/can't ice me, we here for life, b.") Nas is rap music's classic rock, and with Untitled, he just released his A Bigger Bang.
Nas has released the hip hop album we NEED in today's times. It's zeitgeisty, socially relevant, full of insight and, lest we forget, heavily bangable. Its the work of a seasoned veteran who's workman like skill makes an album this good look that easy to produce. I loved Tha Carter III but it lacks a cohesive structure and any real themes, and the last rap album I really got behind, American Gangster, was awash in themes and cohesion, but it lacked strong ties to the present with its movie-homaging and nostalgia.
Nas has made an album for right fucking now, and if you can't feel it, can't hear the utter necessity in his rhymes and the aesthetic wonder of the beats, then honestly? Fuck you. You're the reason Soulja Boy has money. You want to keep dumbing it down and shaking your ass, do it. Just don't bitch to me when music loses all its heart.
I think everybody has a little revolutionary in them, and its the mark of a true artist when they can bring it out in song. Untitled is equal parts soulful, militant, darkly comic, and frightening. The lead single "Be A Nigger Too," conspicuously absent from the final track list, was a great primer for what the album is all about. Controversy intertwined with true heart and an in-your-face intensity that refuses to be denied.
"N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Master and The Slave)" is a beautifully crafted anthem that is as heartwrenching as it is inspirational, echoing sentiments that permeate the LP. Even a clearly made-for-radio track like Polow's "Hero" or the Chris Brown and The G ame guesting "Make The World Go Round" sidestep the awkwardness Lil' Wayne experienced trying to crossover with T-Pain by virtue of the earnestness in Nas' approach. Mark Ronson produces a upbeat cut with Busta Rhymes called "Fried Chicken" that tells the cautionary tale of the black man's love for things that are so obviously not good for them. Only an artist as absurd and high energy as Busta could make a song this concept-y seem so real.
There's some controversy over the Salaam Remi produced track "You Can't Stop Us Now" that sounds nearly identical to the similarly named RZA song of off Digi Snax. Both men flipped the same sample, but I have to say I prefer Nas' take. The drums are more palatable and the hook actually means something. Nas crafts a worthy rallying cry that is undeniable in its sense of soul and self. RZA's track is hot too, but mostly aimless.
I could go on forever about tracks like "Black President," the fairly self-explanatory, Tupac-sampling, DJ Green Lantern produced track that closes the album or the title track "Untitled" or a personal favorite of mine "Y'all My Niggas," a song that makes even this culturally confused mullato rock a black power fist. Nas constantly splits time between inspirational soothesaying, rebellious fight music, social semantics and the pained, blatant, bloated bling-bragging designed to remind us that riches are a fucking joke. Nas seems equally a victim and an attacker of the paper chasing that's befell so many other rappers.
"I was thinking a little bit/what would it take to authenticate my niggerness?/ball ridiculous/26 inches when I call up the dealership?/aww, that's some nigger shit."
For my money, the best track on the album is "Sly Fox," the most biting, incendiary social commentary in a hip hop song in a long time. Nasir Jones declares war on Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, Bush (big surprise), CBS, Bill O'Reilly and pretty much anybody else who is pissing him off at the moment. "The fox has a bushy tail/and bush tells lies that fox trots/and I don't know what's real." "O'Reilly, oh really? No rally needed, I'll tie you up." The last time I heard a black man this angry I was reading a play by Amiri Baraka.
It's all there. All the ingredients for hip-hop brilliance, expertly baked into a seven-layer chocolate cake. Eat it up, bitches.
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