quick audio picks: 12
More bongomania with Nas, leaving cloppity hoofprints on your face. He should get a free pass at the All U Can Eat spaghetti western buffet. As with "Made You Look," it's Salaam Remi on the beat. Viner's bongos sound like they were...
expand review recorded in a Hindenburg hangar, like that Paul's Boutique joint about looking down the barrel of a gun, sonofagun, sonofabitch etc. But I think somebody robs an oil rig. Both Nas and AZ try a different flow, and at times they both stumble over it and lose a shoe to the alligators. Sockless slip-on. For the most part they're in the pocket though and it really comes off. The hyena horns are pretty crazy and Remi knows a good buckskin stab when he hears one. The flip-side is just AZ over gun shots(2). Look, nobody's going to ever outgunshot Money Boss Players "Gunplay." Maybe someone should program a silencer's puft (pooft! pooft!) into pulse dial 16th notes. For some thickening. Just an idea. -Dave Tompkins
Two cuts off Clinton Sparks' production mixtape. Head straight for that melted heroin on the b-side, Mobb Deep rhyming over a tailormade loop from Clockwork Orange and a slow gunclap beat. The sound is so dunned out I can't believe they never...
expand review used this one before; wouldn't sound at all out of place on the Hell On Earth LP. Flipside "Roc Cafe(2)" features Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel & Joe Budden with Clinton providing a very decent Just Blaze-ish beat. Instrumentals included for both -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
Crazy Detroit representation on this one. First we have Dabrye on the beat, who's previous instrumental work (hip hop on the verge of techno) captured Prefuse's heart enough to release him on Eastern Developments. Then vocals come from Jay Dee and Phat...
expand review Kat, two of Motown's most celebrated on the mic; and if that wasn't enough, ghetto-tech king Disco D gets mixing credit (strangely enough mastering credit goes to someone in Berlin, do they know something we don't?). If you're a fan of any of those folks' work, you can already guess what "Game Over(1)" sounds like; hard drum programming under Kraftwerk-like melodies, capped by aggressively laid-back vocals, all mixed down to crispiness. We also get a taste of what's to come from Dabrye's instrumental files with "Magic Says(2)." For my taste at least, this dubbed out, slow motion composition sounds like his style has matured to perfection. Well worth the wait on all accounts. Includes instrumental and clean acapella for "Game Over." -JMS
quick audio picks: 12
Awww yeah. Another classic early 80s electro rap treat from your boy Ice-T. Long before Body Count and New Jack Hustler, Ice was rocking the leather straps and spikes on the mic like a freaky S&M pimp. You can't front though, cuz...
expand review his beats and flow are iceeeey smooth. Just check "Body Rock(1)" and witness Ice as he breaks down hip-hop culture to the non-believers all over a bad-ass electro b-boy beat. Flipside features "Killers(2)" which is on some proto-gangsta slump with a wicked synth bassline and laser shots. Kind of reminds me of a West Coast version of "The Message". Instrumentals included for both. (Side Note: These tracks were recorded by the Alien Wizard using the Bioegarag Audio Recording Process.) -snackmaster
quick audio picks: 12
This track(1) has been receiving some serious underground buzz, for more than just the controversial tile. Admitted, it might not be the right emotional climate for this in NYC, but the track is hot. Real hard funk beat with the cool little...
expand review flute, live bass sound and inventive drum programming. B-side "Move(2)" is also worth a listen. Street, clean and instrumental for both. -the mgmnt
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Jay Dee stuff is out in abundance now, but the reason may not be the one you think. (R.I.P.) Fact is, Dilla was reaching the height of his popularity after a long climb, and Donuts was perhaps his most critically...
expand review acclaimed work. People have been scrambling to compile the man's back catalogue for months. This is obviously a key piece: his production album for BBE back in 2001 featuring Detroit/SV affiliates like Phat Kat, Frank N Dank, Elzhi and others. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 12
I was watching Black Album documentaries on MTV, and I was just amazed at how cool and precise Rocafella is as a business. By the looks of it, they run things Fortune 500 style: super professional, no slacking, and no wasted moves....
expand review The camel faced one is the ultimate frontman for the corporation, instantly turning promos into performances, and rentals into rides. In this light, 99 Problems is the most irresistible piece of corporate rap. Enlisting Rick Rubin to drop a frat house slash Fort Green escalade anthem was quite genius. Throwback bongo references are so obvious, but oh so good. In the Making of the Video, Jay named the string of bands Rick worked with (Jay didn't mention it, but I gotta add Slayer), and some of them were quite surprising. Jay even mentioned System of a Down, and said something to the likes of you thought this Marcy kid wasn't up on that, didn't you?& It's all a plan, just like the whole Black Album strategem (but this is obvious). Flip features First Song(2),& yet another sleeper from the album. Instrumentals for both. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 123456
As you've already been told by every music critic on earth, Jay-Z's new album is pretty effing good. With production from Just Blaze, Neptunes, Diddy, Toomp, No I.D. and Jermaine Dupri, plus guest spots from Nas, Lil Wayne, Beanie Sigel, Bilal and...
expand review Idris "Stringer motherfucking Bell" Elba...how could it not be? Oh yeah, and Jay is still one of the best rappers alive, so that helps. Jigga pulled this off iTunes because it is a concept album and "movies aren't sold scene by scene," so make sure you listen front to back or else don't show your face around Marcy. That said, here are the highlights: "No Hook(1)," the Daptone-sampling "Roc Boys(2)," "Hello Brooklyn 2.0(3)," "American Dreamin'(4)," "Blue Magic(5)" and "Say Hello(6)." 15 tracks total; double vinyl.
-Larri Byrd
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Official acapellas for Jigga's American Gangster album on double vinyl. Includes all the tracks from the full length. Start remixing, fellas! 15 tracks total. -Larri Byrd
quick audio picks: 12
This combination is criminal. The Timbaland produced "Dirt Off Your Shoulder(1)" backed with the Kanye West produced "Encore(2)?" "Dirt" is Timbo's most sinister sounding production to date. People always talk about synth this, synth that, well, synth this muthafuckas! The dirty knock...
expand review drums stick out enough to click and clack; and Hova's inspired flow could excite an outdated stadium full of honkies. Of all the tracks from the album, I think this one best captures the "Black" ideal, someplace where the sun definitely don't shine (not your bunghole). Meanwhile, "Encore" showcases Kanye's champion production finesse. These days Kanye can't be touched for the soul track, even though he's probably saved the best for his solo album. The formula here is simple, but so effective: signature drum programming, a trusty horn loop, and soulful vocal backing. I love the first half of this track, but once that "Hova" chant comes in, I lose interest... a microcosm of the Black Album if you axe me. But don't let that dissuade you, this time Rocafella, known for the some of the worst single choices (Big Pimpin a B-Side?) got it right, on both sides. Instrumentals for both. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 1
Continuing on our Neptunes summer theme, we re-introduce last summer's biggest track. Ever time I see that damn video, I get a chubby looking at that girl Jay is trying to get with. The natturality! Damn, I think even Nas dances to...
expand review this one. "Parkin Lot Pimpin" on the B-side, and instrumentals for both. -the mgmnt
quick audio picks: 123456
For you comic nerds out there, it's more than just mere coincidence that Hova's named his new album after the DC Comics miniseries about aged superheroes coming back to save the world. (Intern Brandon suspects it was Just Blaze's idea – no...
expand review time for funny books in Turks & Caicos!) It'd be easy to say that Jay's bringing a markedly new approach to go along with his aging, but the truth is that there's still trademark Jigga on this album. In fact, I think it'd be fair to argue that the man just started understanding his place in the last two albums. "Kingdom Come(1)" may overstate the case a little, but not by much – the return of this man to rap is a cause for celebration, even if he does say so himself. "Show Me What You Got(2)" is the obligatory single (big brass replacing Timbo's flute, Rat Pack style), but you get the real meat when you dig into "Lost Ones(3)" and the Kanye-produced, John Legend-featuring "Do U Wanna Ride(4)," which address Beyonce and the locked-up Emery directly, respectively. After personal business, the big theme here is something like "I am famous beyond your little concept of the word, and I have more money than I could possibly know what to do with." Always a good look! I could go on about how he finally blasts Cam'ron back on the "Takeover"-ish "Dig A Hole(5)," or how he basically cries through the NOLA lament "Minority Report(6)," or how dude from Coldplay produced "Beach Chair," but you're better off just buying it. Obviously recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
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