From some reason this cut didn’t make Wales debut “American Deficit”? 9th Wonder certainly done his thing with the beat and Wale’s flow ain’t to shaby. Enjoy folks.
Read More Tags: 9th Wonder, Hip Hop, Wale
Spotted this over @ OkayPlayer.com, producer and dj J Period has put together some exclusive remixes and freestyles from Talib Kweil. Check em out yo!
Read More Tags: Freestyle, Hip Hop, J Period, Remix, Talib Kweli
(Click On Picture To Download Free MP3 version.)
Taking over from Ozorio, who reviewed the first Metaform EP (Standing on the Shoulders of Giants), I felt I would be initially out of my depth and I wouldn’t be able appreciate the album the same way he did or just completely dislike it and scare away a DJ that purposefully asked us to review his album. Now… I find these trepidations were unfound; the Mixtape opens with a great re-imagination of Dead Prez’s Hip-Hop, split into two well woven pieces of Blues Rock and Reggae. The samples stand as perfectly picked compliments to the heavy crunk-y sound of the southern hip-hop anthem.
As the album progresses the samples are smooth and there are plenty of changes, so we are not presented with one defining concept, and also the mixtape manages to be engaging through most of it. The R’n’B songs that are used have vocals that suit the sample and the southern rappers used compliment the vocals resulting in twenty minutes of pretty solid DJing.
However this isn’t a Mixtape without its flaws, the half-way change seems abrupt with the introduction of Ciara’s One-Two Step, which is not just a complete change of tone in the music, but a silent backing-track that just comes out of nowhere, which is made even more apparent with the heavy bass that precedes it. There is also some superfluous sampling that detracts from the track rather then adds; the one that is seems most obvious is The Beatles’ Come Together (Brass Band Instrumental). Finally the ending lacks the same energy as the rest of the album, with simply too much going-on; R’n’B vocals, Drum’n’Bass, Jazz and a second overpowering vocal.
Still the album in parts is very memorable, even with re-imaginations of songs that I would listen to over the original, pity that the cohesion is lacking to make this a great mixtape.
Rating: 3.5/5
Read More Tags: Hip Hop, Medical Purpose MixTape Vol. 1, Metaform
2009 may be a return to form for hip-hop, with the eagerly awaited OB4CL2, The Blueprint 3, and The Ecstatic living up in some way to expectations. However hip-hop has become a retrospective music; there isn’t a single forum or magazine that is inordinate with discussions or letters discussing the “Golden Age” of hip-hop. And the albums mentioned above are just perfect examples of how stagnated the idea of hip-hop has become amongst its own community; Raekwon, Jay-Z and Mos Def all having their albums compared to their works of the 90s. The day of the great debut therefore will come to close if the community doesn’t galvanise against the disastrous effects of the commercialisation of hip-hop.
What I am saying is Hip-hop has become conservative movement. In the 90s Illmatic, Doggystyle and Ready 2 Die we all had debuts which showed diversity within the industry due to consumer making the music move in the direction it wanted. Now in the 00s we are seeing the truly experimental albums being significantly ignored; MF Grimm’s American Hunger, Q-Tip’s Kamaal the Abstract and The Renaissance. While these albums are held in high-esteem within the small knit hip-hop community, they are relatively over-looked in their commercial respects.
Why? Because the hip-hop fan is no longer willing to vote with their own bucks. The big global companies; such as Sony BMG and Universal therefore are unwilling to invest in distribution of any underground hip-hop and want to be able to package a rapper and sell it to the consumer at a cut rate, and make sure they will buy it. So the end of the day illegal downloading is forcing the movement underground. Now we have two options available to the community: 1. We can watch Lil’ Wayne, 50 Cent and other equally talentless rappers make their way into the charts and have their music played on the airwaves, and force the good/great music even further underground. Or 2. Go back to the way things were in the 90s: Buy, Buy, Buy, and make the industry stand-up and notice us actual fans.
And in the discussion of Hip-Hop is Dead, well if it’s dead we the fans killed it.
Read More Tags: 2009, Dead, Hip Hop, rap
Since the release of Finale’s debut solo album, A Pipe Dream And A Promise, the response to the rising Detroit emcee’s abilities has been nothing short of stellar. With “It’s Mine,” the 70th entry from the long-running DJBooth.net Weekly Freestyle Series, Finale continues to show off his unique ability to attack an instrumental with the rewind-worthy flow that is quickly becoming his trademark. In addition to a recently completed European tour, Finale is currently finalizing the video for the lead single from A Pipe Dream And A Promise, “Motor Music,” which was shot during a recent trip to Los Angeles.
Read More Tags: Finale, Freestyle, Havoc, Hip Hop
Our very own Goldy is back with another time of the month installment, if ur a fan of Goldy’s u’ll know theres no tracklisting for the mix but u will know what to expect and if you not Chris has a few word to help ya out. “So from the highs to the lows…..its July’s Time Of The Month (where does the time go)……been just back from my summer holidays….ears are fresh and the result is a hybrid of beats in crack your neck styllleee but in between reggae,funk,disco,ambient,rock,hip hop of the 80’s N 90’s plus a throw back too Two Tone…”
Read More Tags: ambient, Disco, Funk, Goldy, Hip Hop, mixtape, Reggae, rock