Artist: Solomon Words Title: Fools Gold Genre(s): Hip-hop Hood: Denver, CO / Brooklyn, NY Social:Twitter , Bandcamp
It’s undeniable that much of today’s urban music has been, in one way or another, influenced by the electronic dance aesthetic that’s dominated the European club scene for nearly a decade and a half. While this has made for some great, even classic, tunes, at times one yearns for the vibe of days past yet with a present-day twist to it. Thankfully, Fools Gold by Denver-bred, Brooklyn-based MC Solomon Words is steeped in just enough in nostalgia while remaining firmly footed in the twenty-first century. Read more of this post
Love this rework by Common and our Fort Greene neighbor J. Period of the recent controversial new single by Jay-Z, Open Letter.
More from Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner:
So Jay-Z sparked controversy with his song Open Letter which was a response to the hoopla some in Congress was making about his trip to Cuba.. Well J Period hooked up a remix and added a scorching verse from Common.. I gotta note Common hits hard but may throw folks with his lyric about still riding for Obama..especially since he’s also talking about his support for Assaata Shakur. Read more of this post
From the sounds of this thorough review from The New York Times, hip hop legend Big Daddy Kane and his current “grown up” soulful music explorations with his band the Las Supper are a hit with the Blue Note crowd this past Monday in New York. Enjoy!
From NYTimes.com:
Last September, at the inaugural concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Jay-Z brought out just one guest, Big Daddy Kane. It was the student offering the spotlight to the teacher: a show of respect, of civic pride (like Jay-Z, Big Daddy Kane is from Brooklyn) and a compliment. It was also an opportunity, one that Big Daddy Kane took advantage of, showing in just a few minutes why he was worthy of the gesture, and the stage. Read more of this post
Artist: Justin Timberlake Title: Ready EP Hood: Memphis, Tennessee Genre(s): R&b, Pop, Soul Produced by: CSNW Released: March 1, 2013 Social:FacebookTwitter Read more of this post
“I’m pleased to drop this brand new Best of Biggie for all his fans. On top of that, I’m happy I made the march 9th death anniversary deadline. Long story short, I was working on another Valentine’s tape because the first was so well-received, and then Cabbie said I should really do a March 9th BIG tape. It made sense because it’s been long overdue and the timing. That was it, my RNB tape had to get pushed back.”
This is a fun and entertaining documentary about one of music’s most important artists and business men. Enjoy.
From JayZ Journal:
This biography is for our true Roc-A-Fella’s following Jay-Z when he was with Big Daddy Kane and Jaz-O. This documentary shows how Jay-Z started with an office full of rats, touring with Diddy and B.I.G to his final breakthrough. Whenever you need the inspiration you gotta check this bio out. Read more of this post
If you were like us, you were digging Justin Timberlake‘s performance this past weekend at the Grammy Awards. Shot in black and white and reminiscent of the big band era, JT zoomed through this uptempo, cool tune and was joined on the stage from the audience by music mogul, Mr. Carter-Knowles (yes, his official name) Jay-Z. From the sounds of this groove, 2013 is going to be a HUGE year for this blue-eyed soul singer. Check it out below if you haven’t heard it. Read more of this post
In this short documentary, JAY Z’s Life+Times takes an unprecedented behind the scenes look at the creation of JAY Z’s Barclays Center opening concerts. The highlight of this video is when Jay Z rides the subway to the show and sits next to an older lady who doesn’t know who she is sitting next to. Enjoy!
Anyone who is a fan and student of hip hop knows that the genre was built on the back of a ton of classic rare soul music. This past weekend, we came across this incredible collection of seminal soul music that is responsible for many of hip hop’s early Golden Era hits as well as some contemporary hits. Including classics like “Give It Up or Turn it Loose” and “Apache”, this comp will give you everything you need for that next samples debate. Although the tracklist is unavailable, most of these song title and artists can be found using a tool like Shazam or Soundhoud on your mobile phone. Enjoy. Read more of this post
Judging from our country’s collective musical ADD, this track may be a bit old in the U.S. but we wanted to be sure our international brothers and sisters got on top of this single, which was released a little while ago in conjunction with Kanye West‘s G.O.O.D. Music Group released its Cruel Summer EP. Despite receiving mixed reviews, Cruel Summer produced Theraflu and Mercy, both of which banged hard all Summer 2012. Now, with Clique, we can be certain the Fall will also belong to Ye. Read more of this post
Last night’s BET Awards 2012 was pretty awesome. We really enjoyed all the performances especially Cissy Houston’s heartfelt tribute to Whitney Houston, who died earlier this year as well as Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, who performed for the first time ever on national television, despite making music for more than 40 years. Another highlight was Jay-Z’s mock interruption of Kanye West, which brought the crowd to cheers remembering Kanye’s Taylor Swift-gate a couple years back.
Check out our predictions in bold below along with actual winners in green. Clearly, we did not see things the way BET saw them since our hit ratio was dismal this year. How did you do?
An official video never dropped for Kanye West‘s DJ Khaled-assisted banger “Theraflu Way Too Cold,” but, thankfully, visionary Ashley Smith stepped up to the plate to deliver this hilarious clip featuring a young KW impersonator and his jaw-droppingly attractive companion, portrayed by Jasmin Marilena.
We love this dope full documentary on THE MC, The Art of 16 Bars. The lyrical part of Hip Hop. For the first time, the worlds hottest MCs show you how to do it. From free styling and writing to how you hold the Mic and how to deal with being on tour. Features: Barry Bergman,Loco Gringo,Jadakiss,Jay-Z,KRS-One,Talib Kweli,MC Lyte,Method Man,Kool Moe Dee,Rakim,Twista, and Kanye West. Narrated by: Method Man.
Review from IMDB.com
After watching this film I am left wondering why this film isn’t getting more attention? This film breaks down the art of the rhyme better then anything I’ve seen out there. What’s really scary is that a film so positive in it’s messages and meaning could be so ignored. Yeah, I know it’s not Beef but come on, this is a great film. Great insights and interviews, Methods narration is funny and insightful, and it’s entertaining as hell! Can’t we support something positive? You’re missing out if you don’t peep this title. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to MC, let me re-phrase that, It’s a must for anyone who wants to MC. After watching it inspired me to put down some hot 16′s.
We loooooooooove this moving tribute by Jasiri X for Trayvon Martin.
Rapped over “No Church in the Wild”, the first track from Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s Watch the Throne album featuring Frank Ocean! Get involved. Watch this and share.
From UrbanCusp.com:
Hip-Hop artists Jasiri X tells the heartbreaking story of Trayvon Martin, a unarmed 17 yr old boy, who was shot and killed by Neighborhood Block Captain George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. George Zimmerman has to this date never been arrested or charged for the murder of Trayvon.
We were able to obtain a photo of the program that will be given to the 1,500 private guests who are expected to attend funeral services for Whitney Houston, who died a week ago. It is simply titled “I Will Always Love You” and features images of her with Clive Davis, her mother Cissy Houston, her daughter Bobbi Kristina as well a photo with Alicia Keys. A large number of celebrity guests are expected including Oprah Winfrey, Cissy Houston, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Kevin Costner, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Jay-Z, Beyonce, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Bobby Brown among others. Rest in Peace Whitney! Watch this funeral live at Noon today, Saturday, February 18, 2012 HERE.
Over the weekend, soulhead founder Ron Worthy and I attended a macaroni and cheese competition hosted by mutual friends. The winner of the overall competition took awards in key categories, most notably the one for comfort. As one of the judges declared, the winning entry was “delicious and a little on edge” yet was “still the mac and cheese you’d want to be eating on a cold winter’s night.”
Those were my thoughts when listening to Black and White America, the most recent album from singer-songwriter-musician Lenny Kravitz. It’s Kravitz’s first album in three years, a timespan that’s seen the artist delve into acting with roles in the Academy Award-winning Precious and this summer’s upcoming blockbuster The Hunger Games. Don’t let the hiatus from music and focus on acting fool you, though. Lenny hasn’t lost his touch at all.
Originally to be titled Negrophilia, Black and White America is exactly what you’d expect from Kravitz—an amalgamation of funk, rock, soul, and pop, all wrapped up into a neat little package. Like this past weekend’s winning macaroni and cheese, the album is a delicious serving of aural comfort food. While it still retains a bit of edge, it’s the sort of output we want to hear from Kravitz.
As usual, Kravitz sticks to familiar themes: love, faith, hope. This go round, as the album title implies, there’s a notable focus on race relations in America. While Kravitz doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the topic, there’s an overwhelming sense of optimism throughout the disc.
“Black and White America” : B+
The title track is a funk workout in which Kravitz sings about the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and details the tribulations his parents endured as an interracial married couple. Despite the heaviness of the topics, the song is supremely uplifting.
“Come On Get It” : B-
Kravitz keeps the funk moving but adds a little rock n’ roll flavor to this track, which boasts hard hitting drums and menacing guitar licks.
“In The Black”: B
The playful synths on this guitar-driven pop-rock song give it a very 80s feel.
“Liquid Jesus”: B+
A sultry, soulful meditation on finding salvation through love. Reminds me of Marvin Gaye. An album highlight.
“Rock Star City Life”: C+
As a standalone track, this punk-inspired song may have been tolerable but here it simply feels out of place.
“Boongie Drop” (featuring Jay-Z and DJ Military): B
A dub-influenced song celebrating ladies’ bodies (and the way they move). Jigga is on cruise control but, in a foreshadowing of his declaration to stop using certain epithets to describe women, he delivers a profanity free verse.
“Stand”: C
A rather earnest slice of pop-rock peppered with wah-wah guitars. Doesn’t quite work for me. In fact, I found it to be a bit grating.
“Superlove”: B+
The album makes a welcome return to slow-grooving funk. Another one of my favorites.
“Everything”: B+
Kravitz serves up some great guitar work on this energetic track.
“I Can’t Be Without You”: B-
Your typical arena rock ballad. It’s not terrible by any means, but it’s not too memorable, either. It’s just kind of there.
“Looking Back On Love”: B+
A sexy, almost jazzy song that reminisces on past love while searching for new love . Kinda experimental, but it’s a definite groove.
“Life Ain’t Ever Been Better Than It Is Now”: B
This track finds Kravitz thanking the Lord for all his blessings. Gratitude has never sounded so funky.
“Faith of a Child”: B+
A midtempo, gospel-tinged ballad in which Kravitz implores all of us to just have a little faith.
“Sunflower” (featuring Drake): B
With its busy drums, horns, and disco whistles, how this track never became a summer anthem is beyond me. Drake stops by for a serviceable verse, but the song would have fared well without it.
“Dream”: C-
Yet another song full of hope and optimism, but I found it too slow and plodding. Almost narcoleptic.
“Push”: B+
Kravitz ends the album nicely with a moving, inspirational, and uplifting jam.
Overall Grade: B
Our Recommendation: MODERATE BUY
Our Favorite Tracks: “Black and White America,” “Liquid Jesus,” “Superlove,” “Faith of a Child”
Black and White America is an anomaly as far as current mainstream music is concerned. Bereft of both cynicism and narcissism, it carries a true message of hope and has an old school vibe that makes one think of Sly and the Family Stone or 70s-era Stevie Wonder. And while he’s not pushing the envelope sonically, Kravitz is at least meeting our musically expectations and giving us that comfort food we expect.
What are your thoughts on Black and White America?
Download the free MP3 Mixtape “Black and White America” here.
Similar to soul legend Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”, rapper Jay-Z’s post-birth release “Glory” features his new baby girl, Blue, crying. Too sweet. Congrats to Baby Blue and the Carters. Read more of this post
Concept albums are rare creatures to be found in the world of hip-hop. In fact, the last notable rap album to bill itself as such was Jay-Z‘s American Gangster, and while it was critical and commercial success, it played hard and loose with the very rules that define exactly what a concept album is supposed to be. Thankfully, when the crown jewel of Philly hip-hop, The Roots, announced their upcoming project Undun was to be a concept album, their efforts proved to hew a little more closely to our expectations.
According to press materials, “Undun” is an “existential telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens.”
As Questlove stated on Okayplayer:
[It] is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner like Tupac’s character Bishop in Juice… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment.
The tale begins with Redford’s death and tells his story in reverse chronology, exploring the circumstances and decisions the character made which led to his untimely fate. It’s certainly a story we’ve all heard, read, and seen before, but perhaps not in this manner. Exploring themes of free will and predestination and drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to) the work of Sufjan Stevens and HBO’s The Wire, Undun is quite a compelling work.
TRACK-BY-TRACK REVIEW
01 “Dun” – N/A
The album’s first track is merely the sound of a flatlined heart monitor. That’s not a spoiler—from the beginning, we already know Redford, the album’s protagonist, is dead. What we’ll find out after this track is how he got there.
02 “Sleep” – B
With its Hitchcock, Public Enemy, and Geto Boys references, the horn-driven “Sleep” begins Undun on a rather paranoid note. The ending couplet is powerful in that Redford wonders if he will be remembered by his loved ones after his death.
03 “Make My” (featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Dice Raw) – B+
Mississippi everyman Big K.R.I.T. assists Black Thought and Dice Raw in this rumination on whether life and its struggles are worth the effort. As the hook proclaims, “They told me that the ends/Won’t justify the means/They told me at the end/Don’t justify the dreams/That I’ve had since a child.” A very soulful, if melancholic, track.
04 “One Time” featuring Phonte and Dice Raw – B+
Phonte opens up this hard-hitting, piano-driven track which explores the pressures of street life. Dice Raw not only sings the hook but contributes a verse at the end, but the song belongs to Black Thought who communicates Redford’s point of view with inventive imagery. “Capture this moment in time/It’s smash and grab.” It’s nearly impossible to leave criminal thoughts behind.
05 “Kool On” featuring P.O.R.N. and Truck North – A-
Perhaps the funkiest and most upbeat song on Undun, BT is flanked by newcomers Greg Porn and Truck North guest starring as street hustlers celebrating their newly acquired riches. But really, is there anything worth celebrating? Even with a “gentlemanly gangsta steez beyond the 70s,” Redford knows he’s still got to watch his back. The song is built upon an infectious and incredibly funky guitar loop and filtered vocal sample.
06 “The OtherSide” featuring Bilal and P.O.R.N. – A
Redford knows he deserves the finer things—and dammit, he’s going to go after them. Black Thought’s energetic flow and hungry delivery put us right in Redford’s mind, detailing his desire to “make an entrance” and get “cheese like omelets,” even if the consequences leave him hellbound. Bilal’s gospel-tinged hook has a double meaning: “Always felt like I deserved more/But when I make it to the other side/That’s when we’ll settle up the score.” The other side, as in leaving the “have-nots” and becoming a “have”? Or, as in leaving this life and going to the next?
07 “Stomp” featuring Greg Porn and Just Blaze —B
On this guitar-driven track, Redford’s just about had it with his situation. He’s tired of living and barely surviving, so he’s about to do whatever it takes to get ahead, even if his family won’t understand his decisions. Just Blaze provides a stellar, thunderous backdrop for BT and P.O.R.N.’s rhymes and gets his filtered rant on during the hook.
08 “Lighthouse” featuring Dice Raw – B-
A rumination on lost friendships and, as a result, having no one in your corner, especially when you need them. “And no one’s in the lighthouse/And it seems like you just screamed/It’s no one there to hear the sound/And it may feel like there’s no one there/That cares if you drown/Face down in the ocean.” Noteworthy for the strong performance from Dice Raw.
09 “I Remember” — A
One of the best songs on the album, this brooding walk down memory lane finds our protagonist reminiscing on past friendships, old stomping grounds, and (maybe) his complicity in a friend’s murder. “Now I can never chill/What’s keeping me from breaking out like Benadryl/When my baptism of fire resulted in a kill/Sometimes it’s as cut and dry as a business deal/You gotta cause the blood of a close friend to spill/But you remember still.” Chilling stuff.
10 “Tip The Scale” featuring Dice Raw – B
On this track, Redford lets you know right away what his M.O. is—he’s trying to tip the scale in his favor: “I never take off cause I got a job/Rob Peter to pay Paul/Now I realize it’s the winner that takes all/Do what I gotta do because I can’t take loss.” Survival, by any means necessary.
The album closes with a four-song suite of instrumentals that sum up the stages of Redford’s life.
11 “Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)” – A
It’s a simple yet beautiful piano medley.
12 “Possibility (2nd Movement)” – B+
Another piano melody, accompanied by heartbreaking strings.
13 “Will To Power (3rd Movement)” – B
A cacophonous track that doubtlessly represents the fear, paranoia, and general chaos of Redford’s life.
14 “Finality” — A-
And in death, Redford is finally at peace … or is he?
Overall Grade: B+ Best Tracks: “Kool On,” “The OtherSide,” “I Remember” Our Recommendation: (MODERATE) BUY
Though Undun is a sobering cautionary tale, it is, as stated earlier, one we’ve heard countless times before. Yet the strong lyrics, no-frills delivery, and commanding mic presence from Black Thought, the dope production, and the album’s focus on the character’s existential struggles make this album stand out from the pack.
Liner Note and other related images from Undun:
What are your thoughts on Undun? LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!
