I really do love it when the New York Times and other such publications refer to Busta Rhymes as “Mr. Rhymes.”
Back when we did the Scarface at the go-go post, a few readers requested that it become a regular series. Well, here it goes. Busta and some semblance of Flipmode (probably just Spliff Star) rocking with BYB shortly after the release of The Coming. His energy translates pretty well even if his mic seems a little too low.
The Coming was a pretty great rap album, iirc. Maybe it requires a revisitation?
After splitting from Relativity but before misspelling his own name at then neo-soul halfway house MCA, Coomon dropped this one off on the razor blade. “1999″ was the lead off for the Soundbombing 2 compilation and is a cool enough chin stroking conscious rap song with an always welcome Sadat X cameo, but it’s the B-side that wins (again) with Lonnie trying his hand at Buhloone era style De La recontextualized nostalgia. Except he was never quiet as smart as those guys so it comes off like the “I Used To Love HER” video if it was a song about songs and not a song about a person who was actually a genre. Still it’s a fun record and might just be the last great song that Common Sense the lyrically lyrical half drunk rap fanboy ever recorded. Presumably it never made it past the 12″ because it would have cost a fortune to clear all the vocal samples. “1999″ vid after the jump. [Read more]
The success of Chalies’ “I Look Good” is a blessing and a curse. It got him a deal and probably a decent amount of loot but being such a lightweight and summer record it’s pretty safe to assume that he’ll be burdened with a one hit wonder branding, which couldn’t be further from the truth (this is often the case with hip hop – ask Biz Markie and the Geto Boys). If nothing else it’s a big part of the reason we’ve been hearing booming Moe/Pat style hooks on post-snap records like “Hit Dat Hoe.” But the thing about both those guys and Chalie is that they were not just hookmen in the traditional sense. They were rappers first. His freebee street album I’m Here is a little bit everywhere, some great spitting, some straight up R&B/pop records and a lot of hybrids. He could probably carve a niche for himself a The-Dream style singer/songwriter mold which would be a good look professionally, but almost a let down musically. It’s when he hits that hybrid moment that he’s at his best, but I’m not sure how much of a market there is for that right now.
If retweetabilism is any indicator “Fuck My Face” is well on its way to up to be the 2010 “Smell Yo Dick.” Except it’s actually a pretty good song. Or at least it’s as good as a song called “Fuck My Face” can possibly be. Strip club shit. Ms. No Tonsels(sic) is something like a cross between old style Trina sass and new school Nicki Minaj robot rap. This is record that needs a Ludacris verse on the remix. A tip of the hat to David the Shrimp for mentioning this record and then asking for a “hat tip” in this post. [Read more]
Today seems like an appropriate day to drop the long delayed follow up to this, one of the more popular compilations in the site’s history. The first volume dropped in the wake of Katrina and was a general primer on the very slept on New Orleans bounce sound. Here we veer into the gangsta bounce of early Cash Money and another of the stronger labels from that era – Pack. It’s also bookended by two proto-bounce tracks Gregory D & Mannie Fresh’s “Buck Jump Time” and the J Ro J’s brass band “Buck Jump” knock off “Let’s Jump.” Like the first the song selection consists of mostly classics with a few lesser known titles sprinkled in. Sorry about the crackle and fuzz on some tracks, you know how it goes. Please continue to support New Orleans in any way you can. Track listing after the second line jump. [Read more]
Maynn wuss good yall iss been a minute mayn but dayum mayn dis year been killin it. Dis song righ here mayn dat leaked a couple dayz ago mayn soundin like de best song uv de year so far which iz sayin sumthin. [Read more]
AllHipHop reports that Flavor Unit emcee and “Gangsta Bitch” architect Apache has passed away after a “protracted illness.” Respect to his family, friends and fans.
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