Smootherness

I like how his board is painted black - I'm guessing Organika did not sign off on this endorsement...
http://www.ridenss.com/#/videos/quim

To get even more stoked, check, "LA skating is much more surf style skating, you know, haoli style... east coast is where raw street skateboarding is":
http://www.ridenss.com/#/videos/tom_joe

--
Joel

Case of the Mondays...

2010-04-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

This sounds dope, except it's a party on a Sunday night that goes until 4am?? Kind of presumptuous to assume that just because you like Reggae, you don't have to wake up early on a Monday? I'm just saying....

Top 12 Hip Hop Albums of 2009

2010-01-19T22:41:00.001-08:00

Here you go...my personal favorite albums of 2009. Yeah, it's 12. Please make comments. Agree/disagree?

Skyzoo - The Salvation
This album had constant replay value since it's release. Pretty much solid front-to-back, with the exception of the track "Mr Popularity." Skip...
Drake - So Far Gone (mixtape)
This one is a no-brainer. This "mixtape" was classic and introduced those nonbelievers to Drake (myself included). After getting this I went back and got everything else I'd missed. My first impression of this album was that it was what Kanye was trying to do with 808s and Heartbreaks, but didn't do nearly as well (singing, emotions, mellow beats, and raps).
Cormega - Born and Raised
For me it doesn't get any better than Cormega for gritty, honest, true school NYC raps. I am still amazed an album like this can be released in 2009. A definite throwback in the best way. Cormega finally got the beats all right, and had minimal guests (all sharing his true school NYC ethos).
Saigon & Statik Selektah - All In a Day's Work
Statik Selektah is definitely my favorite and most consistent producer of the past year plus. I never really paid attention to Saigon until he teamed up with Statik and here he shines. The few other tracks I've heard from him were always "eh," but this is superb.
Ghostface Killah - Wizards of Poetry
I have to admit I slept on this album at first thinking to myself, "Ghost and R&B? No thanks." But after listening I remembered why Ghost is so dope. The deal with this album is the rhymes all revolve around the topic of females and relationships in general, but are definitely not sappy. Think more along the lines of Wildflower. The production is semi-smoothed out, but raw, like Ghostface.
The Jacka - Tear Gas
This was the #1 bay album of the year, hands down. With dark production (think the opposite of hyphy) and the most-varied guests I've seen on any album. Devin the Dude, Cormega, E40, Zion I, Freeway,...need I say more?
DJ Quik and Kurupt - Blaqkout
DJ Quik is one of the top 5 producers of all time and on this album, he's teamed up with the very talented, but generally lyrically lazy Kurupt. On this album though, Kurupt sounds inspired and rejuvenated a bit by the presence of Quik. The album is very well rounded with songs to ride to as well as songs you could hear in the club (if they played stuff besides whats on the radio). Quik continues where Trauma left off to push the limits of his production range with tracks like "9 times out of 10," but also gives you the smooth funk you love on tracks like "The Appeal."
Souls Of Mischief - Montezuma's Revenge
This one came out at the end of 2009 as a sleeper, but a certified banger. The production is handled solely by Prince Paul (Gravediggaz, De La Soul). At first this sounds like an odd pairing, but after one listen, all doubts are set aside. This album bangs from front to back with energized and witty lyrics from Phesto, A-Plus, Opio, and Tajai. And with Prince Paul on the production, even the skits are worth not skipping (see Morgan Freeman). The Souls manage to sound rejuvenated and seem to have aged very well unlike some of their counterparts.
The Grouch - Three Eyes Off The Time
This EP is a collaboration between the bay areas own DJ Fresh and Living Legends The Grouch. I remember when I met DJ Fresh back in 2004 when I was living in San Jose. He was working at Circle A skateshop, DJing between customers. He told me that he had just gotten back off of the Nas "God's Son" tour. Having just met him I kinda wondered if he was full of shit. Guess not. DJ Fresh provides lush beats for Grouch's ever conscious, but fresh delivery. The production is very melodic and rich...it sounds bay area, but also with influences of J Dilla and other east coast producers.
Wale - Attention Deficit
Wale provided one of my favorite mixtapes with his Seinfeld-themed album called "Mixtape About Nothing" in 2007. Now in 2009 he finally released his full length debut. The album he delivered is great with solid production, thoughtful lyrics, and original concepts. Unique for a major label debut.
Royce Da 5'9" - Street Hop
This album is amazing...and amazingly slept on. I'm not sure the deal. It sounds like it wasn't mastered entirely and the cover looks very last-minute. The tracks are all original (not mixtape) and features production on a few tracks from DJ Premier and other top shelf producers. Royce definitely flexes his pen game on this album with amazing concept and storytelling tracks (listen to "Part of Me" and "On the Run").
Termanology - Time Machine
With Term's sophomore release he mostly sticks to the script with production from Large Professor, Statik Selektah, and Fizzy Womack among others. The standout tracks are "Time Machine" produced by Large Pro and "Nothing Iz Real" - a great track featuring a downtempo sample from the group Zero 7.

Also, after reading a few other peoples lists for 2009, I have to admit that I have not heard these albums: Brother Ali - Us; Wiz Khalifa; The Cool Kids.

Eric "G"(Squad) producing tracks on Skyzoo debut

2009-09-18T12:44:00.001-07:00

The young dude Eric G from back in the day is apparently crushing the motherfucking game lately. He's on Skyzoo's debut album with 2 tracks, alongside the likes of 9th Wonder and Just Blaze.

So hyped:
Interview: http://www.nodfactor.com/2009/07/27/60
Album: Skyzoo "The Salvation"

Ras Kass, Biography part I

2009-09-09T12:49:00.001-07:00

Biography of John Austin: Episode 1 from Ras Kass on Vimeo.

I see dead people

2009-09-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Dope new shit from Term:

Casual, San Quinn, FTC

2009-09-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Dope:

"Off the Pacific" TD Camp ft Casual & San Quinn from Hella Records on Vimeo.

Quik and Kurupt on a Camel

2009-08-11T13:15:00.001-07:00

New Goapele video

2009-08-06T15:49:00.001-07:00

This here is known as FIRE. Looking forward to seeing her live on Friday in OAKLAND.

Milk and Honey - Goapele from goapele on Vimeo.

Times may be hard, but at least I'm not Nas

2009-07-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

Times may be tough for me right now, but on a lighter note, I'm not NaS (plagerized from: http://daily-math.com/weblog/?p=888):

Kelis Turned Fiction to Fortune

By Blackneck, on July 28th, 2009

“It’s nineteen ninety-now, and there’s certain individuals who swear they rollin’ hard and get robbed on principle.”
-mos def

It took a little while for the whole Nas/ Kelis thing sink in for me. I don’t know how much money the god Nasir makes, but regardless, I think that 40K a month for child support is about as raw a deal as you can get. But I don’t think NaS is paying out the ass just for child support. NaS is paying $40K a month for re-creating the “Pumps in a Bump” video {||] at what looks like a drug lord’s house and for spitting Cristal at cameras with Puffy. He’s paying for tales of killing Brazilian models with crushed-up glass after murking her NFL running back husband and running off with $12.5 million. How else can you explain that Russell Simmons’s child support settlement is the exact same amount -only its $20K for each kid? And how do you explain the Canadian billionaire whose child support payment for 3 kids is “only” $35K a month? Last week, the billionaire’s Brazilian baby momma asked for a lump sum of $50 million plus $56K/ month and the courts told her to go kick rocks. Aight it’s Canada, but still. Russell and this dude’s money is a lot longer than NaS’s. And the judge had to be aware of NaS’s cash and assets as not to produce a ruling out of complete thin air. The problem is that the judge doesn’t get it.

Rap’s tightrope walk with WWF (WWE?) status has a lot of people fooled. That judge might be one of them. Rap music’s displays of excess gives the impression that these dudes have cash to burn, literally. So while the judge might have seen the numbers, he gave judgment on the lifestyle. I’m not trying to equate NaS’s floss with T-Pain’s coontastic Big Ass Chain floss, but I can see how it’s very easy for outsiders to blur them together. Not to mention, even though rap has gone mainstream, the torch bearing mob that went on a rap witchhunt in the 80’s and 90’s never went away. What better way to put a rapper nigger in his place than to hit him with an egregious child support settlement? Plus it had the effect of making cats take pause. Kelis ethered NaS, but rap music, painting itself in broad strokes of fiction has wounded another one of the greats.

Ice Cube vs. P Rod

2009-07-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

Blame it on the e-e-e-e-economy

2009-07-07T16:02:00.001-07:00

New Drake video showcasing his stable

2009-07-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Best hip hop in The City...Tuesdays at 330 Rich

2009-06-29T14:04:00.001-07:00

DJ Sake One: http://www.djsake1.com/word.htm

"you see me keepin it real asian on the street!!"

2009-06-09T19:19:00.001-07:00

See 1:00...

DJ Quik and Kurupt - Do You Know

2009-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is what I'm working towards:

DJ Quik reunites the West Coast...lasts for about an hour

2009-03-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Went to an amazing DJ Quik performance last night at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The performance is a monthly thing (maybe not anymore) called Quik's Groove. Backed by a live band and tons of all star guests it was crazy. The lineup was Dogg Pound, Lady of Rage, B Real, Raekwon the Chef (yeah, that's right), Soopafly, Sugafree, Westurn Union, and the Ricky Bell from Bel Biv Devoe. That was till about 12:30am...

The entire night Quik had been very picky about too many people being on stage and kept saying to the audience "don't you hate when you go to a show and there are way too many people on stage." I'm guessing this is where the trouble started because people's egos were probably being bruised as Quik kept ushering people off the stage. So as any Quik fan knows, him and Sugafree have been on the outs for a number of years, but inexplicably last night he came out on stage. The fans went crazy and it was cool to see him. Personally, I think Katt Williams owes Suga Free some royalties on his image...or vice versa. Also, although Suga Free is about as misogynistic as is gets, I think it's kind of joke? Anyway, Suga Free was performning and Quik was having a word with some big dude who was on stage loitering...probably saying, "get the fuck off the stage." All of sudden, Quik pulls back and cold cocks this dude right in the face - boxing style. The guys is at least twice the size of Quik...think David and Goliath. As soon as that happens the guy tries to hit back and misses as Quik ducks his punch...and then the body guards break it all up and the shows over.

It would have been cool to see what Quik had in store for the last 45 minutes of the shows. He kept alluding to a suprise he had at the end and I don't think he meant the fight.

What the hell is up with the economy?

2009-01-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

I definitely do NOT predict it ending by Q2 this year. Not this year either. Hopefully next year. Things look really bad. The credit crisis is doing exactly what people thought it would do, and consumption has really dropped off. What's going on in Iceland hopefully doesn't spread to any major countries. If that happens there could be trade wars as countries block imports. That is kind of the worse-case scenario floated by some investment banks; slowing demand in emerging markets prompts currency devaluations and trade blockades, which would basically destroy the worldwide economy. It happened right before the depression with Smoot-Hawley. I don't think the US would make that mistake again, but other countries might when faced with violent protests. A while ago I know I said that a Depression-like situation was extremely unlikely. It's not so unlikely any more. We're already at 7+ levels of unemployment, and it's not getting better soon. Hopefully we don't peak higher than 10%. Credit spreads are still enormous, which means it is very hard for businesses to get financing and hire people. There's not really much the Obama team can do about this directly - they have to try and address it by building confidence in the economy in general with the stimulus plan.

Contributed by guest columnist Dime $ack

Best of 2008 Compilation

2009-01-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here's my best of 2008 tape. Enjoy....

Q-Tip - Life Is Better ft. Norah Jones
Statik Selektah - Get Out The Way (Feat. Bun B & Cory Mo)
The Game - Angel ft. Common
Common - Punch Drunk Love ft. Kanye West
Evidence - Beats Like This ft. Montage One, Mitchy Slick, Big Twin, Diz Gibran, Styliztik Jones, Krondon, Rakaa Iriscience & Crooked I
Termanology - Music Industry ft. Royce, Crooked I, Cons & Akrobatik
Westurn Union - Nex Time
San Quinn - Billionaire ft. Lil' Quinn
Skillz - I'm Gone Make It
The Fixxers - So Good
Wale - Artistic Integrity
Black Milk - Losing Out ft. Royce Da 5'9
Ludacris - I Do It For Hip Hop ft. Nas and Jay-Z
Kidz In The Hall - Let Your Hair Down ft. Skyzoo
Buckshot & 9th Wonder - Here We Go
Statik Selektah - Talkin’ Bout You (Ladies) ft. Skyzoo, Joell Ortiz & Talib Kweli
Reks - How Can It Be
Young Jeezy - My President ft. Nas
T.I. - On Top of the World ft. Ludacris
Nas - N.I.G.G.E.R (the slave and the master)
O.C. & A.G. - Time Trav
Pete Rock - We Roll ft. Jim Jones & Max B
Ras Kass - B.I.B.L.E.
Paris - Don't Stop the Movement
The Roots - The Show ft. Common
Keak Da Sneak & San Quinn - Welcome to Scokland
Zo! & Tigallo - Steppin' Out (trackademics remix)

Get it HERE!

Best hip-hop albums of 2008

2009-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Best Albums of 2008, in order of importance:

Nas - Untitled
Okay, this one's pretty obvious to most of you. 2008 finally brought out the Nas we've all been waiting for...since the Lost Tapes. On this album he's overtly political with tracks like Black President and N*gger, and even flossy with songs like Hero and Breath, but it all fits together seemlessly. Gone are all traces of "Braveheart Party" or "You Owe Me" (see Nas Least Greatest Hits).

The production, which is usually Nas's achilles heel, is consistent and cohesive enabling nonstop listening straight through. The production lineup from the outside looks like the usual Nas crapshoot: Stic.man, Polow Da Don, DJ Toomp, Mark Ronson. Somehow they all make it work and sound cohesive. The largest factor in making it all work is Nas. The lyrics throughout remain focused even when the beats change.
Q Tip - The Renaissance
Front to back, start to finish, this is a great album. Kamaal the Abstract seems to have picked up his beat and rhymebook where he and the rest of Tribe left it back in 1996?? Aided by live instrumentation, the production on this sounds fresh and new, even when using samples. There are no guest emcees, only guest vocalists: Norah Jones, Raphael Saadiq, and D'Angelo. This creates a near perfect soundscape for Tip to wax poetic. The Norah Jones collabo "Life Is Better" is airy and soulful, perfectly riding the keys and snapping drums.

Q Tip the emcee shines brightly here (not just the abstract). In recent years, many Q Tip songs seemed to lack focus and inspiration - possibly due to his 2 shelved albums. On The Rennaissance, however, inspiration seems to have been found. This record fits nicely in the Tribe catalogue - an amazing feat for 2008.
Kidz In the Hall - The In Crowd
With Kidz In the Hall's sophomore release, The In Crowd, they have solidified themselves among hip-hop's upper echelon. This is shown in the both the music they create and the list of guest emcees willing to contribute, including Phonte, Camp Lo, Skyzoo, Boot Camp, Push T, and Bun B. The in-house production provided by Naledge is incredible. It's soulful and fresh, while mainting the true-school aesthetic.
Statik Selektah - Stick 2 the Script
Boston producer Statik Selektah has had a busy year. This is his 2nd producer album released this year, the first called Spell My Name Right. He also contributed heavily to both Reks and Termanology's albums. From listening to Statik's beats, you can hear that he's a perfectionist. Every scratch, every snare, every sample is exact. His sound builds upon the foundation laid by Pete Rock and DJ Premier.

The selection of emcees is great. The same high-quality of beats are crafted for up-and-comers Termanology, Cassidy, and Saigon to solidified veterans MOP, Bun B, and Talib Kweli. Look for even more from Statik Selektah in 2009.
Reks - Gray Hairs
When this album came out, virtually out of nowhere, from Statik Selektah's label Showoff Records, I was left wondering what happened to Term? The buzz for Term was way higher than Reks, but somehow his album came out first. That small complaint voiced, this album is dope. The production lineup is incredible including DJ Premier, Statik Selektah, and Large Professor.
Zo! and Tigallo - I Love the 80s
This album came virtually out of nowhere. It's a collaboration between Phonte of Little Brother (aka Tigallo) and Zo!, an vocalist/musician under the Little Brother/Justus League umbrella. Basically it's an 80s R&B remake album(!) Although it sounds like a possible recipe for disaster - instead it's a masterpiece. Tigallo is the alter-ego of Phonte, the respected emcee and 1/2 of Little Brother. This album is done with humor if you listen closely, but also with a perfectionist ear. Tigallo has made appearances on Little Brother albums...usually mocking current sappy R&B songs. On this album Zo! and Tigallo completely go for it and sing their way to a classic album. As for comparisons to other rappers who tried singing, think more Andre 3000 and less Gnarles Barkley.

The production is all synthesizers and done with 80s hipster flare. This album is definitely fun.
Elzhi - The Preface
Elzhi continues to be Slum Village's best kept secret (and Slum Village continues to be Detroit's best kept secret). This album is what fans were waiting for since Elzhi showed up on the Trinity back in 99' or 00'...
Jake One - White Van Music
Seattle's own Jake One (producer) has put together a really, really, really, good (cue Zoolander) producer compilation/album. The production is quality and consistent throughout and the guest emcees are as eclectic as anyone could imagine (in a good way). Here goes: Keak Da Sneak, Posdonus, Little Brother, MF Doom, Young Buck, MOP, Bishop Lamont, Busta Rhymes, Freeway, Alchemist, Vitamin D, Casual, Elzi, Royce Da 5'9", Brother Ali...

Coming from Seattle myself, this hodgepodge of emcees makes perfect sense. This is exactly the kind of diversity you would've found in my walkman on a stop-n-pause mixtape back in the 90s when I used to live there...although the lineup may have been something more like: De La Soul, Lighter Shade of Brown, DJ Quik, Outkast, Nas, Extra Prolific, and The Gravediggaz.

I used to wonder what Jake One's "sound" was, but now I understand it. His beatmaking method is to tailor each beat to fit each emcee. It doesn't sound like he makes a random beat tape for artist to choose from. "Bless the Child" featuring Little Brother would fit right alongside any of the best Justus League beats (Khyrsis, 9th, etc). "I'm Coming" featuring Black Milk sounds like Jake One made this beat while hanging out in a grimy basement in Detroit with J Dilla and Black Milk. Dope.

The only complaint I have is that a few of these raps sound like they are a few years old - hear the references to G-Unit affiliation from MOP and Young Buck. Although this is understandable as Jake One was a part of the G-Unit in house producers while making this album. Oh, and here's a joke: what do you name a song produced by Jake One featuring Alchemist and Evidence? Give up? "White Man Music" aahahahahh...although Jake One opted for "White Van Music."
Westurn Union - House Shoe Musik, Vol. 1
Although this was billed as a "mixtape" this was better than their actual album entitled "Dubb Union". This album seems to have picked up where Ice Cube left off with "Amerikkka's Most." It's political, gangster, and lyrical. This album is unabashadly west coast. The album's strength lies in the mature focused rhymes from veteran emcees Soopafly, Damani, and Bad Lucc. The point of view of disgruntled (west coast) hip-hop fans is articulated in the track "Next Time" where the emcees admit that they too had grown sick of the played out G Funk west coast pigeon hole, but now admit that they too miss those old days, when you look at the present state.
Paris - Acid Reflex
Paris keeps coming with that hard truth. Tight classic sounding funk-driven beats backed by black panther-esc militant lyrics. Hyper critical of the police, the government, and the overall white-power establishment Paris calls listeners to action.
The Game - LAX
The Game is the rapper everybody loves to hate - and it's pretty easy to do. What's harder sometimes is to admit that he released a good album. He still name drops too much, but his storytelling and delivery have improved as well. What puts the album over the top though is his ear for beats and Game's sincerity. Jayceon wears his heart on his sleeve for better or worse. There are some very welcome guest appearances as well in the form of Nas and Common.

Honorable mention:

Prodigy - Product of the 80s
Termanology - Politics As Usual
San Quinn - From A Boy to A Man

Mixtapes that are almost albums:

Tanya Morgan is a Rap Group
Wale - Mixtape About Nothing
Evidence - The Layover

Baja Mancation 2008!

2008-12-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Nas and Goapele at the Warfield

2008-12-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Goapele opened for Nas at the Warfield on 11/28/08. Great show. Nas forgot a few lyrics...as usual. But overall ridiculous. Best that ever did it.

From Nas at Warfield

New Joey Bast interview...

2008-11-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

This takes me back to Ingraham High School in 1993...ridiculous pop! "Who do you skate for?" "Leigh Peterson and Chris Larson"....

http://www.bobshirt.com/V2/PAGES/JoeyBast.html#

"Shadowdancing"

2008-11-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

So awesome! If you watch closely, he almost does a trick!!!

Captain and Casey featuring Jabari, Karma Tsocheff, and Wussler

2008-11-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Captain and Casey Show - Fitness

The Queens Tip

2008-10-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

November 4th...not just time to vote (for Obama!), but to cop the new Q-Tip album. I have received my advance press copy and it's the Q-Tip you've been waiting for since the Midnight Marauders! It's innovative, creative, bass heavy, and vibey. The lyrics are thought provoking and insightful...the content is mature. I don't know the exact production credentials yet, but I know producers include J Dilla, Mark Ronson, and Q-Tip.

It seems a best of both worlds between the eclectic-sing-songy-rockish influences heard on the unreleased Kamaal the Abstract and the 90s era Tribe. There's a good amount of live instrumentation heard in the production which adds to a very layered sound. Guests include D'Angelo, Norah Jones, and Raphael Saadiq.

Check out:
Prefix Mag "Road to Renaissance"

Joey Johnson interview!?!

2008-10-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.48blocks.com/joeyjohnson/

Santa Rosa

2008-10-29T12:17:00.001-07:00

My official endorsement: Palin for president!!!

2008-10-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

Obama mixtape

2008-10-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

The Green Lantern hosted Barack Obama mixtape is here. Emcees include Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Nas, Charles Hamilton, Joell Ortiz, Busta Rhymes, Joe Budden and more...

Tracklist

1. Intro
2. David Banner,Busta Rhymes,Talib Kweli “Black President” Rmx pt1 *
3. Barack Obama “Stand Up”*
4. Nas Speaks on Politics
5. Styles P and Cassidy “Make It Out”*
6. Jay-z Speaks “The American Dream”
7. Barack Obama “One Mic, One People”
8. Russell Simmons Speaks on Obama
9. Joe Budden,Twista,John Mayer “Waiting on the World to Change 2008″
10. Angie Martinez “Yes We Need A Mixtape!!”
11. Kanye West,Malik Yusef “Promised land
12. Wale,Rhymefest,Christina K, Royce 5′9 “Black President” RMX Pt2*
13. Barack Obama “My Life”*
14. Jay-z “Lick a Shot”*
15. Russell Simmons on Change
16. Wyclef “Obama for President”
17. Charles Hamilton “The Moment”
18. Find ur Dreams (interlude) *
19. George Bush’s Highlight Reel
20. Mikkey Halsted “King George” *
21. Obama on Hip-Hop
22. Joel Ortiz feat Dante Hawkins “Letter To Obama” *
23. Akon , U.M. “Aint No Sunshine” *
24. Qadir, Dwayne (Invasion) “Its My Time
25. Johnny Polygon (Invasion),Amanda Diva “Colorblind” *
26. Mavado “We Need Barack” *
27. Jay-Z / Gabe Real “What We Need” (Speech)
28. Qadir “Yes We Can” Outro

Green Lantern - Yes We Can (Mixtape) (it's one long mp3)

Callin a spade a spade

2008-10-07T15:38:00.001-07:00

Plan B skateboards pro Jereme Rogers is a rapper??? It actually sounds worse than you imagined. His voice literally reminds me of if I had a little sister...and she was a rapper.

Click here to listen.

Guy writes Gino a letter

2008-10-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Xtreme Sportz

2008-10-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

Smell Reality from Owlface on Vimeo.

Nas Least Greatest Hits

2008-09-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

So if you ask anybody that knows me, I'm Nas #1 fan (I'll spare you the photo I have of him and me AND the autographed copy of Illmatic). However, I'm also the first to admit he has released some shitty songs over the years...particularly the years 97-99.

I'm guessing there has to be some inspiration and fan base for these mediocre (at best) songs. Which gets me to thinking...is there a parallel universe of fans out there for whom every Nas track that I hate, they love?

In honor of this idea, I present this compilation as a gesture of friendship to the Nas fans in the parallel universe:

Nas - Least Greatest Hits

Money is my bitch
Do I even need to talk about this one?
The Making of the perfect bitch
Note to studio engineer: If Nas ever thinks of making another song with "bitch" in the title (Life's A Bitch excepted), don't bother recording it.
Oochie Wally
Wow this song sucked...and the worst part about it was that it was so popular. You were forced to hear your favorite artist at his lowest point, in front of everyone...repeatedly.
Small World
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Oh, I'm sorry. Was I doing something?
Dr. Knockboots
This song was the beginning of the end for about 10 years for many Nas fans. I remember when it came out though many rap nerds were defending it.
Life Is What You Make It
This song has a great positively uplifting title...just make sure you don't listen to it. The beat is absolutely horrible and the DMX feature only adds to the pain.
Big Things
Nas trying out his double-time flow...while being very inebriated. I think he may have just rapped some crappy flow at regular tempo and then the studio engineer went back and sped it up after the fact. Great idea!
Shoot 'em Up
This song we can all remember from Bill O'Lielly using it to make his point why Nas was an asshole. Scary, but I can side with Bill on this one (although not for the same reasons): this song should have never been made.
Last Words
I think we're all very happy these weren't his last words.
God Love Us
I think someone fell asleep with their head on the keyboard...and Nas just kept rapping.
Quiet Niggas
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! You don't want to wake him, he might make more horrible songs like this.
Big Girl
I think this would make a great country song title about loving big women. Unfortunately Nas doesn't sing country and this song isn't about that.
You Owe Me
This was the cry heard across the globe as fans listened to this song.
Who Killed It?
If I had to point any fingers I would say the beat did.
Zone Out
Recorded live during a game of lazer tag between Nas and the Bravehearts.
Braveheart Party
Nope, I didn't forget this one - even though Nas yanked this from the subsequent versions of Stillmatic...I can still smell the stench.
Suicide Bounce
From the sound of this song and its "futuristic" production I think the producers were envisioning a future universe filled with people that no longer had rhythm or ears that could discern pleasing sounds and rhymes. All they are left with is the ability to hear sharp keyboard twangs. Or maybe the song was meant as a call for people to commit mass suicide by trying to listen?!?

Take a listen.

Is there really any debate here? Really?

2008-09-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

I already have my DVR set to record the presidential debate tonight. It should be a complete roast of McCain, but who really knows. It seems like a such an absolutely clear choice, but then again, I am fully aware of the "san francisco democrat" bubble I dwell in. I was thinking yesterday about how people could possibly still back McBush and basically it's for the same reasons they always have. The republicans represent a brand: Republican. The Republican brand has been so well defined that it doesn't really matter what's really going. Supporters see the Republican branding and will believe whatever is fed to them (Iraq, immigration, economic relief, tax cuts). They simply trust the establishment so whatever line McBush feeds them they will believe. Kind of reminds me of religion.

Economics and Annoying Smart Guys

2008-09-26T14:28:00.001-07:00

WABOO...

2008-09-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

Guest columnist Dime $ack:

Well, this is good news for the govt, cause now the FDIC won't have to pony up for the deposits. JPMorgan bought all those from the govt, along with WM's crappy mortgage portfolio. They immediately wrote the mortgage portfolio down 20%. So they are not expecting many of those mortgages to get repaid.

Depositors and people who bank with WM will be fine. All I see in my crystal ball is a bunch of Wamu branches either closing or becoming Chase branches, and most of the jobs in Seattle going away. I feel bad for the employees, and feel lucky that I didn't pursue a Wamu job after school, but that company really messed up. You can blame their ex-CEO and all their VPs and other execs. They pursued a really risky strategy, ignored the risks, and lost. Very stupid. Common stock holders are already wiped - bond and preferred equity holders are about to be.

Besides that my crystal ball is useless. I was expecting the markets to really go down this morning because the bailout stalled, but I think they are basically expecting congress to get something done despite last nights shenanigans. The McCain posturing was totally counterproductive, and the republicans clearly don't understand what a complete credit meltdown could mean (who really knows if that would happen, but there's a pretty good chance the only reason it hasn't is because of this bailout). We're not really bailing out the banks at this point, we're bailing out ourselves. If credit markets completely freeze I would expect there to be a deep economic contraction with lots of job losses. Just think - no companies (big or small) could get loans to finance their operations. Imagine a small business that buys inventory for Christmas, sells it, and pays back the loan. There will be no loan for that company to get, so they won't do any business for Christmas. No hiring employees, no buying advertising, no purchases of any business services. Imagine that on a very large scale.

Right now congressmen are quibbling over equity stakes and exec comp limits. Some want insurance on the securities instead of purchasing them outright. I think some of this stuff is nonsense - and it could complicate things more. Sure, go ahead and try to limit exec comp but really this is pennies compared to 700B.

I think the congressmen are hearing from their constituents - who also have no idea what this bailout really entails - that they don't want to bail out Wall St. You can read comments on NYTimes and blogs everywhere where people are pissed. They make it sound like we're just giving 700B to a bunch of greedy bankers. We're really buying some crap securities from many banks all over the world to try and get the financial system moving and keep it from locking itself down.

Again, it's impossible to know what will happen under any scenario. All I know is having the credit markets shut down would be very bad - mostly for low income people who would probably lose their jobs, and don't have anything saved to begin with.

Dime $ack out.

Discovering the Grip Plyaz and Hollyweerd

2008-09-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I just discovered this group out of ATLanta called the Grip Plyaz while listening to the Gordon Gartrell radio show aka Phonte's radio show. They are some crazy party shit. I am feeling it. A mix of hyphy sensibilities with Andre 3000 creativity. They are just doing them and it's dope. The subject matter is pretty limited to sexual escapades...the vibe is straight outer space though. LOL..."Work that thing like a Matado"

The album is available for free download off of their myspace page:
http://myspace.com/cumgitslum
or
http://www.mediafire.com/?h6wlplpjkqg

And here are their homies called Hollyweerd out of ATLanta as well. "Member's Only" is my shit! "Katie Holmes" in the spot she's choosing"! Digital Underground 2008?

The album is also free from myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/hollyweerd
or
http://www.zshare.net/download/16309140e8f40b16/%5Dhollyweerd

San Quinn intervew...discussing WE collabo

2008-09-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/sanquinn/

...hip hop and skating kinda go hand in hand especially with Frisco being diverse. I might live next door to my white partner who rides skateboards but we selling crack or playing basketball and going to church and that’s just how Frisco is.

LRG promo

2008-09-22T13:09:00.001-07:00

Damn...hadn't heard about this one. Features Cheeks, Rob G, Rodgrigo TX and Peterson, Curtin, Karl Watson, and Adelmo jr.

Some videos

2008-09-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Nas - Ya'll My Ninjas
Ridiculously dope. If you don't know this already...

I Wanna Lay Your Pipe Girl
You might be familiar with this goon from the VH1 White Rapper Show. Well, he's got a pretty funny song about wanting to service Sarah Palin:

To bump the track...

Don't bail dude!

2008-09-18T21:57:00.002-07:00

Guest columnist Dime $ack

It's been a crazy couple of days. It's hard to say what the AIG rescue will do. It's more of an organized liquidation than a bailout. The stockholders are wiped out, and the bondholders definitely won't get all their money back. The govt will just organize the sale of assets. They were really reluctant to do it, because it sends a bad signal, it puts tax dollars at risk, and it stretches the govt. I'm more curious what the heck is going to happen to Fannie/Freddie.

I don't know what other big companies could get a bailout like AIG. The remaining big banks seem alright (Goldman, HSBC, JPMorgan, Deutsche, etc). WAMU is probably going down though if they can't find a buyer (rightfully so - they made TONS of those garbage liar loans to subprime homeowners). The main thing with AIG was the fact that they insure tons of bonds. When they do that they are substituting their own credit for the insured bond. So if a somewhat risky company issues bonds, that company can buy insurance from AIG, which lowers the premium they have to pay to bondholders. If AIG disappeared, all that insurance goes away, and tons of debt gets downgraded, which would crush the money and debt markets. This is what the Treasury and Fed were trying to avoid. Plus it's not as bad of a company as Lehman, which was levered 35 to 1. AIG has a decent insurance business. They've just got a liquidity crisis on their hands.

The big news today was The Reserve "breaking the buck". The Reserve is a huge money fund company (lots of big companies have accounts with The Reserve). Money funds never go under $1 per share, but the Reserve had to yesterday because it was holding Lehman debt in its big prime fund. So today everyone was selling money funds and all corp debt and buying treasury securities. Banks don't want to lend to each other either, so Libor went way up overnight. Many subprime loans are based on Libor, so a lot of adjustable rate mortgages could be affected if rates stay elevated.

It's a huge crisis all related to subprime and the credit crunch. I don't think either presidential candidate really understands it - much less has an idea how to fix it. McCain talks about cleaning up wall street, but that doesn't really mean anything (govt can't control wages (besides min wage)). Obama wants tighter regulation, which I'm sure we're going to get no matter who is president. It's kind of funny how totally uninvolved the current president is. I think he made a comment or two Monday after the big weekend, but not much. But Bernanke and Paulson are working their asses off. Only time will tell if they're making the right choices.

What's even MORE surprising is that McCain is doing so well. People are freaking stupid one-issue idiots. If I had a company that had been run like this country over the last 8 years everyone at the top would get fired. Even if it is all random and the president can't control all this stuff.

We'll see. Interesting times. Will be really interesting to see how the consumer reacts over the next few months. Maybe it will all blow over. Maybe not though.

Stay Out + Stop Pissing Here

2008-09-18T21:57:00.001-07:00

So this is the nice little sign I handmade the other day in a lame attempt to stop the neighborhood bums from climbing over the fence and sleeping next to my house...and then later leaving and peeing on the side of my house.

I thought they might laugh at the ridiculousness of the sign...so far all they've done is taken it down so they could climb back over the fence again.

Seattle makes good hip hop album!

2008-09-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Seattle's own Jake One (producer) has put together a really, really, really, good (cue Zoolander) producer compilation/album. The production is quality and consistent throughout and the guest emcees are as eclectic as anyone could imagine (in a good way). Here goes: Keak Da Sneak, Posdonus, Little Brother, MF Doom, Young Buck, MOP, Bishop Lamont, Busta Rhymes, Freeway, Alchemist, Vitamin D, Casual, Elzi, Royce Da 5'9", Brother Ali...

Coming from Seattle myself, this hodgepodge of emcees makes perfect sense. This is exactly the kind of diversity you would've found in my walkman on a stop-n-pause mixtape back in the 90s when I used to live there...although the lineup may have been something more like: De La Soul, Lighter Shade of Brown, DJ Quik, Outkast, Nas, Extra Prolific, and The Gravediggaz.

I used to wonder what Jake One's "sound" was, but now I understand it. His beatmaking method is to tailor each beat to fit each emcee. It doesn't sound like he makes a random beat tape for artist to choose from. "Bless the Child" featuring Little Brother would fit right alongside any of the best Justus League beats (Khyrsis, 9th, etc). "I'm Coming" featuring Black Milk sounds like Jake One made this beat while hanging out in a grimy basement in Detroit with J Dilla and Black Milk. Dope.

The only complaint I have is that a few of these raps sound like they are a few years old - hear the references to G-Unit affiliation from MOP and Young Buck. Although this is understandable as Jake One was a part of the G-Unit in house producers while making this album. Oh, and here's a joke: what do you name a song produced by Jake One featuring Alchemist and Evidence? Give up? "White Man Music" aahahahahh...although Jake One opted for "White Van Music."

Check it: Jake One - White Van Music

New Q Tip worthy of getting excited for...

2008-09-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a video for the new Q-Tip single called "Gettin' Up" produced by the late great J Dilla. This is by far the best thing I've heard from Kamaal the Abstract in the last 10 years. Dope!

2008-09-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

Polling in 2008
Recently, I've been annoyed every time I hear that poll results show McCain getting closer to Obama. I suspect that many polls are not accurate and then their results, correct or not, are used to sway voters in one direction or the other by the media.

Here's why polls suck: the vast majority of them use telephone land-lines to contact voters. In 2008 this method is null and void because the majority of young people (35 and under) that I know do not have land lines. One article estimated that by the end of 2008, 25% of people of all ages would no longer have a landline. I would estimate that number is even larger for young people (35 and under) - say closer to 75%. And in this election, i would guess the age of the respondents makes a big difference in who they're voting for.

So although many argue that the difference between cell and landline polling is negligible - it's clearly not. What do you think?

References:

Some content

2008-09-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

So...I have this blog, but I'm not sure what to post about. This very well could be the most random blog you will ever stumble upon. I keep wanting to create this blog, but am having a block. I often have ideas about what would be cool to write about on a blog...but then I leave it up to others. So now I will try yet again to come up with something interesting, including, but not limited to:

skateboarding
politics
music
the whole goddamn world

Skateboarding
This single activity has taken up the biggest block of my free time since the age 13 (besides work, school, eating, sleeping). I'm now going on 31 so that means 18 years of enjoyment, more or less.

Politics
Who the fuck is Sarah Palin?!? Seriously, her nomination is probably the biggest slap in the face to the Obama campaign, and U.S. citizens for that matter, ever. Period. She is the walking talking equivalent of the Republicans saying, "we have such little respect for you all that we now present the worst most least-qualified candidate in history...and...eh hem...fuck you." I just want to mail in my permanent absentee ballot now and bury my head in a hole until after November. Anybody care to join me?

Music
I am the first to admit my taste in music is somewhat narrow, but not that narrow. When I think about it, maybe it's not that limited. I have an opinion and I know what I like. I have been heavily into hip-hop beginning around 1992. My first albums included DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's Nightmare On My Street cassingle, Dr Dre "The Chronic," MC Serch, Ultramagnetic MCs, Tribe Called Quest, Nas... A pivotal moment in my music life came for my birthday in 1994 when my sister bought me 3 tapes from a mom-n-pop place in Seattle called the Little Record Mart: A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders, Pete Rock and CL Smooth The Main Ingredient, and Brand Nubian Everything Is Everything. At the time I used to ride the bus from my apartment in downtown Seattle 45 minutes each way to/from school at Ingram High. These tapes were in my walkman constantly (along with Black Moon, Nas, and Souls of Mischief). She also gave me concert tickets to see a show with De La Soul, Souls of Mischief, and A Tribe Called Quest. In 1994, is it possible to think of a better hip-hop lineup? Even in 2008 I can't. Thanks sister, I love you!

The whole goddamn world
I don't have anything especially insightful to say about the whole goddamn world other than I'd sure like to see it! So far I've only traveled internationally out of North America once (Spain) and boy did I love it! I've been trying to plan a trip back ever since (2004). I've been to Canada and Mexico a number of times. Baja, MX is the shit.