It's My Last Day of School!

Wylde Bunch- Last Day of School

I'm not experiencing the same euphoria that I experienced in my younger days, but the last day of school is very much appreciated. Classes are done and papers turned in, only one more of year of undergrad. "Last Day of School" is a good reminder live everyday like it's your last day (of school) and enjoy it all.

Five Minutes To Flush

You hear an authoritative knock at the front door. You know your mom doesn't knock at the door like that. Who could it be? You know you have "illegal substances" in the house, how are you going to get rid of them?

This hypothetical situation is what Nature is going through in "Five Minutes to Flush." The vivid retelling of the feds running into his spot is one of the better songs from the underwhelming Firm album.

The song samples "Five Minutes of Funk" by Whodini. 

Whodini- Five Minutes of Funk

 

Nature- Five Minutes to Flush

prod. by Dr. Dre and Chris "The Glove" Taylor

Sunday morning where you eating at?

 Goodie Mob ft. 8Ball & MJG- Soul Food (Crazyhouse Remix)

This joint here! This joint here!

Ball & G and Goodie Mo B on a track together. Two legendary groups. Nearly six minutes of dopeness. I heard it for the first time about three years ago and I wasn't disappointed. Trust me you won't be either.

Odd Spring

 

Odd Spring

When you type in "seeing sounds" on Google, 177,000 results come up. The first is the the 2008 N.E.R.D. album and the second is synesthesia. The second result is what I was looking for, a term to describe the visual senses evoked when you hear something so wonderful that words can't describe them.

Synesthesia is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. 

There are lots of sounds that stimulate vivid images, but in this case Odd Spring by Low Budget Crew member Oddisee fits the bill perfectly. Released in May 2010, this was the last installment of EP's that corresponded with each season. Each one had me seeing sounds. Odd Spring featured original songs by the DMV rapper/producer and a couple instrumentals from (what were) upcoming projects.We're in the middle of the spring, so Odd Spring is one of the soundtracks of the season.

Standout Tracks: The Blooming, In The Now, Two Way Street

Odd Winter- Jan. 2010
Odd Autumn- Oct. 2009
Odd Summer- May 2009

4/20: Five Songs to Roll Up To

Photo Courtesy of hailmaryjane.com

True, there are only a few hours left in "4/20," but if you're a true smoker everyday is a day to light up your favorite strain of the sticky green. So you can add this to your smoking playlist and get HIGH! Check after the jump for the songs.

This is Elevator Musik

April 21 marks two years since the release of one of my favorite albums of ALL TIME. Curren$y's This Ain't No Mixtape. Before its release I wasn't really checking for him. Despite his XXL cover and the mixtapes over the 12+ months, I slept. I was a fan of a few older songs, but nothing more than that. I saw the hype behind TANM and I checked it out. The summer of 2009, will forever be remembered for this album along with Rick Ross's Deeper Than Rap. They stayed in rotation and just had that feel good vibe. One of the standouts on TANM was "Elevator Musik," produced by Monsta Beatz. Dee-Low and Jean LePhare sample a portion of "Sustah Sustah" by Ahmad Jamal and provide Curren$y with a canvas for his marijuana themed track.  

Ahmad Jamal - Sustah Sustah

Currren$y - Elevator Musik

prod. by Monsta Beatz

Why does everything ephemeral fade?

Emilio Rojas ft. DMinor- Things Change 

Before I go on, I'll define ephemeral:

e·phem·er·al [ih-fem-er-uhl] –adjective

lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory

 It's weird, sometimes people put on a front and act like their too "cool" to show emotion. You know, it's not acceptable to show a homie love, without saying no homo or telling a female you like them without being labeled a "simp." You see it in music sometimes too, rappers are too engaged in making a song showing they're "real" instead of crafting a song filled with emotion and natural feeling. In "Things Change," Emilio Rojas (FKA as Raks One) pours his emotion into a song over soothing M-Phazes arrangement.

Tune In!

Izzo TV- Channel 1

Before J. Cole's emergence on the scene, the only rapper most people associated North Carolina with was Petey Pablo. It's unfair because there have been more than just him on the scene in NC. Look no further than the emcees from North Carolina I've posted: Tab-One, Median, and  Little Brother.

The next generation of talent from the Tar Heel state is being fostered by 9th Wonder on his It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG) imprint. So the future is definitely bright.

Next up is Izzo TV, a Greensboro native, showing that North Carolina has more than outdated Petey Pablo songs to offer.


On the intro for his upcoming project Televised Season 1, Izzo spits over the "Cream of the Planet" instrumental produced by another Greensboro native, Ski Beatz. Viewers (listeners) stay tuned.

Follow Izzo on twitter @IzzoTV

It's Showtime N*ggas!

It's raining, thundering, and lightning in my neck of the woods. The perfect day for a song that samples "Stormy Weather." In the song Willie Hutch is talking about the "stormy weather" in relationships, but I'm going to take the title literally for this post. I'm trying to hurry up and finish before my power goes out or something.

The JSkillz (nka Jason Madison) produced, "Showtime!", samples the 1976 Hutch track. Like Mizzle says on the intro of the song, "be cool."


So through the stormy weather, I'ma stay cool.

Also sampled in another one of my favorites "Brand New Day" by Aleon Craft.

 Willie Hutch- Stormy Weather

Dom Kennedy- Showtime! 

prod. by JSkillz

I Love This Game!

When making this post all I could think of was the old NBA slogan. It's a simple, yet honest proclamation  about something you really enjoy. Check after the jump to see why I love this "game."

When The Sunshine Falls...

Look at a young T.I.P. at 1:02

P.A. ft. 8Ball- Sundown

 ....It's a whole nother world



Man, "Sundown" is a Atlanta through and through, on those warm evenings, all throughout the city, everything just starts to fall in place. Hearing that song makes me miss home. P.A. is one of the most underrated rap groups, not too many people know that they were the first Dungeon Family artists to drop an album, with 1993's Ghetto Street Funk. Nowadays K.P. is heading up Ghet-O-Vision Ent. (home to Yelawolf), while Mello and Big Reese are producing.

Sample from Shook Ones Pt. 2 Unearthed

I was just doing some leisurely reading around the Internets and I came across an article about a sample from "Shook Ones Pt 2" being found.

A couple of weeks back, “Bronco,” a member of the hip-hop forum the-breaks.com, helped solve a musical mystery dating back to 1995: From where did Mobb Deep sample the bass line for “Shook Ones Part II”? This may seem like insider hip-hop baseball — and it is — but within the subculture of sample sleuths who care about such things, this was a Really Big Deal.

Read the rest: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/04/mystery-solved-bronco-solves-mobb-deep-sampling-mystery-thats-remained-hidden-since-95.html

Let Me Ride

KD ft. Freddie Gibbs- Let Me Ride

When you think of Alabama the first thing you probably think of is football, after all they have had the last two National Champions in college football.

But don't be mistaken, the rap game in Alabama should be on your radar too. If you thought that Alabama only had Yelawolf or Rich Boy as their claims to fame you were mistaken. Before those two, you had Dirty and Mr. Bigg, remember "Trial Time?"

Recently PRGz, Shawty Fatt, and Jackie Chain have put it down as well. Another Alabama native, KD, is repping for his city (Birmingham) and state too. Recently, the Burn One produced track "Let Me Ride" caught my ears.

Take a listen KD takes you on a ride through his city. Freddie Gibbs takes the wheel on the second verse to take you through the Steel City.


His latest street album, G-Fluid, drops next Monday.

Turn Your Bed Into A Playground

 

Häzel ft. Eyo - Playground 

Who is Häzel?

Hazel, pronounced hah-zel, is a budding French-Brazilian beatsmith who has produced most notably for Drake and Slakah the Beatchild. Heavily influenced by the late J Dilla, his hip hop and soul stylings are the perfect complement to a warm spring night.

"Playground" is a laid back song with Häzel rapping one verse and singing about inviting a female to "turn her bed into a playground." While it's not the same tempo as a classic slow jam, it'll fit in quite nicely on your "playlist."

To check out more from Häzel, visit his website at http://www.hazeldizzy.com/ 

Update: Playground EP was released May 23, the final version of the song features Eyo. Link updated as well.

A.M. 2 P.M.

"A.M. 2 P.M." is a song of off Drake's Room For Improvement mixtape. It's one of those rise and grind songs, similar to "Brand New Day" by Outasight. The song features Nickelus F, a Richmond, Virginia native and  frequent collaborator with Drake in his early years. The first verse (Nickelus F) is about the A.M., while Drake's verse is about the P.M. A dope concept. If you listen to enough of Nickelus F you can hear where Drake got his current style from. The song samples "Love's Train" by Con Funk Shun.

Con Funk Shun- Love's Train

Drake ft. Nickelus F- A.M. 2 P.M.
prod. Nickelus F