You.Know.I.Got.It (2016)

The drums bang and rattle and the samples weave around all lush, while Koran Streets' voice is real high in the mix surrounded by compressed call-backs of his last line. His delivery is relentless high energy, high-register monotone regardless of the line, always precisely on the beat for maximum impact. Musical (Bay area) stylings similar to those in You.Know.I.Got.It have been used in the past for more melodic and nonchalant rappers, so hearing someone who sits between Big Krit and Waka on the mic allows the listener less time and space to navigate the music- it's familiar but with a destabilising sense of urgency

spotify / itunes

Transportin (2016)

From a region/mindset where The Jack Artist was and is still the blueprint, Transportin is a tapestry of melodramatic lush pitch-shifted r&b songs and themes compressed and ripped from daytime television, with weary vocals reverbed into the fabric of the song. An early 3-song run displays the scope of Transportin: Cross Yo Mind pulls a familiar regional trick (see also Jacka & Ampichino's No Tears) of recontextualising a soul song which speaks of romantic love gone awry, within gangsta storytelling (Mike and his friends asking why they've been forgotten- the inference goes from loved ones or past acquaintances who sit separate from his lifestyle to a system which blames and ignores, both met with a humbling do I ever cross your mind?), Tomorrow Ain't Promised is broken up with its southern spiritual chorus of mournful voices, and the muddy abstracted sub sounds sitting separate from the drum track of I Kno Its Still Some Real Niggas speak to an experimentation which is commonsense here, and unique everywhere else.

itunes / -o- / stream

Mac Dre - Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics (2004)

1. Feelin' Myself

2. Fa My Niggaz

3. Jump It

4. Witme??

5. Me Damac

6. Dreganomics

7. Since '84

8. That's Wusup

9. On the Run

10. Get Stupid (Remix)

11. 2 Night

12. Don't Snitch

fixed
spotify
buy

Earl's Grit (2002)

Fun fact: this is Alfie the bald (he's not really bald, he has down rather than fur, and he's also supposed to be really intelligent but he looks silly and sleeps all day) cat's favourite E-40 album! 

I had that all ready to post back in October when I uploaded Grit & Grind, and back then I wasn't lying about it being Alfie's favourite. I feel the need to acknowledge that since October Alfie the bald (down, hypo-allergenic actually) cat has moved onto the double disc The Element of Surprise to get his (daily, can you believe, E-40 definitely attracts fanatics) fill of E-40. He claims The Element of Surprise is better than Grit & Grind because it has 6 more songs on it. Weird. These days I'm all about the horror-gangsta Revenue Retrievin': Graveyard Shift or My Ghetto Report Card (which is Rep Yo City over and over, thanks Lil Jon), but it's interesting that Grit & Grind was at one stage a favourite of both of ours despite the fact that we look for different things in E-40. Though neither of us are purists (they stick to Federal I think, or know the words to every Block Brochure song off by heart), I can recommend Grit & Grind (if my non-purist word means anything) as a moment in E-40's Fall-ish career (rap's own "always different... always the same") where everything made sense.

dwld
strm

Creepin on ah Come Up

Bone Thugs have always appealed to me ever since I was a kid because their soundworld is one in which realism and the paranormal coexist, musically signified by hard nocturnal g-funk meets ghostly half-sung rapping. Creepin on ah Come Up is essential because it's fun to think of this as the start of everything:

Dear Mr. Ouija, I want to know my future. Mo murda, mo murda.

And it has Thuggish Ruggish Bone and Foe tha Love of $ on it. Catchy and creepy.

mega / cd

2 (2013)

'Experimental' insofar as they might miss a verse for the sake of singing or go in over a beat that reminds more of "world" music (essentially 80s drum and hook worship) if not UK appropriate bring the noise

try/buy

Tree - Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out (2013)

Another one dragged out for emphasis! Tree is 'soul trap' is old dusty emotional samples, g-as-fuck-2013-edtn drums, and Tree's voice which is so fucking hoarse it convinces you you're in the presence of an old weary genius you're totally blessed/undeserved of. Might just shed a tear.

wetransfer

Heir Apparents (2013)

It's on my list of notable stuff released this year, but I wanted to put it here with a picture too! I'm lazy:

In essence, Herb and Bibby fall under the same umbrella of another young’n like Asean Johnson. Both represent the plight of young black males in America’s third largest city crying for help in explicitly contrasting manners. It’s far too early to crown Bibby and Herb the “next” anybody. They’re their own artists anyway. Nevertheless, I’d be lying by saying a faint hint of a Boosie and Webbie-like natural chemistry on wax was easy to ignore. And in sort of a “coming full circle” moment, those looking for a crash course in the previous 400 words can thank FSD and DJ L for The Best Of Lil Herb & Lil Bibby: Heir Apparents. -smokingsection

free

TRVE GAME (1995)

Responsible gangsta Mad CJ Mac says he's been up and down and up again financially over the years, and so his gangsta boasts are retrospective rather than say hungry. On True Game hunger is reserved for the literal kind, again dealt with retrospectively when personal, and again responsibly/wisely when it's general (universals being the tool of the 'conscious,' autobiographical generalities being that of the caring g storyteller, and that oxymoron being symptomatic of Mac's or Pac's brand of thug). Because I'm simple and like smoothness and emo things, I like it best when he reflects that maybe he's losing his mind a la Nightmares (though at the end of that we still don't think the Thorntons could ever feel a thing) or label mate Geto Boys' Mind Playing Tricks on Me. Consequence, after all, lends a kind of credibility or weight to the otherwise hypothetical or fantastical situations surrounding.

here

Lady Bee - Strictly For That Nigga (1994)

Real freakish helium memphis shit. Could be Kingpin Skinny Pimp or a woman he wronged or Kingpin Skinny Pimp playing a woman he wronged. Creative ominous lo-fi as expected from the time&place of its creation, and by its excavation via the cult of time&place revisionists

That's my man, that's my man, that's my man, that's my man
Jealous ho
That's my man
Jealous ho, jealous ho, jealous ho, jealous ho
That's my man

Because hearing helium voice freaks doing that is like haha okay wow. Even if Lady Bee is actually Kingpin Skinny Pimp it's like okay that's crazy. And if it's not then it might be even weirder because that pitch is all over the place etc

B

here

ROMP (1996)

Life affirming incarceration shady alien mob shit, some of Mac Dre's friends can do that Bay Area thing where they taste the words they spit before weaving them around the (Da Unda Dogg's) summer sun weirdo funk. The ones who can't manage it at least get that double track mixed down treatment which turns the human voice into an instrument you can more or less ignore the lyrical content and/or skill of, like an extra bit of percussion while you wait for the hook or someone better to pick it up.

A

here / buy

E.S.G. - Sailin' Da South (1995)

Sailin' da South is a potent combination of audio and visual evocation. E.S.G. does violence but not like he does pseudo pop smoothness, the smoothness dulling the left side of the brain and putting the listener in this weird happy state where thoughts are replaced by a sentimental collage. Between the surrealist Pen & Pixel art (not that familiar digital manipulation wish fulfillment, Sailin' da South is too literal) and actually totally real but disarmingly g-pop sounds, what I see and hear is daytime TV, Vice City/circa 2003 carefree-ness, straight to VHS, Music to Driveby sunshine nihilism, more recent developments in d south revisionism, and the start and end of the Super Monkey Ball Aztec level in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Gs being pop, 3 of its tracks appeared on Ocean of Funk already, but here they're given an even poppier context to, again, disarm the listener because what actually takes place is songs of violence, paranoia, syrup, corrupt cops, and southern pride, all to be released and enjoyed by the outside world and not the incarcerated E.S.G. So real made pop that's actually real. Repeated listens won't benefit the listener in terms of like uncovering any secrets or patterns, but Sailin' da South is an incredibly smooth, enjoyable listening experience well worth returning to.

A-

here

Ghost's reasons (2013)

Raises questions about leanness in rap- wanting more vs wanting it to end quicker (or what the fuck's with that middle section etc), and apparently experimentation, nostalgic homecomings, and longevity. To call it just a return would be to trivialize its conceptual boldness, general fucked-up-ness, and most importantly/impressively, confidence, both leading to, and enhanced by, its leanness. It's a hell of a trick for sure- post-apex experimentation hiding behind a tried aesthetic standard that appeals to nostalgic bros who won't see the vision through the rose-tint (and so won't have a panic attack), and also provides a trap for critics wanting an easy-out (i.e. put acclaim down to nostalgic dickriders who either wish they were old enough to buy 36 Chambers in 1993 or only started listening to rap ~3 years ago)- an easy enough response to which is the simple if this shit was by an unknown/newcomer, there's no way you wouldn't think it was this year's freak masterpiece, which might be effective and even true in some cases, but the thing is- i) nobody else could've made this and ii) at no other point in his career could Ghostface have made it either. It's unexpected and yet it makes so much sense, it does everything it can and yet it teases- a familiar du-du-da-da-da from Tearz or even a possession from the ghost of ODB- a Lazarus sort of dead and alive, having existed both then and now, refreshed but dusty, straight-faced, determined, and deliberate where it matters. A ghost not just visible but capable of murder. Gripping like anything could derail this shit, but nothing ever does. Ghost just kills it.

A

thing / w/o voice then support it

in a major way (1995)

It’s a throwback, but I grew up in the East Bay in Northern California. That was pretty much my first exposure to Bay area rap and I've just been in love with it ever since. I've always had love for the Bay and all that. I think that’s what started me on the tip of looking into other stuff like Mac Dre. Even Tupac is on that album. Even though E-40 is kind of mainstream, he’s always kept it underground, too. I just have fun memories of that tape with me and Kyle driving home from working at the movie theater in the middle of the night just letting that album slap in his tape deck.
-Blake Anderson

Bigger beats (it sounds like), all fat and bubbly, E-40 gets excited by that audible increase in budget (in a major way), his focus reflected in the lack of bullshit found here, as well as his delightfully oddball flow- stop, start, bend a word to make it sound funny, make one up, double-time, sing, etc- and insane intros: Woke up in the A.M., toasted out of my cranium / Gotta take a shit, took a dump in the Mediterranean... Classic record

A+

stream / try

(1989)

Before Dr. Dre found Snoop Dogg, he had the D.O.C. I was going to school in Brooklyn, and the only time you could see rap videos was on a weekend show with Ralph McDaniels called Video Music Box. D.O.C.'s video for "It's Funky Enough" premiered, and D.O.C. had an L.A. Kings hat on. When I came to school on Monday, half the kids in Brooklyn had L.A. Kings hats on. It was official. The whole album was great, especially the last cut, "The Grand Finale," with The D.O.C. and N.W.A.
-Chris Rock

It's hard to adequately describe how much of an unbelievable pleasure it is to listen to "No One Can Do it Better," an album that not only exceeds the expectations anyone had for D.O.C. at the time but which goes down as an unqualified classic in the history of hip-hop
-RapReviews

A+

here

THAT KID

Just in case you've been living under a rock or you don't care about things and I can't blame you, I've been so lazy this year I'm coming out with things like fuck this year sucks for new music when there's no such thing as a year which 'sucked for new music' 'cause in a few years time you won't care if what you're listening to came out 2012 or 2005, but searching for something that'll make the year worthwhile is just as bad a decision because you could be listening to that Silkworm record instead, for example, but every now and then an album just gets delivered straight to your ear and your heart (corny, I know) and it transcends expectations for the year and actually things like hype, its release date (good or bad), too, not only because it's good, though that's obvious, but because it just makes so much sense. Confident, complex, refreshing, funny, serious, likable, wise, insightful, this one just makes so much sense

A+

hey
restock your vinyl pls

Down & Dirty (cd not cassette sorry!) (1994)

E-40 + B-Legit = heaps of fun!

mega / amazon

Somebody in an uncultivated moment of resolve...

Composed himself enough to artlessly post Aesop on his... blog?

In 06/07 I was one of those fools who self-righteously decided that rap had reached its apex years earlier with Labor Days in 2001, Fantastic Damage in 2002, Vaudeville Villain in 2003, and then Madvillainy in 2004. Quickly though I grew embarrassed of these (backpacker) assertions and denounced them along with Def Jux and Stones Throw- my heroes, Aesop and DOOM. More recently I started becoming embarrassed by these denouncements- when music's good, it's good, you know?- and El-P's and Aesop's 2012 releases have really rubbed that in

When music's good, it's good! It feels good thinking that! And it feels good recognizing that Skelethon is very good. I was gonna wait 'til I understood it properly before posting it, but I've been sitting on it for 19 days and have concluded that there's no hope of that ever happening so here goes

Where dadaisms have always made their way into his records, infuriating some listeners and exciting others, this time around they seem more percussive- you can think about a line if you want to, or just listen to the way it sounds- he's either intentionally picked the words well for this (Mike Patton is known to do the same), or he's straight doing some of his best emceeing- fast-paced but clear, tasting how a word will sound before tying it around similar or opposite sounds and images. On a more okay but what is he actually saying level, Skelethon also excels- his vocabulary is dense, his references complex- but every now and then a line 'hits home.' Aesop's designed these lines to 'hit home,' being (maybe) uncharacteristically honest and sad. As they add up, it becomes clear that Skelethon's all introspection, loss, and death: or less bleakly, life, which for him at 36 has unfortunately been loss and death- so, uh, life, death, nostalgia, experience, ageing, human relationships, and so on. Conceptual, focussed, and touching rather than the pseudo-dada verbiage cynics wanted. Of course Aesop's always been a fine (if pseudo-dadaist) lyricist, but fans often have a hard time hearing him on suitable or just not average beats. Here, however, that decidedly conceptual drive has encouraged him to produce a set of atmospheric tracks which compliment rather than drown out (or get drowned out by) his stories/observations/imagery. A well thought out and exceptionally well executed rap record.

tl;dr

Life, death obsessed rhymes from ex-backpacker finding perfect set of beats. Focussed, atmospheric, lively enough to almost betray his convictions, thankfully direct enough to betray his enigmatic purpose

A

buy
spotify

Yeezy graduates (2007)

I still kinda love this record. Even the weird date rape anthem can't stop the overall good feeling I get from Graduation: driving to the beach and flicking between 'urban' radio stations to find Good Life, smoking weed, and then jumping in a lake so cold it makes my nuts hurt for hours

The only Ye record self-conscious enough to want to belong to a context rather than a) making a new one, b) shaking an old one, or c) just doing its thing: the impact of Justice's Daft Punk revisionism exciting Ye enough to replace soul samples with dynamic electronica, and swirling baroque-rap with the simplistic/anthemic grandeur of sensitivo house-wife arena rock a la U2 or Coldplay. As such, it's the only one where you can go yeah, I remember (year) when you hear it- it's a relic more than anything. In some ways that's cool- without all the electronica found on Graduation he wouldn't have gone Low the following year, and at this stage there's introspection to go with his boasts. I mean, back in 2007 critics called his boasts playful rather than psychotic or symptomatic of HPD! But it cheapens it- blast from the past rather than fresh and alive. It even feels like a guilty pleasure! But whatever, it did its job in 2007 as a bright and creative record for pop and rap fans with a few of the year's best singles. And I still sorta love it. And I still love those singles.

Good Morning, Champion, I Wonder, Good Life, Flashing Lights, Everything I Am, The Glory

A-

buy
spotify

Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II (2008)

Mike’s “soundtrack to your success”: think Nietzsche meets Jeezy: fire your damn boss and be the best you can be. Almost retains that level of energy through Mike’s impressive shifting between HAND OF GOD acid spitter, Clipse crack philosopher, and Scarface southern church goer. Best moment comes when he’s none of those things, just a disappointed guy asking a simple question to his (white) oppressor: “how could you not want to see me prevail?”, or when he says if Jesus came back he’d join him for his crack sales, murders, and sermons. Beats are mish-mash dirty south hybrids.

A-

buy