Hot town, summer in the city, nothin like a hot summa mixtape!
It takes cojones to go and recreate arguably the best hip-hop album of all time, but that's what Detroit lyricist Elzhi has done with Elmatic, a mixtape of Nas's classic "Illmatic" from top to bottom. New vid here (shit is fire).
Elzhi sticks to the formula; the track names are the same, all beats are roughly the same yet nicely embellished with some rich instrumentation (the end of "One Love" has 3+ minutes of beautiful instrumental). The lyrics though are mostly new, spinning everything Detroit instead of Queensbridge. All in all it makes you excited to relive the album once more. Though personally I don't think I will ever tire of the OG.
I think I used that wrong....
better check urban dictionary.
i never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
-da
Elzhi // One Love
I don't know if I want to be her best friend, plead to run with her crew or punch in her the neck.
cinematographer
editor
rap beast
screw head
pot smoker
Oakland representer
Pixel Fantasy
bitch snatcher
White Girl Mob
"i got the swag, it's pumping out my ovaries"
What gives some white girl out of Oakland, a bubbly tattooed pixie, any amount of street cred for that kind of list?
Does it really effing matter? Really?
Because when gems like this pop up, IT DOESN'T.
I can only smiled bemusedly when a full scholarship to Berkeley Film School recipient has interview quotes such as:
Q: What are some Ratchet activities you enjoy?
A: Some Ratchet? Yeah, well, shout out to Team Ratchet! Me and Team Ratchet? We do everything ratchet. You know, like, shit, all-star weekend? In LA? We like, just ran around with guns and we like tried to rob Young Berg, and like, hella shit! {giggles sweetly}
love. LOVE. punch!
The Week's Once Over
Young and gingery with Zoo Kid {Becki Hohen}
Stoked to see the Bowerbirds again in Charlottesville
Emotionally in-touch with Eddie Vedder {Dustin Artz}
Under the Covers: starting the week off sweaty with "Lay Lady Lay"
Kreayshawn // Gucci Gucci
Assumed posting the Rick Ross cover track this week made me look hard. 7minutes and 18seconds of Tyler, the Creator and I'm milquetoast.
All you, d.a.
Ahhhhh, a hip-hop album to review. Don't want to get all into the hype here, but this was an obvious must-listen of 2011. "Yonkers" and "Sandwitches" live on Fallon had us all heralding the Second Coming of Wu-Tang. The last legitimate hip-hop album in my collection is Madvillainy from 2004, so yeah, this was big.
Controversial lyrics aside (because too much has already been said, and by 2011 who really cares except those Fox News pettifoggers?), musically the album is largely forgettable. I love that Tyler is out there being him, "dropping xanies and dancing around in print panties to some Maaarvin." Moments like on "Her" when his twin guards of hyper-vigilant self-awareness and brash over-compensating bravado have been lowered, we get a glimpse of something intimately relatable. "… Her name is my password…(fuck) …" The album will have seminal importance because Tyler as a person feels real while the players of his industry do not.
But 'The Creator' needs to learn to edit, and that 'not giving a fuck' works in terms of lyrical content but not in terms of beat production. His argument, of course, would be that he's catering to HIS audience, not the mainstream, but leaving out hooks and innovating sonically doesn't necessitate sacrificing quality or, worse, sounding cheap. See Latyrx's "The Album." Tyler's only 20, so as long as fame doesn't crack his (presumably) fragile psyche, we'll be good. Glad you're here buddy. SWAG SWAG WOLF HALEY GOLF WANG OFWGKTA.
Been wanting to do that.
-da
Tyler, the Creator // Radicals **Beef!**
Found out about Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, aka Tinie Tempah, whilst on the stairmaster 6'ish a.m. yesterday. Reading some deets about this 22-year-old Plumstead, South London native kept me from resting my forehead on the command panel and taking a quick snoozer. He probably saved my life, as had I done such a thing I would've inevitably leaned on the crank-up button and hot-stepped to catastrophe.
Likely a more entertaining visual in my mind than on paper.
Coming out of the U.K. Grime scene, Tempah is already pretty hot-sh*t over the Pond and on the Brit charts. He's making the pop-duo rounds, {Kelly Clarkson, eh? Please don't.}, and paired up with our girl Ellie Goulding on this posted March 7 release. AND, according to wikipedia, his single "Written in the Stars" was used for a WrestleMania XXVII countdown promo during the WWE PPV Royal Rumble on 30 January, who later confirmed that it will be the official theme for Wrestlemania XXVII. Big time, baby!
Here's hoping after these forays and getting a little older, little wiser - perhaps after his 25th birthday? He sticks to more tracks like "Gimme More Money." Until then we can waste billable hours on his social media savvy game, blog, ad infinitum.
Tinie Tempah // Pass Out
Tinie Tempah f. Ellie Goulding // Wonderman
Man on the Moon, Vol. II: the Legend of Mr. Rager dropped today. Who is Cudder? Mr. DoLo Loner? Teeny bop heartthrob? Kanye protege? Maybe you need to chill the f*ck out, smoke some get some make straight A's and wait to see where on the moon this man will land.
KiD CuDi // Maybe
fakeout.
Kanye West's latest installment in universal pop takeover, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is goddamn massive. Literally. Most tracks are extended to and beyond the 5minute mark. Compared to the auto-tuned cold, minimalistic 808's & Heartbreak, Fantasy has about 90gabillion layers of music production. Brass, electric guitar distortion, tabernacle chorale groups - all intended to max out whatever vessel you're in to aural capacity.
Yeah, a number of the tracks could've been edited down.
Sure, the majority of lyrics focus on graphic sex or Jesus.
Yes, West can be a sonovabitch. But he is a talented sonovabitch, so I bought the eff into this album and dance as much as my seatbelt will allow while playing "Lost in the World" on my commute. Just how I live my life.
Kanye West (f. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Manaj & Bon Iver) // Monster
When The Roots signed on to be Jimmy Fallon's house band, I'll admit I pouted a bit. How could these bamf hip-hop positive poets with sick style & mad beats go to latenight TV?
I'll tell you why.
When you're the houseband, the booking agent becomes your bestie. You hookup with all the live acts who moonlight for their 5 minute sets. Then when you want to make another record, you just mass text Yim Yames, Joanna Newsom, Patty Crash, and some of the chickiebabies from Dirty Projectors. They'll swing by the studio, lend their vocals or maybe remix some of their own tracks. Then they'll skip out into the smokey dusk with a little more street cred. Ain't no thang.
How I Got Over, The Roots Crew's ninth album, keeps their socio-political style while stretching their limbs. Black Thought's flinty, profound lyrics are augmented and approachable by Over's contributors. It makes for a softer album than Rising Down, but Questlove's tight production keeps their message wrapped up tight. In moments of tragedy, realism and cynicism - the groove is hopeful.
We should shine a light on. A light on.
The Roots f. Joanna Newsom // Right On
Truth time. I didn't get to catch K'Naan's set on Friday, still on a plane to Austin. But I've heard from reliable, upright citizens that it was siiiick. So he's going up anyway; please excuse my second-hand enthusiasm.
A Somali-Canadian hip hop artist who's name means "traveller" in his native language, Keinan Abde Warsame lived through the Somali Civil War as a child. Coming over with his family to eventually settle in Toronto, Canada, his past is the inspiration for much of his American and African politically conscious lyrics. The featured track off his latest album, "Troubador," features him rapping in both Somali and English with Mos Def and Chali 2Na chiming in.
Sidenote: Mos Def's cover of Radiohead's "All I Need" on Saturday was one for the ages.
He calls to mind Bob Marley and has similar loops to Eminem, but he's eight miles away from Slim Shady. K'Naan's craft is "urgent music with a message" calling for an end to the bloodshed in his homeland.
K'Naan // America
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Scott Ramon Segring Mescudi
Kid Cudi. Kid Cuddy. King Cuddler. Maybe?
This Ohio-originated, Brooklyn-based rapper has been on the tip of many a tongue as of late and is pretty deserving of it. Yeah, that means I'm a little late to add my thumbs up to the roster, what of it?
For those who are equally belated, you may internally muse..
"hmm, well then...this kinda sounds like Kanye?"
Not that surprising - Kanye signed CuDi to GOOD MUSIC at the ripe old age of 20, which explains easy album cameos by fellow label artists such as Common. He certainly has the this/side/of/left/hip-hop appeal as his mentor - but CuDi isn't making a jackass of himself yet, just good music.
Hip-hop may not have oft appearances on ES, but one of my favored tracks features MGMT and Ratatat which should keep any irate calls from mckay at bay. Fingers crossed.
KiD CuDi // Pursuit of Happiness (f. MGMT and Ratatat)
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