November 16th, 2009
Many moons ago, there was this. Then there was this. Now Jonathan Bradley looks back at what many believe is the best Lil Wayne album. As Cheech Marin said upon witnessing the rising of the Titanic in in Ghostbusters II: better late than never.
At the bottom of the bayou, rising up from the mud and murk, lurks something animal– a shark, a lion with a throaty roar, and a raw hunger. “Let’s eat,” he exults, “and talk about all the niggas we cut.” But you know what? Let’s not fuck up our lunch. Let’s talk about the thick guitars and swampy rhythms over which Dwayne Carter exhales–scungy, grimy-ass, mudded-up sounds for a crusted-over vocal, like setting gasoline on fire. “Deep down in the dirty, there lies us,” he says, storming the barricades. His origin story is fundamental; he’s from “the sky, where the thunder’s crying.” It’s primal, sifted out and soaked up from the history of his region: “You heard it right here if the game was ever told/Lift up your toes and look under the rug/Trust me, that’s history under all that dust.”
That’s just the first track, five minutes of hot spitting. Sicker than a hospital, he is. New Orleans “gangsta gumbo” from a city where “you ain’t tryin to see how far that black back lane go.” Sweaty, violent and intoxicating, loping hyena-like across the track. He approaches rap with the appetite of a carnivore, tearing off chunks of language, chewing them and savoring the taste. Tha Carter II is a tactile album, from its bass thumps to its guitar growls and more than anything else, its protagonist’s feverish imagery–both base and boundless.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Lil Wayne, The Next Spot, Jonathan Bradley | 20 Comments »
May 27th, 2009
Summer’s a mess, this year more than ever. Not only do we have to cope with the usual mix of baking heat, overexcited crowds and a seemingly never-ending run of bad television, the warm months of 2009 come packaged with a recession swamping the globe, a Swine flu pandemic and Dick Cheney hanging around like he’s Fonzie and we’re Mr. C. Happy days indeed.
Thank god for Summer Jamz. Fresh off a Memorial Day honored by frequenting sketchy nightclubs, imbibing copious quantities of alcohol (etc.) and getting excited about being able to wear white again, we at the Passion of the Weiss have knuckled down to work and set about making sure your summer is accompanied by a steady stream of great music, even if it should also be accompanied by unemployment and your neighbors catching their death from a slight cold. We’ll be delivering a summer-themed mixtape right here, every week day, for the next few weeks or so.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Jonathan Bradley, Summer Jamz | 4 Comments »
November 4th, 2008
Despite his Australian roots, ex-Stylus scribe, Jonathan Bradley somehow managed to handily defeat the rest of the staff in an American History trivia quiz. For that, he has earned the title of Passion of the Weiss senior political analyst. His writing can also be found at Screw Rock N’ Roll, a website whose pro-syrup mantra has been blamed for death of Houston rapper, Big Moe.
If you haven’t been paying attention, America’s rappers have found a hot new accessory, and it’s not a Japanese clothing label, testicle-hugging denim or jewel-encrusted rendition of their own heads (no Rick Ross). In 2008, anyone who’s anyone in hip-hop is rocking Barack.
And as Run-DMC did with their Adidas, Busta Rhymes with his Courvosier, and the Wu-Tang Clan did with um… Wu-Wear, rappers are heading to the studio in droves to record songs about their favorite new brand. And, seriously, who could blame them, right? Obama is the silver-tongued, audaciously hopeful agent of change who electrifies hundreds of thousands of Germans, sends a thrill up at least one leg of MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews, and might just redeem mankind for the sins of Oliver Stone leading man George W. Bush. Also, if he wins the election this Tuesday, he’ll become America’s first black president. What is there for a rapper, or indeed, an American voter, not to love?
I’m Australian, so I’d consider it damned disrespectful to try to convince you to vote one way or the other (though, I will warn all 300 million of you Yanks that if I see Republican candidate John McCain inaugurated come January 20 I will be sobbing into my Fosters[1]). But I do know the value of putting your money where your mouth is, and thanks to the efforts of some guy called McCain Feingold (shit, if only John McCain were that honorable), whenever anyone in the United States donates more than $200 to any political candidate, they have to tell the public.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in The Bradley Effect, Jonathan Bradley | 2 Comments »
