Before I hit play on this shit, I was pretty sure that I’d just be able to delete a paragraph or two, copy and paste a few nouns from the post about Rawse’s single, and call it a day. Alternately, I figured this song would be so damn good that I’d be able to rejoice in T.I.’s long awaited return.

Instead of either of those extremes, I’m stuck in the middle. T.I. has given us a good song, but it’s certainly NOT a single. WTF? How many fucking industry niggas does it take to change a lightbulb? Who heard this shit in the Atlantic offices and thought to themselves “this is the street single that T.I. needs to get some real attention again”?

It’s a nice album track with a warm beat and very good lyrical performance. He even manages to sound a bit menacing without inducing laughter (given everything we know now, that’s quite the feat – then again, rap is outta control these days). But pushing this forward as a single? Nah bruh. That’s all kinds of fail rightchea. In fact, this is a bit of a regression because I’d suggest that “I’m Flexin’” was a much better “street” single than this song.

Again, this shit ain’t bad at all. It certainly rises beyond album “filler”, but, and excuse my language, you gotta come harder [ll] than this to get back to the top, T.I. I’m serious. Despite all his failings in recent years, I get the sense that most rap fans are rooting for the guy because let’s face it – there isn’t a whole lot else out there that’s exciting the people – no matter what the charts say. Oh wait. Did you just say that there’s been a distinct lack of proper rap hits in the top reaches of the pop charts? Well, let’s have a look right now. The highest charting “rap” single right now is Nicki Minaj’s “Starshi… LOOOOOOL. I couldn’t even complete that shit. Get the fuck outta here with that Nicki. Lemme try again. Rap’s first appearance on the current “Hot 100″ comes in the form of a Wiz Khalifa guest verse on Maroo… LOOOOL! Still can’t do it.

Seriously. The closest thing to a real rap song on the pop charts right now is Drake’s “The Motto” at #15 (which is kinda undercut by him being at #14 crying about Rihanna or some shit, so there). Then there’s Kirko Bangz (#28 – Drank In My Cup) and B.o.B. (#32 – So Good) before you get to G.O.O.D. Music’s “Mercy” (2CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINZ!!!) at #36 followed by Snoop & Wiz at #37. Yeah, so by my admittedly harsh standards, there are only 2 proper rap songs in the top 40.

So what was the point of all that? Well, say what you want about T.I., but that man was a damn hitmaker before he went on vacation. The man has 7 singles that have charted in the TOP TEN – two of them at #1 and one at #2 – and that’s not an easy feat to accomplish for any rapper. So yeah, T.I. is one of our few bonafide hit-makers and all of a sudden he can’t make songs good (read: catchy) enough to get him on the radio and get an album to the market? That’s fucking insane.

I understand Jeezy and Rawse struggling with this kind of shit, but T.I. moved outta the trap a long time ago. Remember? Destiny’s Child brought refreshments and Justin Timberlake brought the U-Haul truck right before Mr. Harris figured it out after Weezy gave him the cheat code (Jim Jonsin). So I’m a little stunned by this turn of events. Even more confusing is the fact that on a purely technical level, T.I. has actually sounded very sharp. Great verses all over the place – even on these failed singles. And in his defense, he’s trying new things each time out – they all just happen to be boring and useless (maaaan, I just passed on a great cheap-shot opportunity. I’m maturing as a man right in your damn presence).

Single after single, these rapperists keep failing us and none of these new niggas is popping either. Are we really about to have a cold summer? All this Euro/Techno shit won’t let up and our best rapping hitmakers can’t make one to get on radio with payola, never mind saving a life. Gotye eh? Flo-Rida huh? I’m worried as fuck. Whatever Tiny did to her vagina while he was away is fucking the rap game up. Either that or T.I. just needs to say “fuck probation” and get back on the pills. He doesn’t have the luxury of riding Drake & Nicki’s coattails back to chart success the way Weezy did. B.o.B. just confuses people with his crappy pop/rap shit.

Sigh. Maybe Chris Brown rapping isn’t the worst idea after all…

As someone who doesn’t instantly spot all eight samples that today’s wunderkind producers are cramming into their songs, I’m thankful that Miami newcomer Madeaux’s new track “Opium” sounds as good as it does. There’s no personal gratification with easter eggs heaped throughout the track’s four minutes—I mean, I recognize the freakin Weeknd’s “High for This,” but the other samples (and there are definitely at least two or three) are a mystery to me. And though I could spend a lot of time googling songs that include the distinctive lyrics “Whoaaaaa” or “ooohhh ecstacy,” or poring through every song in my Itunes library, I really don’t think it’s necessary.

“Opium’s” altered, sampled vocals are so well incorporated into the track that they act as sophisticated instruments. They’re not Girl Talk samples to be recognized, acknowledged and forgotten. Instead, after the song ramps up slowly, with the kind of drugged-out vibe you’d expect, the sped-up Weeknd and screwed-down whomever form a high-low duet. It lends a heft that you might not expect a brand new producer to come with. A bridge three quarters of the way through the song breaks things up temporarily, but skittering keys splayed throughout the samples bring the track to a head just before it fades out entirely.

The critical community has become fascinated by influence hunting, sample spotting and other forms of showing off an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music. I think this has to do with the basic insecurity of many critics. The question “What gives me the right to judge the work of others?” is usually answered by “My expertise.” And if you’re an expert, you should be catching every last reference in any given piece of work.

But we need to relax. Good music is good music (and occasionally G.O.O.D. music) no matter what’s going into it. And in the case of “Opium” you wouldn’t need to recognize any single strain to know that it all adds up to something you want to ingest.

Download:

Let’s not pretend that BLK HRTS are the next Kitty Pryde. King Foe is more likely to sleep with jailbait than to pose as it. I brought up Death Grips initially because BLKHRTS inject amphetamines into the same veins. They’re raw, grimy rappers with an emotional streak from Denver, Colorado. Within the Rocky Mountains vicinity, they are the biggest rap group bubbling. Of course, that’s like running the most popular crawfish spot in Bakersfield. But Foe’s new six-song EP is something like vintage Sticky Fingaz with a sensitive streak. This is rap for kids who drink 40s of Old E, hurl them against the wall, and slice themselves with the shards. Not because they want to feel pain, but because they’re fucked up and out for blood.

Stories of the block (“Hand Basket”) are balanced with those of bad relationships (“Come Around.”) Consider this something of a gothic analogue to El-P’s Cancer 4 Cure, an album lost in a dirty cloud of blunts and black and milds. A raw threat, a sore throat of an album. As Foe rasps on “So Bitter,” it’s about wanting to scream “Fuck them All,” but that just seems bitter. The sentiment seems justified though. BLKHRTS and Foe deserve better.

Stream:

So yeah. Due to the mass induced delusions that Rick Rawse inflicted on otherwise reasonable folks during Spring/Summer 2010 with the twin salvos of ‘MC Hammer’ and ‘B.M.F.’, we’ve (who are we?) all come to the realization that Rawse is smart, Rawse is kind and Rawse is important. In other non-antebellum South tinged words, Rawse is someone we have to pay attention to these days – like it or not. I think you’re beginning to see what part of the divide I fall on.

Which reminds me – let’s take a quick moment to discuss my current day leanings on his holy fraudulence, the Dalai Buddha. That cop shit? That’s that shit I don’t like. Do I expect hyper-realism from all the rappers I listen to? Nope. But his shit is a little much for me. That said, I begrudgingly acknowledge and respect his artistry and evolution over time. I appreciate that he’s a student and fan of rap music and he tries to be the best Bawse he can be. I had a slight problem with him trying to eject Jeezy from the paint, having come into the game as a inferior version of Jeezy, but we all seem to be over that little non-beef, so I’ll just leave that there. Despite his vast improvement over time, I still find Rawse to be a fairly limited songwriter and overly reliant on guests. However, I appreciate the fact that he’s one of the few MCs with any kind of menace getting burn in the mainstream. That about sums up all my thoughts on Rawse. Oh and Slim Thug remains “The Boss” outchea. Forever and always.

So now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss Rawse’s new single. The one you may or may not have heard yet. It has Usher on it. It’s called “Touch N’ You.” A clear play for the radio/charts if I’ve ever heard one. Right in line with his past singles from previous albums:  “Speedin (feat R.Kelly),” “‘The Boss (feat. T-Pain),” “Super High (feat. Ne-Yo)” and whatever the last one was. I’m sure it was dope and had John Legend on it. No problem here with any of those – in principle at least. I was just hoping that by the time you hit your FIFTH album, you’d have something else in store for the folks that have helped propel your buzz to its highest point yet. This shit is just bland. Adding simp lyrics to a sugary R&B hook is just lazy. The same kind of lazy as remaking “B.M.F.” for 2 years straight.

Frankly, I’m a little disappointed. I didn’t really expect much – after all, I heard the pair of singles Rawse dropped last fall before his health issues and the concern kicked in. I know folks got excited that he made a song with Just Blaze, but that shit wasn’t single material and it really wasn’t that interesting  — with the exception of the “narcissist/lobster bisque” line – that was hilarious.

The song with Nicki Minaj was a bit better or at least more interesting because it was a slightly different approach for a Rawse single, using a female voice/counterweight to his simp/sugar-dad talk, as opposed to some random R&B nigga; but it lacked verve. In any event, Rawse didn’t really get a chance to promote those singles, so we’ll never know how they would have done chart/buzz-wise. I’d suggest that even by radio standards, they wouldn’t have lasted long.

Thankfully for Rawse, “Stay Schemin” off his Rich Forever tape (had some moments, mostly meh) seemed to catch on, but since I’m a bitter jerk, I’ll give the credit to Drake’s verse (THAT Kobe line) and French Montana’s drunkly slurred hook/invention of the word “fanute.”

But back to this song. I know Usher is finally showing some “form” again post-divorce and forays into shitty Euro music, but I suspect that a good chunk of the “urban” (hate that descriptor) folk have left him for good. You can blame his shitty haircut and ugly ex-wife/man beard for that shit. Anyway, the people BEEN off Usher for a minute now. And assuming that I’m wrong about all this shit, “Lemme See” is a much better song than this shit. Rawse should consider moving two of his verses over to the beat from “Lemme See” and begging Usher to let him have that song instead of this “Touch N’ You” mess. The beat from this shit half sounds like a Rihanna “Cake”/Medium Sean “A$$” retread.

I swear I didn’t set out to slander this song. It just worked out that way. Against all odds and reason (I still don’t get it – never will), the Bawse has managed to work himself into prime position for God Forgives, I Don’t and I’m not really hearing anything that justifies the buzz. Honestly, the last great solo Rawse song was “9 Piece” and that was just the best of many “B.M.F.” retreads thus far. It’ll be really sad if all you Rawse stans collectively realize that you abandoned Jeezy for this lame shit. Well, maybe not abandoned – since Ol’ Peanut Skull [ll] went gold and seems about as healthy as one can expect in this fickle game, but you get the point.

C’mon Rawse, you can do better than this. Much better. We’ve heard it. Now stop fanuting valuable time on that Dark Sisqo and give us some shit we can bug the fuck out to this summa. UNGH!

A couple of weeks ago, before he got on the plane down under, I chatted to Slug about both Atmosphere and Rhymesayers. We also discussed the history of rap music in Minnesota and how the scene stacks up these days (his answer may surprise you). The interview was originally conducted for a Scene Magazine cover story, but is reproduced for Passion of the Weiss in its entirety. – Matt Shea

Judging by this area code you’d be talking to me from Minnesota, right?
Yeah.

So you’re still living there?
Yeah, that’s where I’ve always lived. I’m afraid I’ve never been good at moving around. I’ve been here forever.

Did you ever think about getting out of Minnesota? I mean, you’re a well-travelled man, even by musicians’ standards. You’ve seen a lot of the world. Did you ever think about moving somewhere else?
No, I’ve never really considered living somewhere else. But in the same breath, I’m not against it. I’m sure there may be a day where I feel like I’m too old to shovel snow and I don’t want to do it anymore and live somewhere warm, or something. But I’m not in any rush, either. It’s a good place to live. Every place has some sort of force of nature that wants to kill you: spiders, or fucking tigers, or hurricanes, or earthquakes, or who knows what. Here, it’s the snow, and that’s it. And I’ve learned how to not die in the snow, so I’ve got that covered. So, so far so good – I’m not going to go anywhere.

It’s hard to talk about Atmosphere without talking a little about Rhymesayers. We’re now in the age of the internet and the DIY ethic of hip-hop. I think some people would argue Rhymesayers pre-empted that to a certain extent. Are you comfortable with the label’s place in the modern environment?
Yeah. Yeah, very much so. Especially, every year I read about or see with my own eyes the failures that happen. And the fact that we have not only sidestepped those failures but continued to make steps up – or at least have never had to take a step downward, and I should probably knock on wood when I say that out loud – but so far, so good, you know. And that’s something to be said in itself. But I really think a lot of that is a testament to where we’re coming from as a label. We’ve never been the kind of label that focuses on making a bunch of money, and with that in mind, as long as we stay focused on what it is our agenda was to do, the money part will take care out itself, because some years we don’t spend as much and some years we spend more. At the end of the day – the bottom line – the reason why people fuck with us and support us is because they trust us to put out music that we believe in. So when we put out another artist’s record, maybe it might not be your favourite record, but you can at least say, “You know what. I believe in what they’re doing.”

Are the aims different for the record label compared to back when you kicked it off in the mid-90s? Has its purpose changed, do you think?
Well, when we first kicked it off it was just going to be for a couple of local groups. We didn’t intend for it to go national. So, that was an evolution in itself. But in the same breath, as groups – as Atmosphere and Eyedea and Brother Ali – as the different groups started to travel and become more national and international, it was easier for us to meet other artists outside of our scene who were likeminded when it came to rap music. So it was just a natural progression.

Do you remember the germ of the idea back in the mid-90s to start your own label? Did people think you were crazy to give it a shot?
Nah, I don’t think people thought we were crazy. Either people didn’t understand it, in which case they just didn’t think about us, or they thought it was a great idea. By no means did we reinvent the wheel. There had been indie labels in rap since Sugar Hill. Not only that, but we were actually at the tail end of when independent labels could make vinyl and 12”s and that could be your main force of promotion. That was a different era; the DJs that spun on mixtapes and radio were kinda the Internet, if you know what I mean. They were where people heard about music, so as long as you gave somebody a song that they’d be interested in playing, word of mouth would take care of a lot of the rest. It’s interesting, because it’s still all about word of mouth; it’s just that now that word of mouth is 100 billion times faster. It’s on wi-fi, on the satellite. But it’s the same concept. The only thing that I find interesting is that us, as a unit: if we were to start today, I don’t know that we would make the cut.

Why’s that?
Because there was a timing thing involved where we’re lucky that we are old and we started when we started, because I got to watch tons and tons of talented artists come after us and never quite make the cut because everything started to move faster and develop quicker. Let’s take Atmosphere, for example: we might not be the most cutting edge when it comes to utilising the internet. If you look at a group like Odd Future, and you see how they’ve managed to utilise the internet in a way that’s not only intelligent but also they’re breaking down barriers; we don’t really break down any internet barriers, but we’re lucky we got in before you had to learn how to do that. We built an audience before that level came into it. It’s just really interesting to see that.

Let’s go back pre-Atmosphere to Wu-Tang Clan, for instance. I’m willing to bet a couple of the guys in Wu-Tang Clan have no understanding of the internet whatsoever – and don’t need to. They’ve got people who will take care of that shit for them. It’s just one of those things that if you look at a timeline of when an artist started, what was the prime motivation, it makes sense to me why Method Man would still make a song that sounds like it would make a great 12” single nowadays, even though there’s no such thing as a 12” single anymore, you know what I mean? It all totally makes sense to me. Whereas, Odd Future can’t make a 12” single, but they don’t have to. They don’t have a song where you think, “This would totally work on a mix show after a Beatnuts song!” You know what I’m saying? It’s not there, but then they don’t have to, because people who discover them and listen to them aren’t looking for a song to mix into a DJ Premier beat.

What was the hip-hop community like in the Twin Cities area back then? I assume there was a lot of talent popping around town?

In the early to mid-90s, I like to say that we were all crabs in a barrel. There were so many of us who were trying to get our voices heard. But we didn’t know how to, so we were just mimicking what we saw was coming form the coasts. So it was kinda like, “Okay! Okay! Record labels are evil.” We learnt that from listening to New York rap. And, “Okay! You gotta be a little bit hardcore.” We knew that from listening to LA rap. It was a matter of time before Minneapolis found its own voice. And I do believe that a big part of its voice was Atmosphere, The Micronauts, Musab, who used to be called Beyond: these were the artists in the early 90s here locally who, even though we didn’t know it at the time, were developing a voice for the rest of the Twin Cities to carry on – to the point now where you hear the influence of I Self Devine in a Doomtree record. It’s resonated into the scene so much, that artists making music [now] might not even realise that they sound a little bit like the forefathers of the scene. Just like those of us who are forefathers might not realise that we sound a little bit like we’re stealing from a Nas or a KRS-One. It just kinda keeps going, but that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Headshots – how essential was that crew to the formation of Rhymesayers? Would the latter have existed without the former?
That’s hard to say. But it’s a full circle thing. It goes like this: I grew up with Siddiq. We went to the same junior high school. When Headshots formed, that’s what brought me and Siddiq back together. Since high school, we hadn’t really worked with each other, but when Headshots formed, me and him started working together again and when Rhymesayers formed, that was basically me and Siddiq. So, it’s hard to say. I don’t really know if we needed Headshots in order for me and Siddiq to start working together again, or if nature would have just kinda made it happen. But, I will say that the way it did work out was definitely for the best.

The only thing that I regret is that not all of the Headshots are here with us to enjoy this. Just like people: there’s so much pride and ego in hip-hop, and it’s sad to think that the guys I was kickin’ it with 20 years ago I don’t really kick it with anymore. But that’s nature; people grow apart. Every once in a while I think, “Man it would be really cool if Spawn was with me in, I dunno, fucking Australia.”

You made this really interesting comment in an interview a few years ago saying that the Twin Cities scene has become oversaturated. Do you still think that’s the case?
I mean… I think… (sighs, pauses) Yeah, I do. I just hate to say it. I do! I feel like there are so many people here making music, and everybody is afraid tot ell each other that they suck. It’s funny, because I come from a time where people would be honest with you; if you were wack, they’d call you wack and hurt your feelings. And if you wanted to fight, they’ll fight. Nowadays, if you tell somebody that they’re wack, you’re a hater. And nobody wants to be called a hater! You know. And then on the other side of things, if you tell somebody that they’re dope, you’re a dickrider. Nobody wants to be a dickrider!

So instead, what we do is everybody just nods and plays it off and totally deals with each other’s music. But truthfully, some of this shit is great and some of this shit is garbage. So in that sense, I do think there still is some oversaturation here, locally. I can’t speak for other scenes in other cities, but I know this scene. And this scene could do better if we got rid of half of these rappers, and the other half of these rappers were given more time to get onstage and work out their shit to become extra dope.

A writer I know brought up an interesting point when talking about Mid-West rap and Atmosphere in particular, and that’s your work ethic. You guys helped build up an entire scene out of nothing, and put out some kind of release every 18 months. Is there something particular that inspires that output?
From my angle, I just think that if I don’t stay busy then I’m exploiting my position. That’s the quickest way to get fired, if you start taking it for granted. And I don’t want to get fired. I love this job, man – it’s the best job I’ve ever had. So when you look at it like that you’re going to put eight hours a day into it, regardless of what it means. For instance, this is the tail end of a second hour of interviews. So I did two hours of interviews, I was at the office for about an hour and a half before that, and then I wrote two songs this morning. Those two songs I wrote this morning probably suck, the time I spent at the office meeting about t-shirts and that sort of shit probably didn’t need me, and then the press: I give horrible fucking interviews. But regardless of whether or not I have a very productive, amazing day at work, I still put in the work, so at the end of the day all that energy I’ve put into it just continues that cycle of energy, you know.

I think of You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having as the endpoint of the first cycle in your career, where the songs were plainly written about yourself, before you moved into a more storied style of lyricism. Looking back, how much do you think you’ve changed over the last six years since that LP was released?
Oh, man. I feel like I change a lot every two years. I feel like every two years or so I undergo some sort of reset. So it’s hard to say how much in six years, because that’s three resets. But a lot. A lot. Definitely, a lot. The first time I came to Australia, I was a partied out mess. I was passed out on the floor, like I’d roofied myself or something. Whereas now, coming back there, I’m a very different person to what I was the first time. I’m much more focussed, much healthier and more in control of my own destiny.

Obviously the Twin Cities is important to how you’re interpreted or defined within the United States. Does the meaning of Atmosphere change a little when you travel outside the US?
Um, not really. But I think that the longer that we do this, the smaller the world feels. Bells and whistles aren’t as exciting to us anymore, because we’ve gotten to eat the meat and potatoes in a lot of different places. Man, I’m sorry about the extended metaphors! But, no: truthfully, nowadays it’s all becoming natural.

So what’s the plan for the upcoming shows? You are touring with the full band, right?
No, no more full band. We stopped doing the full band in ’07, I think. Now, it’s the same thing that I’ve been doing for a few years, which is Ant and then a keyboard player and a guitar player – Erick [Anderson] and Nathan [Collis], respectively. So it’s a four-piece. And it’s essentially the same line-up as was on Family Sign and When Life Give You Lemons. The same guys who worked on that.

That really was the band I was thinking of. I’m not sure I ever encountered you with more players than that.
Oh yeah, man. When we first started the band in ’04, we had drums, bass, DJs, guitar, keyboards. I had a dude whose job it was to play triangle and then I had a bartender onstage, who also did back-up vocals. But I think that’s what happens when a rapper starts his first band: he’s so insecure about what he’s doing that he just tries to put all this shit onstage to distract the audience from his insecurities. And as time went on and I got more secure with this, I realised what our sound was – that it wasn’t some hippie thing or a try-to-be Roots band – and you just grow the balls to be you.

How long do you see Atmosphere running for? With the different focus of your more recent material, do you feel like Atmosphere can go for years yet?
I don’t know, man. I like to think that we’re gonna go until we get fired. But on the other hand, it’s better to fall off than fade away, so maybe we’ll go out with a bang. I’ve always wanted to crash my own plane. I don’t know, I don’t really know. I’m going to keep going until it’s not fun anymore.

And the rest of the year?
You know, that’s a good question. We’ve got a lot more travelling to do. We have a lot of shows booked up in the summer and the fall. And then we’ll probably start piecing together another collage of an album pretty soon.

Talking about being on the road: you guys have always been road warriors. Do you feel like it’s given you a head start in this tour first, record later era that we find ourselves in now? Particularly when so many rap artists were slow to get beyond the national border?
I started touring heavily in ’97. I got my feet wet for the first six months and then I thought, “Fuck it!” So I borrowed a car from my girlfriend and drove around the country sleeping on people’s couches. I think that was when I first really cut my teeth and it gave me such a taste for touring that I never stopped. It’s funny, because when I started touring, rappers didn’t tour. Maybe if you were Jay-Z, you did a big tour with other big name acts, or if you were a Run DMC, you did a big tour with other old school acts. But on the independent side of things, we were the guys who wrote the book on how to tour independently without label help. I think we stole most of the shit from the punk rock groups. The whole idea of getting in the van and sleeping on people’s floors: punk rockers had been doing that for 25 years already. So when we started doing it, we didn’t reinvent the wheel, by any means. It was just part of the game.

This was Alex Koenig’s rough draft.

“Jay-Dee’s Revenge” is the first track to surface from Rebirth of Detroit, an upcoming album that features Detroit artists rapping over unreleased J Dilla beats. But “Revenge” isn’t one of the late producer’s sweeter donuts—the song’s harsh, deep bass line and oscillating synthesizer pattern signify menace.

Danny Brown is as equipped as ever to handle a beat like this, and he brings his flamethrower flow to Dilla’s ominous production. It’s safe to say that the emcee’s Adderall-infused diatribes are as exhilarating as ever. “And teeth like this, a face like this / is like a sign around my neck that say I like to lick clits,” he snorts, evoking the intensity and penchant for shameless debauchery that made XXX a paragon of cold steel indie-rap — proving once again that it’s OK to have a sick mind as long as your rhymes are this ill.

Related: Danny Brown mini-documentary for Pitchfork, below the jump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvtl-QrF … e=youtu.be

At some point during my adventure with Trackstar the DJ’s Out Of The Darkness – The Best Of Organized Noize, I came to the slightly annoying realization that I’m a bit of an asshole. Well, I’ve known this since I was about seven, but I’m referring to a different kind of asshole. The kind of asshole that gets upset when he realizes that there are things about Organized Noize that he either never knew (insert song) or simply forgot over time. In truth, there’s really no reason for me to trip over these things since I can confidently assert that I know more about ON than most – I say that both as a taunt and as a matter of pride. After all, ON is responsible for my first forays into Southern rap/R&B (I suspect that’s true for many of us) and for that I am eternally thankful. But the nerd in me is still upset that there are other people on this planet that may be bigger Organized Noize stans than I am.

In any case, once I got over myself, I enjoyed this expertly-curated trip down memory lane – forgive the cliche. Simply put, Trackstar really knows his shit. Because of the immense reserves of hate in my heart, I hit “play” on this set hoping to come up with pedantic criticisms about songs or artists he missed out on, but I really only played myself. Let’s face it – there’s no way a man can get THE Big Rube to provide insightful interludes (no, really – I learned a bunch) throughout the project without knowing what the fuck he’s doing. Add in the precise blending and mixing between the tracks and you just know that you’re listening to a labor of love. For a nerd like me, listening to this mix meant immediately delving back into Organized Noize’s vast and scattered discography, which in turn led to questions like “why didn’t we let Bubba Sparxxx cook for a bit longer” and “how the hell do you classify Organized Noize’s sound?”

I suppose the ultimate takeaway one gets from listening to this mix is that Organized Noize is severely under-appreciated. The breadth of the work they’ve done in the last two decades is a little astonishing and that’s before you’re reminded of their R&B footprints (DJ Trackstar didn’t miss that either). TLC? En Vogue? Enya? (kidding). Thankfully, this set exists to help rectify this state of affairs. Shiiiiiiiiet, this shit is really just a cheat code for neophytes and OGs alike. After I force my kid brother to listen to this a few times, I’m certain that he’ll become a slightly more useful human being. These MP3 generation muthafuckas are so damn lucky.

With that last line, I feel the sadness returning again. Now I’m wondering why we don’t hear even more Organized Noize productions outchea. I hear that Cee-Lo is always on TV these days showing off his dinosaur arms and making money off white people and that’s great, but I really just want to hear more Organized Noize beats in mainstream rap. Shiiiet, I’ll even settle for R&B at this point. Is that too much to ask for? Well, at least we have Future to place Big Rube interludes on rap albums in 2012 – that’s gotta count for something (PLUTO!)

Oh shit! Isn’t that the percussion from Outkast’s “Pink & Blue”? But my iPod says this is “Blackberry Molasses” by Mista. I smooth forgot the fuck about that group. Wow. Awww man, this is great. I’m happy and annoyed again. Thank you based gawd… and Trackstar.

Oh, and “pause” on all that asshole talk. Finding synonyms for that word is kinda difficult on a bleary Monday morning…

Download:
ZIP: Out of the Darkness — The Best of Organized Noize by Trackstar the DJ (Left-Click)

Stream:

As a kid, Paul’s Boutique was my favorite record to zone out to. Even more so than the Wu-Tang Multiverse, B.I.G. or Nas and Jay’s debuts, it’s an ALBUM in the classic sense. It remains one of the most unique and distinct experiences  in the canon. And of all its fun and innovative moments, my favorite was always “Year and a Day,” the MCA showcase mid-way through “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” — the incredible 9 song suite that closes the album and constitutes an EP in and of itself.

It’s a two and a half-minute distortion-heavy flow exhibition for Yauch. While several lines always stuck out to me: the Black and Tan, the Old Schoolist nut grabbing, the quasi-religious reflection, I’ve always allowed the song to pleasantly wash over me. It took his tragic passing for me to actually go and look up the lyrics.

Built around an Isley Brothers’ guitar lick, “A Year and a Day” is a B-Boy’s “Tomorrow Never Knows.” It mixes the poetry, philosophy, winter sports and spiritual exploration that would define the rest of MCA’s life. The term “A Year and a Day” has significance in several realms that may have had bearing on the song’s title. It’s a standard prison term, the statute of limitations on the amount of time that can be attributed to an act that causes a death, a Haitian voodoo period of grieving, and an initiation period in the Wicca Craft. It’s hard to say what aspects of the term have bearing on the song.

In the context of the verse, Yauch first outlines an ascetic, spiritually driven existence: “Preaching his word in the B-Boy sing/I AM one with myself as I turn to The/I prefer the dreams to reality/I prefer my life don’t need no other man’s wife/ Don’t need no crazy lifestyle with stress and strife.”

Followed by: “But it’s good to have turn to be a king for a day/Or for a week or for a year or for a year in a day/Come what may.”

What MCA seems to suggest is the need for brief respite from discipline and spirituality to revel in the riches of earthly pleasure. To take a moment from the burdens and sorrows of the world and questions of the universe, and simply celebrate the joys of life.

Here’s Adam performing the song at a concert in Miami in 1992, followed by the lyrics.

M.C. for what I AM and do
The A is for Adam and the lyrics; true
So as pray and hope and the message is sent
And I AM living in the dreams that I have dreamt
Because I’m down with the three the unstoppable three
Me and Adam and D. were born to M.C.
And my body and soul and mind are pure
Not polluted or diluted or damaged beyond cure
Just lyrics from I to you recited
Arrested, bailed but cuffed and indicted
Enter the arena as I take center stage
The lights set low and the night has come of age
Take the microphone in hand as that I am a professional
Speak my knowledge to the crowd and the ed. is special
For I AM a bard but not the last one
I’m my own king and this is my castle
Dwell in realms of now but vidi those of the past
Seen a glimpse from ahead and I don’t think it’s gonna last
And you can bet your ass

I drop the L. when I’m skiing
I’m smoking and peaking
I put the skis on the roof almost every single weekend
Can’t stop the mindfuck when it’s rolling along
Can’t stop the smooth runnin’s when the shit’s running strong
Broke my bindings the lion with wings
Preaching his word in the B-Boy sing
I AM one with myself as I turn to The
I prefer the dreams to reality
I prefer my life don’t need no other man’s wife
Don’t need no crazy lifestyle with stress and strife
But it’s good to have turn to be a king for a day
Or for a week or for a year or for a year in a day
Come what may
I’m fishing with my boat and I’m fishing for trout
Mix the Bass Ale with the Guiness Stout
Fishing for a line inside my brain
And looking out at the world through my window pane
Every day has many colors cuz the glass is stained
Everything has changed but remains the same
So once again the mirror raised and I see myself as clear as day
And I AM going to the limits of my ultimate destiny
Feeling as though Somebody were testing me
He who sees the end from the beginning of time
Looking forward through all the ages is, was and always shall be
Check the prophetic sections of the pages

Download:
MP3: The Beastie Boys – “Year & A Day”

I admire Adam Yauch. As a diehard hip hop fan and a child of the 1990s, that might seem exceedingly obvious to say. But beyond the superficial of simply “liking” his music, Adam Yauch was an extraordinary human being. Beyond his accomplishments in music and film, his character was of the highest caliber and it’s a tragedy beyond writing a few eulogistic words that he was ripped away from the rest of us at the sickeningly young age of 47. He deserved better. Far better.

For a group that started as socially conscious as spilled bong water in a fraternity basement, the Beastie Boys grew up. Over the years, they evolved into something beyond the frat rap idiots whose biggest concern was the eternal, existential fight against parental oppression. They became tireless human rights activists and respected humanitarians willing to be vulnerable in public and speak truth to power when the time called for it. They spoke out famously against the sexual violence that occurred at Woodstock ’99 at MTV’s Video Music Awards in 1999. The group spoke prophetically against the United States government’s military aggression in the Middle East and the growing climate of racism against Muslims and Arabic people at time when American citizens were getting blacklisted for publicly expressing their views on the matter.

However, the group’s most shining achievement in the realm of social justice occurred when the band helped found and organize the annual Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1996 to help raise money and awareness for the Tibetan people’s fight for independence against oppressive Chinese rule. No member of the group was more dedicated to the cause nor perhaps more influential to helping raise awareness in the United States about the issue than Adam Yauch was. Yauch who married a Tibetan woman and converted to Buddhism, fought tirelessly for the cause of Tibetan independence for the rest of his life. He started up the Milarepa Fund, a nonprofit organization, in 1994 to help promote and support Tibetan independence. Over the years and in conjunction with the music festivals the group organized, the nonprofit helped raise millions of dollars to support the cause of social justice.

What I find most inspiring about Adam Yauch and in accordance the rest of the Beasties was the way they ultimately found a way to age gracefully in the music industry and become not only a productive members of society but far more than what they were when they were young kids in their 20s. The Beasties came into our consciousness as smart alecky jackasses, drunk on brass monkey and equipped with a license to ill. They left (and for 2/3rds of the group remain) elder statesmen of hip hop and men who left the world a better place than they found it.

Cancer is a destroyer of worlds and its a testament to who Adam Yauch was and what he accomplished that so many people felt his loss when he passed away. As a young person in 20s who feels far more adrift in this world than I’d like to be, I could do a lot worse than following the example that Adam Yauch left behind for us all. Perhaps, it’s time to get ill.

Before he aggravated many of us with his unique marriage of arrogance and fine whine, Drake released a mixtape called So Far Gone. It opened with “Houstatlantavegas” — you remember. Here, Drake’s confessional style saw its genesis with a grueling, upsetting verse, about the women you run into on All-Star weekend and Drake’s penchant for falling in love with said women.

In my opinion, it’s his best song. This cover, originally done by Sonnymoon a few years ago and recently remixed by Wajeed, perfectly captures the original vibe while removing the coarseness. I ’ve recently  become obsessed with female covers of originally male songs and vice versa and this is one of the best I’ve heard. There’s a joy in hearing about the male dominated party lifestyle raved about by a soft-voiced woman. Functioning much in the same way as jj’s excellent “Beautiful Life,” these songs provide an excellent way to remove some of the misogyny from music we love, and to remind us that, no matter the gender, everyone enjoys making it rain from time to time.

Download:
MP3: Sonnymoon – “Houstatlantavegas” (Wajeed Re-Fix)