Thursday, June 24, 2010

Kid Cudi And Converse

I found this to be interesting. Here's what's going on:

"Converse follows him to Cleveland to capture the journey that inevitably turned Scott Mescudi into KiD CuDi, in one of three short films leading up to the release of a song featuring Bethany Cosentino (Best Coast,) Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend) and KiD CuDi in July."

Rhymefest Spits A Verse By The Biz

This is part of a series on 2Dopeboyz where an MC spits a verse by one of their favorite MCs. There's a few of them out. The latest comes from Rhymefest. It's fucking awesome that he picked a Biz Markie verse, isn't it?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Recovery



I don't really feel like writing a full review for Eminem's latest. After trudging through it though I feel like I have to say something. I'm not sure he could have made a more pop-oriented, appeal-to-people-that-really-don't-like-Hip Hop type of record than this one.

Now I'm not the kind of fan that only likes the genre to sound one way, especially in the last few years where so many great artists are taking chances with their music, and using Hip Hop as just one of a host of influences. But, in my opinion that's not what Recovery delivers, though it sounds at times as if that is the aim. The verses are mostly solid, and Em has thankfully lost that horrible accent he was using throughout Relapse (and I still like that album better than this one). However, even with his old voice in tact, he hasn't lost his desire to croon on choruses. And when he's not singing someone else is. This is definitely the biggest downfall of Recovery which makes nearly every song sound like the same pop record, and leaves the album as a whole pretty forgettable after the first listen. The introspection shown on many songs is interesting, but by the time the beat and hook are included each sounds kind of watered down and bland.

Despite these major missteps, a horrible song featuring Pink, and the inclusion of the now completely unoriginal concept of using a girl as a metaphor for Hip Hop, Recovery is not nearly Eminem's worst album (I don't think it's possible to dig below Encore). In most ways it's actually a really good album. Again, some of the verses will amaze due to Eminem's nearly unrivaled ability to construct intricate rhyme patterns. At this, Eminem is still at his best, and everyone should listen to this album just to hear him rhyme. And, I don't mean to denigrate the entire CD here either - it's clear that Eminem poured his heart out on Recovery, crafting a deeply personal and honest record. It should be appreciated. Though the total package of a great album is absent here. And that is a big disappointment for me, especially since critics will hail this one as rap album of the year anyway. But, what else can you expect from people that praised Encore as a triumph too?

I hope that this is just the jumping off point to a pack of great new music from Eminem over the next few years - including a Slaughterhouse project and a "Bad Meets Evil" album.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

So Close, So Far

Statik Selektah is one of the few DJs adding something to hip hop these days. His studio albums have been filled with MC collaborations that I actually care about. He did the best tribute to Guru (of the ones I've heard) for his radio show on Shade 45. He cuts and scratches instead of just screaming over records or throwing in his name drops, and he cooks up unique instrumentals for artists to rhyme over.

"So Close, So Far" featuring Bun B, Wale, and Colin Munroe is probably my favorite track off of his newest album, 100 Proof The Hangover (especially since I'm such a fan of Munroe these days - apparently I'm not the only one as he has appeared on a shit ton of hip hop records in the last year). The song has Bun and Wale just rhyming about real life shit over a nicely structured melody with a short, but addicting sax sample, and Munroe rounding it out on the hook. It's a great song and the video could have been something special too if it stuck to the realism in the words.

But, sadly Statik instead decides to ignore the meaning of the song and act out a laughable situation to feed his ego, in which he cheats on his wife/girlfriend (who is out of his league) with another woman he meets at work (who is also out of his league). The video has absolutely nothing to do with the song, and Statik playing ladies' man is just not at all believable. I guess he just wanted to pretend he could get any chick he wanted for three minutes. I can't fault him for that. But, he could have at least shot this nonsense to go along with a song about cheating on your woman.

That's my rant for the day. The video is below if you feel like laughter and disappointment all at once.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Reflection Eternal W/ The Roots

I've had to be away from this blog for a month or so due to a new addition to the family. I haven't had much time to do much else. But, in the next week or so I plan to get it going again - I may not have had time to write up posts, but I have been listening to a lot of music.

Anyway, here is a video of Reflection Eternal being backed up by The Roots Crew on Jimmy Fallon. R.P.M. is probably my favorite release of the year so far, with Distant Relatives at #2.