ReGenesis

This month has been littered with blessings and burdens. My car spun out and rolled over leaving my wife and daughter bruised but not broken. We walked away with no real injuries to speak of . The following week was spent watching God remove obstacle after obstacle restoring our faith and Christian confidence daily. Triple the money on the trade in offer 8 months ago, approved for a car loan in less than ten minutes with a lower interest rate by 3%. With all this going on I realized that I still had a purpose. I can not go back to sleep.

Lupe Fiasco - Daydreamin'

I find in Lupe what the a large portion of the game is missing, imagination and sensitivity. He is not the most charismatic, energetic or swagtastic but he is one of the most lyrically out of the box mc's around. I put emcee's (and almost everything) in classes. Their is the class of 87/88 Kane,KRS,Rakim, 94 Biggie, Jay-z, Nas, Outkast , 03/04 Ye,50,Game . Then there is the everybody after that class without diverting too much off subject there 5 maybe 10 truly talented spitters since 05. And when I look at them all Lupe resonates the most with me. I previously mentioned his sensitivity, I don't mean in the whiny connotation often applied to it but the open awareness to the plight of others connotation. He speaks for the disenfranchise african, the latchkey kid, the skateboarder and so many more. Like Kanye he is an everyman emcee. He is not without flaws and faults, one in particular is his beat selection. He often chooses awkward off putting tracks for the average beat connoisseur. His mix tape beat selections don't suffer from this as much as his official releases do. I however usually find the rhymes so enchanting that I can endure the beat. Understandably others may not have that kind of patience for his offerings.

I can not fairly or intelligently critique Jay Electronica because I have not given the attention a review deserves. I found that he is a lyrical beast on the few offerings but as I mentioned in the previous post reminds me of GZA. For all the brilliance of GZA's opus Liquid Swords I think I may have listened to it four times in 14 years because of his voice. For all of the mix tapes of Jay Elec floating in cyberspace I have not completely listened to one. I must give credit to the producer side of him as an artist. He is a dope producer from the joints he has done for himself, Nas and others. I will report further once I have taken some songs to the wood shed.

"DEAR MOLESKINE" JAY ELECTRONICA

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I tried to find the studio version of this but there isn't a complete one. But this is my favorite joint among the few Jay Elec cuts I have listened to. I tried to give examples of them spittin' and then comin' with extra imagination kind of stuff. My thing with Jay is the voice just throws me a little. His voice is in that GZA family unique but annoying at times. Without a doubt both of these brothers are crazy nice.

Lupe Fiasco (Twilight Zone) (Lyrics)

Jay Electronica - So What You Saying (produced by J Dilla)

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My man put me on to this cat and got my ire when he said this is Lupe Fiasco but better. My response was wait for the wolf and it has taken two months here it is.

A Tribe called quest - Scenario

AT ODDs RD 2 (A Tribe called quest - check the rhime)

EPMD Feat. K-Solo & Redman - The Head Banger

Here we have the two groups with their respective crews. I must admit that I liked HeadBanger better by just a smidge. The importance of these post are beyond words. These tunes offer a window into my adolescence.

AT Odds RD 2 (EPMD - So Wat Cha Sayin')

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1988-89 are widely recognized as two of the greatest years in Hip Hop. Those years gave us Epmd and A Tribe Called Quest, two iconic groups. My man Dre was a die hard fan of the brother's from the Boondocks and I swore by Queens finest. Here are samples of their finest work IMO. Enjoy.

What f0llows was initially a response to a friend but I decided to share it:

Jay Dee didn't come in until the last two joints starting with Beats,Rhymes and Life. He was a co-producer hence the Ummah (he,Q-tip, and Ali collectively). I think they were most influential aside from maybe four or five other groups in Hip Hop, Tribe was definitely more influential than EPMD as far as style, sound and vibe. As far as better rappers I am torn. Because when you look back at it only one of the four mc's in both of these groups made the top 50. Q-tip # 25. Here is a short list of accolades related to the above mentioned Low End Theory: Among the accolades awarded to the album were:

5 Mic Album award from The Source (1990)
#2 in Ego Trip's Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 (1999)
#53 in Blender's 100 Greatest American Albums of All time (2002)
#56 in Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s (2003)
#154 in Rolling Stone's Best 500 Albums of All Time (2003)
Spin Magazine
#32 in Top 90 Albums of the 90s (1999)
#38 in Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years (2005)
#87 in 100 Alternative Albums (1995)

All around I think they were more diverse lyrically and conceptually. The production was better. This is one of those beatmaker v. producer discussions that will go into perpetuity. Just my thoughts.

You had mentioned the Hit Squad being better all around than the Native Tongues. Hit Squad(EPMD,Red,K-solo,Das EFX even Keith Murray) v. (Dela,Jungle Brothers,Black Sheep, Latifah,LONS and ATCQ) that's another debate.

Martin Lawrence Def Comedy Jam

Eddie Murphy on Boxing

Martin Lawrence - Jokes About Boxing - Audio

At Odds Til We Even Rd 1 (Eddie Murphy on singers)

My friend Dre and I have been friends for 25 years and over the course of that friendship we have agreed to disagree on many subjects. We may often agree that someone is the greatest in their field but the point of contention is usually who is number 2. For example we both agree that Richard Pryor is the greatest comedian ever but we split on who is a greater contender Eddie or Martin. My stance is that Eddie has it in all three categories, stand up, tv, and film. My brother Dre feels Martin is the greater stand up, Eddie the greater film star and I'm unsure of his opinion of tv Eddie. Here is a series of clips. I could not find video of Martin's HBO video which is finest stand up. But what I have is pretty good. I havd the same issue with Eddie's SNL footage . So I excluded the TV portion. Also when you see the clips, I feel those who know us will see the influence and reflection of each of them in us. You get a glimpse of why I gravitated to Eddie and he Martin.

Breeze - L.A. Posse

I dont care what nobody says this was my joint back in the day. My had it all charisma, energy, lyrics, flow and dance moves.

4th Deadly Verse Wu Tang-Triumph

This joint had me and Dre at CD Connect at midnight to scoop it. Check INS, Rae, Ghost, and U. Especially Ghost after GZA spit.

3rd Deadly verse KOOL G RAP & DJ POLO - MEN AT WORK (lyrics)

This is the original Big Pun I pride myself on being able to memorize records but I could never get this down.

Second Deadly Verse (Chino XL - It's All Bad (1996) [HQ]

One of the cats that got lost in sauce (the original Eminem).

1st Deadly Verse

A few months back my friends and had an extended debate about the greatness of various mc's. Jay-Z or Kanye, Eminem or Lil' Wayne and by the end everyone stuck to their guns and continued to embrace the lyricist of their choice. We decided we should make a list of that wordsmiths choicest cuts to display what we saw in them. Then we were to give examples of those who make up our musical blueprints and set the standards by which we measure all others. This was the preeminent lyrical influence of my youth. LL was my fave for the longest but Rakim was the spittter I admired most. He was clever, dense, and an amazing writer. The layers of rhymes that he used to occupy a verse were unrivaled. Beyond that he was an MC with a name that closely resembled my own. Growing up there were no Rashid's that were prominent and I definitely could not find my name in a novelty shop. So when Ra came I felt an instant connection. His verses were rehearsed his cadence was imitated. Here is the verse that blew my my mind.

Stevie Wonder - UNTITLED SONG SNIPPET (Unreleased)

This is the legendary snippet mentioned in the previous post. I know this has been posted and re-posted a million times. But enjoy it just the same.

Money, Power, Respect.....

I have for years wished I had the money/influence to make dream projects happen. I long to produce a viable vehicle to showcase the Eddie Murphy that I love to watch. I wish I could produce/write the perfect Marvin Gaye project whether it be film or theatre. Lastly I wish I could give my musical heroes a shot in the arm to turn their careers around. My first order of business would be to let Questlove head up the project. So many talented artists release projects that lack vision,direction or that umph that came with their early/prime work.

For those who are unsure of his qualifications to spear head a legendary project. Check his resume. Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born on January 20, 1971), known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove (also known as BROther ?uestion, Questo or Brother Question), is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He has produced for artists such as Common, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Jay-Z, Nikka Costa and more recently, Al Green and John Legend. He is a member of the production teams the Soulquarians, the Randy Watson Experience, and The Grand Wizzards. Add to that Common, Maroon 5, and Pharell just to give you a glimpse of his diversity.

My friend Dre and I discussed this over Christmas break, that certain artists ought to seek him out and humbly place their musical trust in him. Prince immediately comes to mind, as one who could benefit from the Questo touch. Quest is a die hard Prince follower as evidenced by his Rollingstone Prince playlist. He could provide Prince with that funk that has all but disappeared over the last four releases. He along with Prince could find the sonic fountain of youth and really produce some fantastic music. Prince is still a phenomenal musician, his guitar work, writing and showmanship remain intact. The heartbeat of a band is the drummer and whether he's drumming or is using John Blackwell something is missing from the songs.

The Michael Jackson estate should hire Questlove in an executive producer capacity. Here he could be used to edit/finish those projects that Michael was unable to complete with his untimely passing. He could select producers that fit the vibe and vision of the demo's and help to round out the sound. Jackson recent releases lacked that glossy warmth that comes with a Quincy Jones production. Rodney Jerkins is talented as are the hodge podge of producers that contributed to the posthumously released "Michael". With Quest at the helm he could help to recreate that magic that MJ fans are longing for. He hinted at this with remix of Pharell's In My Mind entitled out of my mind. According to his Myspace blog while creating the rarely heard redux, Pharell would offer short musical quips to guide the drummer. This song should sound like Debarge meets DJ Premier or something to that effect. The end result was a project that surpassed the original.

Finally legend has it that Stevie Wonder has some 5000 songs in a vault, turn them over to Questlove. Wonder set the bar so high in the 70's that no artist has been able to surpass it, including himself. I believe that he takes so long between projects because he is trying to create that masterpiece to rival his early work. While his fans are waiting on a release of new work he could release previously unreleased material to satisfy them.( By them I mean me. ) Every other year allow Quest to cull 10-12 songs for a compilation. This will give a window into the mind of a genius that we rarely get to peer through. Also it allows him to have a part in the process instead of all these things coming out after he dies without any say so. The snippets released last year gave glimpses of the brilliance that could possibly lie on the shelves. The below link is to wet your appetite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmoIz9k0eCE&feature=player_detailpage