No is not the Nas track, or maybe it is. Life and death al mixed in this bizarro world of my head. This morning dream put an extreme picture of the high and low class neighborhood living next to each other. While my family upper class worked on getting babies and sometimes synced ones. The other one is dominated by gangs and contractors looking for prey to assasinate just for fun. They randomly spot you on the street and is on. My assasins where only two but suriviving my assasin only make more notice me in the process. It all started with a family trip when we spot back the car with the gang follow us and a quick game of loosing them through cut corners and alleys was enough to survive them. However individually I wasnt so lucky and on the streets only your feet can set you free. I ran through the crowd, the abandonned warehouse and the old apartment building. Only to come across another killing. Thats where the other two guys catched up and a sudden movement prevented from being stabbed on the spot. I dash through the stairs and off to a larger field full of people. Thats where the second group tried to spot me, these were runners, and they started to launch themselves like a football tackle. I zig zag enough to avoid the first one but the second one was able to put a hand on me. However is was able to reach the end of the park and jump to the fence near the pool and got away to my neighbor hood. But that wasnt the end, after resting in the couch of my luxury house, the couple of killers broke in and found me instantly. They start robbing everything, taking a dump in my toilet and finally beating me up. That's when the dream ended and slowly I woke up with a lazy WTF dream went on. It wasnt until the Mobb Deep track start playing that I realize how street novel dream I had. Street Dreams.
So this is my first post after the show and have to say so far the trip has been awesome, not perfect, but awesome indeed. First of was the great GZA throwing darts after darts from the liquid swords album. The rhymes were on point and great rhymin at the top of my longues on every song. From cold world, bible, beneath the surface and with the great Mastah Killa, Killa Priest and RZA who came to perform the 4th chamber verse. Killa priest also rhymed some of the heavy mental tracks, Masta had some great performance. Unfortuately I couldn't shoot a close up with my new camera. But he was around all day since he showed up for Glacier of Ice later that night.
The Cuban Linx show was a bit strange and funny with ghost getting with the staff. Saying that the mics where unbalanced and they need better lightning. Dude was so picky that even Rae asked him if he wanted a sandwich with that. In the end however the mics did really failed with raekwon's mic completely failing. And Ghost being beyond mad he was like, let's just say goodbye leaving the stage for real.
Another great show was immortal technique and the dude is not only so energetic but so right when talking about people in general. He asked about drugs during peruvian cocaine, about the harlem reinassance and finally about bin laden with mos def. He also presented really great DJs like hassam and Diabolic rhyming with the crew. Eventually the event was great, lots of walking though as the sets where pretty far from each other. After several walks we were really exahusted. My legs were killing me and even my friend was holding me for extra support during walking. But we had a great time. Loved every minute and the girls in the show were gorgeous. New York has this wild mixes of cultures and nationalities so it was seen hot asians and hot blondes and so on. I am glad I got to do what I always wanted and can now enjoy it.
So no this is not a review of Skyzoo, then again, is not a bad idea for a post. However this was about my latest dream, a dream about an anticipation to what I want to get done in New York at the Rock the Bells.
So first thing is that I was right there, at the very front of the crowd. Also was full of people that was passionate of hiphop as well as me. One of the great stuff was hanging out wiht them and just chill with them as we gone through tunes and tunes from the DJ playing not just classics but really great variety.
So one thing I remember was haning with Raekwon and getting into some hiphop discussion about production. Nothing serious, basically some name dropping and suggestion.
Same thing happened when a track from Boyz II Men Remix came up and we discussed about the DJ that make that remix which was pretty great. Unfortunately I doubt many people will get into that in New york but this is my dream so step off :D
Well another thing I liked was some hiphop garment shopping, with oversized Ts and sneakers. Of course we pick up like 2 or 3 caps. So in the end we were all garment up.
So the dream was not that large and was more an image than a story unfortunately. But still fairly enjoyable dream.
So on my last hiphop post I talked about a target list to check out and I most say I am really impressed. Particularly with two artists. Apollo Brown which is an awesome producer and the group The Left which is also put out a great album.
Other great surprises was to listen to Little Brother, The Roots and Evidence from dilated people putting new stuff out there.
Other underground stuff like Dirty Hank and his latest EP which by the way I am loving the title "Dirty Hank's Guide To Giving Up".
There still a lot of music to go through. I most say Rozewood was somehow a bit disapointing, just wasn't what I was expecting, althought the beats are quite good. Specially Mistakes which had that same soul track from Rae/Ghost.. very Wu-esque.
Still a lot to comment many groups to meet, Black Milk and actually listening to some of the Old news like Joel Ortiz and Atmosphere on the ToDo list.
For all the hiphoperish thing that I have been trying to crawl back into, I have missed a lot of hiphop last year. I guess that staying in a Wu echo chamber has isolate me from other type of hiphop. Not that is necessary a bad thing, but also I have heard a lot of rappers from people that I have respect for, yet I have not taken the time to listen to them. What is worth, some others, I DO know them but I haven't put the time to listen to their latest material. So this post is dedicated to them. I will try to do a checklist and try to listen to as much of their work as I can during the following days. A post I want to reffer to in particular is this extensive list that go through them from the very top to the very bottom.
Celph Titled & Buckwild - I know Celph and know his work, but haven't really put the time to listen to this album.
Roc Marciano - Also heard of the cat, but I dont know him yet. Youtube candidate.
Apollo Brown - Also another youtube candidate.
Black Milk - I heard a lot from him yet I have never got to listen to his shit.
Atmosphere - I know the dude, big fan, even got the album but I havent really listen to it.
Skyzoo & Illmind - 'Live from the tape deck' seems like something good can come out of this one, I've seen it in a few lists now
The Roots - 'How I got over' I didn't know they had a new album, definitly a buy
Black Sheep - 'From the black pool of genius' Wow this group is old, I used to like them but I didnt know they have a new joint out.
Little Brother - 'LeftBack' As well, I didnt know they had new stuff out.
DJ Premier - 'Get used to us' Primoooooooooo Classic pure unadulterated hiphop
Joel Ortist - 'Free Agent' So I know Joel for a while and didnt know he put finally and album
Rozewood - '2012' as opposed to Joel I know shit about this cat but he is NY and he is dark, which is the best combo for someone expecting Liquid Swords pt 2
Slum Village - 'Villa Manifesto' Another Roots/Little Brother situation
Madlib - 'Before the Veridict' Someting I need to check out since I am so confused with the timeline of these producers
I can go on forever but this is a pretty big list to go through at least for the following week. If something strikes me like a thunder, I will be definitly posting back on these cats.
I've become a fan of the show called The Cypher, which is a talk show about hiphop. I am also a member of three big hiphop groups in facebook, Wu-World Wide, Acquired Taste and Remembering Hiphop. They share a lot of video's about hiphop. However I am sensing a change on the way hiphop is being talked about. Before we were always the first, the first Hiphop generation president, the first Hiphop couple (with Salt-n-Pepa and Treach), later was Biggie and Faith and now Jay-Z and Beyonce.
However now most hiphopers are not 20yr old kids but 35 going 40. And what used to be playa hating in the late 90's during puffy era is now consider not just old school but really old.
Granted I never really saw a discussion between the old Sugar Hill Gang, Big Daddy Kane, 2 live crew and Eric B and Rakim fans complaining about true hiphop vs fake hiphop. Maybe hiphop as a general form was just way too young to be old school. Listen to some of those oldschool and musically was a bit too basic. Producer technologies were not really up there, so the beats were pretty much alike. Check LL Cool J - I need a Beat and Big Daddy Kane I get the job done for example.
But fast forward 15 years later and the landscape now is way too complex, there is no west coast coming up but crunk music, with monikers such as Lil B, Souljah Boy and co. Now kids are not into gangsta rap, not into hardcore hiphop, but just want to hit the club and get their dance off. Of course I don't want to make it sound like all hiphop is just a bad copy of Jersey Shore. There is definitly great music being done like Lost Children of Babylon and Immortal Technique. Or even Kanye is much better than all the rest of the hiphop out there, commercially speaking. Great producers like Madvillan, 9th wonder and even hardcore hiphopers like Joel Ortiz and Vinnie Paz. Lots of veterans want to make a comeback and even help the whole scene to come back like Raekwon pull up Capone-N-Noreaga and now trying to do the same with Havoc and Prodigy. But Rae is doing his thing, he even just drop a new video last week.
Well I guess hiphop will keep evolving, and spreading out. Too many emcees too many albums, most are underground and I guess you need to keep moving and at least keep your ear to your prefernce so you can never be old school.
Last time a friend of mine told me I was old school because I listen to the Wu which is odd since Wu keep making music. Just last year several Wu-related albums were dropped. From OB4CL pt II, Shaolin vs Wu-Tang, Wu-Massacre, Apollo Kids, Inspectah Deck, 9th Prince, Hell Razah, The Swarm pt II and Shyheim dropped albums. Not to mention the odd mixtapes like the Magical Chambers and El Michael's Affair. New albums like Liquid Swords pt 2, Blackout 3, Young Dirty Bastard, and other long awaited albums are still in the making.
However the hardcore style is a bit forgotten or drain into the underground, true headed hiphop also a bit not as relevant as Rawkus record days. So you gotta wonder if this is just things to come, and is all about Nicky Minaj, lil B, Lil wayne, lil P, Wacka Flacka, and more ignorant hiphop coming our way, also labeled as young hiphop. After all the only innovation in Hiphop in the 2000's era was crunk music and autotune. I just hope it doesn't up like Thugnificent from the boondocks.... not.
