Get To Know, Again: Lou Slugga of MLS

A couple of months ago I reviewed a cd here named Sharpshootaz which was a new release by MLS. If I had to give a cd a rating out of 10, that album would have grabbed an 8 primarily on the strength of lyrics alone. This is a solo performance by Lou Slugga, a third of the group MLS.  Whenever I talk Hip-Hop I think about Guru of GangStarr and what he said about an emcee, it's mostly the voice. While there isn't anything that literally distinguishes (barks or whines) Lou Slugga from his peers, there is a consistency to his flow; like I've said about other artists on this site, sincerity is in his words and tone. Check out his solo live performance where he pulls a Q-Tip 'Dance on Glass; type acapella flow for about 40 seconds before jumping into a track that sounds inspired by some of that speed it up type sample by Kanye. The song is called Together. Lyrics!

Get To Know: Emilio Rojas' Right To Stay

I had a great conversation with Prof. Gee Joyner about the responsibility of the emcee. (we should have recorded that one) We finally got to a point in the conversation where we basically analyzed the problem of the Black artists and if there is a responsibility that inherently exists because of the skin we are in. Very good talk that should occur more often and in detail. If you follow the Get To Know posts on this blog, you realize that my taste and your taste aint' the same, but it really should be. Hip-Hop has not losts its outspoken edge in regard to social commentary, you simply have to look for it since there are so many forms of media available and a ton of new outlets. I say right now, Get To Know Emilio Rojas. Take a few to visit his myspace page here and download something. In today's era a download is support and so is a listen.

The Legends of Hip-Hop Tour

Salt-N-Pepa: 25 Years in and Still Fly

I think in 1979 or 80 I first heard Punk Rock Rap by the Cold Crush Brothers. I've written about this before, but I have to restate it, kind of like the movie Brown Sugar, I knew I was Hip-Hop and Hip-Hop was me. At that moment everything kind of shifted. When we were kids we would stand on the porch and perform songs for the neighborhood and people would stop by and listen. My sister would be the lead singer, I'd play the piano, which were actually the bricks outside of the window and Lil Willie and his brother T would play the tennis rackets, I mean guitars. We would play songs like Call Me and random songs from Parliament Funkadelic, but then came Punk Rock Rap and Rapper's Delight and all of a sudden the guys got to be the lead.  Things changed. In the early 80s we moved out of the projects, into better...projects and I met guys that would go on to become best friends. Unfortunately we still didn't have much, but we had milk crates and music. Which basically means that we had basketball and Hip-Hop. But in the early 80s Grandmaster Flash and The Message was preaching and I wasn't quite getting the moral, but I did get a transmission from NYC that told me to grab some cardboard and try to do something called break dancing. I became our crews Mr. Wave, I was serious with the moves and respected. Beat Street became our movement and Hip-Hop was officially a part of everything we did. At this time I first heard a song called The Show and for the next 8 years one of my favorite emcees was Doug E Fresh, the human beat box.

Get To Know: Official Release Date

Certain artists generate a response that makes you honored to hear what they have to say. As I grow old in Hip-Hop, I'm starting more and more to seek out artists that mesh all of the elements together: dope tracks, lyricism, creativity and inspiration. In mainstream music the heart is missing. You can't listen to the songs and get that spontaneous "Oh ish son, listen to that and rewind it." Well there isn't a rewind anymore, but you want to hear that lyric over and over again. I found a few of these moments in the MLS Cd I reviewed last week especially on Hard and Target Practice, but with this guy every track seems to be a genuine ode to Hip-Hop. Lupe may be one of the best in the game today. No, he is one of the best in the biz today. Instead of talking so much listen to I'm Beaming and understand that real Hip-Hop is alive and well. You don't have to listen to weed narratives and excessive party anthems to get to it, it's right here. Lasers is dropping March 8th. Oh I thought this album was going to be called LUP-END? Anyway...

And It Goes A Little Something Like This

Here I am, a man frustrated with the state, status, complacency of Hip-Hop, listening to an R& B album, ‘Neo Soul’ CD that is almost replacing my desire for finding Rap music that sounds ‘different’. Hip-Hop doesn’t create in me the same emotions it used to. Maybe once or twice, or a few more times I found myself completely in awe of an emcee’s ability to move beyond simplistic weed smoke, drinking anthems and hood stories on wax. But due to the insistence of the media the vast amount of rap music pushed to the public and the youth (who are unaware of more sonically, lyrically challenging rap that exists) distorts the image of Hip-Hop so the artform is suffering. Along with these media representations not only is the image of Blacks in America crumbling, but the actual fiber is being broken down like metamucil in water.

Get to Know: Fashawn

Hip-Hop has had a black eye for so long that often emcees who drop an LP get love although they are actually pretty mediocre. Now I'm not saying that guys like Wiz, Currensy or Wale aren't dropping new age gems, but they are not quite there yet in terms of dropping classics. An album that dropped in 09, may be the best Hip-Hop album that has been made in recent years.  This is a big claim, but definitely needed.

Fashawn's name is highly regarded in circles that respect the art of the emcee, but is often overlooked when discussions of the best new emcees are dropped. I understand that longevity is the key but when Drake is hailed as the second coming, I guess it is in regard to mainstream. Fashawn at an early age has learned to weave narratives, and lines into a quilted pattern of blankets that cover the tracks like black ice on streets in the winter. The flow is a fulid slippery slope of metaphors that pull the listener into their own adolescent struggles and makes you remember your first fight, girl, failure and success. Boy Meets World is a modern classic and earns the right to be compared to Nas' Illmatic. I just hope people will actually begin mentioning this emcee more often. The Ecology will drop in 2011 and I'll be watching for it; you should do the same.

Re-Getting to Know: Lauryn Hill, I have my fingers crossed

In the land of music where each day has a new release that is either strictly for the kids or just another very poorly done R&B song that is played continuously until the people know it and sing it because they have heard it so much, this is just what was needed.

Today I don't have a lot to say on this post because this track is from Lauryn Hill. I think Talib Kweli said it all when he begged Mrs. Hill to come back. This track was released this year, the time frame is not clear but in a world of manufactured soul, Mrs. Hill's voice still has the genuine sound and feel that lifts. Enough of me, click the play button and enjoy.

Memphis Hi-Lites: Godias Interiors

Memphis is a city that has its share of problems, but if we always look at the dark then we can only see what is right in front of us. In order to be a visionary we must see miles ahead and use our peripheral vision to make an accurate analysis. I am going to start looking for the good in Memphis and publishing it here in the Memphis Hi-Lites section. I may not be able to change the perception of the city, I sometimes have the most negative perception anyway, but I can contribute something to the betterment of Memphis 10. Up first is not an eatery or party location, but a home decor store:
Godias Interiors
4780 Riverdale R. Suite 9
Memphis, TN. 38141
godiasinteriors@bellsouth.net
901-755-9315
Hours: M-F 12 noon to 7pm, Sat. 10:30-7pm


My family is built around the kids. Our house does not have any semblance of elegance or art. There are multicolored blocks all over the house, balls, dolls, and books everywhere. I have given up on the idea of a stately manor, but if I had my choice to furnish the house to have guests over or to hold literary workshops, I'd go to Godias. Godias has an assortment of brass, metal, and wooden furnishings that look like art from various cultures and regions: Asian and Indian influences are in abundance and African art, American paintings and carvings standout amongst counches with materials like suede, leather and woven fabrics.

The owners Reginald and Yvonne Douglas have created a cluttered slice of heavenly design that is nice to just walk through and admire and to purchase. The one slice of the good life I admired the most was a chess table and there was only one there. I think when time permits, I'll go back and try to grab it before some other chess lover gets it.

Slide through and check out Godias Interiors, I'm sure you will appreciate the service and your support will be appreciated.

Get To Know... Blitz The Ambassador

Every now and then there a no words needed when telling you about a music artist. While hitting up okayplayer I ran across this video and in a way the artistic value of this music and video can't be rated. So with no further discussion take a few minutes and listen to this. It's refreshing to have an emcee utilize his voice in this manner. The hook almost reminds me of Talib's 'Just to get by'. Dope track, very dope video.

Something to Believe • Blitz the Ambassador from MVMT on Vimeo.

Austin City Limits: Gnarls Barkley

I honestly don't know when this was shot (2008 it's on the vid duh), but I am really loving what ACL is now doing with the show. If you have not taken the time to support PBS please do so. In the meantime, check out this video of Gnarls Barkley(Theivery Corp. is up next and is definitely worth the time because of the collabos but this is all about Cee-Lo especially since his 3rd solo effort is about to drop). Cee-Lo is one of the most important artists we have right now. I don't think there is a single person alive who sings with as much conviction. Danger Mouse, while reclusiveness is not a precursor to talent he sure does play the role of the shy talent to a tee. His structure on that first Gnarls album is classic and timeless. Is that the same thing? Anyway, enough of me talking check out the video.

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

Get To Know, The Roots

On June 22nd The illadelph crew that delivered classics like "What They Do" and "You Got Me" return with an album that continues to push the boundaries sonically and lyrically. Black Thought is the most underrated emcee ever. His skill with Questlove's construction and the infamous Roots band has never, in my opinion, failed to deliver a classic. While many Hip-Hop heads make ridiculous statements like, The Roots are mainstream, the band just continued to produce at a consistently high level. As a Hip-Hop fan, it's nice to be able to grow with my music. I would look like a fool trying to listen to many of today's emcees. I'm not saying they are bad, they just fail to talk about anything worthy of discussion. If my music is going to be empty, I want the lyrics to at least entertain me.

The Roots new album is titled "How I Got Over". Any person who has been a long time listener realizes that the title has been used in previous Roots songs and is also an allusion to Mahalia Jackson.

The album is typical in its varied sound and from all of the songs I've heard it is as close to a live Roots performance than any other album except Organix. I still have Organix by the way. The latest drop from the album is The Fire featuring John Legend, which was used in the Winter Olympics. Instead of continuing to write, click play on the videos to listen. I'd like to request that if you have never bought a Roots album, this could be a great intro to the group. Visit http://www.okayplayer.com/ to keep up with the Roots and great music in general. "Before my time start to wind down like a Mayan." Classic Hip-Hop

Get To Know, k-os

YES is the fourth album from Candadian emcee K-Os. I discovered him a while back I think it was in the early part of this decade. The name of the song was crabbucket and I thought it exemplified the mentality of many of my people. There were other songs that slip my mind right now that I thought made k-os a more talented Wyclef. I even tied him to the Fugees in my mind. His ability to carry a note and drop verses made him an emcee to watch on my list. But like all things that do not have a mainstream following I forgot to tell people about him. I guess I should say tell Americans about him since he has a pretty good following every where else. I'm not forgetting this time to tell you guys to support real Hip-Hop/music. I promise you will enjoy this. Peep out the first track Zambony by clicking the link below. You can also listen to the whole Yes album here.

Invest 8 minutes for inspiration

If you haven't seen this one, invest seven minutes into this and then make sure you add Dwele's youtube page by clicking here

Get To Know: Dwele - What’s Not To Love

I tend to keep Dwele in the CD Rotation. After being introduced to Dwele when Dilla was pushing the Slum Village project in the early 2000's, I found myself waiting and waiting on anything he was dropping. There are certain artists you have to be confident in yourself with to let wifey or your lady listen too without getting jealous that they are feeling the singer too much. Dwele is one of the most underrated singers of our generation. His new CD drops soon so I want to be one of the first to say that if you haven't bought a Dwele CD treat yourself to one and as a matter of fact buy more than one. We have to support artists who are compelling, talented and maintain a high quality while dealing with the status quo.
Dwele - What’s Not To Love

Get To Know, 4Hero

4Hero is a group from across the pond. I just got onto the group through my Pandora playlist under a Janelle Monae profile. The latest effort is considered Nu Jazz, not Neo Soul which is refreshing because there seems to be a trend towards really bad music that is being accepted simply because it is different. 4hero actually is a lot more involved than a title can say. They have been around for over twenty years, but their initial club and deejay roots made them lesser known entities in the States. (I'm actually surprised I've slept on them considering their roots are in Hip-Hop culture particularly breakbeats) With this recent delve into NuJazz, featuring artists over various tracks, they should gain the opportunity to pick up a broader fan base. The track below is from the album Extensions. I guess it could be considered a BlakRoc type project with multiple artists. As far as picking up a new fan base, with their longevity in the game do they need a broader fan base? Visit the site here and check out the music by clicking the link below.

Get To Know, Big Boi

"Bring em back to Life, Back to reality." Big Boi one half of the legendary OutKast duo is back with a song titled Shutterbug. While he also just released a track with Janelle Monae, who collaborated with OutKast on the Idlewild Soundtrack, this track is all Big Boi. Bumpin isn't the word I should use for this track. Take a listen and tell me what you think.

You Should Already Know...

Mos Def. If you don't know Mos then educate yourself! I had to post this performance from Austin City Limits. If you didn't catch the show when it came on, it's been a while now, then take a few to peep out Umi Says from the Black on Both Sides LP. For those of you who don't follow music, Austin City Limits has been coming on PBS for years and Mos is basically the first Hip-Hop artist to grace the stage. While this moment went basically unnoticed and was not promoted on the mainstream sites, this was very important. This is classic hip-hop.

Get to know, Theophilus London

With a name that seems like an allusion to Thelonius Monk and a shoutout to the UK Theophilus London should become hot much in the way that Kid Cudi, burst on the scene. I would say that while the styles are somewhat similar London has a better flow and a better production overall. Peep out the song Understood.