A New Sound for Deaf Ears

A compilation of new stuff and relatively unkown artists courtesy of “Ally Al 2003″ over at OkayPlayer. This one is my favorite, and the one I don’t have to re-up or anything because the link is still valid.

A New Sound for Deaf Ears IV: The Victory
01 let’s take it back (instrumental) – j dilla
02 temper – dabrye
03 electric intercourse – saadiq
04 gitback – oh no
05 wannabes – dirty diggers
06 to catch a thief – super chron flight brothers
07 green tea power – flying lotus
08 money motivated moments – guilty simpson
09 kumbuka watu penda pesa prt 1 – count bass d
10 mecheti lightspeed – prince po
11 kelly drive – dr.who dat
12 bob hope – super chron flight brothers
13 reality check (instrumental) – verbal threat
14 the people ft dwele – common
15 beautiful flowers ft prince po, dwight trible & yusef lateef – ammoncontact
16 reverse part 2 – percee p
17 bun dem ft capleton – klashnekoff
18 one chance ft planet asia – polyrhythm addicts
19 the victory ft blaq poet & dj premier – krs-one & marley marl
20 click – skyzoo & torae
21 combo ft dubbledge – micall parknsun
22 escape – elephant beach
23 insight – sawandi

Click it or ticket.
Rapidshare // zShare
“Victory, Victory at all costs, Victory in spite of all terror, Victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without Victory, there is no survival”
- Winston Churchill

Blind Purchases

For those not knowing what a “blind purchase” is, it’s when you purchase something when knowing little or no information about it. Whenever I set foot in a music/game/entertainment (…etc.) store, I usually intend to purchase a specific item, and spend a certain amount of money. But….it’s a habit, and I always end up walking out with a lot more than I intended to.
Today, I went to FYE about 15 minutes from my house, but this time, I had no intention of really buying anything, I just wanted to look. Sometimes, my blind purchases are awesome (De La Soul Singles Collection – when I hadn’t heard any previous material), just average (The Perceptionists “Black Dialogue“) or sometimes, just plain horrible (DJ Krush – “Stepping Stones“).
30 minutes later, I walked to the counter with 6 items.
Hardball, Ladder 49, and Friday Night Lights (all used) on dvd, as well as
*MILD BP ALERT*The Alkaholiks “Likwidation“,
Lifehouse’s “No Name Face“, (I owned this before but scratched it horribly)
and *SEVERE BP ALERT* 54th Platoon’s “All Or Nothin” (all used as well)

The 54th Platoon cd was listed at 2.99, and me, being the oft-shopper I am, was aware that used cds listed at 2.99 are 75% off, making it a grand total of .75 cents. Now, I had never heard of these guys in my life, and, glancing at the back, noticed that they had production credits attributed to Lil’ Jon and guest appearances by mostly southern artists, including MJG. Now, I normally don’t like this sort of “rap”, but given the fact that it was only 75 cents, I figured “what the hell”, and picked it up.
Also, the (presumably new) guy behind the counter, after me telling him of the 75% off thing, and him subsequently checking with his boss, made a mistake that I didn’t notice until after I was out of the store. He rang up each used cd for 75% off, giving me a grand total of $25.38 for 3 movies and 3 cds. In my eyes, that’s a pretty successful trip.
I haven’t listened to either Blind Purchases yet, but I will most likely do a lil’ som’n som’n for you guys regarding write-ups and stuff. Max has reviewed other stuff by the Liks, which helped the blind purchase cause. (By the way bro, that’s the second time in a row I’ve shouted you out. We’re practically siblings hahaha)

Okay, since I did my share of spending today and I hope you guys will do, I’m offering up some downloads (of what I bought of course), maybe in part to get more people to purchase music from deserving artists. Check the stuff out, let me know what you think. As always, comments are greatly appreciated. For the next post, I’ll be discussing Will.I.Am’s look-alike. (Extra download for you if you guess correctly.)

Links:
Alkaholiks – “Likwidation”
Lifehouse – “No Name Face”
Questionmark Asylum – The Album**

I know I didn’t mention the last one, but I picked it up of Amazon for 2.99 (shipping included) the other day. Travis over at WYDU made a “recommendation” of sorts was spot on: a poor man’s Pharcyde. Decent album however, check it out.

Speech Is My Hammer

The year is 1999. A talented rapper known as Mos Def drops his debut album, Black On Both Sides.
(Max, if you’re reading this, I apologize for slightly biting your writing “steez”. After all, it could be considered paying homage.)

1. Fear Not Of Man
An intro…sort of. Not exactly. More sing-song-ish than the standard…I like it. A new millennium is approaching, and even though I was nine years old when this album came out, I can understand now what he’s talking about.

2. Hip Hop
Smack that loss on your earn chart! Mos, quite simply, blacks the fuck out.

3. Love
Slightly below average here, I really have to be in the mood to hear the whole thing in order to not skip this.

4. Ms. Fat Booty
The hit single, courtesy of Ayatollah. Interesting story…(I love story telling songs – Go check the post dedicated to them). Good song, and it’s held up over time.

5. Speed Law
“You’re speeding money, relax.”
No, Mos, you relax! Chill out with this one…go back, rework it. Not the biggest fan.

6. Do It Now (f. Busta Rhymes)
This is much better. Well, its Busta…no chilling required. Energy is all over the place now…and what happens…

7. Got
BOOM. Worst beat on the album. Probably the worst song too. I’m upset now, not even gonna talk about this one.

8. Umi Says
Ah…no one predicted that this was the Mos Def we would know of now. Except back then, he sang good songs.

9. New World Water
Certainly, no one will criticize him of lack of subject matter. This song is about fuckin’ water. Yeah….water.

10. Rock N Roll
Push next.

11. Know That (f. Talib Kweli)
With my favorite MC making a guest appearance, this track really had to fuck up for me not to like it. It doesn’t…I like this song…Intro to Black Star 101.

12. Climb (f. Vinia Mojica)
More singing? No way! Maybe he will keep rapping on his future albums…

13. Brooklyn
I’m neither here nor there with this one…I have a friend who absolutely loves this song however, so I hear it all the time.

14. Habitat
See above statement.

15. Mr. Nigga (f. Q-Tip)
I don’t approve of the “n-word”, but since it’s the title of the song, that’s why I’m using it. I’m white (if you couldn’t guess already), and I don’t think anyone should use the word, plain and simple.
Oh yeah – the song? It’s ok. Chorus is kinda wack…Tip dropped the ball here.

16. Mathematics
So so so so so much better. DJ Premier drops by…andddddd
success. The best song on the album, Mos drops introspective lyrics. I love this song. If you’re not familiar with this album, this will be the song you should hear first. (Did I mention how much better this song is than last?)

17. May – December
Pleasant way to end.

Final Thoughts: Mos Def doesn’t exactly need your money. But he deserves it. The album is pretty damn good, despite the couple average songs. Sometimes, it’s easier to listen to a whole album flow as compared to trying to judge individual songs. To each his own, I guess. (Once again, let me know Max if we got a problem here.)
Beats: 8 / 10
Lyrics: 9.5 / 10
Overall: 8.75 / 10

This Type Love…

It’s impossible to hate on some spoken word. And if it comes from Def Poetry, you know it has to be good. Don’t sleep. Shihan is dope as hell, make sure you check out his other videos.

Also, if you haven’t seen Soundnexx’s Spoken Word Compilation – you need to check that as well.
That’s it for now. If you have questions for Free Speech; leave them. I’m conducting (and subsequently sharing) an interview as soon as I get more questions.

You Can Call It Hell But…

“Man fuck a critic nigga, this is my life.”
- Blu; My World Is

Ever listened to someone tell you a story, and then you feel as if you were there? That’s what a good story does – it puts you right there alongside the main characters. An album this personal doesn’t come along hardly…well, ever. He talks about struggles, and we all can relate, no matter where we are in life. Everything from unexpected children, working a 9 to 5, people passing away – we’ve all been there.
And that’s what makes this album so special.

1. My World Is__mp3 snippet
A banger of a beat starts this album off right. This is probably one of the best beats on the album, and the closest you’ll hear to Blu straight bragging.

2. The Narrow Path
Are you an up-and-coming rapper? Blu’s been there too. “I’m trying to tell my folks who flow it aint easy…”

3. So(ul) Amazing - youtubery.
Poetic. Peaceful. (Insert other adjective here) Solid song, comes complete with a video.

4. Juice N’ Dranks (f. Ta’raach)
The weakest link on the entire album. Chorus needs some serious work…Ta’raach doesn’t do much for me at all. Good thing I didn’t blindly pick up his solo album.

5. In Remembrance
One of the best songs on the album easily. It’s crazy how fast time just escapes us sometimes. Everyone could use a reflection or two now and then. It’s kinda crazy right?

6. Blu Collar Workers
Ehh…not too high on this one either. It has gotten more listenable, but the beat carries this one. Not a big fan of the subject matter I suppose.

7. Dancin’ In The Rain__mp3 snippet
Another personal favorite. Fuck the struggle man. Despite the corny ass title, there’s no way you can hear this and not relate. This rapper-listener relationship is a strong theme on this album, part of the reason it’s so great.

8. First Things First
Ahhhh, there it is. The females, gotta love ‘em. Spit yo game, make sure you don’t bring the wrong one home.

9. No Greater Love
Similar vein as before, done just as well if not better.

10. (Show Me The) Good Life
More deep shit. Unexpected fatherhood is a dire situation. Gratefully, I’ve never had that experience, but it’d be horrible for me right now. I can only imagine…

11. Simply Amazing
Banger of a beat once again…complete with scratches and the head-bobbing vibe. The beat makes the flow and words seem effortless. It helps to rap over dope beats, makes a rapper’s life much much easier.

12. Cold Hearted
Clever clever play on words here involving a gun. Upon first listen, this was the song that stuck out to me the most.

13. Below The Heavens Part 1__mp3 snippet
If I had to hear just one song for the rest of my life, this could very well be it. The concept of heaven is confusing for many, myself included. Real stuff going on here. Dope beat, and the delivery of the words is poetic…it’s a beautiful song. How many rap songs are described as beautiful? Not very many. Hear this one if nothing else.

14. Below The Heavens Part 2
Miguel Jontel is earning my money. I’m already interested in looking for his catalog of work.

15. I Am Blu
The worst beat on here, mainly for the (albeit clever) Sesame Street sample that’s used too often, it slightly detracts..Listen hard, it’s worth it.

Exile handles the entire production duties for this album, and he does it well.
A few tracks are so great, you’ll want to hit rewind just for the beat, but generally it’s just a solid concrete foundation for Blu to lay his Taj-Mahal of lyrics.
Guest appearances include singer Miguel Jontel (improves a few hooks), and (wack) Ta’raach and (neither adds nor detracts) Aloe Blacc.

Blu has the whole album streaming on his myspace page.

This is by far the best album to come out in 2007, and I’m positive there won’t be anything better. A debut this poignant, focused, and real hasn’t come out since…yeah, I said it – Illmatic. This is one of my favorite albums ever (already), and personal stories like this don’t happen very often. Ten out of Ten.

Side Note: Sound In Color Records is fucking up distribution so badly….I went to 2 FYE stores, Best Buy, Newbury Comics, a mom-and-pop store…and nothing. No one has this in their warehouses. I want a physical copy compared to itunes copyrighted protected mp3s, so I purchased this off of Amazon. Please support the artist(s).

Good Morning!

First off, before you bitch, I know that this is probably going to be one of the most reviewed albums on the internet…but I thought I needed to do my own interpretation. Why, I’m not too sure. But I did, and here it is:

Maturity is supposed to come as you age. At least that’s what common knowledge tells us. Twenty-five year olds are infinitely more mature than fifteen year olds – fact. Now, Kanye has spent his career yelling, complaining, and he is quite guilty of being….in a word, arrogant. Now, despite his antics, people still listen to him. Why is that? Well, quite simply, he makes good music. People tend to put his braggadocios attitude aside (The man once said he deserved to be in the “modern-day Bible.”) and just listen to the music. Never wack behind the boards, the production has switched gears on this album. While solid on College Dropout, people (along with Kanye himself) felt, despite being good, the production could use a little something to boost it up. In comes super-producer Jon Brion for assistance on Late Registration. The orchestrated production was not exactly what most hip-hoppers would expect…but it was dope, in all senses of the word. The production has switched from orchestrated genius to 80’s style synths and chords. A Japanese / techno aspect has also been added on numerous tracks, especially the single “Stronger”.
On the rapping side, he’s been constantly criticized for everything from being boring and uncharismatic to making up words (re: “apologin’ ” on Can’t Tell Me Nothing). He is not a great lyricist, but somehow, all his albums are chock full of quotables. This one is no different. Quotables are all over the place on here; probably a good one song-multiple quotable ratio he’s got going on.
However, with all this sudden change does not come ultimate success. The topics he raps about have changed a little bit, and it seems he might finally be growing up; Graduation.
Starting off with an infectious beat for “Good Morning”, a Jay-Z sample is included in the mix here as well. Good song – “Champion”, using a Steely Dan sample is one of my personal favorites…sliding right through still-listenable-until-I-hear-it-too-often “Stronger” and “I Wonder”, we’ve got the rappa-ternt-sanga! Terrence Pain. “Good Life” actually turns out dope and is one of the best songs on the album, despite the vocoder. Check the video at the bottom of the post for an addition. Here comes the problem. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” is how hip hop is supposed to sound…full of sampled adlibs from Jeezy (the hood loves him!) and so on. However, with a relatively short album (thirteen tracks), falling short in the middle is the worst possible thing that could happen.
And it does.
You’d think if you have the opportunity to be a guest on one of the biggest albums of the year, you’d be on your A-game, correct? Hit up Lil’ Wayne aka IhavesomuchmorepotentialthatIhardlyevershow comes through….and shits the bed. Awful, awful, awful. Mediocre verse from Kanye, and this track gets skipped. All the time.
“Drunk & Hot Girls” is by far the worst song Kanye has ever done. EVER. And Mos, what the fuck are you doing….you’re a rapper…rap motherfucker! I can’t even talk about this, except to say how let down I am by everyone involved in the making of this song.
I’m a little iffy on Flashing Lights, it might seem good compared to the two previous. Time will tell.
But now look, we got the final countdown. Included in here are an incredible piano loop that I might be able to listen to for the rest of my life (Everything I Am), possibly my favorite Kanye song ever already (The Glory) mainly for the incredible beat and on-point lyrics; Homecoming is well suited, despite being a remake of his mixtape song “Home” and Chris Martin (coldplay) neither detracts nor adds to the song…and finally – Big Brother. An ode to Jay-Z. First off, people need to stop with that no homo shit – it’s getting ridiculous. Listen to the words motherfucker, it’s a good song – similar vein as “Last Call” from College Dropout.

Ok, so, in conclusion, if you pick this up, there’s no way in hell you should be disappointed. The change is significant, and it’s quite apparent that he’s trying to go in a different direction with this one. The cover, the music, everything. Despite having some excellent songs, it has some missteps as well. You know, the kind that make you fall down the stairs.
Beats: 9 / 10
Lyrics: 7.5 / 10
Overall: 8.25 / 10

In A Place Called Self…

This story takes place in a place called Self
Take in Mind, everybody, no other than Soul Brother
Was living in a-whole-nother, state, all help
He received, he believed, was the way God dealt
With his life, but some would consider it trife
The ignorant type, caught up in all the biblical hype
He wasn’t feeling it right
Time told, he would let the blind old man in the mirror give him advice
Sincere, he kept his friends near with Devotion
They hang in a neighborhood gang called Emotions
Who wasn’t usually good for this community but
He knew of The Danger, he grew up with Anger
He wasn’t worried, thought they was the best for him
If he wanted anything, Lust was there for him
Sex, Money, Power, Love would let him care for them
Hatred was the strongest, he protected them
From a Truth, he considered Evil, hear no, see no
His profile don’t smile, you know how “E-go”
Conscience told Soul how to go legit
He said “You know Doubt? He told me don’t believe that shit”
That’s when he, hooked up with Jealousy and Envy
Scoping out this Benzy, rolling spokes, about twenty
Pulled out the driver, who now wanted to fight him
Fear told him “You the man, pull the heat out and fire!”
This is how he living, how he feeling hardcore
What he do that for? Mr. Greed said “More?”
Remind me of a cat named Influence
Been proven to make men do it, just like a sin student
Now Conscience had a question “Who’s your biggest enemy?”
He didn’t know Shame, so he blamed it on Hennesy
Reality wrote him a check and let him have it but they jumped in the ride,
Pride wouldn’t let him cash it
He crashed it.

(Courtesy of LyricsMania, so I don’t have to do all that typing myself.)

One.Be.Lo’s “Evil of Self“, off of the best cd in 2005 – S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.
*Multiple hyperlinks in above statement.

Enjoy your weekends.

& Every Woman Looks Better In A Sun Dress

This song is dope.

// Wednesday – Tough day today. Got pulled over driving to my first day of senior year at school this morning…cop said he saw other cars roll through the stop sign, but I was last in line, so he pulled me over. Bullshit. I’m sure that the fact I drive a 2000 Gran Prix doesn’t help much either, making it look more sporty than it actually is.

Anyway, since this car is new (bought it the other day), I didn’t have the insurance card or registration sheet…the cop threatened to tow my car and add 570 dollars on the ticket, but “He’s a nice guy, so he didn’t.” So yeah, excellent start to my morning. 20 hours of community service to be done by October 16th. I forgot how much I hate high school. So yeah, I got some homework, working, and community service to do. I think I got a big post lined up for this weekend, stay tuned please.
Also, comments are good. I like comments. Leave some, make me feel like people read all my shit. Gracias amigos.

The Original Songs Post

Just tossing up some original songs. Big ups to plenty of people over at the Okayplayer boards for helpin’ out with this one. I hardly ever up this many songs all at once, so consider yourself lucky. The only one that I’ve ever seen for sale is one that’s found on AZ’s “Decade” cd. In parenthesis, I’ll let you know what’s different about the original v. the one you’re familiar with. I don’t remember all of them off the top of my head, so bear with me. I promise they are different than the released version.

Tracklisting:
Mobb Deep – Shook Ones, Part 1
Reflection Eternal – Down For The Count (different verses)
Madvillain – Fancy Clown
AZ – You World Don’t Stop (also available on “Decade“)
Ghostface – The Champ (uncleared sample, still dope from Just Blaze)
Fabolous – Diamonds (f. Lil’ Wayne)
Dead Prez – Don’t Forget Where You Came From (chorus and beat)
Nas – Hope (uncleared sample I believe..but this song is ill.)
Kanye West f. Jay-Z & J.Ivy – Never Let Me Down
Mos Def – Brooklyn
Nas – Stay Chiseled
Nas – You’re Da Man (extra verse)
OC – Ozone
OC – Strongjay
Common – They Say (Consequence verse)

enjoy the originals.

The Art of Storytellin’

Story telling is a lost art.
Being able to rap and rhyme well is nice, but in my opinion, telling a story through rhyme is a million times better. I’m tossing up some story-telling songs. Some are well known, others not so much. Enjoy it.

1. Joe Budden – “Three Sides to a Story“
Incredible incredible song. Takes on three different personas for each verse. A must hear.

2. Wordsworth – “Run“
Story of a teenage girl. This man is amazing, he does a lot of story telling, but this is my favorite from him.

3. Chamillionaire – “Think I’m Crazy“
If crazy is synonymous with ill, then yes, I think you’re crazy Cham.

4. Murs – “Walk Like A Man“
One of my favorite songs of all time. You have to hear it. A cinematic feel is also added because the beat changes three times courtesy of 9th Wonder.

5. Nas – “Rewind“
Damn. Story of a murder told in reverse.

6. Brother Ali – “Dorian“
Sleeper pick on this one, not many people know this song…but we all got neighbor issues man.

7. Biggie – “Gimme The Loot“
Classic.

Pull up a chair, sit on the carpet…whatever. Make yourself comfortable for this one. Stay tuned.