Queens rap legend Nas teams up with the youngest son of Bob Marley, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley for the cultural mashup album, Distant Relatives. Envisioned as tribute of sorts to Africa and its threads in music, arts and education, the tracks are rooted in Caribbean, jazz and hip-hop with samples from traditional African beats. Marley's dubstep/dancehall/roots production and raspy melodies lay the framework for Nas' introspective rhymes.
My two favorite songs bookend the album, tracks 1 and 13. High energy to start, reflective ballad to end. Go check out the full album as part of the proceeds go to charity programs in Africa.
Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - As We Enter
Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Africa Must Wake Up (ft. K'naan)
Wow, what a stressful/busy past few days (see above).
Spent some time on planes and in a quiet beach house and subsequently got the chance to play with a few new beats. Pull out your boombox or headphones with the most bass and enjoy this mellow re-imagining of a Dre classic. Peace from VA & NC
Drake's second single is out from his upcoming June 15th debut, "Thank Me Later". Produced by Kanye West, the track showcases the R&B half of Drake roaming around the industrial thumping we've come to know from West ala "808's & Heartbreaks". The two were reportedly working together in Hawaii recently and Drake then went on to Jamaica to shoot the video. Reactions?
Drake - Find Your Love
As a bonus, I've included an obscure Drake track from a few years ago that features Dwele and Little Brother... can't really lose with a lineup like that.
Drake - Don't You Have a Man ft. Dwele & Little Brother
As previously written, I've been looking forward to B.o.B's major-label debut for most of the last year. At only 21, this rapper/producer/singer/instrumentalist out of ATL has been releasing mixtapes and building buzz since 2006. For the past two years he has been consistently labeled as one of hip-hop's promising young talents, but what has been fascinating for me is the clinic he and Grand Hustle / Atlantic Records have been putting on in patience and timing with his exposure.
After six mixtapes, there is little doubt that Bobby Ray has talent. Working up to major-label, his 4th and 5th mixtapes established his credential in the underground community while his 6th served to promote his upcoming LP (similar to J. Cole). What we start to see is a few singles helping to break the ice into the hip-hop charts and a calculated new single to expand exposure. Apparently, the single "Nothin' on You" was originally written for Lupe Fiasco but turned down. B.o.B. and his label jumped on it and built a track that has exploded. Not only is it a purposeful cross-over track, most likely building off of the huge recent success of genre-blending acts like Drake, but it was released at the perfect time a number of months before the LP release. This blend of pop, rap, rock, etc. is a picture of the array of genres found on the LP and peaked a few days before the release at #1 on billboard.
B.o.B - The Kids (feat. Janelle Monáe)
After a few listens, the album "B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray" is a lot of fun. The prime complaints are that the eclectic mix of styles may be a bit off-putting for some, and none of the styles are done in a particularly innovative or ground-breaking way. That said, there are some really great tracks including the opening "Don't Let Me Fall" where Bobby spaces out about the dangers of a rise to fame. "Bet I" is no-nonsense braggadocio about the ability to flow on a beat with an overall great homage to the ATL and cameos from T.I. and Playboy Tre. "Kids" is probably the most interesting track on the album where he teams up with Janelle Monae to reinvent the Vampire Weekend track and "Airplanes" tracks bookend the album with an Eminem feature where, in typical fashion on his features, he goes hard on the verse.
It's a bit of fresh air for the hip-hop community and a mainstream release that is something that I put my money behind. Look for him in San Francisco May 4th and 5th touring with Lupe Fiasco.
I've loved hip hop ever since I can remember having enough money to buy my own music. I think my first CD was Hootie and the Blowfish... but my second CD was definitely Blackstreet - Another Level. That album is crazy cheesy and I'm still blown away by the fact that an unedited version of No Diggity actually does not exist. Still, I may have all of the lyrics memorized to all of those songs and I will always keep that album on my ipod.
During the late 90's, I went through middle school and high school with a pretty solid routine. My first major life purchase was a big Sony stereo system that had about 3 foot high speakers and a gangsta five disc changer. I had a bedroom in the basement and I ended almost every night laying in bed listening to the local college radio station, 91.9 FM. Starting at 9pm, they played solely hip hop and, amazingly, starting at 11pm it was uncensored. Growing up in small-town Kansas doesn't afford much exposure, so I owe most of my early hip hop education to that station. Along with the mainstream, there was a huge amount of underground and local playtime. Minus the seriously painful airing of Tech Nine, I was hooked.
A couple of songs that I specifically recall are by Canibus and Big Pun. I remember not being able to get the "It's been a long time..." line out of my head from the 2000-BC song. I also went digging through my old CDs tonight looking for Big Pun's - Capital Punishment but came up empty. Such a hard album. On the Superlyrical track is Black Thought of the Roots, which reminded me of Slum Village: Probably one of the early groups that introduced me to a heavy jazz-infused hip hop sound that I now give preference to. At the time, I had no idea that the J Dilla sound would so heavily influence me towards groups such as A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, The Pharcyde and De La Soul.
I've played around with basic remixing in the past. Nothing too invasive or serious, mostly pairing an instrumental of a popular song with the vocals of another. Usually open up my mixes with track like this (RJD2 + Outkast, DJ Mujava + Amanda Blank, Kanye West + Nas).
This past weekend, I took a track from a friend's new band Phantom Kicks and played with it a bit. I enjoy the original, but thought it would be a good challenge to introduce some new elements to shift the tone a bit. Check out these photos I took of the band this last year and don't miss them at Hotel Utah on April 22.
Phantom Kicks - Cut From A Different Clay
Phantom Kicks - Cut From A Different Clay (DJBN Remix)
Went to a show last night with Tanner and Phil of Phantom Kicks and had a great time. Tanner was looking to guest contribute to a local concert blog and asked that I attempt some concert photos for him. It was a new challenge and stretched the limits of my entry level dSLR and lenses but I'm happy with a handful of the photos that I got.
The headliner, Phantogram, is a duo out of Saratoga Springs, New York and has a great blend of a dreamy pop/electronic/dance. It was a lot of fun and they were sharp in their instrumentation and producing a full sound with various looping, synthesizing, sampling techniques. Sarah was also a visual arts major, so they've incorporated some artsy video backdrops which help to accentuate the "dreamy" aspects of their rhythmic pulse. They just released a new album and I took a quick listen today. Although it was enjoyable, I think I'm still a bit in the concert hangover, because I think the energy of the live show took the music to a significantly different level than the album did for me. Have a listen for yourself though
