Another great show if I say so myself. I’m pretty used to not having to worry about MC Chris Barnes fucking up whatever he touched in the station now, and I must say it’s a relief. It’s also nice to be able to talk on the air without your partner giggling uncontrollably every time you use the word ‘Beerweiner.’ I must admit that I do miss the ego boost that came with working alongside such an incompetent burnout. Anyway, here’s what I played, plus some insightful commentary.
The Posse- “Yo Sistah”: Started off tonight’s set with my own group (not vain since I’m not featured on the song, right?). Great production by my man Buck Beautiful plus solid verses all around. From: Welcome to the Posse, Bitch.
2Pac- “Changes”: I almost cut into this to yell “NOT!” after 2Pac says the “We’re not ready to see a black president” line. Fortunately for the listeners, I wasn’t close enough to the mic to get it off in time. Next time though. Off of Greatest Hits.
Grand Buffet- “We’re Into This”: These guys are a Pittsburgh duo, both with a variety of nick-names (Grape-a-don, Fred Durts, and Plaps to name a few). I only have an incomplete EP by them, and I keep trying to get my hands on some more of their music, but every time I listen to their Myspace I’m not impressed. Still, I like this song and “Cool as Hell,” off the Pittsburgh Hearts EP.
Sage Francis- “Got Up This Morning”: MC Chris Barnes liked this beat, and sometimes I do things he would like so that I can’t tell he’s not around :'(. From Human the Death Dance.
Wu-Tang Clan- “Triumph (ft. Cappadonna)”: Look, I’m no Wu expert, and sometimes it seems like Cappadonna is a part of the clan and sometimes it seems like he isn’t. All I know is that the case for Wu-Tang Forever lists Cappadonna as a feature. This song started my short set that took the listener through as many Clan solo acts as the station could muster (sorry U-God, Inspectah Deck, and Masta Killa!), which was defended as a lesson in telling them apart, but which may have been motivated in great part by laziness. Damn if the station didn’t get grimy there for a while.
Ghostface Killah- “The Champ”: This beat is killer. Seriously, give it up to Just Blaze for this one. This song should be played very loud. It’s from Fishscale.
Raekwon- “Incarcerated Scarfaces”: I didn’t want to play “Verbal Intercourse,” partially because I’ve played it several times before and partially because I wanted to showcase Raekwon on his own. This is an Only Built 4 Cuban Linx track.
Wu-Tang Clan- “Method Man”: I had a couple other options for Method Man’s track, but is there a good reason for not playing the track that shares his name? You could argue that it’s technically a Wu-Tang track since it’s off Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), but that would be stupid. Btw, did you know Method Man is the youngest member of the Clan? Who would’ve guessed?
RZA- “Drama (ft. Monk & Thea)”: I guess this is off of Digi Snacks, from last year. I didn’t want to play any solo songs that had features, but my hands were kind of tied with RZA, and I figured that since the other two aren’t from Wu it didn’t matter. Good beat (surprise surprise), and RZA’s lyrics weren’t all that bad (more of a surprise).
GZA- “Paper Plate”: I felt like I was playing a bunch of early Wu-Tang stuff, so I shied away from playing a track off of Liquid Swords (plus I think I played that song last week). This is from Pro Tools, which came out a few months ago. It’s a diss track against 50 Cent if you didn’t notice, and has tons of good lines (“Only missin’ the sheer blouse. Homie, you see-through.” damn). Says 50, “Listen, I have an old school Chevy Impala your age.”
Ol’ Dirty Bastard- “Got Your Money”: I almost forgot that we had ODB in the studio, and it would have been a tragedy not to respect the late legend. I’d like to see a movie made about ODB, played by the dude who was Bubbles on The Wire (he knows how to play a dope fiend). This is from Nigga Please.
N.A.S.A.- “Gifted (ft. Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke Li)”: I finally got to listen to a track from this album, and I must say I enjoyed it a lot. Good production, good hook, Kanye rapping a lil bit… By the way, I think MC Chris Barnes and I were talking about this drunk at 4 am in the McDonald’s drive-thru, but either The College Dropout=ghostwritten or Kanye since=apathetic. He just doesn’t rap the same way anymore. Sorry for that tangent, the N.A.S.A. album is called Spirit of Apollo.
The Knux- “The True”: I’m trying to work my way through this album one song at a time. The verses didn’t really jump out at me, but I feel like I’d like the album if I would just sit down and listen to it all at once. Find it on Remind Me In 3 Days…
Blackalicious- “Blazing Arrow”: Two weeks, two Blackalicious songs, and no “Paragraph President”? And it’s not even from thinking PP was track 10 instead of 9 which seemed to happen every week last year. Is it cool to watch maturation in action? Duh, it’s from Blazing Arrow.
Black Star- “RE: Definition”: Rumors of a new Black Star album in the works. The first one is called Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.
Notorious B.I.G.- “Mo Money Mo Problems (ft. Ma$e & Puff Daddy)”: This was my favorite song in about 5th grade. I’ve written too much about this song already, so just check out Life After Death.
Novel- “Damn”: I was pumped for a mixtape this guy put out a little while ago called 808s and Mixtapes because I thought it was just going to be someone rapping over all the beats from 808s and Heartbreak. It wasn’t, and when he did it was disappointing. This one is from the I Am… (Future Black President) EP in the station.
Redman & Gorillaz- “Gorillaz On My Mind”: Found this one on vinyl in the station and decided to give it a spin. The beat is pretty cool, but it might just be a Gorillaz song. You can find it on the Blade 2 soundtrack.
Aesop Rock- “N.Y. Electric”: I never could really get into Aesop Rock until pretty recently. But if you’re going to give Lil’ Wayne’s gibberish a Grammy, then you’ve got to respect a dude who’s been doing a more advanced thing his whole career without being doped up on syrup the whole time. This is off Bazooka Tooth, but Labor Days is pretty good too.
Nas- “Ya’ll My Niggas”: Speaking of Lil’ Wayne, I’ll listen to Untitled over The Carter III any day. Yeah it falls short as a cohesive message, but it’s fairly consistent thematically and has some good songs too. My love for “Hero” is well known, but this one might be my favorite song on the album.
Kool G Rap- “Streets of New York”: I could really like Kool G Rap, but I can’t get into most of the production on Wanted: Dead or Alive. And those late 80s flows just feel so dated and simplistic to me.
Killer Mike- “Can You Hear Me?”: I don’t think I’m ready to call I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II like HipHopDX did, but I like it more than I expected to. It sounds like Justin Timberlake is doing the chorus on this song, but I can’t figure out who it is. I really like this song.
Clipse- “Wamp Wamp (What it Do) (ft. Slim Thug)”: I love that phrase, ‘wamp wamp’, which is apparently both a way to holler at the opposite sex and cocaine. Good combo. Hell Hath No Fury is the home to this one.
Johnson&Jonson- “Half A’ Knot”: Johnson&Jonson is the combination of the rapper Blu and the producer Mainframe. It’s also the name of the album. I’ve been listening to this all the time recently. I can’t say I understand why every guest on the album takes a ‘Johnson’ moniker, but it’s got a really cool style to it.
Snoop Dogg- “We Just Wanna Party With You (ft. Jermaine Dupri)”: Remember the Men in Black soundtrack? Turns out there isn’t a video for it, but maybe this one will do.
Murs- “Break Up (The OJ Song)”: Like the Knux album, I’m trying to make my way through Murs For President on my show. So far it’s about what I expected, which isn’t bad, but isn’t great either.
Jay-Z- “What More Can I Say”: It says something that it didn’t occur to me to play a Jay-Z song until 10 minutes were left in the show. I go back and forth on whether or not The Black Album is my favorite of Jay-Z’s. I’m not calling it his best, but hit for hit it can hold up against any of his others.
Atmosphere- “Always Coming Back Home to You”: It’s always nice to end on a story song, especially one as visual as this. Plus, with the hidden track attached the song is 9 min 11 sec long. Seven’s Travels.
The Hip-Hop Hour 