One More Thing

Even though this is a new month, I couldn't resist posting what I discovered last night.

This is a hidden track on The Roots' first live album The Roots Come Alive. When I first heard it, my first thought almost exactly matched one of the actual comments under the video on Youtube.

Black Thought is simply scatting this stuff, and he's still more engaged than 90% of the emcees I hear!

Outstanding.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

I've said quite a bit about this month's emcee, so with this post I'll try to keep it simple.

I can only think of two or three emcees ever that so thoroughly and consistently attack the art of rapping with the energy, hunger, and ambition of Black Thought. And absolutely none of them are 40. This guy is an utter phenom. There's no other way to put it.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

And there you have it.

(The track starts at :33. I have no idea why.)

I'll be back with a few quick thoughts tomorrow. For now, I think Thought is fairly capable of stating his own case.

peace.

Gift of Gabba

This is the best thing I think I've seen in a week.

I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to grow up with cable television at home, and I spent many, many hours watching Nickelodeon in my youth. I was especially taken by shows like Hey Dude, Clarissa Explains it All, and You Can't Do That on Television. I have to say, everything about the Nickelodeon tv show Yo Gabba Gabba reminds me of the fun and imaginative days of the station's early years. I'm incredibly happy kids today are able to have fun watching something thoughtful and creative on television.

DJ Lance knows how to rock the party.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

I thought I'd post an interview tonight. I haven't done one of these for some time.

Black Thought is one of hip hop's more private artists, which is what makes this interview so wonderful. Here he discusses what keeps him inspired to write and perform, possible writing projects other than rap lyrics (c'mon Thought!), and the synergy between he and Questlove. It's a wonderful seven minutes allowing a glimpse behind the curtain of one of hip hop's greatest emcees and showmen. Check it out.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

Did you have a listen?

While I was in graduate school, I got really into the blues; specifically the works of Robert Johnson, Son House, and John Lee Hooker. There was something primal and tangible about their music. My response to their recordings was much more about the feeling I experienced than my intellectual understanding of the words they sang. That's the attraction of blues, isn't it? It's the musical exploration of both immense joy and undeniable pain in a very foundational and visceral way.

For me, Black Thought's sense of hip hop performance does much of the same.

You see, I feel Thought is an emcee who has an acute understanding of the primal impulses that make hip hop what it is. At its core, hip hop music is a celebration of a society's ability to retain its confidence and sense of self worth in spite of the seemingly insurmountable conditions it faces. It is the flower growing from the concrete; the unmistakable feeling of painful, aggressive jubilation that can only live down in the bowels of a culture successfully resisting the oppression of the ruling class.

Black Thought deliberately, and quite artfully, accesses these sensations in his lyrics and performances with a clarity and abandon few emcees can duplicate. Every time he performs, it's as if he was at a block party or playground cipher; he moves his listeners with a provocative optimism that is so incredibly of-the-people. Truthfully, I know of no other rapper (including most of my favorites) who consistently evokes such a fundamental sense of what it means to be an emcee.

Seriously.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

As is the protocol for this month, I'll be back on the next post to discuss this a bit further. For now, enjoy the talents of Black Thought: specialist in microphone incineration.

peace.

Open Mics

Complex Magazine has compiled the 50 best hip hop radio freestyles.

While some might argue that radio is now a dying medium, it's undeniable that the AM/FM dial was the first outlet to bring hip-hop to the masses. Starting in the early 1980s, pioneering DJs like Mr. Magic, Red Alert, the Awesome Two, and Lady B gave a voiceless community the chance to be heard, and inspired future generations to pursue rapping as their full-time occupation.

Since that time, many legendary hip-hop radio shows have sprung up around the world, and during those late-night or early-morning time slots a new art form was born: the radio freestyle.

Many of hip-hop's greatest beefs were spawned live and direct over the airwaves. In the pre-MP3 era, cassette copies of these one-of-a-kind performances passed hand to hand, cementing reputations, and becoming the stuff of legend. Nowadays it's all done digitally, but the objective remains the same-total domination, no mistakes allowed.

Read more here.

I'm usually not a fan of these lists ranking artists or performances, but this one seems uniquely appropriate. During the years when I began to discover my place within hip hop culture, the music was moving through an period of creative and cultural uncertainty. We were a few years removed from the golden era, caught in the spectacle of East Coast vs. West Coast, and witnessing a surge of material emerging from southern artists like OutKast and Goodie Mob. As I explored hip hop more and more, these freestyle sessions served to maintain hip hop's artistic underpinnings; freestyles are the roots that fend off the erosion of rap music's relevance.

There are plenty of stand out performances on this list. However, for me the most impressive clip is #47, Q-Tip and Black Thought's "Dilla Dedication" freestyles. Perhaps it due to this month's featured emcee, but I was especially taken by this performance. Additionally, Black Thought freestyles are less frequent than you may think, so it's great to hear him rhyme in this forum. And on that day, Tariq went absolutely berserk!

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

Did you have a listen?

Yes, that is Black Thought rhyming at 15 years old.

What's fascinating about this track is that the foundations of Thought's vocal and poetic sensibilities are so clearly evident. Here we witness the beginnings of how he perceived writing hip hop verse, creating rhyme patterns, used vocal inflection and variety, and developed his aesthetic.

Twenty-five years later, we get stuff like this.

Hotness.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

There are thirty-year-old rappers who wish they could throw down like this.

"@ 15" from The Roots' Rising Down album


I'll be back with some thoughts about this tomorrow. Enjoy!



peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

If the parameters of illest emcee alive involved pure skill, engagement, diversity, and consistency, it would be very difficult to argue against this guy being at or near the top of the list.

Many of hip hop most well-known and well respected artists have consistently mentioned Black Thought when discussing their favorite emcees. He's worked and performed alongside a staggering list of high profile individuals (Big Pun, Common, Eminem, Big Daddy Kane just to name a few). Not to mention, he's been the lead vocalist for arguably one of the hardest working, most well traveled, and most prolific bands in the history of music, The Roots.

But all of that kind of info could be regurgitated until the cows come home. Instead, I would like to tell a quick story that I feel sums up my respect and admiration for Thought's work and commitment to this art.

My friend Mark and I were in our fifth semester of graduate school at Louisiana State University. I go by his crib one day and he excitedly mentions The Roots would be playing a few weeks later at the House of Blues in New Orleans. There was no way we were missing the show. So we bought our tickets...

We arrive in New Orleans incredibly early to a.) find a decent parking place b.) see some of the French Quarter and get a bite to eat and c.) make sure we were at the front of the line to get in the show. The plan was to be as close to the stage as possible so as not to miss a single second of the action. After parking, eating, and a bit of sightseeing, we made our way to the venue and sure enough we were in the first 20 people waiting to go inside. Our design was taking shape.

So there we are, one row of people from the edge of the stage within spitting distance of the performers. The first opening act was The Soul Rebels, and of course they lit the place up. Their set, however, was really no longer than 30 or 40 minutes, which didn't really do justice to their musical excellence. As I've mentioned before, they were robbed. Oh well...

Next up was this fly emcee chick named Jean Grae, who tends to figuratively devour microphones for fun. Needless to say, she was super-fresh and probably had every dude in the room falling in love with her, including me.

Then came The Roots, the main event. They started their set from the small balcony at the back of the venue. They had recruited a tuba player to join the band, (probably the same cat that's with them now on Jimmy Fallon's show) and as the sound of the tuba permeated the space they marched across the balcony, down the stairs, through the audience and onto the stage. People were going absolutely crazy. Once the band had taken their place, the music began, and Black Thought held hip hop court for what seemed a solid two hours of non-stop funkiness. Meanwhile, Mark and I are dancing and shouting Thoughts rhymes to each other like we had just won the SuperBowl. I honestly don't remember a point in which we stopped moving until The Roots left the stage, with a sonorous tuba leading the way.

But here's the good part.

When the show was over and everyone was leaving, Thought came back out on stage to shake hand with people. I said to Mark, "Hey man, let's go see if we can holla at Thought." So we go back down towards the stage and patiently wait to show Tariq some love. We get to the lip of the stage and as I extend my hand to Thought, he looks down at the two of us and a huge smile comes across his face. "I saw you man! I saw you!" he says to us, and gives us the super-extra-humble-excited handshake.

We were floored! He saw us!? Did the two tall skinny actor dudes with too much hair dancing like maniacs actually contribute to Thought's experience of emceeing in New Orleans!? That's the dopest thing ever!

It was at that moment when my admiration for Black Thought's skill and energy rose to gargantuan proportions. I would tend to think Mark's did as well. Tariq is truly about this hip hop thing. He recognizes he is of the community, not simply making music for it.

Oh, and TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY! (At least, that's what wikipedia says.) GO WISH HIM A HAPPY ONE OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER!

Here's "Don't Feel Right" from Game Theory.

peace.

Emcee of the Month: Black Thought

Emcee of the Month for October 2011: Black Thought

Yup. It's getting real.

I'll be back tomorrow with some thoughts.

peace.

The Rhymes of Our Lives

In celebration of what I feel is my first truly palpable week as a member of the Philadelphia community, I humbly offer The Roots' 1996 single "What They Do".

It took me a little while to find a version of this with the subtitles. The video doesn't make any sense without them.

Ever since I've moved to Philly, I been slowly introducing myself to the theatre community here. And although my family has been extremely supportive and invited me into the fold, the larger Philadelphia arts scene has been a bit tougher to crack. However, this week has revealed to me a collection of friends with open hands and warm hearts that have recognized my willingness to join them. It's a wonderful feeling.

So I'm feeling really Philly right now. I hope you enjoy.

peace.

Mother Load

Whoever thought it was a good idea for me not to know about the Red Bull Music Academy and its archive of artists' lectures had their head on straight, because now that I've discovered it, my productivity is headed in the crapper.

Here's a Questlove lecture from around five years ago.

This lecture/interview seems to have been recorded around the time The Roots were finishing up their first Def Jam project Game Theory. Quest gives us a very in-depth narrative describing the emergence of the Soulquarians, the inspiration of De La Soul on his decision to pursue making hip hop as a career, J Dilla's works and influence on his thoughts about drumming, and a number of other events and moments that have defined or shaped his music. Quest is the first to admit he is the unofficial the mouthpiece of The Legendary Roots Crew, and with this clip it seems he also serves to translate the energies of a large conglomerate of hip hop and soul artists, including folks like Jay-Z, D'angelo, Cody Chesnutt, Jill Scott, Talib Kweli, and James Poyser.

As for the Red Bull lecture archives (here's the link), the line-up is nothing short of stellar. I could sit here and drop names all night (over 270 clips) but I'll leave it to you to explore them further. I'm off to the Madlib video.

This paper is never going to get done...

peace.

Classic Moments

This simple video is a record of what can only be described as a classic hip hop moment.

The Roots w/ "Weird" Al Yankovic cover "Accordion" by Madvillain

Last week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon "Weird" Al Yankovic sat in as a guest of The Roots, Jimmy's house band. However, what never airs are the many jam sessions The Roots enjoy with their various guess artists. Fortunately for us, Questlove (The Roots drummer and unofficial mouthpiece) is an extremely generous cat who doesn't mind giving us the behind-the-cameras moments that are so extraordinary.

The lovely thing about this track is that it raises so many more questions for me.

Is "Weird" Al a fan of MF Doom and Madlib?

Did Quest give him the chords to play or did he just start into it?

Was Black Thought there, writing perhaps?

And if he was, why wasn't he rhyming!?

Does this mean we're gonna get a "Weird" Al/Roots/Madvillain performance on the show?

Is Al going to be on the next Roots album?

Are The Roots going to be on the next "Weird" Al album?

Is Al going to do a MF Doom parody?

To be honest, the purpose of these jam sessions is for the musicians to have fun messing around with harmonies and melodies for the sake of practice and fellowship. So many of my questions probably won't be answered; or at least answered the way I want. Nevertheless, this track is simply marvelous and I'm thrilled they put it out here for us.

And Quest's responses are priceless!

peace

No Wack Verses Club

About a year ago my friend Marcel and I got into a conversation about emcees we thought had never performed a wack verse (a poorly written rhyme for the uninitiated). It's a difficult concept to gauge. We all have our own sense of poetic excellence; not all emcees will appeal to all people. However, I think the most appropriate way to evaluate this topic is by comparing an emcee to the best examples of his or her work.

All rappers have one or two instances in their careers in which most of their fans agree to be defining moments. Many Kanye West fans feel his ability was most palpable on the Late Registration album. Nas fans will more often than not refer to his lyrical mastery peaking at Illmatic. You see the trend. To ascertain an emcee's consistency, I use their perceived artistic peak as a measuring stick for the rest of their catalogs.

Here I have an ever evolving list of emcees who I feel belong in the No Wack Verses Club. If you have any to add or take away, get at me and we'll discuss it.

But yea, I've never heard anyone listed below kick a wack verse. Ever.

Black Thought

Joell Ortiz

Jean Grae

Elzhi

Andre 3000

Big Boi

MF Doom

Phonte of Little Brother

Bahamadia

Lauryn Hill

Royce da 5' 9"

peace.

notice: updated 4/4 due to spirited conversation with my homie Marcel

Emcee of the Month: Asher Roth

So I took a day off yesterday, primarily because I took a 4 1/2 hour nap from 6:30pm-11pm. After I woke up, the evening had turned into midnight and my interest and attention was waning. So let's just chalk it up to a "slow news day."

This is week two of highlighting Asher Roth this month, and I thought I'd offer an interview he did with Hot 93.7 in Hartford, CT. I'm especially impressed with not only the topics of conversation in this interview, but the informal comradery. This conversation looks and feels very much like many I've had with friends of mine; in parking lots and backyards curious about each other's opinions. I even like the occasional plane flying overhead.

Also, there are some really wonderful topics here. Asher talks about the future of hip hop as he sees it, acknowledges some very talented and underrated emcees, and how he's building his artistic base. I hope you enjoy.





Tomorrow: A Journey to the Broken Angel
peace.