Styles P: Introspective Gangster

Styles P has been one of my favorite rappers for a while now.  Coming up in New York during the golden era of hip-hop, Styles'... style is a unique combination of (ostensibly) authentic gangster posturing and profound stoner introspection.

As a 'head' I claim to appreciate all forms of hip-hop.  However, I can't deny that aggressive, mean, gangster rap is one of my favorite sub-genres.  Styles P, as he will tell you, is one of the hardest out.





...damn.   AraabMuzik... you are crazy for this one, you are a fool for this one.

As always, choosing a proper beat is a crucial for rap artists, and P frequently collaborates with one of my favorite producers, also one of the hardest out, Alchemist:






I challenge you to listen to these tracks without mean mugging the shit out of... everybody.  Not possible.

Despite being such a cold-hearted gangster, P often comes with incredibly instrospective, personal tracks:



SP often indicates that he is haunted by his past...



Styles' ability to reflect and show vulnerability is one of his main strengths; you can feel his pain in his tracks.  Of course, he isn't the only introspective gangster.  He is, however, one of the best to do it.

Dang.  That Waka track slaps.  Haven't heard that one in forever.



-vd

Chanson D'un Jour D'hiver - Who flipped it better?

Lupe Fiasco released his latest album 'Tetsuo & Youth' this week and I'm sure many of you noticed a very familiar sample in the song 'Mural.'

 The sample is taken from the beautiful song 'Chanson D'un Jour D'hiver' by Cortex.

 

 It turns out this sample has been used in a surprising number of songs that have come out recently. So, which flip is the best?

  V12 The Hitman flipped it for this Curren$y joint...

 

  LoKey came through with this banger for King Louie

 

 Is C-Sick 'crazy for this one' he did for Logic?

 

 What about this MellowHype joint that Left Brain produced?

 

 While these beats are all similar in terms of how the producer utilized the sample (mostly just looping), my personal favorite is the King Louie flip.  However, I would love to hear someone else flip this and take it in a completely different direction... I might give it a try and I'll post my flip if/when I do. In the meantime, feel free to comment about which flip you prefer, and let me know if I missed other songs that use this sample.

 PCE

 vdime

BOGOTA

Whats up world? Back once again, you already know, its the incredulous... your boy vDIME, reporting live from Bogota. So I'm here in Colombia doing the teaching thing for a while and I figured I would keep a record of my experience from the perspective of a rap fan. REGGAETON I had a bit of an awkward introduction to one of my fellow teachers when he offered to DJ our dinner via his ipod on the first night. When prompted with inquiries regarding his library, his first suggestion was to throw on some reggaeton. I actually burst out laughing. Unfortunately, he wasn't joking. He likes reggaeton. Naturally, I checked myself (so as to not wreck myself). "Oh word? No, that's cool man. I mean, if you really like it, that's cool. I didn't mean to... I just never got into it, personally..." As it were, this a dude who is very similar to myself in that he is white and coincidentally also from Michigan. Now, I didn't expect him to go straight to Enter the 36 Chambers, but his preference definitely caught me off guard. I knew that there were people out there who liked reggaeton, but I don't think I have ever really met any of those people. To make things stanger, everyone in this group seems to like reggaeton, and they all seem to jam out to songs I've never heard before. While it makes me feel unique that I have a deeper interest in hip-hop than the other members of the group, it can also be a somewhat lonely feeling. One of my fellow teachers is from Houston and I thought I overheard her say 'trill' in a conversation with another person. I immediately asked her if she likes UGK and... nothing. I guess they were talking about singing? I'm sure that there is plenty of hip-hop to be heard in this city and also the rest of the country, but it looks like I will need to put in some effort in order to find it. One interesting thing about Bogota, however, is that graffiti is not only legal here, but it is encouraged and admired as an art-form. Pretty much everywhere you look you will find tags and murals, and I've heard that they do graffiti tours here in which you can learn about some of the more famous artists. I haven't taken any good pictures yet but hopefully I can snag some. That is all for now, hasta la proxima. -vd

Breaking Down The New Wu-Tang Release

So as you may have heard Wu-Tang is dropping some new music.  Specifically TWO albums, "A Better Tomorrow" and "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin."  To say there is drama and controversy involved in both releases would be an understatement.  I have been reading the reports, watching the interviews, browsing internet comments (shame on me, I should know better by now but I cannot help myself.)  There seems to be a lot of confusion, vitriol, and an exceptional number of people who feel they deserve free content because they have been "down from day one."  I feel I need to remind all of these people that "WU-TANG CLAN AIN'T NOTHING TO FUCK WITH!!"

Ok, let's start with the first album, "A Better Tomorrow."  The current drama seems to be between Raekwon and RZA over the quality of the album.  Raekwon's stance seems to be that the RZA has fallen off on his production and direction he wants to take the album.  Rae has likened him to "A coach and you won rings back in the day, but now your team is in ninth place.  It's time for a new fucking game plan"  I 100% respect this stance (never put out weak shit.)  You have one of the biggest, most loyal fan bases in all of music and you should put forward your best work.  The rap to sports analogies didn't end there, Rae compared his "strike" from the Wu to Kobe or Kevin Durant not even taking the floor if their agent didn't like the look of the contract.  The Wu is a team, but if a member doesn't get what they feel they deserve the won't play.  RZA spoke to Hot97 on this issue, he knows the value of each team member.  He knows what a verse from them costs, what a beat from him costs, some members deserve more than others, but they are just unable to communicate and reach this agreement.  It has been over 20 years since "36 Chambers" changed the game and with these two new releases you have the worlds attention again.  Releasing a sub-par album, especially when the first one they plan to release publicly, not only will disappoint your fan base, but diminish the clamor and bargaining power your one of a kind, art/music installation they have cocked and ready to shoot.  While the RZA and Raekwon go back and forth, on the "he said" / "No he said" tip, "A Better Tomorrow" doesn't seem so likely for this group.

However, the common misconception from these interviews is that Raekwon will not be "Once Upon A Time In Shaolin."  As far as I know, this album is done, it has already been recorded in secret, with out issue by all of the members of Wu Tang. Produced by Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh, it appears this album is sitting on his computer in Marrakesh according to this video recently released by Forbes.

Now if you have been living under a rock, and couldn't figure it out from the video this album will only be pressed once, put in a one of a kind silver plated box, and sold the highest bidder.  If you are worried you will never hear this you are in luck.  The album itself will be going on tour to museums around the world where you get a chance to listen to the album in it's entirety.  Now this is all we know at the moment. What happens after it is sold, if it will leak before hand, how much will it go for, who will be the buyer, will it be good, is ODB on it?  All speculation.  Why we constantly argue over things we have no control over just seems to be human nature, but if that is the case, human nature pisses me the fuck off and yet, I am not immune.

So let's ride that train.

I wanted to write this to address some complaints on this venture.  For the people saying they will personally leak the project, or petitioning Wu Tang to "just give me the album for free" I feel the need to say "please, go fuck yourself."  You are one of the main reasons they are doing this, they want to bring back the value of music that your entitled ass has squandered.  We used to respect and revere musicians and their craft.  It used to take a year or more to put together an album and perfect it and then SELL it to fans. Working for money?  What a concept.  I don't want to sound like a 27 year old geezer telling you that kids don't respect music, nor take the time to enjoy or listen critically, but a majority don't and it's just a fact in the post Sean Parker world.  

For the people who claim they are alienating their fan base, or that this is one big publicity stunt, I would also like you to get over yourself.  Now I understand a superstar like Beyonce can just drop an album without warning, but an aging rap group who has paid dues could still use publicity in the lead up to a release.  There are way too many people getting butt hurt about a musician or group who treats the music business like a business, you know with marketing, publicity, and money!  It is one of the few professions where consumers feel that work shouldn't be rewarded monetarily.  There are way to many justifications to go into on that world view, but I think you get the gist by now.

As for the alienating the fan base folks you may have the strongest argument, but unfortunately it is all based on "What if's" while ignoring all the other options to consume this project, and support this group you are fans of.  The Jay-Z and Samsung collab on "Magna Carta Holy Grail" seemed to work out well for the fans, at least in terms of access to the content; while the music didn't live up to lofty expectations.  This seems to be a similar approach, with one sale they will make the money that a classic group deserves, but the fate of the album is up in the air after this transaction.  A good bet for the outcome of this album (again just speculation like everyone else) is that one person or company like a Samsung, Apple, Virgin, will buy it for the asking price, use it for personal marketing like the series of phone ad's with a Hov tie in.  Wu Tang will get paid, and then the purchaser may release it for the public to enjoy. This may happen after you passed the opportunity to listen for yourself when it was on tour, after you decided you didn't like Wu Tang any more and didn't go to their show, after you blasted them publicly over something you have zero knowledge over, after stealing their back catalog because "the old stuff was so much better, I can't get my fucking style out of '94."  After all of that you may still get a chance to hear this for free due to one leak, or one generous Wu-Tang fan.  With that, the lesson about valuing art, making music a business again, being creative while still true to self goes out the window. 

But here I am, making guesses about something I have little knowledge about.  Being a fan of an artist doesn't mean blind or in this case, deaf allegiance to everything they do.  But please, all I ask is think outside the box for once in your life and stand up for artistic creativity.  If the album drops, and the music sucks feel free to blast me in the comments.  Until then, shut the fuck up and enjoy the ride, you claim to be fans for a reason.  They are doing this for you, and for the music community at large because we all know by now that Wu-Tang is really for the kids.  

UK hip-hop, the Alchemist & More (BANGERS WITH NO DRUMS)

Whats up intenert its ya mans vdime here writing things on the internet once again.

I'm currently listening to UK rapper "Sonnyjim" who has quickly become one of my favorite new MCs due to songs like Royal Flush...




..and Roy Munson.



I really only just heard of this guy about a week ago when I was cruising youtube for songs produced by another UK dude by the name of Jaisu, who originally caught my attention with his youtube beat videos that were full of bangers.  In my search I stumbled across the song Born Invincible, which put me on to Sonnyjim (as well as Kosyne who is another dope MC/beat maker from the UK).  I'm very impressed by the quality and consistency of these UK guys.

Here are is a video featuring two songs from the forthcoming project from Jaisu and rapper DePTHS:




After hearing those tracks, I cant help but think of two of my favorite (American) hip hop artists: Roc Marciano and the Alchemist.   Those practically drumless beats, the smooth stream-of-consciousness braggadocio...  I mean honestly Roc Marciano should be rapping on these beats, because they are the type of beats he is clearly into, and right now Jaisu does it as good as anybody. 

Meanwhile, the Alchemist has been killing it the past few years (peep his projects with Curren$y, Action Bronson, Domo Genesis, Evidence, etc), though I only recently peeped last years Du Rag Dynasty project, featuring the slick banger "360 Waves" which continues in the same vein as some of the aforementioned songs...




 (ASIDE)

IF YOU ONLY KNEW HOW MANY HOURS I PUT INTO MAKING A STUPID SNARE DRUM HIT HARD AS HELL WHILE THESE GUYS MAKE BANGERS WITH NO DRUMS ARGHHH

ok im good.  anyways thats a taste of what i've been listening to and I recommend you dig deeper if you enjoy this type of tune.

PCE

New Music Friday Minus One

Rather than spend all my entire night studying for a physics exam, I'm going to tell you about the music that's hot on the SBlock playlist right now.

Aesop Rock - Zero Dark Thirty: a standard Aesop Rock track. Off his most recent project, Skelethon, Zero Dark Thirty uses the Tragedy of the Commons to illustrate a theme that's been common to many of his songs: the clash between "unsigned hype" and the beast that is the music industry.

Yonas - Drive It like It's Stolen: this dude came on the radar a few days ago from a friend (props Brad). He's got a free mixtape on datpiff, which is pretty dope; this song's beat is from the Glitch Mob, Brother Ali is featured, and there are some other familiar covers. He's got a great flow, some wit to go along with it, and makes good use of cultural references without being over the top most of the time. Oh, and anyone who takes shots at hipsters is a-okay with me... "RIP hipsters I'm a backpack killa". Not that I hate hipster, they're just easy targets.

Tornado - Kill the Noise (remix): found this near the top of beatport's dubstep chart this week and have been bumpin it ever since. I really like the use of the slow attack bass to signal a change in the song is coming. The percussive, bell at the high end/organ at for the lows synth is what makes this song awesome - great sound design indeed. My one dig is it does have a very stereo typical intro and outro (so friggen long), but it's still a great track.

Next week look forward to some scotch and more Scott Block.

New Jam Friday

CRUEL SUMMER!!! I'm all about that ish, so here is a new track that hasn't been dropped as a single yet that I dig, feat Raekwon

"Morning" -Good Music, some of everyone on this joint!!

"Unnecessary" - Childish Gambino Feat. Ab Soul and Schoolboy Q.
As I mentioned last week I am all about this tape.  Little late to the party with this one, but its soooo good "pinot grigio the lean will go in that n****"

"Fly" Sugar Ray
And to go totally off topic, I had this stuck in my head last night and I feel like spreading a disease haha.  Boom!