Nas :: Illmatic

For this post I thought i'd focus on Illmatic, my favourite Hip-Hop album. As i'm typing this up I have Illmatic playing in the background. It's hard to believe this album is nearly 20 years old, and nothing reminds you of that more than the album artwork of Nas as a kid, fading into a street in Queensbridge, New York. Most people reading this will probably know Illmatic is Nas' first and, arguably his illest record. It's even coveted in the industry as, 'one of the best hip-hop albums ever'.

In my opinion, Illmatic sums up urban life in NYC during the 80-90s. Hailing from Queensbridge, Nas incorporates the struggle of making something of yourself in the concrete jungle that is New York. The realness which he expresses in the record is flawless, and in a wise & fitting way. From the lyrics, to the album's structure, to the artwork... Illmatic is the perfect hip-hop album, which covers all dynamics.

Even though I don't dislike a song on the album, I do have my favourites. "N.Y State of Mind" // "Memory Lane" // "The World is Yours", are three of the stand out songs for myself. 

"N.Y State of Mind" comes forcefully into the album after the intro. Nas lets us know he's not messing about through some hard hitting lyrics. 'I'm like Scarface sniffin' cocaine. Holding an M-16, see with the pen i'm extreme, now. Bullet holes left in my peepholes, i'm suited up in street clothes. Hand me a nine and i'll defeat foes'. This is wrapped up nicely in a DJ Premier beat, - see my previous post for the admiration & thoughts I have on Gang Starr & East coast hip-hop.

Other favourites are, "Memory lane" & "The World is Yours". Both are more subtle beats, but still feature strong lyricism - 'Suede Timb's on my feet, makes my cypher, complete'. Presenting the culture of Queensbridge to the audience. Illmatic is a musical treasure, and an album best used to educate people on hip-hop. 

Below is the track "The World is Yours", listen out for that Timb's reference.

Pusha T :: My Name Is My Name

I've been a fan of Pusha T since his Clipse days, and the work he's been rolling out on GOOD Music is some of my favourite in hip-hop at the moment - I said this in my Big Sean post a while back. I was going to review Big Sean's new album, but it just seemed all over the place. It did have some jams on it though.

'My Name Is My Name' is Pusha's solo debut album, and after giving it a few listens over the past week I thought i'd share my thoughts. The first half of the album stands out to me the most. Powerful grimey beats, with heavy bars by Pusha. 'King Push', 'Numbers On The Board' and 'Sweet Serenade', will probably be my three most go to songs from the album - these are all on point, and classic Pusha. The beats turn more mellow around the midway point. Still some good songs, but I prefer Pusha forcing his voice through so us listeners can hear what he's saying whilst reflecting the beat. Overall I really like the album, and it was definitely worth the wait.

I'm seeing him live next month at The Warehouse Project, in Manchester for 'Disclosure Presents'. He's the act that i'm most looking forward to seeing that night, and that's out of a strong lineup. Check the album out as it's one of the most anticipated this year from the world of hip-hop. The video for 'King Push', possibly my favourite from the album, is linked below...

R&B // Hip-Hop

So I haven't posted in a while, and I thought i'd carry on from the R&B Classics post I wrote earlier on in the blog with some more of my favourites. Although, this time I will include songs from the mid 2000s which feature hip-hop more predominantly, which are rooted in the smoother beat.

A couple of my favourite songs that fall under this category, are "Slow Jamz" by Twista (Featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx) & "Ride Wit U" by G-Unit & Joe. Both flow well lyrically, and feature a catchy beat. Looking back now, at "Slow Jamz", produced by Kanye, shows how his productions from that era to now have changed dramatically. Nowadays his songs are completely different and are a lot more upbeat and powerfully delivered, presenting how far he has developed his production skills over the years. The development can be seen most in "Yeezus". I plan to write my thoughts on this album in another post in the near future.

Like I said in the Classics post, the 1990s & the 2000s presented R&B in a unique light. The hip-hop genre was full of these chilled out songs, just as much as it was with 'gangsta rap'. Causing for a weird yet enjoyable blend. Anyway check em out below.

Big Sean

Out of the 'current-crop' of rappers that have been the face of hip-hop in the past few years, Big Sean is one of the best in my eyes. His next album will be dropping next month, and whilst no official track list has been announced, he has released a couple of songs to tease us listeners into what he has got in store. Just yesterday he put the song "Fire", on SoundCloud. I was a fan of this song from my first listen - which is something rare for me, so I thought i'd blog it.

I am really looking forward to his new album, along with the new Pusha T album, "My Name Is My Name"- also scheduled to drop next month. According to the rumoured line up, Pusha is going to feature on Big Sean's album and vice-versa. So hopefully there will be more huge songs featuring their collaboration, such as "Mercy".

I have linked GOOD Music's "Mercy", a well known song featuring Big Sean, and his new song "Fire" below. Two songs which present Big Sean's lyrical versatility, on very different beats.
 

   

R&B Classics

Most people who know me know that I love a bit of classic R&B, hip-hop soul, or whatever you call it - you know the genre. Through a deep sea of favourites, i'll try and pick a couple to kick off the R&B section on this blog. Through growing up in the late 90's mid 00's, I was led into these tunes as they got air time on the radio and on various music channels. Nowadays, the majority of house // electronic // hip-hop DJ's sample R&B tunes and either use them in a mix or to create their own edits & songs.

Female signers with a rapper featuring with a verse seemed to be a common trend. While although it's still a bit strange hearing Joe Budden, a now member of hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, rap a verse on a Christina Milian song, I still enjoy it. I know this was a method to bump up the earnings and hit a new audience, and i'm not complaining. To my knowledge it was pioneered by Biggie and Puffy during the throwback 'Ready to Die' promotions for a couple of the albums songs, and this method of production was triggered. Anyway, maybe I wouldn't have been into these tunes as much if a hip-hop influence wasn't present... I doubt it as I still love this sub-genre to this day, but it's obvious loads of people were.

But yeah, I know loads of classic R&B songs can be either solo male // female, a group and sometimes even the R&B artist features on a hip-hop song. But the rapper featuring is clearly a trend in 90's & 00's R&B. Anyway... to wrap up, below i've posted three classic R&B tunes all featuring a rapper, and neither are sitting dusty in my iTunes library.

They are, "Boy - Mariah Carey Featuring. Cam'ron", "Best of Me (Part 2) - MYA Featuring. Jay-Z" & "All I Have - Jennifer Lopez Featuring. LL Cool J".

East Coast Hip-Hop

Continuing on from my 1st post, hip-hop will be featured a lot on this blog. I have grown up listening to hip-hop, mainly East-coast, but appreciated the majority. I thought i'd give a brief overview of what hip-hop means to me as a listener.

This sub-genre of hip-hop always seemed the realest & grittiest. Wu-Tang // Nas // Big L // Jay-Z // KRS-one & Gang Starr to name a few brought this genre firmly to the table. The 90s were the power behind this genre, all artists brought serious records to the table. Illmatic // 36 Chambers // Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, are albums which will go down in the history of music, and straight into my personal classics. Hot beats & rhymes mixed with the grit of living in the 5 boroughs, makes me wish I was experiencing it at that time.

A few months ago I got the chance to see DJ Premier play in Brighton, whilst he was visiting England. Gang Starr have always been idols in the industry, and particularly within this sub-genre. They epitomised the genre with slick beats from DJ Premier and soft rhymes by Guru. Preemo's production in my opinion is the best in 'real hip-hop' - just look at who he has produced for... To conclude this short post i'll link my favourite Gang Starr song.