# Rap/Hip-Hop: New & Noteworthy



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Greentea Peng unveils new track 'Spells'*



> Originally penned around the release of her 2018 debut EP 'Sensi', Greentea Peng has unveiled brand new track 'Spells' to celebrate her birthday!
> 
> "On a lighter note, to end the year I release spells AKA beg friend," she explains. "Written around SENSI times, I guess this one explores the idea of tribalism and the want / illusion or desire to please everyone, thus gain acceptance. The process of travelling through that and coming out of the other end rather comfortable in yourself. As someone who has struggled as a yute with wanting to 'fit in' this was kind of a final purge of that stage in my ego development. But also its about the idea of casting spells with negative language and behaviours we adopt and use about/ towards our peers. Words are vibrations at the end of the day and it's called S P E L L I N G for a reason."


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Yute? I just learned a new word.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Manxfeeder said:


> Yute? I just learned a new word.


You never seen the movie My Cousin Vinnie? There's a hilarious scene with the Alabama judge trying to make sense of Joe Pesci's Brooklyn accent, "Yutes? What are yutes?"


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Manxfeeder said:


> Yute? I just learned a new word.


Yoot, actually.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

The Sugar Hill Gang - Rapper's Delight






The History Channel



> Hip hop's roots as a musical phenomenon are subject to debate, but its roots as a commercial phenomenon are much clearer. They trace back directly to January 5, 1980, when the song "Rapper's Delight" became the first hip hop single ever to reach the Billboard top 40.
> 
> Prior to the success of "Rapper's Delight," hip hop was little known outside of New York City, and little known even within New York City by those whose orbits were limited to Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. The basic elements of hip hop-MCs rapping, DJs mixing and scratching, B-Boys break-dancing-were all in place by 1979, but you could not walk into a record store in Times Square and buy a hip hop album. Hip hop was something you had to experience live, in clubs and at parties in neighborhoods like the South Bronx and Harlem.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

This one's for Beatles fans, I find is entertaining, but the whiny chant of the title was a bit too much.






The rapper (Treach) is considered by Eminem the best rapper, and is my favourite. He is really quite flexible rhythmically and with the rhymes.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I liked the first track. I've always wondered when exactly the neo-soul movement started. I think that The Ballad of Dorothy Parker (which I mentioned before, it's one of my favorite songs ever) had a massive influence on the genre, especially on musicians like D'Angelo






and talking of D'Angelo, I see Voodoo as the neo soul equivalent of Miles Davis's electric period. The level of coolness is out of scale. Best bass I've ever heard on a album (the wonderful Pino Palladino), and I love the rhyhtm ideas on it.






Basically D'Angelo asked Questlove to drag the beat behind creating microrhythms in a way I had never heard before


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

norman bates said:


> I liked the first track. I've always wondered when exactly the neo-soul movement started. I think that The Ballad of Dorothy Parker (which I mentioned before, it's one of my favorite songs ever) had a massive influence on the genre, especially on musicians like D'Angelo
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree 100% and was gonna post some D'Angelo stuff. I hear him coming out of Sly Stone as well.

Neo-soul, I consider *Jill Scott*, *Erykah Badu*, *Bilal*, and *Raphiel Saadiq* as some of my favorites - Wiki says this, "Neo soul originated in the 1980s and early 1990s, with the work of musical acts such as Prince, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Terence Trent D'Arby, Joi, and Mint Condition, whose music deviated from the conventions of most contemporary R&B at the time."


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I wonder if something like Aht uh mi hed from the seventies could be considered as a forerunner of neo soul too. Amazing tune in any case.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Wish I had a better source for this for sound quality, but a dance music Youtube trip led to Kilo Ali, one of the ATL rappers almost before Atlanta rap was a nationally recognized scene- this one in particular is such a thrilling dance beat, *especially* that break. Always fun to get reminders on the shared origins of dance and hip-hop (properly you might call this southern/miami bass, rather than southern hip-hop, and god miami bass is hard to beat when it comes to fun)


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

This is an example of ironic rap, or maybe it's postmodern rap: take something out of its context, and it appeals to a different listening group.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I have no interest in straight up rap. I like musicians and songwriters. I've been a fan of Michael Franti & Spearhead for many years. His music contains elements of soul, reggae, hip hop, pop, and just a bit of rock. Best of all, Franti is a great songwriter who can write some tuneful music. I recommend Everyone Deserves Music, and Yell Fire!






A few years back I became a big fan of Hiatus Kaiyote. Their music is influenced by soul, funk and more progressive music as well. Check out their excellent release, Choose Your Weapon.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

starthrower said:


> A few years back I became a big fan of Hiatus Kaiyote. Their music is influenced by soul, funk and more progressive music as well. Check out their excellent release, Choose Your Weapon.


I was listening to them recently after I discovered they were an influence on Brotherly, the project of Robert Mularkey.
Intiguing band indeed.
By the way, talking of Brotherly, I could mention System, which has one of the most incredibly complex rhythms I've heard in what is basically pop music. I want to put the link with a drummer playing over it that shows how impressive it is rhytmically:


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

in terms of r&b I tend to appreciate more the older stuff. Especially the singers were often phenomenal:

Little Esther Phillips - Mojo Hannah





Sugar Pie DeSanto - Soulful dress





Rosetta Hightower - Big bird





Wynona Carr Act right





Little Willie John - Need your love so bad


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

^^^
Accomplished drumming is really important for me as a listener. And changing the time and tempos to keep things interesting. They definitely sound similar to Hiatus Kaiyote, and Esperanza Spalding. Another band making music in this vein is Robert Glasper's R+R=Now.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Thundercat is cool!


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Hiр Hop's "gоldеn аgе" is usually сitеd as bеtwееn thе mid-1980s аnd the mid-1990ѕ. It is сhаrасtеrizеd bу itѕ diversity, quality, innovation, and influence. Common themes were Afrocentricity аnd political militancy, thе music wаѕ experimental, and thе ѕаmрling was есlесtiс. Thеrе was often a ѕtrоng jаzz influence.

Thе аrtiѕtѕ most оftеn аѕѕосiаtеd with this period аrе *Publiс Enemy*, *Bооgiе Dоwn Prоduсtiоnѕ*, *Eric B. & Rаkim*, *Dе Lа Soul*, *A Tribe Called Quеѕt*, *Gаng Stаrr*, *Big Daddy Kаnе* аnd thе *Junglе Brоthеrѕ*.

Thе gоldеn аgе iѕ noted fоr itѕ innоvаtiоn "when it ѕееmеd thаt еvеrу new ѕinglе rеinvеntеd thе gеnrе" according to Rolling Stоnе.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

^^^ That's if you're a boomer. The "golden age" of hip-hop is yet to come.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

It really lost its freshness after around '93 for me, and I only got into rap since the late 90's. I think the only great album after '93 was the Lauren Hill.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist said:


> ^^^ That's if you're a boomer. The "golden age" of hip-hop is yet to come.


It was something I summarized from a source I've been reading about the history of hip-hop. I think it is somewhat a consensus opinion. I've asked my son, in his mid-40s and formerly an editor at Pitchfork, to send me a list of "the 25 best rap songs." I'm interested in what he comes up with.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

"Golden age" I think is specifically viewed as a historic period and less a statement of quality. My favorite period is more or less 2005-2015-ish but that's just more about when I was in tune with new releases than me preferring any given trends.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

The famous 1994 MTV Unplugged performance of LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out", with a could-not-be-more-circa-1994 acoustic funk band accompiament. Not really one of my favorites but this is a great, great performance.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

fbjim said:


> "Golden age" I think is specifically viewed as a historic period and less a statement of quality. My favorite period is more or less 2005-2015-ish but that's just more about when I was in tune with new releases than me preferring any given trends.


I agree with you, since I prefer the late '90s and the stuff I've from the last ten years.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

J Dilla - Motor City (2017)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

D'Angelo - Voodoo






When I heard this when it first came out, it blew my mind. Simply fantastic. Still among my favorite recordings of any genre.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

starthrower said:


> A few years back I became a big fan of Hiatus Kaiyote. Their music is influenced by soul, funk and more progressive music as well. Check out their excellent release, Choose Your Weapon.


Well, THAT's a fun track.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Who doesn't like electro? Everyone should like electro.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Jay-Z - The Story of O.J.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

what about a bit of funk? I've been on a quest to find the grooviest pieces ever

The Time - 7779311





The Meters - Just Kissed my baby





Sly and the Family Stone - In time





Dean Francis - Funky Disposition


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Here's some new funk

Coffee Break - Jonah Nilsson






Dirty Loops - Rock You


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

JAMES BROWN Funky Instrumentals


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

very nice, and the guy seems to have an impressive vocal range (I was talking of Jonah Nilsson)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

norman bates said:


> very nice, and the guy seems to have an impressive vocal range (I was talking of Jonah Nilsson)


Yeah. I just heard about him today, a songwriter friend in L.A. mentioned him to me.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

This is admittedly coming from a limited funky background but there's a very good case for Brown as the most important musician of the 20th century.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

fbjim said:


> This is admittedly coming from a limited funky background but there's a very good case for Brown as the most important musician of the 20th century.


I'm not sure he's the most important (I mean, there are also guys like Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Louis Armstrong to name a few) but certainly he was one of the most important ones (also a truly awful person but that's another story). 
I wonder though if there are precedents for the funk ryhthm. I've heard a few things pointing in that direction but not really there. Also, I'd be curious to know if he was really the guy who invented that kind of rhythm or the musicians of his band had a role in it.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

I remember an old snooty guy saying the only important popular artists of the 20th century were Brown, the Beatles, and Kraftwerk. No need to get that dogmatic but I do see where that's coming from.

I think "cold sweat" is where the modern funk tropes of a near abandonment of chord progressions in favor of extended jams over a very static key, and of course, the drum break, were established, if not invented. certainly there was a lot of groundbreaking black music leading up to it, but "Cold Sweat" does seem like a milestone.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

fbjim said:


> I remember an old snooty guy saying the only important popular artists of the 20th century were Brown, the Beatles, and Kraftwerk. No need to get that dogmatic but I do see where that's coming from.


from a place where there's a lot of ignorance about the first half of the century probably 
even because just looking at rhythm innovations the swing was as important (if not even more crucial) than funk.
But yes, I've seen mentioned Cold sweat many times as a milestone for funk music.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

How bout Parliament? They were great at times. Great lyrics in this first track.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

fbjim said:


> This is admittedly coming from a limited funky background but there's a very good case for Brown as the most important musician of the 20th century.


I could make that case, he influenced so many, from Miles to Prince and more. And as a cultural leader, he used his fame for good.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

fbjim said:


> I remember an old snooty guy saying the only important popular artists of the 20th century were Brown, the Beatles, and Kraftwerk. No need to get that dogmatic but I do see where that's coming from.
> 
> I think "cold sweat" is where the modern funk tropes of a near abandonment of chord progressions in favor of extended jams over a very static key, and of course, the drum break, were established, if not invented. certainly there was a lot of groundbreaking black music leading up to it, but "Cold Sweat" does seem like a milestone.


"Breaks" actually predate Jame Brown by a number of decades. They began with Jelly Roll Morton, who notated them, and then New Orleans brass bands, with the tuba taking them, and made famous with Louis Armstrong and the early jazz style. But these were instrumental breaks, not drums. Still, it was the style of having the music stop for a couple of bars and one instrument would do a short solo.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

SanAntone said:


> JAMES BROWN Funky Instrumentals


Wow! I have a new soundtrack for when I wake up.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Funny, but a little over a year ago I'd been raiding the local library's somewhat small CD collection and downloading the music. I'd exhausted their classical section and moved on to other genres and at one point checked out a 4-CD box of *James Brown*, with 71 JB tracks (called *Star Time*). I was surprised at how many instrumentals (and instrumentals with just whoops and hollers) there were. Just pure funk. Way cool.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

pianozach said:


> Funny, but a little over a year ago I'd been raiding the local library's somewhat small CD collection and downloading the music. I'd exhausted their classical section and moved on to other genres and at one point checked out a 4-CD box of *James Brown*, with 71 JB tracks (called *Star Time*). I was surprised at how many instrumentals (and instrumentals with just whoops and hollers) there were. Just pure funk. Way cool.


I've got that box, bought when it came out, and agree it is fantastic. I had a llittle gig for a short while with The (Eddie) Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose (no relation ). Buzz, a junior assistant of Jimmy Bowen at MCA was trying to jump start a revival of their career with Eddie as the sole original member. Their big hit had been "Treat Her Like a Lady" in the '60s.

Anyway, "Rose's" real uncle was Bobby Byrd, James Brown's music director for years. I heard some great stories.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Talking of funk, I've been obsessed with Showstopper, a tune written by a band called Iron Knowledge with some very heavy and acid guitars, that makes it sound as... stoner funk? I've never heard anything else like it unfortunately


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Erykah Badu - Green Eyes





D'Angelo - Really Love





Thundercat - Dragonball Durag





Prince - Dreamer (live)





And a more recent discovery, the very talented KeiyaA


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

pianozach said:


> A 4-CD box of *James Brown*, with 71 JB tracks (called *Star Time*). I was surprised at how many instrumentals (and instrumentals with just whoops and hollers) there were. Just pure funk. Way cool.


I have that one also. It's a lot of fun.

Speaking of James Brown, this R&B group from Australia has the James Brown style from the bottom up, down to the piano solo.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I bought several James Brown CDs but I get bored with the repetition on those jam records. I tend to listen to some of the related stuff like Maceo Parker, and Bernie Worrell. Just last night I discovered an incredible drummer named Thomas Pridgen. He plays with progressive bands as well as rappers. This guy kicked everbody's butt in California at 9 years old and won a three thousand dollar kit in the Guitar Center Drum Off. But I have no idea what he does with rappers? I'll be looking for some stuff on YouTube. Here's something with Thundercat.






This one is a lot more intense.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

pianozach said:


> Funny, but a little over a year ago I'd been raiding the local library's somewhat small CD collection and downloading the music. I'd exhausted their classical section and moved on to other genres and at one point checked out a 4-CD box of *James Brown*, with 71 JB tracks (called *Star Time*). I was surprised at how many instrumentals (and instrumentals with just whoops and hollers) there were. Just pure funk. Way cool.


Star Time is usually considered one of the best compilations ever, it's one of those things everyone needs in a record collection.

Electrofunk was kind of short lived but god it's just some of the most fun music ever. There's a reason Dr. Dre sampled a ton of Zapp and Rogers


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Because of the shared roots of the music, there's a lot of stuff that could either go in here or in the electronic music thread- classic house especially.

This is one of my favorites- it's like Jamie Principle listened to Prince's _1999_ and decided that the main problem with Prince is that he wasn't sexual enough.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

for something that's unquestionably hip-hop, GZA's verse (the third verse) is maybe my favorite single verse ever






everyone rap along - "dominant Islamic, Asiatic black Hebrew"


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

This is pretty cool!


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I love *The Roots* - their 1999 album _Things Fall Apart _is a classic progressive hip-hop album.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

because John Cage came up in a thread, here's Jon Brion with an extremely cool Philip Glass-like beat for Kanye West's "Gone".


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Jon Brion did the string arrangement, not a beat - and I'm not hearing Philip Glass. Cool track though, early Kanye.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

"Rap is the postmodern version of an African American vernacular tradition that stretches back to chants, Toasts, and trickster tales. It connects through its percussive sensibility, its riffs, and its penchant for rhyme, with a range of forms including scat singing, radio DJ patter, and Black Arts movement poets like Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, and Jayne Cortez. Its sense of musicality, both in voice and beat, owes a great deal to performers like Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets, as well as to funk and soul artists like James Brown, Isaac Hayes, George Clinton, and Sly Stone. Rap is, in other words, a multifarious, multifaceted tradition embedded within an African American oral culture that itself shares in the rich history of human expression across the ages."

- _The Anthology of Rap_ by Adam Bradley, Henry Louis Gates Jr., et al.

It's not in this quote, but Gates also mentioned The Dozens which I have always thought was the primarily precursor to Rap; or Rap is the latest incarnation of The Dozens: a street corner competitive contest of wits and braggadocio.

"The dozens" is a tradition of African American street rhyming and verbal combat that ruled urban neighborhoods long before rap."


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

I rarely listen to these genres due to lack of exposure and the ones I run into (mumble rap, one particular example) doesn't interest me.

However, Marvin Gaye's _What's Going On_ is an album I cherish.






I want to find more albums similar to this.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Kendrick Lamar* - _DAMN _






Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize.

From NPR



> "A virtuosic song collection," the Pulitzer board writes of DAMN., "unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life." In addition to topping many year-end best lists (including ours), DAMN. was awarded five Grammys, though it lost out on album of the year to Bruno Mars' 24K Magic.
> 
> The recognition comes on the heels of growing acceptance of hip-hop from reigning cultural institutions over the past year, including LL Cool J becoming the first hip-hop artist to be acknowledged by the Kennedy Center Honors and Jay-Z the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (as well as giving an in-depth interview to the executive editor of The New York Times).


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Rakim writes about his process:

"It has to start with dead silence. I have to turn off that morning's music and distance myself from the distractions of life's cacophony. No phones, no kids, no entourage or onlookers. I need to completely tune out so I can start to tune in. I focus on my purpose. That's what has brought me into this room and that's what will guide me now that I'm here. I dig back into the bag of observations and experiences that inspire me and start to craft a storyline. I inject the spirituality that gives so much of that inspiration a greater sense of place and remember that my Self, my listeners, and my culture expect and deserve more than simplicity. They deserve a conscious message delivered through a thoughtful collection of ideas that are more than the words on the page."

- _Sweat the Technique: Revelations on Creativity from the Lyrical Genius _by *Rakim*


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Lil' Wayne* - _A Milli_






Released on: 2008-01-01

Producer: Shondrae "Mr. Bangladesh" Crawford
Studio Personnel, Recording Engineer: Joshua Berkman
Studio Personnel, Mixer: Fabian Marasciullo
Studio Personnel, Asst. Recording Engineer: Ed Falcor-lidow
Unknown, Other: Cha-Lo
Composer Lyricist: D. Carter
Composer Lyricist: S. Crawford
Composer Lyricist: Kamaal Fareed
Composer Lyricist: Ali Shaheed Jones-Muhammad


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

> Hip-hop emerged out of the impoverished South Bronx in the mid-1970s. In defiance of circumstance, a generation of young people-mostly black and brown-crafted a rich culture of words and song, of art and movement. Rap was the voice of this culture, the linguistic analog of hyperkinetic dance moves, vividly painted subway cars, and skillfully mixed break beats. "Rap was the final conclusion of a generation of creative people oppressed with the reality of lack," KRS-One explains.
> 
> Hip-hop's pioneers fashioned in rap an art form that draws not only from the folk idioms of the African diaspora but from the legacy of Western verse and the musical traditions of jazz, blues, funk, gospel, and reggae. These young artists commandeered the English language, bending it to their own expressive purposes. Over time, the poetry they set to beats would command the ears of their block, their borough, their nation, and eventually the world.
> 
> Rap today bears the legacy of this inaugural generation and, as a consequence, is rightly associated with African American culture. Equally, it is a form of expression governed by a set of conventions available to all and vivified by the creativity of anyone who learns rap's history and masters rap's craft. This helps explain how rap-and hip-hop culture in general-has come to be embraced by people of all races and nations. It is now the lingua franca of global youth culture, varied in its expressions but rooted in a common past.


- _The Anthology of Rap_ by Adam Bradley, Henry Louis Gates Jr., et al.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Future* - _Life Is Good _ ft. *Drake*






Workin' on a weekend like usual
Way off in the deep end like usual
****** swear they passed us, they doin' too much
Haven't done my taxes, I'm too turnt up
Virgil got a Patek on my wrist goin' nuts
****** caught me slippin' once, okay, so what?
Someone hit your block up, I'd tell you if it was us
Manor house in Rosewood, this **** too plush


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

I only have two of her albums, but I like 'em.

Funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae, rock, and neo-soul.

*Meshell Ndegeocello*


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

*Ocean Bridges*
by Damu the Fudgemunk, *Archie Shepp* & Raw Poetic

https://damuthefudgemunk.bandcamp.com/album/ocean-bridges


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Red Terror said:


> *Ocean Bridges*
> by Damu the Fudgemunk, *Archie Shepp* & Raw Poetic


Fantastic! Thanks for posting.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message*

Excerpt from Spin interview with Chuck D about The Message:

SPIN: Do you consider yourselves prophets?

CHUCK D: I guess so. We're bringing a message that's the same **** that all the other guys that I mentioned in the song have either been killed for or deported: Marcus Garvey, Nat Turner, all the way up to Farrakhan and Malcolm X. What is a prophet? One that comes with a message from God to try to free people. My people are enslaved within their own minds. Rap serves as the communication that they don't get for themselves to make them feel good about themselves. Rap is black America's TV station. It gives a whole perspective of what exists and what black life is about. And black life doesn't get the total spectrum of information through anything else. They don't get it through print because kids won't pick up no magazines or no books, really, unless it got pictures of rap stars. They don't see themselves on TV. Number two, black radio stations have neglected giving out information.

SPIN: On what?

CHUCK D: On anything. They give out information that white America gives out. Black radio does not challenge information coming from the structure into the black community, does not interpret what's happening around the world in the benefit of us. It interprets it the same way that Channel 7 would. Where it should be, the black station interprets information from Channel 7 and says, "This is what Channel 7 was talking about. Now as far as we're concerned . . ." We don't have that. The only thing that gives the straight-up facts on how the black youth feels is a rap record. It's the number one communicator, force, and source, in America right now. Black kids are listening to rap records right now more than anything, and they're taking it word for word.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Angie Stone* - _Brotha _






A female D'Angelo.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

1983: RUN DMC - SUCKER MC's








> "Sucker M.C.' s" marks dual points in rap's evolution, and the two things coalesce, as they often do in situations like these. It's when rap parted itself between old and new (or uncool and cool, really) for the first time, and it's also the first time a rap song could be described as a "battle rap" song, even if the antagonist was a general idea and not a specific foe."
> 
> - The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979


This song was stripped down, just a beat with the rap. Prior to this song, rap songs were coming more out of disco with all of the same synth accents and pads, and a lusher sound under the rap. The interesting about "Sucker M.C.'s" is that it at the time of its release, it was considered filler, the B-side to "It's Like That".


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

every so often someone seems to decide that rap beats have gotten too ostentatious and makes a hard minimalist hit like that, it's cool


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Fou quotes from Nelson George's excellent book, _Hip Hop America_.



> "But most of the time I know, and I'm grateful, that this is the '90s, not the '30s. Battling may be essential to hip hop's evolution and the energy that keeps it dynamic, but its manifestations and effects are too complex and often contradictory for a single metaphor, no matter how resonant, to capture its essence. There is the will to battle, but other threads in its fabric involve fun, dance, literature, crime, sex, and politics-too many to simply say that hip hop means any one or even two things."
> 
> [...]
> 
> ...


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

hey, get off dance music's case, Nelson. actually i think dance/electronic is probably the one "new" genre from the last 40-50 years you could argue is as enduring as hip-hop, assuming you trace it all the way back to house or even disco.

and obviously there's a lot of crossover, particularly when you get to hip-hop intended to be danced to - hip-hop is arguably, on a fundamental level, electronic music, though it's far too large to be considered a "subgenre"


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

also much like my unhealthy love of things like 70s Nashville and Phil Spector, I have a thing for New Jack Swing. Actually maybe I just have a thing for when producers hit on magic bullets in general.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I was looking at the Pitchfork list of the best rap songs from 2020. I'll be posting some of the ones I thought were worth sharing, here's the first:

*Rome Streetz: "Higher Self"* [ft. Estee Nack]

_Rome Streetz hails from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, but his sound owes more to other New York rap hotbeds, from Nas and Mobb Deep's Queensbridge stories to the ready-rock raps of Hempstead, Long Island's Roc Marciano. "Higher Self," from his latest Noise Kandy tape, is a boom-bap meditation with a '70s blaxploitation flute melody and a familiar Bobby Digital sample that sets the scene for Streetz and Tragic Allies soldier Estee Nack's street philosophies. Fueled by psychedelic dreams and a mission to "spread the culture and acquire wealth," "Higher Self" is a soulful New York tone poem, a rapper's attempt to transcend trauma and find enlightenment in the gutter. _-Matthew Ismael Ruiz


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Released in Feb. 2021 album by UK artist *Ghetts*

Ghetts - Conflict Of Interest: Fine Wine


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Real nice instrumental track.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Snoop Dogg - Talk Dat **** To Me






From Snoop Dogg's latest, _From tha Streets 2 tha Suites_.



> Snoop's new album, the latest in a quietly prolific period as he closes in on 50, reminds of the simple pleasures of his still-virtuosic voice when set against booming, funk-inflected production.


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

The train-of-thought style in this is so good. I think everyone likes the mention of the onions on the t-bone steak.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

beastie boys - paul's boutique (1989)








> Paul's Boutique is the second studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989 by Capitol Records. Produced by the Dust Brothers, the album is composed almost entirely from samples, and was recorded over two years at Matt Dike's apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
> 
> Paul's Boutique did not match the sales of group's 1986 debut Licensed to Ill, and was promoted minimally by Capitol. However, it became recognized as the group's breakthrough achievement, with its innovative lyrical and sonic style earning them a position as critical favorites within the hip-hop community. Sometimes described as the "Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop", Paul's Boutique has placed on several lists of the greatest albums of all time, and is viewed by many critics as a landmark album in hip hop.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*mos def |ms fat booty*


----------



## jkl (May 4, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> *mos def |ms fat booty*


This songs' popularity owes to Aretha Franklin's song "One Step Ahead" which was used in the Mos Def rap song. This should be acknowledged.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

jkl said:


> This songs' popularity owes to Aretha Franklin's song "One Step Ahead" which was used in the Mos Def rap song. This should be acknowledged.


It has always been acknowledged that the obscure Franklin song was sampled. But your claim that the Mos Def song was _only popular_ because of that sample is not correct.

Hip-hop has always been built on samples, and building up a track from beats and samples. The Mos Def song was popular because of the creativity of the artist and producers in assembling the samples and arranging the track and the lyrics and performance.


----------



## jkl (May 4, 2021)

I think Aretha Franklin's song is a good one, which strengthened that rap artist's popularity with that song. It is certainly the main contributing factor, if not the only factor. Evidently that rap artist adores Aretha Franklin's song. "Remix" is hardly a skill that requires as much skill as her beautiful singing. Here it is again "remixed" by that rap artist,


----------



## jkl (May 4, 2021)

She is the queen of soul for sure


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

jkl said:


> I think Aretha Franklin's song is a good one, which strengthened that rap artist's popularity with that song. It is certainly the main contributing factor, if not the only factor. Evidently that rap artist adores Aretha Franklin's song. "Remix" is hardly a skill that requires as much skill as her beautiful singing. Here it is again "remixed" by that rap artist,


After the first 30 seconds the song is hardly a factor, it makes one other appearance for a few more seconds but nothing unusual for any rap example. Compared to the performance of the story/lyrics which are the main component of the song, harping on this use of the Aretha Franklin song seems just a little odd. Sampling is a major aspect of the hip-hop style and permissions and credits are given for the usage. Creating an aural collage with their associated cultural references are all part of the genre.

Mos Def did not have anything to do with creating the second clip you posted, it appears to be a mash up made by others.

Aretha Franklin is a major artist whose work is certainly welcome in this thread, but I just think you are trying to make some point which is misplaced, IMO, in this instance.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*fugees | ready or not*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*a tribe called quest | the hop*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*the roots (ft jill scott) | complexity*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*slick rick | the show*








> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer.
> 
> He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs "The Show" and "La Di Da Di" are considered early hip hop classics. "La Di Da Di" is one of the most sampled songs in history.
> ...


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*snoopdogg & doug e. fresh | ladi dadi (live)*


----------



## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

Maxwell - Sumthin' Sumthin' (1997 CRS Performance)


----------



## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

Cleo Sol - Why Don't You | A COLORS SHOW


----------



## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

Tyler Dumont - You


----------



## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

BJ the Chicago Kid - Turnin Me Up (Official Video)


----------



## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

The Rock & Roll HOF is stupid, but

https://guardian.ng/life/fela-misses-out-on-2021-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-induction/


----------



## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

mad samples...


----------



## erki (Feb 17, 2020)

Faithless is my favourite hip-hop artist. Good texts and carrying melodies.


----------



## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)




----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Chaka Khan and Rufus - Tell me something Good


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

you caught me smilin' | sly and the family stone


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Outkast - Elevators (Me & You)


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> beastie boys - paul's boutique (1989)


This is still one of the most astonishing artistic leaps from first to second album ever. I love Licensed to Ill but you'd be forgiven at the time if it came off as a gimmicky party record. Paul's is just astonishing.


----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

"Michael Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and started his professional career when he was recruited as a seventeen-year-old guitar prodigy by the band Funkadelic, which found itself in need of a lead guitarist after original guitarist Eddie Hazel left the band.

Hampton impressed Funkadelic's George Clinton by performing a note-for-note rendition of Hazel's ten-minute solo "Maggot Brain". He made his debut with the band's album Let's Take It to the Stage in 1975, which is dominated by his guitar. Hampton's playing included fuzzy, Hendrix-inspired licks and wailing harmonics. Due to his young age, Hampton was nicknamed 'Kidd Funkadelic'.

Hampton became a fixture in Funkadelic, and he continued his role as lead guitarist even during Hazel's sporadic returns to the band. Hampton's performances of "Maggot Brain" - which had become more improvised - became regular features of live Parliament-Funkadelic shows, and the song became his signature concert performance.

Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 - December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. His ten-minute guitar solo in the Funkadelic song "Maggot Brain" is hailed as "one of the greatest solos of all time on any instrument".

In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Hazel at no. 83 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists."

Eddie Hazel being ranked # 83 is all the proof you need that you can quite cheerfully dismiss any "Rolling Stone" ranking of anyone playing anything.


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

I'll fully admit half the reason I'm posting this is that it has the best hip-hop music video ever.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

fbjim said:


> I'll fully admit half the reason I'm posting this is that it has the best hip-hop music video ever.


Great clip - the dancing is a huge part of hip-hop, but this a virtuosic conception and performance.


----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

The Isley Brothers - "This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)"


----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

The Impressions - "People Get Ready"


----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)




----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)




----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Quincy Jones ~ Back On The Block






Leave it to Q to set a standard in hip-hop.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Fatboy Slim (ft. Bootsy Collins) - Weapon Of Choice


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Childish Gambino - This Is America


----------



## Shaughnessy (Dec 31, 2020)

This tune became this commercial... It's insanely catchy... Like running for six months non-stop .in your head catchy...


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Boosit (feat. Falz) · Cobhams Asuquo


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I asked my son for his list of the 25 best rap songs. I'll post them now and them with his comments.

******* 4 Life*








> great lyrics about why these guys proudly claim to be n****z. About as good an argument for the term as I've heard. Awesome Dr. Dre beat, and good verses by MC Ren, Eazy-E and Dre.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

MF DOOM - Potholderz feat. Count Bass D


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

The multi-platinum hip hop band *Cypress Hill *collaborates with a group of Egyptian street musicians from Cairo, known as *Sadat & 50*, in a tune called "Band of Gypsies" with an electric guitar riff that drifts around a Near Eastern mode.


----------



## Cowabunga (Jun 2, 2021)

Nebz Supreme and Eso Tre feat. Prince Po "Take It To The Bank"


----------



## erki (Feb 17, 2020)

Blask Eyed Peas have some very nice tracks with good message


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*i know you got soul | eric b and rakim*






*rebel without a pause | public enemy*


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

HipWhips - Stay with me forever






very old school soul, the singer reminds me a lot of Van Morrison (Van Morrison when he was putting out amazing music, not the sad figure he's now)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

norman bates said:


> very old school soul, the singer reminds me a lot of Van Morrison (Van Morrison when he was putting out amazing music, not the sad figure he's now)


I think Van Morrison has been putting out some of his best music for a while. He's put out some really good records which have been numerous and varied in content and style, going back to his country record from 2006. He's been very prolific.

I especially like

Keep It Simple
Roll with the Punches
You're Driving Me Crazy
The Prophet Speaks
Three Chords and the Truth


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I was talking mainly of his last album and his awful takes on covid


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

norman bates said:


> I was talking mainly of his last album and his awful takes on covid


I think he is one a few speaking out who is right about Covid.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

SanAntone said:


> I think he is one a few speaking out who is right about Covid.


saying that it's just conspiracy to deprive people of freedom? I think that's right there with flat earth theory, only much more dangerous because it's like telling people with hiv that those who said that they should wear condoms are depriving them of their freedom to have sex like they want, no matter if that can kill other people. I will always love Van's music, but that's not just incredibly stupid, but it's really dangerous.


----------



## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

A bleak and shattering video from 50 Cent.

There's poetry here. A masterpiece.

I make no apologies for posting the explicit version. Like it or lick it.


----------



## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Metairie Road said:


> A bleak and shattering video from 50cent.
> 
> There's poetry here. A Rap masterpiece.
> 
> I make no apologies for posting the explicit version. Like it or lick it.


A masterpiece he says.


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

norman bates said:


> saying that it's just conspiracy to deprive people of freedom? I think that's right there with flat earth theory, only much more dangerous because it's like telling people with hiv that those who said that they should wear condoms are depriving them of their freedom to have sex like they want, no matter if that can kill other people. I will always love Van's music, but that's not just incredibly stupid, but it's really dangerous.


Is there nothing disturbing to you regarding the conflict of interest in terms of pharmaceutical companies being the biggest lobbyists in politics? How they virtually own the news media you consume? How they have censored countless experts who have a different view? Taken the world hostage until enough people take a jab they make billions of dollars off of? Is that not a red flag Norman? They have no legal liability for any injuries or death they cause. Think about it. For a virus you wouldn't even know existed without the 24/7 marketing and promotion.

I applaud Van Morrison and Eric Clapton.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

tdc said:


> Is there nothing disturbing to you regarding the conflict of interest in terms of pharmaceutical companies being the biggest lobbyists in politics? How they virtually own the news media you consume? How they have censored countless experts who have a different view? Taken the world hostage until enough people take a jab they make billions of dollars off of? Is that not a red flag Norman? They have no legal liability for any injuries or death they cause. Think about it. For a virus you wouldn't even know existed without the 24/7 marketing and promotion.
> 
> I applaud Van Morrison and Eric Clapton.


no, it's not the a red flag. Unless one wants to believe that the vast majority of experts in the world are liars corrupted by lobbies, the vast majority of experts say that vaccines are necessary (and in fact, guess what, the overwhelming majority of people who are dying are those without vaccine: well a positive effect could be that the next generation could be smarter because of natural selection). We have had in the history tons of vaccines that were fortunately (at least in my country) mandatory and saved tons of life, for smallpox, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, that by the way were often experimented on very few people, unlike with these new vaccines. There are no cases in history of collateral effects effects caused by vaccines after 60 days, even if no vax try to put terror saying otherwise, that vaccines cause autism or are full of graphene and will kill people in the long term or have weird chips inside to control people without any scientific proof.
The reality is that the difference is that we have internet now and even the most absurd theories backed by no scientific evidence can spread terror everywhere. And there are medicines that are a lot less safe than vaccines, and strangely a lot of no vax people have trouble with those things. People abuse all kind of damaging things (drugs, alcool, smoke) but suddenly everybody has those fears that something that has been used successfully in history for many diseases is a terrible threat to freedom, even if that freedom means that one can damage other people, an extremely weird idea of what freedom is, and without thinking that in a society we always renounce to a part of our freedom for much more stupid reasons while there's not a more valid one that I can think of to renounce to a very small part of freedom to save lives.


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Lllllllllllllllllll


----------



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Been listening to this one a lot lately (often in the context of the album):


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

By far my favourite R&B album is There's a Riot Goin' On.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Phil loves classical said:


> By far my favourite R&B album is There's a Riot Goin' On.


Classic, one of my favorites.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap*










The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap is a first-of-its-kind multimedia collection chronicling the growth of the music and culture from the parks of the Bronx to solidifying a reach that spans the globe. The set includes 129 tracks on 9 CDs and a 300-page book with original design by Cey Adams, artist and founding creative director of Def Jam Recordings, as well as essays by some of hip-hop's leading writers and critics and hundreds of photographs spanning decades of history. (Smithsonian)

I might go for it since I have the other two Anthologies - the _Anthology of American Folk Music_ and _Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology_.

The box is being offered as part of the celebration of their founder's birthday:

This week we celebrated an important holiday in Folkways history-the birthday of our founder, *Moses Asch* (1905-1986)! Asch and Marian Distler founded Folkways Records & Service Co. in 1948 in New York City, with the mission to record and document the entire world of sound. Asch tirelessly released over 2,000 records on the label, prioritizing unique, niche, and underrepresented music over commercial profit. According to Pete Seeger, he never spent a dime on advertising, instead traveling to conventions and conferences where he would set up a booth of Folkways records.












> "Folkways succeeds when it becomes the invisible conduit from the world to the ears of human beings."
> - Moses Asch


----------



## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> *Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice package design but worthless content, in my opinion.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Red Terror said:


> Nice package design but worthless content, in my opinion.


Why do you think that?

While it includes the most famous songs and acts it does gather into one place a representational historical survey. Which is exactly how I would describe the Jazz anthology as well. These boxes are always a superficial look at the tip of the iceberg, but I applaud their effort.


----------



## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> Why do you think that?
> 
> While it includes the most famous songs and acts it does gather into one place a representational historical survey. Which is exactly how I would describe the Jazz anthology as well. These boxes are always a superficial look at the tip of the iceberg, but I applaud their effort.


I don't think much of the hip-hop genre. Even as teen I couldn't fathom how anyone could listen to such derivative, repetitious (boring!) chaff. The entire genre is based on taking others' work, 'rapping' over it and passing it off as original. What's so edgy about that?


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Red Terror said:


> I don't think much of the hip-hop genre. Even as teen I couldn't fathom how anyone could listen to such derivative, repetitious (boring!) chaff. The entire genre is based on taking others' work, 'rapping' over it and passing it off as original. What's so edgy about that?


Oh, I misunderstood your comment to be that of a fan who thought that the Smithsonian didn't collect the best songs. 

Needless to say I think you are wrong. You appear not to appreciate the significance of Hip-hop culture, of which Rap is just one expression, not to mention the craft of creating these songs. The Smithsonian correctly treats it as an American folk tradition.


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Red Terror said:


> I don't think much of the hip-hop genre. Even as teen I couldn't fathom how anyone could listen to such derivative, repetitious (boring!) chaff. The entire genre is based on taking others' work, 'rapping' over it and passing it off as original. What's so edgy about that?


Rap is generally more rhythmically complex than pop and rock. I don't think that could be disputed. I feel it is less derivative than a lot of 3 chord rock and pop.


----------



## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> Oh, I misunderstood your comment to be that of a fan who thought that the Smithsonian didn't collect the best songs.
> 
> Needless to say I think you are wrong. You appear not to appreciate the significance of Hip-hop culture, of which Rap is just one expression, not to mention the craft of creating these songs. The Smithsonian correctly treats it as an American folk tradition.


If I want to listen to American folk music, Leadbelly or Dylan will do nicely. But yeah-live and let live ... and all of that.


----------



## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Phil loves classical said:


> Rap is generally more rhythmically complex than pop and rock. I don't think that could be disputed. I feel it is less derivative than a lot of 3 chord rock and pop.


I'll concede that certain Jazz musicians have been inspired to do interesting things with hip-hop. I don't mind the genre as an added element but left to itself, it's quite anemic.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Smithsonian Anthology of Hip Hop & Rap*










Just delivered. Fantastically well produced. The book is a comprehensive survey and well-written; each song has an essay. The Smithsonian must be applauded for giving this music its due in a great collection. Right after I ordered it I felt a little apprehensive, thinking I might have splurged - but no, this will be something I enjoy for years to come.


----------



## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Alright, I'm posting the famous track but the rest of this album is also seriously, seriously good.

This is also very clearly the greatest opening line in the history of all music.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I am not a big fan of R&B but this is my favorite (and a great) R&B album.









1 Give It Everything You Got
2 Fly Away
3 Where Would I Be
4 Let's Get It On
5 I've Got News For You
6 Save The Planet
7 Dying To Live
8 Keep Playin' That Rock 'N' Roll
9 You Were My Light
10 Good Morning Music


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> *Greentea Peng unveils new track 'Spells'*


This is a big umbrella of music genres, SanAntone. 

But since it's the closest to a general Soul thread here we go...















*Can You Feel It SOUL* (1972, Musicor Records)

solid funk. nice throwback


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Baduizm Erykah Badu* (1997, Universal Records)

One of the biggest from the 90s. I don't think she's topped it.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

1993 AudioQuest Music


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

Since we're in a throwback vein, how bout this old Southern Soul chestnut from the delightful singer/pianist, Diane Shuur?














*Talkin' Bout You* (1988, GRP)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> *fugees | ready or not*


Classic.

Someone just uploaded this old Fugees album which came before _The Score_ -






*Blunted On Reality* (1994, Ruffhouse)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

Ike & Tina Turner Revue at Hits a GoGo 1973


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

SanAntone said:


> *Smithsonian Anthology of Hip Hop & Rap*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I can't say enough good things about this collection. The more I delve into it the better it becomes.

"From the outset, we wanted the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap to be reflective of the culture, of the music, of the people, of everything that is part of hip-hop." Dwandalyn R. Reece "Producer's Note," Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap



> The Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap is a thoroughly researched and thoughtfully curated set of essays that tell the story of hip-hop and rap, acting as an extension of the museum's permanent collections. The project was produced over seven years from launch to completion, with the care and intention befitting the weight and scope of hip-hop's story. The work began in 2014 from an executive committee composed of key figures in the music and culture of hip-hop, including rappers Chuck D and MC Lyte; writers and scholars Adam Bradley, Jeff Chang, Cheryl Keyes and Mark Anthony Neal; early Def Jam senior executives-turned-cultural advisors Bill Adler and Bill Stephney; artist and writer Questlove; and producer and educator 9th Wonder. An additional panel of advisors was assembled with equal representation from all facets of hip-hop culture.
> 
> While music is the centerpiece, the anthology dives into the cultural impact of hip-hop and global influence. It is not a greatest-hits compilation but a narrative of hip-hop's music, culture and legacy. Spanning musical eras from 1979-2013, the final collection of 129 songs is the first with music from all three major record companies: Sony, Universal and Warner. The anthology is a contextual education on hip-hop's origin, social and cultural impact, commercial dominance and more. It follows other defining collections from Smithsonian Folkways, the Anthology of American Folk Music and Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology. (Shore Fire Media)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> I can't say enough good things about this collection. The more I delve into it the better it becomes.
> 
> "From the outset, we wanted the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap to be reflective of the culture, of the music, of the people, of everything that is part of hip-hop." Dwandalyn R. Reece "Producer's Note," Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap


I admire the effort but I also know better about these "anthologies", and already, I see they've doubled and tripled on some acts and completely excluded some prominent ones. It's cool for anyone unknowledgable about the genre but seriously redundant for Hip Hop heads. To me the packaging is the selling point.


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> I can't say enough good things about this collection...


Not hatin' dude, but where is Redman on Disc 7 (1994-1997)? One of the biggest joints in '96:














*Muddy Waters Redman
* (1996, Def Jam)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Innervisions Stevie Wonder* (1973, Tamla)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

ando said:


> Not hatin' dude, but where is Redman on Disc 7 (1994-1997)? One of the biggest joints in '96:


Here is a comment from one of the producers about the selection process.

_After some back and forth, MC Lyte asked a simple question which set the course for the rest of the day, 'Can the song tell the story of hip-hop? A lot of songs on the list are popular and received a lot of votes, but did that song move the culture any further?...'_

*Dwandalyn R. Reece*
"Producer's Note," Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap

I am not a newcomer to Hip-Hop/Rap and an speak with some background knowledge. While there will always be people left out, Tupac, e.g., overall I think these 9CDs contain the most representative songs and acts for the periods they used to divide up the set.


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> Here is a comment from one of the producers about the selection process.
> 
> _After some back and forth, MC Lyte asked a simple question which set the course for the rest of the day, 'Can the song tell the story of hip-hop? A lot of songs on the list are popular and received a lot of votes, but did that song move the culture any further?...'_
> 
> ...


Mmm. I see your point but _representative _ doesn't do it for me with regard to music, particularly Hip Hop. It's pretty specific to region and time - after all _part_ of its message is communicating what's going on in the hood that the particular artist "represents".  On the other hand, LL does not necessarily represent an artist like KRS-One, who is also from Queens (and not in the compilation) - and listening to him will not give you the flavor what KRS-One delivers. The set is a grab bag o stuff which any compilation of its type is likely to be. That's all.


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Built From Scratch X-ecutioners* (2002, Loud Records)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Pieces of a Man Gil Scott-Heron *(1971, Flying Dutchman)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Life Is A Life Worth Singing Teddy Pendergrass *(1978, Philadelphia International)


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Straight From The Heart Patrice Rushen* (1982, Elektra)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

_There's A Riot Goin' On_
*Sly & The Family Stone *










Seminal record - could be the most influential album in funk/R&B.


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

SanAntone said:


> _There's A Riot Goin' On_
> *Sly & The Family Stone *
> 
> 
> ...


Depends on who you ask.


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

My pick for most influential R&B lp.






*What's Going On Marvin Gaye*


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

Bet most in my generation (X) would probably pick this as the most influential...






*Off The Wall Michael Jackson*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

1999-2000 was a good year for Funk/R&B

*D'Angelo* - _Voodoo_






*The Roots* - _Things Fall Apart_






*Jill Scott* 1st album


----------



## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

One of my favorite lps from the Isleys






*3+3 Isley Brothers (1973, Legacy/Sony)*

*Blast it!* Have a Great Christmas.


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*Happy 2022 R&B hedz!*






*Purple Rain Soundtrack Prince & The Revolution* (1994, Warner Bros.)


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

dance music Prince is my favorite Prince, as much as Purple Rain can not be denied


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

fbjim said:


> dance music Prince is my favorite Prince, as much as Purple Rain can not be denied


In total agreement. Much rather dance. (Or are we supposed to default contrary? Never know any more.)


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*thriller mike
*
love the opening track.


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*my love is your love whitney houston* (1998, Arista)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*The 1975* - _Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)_


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> *The 1975* - _Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy)_


The intro would have been better without the helium


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)




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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Alicia Keys* has come out with two excellent CDs since 2019, one called _Alicia_ and the other _Keys_.

*Alicia* (2020)












> Alicia is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter and pianist Alicia Keys. It was primarily recorded at Oven Studios and Jungle City Studios, both in New York, after her 2016 album Here and her judgeship on the singing competition series The Voice, before being released by RCA Records on September 18, 2020. Written and produced largely by Keys, the album also features songwriting and production contributions from Swizz Beatz, Ryan Tedder, Johnny McDaid, Ed Sheeran, and The-Dream, among others. Keys collaborated with more artists on the recording than in her previous albums, enlisting vocalists such as Sampha, Tierra Whack, Diamond Platnumz, Snoh Aalegra, and Jill Scott for certain tracks.
> 
> Alicia's mostly low-tempo and melodically subtle music reconciles the experimental direction of Here with her earlier work's bass drum-driven R&B and piano-based balladry. Throughout, individual songs incorporate sounds from a wide range of other genres, including orchestral pop, progressive soul, funk, ambient, country, and Caribbean music. Thematically, they explore identity as a multifaceted concept, sociopolitical concerns, and forms of love within the framework of impressionistic lyrics, personal narratives, and self-knowledge. Keys has described the album as therapeutic and reflective of greater introspection in herself, expressing ideas and feelings of hope, frustration, despair, ambivalence, and equanimity shared in her memoir More Myself (2020), which was written during Alicia's recording.


*Keys* (2021)












> The singer's eighth recording project consists of two parts: the first, called Originals, is described as "the classic side of me", while the second, Unlocked, is "a whole other sonic experience". The album features the singer as producer and songwriter on all twenty-six tracks, with numerous songwriters and producers participating, including Mike Will Made It, Sia, Raphael Saadiq, Natalie Hemby, and vocal collaborations from Khalid, Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Swae Lee, Brandi Carlile, and Jacob Collier.
> 
> Alicia Keys, interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, said about the album:
> 
> «The pandemic hit; I didn't feel creative at all. I had lost my center and didn't really know how to find peace. [...] So I did get right back in and I knew that I wanted to do this album called Keys. And as I started to create it, I realized that it was a homecoming for me. It's so grounded in songwriting and raw expression. I didn't worry about production. [...] Me and my engineer Ann Mincieli started conversating about this concept about these two worlds. [...] She suggested I connect with [rap producer] Mike Will. And when I connected with Mike Will, it was instant vibes. [...] I like that you can choose your own adventure. You could do that thing where you're kind of A-B-ing it, or you can just ride out to what your energy is».


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Cross-posted from the Non-Classical Listening thread:

*Star Time *is a four-CD box set by American musician *James Brown*. Released in May 1991 by Polydor Records, its contents span most of the length of his career up to the time of its release, starting in 1956 with his first hit record, "Please, Please, Please", and ending with "Unity", his 1984 collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa. Writing in 2007, Robert Christgau described it as "the finest box set ever released... as essential a package as the biz has ever hawked, not just because it's James Brown, but because compilers Cliff White and Harry Weinger invested so much care and knowledge in it." Its title comes from the question Brown's announcer would ask concert audiences, as heard on the album Live at the Apollo: "Are you ready for star time?" (Wikipedia)


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*let's do it again staple sisters*

R.I.P. Sidney


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*imagination gladys knight & the pips* (1963, buddah)


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*anti mist antiphon* (2017, pink bird recording co.)


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

need a _*throwback funk*_ lift...
























*people music the fatback band *(1973, perception records)


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*lady soul aretha franklin* (1968, atlantic)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Extension of a Man* is an album released by *Donny Hathaway* on Atco Records in 1973.










Donny Hathaway has been my favorite R&B/Soul singer for as long as I can remember.


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*cafe regio's isaac hayes*

one of my favorite tracks from the _*Shaft*_ soundtrack


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Listened to "Optimo" and made me remember how fun old-school can be. This is "inspired" (read - "totally ripped off from") "Cavern" by Liquid Liquid and is a classic in both old school and the quasi-genre of "purported anti-drug songs which excessively talk about how fun drugs are"






Cane! Sugar!


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

another substance, another classic






*mary jane rick james*


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*urban hang suite maxwell* (1996, columbia)


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

i think this was the year that Kendrick Lamar's TPAB came out and got Album of the Year from like every publication, but that year, this was my number one jam

(D'Angelo - Sugah Daddy)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

fbjim said:


> i think this was the year that Kendrick Lamar's TPAB came out and got Album of the Year from like every publication, but that year, this was my number one jam
> 
> (D'Angelo - Sugah Daddy)


They are both fantastically talented artists and there is no need for an either/or decision. I like and listen to both.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

Oh yeah, more saying that 2014 was something of a red-letter year for black music. 



e) actually, looking it up, and it wasn't the same year - it was more that the releases of two of my favorite albums of the decade were just months apart - December 2014 and March 2015. But still.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

fbjim said:


> i think this was the year that Kendrick Lamar's TPAB came out and got Album of the Year from like every publication, but that year, this was my number one jam
> 
> (D'Angelo - Sugah Daddy)


Wow! I never thought I'd see this album anywhere near TalkCalssical.

I would have bet big bucks I was the only poster here who ever heard of it. owned it.

I might just give the CD a spin this afternoon, it's a long time since I did.

I have on Standing in The Shadows of Motown, The Funk Brothers now.


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

eljr said:


> I have on Standing in The Shadows of Motown, The Funk Brothers now.


Good one.


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

A perfect winter song...Warning xplicit lyrics...


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

ando said:


> Good one.


I love the bass playing in Bernadette most!

Such a sad ending to the film. The Funk Brothers simply walk, slowly, out of the studio, turn off the lights and close the door behind them. The studio sits in darkness.

A metaphor for life.


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

*cassandra wilson faves (youtube playlist)*


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

Back to the Black music catch-all thread! :lol:

Curtis Mayfield classic.















*claudine gladys knight & the pips
*

as an adendum - I ran into this interview with the film's namesake leading actress, the late Diahann Carroll, in a great interview from 2019:





 R.I.P.


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

Some late night retro funk.















*They Say I'm Different Betty Davis* (1974, Just Sunshine Records)


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

SanAntone said:


> Cross-posted from the Non-Classical Listening thread:
> 
> *Star Time *is a four-CD box set by American musician *James Brown*. Released in May 1991 by Polydor Records, its contents span most of the length of his career up to the time of its release, starting in 1956 with his first hit record, "Please, Please, Please", and ending with "Unity", his 1984 collaboration with Afrika Bambaataa. Writing in 2007, Robert Christgau described it as "the finest box set ever released... as essential a package as the biz has ever hawked, not just because it's James Brown, but because compilers Cliff White and Harry Weinger invested so much care and knowledge in it." Its title comes from the question Brown's announcer would ask concert audiences, as heard on the album Live at the Apollo: "Are you ready for star time?" (Wikipedia)


Great compilation.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Pink Siifu & Real Bad Man: Real Bad Flights* [Real Bad Man]

_The latest project from the Alabama-born rapper Pink Siifu is a collaboration with the Los Angeles clothing brand and beatmaking crew Real Bad Man. Titled Real Bad Fights, the nine-track release features contributions from Armand Hammer, Chuck Strangers, Kari Faux, and more. Boldy James, who has collaborated with Real Bad Man on projects such as 2020’s Real Bad Boldy and this year’s Killing Nothing, also appears on a song called “Looking for Water.” - _Pitchfork


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*I changed the title (and subject) of this thread in order to reflect what my original intention was, i.e. to focus on new rap/hip-hop music. Anyway the thread digressed into posts of old soul and r&b songs, which while fun and good stuff, was not where I wanted the thread to go.*


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*IDK, Denzel Curry - Dog Food *(2022)






*Stereogum*:
Earlier this May, IDK returned with his first new music of 2022 — a track called “Taco,” produced by Kaytranada. “Taco” was just the first preview of a whole EP-length collaboration with Kaytranada. It’s called Simple, and it’s out next Friday.
Ahead of Simple‘s arrival, IDK has shared another new track. This one, “Dog Food,” finds IDK teaming up with his frequent collaborator Denzel Curry. It’s a bleary yet dancey song, featuring an interpolation of Lil Wayne’s “Tha Block Is Hot” in the chorus.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jason Aaron Mills (born May 24, 1992), professionally known as IDK (also known as Jay IDK; a backronym for Ignorantly Delivering Knowledge), is a British-American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Lucki: Flawless Like Me*






This is the highly anticipated full-length debut from Chicago rapper & occasional producer *Lucki*. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape _Alternative Trap_ to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced _Wake Up Lucki_ a week before my 25th birthday. But after nearly 4 years in the making, Lucki’s finally giving the world _Flawless Like Me_. (Legends Will Never Die)


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

SanAntone said:


> *I changed the title (and subject) of this thread in order to reflect what my original intention was, i.e. to focus on new rap/hip-hop music. Anyway the thread digressed into posts of old soul and r&b songs, which while fun and good stuff, was not where I wanted the thread to go.*


But r&b and soul would've been so much better of a thread idea then rap/hip-hop. I seriously thought that rap/hip-hop would've died an early death, but I suppose real musicianship and overall musicality is becoming more and more of an antiquated notion.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Big · FBG GOAT · Tory Lanez*






℗ Stilted Music Group LLC

Released on: 2022-09-02

Producer: Mayhem
Composer Lyricist: Martell Smith-Williams
Composer Lyricist: Daystar Peterson


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

It was the collective that first inspired *Clip* to start making music, which started with a batch of cover songs she insists were terrible. Then one day, during a bout of depression after accidentally breaking her phone, she noticed that one of her friends had left their backup phone with GarageBand on it lying around. On a whim, she recorded to a beat by producer Sachy that she’d found on YouTube, and “Sad *****” was born: “I was going through a breakdown, honestly. And I put that in a fun song and made it work. It came together so naturally. I just sat there and just… made it.” (The Fader)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

For the first time since his arrest, *Young Thug* shares a heartfelt message with close friend/ YSL-affiliated rapper, *Dash Gwoppo* on his latest single “No Bond“. 

The single releases on August 16th, commemorating Young Thug’s 31st birthday. In the song Dash Gwoppo references his views on how Black art is being used in the criminalization of Black artists and shares his experiences of being a close friend to the label owner and YSL artists. The music video, set for release on August 19th, will show personal videos, photos and behind the scenes in studios and with family. This track is from the upcoming EP of the same name and will feature lyrics from close friends *Unfoonk* and *BSlime*, brother and nephew to Atlanta rapper Young Thug, respectively and other artists. 

“_Free my slimes they trynna label us. Tell me how they lock a LABEL up? Asked where we was ‘sposed to sit, so we pulled a table up” _– verse from “No Bond” (Hip Hop Weekly)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*ROC MARCIANO & ALCHEMIST | *_*THE ELEPHANT MAN'S BONES*_

It’s been a decade since *Marciano* “piped dimes on the terrace” on “Flash Gordon,” the first time Al and Roc linked up. Marciano is specific with his beat selection; his entire catalog is predominantly self-produced. He’s only willing to hand over the boards when the production is coming from a legendary producer, in this case, it’s *Alchemist* who’s coming off the heels of the excellent _Continuance_ with Curren$y. Al’s style involves samples that are looped, then tarred, and feathered beyond recognition, a perfect canvas for Roc’s burst of lyrics that can overwhelm as easily as it can be dissected. Previously, Roc could feel like an information overload, but on _The Elephant Man’s Bones_, the flow is more tamed, controlled, and sharply focused. He maintains a composure of a retired pimp-turned-rapper, conjuring images of rapping between sips of Hennessy and puffs of his cigar. (*hip-hop dx*)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Lan'do | First Contact* (feat. Kafayé)

There are a litany of musical influences sprinkled all over the EP. “A fusion of dancehall cadences, UK flows and toronto slang spit over off kilter beats” is how Lan’do describes this project. The artist takes inspiration in names such as Ghetts, D Double E, Mez, Knucks, Ty Dolla $ign and Capleton to name a few. Lan’do uses his music as a diary where he vents and unpacks stories about how his life as a teen in Rexdale (a neighborhood in Toronto) and how it has shaped his current self. (on the rize)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

As we pivot into the Autumn and Winter months, the music world shifts into project mode. Amongst the multitude of artists dropping, the fierce anticipation for a new *Lil Baby* album has been undeniable. Two years post release of his quadruple platinum album _My Turn_ and a year since his collaborative album _The Voice Of The Heroes_ with *Lil Durk*, fans have eagerly awaited newness from the Atlanta boss in long form. 

A bountiful 23-tracks, it looks towards features from *Nardo Wick*, *Young Thug*, *Future*, *Jeremih*, *Pooh Shiesty*, *Fridayy*, *Est Gee* and *Rylo Rodriguez*. The cover art depicting the phases of Lil Baby/Dominique Jones in a Mount Rushmore type landscape, an image of him on lonesome underneath – nodding to the album’s title, _It’s Only Me_. (clash music)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

A year and two months after the death of their in-house producer Squeak at 26, and more than five years after founding member John Walt was murdered at 24, *PIVOT Gang* is back with a refreshingly lighthearted posse cut called “Aang.” Technically, it’s the Saba-led Chicago rap crew’s first release as a full collective since their 2019 debut LP, _You Can’t Sit With Us_, though they all appeared at different points on last year’s _En Route_, a collaborative record from Squeak and group member MFnMelo shared shortly after the producer’s passing. The new song is produced by *Saba* with help from *daedaePIVOT,* features a verse each from *Joseph Chilliams*, Saba, *Melo*, and *Frsh Waters* (in that order), and includes additional vocals from *Gaidaa* and *Maria Sanchez*. (fader)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Sudan Archives | "Natural Brown Prom Queen"*

Throughout the album *Sudan* moves seamlessly from off-the-wall playfulness to sensuality to dark, intrusive thoughts. It never comes off as unfocused, instead an honest reflection of what she feels in each given moment. It's the most comprehensive look we've gotten into her internal world so far and a much more down to earth affair than _Athena_, which allows her to cover even more ground. In the same song she'll touch upon sexual desire, missing her mother, cousins in Chicago who'll slap you in your face and the weirdness of LA, over dynamic beats that change shape just as frequently as the lyrics do. 

The autobiographical title track charts her Ohio origin story as an anime-watching, church going member of a pop-group run by her stepdad. "Selfish Soul" touches upon colorism in the industry and its historical rejection of natural African hair. "Home Maker" goes from seductive mating dance to her confessing that she cries when she's alone. "You'll have to check your phone later, way later," she urges on "Home Maker", commanding attention both seductively and instrumentally. (I counted six instrumental switch-ups on this track alone.) With every line she paints an all-encompassing portrait of herself, and there's added realism in how suddenly she shifts between vulnerability and impenetrable confidence. (full review)











There's some impressive writing/composing/producing on this album. Some references '70s Miles Davis, some '90s rap, some almost soft rock, some is just so genre-blending there is no way to describe it. The fact that she did it all alone is remarkable. This is one talented gal.

*Here is a link to the complete album playlist.*


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

_Svengali_ is the latest chapter in *Cakes Da Killa*’s magnificently slick and joyous blend of hip hop and house. From his early mixtapes and 2016 debut album Hedonism to the present day, the New Jersey hip-house artist has always been a proprietor of fiery, high-energy bangers. With his second album, however, he opts for a slightly more subdued approach. That’s not to say that this isn’t just as entrancing, but with a narrative that centres on love, romance and relationships, it provides an opportune moment to reflect on Cakes’ progression as a songwriter. (review)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Rapper *Smino*, born Christopher Bjorn Smith Jr., once again demonstrates his affinity for texture on his latest LP _Luv 4 Rent_.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

"High John" · *Mavi*
From the EP _Laughing so Hard, it Hurts_






It’s intimate by design, with Mavi’s frequently muted voice drawing the listener’s ear close to the speaker, but expansive in scope: Its opening song is named for a folk hero from American slavery, and its closing one traces the running routes through his native Charlotte, North Carolina that are “carved into the small of [his] back.” (review)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Kendrick Lamar : Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers*

A two-disc operatic exploration of generational trauma, familial ties, addiction, modern culture, and spiritual insight, Lamar’s latest veers violently through sounds, leaning hard into lean and minimal beats, babbling currents of synths, and Radiohead-esque electronic arrangements. Alternating between blunt expression, arty lyrical tap dancing, and owing to an expansive spirituality (oh hello, Eckhart Tolle!), it’s a record that refuses to settle easily, demanding contemplation and commanding gut reactions at the same time.

*United In Grief*


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Raw Poetic : Space Beyond the Solar System*

The groove is the weapon of choice on Space Beyond, and it’s less martial than didactic, but also less didactic than utopian. The groove is a beam of nostalgia and homage that somehow harks back, in the way only a hip-hop album can, to every pertinent time and place—dusky golden-age boom bap, wailing avant-garde jazz, sinuous electro, steely Afrofuturism, glitch hop, trip hop, no hop—all at once. It’s a pulse, syncopated and tireless, of affirmation and protest and braggadocio, the soapboxing and finger-wagging and half- or all-baked dot-connectings that are the essence of most great rap. Refreshingly, it’s also a pulse that beats outward rather than in, its consciousness more global than local.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*SZA - Blind (Official Lyric Video)*






“It’s very lazy to just throw me in the box of R&B,” she reiterates. “I love making Black music, period. Something that is just full of energy. Black music doesn’t have to just be R&B. We started rock ‘n’ roll. Why can’t we just be expansive and not reductive?”

Where SOS signals artistic growth, it also finds SZA still fighting to be heard and have control over her life and identity in many ways. She’s not exactly hiding it with the album’s title and artwork, which features the singer suspended over the deep blue sea. Staring out across the water while sitting atop a diving board, her body is small in comparison, almost swallowed by the vastness of the ocean in the photo. In recent interviews, SZA has said she was trying to capture the isolation Princess Diana must’ve felt in a similar photo. As a piece of art, the photograph is a stunning image, but it’s admittedly a bit depressing when you realize it’s a depiction of how she seems to feel in her real life... at least in this moment. (read more)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Little Simz – ‘NO THANK YOU’ review: she’s got a bone to pick*

This surprise 10-track collection is a clear-headed riposte to the fame game and the industry hangers-on trying to take a slice.






Little Simz is sick of hearing that she’s “underrated”. In September 2021, she bluntly addressed the tag by asking her Twitter followers: “Why don’t you stop being sheep and change the narrative?” It was a curious yet revealing moment: seldom do our current crop of musicians take stock, or at least speak publicly, about their place in the scene. That’s without even mentioning how Simz is currently enjoying widespread praise and bagging numerous accolades along the way, most recently nabbing the Mercury Prize back in October for her fourth album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’.

‘NO THANK YOU’ arrives as a pleasing coda to this particular purple patch. Announced just a week before its release with minimal fanfare, the stories she details over its 10 tracks seek to demonstrate that, amid the critical acclaim, there have been moments of anguish, frustration and betrayal, too.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*YAARB : LETTER 2 THE STREETS*






“I would define my sound as soulful, real, and real hip hop,” YAARB said in a recent interview. “I would tell them it’s for the ears!”

The six-track album is a compilation of tales and reflections about his upbringing in his hometown, Compton, California.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Ab-Soul : Do Better*






Ab Soul’s last album, _Do What Thou Will_ dropped in 2016. In the real world, six years is a long time, especially considering these six years. But in hip-hop, six years often feels like 15. The game changes so frequently that questions about Ab’s emcee status aren’t out of bounds. _Herbert_, his latest offering, has a lot of pressure on its metaphorical shoulders as it represents a post-Kendrick Lamar era for Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). It hurts to lose your best rapper, but one imagines it feels like a thousand beestings all at once when said rapper is one of the greatest of all time. (Marcus Shorter, December 16, 2022)


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Geneva x S4G4 – Larry Hoover*






Geneva and S4G4 come together to make your new favorite smash on the new song “Larry Hoover”. The words to describe how good this record is, are truly limitless with everything being truly supreme about this special tune. The production is hypnotizing with a strong genre bending sound that doesn’t miss, with a vocal approach that has a perfect blend of finesse and bravado to it, that is super infectious and makes you buy in completely, as the swagger filled lyrics come to life make it all undeniable.


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