Even though Pharoahe Monch’s newest LP PSTD is due out in less than a week, we’ve been treated to a new track that has leaked in advance of the April 15th release date.
“Rapid Eye Movement” features Black Thought, the MC and frontman (Alongside ?uestlove) of The Roots.
It’s a great song, and it has definitely got me excited for PTSD. Listen below.
… Bring new albums.
That’s how it goes, right?
We’re about a week into April now, so I figure it’s a good idea to touch base on some of the projects that’ll be seeing (or have seen) the light of day this month.
First and foremost, on April 1st, Mobb Deep released The Infamous Mobb Deep – A Double LP that contains a new album on one disc, as well as an album’s worth of unreleased tracks from their debut The Infamous on the other.
April 8th sees a couple of noteworthy debuts. SZA, one of Top Dawg’s newest signees, releases her label-first EP Z alongside Chuck Inglish and his debut album Convertibles.
For the 20th anniversary of his classic Illmatic, Nas will be releasing Illmatic XX on April 15th. Illmatic XX will include a remastered version of Nas’ debut, as well as a bonus disc of demos, remixes, and unreleased material.
Lastly, another item on my radar is Big Pooh and Roc C’s Trouble in the Neighborhood. Big Pooh comes from the acclaimed group Little Brother, so keeping an eye on this one is a no brainer. Trouble in the Neighborhood drops April 29th.
‘Til next time.
East coast. West coast. A rivalry as old as time itself.
Alright, not exactly. Regardless, the clash of the two seaboards has played a pretty significant role in the evolution of our beloved genre.
Let me explain: In the beginning, there was light. Then, there was hip-hop. Or something like that.
Hip-hop originally came to prominence in the streets of New York; in the late 70s, pioneering DJs Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa helped spread the infant sounds of the genre throughout city streets. Big name golden-age artists like Run-DMC, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, and Rakim would soon come to call the city their home.
East coast, beast coast.
Eventually, the West coast caught wind of how popular the music was becoming. It wasn’t until 1986 when the first West coast-defining track came to light, changing the name of the hip-hop game forever.
Ice-T’s “6 in the Mornin'” is considered by many to be the world’s first gangsta rap song. West coast artists quickly followed Ice-T’s footsteps, and the distinctive gangsta style of the West coast was born. Soon, legendary artists and groups like N.W.A., Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Nate Dogg would piece together their legacies.
West coast, best coast.
From this point in time, the popularity of gangsta rap spread like wildfire. G-Funk, a subgenre of the West coast, also became quite popular with releases such as The Chronic. For a number of years in the very late 80s and early 90s, West coast reigned supreme.
Checkmate.
Despite monumental albums like The Low End Theory, 3 Feet High and Rising, Step in the Arena, and Mecca and the Soul Brother, the East coast had a difficult time regaining its hold on the hip-hop world like it once did. Record companies had made up their minds and began to favorite West coast artists over those in the East, aiding in the West’s musical domination.
In 1991, Bronx based MC Tim Dog (‘lotta dogs in this post) decided to take a stab at the West by releasing the prominent diss track Fuck Compton. The track made mentions to the entirety of the Los Angeles rap scene – which was, essentially, the hub of the West. Despite numerous response tracks from artists like Dr. Dre and Compton’s Most Wanted, none seemed to reach the level of popularity that Fuck Compton had achieved.
Perhaps the most famous of all east and west related rivalries came to fruition in 1993 with the inception of Bad Boy Records. The following year, The Notorious B.I.G’s debut Ready to Die cemented his place as a tour-de-force in the East. West coast rapper Tupac Shakur quickly came to blows with B.I.G. (also known as Biggie), and thus began a feud that would last until both of their untimely deaths in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
Aside from Ready to Die, 1993-94 proved to be a big year for the East. Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage, Nas’ Illmatic, Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and Mobb Deep’s The Infamous all helped bring the East back to its former level of prominence.
Only, this time, the West stuck around, too; Despite the still-obvious tensions between the two coasts, the popularity of each was so great that co-existence was the only viable option.
It wasn’t really a “peace and love” sort of deal with the two, but they were both in it for the haul. Hip-hop was alive on both ends of the spectrum.
Since the peak of the rivalry in the 80s and 90s, the world hasn’t seen anything truly similar between the East and the West since. There has always been, and will continue to be dominating entities on each end (see: Black Hippy) – but nothing that will squander what the other side may have on the horizon (see: Pro Era).
In other words – it’s a prime time to be a fan. We have a lot of good music to listen to and to look back on, as well as a lot of stuff now that is sure to turn some heads.
Enjoy it. Celebrate. ‘Til next time, Half-Dayers.
You will never learn.
This song has been on heavy rotation for me for the past week or so.
Now, I know, I know, it’s not hip-hop related.
Listen, I love hip-hop to death, but I’m an advocate for all music. Sometimes, just sometimes, I gotta let you guys know about something else that I’m diggin’ outside of the genre. This is one of those times.
Don’t worry though, Half-Day Hip-Hop is still Half-Day Hip-Hop. Everything’s good. I just wanted to put this song out there.
Cheers.
For this Wednesday, I’m taking a trip through Cannibal Ox’s debut album, 2001s The Cold Vein. Iron Galaxy, the first track off the release, is embedded below.
Saturday. The weekend. Fin de semana.
If you have nothing to do today, good for you. Enjoy your day. If you’re like me and you have to spend your day working (in my case, interning), I feel your pain.
To help me get through this 10-6 day, I made a list of some great tracks that will make my transition to relaxation time a smooth one. I call this my Saturday Setlist.
Wake-up:
All the Places – Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Let’s get something out of the way: In my eyes, Pete Rock is one of the greatest producers of all time, CL Smooth is one of the best MC’s of all time, and together, they comprise one of the greatest duos in hip-hop history. The instrumental on this track is the perfect way to prepare me for the day – smooth, colorful, and great for head nodding. CL’s flow is great here, per usual.
10AM:
Buggin’ Out – A Tribe Called Quest
Microphone check, one, two, what is this? The five foot assassin with the roughneck business. Buggin’ Out comes from the legendary LP The Low End Theory. I’ll be grooving to the bass guitar on this track as I make my way to work. Phife Dawg and Q-Tip’s back and forth bars never get old.
Lunch:
Ms. Jackson – Outkast
A classic. Ms. Jackson, from Outkast’s Stankonia, has one of the most universally recognized hooks I can think of. Perfect music for my half-day vibe. (See what I did there?)
3PM:
Everything’s Good – Chance the Rapper
This is one of my favorite tracks off of Chance’s 2013 mixtape, Acidrap. My work day is drawing to a close, and you know what? Everything’s Good.
Day’s end:
Backseat Freestyle – Kendrick Lamar
What better way to ring in the end of the day then with this banger? Backseat Freestyle is one of the most well-known songs from Good Kid, M.a.a.d. City, and for good reason. This thing is damn good fun to listen to.
Cheers to your Saturday. Have a great one.
Vic Mensa’s 2013 mixtape Innanetape.
Check it out if you haven’t already.
As you can see by the title, Schoolboy Q’s anticipated major label debut Oxymoron has found its way to torrent and P2P sites.
Generally, I’m all for listening to a leak so long as you plan on supporting the artist. However, I have the album on pre-order, and I’ve decided that I’m just going to wait this one out. That means no links from me. Sorry to disappoint.
That being said, you shouldn’t need to search far to find a link on your own. If you’ve downloaded it, comment down below and let me hear some first impressions.
The music video for “Collard Greens,” one of the tracks off the album, and a tracklist for the standard edition can be found below.
Tracklist:
1. Gangsta
2. Los Awesome f. Jay Rock
3. Collard Greens f. Kendrick Lamar
4. What They Want f. 2 Chainz
5. Hoover Street
6. Studio f. BJ The Chicago Kid
7. Prescription/Oxymoron
8. The Purge f. Kurupt & Tyler, the Creator
9. Blind Threats f. Raekwon
10. Hell Of A Night
11. Break the Bank
12. Man of the Year
13. His & Her Friend f. SZA
14 Grooveline Pt. 2 f. Suga Free
15. Fuck LA
My apologies for the radio silence on my behalf – I’ve had a busy past several days. Don’t worry, I’m still kicking.
That being said, I’ve had my ears open for some new artists and music that would be worth posting about. In fact, if you look at the title of this post, you’ll quickly come to learn that the group I’d like to talk about is none other than Young Fathers.
Young Fathers are an experimental/alternative hip-hop trio hailing out of the land of the Scots. If you haven’t heard of them, don’t worry, because you aren’t alone. Their most viewed YouTube video is sitting at a relatively tame 163,000 views at the time of this post, and they have yet to hit 4,000 followers on Twitter. Now, numbers should never be a gauge for talent, but in this case, I like to bring them up because these guys deserve a lot more attention than they’ve received thus far.
(“Sister” from the EP Tape One.)
Their music is an interesting mix of trip hop/electronic and what I can only describe as “tribal music” – in other words, chanting, primitive-sounding air, string, and drum instruments, percussion instruments, rhythmic lows and great use of atmosphere. There’s something very visceral about a lot of their songs, while at the same time, some are much more relaxed. Some songs are a mix of both. Whatever the case, they demand your attention. Their sound is unique, and I can’t help but love it.
Do yourself a favor and check these guys out. Their EP’s Tape One, Tape Two, and their newly released debut album Dead are all fantastic and are absolutely worth your time. Check out a couple more tracks from them below:
(“I Heard” from the EP Tape Two)
(“Low” from the album Dead)
So does my music.
Half-Day Hip-Hop 