BEFORE I GOT MY TIME WARNER, ALL-SEEING EYE ON, I HAD THIS REVELATION, EPIPHANY, INSIGHT INTO THE STATE OF HIP HOP. WHAT ALWAYS GROUNDS ME IS REVISITING THE TENETS OF THE CULTURE, NOT FORGETTING WHERE IS CAME FROM, IN ORDER TO SEE WHERE IT SHOULD BE HEADED. EARLIER, I WAS WATCHING INTENTLY THIS "SAMPLING SOUL" DISCUSSION VIDEO BY 9TH WONDER, JAMES PETERSON, AND MARK ANTHONY NEAL. DISSECTING ILLMATIC, THE MASTERPIECE CREATION BY NAS DURING A BYGONE ERA WHEN LESS WAS MORE, IS A LESSON IN MINIMILIST INGENUITY. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS STILL CONSIDERED THE BEST HIP HOP CREATION EVER. I CAN VIVIDLY REMEMBER THE LANDSCAPE OF OUR HIP HOP CULTURE DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY, WHEN TIMBERLANDS AND BAGGY JEANS WERE THE NORM. BOOM BAP RULED IN MY EARS, WITH CATS SUCH AS PETE ROCK, Q-TIP, LARGE PROFESSOR, L.E.S., AND DJ PREMIERE BRINGING HEAT THAT HAS BEEN UNSURPASSED, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. I CAN GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE APEX THAT ILLMATIC REACHED, BUT SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST SAMPLE SUNDAY EDITION IN A VERY LONG TIME, I WON'T GO ON AND ON ABOUT ITS CULTURAL IMPACT. WHAT I WILL DO, HOWEVER, IS DISCUSS THE FIRST PROPER TRACK FROM ILLMATIC. I SAY PROPER, BECAUSE "GENESIS" IS MORE OF AN INTRODUCTORY JOINT, BRINGING THE LISTENER INTO THE AHEAD OF HIS TIME WORLD OF NAS. "N.Y. STATE OF MIND" SET THE TRUE STAGE FOR THE ALBUM THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED FOR MANY MOONS.
LISTENING TO THE WAY THIS SONG WAS CONSTRUCTED CONJURES IMAGES OF A GRIMY STUDIO SESSION BETWEEN PREMIERE AND NAS. THEIR MUSICAL MARRIAGE CAN NEVER BE BROKEN, BECAUSE THIS SONG IS PROBABLY THE PINNACLE POINT IN BOTH CAREERS FROM A PURE STANCE. YOU CAN FEEL THE WAY PREMO MATCHED BEATS WITH NAS' LYRICAL FIRE.
"N.Y. STATE OF MIND" STARTS WITH A DONALD BYRD SAMPLE, "FLIGHT TIME", TAKEN FROM THE 1973 RELEASE BLACK BYRD. REST IN PEACE TO THE GREAT BYRD, WHO PASSED AWAY A LITTLE MORE THAN A MONTH AGO ON FEBRUARY 4, 2013. THOSE GUITAR NOTES ON "FLIGHT TIME" GIVES A FEELING OF GLOOM BEFORE THE REST OF THE PREMO TRACK TAKES HOLD, SETTING THE STAGE FOR ONE OF THE GREATEST HIP HOP JOINTS.
THE JOINT THAT REALLY LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR NAS TO EXPOUND LYRICALLY ON WHAT NEW YORK CITY, SPECIFICALLY QUEENSBRIDGE PROJECTS, MEANT TO HIM WAS THE JOE CHAMBERS "MIND RAIN". CHAMBERS IS ANOTHER DYNAMIC, YET SLEPT ON JAZZ MUSICIAN WHO HAS A DEEP CATALOG OF MUSIC, BOTH AS LEADER AND SESSION PLAYER. "MIND RAIN" WAS A VERY DARK, GLOOMY, YET JAZZY TRACK FROM THE 1978 RELEASE DOUBLE EXPOSURE.
WHAT DJ PREMIERE DID WITH THIS INCREDIBLE JOINT WAS MATCHED IN TENOR AND TONE BY WHAT NAS SPIT OVER A SPAN OF MORE THAN FOUR MINUTES. YOU ARE TRANSPORTED TO QUEENSBRIDGE, WITH THE SCENT OF WEED, LIQUOR, AND DESPAIR SURROUNDING ALL WITHIN THAT MENTAL TRIP. HOWEVER, "N.Y. STATE OF MIND" DIDN'T WALLOW IN THE MUCK, SO TO SPEAK, BECAUSE YOU COULD SENSE THAT NAS WAS A YOUTHFUL VISIONARY WHO WANTED MORE THAN A LIFE OF "SMOKIN' BLUNTS AND HITTIN' STUNTS". THE STAGE WAS SET FOR ILLMATIC TO BE A CULT CLASSIC, A CLASSIC THAT COULD BE DISCUSSED IN THE CONTEXT OF A DUKE UNIVERSITY SETTING. NO OTHER JOINT COULD PROPEL A HIP HOP ARTIST TO SUCH MYTHICAL HEIGHTS. LOOKING BACK AT THAT TIME PERIOD WHEN ILLMATIC REIGNED SUPREME GIVES A CHARACTER SUCH AS MYSELF THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHERE THE POTENTIAL IS IN THIS 21ST CENTURY SOUNDSCAPE. I SALUTE NAS AND DJ PREMIERE FOR CREATING A MASTERPIECE, ALONG WITH THE OTHER SELECT FEW CAST OF CHARACTERS THAT BROUGHT ILLMATIC TO LIFE.
THIS IS AN IN-DEPTH DUKE UNIVERSITY PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE CULTURAL AND SAMPLING IMPORTANCE OF ILLMATIC. NO OTHER HIP HOP ALBUM HAS BEEN PRAISED, DISCUSSED AND SCRUTINIZED MORE THAN THE DEBUT ALBUM BY NASIR JONES, AND WITH GOOD REASON. IF NAS NEVER RELEASES ANOTHER PIECE OF MUSIC, HIS LEGEND IS SOLIDIFIED FOR ETERNITY. THIS IS A GREAT VIEW OF HOW ILLMATIC IMPACTED HIP HOP, FROM A SAMPLING, LYRICAL, AND CULTURAL STANDPOINT. 9TH WONDER, JAMES PETERSON, AND HOST MARK ANTHONY NEAL DO A WONDERFUL JOB OF DISSECTING THIS HIP HOP MASTERPIECE.
RAEKWON DOESN'T DEVIATE FROM THE BLUEPRINT, BRINGING THAT VINTAGE WALLABEE FLOW TO THE MASSES. JOINED BY UNDERRATED LYRICIST AZ AND ALTRINA RENEE (ON THE VOCALS), YOU HAVE A VERY SMOOTH, GROWN, AND SEXY HIP HOP JOINT THAT DESERVES MUCH SHINE. PEEP THE VISUALS FOR 86 (REMIX), DIRECTED BY THE LAST AMERICAN BBOY. THE SONG IS FEATURED ON THE RAEKWON EP LOST JEWLRY, OUT NOW FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION. IT'S GOOD TO SEE MY CONTEMPORARIES STILL DROPPIN' HEAT, WITHOUT REGARD FOR TRENDS OR SPINS.
I CAN REMEMBER THE FIRST DEMO MY CREW MADE TOGETHER BACK IN THE GOLDEN ERA (LET'S JUST SAY IT WAS IN THE 1980'S FOR GOOD MEASURE). SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR AWAY IN THE SPECTRUM OF HIP HOP CULTURE. GOOD OL' DEMO TAPES HAVE GONE THE WAY OF THE TYRRANOSAURUS REX, REPLACED WITH MIXTAPE APPEARANCES, YOUTUBE VIDEOS, AND COUNTLESS OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA AVENUES FOR UP AND COMING ARTISTS. DEMOS IS THE STORY OF A SEEMINGLY BYGONE ERA, WHEN ASPIRING ARTISTS SHOPPED THEIR CREATIVE ASPIRATIONS ON MAXELL, TDK, OR SONY TAPES, HOPING TO CATCH THE ATTENTION OF A LABEL HEAD OR A&R. SKYZOO (@SKYZOO) IS THE STAR OF THE NEW DOCUMENTARY DEMOS, WHERE A WHO'S-WHO OF THE MORE LYRICAL SIDE OF THE HIP HOP HEMISPHERE IS FEATURED. TALIB KWELI, NAUGHTY BY NATURE, RAPPER BIG POOH, BLACK THOUGHT, CROOKED I, AND MANY MORE EMCEES, PRODUCERS, AND ARTISTS, GET SHINE THROUGHOUT THIS DOCUMENTARY. PEEP THE TRAILER BELOW TO GET A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT DEMOS IS ALL ABOUT.
BRIDGING THE PROVERBIAL GAP BETWEEN THE SO-CALLED OL' HEADS AND YOUNG HOPPERS CAN BE A DIFFICULT TASK. THE ELDER STATESMEN CAN SEEM TO BE STUCK IN HIS HIP HOP WAYS, WHILE THE YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE OF THE UP AND COMING NEXT COMING OF NAS CAN SERVE AS A IMPEDIMENT. I KNOW FIRST HAND DEALING WITH MY TWO HIP HOP-LOVING SONS AND DAUGHTER. EVEN THOUGH THE GENERATIONAL DIVIDE CAN SEEM TO BE WIDENING, CATS LIKE JOEY BADA$$ AND DJ PREMIERE THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND AND CHOP IT UP FOR THE SAKE OF GROWTH ON BOTH SIDES OF THE HIP HOP FENCE. THIS VIDEO SERVES AS A PERFECT EXAMPLE WHEN AGE AND YOUTH LISTEN, LEARN AND COLLABORATE, BRINGING FORTH THE TRUE POTENTIAL FOR HIP HOP TO BE LIMITLESS. LEADING UP TO THE BADA$$/PREMO COLLABO "UNORTHODOX", SPONSORED BY GREEN LABEL SOUND. CATCH BOTH OF THESE DYNAMIC CATS ON TWITTER, DISCUSSING THEIR RESPECTIVE PLACES IN THE HIP HOP GALAXY: @joeyBADASS AND @REALDJPREMIERE.
SPECIAL THANKS TO CREATIVE CONTROL FOR BEING AHEAD OF THE CURVE WHEN IT COMES TO BRIDGING THAT AFOREMENTIONED GAP, EXPOSING THE SO-CALLED MASSES TO CREATIVITY NOT SEEN FROM A MAINSTREAM VIEW. MAKE CERTAIN TO HAVE JOEY BADA$$ AND HIS PRO ERA CREW ON YOUR RADAR. HE, ALONG WITH OTHER LIKE-MINDED, FRESH THOUGHT EMCEES LIKE KENDRICK LAMAR, KING MEZ, BIG K.R.I.T., DRIQUE LONDON AND COUNTLESS OTHERS, IS TAKING THIS HIP HOP CULTURE TO CRAZY AND DOPE HEIGHTS.
HERE IS SOME VINTAGE P.E. FOR THOSE DIEHARD FANS OF THAT REVOLUTIONARY SOUND. JOINED BY 21ST CENTURY REVOLUTIONARY BROTHER ALI, "GET UP STAND UP" IS THE FIRST SINGLE OFF THEIR NEWLY RELEASED JOINT EVIL VS. HEROES, WHICH DEBUTS TODAY. VISIT THE SITE FOR MORE INSIGHT INTO THE REJUVENATED CHUCK D, FLAVOR FLAV AND CREW: http://www.publicenemy.com/. FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE Y'ALL!
I'VE RELOCATED TO THE SOUTH, BUT THAT EAST COAST BOOM BAP IS ALWAYS IN MY HEART AND SPIRIT. TRUTH BE TOLD, EVEN AS A TRUE HIP HOP HEAD, THAT SOULFUL, INTELLIGENT HIP HOP FROM THE SOUTHERN STATES HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF MY LIST: OUTKAST, GOODIE MOB, LITTLE BROTHER. ANOTHER CAT ON MY RADAR IS BIG K.R.I.T. KING REMEMBERED IN TIME IS THAT ANTICIPATED ALBUM I'M WAITING TO HEAR WITH K.R.I.T. SPITTIN' THAT REAL AND 9TH WONDER MANNING THE BOARDS. THIS LEBRON AND WADE-LIKE COMBO IS SURE TO BE STRAIGHT FIYAH FOR '13. FROM MY OKAYPLAYER BRETHREN WE HAVE THIS CLIP OF 9TH AND K.R.I.T. IN THE STUDIO, PREPPING FOR A MONUMENTAL RELEASE SLATED FOR LATER THIS YEAR. IT'S COOL THAT THEY ARE RECORDING THIS JOINT AT 9TH WONDER'S BRIGHT LADY STUDIOS HERE IN RALEIGH. I MAY CATCH THOSE TALENTED KINDRED SPIRITS AROUND TIME AT SOME POINT WHILE THE ALBUM IS BEING COMPLETED. IN THE MEANTIME, BE PREPARED FOR A SURE TO BE CLASSIC JOINT, IN THE SIMILAR VEIN AS THE 9TH AND DAVID BANNER COLLABO A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE MY B-MORE FAM GET THAT MUCH-DESERVED SHINE WHEN IT COMES TO HIS INCREDIBLE MUSIC OUTPUT. SEAN TOURE' IS THAT DUDE, ALL RESPECT DUE! JOINED BY MELLO MUSIC GROUP AND DIAMOND DISTRICT MEMBER yU ON THIS JOINT "IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT", WE GET DOPE VISUALS THAT BRING THE POINT HOME VIVIDLY. PEEP THE SEANNIE CAMERAS-DIRECTED VIDEO, AND COP SOUND CHANNELER: THE INVISIBLE MANAND SOUND CHANNELER: THE INVISIBLE MAN INSTRUMENTALS.
