ONE OF THE MOST SLEPT-ON ENTITIES IN THE HIP HOP REALM HAS DROPPED A VERY RELEVANT AND POIGNANT VIDEO FOR THEIR SINGLE "GUN FEVER". WITH ALL THIS TALK ABOUT GUN CONTROL AND SAFETY, THE OAKLAND-BASED HIEROGLYPHICS CREW (CONSISTING OF CASUAL, SOULS OF MISCHIEF, DEL, PEP LOVE, DOMINO, DJ TOURE) ARE BRINGING THEIR VINTAGE FLOWS TO A 2013 AUDIENCE.
DON'T BE FOOLED INTO THINKING THAT THIS IS A HIERO COMEBACK. IF ANYTHING, IT IS MORE LIKE THE NON-LISTENERS ARE GETTING A GLIMPSE INTO WHAT THIS DYNAMIC CREW HAS BEEN DOING FOR MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS. SUPPORT THE REAL, AND SUPPORT HIERO IMPERIUM. A FULL-LENGTH ARTICLE/INTERVIEW IS IN THE WORKS, SO STAY TUNED WISDOM SEEKERS! UNTIL THEN, PEEP THE DOPE VIDEO BELOW.
CRATE DIGGERS HAS BEEN A DOPE SPOTLIGHT ON THE ART OF DIGGIN' FOR JOINTS AND HIGHLIGHTING VINYL COLLECTIONS FOR HIP HOP AFICIONADOS AS VARIED AS DJ JAZZY JEFF, RHETTMATIC, PETE ROCK, ADRIAN YOUNGE AND OTHERS. THIS EDITION IS VERY SPECIAL---JAMES DEWITT YANCEY. IT HAS BEEN SEVEN YEARS SINCE THE PASSING OF THE MOST REVERED PRODUCER WITHIN THE HIP HOP PANTHEON. WATCHING THIS DOPE, YET EMOTIONAL, EPISODE BRINGS UP IMAGES OF J DILLA LIVING, BREATHING, EMBODYING HIP HOP TO THE FULLEST. EVEN IN DEATH, HIS INFLUENCE HAS LIVED ON, AS SEEN WITH J ROCC, DJ SPINNA, HOUSE SHOES, AMP FIDDLER, FRANK NITT, TALIB KWELI, HIS BROTHER ILLA J, AND HIS VERY STRONG MOTHER MAUREEN "MA DUKES" YANCEY DISCUSSING HIS LOVE AND PASSION FOR MUSIC.
I AM A PROUD CHARTER MEMBER OF OKAYPLAYER, A SOCIETY OF SOUL/HIP-HOP INTELLECTUALS THAT SHARE A COMMON BOND FOR ALL THINGS CENTERED AROUND THE LEGENDARY ROOTS CREW. FOUNDED BY ANGELA NISSEL AND AHMIR "QUESTLOVE" THOMPSON AS A MEET-AND -GREET FAN SITE (OF SORTS), IT HAS EXPANDED AND GROWN INTO A MOVEMENT AND DE FACTO WAY OF LIFE, SO TO SPEAK, FOR OKAYPLAYERS AROUND THE GLOBE. RELATIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN FORMED, MUSIC HAS BEEN CREATED, AND LIFELONG KINSHIP HAS BEEN DEVELOPED ALONG THE WAY FOR AN ECLECTIC GROUP OF CHARACTERS TO SAY THE LEAST. NO ONE IS SAFE FROM SNARK WHEN DEALING WITH OKP (ASK LUPE OR TALIB KWELI), BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY WE ARE FAMILY, SISTER SLEDGE STYLE. FOR A PEEK INTO WHAT OKAYPLAYER MEANS, CHECK OUT THIS DOCUMENTARY TRAILER FOR WTF: AN OKAYMENTARY.
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.
