Tumblin' Erb

AND NOW THERE IS THIS. (via maurice)

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:51:36 -0400

AND NOW THERE IS THIS. (via maurice)

AND THEN THERE IS THIS.

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:39:21 -0400

AND THEN THERE IS THIS.

nassays: Complex Magazine June/July 2012 - Read the full...

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:01:00 -0400

nassays:

Complex Magazine June/July 2012 - Read the full article HERE - #LIFEISGOOD717

That God’s Son is about to warp in God’s sun. Also is that the remix of It Ain’t Hard To Tell?! It actually is hard to tell. Good cover though, I feel like Nas needs more sunlight in general.

Photo

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:27:14 -0400

PC f/ Reem & TC 4800 - “Put Me On Top” (Youtube,...

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:44:00 -0400

PC f/ Reem & TC 4800 - “Put Me On Top” (Youtube, 2010)

I like TC 4800 as a rap name. It sounds like an antiquated video game system.

Did I mention that these kids know how to rap?

Reem Riches f/ Mucho Dinero - “Lil N***a” (Youtube,...

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:43:00 -0400

Reem Riches f/ Mucho Dinero - “Lil N***a” (Youtube, 2010)

Talented young Los Angelenos are still rapping in a vacuum. That city is a shameful excuse for a media hub.

Ty$ & Joe Moses f/ Reem Riches, TeeCee4800 & Mills -...

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:18:30 -0400

Ty$ & Joe Moses f/ Reem Riches, TeeCee4800 & Mills - “Don’t Stop” (Mixtape, 2012)

Like what the fuck is happening here? It is a bounce record rebuilt as a snap record.

Ty$ & Joe Moses - Whoop! (Mixtape, 2012)Hey guys DJ Mustard...

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:12:00 -0400

Ty$ & Joe Moses - Whoop! (Mixtape, 2012)

Hey guys DJ Mustard is a legend.

Photo

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:33:44 -0400

Bo Deal f/ Waka Flocka Flame & Chief Keef -...

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:13:00 -0400

Bo Deal f/ Waka Flocka Flame & Chief Keef - “Murda” (Youtube, 2012)

This song is twice as good as the Keef/Kanye remix and it will get one-tenth of the hype.

21 Questions

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:46:00 -0400

Don’t you think Kendrick Lamar has really pretty eyes?
Not as pretty as yours.

Definitive hip hop albums that should be listened to on cassette?
Every Too Short album up until Shorty The Pimp.

Do you remember the moment in your career as a rap listener when you realized, “Shit, these dudes are younger than me?”
No dudes are younger than me. I am the youngest of all the dudes and also the youngest in charge.

What do you think of Wiki?
Every generation gets the Yak Ballz it deserves.

You Heard E-40’s Son Issue?
Heard him!? I am him!

OF is just the new NWA only NWA was ripping off niehgborhood rappers OF rips off norcal horrorcore rap as a whole
None of the things in your unpunctuated sentence are true.

Pitchfork’s panning of Gambino’s CAMP album reeks of indie politics so I wanted an alternate opinion on it.
You’re absolutely right. They went too lightly on the album in the name of indie politics.

you know there is no room in hip hop for rappers without personality, who are technically sound and have ideas. does kendrick lamar have a bentley yet? how about a shoe deal? is he dating someone who is/was/will be on a reality show?
He definitely has a shoe deal. With Adidas. And I heard he’s dating Miss Adidas.

I have a serious question, which I’m actually excited to ask. As a blogger how to do you increase your rap knowledge?
I have a serious answer, which I’m actually excited to give. I listen to as much music as possible and I read about it and talk to people.

LOL TELL RAH DIGGA I MET TREL FANS IN LISBOA
LMAO KAY. IS THAT A PLACE OR A SNAKE?

Are there any bad albums with Big Rube on them?
If there was an album that followed a Big Rube intro with 15 tracks of silence or polka it would still be a classic.

2nd best white rapper?
The dead one.

“Need My Love” is the best B video, right?
I’m still partial to “Like A Martian.”

You’re so eloquent with music, the passion really shines through. Marry me. Dead serious.
Anonymous Nosnitsky does have a nice ring to it.

what do i do when federalis are on my tail
YOU GOTTA.

Whens that cb iphone app coming out? LOL
It’s Android-only for now.

Do you think Charles Hamilton uses the word swag?
Only when he’s inventing it.

Lauryn hill or MC Lyte?
The one that never said bomb graffiti on the tomb of Nefertiti.

The Infamous or Hell on Earth?
Infamous, obvious.

More Cocaine Blunts articles please?
Sorry. I’d like to tell you that I’m busy but actually I’m just bored.

Does this make you mad: “Was rap ever truly charming before the Beastie Boys?” - This is from the article “Goodbye to a Beastie Boy” by Mary Elizabeth Williams on Salon’s website 5/4/12 (I wanted to include a link, but it won’t let me).
If I got mad every time a white person wrote something dumb about hip hop I would be mad sometimes.

If you don’t know, you better ask somebody.

goodie Mob and the rest of the dungeon family obviously seem like really important touchstones for you - how sympathetic would you say you are, or have been, to the worldview present in an album like soul food? does the "unmarked black helicopters" tip mean anything to you? you ever read behold a pale horse?

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:21:00 -0400

I’d say I’m more sympathetic to that sort of worldview in theory than in practice. I don’t personally believe in the Illuminati or any of that dumb shit. Ultimately I think the scramble for the almighty dollar isn’t as organized as anybody would like it to be. There’s no global conspiracy or secret society, the underprivileged people who are getting fucked are only suffering that fate circumstantially. If it were more somehow more profitable for the powers that be to bring them up they would do so but, y’know, capitalism doesn’t work that way.

I think these theories have gained so much traction in recent years because they offer simplified answers to complicated questions.[1][2] That being said, it’s also healthy for anybody to be thinking about these things. Most Americans - and many rappers in particular - don’t ever bother. They just get in where they fit in. I respect the fuck out of Goodie for speaking out on the subjects that they did, particularly at such a young age. Even if they might not have given me the right answers, they taught me to ask the right questions.

I tried to read Behold a Pale Horse once when I was in high school but only got through a few chapters. Did I miss any juicy sex scenes?

[1] Like religion!
[2] I’d like to implicate the pace of the internet and the Wikipedia instant expert mentality in all of this, but that’s probably a conversation for another day.

Have you ever found it difficult to parse the difference between 'covering an artist' and 'pushing an artist,' and what responsibilities do you think you have to avoid endorsing an artist you cover in the interest of journalistic objectivity? Obviously, no matter what your subjective biases affect writing, but have you ever felt that an artist's success began to be tied to your own, or has that been a consideration for you?

Tue, 08 May 2012 03:54:00 -0400

Objectivity is a myth in criticism, as it’s an inherently subjective form. Our tastes and opinions are colored by our experiences and biases and there’s no way around that. We’re not robots. I’m not sure where, in history, criticism got mistaken for journalism but they aren’t the same thing at all. I cringe all the time when I see people mistake critics (or worse - lowly bloggers) for journalists and hold them to the standards of that craft. Personally, I’m only a journalist sometimes. When I’m doing feature oriented reporting I try to be as objective as possible. When I’m working in a critical capacity my principle goal is honesty, not objectivity.

With that in mind though, I don’t push artists, I push music. One of the weirdest blog-era phenomenons to me is the way a lot of blogs have a member’s only policy by where once an artist makes their roster they will unconditionally post whatever trash they send them from there on out. I always try to gauge an artist on a song-by-song or album-by-album basis. If I like that shit I’ll post it/champion it/review it. If I’m indifferent towards it or if I hate it completely, I try not to. I might still have to review it on assignment (usually this is because I agreed to write about it when I thought that I was going to like it) but if it sucks then I’ll say that.

For the most part I’m not actively trying to write about music that I’m not truly excited about. Really my blog - and my writing across the board - is a pretty close reflection of whatever is on my personal playlist at the moment. I don’t get paid enough to kowtow to trends or popular opinion. The whole reason I’m in this line of work is because I get to roll out of bed and listen to whatever the fuck it is I want to listen to. If I had to pretend to like something so I could eat I would just get a real job and pretend to like my boss.

As far as an artist’s success being tied to my own, I’ve definitely heard that from readers and the only thing I can say is that they must not be reading too carefully. I don’t play the Next Big Thing/Critical Speculator game ever. Like I said, I just write about the songs I actually like. I think because so many people in my line of work build their brands on this sort of trendspotting, it’s just assumed that if anybody writing positively about an up-and-coming artist is putting their chips on them forever and ever. This is not the case. Not at all. If, let’s say, Earl Sweatshirt never makes another good song, I’ll still stand behind the nice things I’ve said about his Earl album in the past. What he does from here on out is on him.

You get a chance to listen to this new Young L between DreamChasers 2 sessions? Kinda wild.

Tue, 08 May 2012 03:17:00 -0400

It’s cool. I think it’s healthy that L is chasing that Clams Casino $$$ (or “$$$” and by that I mean attention) and interesting if you think of it as a dialogue between the two producers. Personally I’d rather hear slapping ass slaps from him but if this is what he needs to create right now then I am with it. The raps seem a lot more mature and thoughtful than anything he’s ever done and I definitely intend to spend more time with them.

The interludes are especially interesting. Dude should make an albums worth of “For A Walk”/”Powder Blue Pills” type tracks. The latter is kind of a throwback to his Based Sensation days.

This is my favorite recent Young L beat, btw. No comment on the rapps.

Meek Mill - Dreamchasers 2 (Mixtape, 2012) Yes.Alternate Link

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:35:00 -0400

Meek Mill - Dreamchasers 2 (Mixtape, 2012)

Yes.

Alternate Link

Fat Trel - “Devil We Like” (Mixtape, 2012)

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:43:48 -0400

Fat Trel - “Devil We Like” (Mixtape, 2012)

Fresh f/ PSC - “Smoke Session” (Infallible Records,...

Thu, 03 May 2012 02:36:00 -0400

Fresh f/ PSC - “Smoke Session” (Infallible Records, 2003)

Back in the Scratch Magazine days we ran a profile on Cyber Sapp, the producer of Gucci Mane’s “Freaky Gurl,” and I distinctly remember him talking about pulling that beat off of a disk that was several years old. What he failed to mention, however, was that he had already sold the instrumental some four years either to a rapper he was working with named Fresh. So here it is. Exciting Gucci nerd minutiae for y’all. Coincidentally the track features T.I.’s PSC crew.

Cyber Sapp produced Fresh’s entire album, Tell Me Something Fresh and it’s sounding pretty okay inna crunk era Atlanta style on my first skim through. It features guest appearances from David Banner, Bonecrusher, The Clipse and the perennially underrated/underachieving Bohagon as well as a brief phone call from T.I. in which he talks about plumbing or something.

FSD: Yung Berg Interview

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:57:21 -0400

FSD: Yung Berg Interview:

A fascinating interview with Yung Berg.

No, seriously. This is like the best Beat Construction that isn’t a Beat Construction.

"In Samoa he was taking courses and speaking with therapists. He swam with whales and earned a scuba..."

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:22:00 -0400

“In Samoa he was taking courses and speaking with therapists. He swam with whales and earned a scuba diving license, watched every episode of “The Mentalist” on DVD, put his classmates onto Lil B, began learning how to play piano. He read Manning Marable’s Malcolm X biography and Richard Fariña’s counterculture fiction.”

- Caramanica on the #based #positive lifestyle of Earl Sweatshirt.

ATLANTA RAP CHATS

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:10:06 -0400

I talked to Mike Will about his productions for Gucci Mane and Future at Fader’s Beat Construction.

Eric Ducker talked to me about Goodie Mob and disappointment at Daily Swarm’s Rational Conversation.