hiphoplives

No relation to Anthony, Charles Hamilton is the subject of this week’s Check for this column. He’s signed to Interscope, but like any quixotic, honest, and unapologetic 20 something, he’s been kinda chompin on the bit to get his shit heard. With the latest being that his major label release won’t be until 09, Charles decided he would rather not wait for his shine. So he embarked on a campaign to release 8 mix tapes in 2008, one every two weeks starting on September 2. Through his webpage linked below you can follow another link to download them all for free (actually I think its gonna be at least 2 or more links after that, but trust me, it’s worth it), I just wanna let you know what your up against.) The first three installments are all being distributed through different popular music websites , Death of the Mixtape Rapper through Okayplayer, And Then They Played Dilla on You Heard That New, and Staff Development on Nah Right. He’s got a little clock on his website for when the next 5 are available.

So some will dismiss this as gimmicky. Those people are called morons. The sheer audacity of dropping that amount of material is staggering. And the fact that he’s expecting to have a major label try to sell his cd to a public whose been given 8 eps of his shit for free. Wow. Ballsy. That’s what that is. Not to mention the pink head phones. (I get it, its a Harlem thing). But that’s who he is.

And the kid has tons of musical talent too. He honestly doesn’t sound like anybody else. He produces and makes music as well as raps, and he reminds me of the type of nerd who would find himself pissing off the wrong people at a party, but still having enough people to stick up for him to keep him from getting his ass whooped. On HipHopGame they have an interview with him where he discusses a weird confrontation with Uncle Luke on the radio.But when you get down to it, you can tell he didn’t mean any harm. He was just speaking his mind in a quixotic, honest, and unapologetic way.

So go on a click fest, and get yourself up to date with Charles Hamilton, and see what all the fuss is about.

http://www.iamnotcharleshamilton.com/

Good things come to those who wait. But damn it’s hard being patient. Since that famous quote off of Tribe’s Midnight Marauders, fans have been waiting to buy the album when pro dropped it. But despite several singles, leaked internet albums, and beat compilations, we’ve still been holding our duckets waiting for the main event.

Well believe it or not the moment has finally arrived. With the release of Main Source, Large Professor has finally delivered that long promised solo lp. The thing that made Extra P such a prolific artist was his dual hats as a producer and rapper. His flow is far from groundbreaking, it hasn’t changed much if at all since the days of “Lookin at the Front Door”, and his beats also don’t sound like anything new. But that is exactly what makes this album so valuable. It is classic Hip Hop, without the need to be modern or relevant. It’s like finding an album from ‘93 that was never released. It takes you back, but it’s new and fresh at the same time.

Large Pro enlists a little help on the record from classic MC’s from the middle school too. Styles P, AZ, Jeru the Damaja, Lil Dap, and Big Noyd all make guest appearances, making it really feel like an album from the mid 90’s. The only thing missing from this record really were songs featuring Busta and Q-Tip, which at the time the album was initially promised, you couldn’t envision without. But overall the record is chocked full of gems, and if you were ever a fan, you deserve to treat yourself and get a copy.

Extra P is also doing a little touring to support the record, mainly just on the coasts, but for you bay area heads he will be here in SF on 9th of October at  Levende Lounge. The rest of his tour info is listed below, and you can check out his website to get more info on how to cop the record.

WWW.LARGEPROFESSOR-MAINSOURCE.COM

Mr. Winston Rodney is a living monument. The music of Burning Spear will live on long past the physical incarnation of it’s messenger, but unlike many of reggae’s most prophetic voices, the Spear burns on. He and the various versions of his band have released over 28 studio albums and another 23 live and compilation records since his debut in 1973, Studio One Presents Burning Spear. The album was produced by the legend Clement Dodd, who had met the Spear through mutual friend Bob Marley. Since then he has gone on to write some of the greatest songs in history. He has had a long career, performing his music in every venue you can imagine.

The newest record is called Jah Is Real,  and it is consistent with the material the Spear is known for. The production is very sunny, which stands in contrast to the still spooky sound of Winston’s voice and message. When he was young, his voice possessed an eerie quality of age and wisdom that seemed to come from an ancient time, while still coming from the throat of this skinny young man. Now that his physical being looks the part, his voice still sound erie, but now it seems more like a youthful energy that seems out of place with this old wearied man. Either way, Burning Spear always sounds remarkable in his simple essence, a man without the same attachments to the physical world that you and I experience. Something about that Jamaican natural mystic.

Perhaps no artist represents the sound of meditation like the vibrations in Burning Spear’s voice, so if you need to clear your head, grab any of his masterpieces and do yourself a favor.

Now a lot of people might wonder why I would put M.I.A. in the category of guilty pleasure. She’s considered the epitome of cross-cultural, genre-busting, underground grime coming out of the UK right now right. Yeah, but have you seen her video for “Paper Planes”? If the answer is yes, you know exactly what I mean when I say that M.I.A. is a guilty pleasure.

Sure, she has some lyrics that are thought provoking? Read that last line Ron Burgundy stylee. I guess I’m biased because the guy that actually introduced me to this artist was a real feminine hygiene product. He gave me a bootleg of her album Galang. It must have finally sat on my computer desk long enough for me to forget who gave it to me, and when I popped it in, the sound was unique? Anchorman again.

The thing I guess I don’t get is this. I read the stuff about her songs being about political things, but when I hear them I can’t make the connection. And that video. Wow, Awkward. But ultimately I do dig the music, and her story as a person is mad deep. And like I said, it’s that cross-cultural, genre-busting, underground grime coming out of the UK right now, so if you ain’t hip, get up to date. Her links are listed below. And if you happen to see her coming to perform, make sure you don’t invite your square friends, and bring your hallucinogens.

http://www.myspace.com/mia

Jockin Jay-Z is the most accepted form of idolatry that exists in Hip Hop today, from the north to the south, east to the west, mainstream to underground, everybody wants to roll with the Jigga man. And of coarse every fan knows his music like it was required reading for their final exams. 

So when Jay came out of retirement, it was kinda a big deal. But nobody knew whether or not Jay would really come back or not, or if he’d just release an album, do a show, and head back to some island for the next three years. But he’s been back full time, dropin records and mixtapes, and touring the world, grinding with the hunger of a new artist.

And the newest addition to his legacy is the DJ White Owl mixed Mr Carter part 1. Besides the strange Noel Gallagher beef over the Glastonbury festival being thoroughly addressed on this mixtape, this mixtape also has Jay flippin over most of the hottest current tracks. His subject is very typical J, with a heavy dose of everything. For the money lovers, he’s got his floss joints, and for the heads he runs a thread through the album referring to himself as the Hood Barack. Jay even takes on hyphy with “Blow the Whistle”, and I’m not gonna lie, he killed it.

Mr. Carter part 2 will be Lil Wayne’s contribution to the series, and he’s got several guest verses on Jay’s mixtape (though in reality it’s mostly just White Owl mixing in Wayne’s verses from other shit), as well as verses from Jadakiss, Corey Gunz, and Beanie Sigel.

I will listen to this mixtape more than 5 times in the next month, which in this saturated market must qualify it for a classic. I really enjoyed it, and I must say, I haven’t enjoy many mixtapes lately. So once again, thanks Jay Z, and don’t ever retire.

In honor of my homeboy Nate who moved to Atlanta recently, this weeks producer profile is about the ATL’s own DJ Toomp. Born Aldrin Davis, Toomp made a name for himself producing for T.I.  including “24’s”, his first hit single, and “What You Know”, probably his biggest single to date. He’s laced tracks for Jeezy (”I Luv It”), Luda (”Mouths to Feed”), and Pastor Troy (Ridin Big”) in Atlanta, as well as artists around the country like Kanye(”Good Life”, “Can’t Tell Me Nothin” , Jay-Z (”Say Hello”), and Nas (”N.I.G.G.E.R.”).

His signature sound is big drums and cymbal clashes on the rhythm side, and lush strings and synths on the melody side. People who hate on Southern rap music have always secretly admired the beats, and DJ Toomp was the first producer to make a lot of these people admit they like Southern beats. His instrumentals have been covered on mixtapes by pretty much everyone. His productions have come to define what “industry ready” sounds like. Like all requisite superstar producers he has done a couple R&B joints (Mariah Carey), but the fundamentals of his music stay rooted in the street sound he has championed.

Recently Toomp has started his own label, NZone Entertainment, and he continues to develop talent for the label. For more info and samples of his work, his myspace is linked below. So now you can stop wondering who it is behind all that dopeness coming out of Atlanta, and recognize DJ Toomp.

http://www.myspace.com/djtoomp

Hip Hop as a musical art form has always been a pioneer when it comes to technical advancements in recording and production equipment. In fact when one of Hip Hop’s original pioneers, Grandmaster Flash, found the original record mixing equipment insufficient in the late 70’s, he created his own mixer using parts from radio shack. His invention led to the adaptation of the crossfader and transform switches on DJ mixers, a function of the mixer that is essential and universally seen on equipment now. The various companies that have grown and flourished creating equipment for producers owe a large part of their business to Hip Hop artists.

But it hasn’t been all peaches and cream. Some people credit a recent innovation, Serato, with the death of vinyl records and the cottage industry that was created to manufacture and distribute this material. I know people personally who had lucrative businesses involving wax that now don’t exist because of Serato. Now all DJs want is digital copies of songs rather than the hard copy on vinyl. While I’m sure club DJs see it as a godsend, saving them space, time, and effort when traveling to the club, many purists hate the technology and the ramifications for the industry.

I spoke about another technology that some people feel is ruining music in general in one of my previous columns, the pitch corrector function employed by Zapp and Roger, and more recently T-Pain. Many mediocre voices are being covered up my this computer program, and it has definitely taken some of the organic feeling out of soul and R&B music, and made it much more processed and commercialized.

This is just an introduction to the topic, and in future columns we will delve deeper into the specifics of technology and the ramifications for Hip Hop music. But like everything in life, these issues have both positive and negative impacts on our music, so it’s important to discuss and understand these factors. You can always feel free to leave comments, but I would ask that with this topic in particular, I would like to hear how you feel about the technological conundrum.

You ever hear an MC somewhere and think, hey that guys pretty good, but the conditions you heard it in weren’t conducive to finding out what the song was or who was performing it.

Flashback to 2005, I was still living in the midwest, and one of my peoples went to California and brought back (among other treats)  this mixtape labeled Calicomm 2004. It was full of artists I already knew and admired like Del, Zion I, and Aceyalone, but there was this one voice I didn’t recognize on a couple of the Zion I tracks spiting in Spanish and killing it. I remember riding around blowing some of that good Cali Kush listening to a song that I would later find out was called “Ride Off in the Sunset”, but the copy ak had was a bootleg, and didn’t have any track info. And of coarse, he lost the disk like a week later. So the song was presumed lost for eternity, like the Mobb Deep track “Avirex” (I swear it exists, I think it was on a Tony Touch mixtape, if any body knows anything about it, or has a copy, there is a reward involved)…(That includes you Havoc)

Fast forward to 2008,  Carnival, San Francisco. I’m sitting there enjoying my meat on a stick, enduring the sun that shines down stronger on the Mission than anywhere else in Sucker Free, watching the Scion (what else) Hip Hop stage when who steps to the mic, but Deuce Eclipse. As soon as he spits it hits me. I had lost track of who was performing, and where we were at in the lineup, so I had to start asking around to figure out his name. His set was really good, not just because I had solved a three year old case a’la Sherlock Holmes or Angela Lansbury, but it was good on it own merritt as well. His flow was even crisper live, and the meaning of his lyrics and message was righteous and appropriate given the surroundings.

After finally fighting our way home that day, we were exhausted. But I still went to the computer and looked up Deuce Eclipse. And right there on his myspace page was the song, and you can download it for free. Matlock bitches.

Turns out, the guys been on tour everywhere with DJ Vadim and Zion I and has actually been putting it down the whole time. So I humbly took my late pass and played catch up. He put out an album in 05 called The Radio Plantation and was on numerous other mixtapes and compilation cds. He also reps Nicaragua hard, which I think Hip Hop definitely needs.

His new joint is The Oy Walkout, check for it, and if you see him on tour, support, its good for the economy, consider it a “Hip Hop Stimulus Package.”

http://www.myspace.com/deuceeclipse

http://www.oywalk.com/

Last week’s highlight lyric was from the Green Lantern hosted 3^rd World by Immortal Technique. Now this release is chocked full of gems, so I couldn’t help going back to the well for more. This one in particular is from a guest lyricist on the album named Crooked I. He’s been around for a long time on the West Coast, and has been signed to Death Row, and various reincarnations and offshoots (DPG, almost Aftermath). The thing that sets him apart though is his excellent wordplay and flow. He keeps it gangsta, but he knows a thing or two about the world beyond his neighborhood. This verse is exceptional, and I think it will actually open a lot of people’s eyes to the talent of this artist, people who might have slept before.

Crooked I-From “Lick Shot” off Immortal Technique’s 3^rd World

I got a hundred shooters wit me rugers shoot you threw the kidney/ Stand in front of the judge and liar quicker than Scooter Libby/ Im runnin threw the city, dear God,/ if I murk the racist Rush Limbaugh wonder would you forgive me/ huh somebody told me Glen Beck is the clan’s over-seer/ time to let him see a damn soldier/ flip ya land rover I told ya I blam toasters/ gun pop off like the mouth of Ann Coulter/ This is my gangsta religion, gun aim with precision, point blank the position/ Im black as them ancient Egyptians,/ before European historians went and changed the description/ Im blamed for the cane in the kitchen/ The CIA plane where they pitch the same cane that Im pinchin/ Listen, you dudes better watch the hook, Ima boxer, cops will come up Hoffa look/ They wanna get rid of this conscious crook, like Im agnostic/ apocryphal non-canonical gospel book/ But I aint goin nowhere, that’s the muthafuckin truth/ America don’t care for it’s inner-city youth

People who don’t appreciate reggae music usually complain that it is too repetitive. They say the same thing about Hip Hop too, but really it amounts to little more than an admission on the part of the complainer that they don’t understand the subtle differences in rhythm and tone that the polyrhythm of African music creates. And nowhere is this more present than the drum and bass sounds of reggae. So some people will never get I Wayne.

But for those of us who love roots music, I Wayne is already a superstar. I first heard him with his single “Cant Satisfy Her”, and pretty soon after that I heard his songs off of the album he did with Chuck Fenda, Richie Spice, and Jah Cure called Young Lions Vol 1.

His voice is always described as unique, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Really it’s kind of odd. If you haven’t heard his songs yet, look at this picture and try to predict what his voice would sound like.

Now think the opposite of that.      That’ll probably be close.

But it’s not just his unique sounding voice that made people pay attention to I Wayne. He also has a profoundly detailed and insightful way of describing real life situations. On the aforementioned introduction to I Wayne, “Can’t Satisfy Her”, he makes the subject of his single a warning to young girls about exploiting their sexuality for material gain. Not exactly the type of message that is typically heard on the radio, but the song was so infections even Hot97 had it in heavy rotation.

He’s released two solo albums for the seminal reggae label VP Records called Lava Ground and Book of Life, and he has performed everywhere, at festivals and small tours. From the annual festival held in his hometown of Garveymeade to stadiums in Sweden and Japan, he remains a humble soldier for his way of life. He’s never forgotten his roots, and still lives in Portmore, Jamaica with his family.

So at least go to his myspace page and hear the stuff he has for free there, and if you get the opportunity to support, go see a show or buy a record damn it, and put that in the air and meditate for a minute, you’ll be glad you did.

http://www.myspace.com/iwayne