HustleKnockin'

Heltah Skeltah's Nocturnal (A look back)

"Here We Come... Here We Come..."
A look back at Heltah Skeltah's Nocturnal

It was 1996...

I was locked in a cubicle, pick in fro, crappy dingy beige Mac underneath my fingertips, cold depressing Chicago wind pushing me to and from work… For that year, only 2 things kept me from jumping out of the office window:

One: our company’s windows were locked and sealed shut. Seriously, it was an old building and for insurance purposes the windows on the high floors were sealed shut to keep people from jumping then suing the company. Now I was pretty sure anyone who could survive a voluntary 300-foot header wouldn’t be thinking lawsuit as much as they’d be thinking “F**k, this didn’t work either!”

But the other thing that kept me sane was a little collabo called “Nocturnal.”

Nocturnal wasn’t the first New York hip hop album I’d heard, but it was the first one that made me want to drop everything I was doing and move to NYC. Even to this day, whenever I put on this Sparksy and Dutch opus I just wanna pack a bag and head east.

From the first muffled chants of Here We Come, I just felt like I was eavesdropping on some secretive, back-alley-of-a-warehouse-in-Brooklyn-after-dark madness. Like dudes were just stomping down the street spraying graffiti and rhyming their asses off against all comers.

Thanks to Nocturnal I walked down the halls at work for like a week mumbling, “My clique roll thick like Hasidics.” Which was weird given that I was usually walking by myself, and all my white stuffed-shirt coworkers knew as much about cliques as I knew about Hasidics. But no matter…

Heltah Skeltah just blew me away.

Letha Brainz Blo was probably the track that pushed Rock in my Top 10 for the entire decade. You hear that voice and it’s like that one crazy uncle you don’t leave your kids around because you know they’re gonna come back repeating stuff he said and if you don’t smack it outta their mouth on the spot, they’re gonna get themselves into a world of hurt later on.

Rockness was just a beast. He took aliases and working his name into his rhymes to a level I hadn’t heard since KRS-One’s heyday. How wild was Rock? Rock's antics nearly relegated Ruck (aka Sean Price)—one of the wilder lyricists to ever jump off the eastern seaboard—to a serviceable straight man. Between his growls, wild sub-references and sinister energy, you really did forget just how good Ruck was. I mean who else could call themselves, “the lyrical rocket launcher” and have you go, “yeah, I’ll buy that”? Better yet, show me another MC that could say “Word to Bon Jovi” like it meant something other than fitting a rhyme scheme without getting laughed out of their own city?

"the hell with angel dust/plus I bust the devil's lungs with lyrics from the tip of the tongue,               now you strung..."—Sean Price

More than charisma and character, Nocturnal showcased Heltah Skeltah as serious hardcore street 
lyricists. They didn’t bill themselves as thugs turned rappers, or D-boys turned rhyme-slingers… They were just dudes who seemed to be as much a part of the block as a curb who could also spit with just about anyone in the '90s.

The other thing I still dig about Nocturnal is the darkness of the production. Where predecessors like RZA were dark and choppy and the Bomb Squad was trying to scramble brains Nocturnal was just sinister angry grooves… somewhere between Mobb Deep or J-Dilla after an 8 year bid in Riker’s. The more you listen, the more you wanna nod your head and just mean-mug every cat that walks by.

But seasons change. Since Nocturnal, Sean Price has  resurfaced as a people’s champ of the underground releasing a whole slew of muscular punchline-heavy mixtapes and solo projects to much success. (Word to Kimbo Price). As for Rock, “Mr Bummy Jab” has battled labels, drug addiction, and assorted legal issues including a manslaughter charge.

In 2008, Ruck and Rock reunited for their under-appreciated D.I.R.T.(Da Incredible Rap Team). And continue to work on new projects for Buck and Dru Ha on the reconfigured Duck Down Records.

As for me, I’m too old to be frowning without a purpose. And Cali’s weather has reduced my return to NYC to a pipe dream. Tho if the ground shakes one more gin, I might be in BK by summer. But fact remains Nocturnal is one of my fave hiphop albums of the '90s and a worthy mention on any 100 best ever list.

Review: Nas & Damian Marley's Distant Relatives

Review: Nas and Damian Bring It Back Home on Distant Relatives

By: Black Canseco

Last year when I first heard Nas was linking with Damian Marley for his next album, I immediately had visions of recycled Marley-as-spliff punchlines, rambling one-love diatribes, and uninspired Chant Down Babylon rehashes, and/or— given Nas’ relationship woes—hip hop’s version of Here, My Dear. The probabilities had me cringing and side-eyeing all over this release.

But can you blame me? I mean, the last time a Marley hooked up with a revered New York mic fiend, the Fugees broke up. (Still missin’ you, L-Boogie.)

So, as I loaded my advanced copy of Distant Relatives I kept one finger on the delete button and a couple 140 shots on old men rapping at the ready. And then, something strange began to happen:

It got good.

In fact, Distant Relatives is a great album. From the opening As We Enter to the last track Africa Must Wake Up, Distant Relatives is the most focused, cohesive, and accessible album Nas has dropped since Stillmatic; and quite possibly his most mature work since… well, yeah, that one.

First off (as y'all know), I’m a sucker for a good concept; and Distant Relatives has a simple but ambitious one: We are family. Now that’s a hard one to pull off in modern hip hop—a genre that’s devolved into blind battle rhymes and random me-me-me bravado as song.

But on Distant Relatives, Nas gets his inner city griot on and effortlessly weaves parables, parallels and poems to connect the dots of the diaspora from track to track. Every song on DR eloquently weaves a consistent cry for unity in with oft-painfully observant swaths of dysfunction, struggle and snapshots of clashing.

The best example of this might be Tribal War in which Nas and K’naan (who appears on 3 songs in total, killing it each time) rhapsodize over a haunting marching beat on the depths of division in Africa—nation vs. family vs. brother vs. man vs. self with Marley on pleading refrain, “Everyone deserves to earn, every child deserves to learn.”

Leaders finds Nas, Damian, plus brother Stephen Marley bringing the Jamrock to QB to cleverly challenge the very precept of who and what a real leader is and which leaders we should be following and emulating. (Answer: Ourselves.)

But my favorite song on Distant Relatives is the Michael Franti-esque Count Your Blessings. It just sorta comes out of nowhere; not that it doesn’t fit the album. CYB’s production, which I’ll get to in a second, is actually in tune with the rest of DR; but it’s such an optimistic song that it might go down as “I Can” for adults. It was a real pleasant surprise for me.

As for DR’s overall sound, I’ve long accused Nas of suffering from L.E.S. (Lyricist’s Ear Syndrome)—a disease of bad budgets, bad scheduling, and preoccupation with wordsmithing that just kills one’s ability to consistently pick good beats to rhyme over.

But maybe Nas’ ear has evolved. Maybe he finally got a good budget for the first time in years. Maybe Damian gave him a bag of prime sticky-icky and told him to pipe down till it’s time to put the words in… I dunno. But whatever happened, they need to clone it because it worked.

Just as Premo gave Illmatic a cohesive voice, Damian Marley helps galvanize all Distant Relatives’ range of subjects and flows into an actual album with a singular vision. Distant Relatives eschews worn-out boom bap, stale soul loops, and trendy electro mash-ups in favor of a rich sauce of reggae, African folk, and afro-Caribbean soul. I’m talking lutes, It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard Nas rhyme over before; but like the true artist he is, Nas flexes his flow and handles every track, not totally unlike Black Thought on an Ahmir beat.

As for Jr. Gong, Distant Relatives solidifies him as an artist beyond his last name. Poppa Bob’s shoes were too much to fill and Ziggy is just too damn PBS-happy to be running behind emulating. Instead, Damian sings with more controlled soul and mature interpretation than I’ve heard him do in a while.

Also, if the finished product’s any indication, the impending Distant Relatives tour will be a really big ass live band fulla badass black folk on some Paul Simon & Graceland trip. (Don’t screw this up, Nas.)

Oh, and before I forget: K’naan is a beast. The troubadour comes through on 3 DR tracks like the 2010 version of AZ and just embeds himself into each beat like an earworm. In fact, I’m ready to start a petition for Distant Relatives 2: K’naan & Damian Marley, he was so good.

But if there is a drawback to Distant Relatives, it’s that as lyrically connected as Nas is with larger political, cultural and social topics, he seems equally distant from, well… himself.

Save for a couple swipes at his ex-wife (which you knew was coming eventually), there’s not one song on DR that seems to be about Nas, specifically. Instead, Nas goes the other way crafting coherent convo starters about Africa, cliques and community (Strong Will Continue, Friends), race, politics (Leaders), war (Tribal War), God (In His Own Words), etc. while seldom spitting much on his personal life.

And maybe that’s okay. Nas is no longer the gap-tooth prodigy yelling, “look at me” over a Large Pro thump. Now he’s a grown man saying, “Listen to what I have to say.” You can really hear the growth in Nas writing throughout DR. Besides, in a Reality TV/Tweet your toilet break society, I don’t need to know Nas’ personal business. Plus, there’s a legion of others who do the emo thing better.

Lyrically potent, sonically rich and culturally alive, Distant Relatives was a great listen for me. It’s great to hear an emcee well into his 30s not rhyming like a 15 year old. Distant Relatives is an album adults who came up on hiphop can bump, while discussing about issues raised, not just who’s a realer n***a… all while noddin’ out to quality production.

Welcome back, Nas.

 

Throwback Video: Tony Terry... Lovey Dovey

Who doesn't love a good throwback video? This one's from Tony Terry. Member him (When I'm with you, etc.)


Now the reason I chose this one was because there's something almost counter-culture-ish about a guy talking about how awkward being in love makes him feel. Like he loses control; but not in a jerkwad, Ben Roethsliberger, alleged-assualter kinda way. But in an awww... he-might-write-you-a-goofy note-with-multiple-choice-questions in-crayon and tape it to a piece of Brach's-candy kinda way. Are black male singers allowed to be awkward like this anymore? Maybe... but not without having their sexuality questioned. Something's happened where being manly equals being an asshat towards women. And being sensitive is the domain of white guys and emo kids. I doubt a Tony Terry type of song could work today. I just don't think we'd take too kindly to a grown man not being an a--hole over an r&b track. Much as we complain about this very thing, I think we actually like male R&B singers this way. We like black men to be jerks on a beat. So much for my morning feelgood joint. I'm done. Enjoy the song, ignore the commentary. Talk soon.

Shakti: Feminenergy w/working links...

Okay, as many have reminded me, this fine young woman right here:

Doesn't have working links to her music. And for that, I'm sorry, as it's my fault for that. F

or future reference, if you wanna help your friends promote their stuff, you should throw up the proper links. (Bad BC! Bad BC!)

So here goes again:

Let Me Dance by Shakti

U Don't Want It by Shakti

(my) Obsession by Shakti

These are all singles off the upcoming Feminenergy project, which you can check out on Amazon.com UK right here. It's not on the US Amazon site as Shakti's actually doing well overseas so she wants to build a buzz there first and...  Well, you know crazy artists and their marketing strategies and all.

Point is, it's fun music. The links work now. So check it out and lemme know what you think.

Shakti: Feminenergy

I gotta tell y'all... I got some sexy ol friends. Really, I do. Now let's take the young lady above:

Her name is Shakti.

I've known Shakti for almost 10 years now. She's one of the sweetest people I know and truly a really good friend. So much so, that I barely write about her—as is the case with most folks really close to me. I'm just kinda odd and protective that way.

But the reason I'm posting now is, well, she's a singer and she's got a new album out. It's been a long time coming, too. She makes some really fun, sexy, hot dance music with an urban, east Indian flavor. Feminenergy is not gonna change the world, but it's fun stuff that'll make you sweat on the dance floor. (Among other places.)

Think MIA meets Timbaland with a retro, late 90s flavor.

So here's a couple ditties to sample off her debut 21-tracker Feminenergy. Right now, it's only available in the UK, but you can click here and preview the whole thing. It'll drop in the US sometime in July. So take a listen. Enjoy the freebies and spread the word:

1. U Don't Want It

3. Let Me Dance

So that's it for now. Enjoy and support the indies.

We could be more...

"You step in, God healed my heartache
And this is way past lust/no prom date
And we could be a sweet aroma—strangè!
And they could call us outkasts—Andrè
Told my boys, "Yeah catch me I'm fallin'"
You were on my team even when I ain't ballin
You a 'preciate your boy in the worst case
I was like 9/11—the worst date.
You been runnin thru my mind—1st place
Those other girls stay weak—Thursday
This is gentlemen's music—Boys II men
I'm done with that player's life—born again
We'll be joined in body & soul
heart and mind, money and time
if she's chocolate or vanilla or your butterschotch cream
she the only one for you, she should make you wanna sing:
Girl, you know I love you so much...
Girl, you know I love you so much...

—Sho Baraka, We Can Be More

Sometimes you just want something grown in your life. Grown isn't always smooth, sometimes grown is just honest--an honesty that's not afraid to be awkward. The quotable above is courtesy of Mr. Sho Baraka. It's from a song he sent me called "We Can Be More". It's a love song. It's one of the most honest songs, I've heard about hiphop in a long, long, time.

Besides Sho's clearly smart wordplay and flow, you can hear the honesty in every bar. Deep down we all wanna be more, don't we? Women want more than just dates, guys want more than just jump-offs or wifeys... Sho was just honest enough to put it on a track. And this is a song you won't be ashamed to bump outloud because it's so well-written and produced. (But don't take my word for it, here's the song for yourself:

Download We Can Be More ft J.R

"We Can be More", which features the immensely talented JR on the hook is the lead single from Sho Baraka's upcoming sophomore album "Lions & Liars" which drops at the end of March (3.30.10)

Gil Scott-Heron: I'm New Here [Review]

GET FAMILIAR: Gil Scott-Heron's Back!

If you gotta pay for what you've done wrong, I've got a big bill coming."
—Gill Scott-Heron

Today, Lil Wayne gets sentenced; Gil Scott Heron releases a new (and really good!) album. Poetic justice, I'd say.

Okay, so Lil Wayne's actually sentencing got pushed back. But still, GSH's album didn't. I'm New Here is out and goodness-gracious is it good! I'm New Here is the new album—the first in 17 years from Gil Scott-Heron, a man who'se two and a half-names ain't enough to handle who he is.

Now for those of you thinking, "wow Gil's really fallen off since being in that Tyler Perry movie," all I hafta say is... Cocaine's a helluva drug.

Seriously tho, Gil Scott-Heron was one of my major writing inspirations coming up. My pops had a couple albums—15th and Lenox and The Revolution Will Not be Televised on wax back when one turntable was all wax required. The guy was just stunning...

No matter what song he was doing you could hear the writing in it. You could hear someone with a pen and a pad and a lot of time and practice. Gil Scott-Heron wrote like writing meant something and spoke like someone who always had something important to talk about. He had a purpose and a polish that I really haven't heard many artists since then.

On I'M NEW HERE, GSH brings that same polish, purpose plus a liberal dose of reflection and humility. INH is 15 organically sparse tracks of Gil purging demons, droppin' science and singing for redemption. Nhe years of addiction and prison have grinded GSH's voice from a once lethal-blowtorch to a pot of hot embers. But it's that kind of warmth that brings so much of this album to life.

Me and The Devil sounds like it should've been the anchor track of BOOK OF ELI. It's thumping mix of gothic-techno, soulful, black... When Gil wails Son House-style about "Early this morning, you come knockin on my door/I say, 'Hello Satan, it's time for me and you to go..." you just know somebody's bout to die. (or wish they had.)

My fave track is New York Is Killing Me. It's ironic to hear the man who practically invented spoken-word and pioneered rap say in a song that New York—the city generations of rappers and hiphop culture -vultures alike have idolized and fetishized—is somehow killing him. It's an amazing song.

I'M NEW HERE should be required listening for everyone who loves hiphop and good soul music.

My Robin Thicke Sex Therapy Session, Pt. Two

My Robin Thicke Sex Therapy Session, Pt. Two

So where was I? Oh yeah…

So we get to the Warfield Theater on Friday,  at about 7:30 pm…

We take our seats… and wait.

And wait…

And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait… And wait…

And wait…

Around 8:15 a local DJ comes out and starts spinning. Some old school hiphop and New Jack Swing.  It’s nice but it’s not really an opening act. So far, no Laura Izibor, No Leslie, No Thicke.

After about a half-hour, the DJ jets and folks are left to sit on their hands and wander the halls of the Warfield again.

Finally, about 9:30 or so, Robin Thicke’s band takes the stage…

My first thought is “Robin’s the headliner, and it’s 9:30 now so what happened to Ryan and Laura?”

Never seen a show where the big name came out before the smaller acts. Just doesn’t work that way. So needless to say I’m annoyed. I paid $42 for 3 acts. Not that Robin Thicke’s a bad guy or anything, but I wouldn’t have paid $42 just to see him. Sorry Robin.

So that was my attitude by the time Mr. Growing Pains, Jr. started.

But low and behold, the guy wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Granted, Thicke sings in a near wafer-thin falsetto, but it kinda works for him. And what Thicke lacks in vocal chops he makes up for in energy.

Thicke also laced the crowd with a nice cover of MJ’s Rock With You (you almost saw it coming, but had enough presence and flavor to pull it off). Also gave a nice version of Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing… (sorry ran outta battery juice on these…)

But where Thicke won me over was probably doing Shooter—his crossover hit with Lil Wayne from Carter II. It took a ton of courage to do this because so much of the song was anchored in Wayne’s flow; but RT’s band was hot.

Tho the capper and what ruined the show was seeing Ryan Leslie finally take the stage. Around 11pm Ryan Leslie came out and ran around skipping for 30 seconds, waved to the crowd then left. Soon as he ran off, I half expected Laura Izibor to come out, do a fake striptease and walk off stage left.

Confused fans were left chanting “Ryan Ryan” for minutes as the stage went black; a huge indication that hundreds of folks had paid to see Leslie as much as they were paying to see Thicke. Not good.

Later I found out online that Ryan Leslie was snowed in NYC and couldn’t make the flight to get to Cali in time. And apparently Laura Izibor canceled last minute as well. But because the venue never announced anything, people came in with the expectation of seeing all three acts. And as hard as Thicke worked to give a good show, he made no mention of the fact that his opening acts weren’t there.

Social media’s funny. For all the world’s techy little updates and announcements and advancements, there’s still no underestimating the simple power of an actual human voice looking you square in the eye and giving you the courtesy of telling you wants going on.

Robin Thicke: Sex Therapy Tour (Pt. One)

My Robin Thicke Sex Therapy Session, Pt. One aka
2 Monkey Wrenches Don’t Stop The Show. (But they can ruin one.)

“Also, if you didn’t know this is called the show…”
—Doug E. Fresh/Slick Rick

So I’m chillin in San Fran in December 2009, munching at Farmer Brown—one of my fave spots up there—when my frustration begins…

First off, no matter what, you gotta go to Farmer Brown’s. It’s a fairly limited menu, but what they have is supreme. Secondly, you gotta try the catfish and sweet potato fries. It’s so wrong it’s good.

So about 8pm I’m posted up by the velvet curtain upfront waiting to be seated, when I spot my mission for Friday night:

The Sex Therapy Tour: Robin Thicke. Ryan Leslie. Laura Izibor…. All on one bill. At the Warfield. So sayeth the shiny postcard I picked up. (they still print stuff to promote music; go figure.)

Now I’m not a huge RT fan… I still remember him from:

But I dug his Shooter w/ Wayne and a couple other collabs. What had me interested was Laura Izibor, whose Let The Truth Be Told was easily one of my fave albums of 2009—sexy, adult optimistic soul music. (Think: Des’ree meets Chrisette Michelle sorta vibe.) And Ryan “Diamond Girl” Leslie.

As much as I dig Leslie’s style, his social media game is even tighter. He used YouTube to film his own “artist in the making/day in the life” almost a year prior to his release and really leveraged blackberry as a connective vehicle to reach fans. (word to Mike Jones). While everyone else was sleeping, dude built massive buzz on a relatively small budget.

That plus some pretty dope music earns my respect and duckets.

So after checkin with the (semi-) Missus, I hop on my G1 to scoop up some tickets. About 30 minutes and several reboots later, I’m looking at $42 and change per tix.

By the way:

Can somebody please tell Ticketmaster.com just how badly their site loads on phones? It’s 2009/2010 and they still don’t have a mobile-friendly site…for concert tickets?! C’mon now!

Anyway, I got my tix. $42 for 3 quality acts @ the Warfield on a Friday night in SF? Can’t complain.

By the way:

Can somebody please tell Ticketmaster.com just how badly their site loads on phones? It’s 2009/2010 and they still don’t have a mobile-friendly site…for concert tickets?! C’mon now!

PART TWO COMING THIS AFTERNOON...

Should a Funeral Win an Award?

Should a Funeral Win an Award?

NAACP  thinks so.

This year at the 41st annual NAACP IMAGE AWARDS (airing Feb 26 on Fox) Michael Jackson’s funeral broadcast will be competing for Best Outstanding Variety (Series/Special). That’s right folks, BET has nominated Michael Jackson’s funeral for an award.

This is, in the words of Arsenio Hall in Coming 2 America, “good and turrble.”

Here’s the list of nominees MJ's casketshow is up against:

41st Annual NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Variety – (Series or Special)

    * "BET Awards 2009" (BET)
    * "Bill Cosby: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" (PBS)
    * "The Michael Jackson Memorial: Celebrating the Life of Michael Jackson"
       (ABC, BET, CNN, MTV, NBC)
    * "Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me" (HBO)
    * "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" (HBO)

(Click here for full listing of noms and categories.)

Look, this isn’t going to end well either way. Let’s say you’re Wanda Sykes and you lose out to MJ’s funeral. You lost to a funeral. I mean, NAACP will essentially be telling you that your special wasn’t compelling enough to top  a dead guy? On the other hand, what if you’re Wanda (or Bill Cosby) and you win? Big deal, you only beat a dead guy.

And god forbid MJ wins... Who's gonna do the acceptance speech? Jermaine? And what do you say. "My brother's funeral was the best funeral ever?" And then you gotta do the obligatory albeit 12 months old "Imo let you finish but Lady Di had the best death ever" bit.

And what does such a nomination tell us about Black people, really? That our greatest aspiration is to be idolized in death to the point of hysterical delusion?

*shakes head*

I know there’s a "rolling over in his grave" joke in here somewhere; but at this rate, that’s liable to get Michael Jackson nominated for BET VIDEO Award or a SoulTrain statue or something.


NAACP... Oh Lord have mercy. For all my rants and critics of the NAACP over the years, all I can say at this point is if NAACP were a child, I've get it a chinstrap, a diaper change and a plate of cookies, some milk and a hug.

Entermission: DJ Official!

When I get a minute, I'm gonna do a more formal review for one of my fav albums of 2009— Entermission by DJ Official. Until I get a sec, here's a little something from Reach Records' EPK on DJ Official.

NOTE: This is not a paid-for post.

In fact, I've been buying music from these folks for a couple years now, so they just email me and ask me to spread the word. Not like they know me or anything; they just know my PayPal acct. Anyway, I just believe in this label and respect their output, so here it is.

Review come soon. Till then:

 

Entermission: the debut album from DJ Official available in stores now!

 After producing for over 10 years and serving as traveling deejay, Official finally has the opportunity to reveal the dynamic of his skill-set on one project. The album is purposed to influence Christians to think about the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) and the Great Commandment (Luke 10:27) on a local level. As Christians we have a personal mission field, which consist of those that God has placed in our sphere of influence. With a missional mindset we can affect the people around us with the Gospel message by the way we live and conduct ourselves in our everyday walk.

This is a message that needs to be heard and with everything from Reggae, South, East Coast, Commercial, Underground, Electro, and Rock/Hipster featured on the album there is something for everyone!

EnterMission features over 20 artists such as Lecrae, Flame, Sho Baraka, JR, Tedashii, Trip Lee, R-Swift, Thi'sl, Jahaziel, and more! Every single track on EnterMission is produced by DJ Official. To buy it on iTunes, click here To order the physical album, go here You can listen to the singles, read about the album, and create your own version of the album cover here

There are three versions to choose from:

 

This one....

and this one here:

2010: The Year of The Lion

One MC that I've really enjoyed in the last couple years is named Sho Baraka. In 2007 he dropped a versatile high-energy Turn My Life Up (Reach Records). In 2009 he broke us off with the free mixtape Barakology: Why So Serious? (Free DL here). Well, he's back and re-upping for his new album Lions and Liars. See Cover:

 

3.30.2010

The good folks over at Rapzilla.com did an interview with Sho Baraka while he was on the road. Check it out below for updates on what he's up to in ATL, his church, and his upcoming album Lions and Liars.

Sade: Solider Of Love (Official Video)

"I have lost the use of my heart, but I am still alive."
—Sade

Where do I begin? While I figure that out, just watch.

What can I say? I have loved Her since I was 10 years old—or since before birth. (Still not sure which.) All that matters now is this:

We are roughly 4 Tuesdays away from what should be something really beautiful.

You have been warned.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go thank God again for this.

Give It Here: Aceyalone, Ahmad, Pep Love

Here's a little heat from one of the legends in the game... Ahmad. Enjoy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sC6IwOaQQg

Shachah is Back! Let The Light In!

I'm still on vacay, but I just wanted to come by and drop a quick note:

I swear, Shachah makes some really dope music. As you know I reviewed their first album ON THE MOVE last year. See Here.

Come to think of it, I also interviewed them on a whim a while back when the album dropped. Check that one out as well. See here.

It's good to see these cats avoid the sophomore/junior slump. Their latest is called Let The Light In. It's more cool funky rock hip hop which is better than I just described. But don't worry, I'll get an official review out the door soon.

Meanwhile I rolled over to their site and copped this gorgeous widget player so you can sample their offerings. You want some uplifting goodness? Shachah's got you.

UPDATE: MY APOLOGIES FOR THE FLASH PLAYER.... COULDN'T TURN IT OFF AND IT WAS BUGGING HK VISITORS. Visit Shachah.com  or Cross Movement Records to get their music.

Da Truth got The Big Picture!

I think you're gonna like this one...

I've reviewed a few Truth albums. He has yet to truly disappoint. Tho the "da" in the name is about ready to be retired, no, Mr. Lambert?) That aside, he brings it on every release. This player is from his most recent effort, The Big Picture.

Honestly, I don't think it's as good as OPEN BOOK (his last album from 2007), but it's still an exceptional release that would be the prime jewel in anyone else's crown.

With that said, happy listening...

Music Review: Turn Me Loose by Ledisi

Are you ready to get Lifted?
A review of Turn Me Loose.

By: Black Canseco

Artist: Ledisi

Title: Turn Me Loose [CD/DVD]

Label: Verve Recordings 2009

 Divas. There’s too many divas in music today. Too many singers that sing as if they’re doing the song and the listener a favor just by showing up. Too many attitude + ego over aptitude blowers. Well, Ledisi is not one of them; which is what makes her new album, Turn Me Loose such an enjoyable listen. That and the fact that she doesn’t over-sing.)

From the funky dusty hiphop flavor of “Running,” TM’s intro (produced by hiphop legend Chief Xcel) all the way through to the Des’ree-flavored Moving On Ledisi sings with a genuine joy and appreciation that few other artists do. She sounds like a woman you want to root for—one that’s been through some dirt but finds a way to smile and keep fighting and keep singing thru the darkness.

Turn Me Loose proves to be a joyous metaphor for Ledisi’s artistic and personal growth. Where her Feeling Orange But Sometimes Blue (2002) showcased a deeply rooted jazz ingénue with an R+B powerhouse’s range, and her 2008 Grammy-nominated Lost and Found was pure grownfolk soul (and one of the decade’s best R+B albums), Turn Me Loose and is a continual vibe of evolving possibilities. For 16 tracks TML blends gospel, soul, rollicking bluesy rock, jazz, and mature R+B courtesy of some of the top producers in the game (think: Jimmy Jam + Terry Lewis, Chief Xcel, Raphael Saadiq, Carl + Ivan).

It’s hard to pick a single standout joint on Turn Me loose—there’s so many. But my faves include: Knockin’— a bluesy guitar rock soul-clap-filled anthem that shouts at the devil to stay up offa you. (You’ll wanna play this one on the way to work every morning.) "Love Never Changes" is an old school Al Green-ish toe-tapper about regrets and hard times in which love was the life raft in the storms. Goin’ Thru Changes is a searingly sophisticated tome about a woman fighting the temptation to sleep with a married man who happens to be her best friend. Them Changes sounds like a duet Tina Turner and Aerosmith might do, only funkier. Please Stay is a fun call to a lover that, thanks to Ledisi’s self-assuredness, sounds sexy but never desperate or slutty.

Turn Me Loose isn’t Ledisi at her peak—she’s too good to be maxed out yet-—especially if she pushes further into the rock vibe she touched on; but TML proves once again that Ledisi’s still miles higher than the rest and it’s clear sailing from here on out.

Here's a couple songs to hear:

Ledisi, Knockin’

Higher Than This - Ledisi

Altered Minds is Coming your way...

I'm getting into a lot more Christian music these days... Gonna try to check these guys out. Lemme know what you think. If you've heard anything about them please share.

Music Review: Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones

Ladies + Germs, The Lonely Ones Have Arrived!
A Review of "Aceyalone + The Lonely Ones"

The Lonely Ones
Aceyalone
Decon Reords 2009

“I had my nose wide open/she had her ears wide shut/
it was kinda like ‘oops upside your head’ trying to get right side up.”
—Aceyalone, The Lonely Ones

Now when I tell y’all that The Lonely Ones by Aceyalone is funky, I don’t mean Eric B. on the cut funky.  I don’t mean P-Funk funky… I mean, Brand-New-Heavies-channeling Staxx-Records funky.

It dropped back in January 09, but I just discovered  Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones on a whim... DL’d it off the strength of Aceyalone more than anything. (I’ve always admired the cat going back to his Freestyle Fellowship days and his Accepted Eclectic/Project Blowed work in the late 90s.) So I heard he had a new project out and, well… you know how it is: you’re looking for something a little different. So here it is on my harddrive.

And besides being funky, The Lonely Ones is also one of the funnest, most well-rounded and cohesive hip hop albums in years; and I mean years! TLOs combines old ‘60s funk, R&B soul, doo-wop swang (courtesy of rising star producer Bionik) with some flexible confident w/o being cocky hiphop lyricism all wrapped around everyman/everywoman issues of love + relationships, blue collar woes, politics, night life and spirituality. And at just 11 tracks totally less than 35 minutes, it’s a straight up rush.

“I want you to take this with you baby, and let it marinate in your skull/
sometimes life’s about pushin’ and pullin’/and baby you ain’t got no pull.”
—Aceyalone, Push N’ Pull

TLO’s production, most of which is courtesy of a West Coast cat named Bionik, feels less like beats to rhyme over and more like a full band to be played with. From the vulnerability of the title track to the funky drummer licks of "On The One" Bionik captures that sense of old school sweat-it-out musicianship perfectly. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Bionik hired the musicians Raphael Saadiq used on The Way I See It.

But what really sets The Lonely Ones apart is ’lone’s rhyme ethos: Where a good 90% of hip hop pump two or three sets of 16s of I’m-betta-than-you narcissism plus a hook, Acey rhymes actual songs with minimal mention of his dopeness. Sometimes he’s doing call and response, sometimes he’s rhyme-chanting, other times it straight spit. On songs like “Straight To The Top” Acey’s flow is so elastic that he’s not emceeing as much as it’s emcee-ging and it’s still dope.

Meanwhile, enjoy Can't Hold Me Back off The Lonely Ones:

Can’t Hold Me Back You can cop The Lonely Ones on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, etc. Also, check out Bionik at: http://www.myspace.com/bionikal and Aceyalone at: www.myspace.com/aceyalone

So Far Gone! Everyday Process is Outtadisworld

So Far Gone: A Review of Outtadisworld
by Everyday Process
By: B. Canseco

When the President of the United States is seen as less American than an underworld hustler turned demagoguing consumerist lyricist with a god-complex named Hova you know hiphop’s days of rebel yelling are done. And that’s what makes Every Process’ new album Outtadisworld so important—it puts the guerilla warfare back into hiphop.

From the opening of Invasion, EP boldly notes “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Wow. Then for the next 15 tracks Everyday Process mixes District 9-esque voice filters and awkward anti-worldly flows with wildly sonic beats to let every listener know that the real rebels are those willing to die to this world and live for Christ.

Yup, Everyday Process are Christian MCs. Loud and proud. And pardon my French but Mac the Doulos and Iz-Real can rhyme their asses off. I mean they go in on every track, which is true feat—because Outtadisworld’s beats are so thick, so dense, and so body-rocking loud that lesser emcees would be swallowed whole by them.

But what will amaze you and amazed me most about Outtadisworld is how hot and forward the production is. It’s track after track of thumpin’ synth, driving southern flavored funk that, to be perfectly honest, Blueprint 3 could’ve used more of. And again, Everyday Process manage to ride the hell out of every single track, of which there are several standouts: 

“All Out” is an anthematic call to Christians to not just talk it, but to live their faith beyond weekly church services. (“Listen Christians/you must go in/ if you side with the One like the zero in ‘ten’…”) “Fire,” is a club rocker, plain and simple. And “Freak” is a really rowdy and clever flip on old school call and response. “Bye, Bye” is an urban techno-flavored thumper that speaks to the Rapture, when believers ascend to heaven. Sounds crazy, but in keeping with the theme, they manage to pull it off nicely. Other high energy standouts include New and “Against The Grain”.

Overall, Outtadisworld is as cohesive an album as I’ve heard in a while. While its “alien” meme has been done before (L’il Wayne, I see you), what puts Outtadisworld in orbit is that Mac and Iz are shunning everything of this world and everything normally associated with hiphop in the name of spreading the gospel. So when you hear MCs shunning liquor drugs, consumerism, sex, pride violence, etc it really does sound foreign to what’s out there. There’s no n-word, no degrading of women, no exaggerated drug tales. Just really solid conceptual rhymes and hooks, and good old rebellious rhythms.

I hear a lot of people complaining about hiphop’s misogyny and lack of standing for something important, not to mention the cookie-cutter formula most artists and album use these days; but here’s a chance to check out a crew that really stand for something, have a real message and most importantly, make really good music. Everyday Process’s Outtadisworld is an exceptionally good album, and I hope you check it out.

OUTTADISWORLD. Everyday Process. Crossmovement Records. 2009. [Available on DaSouth.com, Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby, Christian outlets everywhere.]

Meanwhile, here's a little Fire for you, courtesy of Everyday Process.