The Moblito Muxtape!

Image courtesy of Algierz

The Moblito Muxtape

I had no idea what the hell a Muxtape was until very recently. I did some quick research and learned about it. It seems like it’s been catching on pretty quickly and music heads generally like it. I also like the concept a lot although there are numerous improvements that still need to be made to make it more user friendly.

In memory of Pimp C, I decided to make my Muxtape a compilation of overlooked/obscure U.G.K. tracks. Below are some words about each track.

DJ DMD featuring Pimp C – “The Trill Connection”
From DJ DMD’s acclaimed album Twenty-Two: PA Worldwide.

U.G.K. – “Like Yesterday”
From The Southern Way.

U.G.K. – “Bump and Grill”
From the I Got the Hook Up soundtrack.

U.G.K. – “You Don’t Know Me”
I’ve forgotten for what album, if any, this song was intended.

Pimp C – “Play Hard”
Allegedly Pimp C and Master P had major beef (something about C being kidnapped and beaten in a hotel room by some of P’s goons). Anyway, this song is C’s response and he sounds pretty heated. A lot of subliminal shots are thrown at Master P and No Limit Records throughout the track.

David Banner & Pimp C – “Get Crunk”
This track is from Firewater Boyz, an old David Banner cd. The sound and vibe are classic U.G.K.

Smoked Outt Records featuring Pimp C – “Cop Yo Drop”
C and Lil Derrick (R.I.P. to Derrick) collaborate on this track.

One Gud Cide featuring U.G.K. – “Down Here”
One Gud Cide released some great music in the 1990’s, as did many others on the Suave House label. I highly recommend checking out some of their stuff.

U.G.K. – “Family Affair”
From the Baller Blockin soundtrack.

U.G.K. – “Tossed Up”
A funky track on Mean Green’s excellent Major Players compilation album from No Limit.

U.G.K. – “Belts To Match”
From The Wood soundtrack.

U.G.K. featuring Too Short – “It’s Alright”
From the Dangerous Ground soundtrack.

“I Know Why”
Gucci Mane and Rich Boy are simply okay and tolerable on this track, but C steals the show with a comical verse.

Some New Songs…

That I’ve been feeling recently.

Rapper Big Pooh – “Smile”
A feel good track from Pooh. He raps about his parents and struggles in a heartfelt manner. The beat goes hard too. I believe it was produced by Young RJ, a Detroit based producer whose done some excellent work for other Detroit area rappers like Phat Kat and Slum Village.

Grand Puba – “Cold World”
Puba sounds like he’s got a chip on his shoulder. While he doesn’t name anyone in particular, it’s apparent from the lyrics that many people have done wrong by him the past and he’s trying to put it behind him and regain some respect. I applaud his grind and persistence. If this is any indication of what Puba has in store, he will definitely make a few waves this year in the industry.

Playa’s Circle – “Look What I Got”
This is a candidate for beat of the year, but I wish the rapping complemented it a bit better. Whenever I get an instrumental version, I’ll post it.

Wale – “Rediscover Me”
I’m probably relatively late to react to this song, but f*ck it. Aqua (producer for Jay-Z’s “My First Song”) made the beat (which is very soulful btw) and Wale just raps about himself and what makes him a noteworthy, relevant emcee.

Kia Shine, 8Ball, and Young Buck – “The Kush”
Tennesee in the house! The song is a bit long (almost 8 minutes), but the last couple minutes features Shine talking over the instrumental, which is fine because the beat is phenomenal – a funky, jazzy, laid back type of vibe that reminds me something Willie Hutch would have played.

Some new Slow Motion Soundz/Paper Route tracks:
Lyrx, ST 2 Lettaz, and Jhi Ali – “Beat Down Low”
A lady-friendly track that bangs hard enough for the fellas. Lyrx sings for most of the song. ST and Jhi Ali contribute some solid verses. I really like Jhi Ali’s part at the end when the beat changes tempo. A highly enjoyable track overall.

Bi-Pola – “Like A Model”
A cool song about women who handle their shit. Along the lines of Webbie’s “I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T.” Check it out!

Let me also add that Block Beataz handles the production quite well on both SMS/PRG tracks.

Hip-Hop Nostalgia: Blaze Magazine

Who remembers this publication? One of its most notable issues featured a list of the top 50 emcees. It was published in 1999. It’s cool seeing Blaze’s list and comparing it who’s who in 2008. It’s crazy how things have changed over the past 9 or so years.

Here’s the list:

1.Rakim
2.KRS-One
3.Notorious BIG
4.Big daddy Kane
5.LL Cool J
6.Kool G Rap
7.Tupac
8.Slick Rick
9.Jay Z
10.Ice Cube
11.Grandmaster Caz
12.Chuck D
13.Run
14.Melle Mel
15.Nas
16.Too Short
17.Kurtis Blow
18.Posdnous
19.Kool Moe Dee
20.Redman
21.Lauryn Hill
22.Scarface
23.DMC
24.Busy Bee
25.Q-Tip
26.Common
27.Raekwon
28.Gza
29.The DOC
30.Kool Keith
31.Ice T
32.Treach
33.Dre (outkast)
34.Doug E Fresh
35.Grand Puba
36.Method Man
37.Snoop Dogg
38.Fresh Prince
39.Cee-Lo
40.Eazy E
41.MC Lyte
42.Busta Rhymes
43.E-40
44.Biz Markie
45.Ras Kass
46.Schooly D
47.Queen Latifah
48.Lord Finesse
49.MC Ren
50.Pharoahe Monch

Some Random Observations:
I wouldn’t put Jay-Z ahead of Nas today. Busta Rhymes and Scarface would be way higher nowadays as well. I think Slug and/or Brother Ali would be considered among the top 50 today.

Two of the most flagrant exemptions are 50 Cent and Eminem. Neither had built a solid reputation at the time this list was created.

Perhaps the most disappointing, however, is the dearth of Southern rappers on the list. Noteworthy rappers like 8Ball & MJG, T.I., and Z-Ro were not nearly as prominent at the time this list was published.

Other information about Blaze:
Keith Clinksales, featured here in a Harvard Business School profile, was president of Vibe Magazine at the time. He is credited with being one the masterminds behind the publication. For myriad reasons, it went out of business. Urban Expose (another classic website that I’ll write about later) has a lot of scathing words for the magazine and its allegedly incompetent management. Notice the sharp contrast in the tone and perspective of the Expose article and HBS one.

The Roots Perform on Letterman

Now this is what I call a live performance. For those of you who haven’t seen The Roots perform live, you’re really missing out. This clip is further evidence that The Roots’ live show game is not to be taken lightly:

Random Songs…

From a couple mixtapes that came out within the past month from Rich Boy and Houston representative Killa Kyleon. The mixtape from Rich Boy is titled Bigger Than The Mayor and Killa Kyleon’s is called Killa Music. Both are decent.

From Bigger Than The Mayor:
“Wrist Out The Window” featuring Shawty Lo and Gucci Mane
If you have a system in your car, please play this because the beat on this track is seriously thumpin! Shawty Lo and Gucci Mane contribute some vocals to the track, with the latter only being featured on a sample on the chorus.

“Haters Wish”
The chorus uses a couple of lines from “Throw Some D’s On It.” The beat is really chill, which is a nice change of pace given the hyped and urgent vibe that Rich Boy often gives on his songs.

“Supafly” featuring 334 Mob
A funky sample makes the appropriately titled “Supafly” a highly enjoyable listen from start to finish.

From Killa Season
“Father Forgive Me”
A lovely, laid back soundscape and some cool rhymes from Kyleon make this song noteworthy. It’s only 1min 20secs long.

“Hand On My Grain”
A short, but sweet and banging track that has been on repeat. In fact, I think I listened to this about 20 times today on my commute from home to work and back. The subject matter is far from thought provoking (grippin wood grain, sippin drank, blowin dank), but I’ll be damned if any true Houston rap fan doesn’t get a little amped listening to this.

“Not A G Like Me” featuring Pimp C
Sadly, Pimp C doesn’t rap a verse on this track. Instead, Kyleon uses some classic soundbites from an interview C did back he was going nuts and talking recklessly about a slew of emcees and the state of hip-hop. Kyleon builds on the C’s comments and talks about phony rappers, etc. Pretty enjoyable listen, especially with Pimp C’s hilarious and occasionally insightful rantings.

Hip-Hop Nostalgia: Lyricist Lounge Show

I forgot all about this show. The freestyle I posted yesterday reminded me of it. I used to watch it frequently when it was on MTV back in the day. It fizzled out pretty quickly from what I recall and there’s hardly any clips from the show on YouTube. Damn shame.

Wordsworth v George W. Bush:

I wish the quality of this clip was a little better:

Here’s a clip with Cee-Lo:

Nelly, Murphy Lee, and Consequence on Rap City

Everyone comes correct, but Nelly steals the show.

K-Rino’s Rap Tips of the Week

Legendary Houston emcee K-Rino has been releasing tips on the music industry each week on youtube. A lot of the says should be obvious to any artist, but sometimes the obvious needs to be said lest one forget. He expresses himself pretty well and makes really good points. Much of what he says is inspired by his own experiences. After all, he’s been in the game for 20+ years.

Here’s some video clip links:

Tip #1: Organize your shows.

Tip #2: Know your history, give respect to your predecessors who laid the foundation.

Below are the rest of the links that I managed to find:

Tip #3: Stress substance over style.

Tip #4 (Cameo by Z-Ro): Have a good work ethic, be prolific and record a large body of work.

Tip #5: Support other artists in the way you want to be supported and don’t associate with those who don’t support you well.

Tip #6: Budget wisely, don’t waste funds on trying to get popular rappers. Diversify instead.

Tip #7: If you’re in a group, be sure to be competent and original. Check group members who don’t pull their own weight.

Check out the South Park Coalition website. SPC is a collective of Houston area rappers, etc founded in 1986 by K-Rino. It has a bunch of good content such as interviews, audio, etc.

Buckshot and 9th Wonder – “Go All Out”

Buckshot and 9th Wonder – “Go All Out”
Charlie Murphy makes a cameo appearance in this video. As usual, Murphy provides much comic relief. I really dig the beat on this song. 9th Wonder definitely hooked Buckshot up really nicely. Great song and video overall. Check it out!

Some Thoughts on Jay-Z’s Latest Venture…

“It’s really about trying to invest in the future, trying to invest in maybe coming up with a new model. Because going in hard making records with artists and throwing those records into a system that’s flawed is not exciting for me. It’s not the music; people ingest music the same way. It’s just that the model of selling CDs has changed. So doing things the typical way is not in the best interests of anyone and not exciting for me. My whole thing is, how do we invest in the future? If everyone is committed to doing that, then I’m sure there’s a deal to be made”

-Jay-Z from this interview in Billboard Magazine last year.

As reported in numerous publications, most notably the New York Times, Jay-Z has begun a $150 Million venture with Live Nation, a publicly traded events company. It seems like a sweet deal and one that may usher in a new era in hip-hop.

From the NYTimes piece:

“Live Nation would finance the start-up of a venture that would be an umbrella for his outside projects, which are expected to include his own label, music publishing, and talent consulting and managing. Live Nation is expected to contribute $5 million a year in overhead for five years, with another $25 million available to finance Jay-Z’s acquisitions or investments, according to people in the music industry briefed on the agreement. The venture, to be called Roc Nation, will split profits with Live Nation”

Not bad, huh?

I applaud almost all efforts to try something new in the music industry, because any sensible observer knows that the industry will not last much longer if it continues the same business practices. Sales keep decreasing and the latest generation of music consumers does not pay for much of anything that isn’t live. The thievery is beyond music. For instance, many own bootleg DVD movies and/or burned a movie to a DVD-R. People still willingly pay for live sexual interactions (prostitutes, strippers) but frown upon the thought of buying pornography. I don’t know any people my age (early 20’s) that consistenly purchases any form of entertainment that isn’t live. This generation, thanks to the Internet, has some of the most capable “pirates” in history.

One of my favorite writers, Ambrose Bierce, once defined “Piracy” as “commerce without all its folly-swaddles, just as God made it.” Indeed, the folly-swaddles (such as the notion that downloading copyrighted music is illegal/bad) of the entertainment industry are collapsing, rightfully so, and the artists are likely to have more freedom than ever in regards to what is done with their art. Whether this newly acquired responsibility might be overly burdensome for the artists remains a question mark.

On a tangential note, this article, about the futility and evisceration of copyright, provides a possible glimpse into the future that should be welcomed by all fans of entertainment:

Here’s are some excerpts from that article (First and last paragraphs, respectively):

“Copyright was once a means to guarantee artists a decent income. Aside from the question as to whether it ever actually functioned as such – most artists never made a penny from the copyright system – we have to admit that copyright serves an altogether different purpose in the contemporary world. It now is the tool that conglomerates in the music, publishing, imaging and movie industries use to control their markets.”

“A world without copyright is easy to imagine. The level playing field of cultural production – a market accessible for everyone – would once again be restored. A world without copyright would offer the guarantee of a good income to many artists, and would protect the public domain of knowledge and creativity. And members of the public would get what they are entitled to: a surprisingly rich and varied menu of artistic alternatives.”

The rest of the article is a bit more nuanced and states the case against current copyright law more clearly and eloquently. But the main point is that current copyright restrictions are harming more artists than they are helping and that is something of which the entertainment industry in particular has taken note.

In sum, the collapse of intellectual property/copyright is upon us and live entertainment may be the only reliable way for companies to consitently make money in future. This recent move by Jay is a great example of the effects of these developments.