After getting released from a ten year prison sentence for arson, I can’t help but to find it ironic that Lyfe Jennings would go on to set something else on fire. The difference? This time, it was his debut album, Lyfe 268-192 that caught fire from intense amounts of soul and some of the most honestly devout storytelling of the last decade. To even call it an album I feel does this body of work a slight injustice. Lyfe crafted a conversation set to the tune of music.
He assumes the first-person role of character and narrator as he delves into his version of a hustler’s love, or rather lust-turned-love story, ‘Must Be Nice’. Lyfe dismantles the hustler’s lifestyle and reinforces the thought of finding true love the only way a thug can, from experience. This experience-based reflection is where Lyfe separates himself from most. Instead of succumbing to natural R&B tropes he takes the time to really evaluate life and create songs that resist the pull of the mainstream.
The instrumentation is very much from a bygone era of sound. Consisting largely of a combination of guitar and uniquely rhythmic drums. The feeling of realism in consistent in every aspect of the project. Each song ends with an intimate narration that sets the stage for the following song, something like a preface someone would commit to at an alcoholics anonymous meeting. Love is lost and found in any number of ways in Lyfe’s life. He poetically traverses an acoustic guitar and the echoes of soft finger snaps on ‘Hypothetically’, which imagines the ‘what-ifs’ that are present in every relationship. The stresses of the relationship had proved too much for our storyteller as he learns to appreciate life outside a relationship on the funky and upbeat, ‘Smile’.
The gravity of real life problems is discerned on the almost bluesy, ‘Greedy’ which has Lyfe baring his private life and hiding from cops for a reason entirely different than we are used to hearing in music, child support. It is a very one-sided look at a highly complex issue but Lyfe makes it hard to hate him for dodging his bills after he explains the story through his lense. This dynamic exposes some of Lyfe’s faults and only helps to humanize him even further. Of everything I have already mentioned that makes this music so appealing, nothing does more for this man than his voice. Why you ask? Simple, Lyfe’s voice is one of a kind. It’s paradoxical in the sense that it retains a weighty grittiness while consistently sounding smooth. It’s sandpaper lined in silk and rarely has struggle ever sounded so easy and oh so good.
Making a statement is a common goal for many artists. It has to be. With so many different people vying for their credibility in such a polarizing medium, there has to be a way for you to stand out and apart from the exponentially increasing herd. Songwriter/rapper/producer Mike Shinoda is no stranger to the need of proving himself; in fact, for him, it has been ever-present throughout his career. Even though his name may not be readily identifiable by you, you likely know him as one of the frontmen for rock group, Linkin Park.
Shinoda is the technical engineering guy when it comes to Linkin Park’s music, as well as – to put it simply – the guy who raps. No one thinks of Linkin Park as a rap group, yet this is where Shinoda found his niche, as a rapper. When the group formed, the label executives even considered confining Shinoda to the keyboards and production, saying the band didn’t need the added hip-hop element. So started this need to prove himself as a necessary element to Linkin Park’s sound and I don’t think anyone can say the group would be anywhere near as successful if their formula had changed.
Eventually, this proving of himself as a useful co-vocalist to one of this generation’s most successful bands led to the awareness of himself as a more than competent rap artist. This awareness manifested itself as a solo hip-hop LP from Shinoda that would prove to be better than many of the genre’s other offerings and dismantle any talk disputing his musical abilities across the spectrum. Wanting to put all of the public’s attention on the music, he refrained from using his own name and came up with the alias of ‘Fort Minor’ for the album entitled The Rising Tied.
Shinoda’s hands are all over this project, literally. He played every instrument himself, did all of the production and engineering as well as the songwriting and rapping. From the get-go it is apparent that this album was going to be hard-hitting, raw and rooted in hip-hop culture. There is an audible sense comfort in Shinoda’s low-toned, angsty vocals that fit perfectly with the tone of the album. Shinoda is in no way, shape or form trying to amaze you with complex lyricism or expertly dynamic delivery, and that is perfectly okay. The lyrical content is typically not as deep, brooding or dramatic as it wants to be, but it does get every point and image across perfectly clearly. In its brightest moments, it is a testament to what hip-hop culture truly is. The storytelling that Shinoda implements on songs like “Kenji”, which is about his family’s’ struggles during World War II or “Red To Black”, where you can visualize the life of one of his closest friends unravel before you, is really where you feel most empathetic towards him.
Songs like “Feel Like Home” and “Cigarettes”, while great songs, are difficult to get as invested in when the lyrics seem to be looking for sympathy,
“I’m not trying to bum anyone out,
Not trying to be dramatic, just thinking out loud,
I’m just trying to make sense in my mind,
some defence from the cold I’m feeling outside.”
All in all, the lyrics serve their purpose as way for Shinoda to finally get all of his feelings out into a diary of sorts. He speaks on the music industry, people’s opinions of him and how he doesn’t give a single shit what anyone thinks. You can tell how liberating it is for him to finally be able to get this all off his chest. Some of that feeling is lost in translation on its way from him to you as he describes how bad social conditions are in certain areas of the country and he just “takes it all in”. Luckily the analogies and depictions in the lyrics are all relatable on most levels and attached to wonderful production so it is easy to overlook these shortcomings.
The beats traverse a plethora of sonic space. From classic boom bap to synthesized scratches and keys and live instrument appearances from violins and guitars. To address the hard, gritty hip-hop bass present throughout the album, it is simplest to say that every song on this album was created to be blessed by every audio-junkie’s elaborate car stereo system. The bass knocks like a high-speed bus collision and the turntable scratches are crisp which all get laid over light piano arrangements or chaotic synth.
Another consistent element on the project are guest features. From Common to Skylar Grey and John Legend to Styles Of Beyond It’s as if Shinoda wanted the added firepower on the project to keep it fresh. The issue is not with the guest spots being plausible and of a high-caliber, it is an issue of necessity. Many of the songs would have been fine, if not better without the features. The album is filled with more passion and direction than probably 90% of the albums released today. Though it does have its missteps, it fulfills its purpose in showing Shinoda’s legitimacy as a solo hip-hop artist and producer. The sound is unique enough to maintain relevancy ten years later and it all begs a simple, yet eager question. Will we hear another Fort Minor album in our lifetime? I sure as hell hope so.
Some things can be said best without words. Music of any genre should not and will not be confined or hindered by any set of rules or regulations. This is what allowed the late J Dilla’s final masterwork, known at Donuts, to transcend the idea of continuity. An album that consists of 31 extremely diverse yet mutual tracks spanning just over 42 minutes. Starting with and outro and ending with an intro, the album is a seemingly endless, looping experience with such intriguing construction that it is hard to think these Donuts will ever go stale.
Pop music is a tricky breed. Tricky as in deceptive, yet catchy and enjoyable. Made deceptive by its all too formulaic structure which seems to have gone on repeating itself through the boy bands, the Britney Spears’s, the Christina Aguilera’s and Nelly’s of years past and present. This monotonous pattern does work to the benefit of those who can find a way to step to their own beat and walk an uncharted or at least more interesting path than the rest of the herd. Fortunately for the world, after NSYNC split-up and freed the world of one more boy band (not that I wasn’t a shameless fan myself), the most notable voice from the group, Justin Timberlake, started jogging down that road less traveled, musically. Continue reading Throwback Thursday Review: Future Sex/Love Sounds | Justin Timberlake→
“Welcome back hip-hop I saved your life,” raps Lil Wayne on his polarizing album Tha Carter III. Hip-hop is a genre that has been deemed in need of saving ever since its integration into the mainstream. Plenty of artists have declared the genre dead, plenty have uttered words of resuscitation and plenty are its self-proclaimed saviors. The quote cited at the top is from one of these such artists, Lil Wayne. Here is an artist who has been in the game since he was roughly nine or ten years old and since become one of the most recognizable – for better or worse, names in the music industry.
The source of recognition is, of course, his music. But the interpretation of his recognition is far from universally agreed upon. No matter where you are in the world, whether online or in public, there are equally as many people holding Wayne’s pedestal to the heavens and proclaiming him king, as there are refuting his legitimacy even as a musical artist and classifying him as trash. Though not everything he has created is worth writing home about, it very likely isn’t trash. The defining moment in Wayne’s career came in 2008 with the release of his sixth studio album, Tha Carter 3.
Every Thursday we will be reviewing albums that are considered “classic”. With the release of his new MF Doom remakes, it is only appropriate that we review this legendary hip hop album. If you know anything about hip hop, you know who Mos Def is. Today he goes by Yasiin Bey, but when he was still releasing music he was Mos Def; so that’s how we’ll refer to him. Black on Both Sides was his first solo album, and arguably his best; while an argument can be made that his 2009 The Ecstatic or 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star were better. However in my opinion, this album was his best work. In 1996 Mos Def signed to Rawkus Records, which has signed such big names as Eminem, El-P, Talib Kweli, and Pharoahe Monch. The first we really heard of Mos was on Rawkus’s label album Soundbombing where he appeared several times and was impressive and was a signal of great things to come. A year later, he and Talib Kweli dropped their acclaimed group album in 1998; and the year after that, Mos Def dropped his solo debut Black on Both Sides
Hip Hop– Mos goes in hard on this track; he talks about the importance of hip hop. Mos doesn’t normally have a outlet or way to voice his opinions on things where enough people will listen, but when he, or anyone, puts it to music; he is able to convey his message much more effectively and have it spread farther. That is why hip hop is so important.
Ms Fat Booty– This track samples Aretha Franklin’s ‘One Step Ahead’ for the hook and you can her croons in the background throughout the song. Mos raps about his experience with this girl throughout three different scenes. He was so mesmerized by her incredible ass that he just had to talk to her, but when he asked to dance she left. Next thing he knows he’s at a party with Q-Tip and his friends and this chick is there too. They eventually hit it off and you know ya boi Mos, in his words, “smashed it like an Idaho potato”.
Do It Now– This is one of the best songs on the album, Mos and Busta go rhyme for rhyme throughout the track and its simply incredible. This is especially amazing because Mos Def’s lyrics were on point, per as usual; but this was 1999, so Busta was on the top of his game as well. After, and including, the first hook; Busta and Mos drop 8 bars and then send it to the other one to drop 8 of their own and they keep going back and forth and the exchange is glorious.
Know That – I feel like I can say this about 5 or 6 tracks on this album, but this might be my favorite. We get an amazing Black Star collabo that is backed by a beat that is driven by a simple boom bap beat along with a Dionne Warwick sample. Keep in mind this was 3 years before Kweli dropped his solo debut and a year before his group with Hi-Tek, Reflection Eternal, dropped their debut; and yet Kweli’s rhymes on this song make him sound like a veteran. The chemistry between these two is incredible, and it’s really too bad we only got one Black Star album.
Brooklyn– Fascinating track that is broken up into three parts and contains three different beats. Throughout the track he raps about his hometown of Brooklyn. In the third part he samples the beat of BK’s finest’s ‘Who Shot Ya?’. He talks about how much harder life is in Brooklyn and how you are really unique if you’re from there. Another for sure highlight on this album.
Mr. Nigga– We get a Q-Tip feature on this one, but it’s only a hook; nonetheless very effective and awesome. This track features a very chill Mos, as opposed to his pretty aggressive flow and sound. Which is surprising since this song tackles the topic of how no matter how successful you are or presentable you are, if you’re an African American, you are simply just not treated the same as if you were the exact same person, except with white skin. You are treated by everyone as just another ‘Mr. Nigga’, a stereotypical Black person who no matter their accomplishments, can’t shake the stereotypes. Racism is still alive and roaring, while it might not be as clear cut as in decades past, there is still a huge problem of subtle racism, and it’s 2014; this album came out in 1999…
Mathematics– No exaggeration this might be my favorite beat of all time. Premier just nails all the scratches and samples on this one. I mean look at this list of what is sampled to create the hook for this masterpiece:
“The Mighty Mos Def…” (from Mos Def’s “Body Rock”)
“Check it out” (The Lady of Rage’s vocals from Snoop Dogg’s “For All My Niggaz & Bitches”)
“I revolve around science…” (Ghostface Killah’s vocals from Raekwon’s “Criminology”)
“What are we talking about here…” (dialogue from the film Ghostbusters)
“Do your math..” (from Erykah Badu’s “On & On”)
“One, two, three, four” (from James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”)
The instrumental from “Baby, I Want You” by The Fatback Band is also sampled
Just BANANAS stuff right there from Premo. And not to be outshined by an incredible beat, Mos spits some fire flames conscious raps. It contains lyrics that attack several social and political issues and uses the line “it’s all mathematics” to imply and encourage the listener to “add it all up” and realize what is going in society; all the facts are there, you just need to add it up to undersand. Various numbers are referenced all throughout the song and he even rhymes statistics in numerical order. He tackles the issue of how different it is being white as compare to black in America, and he encourages African Americans to do their math so they don’t become another statistic. Powerful.
This album is mainly Mos Def himself just rapping like crazy, but when there are features they are very effective and kill it. Busta, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, and Vinia Mojica all do their thing and do it well. The album focuses on conscious lyrics, live instrumentation, and very very very effective samples. I can’t decipher everything on this album, but do yourself a favor and make it a priority to sit down and listen to this album with Rap Genius open; I guarantee you will have a great time. If you are a fan of Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor or The Cool, Common’s Like Water for Chocolate, Tribe’s Low End Theory, conscious hip hop, or even just hip hop in general you will love and be blown away by this album.
We have all heard the classic line, “Introductions are everything.” It is a staple statement our parents tell us before sending us on our way to our very first job interview and becomes something we think about when meeting any person for the first time. I can’t think of any medium where this statement rings more true than music. Musical artists often create hundreds of songs before even considering showing the fruits of their labor to the public. I can’t help but associate this principle to one of the most respected MC’s in the game, Nas. His introduction was the now infamous, ‘Live at the BBQ’. A teenager who came into the game straight swinging; laying everything he had out on the crowded table. Nas went on to become one of the most prolific game changers in hip-hop. He spoke about his life and the state of society and notably the state of music. In 2006, he even released an album titled, Hip-hop is Dead. So where am I going with this? Well, not too long after making that critical but heartfelt assertion, another artist decided it was time to make his presence known. His introduction came in the form of a supremely overlooked album, Below the Heavens in 2007. If you don’t know who I am referring to by now, you’re definitely not alone. This album was the product of West-coast rapper Blu and producer Exile. Continue reading Throwback Thursday Review: Below The Heavens | Blu and Exile→
On Thursdays we review albums that are considered “classic” and today we review Eminem’s most disturbing and divisive project, Relapse. By 2009, Eminem had all but faded from hip-hop conversation, purely in the sense of new material. Most people who cared enough to know, knew that he had been battling a harsh drug addiction the past few years and all anyone could do was wait. When talk started to surface about more new material than was capable of fitting on one album, the internet went into riot mode. People ate up any and all new developments, whether fact or fiction. Conversation started to give people a sense of what to expect – and to call the content of the album dark, would not even begin to do it justice. Continue reading Throwback Thursday Review: Relapse | Eminem→
Like all genre-stricken art forms, hip-hop music has garnered a plethora of tropes and cliches that it will forever carry with it. This was no overnight happening; but rather, it comes from an abundance of similar-sounding releases spanning multiple decades. Artists who verbally tread the same ground as their predecessors. And for those who aspire for a lyrically different route, still manage to get categorized by their beat construction and selection. As an art, hip-hop’s metaphorical canvas is stained and its brush has withered, leaving only so many strokes left. Most artists reach to break the mold and put their own little spark of energy back into the culture. For all the flames that have been lit and blown out, there is at least one hip-hop group whose spark has yet to even start dimming. Continue reading Throwback Thursday Review: Aquemini | OutKast→
In retrospect, 2012 was a particularly stellar year for music. Frank Ocean (channel ORANGE) and Kendrick Lamar (g.o.o.d kid m.A.A.d city) each dropped their respective masterpieces that permanently cemented them as modern classicists amongst critics and fans. Meanwhile, Death Grips’ The Money Store showed the group mastering their demented take on abstract hip-hop, Flying Lotus provided his most nuanced and hypnagogic release to date with Until The Quiet Comes, and Tame Impala proved that there was strange beauty in loneliness with Lonerism. However, one album stood out like a black sheep because while it was inaccessible to most mainstream music listeners, it was ambitious as it was gravely terrifying and ugly. This album is The Seer; New York experimental group Swans’ near masterpiece and and a classic that was considered by many to be the biggest comeback of the year. This album is indeed one of the finest works in the groups catalog as well as a roughly 2 hour post rock hell trip and endurance test through sheer brutality, meditative repetition, and catharsis.
The Early Registration 