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January 03, 2006
One be lo - S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M (Sounds of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes and Music). Formerly of known as OneManArmy of the group Binary star. The artist that is Nashid Salaiman Dropped one of the best releases that dropped this past year, Cohesive, Varying subject matter and a backpackers delight updated mid-nineties sound..which is not neccesarily a bad thing.
Common- BE ...One of the most anticipated, i had to get the bootleg just to get a feel of what the album was before i bought, inspite of it being short the album did not dissapoint. Com came with the heat, Kanye and Dilla complemented him with dope production..Fav joints 'Love is' and 'Chi City'
Kev Brown- I Do What I Do... from the cat that gave you Brown Album(Hov's Black Album remix), Kev brown is mostly known for his production and boy does he make some seriously sick beats, soulful and some kick as basslines. His rhyming and Mic skills are not that much to speak on, plus the subject matter is limited nonetheless dope in my books. Fav Joints 'Always', 'Alone again' and Beats 'n' rhymes.
Zubz- Listener's Digest...Came out late in 04 but I got it last year, pretty dope album form Zambian born Zimbabwean emcee but now residing in Jozi, the first three tracks in the album set you up for whats in store, 'Imagery' is one of the standouts . Fav Joints 'Handiende', 'Imagery'
Smif and Wessun - Reloaded..was good to see tek and steel who are seven year removed from the sophomore offering back on the scene again, this was is basically a tie between this and 'Monkey Barz' but this came out on top the production was just better, not mention I love the energy on this album. Fav tracks 'Gunn rap', 'Sic em son',' war' and 'get back'.
Dwele - Some Kinda' ...Perfect mix of soul, jazz and funk. Dwele must be alien to the concept that is sophomore jinx, though a little different from 'The Subject' it still one of the more better realeases to come out this year. Fav joints 'my lova' , 'flap jack', 'Weekend love' and title track
Zion I- True & Livin'....Amp live the beatmaker behind the group completely changed up his entire production and what he came up with is one of the better albums i have heard this year, with Zion I the emcee of the group spitting some realness, minus the thug poser-ism. This Bay area crew dropped some hotness, with varied guest spots "Nerd-rap" fav Aesop rock , Talib, Gift of Gab among others. Fav joints 'Poems 4 Post Modern Decay', 'So tall', 'Birds Eyeview'(took a page from commons i used to love her), 'What u hear'.
Leela James- Change is gonna come....To much SOUL to be described, fav joint 'Music', Title track, 'Didn't I' (whoa!!). Cannot get enough of this album.
Vijay Iyer- Re-Imagining..he calls it "transidiomatic diaspora music" on his myspace page, this pianist/composer...released a wonderful jazz album together with his co-consipirator Mahanthappa. this is a must pick up for all jazz lovers. This is the first time I ever heard of him but i like what i heard. Favs 'Revolutions',' Song for midwood'.
K'naan - Dusty Foot philosopher...,initially could not get into soobax..but this days that joint is my shit, Honest lyrics and non formulaic album make for great combinations, though the mic cadence lacks alittle he makes up for it with great flow and delivery. Fav joints 'Dusty foot philosopher','Strugling'(peep NYD for track),'Soobax', 'African way', Whats Hardcore..
Honarable mentions
Little Brother- The Minstrel Show..Dopeness did not dissapoint just missed my top ten
Supastition- Chain Letters...Spitfire delivery, Dope beats. That Ol' Boom Bap
Lina- Inner Beauty Movement...Smooth...
Gza and Muggs- Grandmasters...who woulda thunk muggs would mesh this well with The Genius?. Wu heads need to pick this up.
Kanye- Late Registration..just because i don't want him throwing a fit, and start bitchin about not being nominated in my top ten list...he he he he you get the point. Dope release nonetheless.
Proverb- Book of Proverbs... the Return to Microphone Sweet Home
Pro-kid - Head and tales...head stay sleeping on mama land emcees they don't know
Vamoose!
P.s. maitha thanks for the design idea..the whole banner thing..lol
17 Comments:
godddamn! i missed half of those and the only reason i'm holding kev brown is coz ur boy failed to come thru'. i admire your diversity and vast knowledge of the game. what's good with BNTS now?
Thu Jan 05, 12:06:00 PM
BNTS...soon homey very soon. tryna get my focus down been kinda distracted. But the show is still on schedule.
lol@vast..it ain't. btw tell me you picked up that genius and muggs shit?
p.s Supastition was on there too
Thu Jan 05, 12:27:00 PM
struggled with Dwele , thing just never hit the right notes for me + he misused our language .K'naan and Leela James - now you are talking .
PS: the banners look good here , maybe I shd have a patent for them ...
Thu Jan 05, 11:21:00 PM
Common, Leela James, Kanye- I have heard, and like alooot. Dwele didn't quite touch my soul spot- dunno why. I'll check out that Kev Brown- you mention HOV, sick beats, and I'm sold.
Stay cool!
Fri Jan 06, 08:06:00 AM
You and Maitha need to get a room! The stuff that kijana tried choking me with..but bless his heart all the same...
Fri Jan 06, 10:06:00 AM
Dude, I'm thouroughly glad to be connected again. The Music review is too sawa as usual!
Sun Jan 08, 03:42:00 AM
I really felt Dusty Foot Philosopher ... tyt, tyt. Common yes. Kanye ... well ... the jury's still out.
@Mutumia - Prezzo? Please tell me you're kidding!
Sun Jan 08, 11:34:00 PM
@Maitha...lol@misused our language. I just thought this was better than his other work. Leela James = DOPE..
@Wangari...me Sensei?? lol. get that leela james you will not be dissapointed. Kanye was pretty good too.
@Medusa..and i figured dwele to be up your alley. pick up that Kev brown sick sick beats not to mention he did some major work with jazzy jeff on The Magnificent..
@Nicko..at least the two of us can fit in one room which is more than i can say when you try on pants at the custom made tailor shop..he he he
@Poi..thanks, mucho gracias for visiting.
@Stunuh...like hip bone to the thigh bone right? he he he welcome mamacita.
@mutumia...yaani? you had to ruin such a good post by mentioning that talentless no personality having hack? and with that tumeishana friends..is over between me and you ma...
@M..dusty foot suprised me a lot, after sleeping on it major..i see Kanye not winning anything on your grammy list huh? Mutumia has been snorting something..
Mon Jan 09, 09:29:00 AM
Prezzo should def be on here. His music is sawa or maybe I have been away from home for too long.
Mon Jan 09, 01:25:00 PM
Very nice job with the photo banners, works very well esp for a post dealing with multiple artists & genres...
Great review & one more reason to keep coming to peep your site man! I'm with G-ni above about ur very diverse musical tastes. You go to the depths of Hip Hop, R&B and Soul with the certainty of a seasoned music head. Again proving the XL in your name is no joke!
Common's joining forces with Kanye is a godsend & am sure both artists are glad this happened at the right time, right place. Love this album way better than "Like Water...Chocolate..."
Leela James...darn, that little soul-full of a woman steals my heart everytime I hear & see her sing. Gal will go very far, all she needs is good marketing. First knew of her thru another Philly independent artist/friend called Erica_Rhapsody. Will get U info on her soon.
Smif and Wessun, have heard the lyrics on 2 mixtapes & I swore someone out there needs to highlite their skills. Good to see that here Msanii. And yes, 'Sic em son' is a real banger!
Dwele, didn't cop his release yet but boy sounded veery good on the Slum Village (the bros are great live!) release back in the day but since some are unphased by his release I'll just sample & not buy unless something spins my eardrums. Hope he'll do better.
Lil Brother, Honestly haven't heard/seen anything other than what they show on Tv. Will hunt it down now that U recommend it.
Gza and Muggs, that's surefire..anyfire from the WU-Family is real. Kanye, many props to the bro.
Wil look for all the rest U give two thumbs up to.
Mon Jan 09, 09:10:00 PM
@farmgal - if length of time away from home can make you a Prezzo fan, then you must have left Kenya just before Methuselah was born! Still depressed about the 8 minutes of my life i lost watching the CMB Prezzo video, minutes i'll never ever ever get back! :(
@Msanii - Still not made my my mind about Kanye. For me the guy is John Legend.
Tue Jan 10, 06:09:00 AM
@Farmgal...are you and mutumia sharing the same pipe?...no way dude has any talent..must be fake pieces blinding ya'll..yeah yeah i know its relative..but still... Thanks for stopping by as always..appreciated
AQ...you and I peoples but i tend to think like water for choc' is better than BE..lol. get that Little brother you will not be dissapointed, nice LP for real. i'm suprised you dig smif and wessun..dudes are oh so Grimey..BCC is where its at. Ohh and stop filling me with propane already, my head is big as it is...appreciate the luv as always.
@M..LOL thanks for the heads up, thats eight minutes i get to use in some other things... John legend is pretty good too speaking of which i should have put him up there with honorable mentions..the live album is just...*sigh*
Tue Jan 10, 09:52:00 AM
@Big LA...thanks, LB just missed it, still stay on rotation daily man, Te' is the man...
lol@hate...that an awful lot..lol.
btw the way just seen ya instumental series...dopeness
Tue Jan 10, 11:29:00 AM
@M lol
to be honest I love prezzo I even paid to see him live in 2004 dec.
Thu Jan 12, 12:13:00 PM
Hey Msanii happy new year!!! Great list. I really like Common too. My hip hop days are over (ha ha but I think I still like it when it's not disrespectful to women). About time on the Kenyan hip hop site, can't wait to check it out.
Tue Jan 31, 12:25:00 PM
great list..now if i could get my hands on half of these...
Thu Feb 02, 03:41:00 AM
@Memoire..Happy New Year.....true about the disrespect, emcee who are about that are most of the time hiding something. Yeha hope they pick up.
@Luna...talk to me nicely..lol usijipoteze, yaani you just went underground?
Fri Feb 03, 10:34:00 AM
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