Heavy Rotation: Fat Freddy's Drop

This album came from way out of left field but a good friend of mine hipped me to this CD and I've been thanking him ever since. "Dub is where it's at man..." is what said friend always reminds when we discuss music and the deplorable state of hip hop. This album is a very strong testament that maybe Dub is the place to be.

A little background on the group they are a reggae/dub/r&b/electronica band from New Zealand. This album boast exceptional new sounds and manages to make Dub ultra Jazzy and sophisticated at the same time. It different sounding but not to the point where it alienates the true nature of its reggae roots.

This is one of those records you'll be proud to own and glad the popular crowd doesn't taint it with criticism because most circles will never hear about it.

Idioracy

I think this movie defines the state of hip hop. Some rappers are not even using real words as lyrics anymore. In Soulja Boys song "Crank That" he utters "wha me ro" throughout the chorus. I take it he's saying "watch me roll."


If you've seen this movie and grasp the concept on devolution, you could easily marry it with what some people call rap these days.


Can it be that it was all so simple then?

I'm sticking to my story, "It Was Written" is better then "Illmatic"

I catch mad grieve about this on the regular from friends and fellow hip hop pundits, but I'm an avid believer that Nas's second opus is superior to Illmatic. Don't get me wrong, Illmatic is better then 98% of the hip hop albums ever made but I feel strongly that Nas put his best rhymes in to It Was Written. I'll also say that Illmatic spawned betters singles then It Was Written, but the bottom line is that Nas is spitting his best material on his second album.

It Was Written is one of those rare hit or miss albums. Either some people will condemn it for life or others will see the brilliance in why only a few could love this record. I've heard critics say that it was the beginning of Nas's commercial material but their isn't one commercial record on their! I still can't piece together how 'If I Ruled the World" and "Street Dreams" are commercial singles? BTW, the Street Dreams remix with R. Kelly was brilliant!

What hooked me into liking this album so much is that every start with a very strong first four bars which eventually pulls into wanting to hear every lyric through out. Who can forget this:

"Fake thug, no love, you get the slug, CB4 GustoYour luck low, I didn't know til I was drunk thoughYou freak niggaz played out, get fucked and ate outProstitute turned bitch, I got the gauge out96 ways I made out, Montana wayThe Good-F-E-L-L-A, verbal AK sprayDipped attache, jumped out the Range, empty out the ashtray"

I'll let y'all go back into your CD library to check the other songs on the record, but I guarantee you will remember the first four bars of about half the songs.

It Was Written is still a classic in my book, and I show benign nelgect to everyone who tries to convince me otherwise!

Move over Nate Dogg their's a new hook master in town

Nate Dogg had a long run but Akon is the new hook master who laces your favorites rappers chorus these days. This dude is everywhere!

Dope Show

This is kind of late, but the Massive Attack show at the 9:30 Club in D.C. (Sept) was madness!

Soul Searching

When music fans mention great female soul singers of the past, one artist I believe is often forgotten is Caron Wheeler. Caron Wheeler was the lead female singer for the group Soul II Soul. Her voice was vibrant and I can never forget her powerful vocals on “Keep on Movin,” “Back to Life,” and throughout the first Soul II Album. Vocally, I always thought she was in the same class as Whitney and other great R & B singers during that period, however, her sound was difficult to categorize because of the sonic fusion Soul II Soul brought to the table.

With Soul II Soul’s descent from the music populous I did not follow Caron’s solo career very well but I do remember her resurfacing on the “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” soundtrack with another tremendous vocal on “Free Again.” Her voice was golden and I pay tribute to a wonderful soul singer.

Speaking of.......

TV on the Radio.

At first listen I was not impressed. What made it even worse is the fact I purchased the CD before listening to it because I read how highly regarded they were in album review columns. I missed their first album so I did not have much background on the band but the momentum built on "Return to Cookie Mountain" sounded like an absolute winner.

I've been guilty of early disappointment before then falling in love with a record after months of sitting on the shelf. This CD sat on the coffee table and absorbed cups for months. I just wasn't feeling it until I noticed someone at work had the album on their ITunes. So I remember thinking that if someone else likes this CD then maybe I should give it a honest listen instead of listening to the first 30 seconds then pressing next. I went ahead and plugged my headphones into my laptop, camped out in the server room, then gave it an honest review.

Wow, it's good to be wrong............