Aww yeah! A new Roots album for the masses! Rising Down is the follow-up album to the Def Jam certified “Game Theory” and follows that dark sinister vibe similar to the last album. The Roots remain one of the last great bands of our time holding together their creative control within the big business of commercial media. “Rising Down” is a step above commercial radio voicing awareness within the groups sense of maturity. The album has some serious issues centered upon each cut. “Rising Down’s” release date also falls on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Guest appearances include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw, Wale and Chrisette Michele with the majority of the production held down by ?uestlove and company.

Listen to the album with an open mind. Don’t shut the music off just because there isn’t any party tracks. While we have been blessed with The Roots open mic wizardry, this one goes a little bit deeper from where Game Theory had left off. I’ll be honest, at first glance, I would flip from tack to track in search of that hot track but later realized the message Black Thought and company were putting out dealing with issues within your society. Their first single Get busy may not receive radio play, but ?uestlove’s beats on the single just couldn’t get any nastier. While it may not be the album I expected… than again we’re always blessed with grand releases from this bunch… above all, I gotta say this album’s got maturity written all over it, and with a conscious message on hand- listeners will get to see the whole picture.

Naughty by Nature always had the flavor and this one goes down as a classic Hip-Hop anthem. Ya’ know… the kind of track that let’s people know Hip-Hop is in the house rather than just the performer… Come to think of it, when was the last time an Emcee used the radio waves to big up Hip-Hop instead of flaunting themselves? Don’t get me wrong- bragging and boasting oneself is all a part of Hip-Hop but when was the last time peeps gave back to Hip-Hop and the world listened? 50 reminded us… “He gets money… Money He gots!” Puffy always brings “the remixes”… (take that! take that!) and Yes Soldier Boy got everyone to do his Superman dance! Sit back, relax and chill to Naughty by Natures big ups to our culture…

1990-something…when soundtracks actually mattered.

I rarely buy soundtracks these days. I think the last few soundtracks I actually picked up were Tarantino’s Death Proof and The Juno soundtrack inspiring music from the original film. I never really understood the rhyme and reasons towards a Hip-Hop soundtrack but guessed it was just another way to cash in on urban related films. During the 90’s we were treated to a handful of soundtracks that broke new ground in introducing various rap acts and boost an established groups popularity. (The Show, Low down dirt shame and Ghost Dog to name a few) Before there were any mix-tapes or free downloads to hype up an artist, I’d like to think Hip-hop soundtracks were groups extra’s push.The New Jersey Drive soundtracks volume 1 and 2 are perfect examples of vintage 90’s Hip-hop. It wasn’t the movie I was interested in seeing, it was the music that got me to cash out 12-13 bucks to peep the cd. (NJD was actually a great movie, by the way…)
(more after the jump…)

What’s this?! The Wu-Chronicles compilation has been out for more than 10 years and I finally flipped the backside to see the track listing!? (bargain bin banger for $2.95! Couldn’t pass up!) I gotta say that between 1998 and now, I stopped looking at Wu-Tang compiled albums which have been let downs during the last decade. Too many half talented MC’s were using the Wu-trademark delivering uninspiring releases to the masses. Wu-Chronicles on the other hand caught me by surprise. The compilation compiles 14 tracks of previously released material from various Wu-Tang related projects… yes, the good stuff and I love it! It collects a lot of the good tracks that complimented numerous hit singles in various albums. Everything from Wu-Gambino’s (after the Ice Cream Track on Rae’s debut album) to The What featuring Biggie Smalls and Method Man are featured in this comp.

There’s a number of must haves on this comp I am absolutely honored to finally own. The Gza’s Cold World (RZA remix) featuring a young D’Angelo is a must have. It’s the same great cut but features D’Angelo on the soft Spoken hook and also boasts Inspectah Deck and Streetlife along for the ride. The track is incredible. For those who weren’t happy with The Cocoa B’s “Rude Awakening” release, Black Trump featuring Raekwon is featured as well. (The beat is infectious!) The Alkaholiks “Hip-Hop Drunkies” featuring a bugged out ODB is also featured in the comp along with the classic and almost forgotten Right Back at you feat. Mobb Deep, Raekwon and ghost Face. The closing track “96′ recreation,” which serves as a demo cut features Rza, Capadonna and ODB is vintage Wu-Tang material. It’s got some of the best verses from all 3 individuals. (yes! including Cappa!)

Let the lesson be learned… never take a Wu compilation for granted!

Classic Jay-Z material. The first time I heard of Jay-Z was from a ¢99 single at the Wherehouse called “Dead Presidents” my friend told me to cop. He was boasting about some cat from Brooklyn (Jay-Z) who was using the Nas verse as a hook- “Presidents to represent me” off his “The world is yours” single. When I peeped Jay’s first single I knew he was gonna blow up. Long beofre his Blueprint album dropped in 2001, this was the benchmark of great things to come. With over a decade of game, multiple chart topping albums, and skills that built his empire… Dead Presidents truly represents Jay-Z.

Single taken from the classic Reasonable Doubt album on Priority Records.

This is what I’m talking about- grimey New York street talk without the filler! Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from Prodigy on H.N.I.C. part 2. The buzz wasn’t that strong, I barely found out a week prior to it’s release thanks to the good people at Sandbox Automatic H.N.I.C. 2 was coming out. There were no big label promotions, trendy music video’s or mTV guest spots on TRL. As a matter of fact P went independent on this one signing with AAO Music masterminded by The Alchemist, Sid Roams and Havoc on the production boards. I didn’t know what I was gonna get? Would it be a club Hopping, bottle popping and skirt lifting Prodigy? Hmmm… or is it a return to Queens Bridge street talk, gun clappin’ verbal murder street hustle Prodigy we’ve been quietly waiting for. From start to finish, the album is a throwback to that 90’s Hip-Hop that made them “Infamous” and they did it going independent.

Jump for the full review!
(more after the jump…)

This should have been an instant 5 star classic but why am I to hate on this lassic collection? There’s no question, all of The Fugees greatest hits are in this specially priced collection courtesy of Columbia Records. Vocab, The Nappy Heads remix, Killing me softly and No woman no cry are all in there… Why hate on a classic? Well… why dish out $10 bucks for an album that has a parental advisory - explicit lyrics sticker on the cover and sell me a cd with radio edits in the album?!? I even returned it asking for a new one and found the material on that copy full of edits. Ugh… I just hate radio friendly albums. Bleeping out curse words off of L-Boogie’s verses is a violation! It just ruins the song. With that said and done the collection lives up to the Fugee’s hype. All of the bangers are in here and than some.

The classic Refugee remix of Vocab is the opening track to the collection. Radio friendly or not, the song’s always been a favorite of mine. Top it off with the infectious The Nappy Heads remix produced by Salaam Remi, I couldn’t be any more satified. (Did they have to bleep out “Cheeba Cheeba ya’ll?!?”) Other classic bangers from The Score album include Cowboys, The Score, How many Mics and Fu-Gee-La. The flip side to my rant is that they also included Lauryn’s solo cut “The sweetest thing” taken from Love Jones soundtrack. Unfortunately it’s the remix version lifting an up-tempo beat taken from the Swat TV show. Ready or not is also featured on the comp but features the Saalam Remi remix taken from their b-sides comp that dropped a year later.

For what it’s worth… cop their sophomore debut The Score. It’s a classic all by itself. I don’t know what they were thinking about this compilation. 10 tracks deep, all radio edited and 3 of the important tracks feature less popular remixes vs. the original cut. I knew I should have boughten Busta Rhymes greatest hits!

Why open a lemonade stand? Rhymesayers… Hip-hops answer to lemonade!

They’re back! How long has it been now? I’ve been rockin’ Atmosphere for over a decade now and it’s been a great run. From bad blank tape copies (Headhots series), Underground CD-R burns to MP3 formats (both iTUNEs bought and torrented) The midwest’s Atmosphere crew have been in my music rotaion for years. “If life gives you lemons… Paint that sh!t gold!” caught me way off guard and was extremely happy to see it as a new release. A new Atmosphere album is big news. Go to their show too if you haven’t. (An emotional Slug boasting hype lyrics, Ant’s boom bap and crowd bashing mosh pits!) After listening to “If life gives you lemons…” I ain’t disappointed at all… although I’m not exactly excited about it either. I’d like to say it was a safe album. Above average from just saying it was okay, it’s a step above everything coming out in music today. Ant and Slug are talented individuals always going against the odds and reinventing themselves, so we’ll see em’ around with more offerings.

There are tracks in this album that have major bump- check out their current single “Shoulda known” which has some serious beats that has Slug going off on the track. I still consider Ant one Hip-Hop’s best kept secrets on the production boards. The beat just goes a step above after every release. “Guarantee’s” shows Slug goin’ accoustic over a slow grind loop. “The Skinny” was also another favorite track at the end of the album that had me wanting more. To put it in short- “If life gives you lemons” is a cross between their past albums. Their first album… Overcast, God loves ugly, there last album and a little bit of the Sad Clown Dubs EP’s of last year. I can never hate on Atmosphere, I’m safe with this release, but if you wanna see these guys bring the hype… check em’ out live! (this one features Eyedea)

Who were the other 2 dude from Lost Boyz?!?

Remember The Lost Boyz debut album “Legal Drug Money?” It seems like that was a long time ago but how could I forget?!? That album was all hype! It was a consistent party-like album with catchy beats and sharp lyrics. The tempo of the albums cuts had mixed boom back with commercial funk with lyrics courtesy of Mr. Cheeks that were on point. Think of commercial friendly (and safe) beats with a message. I can’t call it, Cheeks was a talented wordsmith who could tell stories that held the album together.(bless Freaky Tah’s soul, he was a one of a kind hype man!) While the album tried to break out to commercial appeal there was a great sense of pride towards New York Hip-Hop. It was one of the last great albums in the mid 90’s that didn’t depend on hot producers or chart topping guest stars.

Top choice tracks… reminisce on the club banging sounds of “Music makes me high.” Peep LB’s take on “Jeeps, Lex, Coups & Benz” or go beyond the music and see what “Lifestyles of the rich and shameless” is all about. Don’t sleep on Cheek’s message on “Renee…” (originally from the don’t be a menace… soundtrack) The name of LB’s game is consistency within the album… which is what “Legal drug money” represented. Sure I’m sure this album will be over looked, but just think of it as a piece of great underated 90’s Hip-Hop along with great acts like The Artifacts, Boogie Monsters, Das Efx and even Mic Geronimo.

Say word?! A Posse cut is a popular form of song in hip hop music that involves successive
verses by four or more rappers. (various members of D.I.T.C. pictured above)

Man, I really dig posse cuts. Especially if it’s done right with the correct chemistry within each lyricist inside of the cypher just feeding off each others vibe and what not. Posse cuts (or cyphers) are true forms of Hip-Hop and expression. When I see an album featuring a posse cut of dope artists, I take serious consideration into coppin’ that album. I think of it as that extra mile the recording artist goes to in getting some special guests to rock alongside the track. The same goes for live shows in your area and how the shook the crowd. Think of Posse cuts as a friendly game of Hot potato showcasing a dope verse than passing it along to the next Emcee. On the record label tip, posse cuts are used to send out messages, introduce new talent or build up more hype to an Artists fourth coming album.

The first of our many segments will showcase a few of my favorite posse cuts videos throughout the years.
(more after the jump…)