MosDub – HistoryTown

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This is my song of the moment. Max Tannone has been busy of late making enviable mash-ups of the above Mos Def with Reggae Dub as well as mixing two giants of the music industry, thuggy biz-ness-man! Jay-Z and the ever moody Radiohead to make Jaydiohead. But this is the standout cut for me. Perfect for the summertime. Enjoy!

Jaydiohead Ignorant Swan Medley

BONUS: this video of the a Jadiohead medley is a must see. Finally some new and interesting street dance!

“I’m done, the rap game’s no country for old men
I’ll always spit whenever the spirit hits me
But fuck if I’m a be doing this shit when I’m sixty
And that’s no disrespect to KRS
I’m just trying to make my art and do what’s smart
I’m saying, rapping Tay, four-and-half-mic honoree
Or singing Tay, first-time Grammy nominee
Nigga, you do the math, nigga, you add it up
That’s on my mind when I press record
A lot of niggas probably mad at me
But I would rather be a lonley wolf than a sheep that’s bored”

“Tigallo For Dolo” by Phonte (Little Brother)

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Wow. Tay goes hard on his verse. Dope song too! DJ Premier has been playing this song ALOT on his radio show.

I would love to see people take notice of this song trying to change the current state of hip-hop in the same way that Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” did.

o:{Phonte. Don’t give up on Rappin’ ‘Tay. Grammy boards may not recognize it, but your considerable rapping skill is what got you to this point, not just your singing and “pre-We Are the World 2010″ Quincy Jones-like orchestrations.}

The new Mos Def track/video seems to:

a) kind of deliver on the promise of artist as Doom fan.

b) continue the trend of typography in hip hop video.

Anyway, it’s fantastic and equals two hot songs in a row by me.

Man, Jay-Z can tell his life stories “a milli” times and it still sounds interesting! He deserves his crown. It’s lovely to see some internet love in this video. I came across Evan Roth’s animated illustration technique some time ago, but it works really well in this Low Budget video. (props to GBH.tv)

“My billionaire mayor has declared himself king.”

The quickest way to my heart is to put Kermit in anything! And the vocalist in this song comes the closest to Jim Henson’s voice than anyone who has tried it since. A beautiful song. And it’s somehow fitting that The Frog (a new york transplant himself) give eulogy to New York’s slow demise.

“The Roots are from Philly which is the murder capital of America yet neither Questlove nor Black Thought have ever killed anybody. If they want to rep Philly they have to catch a body.”
~ The Source {taken from the sig of an okayplayer post}

This quote was going through my mind as I was watching the new online Roots video for “75 Bars”

It took me two listens to get into the song, where the best parts are the drumming and the subtle backing music. I’m at an age where I’m not excited by the N-word being every line’s exclamation point. But even worse, the video is just lackluster. It made me {and some of the okayplayers on the boards ask, “What’s the point?!”

And so I started to think about how I would have done the video. This is what I came up with: “75 Bars: Riqonstruction”

On a completely different note, this made me smile. “You crazy for this one Barack!”

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
o:

“Because here’s the crux of why everyone soured on hip-hop in 2007: The last song on the highest-ranking Pazz & Jop rap album ends with a track describing how the two biggest MCs in the world bickered over who had the idea to collaborate with Coldplay first. This is not acceptable.”
- Rob Harvilla, Village Voice 1/23/08

(Pazz & Jop list-toppers, btw – #1 album: LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver; #1 single: Amy Winehouse – Rehab)

This is turning out to be the event of the year!

Besides the Jay-Z, “inspired by” business (this song and now the video just get me hype!!! love the film concept), the American Gangster soundtrack features Hank Shocklee (source music) and Marc Streitenfeld (score, he also did the score for ‘Gladiator’).

And of course, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Ruby Dee! on film. Not to mention Common, Chiwetel Ejiofor and so many more. Whoa!