Heavy D. 1967-2011. RIP.

Years ago, comedian Nick Swardson pondered what it will be like when his generation grows old and the elderly start listening to rap.  “Your grandmother was a ho,” Swardson muses in a faux-old man voice during the bit.

Though I’m still decades away from grandkids, I related to his sentiments in 2011.  Never has rap seemed more juvenile (except for maybe Juvenile’s heyday).  For the first time in my life, it felt like the majority of rappers making waves were younger than me.  Kids (literally!) like Mac Miller and Logic crept through the woodwork, and while I recognized their gifts for rhyming, it was tough to appreciate their lamentations about the teenage rap game struggle. Even the familiar macho bravado of rap vets seemed a bit childish as I wander further into adulthood. And, to quote Young Jeezy, “I loooooooove it.”

Although a salute is in order for all my adults making grown man music (The Roots’ Undun and Blue Scholars’ Cinmetropolis were among my favorites in this category), I still get a rush when bumping something a little more menacing.  I may not crank Danny Brown’s “Scrap or Die” in the office or even around my softest roommate (James), but I can’t deny the genius of Brown and his bat shit crazy lyrics: “And you might  be laughin’ at it because you know this shit is true, rusty flatbed truck the color of doo doo.”

2012 was a great year for hip-hop.  This was perhaps most evident through the songs and artists that didn’t scratch my top 30:  Common (despite his resurgence), Tyler the Creator (a force, even if I think he’s forcing it), Weezy (6’7′ was on my 2010 list), and a whole slew of solid underground rap vets.  Before we get into the “Dirty Thirty,” it’s worth noting a few guidelines I set for myself:  First, with the exception of feature appearances, all artists were limited to one spot on the list.  Second, I excluded any song in my all genres best of mix, 2011 in Jams, posted last week.

Enjoy the tracks.  May they stand the test of time.

30. Mac Miller – Donald Trump

Mac hasn’t quite reached the status of “The Donald” yet (probably a good thing), but he’s got quite the resume for a Pennsylvania kid born in 1992.

Has-Lo – Untitled #1
Mello Music Group rapper/producer spits real life rap over soulful production

—

28. Pharoahe Monch – Let My People Go

Pharoahe’s one of the best ever to pick up a mic and also one of the most unique.

27. A.Dd+ – Insomniac Dreaming
With all due respect to Big K.R.I.T., these Dallas spitters evoked the strongest feeling of Dungeon-era Outkast nostalgia this year.

26. Phonte – Everything Is Falling Down ft. Jeanne Jolly
Phonte of Little Brother has been favorite of mine for years thanks to his honest rhymes and shank-sharp wit.  With this joint off the consistent Charity Starts at Home, the Carolina MC gives his fans more of what they’ve come to expect: genuine music and genuinely dope wordplay.

“I’ve done played Jason. It’s Saturday the 14th, fuck you gotta mask on?” --Phonte

25. Termanology – Say It ft. Joell Ortiz, Bun B, Saigon & Freeway
Piano-laced posse cut with some of the harshest spitters in the biz.

24. J-Live – Pronounced Spitta
Veteran J unloads rapid-fire bars on the state of his genre and sounds more vicious than preachy.

23. Joell Ortiz – Battle Cry
This appropriately named joint reached the blogosphere in 2010, but it was part of Joell’s 2011 release, Free Agent.

22. Shabazz Palaces – Swerve…the reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)
Butterfly from Digable Planets dares you to confine him to an era as he waxes poetic over a beat sure to call all the hipsters to the yard.

21. Nas – Nasty
A premeditated rebuttal aimed at anyone questioning whether or not Nasty Nas still has it.  No chorus, just flames.

20. Killer Mike – Ric Flair
I listened to this song while reading an article about the crumbling life Ric Flair and it added another layer to the track.  Even without this experience, the track stands on it’s own thanks to Mike’s real talk, an “International Players Anthemy” beat and some choice quotes from the Nature Boy himself.  Woooo!

19. Rasheed Chappell – Stay Sharp
Rasheed glides over slick Kenny Dope production, evoking memories of rap’s golden era.

18. J. Cole – Lost Ones
I have mixed feelings about rappers (who can’t sing) crooning their hooks, but Cole’s emotion really works on this one.  Plus it’s refreshing to hear the talented Jay-Z protégé rap without his usual misogynic content.

17. G-Side – Impossible (Javelin Remix)
G-Side joins the aforementioned A.Dd+, as well as Main Attrakionz and Harlem’s ASAP Rocky as emerging artsy street rappers of 2011.

16. Blue Scholars – Cinemetropolis
The title track from one of my favorite albums of the year.  This is hip-hop crafted for adults. 

15. ASAP Rocky – Palace
The Clams Casino beat has a certain weight to it, and Rocky’s bare-boned rhyming feels like the perfect compliment.

14. Jay-Z & Kanye West – N***** in Paris
I didn’t know how much I loved this song until I heard Jay and Yeezy etched it into my consciousness by performing it seven straight times at the “Watch the Thrown.”  Isn’t that cray?

"Ball so hard motherfuckers wanna fine me." --Jay

13. Hassaan Mackey & Apollo Brown – Volume
“When A Man Loves A Woman” has never felt so boom-bap. Shouts to Hassan Mackey for his no frills dedictation to cranking shit.

12. Evidence – Late for the Sky ft. Slug & Aesop Rock
Three underground vets join forces and spit over a folksy sample.

11. People Under the Stairs – Too Much Birthday
Left Coast legends PUTS provide listeners with three-plus minutes of party and bullshit.  Doesn’t hurt that they sampled rap elders Freestyle Fellowship.

10. Action Bronson – Ronnie Coleman
Some people have criticized Bronson’s voice for sounding too much like Ghostface Killah’s.  The comparison’s relevant, but focusing on it doesn’t do the king-sized chef-turned-rapper justice.

“An hour later eat the burger with my drug dealer. Then add the butter to the fudge to make the fudge realer.” --Action Bronson

9. Shane Eli – When We Were Kings
The educator in me digs the sample of Geoffrey Cananda (CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone), but the hip-hop head is satiated by Eli’s barbs.

8. Willie Evans Jr. – Nerd English
Willie name-checks Tekken and Boba Fett in a grizzly ode to nerds.

7. Rashad & Confidence – The City
This song rolled up on me this winter.  Not sure where Rashad & Confidence came from, but from the sounds of their music, it might be 1994.

6. Childish Gambino – Freaks and Geeks
Community actor armed with lewd wit cements his status as hip-hop’s Bo Jackson (acting’s Bo Jackson?).

"I am running this bitch, you are just a dog walker." --Childish Gambino

5. Big K.R.I.T. – Another Naïve Individual Glorifying Greed and Encouraging Racism
2011 continued the awesome trend of free mixtapes better than lots of albums.  In this realm, K.R.I.T.’s Return of 4Eva stood out as maybe the strongest.

4. Drake – Over My Dead Body
This track was a great tone-setter for Drake’s sophomore LP and features some of my favorite quotable of the year from the cuisine-themed “Shout out to Asian girls, let the lights dim sum” to Drizzy’s lampooning of the flow he helped bring to prominence: “All your flows bore me…paint drying.”

3. Kendrick Lamar – Ronald Reagan Era
A super-talented young MC (no “Bust-a-Move”) with something to say.  I’m looking forward to see where the prolific Lamar takes us 2012.

2. Danny Brown – Monopoly
I can only listen to this song in certain settings and moods, but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the most potent ones I heard all year.  Danny’s got an awkward delivery, but it adds to his overall rawness and a sound that’s unlike any other.

1.The Roots – Make My ft. Big K.R.I.T.
In a year where it sometimes felt as if hip-hop passed me by (no Pharcyde), the Roots delivered on a refreshing album targeted adults. On “Make My,” K.R.I.T. and Black Thought ground a fluttery beat with tales of struggling.

"Addicted to the green. If I don't ball, I get the shakes." --Big K.R.I.T.

Chilly Diamond - Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

Given it may be another 12 months before I post on here again, I figured I might as well share my favorite 15 songs of the year.  Here they are in all their glory:

Beirut – East Harlem – Well-crafted music tough to place in a box not labeled “awesome.”

Kendrick Lamar – Rigamortus – One of hip-hop’s finest young spitters going H.A.M. over horns.

Alabama Shakes – Hold On - New band poised to make a splash in 2012.  I’ve heard lead singer Brittany Howard described as a more soulful female version of Jack White…sounds about right.

Alex Winston – Sister Wife – Catchy enough to make polygamy cool again.

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside – Danger – My jam of the summer.  Had the chance to catch these guys live and marvel over the contrast between Ford’s mild-mannered personality and wrecking ball of a voice. 

Star Slinger – Dumbin’ ft. Reggie B (Diplo Remix) – The audio equivalent to M. Bison’s sonic boom.

Cults – Go Outside (Menahan Street Band Remix) – Indie darlings get the Daptone treatment.

Cosmo Jarvis – She Doesn’t Mind – Definitely a hummable tune, but it’s Jarvis’s wit that really grabs you.

The Streets – Lock the Locks – Could this be the swan song for the British dude with the wonky flow and catchy hooks? I hope not.  Nobody sounds like Mike Skinner.

Cass McCombs – County Line – It’s like he’s daring us not to sing along to the “Whooa, whooa, whooa, whooas.”

Action Bronson – Buddy Guy - Classic NY hip-hop slow-cooked over a soulful vocal sample.  Obscure food references are a welcomed bonus.

Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks - Beautiful and a little raucous at the same time.  

Middle Brother – Million Dollar Bill - Probably the best track from my favorite album of the year.   The lyrics on this slow burner are immaculate.

Michael Kiwanuka – I Need You By My Side - This guy sounds like Ben Harper at his best.  I’m (not so) patiently waiting for his debut full-length due March.

Drake – Take Care ft. Rihanna I loved “Headlines,” but it’s the honesty and depth of this title track and others that make “Take Care” stand out.

Take care of each other.  I will see you in a year.

I told myself I wasn’t going to do one of these this year–they take too much time–but I heard a few people were looking for this list this year, and I gotta give the gente what they want.  Before we dive into my 25 favorite hip-hop tracks of 2010, allow me to first go over a few guidelines: First, artists are only allowed to appear once.  (In other words, it doesn’t matter how dope you thought the new Kanye was, he’s only claiming one spot.)  Second guideline: In an effort to not spend too much time on this post and become better at math, I’ve limited my descriptions to equations.  Third guideline: There are no guidelines.

25-21

David Banner

25. Nieve – Doin That Today
Breezy beat + Nieve’s laidback flow = Lazy Sunday anthem

24. Eternia and Moss – It’s Funny ft. Joell Ortiz
Intense lady MC + Joell Ortiz = No laughing matter


23. David Banner – Be With You ft. Ludacris & Marsha Ambrosius
9th Wonder on the beat + Marsha on the hook + multiple Luda guest verses = Enjoyable David Banner track

22. Rocky Rivera – Heart
Soulful sample + talented story teller + message = Me reminiscing about the 90s

21. Sadistik – Savior Self
CasOne, Kristoff Krane, Alexipharmic and Eyedea (RIP) = Nice little posse cut for fans of Atmosphere, Living Legends, etc.

20-16

J. Cole

20. Panacea – Natural Selection
Straightforward flow + dreamy beats = Something to zone out to


19. The Letter P – Brother ft. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Dope rhymes + Heartfelt sentiments + Edward Sharpe sample = A little something for everyone
Click here to listen to “Brother”

18. J. Cole – Problems
Hov’s protege – his usual rampant misogyny = Refreshing


17. Qwel & Maker – The Game
Typical Cat spitting flames + piercing soul beat = Good game


16. Reflection Eternal – In This World
Powerful Hi-Tek beat + urgent Talib = Epic feel

15-11

Moe Pope

15. Hoodie Allen – You Are Not a Robot ft. Marina & The Diamonds
Clever wordplay + indie sample = Hipster’s wet dream


14. Freeway – Throw Your Hands Up
Boom + Bap = Fear the beard


13. Jay Electronica – Shiny Suit Theory ft. Jay-Z and The-Dream
Jay + Jay = Handfuls of quotables

12.Rafael Casal & Daveed Diggs – Babysittin
Relentless beat + fun with words  = New appreciation for the Bay


11. Moe Pope – Rock Me I
Hip-hop homage + Memorable metaphors  = Boston, stand up

10-6

K. Flay

10. Lil Wayne – 6’7″ Ft. Cory Gunz
Mixtape Weezy = Martian

9. Melissa Czarnik – Been This Way
Strings + honesty = Thanks, NPR


8. Drake – Over
Degrassi: The Next Generation = Street Cred


7. Das Racist – You Oughta Know
Overly recognizable sample + gibberish = Why do I like this so much?


6. K. Flay – No Duh
Hot fire spitter + Stanford diploma = K. Flay

5-1

Yeezy

5. The Roots – The Day ft. Blu, Phonte & Patty Crash
Blu, Phonte, Black Thought = Three of the greatest “reality rappers” doing their thing

4. Malcolm & Martin – Thank God
Solid message + solid beat + solid Rhymes = Chuck D smiling, somewhere


3. Kanye West – Gorgeous – KiD CuDi & Raekwon
Lyrical daggers + catchy chorus = Most slept-on song off My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a.k.a. this album’s “Spaceship” / “Gone” / “The Glory”


2. Shad – Rose Garden
Fresh face with a penchant for wordplay & honesty + great soul beat = Visions of a young Kanye West

1. Big Boi – Shutterbug
Seasoned Big Boi + Unruly track = Can’t touch this (c) Hammer

That’s all, folks!  Hope you enjoyed the music.  I’ll catch you in 2011.

Justin Bieber: Not on the list

It’s that time of the year again: White lights fill downtown streets, strangers try to be nicer to one another and children stay up for hours because they’re just so damn excited.  That’s right kiddos, it’s time to unveil the latest batch of Justin’s jams of the year.  Unlike years past, I did not resort to last-second scavenging for new hotness.  What you see below is what I’ve been bumping all year.    Without further ado (and in no particular order), I present to you Justin Lamb’s year in jams. Rock your heart out.

Dr. Dog – Shadow People
I wonder what kind of puppets shadow people make.

Aloe Blacc – I Need A Dollar
Best use of the double “hey” since Fat Albert.

Malcolm & Martin – Thank God
I’m a sucker for the dope beat and message combo.
I am also a sucker for the nachos bell grande combo.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Simple Girl
I dig their style.

Yellow Ostrich – Whale
In the words of Dwayne Carter, “Now that’s how you let the beat build.”

Shad – Rose Garden
Great use of sampling here (check the original) and as usual, Shad brings it with the wordplay.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings – Window Shopping
Simultaneously brazen and vulnerable, this is Ms. Jones doing what she does best.

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three – Daffodil Blues
Good ol’ fashioned love ditty.  Couldn’t find a video for this one, so I’m including “La La La,” their single off Riverboat Soul, instead.

The Mynabirds – Numbers Don’t Lie
Gorgeous pop.

Kanye West – Gorgeous ft. Raekwon
The best track on the most critically acclaimed album of the year thanks to lyrical barbs like, “What’s a black Beatle anyway? A fuckin’ roach?”

Justin Townes Earle – One More Night in Brooklyn
Where Brooklyn at? Sort of.

Sage Francis – The Best of Times
May your 2011 be the best of times! I’m out.

I opened with this piece at the Red Star Gallery in August.  If you like it, pass it along.  If you don’t like it, go back to Missouri.

Orrin Hatch: Not Actually That Soulful

On my quest to supplant Senator Orrin Hatch as the most soulful white boy on the planet, I often come across other spirited, melanin-challenged dudes making strides toward the title I seek.  One such cat is a Los Angeles-based singer named John West.

J-Dub’s music first came into my life after I discovered his expressive rendition of Rihanna’s smash, “Umbrella” on a blog.  Skeptical of covers, white R&B singers, and blogs, but impressed by the track, I cautiously explored the rest of his catalogue.

Boy was I glad I did.  One part mellow and two parts soulful, West’s jams quickly found a home in my iPod, nestled next to tracks by legends Al Green, Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke on a mix titled  “Mellow Jams to Fall Asleep To But Never Sleep On.”   I fell asleep to his music for the rest of the summer of 2008.

Fast forward to August:  With half the city already evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav, my friend Toussaint and I hit up the Creole Skillet to take in NOLA spoken word legends like Sunni Patterson before leaving town.

I’m not the only white guy in attendance. There are two of us, but I’m the only white guy with a straw hat.  Clearly, I’m the more soulful member of duo.

I perform, and although my poem is more funny than heartfelt, I feel as if I’ve made progress toward achieving my desired (if unofficial) title.  That is, until the other dude gets on stage.  It’s (you guessed it) John West! In the flesh!  And he’s as impressive live as he sounds on record; as nice a person as he is with the guitar.  Pretty mind blowing night in all, even if I did come to the realization that I’m not quite soulful enough.

Oh well.  There’s always second place.  Watch your back Timberlake!

—

I’d been meaning to spit a verse on one of John’s tracks for awhile and finally got around to doing it this morning.  “Saints N Sinners” showcases  J. West bringing it on a soulful tip.  After spending the last month (and counting) on a piece that could be described as my most honest yet, my verse comes from a more playful angle. Enjoy.  Oh, and shouts to Icon and Kataalyst, who I name drop in my verse.

Saints n Sinners featuring JL by chillychills

For those wondering why John was in New Orleans, his hometown’s the B.R.  For those looking for his Rihanna cover, look no further.  Peace & love. (I only wrote that last fragment to earn soulful points.)

Dee Brown snaps Sherman Douglas's neck in attempt to distract Patrick Ewing from blocking Xavier McDaniel's patented "step on the ball" dunk.

Crazy Steve Smith drives by a lurching Dennis Scott as Shaq dances to Naughty By Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray."

Ricky Pierce develops the gift of flight to soar over Cleveland Cavaliers Brad Daugherty and Earless Craig Ehlo.

Pervis Ellison is just happy to be on the court in this epic match up of Bullets vs. Trail Blazers.

Derrick Coleman eludes a flying Jimmy Jackson as Derek Harper lies motionless on the ground, his feet mysteriously missing.

Aloe Blacc: Rapper, singer, musician, stander in front of windows

Towards the end of my freshman year of college and smack dab in the middle of what we’ll call my “real hip-hop” phase, my friend Zach emailed me an unmarked rap song hoping I could identify it. Z, more Wilco than Wu-Tang, came across the mysterious jam on a friend of a friend’s mixtape.

Flattered to be someone’s “go to hip-hop guy,” I opened the mp3 with haste (FYI: It’s super hip-hop to say you did something “with haste.” i.e. “That Twista really raps with haste.”) and quickly realized two things: 1. I hadn’t heard this artist before. 2. Shit banged. Maybe shit didn’t bang in the traditional, boom-bap, “This is real hip-hop. Fuck you Nelly!” way, but it certainly had me nodding my head—not just because I felt the beat (white hot), I could relate to its content too.

In a genre dominated by dudes bragging about concubines and conquests, finding a catchy song about a summer crush not acted upon felt like catching a foul ball off of God’s bat. There had to be some divine intervention for this particular song to land in my awkward mitts.

Emanon-Blind Love

Immediately, I began making up possible titles for the track in an attempt to locate it. When “Love Sick,” “Summer Lovin’,” and “Summer Crushes Not Acted Upon: A Glance into Any Summer of Justin Lamb” didn’t yield positive results, I began transcribing the song’s verses into my Lycos search box. (OK, you’re right, I used Google. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.) Fifteen minutes later, I had identified the song as “Blind Love” and the group as Emanon, which featured two dudes named Aloe Blacc (the rapper) and Exile (the producer). For the rest of the day, I asked Jeeves all sorts of questions about the L.A.-based rap troop, the most pressing being: Where can I hear more, Jeevie? (Yeah, you got me again. I just Googled the whole thing.)

Aloe Blacc and Exile are Emanon. Coincidentally, their name spells "No Name." No wonder they were hard to identify! (My grandma wrote this joke.)

This is what the right song does to the right person. It puts you in a frenzy. It has you typing more characters into your search box than Google can handle.

It has you holding your chunky Nokia next to your computer speakers for a low quality recording just so the people in your general vicinity will know how much this song means to you every time your phone rings.

And it can only be eclipsed when the right artist finds the right person.

30-something-year-old Jay-Z fans know what I’m talking about. They nodded their heads to Hov’s tales as a hustler on Reasonable Doubt. Seven years later, he started rapping about trading in jerseys for button-ups and they still couldn’t knock his hustle because they’d matured alongside his music. 80s babies who ushered in adulthood with Bright Eyes know this feeling as well. They grew out of their whiney emo phase just as Conor Oberst stopped being such a pansy.

Aloe Blacc is my artist. As I evolve, so does the music of this unknown rapper who appeared in my inbox years back.

In 2006, Aloe Blacc released his solo debut, Shine Through, and transformed from underground griot to soulful crooner just as my iPod started to become a habitat for genres other than rap.

A year later, as I transitioned from optimistic college student to overwhelmed first-year teacher in the New Orleans public school system, he offered me the grown man hip-hop I craved (“Blind World” off the Now-Again Records compilation).

On the mornings I fantasized about driving past my school and hitting the highway (literally EVERY morning from August to January), I’d listen to Aloe rap, “I place my hand over my heart. And say let me be the start,” grit my teeth, and try my damnedest to create the social change that beckoned me down South in the first place.

Now, another track has fallen into my lap like a runaway meatball. Once again, Aloe Blacc is the culprit, seemingly adapting his subject matter to my life experiences in a way that screams, “Justin, it’s me Aloe. You are part of a real-life Truman Show. I am giving you hints through my music so you can escape. Your girlfriend is an actress!”

Think about it: What proof do you have that you are NOT part of the Truman Show? Because your friends and fam would've said something to you? Not if they're really undercover actors!

His latest gem, “I Need A Dollar,” is the theme song to the HBO series “How to Make It in America” and a desperate hustler’s anthem that’s as sincere as it is catchy. (For an insincere song about hustlin’, click here.)

Again, I’m transitioning—this time from teaching to the unknown. And while I don’t share the despair of the song’s protagonist as he belts “I don’t knooooow, if I’m walking on solid ground,” temporary unemployment does have me questioning the solidity of the terrain beneath my Chuck Taylors.

Still, despite the uncertainties that crowd my path ahead, I know exactly who I’ll be listening to as trek forward.

July 17, 1966 – April 19, 2010