Filed under: Pretending to be a Rapper, Uncategorized | Tags: Q-Tip, The Renaissance
Straight up, the best album I have listened to since “The Cool” by Mr. Fiasco. I just only downloaded this a week ago and I just bought the actually CD yesterday. I dont buy that many actually albums, but this shit is straight up classic stuff had to go out and buy the actually thing. “Dance on Glass”, “Move”, and “Gettin Up” are pure IPod battery killers. To be truthful, I still haven’t listened to the whole album thoroughly because of those three joints. But “We Fight We Love’ featuring Raphael Saadiq and “Life is Better” featuring Norah Jones are terrific songs too. Its nice to have a LP that you can just listen and vibe too, without having the beat’s bass knock the concentration out of you.
Filed under: Pretending to be a Rapper | Tags: Be, Below the Heavens, Blu, Common, De La Soul, Gang Starr, Lupe Fiasco, Moment of Truth, Paris Tokyo Remix, The Grind Date
Since “The Cool” dropped I really havent been on any Lupe shit.Its probably because I dont go on any hip hop blogs anymore. Its just full of stupid shit that Im not into. I heard Jeezy’s new album. I actually liked kinda like it and its getting some of play. Still havent took the time to listen to “LAX”…. I heard “Paper Trail” thought it was ok… But seriously Im starting to question my hip hop fandom… If it wasnt for Lupe, Nas, and Kanye I dont think I would even really listen to hip hop. But getting back on topic, I know Im late on this remix but I spazzed when I heard it. Shit is fire and that says alot since I cant stand Pharrell AT ALL.
And then I saw this:
Which made me go to my Itunes library and listen to the “Superstar” remix like a thousand times. Got to admit, T.I. spit a heavy verse on that…
And then I spent the whole day listening to my favorite albums by artists not named Nas, Lupe, or Kanye…
I never was into hip hop groups. Never got into Wu-Tang, ATCQ, or the Roots. I mean I listen to all of them but not consistently. But I love De La Soul and “The Grind Date” is my favorite album from them. I probably listened to this album about 50 times through. No tracks that need to be skipped. And how good is “Come on Down” where Flava Flav yells like a mad man. Call me crazy but I love that track.
Ok so the major reason I like this album is because of Ye’s production. I have the instrumental version that I listen to all the time. But this is my favorite Common album and “Love Is” is my favorite Common song of all time, “6th Sense” notwithstanding… Common and Kanye have amazing chemistry; his flow matches Ye’s beats so perfectly its scary…
I thought Blu would be the next Nas… I mean “The World Is…(Below the Heavens)” is probably one of the greatest songs of ALL time to me… His next project with C.R.A.C. Knuckles wasnt that great… but this album is one of the best of all time… Blu needs to drop another album real soon… this cat has unlimited potential…
I have no idea why I like this album so much, I cant explain. I really dont like Guru’s flow, its kinda dull. The interludes piss me the fuck off and takes away from the album to me. But I keep on listening to it. I guess Premo’s amazing production and Guru’s lyrics carry this album. I mean if you told me name my favorite albums I would NEVER have said ‘Moment of Truth’… But when I look at my playcount and just think back on what hip hop albums I listen to this album is among the top. I guess Im hooked on it subconsciously… *shrugs*
wait…
wtf was this post about???
oh yea, lupe…
Im back on my Lupe stannery again…
not that I was never off it, just took a break from it…
“LupEND”, cant wait…
Filed under: Pretending to be a Poet, Pretending to be a Rapper | Tags: Butterfly Effect, Epik High, LoveScream
Listen…
All causes and all effects.
Don’t call it shit,
Necessary to acknowledge it.
Some call it LOVE and some call it SEX,
Opposites…
Call it what you want,
But with one touch and you’re gone.
So call in sick,
With human politics
From whispered hushes and distant crushes.
Mental fits,
Breaking pencil tips and ink & brushes.
Simple rushes.
God makes man and this is the devil’s finishing touches.
From dukes to duchesses,
And kings to queens.
From dust to dust this is the sinful theme.
The scene for crack fiends and gun-packing teens.
High on,
Vaccines, magazines and saccharine.
Love scream
Filed under: Pretending to be a Rapper | Tags: Kanye West, Love Lockdown, Rap
So i got around to hearing Kanye’s new single that he unveiled during the VMA’s yesterday, (Heres the ripped version of it if you aint lent a ear to it yet), and to I am NOT feeling it.
Now let me say this, “Love Lockdown” will be a enormous hit and will be absolutely beaten to death by the radio but Im really not feeling it…
Dont get me worng, “Love Lockdown” is a good song, great song maybe, but Kanye didnt rap one bar. I know, I know, good music is good music and Kanye is a musician, blah blah blah…. but the Kanye I became a fan of was Kanye the rapper. Not the producer, not the blogger, not the singer, but the rapper. And the music scene does not need Kanye the musician. But the music scene NEEDS Kanye the rapper. The RAP game needs Kanye the rapper. And apparently Kanye will do a lot more singing than rapping on this upcoming album. Taking Kanye away from rap is like taking the paintbrush away from Van Gogh, all you are left with is a mentally deficient dude who likes to cut his own ear off. I want to see paintings not the other mindless bullshit that happens in rap without Kanye.
But I digress…
Continue reading
I wrote this poem a lil more than a year ago…
I need to get back to this kind of creativity…
I wish I can get back to that…
I met this girl when i was like 5 years old
i wanted to make her mine, yup that was my goal
she’s the flyest in town
no ones takin her crown
but look at me lil asian kid fresh off the boat
wats my chances with her? i aint got no hope
but she just walked up to me and said:
“excuse me lil homie
i kno u dont kno me
but my name is Brook and we can be friends”
since then i’ve gotten to kno her betta
melanin, money, status all that shit didnt matta
u come from outta town, i like to show her off
if u aint real she straighten u out, she kno u soft
she taught me how to slang, how to talk
how to carry myself, how to walk
i met other girls like Queeny and Manny,
went to school wit Queeny, partied wit Manny
but still that Brook, always on my mind
another girl like that i could never find
another girl like that i could compare
her style, grace, and smarts so rare
but we had our troubles
as my age doubled
her friends werent as pure
experienced hate and racism, for sure
but never took out anger on Brook
those assholes, no love they took
got a lil older, took her for granted
got a lil swagger, brains more potent
followed my dreams, went to school in philly
realized how much i missed her, yes really
only when i left, did it make me see
made me realize, that Brook is the only girl for me
now how u think i felt when i heard
there’s these dudes who rapin’ her
all her friends have forsaken her
she dont smile like she used to
broken is the joy she cruised to
wrinkles i didnt see before
bruises that were never there
pimps whoring her…
cant recognize her…
and i cant save her…
Filed under: Picture and a Couple Words, Pretending to be a Rapper, Pretending to be an Architect, Pretending to be an Artist
Finals are just around the corner…
Now for most people that means a lot of studying.
Maybe cramming plus a couple of last papers…
Me???
Well I have the heavy burden of studying for finals, writing two final 8+ page papers, and working hells balls in studio for a final presentation in Design. Couple that with Cad/Viz/Photoshop renderings the next week and a half will be a bitch.
But I made a couple of discoveries past few days.
First off I have discovered this:
Holy goodness they put STRAWBERRY CREME IN BETWEEN OREO COOKIES??? ARE THEY TRYING TO GET ME FAT??? They are limited edition and my roommate brought them from home a long time ago. I looked everywhere but I couldn’t find them at any place in philly!!!! I was sad. Then one day my roommates and I went to target to buy “Charlie Wilson’s War” on DVD (amazing movie btw) and my roommate thought he saw the special edition Oreos. But alas it was just Oreo “Double Stuffed”. Right then there I uttered the words ‘I will never ever taste those again.’ Then as soon as we turned the corner to the next aisle there they were…. OREO STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE CREME cookies!!!!! I bought 4 packs. I will eat them until I am sick of them.
Also another food discovery. Well actually its beverage related. Dunkin’ Donuts 710 ml extra large coffee with creme no sugar will absolutely make you hyper as a muthafucka. No fuckin’ lie.
And the fact that the coffee actually kept me awake was amazing. Not the fact that I was going without sleep, but because of what I was doing. I had to write a 8 page paper on the 1947 United Nations general Assembly Resolution 181 on the Future Government of Palestine. Yeaaaaaahhhh. Sounds fun doesnt it????? Heres a LINK to the actual document. Its a good read…. cough cough… NOT… cough cough…
And lastly Lyfe Jennings came out with his latest LP yesterday without much fanfare. Its entitled “CHANGE” and even though it does not contain any classic material overall as a composition I do believe it is his strongest album as a whole. I cant stress how much I admire Lyfe Jennings. His music has so much emotion and content while still maintaining his lyrical mastery and overall flow. Most people in the music industry are so fake. Just in it for the money and they all sound the same. Some people have the incredible gift of using music as a medium of communicating emotions that have no strength on just words alone. I will be reviewing his album very soon and please go out and support good music, you will not be disappointed. The coffee I drank combined with listening to his album all night on repeat had writing that paper very much less painful.
Filed under: Picture and a Couple Words, Pretending to be a Rapper, Pretending to be an Architect, Pretending to be an Artist
“click on pic for larger view”
Still working on that thesis paper on “Chinese Calligraphy and its Relationship to Chinese Architecture”… and im starting to think I bit off way more than I can chew….
Reading a new book for Writing for Design class… its called “Nickel and Dime” by Barbara Ehrenreich. Its about this white lady (with a PhD) who attempts to experience the life of a working class individual by working “low class” jobs. I think the book is a total joke but whatever….
Discovered something new….
WaWa Ice Teas…. ABSOLUTE CRACK
shit is BANGIN’…
and of course Honey Bunches of Oats, no comment needed there.
Had some loose change and bought the 100th issue of XXL only because they had the Nas interview I wanted to read… it was ok. And the 100 greatest moments of hip-hop of course was pathetic. Just full of people stabbing and people dissing and people killing each other. Definitly was not worth the 4 bucks I spent on it. I was better off buying two more WaWa ice teas. At least the issue made me bang Illmatic for a good while.
Mets Fitted = We got Santana, we made him rich, and he will make us win. That’s how it works right?
Giants Fitted = Do I have to say it??? Lets just say on April 4th we will have the 32nd pick of the draft ya diggggg?
Right now (besides Illmatic) im listening to Asheru’s 2003 LP “Soon Come” it also features Blue Black. Asheru is an underground artist that is not your rapper’s rapper. He has a master’s degree and is also a teacher. He contributed to the Boondocks controversial episode “Return of the King” for which he won a Peabody Award the first rapper ever to do so. He’s a part of the group Unspoken Heard, and has smooth flow and sharp lyrics. Cant say I know much more about him, I just started listening to him a couple months ago. His product is fire, thats for sure and I have a couple of his other albums but havent gotten around to listening to them. Stay up.
Filed under: Pretending to be a Rapper
Just a note, I am reviewing this album, but understand that I am a huge Lupe Fiasco fan and I evaluate Lupe against himself and his previous works, with the bulk of the comparison coming from his many mixtapes where if you followed this concept of “THE COOL” has been alive since Fahrenheit 115 part 1…
01. Baba Says Cool For Thought-
spoken word intro by Lupe’s sister…. well done and articulate, but come on… its like the opening act at a concert before the main event… i really don’t care… sorry
02. Free Chilly (featuring Sarah Green & Gemstones)
Gemstones comes out singing…. and by the way Gemstones has a amazing voice just something about it… and then Sarah Green chimes in… coupled with the beat this track has so much potential… u expect lupe to come out with a verse soon, but then the music tunes off and u realize it was just an interlude… i dont know, i was hugely disappointed… i feel as if this was a wasted opportunity for an amazing track…
03. Go Go Gadget Flow
Two tracks in still no lupe but he comes on in this track… and he brings it.. Lupe twisting.. he has that remarkable ability in rhyming at a blistering pace but his flow isnt affected… the beat seems to have trouble with keeping up with Lu at first but it blends after about the 10th bar… ehhh took me a while to really feel it, the hook needs getting used to, kinda annoying…. and yes Lupe we know your from Chi Town and that you think iChicago is the best thing since sliced bread…
04. The Coolest
now for the first chapter in the concept stage… and not to dick ride or to sound like a stan but… ABSOLUTE FIRE… try to catch the metaphors and its chock full of it, starting in the first 5 bars .. which is my favorite, he spits: “i love the seas and i love the shores, no love for no beach, baby thats law, but she doesnt see” so unnecessary but yet so fire … a rare hip hop track where you get 3 verses… BUT two things that prevent this track from being a perfect one… first of all the Lil Wayne twist he gives to some of his rhymes, not feeling it… and Lupe prob has the worst hooks sometimes… but the repetition of “coolest nigga whhhaaat” did kinda grow on me… you’ll prob press repeat a couple times before u let the album go on to the next track… if you only play this once then dont bother listening to the rest of the album…
05. Superstar (featuring Matthew Santos)
i really dont know what to say about this record… I really dont feel Santos’ voice… Sarah Green or Gemstones would have been a better fit… but again i can respect the creativeness in this track… “… wanna believe my own hype, but it’s too untrue…” Lu trying to sound humble although we all know he’s a arrogant and prideful dude…
06. Paris, Tokyo
nice beat, nice flow, Lupe coming out singing… could do without the singing though… bunch of materialistic references on Lu’s style that nobody else really understands, but its one of those things where he doesnt care what anyone else thinks… again respect
07. Hi-Definition (featuring Snoop Dogg & Pooh Bear)
ill be truthful i had no idea no pooh bear was… i only Pooh Bear i knew is Rich Boi’s dead homie… I also had no idea why Snoop Dogg is on this track… Not feelin’ track at all… but Lupe’s does drop some gems on his verses.. too bad i cant say the same for snoop…
08. Gold Watch
Lupe talking about his uniqueness. Just him poking fun at what a rapper is supposed to be. Sick Flow, infectious beat… lots of dry humor and sarcasm you will miss if you dot pay attention…
09. Hip-Hop Saved My Life (featuring Nikki Jean)
ok to be honest at this point im severely disappointed with the album… the only cant miss track so far was ‘The Coolest” but he released that track weeks ago so i already played it about 150 times… but thank god he goes back to the concept with this track… and its AMAZING… talking about the character Michael Young a young aspiring MC from Houston… Lu showcases his storytelling ability, not forcing anything… again he spins his style on this young rapper, not the typical story of gangbanging or crack dealing but as the title suggest Hip-Hop saving a life… not like the media outlook that Hip-hop is synonymous with crime and drugs… rather short track but he sets the scene for the rest of the album… “get his momma out the hood, put her some where in the woods….show his homies theres a way, other than that flippin’ yay”
10. Intruder Alert (featuring Sarah Green)
dark song… rapes, drug addiction, life in third world countries… again Lu showcasing his amazing storytelling ability… the song title serves a definition used in multiple ways, and just Lu bring knowledge and his opinions on such issues. “he’s checking water, making sure its safe enough for daughter to float across in the boat that he built, hopefully strong enough to support her, praying border patrol dont catch her, process then deport her, before she reach the shore of the land of the free where they feed you, treat you like equals, deceive you, stamp you and call you illegal…”
11. Streets On Fire
The second half of the album continues to prove that this is the better half. Again following the concept, speaking on the streets, finally only the second track so far that makes you hit replay… wont get into the lyrics but his third verse is utterly ridiculous… listen up…
12. Little Weapon (featuring Bishop G & Nikki Jean)
Back to back to hittin the repeat button. Amazing record. The opening verse is from “heat under the baby seat” from one of his mixtapes that escape my memory at this moment… the bars have frank truths about other societies that are unbelievable but true… “think you gangster, popped a few rounds, these kids come through and murder the whole town, sit back and smoke and watch it burn down…””… cant write they own names or read the words that are on their own graves…”
Bishop G also comes correct as he switches up the flow and talk about video game violence and the kids that play them and the irony in that and kids that tote guns in real life…
13. Gotta Eat
ok, Lu rapping from a cheeseburger’s point of view. Now dont judge yet. This joint reminds of a mixtape track “twilight zone” just a song so out there like he got high and just started rapping.. crazy song, metaphors aplenty probably the most unique track since Nas’ “Who killed it” on ‘Hip-Hop is Dead’ … trust me u will press repeat…
14. Dumb It Down (featuring Gemstones & Graham Burris)
i wont even get into this song in detail… you prob already heard it… NEWSFLASH: Lupe Fiasco knows how to rap… and he can use big words… and intricate metaphors…
15. Hello/Goodbye (Uncool) (featuring UNKLE)
Again Lupe singing, not really feeling it but he pulls it off somewhat successfully…
16. The Die (featuring Gemstones)
The death of the cool… and Gemstones blesses Lu with a collab… his flow rivals lupe… but nevertheless amazing flow from both dudes, with Gemstones’ twisting a lil bit overshadowing Lu’s flow… good song that is part of the concept with Gemstones’ character being envious of the “Cool” and the “cool” enventually dying…
17. Put You On Game
Lu finally talking about the Game… and this track is absolutely Vicious… not only in terms of the record itself but Lu has a violent twang to his voice in rapping… lyrics are crazy and dark… ” one of the oldest and ancient-est of thangs, speak every single language on the planet, na mean?”, “I taught them better than that, I taught them aim for the head, and hope they never come back, im glad your daddy gone and hope he never come back”,”I hope your bullet holes become mouths that say my name” “I hope you die in this trash, cant help it all i can do when i hear you crying is laugh”. amazing amazing track… repeat 1833 times.. and thats real talk, the best track on this album…
18. Fighters (featuring Matthew Santos)
Another appearance by Mr. Santos… again not really feeling his style… “what you rapping about” basically the theme and couple of reminiscing lines about his fam… not a bad track from an artistic point of view… Lu’s verses still have gems and the flow is still there and he says “now we have one more to go, LUPend” refernencing his desire to retire after his third album. …ahem, ahem BS…
19. Go Baby (featuring Gemstones)
Track for the ladies… ehhh its aite, might grow you, the hook reminds me too much of Go Go Gadget Flow…
all in all this is the one of the best albums of the year with the hype notwithstanding… Food and Liquor went away from how he was rapping from his mixtape days, where his fan base came from, but THE COOL revisits that, its a must listen for any music fan just in general.
Pretending to Be... 