Kamaiyah's 'A Good Day In The Ghetto' Is That Perfect Summer Weather Slap

 

The Bay Area rap scene has been lacking for a decade-plus, let's be real. Indeed, hyphy had its relatively short stint in the Billboard spotlight. But once people started to get tired of running alongside their driverless cars, there wasn't anything to replace it.  Fortunately, artists like IAMSU! and his HBK gang; as well as the rise in internet popularity of Lil B and the continued relevance of legacy rappers like E-40 and Too $hort have made sure that the general public didn't forget about Northern California and it's, ahem, "unique" brand of hip-hop music.
   
    Unique in the best way possible. Since it's 1990's heyday, the major cities of the Bay Area have produced some of the most creative, diverse rap music available; as well as paving the way for how that music is distributed outside of major label influence (for the most part). And the most-productive city on the Bay Area map was and still is Oakland. Since the late-70's, when hip-hop music first started to trickle out of the South Bronx and across the nation, Oakland has been putting in work. It was a prime breeding ground for new musical talent due to several factors. There was a sudden influx of fast cash due to the burgeoning sales of narcotics, specifically heroin. East Oakland's Felix Mitchell and his M.O.B. Crew were pioneering that trade while a young Todd Shaw aka Too $hort observed it all. Then wrote it all down into rhymes, recorded some tracks, and sold the cassettes back to the very dealers that inspired his rhymes. Times changed, as did the drugs being sold and the way music was created - but the very hustle remains. Street-influenced raps over some super funky, bass-heavy rhythms and drum patterns.  

   And these days, nobody is doing that better than newcomer female rapper Kamaiyah. She's apart of what's simply being called "New Oakland". Cats like the already-mentioned IAMSU! and HBK Gang are apart of this generation. As is Nef the Pharaoh and (kinda) J.Stalin. Now, adding some much-needed female perspective to the mix is Kamaiyah with her debut mixtape 'A Good Day In The Ghetto'. And it's fucking awesome.

  Per the title, Kamaiyah's debut is basically a loosely-conceptualized mixtape about exactly that - having a damn good day in the ghetto. It's perfect summer weather music. Kamaiyah takes us through HER good day in the Oakland neighborhood she calls home...which means basically a lot of drinking, (no) smoking, and bragging and boasting while checkin' out the fellas. And most-times out-flossing those same dudes her own damn self. AGDITG is basically a 90's throwback of the highest caliber. It reminded me of listening to classics like In A Major Way, People's Instinctive Travels..., and Doggystyle, 100% (track #14, 'Freaky Freak' is practically a remake of 'Doggy Dog World'). That type of album you throw-on when your going to the summer cook-out, or maybe just cruisin' down Broadway in your drop-top on a sunny Sunday afternon. The 90's references are abundant. As is Bay-Area-centric slang and music. 'One Love', one of AGDITG's finishing and stand-out tracks, is obviously referring to the E-40 classic '1 Luv' (as is the track's production). Kamaiyah comfortably borrows an eeriely effective Cash Money flow from 9-8 on tracks such as 'Mo Money Mo Problems' and 'How Does It Feel'. On other joints like 'Come Back', Kamaiyah plays with 90's R&B instead.

It's impressive how she's able to move back-and-forth between styles so effortlessly. And more-so, how Kamaiyah is able to so effortlessly create a musical brand that harkens back to a more golden-era of rap music; yet sound updated and current at the same damn time. More than anything, 'AGDITG' is just damn FUN. Kamaiyah has brought back that hip-hop dance party-type joy and innocence from a bygone era, mixed with that Oakland grime subject matter that comes with living in the Town, gave it a funky-ass soundtrack, and updated it all for millennials everywhere. And I can't wait to see what she has in store next.

Livin' That High (Jet) Life With Curren$y

This is the type of music where if you didn't have a joint rolled and lit, with a pair of headphones on full blast, well you just ain't doing it right. "It" is Curren$y and his music...no, his movement....that the young New Orleans native has cultivated for over half a decade now. That movement is "Jet Life", named as such after the new-school slang term for joints,"paper planes", that Curren$y and fellow rap brethren Wiz Khalifa helped popularize at the end of the aughts in 2009. Back then, Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y both seemed destined for Top 40 Billboard Charts greatness - but were still broke. On 'Canal Street Chronicles', Curren$y shares a short story from those days; a lazy afternoon when they had "only $300 for an ounce of Sour Diesel...so we went in the couch...came up with like...$12...went and got us some orange chicken, chicken fried rice, two cans of soda...." Spitta describes to the listeners, in an almost longing way. Like he kinda misses those innocent days when he and Wiz were still lesser-known rappers on the rise; just trying to scrounge up enough dough for some dank, drank, and grub. But, let's be real; Curren$y doesn't miss those days THAT much. A little after that infamous trip to "Dragon Palace...Golden Dragon...Golden Palace...some little Chinese spot by my broke ass apartment", both Curren$y and Wiz would explode onto the scene in ways that probably even they couldn't imagine.

     Spitta and Wiz were unofficially dubbed "hip-hop's Cheech-and-Chong" combo; even tho each rapper had his own individual career path set-out for them. Wiz with his Taylor Gang imprint, Curren$y has Jet Life. But while Wiz's fanbase of "Taylors" continued to swell until they burst through to stratospheric Billboard 200 heights, Curren$y's jet planes stayed grounded. Actually, they went straight underground. Wiz broke-through with the #1 Billboard single 'Black & Yellow'; releasing the debut album 'Rolling Papers' a few months later to strong sales and success. But Wiz kinda changed-up his style a little bit to do so. Granted, Wiz Khalifa's style already leaned heavily towards the sounds of pop music, so when he included producers outside the usual Rostrum Records wheelhouse such as Scandinavian super producers' Stargate for 'Black & Yellow', it seemed natural. Curren$y, on the other hand, decided to create tracks with lesser-known producers of the "internet popular" ilk. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you listen to Curren$y's discography from his 'It Ain't A Mixtape' beginnings, to current major studio albums - you can actually hear his and thus, the Jet Life crew's signature sound develop and it's pretty awesome. The atmospheric, spacey bleeps and bloops, mixed-in with heavy bass chord rhythms and Curren$y's muscle cars and modern New Orleans player, purple hazed-out lyrics spit over a syrupy-slow-yet-saucy-flow. All created, mostly, on modern, internet/computer-heavy production software such as Fruity Loops andRecord Pro Tools. 

      It's an amazing thing, listening (and watching) to Curren$y as he perfects his flow and image over time. But it's only possible due to his (and rap brethren Wiz Khalifa's) monstrous work ethic. Curren$y developed it as a young up-and-comer in the New Orleans rap game, which was dominated at the time by two powerhouse labels - Cash Money Records and No Limit Records. Well, Curren$y would be signed to them both eventually. It was at Cash Money Records where Curren$y really honed his craft, and the process of creating it; by watching his label boss Lil Wayne cook. Wayne had signed Curren$y for the same reason Master P had in his earlier days, and that's because young Shante Scott Franklin had lots of untapped potential. 

      Some people just carry themselves different than others. This is true everywhere in the world, in all types of subgroups...and the rap game isn't any different. There's the rappers that are content signing to a label; making music with other people's money. They release maybe one or two mixtapes. They don't hit the ground running...and are easily weeded out. Well game recognize game, and Lil Wayne - a hard-working rapper with bigger dreams and vision than simply having a successful solo career - saw Curren$y wanted the same. Unfortunately, Young Money Records isn't where this musical revolution would be televised. 

      Curren$y was on his way to being big, it's just that his movement was more of a slow bubble than his BFF Wiz Khalifa's breakthrough. But there was a segment of the hip-hop listening public that wasn't being properly represented. Wiz Khalifa had scratched the surface, getting his start with the support of this subgroup before changing his product to be more pop-music friendly for the masses. But Curren$y didn't (or couldn't) produce a "Black & Yellow"; so he set his aim 100% on this subgroup of young adult, suburban skateboarding and weed-smoking (usually) males. And he went straight for their jugular. 

     Jet Life Records is "weed-friendly" music to it's core. It's very roots are in the now-cottage industry of "stoner rap music" made specifically for the ganja-friendly crowd. It helps that this music is usually mellow, good vibes rap-music that strays far away from the typical popular rap music tropes of gangster imagery and violence. Not here, not now, and not probably ever again. Gangster music (as discussed in my earlier post about 'white-boys who love Drake'...) is pretty-much dead. It will survive in it's own subgenre form, but it's days as Billboard Top 40 single material is pretty much over outside of select artists like Future. But Future is a definite modern version of popular gangster rapper following the example of Lil Wayne, who pretty much turned the traditional gangster rap image on it's head in his solo-career smashing run; and that is of a gun-toting rapper who also wears skinny jeans, high-fashion, and pops mollies and gets the feels. It's all about the vibe these days, y'all. 

     Now, Curren$y falls somewhere in-between that modern gangster rap image produced by his former label boss and that of, say, professional skate Stevie Williams. Curren$y likes his weed, women, fast cars, Jordans, and french bulldogs and *might* also have a gun on his lap while driving around in that Motown muscle car. Curren$y isn't thugged-out...he's slick. He provides a musical outlet for suburban white kids who like to collect sneakers and smoke lots and lots of weed. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Jet life, jet life.... /slow, syrupy Curren$y voice 

Guwop's Ninth Life: Will Radric Davis Ruin Gucci Mane's Revitalized Career Before It Can Even Begin??

The Trap God is fucked. If he goes back to jail, Gucci will not recover. Not just legally, but career momentum-wise. Gucci has had musical peaks like this before - but now it's more of a Lil B, Internet underground-built type of momentum that bubbled and spilled over into the mainstream by-way-of underground "edge"-seeking celebs such as Drake. Yes, THAT Aubrey Drake Graham just dedicated an entire OVO Sound Radio podcast to the Zone 6 veteran. The same dude who just hit a BILLION VIEWS on stream networks for his latest album, 'Views'. Yes, Gucci has (re)arrived. But can he hold onto this massive amount of momentum? Guwop's work ethic points to yes. It's what's kept him in the game this long, with this many hits to the vest on his chest. Luckily, Gucci's made sure his catalog is Teflon in terms of sheer volume. Gucci Mane released about an mixtape a month while incarcerated for the past several years.

      I remember just like it was yesterday when the whole BRRRReakdown occurred. I thought it was a definite wrap, for real. (Career) curtains. Gucci had (both literally and figuratively) dodged bullets before; but this time he was out here calling out mega-stars (Nicki Minaj) and claiming Minaj slept her way to the top (how original, Gucc) and actually attempting to sell-off his lucrative BSM catalog and even individual artist contacts. I'm still not sure if Young Scooter is on the roster (he is). But worse than Gucci's Twitter tirade was the simple fact that he was a felon found to be in possession of a firearm while also brandishing said firearm in an East Atlanta shopping mall. Probably high on cough syrup. And there-in lies the root of (most of) Gucci's problems. His heavy narcotic addiction. 

      Everyone likes to minimize using cough syrup to get loaded - those same people think that prescription painkillers can't lead to heroin. But go turn-on CNN or MSNBC lately and you'll see just how innocent those painkillers turned-out to be for our nations'  young adults right now (spoiler: we're in an opiate/heroin epidemic). Cough syrup gets such a minimal amount of cautious care because, well, everyone and their mother (who's probably the one who gave you a spoonful in your youth) has used it. But we've used spoonfuls. Gucci Mane was drinking entire pints of this stuff (short answer: your not even supposed to be able to get an Rx for a pint of syrup). Plus, he was drinking them in a single day's time. It's basically heroin-type euphoria mixed with mental confusion/erratic behavior from the high levels of promethazine (no, Gucci wasn't getting white-boy-wasted on Robotussin, y'all) in a doubled-up styrofoam cup.      

      While Gucci was locked/up in the ATL, an amazing thing happened. An aspiring rapper that Gucci had helped foster the career of, signed to his label, and who looked/up to Gucci as the mentor and rap father-figure he was - blew the FUCK up in the mainstream. That rapper was Young Thug. Nobody could've guessed Thugger's extremely non/sequitur rap-style and garbled, mumbled lyrics would catch fire - but they did in the summer of 2014 with the monster single 'Lifestyle' by Rich Gang. Though the single was credited to Rich Gang, the obvious stars were Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. Rich Gang is Birdman's creation, tho. And due to Young Thug's success, Birdman naturally wanted a piece of the action. But Birdman was sadly mistaken. For such is the respect that Thugger has for Gucci, that he claimed BSM at every possible chance and even claimed to call Gucci once a day in jail, at least. 

    Such is the mystery of Gucci Mane. The enigma. He's like a street baller that's as good as Jordan, but never got his NBA chance due to his cocaine addiction. You don't need to believe me, just look at the numbers. The history of choosing newcomer rappers on the path to success that just needed that little extra push. And Gucci provided. Time and time again. He also went to prison. Time and time again. Usually, this would be so much more than cause for alarm; jail has straight ruined lesser rappers' careers. But this isn't a lesser rapper. This is Gucci Mane. The same Gucci Mane who successfully shot his way out of a brazen armed robbery attempt on his life. Then BEAT the murder charge. The same Gucci Mane who went to war with Young Jeezy and the goddamn Black Mafia Family and lived to tell the tale. And not from a wheelchair or breathing through a freakin' tube. Gucci was able to, and continues to succeed, due to that impeccable work ethic; mixed-in with a few solid cats who assist Gucci with his internet following, mastering tracks, promotion, etc. But even a cat only has nine lives. And Gucci might be on his last. But now, in June 2016, Gucci looks better than ever. He's physically great; the Pillsbury D-Boy tummy is gone. Mentally, he seems to be in a better space as well. No erratic behavior or brandishing firearms....yet. It's only been a few days though. Obviously, we still have a few months' wait to see if this sticks. Maybe years. But as long as Gucci Mane sticks to the 12-step (and general life) mantra of one-day-at-a-time, he'll be just fine.

Chance The Rapper Is Grown (With A Capitol 'G') On Mixtape Number Three

It's been some time, Chance. In the few years (see: an eternity) since 'Acid Rap' dropped in 2013, rap has become even further dominated by millenial microphone fiends; with Drake, the obvious (current) Billboard King...and peers (and competitors) such as Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole leading the charge. What do they all have in common? Besides enormous amounts of talent, that would be the (more) emotional route. Dare I say it, but they're kinda anti-gangster (well, Kendrick raps about gangster rap tropes from an environmental perspective, not actively engaging in street-hardened, "gangster" activities waxed about so unapologetically in time's past...). 

Now, just because emcees these days have less battlefield scars doesn't mean they're delicate. They're just more honest. Even traditionally-viewed "gangster" rappers such as Biggie, Scarface, and (especially), Tupac Shaku paved the way with more emotionally-driven records that just happened to be told in a drug-and-gang warfare-torn atmosphere. But, this sensitive slow bubble had to burst sometime. Now, sensitive emcees aren't even called as-such. They're just accepted as normal. As the status quo. There's no more struggle for the nasally-voiced bookworms and nerds who think to themselves "you know, I wanna try this rap thing, too". There's no better time for an emcee like Chance The Rapper to shine, basically. So, if Acid Rap' was Chance's entrance; then 'Coloring Book' must, too, be his homecoming. 

'Coloring Book' is fourteen-tracks of pure summer-weather music perfection. It's no coincidence that the mixtape was released in May. It's perfect for those late afternoon drives down Lakeshore Ave. (both in Chi-town AND THE Town...) in late July. Fellow Chi-town native and general pop lightning-rod Kanye West shows-up on the opener, 'All We Got' (AND THE FREAKIN' CHICAGO CHILDREN'S CHOIR. NO, REALLY.). Yeezy obviously sees potential in the young artsy kid from West Chicago ("Kanye's best prodigy / he ain't sign me / but he proud of me..."). Moreso, Kanye probably sees himself. The similarities are definitely there - from the already-mentioned lyrical honesty and sensitivity, to similar suburban Chicago upbringing and education. So it's only natural that 'Ye would want to make sure Chance succeeds. 

Where the similarities between Kanye and Chance end, though, is with they're approach to the business side of music. Kanye (quite famously) was adorned with his ROC chain in front of thousands of cheering fans. Chance isn't so keen to make the same type of move. Not that he needs to - Chance's album/ticket/merch sales are strong, yo. Strong enough, that Chance has gone the Joey Badass-approach (another talented, smart, young emcee/entrepreneur) and ditched the majors, completely. 

The guest list for 'Coloring Book' reads like a major label album release, though. Future, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Young Thug, Ty Dolla $ign, even the freakin Biebz makes a (surprisingly, awesome) contribution to tape slow-jam 'Juke Jam' (also featuring newcomer Towkio). All the guests shine. None are wasted. 2Chainz, who seems to be everywhere and nowhere at once these days, comes correct lyrically tag-teaming with best bud Lil Wayne on 'No Problem'. Chance goes the gully-by-association route (made famous by Drake) with lines such as if one more label try to stop me / there'll be some dread-head niggas in the laawby and interpolating              . Wayne spits a (somewhat) inspired, prescription-strength (and laced) verse about (what else?) how Baby should finally released The Carter 5 because "people need the Carter" (if that's actually true in 2016 is sadly debatable) and "I got problems bigger than you boys...only problem is my problems is on steroids". Young Thug helms the somewhat dark track 'Mixtape' alongside Atlanta new jack Lil Yachty over a somber piano-and-bass-thumping beat typical of Atlanta trap these days. It's Chance basically saying "hey! I can do trap too!"...and do it well, he does. 

What Chance always has done well, too, is mixing Gospel undertones into his work - and it's on full display in 'Coloring Book'. Examples such as "I speak to God in public, I speak to God in public..." off 'Blessings (Reprise)'; while the original 'Blessings' that appears early in the mixtape is a definite stand-out track by itself. An obvious song with many spiritual themes, the primary one being that of reaping what you sow. Chance feels that he's now finally being blessed by the Lord for all his hard-work and patience over these past few years.

And he should. 'Coloring Book' is a musical triumph for an artist on the rise. 

Thinking Further on The Pharcyde's Two Classic Albums

    THE PHARCYDE. Fucking awesome group. I remember when I was a little schooly diddy bop wop (no really, Im italian AF) ANYWAYS...Pharcyde was there, bro. One of my day one musical dunns. Well, ok, thats not completely true. I first discovered Wu-Tang, Notorious BIG, Nas....then ESPECIALLY the Jigga man Mr. Sean Carter, Jay-Z himself....and then Common and The Roots AND THEN SHIT LIKE THE PHARCYDE. Speaking of day ones; my best bro Albert - shouts to him because he's who truly put me on to the 'cyde. Well, him and some skater punks from 'round the way that were down with this alternative type ish. You gotta realize...back in those days (ok, so my "those days" are different from the actual "those days" from when The Pharcyde actually, you know, RELEASED their shit...). Anyways, this is like 0-2, 0-3. I'm a young buck discovering rap music for the actual first-time; not some "in the background" six-degrees-of-Wu-Tang-via-my-cousin, Kevin Bacon type shit....ANYWAYS....Pharcyde is the shit. 

    So it's been a few years since I've listened to Pharcyde. Like, you know, REALLY listened to Pharcyde. And I'm, well...I'm in a weird place right now. And unlike my moms; who likes to escape to those fantasy Hallmark movies when she's feeling down-and-out / 3-and-2 / strike-out type situation (I STILL LOVE YOU MOM LETS COOK SOME POPCORN AND WATCH 'THE GOOD WITCH'S CHARM' TOMORROW)...well let's just say the best personal coping mechanism for me is some brain chemical modification and a heavy dose of upbeat music. So I somehow stumbled upon Pharcyde, and here we are.
 
    I decided to listen to 'Bizarre Ride' first, because: all the critics jerk-off to it. Plus, they throw 'Labcabincalifornia' in the garbage before they even waste a single Kleenex. And that shit ain't cool with me. BUT...I am open to trying to listen to it again. Maybe a few years of life experience and music-listening maturity will change my opinion on the album. And that opinion is, basically, that....well, 'Labcabincalifornia' is superior to 'Bizarre Ride'. Yes. I'm completely serious. 'Labcabincalifornia', the album that completely dropped the proverbial ball both critically and financially; has stood the test of time better than the very album that launched The Pharcyde into the (15 minute) pop-music stratosphere in the early 90's. 

    Dilla. Yes, THAT Dilla. NO....not a dill pickle (though a dilly with some hot sauce sounds pretty damn good rn, DRUNK HUNGER IS SETTING IN 100% MY DUDES...AND MAYBE ONE OR TWO DUDETTES AT BEST....lets be reeeeal....). J.Dilla is (almost) solely responsible for the production on 'Labcabincalifornia'. In my early rap-music listening (and actual) adolescence, Dilla would play a (somewhat) pivotal role in my rap-music-listening preferences. I didn't even know it at the time, to be completely honest. Albums like Common's 'Like Water For Chocolate' and A Tribe Called Quest's 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life'. 'Labcabincalifornia', of course, played a large influence in my early rap-music upbringing. I can remember, 100%, my old dinosaur 30GB iPod, the 2nd Generation one, that was the size of a cigarette pack and as heavy as a brick (RIP *lighter flame emoji*). Nah, it wasn't THAT bad. And damn, do I miss those days. ANYWAYS. I went mad-crazy on the internet music piracy tip back then (i'm since reformed....) and among the thousands of albums I downloaded onto that ancient piece of my personal music and life history....was 'Labcabincalifornia'. 

   Oh man. 'Splattatorium' is playing. Got DAMN. I love this song. Such a personal track for me. Anytime I was feeling the blues, 'Splattatorium' was there to soothe my woes. That piano drop. Those drums. It's not even a "real" rap song. Like most Pharcyde tracks, 'Splattatorum' doesn't follow the traditional formula. It's basically 2 minutes and 45 seconds of Booty Brown babbling over and over about the things he (and, in turn, we) wants out of life. And wishing he had another buddha sack. Isn't that what every day eventually turns into, at least for the fresh-faced, young hip-hoppers out there? Weed and aspirations. I was so young. So fucking young. 

There's really no contest. It's obvious that both Pharcyde albums 'Bizarre Ride' and 'Labcabincalifornia' are classics. It's undisputed now. 'Labcabincalifornia' has stood the test of time. But 'Bizarre' is (almost) always rated above 'Labcabincalifornia' and, well, it's a total shame. 'Labcabincalifornia' obviously has SO much more soul. The group was dealing with a SHIT ton of struggles with the new-found famedom of 'Bizarre Ride' and it's success. Their record label, Delicious Vinyl, was pressuring Pharcyde to produce another album, and soon. Luckily, their success had created new connections within the industry, including much-respected musical peer, Q-Tip, from the Queens,. NY group A Tribe Called Quest.

   The Pharcyde were basically a West-Coast ATCQ (no disrespect to Hieroglyphics or Souls of Mischief...the almighty dunns outta East Oakland were obviously a West Coast Wu-Tang based on size and ATCQ based in image and scope....). Tip saw the similarities in The Pharcyde, and wanted to help the group square-up for album #2 and avoid the infamous sophomore slump.  Tribe had done it just a few years earlier with 'Low End Theory' (and then straight SKYROCKETED with 'Midnight Marauders', obvs...) and wanted to make-sure that their Los Angeles peers found the same success. At this time, around the end of 9-3, 9-4...Q-Tip had started fucking with this fool from Detroit with the MPC hotness known as James Dewitt Yancey...aka J.Dilla. Or Dilla. Or Jay Dee. What the fuck EVEER. This fool had the 808 hotness and nobody fucking knew about it yet. Well, Q-Tip did. And he was getting this motherfucker exposure all OVER the got damn rap-music map. And The Pharcyde were in a perfect positron to reap the musical benefits of their newfound (musical...and far superior) peer. 

   'Labcabincalifornia' contains only seven Dilla-produced tracks on a twenty-track album; but they form the backbone of 'Labcabincalfornia'. Every singe one of the seven J.Dilla-produced joints is a heavy hitter. Tracks like 'Y?', album-opener 'Bullshit', Beastie Boys-sampling 'Drop', and the already-mentioned 'Splattatorium'. Group members Bootie Brown (who would go-on to produce the majority of the group's future, non-Fatlip era music...) and SlimKid3 produce a majority of the rest of 'Labcabin's tracks (as well as a cat named M-Walk who I'm WAY too drunk and hungry to research rn. 

   Look. 'Labcabincalifornia' is just as good as 'Bizarre Ryde To The Pharcyde'. Let's be REALZ. Maybe it's not. But it is with me, got dammit. Ranking-wise, I'm gonna go with 'Labcabin' being #1. But it's because I have countless personal memories with that album. And you can't get touch someone any stronger than with a personal memory. And 'Labcabincalifornia' is nothing but positives. I listen to the album when I'm feeling great. I listen to the album when I'm feeling down. It's musical Campbell's Chicken Soup For The Soul. And that's fine with me. 'Bizarre ride' is amazing in it's own right, too. What's REALLY sad is that we only can debate between two albums....and that's because Phatrcyde fell (the fuuuuck) off after 'Labcabincalifornia'. Yes, The Pharcyde regrouped, disbanded, regrouped again....several times since that infamous second album (they're "performing" at BottleRock this weekend HOLLA!!! Nah I won't be there...). And they released several other *offical* and nonofficial projects since that mid-90's peak. But The Pharcyde will never be what it once was. Musical group careers are truly like a blooming flower. It blooms, but once it withers and dies....there's just no coming back from that. Fatlip aside, I heard the rest of the group is doing great. Maybe Fatlip is, too. Who knows the actual truth. What I DO know to be true - The Pharcyde released two albums that were (FREAKING) amazing. So let's just enjoy that special space in time from the (very) late 80's to the mid 90's, when Pharcyde Manor was a place, The Pharcyde was a (relevant) group, and everything was right in the hip-hop world. A golden-era indeed. Pass me another brew, and keep the boom bap backpack slaps, ah-comin', 

This is Ego Bloggin'. I'm Casper Ashbury. And let's talk about hip-hop. All of it. And shoes And clothes. And a shitload of other stuff. I'm still (kinda) drunk. This is my first post on the (soon-to-be) spiffy new webspace of mine. KNOW YOUR WORTH MY DUDE /Drake voice 

Diddy Boppin' With Killa: Cam'ron Makes An Early Aughts Rap Classic

  There was a perfect storm on the horizon in New York City in 2002. You couldn't fine any evidence of it on the Weather Channel. The local television news weathermen ain't saying shit. Instead, you had to hit the pavement, the actual streets; if you wanted to bear witness. And it wouldn't be hard - the eye of the storm was wearing bright pink.

    Cameron Ezike Giles was born to be a star. Truly, if anyone had the charisma; that"it" factor - it was most definitely Cam. He knew it, too. "They say beauty's in the eye of the beholder / thats why I look in the mirror every morning / and realize how fly I am" ("Get Em Daddy"). His level of confidence - ok, arrogance - as he navigated himself thru the rap game from his start in the early 90's; to his and fellow Dipset crew members' peak success in the early aughts; was simply astounding. Cam'ron had a sense of style and swagger that was pure Harlem - but it was a package deal. The arrogance was part of that package. So was a literally colorful style, from fashion to lingo, that had a classy touch. That was Harlem. Fools did things different there. It was the gulliness of Brooklyn and Queens; but with the sense and sophistication of Manhattan. ASAP Mob holds the current reigns of top rap group from there. But in the early aughts, Cam'ron and his crew The Diplomats (Dipset, for short) ruled Harlem with a (bejeweled) iron fist. And Killa Cam wore the crown. 

    If Cam'ron is king, then 'Come Home With Me' is his *ahem* crowning achievement. 2002 was a time in rap music where NY rap was still (somewhat) relevant. Indeed, the South had been bubbling for some time (Cash Money vs No Limit arguments on the playground in 9-8, holla!) and was starting to blow. But the soon-to-be financial top dawgs of hip-hop were positioning themselves into those roles in 0-2. And one of them was the Jigga Man.

   But Jay-Z didn't run his Rocafella kingdom alone. No, there was Dame Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke to co-run shit. Dame and Biggs knew their roles and played them well - they were the living definition of loud-and-quiet, with Dame running his mouth sometimes more than the company itself. He was boisterous, to be sure. Guess where he grew up. 

    It only makes sense, then, that one Harlem native son would help the other, especially as they were both on the rise. Cam'ron had actually ran in similar circles to Rocabella crew members via the Notorious BIG, who wanted to sign Cam to a deal in 9-4 (but was shut-down by Diddy so he gave Cam to friend Steve Stoute) and even more-so, fellow Harlem native, Mase. Cam went on tour with Mase and learned the ropes of the rap game for real; and with two heavy hitters in his corner in Dash and Mase, he learned a lot. Cut to the year 200 moving forward. Cam'ron is needing a new record deal and wants to put-on his friends via the rap new Diplomats. Diddy Bop. Bang. Boom...Dame Dash comes to the rescue. 

   Cam got his ROC chain coronation - now it was time to come thru with that first solo album. This is where the perfect storm begins to surface. Due to his newly-signed deal with the R.O.C., Cam'ron now had access to the Roc's in-house crew of producers, including a young Kanye West. And, even more so, a young video game, sneaker, rap nerd enthusiast named Just Blaze. 

   Just Blaze, like Cam'ron, had been sharpening his craft for the past few years and was ready to show it off to the world in 2002. Unknown at the time, Just was hitting his peak and the beats created during this early Aughts time period would go-down as some of his best work to date. Probably ever. And all Cam had to do was, you know, actually show-up at the Hit Factory and Quad Studios, peak in the rooms for Just, and ask for a beat. True - people were beginning to notice that Just was heating up. Most importantly, Jay-Z had noticed and wanted Just's best beats for himself. Naturally. But Jay was used to being the alpha rap artist at Rocabella. Sure, rappers like Beanie Siegel could hold their own lyrically and (somewhat) sales-wise. But not really. Not compared to Jay. Well, Cam'ron had that charisma, "it" factor ish like Jay-Z, and it was potentially just as strong. Classic Cam'ron hustler moves happened. But check the interwebs for those stories (the Red Bull Music Academy interview series with Dipset, for starters). What matters is that Killa was miraculously able to finagle a few classic tracks out of Jay's long-and-gangly fingers. 

    Tracks like 'Losing Weight Part Two', 'Welcome To New York City', and album single 'Oh Boy'  - which still receives daily spins on the rap classic radio station here in the Bay Area (Q102.1 what! WHAT!). Unlike most-all of Cam'ron (and Dipset) albums, 'Come Home With Me' sounds concise, like there's an intentional patterns and not just a bunch of hopefully will-be hit singles and street bangers. Half of the album's production is handled by already-mentioned Just Blaze and somewhat-unknown Ty Fyffe. The rest of the tracks, like album single 'Hey Ma' (DR Period, Mafia Boy) and 'Live My Life (Leave Me Alone)' (Precision) blend well-enough with the stand-out Just Blaze bangers. Just's tracks truly form the glue that holds the album together.

    Cam'ron never reached the lofty heights that fans like myself thought he'd ascend to. His image and charisma was just so unique and magnetic - truly an example of the fact that to be a successful album, your personality must match your lyrical skill (and sometimes be better than...especially these days smh). Unfortunately, by the end of the Aughts in 2009; Cam'ron had started to put-out infrequent m,material which was lukewarm at best. Sometimes, some individual tracks - that old Cam would be back. You'd hear a joint that would amaze you, make you nod oil you break your neck, and give you belly laughs. All in one. Well, 'Come Home With Me' was an entire album of those classic Cam'ron tracks. 

The Roots' 'Illadelph Half-life': Rap Music In-Flux In 9-6

Whenever hip-hop fans discuss The Roots' discography, the cream-of-the-crop at the top of everyone's Best Of... list is usually either their (and ONLY their first release too!) street-rap-jazz hybrid 'Do You Want More!?!' or Neo-soul/rap hybrid and Grammy-darling 'Things Fall Apart'. But there was an album in the middle of those two rap album triumphs (and many, many more excellent albums after...). That album is 'lladelph Half-life'. And it's equally amazing - if not better than it's siblings.

1996 was a pretty epic year for hip-hop culture and the music it gave birth to. It was rap music's peak, yet also a time of transition. Rap had been bursting at pop music's collective seams for years, and it was finally time to shine in 9-6. But commercial music demands a formula to follow. That (usually) means repeating what works - over and over again until it's repetition turns redundant, and the source material becomes completely watered-down. But not all artists were down for the sell-out. De La Soul famously released 'Stakes Is High' in a direct attack on the commercialism of hip-hop. Likewise, fellow "alternative" rap artists' The Roots decided to join the fray, producing what would become 'Illadelpo Half-life'.

They were riding high on the well-deserved critical success of 'Do You Want More!!?!"; and The Roots' label, Geffen Records, wanted them to avoid the slump that so many artists'  sophomore albums fall victim to. Just because The Roots' emcees' Black Thought and Malik B. didn't rap about  cars, hoes, and clothes much at all, doesn't mean they still can't fall victim to formulaic redundancy. Indeed, when 'DYWM!??" was released, jazz rap was a burgeoning subgenera of hip-hop music and The Roots did kinda ride it's coattails to (somewhat) success...moreso critical than sales-wise. This would be a trend that The Roots would fall prey to time and time again, but in 1996 group co-leaders Questlove and Black Thought were still young and (somewhat) fresh on the scene, eager to impress and take their group in new, unexplored directions. Questo saw that jazz-rap was on it's way OUT in Top 40 success terms, and that his group needed to explore something new.


Fortunately, Black Thought was thinking the exact same thing. And his tongue was as sharp as fucking ever. Probably the best it ever would be. Black Thought goes track-for-track, bar-for-bar, for complete broke-ness. He was telling every other emcee to run their jewels, and run them fast. And nobody else was fast enough for him. Tracks like album-opener 'Respond / React', 'Push Up Ya Lighter', and Q-Tip-assisted 'Ital' are evidence of Thought's wordplay prowress. 'The Hypnotic' is basically a sequel to 'DYWM!?!?' stand-out 'Silent Treatment'. Both are Black Thought at his most romantic introspective, and we're lucky enough to be able to experience a small dose of it again.

Malik B. does his best to keep lyrical pace - and what he produces is impressive. No, it's not in the same league as Thought, but it's damn close. Basically, Black Thought and Malik B. are like the Steph Curry-Klay Thompson tandem; with Black Thought being Curry, obviously. It's not a diss to Malik B.'s abilities on the mic - dude can spit. Honestly, there's very few Steph Currys out there in the world, and to be their sidekick means that you can compete in their arena - and that alone is a great accomplishment. Every great leader needs a great sidekick - and Malik B. is that person for Black Thought. He's the Robin to Thought's Batman. And they go track-for-track; slaughtering vowels, verbs, nouns and adjectives; and twisting them with wordplay that rates a hard 100 on the complete bonkers scale.

Questlove doesn't slack on the instrumentals that accompany Black Thought and Malik B.'s verbal showmanship, either. ''Illadelph Half-life'  goes in a musical direction that is a complete predecessor to the net-soul movement that Questo would lead into the pop-music spectrum just a couple years later with releases by artists such as D'Angelo (Voodoo) and Erykah Badu (Baduizm) as well as The Roots' own album, 'Things Fall Apart'. Quest love uses instruments and samples unknown to The Roots' music thus-far. Things such as classic music strings on 'Concerto Of The Desperado' and exploring the use of group member Rahzel's beatboxing abilities. Cymbals, horns, piano keys, even freakin' tambourines are all used to full-effect on gems such as 'The Great Pretender', 'One Shine', and 'No Alibi'. Questlove's use of drums is bananas as well. Every single track features hard-hitting snares and bass that vibrates and trembles out of my speakers in epic proportions. Being a boom-bap fanatic, I devoured every single second. 'UNIverse At War', 'Clones', 'Push Up Ya Lighter', 'Panic!!!!'...all smack with intensity not seen before on previous releases 'Organix' and 'DYWM!!?''. Every great hip-hop producer has a signature drumline, Quest knows this. And his is most-effective, especially here.
As stated before, hip-hop was in-flux in 9-6. Bad Boy Records, with Puff Daddy at it's helm; was literally adding a gloss and shine to the rap music produced on Billboard charts. And he was having enormous financial success. Obviously, everyone else followed suit. Well, the artists concerned with their bank account numbers did, anyway. And thus, hip-hop split into two groups. The eternal divide between what was deemed "authentic" and what, well, wasn't. Basically, anything making oodles of zero's was inauthentic, watered-down music and should be avoided at all costs. And, to a certain extant, this was (kinda) true.

Now, in 2016, the debate on rap's authenticity still rages-on, but ironically the underground rap fan's argument is just as watered-down and formulaic in approach as their opponent's. But it wasn't so in 1996. No, this debate was just beginning. So artists like De La Soul and The Roots' pleas for rap music to stay focused on creativity and originality was pure and had an especially strong sense of urgency. They were literally seeing rap music change before their very eyes. And artists didn't know how to react. This is showcased on tracks such as 'Clones', 'UNIverse At War' featuring emcee Common on a warpath, and (especially) album single 'What They Do' and it's accompanying, and definite-classic, music video.  Did The Roots' pleas eventually get heard? Thats honestly a matter of debate. Though Im sure it seemed at the time that hip-hop was heading to hell in a hand-basket - it survived. Rap music is just as big as before; it's if what's being produced as gotten better is the ultimate question. And probably a relative one, as everyone's tastes are different. But one thing did survive intact - and that's 'Illadelph Half-life', in all it's glory. Like fine wine, this album has only gotten better with age. But so has 'Do You Want More??!' and 'Things Fall Apart', which (sadly) centers the attention on themselves instead of 'Illadelph'. And it's a shame.