Casper Ashbury's Personal Track-For-Track Perspective On Kanye West's The Life of Pablo

Kanye, Big Sean, Pusha T, and Spike Lee look at something that probably isn't special. The Life of Pablo/Yeezy Season 3 Fashion Show at Madison Square Garden in NY.



Production budget for The Life of Pablo album cover: 15 minutes on Windows 95 clipart and a large bag of Doritos. He told the artist to keep the change and let Kim choose the model so she could "participate". One of these statements is true. Maybe both?


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Well, it's here. Yeezy has, delay after shit-tastic delay, finally released his latest (hopeful) magnum opus; entitled So Help Me God, Swish, Waves, The Life of Pablo. Is it as amazing as Kanye's Ego would have us believe? If 'Ye fucks a model with a bleached asshole, and some bleach gets on his t-shirt, will he TRULY feel like an asshole? Shouldn't he already? Isn't that line, um, tacky AF? (and the Taylor Swift line...SHEEEESH! /Young Thug voice...hey he's on this album too!) Like Mos Def and Common famously said, "it's the questions, (what?), it's the questions..."

And many are answered within Kanye's multi-layered music manuscript. It's also scattered, yet similar. Some questions still remain. But Kanye is, if anything, a cultural enigma. This much is true. Everybody knows Kanye West. Well, the general public knows Kanye West's ego. And it's generally a hate thing. But to know Kanye West the musician is to love Kanye West the musician. And luckily, Kanye West the musician shows-up countless times on The Life of Pablo. When I first listened to the album earlier this morning (after waking-up to multiple friends' texts about the album dropping online hours before...and I'm just a music nerd nobody so that just goes to show you that, love or hate, that's the power of Kanye West) - I thought that it was a mess; and I thought that it wasn't really that good. And what's up with the Windows 95 clipart-of-an-album-cover 'Ye?! I even went ahead and posted as much in a since-deleted (I know, the scandal!) post on Facebook. Such is life. I forgot the first rule of album-listening sessions; which is that marination is key. I'd skipped through all the tracks after about 30-or-so-seconds of each track; none of the music had actually had a chance to get in my ears and under my skin. I definitely hadn't let the album marinate. FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm a bonafide Kanye West dickrider fanatic. But, I also like to think that I have moderate taste in music (humble emoji) and that my fandom hadn't clouded my opinion.

Indeed, the album launch was (kinda) a mess. Yeezy famously went on several Twitter tirades. One of which involved romantic and musical adversary Wiz Khalifa - and I honestly don't have the time to explain the multi-layered significance of it all. But, Kanye was basically shut-down with a single tweet about liking booty play during sex with Amber Rose by the woman herself. Then Yeezy promised the album would launch around the same time as his Madison Square Garden 'Yeezy Season 3' (because Kanye's so huge, he comes in SEASONS...) fashion show. That went pretty well. Mixed-in there were a couple of "Kanye being Kanye" moments and tirades. Whatever, bro. THAT SHIT IS HERE.

And it's complicated. But it's also - well, it's messy. Yes - I still stand behind the position that, like Kanye as of late, it really isn't that focused. Not like A Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was. This is more like A Dark But Beautifully Twisted Mess. The album starts with 'Ultralight Beam' featuring Chance The Rapper. And is that Kirk Franklin? Yes, it's that gospel singin' OG from the 90's. AND MORE! Get used to features everyone, because there's gonna be a bunch. Not a single one is wasted, though. (Not even the rn one-internet-hit-wonder Post Malone? NOPE, NOT EVEN POST MALONE, MY DUDE). The Life of Pablo start's with 'Ultralight Beam'; a stunningly somber track which immediately gives the listener a sense of two subjects soon-to-be repeated heavily throughout the album - family and religion. To put it in US Weekly terms, the Louie Vitton Don now has a Louie Vitton Mom. 'Ultralight Beam' opens the album with what sounds like children on the playground playing (and one particular child arguing, I think?), and then Kanye starts crooning (without Auto-Tune no less!) and his signature drum-snare combo kicks in. It's a solid track. You get the feeling that Kanye is definitely not goonna be throwing a Yeezus-themed party again. At least not this time. Yes, The Life of Pablo still has the potential to be "dark" - but not like BDSM-and-pitbulls-in-a-Tenderloin-alley type of "dark". It's more like emotional pain. That muddy-waters-of-Mississippi-delta-gospel-and-blues "dark". Indeed, there's a gospel choir eventually later in this very track. It features (relatively) new artist and fellow Chicagoan, Chance the Rapper; who is indeed more of a "soulful" type dude - both in his sound and persona.

So yeah, we're going there. "Old Kanye"-type strings and shit. Indeed, The Life of Pablo is a return-to-form for Kanye in many ways. There's the already-said "gospel choirs and strings" return to form. Kanye then brings back his 808-and-Heartbreaks-era auto-tune vocals to the album's second track, 'Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1'. It features Kid Cudi (who has since departed the G.O.O.D. Music camp). So, once again, a return to another Kanye West era. 808s, basically. It's all sung over Metro-Boomin' production; complete with now-famous "If Young Metro don't trust ya, I'ma shoot you" Future-assisted tagline. 'Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2' finds us similarly in Future/Atlanta-trap territory; although with a feature assist from G.O.O.D. Music newcomer? Desiigner instead of Future. But Desiigner and 'Ye are totally using (what sounds like, anyways) Future/Metro/808-Mafia melodies. Then it turns, like, British grime-ish? Who the fuck is Designer, anyways? (Seriously! I've looked on Google, bro). Rihanna shows-up on track four - as does Swiss Beatz on the production tip (you can tell the second the drums kick-in, similar to Kanye's). Swizz basically spends his per usual never-enough-to-just-be-behind-the-boards vocal cameo chanting how Kanye better "talk that shit" which apparently includes the "infamous" (please Kanye, crocodile tears) line about having sex with Taylor Swift and his claim to being solely responsible for her celebrity status. It's beyond tacky. And very desperate. And clearly an attention-grabbing attempt from an outsider's perspective, to be frank. But that particular line aside, the song is pretty dope. Honestly, you have to listen to it like five times first. IT WILL GROW ON YOU, I SWEAR. Actually, maybe not. That's Swizz Beats' production in a nutshell, tbh, and why he hasn't become as big as his era-mates like Timbaland. But dude obviously gets along well with his colleagues. Plus, Swizz has the Jay-Z/ROC connection with Yeezy, so it fits that he's here. It's followed-up with 'Low Lights'; which immediately flips-back to the gospel/peaches/cream sounding songs of yesterKanye - but with a mellow-House/EDM-sounding twist. And a Kanye-via-studio-session-R&B-singer love letter to Kanye. And it doesn't really sound awkward, because it's Kanye. 'Low-Lights' naturally has a track entitled 'Highlights' right after it. Like the magazine. Kanye read a bunch while making The Life of Pablo. Ok, not really. But the wordplay is typical Kanye, and so is the sound of the song. Very uptempo. Not fast, but jubilant. Young Thug comes through to chant for a little bit. Then 'Freestyle 4' begins, and everything goes Alfred Hitchcock Psycho quick. Desiigner's back too. And this track kicks. Like, Travis $cott/Rodeo-type kicks. And it's awesome AF. The Life of Pablo's halfway-point starts with (of course)'I Love Kanye; which honestly explains itself in those three wittle words; you start to feel all of the recent actions by Yeezy start to sink-in. The shoes, the fashion, the music. The second-half of The Life of Pablo is truly superior to the first. You just get hit with track-after-track of straight-up rap/pop music awesomeness. The Weekend-assisted 'FML' has Abel Tesfaye doing his usual mixture of odd-and-haunting type crooning. But it sounds perfect here. Unfortunately, Kanye just can't leave well-enough alone. He tries to end the album with this weird little sonic-experiment that honestly sounds like Madlib's Quasimodo character - drunk, stumbling around a garage, playing psychedelic-rock tunes on his wavy-ass guitar. Quasimoto's hypothetical wife probably then comes in, and yells at him for waking-up the baby and angering the neighbors with his horrible "music". Like Thugger would say, "YEEEESH!". It's followed-up by one of the The Life of Pablo's strongest tracks, though. With an alley-oop toss by Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye slam-dunks 'Real Friends' (one-hundred_emoji). That shit hits you straight in the feelings (gut-wrenching-face_emoji). Then you get a Kanye back-to-back emotional feature with 'Wolves', which features Frank Ocean (who's recently been harder to find than Big Foot, amiright!?) and newcomer? Caroline Shaw. It's very minimal. Kinda like Kanye's 'Yeezy Season 3' fashion line (probably why they used it in the promotions, ya think?). For some reason, I immediately think fur on everything and ballerinas in tonal colors like grey and brown. And naked Autumn trees with bare branches in the background. And Frannk Ocean? GTFOH. Dude basically provides a 101 class on how to use your 30-second feature on a major artist's album release to maximum effect.

After Frank Ocean punches us in the gut, we're hit again with 'Silver Surfer Intermission'. All you proud, card-carrying members of the Max B. Wavy Fan Club, Kanye means that "Silver Surfer". I originally thought that the whole "'Waves' controversy" that embroiled West for awhile there was about something unrelated to Max B. I am, admittedly, just a casual fan of the currently-imprisioned and really-talented-but-grimey-AF dude. I still need to give him more of my listening time. And indeed, Max B sends his regards via the prison telephone (with your friendly neighborhood C.O. listening in, I'm 100% sure). It's a very touching, albeit bittersweet little interlude - kinda like Max B's life-story itself. And B deserves more words than I plan on giving him here. But it's after the depressing Max B. treatment that we truly get what makes Kanye worth all of his bullshit. Because honestly, that's why Kanye fans do it. That's why people such as myself bear the cross of the blunt, harsh treatment of Kanye from people over everything from Kanye West as a human being, to a father, to a role model/influence, to a personality, to a religious hypocrite; to on, and on, and on. Everything but 'Ye's actual music, basically. Because 9 times outta 10, Kanye West is gonna give us something amazing. Something special. And '30 Hours' is definitely that special kinda something. It includes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it vocal cameo from Andre 3000, who's Frank Ocean-type artist seclusion times a MILLION. Still, like a deer sighting in the woods; it's something quick (and rare!) but beautiful. And the gorgeous sample, the hook - that shit is so soulful. Kinda shit I wanna cry to. Wanna make babies to. Wanna go home and hug my momma. It's pretty dope.

So is 'No More Parties In LA', which was one of the first tracks to be released for promotional use for The Life of Pablo. It's easy to see why - with the Kendrick Lamar feature and (to a certain section of the hip-hop community) the Madlib co-production credit. Kanye West has always floated in-between those two musical circles of the crate-digging backpacker, hip-hop traditionalist sub-community and the casual music fan who's looking to "get deep" and impress people too. That's why West is a Grammy darling. Not that any of it is undeserved. My opinion on second-to-last jawn 'Facts (Charlie Heat Version)' is that - well the numbers (in terms of sales, significance, influence, etc.) of Adidas and Nike/Jordan just don't add-up. It's kinda like some insurgents winning a recent battle against the U.S. Military in whatever third-world-country conflict and bragging that they've already won the war. Like, NOPE. Not even close. It's true that Kanye West has up-ended the sneaker game since his Adidas signing a couple years back with the Yeezy Boost 350 & 750s. They still instantly sell-out on release date and resell for upwards of $1000 per pair, no matter the color scheme. But Nike's been the big kid on-the-block for decades now, regardless of 'Ye's brand-jumping. A few Yeezy Boost 350s selling-out, compared to countless dozens of Nike/Jordan pairs during the same period. Don't believe the hype. Finally, the album concludes with 'Fade'. And it's West at his most EDM-ness. 'Fade' samples House music legends Kenny Dope and Little Louie Vega's aptly named group Masters At Work-production number 'Beautiful People', which was used by Barbara Tucker. Tons of echoes. Lots of repeated samples. Very Kanye. If Kanye West went to a rave in the 90's, dropped some MDMA, and went home and produced a record that same night. Thus, The Life of Pablo concludes. I feel fragmented. A bit confused. That's it? It was nice, yes. Sonically, The Life of Pablo is to-the-needle-tip level on-point. But so is A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory. You also play that album track-for-track and you begin to FEEL a theme. I didn't sense one with The Life of Pablo. (DISCLAIMER: I am not trying to compare these two albums, outside of the fact that one has a theme and one kinda-sorta doesn't). To be completely honest, The Life of Pablo feels like West produced a bunch of stellar, completed tracks that he was hoping to use for maybe like three different future projects. But then homie got sorta-bored with them, and Kanye felt the pressure to deliver a new project, album, anything to his label/the general public. Plus, Kanye didn't want the tracks to go to waste - so he threw them all together on an album with a last-minute-ditch-effort metaphor/theme combining the two very enigmatic (yet completely opposite) public personas of Pablo Escobar and Picasso and dropped it on the general public. It totally fits. That's why Kanye kept messing with the project until the last minute. Literally. That's why it had several last-minute album title and track-listing changes. And that's why The Life of Pablo will be remembered as a fragmented-but-sonically-beautiful album in Kanye West's final album discography and legacy, many years from now. By then, who knows where 'Ye will be in both his personal and public lives. And that's why we all tune-in to The Kanye West Show; regardless of wether you like his actual music or not, right? All hail Yeezus Pablo.




For the REAL Hip-Hoppers. You know, the one's who keep it really real. As opposed to the ones who are fake. Bank account size has a lot to do with which one you are, apparently. WE WANT THE REEEEAL K.DOT !!!! PREMIER AND MADLIB ON EVERY TRACK OR NO DEAL SON!!!



'Ye and Swizz. And maybe Hov somewhere else in the mansion looking at a Basquait painting. Maaaybe reaching. (Kinda like Kanye with the Pablo theme!)

Why I've Been Sucking At New Life And Not Written Any Words

I know it's 2016 now. New year, NO POSTS YET!?!? I know, loyal readership of hardly any if at all. I know. I've been (not) busy, and (not) doing lots of other stuff, and you know, (not) living life. I've been uber-distracted from my little blog that could, and hopefully that'll be ending soon. I mean, who's gonna write all those rapper biographies from Simon & Shuster!?! That reminds me, I better get back to them...after I wake up! Ha. Tomorrow. Expect some new-ness, tomorrow. I hope that's Kool Moe Dee with everyone (rap puns yo!).

'Streets Is Watching' Is Jay-Z's "Coming-of-Age" Movie/Soundtrack Turned Reality

When discussing the greatest albums in the discography of artist, business magnate, and debatable GOAT emcee; Jay-Z; the soundtrack/sorta-album 'Streets Is Watching' is almost never mentioned. Indeed, there are so many timeless moments in Hov's career - on so many other albums; that even the most self-respected fan might be caught off-guard with this soundtrack and it's correlating mini-movie/music video collection/Jay-Z street-level promo vehicle. But there are also worse efforts by the Jigga man. Personally, I would say that 'Streets Is Watching' falls in to the lower-middle level of Jay-Z's career. Here's why:

   It's a capsule of the linchpin between Jay-Z's early phase (Umlaut spelling/heavy 'ft Jaz-O' days) and his skyrocket off into stardom with 'Vol 2...Hard-Knock Life' (1996-1998) and thus, is timeless.  Even with it's mistakes. 




 Streets Is Watching was released on May 12, 1998. That's 3 months before Vol 2...Hard-Knock Life and the smash lead single of the same name that was responsible for shooting Jay-Z into the stratosphere of success and hip-hop's A-List. It was a time in Sean Carter's life where he didn't know if his music career gamble would pay-off. He had an idea of his public image, but it was still in it's raw form and needed molding. Jay was feeling his way through being a player/ladie's man, a hard-nosed drug dealer, a tounge-twisting lyrical beast, and a Top 40 artist like his soon-to-be-deceased friend, Biggie Smalls. A perfect balance of all four and more attributes as well. His tastes needed grooming. His beats needed gloss. He basically needed to find a way to combine the street-tales of Reasonable Doubt (which wasn't "Reasonable Doubt" yet, either) with the Top 40-leaning Vol 1: In My Lifetime... but with less Puffy-type gloss. Shiny suits - even the black leather edition - wasn't a good look for Jay. He wasn't jiggy. He was JIGGA. Still, the era was endearing in ways. Like how a coming-of-age film is endearing. Except musically.


 It's obviously "mid/late-90's music biz promo/filler" but has the quality of a studio EP. Like if every B-side and extra track on a 12" was used instead to create an entire work instead of just extensions on a single piece of it. 

In the pre-internet days of music (which now seem ancient, even tho we're only about a decade removed  from the music biz really transitioning 100% behind digital) the labels would try to promote their upcoming releases many way possible. In-store autograph signings and mini-shows, magazine interviews, and MTV were the obvious routes. Music-videos were still exactly THAT back in 1998 - videos. Mostly for use by television studios, radio stations, etc. and NOT the general public. Thus, labels didn't really spend much attention and/or money on making it a "sellable product". But Jay saw a new lane (which was just the beginning of this trend) and that was to create a form of music promo that was sellable to the general public. And he was going to do this by stringing together a bunch of music videos - past and to-be-filmed from his past albums, RD & Vol.1 and short cut-scenes to tell a somewhat legible story about generic hood crime ish that Jay was (and still is, and forever will be...) talkin' about in his rhymes. He'd use the "film" to promote not only his own musical act, but artists managed by Dame Dash & him and the label this was all under - Rocafella Records.

This was at the very beginning of the "hip-hop movie" trend that fellow artists like Master P and Ruff Ryders would expand upon and independent rappers would eventually come to dominate. But this was different. Yes, the budget wasn't exactly Hype Williams level. How much truth there is to Jay & Biggs funding the label initially with illegal drug sale proceeds, we might never know. But at least a few hundred thousand dollars was being spent here.


It has In My Lifetime (Remix).... even Vol. 1: In My Lifetime DOESN'T have a song called In My Lifetime!


In My Lifetime is one of Jay-Z's best songs ever (amongst many, MANY great tracks) and it's only available here. It's a superb blend of sappy piano-loopy Rap-&-B and was an obvious career jump-start attempt that would eventually succeed months later with Hard-Knock Life, and finally land Jigga the #1 spot on the Billboard Top 40 with Empire State of Mind a decade later. This song, in both it's original and remix forms, is the perfect example of Jay's transition. The original version was VERY street. Producer Ski had visions of Shaolin and army-camo-and-Timbalands when he created it, because it's VERY much like those two factions of hip-hop. RZA or Diamond D could even have been given credit and I'd have been none-the-wiser. Then Big Jaz (aka Jaz-O, aka Jay-Z's now-scorned mentor & past inner-circle member...) got ahold of In My Lifetime and straightened those braids and dreadlocks into a perm and the rest is history. No, it didn't pop-off like Hard-Knock. But it set the STAGE for 'Hard-Knock', it WAS the Jigga Man's soon-to-be recipe for success. Hard-ass rhymes over hard-ass, gritty beats - with some strings here, piano there plus some melodies snuck in every once and awhile.

Early R-O-C artists make-up more than half of the release. For better or worse. Mostly, worse. 

     Since it's an early Rocafella release (yes, they actually marketed the movie and soundtrack separately) that means that the label was doing a little soul-searching. They still hadn't found their "sound" yet - and were obviously borrowing from others. Pimp This Love (in title alone!) by early ROC artist (and soon-to-be castaway) Christion is West Coast G-Funk through-and-through. Indeed, there's nothing wrong with correlating some musical influence from places other than home. Now Jigga's relationship with Too $hort makes even more sense (besides him just being being fucking awesome in general). Crazy by Usual Suspects is just a straight-up New Jack Swing ghost. Whoever cleared this track for release should be fired. Like, literally shot. Rocafella was obvious hungry for artists in general, and Jay-Z had a mutual respect for Jermaine Durpi. This was his wannabe-Jagged Edge moment. And it failed miserably. One track that DID settle well is The Doe by Diamonds In The Rough, which ended-up being a showcase of the eventual R-O-C sound. High-pitch vocals. Fast tempo'd slow R&B samples. Gritty, street lyrics. Very-East Coast-sounding rappers in style and delivery. No, it's not anything special when matched-up against the entire Rocabella catalog. But as a stand alone cut from the Streets soundtrack, it succeeds. A young & hungry NORE shows-up for the late soundtrack dawn Thugs R Us, thanks to his work with DJ Clue. He'd recently gone solo after a splash with Capone-N-Noreaga. M.O.P. shows just how dated the album is with their joint My Nigga Hill Figga which slumps something fierce. But you can tell it's early in The ROC days - they just don't have the type of money to really sign artists and expand yet - because where's Beans? Where's Freeway? Where's The Neptunes? Timbaland? JUST BLAZE?? KANYE??? Obvs, Kanye came much later. But it's just proof that the Roc was a slow-burn, not a fast flash of brilliance.
   
Yes, the album didn't succeed itself upon release. But it DID keep Jay's name out there. Vol. 1: In My Lifetime and Streets Is Wqtching were his tent poles-in-the-ground to weather the storm that was the 2pac/Biggie beef and correlating media hype and NY-vs-LA headlines. And it lasted long enough for Jay-Z to create Vol. 2 and take-off for the A-List, never lookin' back. Ever. Streets Is Watching is like your junior-high years. Super awkward - but you look-back on the pictures in your yearbook/scrapbooks and smile. Hopefully with In My Lifetime (Remix) playing in the background.

How 'Above The Rim' Rised, Well, Above The Rest of the 90's Hip-Hop Soundtrack Pile...

                                       

   

      Whenever people debate the enduring merits of 2Pac and his many talents, the one non-hip-hop trait amongst all else that is thrown around is how amazing an actor Pac was. And how his tragic and sudden death at the tender age of 26 cut short, what could have been, an amazing filmography in the future. One of the prime examples of this acting talent, and probably the second-best Pac role (after Bishop in 'Juice', of course...aint nobody touchin' Bishop) is the film 'Above The Rim' - a Harlem, NY-based basketball drama set, surprisingly, to a predominantly West-Coast (meaning G-Funk) soundtrack curated by rap label powerhouse Death Row Records. The film itself is a tale of two brothers; Birdie, played by Pac and Shep, played by Leon Robinson; both raised in Harlem in an earlier era and now dealing with the repercussions of their past moving forward. At the same time, central character Kyle Watson is an up-and-coming high-school basketball star seemingly on his way to success at the next stage - college basketball - and hopefully playing for the nearby Georgetown Hoyas. But Kyle has a few issues that need straightening out. Those "issues" being his involvement with Birdie, the neighborhood drug-dealer / thug extraordinaire, and the "straightening out" role falling on Shep. Obviously, the brothers come to be at odds with each other.
     All of this, as I stated earlier, is played out to an exclusively hip-hop ala Death Row and hip-hop-influenced R&B ala SWV, etc. The album was notorious for being both a critical favorite, as well as a financial success; debuting SECOND in the Top 40 upon it's release in 1994 (!!!). Indeed, it was a very different era of music - an era where people still paid for their music in the physical form of compact discs. This meant having to wait for the album to actually release on a certain date, that meant a time when it was still relatively special and held with much anticipation. Certain films were an EVENT, indeed. Within the "street crime" film genre, which was itself relatively small, the hip-hop influence of course spilled over to the soundtracks and actually made THEM the event instead.
     And the film's producers guaranteed that the 'Above The Rim' soundtrack would be an event with the involvement of Death Row Records and it's HNIC, Suge Knight. That meant Dr. Dre was involved too, of course, as this was 1994. 'The Chronic' was still fresh in people's minds. That meant a sonic landscaped soaked in the sounds of "G-Funk" and the artists that dominated within that genre. Surprisingly, Dr. Dre kept his involvement to mostly just mixing and engineering purposes, leaving a large portion of the production duties to relative unknowns. Tupac, being one of, if not THE star of 'Above The Rim', was of course on several of the twenty-odd tracks (not counting loose b-sides).  One of those tracks left off the compact disc version of the soundtrack, strangely enough, is film intro and stand-out track 'Pain' ft Stretch. It begins with a Star Trek 5 dialogue sample about internal pain which grabs the listener's attention. Then the perfectly bare, RZA-like beat loops and Pac goes OFF. It's truly a classic track. So is Pac's "lost homies" track, 'Pour Out Some Liquor', which DID make the CD (several cuts were made available on the cassette tape version that didn't make the compact disc*).  This joint would be perfect at my funeral, straight up. It's Pac at his most emotional - definitely in the same lane as 'Dear Mama' and 'Brenda's Got A Baby'. There are also two other 2pac joints on the soundtrack that were left-off as B-sides and released later, "Loyal To Tha Game" ft. Preach (Naughty-By-Nature) and eventual-Pac classic "Holler If Ya Hear Me". Label mate and friend, Snoop Dogg; and moreso his co-horts, The Dogg Pound aka DPG; have several contributions and really help mold the soundtrack with cuts like "Big Pimpin" (which plays as Bridie rolls up to the Shoot-Out basketball tournament in a classic-90's Jeep complete with bae in passenger with the gold hoop earrings...). Another classic DPG track that concludes the soundtrack as well as being a storytelling jawn is "Dogg Pound For Life". It's your standard hood tale full of gangster totems that borderlines on stereotype, but Daz and Kurupt spit such vicious, silky-smooth bars dripping with style that it pushes the "politically-correct agenda"-type distractions to the background.
     Mid-90's New Jack Swing dominates all of the soundtrack joints that don't feature gangster rappers. R&B legend and curator of New Jack Swing himself, Devante Swing, is involved for at least four gems. Al B. Sure! contributes some flavor as well. Soundtrack opener SWV - 'Anything' is the perfect party jam and blends right into the scene involving Birdie displaying his club to newcomer Kyle Watson who Birdie is hoping will drink his Kool-Aid and play for his team in the Shoot-Out tournament. Even though gangster rappers are NOT included on most of the R&B joints, that doesn't mean their still not a major influence. The biggest example of this is clearly on Rhythm & Knowledge's 'You Bring The Dog Out In Me' which is exactly like it's titled - an R&B cut plastered full of canine analogies that were EXTREMELY popular during this time period. Thank Uncle Snoop for that. It doesn't mean the song isn't groovy AF tho! It's P-Funk-meets-New-Jack-Swing-meets-mid-90s-Death-Row like it's never been heard before. DJ Quik, who along with Dat Nigga Daz would become Death Row's soon-to-be primary in-house producers after the departure of Dr. Dre to his Interscope vanity label Aftermath, has two tracks on the album. The best of the two is definitely B- Rezell - 'Blowed Away', which is the album's official cannabis anthem amongst many, many references to getting' blunted. Ironic, considering the movie is 100% about basketball and being fit enough to complete at the college level, and, hopefully, beyond that. Or maybe not, as the ying to basketball's yang is Birdie and his drug/street-life ways.
        Basketball, while the focus, was really just an excuse to showcase the talents and hopefully profit off of Tupac himself. And the 'Above The Rim' soundtrack was, similarly, an excuse to showcase some of the best G-Funk and West-Coast-by-way-of-Southern-Cali joints of that time. It succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of it's producers. So much, in fact, that an online streetwear company recently advertised that this holiday season they would be releasing a special 3-way "classic rap-sports-film throwback jersey" collection including 'Above The Rim' and it's Shoot-Out Tournament jerseys (BUT IN BIRDIE'S TEAM COLORS THO COME ON Y'ALL!!!!) for sale on their website. It's expected to sell-out within hours. The mid-90's was a weird time in hip-hop, for sure. A sea-change had been bubbling for sometime for a West Coast-takeover; and it had finally happened. Where else could you see a NY-centric film w/out a single East Coast artist on the soundtrack? Or at least it's influence, sonically. But it's rap ying-and-yang blend attracted listeners bye the millions. And a classic soundtrack was made. Death Row Records might be gone. Suge Knight is hopefully locked-up for the rest of his life now (for the 'SOC' movie-set homicide back in 2014). Tupac has, unfortunately, passed on. But their legacies live, in part due to albums like the 'Above The Rim' soundtrack. They truly don't make film soundtracks like this anymore.

The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia'...Hov's Forgotten Near-Classic

"2000 to infinity. Ghetto to ghetto. Gutter to gutter. Street corner to street corner. Project to project. And worldwide...walk with us (sic). Hoffa (?). DASH. ITS A DYNASTY (sic)"....

     From jump, a (still) young Hov demanded his just due. He'd been killing it for two summers, and his flame was bright blue (Jay-Z blue??..its a real color now...I swear) at the dawn of the new millennium. He was just beginning to take-over the rap game. An industry which was still feeling the effects in the wake of the deaths of Biggie & 2pac. The emotions were still fresh, and would prove to run deep. But SOMEONE needed to grab that hip-hop baton and lead us in a new direction. And Jay-Z was that person. And Roc-A-Fella was Jay-Z's personal label, so it was THAT label. To be fair, it succeeded as a movement and as a music label due mostly to the immense popularity of Jigga. But he wanted his friends to shine too - mostly for financial reasons. Beanie Siegel definitely had potential. Freeway was starting to shined the rest of State Property, as a unit, was entertaining for sure on their share of the ROC mixtape catalog. Memphis Bleek will always be known as the most-successful career weed-carrier of all-time, but he had some hot sixteens in his prime for sure. Dame Dash was the loud-mouthed asshole drunk on his own arrogance. And Armadale Vodka. It was a hurricane for sure. But it was beautiful. And it all came together perfectly on 'The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia'.            

    Beans, Hov, Bleek, and Freeway get equal billing, with a cameo from Scarface on the album-stealing track 'This Can't Be Life' (best Jay-Z song ever??). Producers (and then-rap-game rookies) Kanye Wet & Just Blaze are almost featured artists off beats alone. There THAT good. Just look at the list. 'Intro'. 'Flip The Script'. 'I Just Wanna Love You'. Which is one of Hov's best pop tracks, btw. The aforementioned 'This Can't Be Life'. 'Mama Get Your Mind Right' (which is super chauvinistic and features Snoop Dogg because, of course). 'Stick To The Script'. Memphis Bleek showcase, 'Holla'. The MONSTER that is '1-900-Hustler' (those horns...swoon). The sad-but-sweet-sounding 'Soon You'll Understand'. The similarity sad, but also eerily haunting absent-dad track, 'Where Have You Been'. 

    'Where....' deserves extra attention.  Not just because it's the final track of the album. Which, of course, was intentional. It hits you straight in the heart - regardless of wether you had a father growing-up or not. I mean, if the piano and that Star Trek theremin-like sound wasn't enough, then they had to go and have some kids sing the hook. But not some happy-go-lucky AF-type kids. They sound tired. Weak. Beaten-down by life. Just like, fuck it. And then Beans and Hov go in and it's over. TKO. I mean goddamn their pops' really fucked them up. It's the sonic and lyrical punch-in-the-stomach to end this mixtape-as-a-studio-album. But for all those stellar tracks and shining moments, there's some dirt on this ROC diamond too. I suggest you skip the R.Kelly-before-Jigga-and-Kels-was-a-thing track known as 'Guilty But Proven Innocent'. It's basically Jay-Z doing a laughable job at attempting to convince the public he was innocent of that "little Un-Rivera stabbing thing" where Un was the "they" of "they keep bootlegging my shit" lyric fame and the "shit" being this very album. So yeah, shit got violent. Both for poor Un, and the viewer's ears. Luckily, they can skip on to some of the best tracks in Jay-Z and the ROC's already-stellar discography. Indeed, 'The Dynasty....' deserves some of the ROC Diamond's shine. 

Thoughts On 'Do You Want More??!!!?'

I can't really explain the feeling I get when I listen to The Roots album 'Do You Want More!??!!?"  for the first time in years. Well actually I probably can, let's not get TOO dramatic. Personally, I think it's like seeing your high-school GF/sweetheart years after you guys separated to go to different colleges. Hearing the first few seconds of that opening track - Black Thought's voice tingles the spine like the first audible words from said GF during that run-in encounter. It all floods back to you - the feelings of adolescence, where everything was fresh and the new experiences were endless (as was my energy smh). I first heard it when I was a senior in high-school and really discovering hip-hop for the first time. Yeah, I had exposure to the genre in Top 40 form from an early age - Coolio, Biggie, 2pac, DMX, Jay-Z...especially the Jigga Man. But anyways I discovered that boom-bap, NY, Preemo shit and I was GONE. And among those early albums of golden-era hip-hop exposure were several by The Roots. Their entire catalog up to that point (2003) was 100% classic material - starting with DYWM??!?! and continuing with Illadelph Half-life, Things Fall Apart, and Phrenology.

The first track I heard from the album was the single 'Distortion 2 Static' while I was tacking BART somewhere. I hit play on my dinosaur 30 GB iPod, thick as George Constanza's wallet and about as big,  I was going up the escalator, high as fuck from a blunt to the face (a bad habit I would continue for years), and the song put me in a trace. I became sedated in a world of blue colors and hues - both feeling-wise (but calm, not depressed) and in the artwork on the walls on both sides of the escalator. It was truly a sonically religious experience. I immediately copped the album later that week while I was hanging out with my good friend - another amazing day. We had grabbed some purple weed from my friendly neighborhood (and fellow college student) drug dealer - this was when purple was still new and crazy to experience first-hand. I bought it at Amoeba Records and still have that very same copy to this day years later, even after the sands off time has dwindled my possessions kept from that era close to nil. So yeah, it was a great day. And a fantastic album.

First off, if your not a fan of jazz, or more specifically jazz rap, then stop here. Time to go listen to, idk, Lil Wayne or something. Second, you have to like The Roots' "sound" which is basically Black Thought's semi-fast-but-fluid-AF flow and the live band aesthetic (ATTN: The Roots are totally one of the greatest live shows ever, of course). If that works for you - then this album will find a home close to your heart. It's pure early-90's boom-bap/jazz fusion rap in the era of Native Tounges and KRS-One, Preemo and Pete Rock. Heavy hitters were the norm - but The Roots immediately separated themnselkves from the pack with said live band atheistic. And on DYWM??!?!! they push that atheistic to new heights. Questlove has essentially recorded a live album in it's purest form - on the street. At least, that's the feeling you get from the beautifully simple album cover (both front & back) which enters your mind and never really leaves. To be sure - this is definitely a studio-recorded album. But the way that Black Thought & Malik B. - North Philly's answer to Ghost & Raekwon - play off each other and play verbal hot potato is very live concert-esque. Questlove & Co. end many tracks with quick quips and other ad-libs usually reserved for the cutting-room floor. Stand-out track 'Essaywhuman??!?" is a now-Roots' show staple and crowd can actually be heard through-out it's 5:01 length. And the track 'Dat Skat' is exactly that - skat singing ala 1930's jazz / Louie Armstrong & Co. which was a form of lyrical filler excluesevly used at - you guessed it - live shows. It also pays homage to the album's obvious jazz roots (no pun intended). If your looking for an album that track-for-track can compete with any album in any genre, in both live and studio form, then look no further than 'Do Yo Want More!!??!'. It is quintessential golden-era hip-hop, indeed, but also live album, jazz fusion album, concept album, and so many others. It plays to so many strengths. Regardless of your tastes,listen to 'Do You Want More??!!' for at one track. I pretty much guarantee it'll leave you, well, wanting more. 

Vice is '60 Minutes' for Millenials

As a child, I watched a LOT of television. Some of it was my choice, but all of it had to pass the final say of my parents. Which meant watching a LOT of "old people shows". A lot. And every Sunday (especially Sunday) meant not only a large amount of tv viewing due to it being the weekend (plus the whole "Sunday dinner" ritual paired well with after-dinner tv), but it also meant '60 Minutes' at 7pm. PST. Every Sunday. And somehow, Morley Safer & Co. made an impression on me, making their way through the thick layers of cartoons and comic books. I was mesmerized with all the exotic locals, the hard-nosed investigative reporting, the blunt language (no, I don't mean swearing, this IS CBS after all). And the reporters. Ed Bradley had the calm demeanor and the piercing gaze with that stern face that called people on their bullshit without uttering a single word. Morley Safer, as I mentioned earlier, was the old curmudgen with the heart of gold. Lesley Stahl was the lone female who held her own with the boys yet also played the "good cop" role with interviewees, winning them into honesty submission with the bubbly personality you could trust. Mike Wallace was the guy whom looked like you knew he was handsome when he was younger. The star quarterback role amongst this team of reporters. And all of them wanted to get to the heart of the matter in whatever the segment was about. They wanted to hit that main vein of truth @ the center of the story. Every time. And by and far, they succeeded. And for a long time (and still, currently) '60 Minutes' ruled the "news magazine" portion of television with an iron fist. But every reign must come to an end. Half the on-air reporters I named have, unfortunately, passed on and/or retired. Indeed, 60 Minutes continues to reign supreme @ 7pm on Sundays weekly. But there's also a new kid in town. Well, he's been here for a few years - first in online/quarterly magazine format, then rising thru the cyber ranks to become popular enough for an HBO half-hour news show. That kid's name is Vice (.com, Magazine, and News on HBO).
   If anything proves that Vice and it's various supporting companies/websites/formats are here to stay;], it was yesterday, when Disney announced that they would be investing over $200 million dollars to own a portion of the company. Yes, the house of Mikey Mouse himself and all that it represents (read: "good, wholesome fun") wants to own a part of the company responsible for an article/video short entitled "Heroin Holiday" where the video reporter spent the weekend with a group of Dutch junkies who went into the hills where opium poppies were being grown by companies for poppy-seed bagels, etc. during harvest and reap the narcotic rewards. But Vice is so much more than that. Disney obviously knows a good thing when it sees it. They see that Vice represents a new generation. It IS the 60 Minutes for the millenial crowd. For me. It takes what 60 Minutes started with having an unabashedly honest, unbiased view of the subject their reporting on and the people they interview and takes it a step further into the digital age. 15 minutes snooping around on Vice.com will prove that. So congratulations to one of my select few sites I checked on na daily basis. Usually in the morning, with coffee. And a danish on Friday sometimes. I like my daily dose of real-world problems and violence with a side of sweet breakfast pastry and caffeine like any red-blooded American (I guess).