Entries Tagged 'new school' ↓

The other day I was showing my TOTALLY ADORABLE new shoes to my old man, and I asked him, “Aren’t these the cutest shoes I own?” And he said, “I guess, but don’t you say that about every pair of shoes you buy… ?” Hmmph! My man clearly does not understand the shoe relationship cycle.

I’m kind of like that with music, too - whatever I’m listening to right now is just about the banginest cut I’ve ever heard. Until the next one. Anybody remember Unklejam? me neither.

But this time, it’s different! I think my relationship with UK MC Estelle will be long-term. First of all, she wasn’t born until 1980, but she’s got mad respect for classic soul older than her. She runs her own label, and she rolls with John Legend, Kanye and Swizz Beats. Also: her grill is straight wrecked, and I kind of respect that.

Folks are comparing Estelle to Lauryn Hill, and I guess I can see that - she’s got a husky voice and she’s the stylistic antidote to Beyoncé. But Estelle seems more authentic, and more importantly, she’s not dressing like a clown or rambling batshit nonsense to interviewers.

Estelle
1980
The 18th Day, 2004
Estelle’s first big UK hit.

Musiq Soulchild Featuring Estelle
People Everyday
Meet the Browns OST, 2008
About TIME somebody started remaking the REAL classics by the REAL masters, like Milwaukee’s own Arrested Development!

Estelle
Wait A Minute (Just a Touch)
Shine, 2008
The first single, kind of made up of crazy shit mashed together that works really well. That “OH.” gets me every time. Borrows liberally from:

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
I Put A Spell On You
45, 1969
Yikes! This song scares me, no lie. Put this on and I will run out the room.

and:

Slave
Just A Touch Of Love
Just A Touch Of Love, 1979
Disco classic with a nasty bassline.

Estelle
In The Rain
Shine, 2008
Oh god, this is so girly. It’s all summer storms and movie soundtrack. Sounds suspiciously like:

Love Unlimited
Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love
Love Unlimited, 1974
Written, produced, and arranged by the late Barry White after a conversation (and frenching) with the lead singer.

I woke up this morning and it was 2008. What the hell happened to 2007? It went faster than Fu-Schnickens over a ghettotech beat!

There were a grip of songs that made all of us at Morebounce Publications take notice, though. Some were on fire, some were straight crazy, and others made us wonder what we did to make the gods angry. But either way, we’re here to share them with you, the readers who carried our lazy asses through 2007.

So here’s to you, readers! 2007’s most notable cuts:

Grand Pubah
Let’s Go
Top Shelf 8/8/88, 2007
Turns out that Top Shelf album wasn’t from 1988 at all, but a meticulously crafted throwback project. It was hot to death, though, and this is my favorite joint. Throw your hands in the air, if you wit it, let’s go!

Kinfolk Kia Shine
Krispy
Due Season, 2007
Do you know anybody in 2007 who (1) didn’t refer to their shoes/hair/game as “krispy,” or (2) announce that they were through buying Bapes, since they got “errrrrry purrrr?” Me neither. The song itself is ridiculous, but damn. It had reach this year.

Mary J. Blige
Just Fine
Growing Pains, 2007
Ooh, Morebounce loves us some Mary J. This single for her new album is crazy infectious, and it makes us happy.

UGK Feat. Outkast
International Players Anthem
Underground Kingz, 2007
Damn shame Pimp C. left us last fall - we need about 40 more of these jammies this year. It’s sublime.

Fantasia
Hood Boy
Single, 2007
I won’t front on this one, it’s nothing to call Kanye over. But I’m just happy to see li’l Celie keep her grind going.

Chamillionaire Feat. Slick Rick
Hip Hop Police
Ultimate Victory, 2007
Nice to hear a song that’s actually about something. Slick Rick works that patch up in there!

Funkdoobiest
Hip Hop Music
Single, 2007
Now, I know I’m heavily biased toward anything that sounds as old school as this. But dayum. There’s a reason folks go crazy for the ’80s!

Pop It Off Boyz
Crank Dat Batman
Single, 2007
Stop it. Makes me want to take to my bed.

Jason Fox Feat. Hood Presidents
Aunt Jackie
Single, 2007
Dumb, but fun. I’m not mad at young Jason. I think this made some nice ringtones out there…

Kevin Mega
Always Be Your Girl
After 2 Nite, 2007
I’ve got to give some love to Milwaukee’s own Kevin Mega. I love this cut right here, with its rolling basslines, laid back rhymes and shout outs to both Redroom and Malcolm. Cop the whole album on iTunes.

Do you know what December brings out in me? No, it’s not my Christmas Tree earrings. It’s my hella rude attitude. I know I should be rockin the Santa hat and baking you some damn cookies, but honestly, all I want to do is drink with some of my folks, and hear some Christmas-free joints.

So for you, the Morebounce crüe, here are the most anti-holiday jammies I’m bumpin right now:

Missy Elliot
The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Supa Dupa Fly, 1997
Dark, bass-heavy and a little confusing. Has nothing to do with Santa or fruitcake.

Public Enemy
I Can’t Do Nuttin’ for Ya Man
Fear of a Black Planet, 1990
I am actually not a Public Enemy fan. But the thought of Flava Flav in any capacity puts me in just the right no-holiday spirit.

Statik Selektah
Bam Bam
Spell My Name Right, 2007
Not really sure why I love this right now. It’s not really anything different from anything else out there, but one thing I know for sure: it doesn’t have Paul McCartney or a single jingle bell in it.

Riskay
Smell Yo Dick
Single, 2007
Not only does it have absolutely no references to trees, snow or ice skating, this song is brilliant in every way. I will listen to it well into the Easter season.

I have always loved loved loved Nas, ever since the Illmatic days. From “NY State of Mind” to “Play On Playa,” I’ve been his straight up Stan.

But what has God’s Son done now? Is he seriously flipping Nipsey Emmer-Effin’ Russell on his new track? From the 1978 cinematic masterpiece The Wiz?

Just so I can be clear here: Nas, Nipsey, and a wistful tin man ballad… ALL IN ONE SONG. Is there there any doubt that not only is Nas a hip hop pioneer, but also a man of impeccable taste?

Nas
Surviving the Times
N*gga, 2007**
I love this so much I am crying right now.

Nipsey Russell
What Would I Do If I Could Feel?
OST, The Wiz, 1978
*Sigh.* Nipsey, if you could feel, you would surely come back from your grave and do a little soft shoe for Nas. He done you right.

Nipsey Russell
Slide Some Oil To Me/Now Watch Me Dance
OST, The Wiz, 1978
My favorite part of this is when the wooden chorus sings backup on the boards. Aww. Watching this makes me sad that Nipsey’s gone.

Quincy Jones
Poppy Girls
OST, The Wiz, 1978
Ooh, this was the nasty part! Sounds kind of like The O’Jays’ “For the Love of Money,” only dirtier, and with more cheeba cheeba. I didn’t realize this was a straight ’70s porn jammie until I was about 32.

Michael Jackson
You Can’t Win
12″, 1979
I know I already posted this a while back, but any disco joint with a floppy scarecrow and funked-up dancing crows deserves another listen. After the soundtrack came out, this song was so popular that MJ released a disco 12″. This is the kind of thing that makes me bitter that I wasn’t old enough for the clubs in the ’70s. A girl can dream…

**This is a rumored title. Def Jam says “hells naw,” but Nas’ PR crew confirms: “buhleedat.”

Charles Wright and his Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band might have had the most unnecessarily long band name ever. But Lawd have mercy, their 1971 record “Express Yourself” has a funk so stank, I want to wipe it down with a wet nap.

Back in 1988, NWA rhymed over the top to make the Golden Age classic of the same name. For a group known for pioneering the Gangsta genre, it was a pretty lighthearted song, and a huge hit.

And now some DJ named Statik Selektah (can’t these people ever use a damned “C”?) rounded up Talib Kweli, Consequence and MC of the moment Termanology to flip up NWA’s version again. And good God, it’s a hot one.

Is “Express Yourself” the most perfect break ever?

Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Express Yourself
7″, 1971
Never gets old.

NWA
Express Yourself
Straight Outta Compton, 1988
They’re expressing with their full capabilities, and now they’re living in correctional facilities.

Statik Selektah feat. Termanology, Talib Kweli and Consequence
Express Yourself 08
CD Single, 2007
An homage to the NWA version, with a modern indie rapper feel.

I think we’re all in agreement in these corners of the Inter Nets that there has been a grip of terrible hip hop coming out lately. From weak ass songs about nothing to crazy joints about makeup, it seems like folks ain’t got nothing to say, and they got the busted beats to match.

These people need to stop. And I need to stop with the Digiwaxx; it’s making me straight up tired. It’s enough to make a girl take a vinegar rag to the forehead over here.

And yet…

A proper dig in any repectable DJ’s crate will turn up stacks of records that say nothing and sound like nothing. And these nothing records are straight up classics. They’re anthems, songs that turn the party out that everyone knows, even if it’s just through Diddy’s references.

Strangely, whether they’re Kinfolk Kia Shine (who is naming these babies?!?! -ed.) or Ice-T, they all pretty much go like this:

- I’m hot/fly/rich
- I get girls
- I do this over nothing more than a drum track and maybe a few notes

So how does it happen that crazy dumb songs catch on so hard, for so long? Dag, I dunno. But my point is that lots of the classics aren’t structurally or thematically that different from today’s crap music.

Maybe we all need to give poor Kinfolk another listen. Oh, HELL naw. I’m old, I ain’t got that kind of time anymore.

Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic Three
The Roof is On Fire
12″, 1985
There is perhaps none more classic than this jammie. Yet, it makes no damned sense.

Schoolly D
PSK-What Does It Mean?
12″, 1987
Oh, hell. Your guess is as good as mine.

Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew
The Show
12″, 1985
A whole song that sounds like it should be the introduction to another song. But you know you love that shit when Doug “needs a shoe horn/’cause these shoes always hurt my corns.” It’s magic.

Jimmy Spicer
Money (Dollar Bill Y’all)
12″, 1983
Read the title. Repeat. There - you will have this in your head all night.

UTFO
Leader of the Pack
UTFO, 1984
Watch out, wack DJs! This is not fiction, this is all fact! Lots of scratching.

Special Ed
I Got It Made
Youngest In Charge, 1989
When his hair was growin too long, Ed got him a fade; when his dishes got dirty, he got Cascade. This song, in its entirety, has two notes in it. And it’s brilliant.

Chris “The Glove” Taylor Feat. Ice-T
Reckless
Breakin’ Original Soundtrack, 1984
Seriously Ice T? “When you talk of MCs, Ice-T is the best/and when you talk of DJs, forget the rest - Glove’s reckless?” This was li’l Ice-T’s major label debut, and his rhymes were seriously busted. But for some reason, this record makes turntablists all weepy.

Hey homies. I know I’ve been gone for a minute, and you know what? Y’all are just the sweetest things.

>bounce/oz has had tumbleweeds up in it for weeks now, and I am so sorry. But I can’t believe some of the e-mails you’ve been sending. I’m gettin’ dap from all over (sup, UK!), and this afternoon, a “respectful request” that I update my blog. Y’know, ’cause it’s one of her favorites.

Get over here and give momma some love. Thanks guys, for the nice words.

And now, for the latest in a long line of busted songs that are stuck up in my damn craw:

Lil Mama
Lip Gloss
CD Single, 2007
I’m sorry, but what? Let me get this straight: this is a whole song about lip gloss. Not lips, but their gloss. With no innuendo, no will.i.am, and seemingly no purpose. It just a beat with a girl talking about how lip gloss makes boys stop by her locker.

Oh, and when you first listen, you’re gonna roll your eyes like me, and say, oh damn. I know she did not just say her lip gloss be poppin. This shit is straight wrecked. You might even suck your teeth.

But then you’ll be getting ready for work, putting your MAC Lipglass in the middle of your bottom lip (gives it fullness!), and you’ll start thinking to yourself, “that looks pretty good. My lip gloss is cool. My lip gloss be poppin…”

And the next thing you know, “Lip Gloss” is your ringtone.

That shit is wrecked!

Morebounce has been mad busy this month, makin’ a dollar out of fifteen cents. But you know we still got time for our folks, so we still bangin’ the hot ones over here.

Now, I’m not gonna lie to you. Here at Morebounce publications, we’re crazy biased toward old school everything. But on the real: new hip hop has been wiggidy wiggidy wack this winter. Why does everything have to sound so boring, and dirrty, and like a damned mouth full of grits? Is that what the kids are calling hip hop these days?

We were just about to give up looking for the freshest cuts for this post, until I came across a few of these. Now, I know you gonna have to listen to Kanye’s voice, and for that we’re sorry. But gotdamn that cut’s it right there.

Classic (Nike Remix)
Kanye West, Nas, KRS-One, Rakim
Nike Air Force One 25th Anniversary Party, released 2007

Oooo-weee! That’s the straight anthem. Old school flow, with a rolling bassline underneath a crazy harp sample. Rakim, I think I wanna have your baby.

Happy
Raashaan Ahmad
OM Hip Hop Volume 1, 2007

OM Records has never steered me wrong, and this jam is a perfect antidote to the goddamned winter that never seems to end. Ever. Crown City Rockers frontman Raashaan Ahmad gives us a sunny, jazzy, hippie vibe with perfect keys; bonus points for incorporating “cold stupid, retarded” into the lyrics.

What is This Feat. Slum Village
Black Milk
Pressure Mix CD, 2007

Detroiter-of-the-moment Black Milk gets with his folks to make this tiny, simple and delicious track. Head on over to Fat Beats to download the whole CD.

Almost since the first block party where somebody rhymed “party” with “body” over a disco record, haters have been predicting the demise of hip hop. First it was a fad, then it was too violent, too commercial, too R&B, too boring. It’s even become trendy for current hip hop artists to declare it dead.

And you know what? We at Morebounce Publications are old enough to know that brothers been sayin’ the same damn thing for at least 20 years now, and hip hop done stayed in one place. Every generation is convinced the hip hop of its day is off on the wrong track - and old schoolers were the only ones who had it right.

But that’s all bullshit. Hip hop is almost 30 years old now, and over all those years, artists never stopped flipping up old beats and making fresh cuts over and over again. With its roots firmly in sampling and freestyling, hip hop is, at its essence, modernizing; it literally takes the old, and continually makes it new.

And the pioneers? Back in their day, they were the ones off on the wrong track. Hell, when I was in high school, hip hop was accepted as either dangerous or frivolous - but either way, a negative force. Now we look at the Biz Markies, Kurtis Blows, Cold Crush Brothers and Fat Boys and see, through the lens of history, that they were both great innovators and products of their eras.

Which brings me to the actual subject of this post:

Thes One has gone crazy! The bearded half of People Under the Stairs and supastar indie hip hop producer has made a whole album out of - get this - remixed ’70s commercials. Tracks have names like “Hy-Vee,” “Northwestern Bell,” and “F&F Daily C.”

Sounds insane. But it really works. Lifestyle Marketing has a full, smooth, Pete Rock-ish feel, and thanks to the chopped up advertisement vocals, a floaty, ethereal vibe. It’s definitely the most interesting music I’ve heard in a minute. And it makes me happy.

This is what I’m talking about, people. Crazy people doin they thang. It’s why hip hop will never die.

Target
Hy-Vee
Grain Belt Beer
Bobcat
Lifestyle Marketing, 2007

It might be hard to believe, but Morebounce used to be kind of a dumbass. On the real: I used to do really stupid shit - like walk out on jobs, shoplift, and wear high heels with parachute pants.

And I remember saying that I would never, ever listen to blues. That shit was for old white drunks; and really, it was one belt buckle away from country western.

But this sister is grown now, and music isn’t so black and white to me any more. If you listen to music with a critical ear, you know that musical influences come from anywhere and everywhere, and you really can’t hate on a whole genre. Except that country shit - you know Morebounce don’t get down like that!

Lately, I’ve been feeling these crazy hip hop joints with twangy blues guitar hooks. With all the slick funk samples coming out of the houses of Diddy and Jay-Z, it’s kind of nice to hear something as raw and unpolished as these breaks.

Takes me right back to the ’80s. Now, where did I put those parachute pants?

Ultimate Force
I’m Not Playing
12″, 1989
Produced by Diamond D; hot to death. Get ready to squint, wag your dome and possibly pucker your lips. Would not have been possible without:

Albert King
Cold Feet
King of the Blues Guitar, 1969

Nas
Where Are They Now
Hip Hop is Dead, 2006
Respectful youngster name checks all the hip hop pioneers up in this. But it’s the hook that will grab you in the biscuits. Thanks to R$ for kicking down:

James Brown
Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved
Revolution Of The Mind, 1971