Showing posts with label Guru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guru. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
What's In KRS-One's Bag?
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Mecca And The Soul Brother
Nas - God's Son
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Mos Def - The New Danger
M.O.P. - Warriorz
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
J Dilla - Donuts
House of Pain - House of Pain
EPMD - Strictly Business: U.S.D.A. Edition
Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Mick Boogie - 93 'Til Infinity (A Tribute To NBA Jam) Mixtape
01. Mick Boogie - Intro
02. Das Efx - Mic Checka [Remix]
03. Souls Of Mischief - 93 Til Infinity [Remix]
04. Grand Puba - Check It Out [SD50 Remix]
05. A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation [Remix]
06. LL Cool J - Pink Cookies In A Plastic Bag [Remix]
07. Gang Starr - Code Of The Streets [Kenny Dope Remix]
08. Naughty By Nature - Hip-Hop Hooray [Pete Rock Remix]
09. De La Soul - Breakadawn [De La Soul Remix]
10. Fugees - Nappy Heads [Remix]
11. Erick Sermon - Stay Real [Remix]
12. De La Soul: Ego Trippin’ [Gumbo Remix]
13. Nice & Smooth - How To Flow [Remix]
14. Gang Starr - DWYCK [Horny Mix] (Featuring Nice & Smooth)
15. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y. [Vibes Remix]
16. Fu-Schnickens - What’s Up Doc? [K-Cut Remix] (Featuring Shaq)
17. Original Flavor - Can I Get Open? [Remix] (Featuring Jay-Z)
18. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Creator [Remix]
19. Snoop Dogg - Doggy Dogg World [Perfecto Remix]
20. Das Efx - Real Hip-Hop [Pete Rock Remix]
21. Show & AG -Next Level [DJ Premier’s Nyte Time Remix]
22. Wu-Tang Clan - Can It Be All So Simple? [Remix]
23. Nas - The World Is Yours [Q-Tip Remix]
24. A Tribe Called Quest - The Jam [Grown Man Remix]
25. Black Moon - I Gotcha Open [Remix]
26. Keith Murray - Get Lifted [Erick Sermon Remix]
27. Pharcyde - Passin’' Me By [Fly As A Pie Remix]
Monday, June 21, 2010
New: Emilio Rojas Freestyles
Make sure to at the very least give "Heart Of The City" a listen to if you are a fan of Gang Starr and you are familiar with the circumstances surrounding Guru's last days. Although, Diddy may not have anything to do with Biggie's death, but he sure has his whole career to owe to him.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Joell Ortiz: Hip-Hop & Boom Bap's Last Hope
If you know me or follow my blog to any degree, you know that I'm a huge Joell Ortiz fan. He's a throw back to the Hip-Hop of my youth. He's the embodiment of Hip-Hop from '93-'95. To me, he's essentially the Purple Tape with legs. I don't care if it's "underground" or "mainstream" as long as it has the knock I need and isn't glossy, I'll rock it. Joell is the first newer artist in a while that has a grabbed my attention and has me excited to find just about any knew track he happens to release.
I can't wait until summer is over because you will see me in my hoodie, jeans & timbs (editors note: I actually tie my timbs & my jeans don't sag). Hip-Hop has become way too metrosexual. Joell brings that grown man rap that I appreciate and to a large degree need. This is in no way a diss to any fans of Southern rap or Emo rap. There should be room for everything, but the music that I love and keeps my heart pumping seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. Okay, I'm done with my mini rant. Enjoy this cool article on Mr. Ortiz.
Joell Ortiz vs. Gentrification
Of Brooklyn, yes, but also of the NYC hip-hop on which he still aims to make his name
By Phillip Mlynar Tuesday, Jun 1 2010
Joell Ortiz saw gentrification engulf Greenpoint from the vantage of the Cooper Park housing projects. As the new millennium began, the 31-year-old rapper noticed the first changes sprouting up with "a little condominium here, a loft setup there." Before the influx of high-income housing, his section of Brooklyn suffered from a domino-effect blight: "My area was really drug-infested 'cause across from us was a shelter with a lot of drug addicts—the drugs bring the money, and the money leads to violence." But not these days. "Now, it's ridiculous. They brought in the hipsters, brought in the yuppies, and built up the big condos that no one in my 'hood can afford."
He's describing a phenomenon common to many areas of Brooklyn, but he could just as easily be talking about hip-hop. With a new album, Free Agent, on the horizon, Ortiz is at the forefront of a generation of New York rappers who have seen the music gentrify around them, their gritty rhymes and no-gimmicks personas pushed out by slick-talking Southerners with no qualms about taking over turf that was once the birthright of Big Apple rappers alone. As he puts it, "I'm part of this little project of raw hip-hop surrounded by so much happy pop shit—like three-bedroom condos all around us."
Make no mistake: Hip-hop is New York's music. Time was that simply hailing from the five boroughs brought both bragging rights and an audience at any major record label. New York was the place where an aspiring artist had to prove their talent—critically, commercially, and on the live stage. At our '90s peak, artists like Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, pre-Kelis-era Nas, and adopted New Yorkers Gang Starr reigned supreme with a blueprint of scrupulously composed lyrics, soul- and jazz-derived beats, and a pretext that rappers were reporting from the slums. It's a formula often regarded as "purist" and antiquated these days. But, as Ortiz testifies, "Back then, you had to be nice. You couldn't just get by with a catchy chorus and something to fill up the gaps in between."
Not any more. Today's biggest hip-hop artists hail from down South: Giants like T.I., Rick Ross, and Lil' Wayne may tackle the same street-level subjects that Ortiz dealt with growing up in Greenpoint, but when T.I. spits about dope boys, he does so over production that's cannily palatable to daytime pop radio, suitable for sweet-16 parties, and unafraid of hinging things on a hummable chorus. (It's to Jay-Z's credit that he's one of the rare New Yorkers who've managed to stay abreast of rap's sonic shifts.) Labels don't want to market an MC standing around in utilitarian Timberlands and Carhartt clothing—they want Wale in expensive, tight brand-name pants. "Rough, rugged, and raw" no longer earns a badge of authenticity—labels are looking for clean-cut kids like Drake, a rapping Dawson's Creek character if ever there was one. It leaves classical New York rappers like Ortiz, intent on staying true to their regional roots, left out in the commercial cold. Dollar cups of coffee from the corner bodega have been replaced by $4 cafe lattes, if you will, all served to a soundtrack of Jeezy and Weezy.
Ortiz is aware of the changed arena he's fighting in. Now living on a calm, residential Bushwick block, he's open to admitting that his brand of hip-hop is far from fashionable. He favors a style of rap that's abrasive and uncut and sounds best over production that cribs from the same well of sample sources his '90s New York contemporaries plundered. Done right, it's a ferocious but uncompromising blend, as exemplified by the DJ Premier–produced "Project Boy," a Free Agent track he comically recorded in a three-piece-suit while en route to a "formal function." Over a beat that sounds like it's based on the theme from a low-budget '70s spy flick, Ortiz paints an uncouth environmental picture filled with "crack heads [that] smoke anything that can fit in that stem/And little girls do grown men just to sit in that Benz." Then, as if condensing his whole mentality, he vows, "What y'all spit's sugar-coated—I be spitting that phlegm." (In a similar vein, in Ortiz's hands, Lloyd Banks's "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" became the economical "Nissan, Honda, Chevy.") Asked whether he'd have been a better fit 15 years ago, he smiles broadly, leans back on his couch, and proclaims, "If I was making music back then, this interview would be going on in my mansion! I'm pretty sure it would have been a lot easier then."
But he's not bitter. He has had his dalliance with the top echelons of the music-industry machine, and it didn't work out. The buzz Ortiz created with his 2007 debut The Brick: Bodega Chronicles, earned him a chance to sign with Dr. Dre's Aftermath label—he did, only to sit on the shelf after being told that a new Eminem album and Dre's chimerical Detox pre-empted him on the release schedule. (A track titled "What's Your World," originally scheduled for Free Agent, caught Dre's ear and has been earmarked for Detox.) He was officially released at the start of 2008—a move that prompted the title of his new album, which will be released on E1 Music.
Looking back on his gamble with Dre, Ortiz reasons, "How could anyone not take that chance? I wanted to be alongside Eminem and 50 Cent, and get pointers on how to do records and get better as a rapper." The experience only fortified his belief in standing firm with his core hometown values—the very traits that attracted others to hip-hop in the first place. He predicts that Free Agent will be better received than his debut, but guarantees that it won't come with any gimmicks. He won't, as he jokes, bend to his label's marketing department and come out "50 pounds lighter with a six-pack." After all, he was here first, and he's confident in his heritage: "The thing is, I want to get a condo just like everyone else, but I'm not gonna change who I am to get there," he says. "And when I do get there, my apartment will still feel like the projects inside. I won't be going out and ordering a gourmet salad—I'll still be getting chicken wings and french fries."
*article courtesy of The Village Voice
I can't wait until summer is over because you will see me in my hoodie, jeans & timbs (editors note: I actually tie my timbs & my jeans don't sag). Hip-Hop has become way too metrosexual. Joell brings that grown man rap that I appreciate and to a large degree need. This is in no way a diss to any fans of Southern rap or Emo rap. There should be room for everything, but the music that I love and keeps my heart pumping seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. Okay, I'm done with my mini rant. Enjoy this cool article on Mr. Ortiz.
Joell Ortiz vs. Gentrification
Of Brooklyn, yes, but also of the NYC hip-hop on which he still aims to make his name
By Phillip Mlynar Tuesday, Jun 1 2010
Joell Ortiz saw gentrification engulf Greenpoint from the vantage of the Cooper Park housing projects. As the new millennium began, the 31-year-old rapper noticed the first changes sprouting up with "a little condominium here, a loft setup there." Before the influx of high-income housing, his section of Brooklyn suffered from a domino-effect blight: "My area was really drug-infested 'cause across from us was a shelter with a lot of drug addicts—the drugs bring the money, and the money leads to violence." But not these days. "Now, it's ridiculous. They brought in the hipsters, brought in the yuppies, and built up the big condos that no one in my 'hood can afford."
Make no mistake: Hip-hop is New York's music. Time was that simply hailing from the five boroughs brought both bragging rights and an audience at any major record label. New York was the place where an aspiring artist had to prove their talent—critically, commercially, and on the live stage. At our '90s peak, artists like Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, pre-Kelis-era Nas, and adopted New Yorkers Gang Starr reigned supreme with a blueprint of scrupulously composed lyrics, soul- and jazz-derived beats, and a pretext that rappers were reporting from the slums. It's a formula often regarded as "purist" and antiquated these days. But, as Ortiz testifies, "Back then, you had to be nice. You couldn't just get by with a catchy chorus and something to fill up the gaps in between."
Not any more. Today's biggest hip-hop artists hail from down South: Giants like T.I., Rick Ross, and Lil' Wayne may tackle the same street-level subjects that Ortiz dealt with growing up in Greenpoint, but when T.I. spits about dope boys, he does so over production that's cannily palatable to daytime pop radio, suitable for sweet-16 parties, and unafraid of hinging things on a hummable chorus. (It's to Jay-Z's credit that he's one of the rare New Yorkers who've managed to stay abreast of rap's sonic shifts.) Labels don't want to market an MC standing around in utilitarian Timberlands and Carhartt clothing—they want Wale in expensive, tight brand-name pants. "Rough, rugged, and raw" no longer earns a badge of authenticity—labels are looking for clean-cut kids like Drake, a rapping Dawson's Creek character if ever there was one. It leaves classical New York rappers like Ortiz, intent on staying true to their regional roots, left out in the commercial cold. Dollar cups of coffee from the corner bodega have been replaced by $4 cafe lattes, if you will, all served to a soundtrack of Jeezy and Weezy.
Ortiz is aware of the changed arena he's fighting in. Now living on a calm, residential Bushwick block, he's open to admitting that his brand of hip-hop is far from fashionable. He favors a style of rap that's abrasive and uncut and sounds best over production that cribs from the same well of sample sources his '90s New York contemporaries plundered. Done right, it's a ferocious but uncompromising blend, as exemplified by the DJ Premier–produced "Project Boy," a Free Agent track he comically recorded in a three-piece-suit while en route to a "formal function." Over a beat that sounds like it's based on the theme from a low-budget '70s spy flick, Ortiz paints an uncouth environmental picture filled with "crack heads [that] smoke anything that can fit in that stem/And little girls do grown men just to sit in that Benz." Then, as if condensing his whole mentality, he vows, "What y'all spit's sugar-coated—I be spitting that phlegm." (In a similar vein, in Ortiz's hands, Lloyd Banks's "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" became the economical "Nissan, Honda, Chevy.") Asked whether he'd have been a better fit 15 years ago, he smiles broadly, leans back on his couch, and proclaims, "If I was making music back then, this interview would be going on in my mansion! I'm pretty sure it would have been a lot easier then."
But he's not bitter. He has had his dalliance with the top echelons of the music-industry machine, and it didn't work out. The buzz Ortiz created with his 2007 debut The Brick: Bodega Chronicles, earned him a chance to sign with Dr. Dre's Aftermath label—he did, only to sit on the shelf after being told that a new Eminem album and Dre's chimerical Detox pre-empted him on the release schedule. (A track titled "What's Your World," originally scheduled for Free Agent, caught Dre's ear and has been earmarked for Detox.) He was officially released at the start of 2008—a move that prompted the title of his new album, which will be released on E1 Music.
Looking back on his gamble with Dre, Ortiz reasons, "How could anyone not take that chance? I wanted to be alongside Eminem and 50 Cent, and get pointers on how to do records and get better as a rapper." The experience only fortified his belief in standing firm with his core hometown values—the very traits that attracted others to hip-hop in the first place. He predicts that Free Agent will be better received than his debut, but guarantees that it won't come with any gimmicks. He won't, as he jokes, bend to his label's marketing department and come out "50 pounds lighter with a six-pack." After all, he was here first, and he's confident in his heritage: "The thing is, I want to get a condo just like everyone else, but I'm not gonna change who I am to get there," he says. "And when I do get there, my apartment will still feel like the projects inside. I won't be going out and ordering a gourmet salad—I'll still be getting chicken wings and french fries."
*article courtesy of The Village Voice
Saturday, April 24, 2010
DJ Premier's Salute To Keith "Guru" Elam
On DJ Premier's Sirius Radio show, Live From HeadQCourters, he paid tribute to his former parter in crime Guru of the legendary Gang Starr.
Click Here To Download
Special thanks to DJ Premier Blog for the streaming of the show.
Click Here To Download
Special thanks to DJ Premier Blog for the streaming of the show.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Music Community Reflects On Guru’s Passing
By Jonah Bayer for Myspace Music
Ever since people found out that Gang Starr’s co-founder Guru passed away, the Internet has been buzzing with condolences from his collaborators, peers… and even one member of Good Charlotte. Here we’ve compiled some of the more notable Tweets and parting words about this extremely gifted and innovative musician, who met his time far too soon.
*DJ Premier: “The man has found his peace, far way from the devil. R.I.P. GURU / GANG STARR”
RZA (Wu-Tang Clan): RIP Guru – this is total sad news for hip-hop. You were a good friend and an inspiration. A true legend, you will be missed.
MC Hammer: Gangstarr’s Guru Gone Too Soon (RIP): http://bit.ly/9fLuuD
DJ Tony Touch: “Today is one of the saddest days for me.I lost a real friend/brother/teacher etc.He believed in me.supported.Took me on my first tour in 96″
Dres (Black Sheep): “Guru and I didnt always see eye to eye… but we shared 2 things sincerely.. the mic.. and respect … peace good brother”
Questlove (The Roots): “in my 10 greatest voices in hip hop. Guru was easily top 5 imo. smooth. velvet. will be missed. RIP Guru” http://bit.ly/d86nKK
DJ Jazzy Jeff: “Rest in Peace Guru…Pls send Prayers go out to his Family!”
Q-Tip: “From Allah we come to Allah we return. R.I.P. Keith GURU. A great man, poet, and I’m proud to say friend… 23 yrs. Damn!”
Talib Kweli: “Todays overtweeting dedicated to Guru. U don’t like it unfollow rather lose u then not pay tribute to my man. 2 many don’t know what’s real.”
Snoop Dogg: “420 gonna be in honor of the big homie Guru.. respect the foundation… light one up for the legend
Joel Madden: “Rest in Peace GURU’
Fat Joe: “R.I.P GURU LOVE YOU MY BROTHER the World Will Miss You!!!! WE LOST A Great Man and a Big Part OF HIP HOP History!!!”
Lil Jon: “#RIPGURU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFQQeUNaZtc“JUST TO GET A REP” GANGSTARR #CLASSICCCCCC MY SHIT!!”
Joell Ortiz: “bout to be in the bentley bumping that Gangstarr! feeling very retro brooklyn right now.”
P.Diddy: “RIP Guru! Hip-Hop lost an icon today-but u’ll always be w/ us b/c Legends live on 4ever. Donate in his memory http://www.eachonecounts.org/”
In addition, longtime MySpace Music editorial team member Roslynn Cobarrubias has shared some of her thoughts and memories of the man.
Guru has been a friend of Ros’ for years and was one of the first members of the hip-hop community to join this site of ours. For these, and many reasons far more significant, he will be forever missed.
Image courtesy of Mattboy
*Note: The twitter account noted is for a fan operated DJ Premier Blog and not DJ Premier himself.
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