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Ghislain Poirier Mixes African Hip-Hop

Xplastaz - Tanzania

Just want to pass along this dope mix of African hip-hop by Ghislain Poirier. I gotta say….I wasn’t expecting this to be so damn crunk. Could African Hip-Hop be the next big thing?

Ghislain Poirier
AFRICAN HIP-HOP MIX (Stream/Download on zShare)

1. 37mph - All In The Name Of Fun ( South Africa )
2. Tuks – Clap ( South Africa)
3. Xplastaz - Msimu Kwa Msimu (Tanzania)
4. Peter Miles - Owango RMX ( Uganda )
5. Awadi - Stoppez les criminels feat. Tiken Jah Fakoli ( Senegal )
6. 994 Crew - Bad Boy ( Mauritania )
7. Unathi - Sgubhu Sam’ ( South Africa )
8. Abass - Zibi zibi zaba ( Senegal )

Spotted at Catchdubs, The Stencil

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Album Preview, Hip-Hop

Pharoahe Monch Speaks Out On Gun Violence

Another video deemed “too controversial” for TV has ended up on YouTube. This time its the video for Pharoahe Monch’s “Guns Drawn.” Instead of editing the content for that oh so glorious 3AM MTV2 timeslot (and more or less NO airplay on BET), Monch decided to release the video on the Internet instead, which is becoming the trend of today’s “controversial” rappers.

Is the video too graphic for TV? Of course not. I’ve seen more blood and violence on CSI.

In “Guns Drawn,” Monch speaks from the viewpoint of a bullet throughout the whole song, in the vein of Organized Konfusion’s earlier song, “Stray Bullet”. The video ends up reminding me of an early 90s Public Service Announcement, which was probably inevitable, but not as bad as it sounds. See, I think that gun laws have no purpose, (I live in one of the most violent cities in the country and we’ve had a handgun ban since the 70s.) Having that said, at least the dude is trying to create a dialog about the issue since most everybody seems to be noticeably silent about this topic.

Still, I never really got into this dude before, so at least this video is going to make me take a second look.

More Pharoahe Monch:

“Push”

Windows Media
Real Player

“Desire”

Windows Media
Real Player

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The Wally Champ

PLAY YOUR POSITION presents…

Apollo Kids: A Soul Compilation Inspired by Ghostface

01 The Dramatics - In The Rain
02 The Temprees - Love’s Maze
03 The Three Degrees - Maybe
04 The Escorts - I Can’t Stand to See You Cry
05 The Ebonys - You’re The Reason Why
06 The Spinners - Love Don’t Love Nobody
07 The Moments - Love on a Two-Way Street
08 The Dramatics - Me & Mrs. Jones
09 The Temprees - Dedicated to the One I Love
10 The Sylvers - Let It Be Me
11 Soul Generation - Body & Soul
12 The Whispers - Chocolate Girl
13 The Originals - Baby, I’m for Real
14 The Moments - Not On The Outside
15 The Ebonys - It’s Forever
16 The New Birth - Wildflower
17 The Vibrations - I Remember The Rain
18 Holland-Dozier - Don’t Leave Me Starvin’ For Your Love
19 The Emotions - Take Me Back

get it here

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Best of 2006

Best of 2006: Top 15 Albums of 2006

15.) Van Hunt - On the Jungle Floor - On first listen this album didn’t get to me. But after a while, I was addicted to Hunt’s combination of rock and soul. (Not in a Maxwell way, of course). Van Hunt should be on more people’s iPods cause the dude is a sleeper sensation.

14.) Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere - After all of the hype that Gnarls Barkley garnered this year, I’m surprised that St. Elsewhere is noticeably absent from most people’s “best of 2006″ list. St Elsewhere isn’t the best album of the year by far, but Cee Lo and Dangermouse get style points for concept and execution.

13.) The Shining - J Dilla - The Shining didn’t come off as well as Donuts, most likely because most of the involvement did not come from Dilla himself. The production was left in the care of Dilla’s friend Karriem Riggins. But hey, it dosen’t matter. This album got multiple spins on the iPod this year.

12.) Joy Denalane - Born and Raised - German singer Joy Denalane shows America what real R&B should sound like. More on her here and here.

11.) Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang - I was scared when people from Busta’s camp were calling The Big Bang the best album of Busta’s career. Usually when PR people do that, its to hype an album that usually lacking. However, after all the smoke cleared, the truth was revealed: This is a great album, but it unfortunately didn’t bring New York back.

10.) Amy Winehouse - Back to Black - If you live in the US, you’ll have to get this album by…um, illegal means, or pay upwards of $30 for the import (Update: or wait for them to release it in April). Either way, this album is worth it. Other than one song that I find downright annoying, the UK songstress has figured out how to carve out the perfect R&B album, channeling 60’s Motown soul (by way of her backup band, the Dap Kings), but making it unique and not outright humping it a la Joss Stone.

9.) Ghostface - Fishscale - Ghostface put a massive amount of effort into this album and it shows. Although he recruited some of the best producers in the industry (Blaze, Dilla, Pete Rock), it’s still got that classic Supreme Clientele feel. It’s still not good as Clientele, but Bulletproof Wallets wasn’t either.

8.) The Coup - Pick a Bigger Weapon - I’m not putting this on my top 10 out of pity. (The Coup ended a year in a terrible bus accident.) Pick a Bigger Weapon is an album that is just that good. The Oakland duo ditched the turntables for live Instrumentation, making an album that sounded richer than most hip-hop albums that drop this year.I still fine the lily white fan base of these Black Power revolutionaries puzzling, though.

7.) The Roots - Game Theory - Say what you want about The Roots, but for as much hate as they get in the game, they will never die.

6.) J Dilla - Donuts - I’m not going to use this to throw out my “Dilla is the new Tupac” meme. But I will say that Donuts shows the world that Dilla is a first class producer. The fact that the dude did this album on his death bed shows his commitment to the genre of hip-hop.

5.) Wolfmother - Wolfmother - If you think hip-hop is dead then you must be mistaken. Rock music died a long time ago. What it’s been replaced with are emo posers who have become the genre’s equivalent to the ringtone rapper. The Australian band Wolfmother showed people how to rock again. It’s about time.

4.) Nas - Hip-Hop is Dead - It’s tough choice putting Nas at number 4. Hip-Hop is Dead should have been a shoo-in for number 1. But after a few spins, Nasty Nas was starting to get on my nerves. I don’t know why, but for some reason I had to blast some Rich Boy just to get my ears in balance. I guess there could be a problem with too much real hip-hop these days.

3.) Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury - Probably the closest thing to a “classic” hip-hop album that’s dropped this year. Clipse pretty much shows Jeezy who’s the true trap-rap pioneer.

2.) Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo - This album isn’t for anyone. It’s like the Arrested Development (TV show) of the rap world. But there is no other album that got more spins on the iPod than this one.

1.) Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor - Months before Nas brought back hip-hop, a little known Chicago MC actually did his job for the genre. This is the closest thing to a classic “real hip-hop” album that you’re gonna get these days. Hopefully this dude will continue to grind in 2007.

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Hip-Hop

JUST BLAAAAZEEE!!

DJ LRM & Stackhouse Recordings - Just Blaze - THE COLLECTION
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Hip-Hop

Self Scientific

Here is an eye opening interview w/DJ Khalil of Self Scientific fame. He speaks on everything from getting beats on Jay Z and The Game albums to working with Dre and his own group, Self Scientific.

(stolen from HHG):

What?s up??
?
I?m good. I?m good. I?m excited right now. This has been a big month for me. It?s like a dream come true. I?m really excited and really motivated.

How did ?I Made It? on Jay-Z?s Kingdom Come come about??
?
That was all through Dr. Dre. He hooked it up. He?s been working with Jay-Z a lot. He mixed his album and Jay-Z was doing some writing for him. He somehow heard the track and he really liked it. Jay was asking Dre what he was doing with that. Dre was gracious enough to let the track go and just give it to him. It happened that fast. I got a call from Aftermath that Jay-Z wanted the track. I called Dre and got the whole story and found out what the song was about. Jay had already touched it at that point because Dre knew what the song was about. Dre mixed it the following week. Within a week and a half it was done. That was crazy. It?s a dream come true. I didn?t even get a chance to hear it right away. I was just in shock when Angelo from Aftermath played it for me. I was in shock that he was rapping over my beat. It?s a dream come true.

Were you disappointed that you didn?t get any creative input in the track??
?
I always love to be in the studio, but that?s not always how it works out. It?s all good in this situation. I?m still a new, up-and-coming producer. I?m not really established so for that to happen, it?s not out of the ordinary. That?s just the nature of the game. Hopefully in the future, if I work with Jay-Z again, or whoever, I?ll be able to have more input creatively. I?m just happy that Dre endorsed the track and that he liked it. I?m also happy that Jay-Z liked it enough to squeeze it on his album. The record with Game also got squeezed in at the last minute. That?s amazing to me. It happened at the last minute but it worked out. It?s divine intervention.
?
more after the jump…
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Best of 2006: The Top 85 Songs of 2006

Update: Whoops, MY BAD. I have about 3 repeating songs in here. Much props to everyone who pointed it out. I’ll have three new songs on here real soon.

So this list started as the top 25, then the top 50, then the top 75, and now 85. And even then there is still so much music that I didn’t even get around to in 2006 (like Prince’s 3121). So yes, this year was a great year for music, no matter how many people say “hip-hop is dead,” or “album sales are down.” People have stepped up their game in 2006 and this bodes well for 2007.

FYI: These are the songs that I felt are the best in ‘06. Don’t post a “you suck” comment up here just cause your favorite artist isn’t on the list or so and so is number 79. If you’re that mad about it, go to blogger.com and start your own blog. Oh, and I tried to cover many genres as I can, so if you don’t know someone on the list, Google it.

85.) “Ophidiophobia (Snakes on a Plane)” - Cee Lo - I’m putting this song here just cause of the sheer stupidty of it all. It a song so stupid that you have to laugh. I’m still trying to figure out if Cee-Lo was serious about this or was he in on the joke. Let’s hope for the latter.

84.) “Bossy” - Kelis - I didn’t like this song, but alas it grew on me.

83.) “So What” - Field Mob feat. Ciara - This track gets a nod because it reminds me of old school ATL booty music. Remember GhostTown DJs? They will be missed.

82.) “Out of Control” - Kenna - This is an excellent track from Kenna, who will hopefully get some recognition in 2007 since Chad Hugo from the Neptunes is producing his album. However, I’m ranking him low because he deleted my comments and messages from MySpace. Dude, I went to school with your sister. Ask her. I’m down with your people.

81.) “Grammy Family” - DJ Khaled feat. Kanye West, SA-RA, John Legend - Even though Kanye “brought crazy back” in ‘06, the dude is still a tight producer. The beat sounds like a holdover from Late Registration, but I digress. Unfortunately, the fact that this song ends up being credited to DJ Khaled and the fact that they boast about getting Grammy’s knocks this song way down.

80.) “I Gotcha” - Lupe Fiasco - The Neptunes have officially fallen off this year, but still this song actually got a little play in the club and had the girls dancing, so maybe there is hope for Lupe yet?

79.) “Brand New” - Rhymefest - At first, I didn’t like Blue Collar, but in all actuality, Rhymefest produced a superb album that only 13,000 people had the decency to buy. Even though Kanye ripped off a 2004 Sharon Jones and the Daptones song thinking its from 1964, this song is actually a decent opening single for the Chicago MC. If he signed with G.O.O.D. he might have gotten some airplay.

78.) “Fire Island, AK” - The Long Winters - I stumbled upon this track on some random MP3 blog. I haven’t used the word “groovy” since I was 13 years old, but I think that this adequately fits my feelings on this one.

77.) “Ganja Lounge” - Camp Lo - The Couch Sessions still doesn’t condone illegal drug activities (cough, cough), but Camp Lo does. Little is known about this mixtape that just surfaced one day on the ‘Net, but hopefully its a prelude to a Camp Lo album in 2007.

76.) “Make It Rain” - The song grew on me. And damn, I’m sort of in a position in life where I can really, “make it rain.” Too bad bills, rent, car payment, grocerys, and insurance get it the way.

70.) “Right Here” - Natalie Walker - Another sleeper album that landed on my doorstep (more than a few times), Natalie Walker will probably get overshadowed by Cat Power and Regina Spektor on most people’s best of lists, but check this girl out. She’s worth it.

75.) “The Greatest” - Cat Power - I know nothing about Cat Power, so I know the two indie dudes who read this site are about to jump on me. But having that said, I have a sweet spot for female singer songwriters.The last time I went ga-ga over a track like this was probably when Fiona Apple dropped “Shadowboxer” back in the day.

74.) “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” - Lil Wayne and Baby - Ugh, something is just not right about this song. I’m still stuck on he picture of the “kiss” that was floating around the Internets and the fact that they didn’t deny it. Also, after almost 10 years of being in the game, these dudes subject matter hasn’t changed. And another thing…isn’t it an insult to flash all that money while the residents of your hometown are still living in FEMA trailers? Yeah there is a lot to hate about this track, so why am I still dancing?

73.) “L.A.” - Murs - Murs went through the ringer in 2006. From beefs with 9th Wonder to a manufacturing error that cuts off the last few seconds of his CD, the dude from LA has had a bad year. Murray’s Revenge, which dropped in March of this year isn’t as good as Murs 3:16, but “L.A.” is a definitive track that will hopefully reassure Murs as an underground hip-hop legend.

72.) “Can’t Stop This” - The Roots - Probably the best tribute to J. Dilla out of the hundreds that surfaced after his death.

71.) “Divinorum” - Ocote Soul Soundz & Adrian Quesada - File this track under the “left-field” category, but anytime I can get an afro beat track onto some type of list, I got to put it out there.

70.) “When It Hits” - Marv Ellis and Cosmos - Probably one of the more obscure hip-hop tracks to land in my inbox, however, this track is probably one of the most passionate songs to drop this year. Download it.

69.) “Get Ya Hustle On” - Juvenile - I almost forgot that this song came out in ‘06, because Katrina is long gone from the news. But Juvie’s touching account of what’s happening in his home city should be in textbooks. Seriously, New Orleans is getting screwed.

68.) “Let Me Bang” - Kid Sister - Kid Sister is leading a new movement of Chicago club music that might give Baltimore Club a run for its money in 2007.

67.) “Viva La White Girl” - Gym Class Heroes - I realized that these dudes have crossed over into the mainstream when I heard them on the radio twice when I was down in Augusta, GA last weekend (RIP James B.). This means that Gym Class Heroes is about to become as popular as Meg and Dia. Still, these dudes bring it. This song might not be up to some people’s tastes, but GCH does Phrarell-style R&B better than Pharrell himself.

66.) “Blow the Whistle” - Too Short - Too Short is still making albums?

65.) “Mr. Me Too” - If any other rapper had this lukewarm Neptunes’ beat they would fail. Clipse is just good like that.

64.) “Cell Phone Dead” - Beck - Beck always manages to produce some crazy tracks.

63.) “I Wanna Love You” - Akon - I’m not really that big of a fan of Akon, but this has to rank as one of the best baby (daddy) makin’ songs of 2006. Snoop Dogg drops a verse or two to pay the rent. Anyway, this track is off the surprisingly good Konvicted album which is worth a look.

62.) “Runaway Love” Ludacris - My friend says that Luda sings about the girls that will eventually appear in his “Girls Gone Wild” video. So true.

61.) “I Don’t Trust Myself With Loving You” - John Mayer - I was never a fan of this dude until Continuum dropped. This is a solid R&B song in the vein of Van Hunt or even Prince.

60.) “Amen” - Kardinal Offishall - This Toronto MC has had a hard time breaking through to the US mainstream, but “Amen,” stands with almost any US rap release in terms of rhyme and quality.
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Liberation

Kweli + Madlib = Liberation.

I’d type more but this hangover headache is killing me. This is a good start to 2007.

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