Sep 30, 2024
"Traumatised, but full of pride..."
- Bashy
Thanks to the short length of some of the tracks, the total running time of this episode isn't as long as some others, but it's a high-potency forty-eight minutes! We start with one of the realest, toughest tracks I've heard in ages, low-tempo to make sure you catch every word, end on a new track by some of the most dedicated veterans in the culture, and hit some incredible notes between those two points. Let's get it going...
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Playlist/Notes
Bashy : How Black Men Lose Their Smile
Wow. Stunning, 100% relatable song that everyone should sit down, listen to, then run it back and listen again. Bashy is absolutely flawless here, telling his story while also telling the stories of so many of us Black men who have grown up here. The production by Toddla T just adds to it, with the reggae-influenced beat calling back to the music that has been so prominent in Black British life, and the straight-to-camera video is starkly fitting. "Being Poor Is Expensive" is the title of the new album this track is drawn from, and also a plain statement of fact.
M Slago : Sonic Marvel (Ten City Flip)
"The 80's Beat Tape" coming out of FWMJ's "Producers I Know" collective/project was a ten-track collection of, as you'd expect, producers flipping 80s records into their own compositions. I can't say I remember the original that Nashville's M Slago chopped into this slowed, ominous track, but I do know that many years after the 2015 release of this tape which was recorded at least two years before that, this beat was used for "Finer Things" featuring Kyle Rapps. So nice, we got it twice!
Scarface : No Problem
Scarface's "Deeply Rooted" from 2015 is a quality LP that you should seek out if you can - more than likely, you'll need to fork out to buy a copy since it seems to have long disappeared from Spotify. The Houston icon was on his eleventh solo album here, and his one long verse is an aggressive statement of who he is, what he's about, and what/who he has no respect for, over a dark, grinding beat from Atlanta's KEY! (punctuation is part of the name).
Ghetts ft. Stefflon Don : Slumdog Millionaire
This Bollywood-accented cut from 2017 is such a killer, and an appropriate move coming from the UK where many of us grew up hearing it at least as part of the background growing up - Ghetts himself notes that it was that element that made this Nutty P beat stand out for him. Stefflon Don adds some flavour to the hook, but Ghetts takes centre stage on the mic for two tight verses. If you want more, 2018's "Ghetto Gospel : The New Testament" is the place to go.
GQ : Trap
A track I admit I'd overlooked on the "Rated Oakland" LP despite its position as the closer, this one definitely pulled me in when I went back to it for the first time in a while, ten years after the original release. I've cut it a little short here for the sake of pacing, but you'll get a long spoken word closing from GQ if you go to check the full album! The moody, dark production comes courtesy of Eric G of The Soul Council.
namesbliss : Last Week
I was totally unaware of this highly-skilled MC out of Kilburn, London, until he popped up on my IG feed - who says social media is good for nothing? His rapid-fire, witty, and clean flows are married up with smooth beats (this particular one produced by Scruz) that are miles away from what you generally hear in the grime genre - I've heard this described as "lo-fi grime" and that seems as good a label as any. It reminds of me what KwolleM started a good few years back with his "mellow grime" style, and it's nice to hear an MC like this with room to breathe on the track! This particular cut is a highlight from his latest LP "Lively Experience", which is one of my favourite purchases of the month.
Devin Morrison : The Blisselle
I played a vocal track by Devin Morrison on the podcast back on episode 153, but didn't appreciate until recently how prolific (as well as skilled) a producer he is! In just over two years he has released a twelve volume series of "Dream Lobby" collections, made up of work he didn't think fit a standard album format, and if you like modern, smooth, dreamy, and soulful production then you want to at least dip in if not collect the set. This cut is taken from "Dream Lobby Vol. IX", a seven-track delight from last autumn - so I thought I'd share it as we get ready to enter this one...
Ghostface Killah : The Forest
I had the chance to see The Alchemist live this month, and as he was playing a smoking set of some of his many, many production classics from a long career, he dropped this one - which I totally forgot he did! With all the cartoon characters engaged in legally questionable activities, this track from 2001's "Bulletproof Wallets" is very much like Ghost's take on the two "A Gangsta's Fairytale" tracks Ice Cube did back in the day.
Jeru The Damaja : One Day
Hits differently now, doesn't it? Short, pointed, and naming names, find this DJ Premier-produced dagger on Jeru's second LP, "Wrath Of The Math".
Kuartz & Dubbul O : War Cry
Dubbul O only recently released the "Stay Gold" EP with Cutterz and now he's back with the devastating production of Kuartz on the new "Shigurui" EP, giving us that boom-bap rawness. This is the opening track, with the Manchester duo giving us some Timberland and hoodie music for real. If you miss this style, pick up this LP to hear it being done very well indeed!
Clear Soul Forces : Insane
One of the more light-heartedly amusing moment of this month for the heavily-online Hip-Hop fan was when the great Questlove of The Roots, one of the most knowledgeable music heads in the entire world discovered that Clear Soul Forces existed - it appears he thought they were a new act, but they've been about for almost a decade! We all have things slip under our radars, and there's no shame - if Questlove can miss a talented group like this, then we all can! Anyway, I thought it was fitting to go all the way back to their first album, 2015's "Fab 5ive" for this banger. While most of their catalogue has been produced by Ilajide, who is also an MC, this LP was produced by fellow Michigan native NAMELESS, who has this one smashing while CSF explode lyrically all over the track. As an aside - Quest was of course gracious when everyone leapt in to correct him!
[Kut Masta Kurt] Motion Man : Play Dough (Instrumental)
Early-2000s, independent underground boom-bap business - and while I got this beat from these two Cali natives on the B-side of a 12" single, you can now get the entire set of instrumentals from the "Clearing The Field" LP on Bandcamp!
LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes : Huey In The Chair
The buzz around this album since it came out this month has been quite something, with most heads agreeing it's the best thing LL has done in years! "The FORCE" is almost entirely produced by Q-Tip, and the result is a triumph for these two giants from the borough of Queens. This track brings in Busta alongside LL, with both going ultra-Black while referring to the famous image of Huey Newton of the Black Panther Party in the peacock chair that still hits as hard today, over fifty years since it was taken. Definitely check the album if you've not heard it yet.
Slum Village ft. Little Brother : Where Do We Go From Here?
As you likely know, SV have been through many lineup changes over the years and as much as anything the name is a flag to rally under for Detroit's finest - with this track coming from 2010's "Villa Manifesto", an album which thanks to posthumous contributions actually features every member that had been in the group up to that time. The vibe here is kind of retro-futuristic Hip-Hop, with Young RJ on production, Samuel Beubien on string arrangements, and DJ Dez doing a phenomenal job scratching in all the separate lines of lyrics to create a spoken hook. Only two verses, but T3 and then the combination of Phonte and Big Pooh of LB do the business.
Mr. Voodoo aka AGU : Crhyme Life
Alchemist on the beat again, with a dark, tense piece of production to go along with the killer bars of Mr. Voodoo, one-third of the highly-respected Natural Elements crew. As far as I can tell, this was only ever released as a 12" single and I can't find it on the streaming services, but it's available used pretty inexpensively if you want to add some quality rhymes and early Alchemist production to your crates!
Dave East and Mike & Keys ft. Stacy Barthe : So Much Changed
You know you're getting on a bit when tunes you clearly remember growing up are being covered, sampled, and tributed! This track from this year's "APT 6E" album from Harlem's Dave East and the production duo Mike & Keys is a clear tribute to the 1994 release "Pain" by 2Pac, from the "Above The Rim" soundtrack. It's not just the sample, but the lyrical themes that hark back to that original song, particularly on the first verse, and it's well done. Multiple Grammy nominee Stacy Barthe blesses the hook with her vocals, which again are reminiscent of "Pain" but with her own flavour.
[Ice Cube, QD III] Yo-Yo : IBWin' With My CREWin' (Instrumental)
After starting the mix with this stripped down to just the drums and bass courtesy of Serato's "stems" feature, I was tempted to leave it like that but ended up bringing back the rest of the elements on this banging 90s beat from Yo-Yo's third album "You Better Ask Somebody". Yo-Yo first came to our attention on Ice Cube's first solo LP, as his foil on "It's A Man's World" before going on a strong four-album run from 1991-1996 - go and have a listen if you're not familiar!
The B Boys ft. Chuck D and Ice-T : Hello
A record I had no idea was coming, this is a true meeting of veterans, OGs of the artform. The B Boys are the original crew of Donald D, an MC you might know from his excellent late 80s-90s work as part of the Rhyme Syndicate, with Brother B and DJ Chuck Chillout completing the trio. Their original run was roughly 1983-1985, then they went separate ways before coming back together for a couple of EPs in 2022 and 2023, and then a full LP "We Get Down" this year, which this track is on! The Donald D-produced instrumental is heavily drum-centred, and in the best way, sounds like something that could have been on Ice-T's first LP, and leaves plenty of space for the vocals to be heard clearly - and the headliners bring along Ice-T and Public Enemy's Chuck D to provide full verses for a track that runs for over five minutes, a relative rarity these days. Abigail Culley's hook rounds it out nicely, and if you're anything like me, will stick in your head!
Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!
