elmattic

Like it or not, pimpin' is a leopard-skin swatch of hip-hop's patchwork tapestry.  Mostly you gotta try and laugh at it.  So I come to bury the pimp not to praise 'em.

Prostitution is an ugly fucking business.  But those old Cadillacs were mighty fly.

42nd St. (A.M. Breakups Remix) - Super Chron Flight Brothers (feat. Lord Superb, Pastense & HiCoup) / Pimpin' Chipp - Ghostface Killah / Somebody Gotta Do It (Pimpin' Ain't Easy) - Ice-T / Pimp of the Year - Dru Down / Pimpin' Ain't Easy - Slick Rick & Dana Dane / Who Are the Pimps? - Boogie Down Productions / Bitch I'm a Pimp - Too $hort / I'm Your Pimp - Skull Snaps / Theme From The Mack - Willie Hutch / A Film Called (Pimp) - Common (feat. Bilal & MC Lyte) / Macula's Theory - Prince Paul (feat. Big Daddy Kane) / Hookers At The Point - Action Bronson / Pimp Shit - DJ Babu / Superhoe - Malcolm & Martin / Hardcore Hustle (Instrumental) - Madvillain / Signifying Rapper - Schoolly D / A Thousand Angels Standing on the Head of a Pimp

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [57:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

It's The Old Testament Mixtape.  That's right.

Hosted by Charlton Heston.

Genesis - El-P, Nas & Charlton Heston / The Garden - Cut Chemist / Adam & Eve - Qwel & Kip Killagain / The Garden - Son of a Bricklayer / Paradise Lost - Redshield (Of Oldominion) / Wrath of Kane - Big Daddy Kane / Noah - A.M. Breakups / Pitch Black Ark (Instrumental) - Micranots / Pain Language (Instrumental) - DJ Muggs / Lot's Wife - Red Ants / In The Middle Of Infinity (6) - 3:33 / I Am What I Am - Chubb Rock / Moses - Slick Rick / The Ten Plagues (feat. Malcolm X) / The Ten Plagues - Socalled (feat. Killah Priest) / Into The Water - DJ Krush / Exodus - Remedy / The Ten Commandments (feat. Notorious B.I.G.) / Levitibus (Instrumental) - Stoupe / The Number Song - DJ Shadow / Holy Are You - Rakim / God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [1:10:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

The passing of Donald Byrd a couple weeks ago got me thinking a little more on jazz's influence on hip-hop.  Robbie at Unkut came through with the ten greatest Donald Byrd samples, which are a tribute to the man's work and his (unacknowledged, unknown possibly to him too) contribution to some truly classic cuts.  And that doesn't include "Buck 'Em Down," "Self Destruction" and "Fear Of A Black Planet," just for starters.

Over at whosampled, Byrd is listed for over 100 songs sampling him and another 100 of music he produced--and remember whosampled is pretty incomplete (and that's a good thing, since nobody except DMCA and lawyers want all samples known.  Sampling is like magic tricks, or pussy, or pussy magic...when it loses its mystery, we're all poorer for it).  And compare that to Miles (96 samples) and Coltrane (40 samples--I'm pretty sure that's a crowdsourcing failure, right? Nobody sampled 'A Love Supreme' yet?! Common? Lupe? Some other cunnilingus adept rapper?! That shit can't be right.)

So on the one we owe Donald Byrd for a heavy grip of classics.  Peace to him for that.  Thing is though, while you could do a great 'Donald Byrd Sample Mix,'* it wouldn't sound all that...jazzy.  (It's an idea though, I'll think on it. Actually I was trying to convince Hevehitta on the twitter the other day to do a series of all-one-breakbeat mixes.)  Samples get cut up, flipped, slapped, tweaked and the result hits the groove but a lotta times far from the source--which is one of hip-hop's great achievements, that artistic transformation of sounds.

What I'm trying to say is, you know how scientists are always coming out with shit like, 81% of the human DNA comes from the housefly, or we're all descended from this one rat-looking-thing?  If there ever was a Hip-Hop Genome Project, I think we'd find a much higher percentage of jazz up in there than you woulda guessed.  Wait--not to compare jazz to a housefly or a prehistoric rat though.

Anyways here we got another hour of jazz/hip-hop beats where the influence is upfront, so forget everything I just said.  That was just off the dome on account of Donald Byrd, I already had this mix going when he passed.  C'mon son, it's not like you come here for the coherent hypotheses or even read all this wobbly verbosity. You come for the beats.  I got you.  I got your beats.

Conflict (DJ Critical Hype Blend) - Guru (feat. Masta Ace) / Ill Street Blues (Rework Instrumental) - STS / Stand Up (Ode to Allen Ginsberg's Beat Memories) - DJ Hellblazer / Blue & Green - Mr. Moods / The Second Shoot - Planet Soap / Morning - Maliks / Nonverbal Communication - Rob Swift & Dave McMurray / Endless Nights - Mononome / When the Dust Settles - Kurtis Sp / Pot Belly - Rob Swift & Lou Donaldson / Hypnotic - Eric B. & Rakim / Step Right Up - PremRock / Lagoona's Bliss - Live Human / Chi Nike 'e Pedi - DJ Manueli / Mont - Bil Basmala / Iron Head - U.X.O. / A Different Blues - Apple Juice Kid / Piano Fragments - Bones The Beat Head / I'm The Man (Instrumental) - DJ Premier / Loungin' - Guru & Donald Byrd

Take 1

Take 2

*Update:DJ Polished Solid - All Donald Byrd sample mix, great tracks there.

**Update: Unkut - All-ESG's 'UFO' & All-'Nautilus' sample mixes

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [00:59:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

Throwback to Cadillacs and the dawn of crack.

Ill St Blues - Kool G Rap & DJ Polo / Reign of the Tec - The Beatnuts / One Shot, Two Shot - Ol' Dirty Bastard (feat. Thirstin Howl the 3rd) / 6 In the Mornin' (Bunky Mix) - Ice-T / Night Of The Living Baseheads - Public Enemy / Simply Dope, Part 2 - DJ Mark the 45 King / Life in the Fast Lane - Geto Boys / Bring It Back - Roli Rho / Life's Ill Pt. II (The Empire Striketh) - Vast Aire (feat. Breezly Brewin & Vordul Mega) / Stillmatic (Paid In Full Mix) - Nas / Code Of The Streets (DJ Critical Hype Blend) - Gangstarr / Beware of the Ghetto - Fokis (feat. E-Cashe$ & Don Chi) / Cars & Shoes - The Coup / Army Fatigue Rap (Damu The Fudgemunk Redef Remix) - Kaimbr & Kev Brown (feat. Roddy Rod, Hassaan Mackey & DJ Marshall Law) / Get That Money Black - Meyhem Lauren / Jungle City - Bey Battery, Pruven & Agartha Audio / Bad Bad Man - Fat Joe / Blue Street Ills

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [00:59:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away.

- Philip K. Dick

Icarus Falling - PSY/OPSogist / All Day Breakfast - Jel / Numb - Blueprint / Temple of the Golden Pavilion ("Like Some Enormous Music") [excerpt] - Philip Glass / Fendi Shoe Bomber (Instrumental) - Nephlim Modulation Systems / Can You Feel It (Instrumental) - Schoolly D / Thomas is Gone Now - Gasoline Monk / Cradle to the Grave (Instrumental) - Mobb Deep / Calamus - MF Doom / Ice Cream (Instrumental) - The RZA / Connections (Instrumental) - Godfather Don / Sun vs. Clouds - Black-Tokyo Musik / [Echo from the Hosts interlude feat. Shabazz Palaces] / Snow (Remix Instrumental) - Roc Marciano / Queens Get The Money (Instrumental) - Jay Electronica / Forever Is Wasted - Mononome / Head Spins - Djinji Brown / [Empire of Dirt interlude feat. Johnny Cash] / Years - Bartholomaus Traubeck / [Beaten Metal interlude feat. Antibalas] / 30 - Danny Brown & SKYWLKR

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [59:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

[above] R.A. The Rugged Man & Mac Lethal :: Crustified Christmas

Every rappity-rap Christmas song ever from Egotrip: Naughty / Nice

[below] Eazy-E :: Merry Motherfucking Christmas

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

So uh...the world was supposed to end today?  Probably didn't?

Man, that apocalyptic shit gets tired.  Most of y'all are probably too young to remember everybody freaking out that the world was gonna end on January 1st, 1000.

I read that the Mayan calendar ended on that date because it was carved on a temple.  And they ran out of room and were all, 'Well we ain't building another temple.  My hand fucking hurts.  2012, that's like hundreds of years from now, that's enough, let's go get a beer.'

Anyways.  The final instalment of Best Joints of 2012.  Hosted by Orson Welles.

Reputation - Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson / Bust Shots - Wu-Block (Ghostface Killah, Sheek Louch & Inspectah Deck) / I Shall Not Be Moved - Public Enemy / Crocodile Tears - Billy Woods / Memoirs Of 2071 - Verbezerker (Waatu & Vig Vega) / Rhymin Slang (Dave Sitek Remix) - JJ DOOM / The Don - Nas / Southern Fried - Killer Mike / Black Roses - Bigg Jus / Walk Hard - Gangrene / Odd Future - Short Fuze & Nasa / The Mad Writer - L'Orange (feat. yU) / I Know Why You Mad - Troy Ave / Good Luck - Lil Chuuuch / Brown - Homeboy Sandman / In The Middle Of Infinity-3 - 3:33 / 2012 - KRS-One

The recap:

• Bloodstained Elevators
• Unattended Luggage
• Special Guest Stars

If the world did end it's too bad you didn't get to hear this, it has some great tracks on it.  Also, you know, sorry about the dying and fire and destruction and whatever.  Floods and shit. Comets.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [56:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

[below] Too $hort's Hanukah song.  Because...menorah beeeiiiiiiitch.  For real, I don't know why this exists.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

State of the Union

Felt to me like 2012 was the year rappers got love for being real--not just being real, but being themselves, with a bigger variety of those selves than ever.  Danny Brown and his fucked-up hair.  Bronson and his combination cookbook/rhyme book.  Even Kitty Pryde with her redhead-from-Florida-who-works-at-Claire's-Accessories-and-raps-about-boys.  Why'd everybody turn on Rap Genius all of a sudden?  They turned out to be fronting.  And assholes.  I heard people talk about 'folklore rap' and 'grown man rap'. I didn't hear anyone talk about Drake or Kreayshawn's contributions to the culture.  Hip-hop's always been about 'real recognize real,' but not only has it never had before such a multiplicity of individual voices, that coda's usually had the footnote that '(except it's better if you pretend to be a murderous drug dealer with a ridiculously lavish lifestyle.)'

Once you get off the 2Chainz/ratchet/gangsta/smoke-too-much-weed-to-do-more-than-string-random-words-together axis, you could have a real omnivorous musical diet.  It's kinda like a Tumblr effect, where kids post a Method Man track and then an Urkel .gif and then a Frida Kahlo painting.  No one's paying attention to region, or style, or whatever--you listen to what you like, and cats can make what they like--since radio play and sales are over, just do what you want.  Hip-hop's on shuffle.  All I heard out there was what a great year it was for hip hop--true, true.

Album of the Year

Ka :: Grief Pedigree

Most end-of-year lists by people who actually know shit about hip-hop are gonna lead with this one or the Kendrick Lamar.  Me, I think I'm the wrong coast or the wrong age or something to be really feeling GKMC.

Grief Pedigree is nothing if not heartfelt.  Every line, and Ka's scratchy, low voice, shows weariness, wisdom, struggle.  This album didn't come easy--Ka's been working on his own for years, trying to find his place in hip-hop.  Pedigreealone took two years, he says: "one year writing, one year digging."  It's self-produced, simple but strong beats built around perfect and unique loops and drums low in the mix.  The lyrics are long strings of rhymes, endless quotables.  The whole product shows the stamp of true handmade craft.  It's 'grown man rap' as if the Mobb Deep of Infamous had disappeared and come back from the streets 20 years later.  If Jay-Z is Avon Barksdale and every new gangsta on the scene is Marlo, Grief Pedigree is Bodie music.

Continue Reading »

Listen Now:

 Enhanced Podcast [3:27m]: Download | Hits (Loading)

Hip hop this year was on some Love Boat shit.  Mad guest appearances.  So many of the best joints had features, this is Best of 2012 #3, the All Features Edition.

Remember in the '90s, when it was like a federal requirement your record had to say "(feat. Busta Rhymes)" on it somewhere?  (It had something to do with agricultural subsidies?)  This year was kinda like that, except with the same six or so hungry MCs everywhere.  These guys were like the specialist guest stars

Zilla Rocca said on the twitter that back in the day, Redman used to get $20k for a guest verse, and now it's more like a thousand.  So that means Danny Brown made about $657,000 this year.  And for a guy who probably doesn't move very fast, Action Bronson sure made it to about ten recording studios every day.  I'm guessing pimped-out personal pedecab, full-time Samoan to pedal it.

Also, I hate finding out crazy shit like this: "We are told in Love Boat II that Gopher, Doc, Isaac, and the captain all served together in Vietnam, but no reference to this is ever made again." Fuck you Wikipedia. I cannot unlearn that.

One last thing: next year, I wanna see the words "(feat. Greg Nice)" 5000% more often.  That DJ Yoda joint is almost official, if it was called 'Crispin Glover' instead of 'Charlie Sheen.'

2012--more feat. than a fuckin' caterpillar. With SPECIAL GUEST STARS...

LORNE GREENE as... MR. MUTHAFUCKIN' EXQUIRE

CHARO as... DANNY BROWN

THE GUY WHO PLAYED GOMEZ ADDAMS as... OPEN MIKE EAGLE

THE SKIPPER FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND as... ACTION BRONSON

SCOTT BAIO as... HIMANSHU

RICARDO MONTALBAN as... ROC MARCIANO

and

LONI ANDERSON as... HERSELF

Oh Hail No - El-P (feat. Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire & Danny Brown) / Cobra Commander (Kenny Segal Version) - Open Mike Eagle (feat. Danny Brown) / Spaceship - MHz (Danny Brown verse) / You Have to Ride the Wave - Himanshu (feat. Danny Brown & Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire) / Werner Herzog - Busdriver (feat. Open Mike Eagle & Nocando) / From Scratch - Illogic & Blockhead (feat. Open Mike Eagle & Has-Lo) / Home Team - Troy Ave (feat. Action Bronson, Mr Muthafuckin' eXquire & Maffew Blocksdale) / Special Effects - Meyhem Lauren (feat. Himanshu & Action Bronson) / The Turning Point - The Alchemist (feat. Roc Marciano) / Loco-Motive - Nas (feat. Large Professor) / That's Enough - Talib Kweli & Z-Trip (feat. John Forte, Skyzoo, Posdnous, Rubix & Fashawn) / Target Practice (Shuko Remix) - Vinnie Paz (feat. Jus Allah) / Monumental - The White Shadow Of Norway (feat. KRS-One, Bigg Limn, Raekwon & Immortal Technique) / FCK YR LF (Verse 32) - BLKHRTS x Curly Castro / Dinero - DJ Absolut (feat. Joell Ortiz, Raekwon, Reynos, Al B Back) / Granite - Shinobi Stalin (feat. Roc Marciano) / Nine Spray - Roc Marciano (feat. Ka)

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [01:00:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)