an OFWGKTA special

Just got mad inspired by what canikickit said down there... And on the #earl note, here's a sick (although short) cut by EARL himself.

Earl Sweatshirt - Dat Ass

Percee P

The man. The legend.

[Jon’s had to err. . . disappear for awhile. FREE JON, FUCK EARL]

The lethal lyricist rhyme inspector emcee Percee P is the man to praise. With his impeccable rapid fire delivery, which I’d rank second only to early G. Rap, Percee is regarded as a pioneer of fast rap and since first appearing on wax alongside D-Nique on “Let the Homicides Begin” in '88 he's gone on to feature on records with/outshined emcees such as Lord Finesse, Edan, Jedi Mind Tricks, Jurassic 5 & Aesop Rock.

It wasn’t until 2007, 19 years since after his first single, that Percee finally released his debut album, adequately titled Perseverance. Lyrically, Percee attacks each track with his trademark flow, constantly bombarding the listener with internal rhyme patterns. Raw Heat (45 version) is one of only two songs which has literally left me slack jawed as until that point, I hadn't heard a flow as somethin' fierce as Percee's. True story. On the production tip, Madlib came with mad heat, which should be expected at this point in his career but despite his consistency, Madlib can occasionally craft sub-par beats and in this case the worse beat is "Put it on the line" which is, simply put - annoying/grating. Below this, I've included a video of the legendary cypher between Percee and Finesse. . . just because. What, I need a reason to post this shit?

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Weekly Women Wednesday - Emmanuelle Chriqui

This week's Wednesday post is on Emmanuelle Chriqui (note: you pronounce her last name as "shriek-y". so yeah, you can infer from there..). Famous for her character on Entourage, she's also been on a lot of bad movies that I've watched purely for her. She was in Snow Day back in the 90's, but I can't say anything about that because she was like 14. But currently, she's the picture of perfection. I have a theory that God put her together himself, but he won't reply to my emails. But anyways, you know the drill. After the jump check the pictures. And in case you didn't know, if you click the photos, you'll see the HQ version. Thank me later.

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Weekly Tuesday Track: O.C. - Time's Up

This week's installment features the rapper O.C.'s track, "Time's Up". One of those classic instrumentals that I'm sure you've heard somewhere, O.C. spits some of the toughest lines off of this track off of his album Word...Life. Check out the track and download link below to hear what made golden age rap so great. If you like what you hear, post in the comments and I may do a more in-depth post on him. 

Also, 1994 is the best year for rap music. Ever. It's a fact.

"Fuck who that I offend, rappers sit back I'm 'bout to begin..."

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Bonobo - Animal Magic (2000)

British DJ Bonobo (real name Simon Green)

On par with my latest instrumental post, I bring to you the debut album of Bonobo. This DJ hailing from Britian is the mainstay of the Ninja Tune label. Not as much instrumental hip-hop as it is downtempo (a genre I prefer actually), he creates vast and immense landscapes in a little as 4 minutes. If you liked the Burial post, this will certainly be for you. But any hip-hop fan can enjoy his music, as it has many hip-hop influences as well.

With 4 albums as of date, I share with you his debut album, Animal Magic. This is the perfect introduction to Bonobo, Ninja Tune, and downtempo in general. Perfect music for chilling, burning, doing work, or as background noise. Check out the streams and album link below. As a bonus, I will present to you a song from his latest album, Black Sands. The title track is by far one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard in my life. Don't miss out on that either.


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TOKiMONSTA - Midnight Menu (2010)

On our next weekly installment of Weekly Women Wednesdays... Haha just kidding. This isn't one of those posts, but for some of the men out there I guess it would count as both. Anyways, today's post presents an artist by the name of TOKiMONSTA. Going by Jennifer Lee during the day, this producer hailing from Los Angeles makes hip-hop beats. And quite good ones, at that. Her beats are layered with bits of soul, electronic, and jazz. Her beats are perfect for relaxing, getting some work done, or crocheting (if that's your kinda thing).

After putting off listening to her music for awhile, I'm very glad I did. While no Nujabes (a racist comparison if you ask me), she can hold her own as a very creative and talented producer. I feel like her music would be the love child between J Dilla and Bonobo, although a baby. There is of course room for improvement, and I'd love to her collaborate with artists in the future. Check out the streams and link for her album "Midnight Menu" after the jump. And as a BONUS, I've included her Maxim photoshoot as well.

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Artifacts Discography (Megapost)

Tame One (left) and El Da Sensei (right)

Eric B. and Rakim, Mobb Deep, Pete and C.L, Showbiz & A.G, Gang Starr, Outkast & EPMD - all names you think of when you discuss the best duo in hip-hop and rightly so, all of the aforementioned artists have produced indisputable classics. However, there is one duo which is constantly overlooked - [the] Artifacts. Despite producing two of the greatest hip-hop songs/singles of all time, Wrong Side of da Tracks (the graffiti anthem) and C’mon Wit Da Git Down, the group has largely been forgotten since the two members, El Da Sensei and Tame One, parted ways in ‘97 (they‘ve recently reunited, however). Before they split, they released 2 albums, Between a Rock and a Hard Place & That’s Them. The remainder of this post will deal with ‘Between a Rock...’, why? because it’s the one album I own, that’s why.

Artifacts represent the very essence of hip-hop, their raps contain dense internal rhyme schemes which in turn are full of references to bombing, MCing, b-boying and getting lifted. Of course, they also shit talk but if you love hip-hop you should love that shit. Breaking away from their usual formula, they crafted a love letter to the golden age of hip-hop with ’Whayback’ which holds more relevance today than it did back in the mid-90’s due to the increase in wack wannabeemceez. To compliment the hard rhymes were equally hard [hitting] grimy boom bap beats which came courtesy of T-Ray (who produced all but 2 songs), Redman and Buckwild.

Jon Edit: This is definitely one of the most underrated rap duos of all-time. I was gonna do a post on them myself, but Marc beat me to it. Their beats are crazy hype and their lyrics are even better. This is about as pure as hip-hop gets, definitely two classic albums. They unfortunately are a now defunct group, with both having rather lucrative solo careers. There have been rumors of a reunion album, but has been speculation so far. Check out the duo after the jump, with an included download of their second album, That's Them. So that makes this an official megapost...post. Enjoy.

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Folk/Indie Mixtape (Volume 1)

Here I bring to you a rather new experience for most of you hip-hop listeners, indie-folk music. Now, I know what you're thinking, "The fuck do I look like? A white 15 year-old girl?". And the answer is no. If the answer is yes, email me right now. Haha, kidding. But on the real, y'all need to open up your musical horizons. Don't let this compilation slip by due to pride. I remember that was me not too long ago -- denying I liked such music (at least not enough to scrobble it on my Last.FM), even though I would catch myself singing along with it during TV shows, movies, etc.

No one's gonna think any less of you for expanding your musical horizons, mang. Plus, women love this shit. You can't exactly play "Shame On A Nigga" with your girl in the car, now can you? Anyways, I compiled a list of 10 songs that I could see a hip-hop fan learning to like. Worked on me. Doesn't hurt to be well rounded, does it? I've included some streams down below, just in case you're interested. I encourage you to leave a mufuckin' comment below and tell me what you think of the music. Don't sugar coat it, but at least listen to the songs haha. This ends my persuasive essay for the day, check out the rest after the jump.

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Weekly Women Wednesday - Olivia Munn

Alright, well you guys asked for it, so here's my weekly post. Not gonna go too indepth, because y'know, I gotta scout for next week's post. But this week's woman is Olivia Munn, famous for her work on G4's Attack of the Show and a frequent occurrence in my dreams. She's also been on the NBC show Perfect Couples (which got canceled), Date Night, and Iron Man 2. 

Also not another coincidence, but yes, she's half Chinese and half German-Irish. I seriously think if I were to create a woman from scratch it would bear a striking resemblence to Ms. Munn. In an unrelated story, freckles on a woman are one of the best creations God has ever made, right next to the internet and green tea.  I'm sure most people know about her, but didn't know she's this hot. So yeah, glad to help you out. And if you're a girl on this blog, well...I'm sorry.

More pictures (and .gifs!) after the jump.

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Weekly Tuesday Track: Atmosphere - Sunshine

Slug (MC) of Atmosphere

I figured this could be another weekly "segment" as they say, a random track that I'm feeling at the moment that I felt I could share. If you're not familiar with Atmosphere, I would have to say you fail as a music fan in general. Composed of MC Slug and producer Ant, they have been one of the most consistent rap acts the the last 15 years. Slug is truly one of music's most endearing storytellers, and has brought emotion back to hip-hop. This track doesn't exactly highlight the aforementioned traits (nice choice, Jon), but is one of these feel good tracks you can't help but smile once you hear it. Since it's on one of their lesser known releases, even casual Atmosphere fans might've let it slip past them. Check it out after the jump.

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The Complete Jay Electronica [Discography]

Today I bring to you something very special, as in Jay Electronica's music. I've composed a compilation of everything he has ever gotten his hands on music-wise, from solo songs, features, and even a song he's guest produced. Now, if you're not familiar with this man, you will be the time this post is over with. 

From the Magnolia Projects in New Orleans, Jay Electronica remains one of the more mysterious figures in music (much less hip-hop). His music entails stories of introspection, tragedy, triumph, and (of course) obligatory bragging. But it's not as much his subject matter as how he says it. With poetic and thought-provoking words not common in hip-hop, Jay Elect contains almost majestic qualities as a songwriter. He is such an enigmatic figure, due to the fact he doesn't release material in the usual means. Having never released any official album, EP, or even mixtape, his music is to obtained through loose tracks released through various media outlets. Because of that, there is no official tracklisting for any release, so bear with my assorting of his songs.

Now, I'm aware that there are multiple compilations of a lot of artists (including Jay Elect), buy I feel that I handled this with more care, dedication, and wherewithal than others. Jay Elect would have the rap game by the throat if he just released Act II (like he said he would the past few years), but I think Jay likes it like that. More elusive than Fran Tarkenton, Jay Electronica's music transcends genre.

After the jump, I include to you the compilation in various forms. I will include the fundamental WEDOITRIGHT: What The F*uck Is A Jay Electronica compilation, The Complete Jay Electronica, and Jay Electronica: The Features. For those who want all the songs in one fell swoop, I will include one download to rule them all [meaning all 60 or so songs]. Enjoy.


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As far as megaposts go...

I realized on my Kendrick Lamar post, I never included a link where you can download EVERYTHING in one file. That could be useful for peple who have none of the artists' material, and don't feel like downloading everything separately. Sound like a good idea?

Btw, I'm currently working on a Jay Electronica megapost. Better than everything you've seen anywhere, as it has more songs and even songs he's produced. I found some songs I had never even HEARD of, and quite a few of them. Should be up by tonight.

Burial

[This post was contributed by kqb, otherwise known as doctorbagr, who is musically starting to feel very hipsterish.]

I presume the average person reading this (you are reading this, right?) will be a hip-hop head of some sort. Along with that, I am also making the cruel presumption that (unless you are from the UK or read Pitchfork) you don't know Burial. Hell, I didn't know Burial a month ago.  But lately, he's been making the rounds of music blogs far and wide by working with UK electronic producer Four Tet  (who's been remixed by Jay Dee and DJ Premier and is also quite dope on his own). The buzz machine reached its peak with a secret/minimalist/awesome two-track single featuring none other than Radiohead's own Thom Yorke (Radiohead - very famous and influential indie band, rapped over by Lupe; mashed by Chiddy Bang and collaborated with Lupe, Pharrell and Kanye).

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Jazz Hop Mixtape (Volume 1)

Today I bring to you a very special post. I had been mulling the idea of creating a playlist and sharing it with you, but until now, I didn't really think people would take to it. Call it a change of heart, but I finally did it. I'd like this to be a recurring post that happens ever so often, so here goes.

I plan on doing many compilations of a lot of different subjects, from jazz hop, instrumental hip-hop, to west coast/east coast. I figured this would be a good way of introducing you guys to more than just 1 new artist (like usual), but instead -- 10 at a time. This also saves time on my part, because I don't have to make a separate post for each artist included in the mixtape haha. Some are instrumentals, while others feature raps. Ain't nothin' like a well-rounded hip-hop listener. So check out the tracklist below, peep the streams, and download a little playlist I put together for your enjoyment.


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Zion I - True & Livin' (2005)

Zion I - producer Amp Live (left) and MC Zumbi (right)

Today I bring to you a group by the name of Zion I. I'm actually really suprised I haven't posted about them on any of blogs yet. One of my absolute groups, definitely. Hailing out of Oakland, Zion I is composed of MC Zumbi and producer Amp Live. They began making music in the mid 90's, in a time where hyphy music in the bay area ruled the area. They were really one of the first bay area hip-hop artists who ventured out into spreading good vibes and socially charged material when everyone else was going "dumb".

Amp Live is an internationally renowned producer, known for creating futuristic, lush, and melodic landscapes...even venturing into what the kids nowadays call "slaps". Don't fret, he balances each characteristic on each track. Zumbi is definitely one of my favorite rappers, encompassing everything an MC should be: positive messages, witty and strong lyrics, and sometimes politically and socially charged lyrics. These two are some of smoothest music I've ever heard, like they were born to do this shit. I bring to you their 3rd album, "True & Livin'", which I find to be their most accessible album (although I'm sure some will disagree). Check out the streams below if you ain't convinced.


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Weekly Women Wednesday - Chrissy Teigen

Y'all thought I'd forget about this weekly update huh? I realize you're on the internet, and you can find an infinite amount of hot girls without my help. So I'm not gonna focus on T&A anymore (at least not exclusively) and focus more on the women as a person. That'll get me brownie points from my non-existent female followers, right? Haha.

But anyways, this week's installment (god, that sounds creepy) is a supermodel from Utah by the name of Chrissy Teigen. She's half Thai and half Norweigen, and as we all know, half Asian and half white proves again to be the best mix of races. Not tooting my own horn, but you know how that goes.

Along with being known as "John Legend's hot girlfriend", she's also notable for her tweets. Now I know what you're saying, twitter is stupid and she's probably dumb. Well, you would be wrong on both accounts, sir. I follow a lot of people on twitter I suppose, and she is by far the funniest and most sarcastic. Now, I don't know about you, but sarcasm is sexy in a lady. That may be the only sentence in this post that's not sarcastic, but I digress. Anyways, I don't know how how she gathered all these traits, but she definitely hit the jackpot.

Follow her @chrissyteigen and see you for yourself. Along with posting the usual pictures and linking you to her personal website, I'm gonna post some of her tweets that I found rather insightful. Weird post, huh?


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Pete Philly & Perquisite - Mindstate (2005)

Pete Philly (left) & Perquisite (right)

Salutations y'all. Today I bring to you a MC and DJ duo out of the Netherlands. And no, I'm not posting this because I'm 1/4 dutch, rather they make incredible music. I now officially claim these as "my people" as opposed to Rob Schneider. Wasn't really working out, y'know? But anyways, based out of Amsterdam, these two formed in 2003, but unfortunately disbanded in 2009.

Perquisite HAS to be one of the most under-appreciated producers I've ever come across, and that's saying something. Along with assembling the track, he is also featured as a cellist and incorporates other instruments such as the guitar and piano to name a few. His beats make you want to sit back and relax, but dance at the same time. From influences from soul, 60's, to classic, he crafts a magical array of beats. Pete Philly is a skilled MC with a rather endearing voice (no homo), but is always on point. His ethnicity will always be a mystery to me, but maybe he's just a really tan Dutch like someone I know. But anyways, below I present to you their debut album, "Mindstate". You'll thank me later.

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Project Move

[This post is contributed by Canikickit, that's Mr_Orunitia to people on Last.FM]

Today, I bring to you Project Move. This trio consisting of Moe Pope, Raheem Jamaal and Anonymous make some of the dopest laid back feel good rap this side of Panacea. Fun fact of the day - the members of Project Move were previously part of a collective with Insight and the humble magnificent wizard of rap, Edan. That should be enough to sell you on them. But wait. . . it gets better. They've only released one album thus far, Love Gone Wrong/The Butterfly Theory, but I would easily rank the album within my personal top 5 evar. In terms of lyricism, these guys aren't awe inspiring, however, they're just so easy to listen to, the mellow beats courtesy of Headnodic & Beyonder [amongst others] are dope to the highest degree and compliment the vocal tones of the 3 members perfectly.

If you want to dig further, Raheem Jamaal and Moe Pope have both released solo albums (Boombox and Life After God, respectively). Swag that out accordingly.

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Phil Adé

Phil Adé

How's it going, y'all? Just came by to post a music video from one of my favorite up and coming artist, Phil Adé. Reigning from the DMV area (Maryland to be exact), he makes soulful hip-hop with heavy punchline metaphors, reminiscent of fellow DMV artist Wale. Wale may have more depth in subject matter at the moment, but I heavily favor Phil's lyricism, imho. And on top of that, he can actually sing as he holds his own singing his own hooks on most of his songs. 


He has released two mixtapes to date, "Starting On JV" in 2009, and "The Letterman" last year. The sky's the limit for dude, and I wish him all the best. Check out his single from "Starting On JV", "Hollywood". There's also a remix featuring Raekwon, Wale, Tabi Bonney, & Raheem DeVaughn that I will feature a download link to as well. Enjoy.


If y'all end up enjoying his music as much as I do, I might do a megapost on his music, so hit me up if you want one.

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Kendrick Lamar Discography (Megapost)

I introduce to you one of the best hip-hop artists currently making music. Kendrick Lamar is an artist based out of Compton, California, leading the west-coast's recent revival in hip-hop (more on that later). On the very highly toted Top Dawg Entertainment (or TDE for short), comprised of Kendrick, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock. As one unit they call themselves Black Hippy, although me and Jay Rock don't get along too well because his music is a little to gangsta for my taste, but to each their own. Kendrick brings hunger back into hip-hop, along with emotion, complex lyricism, and a vast range of subject matter. If you're sleeping on him, I suggest you wake up. 

Below I present to you links to both of his free mixtapes as Kendrick Lamar (disclaimer: before, he went by K.Dot and had a handful of mixtapes, but his style was a little different; check out on your own discretion), along with a link to purchase his newest release Section.80. I also present to you several songs not on either mixtape, and that have been overlooked by many a fan of his, including me. 

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Cyne - Evolution Fight (2005)

Back on my hip-hop grind, I bring to you the group Cyne. Based out of Florida, their name stands for Cultivating Your New Experience. Composed of MC's Akin & Cise Star, and producers Speck and Enoch, this group has smooth, uplifting lyrics blended perfectly over jazz-infused, groovy beats. They are fairly popular in the underground, most notably for their work with the great late producer Nujabes (RIP). Akin and Cise Star have one of the smoothest deliveries, while the production is always amazing.

Evolution Fight is their second official release, but as it was the first album of theirs I listened to, I thought it would be the easiest to get into. I love their debut as well, but this one just has more quality cuts that any music fan can appreciate. Check the streams below if you're not convinced.

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Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (2004)

5 o'clock shadow, ftw

On par with my Bon Iver release, I introduce you to the folk artist by the name of Sufjan Stevens. Now, I know what you're thinking. Sufjan? Were his parents hippies? Probably. But no matter, he makes beautiful music. His instrumentation is vast throughout his discography, ranging from electronica, folk, baroque pop, and lo-fi. If you're familiar with folk/indie music, I'm sure you've at least heard of him.

I only see one swan, unless this is one of those optical illusions.

I decided to upload his album, Seven Swans because I find it the most accessible album of his. Others would say Illinoize, but it may overwhelm the listener. A warning though, this album is very Christian influenced. If you're into that kind of thing, you'll be in heaven (pun intended) and even if you're not, you will still come to love this album. Upon the first few listens, I never noticed, mostly focusing on the lush instrumentation and his poetic lyrics. As a self-proclaimed Agnostic/lazy person, I do not find the subject matter of much of the album distracting at all. Beautiful music is beautiful music. Check the song streams below to see if you're interested.


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Weekly Women Wednesday - Paula Patton

Lucky bastard

I just "discovered" her as of late, and as I was discussing her hotness with friends, I just randomly came up with the idea to post her on this blog. You like the jingle I came up? It just came to me. I'm not quite sure if this will be a regular post on my blog, but you never know.

But anyways, Paula Patton has acted in several movies, including Mirrors, Déjà Vu, and Just Wright. She's married (of course) to Robin Thicke. Lucky man indeed. As you can tell, she's of mixed ethnicity, which just proves that people are better looking when they're of multiple ethnicities (talking about me here, btw). She's like a sexier version of Rashida Jones (another favorite) mixed in with a little Alicia Keys. Kudos to you if you've actually read what I typed here and didn't just click to see the photos... You are a far greater man than I am.

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Specifics - Lonely City (2004)

Specifics - Lonely City

I was introduced to this MC and DJ combo through a Nujabes compilation mixtape. Luckily for me, I kept digging and discovered one of the best examples of jazz hop I've ever come across. You'll see through this post and others in the future, that jazz hop is undoubtedly my favorite sub-genre of hip-hop. Jazz loops, piano, and drum kicks all put together is heaven. Led by Golden Boy (the MC) and Think Twice (the DJ), Specifics is a rap duo based out of Canada. This album is amazing start to finish, laced with jazz samples, beautiful piano notes, and Golden Boy's slick rhymes. Do yourself a favor and listen to this album. If my legit sales pitch doesn't do the trick, at least check out the couple of songs I feature below in the streaming fashion. The track "Under The Hood" is one I consider a hip-hop classic, no bullshit.

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Shadez of Brooklyn - Change (1996)

Yeah, this is the best picture I could find..

Just another one of those random 90's cuts I've found over the years. Shadez of Brooklyn never released
an album, but they were (at least) close with Da Beatminerz and DJ Premier. I've realized that the 90's was the best decade for hip-hop (at least in my estimation) and that there was a high frequency for an artist to release only a handful of songs and fall of the face of the earth essentially. This is one of those tracks. Absolutely one of my favorite beats, I'm a sap for piano, bass, and a drum kick. So sit back and enjoy their cut, "Change".

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Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)

I decided to upload the entire album after posting Skinny Love a few days ago. I have a feeling a lot of hip-hop heads will actually end up liking this like I did.


Like I mentioned early, this album was the result of frontman Justin Vernon "hibernating" in a cabin in Wisconson for 3 months. He had no intention to write, but he ended up penning the lyrics and coming up with the notes anyway. If I were to ever be sent to a desert island, this would surely be an album I would want with me. This album opened me up to a lot of different types of music, but even more so towards the folk/indie scene, which I will be sure to go through in more depth in the future.

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