Freddie Gibbs and Madlib premiers the video for their latest 12" release, "Shame". I know I'm not the only one eagerly anticipating their collaborative album; everything they dropped has been crazy, and it seems that they both manages to get the best out of each other. Directed by Johan Schwartz.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Skyzoo - "Jansport Strings"
Since the release of "The Salvation" I'm always checking for whatever Skyzoo drops, and he rarely dissapoints. With production from 9th Wonder, this autobiographical story also goes out to Chi Ali who actually put his mind on rhyming in the first place.
Guilty Simpson - "Ultimate Athletes" [Oh No Remix]
Monday, August 6, 2012
[Exclusive Interview] OXYGEN Pt. 2
claaa7: The 7" single you released with SPOX-PhD was one of last year's finest singles. The way you held your own on a posse cut with Kurious, Sadat X and Diamond D was real proof of you being an emcee's emcee, so to speak. How did that collaboration go down and was what the session like?
Oxygen: Much respect. After a few faculty adjustments, we finally found the right balance of artists to feature on it. Spinna basically asked me who were some of the emcees I wanted to work with because he had an idea to do a posse track once we completed "Brilliance". So I started firing off names. In the end, he locked down Diamond D and Sadat X, and I reached out to Kurious through my man, Dave Dar. There was no actual session together, as many collaborations are done these days with all this technology. But I wish there WAS! I still listen to that track on a regular and just geek out. I don't think people realize how nice Kurious is as a writer. He was actually one of my 1st personal choices, and he came through like a guerrilla on that song. I'm happy with all the verses and how Spinna arranged everything. It's all like a dream come true for me. If I don't get to do another song in my life, I'm so pleased to have done that one.
c7: Continuing on the topic of SPOX-PhD, have you two been working on more material together since that debut single?
Ox: Yes, Spinna and I are just about done with our entire album.
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c7: Wow! That's fantastic news; I can't wait to hear more from you two together.
Ox: Our follow-up single should be dropping within the next couple of months actually. Maybe sooner.
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c7: You are also known for your involvement with the group Sputnik Brown, and the album and EP y'all released as limited digital downloads was truly loved amongst us true underground fans. What are the chances of a limited vinyl release or something like that for either, or both, of those?
Ox: Well we did release some of the songs with DWG (Diggers With Gratitude) on vinyl earlier this year called "That Brown Underground" EP. It would be nice to see an official release for the remaining material as they were, however I doubt very highly that it will happen.
c7: It's quite obvious that you put your crews
first and foremost, but what are the chances that we'll eventually get
to hear a full-blown solo album by Ox The Architect? And if so, what
producers and guests would you like to work with for the project?
Ox: Well the SPOX PhD album is kind of a
solo album, although I do have a couple of features from my Sputnik
Brown family and my brother Wyld Bunch. I'll consider it my solo debut
LP once it drops. I've been speaking with DJ Format (UK), Paul Nice and
also Sam Sever for a while about some future endeavors with each of
them. However, creatively, I've been trying to reload myself so I'm able
to get in the proper zone to jump into those project. I've been
impressed with the sound of quite a few heads lately. Confidence (of
Rashad & Confidence) is incredible on the beats. Rashad is nice too.
Wouldn't mind working with them on something. I like the style of that cat
Jorun Bombay from Canada. And definitely J-Zone if I had to get beats
from anyone. That's my dude, and his production is insane! My bucket
list of emcees for features I would be here forever listing them.
Seriously.
c7: From the official projects you have released so far, which is the one you feel most proud about and why?
Ox: Definitely the "Gone Diggin'" 45. First of all, the whole process of that song coming together was the first time I've experienced real-life magic! That whole entire song was written on location as Gensu Dean and I were diggin' in spots around NYC. Second, it was the first and only record that I've done so far where I was able to take part in every process of having it pressed, released, and sold. I have to give thanks to everybody that was involved in making that release what it is today. I'm very fortunate. I've had one person say to me it's the "Digger's National Anthem". Two years after its release, it still seems to be gaining momentum. The B-side track "Mastermind's In Effect" was from the first demo tape I had ever done with my man Cutwizard Albee. That 45 is the perfect balance of history and future for me.
c7: Considering that you hang around a lot of different talented producers, have you yourself dabbled anything in creating beats? I know you received a couple of co-production credits on, for example, DJ Spinna's "Sonic Smash" LP.
Ox: I used to mess with the machines way back when things were simpler. I remember my man Albee had the Korg DDD-1. After that, he showed me how to freak the Akai S01 and the Akai S1000. That was about the last thing I worked with. I produced a track in the mid '90s for my man Son Of Know-1 called "Bring It On Down" that I'm proud of. It was never released though. My thing was basically collecting the wax. I hear different beat ideas in my head all the time listening to stuff I score, but I've always just brought the vinyl or ideas to the experts and let them punch the buttons. That was the case with "Elemental" on the Sonic Smash album. A lot of the Sputnik Brown songs, the same thing.
c7: What are your main inspirations as a writer and a lyricist?
Ox: Usually, just myself. I try not to listen to any other emcees while creating, with the exception of whoever I may be doing a track with. Then I'd have to say they inspire me as well. I try to keep an original flow on everything. The beat I'm given has a lot to do with it too. Most of the time, I won't write anything for a good while after I get a beat. I just let it loop over and over and over... and over, then after a while I start hearing myself inside of it.
c7: What music do you listen to when you find the time to just listen? Based on your music, I would imagine you're into a lot of different styles and genres?
Ox: Those Clear Soul Forces out of Detroit and Ab-Soul from Cali really have my attention right now. I love their energy. I listen to all types of music though. I like 80's synth pop and new wave, psych & prog rock, gospel, jazz, blues, sometimes classical or country, funk soul. All of it. I'm a big fan of Chicago and Billy Joel for the song writing and arrangements. Nina Simone gets heavy rotation. In my house, I grew up on gospel music. Not that "old time religion" stuff. I mean that funky stuff, like Bill Moss & The Celestials, Inez Andrews, Myrna Summers, Mighty Clouds Of Joy, and Gabriel Hardeman Delegation.
c7: How do you view the hip-hop scene in 2012?
Ox: It's cool. I'm finding my place in it, so no complaints here.
c7: I know you're still building your brand as a musician, but are you and your various crews currently doing any major shows? Do you think there's any chances for a European tour in the near future?
Ox: Nothing concrete lined up yet, but in the meantime I'll just keep dropping releases until the interest is there. I would love to hit the road with Soundsci in the near future. I think that wouldbe ridiculously fun!
c7: We touched a bit on it already during this interview, but I still want to ask you what's next in line for Oxygen as far as musical endeavors goes. We are a lot that are eagerly anticipating new music from you, that's for sure!
Ox: Thanks brother. Man, to be honest I would love to finally learn how to play this trumpet I bought. haha I scored a used trumpet from a local second hand shop, and I try to slip some practice in whenever I can. It's tough though. I think I'm going to have to trade up for a sax. As far as releases go, there's plenty on deck. I don't want to start name dropping since I don't know actual release dates for many, but I've been busy. Trust me!
c7: I wish you all the best of luck with all those future projects, and once again many thanks for the patience to do this interview!
Ox: Thank YOU for all that you're doing, and for allowing me the platform to do this interview. This life's journey of mine has been an amazing one so far. I'm looking forward to the future as well. Much respect to everyone who took time out to read this too. You are appreciated. Peace.
Those words concludes this interview which I sincerely hope all you readers have found as interesting as I myself did. If you still haven't grabbed Ox's latest release, the highly recommended "Formula 99" LP with Soundsci, make sure to check it out and show your support @ Soundsci's Bandcamp page. Much respect to Ox for the thorough answers and just being an extremely humble and talented artist. I also want to give a shout out to my man Jaz for the initial hook up with Oxygen, which by extension made this interview possible.
TRINITY (Sadat X, AG & DJ Jab) - "Sunshine"
The Trinity Project, a group collaboration between AG, Sadat X and DJ Jab, has been said to be dropping soon since 2009. The line-up is of course one of undisputed greatness, and the latest single "Sunshine" gives all the reason to still take this trio very seriously. The cut uses a beat from the late genius J Dilla, and will be released on clear 7" vinyl, with the tribute to Grand Master Roc Raida on the flip. Check DJ Jab's own word on the project:
"I'm excited about this track as it features a J Dilla beat and he is
the biggest producer on the record. The clear 7" also includes a tribute
track to Grandmaster Roc Raida who is another Hip-Hop legend that I had
the honor of working with at Fat Beats. For authentic Hip-Hop heads
there is nothing else like it... Dilla on one side of the vinyl and
Raida on the other by incorporating "Beats for Jugglers" for the
tribute." - DJ Jab
A few months back, AG mentioned working on a forthcoming J Dilla project and commenting of the dopeness of said track via Twitter. It's my guess that the project was soon after decided to turn into a Detroit all-stars compilation, and that AG then purchased the beat for use on the Trinity project. I don't think I ever heard this Jay Dee beat before, and X and A sounds great on this. All props to Crates of JR for this one; thanks!
TRINITY - "SUNSHINE" (Ft. Janelle Collins)
Saturday, August 4, 2012
[EP] The Black Opera - "Overture"
Black Opera is one of the new names I've been slightly curious about this year, but had yet to hear anything from the group. Signed to Mello Music Group, the group is set to release their official full-length "EnterMission" in a minute. To further the hype and make people aware of their presence, they have however already now decided to release a 7-track preqeul for free download. "Overture" gives a good idea of the sound this crew is relying on, and features production from DJ Rhettmatic, Slopfunkdust, Apollo Brown, 14KT, Nick Speed and J-Rell. Definitely worth your time if you ask me!
Friday, August 3, 2012
[Article] The NAS album that never was
Nas' second album, 1996's "It Was Written" got him accused of being a sell-out mainly for changing his sound. He had fallen victim to the so called "sophomore jinx", but what arguably really happened was the release of an album that was ahead of its time. Today, it is often discussed amongst the greatest follow-up LP:s ever created, and lyrically it's not even slightly below the super high standad set on "Illmatic". Furthermore, it made him gain the well deserved position of one of rap's true superstars, that he still maintains today; all while keeping it true to himself and his producers The Trackmasers vision: "We figured out how to make them respect us and not sell out or do a record, like they used to make have one house song on your album [...] So when people said 'it went too commercial', we just laughed. When we started hearing a little hate that it was too commercial, we knew we we're doing something that was beyond peoples understanding. We were happy; we were ecstatic. We knew what we were doing for this culture that we loved." (Nas, quoted in The Illest, Wax Poetics issue 51; 2012).
When he talks about how they knew they had something that went over many people's heads, they were right on target. Even though we were many who felt "It Was Written" right away, I'm still amazed at the intricate rhyme schemes and there are still lines and metaphors there to crack and interpret. I wonder how Nas' career would've looked without "If I Ruled the World", "The Message", "Street Dreams", "Affirmative Action" and "Nas is Coming"? Not to mention the less high profile, but equally monstrous cuts like "Suspect", "The Set Up", "Shootouts" and "I Gave You Power". Or what about "Live Nigga Rap" which embodied the whole Queensbridge sound at the time, and not only featured and was produced by Mobb Deep but was in fact a song recorded and intended for "Hell On Earth". Accordin to Prodigy's autobiography, he wasn't very keen at all on letting that banger go. Last, but definitely not least, it also featured the two last songs ever produced by The Live Squad's Stretch. When thinking of those two tracks (which include one of my all time favorite Nas joints ever recorded; "Take it in Blood"), it really makes you wonder how much Stretch might've blown up as a New York producer if it wasn't for that tragic night on November 30.
But all this would have never happened if things had worked out according to Nas' initial plan for how to build on from "Illmatic". Just like he originally wanted Large Professor to exclusively produce his debut, for his sophomore joint he was looking at the Queensbride OG producer, Marley Marl: "I'm goin' in with Marley Marl. He's a legend from Queensbridge, and he's one of my greatest inspirations.". At the time Marley was running his popular Future Flavaz show on WBLS together with Pete Rock, as well as, to a lesser degree, producing acts like Kamakazee, Tragedy and Capone-N-Noreaga. He was not living in QB at the time, which made the work process on Nas' project harder, but not impossible. Marley was however down to do it, and recording sessions had even begun: "I would plan a trip up there when I had time to complete the song[s]. And before I could do that, the records I was working on for my second album, I heard on the radio as radio promos for WBLS. So you can imagine how I felt. There was a song called "On The Real" and one called "True Dialect". The final straw came when the firstmentioned song was released in full, and wth several guest artists never approved of by Nas: "Marley put other niggas on "On the Real" and it really blew me away, because these were songs that I was working on for my second LP. And I hadn't even finished them! I knew there was no way we could continue working like that. So I had to figure out who I could work with who would be really concerned with making a Nas album..." (Nas, quoted in The Illest, Wax Poetics, issue 51; 2012).
The person he met was Steve Stoute, who became his manager for several years, which led to Trackmasters being assigned as main- and executive producers of the project. But it seems, that Nas recorded at least a couple of joint before this happened, maybe even in between the Marley sessions; the only thing we can say with any certainty is that they were recorded after the release of his debut. The first of these,"Deja Vu", was produced by the completely unknown Chris Winston. The song uses the verse Nas spat on Raekwon's masterpiece "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx"; a verse that has sometimes been quoted as one of the absolute finest in rap history. The track itself is straight up beautiful, with a mesmerizing musical backdrop centered around a few chopped Rhodes notes, a tight rhythm track and various percussive noises (including what sounds like water being poured into a glass). Nas' two remaining verses, the hook, and Wilson's knack for creating a soulful track based on simple elements makes this one of the absolute best unreleased tracks in the Queensbridge legends entire catalouge; not suprisingly this was miscredited to Pete Rock for the longest. For a more detailed description of the creation of the song, and why it failed to show up on the retail release, make sure to read this Chris Winston interview about "Deja Vu". A similiar cut, that was recorded by Nas with frequent collaborator Large Professor between "Illmatic" and it's follow-up is the old school salute known as "Understand", which even features Biz Markie. Extra-P boils the music down to its simplest elements with Nas freestylish flow claiming all the attention. Had this turned up on the actual album, peeps might have compared it to "One Time 4 Your Mind".
I certainly wouldn't change "It Was Written" even if I had the chance to replace it with that original Marley Marl album, but you gotta agree that this is some real intriguing stuff. I wouldn't mind "Deja Vu" and "On The Real" appearing somewhere on the album though, as they both easily outdo whatever your pick for the two weakest songs on the album would be. It's also safe to say that if Marley would have tooken on the role as producer for the album, K-Def would play a pretty large role as they were as much a tag team by then as Poke and Tone was. For example, 'Def even mentioned that he was the one who originally found and looped up the sample that made up "On The Real". To summarize, and maybe give us an idea of what "It Was Written" could have been, but was not, I have uploaded all songs mentioned in the thread in the highest qualility I've come across. I decided to include both versions of "On the Real" as the 2004 solo re-recording probably is closer to what Nas' original vision for the song was; and I also included K-Def's "Street Dreams" remix. Hope you have enjoyed this editorial in the first of three articles dealing with Nas' and the '90s, you might even have learned something I bet y'all are eager to hear the music.
01. "On The Real" (Ft. KL & Cormega)
02. "True Dialect" [Snippet]
03. "Deja Vu"
04. "Understanding"
05. "Street Dreams" [K-Def Remix]
06. "On The Real" [*]
NAS - "SHIT WAS NEVER WRITTEN EP"
Havoc - "Separated (Real From the Fake)"
For the last year, Havoc has definitely been the more interesting half of the dysfunctional family known as Mobb Deep. Now he verbally attacks his former parner, via his self-produced latest single "Separated (Real From The Fake)" that will have a lot of heads nodding in agreement to many of the lines Hav spits. Coupled with the equally knocking "Same Shit, Different Day", it sounds like the rapper/producer's upcoming album "13" might very well deliver.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Homeboy Sandman - "Watchu Want" [prod. Oddisee]
Oddisee makes wonders with this sweet Aretha Franklin sample for "Watchu Want From Me?", the first single from Homeboy Sandman's upcoming "First Of A Living Breed". The Stones Throw signee is set to drop his album on the 18h of September. I would love to see some more Odd prouctions on there, because this is just amazing.
Rome Clientel - "Troubled Child"
The new single "Troubled Child" from Rome Clientel is laced by NYC producer ATG. This beautiful collaboration is the first taste of a four track EP set to be released within the next month. Definitely sounds promising so far, and I always liked the original EP format, something you can listen to in 15-20 minutes. If you're still not up on Rome, you should of course also make yourself aquainted through his heavy hitting "The Lost Catacombs", released earlier this year.
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