My Digital VHS: Madlib Slim's Return

Slim's Return

YouTube click here
Madlib

Stones Throw Records

Introducing videos from My Digital VHS.

Classics.

#LHHS10 2016 Elzhi Lead Poison

#LHHS10 2016

June 7, 2016

click on image to enlarge*

About half way into the year, here's the latest #LHHS10 update.  

#LHHS10 is a top 10 break down of my favorite Hip Hop listenings.  It dates back to the Lee Hip Hop Show #radiodayz and charting to the College Music Journal (CMJ).  Charting is a process radio djs participate in to report their top 10 albums or singles in rotation.  When I was on the radio CMJ sent magazines to program directors that included Hip Hop and other genre airplay listings from college radio stations around the country.  

LHHS stands for "Lee's Hip Hop Show". That's what I called my Hip Hop radio program when I started broadcasting on KRUX 91.5 FM in 2000.  A couple of years later I renamed it "The Representation Show" and "Soul Session". During the eight years I was on air, I charted the free music KRUX received from promoters, record labels, or directly from the artists themselves.  Access to music was costly for a broke college student so it helped to be a part of what was referred to as a record pool. Today #LHHS10 is a music chart I created in memory of my radio program and to continue finding time to share, document, and write about music I love and continue to discover today.

This week I saw a 2016 interview with Mya on YouTube and she talked about how much has changed when it comes to radio and how people access music. Her thoughts of new R&B being extinct from radio was interesting to me since I was thinking the same thing a couple weeks ago listening to Jodeci's Diary of a Mad Band. On popular charts like the Billboard it appears all R&B groups have gone fishing. On the Billboard's latest top 25 R&B, there are no groups, only solo artist. Mya also discussed the pros and cons of today's digital music market. We've heard what artist don't like about downloading for years but whats interesting is how much digital continues to grow and render traditional marketing methods obsolete for certain artists.   

I still like to buy CDs.  I collect vinyl too but since last year I stopped to catalog and listen to what I've collected over the past fifteen years. On my desk I have a stack of CDs I've listened to since the start of 2016.  I pulled most of the CDs from storage so that I could listen to them again, reflect, and organize them in three stacks I identified as classic, cool, or trash.  In terms of store bought music, that day is dead.  I haven't bought a CD from a store since last year. I've been a frequent buyer since my teenage years so for me that's a big change.  It made me realize how less interesting stores become with less music. This year, all my purchases have been done online through Amazon for physical CDs and Bandcamp or eMusic for the digital.  YouTube also has an endless search of full albums that can be accessed for free on any mobile device.  Get connected to an auxiliary cord in the vehicle and you're set.  At first I wasn't interested in listening to full albums on YouTube.  The idea of being detached from appreciating an album cover, tracklist, and liner notes felt disposable. However, in the past couple of months I've changed my mind to stream certain listens during workout time or a long drive. 

I haven't updated this blog since the beginning of the year after wrapping up 2015.  I've posted a few tweets but made no effort to reflect and write about the music I was listening to.  It makes me feel like the year is speeding by. I love how I think about the music I'm listening to, especially from an artist or group I've been listening to for a while.  I've had a collector's spirit since childhood so the stories have always mattered.  As a kid it seems like I had all the time in the world to become absorbed in what I liked.  And there was nothing like simpler times between headphones connected to my Sony cassette walkman... 

listening to Dre..

listening to Pac...

listening to the Wu.  

Those moments are memories I value as part of my own history with music as a fan. When I found a spot on air I attempted to record every show on cassette.  Writing today feels like an extension of why I wanted to preserve those radio programs as moments that were all part of the listening process. Watching 'I Am Ali', towards the end of the film viewers hear a clip from the recordings Ali made of himself talking to his children over the phone.  In the clip he we hear Ali telling his family... "If anybody ever wonder why Muhammad Ali making these tapes, it's cause history is so beautiful..."    

Reflecting and thinking about music also opens up the chance to do a different kind of digging that's focused on research and the stories behind the music.  For example, when I revisited my Pistol Politics CD by Paris and returned to the Guerilla Funk Recordings site, I found out about a compilation project from a new member of the Guerilla Funk family who goes by DJ Justice.  His compilation album is called Man of Steel. Looking back at what I wrote in January about Pistol Politics it reminded me to check in.  Music occupies a powerful space in our lives, especially when we think about what it inspires us to do.   

Moving forward, here are the notes for the latest #LHHS10 chart...

When it comes to new releases, 2016 didn't really jump off for me until I heard Elzhi was coming out with a new record titled Lead Poison.  I heard about the new record through Junclassic's Twitter page.  Junclassic is an eMCee out of Southside Jamaica Queens and when he's not creating his own classic music he's tuned in putting people on to who he listens to.  I was introduced to Elzhi's rhymes on Dilla's Welcome 2 Detroit solo debut and more when he joined Slum Village for the Trinity (Past, Present, and Future) album.  At the time I also read an article where someone referred to Elzhi as the "Detroit" Nas.  At first, the connection wasn't there for me in so far as style, but I thought about it every time I heard something new featuring Elzhi.  This was reinforced listening to his debut a couple years after Dilla passed when the The Preface dropped.  When Elzhi dropped Elmatic though... For anyone not familiar with Nas debut Illmatic we're talking about one of the greatest albums of all time.  Released in 1994 tracks like ((The World is Yours)) have a place in my life's soundtrack.  From the beats to the rhymes Nas and Pete Rock captured a universal feeling with that single.  To me, everything about the creation of Illmatic, from the production to the book of rhymes and the videos that were like short films made it a timeless record for 1994.  

Elzhi's Elmatic, to me, went beyond a tribute. In detail, Elzhi rewrote Illmatic as a Detroit story.  Sound wise its the art of sampling in reverse with the live band Will Sessions covering the original beats.  Will Sessions are straight outta Detroit and one of the baddest bands I've ever heard because of the way they express Illmatic's sound. Similar to the Illmatic view of Queensbridge, the Elmatic videos shine light on Detroit's style and Hip Hop history.  Listening to Elmatic I felt like a kid in 94' again watching Nas's ((It Ain't Hard to Tell)) video.  In it, calm and cool as ever Nas rhymes soul deep in the now to a Large Professor beat sampled from Thriller sounds of the early 80s.  Elzhi's Elmatic also took me back to the article I read years ago that compared Elzhi to Nas. To me, Elmatic represented something unique about the soul and relevance of Detroit when it comes to Hip Hop.  It also made me rethink the art of sampling and how to turn a homage into a concept of music rememory.  

It made me wonder what a Watt's Illmatic would sound like;  

or a New Orleans Illmatic...

or who would be capable of pulling off an H-Town State of Mind...

I think of Planet Asia's ((Fresno State of Mind)) track. He was the first to do it.

With Elmatic we gotta recognize how much work went into translating the slang and relocating New York into a ((Detroit State of Mind)).  Elmatic is a project that can only live once and it speaks to the power of Illmatic's inspiration.  But man... even that title...Elmatic... quoting SV... it's fan...ta...serro.

Going back to Lead Poison by Elzhi I have this album at no. 1 for my 2016 #LHHS10.  The title and cover speak to 2016...from the power and fear of the pen to the biological oppression of a U.S. water crises. In 2016,  Lead Poison is a labor of art, from how its arranged and connected track for track to the complex back story we learn from Elzhi's interviews promoting the record.  Lyrically, it's not politically loud but there's an art to Elzhi's storytelling and how its put together. The title of the album itself is politically charged to me, as is the artwork just based off of where this record is coming from.  As I listen to Lead Poison it brings memory to Dilla and Elzhi's verses on ((Come Get It)) from Welcome 2 Detroit.  I also think of a track I must have listened to a thousand times on repeat over the years...((Love It Here))... thinking back to Elzhi's hook..."...but I love it here, just think if I wasn't here, my uncles and cousins here, my struggles and come ups here..."  Lead Poison is no. 1 cause you won't find many eMCees releasing another album like they were just getting started; each time giving people's imagination a much deeper perspective of what Detroit's rhyme writers are capable of.

Following up with no. 2, I got The Kenner Loop by Jet Life soldier & Good$ense general, Young Roddy.  There was no other record I listened to more so far this year then The Kenner Loop.  When it comes to Jet Life, it was  the New Orleans villain Trademark Da Skydiver that led me to an abundant online stash of Curren$y downloads, Jet Life compilations, the LE$ and Cookin' Soul tape, and this year debut from Young Roddy, The Kenner Loop. Years from now, reflecting back on 2016 I will remember and hear this album.  In addition, nothing beats the access fans have to more Jet Life  and Good$ense affiliated music on Dat Piff Mixtapes and plenty of YouTube media including The Kenner Loop documentary. 

I've kept the Paris Pistol Politics on the charts. If how I charted was based on which records bump down others, Pistol Politics would not be moved.  Eventually I'll have this one listed under my 21st Century Hip Hop Classics tab cause its #timeless.

Oddisee, man... what can I say?  There's a lot artist can learn from Oddisee when it comes to the music biz, digital responsibility, and the world as a platform to an eMCee's brand.  He's an incredible story of what it means to be unique and to "do you" like Slum Village said.  With the Alwasta EP, even though it's only seven tracks its deep enough to be in conversation with any other eMCee's full length.  Therefore I added it to the #LHHS10.  Oddisee is one of the few artist on my radar that just as easily could top my #HHbeAtz10 instrumental charts.  Check for Alwasta for free download from Oddisee's Bandcamp site.

For the life of me, I can't keep up with Moka Only.  At the same time I can't complain.  I just know any day I feel like listening to something out the Moka Only archive that I haven't heard yet there will always be something to purchase.  This year I decided to start with his newest record São Paulo.  It's dope... first listen no skips and by the end I wanted to know more about the record and dig back to listen to everything I missed.  To learn more about each track on São Paulo visit Moka Only's Bandcamp page.  Here's Moka Only's notes on one of my favorite feel good tracks on São Paulo ((One One))... “This is just some whimsical shit written for people that have lost and learned how to keep going. Keep your eyes on the silver linings. Feel it."

Next up I got a record from the beautiful mind of Saul Williams Martyr Loser King.  Listening to him spit ((Think Like They Book Say)) on Sway in the Morning reminded me how much he's inspired going back to his 'Slam' film.  His art breathes with a revolutionary spirit that I think people tend to lose track of when it comes to the arts.  It's honest, strong, consistent, and something to think about when we reflect on the value of our own expression and what we're doing with it.  Martyr Loser King is a landmine in your brain.  Tap into it. 

On deck for the remaining #LHHS10, I got Sevin's Purple Heart... I've said it before and to me, Sevin is among the \/\/est's best on the mic.  Last year he set off on a spiritual journey with his camp H.O.G.M.O.B. (Hooked on God Ministry Over Bizness) to spread the gospel to every hood they could reach across the nation. Purple Heart is progression of Sevin's concept records with the word of God that brings life to every track.  Next, I added Royce Da 5'9's Layers to the #LHHS10... just a dope record. The intro ((Tabernacle)) is the most personal I've heard Royce go though there's a lot I missed early on from his discography.  During the #radiodayz I got introduced to his music through the Premier produced 12' single ((Boom)).  This collab reached a pinnacle in 2015 with the release of the DJ Premier produced Adrian Younge sampled PRhyme.

Two records remain from the 2015 #LHHS10 and that's katO1O's On the Cusp and PE's Man Plans God Laughs. I wrote about both of those projects in the last #LHHS10 post. 

Coming up, I'm listening to the latest from the Yancey family with the posthumous Dilla The Diary release (that track ((Trucks)) tho'!)... I'm also setting up my summer for the international collab between Junclassic & Wun on the Better than Fiction Too album. 

Here's to a return to reflect and just write.

Til' the next blog...hopefully sooner than later.  Peace. #LHHS10

-lee aka repshowhost

#HHbeAtz10 Update for 2016

#HHbeAtz10 2016

Instrumental Charts

Updated February 10, 2016

#LHHS10 Charts 2016

#LHHS10 Charts 2016

See the list to the left of the screen when you view the full web version of the blog

Moving forward for 2016, I updated the #LHHS10 Charts with records I got the chance to check out in the 4th quarter of 2015.  At the top I have Paris 'Pistol Politics', a timely double disc release.  It's the best Hip Hop record I've heard from a \/\/est coast eMCee in a long time.  What's great is the opportunity fans have to hear Paris' perspective with what's going on today not only through the album itself but through interviews and the promotion he's been doing to get the word out.  Pistol Politics sounds incredible and the social commentary educates listeners with no thoughts attached to label control or industry.  It's about as honest a perspective people will hear from Hip Hop when it comes to police brutality, the economy, racism, US leadership, issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement and other battles. The quality of the music and message is consistent with what Paris has delivered over the past three decades.  I'm hopeful this means more from Guerilla Funk Recordings in 2016 as I also heard Paris talk about plans to release a new George Clinton record.  Regardless, Pistol Politics is one to revisit again and again in the coming months and years, just like with everything else on Paris' catalogue.  You can stay informed and up to date at guerillafunk.com.

Next up is the most talented Kato1o of Crown City Rockers who dropped On the Cusp in October.  It's a dope followup to the Natural Phenomenons record and another addition to everything great about the creative output from members of Crown City Rockers. You can spend a lot of time learning and listening to everything they've worked on as a group, solo, and through collaboration (check for Raashan Ahmad, Woodstock, Headnodic, and Max MacVeety) . The Roots are my all time favorite Hip Hop group, but there's no doubt that Crown City is in that echelon if not even better considering their efforts to branch off and deliver solo projects such as Kato1o's On the Cusp.  It's an incredible record, inspiring sound, and you can check out the music and more at Kato1o website kato1o.com.

On the list, we're keeping it \/\/est Coast, CA with the release of 90059 by Jay Rock.  Definitely one of the year's most anticipated records for me personnaly and I dug the opportunity TDE gave fans to purchase an autographed CD copy.  With the video release of ((Money Tres Deuce)) it was on.  Rock has one of the most distinct voices in Hip Hop and along with the rest of the Black Hippy family is carrying the torch for something special out of LA.  Especially for artist representing Compton.  In this case though, Jay Rock is taking us straight to the source... \/\/atts, 90059 zip code.  Through Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), I hear a lot of influence on the millennials from the legacy of voices like Tupac Shakur and other artist from the Death Row days including Dre, Snoop, the Dogg Pound and the Warren G-Funk Long Beach crew...but also there's an element out of the dirty south I hear inspired by the Organized Noize sound of the 90s... I've always felt that way ever since listening to Good Kid Mad City and especially with 90059 on tracks like ((Gumbo)) produced by J.LBS.  Keeping up with TDE over the years has been like watching the students of southern CA graduate to the world stage that once dominated the 90s. I'm looking forward to continuing to hear Jay Rock master his representation of \/\/atts story and I hope we hear more growth in terms of speaking on it's history and culture.  Similar to how New York heralds the Bronx, I'm hopeful there's something more the world can learn about \/\/atts.

Keeping the #LHHS10 going was the latest release from Public Enemy Man Plans God Laughs which dropped Summer of 2015.  It took me a little bit of time to pick it up.  It was actually the audio book by Stuart Scott Every Day I Fight that inspired me to not let the year pass without tuning into the world's greatest Hip Hop group.  There is a moment in Scott's audio book, where the narrator repeats the phrase "...man plans, God laughs..."  and something about Scott's connection to Hip Hop's narrative inspired me to purchase PE's album.  In condensing the record below 30 minutes the group, to no surprise, accomplishes more with less.  While the listening time is shorter the experience is enduring in its message.  A statement we can enjoy, think and talk about, learn and understand. 

For 2015's 4th quarter I also got the chance to check out Curren$y's Canal Street Confidential which got a dope sound, not to mention a feature from one of the illest international producers in the game, Cookin' Soul.  I'm intrigued by Curren$y's story coming out of New Orleans as a No Limit soldier and coming up to become a Jet Life captain.  Through Curren$y over the years I've became fans of eMCee's like Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy, and a network of other artist I can now tap into whenever I need something to listen to in the ride.  Listening to Jet Life also takes me back to the Chicago + Jacksonville connection that Chapter 13 captured in the earlier part of the century.  That's where my mind goes and it makes me wonder how much of Chapter 13 may have inspired what we're hearing today... there is a real distinct sound, in both instrumental and subject matter that Young Valentine, Rashid Hadee, and the Neblina family were speaking on in the first decade of the 2000s. I like to think about that energy regardless if there's any connection cause its exciting to hear this style coming out of New Orleans and the success of Jet Life over the years... keep winning in 2016.

After that for #LHHS10, I added the Jadakiss record Top 5 DOA... it's a conversation fans of Hip Hop love to have and I dug the promotion run with the mixtape and just hearing Jada come back stronger and healthier than ever...A lot of good hardcore New York energy on this record, especially in the production from Swizz... ((Jason)) is a problem!! And its the ((You Don't Eat)) video that had me thinking Creed with Jada back in the ring. In addition for the charts I was locked into the Game Documentary 2 double disc album and the  high caliber force he carries for Compton's control of the microphone in 2015. Straight Outta Compton took the box office by storm and it was great to see that history connect through bonafied eMCees like The Game. 

For 2016 charting I also decided to extend consideration for mixtape projects as there was no mixtape I was looking out for more than Houston's LE$ Steak x Shrimp 2.  Datpiff.com became a primary source for the daily listen throughout the year (especially with the new app!) and on my radar was LE$, definitely.  Next up I got Sean Price's posthumous Songs in the Key of Price record.  I can only imagine where the Brownsville Bomber was going with this effort and appreciated Duck Down for releasing this project as a mixtape, 30 tracks deep.  He's a microphone barbarian and lyrical shooter, defines hardcore Hip Hop and has the most hilarious concepts and title comparisons...from the previously released Mic Tyson project to the titles I thought about and laughed when I saw the tracklist of Songs in the Key of Price, ((Sean Shank Redemption)).  When you get the chance, look up the Seanwuar impression with Pharoahe Monch. Rhyme in peace Sean Price.  

Last but not least, I added Sevin's I'll Wait album.  Sevin is one of my all time favorite eMCees and his latest effort is far removed from the lyrical spirit of previous H.O.G.M.O.B. releases.  The acronym stands for Hooked on God, Ministry Over Bizness.  I first heard about Sevin through my cousin who did a lot of work with the church aspiring to become a pastor out in Fresno, California.  I've been in tune with Christian eMCees ever since meeting the founders of Holy Culture over a decade ago when I did college radio.  They opened my attention to a nation wide network of some of the most talented eMCees, beat makers, film makers, web developers and marketing professionals.  A lot of high quality work with a platform that seemed to do a good job of promoting everything dope about the Christian Hip Hop community.  However, I found out about Sevin directly from my cousin.  Didn't notice any promotion on Sevin's music from anywhere else other than from Sevin himself and his ministry team.  Sevin's purpose is admirable in thinking about his outreach around the country and the world and the power he scribes through the pen to rhyme, inspire, and help change the negative outlook of the gang affiliated or anyone in need of prayer.  On I'll Wait though, he takes a chance (a leap of faith) into his vocal range delivering a spiritual soulful record... all singing.  I recall listening to a Sevin interview and him mentioning his goals to develop in this area of his creative expression... he's explored his vocal range on several songs in the past.  I included I'll Wait on the charts because it sounds incredible and it represents something bigger than what "fans" expect from the artist they follow.  I'll Wait represents something far more personal for this particular artist and their spiritual journey.

Before we get 2016 going, I wanted to share these thoughts mainly to organize myself and everything I had the chance to hear in the final months of 2015.  I'd like to keep the #LHHS10 charts up to date more often and stay balanced between the music I listen to from the past and what's new.  Even though its been eight years since I've been on air, the fun routine of keeping up with the latest listens is still there and stronger than ever.  Especially now as I utilize the blog to exercise my writing skills and document some thoughts to look back on someday. 

Looking forward to a more patient and thoughtful 2016.  One track, one album at a time. 

-Lee

repshowhost@gmail.com

Good Morning Vietnam III The Phoenix Program #GMVIII #Timeless

Good Morning Vietnam III The Phoenix Program

by MF Grimm & Drasar Monumental

This album has been at the top of my charts since I first heard it last year, January 2015.  Its the 3rd following 2012's Good Morning Vietnam and Good Morning Vietnam 2, The Golden Triangle in 2013.  The intro to MF Grimm's longest running collab alongside beatsmith Drasar Monumental.  On a recent interview it was revealed that the two have formed a group called No Jugamos. Looking forward to Vendetta Vinyl in 2016, and learning more about The Illiad if more is revealed.  It's a project referenced on the back vinyl cover of the first Good Morning Vietnam series under a track titled ((Mater Matuta)).  Below is a video from Good Morning Vietnam III, The Phoenix Program titled ((Hands Up to Heaven, Feet Firm in Hell)). 

GMVI (2012), GMVII (2013), & GMVIII (2014)...These records championed each year they were released like a Bulls or Lakers three peat...the third taking the listener back to the beginning in attempt to tie the story line together.  I take away something new with each listen.  It's structure is cinematic, movie-like... a work of audio art  turning the volume up on the comic book world.  The way it's composed from the beats to the rhymes inspires research.  There's a lot of sound citations the listener can explore and revisit, rotate, and rotate again. I'm reminded of the radio skit on Enter the 36 Chambers where a caller requests Wu Tang's ((Protect Your Neck))... "Ahh yeah, again and again..." It's been like that over the past three years with the GMV series. 

Good Morning Vietnam inspired a new section of the blog site titled "Timeless" specifically for records released present day that I feel will stand the test of time.  GMVIII, representing for the entire GMV series will be the first certified #Timeless.