Golden Years

Aight hip-hoppers, go 'head and hand me a big fat late pass on this one. I deserve it.

Honestly, I totally forgot producer extraordinaire 9th Wonder put out Wonder Years: 9th Wonder Golden Years Remixes this past January, prolly 'cause it's a vinyl-only remix disc and my vinyl game has fallen off as of late now that I don't DJ.

But I was strollin' the Slumz and spotted it, and man am I glad I did. North Carolina-native 9th Wonder is a monster on the boards, whether (formally) flipping samples as a part of Little Brother or chopping it up for everyone from Jay-Z to Erykah Badu to Jean Grae.

Here, 9th uses his magic touch to remix classics from Ghostface, De La Soul and Pete Rock & CL Smooth plus jams from Pharrell & Jay-Z, Amerie and Common and more.

I'll give a quick sneak peek of the tracks I like, vinyl heads go over to UGHH for the LP and everyone else sign up for Boxden (use me as a reference, "pr0pheteyez") to get your hands on a copy...

Or, if you ask nicely, I might just hook you up.

Now relax yo' body [(c) Ali G] ... and Enjoy!

9th Wonder (Once Upon A Time Presents) - Wonder Years: 9th Wonder Golden Years Remixes (IMPORT)

Sneak Peek in the CBox --->

Track List:

1. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - 'Take You There (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
2. Skyzoo - 'The Bodega (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
3. Common - 'Ghetto Heaven (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
4. Amerie - 'Why Don't We Fall In Love (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
5. Hieroglyphics - 'Make Your Move (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
6. Little Brother feat. Pete Rock - 'Whatever You Say (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
7. Slum Village - 'The Look Of Love (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
8. Krumbsnatcha feat. M.O.P. - 'W.O.L.V.E.S. (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
9. Ghostface Killah (of Wu-Tang Clan) - 'Never Be the Same Again (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
10. De La Soul - 'Stakes Is High (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
11. Bahamadia - 'I Confess (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
12. Pharrell feat. Jay-Z - 'Frontin (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
13. Musiq Soulchild feat. Aaries - 'Caught Up (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
14. Mr. Lif - 'Brothas (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)
15. Boot Camp Clik feat. Aaliyah - 'Night Riders (9th Wonder Remix)' (Produced By: 9th Wonder)

9th Wonder (Once Upon A Time Presents) - Wonder Years: 9th Wonder Golden Years Remixes (IMPORT)

HFTB's Ten Favorite Albums of '08.. Plus More!

*Slick Rick voice* And heeeeeeere we go..

1. Nas - Untitled

From the first piano chord of Jay Electronica's beat on "Queens Get The Money" and Nas' phenomonal verse ending with "Bring back Arsenio/ Hip-hop was aborted so Nas breathes life back into the embryo/ Let us make men in our image/ Spit it, I'm Huey P in Louis V at the funeral throwin' molotovs for Emmitt... I'm the shaky hand that touched George Foreman in Zaire/ The same hand that punched down devils that brought down the towers," I knew Untitled was one for the ages.

Beyond all the uproar about the title, Nasir focused on speaking his mind without a damn care in the world for the haters. He addressed politics, the industry, the media, Obama, and still had time to holla to the streets. From the amped-up revival anthem of "Hero," the venemous attack on U.S. media of "Sly Fox," and the uplifting tone of "Black President," Nasir did his damn thing to resuscitate the very music that he deemed lifeless just years ago.

2. Q-Tip - The Renaissance

Amidst all the golden era acts trying so damn hard to become relevant once again (Marley Marl, EPMD, etc), Q-Tip returned effortlessly with his second solo disc. The Abstract flows smoothly over the LP's 14 tracks (self-produced except for one, I might add), gliding through the female-friendly "Gettin' Up" and feel-good-yet-still-raw "Official."

The best part comes during the J Dilla-produced "Move/ Renaissance Rap," as the late producer reinterpreted a Jackson 5 groove for an (gasp!) intelligent dance song. Then, just when the listener thinks it's over, the beat switches up to a laid-back boom-bap as Tip spits, "Gather around, the renaissance, man it's finally appeared/ And I'm astonishing rap characters and causin the tears/ Quasimoto in the quotables I speak from my mouth/ And no doubt, we rubbed you wrong I'm rubbin you out."

Though I doubt it will cause any true change in hip-hop's tendencies, the disc plays as a modern-day throwback to an era gone but not soon forgotten.

3. The Roots - Rising Down

Adopting a darker sound that emerged on Game Theory, the hardest-working group in hip-hop delivered a politically-charged, conscious record with Rising Down. Drummer ?uestlove admitted that they branched off from their standard live sound by using more synths and exotic instruments, and it worked.

Lead MC Black Thought is one of the most underrated lyricists of our generation, ripping through various tracks like the lyrical onslaught of "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)" and "Rising Up" featuring Wale & Chrisette Michele.

The stand-out joint here comes early in the disc with "Rising Down," as Mos Def and Styles P aid Thought over a synthy-bass sonic backdrop. Thought expresses his anguish with today's bullshit, spitting furiously, "Yo I don't wanna floss, I done lost my passion/ And I don't wanna climb, I done lost my traction/ They makin' me break, my contents under pressure, do not shake/ I'm workin' while the boss relaxin'."

Yet another quality release from the Philly pioneers.

4. Black Milk – Tronic

Talk about a repeat. Detroit producer/MC Black Milk had an outstanding ’07 with his across-the-industry production credits and debut full-length solo album Popular Demand, so what does he do? Return stronger than before with a refined lyrical game and extended prowess on the boards.

Tronic is just a raw album from the jump with in-your-face heater “Bounce” and multi-layered single “Give The Drummer Sum.” The rest of the disc follows in a similar vein, with Black Milk at his best on “Hold It Down” and “The Matrix” alongside Pharaoh Monch, Sean Price & DJ Premier.

Thankfully, Black stepped up the only aspect lacking previously – his ability on the mic – for arguably the most solid all-around self-produced effort of ’08, save Q-Tip’s aforementioned album.

5. Common - Universal Mind Control

Longevity - it’s what an artist strives for yet seldom achieves. But Common isn’t your ordinary MC. Though many complain that Universal Mind Control resembles Electric Circus too much, I gotta disagree.

Yeah, Common went a little outside of the box for UMC – especially with the Planet Rock-influenced title track and bouncing pop tune “What A World” with Chester French – but he never strays too far from what has made his career, and that’s socially-relevant, fresh rhymes. Take the the album’s best track “Inhale” for instance, where Comm rhymes “I breathe deep like a old man in a deep sleep/ Or Indian peace-piped in a tepee/ The beginning, the end, the first, the last/ Breath into eternity, the verse will last.”

The experimentation is well-intended here as Comm pushed past conventional hip-hop, a daring move that always seems to bring along its fair share of haters.

And rounding out my Ten Favorite Albums of ’08 are..

6. Murs - Murs For President

Best Tracks: “Everything,” “Lookin’ Fly” ft. will.i.am

7. Jake One - White Van Music
Best Tracks: “Bless The Child” ft. Little Brother, “The Truth” ft. Freeway & Brother Ali

8. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III

Best Tracks: “A Milli,” “Mr. Carter” ft. Jay-Z

9. Pete Rock - NY's Finest

Best Tracks: “Till I Retire,” “Best Believe” ft. Redman & LD

10. Kanye West - 808's & HeartBreak

Best Tracks: “Heartless,” “Welcome 2 HeartBreak” ft. KiD CuDi

Honorable Mentions:

Elzhi - The Preface

Best Tracks: "The Preface," "Motown 25" ft. Royce Da 5'9

Tanya Morgan - The Bridge EP

Best Tracks: "The Bridge" ft. Elucid, "Got 2 Get Done"

T.I. - Paper Trail

Best Tracks: "Whatever You Like," "I'm Illy"

Statik Selektah - Stick 2 The Script

Best Tracks: "To The Top (Stick 2 The Script)" ft. Cassidy, Saigon & Termanology, "So Good (Live From The Bar)" ft. Naledge, Reks & CL Smooth

EMC - The Show
Best Tracks: "EMC (What It Stand For)," "Traffic" ft. Little Brother

Cool Kids - Bake Sale EP

Best Tracks: "88," "Mikey Rocks"

The Game - L.A.X.

Best Tracks: "Big Dreams," "My Life" ft. Lil' Wayne

Little Vic - Each Dawn I Die

Best Tracks: "The Exorcist," "The Evil That Men Do"

Jay Electronica - Style Wars EP
Best Tracks: "Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge)," "I Feel Good"

Common Market - Tobacco Road

Best Tracks: "Gol'Dust," "Winter Takes All"

There you have it. I'll be back soon with my favorite mixtapes and tracks but your boy needs to go get ready to party like it's 2009..

Happy New Year!

Analyze This..

How come I've never heard this? Shiiiit who cares, I'm amped I found it today.

The homie Chuck over at Hip Hop & Vinyl Giant liberated this 12'' vinyl rip of a mid-90's heater called "Analyze This" featuring an all-star line-up - Nas, Jay-Z and Lord Tariq (yes, of "De Ja Vu" fame with the senior Gunz) over head-nodding Pete Rock production.

Anything I write can't even describe this raw, vintage hip-hop, so I'll let the MC's do it. Jay's up first:

Everything's for dough now
Flow, you gotta pay a little mo' now
It's platinum nowadays, we put the gold down
We stepped it up, y'all don't even want a show down
Get wetted up by the sleeve that leave the bezzle out
Y'all don't like it? Sue me, fuck, I'll settle out
Ghetto-ed out in the vehicle, bent
These days I've mellowed out, see success make a fella content

Gotta love Jigga's laid-back swag from back in the day. Tariq is on deck:

Ain't nothin changed but the players, the game remains the same
I had a ten-year run, hey, I can't complain
Took the next step see, from coke to Pepsi
From the BX we ridin' to South Beach on jetski

Not bad. Then Nasir closes things out like a healthy Billy Wagner:

Bought my clique glaciers and pagers
Ten deep to Las Vegas
Copped a live crop, chopped it up, hit my block off wit gators Feedin peoples from the Bridge to Decatur
By now, 2 years, five months and 30 days later
I still put out the street flavor

A great end to a solid throwback joint, I'm lovin it.

Once again, big props to Chuck at HH&VG for the crisp vinyl rip, Enjoy!

Nas ft. Jay-Z & Lord Tariq - Analyze This prod. Pete Rock

Link in the Cbox, fam --->

Pay Jay

Here's my idea of a nice Saturday night listening session: An album from the late, great James "J Dilla" Yancey called Pay Jay was shelved by MCA Records in '03 that just leaked a couple days ago. Featuring production from greats Pete Rock, ?uestlove, Kanye West, Kareem Riggins and Dilla himself, it's always refreshing to hear new material from the influential hip-hop luminary. R.I.P.

Track list:

1. J. Dilla - Diamonds (Prod. Nottz)
2. J. Dilla - We F'ed Up (Feat. Frank-N-Dank) (Prod. Kanye West)
3. J. Dilla - Fuck The Police (Prod. J Dilla)
4. J. Dilla - Remember (Feat. Bilal) (Prod. Pete Rock)
5. J. Dilla - Fight Club (Feat. Nottz & Boogieman) (Prod. Waajeed)
6. J. Dilla - Creepin' On You (Producer unknown)
7. J. Dilla - Trucks (Producer unknown)
8. J. Dilla - No One Knows (Prod. Supa Dave West)
9. J. Dilla - Drive Me Wild (Prod. ?uestlove & Kareem Riggins)
10. J. Dilla - Unknown Track (Prod. Bink Dawg)
11. J. Dilla - Remember Remix (Feat. Bilal) (Producer unknown)

Enjoy the ones I uploaded, peace!

Pete Rock, Wale, Kid Cudi & Torae..

This Thursday... @ Highline Ballroom in NYC.. Workin on getting some press tickets for this one.. can't wait!

Open Up The Trunk, Bass Bass Crazy Kickin'..

Man this school stuff takes up a lot of time. Note to self, never slack and take 18 credits your final college semester when you want to live it up to the fullest potential. Oh well, no more complaining and it's about that time that I bless you with some new songs... Enjoy:

Kidz in the Hall - Drivin' Down The Block (Low End Theory)


Jay Electronica - Extra Extra produced by Madlib



Termanology ft. Royce Da 5'9, Crooked I, Consequence & Akrobatik - The Music Industry Remix
Wale - Flashing Lights Freestyle


Pete Rock ft. Redman - Best Believe (Snippet)


Torae ft. Chaundon, Skyzoo & Kil Ripkin - Fantaztik 4 (Clean)



Gotta get to Dunkin Donuts then my Journalism in American Film class, I have some original writing I'm posting later so stay tuned!

[drivin' down the block]

New Pete Rock Plus Roots' Rare Joints & Remixes

Paying homage to James Browns' Hell with his album cover design, veteran producer Pete Rock will be dropping a new LP in February (thanks to NahRight for the picture). If this song featuring one half of Little Brother MC Phonte, Justus Leaguer Joe Scudda, dictionary acrobat Wordsworth and underground legend Masta Ace is any sign of the guest appearances and musical quality, Pete's return to wax could be exactly what heads need in the '08:

Pete Rock ft. Phonte, Joe Scudda, Wordsworth, & Masta Ace - Bring Y'all Back

---

The Roots - Organamix (Roots Rare & Remixed Vinyl)

I recently came across this vinyl LP on ItsBX (good lookin' out randm for this vinyl rip!). It's a collection of some hard-to-find Roots material, including remixes and extra verses from some well-known hip-hoppers. I listed the tracks below and uploaded some of my favorites for your listening pleasure.

Track list:

1. Good Music
2. Proceed II ft. Roy Ayers
3. Silent Treatment (Kelo's Mix)
4. Meiso ft. Black Thought & Malik B (produced by DJ Krush)
5. Da Jawn ft. Bahamadia
6. The Show
7. 1.9.8.6. Remix ft. ILL Advised, Rasheed, Black Thought, & Malik B
8. Silent Treatment (Da Beatminerz Mix)
9. Da Notic
10. The Battle (Skribbles Vs Rahzel)
11. The Good, The Bad & The Desolate
12. Super Lyrical ft Big Punisher (classic, I had to share this one)
13. Silent Teatment (Black Thought's 87 You & Yours Mix)
14. Meiso (The Four Natural Ingridients Mix by Four Hero)
15. Listen To This (Walkin' Large) ft. Black Thought
16. Proceed III (Feat Bahamadia)

[i am in fact lacking confusion
as to what's real and what's illusion]