SLICK RICK “THE RULER” IS BACK!!!
Both feature Rick’s signature nasal storytelling wit & braggadocio, over ill old school breakbeats, and give us just enough to leave us wanting more...
Now enough with the writing. Listen & Love for yourself!
SLICK RICK “THE RULER” IS BACK!!! Golden Era Hip Hop Fans Rejoice!!! As if we haven't already been laced recently with some gems from Smif N Wessun, Black Thought, Madlib, Diamond D, and more-we now get a surprise from the one & only Slick Rick!!! Even better, he gave us a double dose with two songs in one video for the tracks "Can't Dance To A Track That Ain't Got No Soul" and "Midas Touch." Both feature Rick’s signature nasal storytelling wit & braggadocio, over ill old school breakbeats, and give us just enough to leave us wanting more... Now enough with the writing. Listen & Love for yourself!
0 Comments
Looking Back At LL Cool J's Bigger And Deffer...On May 29th, 1987, one of hip hop's greatest albums was released to the masses. Bigger And Deffer universally stands out as one of a handful of albums that personified a shift to a sonic sounding/more hard-edged/lyrically powerful trend in the culture of hip hop music. Before then, most of the music had a more party vibe to it. But along with Public Enemy, BDP, Eric B & Rakim, Ice-T, and NWA, LL brought a heat that would change things forever. One thing about Bigger And Deffer though, is its variety of content. While tracks like I'm Bad, My Rhyme Ain't Done, and 357 Break It On Down were more bragadocious and outright hard, the album also featured funny stories (Bristol Hotel & My Rhyme Ain't Done) & party tracks thrown in too (Kanday & The Do Wop). Even the party tracks had a harder edge than what was coming from from so many others though. And let us not for forget to mention the classic I Need Love. My fondest memories of this album are from stopping whatever else I had going on to listen to The Top Nine At 9, on the radio (92Q). LL ruled that countdown at that time. Kanday, I'm Bad, and I Need Love stayed in that rotation. And as if he wasn't already ruling the airwaves, Def Jam had the nerve to drop Jack The Ripper for the soundtrack to the movie Less Than Zero. This doubled as a diss record, aimed at Kool Moe Dee, and ranks among the best of all time. To me Bigger And Deffer was by far LL's best album, and both my CD and vinyl remain in regular rotation to this day. Old heads check the links to reminisce. Young heads click and get familiar...
Remembering Big L, 20 Years Later...February 15th, 1999, marks 20 years since the death of Big L aka Lamont Coleman. He was murdered, at the young age of 24, in Harlem, NY. According to reports, he was shot nine times in the face and chest area. There are multiple rumors abound, as to the cause of his murder; but the one thing we do know is that L dies on the cusp of stardom. Long known and beloved by underground Hip Hop heads, he was now set to be introduced to the more mainstream audience. Big L had just finished recording his new album, The Big Picture, on Rawkus/Flamboyant/Priority Records; but never lived to hear the final mix. Times were changing in Hip Hop; but he had that rare mix of lyricism, street knowledge, and wittiness to satisfy all ears from every preference. He was the future of the legendary Diggin’ In The Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.); had a famous duet with 2Pac, and recordings of his freestyle with a yet to be signed Jay-Z are still a hot commodity decades later. Big L’s murder, like so many other emcees of that time, was never solved. The lone person of interest, Gerard Woodley, was killed on the same street in 2016. We Miss You Big L!!! https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2016/05/showbiz-recounts-the-trauma-of-seeing-big-l-moments-after-he-was-killed/
November 9th 1993 Marks As One Of The Greatest Days In Hip Hop History...Twenty-Five Years Ago, on November 9th, 1993, two of The Greatest #HipHop Albums Of All Time were released by A Tribe Called Quest & The Wu-Tang Clan. For ATCQ, “Midnight Marauders” would be their third album; and would officially cement their place in the pantheon of iconic hip hop groups. The Wu-Tang Clan, however was making their debut, as a group, with “Enter The Wu Tang 36 Chambers.” These two albums, along with others like Black Moon’s “Enta Da Stage,” Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Doggystyle," and De La Soul’s “Buhloone Mindstate” would usher in the last Golden Age Of Hip Hop (1993-1995) and a return to glory for New York Hip Hop. Prior to this, much of the hip hop coming out of NYC was either overly jazzy, purposely commercial, or a watered-down clone of what had been hot the year before. But after November 9th, 1993, things would never be the same… Midnight Marauders brought forth a sonic, but cerebral jazzy sound at the same time. Others like Gangstarr and Diamond D had fused jazz masterfully into Hip Hop’s conscious before; but the tracks were usually of the more mellow variety. Now with Marauders, there was a different vibe. It’s like the horns made you want to jump into action; but at the same time the bass and vibes made you want to just relax, chill, and burn a little something. To the contrary, Enter The Wu had a grimy and dark sound beat-wise, that was matched with the type of raw and highly descriptive lyrics that we would see define the era for at least the next four years. Add on top of that, it was nine of them-all with a different style of their own. This, in and of itself was a groundbreaking first; but The Clan actually break an even bigger barrier down as they were the first group to have the freedom to branch out its individual members to sign with whatever other labels they chose. Previously, and still mostly today, the group’s label held control over every member. If you wanted to go solo, you had to sign with that same label, or leave the group all together. As awe-inspiring as Enter The 36 Chambers was, few remember that success actually came pretty slow for The Wu-Tang Clan. Both RZA and GZA had seen disappointment as solo artists before uniting with the others and forming like Voltron. And while “Protect Ya Neck” and “Method Man” took underground hip hop heads hearts and minds immediately, the rest of the hip hop world was still in the dark. It wouldn’t be until 1994’s release of “C.R.E.A.M.” that everyone else caught on. And from there the bees began to swarm and takeover. Each member would go on to release solo albums and side projects, while proteges like Killarmy, Sunz Of Man, Cappadonna, Killah Priest, Theodore Unit, and dozens of others would feed us for the next twenty-five years. For awhile, the recently relaunched Wu-Wear clothing brand would be a must have-and clan members would be featured constantly in movies and tv. Meanwhile, for A Tribe Called Quest, perhaps their greatest album would be the peak for them, and signal the sadly inevitable decline that comes once groups hit the mountaintop. Internal friction between Phife Dawg and Q-Tip would negatively impact the group from here on out; and after releasing an EP called “The Jam” in 1996, ATCQ would announce that 1998’s “The Love Movement would be their final album ( a long eighteen years later we would finally see a final reunion, with the critically-acclaimed “We Got It From Here” album in 2016). Both Q-Tip and Phife would put out solid solo work, it was never as good as the two of them together with Jarobi and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Phiife died of complications from diabetes in 2017. Far from being immune to some of those same internal struggles, The WTC has continued on. Their struggles have often played out loudly for all to see in books, documentaries and interviews. But the family bond has been just strong enough to keep bringing them together from time to time. Hopefully the forthcoming and untitled album, executive produced by Ghostface Killah, in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the debut of The Wu World Order, will provide the heat that we remember them for…
On June 20, 2017 the music world lost one of Hip Hop’s finest, but also underrated lyricists in Albert Johnson aka Prodigy of the duo Mobb Deep. As part of Mobb Deep, Prodigy and his partner Havoc would bless us with nine studio albums, and as a solo artist, Prodigy would add on another seven albums and official mixtapes to bless us with. Succumbing to complications from Sickle Cell Anemia (an at times debilitating condition of which he had battled his entire life) Prodigy not only gave us a massive catalog of music, but also provided even more ill story-telling in his 2011 memoir “My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy.” P was one of a very small number of emcees from the nineties that transitioned into the new millennium without being dismissed by the masses as being passed over in changing times. Honestly, his storytelling grew more deep and descriptive in his later years (not to mention, his ability to tell crime rhymes for more than 25 years shows a pretty extreme level of creativity). So with respect to respect to our fallen Titan of Golden Era Hip Hop and beyond, enjoy a few videos that more properly illustrate just why we loved and will always love the one called Prodigy... |
Archives
February 2020
Categories
All
|