My 10 favorite rhyme spitters ever: Mos Def edition.

In no particular order, I present to you my ten favorite rhyme spitters of all time.  No, they may not necessarily have created the best songs or albums (some have but that is irrelevant to this discussion).  These are just the MC's who, verse-for-verse, I have enjoyed listening to most from a purely lyrical/flow-wise/delivery-wise perspective.  Think the Vince Carters of MC'ing.  And with all that considered, next up is...

Mos Def (circa '99-2000).

I truly believe had Mos followed up his Black Star album and first solo joint with another classic, he would be in my top five, dead or alive.  Legend even has it that the one and only Mr. Iovine told Mos that if he could deliver another album of the caliber of "Black on Both Sides", he would "take him to the moon".

Mos had a way of flowing that sounded so effortless, even non-hip hop heads liked it (check this entry of the always brilliant blog Stuff White People Like for further proof).  In fact, he eventually evolved (or devolved, depending on your perspective) into a badge of cool for the hipster crowd... before the phrase "hipster" was even coined.

But where hipsters embraced Mos for his aura of bohemian-hip-hop-chic, rap fans appreciated the purity of his Native-Tongues-esque style combined with his damn near unparalleled ability to put words together in a way few could do.  Call him conscious or backpacker if you must... but if he was spitting, we were listening.  Talib, his Black Star counterpart, may have had the impressive metaphors or vocabulary.  But Mos' style painted pictures.

Then, alas, he decided he wanted to be a singer.  Or a rock star.  And go back to acting.  Yes, I liked "Umi Says".  And "The Italian Job" was entertaining.  But let's face it.  When he was straight spitting on a hip hop beat, he was a god.

It seems like with his new material, he is going back to his roots and give hip hop fans what they really need.  Which is not another movie with Bruce Willis.  Let's just hope not so much time has passed that it's too late.

The Evidence.

"Definition".  "From the first to the last of it/Delivery is passionate/The whole and not the half of it/Vocab and not the math of it..."

"Respiration".  THE WHOLE DAMN FIRST VERSE.  Brilliant.

"B-Boy Document '99".  "It's the high powered original/B-boy traditional/Raw base material/Crooklyn individual..."

"Travellin' Man".  "'Cause this thing called rhymin' no different from coal mining/We all on assignment to unearth the diamond..."

"Hip Hop".  "Hip hop will simply amaze/Praise you/Pay you/Do whatever you say do/But black it can't save you..."

"Brooklyn".  "Thugs mobbin' it/Form partnership/Increase armorment/Street pharmacist/Deep consequence when you seek sleek ornaments..."

I miss Slim Shady.

Okay, so the new album is out.  And everywhere all over the world, thousands of writers (and hundreds of thousands of bloggers) are already, ad nauseam, proclaiming the brilliant return of or deriding the ungraceful fall of the one and only Marshall Mathers.  So in case you're one review away from slitting your own wrists, I'll just focus my attention on one point.  

I definitely don't hate the album... but I was, at the very least, underwhelmed.  Throughout "Relapse", we seem to get Marshall-Mathers-era content, Eminem-Show-era flow, and bits of the reviled Encore-era delivery.  Save for one track.  On the final song, "Underground", we get a glimpse of what I had personally been anticipating for the last half decade, the return of Slim Shady.

It is all the more frustrating because, strictly off the strength of that one track, Eminem proves he still has it.  The skills that made him the respected MC to begin with... and set him apart from the Vanilla Ices, the Kains, the Asher Roths, and every other white MC who was thrown at us by the industry.  And in some ways, it seems as if Eminem did it intentionally.  Maybe just to lift a middle finger to all the naysayers and hip hop snobs such as myself... who claim he fell off, that he had become the very gimmick he had been mocking since the beginning of his career.  But the whole song still screams old school, classic Slim Shady.  Apart from the song itself, it is preceded by a Steve Berman skit, opened by his traditional "A lot of people ask me..." intro (a la "Still Don't Give a F**k and "Criminal"), and followed by the triumphant return of Ken Kaniff. Coincidence?  I think not.

With "Relapse 2" supposedly to follow, what I would like to believe is that this is an intro to the second disc.  Wasn't there supposed to be a collab with Premo in there somewhere?  Anyways, call me Stan, but I'm crossing my fingers and still hoping Slim Shady is back.

My favorite rhyme spitters ever: Ice Cube edition.

In no particular order, I present to you my ten favorite rhyme spitters of all time.  No, they may not necessarily have created the best songs or albums (some have but that is irrelevant to this discussion).  These are just the MC's who, verse-for-verse, I have enjoyed listening to most from a purely lyrical/flow-wise/delivery-wise perspective.  Think the Vince Carters of MC'ing.  And with all that considered, next up is...

ICE CUBE (circa '88-'92).

Back when people used to believe rappers really did what they said on wax, this former architectural student personified America's definition of the "scary ass rapper".  He had the sneer, the curse words, and FBI threats to back it up.  Not to mention lyrically fronted a crew who dared incorporate a vilified ethnic slur as a part of their group name.

But beyond all that, Cube just delivered his lyrics in a way that made you believe what he said.  Throughout his first group album and subsequent solo efforts (well, at least the first few and the EP), he convinced you he was the true gangsta's gangsta, the hood's political commentator, the prophet of the L.A. riots, and the most overzealous Muslim you had ever seen.  

These days, you're more likely to see a suburban family of four in a minivan on their way to see Cube at their local multiplex than you are to hear a '64 Impala on 'lo 'lo's cruising Crenshaw Boulevard bumping his latest album.  But at least for those four years (I'm personally not the biggest fan of "Lethal Injection" but I guess you can make it five years by throwing that in there), Cube had an unprecedented run as an MC that is nearly unmatched in hip hop history.  Not only did he make compelling music.  He set trends and constantly grew as an artist from album to album.  He never settled for the status quo.  He tore right through that map of Compton on his first video and kept on stompin'.

I miss the old Ice Cube but I can't front on his recent success as an actor.  My only regrets I blame on the shady practices of the business.  Could you imagine what NWA's second album would have been like with Cube around?  While Cube's falling out with his former group produced entertaining material ("No Vaseline" is still one of the greatest diss records of all time), I would've traded it all in to hear Amerikkka's Most Wanted Cube on Efil4Zaggin Dre beats for just a few songs.  And it seemed like we came oh-so-close when Cube made his cameo in the "Let Me Ride" video and we were promised "Helter Skelter" on the "Doggystyle" insert.  Well, I guess we had "Natural Born Killaz".  Then we were teased once again with the proposed reunion of NWA.  But after the lukewarm response to "Chin Check" and  "Hello", the plans were quickly axed. (I've also heard "D**k Tease" from the "Laugh Now Cry Later" sessions was produced by Dre but I've never had that confirmed).  Since Cube is strictly on the independent tip now when it comes to music, I guess we'll never get to hear a Dre/Cube album.

As it stands, Cube could never release a song again and his place in hip-hop history (not to mention music history in general) would be more than cemented.  So get that money movie, Cube, and thanks for the memories.  A lot of suburban kids owe their entire knowledge of the Compton hood to you.

The Evidence.

"Dope Man". "To be a dopeman/you must qualify/don't get high off your own supply..."

"The Grand Finale".  "Muthaf**kas I'll slaughter/Blow 'em out the water/Word to me/F**k the father..."

"The N***a Ya Love To Hate".  "Kickin' s**t called street knowledge/Why more n***as in the pen than in college?"

"Jackin' For Beats".  "Gimme that beat fool/It's a full time jack move..."

"A Bird in the Hand".  "I'll never get love again/But blacks are too f**king broke to be Republicans..."

"Steady Mobbin'".  "Rather be judged by twelve than carried by six..."

"When Will They Shoot?".  "They killed JFK in '63/So what the f**k you think they'll do to me?"

"We Had To Tear This Muthaf**ka Up".  "I told you it would happen and you heard it/Read it/And all you could call me was anti-Semetic..."

Not from Houston, but I rap a lot...

Taking a momentary break from my "favorite rhymes spitters" posts, I found this interesting thread on SOHH.  I understand people can hide under the anonymity of the internet and claim to be whoever they want... but this sounds legit.  Regardless, this is an entertaining thread...

"Ask a former Rap-A-Lot employee anything..."

When I first started getting into hip-hip (late 80's/early 90's), I liked my hip hop violent, nihilistic, and controversial as possible.  So it goes without saying I immediately took a liking to the Geto Boys and Rap-A-Lot artists.  And while hip hop always feuded on a bi-coastal level, this independent powerhouse in Houston were making their own brand of raw music on its own terms.  In the process, they pioneered styles that both coasts would liberally borrow from in years to come.

Production-wise alone, I always felt the East Coast owed a huge debt to RAL.  A few a examples...

Geto Boys, "City Under Siege".

Lil Kim, "No Time".

Geto Boys, "No Nuts No Glory".

State Property, "No Glory".

Geto Boys, "Six Feet Deep".

Cam'Ron, "Hey Ma".

Anyways, I understand producers use the same samples all the time.  But I always felt RAL were ahead of their time in the way they used soul samples.  And from a lyrical standpoint, Scarface had suicidal tendencies on record before Biggie ever dropped.  Ganksta Nip had horrorcore on lock before the Gravediggaz were around.  J. Prince was the original independent label don before Master P., Baby, or Suge Knight has even conceived their labels.  Countless artists have named Scarface as one of their favorite rappers and biggest influences ever.  I could go on and on.

My point being, it's always been a favorite pastime of hip hop to sh*t on the South... so it's about high time we paid our respects.

My favorite rhyme spitters ever: Canibus edtion.

In no particular order, I present to you my ten favorite rhyme spitters of all time.  No, they may not necessarily have created the best songs or albums (some have but that is irrelevant to this discussion).  These are just the MC's who, verse-for-verse, I have enjoyed listening to most from a purely lyrical/flow-wise/delivery-wise perspective.  Think the Vince Carters of MC'ing.  And with all that considered, next up is...

CANIBUS (circa '98-2000)

Once upon a time, an intern for the Lost Boyz (or office manager or something or other, who knows) was asked to spit a verse on one of their songs.  And within those 30 seconds of unadulterated lyrical wizardry, a monster was born.

From then on, Canibus was being heralded as hip hop's savior from the Shiny Suit era.  He would return hip hop to its essence, where lyrics mattered more than the size of your diamonds or the price tag on your champagne.  Every time I heard 'Bis spit on a Clue mixtape or drop a guest verse on a track, I ate it up and was feenin' for the next one.  It's not even that his metaphors were that amazing.  It's that he spit them with such unabashed ferocity that he made you believe words could kill.  And oh, the number of MC's he left in his wake.  There was even a story circulating that on some legendary night, he battled each of the Wu-Tang MC's and took them out one by one.

Unfortunately, fate did not (or has it ever) looked too kindly upon the Battle MC.  After harmlessly (and rather creatively) mentioning LL's tattoo on a posse track, Mr. Mama Said Knock You Out was on a mission of vengeance (Eminem was right, that is possibly the dumbest reason to start a battle ever).  But let's be honest.  LL didn't knock Canibus out.  And despite the bold proclamation of knocking out a legendaryr rapper (still one of the best diss tracks ever), Canibus knocked himself the f**k out.  By letting Wyclef produce his debut.

After the debacle that was his first album (which I still think is overcriticized), he was banished to the abyss of the underground, where only backpackers dare to tread.  The scientific metaphors and vocabulary came line after line until he had scared off almost every hip hop fan, leaving only the cultists standing in the aftermath (and no, they don't understand a damn thing he's saying either).

The demise of Canibus' once promising career stands as one of my personal, biggest, hip-hop-related disappoinments ever.  Back then, when someone was proclaimed to be the next one, it meant something.  And as materialistic hip hop began to run rampant at the time, I just wanted someone to bring that true school hip hop back.  Canibus was supposed to be it.  Who would've thought that from the Class of '98, Canibus truly would be "the difference Harvard and DeVry"?  Just not on the side of his own metaphor that he expected.

The Evidence.

"Beasts From the East".  "F**k y'all/You don't impress me/And no one can test me/An MC so ill I got AIDS scared to catch me..."

"4,3,2,1".   "Who's the God of rap you saying is nice/I beat a n***a to death and a dead n***a to life..."

"Music Makes Me High" Remix.   "Rhymes ricochet off the inner walls of my lungs/And go past the tongue faster than bullets come out of guns..."

"Desperados".  "At a thousand degrees celsius/I make MC's melt/F**k a record label/I appear courtesy of myself..."

Funkmaster Flex Freestyle.  "For all you n***as saying my s**t is sick/Just imagine the 90 percent of my brain that I ain't even used yet..."

Tony Touch Freestyle.  "I'm the greatest scientifically inclined mind since Einstein..."

My 10 favorite rhyme spitters ever.

In no particular order, I present to you my ten favorite rhyme spitters of all time.  No, they may not necessarily have created the best songs or albums (some have but that is irrelevant to this discussion).  These are just the MC's who, verse-for-verse, I have enjoyed listening to most from a purely lyrical/flow-wise/delivery-wise perspective.  Think Vince Carter.  And with all that considered, here is...

INSPECTAH DECK.

When Wu-mania invaded America with a fury in the mid-90's, some Wu members definitely reaped the ensuing benefits better than others.  Meth had the mainstream fame, Rza instantly became a legendary producer, ODB had the notoriety, Rae and GZA had the backpackers (before the phrase devolved into an insult) going wild.

And then there was Deck.  The Rebel INS.  He was the straight spitter of the group.  The MC's MC.  No overt kung fu references.  No overblown coked-out alter ego.  And especially after his opening verse on "Triumph", hip hop head thoughts they had another true lyricist to be reckoned with on their hands.  Which they did.  But something happened along the way.  What was it?

His solo joint (rumored to be called "Assassination Day") was long delayed.  Urban legend has it that it was to be entirely produced by the RZA (in his hey day, no less) but all the beats originally slated for the album got lost in a basement flood (when will these producers learn that when the flood comes, gravity will lead it to the lowest floor first?  Q-Tip anyone?).  And when the album finally dropped, it dropped with a thud.  Not that the album was terrible, mind you.  Deck was still as lyrically sharp as ever.  And unlike your average super-freestyler,  he even seemed to be able to diversify his content rather than drop track after track of 100-bar marathons.  He just seemed to have caught the Canibus-itis... The beats (no longer exclusively RZA's) just didn't seem to pack the same punch as Deck's lyrical prowess and ability.

With Wu-Tang's popularity starting to wane by then, Deck seemed to fade further into obscurity.  If Meth, Rae, and GZA's follow ups had trouble finding the same audience as before, what chance did Deck have?  Regardless, to this day, I still enjoy putting on those 90's Wu albums as much as any hip hop head.  And Deck's verses will always remain highlights... not to mention reminders of what could have been.

The Evidence.

"C.R.E.A.M."  "But as the world turned I learned life is hell/Living in the world no different from a cell..."

"Guillotine (Swordz)"  "Poisonous paragraphs/smash ya phonograph in half/It be the Inspectah Deck on the warpath..."

"Triumph"  "I bomb atomically/Socrates' philosophies and hypotheses/Can't define how I be droppin' these..."

"Cold World"  "Extortions for portions of streets/Causes beef/Having followers of Indians tryin' to play chief..."

"It's Yourz" "It's only natural/Actual facts are throwin' at you/The impact'll blow tress back and crack statues..."

"Above the Clouds" "The maker/owner/plus soul controller/The Ayatollah rest in the sky/The clouds' my sofa..."

"Tru Master" "I bang with the big boys/Those who hold game/Amateurs get hung with their own gold chains..."

What's the difference between me and you?

The s**t is just frustrating.

As you've probably heard by now, Maino has a mainstream hit out, "All of the Above".  It is produced by Just Blaze and features T-Pain autotuning the chorus to his heart's content.  Now I don't begrudge the man any success.  God bless him.  It seems like so few mixtape rappers make it out of the starting gates these days, any of them that get a chance to release a hit single (much less, an album) should be lauded.

The song itself though sounds vaguely familiar to a song that was a hit sometime last year and continues to get radio spins on the regular... T.I.'s "Live Your Life".  That joint was also produced by (surprise, surprise) Just Blaze and features Rihanna in full autotune mode on the chorus (T-Pain must've been booked).

Now I have nothing against T.I. either.  And this post is definitely not a rant against Just Blaze (whom I have immense respect for as a producer, even though he seems to be going to the well one too many times with his new found formula for mainstream success).

No, this post is about the now-proven-to-be-gutless Atlantic Records.  Both of these artists are on Atlantic.  And yet there was only one artist on this label who I've been dying to hear from.  That would be SAIGON.  And guess what?  Before either of the above-mentioned songs had even been conceived, Saigon ALSO had a potential hit single on his hands called, "Believe It".  It was ALSO produced by Just Blaze.  It ALSO incorporates a catchy synth melody as its foundation.  It ALSO featured an autotune chorus (sung by Just Blaze but he later revealed they were originally reference vocals for T-Pain).  Yet two of the artists pictured above have hit singles and one got booted from the label.

Saigon tried to do what Atlantic asked him by delivering a hit single.  Which he would've had.  And we would've had "The Greatest Story Never Told" finally in record stores.

I can understand backing a proven hit maker like T.I.  I can even understand giving Maino another single and video since "Hi Hater" was a modest hit.  What I can't understand is if we are to believe that music companies actually LISTEN to the music they try to put out, could not ONE person have seen that "Believe It" was just as commercially viable as the other two songs and given it at a chance?  Do they truly believe that the listeners will blindly flock to names they may have heard on the radio before without actually listening to the music?

The more frustrating part may be I can't definitely answer that last question.

Countdown to "Relapse": 12 days left.

I guess someone out there has "Relapse".  It's just a matter of when they want to leak it.

It's amazing what the internet has done to the music industry these days, for better or for worse. It's seriously got people running around like fiends. It's only appropriate that the new album is called "Relapse".   So for those who find themselves scratching themselves like Tyrone Biggums, here's another couple quick fixes.  New snippets floating around the net...

"Underground" snippet.

"Stay Wide Awake" snippet.

Once again, the beats sound pretty good, flow's on point, lyrics are solid... but THAT ANNOYING ACCENT is still around.  I just hope it doesn't ruin an otherwise good album.

"If I don't like it, I don't like it, that don't mean that I'm hatin'."

Countdown to "Relapse": 2 weeks left.

Now the Interscope machine is going full steam ahead with the promotion of Eminem's "Relapse".  This week we have...

Eminem's new music video for "3 AM".  This song is a solid one.  And despite the slightly obnoxious delivery (still can't stand that accent), the song itself is reminiscent of the "Slim Shady" Eminem.  The accompanying video is really good though.  I love the old school horror flick feel it has.  Given all the copious amount of blood present in the video and violent theme, I doubt this plays on MTV (I don't watch MTV so I can't confirm that).  No wonder it debuted on Cinemax.

Eminem, "3 AM".

Then next up, we have the new song "Old Times Sake", featuring Dr. Dre.  The song itself is also solid... not amazing, but good.  It's a "Business"-type album cut backed by Dre production (also not amazing, but good).  I've always felt Dr. Dre gave better beats to other artists.  A lot of Dre's beats on Eminem's album have always seemed a little below Dre standards to me.  Maybe it's just the way Eminem sounds on Dre's beats.  Or maybe he doesn't want to overwhelm Eminem's already-over-the-top style.  

In any case, I still don't feel blown away by anything Eminem has released from "Relapse" thus far.  Yet I still am highly anticipating it.  Have my expectations for good hip hop just fallen this far?  Or do I just believe Eminem is saving his best stuff for the album to make us believe cohesive albums (as opposed to random collections of hit-or-miss singles) still exist?  I am hoping for the latter.