Chi Town Videos

I have a couple of them to share, old and new. This first one is Common and Pharell in a new track titled Announcement. A lot of people criticize Common for several different reasons. Some hate him for being a 'conscious rapper', some hate him for the commercials he's done and claim he's sold out, and some claim he's just not that good. But this is the man that made the track I Used to Love H.E.R. which is still one of my favorite hip hop songs ever, and this song is hot so stop hatin'!

Second we have Kanye with another dope video, this time for the introductory track from Graduation titled 'Good Morning'. This video was released last year but the quality was so poor and since this video is so strong it deserves proper fanfare. 

How many rappers would even think of hiring a contemporary Japanese pop artist like Takashi Murakami to do their album cover, much less a video? That's what makes Kanye such a creative figure in the modern hip hop landscape. He is an innovator and this video is evidence.

Kicks

More Wale, albeit not new Wale so don't get too excited. This is off the Hate is the New Love mixtape which is a couple of years old but I have been listening to this song a lot recently. Maybe this is due to the fact that I went to a midnight release to get the Jordan 5/18 Pack last Friday or maybe it's my love for sneakers and freshness in general. 

 Either way Wale brings his usual style, which is itself incredibly fresh as he claims early on the track that he "...stunts easier than Mark Price free throws. How can you disagree with those Grape Jordan V's he's rocking in the pic. Songs like this have caused Wale to be characterized as 'hipster rap', which just like hipsters brings very negative connotations. But I resent the characterization, just listen to Mixtape About Nothing, there is more to Wale than the deplorable hipster who AdBusters credits with bringing an end to Western civilization as we know it. 

Wale- Kicks

My President Sold Crack

What a beautifully blunt remix of Young Jeezy's My President Is Black. The song entails BK Cyph laying into Ronald Reagan, and other recent American leaders, for about 4 minutes as he points out the ludicrous nature of the whole Iran-Contra affair coupled with the war on drugs. If you don't know about this the Reagan administration took money it made from selling arms to Iran and put it into funding an anti-communist group in Nicaragua, who made the rest of their money from drug trafficing, and you can guess where a good portion of those drugs went as the crack epidemic was exploding in America. During Reagan's hellish two terms he managed to simultaneously fund the drug trade with his actions, yet at the same time vilified drug dealers in the ghetto and made them the source of all America's problems with the War on Drugs. And people still wonder why we lost the war on drugs. And people still look up to Ronald Reagan! 

BK Cyph- My President Sold Crack

Pop Music

This is the image that most people associate with pop music, or at least something similar. For most it is a hellish creation that no matter how hard we try to escape it always somehow finds a way to our my musically attune ears and it kills us to hear it. 

It's true, the current pop music scene is deplorable. When bands groomed by Disney like Hannah Montana and others fill arenas with young adolescents who somehow manage to get their hands on tickets that are well out of my price range. I freaked out when I paid $40 to go see Nas this Friday, but these shows for Hannah Montana and the likes are selling out in minutes, and if you missed the slim chance on ticketmaster, you were forced to pay prices that reached triple digits. Insanity!

But pop music isn't all bad, and here are a few tracks I've been feeling recently. They aren't going to change the world in any way, pop music rarely does, and these songs will be soon collecting dust on my hard drive in a month. Part of this is due to the fact that very soon these songs will be everywhere from blasting out of every college party and bar to my sisters speakers. But there is some guilty pleasure I have always derived from pop tunes, but lately I've come to peace with these guilty pleasures. Music is supposed to be fun, and all of these songs I've enjoyed in one instance or another recently. 

A couple of T.I. tracks with good features. The first is a track he did featuring The Dream, who is all over everything these days with that spacey sound that makes it perfect for summer. The chorus is so cheesy it's enjoyable, another trademark of pop music. 

T.I. ft. The Dream- Like I Do

This one is with T.I. and Rihanna. Anyone who tells you they didn't like Umbrella is lying, and the same goes for Justin Timberlake's My Love which came out a few years ago, which coincidentally featured T.I. who seems to have a great ability to mold his street style (he is awaiting trial that could land him in prison) into something that fits very well into a pop song. This track is perfect evidence of this as the beat is more flowery than what T.I. usually tackles but the flow works and the wordplay is decent. 

And I'd rather listen to Rihanna on the hook than T-Pain at this point, who seems to be the only other viable option in this day and age. 

T.I. Ft. Rihanna- Livin' Your Life

This last one I really like. Futurecop, who I hadn't heard of until I stumbled upon this mix that remixes Ciara's One Two Step. The result, as you may have guessed, is pop magic meant for the late summer nights rollin' through your city. 

Futurecop/Ciara- 1, 2 Step

Flosstradamus

Flosstradamus just did a mix for Diplo's Mad Decent Podcast, which you should get on if you aren't subscribed to it. Podcasts are a beautiful invention which delivers you free music on a reliable basis without the endless searching and frustrations of sound quality, but I digress. 

If you don't know about Flosstradamus they are a DJ duo out of Chicago, although one member has roots in Kalamazoo (the one on the phone). They have been steady putting out good stuff including a song that was released a couple years ago that I still listen to on beautiful summer nights, Overnight Star. A song sticking in my rotation for such a prolonged period is no easy feat, so if you haven't heard it give it a listen and I promise you won't be disappointed. 

This new mix was created as a recent history of Chicago House/ Ghettotech music. I'm a huge fan of Chicago house but Ghettotech brings rise to mixed feelings. This mix is very sexual, and I'm not talking about boy band or pop music sexual, I'm talking Spank Rock/you might need to shower after cause you feel dirty sexual. But dancing is a very sexual activity, so I can't judge. All I can do is turn it up and start moving to the beat, which is what I recommend for all. Don't listen to this sitting at your desk. 

Flosstradamus- Mad Decent Mix

Swagger Like Us

 Usually I don't like songs with more than 2 or 3 rappers contributing a verse, but I think all can make an exception for this one. This song reads like a who's who in hip hop, and beyond that it samples M.I.A.'s super jam from last summer, Paper Planes of course, for the hook. What else do you need? No introduction needed, you can recognize who's on this track from the second they open their mouth.

All I will say is this is my jam for the remainder of the summer, and probably the fall as well. 

T.I., Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne- Swagger Like Us (S.L.U.)

Fireworks at Lake Michigan

So this isn't new whatsoever, but  Young Berg resurrected this for me with his comments about how Kanye isn't hood enough.  Apparently, the other big Chi-Town MC's like Lupe and Common aren't hood enough either, but remember this is the dude that made The Business. I mean after watching that video can he honestly comment on who's hood and who's not? This is more R&B Jam than hood banger (besides the song just isn't good). And it's not like he's talking about up and comers with these comments. Kanye>>>>>>>>>Young Berg.