Play or Get Played

Usually I'm not one to become obsessed with a television show. It just takes too much commitment to center plans around sitting around for a half hour or so to watch a lot of commercials. But that's part of the beauty of The Wire which has recently popped up on the beautiful on demand feature for HBO. 

One of the things I love about The Wire is the intersections it has with hip-hop music. Not only is Method Man one of the characters, but Wire references are all over hip-hop. Check this video by Skillz. 

I also stumbled across an awesome list of If Rappers Were Characters From The Wire. First of all, I never knew Charles Hamilton looked so much like Duquan, and Andre 3000 is right on with Lester. I can even see Nas being Avon and Jay being Stringer as Nas stayed a little more street oriented (arguably) than Jay-Z.  The funniest comparisons definitely are Rick Ross with Bunk and Scott Storch with as Ziggy. 

Now before I get back to my romp through the first season for the second time, what would be a post on The Wire without Clay Davis and his trademark phrase. 

R.I.P. Dilla

So tomorrow, February 10th, marks three years since the late great Detroit producer J Dilla died from lupus. Every once and a while some musician from your city will come along that inspires great pride (think Biggie with Brooklyn) and even with the plethora of great Motown stars that came out of Detroit J Dilla is right up there (for me at least) with the rest of them for the innovation he caused in hip-hop production and how he represented the city of Detroit. Always shunning the limelight and fame, but a driving force in hip-hop none the less. 

Here's a nice little tribute to Dilla

This is one of my favorite, and slightly less celebrated Dilla tracks. Off Welcome 2 Detroit, this jazzy track is too smooth for words. 

J Dilla- Think Twice

Sadly, all is not well in Dilla land, as this Vibe article suggests. With Dilla's estate in limbo, money has yet to reach his mother (who now also has lupus) or either of his two daughters. Cop this t-shirt from Stones Throw and proceeds go to Maureen 'Ma Dukes' Yancey. 

Sky High

Another song from Kid Cudi with a beat that has a plethora of Kanye samples. It's a short little track but I really like Cudi's flow on this one. Recently I discussed what Kid Cudi's first album would be like with a friend and he claimed that he would like it to be produced by a single person to give it a really coherent sound. But if that's what you're hoping for, don't expect it from this one. But I have to admit I am loving Cudi's variety. 

Kid Cudi- Sky High

Mos Def

Mos Def and I have a love/hate relationship. Black On Both Sides was crazy, maybe even a classic depending on who you ask. The first track 'Brooklyn' grabbed you with it's laid black production, but Mos Def goes at the beat aggressively and makes it work as he flows well with it. 'Hip Hop' is still a banger, and there are many gems at the end of the album that still surprise me. All of this, and I haven't even mentioned Black Star. 

But let's be honest, The New Danger was weak, except for a few choice tracks, and don't even get me started on True Magic which takes a nosedive after its exceptional introductory track. 

Even with Mos Def's successes and failures, I still keep faith in him. Which is why I've been getting ready for his next album, set to release February 24th titled The Ecstatic. Despite these few tracks, I don't know what to expect from Mos Def and I am tempering my expectations as to avoid the disappointment I felt with True Magic. Here are a couple tracks. 

It took me a while to come around on this one, but I have.

Mos Def- Life In Marvelous Times

Mos Def- Quiet Dog

Ryan Leslie

Ryan Leslie is a fresh new R & B man out of Cali. Now r&b isn't something I usually listen to very often, but what really draws me to this guy is not just his singing voice (which is smooth as butter,  think R. Kelley without the sex with children and sing talking), but it is his producing. 

But before Ryan Leslie became the man behind Cassie's megahit 'Me & You' (he produced, wrote and recorded the track), he scored a perfect score on the SAT and entered Harvard at the age of 14. At 19, he is a Harvard grad and delivers the Harvard Oration at the commencement ceremony. 

Fast forward a few years and Ryan Leslie has become one of the hottest producers and is on the verge of becoming the next superproducer. But as with many Harvard graduates, he has larger than life ambitions. Ryan Leslie may not just stop with producing, so watch out for this one.

Just check out this beat he makes for Kid Cudi. 

Ryan Leslie x Kid Cudi @ studio from Vernonmac on Vimeo.

Ryan Leslie ft. Cassie & Fabulous- Addiction

Ryan Leslie Ryan Leslie

Pennies

The Cool Kids video for their song 'Pennies' was released a little bit ago and its a nice way to kick off the new year that could hold big things for this Chicago duo. I've been liking the vibe of this song more and more and this video really contributes to the song and helps take it to that next level. I can always tell if a video is good if it reinvigorates my enthusiasm for a track. And this video does just that. 

No I.D.

I've been really getting into tracking down some older stuff lately as new hip-hop seems to be kind of slow to start off the New Year. This usually happens as a lot of artists set releases for December for numerous reasons. But I have been enjoying some of these older albums, none more so than a few tracks I downloaded from Chicago producer No I.D. 

If you don't know, No I.D. is a Chicago legend. Not only has he produced some classic Chi-Town albums like Common's Resurrection, but he was also Kanye's mentor. Here's some tracks from his album Accept Your Own & Be Yourself. 

No I.D. - State to State

No I.D.- We Rock Like So