Let's take a break from all the Kanye, Preemo and Just Blaze Appreciation for a moment, and take a look at another dope Hip Hop producer, one that goes by the name of The Alchemist. Now seeing as I haven't blogged for several weeks, I'll hit you up with three big Alchemist tunes in an attempt to make up for lost time. Enjoy!
Royce Da 5'9" dropped the deluxe version of his Street Hop album today, and with it comes "My Own Planet", featuring Big Sean. I previously posted a version of this song without Big Sean's verse, so here's the full version in all it's glory. Enjoy!
Here's a little gem from Game that I only just discovered yesterday. "Bang Along" is a track that didn't make the final cut for Game's 2nd studio album, Doctor's Advocate. This annoys me, coz in my opinion, "Bang Along" is far better than most of the tracks that actually did make it on the album. The song is great, with Game rhyming about his past and reminiscing on good old times, but it's Kanye's beat that really makes this song special. It's one of those beats that you just can't help but whistle along to. Enjoy!
Speaking of songs that didn't make the final cut for Doctor's Advocate, "My Bitch" is a Dr. Dre produced track, in which Game takes shots at some big industry names, such as 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Suge Knight. It's a great diss track, with a solid beat from Dre and amusing lyrics to match. Enjoy!
I recently bought Game's 2005 debut album, The Documentary, which features many great songs, including one of my favourite tracks of all time, "Hate It Or Love It". The Documentary also contains "Dreams", the only track to be produced by Kanye West, and easily one of the highlights of the album. As a bonus, I'll also throw in "How We Do", which is another popular track from The Documentary. Enjoy!
"Million Dollar Baby" is another great banger produced by Just Blaze, and the beat really brings out the best in Lil Wayne. Weezy goes hard with his signature wordplay, hitting us with punch line after punch line, and with Blaze's production sounding like the theme music for an epic boxing match, the combination of lyrics and beat is just about perfect. Enjoy!
Mos Def comes up with a great concept for a track and Premo brings the perfect beat to execute it. "Mathematics" is filled with plenty of Hip Hop quotables, while DJ Premier scratches out a great hook to match the songs title. This is probably my favourite Mos Def track so don't sleep on it. Enjoy!
Here's a cool little video that apparently contains every single sample Kanye has ever used, as well as the tracks that he created from those samples. Enjoy!
Royce Da 5'9" hit us with this new track via his twitter last night, which is produced by and featuring Mr. Porter. This track is set to appear on the deluxe edition of his Street Hop album, coming soon. Enjoy!
"Get By" is the track that finally gave Talib Kweli the mainstream exposure he so rightly deserved. Kanye West was responsible for the production on the track, creating a beat that works perfectly with the message Kweli is trying to convey with his rhymes. The result is an inspiring and uplifting anthem that's sure to put a smile on anyone's face. Enjoy!
Talib Kweli - Get By
As a bonus, here's the official remix, featuring Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West & Busta Rhymes, although I still prefer the original coz Kweli really killed it:
Talib Kweli - Get By (Remix) feat. Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West & Busta Rhymes
Fat Joe still knows how to pick a great beat when he hears one. This is the video to "Ha Ha" which only dropped minutes ago. Featuring Young Jeezy, the rapper with a voice so hoarse that he "shoulda been a Porsche. VROOM!!!" Enjoy.
I only just heard this track for the first time today, although I'm aware it was regarded as one of the best Hop Hop songs of 2007. I can see why, and "Hip Hop Police" definitely deserves it's spot in today's edition of Song With A Story. It even features Slick Rick, the King of Storytelling, so you know it's gonna be good. Funny music video too. Enjoy!
This dope track came out yesterday, and I thought it was great, except for the fact that the last 4 minutes of the song consisted of "Puff Daddy" talking absolute shit! Luckily, I managed to find a video on YouTube where someone wisely cut off Diddy's bullshit, which left two and a half minutes of quality Jay Electronica over a great beat from Quincey Tones. Enjoy!
"I'll Find You" is a fresh new track by Game, and I'm loving the beat from Just Blaze. Apparently this song is destined to be on Dr. Dre's "upcoming" album, Detox, so maybe Dre will be adding a verse later. For now though, I'ma have this tune on heavy rotation on the iTunes. Enjoy!
I haven't done one of my regular features in a while, so I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with a bit of Premo Appreciation. Now here's yet ANOTHER Jay-Z track, and I know I post a lot of the Jigga Man's songs, but I can't help it that he works with all the best producers!
This track is the extended remix to "A Million And One Questions", so only the original version of this song appeared on Jay's 2nd studio album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Now I have to admit, the beat on this track changes up a little over halfway through the song, into a beat that I'm not quite a fan of. However, I love the beat on the first half of the track so much that it's still one of my favourite Premo productions. That's just my opinion though. Y'all will have to make up your own minds on this one. Enjoy!
DJ Trackstar creates this unofficial Bad Meets Evil track by mixing Em's and Royce's freestyles together. They both go HARD on Drake's "Over" beat, and then move on to Lloyd Banks' "Beamer, Benz or Bentley". Enjoy!
With "Heart Of The City", Kanye West produces yet another great track for Jay-Z, which appeared on his 6th studio album, The Blueprint. Jay and Kanye make an excellent team together, and their collaborations often result in brilliant music. "Heart Of The City" is no exception, particularly due to Kanye's amazing work on the production boards. You crazy for this one 'Ye! Enjoy.
*Bonus Track* Here's another great Kanye-produced track from The Blueprint, which y'all might be a little more familiar with:
It's time for another banger from Just Blaze, and this track is up there with the best of 'em. Now Fat Joe isn't exactly the best rapper in the world, but he sure knows how to pick a beat, and this one's a beauty. With "Safe 2 Say", Blaze makes his best beat since Ghostface Killah's "The Champ" and Jay-Z's "Public Service Announcement", which is quite an achievement, but exactly what we have come to expect from this legendary producer. I noticed that they didn't have a video for this track on YouTube, so I made one myself. Enjoy!
For this edition of Song With A Story, Royce Da 5'9" tells the tale of a lady's man who plans to have a one night stand with TWO lovely women. However, things don't quite go to plan for our "hero", and the night does not end well. Usually with storytelling songs, a good music video will make the track 10 times better, and that's definitely the case with "Part Of Me". Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
To put it simply, M.O.P.'s "Ante Up (Remix)" is pure "FIRE"!!! The beat sounds like something Just Blaze could've produced coz it's an absolute banger! On top of that, each emcee gives it their all, and the energy levels on the track are through the roof! In my mind, the only other track that comes close in terms of raw intensity would be Ghostface Killah's "The Champ", and that's saying something. Just make sure to crank the volume up to 11 if you truly want to experience this masterpiece in all its glory. Enjoy!
For this entry into Kanye Appreciation, I've decided to give you three Twista tracks, made up of three great Kanye beats, with all three songs featuring Kanye West himself. That's three for the price of one! Now you've got be happy with that. The first two tracks, "Slow Jamz" and "Overnight Celebrity", come off my favourite Twista album so far, Kamikaze, whilst the third song, "Alright", is a bonus track from his most recent album, Category F5. Twista brings his world famous rapid-fire flow to each of the three tracks, and Kanye adds his legendary production skills to the mix as well, creating a handful of great songs that you now have the pleasure of listening to right here. Enjoy!
Termanology comes out of nowhere and absolutely KILLS this Premo beat on "Watch How It Go Down". DJ Premier is in top form as usual, but Termanolgy matches Premo every step of the way with his great flow and even better lyrics. He's definitely one to watch, especially if Premo keeps providing him with more great beats like this one. Enjoy!
Favourite line: "And that's the reason little kids get hit by strays, coz motherfuckers can't act they're age! Before you learn how to shoot, better learn how to aim, there's already enough of our people that's dying from AIDS."
"Never Been In Love" doesn't demonstrate your typical Just Blaze beat, but it's still the best track to come off Talib Kweli's 2004 album, The Beautiful Struggle. Instead of making another one of those banging beats that Blaze is famous for, he decided to tone it down a bit and created a soothing, soulful beat that sounds like something Kanye would normally produce. Just Blaze pulls it off brilliantly though, and Kweli flows over the track with ease. Here it is for y'all to enjoy:
It's time to add a new feature to my blog, just to keep things fresh and interesting. This feature will be called Song With A Story, and as the title suggests, it will simply involve me posting songs with a story in them. So to kick things off, there's no better way to introduce this feature than with the undisputed king of storytelling Hip Hop, the one and only Slick Rick.
Slick Rick has built his entire career on the art of storytelling, and has become one of the most respected emcees in the game. This particular track, "Children's Story", is one of my favourite storytelling songs of all time, and the perfect way to demonstrate Rick's amazing storytelling abilities. Rick spins the story of a young boy who chooses "the wrong path" in life, and the crazy journey this path takes him on, involving crime, dope fiends, cops and car chases. I don't wanna give too much away though, so just listen to the song for yourself. Enjoy!
First, I want y'all to check out this little known song by Curtis Mayfield, called "Move On Up":
Sound familiar? Of course it does, because it's the sample used for Kanye West's hit single, "Touch The Sky", from his second studio album, Late Registration. Now the reason I file this blog entry under Just Blaze Appreciation, is because this is the only track on the whole album that was not produced by Kanye West himself. Just Blaze was brought in for the production of only one song, which in my opinion, turned out to be the best track on the entire album. Blaze simply took the Curtis Mayfield sample, slowed it down, added his own horns and drums and created one of the best beats that Kanye has ever used. You already knew the song, but now you know the story behind it as well, so here's "Touch The Sky". Enjoy!
I can't BELIEVE that I haven't posted a 2Pac song on my blog yet! I'm gonna have to correct that mistake immediately. "Dear Mama" is probably my favourite 2Pac song of all time, but it's really a toss-up between this track and "Hit 'Em Up". However, I've gone with "Dear Mama" as my Song Of The Day because it's just packed full of raw emotion, and that's exactly what 2Pac's music is all about. As a bonus though, I'll throw in "Hit 'Em Up" anyway. Enjoy!
Three more slept-on tracks from Kanye's third studio album, Graduation. The production is top-notch on all three tracks, and there's even a cool little video for "Good Morning" starring the Dropout Bear, so make sure to check it out. Enjoy!
If I had to choose my favourite Premier beat of all time, it would have to be "Boom" by Royce Da 5'9". However, as I've already posted that amazing song on my blog before, I thought I'd share with y'all a couple more tracks that these two giants of Hip Hop have made together. The first track is called "Shake This", which revolves around Royce's one year prison sentence that he served back in 2007. He really pours his heart out on the track so you'll wanna listen closely to the lyrics. The second track is called "Hip Hop", and that's exactly what the song is about. Pure Hip Hop. Now let's not forget about Premo, who produces two wonderful beats, and turns Royce's great lyrics into fantastic songs. Enjoy!
B.o.B's new single off his upcoming album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Now I'm just waiting for "Airplanes (Part II)", featuring some white dude named Eminem. By the way, apparently Eminem KILLS it! Anyway, here's Part I:
Sick new freestyle from one quarter of SLAUGHTERHOUSE!!! Many rappers have gone in on this beat but no one can really kill a freestyle like Joell Ortiz.
Here's the newest addition to my iTunes library. It's a cool track with a beat that samples the theme music from the Bond film, Goldfinger. Check it out:
Simply put, Brother Ali absolutely KILLS this track with a single verse of flawless rhymes and raw passion for Hip Hop. Just about every second line that comes out of his mouth is a quotable as he unleashes a lyrical assault for over 2 whole minutes. This is unfortunate for Wale, the other emcee to appear on the track, who spits 2 strong verses of his own, but is completely overshadowed by Brother Ali's powerful rhymes. Not bad for the only white, albino emcee in the game. Enjoy!
Favourite lines: "You really got the guns you claim in the track? Then my question to you is who you aiming 'em at!?"
"Y'all are all safe n' shit! Y'all are not sayin' shit! You just snap your fingers and dance n' make your label rich!"
"This is your chance to say somethin' and your wasting it! People are starving, you talking 'bout balling."
"80% of kids are listening to your shit. I heard that statistic, I almost cried. Never wanted so bad for 2Pac to be alive!"
Back in 2005, Kanye West got together with Pharoahe Monch and Miri Ben-Ari to create an epic track titled "New World Symphony". The track appeared on Miri Ben-Ari's album, The Hip-Hop Violinist. As a violinist, Ben-Ari doesn't rap on any of her songs, which means that the album featured many guest appearances such as Akon, Lil Wayne, Styles P, Scarface, Fabolous and Kanye West just to name a few.
This particular track features Pharoahe Monch, who is one of my favourite emcees, and has Kanye West in charge of production. The result is an epic orchestral beat led by the great violin of Miri Ben-Ari, and Pharoahe Monch just killing the track with his amazing flow. You've got to agree with Pharoahe Monch when he says "Kanye did it again!" Enjoy!
Yesterday, I watched the Jay-Z documentary, Fade To Black, which revolved around his "retirement" concert and the making of The Black Album. I really enjoyed the movie, and as a result, I've been listening to Jay-Z tracks all day, so the next few posts may revolve around the Jigga Man.
Therefore, today's Song Of The Day is the title track from Hova's 3rd album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. This track became Jay-Z's most commercially successful single at the time of release, and was nominated for a Grammy in 1999. "Hard Knock Life" shows Jigga rapping about his life in the ghetto, but the greatest element of the song is the brilliant hook, which is actually a sample taken from the Broadway musical, Annie. The sample fits perfectly with Jay's lyrics and the simplistic beat, which is all credit to the producer of the track, The 45 King. This song is just classic HOV, and essential listening for any Hip Hop fan. Enjoy!
When it comes to creating Hip Hop club bangers, no producer does it better than Just Blaze. In 2003, for Joe Budden's self-titled debut album, Blaze produced not one, but two great Hip Hop bangers, which both became successful singles and featured in several Hollywood films at the time. Just Blaze gave Joe Budden a great start to his career by supplying two banging beats, which y'all can now listen to right here. Enjoy!
I never thought I'd be posting a Limp Bizkit song on my blog, but this track deserves to be heard for two main reasons: 1) It features a solid performance from Method Man and 2) DJ Premier produced the beat. Not surprisingly, Method Man outshines Fred Durst (the lead vocalist for Limp Bizkit), and luckily for us, Meth actually spits more bars on the song than Fred does. It also goes without saying that DJ Premier produces another classic beat, which even makes Fred Durst sound like a decent emcee. "N 2 Gether Now" is a great Hip Hop song from a crappy rock band. Who would've thought? Enjoy!
It's about time I posted a Weezy track on the blog, and this one's probably my favourite song off his super successful album, The Carter III. Kanye West creates a magnificent beat on "Let The Beat Build", and Lil Wayne just can't go wrong when the production is this good. Check it out and enjoy!
Favourite line: "Gotta get it clear, suck my dick with red lipstick and don't let it smear!"
I wanted to post the original "Encore" on my blog for those of you that have been poisoned by the whole Jay-Z/Linkin Park mash-up crap, where Kanye's great production was thrown out the window and replaced with some emo, rock 'n' roll bullshit. In fact, the whole Collision Course album was a complete massacre of Jay-Z's music, and a real stain on the history of Hip Hop. That's why this one goes out to all the true Hip Hop fans, so they can hear the original "Encore" in all it's glory. Enjoy!
This entry into Song Of The Day requires a bit of storytelling first. Once upon a time, Eminem and Royce da 5'9" (my two favourite rappers) formed a rap group called Bad Meets Evil. They made a few great songs together, one of which was titled "Renegade". Unfortunately, the partnership didn't last very long as Eminem and Royce had a falling-out, which led to a long rap feud between Royce da 5'9" and Eminem's "band", D12. I'm happy to report that this feud officially ended last year, so hopefully we'll be seeing Em and Royce back together and making some great music in the near future.
Anyways, back to the story. Fast-forward to the year 2001 now, and Jay-Z is in the process of making his 6th studio album, The Blueprint. He decides that he wants to make a song with Eminem, so he arranges a meeting. Eminem comes in and presents a little track he produced himself called "Renegade". He tells Jay-Z that the track is relatively unknown, so the verses from Royce can be removed and Jay can record his own verses instead. Jay-Z does exactly that and the song becomes one of the best tracks to come off the entire album. The end. So now that you know the story, here's the song:
Jay-Z feat. Eminem - "Renegade"
I've also added the original "Renegade" from Eminem and Royce for you to hear. I prefer Jay-Z's version better, but I still like the original version as well.
Bad Meets Evil - "Renegade"
And here's an interesting fact: Jay-Z released The Blueprint on September 11, 2001.
So far in their careers, DJ Premier and AZ have only made 2 tracks together, but luckily for AZ, both of those tracks have been classic Premo productions. "The Come Up" was their first creation back in 2005, and a year later they got back together to make "The Format" in 2006. Here they both are for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
"Kingdom Come" is a fantastic track, if only for the fact that Just Blaze took a ridiculous sample and made it work brilliantly. Everyone's heard "Super Freak" by Rick James, and will be quite familiar with it's catchy beat. If you need a quick reminder, here it is:
Well Just Blaze took that beat, chopped it up, added his own little flavour to the production and turned it into the best track to come off Jay-Z's 2006 album, Kingdom Come. This is another classic Jay-Z/Just Blaze collaboration and it only gets better with every listen. Enjoy!
In my opinion, Slaughterhouse is the best rap group in the game right now. This Hip Hop super-group consists of Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and my personal favourite, Royce da 5'9". They've already made one quality album together, and a second album should be dropping sometime this year, hopefully in the coming months. Although they're very serious and professional when it comes to their music, they also have a "softer" side, which they display here in an hilarious video that cracks me up every time. Check it out:
J Dilla was one of the most respected and influential Hip Hop producers that ever lived. He worked with many great artists and received much critical acclaim for the wonderful beats he created in his short lifetime. He passed away 4 years ago at the young age of 32, so I thought I'd dedicate this feature to him and share a few of his songs through my blog. May he rest in peace.
Kanye West produced 9 of the 11 tracks on Common's 2005 album, Be, which is probably the reason why I enjoyed it so much. Here, witness how Kanye produces the perfect intro track to a Hip Hop album, creating a beat with a great build up and a strong finish that gets the listener excited about hearing the rest of the album.
"Be" starts off with some random plucking of guitar strings, but slowly turns into a nice rhythm. A second instrument is layered over the guitar and suddenly comes the realisation that the beat is building up to something. Then the piano kicks in, and it adds a whole new dimension to the beat. Finally, the whole orchestra begins to play, the track is now in full swing, and Common begins his rhymes, completing one the greatest Hip Hop album intros I've ever heard. This songs leads right into another great Kanye-produced track, "The Corner", but that's another blog entry. For now, here's "Be":
Speaking of great Hip Hop album intros, here's another one I came across just the other day, off Black Milk's 2008 album, Tronic. The song is called "Long Story Short", and it's produced by Black Milk himself. The track begins with an alien-type sound but soon turns into a soothing piano. The piano sounds great, even though it doesn't quite represent a typical Hip Hop beat. Suddenly, the alien sound picks up where the piano left off, the drums kick in at the same time, and another great Hip Hop album intro is born. The fact that Black Milk rhymes about his journey through the Hip Hop game thus far is just the icing on the cake. Enjoy!
"Exhibit C" by Jay Electronica was consistently rated the top Hip Hop song to come out of 2009, so it should come as no surprise that Just Blaze was the man behind the beat. It should also come as no surprise that the beat he created is an absolute BANGER, proving once again why Just Blaze is still one of the best Hip Hop producers in the game.
As soon as the song begins to play, we already get a sense that we're listening to something special. But when the beat truly kicks in at the 28 second mark, it becomes quite clear why this track was such a smash hit within the Hip Hop community. Of course, a track doesn't become the song of the year from the beat alone. Jay Electronica brought his "A" game as well, spitting some great rhymes and showing everyone why he's the one to watch in 2010. So now, without further adieu, "I present, Exhibit C"! JUST BLAAAZE!!!
Favourite line: "They call me Jay Electronica. Fuck that! Call me Jay ElecHanukkah, Jay ElecYamaka, Jay ElectRamadan Muhammad Asalamukah Rasoul Allah Supana Wata Allah through your monitor!"
This is a fresh new joint from DJ Premier and Joell Ortiz that dropped only hours ago. Ortiz goes crazy over the Premo beat, which will appear on Joell's upcoming album, Free Agent.
There's not much I can say about this track, other than it's one of the greatest Hip Hop songs of all time. Mobb Deep hit the height of their career with this track, mixing the perfect beat with their classic rhymes to create a song that no "Top 10" Hip Hop list could be without. It's definitely on mine, so give this song a listen, or I'll "rock you in your face, stab your brain with your nose bone!"
For today's entry into Kanye Appreciation, I wanted to post a Kanye West track with a Kanye West beat. I've chosen a song off his 3rd album, Graduation, called "The Glory", which I only heard for the first time last week. I can't believe I slept on this song for so long as it demonstrates everything I love about Kanye West. The beat starts off great, but when the bass kicks in at around the 38 second mark, the song is taken to a whole other level. Kanye also spits a few hot verses that sound right at home on the beat, and I'm left wondering why this track was never released as a single. I could have loved this song YEARS ago! Oh well, at least I'm loving it now. Enjoy!
Favourite line: "I guess after I live I wanna be compared to Big; anyone, Big Pun, Big L or Notorious!"
Time for another banging beat from Just Blaze. Jay-Z has the honour of providing the vocals for this track off The Black Album, titled "Public Service Announcement". The song starts off with a gentle piano and some introductory words from Jay-Z, leaving no indication that we are listening to a Just Blaze production so far. Suddenly, as the song hits the 20 second mark, Jay-Z shouts out "Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is HOV!" and Just Blaze unleashes hell. The beat kicks into top gear and doesn't let up until the end of the song, while Jay-Z turns in an impressive performance of his own. A great song off a fantastic album and another classic beat from JUST BLAAAZE!!!
Favourite line: "Whenever there's a drought, get your umbrellas out because, that's when I brainstorm!"
It's time to introduce The Notorious B.I.G. to my blog, a Hip Hop legend taken from the world long before his time. In fact, if he were still alive today, Biggie would only be 38 this year. To put that into perspective, Jay-Z has already hit 40 while Eminem is turning 38, the same age as Big would have been. Imagine all the great music he would have made in the 13 years since his death. But this post is about the great music that he DID make, and today I've chosen one of my favourite songs called "Notorious Thugs" featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
This is one of the first Hip Hop songs I ever loved, and it also introduced me to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, who I became very obsessed with because of this track. Bone Thugs are all about their rapid-fire, machine-gun flow, and they demonstrate that very well in this song. The great thing is that Biggie changed up his own flow to suit the Bone Thug style and the result was one of the greatest sounding verses of his career. This song is in my top 10 most played tracks on iTunes because I used to listen to it on repeat for hours at a time. Do yourselves a favour and give it at least one listen, in honour of The Notorious B.I.G., one of the greatest emcees to ever pick up the mic. Enjoy!
Favourite line: "Squeeze your clip, hit the right one. Pass that weed, I got to light one. All them n*ggas, I got to fight one. All them hoes, I got to like one."
If there's anyone in the Hip Hop world that needs a bit more appreciation, it's Kanye West. It seems that all the controversy surrounding the man has blinded people from the fact that he's actually a musical genius! Now when I say musical genius, I'm not referring to his skills on the mic, but rather the many wonderful beats he has produced over the past 10 years. Apart from producing all of his own albums, he has also made beats for the likes of Jay-Z, The Game, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, T.I. and Talib Kweli just to name a few.
For today's entry into the Kanye Appreciation feature, I've picked the track "I Still Love H.E.R." by the Teriyaki Boyz. Although more than half the song is in Japanese, you won't mind because Kanye's beat is the real star of the show. In fact, I love the beat so much that I wouldn't care if they did the whole song in German! But to be fair, the Teriyaki Boyz do sound nice over the beat, and even Kanye comes on at the end to do a verse of his own. I heard that even Taylor Swift loves this song (nah, I just made that up), so let's stop hating on Kanye and just enjoy the music that he makes so well.
Favourite line: "Lick the black, get the cream, like an Oreo"
In the same vein as Premo Appreciation, this feature will pay tribute to the amazing production styles of Just Blaze, another one of my favourite Hip Hop producers of all time. In case you don't know, Just Blaze was behind such popular hits as T.I.'s "Live Your Life" and Kanye West's "Touch The Sky", so you may already be a fan of his work whether you know it or not.
I'm gonna start off this feature with a track that best demonstrates what Just Blaze is all about: insane, mind-blowing beats! "The Champ" by Ghostface Killah is exactly that. It might have something to do with it's Rocky-type theme, but if you don't feel like punching the nearest person in the FACE when you hear it, there must be something wrong with you. This is definitely my fight song, because it always gets me fired up whenever I listen to it. In fact, I'm getting fired up just thinking about it. JUST BLAAAZE!!!
Today's Song Of The Day goes to Southern rapper T.I. for his Grammy Award-winning track, "What You Know". That's right, T.I. won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance with this smash hit, which is often ranked as the top song to come out of 2006. This song is a straight up banger, and that's mostly due to the amazing production by DJ Toomp. This is not T.I.'s most lyrical song, so his long-time producer DJ Toomp stepped in to provide a beat that turned what could have been an average track, into T.I.'s most successful song to date. Must be one hell of a beat right? Check it out for yourself. Enjoy!
You may notice as I continue my blog, that I'm a massive fan of DJ Premier. He is responsible for making some of the greatest beats in Hip Hop history, and he continues to make instant classics to this day. That's why I've started a feature called Premo Appreciation, where I can post my favourite Premier-produced tracks for y'all to listen to. As I've already posted two of my favourite Premo songs on the blog already, with "Boom" by Royce da 5'9" and "Nas Is Like" by Nas (check those out if you haven't already), my third track will come from an up-and-coming emcee by the name of Reks.
Premo and Reks came together back in 2008 to create a song called "Say Goodnight," and the track turned out to be one of the hottest songs of the year. Premier blessed Reks with a magical beat and Reks matched it every step of the way with 3 verses full of raw hunger and passion. I bumped this tune for months after I first heard it and I hope you will all do the same. Enjoy!
Favourite line: "They want me to say, 'Fuck who in the game, if you the best rapper alive, then Reks INSANE!'"
The next instalment in my Song Of The Day feature had to come from Eminem, because he is definitely my favourite emcee of all time. Now most people are familiar with Eminem and know quite a few of his songs, so I dug deep for this one and pulled out what is probably the best Eminem song that no one has ever heard. I'm sure that die hard fans will already know and love this song, but the rest of you are in for a real treat.
The song is called "Hellbound," and appearing alongside Eminem are J. Black and Masta Ace. OK, so I'll admit, I have no idea who J. Black is (and I can't be bothered doing the research), but I am familiar with Masta Ace. In fact, Masta Ace is one of the main influences on Eminem's rapping style, and that's according to Eminem himself, but on this track, it is clear that the student has far surpassed the "Masta". Eminem turns in one of the best verses of his entire career, and his two guests follow up with solid verses of their own. The beat sounds like something out of a video game like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, which suits the lyrics perfectly. OK, now that I've got you all excited, time to listen to the song. Enjoy!
Favourite line: I can't pick one because everything Eminem spits on this track is FIRE!!!
OK, so I'm gonna start a feature on my blog and it's called Song Of The Day. Here's how it works: I post a song I like. That's it. Exciting, huh?
Now seeing as this is the first entry for my Song Of The Day feature, I wanted to start it off with a bang, so I'm posting one of my favourite songs of all time; "Hate It Or Love It" by The Game, featuring 50 Cent. This is my top played song on iTunes and for good reason. I LOVE this song, so much so that I know all the words off by heart. I'm a big fan of The Game, and this song is one of the main reasons why. On the other hand, there's 50 Cent, who pretty much sucks balls as an emcee, but as much as I hate to admit it, he actually steals the show on this song. 50 Cent has never sounded better on a track, and he never will. Now let's not forget the producers of the song, Cool & Dre, who do an amazing job with the beat, and the result is one of the greatest Hip Hop songs to come out of the last 20 years. That's enough from me though, time to enjoy the song ................
Favourite line: "'Pac is gone and Brenda's still throwing babies in the garbage"
What's up y'all? Let's get the bullshit out of the way. Yes, this is the first post on my new blog. Yes, it will probably be my last. But whateva, I was bored so I started a blog. Isn't that how all blogs start?
Anyway, today's topic is ........... DJ Premier, the greatest Hip Hop producer of all time. Fact! Now let me prove it.
Take this song for example; an obscure track by some guy named Marc Hannibal. You don't have to listen to the whole song (which is quite crap to be honest), but make sure you listen to the first 9 seconds very closely. In particular, seconds 6-9 (you might wanna rewind it a couple of times):
Now witness how DJ Premier took 3 seconds of music out of a boring song, looped it, and created an instant Hip Hop classic with "Boom" by Royce da 5'9":
Yeah, that's right, you can pick your jaws up from the floor now. And if that wasn't proof enough, here's another example. Again, just pay attention to the first 9 seconds of the song, this time called "What Child Is This" by Robert Way:
And from those 9 seconds, DJ Premier was able to make this classic track, for fellow Hip Hop legend Nas, with the song "Nas Is Like":
In conclusion, according to the facts presented here today, it is clear that DJ Premier IS the greatest Hip Hop producer of all time. I rest my case.
