#21-Fun Fun Fun Fest Recap

Fun Fun Fun fest invaded Waterloo park here in the great city of Austin this past weekend. I have to say that beyond a shadow of a doubt, this festival lived up to its' name. I'm pretty sure I remember telling someone, at some point over the weekend that it may have warranted 5 or 6 "funs" instead of 3. I was fortunate enough to claim a media pass for the fest so I was able to report from the front lines, as well as backstage. I got insanely close to Slick Rick and got to see some other fantastic MC's deliver and move the great crowd that graced the grass all weekend.

Sitting in the middle of the park/festival grounds, I could hear an amalgamation of everything and anything punk, metal, hip hop, rock and roll and more.....It was truly a sight to see (or hear) for an avid lover all of types/forms of music such as myself. The line-up (Hip-Hop notwithstanding) wrote like a who's who in all things independent music. This is the perfect environment for someone such as myself.

With a 3-stage set up, the Blue stage was reserved for MC's and DJ's as they say...and unlike the Beastie Boys, there were way more than 3. The first set I caught on Saturday was that of Houston MC Devin the Dude....this cat totally had a screwball, laid back feel, but I dug it. Definitely a southern MC, It's no wonder he cut his teeth on the Rap-A-Lot label alongside Scarface. The crowd was super in to Devin's flows, and oddly enough I think I caught a punk rock cat with a mohawk rocking to Devin's set!! That's one of the many aspects I loved about FFF Fest-A diverse crowd that didn't discriminate.

The next MC to grace the Blue Stage needed no introduction....the one and only SLICK RICK the ruler came on and performed The Adventures of.. in it's entirety. Yes, that's right; I got to see the man perform "Hey Young World", "Children's Story", "Teacher Teacher", and more prime Rick cuts all from the side of the stage. Amazing. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I'd get to see Slick Rick play, let alone see him play as up-close and personal as I did.

As the weekend progressed, I caught sets from Jean Grae, Pharoae Monch, and P.O.S. , who all delivered . Jean Grae was especially good, and made me want to get into female MC's a lot more..it also made me realize that there's a slew of females who are making noise in the underground that I had no idea about. I knew of Jean on an uber-casual level, from Mr Lif's "Post Mordem" track, after checking her set, I'm definitely going to familiarize myself with her catalog in the near future, Jean is a cunning lyricist with an impeccable, straight-forward, no-nonsense rhyme style. I also got to catch Pharoae Monch's set, snuck over to the blue stage just in time to catch "Simon Says", this cat can still bring it too!! Makes me wish Rawkus Records kept on trucking and continued to make those great Soundbombing comps, that put MC's such as PM on the map.

As the sun set on Saturday night, P.O.S came through and brought his huuuuge sound to the stage and rocked the crowd hard-He played much of his set over the barricade and in the crowd-I knew he'd be great but I was super impressed with his showmanship. I talked to him for a minute after he got off stage, he said the show was a blast and loved to play festivals, but expressed how unique he thought FFF was in comparison to others. Very hard not to agree with him.

All things considered, FFF was an absolute blast-filled with beats, rhymes, old friends, new friends, and fantastic performances by some great independent musicians, sweeping many, many different genres. Given all the good things that came out of Fun Fun Fun, I'm looking forward to covering more festivals/shows: SXSW would be the next egg I'm teeming to crack, and with the hip hop acts featured for SX growing exponentially every year, the possibilities for content seem extremely fruitful.


Pics top to bottom: FFF Fest media lounge, Slick Rick, Jean Grae, P.O.S.

Fun Fun Fun!

Over the years, hip hop, like any genre, has done it's fair share of shape-shifting. The definition of what we all know and love means different things to different people. We have all been privy to the amount of exposure Hip-hop music in general has been given, and it's no mistake that many, many artists have crossed over into more diverse audiences on the mainstream AND underground sides of the tail.

We've been seeing more and more MC's, DJ's, and artists representing hip hop that have been tossed into the mix within independent culture as of late. As November nears, I'm excited to attend Fun Fun Fun Fest here in Austin, which has invaded waterloo park every year around the same time. This year, I'm excited to see P.O.S., A-Trak, and Devin the Dude-This will be my first Fun Fun Fun, will hopefully have some great scene info to report on very soon!!

-Marty.

# 19-?uestlove of The Roots' epic record collection....

Those of you that know me enough to have been in the apartments/houses I dwell know that within the last few years, I've acquired about 200-250 vinyl records. I've been collecting on and off since around 2003, and I have to say that taking up vinyl collecting has been a truly exciting endeavor-I feel like this hobby will carry on throughout my entire life. Being a music fan automatically makes you a music collector, no matter which format you prefer. Without question, the internet has certainly blurred the lines of music distribution. Within the last few years, many music collectors/fans have migrated towards collecting and listening to vinyl records because of the experience. I for one couldn't agree more; I feel that spinning a vinyl record is the best way to listen to music. My friend Kevin once made a very poignant, but very true statement when it came to record collecting: "A CD/MP3 is a digital representation of music. A vinyl record IS the music".

Couldn't have said it better myself. This of course brings us to Amhir "Questlove" Thompson of the Legendary Roots Crew. The Roots are responsible for 9 outstanding albums, one of the most entertaining live shows i've ever seen, and lest we forget being the coolest band in late night. Questo has an INSANE record collection-many of us collectors have dreamed of having a set up like this, a sprawling library with ladders that toggle from left to right. Questo's sister, Anh, has quite a bit of dialogue, and her take on growing up in a musical family is really cool/interesting.

Apparently, this vid was shot back in 2003, and his collection is up to 70,000 records now. sheesh. I've got a long way to go.

-Marty.

#18-DOOM (MF Doom)-"Born Like This" (2009)

I know what you're thinking. I'm gonna start this post blathering about how the early/mid 90's were the golden years, everything made post-'98 is crap, Illmatic still sounds modern, Nas' flows still sound as fresh as the downy dryer sheets you use with your towels and bed linen, and about 98% of the videos aired on Rap City from 1991-1996 were pure gold. put that in a blender with the "Hip Hop then coupled with Indie Rock now" analogy, and well, you just might have me figured out.

Transparency and self-deprecation can work for or against you in the field of journalism. I guess you just have to be creative in how you use it. Pretty soon, you have to move away from the "Oh my god, I'd bet NOOOOBODY reads this" elementary sarcasm, to the "let me sling mud toward my own opinions/thoughts" paradigm, if you really want to write hip hop record reviews for free. As my dad would say, it's a jungle out there.

For today's post, I guess I had to spit all of this nonsense simply because, while the record we're talking about came out last year, the artist, MF DOOM, has been around for some time, namely in the early 90's group KMD-I guess I just had to cover all my bases.

KMD recorded two records, 1991's Mr. Hood and 93's Black Bastards. The latter would not see the light of day for some time due to controversial cover art; KMD's then-label Elektra shelved it until the group amended the cover art, obviously that never happened, so BB would fade into obscurity for some time.

Enter Daniel Dumile. Lyrical mastermind behind KMD, he loses his brother, DJ Subroc, in a car accident in '93, the same year Black Bastards was supposed to be released. (Subroc repped KMD crew also.) Distraught, Dumile, roamed the streets for a few years, freestyled/rhymed at some open mics and was ready to take on the game again, with a new, reformed persona; he first disguised his face by wearing a stocking over his head while performing, later evolving into a gladiator-esque mask. Scorned by the loss of a family member and catching wreck from a major label, he remerged as MF Doom, to "swear revenge against the industry that so badly deformed him". If that isn't some anti-social moxy you can get behind, pinch yourself.

I had been intruiged by Doom's story for some time, after copping the Dangerdoom release on vinyl (a venture w/ Doom, Dangermouse, and cartoon network), it became increasingly obvious that the more I slept on doom the more I'd regret it later. Born plays like a prodigal son roaming the wasteland of bad record deals and heartbreak. Flows requiring attention. showstopping production by Doom himself and J Dilla, amongst others. Check out "Lightworks" if you want to hear a killer beat matched with an award-worthy vocal; the track "Cellz" takes from one of my favorite poems, Charles Bukowski's Dinosauria: We, the spoken word dialogue that opens the track read by Hank Chinaski himself. Track after track, boasting lyrical guest stars like Raekwon and Ghostface Killa, I can't believe I write a hip hop blog and have not been kneeling at the altar of MF DOOM already. I felt like an idiot, and I kind of still do.

Doom's still slaying hearts and winning over 30 something hipsters, 20 something underground heads, and probably a dad or two. Still rocks the mask. still brings it live. still goes into the lab and comes out with beats that cut through his contemporaries like a machete. Some people say it's the life experience that makes the man. While Doom's life may have defined his persona, the raw emotion he puts into his work defines him as an artist.

-Marty.

#17..Back from the dead...

Ahh, summer. cookouts, water, bike rides, nature. These things that go hand in hand with sunshine also get tossed into the mix when a burgeoning blogger is trying to stay active and post as much as he can. Summer '10 has been quite tumultous thus far; along with taking a much needed vacation up north, I also have been working more hours than I was last summer...when I do get free time, the sun and the outdoors usually jockey for position along with writing, spinning records, and watching adult swim. (insert spoiler for aqua teen-schooly d-dangerdoom post here) Couple that with going to shows, resturaunts, record stores, and all the other crazy awesome stuff the city of Austin has to offer, and that'll draw the foregone conclusion-I HAVEN'T POSTED SINCE MARCH.

Excuses. like assholes, they say. I've been listening to all kinds of different great music this summer, namely the new Roots' record How I Got Over and Sage Francis' L(i)fe amongst many others. As you sift through this post, oh conscientious hip hop blog reader, you may be asking yourself, Marty...what exactly does the photo you posted at the top of this page have to do with taking 3 months off from posting? Well, here goes. Whenever I go to visit my extended family in Detroit, I always go to Car City Records, a great record store in the St. Clair Shores neighborhood..if you know D-town, around 9 mile and Harper. Right around the corner from where my grandparents still live, this store is a gem. I've been a solid customer there for probably about 20 years...I've bought everything from Eric B & Rakim's "Don't Sweat the Technique" cassette maxi-single to Sugar's File Under Easy Listening on 12" Vinyl @ CCR. This is brings us to the late, great, producer, beat maker, and MC, J Dilla, who is pictured above. Where is Dilla, you ask? He's flipping through records at CAR CITY RECORDS. Yes, I've stood in the same exact spot he's standing in this picture many, many times. This made my day yesterday. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the pic that I use for the profile picture for onlyhiphop blog's facebook fan page was also taken @ Car City. To know that such a legendary, talented, enigmatic, and almost revolutionary musical mind/talent shopped for records in the same store you have-I have not the words. Hell, for all I know I could've been there when these pics were taken-Amazing stuff.

I've been dealing with a bout of writer's block which usually happens after a few months of creativity pulsating from my head and through my fingers. I had a few ideas for posts over the last few months, namely, the piece about GURU passing away, but for some reason, I didn't have the words. I tried and tried and couldn't come up with anything I liked. I finally succumbed to the sunshine and laziness, and here we sit.

Up and coming: would like to add another guest poster or two, so if you'd like to contribute, please let me know. lord knows I can't handle updating this thing even on a semi-regular basis. Outside of some of the ideas I've had, people have pitched posts on Texas Hip Hop...which, to be honest, I'm not all that into, but that might honestly be a good thing.

In summation, thanks again to all of those who read. Stay tuned, kids.

Keep noddin' ya heads,

-Marty.

#16-Sage Francis-"Personal Journals" (2002)

Indie Hip Hop, while powerful...can totally throw off a lot of purists. Some of the kids that hang in the same circles that I do can be a tad bit confused when a Big-Ass dude from Rhode island with a scraggly beard and a pair of Camo Shorts breaks into the scene and starts to rhyme like his life depended on it. These same cats sometimes have issues with white Rappers/MC's; I've heard that argument "I dont' care how fresh this cat's rhymes are; he's from MINNESOTA?" Real MC's have to be from Compton, Bed Stuy, Queensbridge, etc, etc, blah blah blah.

Come on. Really? Are you from the bridge? Did you grow up in the projects? No. you're probably from Akron, Ohio, Laredo, Texas, or ...dare I say,ST PAUL Minnesota? Guess what? hip hop trickled down from the hood and enriched ALL of our lives. Rakim might not've had Columbia, Missouri in mind when he recorded "Microphone Fiend" but I'm sure there's a kid there with a set of turntables and a copy of Paid In Full on wax that could one day blow us all away. When I was younger, I always felt like there was some kind of divisor because I didn't come from the bad part of town. In Westchester, Ohio (where I grew up) -The subdivisions were nice and the apartment complexes and trailer parks were the hood. Growing up in the Westchester "hood" wouldnt have made me any more qualified to wax intellectual or philosophical on the subject, as a matter of fact, had I came out of the sullen bosom of the WC "hood" I'd probably care more about oil changes than not only nodding my head, but writing this very blog.

But I digress. Not only am I rambling, I'm high atop my soapbox trying to find the rest of my surburbia 'heads (I can see you, Beth K!) For those of you that don't know, Sage might be the only heir to Rhode Islands' rhyme throne-he cut his teeth competing in Poetry Slams, which definitely shines through in his rhyming style. PJ might not be his best release, but it's his most concentrated; blending old school storytelling with clever puns and worldplay, it's a record that an MC needs to make to establish himself, and Sage did just that with PJ and then some. Production that was mostly handled by Reanimator, Sixtoo, and some cat named "Mayonnaise"-rough around the edges but lends itself well to the overall vibe. Blasting out of the gate with "Crack Pipes" and weaving an intricate array of everyman vignettes through the Bass heavy "Smoke and Mirrors", along with the dusty, acoustic-driven aura of "Specialist" ..ending up at an otherwise unknown destination; a spoken word piece called "Hopeless" that starts like this:

I played connect-the-dots

with your beauty marks

and I wound up with picture perfect sheet music

Whoa. every time I hear that intro it gives me chills-Sage is not only a solid MC but a proven poet and consummate pro.

All in all, we have a solid record by an Indie MC who's about to, from what I can tell, have his sound fully realized on his new LP, Li(f)e which is due out early next month. With all the talent in the underground, someday soon the belts of this conversion van are going to break and the game will again be wide-open. Somehow, cats like Sage are keepin' it real just staying on the high road, pulling to the next city with wide eyes and open hearts.

-Marty.

Biblio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Journals


Sage rippin' "Crack Pipes" at Emo's here in Austin, Circa 2004:

#15-Dispatches from Dre Day 2010

In '94...my dubbed cassette copy of The Chronic graced my tape deck. To call this record a hip hop classic would be an understatement. When I heard about "Dre Day"...I was quickly drawn to this particular event's mystique; while I hadn't necessarily been clamoring for an event like this, after hearing about it on facebook, I was intrigued and had to go. I told some other hip hop heads about it...before long we were all waiting w/ bated breath for 2/18-which is Dre's birthday. Upon first glance, Dre Day had the making to be pretty great..we walked in and two DJ's were spinning ...there was Olde English being sold by the 20 OZ can AND 40 OZ glass bottle...as well as Dre Day "40 koozies" available for purchase. They also had a photobooth in which you could "make your own chronic album cover", which was kind of neat. The venue, the independent, was cool, kind of like a warehouse/art gallery space.

This is where it began to fall a tad bit flat. The event itself hadn't really been promoted well. There were only about 30-40 people there when we got there around 10:30 and at the height of the evening, probably only about 80 or so people came through. Also, the DJ's who were spinning, while doing well, had some questionable playlist selections, I remember hearing Eve's "Blow your mind" and well as a 50 Cent cut; It's fine but I just wished they had reached a little further into Dre's back catalog and really payed homage to the creator of "G-Funk" with a tad bit more fervor.

While these aspects of Dre Day stuck out in my mind as things that didn't really deliver, the event itself was actually a lot of fun. . The photobooth was a great idea, and the DJ's were good and did manage to spin some crucial Dre cuts towards the end of the night. They also played a lot of 2pac/Snoop that Dre wasn't necessarily a part of, but was definitely received by the same crowds. Also, the 40's of Olde E were a lot of fun that night, but not that much fun the next day.

So all in all, Dre Day was a pretty good time. I'd definitely check it out again if they do it next year.

-Marty.

#14-OnlyHipHopBlog Invades facebook!!

Disciples of the funk-I am hopped up on Mexican coke and tortilla chips and got a bit of a wild hair-I have made a FB fan page for onlyhiphopblog. I've sent suggestions to many-so if you're into it, please, by all means, click on BECOME A FAN. If you're not my friend on FB, add me mofo!! Essentially I want the fan page to be a little blasting zone where people, myself included, can share experiences/talk about posts, or just the music in general. It's really crazy how fb/blogger/twitter is linking us closer together, and honestly, sometimes it freaks me out. Other times it makes me feel unique that I can do something like this, and people all over can read it and tell me what they think.

Again, to everyone that reads, thanks again!

-Marty.

#13-A Dissection of "Ass Rap".

Do you claim to talk to your crew the same way you talk to your girl? Before you can think of beginning to say "Fuck yeah I do!", I'm going to go ahead and call bullshit on that so quickly, it will knock out radio transmissions and leave birds for a half-mile radius without feathers and unable to reproduce. Unfortunately, "keepin it real" stops with the sound of the bedroom door closing. (Note: an exception is made if you're over 25 and have had less sexual partners than digits on your left hand. Maybe if you weren't so damn hard all the time, you'd have a tad more stank on your hang-low, but do what you do, right?

Most ladies quiver at knowing that they're the exception to your rule, that they can make the words "sugar-angel baby pie" cross the lips of the guy who, in the street, wouldn't hesitate to pull a piece on someone who steps on his Timberlands. For most, however, admissions of such blasphemes immediately revokes one's gangsta pass. For better or worse, these are the breaks.


In hip-hop, this is an exceedingly delicate subject. Nearly every MC or crew out there has a song specifically crafted to moisten the dreams of all would-be or wanna-be honeys in the crowd. The results are inconsistent at best. A myriad of approaches are taken, and some have dedicated entire careers to the subject. Slick Rick, for example, relied upon said honeys having a smoldering self-hatred, balancing a line between between making them feel degraded and intrigued at once, and before anyone knows what's happening, they've broken him off something so fierce that sheets are thrown away, and penicillin has secured a top-shelf spot in the medicine cabinet.




Conversely, Common purports on the mic to be able to give you a hot-oil massage while he's making crepes. Your favorite, with strawberries and sweetened cream cheese. All the while, he makes more panties hit the floor than a bull in victoria's secret.



These are the old gods of a niche of hip-hop I like to refer to as "ass rap". If ass-rap were fried chicken, they would be known as Popeye and Colonel Sanders, respectively. For the rest, however, this subject is a mistress as fickle as any. Often an otherwise ground-breaking and prolific hip-hop artist or group will venture into this no-mans land, and emerge with their entire fan base all like, "WTF?".

Dead Prez has achieved mainstream success while still brandishing their subversive and revolutionary lyrics. "Hip-Hop" and "Hell Yeah (Pimp the System)" are bumped daily from dorm rooms and Escalades in downtown Detriot alike. Their foray into ass-rap is a little ditty known as "Mind Sex"...


It's time for some mind sex, we ain't got to take our clothes off yet
We can burn the incense, and just chat
Relax, I got the good vibrations
Before we make love let's have a good conversation

[Verse 1]
Pardon me love but you seem like my type
What you doin tonight? you should stop by the site
We could, roll some weed play some records and talk
I got a fly spot downtown Brooklyn, New York
Now I know you think I wanna fuck, no doubt
but tonight we'll try a different route, how bout we start
With a salad, a fresh bed of lettuce with croutons
Later we can play a game of chess on the futon
See i ain't got to get in your blouse
It's your eye contact, that be getting me aroused
When you show me your mind, it make me wanna show you mines
Reflecting my light, when it shines, just takin our time
Before the night's through, we could get physical too
I ain't tryin to say I don't wanna fuck, cause I do
But for me boo, makin love is just as much mental
I like to know what I'm gettin into

...What, What the shit? This is like finding out the guy who jacked your stereo and then pulled a .22 on you when you called him on it has a date lined up with your little sister, and after you go buy her some condoms and pepper spray, dude rolls up to the door wearing a sweater-vest with roses and shit, with his moms' volvo parked outside. For real?



Every once in a while, however, a lyrical juggernaut tackles the ginormous shit-pile known as ass rap, dances his way in there like a ninjad-out Barry Sanders, and leaves a fat gem buried deep inside. Case in point, Pharoahe Monch's "The Light"




Pharoahe Monch tighrope walks the line between getting your girl into his bed and making you want to throw down for bottle service at a club just because he once walked past it. He's safe, "I never lack to pack prophylact', I learned my lesson". He's enthused, "Dime piece and shit, son, shorty was fine!". In fact, I just got a little bit of a crush. Name dropping Alize and Gran Moulet, claiming to be the girl's horizon, this song begs to be ringing from a club PA, and then a bit later on from an Ipod dock on the nightstand.

The end goal being to get the girl and maintain G-status being achieved, one must imagine Pharoahe Monch riding off into the sunset on 20-inch rims, with a down-ass Kim Kardashian type in the passenger seat, while making it rain out the window. As stated, a polished gem rocking amongst the shit waves in the sea of ass-rap.


-Adam B.

#12...Guest Contributor-Adam Bowers

Since I started onlyhiphop blog a few short months ago, I've gotten some incredible feedback from people, which I greatly appreciate...It means a lot to me that people take time out of their lives to read what I write. This has brought up several conversations, and while it took a little time to materialize, I'd like to introduce the first guest contributor to onlyhiphopblog, Adam B. Adam and I met as co-workers over a year ago, and both quickly realized we had the same penchant for hip hop from the same time period; and as a younger cat, I have to say that Adam knows what he's talking about. I am excited to see posts from Adam in the future, as I'm sure he'll bring up some interesting records/songs that may have slipped under my radar. Above is a pic of Adam working the 1's and 2's.

A little Housecleaning

I set up an email accout for onlyhiphop blog, and it's simply onlyhiphopblog@gmail.com. If you want to ask any questions, or just say what up, feel free to drop a line!! Again, I can't express through words how much it means that people actually read this, I really enjoy doing it have really appreciated the positive feedback. The coming months should be plentiful, so keep on the lookout; for those of you in Austin, I've caught wind of a "Dre Day" party on 2/18 (Dre's Birthday.) Let me know if you want more details...see you there!!

'Til next time,

-Marty.

#11 AZ-"Doe Or Die" (1995)

95' was probably the last of my formidable hip hop years. before Wu-Tang Forever but after Illmatic. Not quite Life After Death, but waaaaaay after De La Soul Is Dead. The artform was rising to an artistic and productive peak at an alarming rate....bear in mind we were just a stones' throw away from what I like to refer to as "the dark times"...I choose not to say much about post '99 material (sans the underground) just because there's not much to say. If you were there, you know, and if you weren't, you've seen what T-Pain looks like...which is probably why you're reading this.

Which brings us to Anthony Cruz, a.k.a AZ..who nearly stole show when he rhymed on Nas's track "Life's a B*tch" off of the now hip-hop classic Illmatic. After appearing on a few more tracks throughout the duration, it was clearly evident that the world was ready for A's solo debut. His delivery was that of a surefire brooklyn/queens MC....unlike his contemporaries, his flow was high and nasal. One of the things I enjoyed about this era of Rap (especially the east coast material) was that it didn't really matter what your voice sounded like, it was all about your delivery and if you could hang lyrically.

Supposedly this record goes hand in hand with Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx under the short-lived "Mafioso" sub-genre. while the subject matter is the close, Linx is more of a concept album that has a continuous story line/production, while Doe or Die is a set of hardcore vignettes set to production that differs greatly track to track.

The production boasts some great names, Pete Rock, Buckwild, (who have been already mentioned a few times within the friendly confines) as well as L.E.S., who would supply Will Smith w/ the beat for "Gettin Jiggy With It" (No Lie. look it up on wikipedia.) Solid production from all camps involved gives this record a really dreamy, catchy, feel...there are several harp samples on this record, and while that sounds dumb, somehow it's not. Pete Rock's "Rather Unique" sounds like his subtle ode to DJ Premier, with layered drums and a keyboard sample that's a little buried in the mix...L.E.S.'s "Sugar Hill" was the first single and has a soft, bouncy, mid-tempo R&B feel to it...with a one Miss Jones singing the hook. Remember seeing the video for this song on Rap City all the time in the mid 90's.

AZ's career would take a few more years to peak, while not being as prolific as he could've been, still found a way to get nominated for a grammy in 2003 for the track "The Essence" ..a duo which him and Nas knocked out together from 2002's Aziatic. Kind of funny he returned the favor from the Illmatic days and it ended up working out....I miss the days when MC's helped each other and collaborated. It's highly unlikely Hip-Hop as a whole will ever give birth to anything resembling Doe again...I understand music must progress, and even with the downfall of our artform there are still giant steps being made; It still makes me a little sad.

-Marty.

Biblio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZ_%28rapper%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doe_or_Die

#10-Show Review-Aesop Rock/Rob Sonic/DJ Big Wiz @ the Mohawk ...1/23/2010

As Saturday night rolled around, I was trying my damndest to get through the day...was planning on going to see AR but was scared I wasn't gonna get in. Contrary to popular belief, I don't just sit in my apartment and spin my vinyl copy of Illmatic all day and night. Blogmaster Marty likes to leave the house, typically for rock/hip hop shows, cheap beer, record stores, and tacos. anything else isn't worth getting up for. Ok, joking aside Aesop is starting to gain some serious momentum while becoming more and more prolific. The crowds keep getting bigger and bigger, and for good reason.

Upon parking downtown, I received a text that confirmed my aforementioned suspicion; the show had in fact, sold out. Thanks to my friend Coby, (stage right) I was able to get in...his roommate had an extra ticket, and as I walked in, Aesop and Rob Sonic were ripping through "Coffee". As we scurried towards the bar, I saw just how PACKED the mohawk was....as much as I wanted to jump outside and nod my head w/ the rest of the crowd, I knew I had to get some type of libation. Coby and I grabbed 4 lonestar 16-ouncers and headed outside. From there, AR and Rob Sonic ripped through much of 2008's None Shall Pass; cuts from Bazooka Tooth, Float, and Labor Days also wafted high into the red river district air. The Hail Mary Mallon track "D Up" was also done....followed by an encore of "The Yes and the Ya'll", which I might have gotten a little too excited about.

Unfortunately my Finepix has been a little under the weather as of late so I couldn't shoot the show-This picture the only one I could find that kind of captured the essence of the show...those are my friends Coby and Andrea above.

All in all was a great, great show. Thanks to Coby, Andrea, and Brian (who had the extra ticket) for making it an insanely fun night!!

-Marty.

# 9 ....Gravediggaz-"6 Feet Deep" (1994)

First off, Happy New Year!! Hope all of you had a fresh 2009 and here's to a DOPE 2010. Today's entry takes a closer look at Prince Paul and the RZA's side project GRAVEDIGGAZ 6 Feet Deep. This would also be the seminal release from the short lived "Horrorcore" segment-genre. To pigeonhole this record into a silly sub genre would not be doing it any justice, however. Seriously, Prince Paul and the RZA making a record should be means for a national holiday.

I know I kind of beat a dead horse at times within the confines of onlyhiphopblog by showcasing what I like about a particular album and then, in turn what, or who, it influenced. The fact of the matter is that, (and not just in the realm of popular music) but in life-even in terms of the world, all of the things we take for granted wouldn't have been possible without those who came before and laid the groundwork.

Within the material itself, Prince Paul and the RZA take us on a midnight walk through the cemetary but not without digging up influences that scream Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson before even looking for Eric B or Grandmaster Flash. Slow, dusty grooves play juxtapose alongside Frukwan and Too Poetic; these two carry most of the rhyming while the "RZArector" and Prince Paul primarily stay behind the boards....they definitely come out and shine on most of the tracks, even if just for a minute.

Records like 6 Feet Deep gave hip hop crossover appeal. By using unconventional production methods and mastering the use of genre-defying samples, RZA and PP brought in a new audience...and I can tell you first-hand when all the alt kids fell for hip hop....around '96-'97. I went to the neighborhood music store. (okay, so the closest thing resembling a music store where I grew up was circuit city) the dude behind the counter had longer hair, a skull cap, looked like he had just stepped out of any 90's grunge coming of age picture (Singles, Reality Bites, etc) He had Jane's Addiction's Kettle Whistle playing at his counter. I walked up to the counter with my purchase, (Genius/GZA's Liquid Swords) and he asked me if I had heard the Gravediggaz. He pointed me to 6 Feet Deep....I'm pretty sure I walked out with two cd's that day.

That experience made me realize that while hip hop at the time was an extremely formidable venture, I could listen to other kinds of music and those experiences would enrich my life that much more. Kind of funny and ironic that a record called 6 Feet Deep showed me all of the life I had in front of me.


-Marty.