This man is currently one of the best, yet one of the most underrated beatsmiths doing it. He dropped an amazingly dope album White Van Music last year on Rhymesayers Entertainment and has an upcoming album in the works with Freeway (that shit is gonna knock!!!!!). He has the great ability to produce for all types of artists. These are some of my favorites…

De La Soul – “Rock Co.Kane Flow”

• De La Soul – Rock Co.Kane Flow

This is that shit! From one of the most criminally slept on albums of the last 10 years, De La’s 2004 The Grind Date, this song pulsates with the weird brilliance that both De La and guest MF Doom have made careers of. But the star of the song is Jake’s production.

Freeway – “Blauh”

• Freeway – Blauh

Everyday last December the “Philly Freezer” murdered a beat in his Month of Madness series and the chemistry these two developed on this, and another song, led the way to the collaborative album I mentioned earlier. I don’t know if this was made for Free, but it fits perfectly. Set the tone and let him go.

The Gift of Gab – “Rat Race”

• The Gift of Gab – Rat Race

To many people have never heard this song, or even the 2004 Gift of Gab album Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up, for that matter. So have a listen.

Freeway & Brother Ali – “The Truth”

• Jake One – The Truth

Freeway and Ali over some rock-hard Jake One production!!! This song will still be as dope 30 years from now as it is right now as it’s being played. This is hip hop – simple, straight forward and infinitely better than anything you ever thought of doing. Off of the 2008 Jake One album White Van Music.

Prodigy – “Shed Thy Blood”

• Prodigy – Shed Thy Blood (w/ Un Pacino)

I’m a lyrics guy, but sometimes a beat completely makes up for lackluster rhyming. Case in point, this song from the 2008 album Product Of The 80′s. Seriously, turn this one up.

]]> http://jointcontrast.com/2009/07/the-jukebox-%e2%80%93-produced-by-jake-one/feed/ 1 http://jointcontrast.com/2009/07/the-jukebox-%e2%80%93-produced-by-9th-wonder/ http://jointcontrast.com/2009/07/the-jukebox-%e2%80%93-produced-by-9th-wonder/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:52:01 +0000 J. Charles http://jointcontrast.com/?p=2174

Selected by TimS –

As I melt away in my first summer under the North Carolina sun it feels appropriate to post some of my favorite 9th Wonder tracks. Those that don’t know this cat can feel free to fall on something sharp…

Bishop Lamont – “First They Love You”

• Bishop Lamont – First They Love You

Off of Bishop’s 2007 street album Nigger Noize, this track is a perfect example of the way 9th can bang the boards while showing his vocal sample wizardry. And Bishop nails it as usual.  The other two guys (PR1ME and Indef) don’t even get an official name drop. And they won’t stop that heroin-nod that the beat will induce.

Jay-Z – “Cold Success”

• Jay-Z – Cold Success

Off of the 2008 mixtape Viva La Hova. Some people complain that 9th’s drums don’t hit hard enough but he usually employs other thing to add force to his productions. Check the way the drums and piano come in and out of this song (all samples coming from Coldplay, so you know you gotta do some work to make that shit bang.) Add some Jigga and Nas and you got a sonic treat.

Ludacris – “Do The Right Thang”

• Ludacris – Do The Right Thang

Off of Luda’s 2008 Theater Of The Mind album featuring Common, with an intro from Spike Lee. Do I need to say more?

Murs – “Pusshhhhhh”

• Murs – Pusshhhhhh

Off of the 2008 free album Sweet Lord (my favorite by this pair, and not because it was free.) This song (along with “Are You Ready?”) perfectly displays the chemistry these two have with each other.

Sean Price – “Let It Be Known”

• Sean Price – Let It Be Known

Off of Sean P’s 2006 indie classic Jesus Price Superstar, this song allowed Little Brother’s Phonte and 9th Wonder to temporarily steal the show from Sean. The stuttered-drum pattern and faint guitar sample set the perfect tone for Phonte (maybe the best verse of ’06) and Price to verbally assault the mic.

Wale – “Say It Again”

• Wale – Say It Again

One of the many highlights on Wale’s new mixtape Back To The Feature, this one just happens to feature Royce Da 5’9” kiiiiiillllllllllling his verse, as well as the perfect combination of 9th’s trademarks – soul samples and vocal samples. Download this tape now, right here.

Little Brother – “No Time To Chill”

• Little Brother – No Time To Chill

Off of the 2007 9th Wonder album Dream Merchant 2 – this shit bangs!!!!!!!!!! Point blank. Period.

]]> http://jointcontrast.com/2009/07/the-jukebox-%e2%80%93-produced-by-9th-wonder/feed/ 1 http://jointcontrast.com/2009/06/its-alright-being-uncommon/ http://jointcontrast.com/2009/06/its-alright-being-uncommon/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:50:40 +0000 J. Charles http://jointcontrast.com/?p=1921 “Troubleshooting” by 11:00A.M. 05-troubleshooting

By – TimS

As the music business crumbles around the ancient ideals of rich white men, musicians are still creating. The music is still being heard. It’s still being performed. It’s still being passed along from friend to friend. So as the rich white men scramble to stay afloat in this digital age, the artists themselves continue to hustle. Flyers are posted physically and digitally. Music is given away for free to generate interest and to hopefully establish future loyalty amongst fans. But most importantly, the music is still being made.

A couple of those musicians are a New York City based hip-hop duo known collectively as 11:00A.M. They met at SUNY@Purchase, a liberal arts college 30 minutes north of hip-hop’s Mecca, and after establishing a friendship the two soon established a musical relationship as well. The dense sonic landscapes created by A.M. Breakups proved to be the perfect canvas for lyrically-driven Eleven to paint upon. Soon the two were linking up with fellow like-minded acts, performing shows and making a name for themselves within NYC’s progressive hip-hop scene. One of those links came by way of Uncommon Records, a label founded by former Def Jux engineer Nasa. I recently caught up with the two and grilled them with deep and profound questions. But instead, these are the ones we printed…

Pictured from left to right are DJ Dyllemma, Eleven, A.M. Breakups.

––– A couple years ago you guys almost won a digital album release with Def Jux via an MTVU contest. How did that experience play a part in linking you up with fellow artists (gain exposure, book shows) and are you happy it turned out the way it did?

Eleven – It’s crazy how that whole thing started. I remember sitting in class one day and I got this weird feeling that if I didn’t record something soon that I would be missing out on something big. And surprise, surprise. That next week this contest popped up on the web proving that I’m psychic and shit. So you know, I had to get in the booth that weekend and record those demo tracks so I could give it a shot.

The tracks weren’t even mixed down when we first uploaded them to the contest page. We were just trying to meet their deadlines. We actually re-uploaded them halfway through the contest because the mix was so bad. Getting all our friends to vote was madness since you could vote as many times as you wanted. Kind of defeats the purpose of voting, if you ask me. But we worked with who we knew and spread the word however we could. We didn’t even have an 11:00A.M. MySpace page when that started.

We ended up in the final deciding round of Top 5. There were a hundred-and-something acts in the contest. Didn’t win the gold. But I like to say we were the runners-up, though no offense to the other three acts. In the end it was great exposure, really. I remember Mod C was in Cali shortly after the contest and had a conversation with some random kids about hip hop and they asked him if he had ever heard of us, which was crazy cause we’ve never done a show in Cali.

A.M. Breakups – It definitely set a fire under our asses. We went from dorm room recording into a rigged microphone, on to decide that we needed to get up at our friends’ actual studio. And it sort of taught us a lesson in the value of Internet promotion. Those tracks were so exciting at the time (and they still are!) It’s always crazy to go to a place you’ve never been and find out you have fans there, too. I was up in Portland, Maine with Shortrock, Brzowski, and V8 and some girl walked past me and said “Oh my god! Are you A.M. Breakups??!” Shit is sort of strange.

As far as the contest, I’d already been working with Nasa at Uncommon, promoting a compilation he’d just released. I’m actually glad that it turned out the way that it did. From what I can tell, nothing ever really happened with the winner, whereas we refocused our energy on an Uncommon Release and in the process have met and worked with some of the artists that I’d held in the highest esteem prior to that. People I’ve been listening to for years!

––– Knowing the both of you a little from the short time we spent in school, I know you are both fans of as well as influenced by the roster of Def Jux. But speak a little on the fan/peer relationship you’ve developed with your Uncommon Records label mates.

Eleven – We feel right at home with Uncommon, a real hip-hop label started up by Nasa who had been in contact with Breakups before the whole online contest. The tracks we submitted ended up being the Free* EP . Uncommon has talented dudes like Nasa, Karniege, Masai Bey and Shortrock who are all slept on, unfortunately.

A.M. – When you enter a preexisting circle of artists, it’s always interesting being the new guy. I grew up in Utica, New York (and the surrounding farm country), so I always sort of invented my own culture and style of music. There really wasn’t ever an enthusiasm for this kind of stuff there, especially such avant-garde work. So I had to reach out on the Internet, and through magazines, to find music that really appealed to me. I feel like at first we felt some pressure to pay dues and whatnot, which I feel is a normal reaction. What it honestly comes down to though is that these guys are some of the most humble and real dudes around, and as long as we all bring our A-game and create with passion and a genuine purpose, the rest comes natural.

As for Jux, I’ve always had a place in my heart for that crew. They’ve put out a lot of records that changed the way rap music is perceived. Cannibal Ox’s LP is one of my favorite records. Never duplicated. Though I think it’s worth saying that there’s never been a specific allegiance to any one brand for me. If music is fresh, then I’m down to check it out. It can come down to a matter of what music is readily available or promoted in places one can find it. Networking, networking.

A lot of the Uncommon Records’ family has strong ties to Def Jux, going way back. For example, Masai Bey, along with Cage, was the original founder of the Weathermen posse. He, Arcsin, Nasa, and Karniege have all worked on releases with Def Jux at some point or another.

––– Describe to me how it felt when your debut EP went up for sale on iTunes.

Eleven – It felt strange. I had already been in the iTunes store on the b-side to Arcsin’s “Scarlet Fever” so my virginity was gone already. Hearing those tracks remastered by Nasa was really the mind-blowing moment for me. The irony of the album name is something else though. It’s gone from being the free online demo for the contest, which MTV wanted to use in commercials but couldn’t because they would have to pay for sample rights, to being the free CD that we would give to friends, the not-free EP that we would sell at shows, and finally to the iTunes store for $5.94 on Uncommon Records. And of course again for free if you can find it, like everything else, on the Web.

A.M. – Even going under the name 11:00A.M. can be sticky business (he says with a laugh.) Especially on flyers for shows! Having our music on digital retailers is really cool though. It’s good to know that some kid like I was, with a flavor for the more abstract side of things, can stumble upon it while digging through all this online debris.

––– What’s going on with new and upcoming releases by you and the rest of the Uncommon artists?

Eleven – There will be remixes to the Free* EP released soon. I just heard the “Troubleshooting” remix by Teddy Faley which rocks bottoms. Expect Shortrock and others. I’m dropping a mixtape on Uncommon titled M-Theory. The vast majority of the tracks will be me rapping over Breakup’s whole catalog of beats (old, new, unreleased) but also featuring some production from Nasa, Dyllemma, Asonic Garcia, and others. It’ll be a free download and it’ll showcase the variety of topics and styles I can flip when rapping. That’s all I can say about it right now.

A.M. – There’s talk of the next We Are label compilation and some other secret projects. Also, the new Presence record will hit this year. As for me, I’ve been working my ass off with results I’m really proud of. There are two of my remixes on the physical pressing of the Super Chron Flight Brothers Indonesia album. Also, my next solo LP The Cant Resurrection is finished, and it’s really a cool record with great guests. Working on a project with Teddy Faley, and further collaborations with Billy Woods and Eleven. I just curated and organized a free download compilation, called Ceteris Paribus, and it’s available on mine and any of the featured artists’ webpages. It’s exclusively beatmakers, and quite interesting one’s at that. The response on that has been startlingly large. It’s a trip. And a great little package all around. Go grab it!

––– Best album out right now?

Eleven – DOOM – Born Like This.

A.M. – Super Chron Flight Brothers – Indonesia. Can I say that even though I’m involved in it?

––– Best Porn star not named Sasha Grey?

Eleven – Cuppy the Vag.

A.M. – Anita Pearl? I’m not too up on that shit. But that woman is bangin’!

––– Best reason to live in NYC?

Eleven – Bagels/progressive hip-hop.

A.M. – If you do, you have the opportunity to run into Eleven and I. That’s pretty damn good.

––– Best word in the English language?

Eleven – Dunno.

A.M. – Egalitarian.

The celebration began for the Los Angeles Lakers during a timeout with 40 seconds to go on Sunday night, but their 15th NBA title had already been wrapped up long before that though. It didn’t take much from there to make it official either, by way of a 99-86 Game 5 decision over the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena.

Despite the efforts of the Magic, who got off to a furious start in the opening quarter of the deciding game but deteriorated in the second half, the Lakers methodically dismantled Orlando on their home court to cap off a 4-1 series win. It was 11 points from Kobe Bryant in the first quarter, a go-ahead three-pointer from Trevor Ariza in the second quarter, big three-pointers drained by Lamar Odom in the third quarter, and the efforts of L.A.’s supporting cast down the stretch that ensured the closeout. Handshakes and hugs were then passed around as civilians from the dejected city of Orlando could only look on. Or away.

And with that, Bryant and Derek Fisher earn their fourth NBA titles and head coach Phil Jackson officially goes down as the greatest coach in NBA history. Or is it the greatest in sports history? Jackson now owns every possible career playoff coaching record and finally stands alone atop the championship mountain after having now won 10 titles in 12 trips. As amazing as it was for spectators to be a part of what Red Auerbach had accomplished, back when he guided the Boston Celtics to nine titles over 10 years, two decades worth of basketball fans from each coast have bared witness to the greatness that is the Zen Master.

Quote of the Night – ”I really don’t think people appreciate how great this guy is,” said Mark Jackson about Kobe Bryant after watching him knock down a tough shot. “I learned early on as a broadcaster that you don’t want to throw around the word “great.” Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and say this guy is great.”

Best Advertisement –  The lonely-LeBron puppet commercials, where he says “good luck buddy” while watching Kobe on TV and then counts down to next season while doing curls in Kobe’s gym, shows that Nike knows no limit to how far they’ll take their superstar marketing campaign. Check out more puppetry at Nike Basketball. And prepare for more, more, more Kobe and LeBron for years to come.

Makes Me Wonder – How many roster changes will take place between these two teams before the start of next season. If these teams can’t find a way to keep key ingredients such as Turkoglu, Gortat, Ariza and Odom, will they be able to replace them with the kind of talent that helps basketball teams advance to the Finals?

For Stats Sake – Bryant wrapped up this series by earning the NBA Finals MVP Trophy after going for 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals in Game 5. Lamar Odom recorded 17 points, 10 rebounds and hit 3 three’s, Pau Gasol had 14 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists, and Trevor Ariza had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 three-pointers for the champs. The Magic went 8-for-27 from long distance, were outrebounded by 11, and had 8 shots blocked by L.A.

Free Throws – Not counting foreign-born players, four players who entered the NBA straight out of high school were starters in the 2009 NBA Finals. Among them were Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard for Orlando and Bryant and Andrew Bynum for Los Angeles… What would have become of the Magic if Billy Donovan had not run back to the University of Florida a couple years ago and Stan Van Gundy had instead taken over as head coach of the Sacramento Kings?… Anybody know where I can get a highlight tape of NBA player Rafer Alston imitating those AND1 guys I see on TV, like when he passed the ball between his legs to Lewis as he trailed from behind in the first quarter or went behind-the-back in the post to avoid a defender a couple games ago? Oh wait, never mind…

 –– Further Analysis from the Joint Contrast Crew ––

== Says J.C. – As lopsided as a 4-1 series sounds, it looked much closer than that in the grand scheme of things. Not to say that the Lakers weren’t the better team, but think about it. Going into Game 5, this series easily could have been 3-1 the other way around had those two overtime games ended as planned for the Magic. But they didn’t. And just as what happened in Detroit two days earlier when Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup on the road, Orlando fans had to watch the visiting team celebrate during the trophy presentation on their home floor. Again. The same sort of thing took place back in 1995 after the Houston Rockets swept through town. The one glaring similarity between this Magic team and the one that advanced to the Finals all those years ago is that a franchise-caliber center led the charge each time. It was Shaquille O’Neal back then. It’s Dwight Howard now. But will this version crumble from the inside out like that team did more than a decade ago? This summer will be an interesting one in Orlando.

== Says Ray-Ray – First off, I’d like to congratulate the Orlando Magic on a great season and an amazing playoff run that carried them to the Finals. On that note, hell of a job Lakers! That was a damn good closeout game. Defensive tenacity, attacking the rim, rebounding, shot blocking, steals and hitting the big shots. But, that double clutch pump-fake fadeaway shot, and the floater over Howard, were astounding plays by Finals MVP Kobe Bryant, aka The Black Mamba. This effort showed the work he has put in, and just how hard he played in this series to win it all and finally get out of Shaq’s shadow (whether he will admit it or not). The defense by Ariza (thanks for the trade, Orlando), the big three-pointers by Odom, an all-around great series for Gasol (thanks again, Memphis), combined with the leadership and some huge shots from Fisher, showed the all-around team effort it takes to win in the Finals. This series showed how size truly does matter, in the NBA that is. We saw how it worked for both teams. How having some of the best and most agile big men in the league being able to control the inside, as well as guard the outside, and how both teams utilized their size in each matchup on their way to this point were needed. And speaking of the Finals, do you realize that each time Phil Jackson has started a championship run he has three-peated? So lets see how L.A. does next year. In closing this series of thoughts, I would like to send a shout out to Jackson for getting No. 10 and becoming the winningest coach in NBA history. And by the way, badass hat he was wearing afterwards.

== Says TimS – The NBA Playoffs. Where amazing happens. Except in the Finals. The epic Bulls-Celtics series. The back and forth heroics in the Boston-Orlando series. Denver manhandling their way to the Conference Finals. Cleveland embarrassing the Pistons and the Hawks, then getting embarrassed by the Magic. It was all so exciting. And then we get this horseshit series. Even when it was close it was never competitive. Dwight’s underdeveloped post game was exposed. Pau Gasol got uglier with every possession and Kobe often displayed his Thug Poet face (seriously, am I the only one that remembers that shit?). After watching him make that ridiculous face over and over I’m wondering if he learned it from that Mormon girl he ass-raped a few years ago (she might not have said “no”, but I bet she said “no, not there”). They we may never know, we did find out that Odom loves Sour Patch Kids more than basketball and that Trevor Ariza is, well, we found out that Trevor Ariza is going to be a rich man. So as the season comes to a close I anticipate one thing happening next year at this same time. The greatest rap duet ever: “Kobe, Tell Us How Our Asses Taste“ by King James and Shaqfu.

–– Further Coverage from the Joint Contrast Crew ––

Check out our exclusive NBA Finals coverage of Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, and Game 4.

Proving there is indeed a first time for everything, the Orlando Magic won their first NBA Finals game in seven tries on Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Lakers. That cuts the series lead to 2-1 for L.A. and improves Orlando’s futile mark in the Finals to 1-6 overall in this, their second trip. The cravings for a win of this magnitude by Magic Nation were such that even the confetti couldn’t wait the final two-tenth’s of a second before trickling down from the rafters.

It’s as if the desperation of having their backs against the wall created this rabid animal, mindlessly fighting off a cold-hearted shooting creature such as Kobe Bryant and his crew from out west. These teams took it back to the schoolyard in Game 3 at Amway Arena. A great home team on one bench and the league’s best road team on the other treated fans to a 108-104 slugfest that featured the kind of offensive output that finds it’s place in history books. The Magic’s 62.5-percent shooting from the field is the new trendsetter in that category, and quite the contrast from Game 1′s paltry 29.9-percent effort. But the game was too close.

With the Magic holding court most of the second half after leading at the break, Bryant was melting away under the Orlando heat. And his self-destruction started well before Pau Gasol could tie the game at 99-99 with 2:41 to go. From there, in the blue and white corner it was Mickael Pietrus and Rashard Lewis making plays in a tag-team match against the efforts of Gasol and Lamar Odom down the stretch. This time the Magic came through in the clutch while Bryant faltered at the tail end. It’s just that the purple and yellow weren’t quite as bruised and battered afterwards as the Magic may have liked.

Can Orlando bottle the aggression they played with and bring it with them to Game 4 on Thursday night at 9 p.m.? The season, series, and championship trophy may very well depend on it.

Quote of the Night – What can I say? The Van Gundy’s are quality quote machines… “Tough is kind, those are impossible plays,” replied Jeff Van Gundy to Mike Breen’s assessment of a “tough shot for Kobe Bryant” after he made a long two-pointer over a Magic double-team.

You would think that after the second-half blowout we sat through in Game 1 on Thursday night the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic would remember they’re in the NBA Finals and act accordingly. But instead we at Joint Contrast had to ride the edge of our sofas into overtime before finding out how the second installment would end.

And it ended with a bang, for the most part. A tie game, 84-84, with two minutes to go… Rashard Lewis puts the Magic up by two with a minute-and-a-half remaining. Answering was Kobe Bryant for L.A. Then Hedo Turkoglu on a long two-pointer for Orlando. Cue Pau Gasol, who knotted things up at 88-88 with a half-minute to go to allow the drama to continue. Then a rookie for the Magic takes a shot in the paint that would take a bad bounce off the rim with nine seconds left. On to Bryant getting blocked from behind by Turkoglu. One more chance for Orlando. But that only gave Courtney Lee another game-winning shot near the hoop to miss, this time on the final play of regulation. On to overtime. And out go the lights for another night on Orlando. Final score 101-96, L.A.

What turned out to be an exciting finish was much more painful to watch early on. To be frank, what a piss-poor performance to start Game 2 by both teams. They made only 10 of 34 shots in the first quarter between them. What a snoozer. Not only could either team hit a shot from the field, but four players managed to rack up two fouls apiece. As insignificant as that was, it outlines how this thing started. Here’s hoping Game 3 at Amway Arena on Tuesday night (9 p.m.) is as good as the last five minutes (and overtime) of Game 2.

Quote of the Night – ”These are the worst fast-breaks I’ve ever seen run!”, courtesy of Jeff Van Gundy after watching Orlando bring the ball down in the third quarter. Mark Jackson followed that up shortly thereafter with a “take notes Orlando” while praising a fast-break effort by the Lakers.

Thankfully, some of our favorite artists are still creating music videos. And they’re doing so with a message attached more times than not. But even when merely having fun and experimenting with styles the music video at least brought a new perspective to the viewer. The cinematic quality of videos old and new should be celebrated for the masterpieces they are. And you best believe we’ll continue celebrating our favorites, from all genres, from here on out…

• The Roots – “In The Music / Here I Come / Don’t Feel Right” – You get a three-for-one with this music video from one of the great musical groups of our time. There are shadows creeping through the night, old buildings folding into new ones and a Black Thought hooked up to a lie detector test. – J.C.

• Public Enemy – “By The Time I Get To Arizona” – This group never had a problem touching on issues that most people steered clear of. This time around the Governor of Arizona is the target that Public Enemy is after. Check out the extended version of By The Time I Get To Arizona to learn more. – J.C.

• Xzibit – “What You See Is What You Get” – First off this song fucking bangs. Secondly, the one shot camera angle is straight Richard Linklater-style. – TimS

• The Pharcyde – “Passin Me By” – One of the most uniquely dope groups of all time delivers a uniquely dope video by a uniquely white guy. – TimS 

• Beastie Boys – “So Whatcha Want” – Come on man, I’m a small town, white boy hip-hop head. The Beastie’s are cooler than Eazy E’s balls in my book. – Dank Lucas

• Jay-Z – “99 Problems” – Rick Rubin ridin shotgun to Hov! The only thing this video left me wanting was more of this duo. – Dank Lucas

Def Poetry Jam was the definitive example of the world of slam poetry. Sometimes the performances were amazing in an otherworldly sense and others were recycled pretentious garbage.

You know the formula… Start off slow, build to a crescendo, repeat your signature line three times and finish with a slow…stuttered….pace. Like hip-hop or any other lyrically-driven form of music, the performers that are brilliant obviously standout from the rest. Philadelphia’s Black Ice was one of the standouts on that show.

He spoke with melody, accentuated his tone with powerful ease and structured his words in a way that they were able to carry the weight of the subject matter effortlessly. I remember being blown away by his performances but I wasn’t quite sure how his style would translate onto record. The most famous slam poet is Saul Williams. His music, much like himself and his poetry, is very eclectic, so you never expected a certain style from him therefore you were simply rewarded with what you got. Black Ice on the other hand is deeply rooted in straight forward hip-hop, so his debut album is a hip-hop album.

Let me step back from that statement. Black Ice’s album The Death Of Willie Lynch is to hip-hop what Gil-Scott Heron’s albums were to Jazz. Does that intrigue you? It should.

The album came out in 2006 and even I just recently came across it. I stop short of calling it a genius effort because there are a few occurrences when he tries to be a rapper instead of the poet he is and that simply is not what he is meant to be. Those songs come across very contrived. But when he keeps it simple and within the style he perfected and combines that with properly matched musical backdrops, then the Gil-Scott comparison I made earlier is right on point.

When so many people are trying to “keep it real” this cat keeps it right. He pulls no punches while steadily pulling cards. From parenting and the music industry, to race and sex, to the disrupting nature of a corrupt society – he speaks on all of it – but most importantly he sounds fly as fuck while he does the speaking.

So next time you’re at the record store or on , skip over the Trasher Roth album and say M.I. Yay No to Rick Ross and pick up The Death Of Willie Lynch by Black Ice. If you have Trasher Roth’s album proceed to punch yourself in the face and then hand the CD to the nearest white girl so she can have two copies and therefore be twice as fucking retarded as you are.

Thankfully though, some of our favorite artists are still creating them. And they’re doing so with a message attached more times than not. Whether the music video goes hand-in-hand with the song itself, or brings a new perspective to the viewer, the cinematic quality of videos old and new should be celebrated for the masterpieces they are. And you best believe we’ll be celebrating our favorites, from all genres, from here on out…

• Eminem – “3 A.M.” – Maybe its the initial shock of it, but this is mad impressive. I was absolutely uniterested in Eminem’s comeback album and after hearing this song previously I was like “eh..” But this video is dope as fuck. The imagery is so incredible that I just had to keep playing it over and over after I first saw it. – Dank Lucas

• Ice Cube – “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It” – Seeing the kids being brainwashed (and the distributing of blame) in the classroom is not very different from the way we grew up ourselves. The history books, the churches, the ideals our parents passed down as the “right way” to live our lives, should all be subject to questioning should some confusion arise. Cube’s lyrics and the familiar images in this video are powerful. – J.C.

• El-P – “Deep Space 9mm” – I never enjoyed NYC as much as I do when it’s portrayed in rap videos. Whether it’s the neighborhood of angry looking ruff-ryders popping wheelies on ATV’s, or the less than glamorous everyday feel of this video… this is as independent as the music itself.  So low-budget you say to yourself “I could’ve done better,” but guess what? You aren’t creative or cool enough, so you didn’t. – TimS

• Madvillain – “All Caps” – Hip Hop and Comic books. Need I say more? – TimS

• KRS-One and Marley Marl – “Hip Hop Lives” – Back when Nas declared “Hip Hop Is Dead” there were too many people that misunderstood what he was trying to say, which was that the Johnny-come-lately-on-the-radio garbage won’t stand the test of time. Since then former adversaries KRS-One and Marly Marl joined forces a few years back to create a criminally overlooked album that spawned this old school video, to help remind the young heads what it means to last forever. – J.C.

• Nas – “Be a Nigger Too” – This is the reason i fell in love with hip hop… uncensored expression, fly shit, and the denouncement of hate. Plus we get the sick spoken piece at the beginning! Nasty Nas at his finest. Oh yeah, and Rik Cordero owns music videos right now like Lebron’s gonna own the Magic next round! (Sorry Hawks and Celtics fans.) – Dank Lucas

Some may know The Last Emperor from the collabo he did with KRS-One and Zach De La Rocha on Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1, released via Rawkus Records in 1998. Some may know him from his brilliant Secret Wars records in which he assumed the voices and flows of some of his favorite rappers, as he set up verbal fights between them and famous comic book superheroes. And some may know him from his short term stay as an Aftermath Entertainment artist.

But unfortunately, what most people don’t know him from is his brilliant out-of-print debut (and only) album Music, Magic, Myth.

With both Ayatollah and the amazingly underrated production team Da Beatminerz producing multiple tracks to go along with a few other underground producers, this album is drenched in dense soundscapes that sound dusty and vibrant at the same time.

Lots of strings and hard hitting drum patterns keep the pace consistent from song to song without getting boring. But the star of this album is the mysterious man himself. The Last Emperor is as fucking solid as any other MC that has ever touched the microphone. He’s not flashy and he’s not overly intricate with his rhyme schemes, but he has an amazing talent that too many people are unaware of. Unfortunately, that has lead to his absence from the music scene for the last few years.

I saw him live in 2005 and not only were the fans entranced by him (especially during a set-ending freestyle session), but the other artists on stage were equally as astonished as the crowd.

Freestyle legend Breeze Evaflowin and Brooklyn-bomber Pumkinhead praised the Emperor onstage as if Rakim or Big Daddy Kane were up there with them. It was a very cool moment to have been a witness to. In the years since that show I’ve heard nothing from the man, and that saddens me. Once, in an interview about the Greatest MC’s of all time, Mos Def mentioned The Last Emperor in the same breath as Jay-Z.

If the amount of music was there I would be hard-pressed not to agree. But The Emperor has blessed us with so little that it’s hard to talk about his legacy. I just hope that more people come across his music. Maybe as they get fed up with the bullshit that continues to come out in the musical realm they will tread backwards and stumble upon this tremendous piece of art.

Bonus: The song “One Life” off this album features the last recorded verse by The Gravediggaz MC Poetic before he succumbed to his battle with colon cancer, and it’s hauntingly beautiful.

Bonus Part 2: (or why I’m cooler than you…) When I bought this album it came with a lost track’s CD that contains some of the songs he recorded with Dr. Dre while signed to Aftermath.

– Some of the featured appearances by The Last Emperor can be found on… Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1 Eastern Conference All Stars II Mass Movementz Featured Material Vol. 3 and German Lugers