The Carter

So at this point, this progression of hiphop posts has gone from highly polished to pretty damn rough with this final post.  The Carter

I just found out this movie existed and I was pretty damn interested to find out what the hell it actually was.  And it’s a fuckin trip.  Wikipedia says it was filmed in Cinéma vérité style, which after looking it up seems about right.  Lil weez actually withdrew his support of the film after it’s second showing.

I got this movie thinking it’d be about Lil Wayne and how you start with straight shots and whatnot.  It’s not.  It’s about this dude who’s always got a blunt in one hand and a styrofoam cup in the other.  He doesn’t drink or do any other drugs, just Purple Drank and ganga...all the time.

He refused to do any interviews directly with the filmmakers, so they just followed him around and got bits and pieces when he’d do other interviews.

The movie kinda drags b/c he’s always twisted on Sirup, speaking verrrryy slooooowwwwllllyyy and never really saying much.  It’s pretty interesting though, he’s constantly recording new tracks, I guess he’s got over 1,000 recorded.  He says he doesn’t write anything, just comes up with hot lines and spits directly from those.

Then there’s the thing about the drank and the friciton it’s caused, so that’s another aspect of the movie.  Overall it wasn’t at all what I thought I’d see, but it was an unprecidented look at a truely strange person.  Check it out.

Rock The Bells

Rock the Bells is a 2007 documentary about promotor Chang Weisberg’s nightmare of a concert which attempted to bring together the Wutang for a final reunion show.

Now I was at a Rock the Bells concert with Noah in NY back in 2007, this however is about the first one in 2004 in LA.  The lineup consised of Wu-Tang, Redman, Dilated, Sage Francis, Supernatural and on and on and on.  Naturally there’s some good concert footage of the supporting acts, but the real focus is on Wu-Tang and the logistics of putting on a much anticipated concert in douche bag city.

The doc's kindof gotta home-spun feel to it, with lots of, what I would imagine was, B roll making it into the final cut.  I’m guessing the reason was a lot of it was classic shit was shot, like Redman on the phone refusing to do any interviews b/c the promoter didn’t greet him at the airport him with a bag of weed.  Or the two Wu Tang roadies with vaguely familiar names talking shit to the camera.

Man, what a nightmare though, I don’t want to say much about what transpires but there’s definately a part where ODB is locked in a hotel with what was discribed as “7 crack rocks.”

One review on rotten tomatoes said this flick is a combination of celebration of hiphop culture and disaster film.  I think that’s about right.  Check it out, it’s a wild story.

One last thing, if you look at the Rock the Bells Wikipidia page, there’s a note in the reference seciton which I’ll quote directly:

"Tickets and Lineups...Problems cited include: weather and scheduling conflicts. However, it was later revealed that the real reason for cancellation was that Chang (promoter) had too many penises in his butt at the time."

That last line made me laugh.  Check out this flick though, it's pretty dope...and I think it's the last footage of ODB before his death.

Wu

The best hiphop album of all time has to be, unequivocally, 36 Chambers.

The 2008 BET documentary “Wu-The story of Wu Tang Clan,” tells the story of the Wu, this is a real picture of who the Wu were and are now.  I’d seen it a few years ago I think I actually watched it with Noah, and because there’s not much else out there about Wutang, I got it again just as a refresher.

I’m sure most people have seen this, but if you haven’t yet, check it out.  There’s lots of old footage from videos and old interviews with most of the members.  There’s also a good bit about ODB and his release from prison.

There is also a 2009 doc called “Dirty: The official ODB Documentary” which I’ve been searching for but as far as I can tell it’s not available.  If anybody knows where I can find it, hit me up.

Tribe

And now for something completely different.

Today we’re going to flip the script well away from the dark and depressing and move into the world of hiphop.  First up is one of the greatest groups to come out of Manhattan, the Tribe Called Quest.

Michael Rapaport’s 2011 documentary “Beats Rhymes and Life:  The travels of a Tribe called Quest” documents the beloved rappers tracing back their roots to the group and how the whole thing started.

It’s a dope retrospective that’s made with a sortof sober style that gives it a foundation as a serious film.  The story of tribe is pretty well known, they all hooked up in the mid eighties dropping their first album in 1990 with four subsequent albums coming out over the decade.  Nearly all of them I would consider classics now save for maybe the Love Movement.  I remember in college I would have days where I’d put on the first 4 albums and listen to them back to back, all day long.

Now it’s nearly 30 years since their inception and Rapaport was right in his timing to make a focused documentary.  It’s funny seeing them all grown up, until now the dudes from Tribe were always the scrawny kids with quick one line interviews in hiphop documentaries.

It’s a pretty interesting story, naturally there’s the beef with q-tip who’s kinda a bitch in my opinion, but whatever that’s what happens with most long running groups.  Overall though, I’d say check this doc out if you’re a fan, it’s really fun to watch, if you’re anything like me you’ll be pretty well captivated by the nostalgia of it all, singing along with the tracks as they play in the background, remembering how much you were into that track or that album.  Let us not forget that hiphop was actually really good music once, check it out for a refresher in what once was...

Wu-Tang

"Winter Warz"- 1996

Kool Keith

Christmas has came early, I forgot I had this mix of Kool Keith tracks that I made a couple years back- so I'm now giving it to you. A perfect soundtrack to your holiday season equipped with the best Matthew has to offer. Kool Keith has made around roughly 36 albums, and 16 are represented on this mix. As most of you know KK has went under many different aliases over the span of his career, changing between the mostly three styles of Dr. Dooom, Dr. Octagon and Kool Keith. Some of you may have never heard The Cenobites before, the album Keith and The Godfather Don made shortly after the Ultramagnetic MC's disbanded- it's really good. Dr. Octagonecologyst and Sex Style are easily my favorite albums, but throughout his extensive catalog lies some off the wall and great shit, especially his early work. Now you can be both naughty and nice this Christmas just like the two sides of Kool Keith. Ho, Ho, Ho Bitches and enjoy:

Sex Style- Kool Keith Sex Style
Drugs- Kool Keith Spankmaster
Lost in Space- Kool Keith Black Elvis/Lost in Space
Earth People- Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagonecologyst
Kool Keith Housing Things Ultramagnetic MC's Critical Beatdown
I Run Rap-Dr. Dooom First Come First Served
Souped Up- Masters Of Illusion Kutmasta Kurt Presents Masters Of Illusion
So Bad- Analog Brothers Pimp To Eat
Lex Lugor- Kool Keith & Godfather Don The Cenobites
Break U Off- Kool Keith Diesel Truckers
Blue Flowers- Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagonecologyst
Bionic Fuse- Mr. Nogatco Nogatco Rd.
Apartment 223- Dr. Dooom First Come First Served
Keep It Real... Represent What?- Kool Keith Sex Style
Diamond District- Kool Keith Project Polaroid
Watch Me Now- Ultramagnetic MC's Critical Beatdown
Halfsharkalligatorhalfman- Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagonecologyst
Do Not Disturb- Dr. Dooom Dr. Dooom 2
Kick A Dope Verse- Kool Keith & Godfather Don (feat. Bobbito) The Cenobites
I'm Seein' Robots- Kool Keith Black Elvis/Lost in Space
Diamonds- Kool Keith Matthew
Aliens- Dr. Octagon The Return Of Dr. Octagon
Talk To The Romans- Kool Keith Project Polaroid
Welfare Love- Dr. Dooom First Come First Served
Get Off My Elevator- Kool Keith Sex Style

My Nuts

J Dilla

J Dilla's timeless classic Donuts from '06- I remember when I first picked this up and it didn't leave my stereo for about 6 months- seriously. Arguably the best hip-hop producer ever, Dilla made this album while basically on his death bed between dialysis treatments. He passed away 3 days after this release at the age of 32. R.I.P. Jay Dee...
Donuts

Madlib's "Meltdown"

Now that I've had time to decompress and articulate probably the worst DJ performance I've ever seen, I've got one question: Who fed Madlib mushrooms before his set? The enigmatic producer, MC, audiophile and supposed DJ who has given us an endless collection of dope beats probably as deep as his heralded record collection lost it on stage in Portland the other night. He had to have been high as a Georgia Pine, considering his set went completely silent for at least 5 minutes half-way through as he turned his back on the sold out crowd when he was fumbling through his records. It was awkward to say the least, it was so quiet in the Someday Lounge you could hear a rat pissing on cotton. As he attempted to come back to reality he did play a couple new tracks from his new Madvillian project that sounded dope, but then he would denounce the shit to the crowd stating: "I hate this shit, I'm never, ever, ever, putting this shit out." Witnessing someone this high on stage was well worth the price of admission, and trust me I've seen people really fucked up on stage- but nothing like this. By the time Clark and I were leaving we were laughing so hard I almost shit, this was when we labeled it the "Madlib Meltdown." This meltdown only heightened my love for Madlib, I caught a glimpse of his eccentric style that produces some of the best shit in hip-hop and beyond. We're going to take it back with one of his finest works Shades of Blue:Madlib Invades Blue Note that is essential listening if you've never heard it. He was given the key to the best jazz label's master tracks to make beats, and does he ever. His latest project to release 12 albums in 12 months started in January, his third installment Medicine Show No. 3: The Beat Konducta In Africa which dropped in March is an instant classic. I'll be posting it soon. Enjoy...
Steeping Into Tomorrow

Public Enemy (Blazers)

Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get to Arizona" off Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black. This has been the soundtrack for the current Trail Blazers playoff series against those bitch ass Suns. It's going to be a grinder series, I might just have to fly down there and burn the whole fucker down. Blast this track as Dre, Marcus, and the furls dominate at the RG Thursday night. Chuurrch...

Ultramagnetic MC's

Some old hip-hop from the Ultramagnetic MC's from '88. See the furl on the album cover in red, yep that's Kool Keith. After his introduction in the Ultramagnetic MC's, Keith went on to be the multi-personality rapper under different monikers such as Dr. Octagon and Dr. Doom. Let's not forget the seminal Sex Style either, one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time. This album still sounds great after all these years, check it.
Critical Beatdown

The Gaslamp Killer

Gaslamp Killer is coming through Portland tonight at Holocene, so I'm posting his first outing tilted Gaslamp Killers from '07. It reminds me of early Shadow, very dark and mostly downtempo but much more psychedelic. His psychedelic hip-hop (I guess you can call it) is chalked full of great beats and samples, this album is a continuous 70+ minute mix that has many good moments. Here are some of them. Check him out live if possible, I've heard he puts it down.

Willie Hutch/UGK

I've had a couple of requests to post some Willie Hutch, so I'm switching it up and posting one of my favorite samples along with the original. Willie Hutch's score for The Mack from '73 undoubtedly remains one of the best blaxploitation soundtracks along with classics such as Curtis Mayfield's Superfly. "I Choose You" is a soul burner off the soundtrack which UGK sampled for "International Players Anthem" featuring Outkast on their album Underground Kingz in 2007. I've been playing this track nonstop since, I also suggest checking out The Mack if you haven't yet.

Stones Throw

Stones Throw Records has always been a reliable source for good underground hip-hop, with artists such as Madlib and J-Dilla. Recently they have expanded their horizons with a couple of talented white boys, James Pants and Mayer Hawthorne. One track from each of their new albums will be featured here, "We're Through" by Pants and "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" by Hawthorne. Pants hails from Spokane, WA of all places, while Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His music is heavily influenced by Motown, and he is able to pull it off unlike many before him- it sounds original and fresh. It's a little hokey and poppy, but grows on you like a fungus. Pants is more of a DJ, his beats are also original and very accessible. Enough descriptions, just check this shit out and tell me if you like.
http://www.mediafire.com/?cimjzomkdd3
http://www.mediafire.com/?nno4vlvgihn