week 2: it started in '94...

ok week 2. i was listening to a LOT of hiphop this week and i realized that i was playin a lot of 'old' tracks. i checked my playlist and found out that i had a nice line-up of stuff on there year by year starting with 1994. now for those that dont kno, '94 was the year that Nas dropped "Illmatic", which completely CHANGED the whole hiphop scene, like when this album came out, EVERYTHING related to hiphop just stopped and said 'holy sh*t....' Nas' influence on rap is insane, in terms of drug-talk, storytelling, talkin bout how fly u are, he redefined it all.

so what i did for this week was put together a year by year set of rap, starting with 1994 and ending at 1999. those were the years when i was HOOKED.. u'll notice i have two 1997 tracks, and thats coz that was the year, grade 7, that there was no turning back from hiphop, it was a part of my life. enjoy the selection nuccas.

1994: Nas - N.Y. State Of Mind
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this is the first song on the "illmatic" album. all i gotta say is that dj premier kills the production and nas' wordplay is insanity. right from the first words "straight out the f*ckin dungeons of rap.. where fake niggas dont make it back.." its classic.

1995: AZ - Sugar Hill
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off of az's debut album "doe or die" this track is just real smooth. once nas' rhyme partner (he was on a couple tracks on "illmatic") shows he can hold his own. the whole album is nice, and his new album "a.w.o.l." is worth checkin out too. i wish they brought this style back still..

1996: Jay-Z - Feelin' It (feat. Mecca)
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in '96 jay-z dropped "reasonable doubt" which was a huge album, this is one of my favourite cuts off of that, the video with the yachts and champagne lifestyle makes it even more classic. definitely a chill out track.

1997: Camp Lo - Luchini (A.K.A. This Is It)
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i'm sure a lotta cats remember this joint off of "uptown saturday night", the horns are infectious and the flow is dope. to all the producers that wanna use horns in their music, this (and t.r.o.y. by pete rock and cl smooth) sets the bar.

1997: Wyclef Jean - Guantanamera (feat. Lauryn Hill)
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another '97 pick. if u were listening to rap in 1997 and u dont remember this, then u must be smokin some good crack, coz this track is a banger. off of wyclef's first solo album "the carnival", this track had the dance floor packed (yea u kno those grade 7, after school, cant get very close to the girl ur dancing with, everyone mostly standing by the wall, dances). but this track would come on and people would lose their minds. i used to play this album in my cd player on the bus everyday, i still know the lyrics to almost every track. wow.

1998: OutKast - Aquemini
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the title track off of outkast's 5 mic opus "aquemini", this is a lesson in flow. very mellow, this track is all about lyrics, the beat is pretty dope but the way big boi and andre ride that beat is crazy. at 3:15 into the song the beat fades, comes back with a bang, and these nuccas just freak the hell out of it.

1999: Dr. Dre - Xxplosive (feat. Hittman, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, & Six-Two)
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the reason i chose this track for 1999 is coz it's off the "2001" album and brought back a whole new era of west coast rap. plus it makes me think of grade 9, which was one funny ass time. anyway, dr. dre sampled "bumpy's lament" by isaac hayes for this track, and the beat is disgusting. erykah badu even jacked the instrumental. the lyrics are kiiiinda questionable but it doesnt bother me, and the joint has kurupt on it, so it's dope music.

week 1: gettin started...

alright so its the first week of music, im gonna get this started off with 6 RANDOM tracks that i was playin a lot this weekend. grab the music, leave some comments, do watever. i'm using rapidshare right now to host the files, see how that goes, might get a server for this if needed later on.

next week is gonna be a bit more organized sonically, this is a real last minute type deal today, mostly some hiphop style joints but a couple of next tunes too.. check it out.

I-Wayne - Life Seed
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this track is realllll mellow reggae joint, somethin to just vibe out to and relax, its off i-wayne's album called "lava ground" which is an album that should definitely be checked out even if ur not a fan of reggae, this dude's voice is infectious.

Nujabes - Arurian Dance
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this is a straight instrumental track with a disgusting strings section and man the way the flutes hit near the middle is so key its not even a joke. nujabes is a producer from japan who doesn't rely on any samples for his shit, this track is off the 4 disc soundtrack to an anime called "samurai champloo", and the specific disc that this is off of is called "departure".. some reallll ill shiet on all 4 discs.

Brass Munk - Drive Me Crazy (feat. Darryl Riley)
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now for some local toronto talent, brass munk has been makin some dope music for years, and this is their latest single. real chill and lounge vibe, i wish they released this track earlier in the summer but i cant complain, darryl riley on the hook makes it sound smooth and agile's production is cold.

Fort Minor - Cigarettes
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fort minor is mike shinoda's alter ego, for all of u who don't know who mike shinoda is, he's the rapper/producer from linkin park. his new album called "the rising tied" is comin to stores soon and is executive producd by jay-z. this track is HUGE, but u gotta listen to the lyrics on it. mike's doin his thing tho, he wrote, played every instrument, and produced every song on this album, hustlin hard. this track is a bit more gutter than the other stuff i put up so far, but still dope.

Notorious BIG & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Notorious Thugs (Screwed & Chopped By Mike Watts)
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anyone who is a fan of biggie or bone thugs knows this track, biggie showin his quick flow with bone thugs usual hotness, but this is off of a new bootleg called "greatest hits - screwed & chopped by michael watts". get ur sizzurp and bounce to this track, anyone familiar with screwed music is gonna feeeel this. haha.

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower
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this is a classssic track, jimi doin his thang on the guitar and vocals, this version is off the greatest hits album called "the ultimate experience". this is a must-have, i dont care if u cant stand electric guitars but u NEED this, hendrix is too dirty.

here's the deal...

i dont know what the hell a blog is...

all i know is that im gonna use this site to talk about music that im feelin, share that music with yall, and link to shit that i find interesting.

expect like 5-6 tracks per week. shit is gonna be RANDOM, like just the 5-6 tracks i was bumpin the most that week, could be old or new, with a whole next multitude of genres and vibes. first few tracks comin this weekend.

kinda inspired by a next site i hit up on the reg called "the low end theory", u can check that shit out thru the link to the right.

sound good? ok. peace.