Hip Hop Is Read: 11/1/10

Anderson Cooper Doing What He Does Best

Posted by Ivan at 11:58 PM

Had to post this. Cooper's journalistic evisceration of Berman's lethargic conspiracies was a delight to behold. Enjoy.

As If I Needed Another Reason to #Fuxwit Natalie Portman

Posted by Ivan at 4:31 PM

Via Amy Kaufman of Pop & Hiss, the L.A. Times' music blog:

Portman, who's generating Oscar buzz for her work as a ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's “Black Swan,” says that she's been looking back in music more than she is keeping up with trends. Currently in heavy rotation, she says, is “nothing new, although of new stuff, I like Antony, and Sufjan Stevens and Deerhunter. I also listen to a lot of hip-hop — but more older stuff, like Tribe and Jurassic 5 and the Roots. [LINK]

NatPo is taking it back to the days of yes y'all-in. For that, she wins the #iFuxwitit/#JILF stamp of approval. Again.

Related: Natalie Portman is a Freak!

Rap Round Table, Weeks Ending 11/26/2010

Posted by Ivan at 1:00 PM

Errare Humanum Est: A Tale of Two Books

Posted by Ivan at 10:31 PM

I've spent the past few sick days watching films noir and reading the ternion of hip hop books hitting shelves during the 2010 holiday season: The Anthology of Rap, Decoded, and The Big Payback. The latter of these three, Dan Charnas' riveting industry-insider account of entrepreneurship and corporatism in hip hop's ever-evolving saga, will be covered here sometime soon down the road (before it's December 7th release, if time permits me). In the meantime, I'd like to discuss The Anthology of Rap and Jay-Z's Decoded.

For the past few weeks, there's been much to say - and has been said - about the lyrical errors found in The Anthology of Rap. As I stated before, this is certainly a cause for criticism. There's no hiding behind the flaws in the book. However, I feel that the crusade led by Slate writer Paul Devlin, though admirable in its tenacity, serves as nothing more but dragging this book through the mud. Again, there is no argument to be made that this book contains pristine lyrics, delivered from the scribblings and mental word structures of emcees straight to Yale's printing press. This would be impossible, right? To err is human. But believe it or not, Jay-Z's Decoded suffers from this unavoidable truth as well.

Would you be surprised if there were typos and misprints to be found in Decoded's transcribed lyrics, written by Jay-Z himself? I asked myself this question after reading Devlin's latest piece on The Anthology of Rap titled "Stakes Is High: Members of the Anthology of Rap's advisory board speak out about the book's errors." (A brief note: Devlin mentions that he found the contact information to 18 of The Anthology of Rap's 21 advisory board members. I myself being one of these 21 individuals was surprised to find that I wasn't approached for comment.) Devlin ends his piece by pointing out one erroneous Jay-Z transcription found in The Anthology of Rap. I've done some digging as well. Interestingly enough, in some cases The Anthology of Rap gets it right where Decoded gets it wrong. What more can I say?

Both The Anthology of Rap and Decoded share four Jay-Z songs in common: "Renegade", "December 4th", "99 Problems", and S. Carter's remix of "My President is Black". I'll go in that order:

Renegade

One of The Anthology of Rap's strong points is marked by a keen observation for line breaks. Remember, The Anthology's goal is to approach rap lyrics as poetry, presenting them on paper as such. Pointing out hip hop's "heavy reliance on 4/4 beats", The Anthology aims to preserve the prominence of the beat's rhythm over which the lyrics are delivered. You'll notice when reading lyrics posted on the internet that aside from the run of the mill typos and misprints, there are also plenty of odd line breaks that don't seem to match with the song it was meant to convert to written form. The Anthology of Rap made righting this wrong a priority. It may not mean much to some, but if being inquisitive over inaccuracies is the lay of the land, I've got a few to point out. Compare the following bars selected below and notice the differences between each set (bold mine):

what I do through and through and
I give you the news with a twist it's just his ghetto point of view
The renegade; you been afraid
I penetrate pop culture, bring 'em a lot closer to the block where they
...
No he's not around - now how that sound to ya, jot it down
I bring it through the ghetto without ridin 'round
hidin down duckin strays from frustrated youths stuck in they ways
Just read a magazine that fucked up my day
- Decoded

What I do through and through and
I give you the news with a twist; it's just his ghetto point-of-view
The renegade, you been afraid, I penetrate
Pop culture, bring 'em a lot closer to the block where they
...
No, he's not around. Now how that sound to ya? Jot it down
I bring it through the ghetto without ridin 'round
Hidin down, duckin strays from frustrated youths
Stuck in they ways. Just read a magazine that fucked up my day
- The Anthology of Rap

If you keep the 4/4 beat in mind while reading each set of lyrics, you'll realize that Decoded took some liberties in casting the structure of its lyrics for "Renegade". Line by line (or kick-snare-kick-snare by kick-snare-kick-snare) however, The Anthology of Rap does a better job of matching the beat appropriately with the lyrics (or is it the other way around). Too finicky an observation? Perhaps. But how's this for a revelation: OHHLA presents the same error as found in Decoded. Take a gander:

The renegade; you been afraid
I penetrate pop culture, bring 'em a lot closer to the block where they
- OHHLA

Not only is the same line break between "afraid" and "I penetrate" visible, but notice the semicolon. How often are semicolons used in transcribed rap lyrics? It's gotta be a coincidence, right? Maybe not. The mystery unravels when semicolons are shared once again later on in the track:

Could not stress to me I wasn't grown; 'specially on nights
I brought somethin home to quiet the stomach rumblings
- Decoded

Could not stress to me I wasn't grown; 'specially on nights
I brought somethin home to quiet the stomach rumblings
- OHHLA

Identical. (In case you're wondering, The Anthology of Rap appropriately uses a comma in these instances.) So did Jay-Z and his Decoded writers use OHHLA as a source - just as The Anthology of Rap's editors have been charged? I'll leave that to the readers' discretion. Shall we continue?

Do not step to me - I'm awkward, I box lefty often
My pops left me an orphan, my momma wasn't home
- Decoded

Do not step to me; I'm awkward, I box leftier often
My pops left me an orphan, my mama wasn't home
- The Anthology of Rap

Despite the fact that "leftier" isn't even an actual word, The Anthology of Rap is correct in choosing it over Decoded's "lefty". Pay careful attention not just to the word being delivered on "Renegade" (he's clearly saying "leftier"), but to the syllable count juxtaposed between "lefty/leftier often" and "left me an orphan". Five syllables between the correct delivery, as transcribed by The Anthology of Rap: left-i-er-of-ten/left-me-an-or-phan. Wouldn't you expect the gorgeously-crafted Decoded to get Jay-Z's lyrics down pat? Yeah, me too.

December 4th

For the sake of brevity, I feel it's no longer necessary to point out the line breaks (at least until the last track) in Decoded which are arranged correctly in The Anthology of Rap. For starters, it'd be a bit exhaustive to pinpoint each and every one of these instances. But most importantly, I know that people will find it of little to no value. Though I disagree with that point of view, I'll accommodate the notion that a typo in content weighs heavier than choppy structuring. With that said, the only noteworthy error I've found in Decoded for "December 4th" is the word "two-wheeler" which, delivered by Jay-Z's own mother, Gloria Carter, is actually spoken as "two-wheel". The Anthology of Rap correctly transcribes it as such. Nothing to lose sleep over.

99 Problems

Decoded transcribes the second verse from this track off The Black Album. Let's take a look at some more select portions of the lyrics:

I got two choices y'all, pull over the car or
bounce on the double put the pedal to the floor
- Decoded

I got two choices, y'all: pull over the car or
Bounce on the devil, put the pedal to the floor
- The Anthology of Rap

Have I been wrong all these years? I've been reciting "the devil" all this time thinking I knew my Jay-Z lyrics front to back. I guess I was wrong. Despite the fact that pointing out this error actually goes against my thesis, I thought it'd be interesting to note nonetheless. Who else thought it was "devil" too? Unless he really was saying "devil" back in '03 and has had a change of heart with his Dark Lord since then, hmm? I'm kidding of course. We see you, Jay. Moving on:

And I heard "Son do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
"Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low?
Do I look like a mind reader sir, I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo?"
"Well you was doing fifty-five in a fifty-four
License and registration and step out of the car
Are you carrying a weapon on you, I know a lot of you are"
"I ain't stepping out of shit all my papers legit"
"Do you mind if I look round the car a little bit?"
"Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk and the back
And I know my rights so you go'n need a warrant for that"
"Aren't you sharp as a tack, some type of lawyer or something
Or somebody important or something?"
- Decoded

I heard, "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
'Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low?
Do I look like a mind reader, sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo'?
"Well, you was doing fifty-five in a fifty-four
License and registration and step out of the car
Are you carrying a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are"
I ain't stepping out of shit, all my paper's legit
"Well, do you mind if I look round the car a little bit?"
Well, my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk and the back
And I know my rights so you gon' need a warrant for that
"Aren't you sharp as a tack, you some type of
Lawyer or somethin? Somebody important or somethin?"
- The Anthology of Rap

Decoded either adds or omits the following words incorrectly: "and", "well", "some", and "or". Also notice that Decoded somewhat confusingly uses quotations for both Jay-Z, the hustler, and Jay-Z, the police officer (a.k.a. jake). The only quotations needed are for the cop, signified by Jay-Z's demonstrably altered accent/intonation.

My President is Black (Remix)

Here we go:

My president is black
My Maybach too
and I'll be goddamn if my diamonds ain't blue
my money dark green
and my Porsche is light gray
I'm headin for D.C. anybody feel me
My president is black
in fact he's half white
so even in a racist mind
he's half right
if you have a racist mind
you be aight
my president is black
but his house is all WHITE
Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk
Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run
Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly
So I'ma spread my wings and
you can meet me in the sky
...
Hello Ms. America
Hey pretty lady
that red white and blue flag
wave for me baby
- Decoded

My president is black, my Maybach, too
And I'll be goddamn if my diamonds ain't blue
My money's dark green and my Porsche is light gray
And I'm headed for D.C. - anybody feel me?
My president is black, in fact, he's half white
So even in a racist's mind, he's half right
If you have a racist mind, you be aight
The president is black, but his house is all white
Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk
Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run
Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly
So I'ma spread my wings, you can meet me in the sky
...
Hello, Miss America, hey, pretty lady
Red, white, and blue flag, wave for me, baby!
- The Anthology of Rap

The structure found in this particular Decoded entry signifies an amateurish method of transcribing lyrics which The Anthology of Rap aimed to confront - correctly, in this occasion. In addition to the shoddy structuring found in Decoded's version, there are also minimal miscues throughout, once again noted in bold. Maybe I'm just being a pisher here, but I'd counter that if you're going to call out the inaccuracies in one book, it's only fair to levy the same amount of skepticism towards another. And therein lies the crux of the issue: The Anthology of Rap, which spans over 800 pages, covers hundreds of songs by nearly as many artists. I'd expect The Anthology of Rap's first printing to be an imperfect work. Decoded on the other hand covers thirty-six songs by one single artist and the book itself is written by that very artist! Nonetheless, errors are found. To err is human. Don't trip.

Within the pages of both of these books lies something to be cherished, to be critiqued and debated, to be studied. Both of these books offer sources of insight and inspiration. Both of these books are highly recommended by yours truly. For what it's worth however, both of these books are kind of expensive. Each book is listed at $35 (though I'm sure you'll find it online or in stores for a reduced price). I'm the first to advocate wise consumerism. With that said, do yourself a favor and head out to a book store to flip through them. Leave them both at the store, choose one over the other, or go for broke and bring them both home with you. If you care enough about hip hop and aren't one of those "books are for losers" types, remember: hip hop is read. Thank you for caring. And thank you for reading.

Sample Set #162

Posted by Ivan at 7:30 PM

In order to complete this sample set, I had to do tons of research, spend hours watching a bunch of kung fu flicks (no complaints), and dig through those good ol' e-crates. In all, about ten hours or so of mostly-strenuous, sclera-melting labor. So without further adieu... take it away, XXL! :D

I've always enjoyed Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - and all the subsequent Wu records for that matter - because they instill an interest in actively digging up the source material and learning about all the film snippets and other oddities sprinkled throughout the album. Even if compiling these sample mixes wasn't my "job", I'm still the kind of person to nerd out over the differences between Wu Tang and Shaolin and distinguishing the various styles of animal-based kung fu techniques. It's interesting! Without this album and RZA's quirky production savvy, most of us would've been cut off from this alluring world of cult classic Hong Kong flicks. Who else but The RZA would've (or could've) incorporated kung fu into the Big Tent Party that is hip hop? And we thank him for that! (Further reading/listening: Wired Magazine's 2007 interview with The RZA, discussing his unconventional source material.)

But it's not just the kung fu influence that's made RZA one of hip hop's most cherished producers. His gravitation towards gritty soul and flipping even grittier loops is unparalleled. Listening to his beats, one can't help but notice a certain sense of dust and griminess in the music he crafts. His production resonates like the sounds a basement would make if it could sing - or groan. But there's a light element to his style, perhaps attributed to his spiritual leanings, which emanates through the sound waves as well. This sample set serves as a primer on The RZA's production and influences, both of which have changed drastically - though not necessarily for the worse - in the past decade and a half. Listen to Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) one more time before giving this a spin. I promise you'll enjoy it more that way. For an extra kick, make sure to check out the following films: Shaolin and Wu Tang, Ten Tigers from Kwangtung, Five Deadly Venoms, and Executioner(s) from Shaolin. Enjoy the ride! I know I did. Just make sure to... turn it up!!

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers): Movie Samples

Posted by Ivan at 3:06 AM

Sample set coming within, um, 36 hours.

Dr. Dre's Got a New Song?

Posted by Ivan at 11:17 PM

...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's gahbidge.

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #92

Posted by Ivan at 12:00 PM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #91

Posted by Ivan at 7:30 AM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #90

Posted by Ivan at 9:30 PM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #89

Posted by Ivan at 7:00 PM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #88

Posted by Ivan at 3:30 PM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #87

Posted by Ivan at 12:00 PM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #86

Posted by Ivan at 8:00 AM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #85

Posted by Ivan at 10:00 PM

The Tape Deck '10: Volume #84

Posted by Ivan at 7:00 PM

Rap Round Table, Week Ending 11/12/2010

Posted by Ivan at 11:00 AM

"Water Samurai (version two)" by Chris Stickley

Music Analysis & Reporting:

GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Turns 15 Years Old by Ivan Rott (UPDATE: oh, and Rob Markman) :D

300 Slept-On Tracks From The Last Decade (Trav’s Picks 31-40) by Travis

300 Slept On Tracks From The Last Decade (Dart’s Picks 61-80) by Dart Adams

10 DJ Premier Collaborations We Want to Hear by J-23

Slowly spinning in his grave by Sach O

Busta Rhymes has got you all in check by Ethan Hein

Sampling Non-Percussion in Mono or Stereo: It Usually Comes Down to the Source of the Sound by Amir Said

The Punisher by Danj!

Stop Biting: How Many Rappers Can Ruin A Good Thing By One by Alvin Aqua Blanco

Shawshanks and Skateboards by Jeff Weiss

Escape from Angola: Bishop Lamont's path to redemption by Jeff Weiss

Gospel of Matthews: Ghostpoet’s Late Night Revelations by Aaron Matthews

A Fat Middle Finger To Homophobia by Jaap van der Doelen

Aquatic Acrobatics by Jeff Weiss

What The ’90s Won’t Do For Love by Danj!

The Unkut Film Critic Reviews Kanye West’s Runaway by Robbie

Hip Hop & Literature:

It Was Written by Paul Devlin

On Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Baby Droppin’: The Anthology Of Rap Is Here by Thun

Che Guevara with Bling on: How a Music Journalist Helped Write Jay-Z’s “P.S.A.” by Rizoh

Album Reviews:

The Left - Gas Mask by Nicholas Candiotto

KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager by Nahshon Landrum

KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager by WULU

KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager by TC

KiD CuDi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager by Edwin Ortiz

Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer by Margaret Wappler

Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer by Slava Kuperstein

Statik Selektah & Termanology - 1982 by Amir Said

Teebs - Ardour by Nate Patrin

Skillz - The World Needs More Skillz by Remco Semaun

Twista - The Perfect Storm by William E. Ketchum III

Nottz - You Need This Music by Paul Christiansen

Gangrene - Gutter Water by Tom Breihan

Zion I - Atomic Clock by Kevin S. Gary

Blame One - Endurance by Francisco McCurry

The Scribblenauts - Low Light Turbulence by Ali Elabbady

Modest Mouse - Sad Sappy Sucker / The Fruit That Ate Itself EP by Jayson Greene

Kokayi - Robots & Dinosaurs by D.L. Chandler

Warpaint - The Fool by Brian Hodge

Profiles & Interviews:

Q&A: DJ Premier on Where Rap Went Wrong and How to Fix It by Phillip Mlynar

Exclusive Interview Status: Bobbito Garcia by Verge

TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Twista by Beware

Sheek Louch, “The LOX Aren’t Beefin’ w/Ruff Ryders or Interscope” by Derryck “Nes” Johnson

Interview: Teebs on Art, Ardour And The Christmas Records No One Wanted by Kristina Benson

This is Who Silk Kaya is: An Interview with Eternia by Zach Cole

Halie, “Why is My Butt So Big?” by Bonsu Thompson

Politics:

Obama's Even-Handedness Works Against Him by Deepak Chopra

Kanye Regrets Calling Bush Racist, Bush Forgives, Kanye Spazzes by Eskay

WTF/LOL:

Excerpts From Silkk The Shocker’s Book by HL

The Anthology of Ross Lyrics: “M.C. Hammer” Video Edition by Jeff Weiss

I usually remain humble on things, but your Level of Conan O’Brien appreciation is not on MY Level by Ericka

STFU, Conway by Byron Crawford

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Blogger Scorned

Posted by Ivan at 3:09 PM

A new XXL post by Rob Markman titled "GZA’s ‘Liquid Swords’ Turns 15 Years Old" takes an in-depth look at The Genius' epic 1995 album. The article highlights some of the lyrics from Liquid Swords, but mostly covers the samples used throughout. Sadly, it seems like someone didn't follow some basic instructions and I'ma have to file an investigative report on some of that bitchassness.

If you recall, I dropped a sample set for Liquid Swords back in 2007. This labor of love was a tedious but rewarding one. Just a couple of months ago, I updated the compilation with some new artwork and, most importantly, new songs and audio snippets I'd come across since '07. When I call this a labor of love, I mean that shit. That's why I've gotta bring some of this stuff to attention. Take a quick peek at Rob's article and come right back. Do you see what I see? Look: I'm not saying I've got some sort of monopoly on covering classic rap records' samples. Far from it! There are others who do it too, and quite frankly, others who can do it better. I just compile the tracks and drop my humble pair of pennies. The e-playground is big enough for all of us. But in this case, all of the work I've put in has been swiped and claimed as the diligent digging of Rob Markman. Fall back. I'm not asking for a rubdown here, but a nice little shout-out would've been appropriate.

Now here's where the story gets interesting: I'm a bit of a geek, so I checked the website's HTML/page source to find the links to the attached mp3 files. What'd I come to find out? The file names are identical to the ones in my sample set! Not only that, but when you actually download these songs, the file sizes are identical. It doesn't take a Shaolin monk to figure out what happened here. Funny enough, Rob - or whoever thought this was a clever idea - didn't even bother deleting the embedded cover art on the mp3 files! So you're listening to an mp3 off the XXL website with some artwork that reads "Hip Hop Is Read Presents..." - unbeknown to the listener; all without giving me the least bit of credit on any of the thirteen pages of this XXL article. Now that's some ol' bullshit.

I was very grateful to XXL when they included Hip Hop Is Read amongst the "100 best hip hop websites." Here's what they wrote:

Ever wonder where rap’s hottest producers get their samples from? This gem of a site is like a virtual dig spot, offering compiled playlists of hip-hops’s original source material, minus all the digital dust, of course.

They were right about that! Much love, XXL. Too bad you've got a strange way of showing it.