Music Analysis & Reporting:
Sobriety is for suckers by Byron Crawford
Guru's guru: How a mysterious Svengali dominated the final days of the Boston-born hip-hop and jazz superstar by Chris Faraone
Lil B “County Blues” (Internet, 2010) + Thoughts! by Noz
Basehead Jazz: A Serious Lil B Discussion. Really. by David D.
Diddy – The Only Artist Keeping Old School Alive by C-Dub
Sha Money XL Poised to Reshape Def Jam by Amir Said (a.k.a. Sa'id)
Someone cue up “Forever My Lady” by Byron Crawford
Love Thy Hater: How to Learn and Profit from “Bad” Feedback by Justin Boland
Things Learned About Big Boi From Watching The Video For “Shutterbug” by Jeff Weiss
“I Love The ’90s” Pt.II (1991 pt.II): “What, you think we forgot?” by Eric
I'll Gather Melodies From Birdies That Fly And Compose You A Tune... by Scholar
“I Love The ’90s” Pt.II (1992 pt.I) by Eric
Raekwon - “Alphabet Soup” by Jeff Weiss
Madvillain - “Paper Mill” by Jeff Weiss
Steve Rifkind is a genius... by HL
Yo Dito! You Rock Or Disco? © Laurie, Diane & Jenny by Dart Adams
How the Roots are trying to get over by Byron Crawford
Will Jay Electronica Disappoint Us?
By the time Kanye gets to Arizona by Byron Crawford
Has Hip-Hop Become More Bitch-Made? by Robbie
The Sexiest, But Worst Rap-A-Lot Record by Noz
The miseducation of URB magazine by Byron Crawford
What Does DIY Mean? by Amir Said (a.k.a. Sa'id)
The First White Rappers: A History Lesson by Teddy C.D.
Is Wale trying to tell us something? by Byron Crawford
Bass Framework Not Predicated on Concept of Bass Line The Building Blocks of Bass Frameworks by Amir Said (a.k.a. Sa'id)
Post-Rebellion Hip-Hop by Sara Sarasohn
Sure Ya Right… by Robbie
What Hip-Hop Album Would You Wanna See Played Live? by Jesse Gissen
Beat-loggers index samples so we don't have to by Thorin Klosowski
Artie Shaw At 100: Celebrating A Swing Era Sensation by Tom Vitale
The 10 best jazz musicians: From the traditional to the spiritual and the really out-there, acclaimed performer Jamie Cullum picks his favourite jazz inspirations by Jamie Cullum
Abraham, Inc.: Klezmer With A Funky Hip-Hop Beat by Jon Kalish
Album Reviews:
Ill Poetic & J. Rawls - The World Is Illuminated by Eric
Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute by Nate Patrin
Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid by Rizoh
Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid by Slava Kuperstein
Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here by David Drake
YahZarah – The Ballad of Purple Saint James by Zach Cole
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives by Rizoh
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives by Combat Jack
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives by The Smoking Section Crew
Sage Francis - Li(f)e by Mitchell Hanna
Young Jeezy - Trap or Die II by Tom Breihan
Inspectah Deck - Manifesto by Max
Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (II) by Brandon Rae
David Cross - Bigger and Blackerer by Andrew Beckerman
Profiles & Interviews:
M.I.A.’s Agitprop Pop by Lynn Hirschberg
Complex Cover Girl: M.I.A. by Nate Denver
Question in the Form of An Answer: Homeboy Sandman by Jeff Weiss
Zilla Rocca on DIY Hip Hop Everything by Justin Boland
Slim da Mobster: Warning Shots by Jake Paine
Blogging:
You been in this 10, I been in this 5, smarten up by Eskay
Politics:
Selective Terrorism by David Banner, yes THE David Banner
Rand Paul is Incredibly Boring by zunguzungu
Dope Boys and Libertarians by M.Dot
Literature:
After keeping us waiting for a century, Mark Twain will finally reveal all by Guy Adams
Television:
Boondocks: “The Story of Jimmy Rebel” Recap by Rizoh
'Treme,' Episode 7: Civil Dysfunction Meets Civil Disobedience by Patrick Jarenwattananon & Josh Jackson
Obituaries:
R.I.P. Born Reality by Combat Jack
Sobriety is for suckers by Byron Crawford
Guru's guru: How a mysterious Svengali dominated the final days of the Boston-born hip-hop and jazz superstar by Chris Faraone
Lil B “County Blues” (Internet, 2010) + Thoughts! by Noz
Basehead Jazz: A Serious Lil B Discussion. Really. by David D.
Diddy – The Only Artist Keeping Old School Alive by C-Dub
Sha Money XL Poised to Reshape Def Jam by Amir Said (a.k.a. Sa'id)
Someone cue up “Forever My Lady” by Byron Crawford
Love Thy Hater: How to Learn and Profit from “Bad” Feedback by Justin Boland
Things Learned About Big Boi From Watching The Video For “Shutterbug” by Jeff Weiss
“I Love The ’90s” Pt.II (1991 pt.II): “What, you think we forgot?” by Eric
I'll Gather Melodies From Birdies That Fly And Compose You A Tune... by Scholar
“I Love The ’90s” Pt.II (1992 pt.I) by Eric
Raekwon - “Alphabet Soup” by Jeff Weiss
Madvillain - “Paper Mill” by Jeff Weiss
Steve Rifkind is a genius... by HL
Yo Dito! You Rock Or Disco? © Laurie, Diane & Jenny by Dart Adams
How the Roots are trying to get over by Byron Crawford
Will Jay Electronica Disappoint Us?
By the time Kanye gets to Arizona by Byron Crawford
Has Hip-Hop Become More Bitch-Made? by Robbie
The Sexiest, But Worst Rap-A-Lot Record by Noz
The miseducation of URB magazine by Byron Crawford
What Does DIY Mean? by Amir Said (a.k.a. Sa'id)
The First White Rappers: A History Lesson by Teddy C.D.
Is Wale trying to tell us something? by Byron Crawford
Bass Framework Not Predicated on Concept of Bass Line The Building Blocks of Bass Frameworks by Amir Said (a.k.a. Sa'id)
Post-Rebellion Hip-Hop by Sara Sarasohn
Sure Ya Right… by Robbie
What Hip-Hop Album Would You Wanna See Played Live? by Jesse Gissen
Beat-loggers index samples so we don't have to by Thorin Klosowski
Artie Shaw At 100: Celebrating A Swing Era Sensation by Tom Vitale
The 10 best jazz musicians: From the traditional to the spiritual and the really out-there, acclaimed performer Jamie Cullum picks his favourite jazz inspirations by Jamie Cullum
Abraham, Inc.: Klezmer With A Funky Hip-Hop Beat by Jon Kalish
Album Reviews:
Ill Poetic & J. Rawls - The World Is Illuminated by Eric
Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute by Nate Patrin
Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid by Rizoh
Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid by Slava Kuperstein
Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here by David Drake
YahZarah – The Ballad of Purple Saint James by Zach Cole
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives by Rizoh
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives by Combat Jack
Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives by The Smoking Section Crew
Sage Francis - Li(f)e by Mitchell Hanna
Young Jeezy - Trap or Die II by Tom Breihan
Inspectah Deck - Manifesto by Max
Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (II) by Brandon Rae
David Cross - Bigger and Blackerer by Andrew Beckerman
Profiles & Interviews:
M.I.A.’s Agitprop Pop by Lynn Hirschberg
Complex Cover Girl: M.I.A. by Nate Denver
Question in the Form of An Answer: Homeboy Sandman by Jeff Weiss
Zilla Rocca on DIY Hip Hop Everything by Justin Boland
Slim da Mobster: Warning Shots by Jake Paine
Blogging:
You been in this 10, I been in this 5, smarten up by Eskay
Politics:
Selective Terrorism by David Banner, yes THE David Banner
Rand Paul is Incredibly Boring by zunguzungu
Dope Boys and Libertarians by M.Dot
Literature:
After keeping us waiting for a century, Mark Twain will finally reveal all by Guy Adams
Television:
Boondocks: “The Story of Jimmy Rebel” Recap by Rizoh
'Treme,' Episode 7: Civil Dysfunction Meets Civil Disobedience by Patrick Jarenwattananon & Josh Jackson
Obituaries:
R.I.P. Born Reality by Combat Jack
I'm really enjoying these highlights of the past week, thanks Ivan!
ReplyDelete"Is Wale trying to tell us something? by Byron Crawford."
ReplyDeleteThis guy seems a little too preoccupied with who is gay or not. Like he's got a dossier of Wale's 'suspect' moments with which to prosecute him on charges of being 'ghey'.
Is this guy one of the respected bloggers? I couldnt care less about the gay issue but this dude just seems childish. Nobody really cares about Wale anyway. If he was outed I dont think anyone would really care. But being a sneakerhead makes him gay right? And not indulging in groupie love makes him suspect too?
Should I put 'No Homo' at the top of this post? Just in case Byron thinks I am one of 'teh gheys'. Y'know spelling it like that makes him look a little gay. Like he cant even say gay because it might make him look gay. Mmmm maybe Byron is g.....
His Eminem piece is pretty meh too. Sorry mate, im just saying. No homo X infinity.
@Anon: Enjoy!
ReplyDelete@Funk DZL: Respected? Byron Crawford (a.k.a. Bol) surely isn't everyone's cup of tea. That being said, you should take many of his posts with a huge grain of salt. Sometimes he'll write a piece that drops knowledge, other times he'll give you something purely for comedic or shock value (or both). Bottom line: he's a creative writer. I've been a reader for years. Respected by some, feared by all.
Dont know much about him, or enough to really judge him properly. He just seems to fall in line with the typical Rap Versus Gays idea. Just seems typical, unoriginal and inevitably pointless.
ReplyDeleteHe's trying his hardest to distance himself from the gays yet it seems like over-compensating. Like, lemme hate on Wale because he's gay. When you should hate on Wale cos he's just not that good as a rapper..
When a guy says No Homo it actually makes him look more gay. Bol's piece just came across that way to me. He cant even type the word gay because it might make him look gay. Whereas im not that insecure so I can write this post.
Anyways, no big deal.
The MIA piece from NYT: I actually read the fallout from that before reading the piece itself. Dont know why Maya is pissed at it. She's just drawing more attention to it. Which might be her goal. Maya's slack talk just gets her in trouble really. She's caught in two minds and two cultures. You cant talk too much about the Tamil issue if you want to be a pop star.
Any allusion to terrorism doesnt serve her goals really. She wants to be seen as a revolutionary but when she's called on it she has to retreat and deny. A bit of hypocrisy there but also a lack of conviction in her beliefs.
As long as the music is good then I dont really care all that much. Maya should let her music and lyrics do the talking.