Hullaballoo
Featured artist: MF Doom
Daniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for Metal Fist, Metal Fingers, or Metal Face. He has appeared in several collaborative projects such as Danger Doom (with Danger Mouse) and Madvillain (with Madlib).
Current, Classic and Re-issue of the month
_Jay-Z & Kanye West/Watch The Throne
Over a year in the making and recorded in various locations around the globe including London, Sydney, Paris, and New York City, Watch the Throne is the eagerly anticipated collaboration from music icons and pop culture visionaries JAY-Z and Kanye West. The album features production from The RZA, The Neptunes and Kanye’s longtime collaborator Mike Dean and the short list of featured vocals includes Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Curtis Mayfield and Mr. Hudson. Lead track, “OTIS” samples Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness” and Entertainment Weekly has already declared the track “the most well-executed rap song of the year.”
_NWA/Straight Outta Compton
It is a wonder, if in 20 years time we will still be enthused by the hip-hop and rap music being produced today. Are any of them really classics? Will we still want to crank that Soulja Boy and 'super man dat hoe', in say 5 years? Okay, not the greatest example, but the point being, who now in this dire state of hip-hop will have made an impact musically, for us to care about in years to come? With the re-release of N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton, for its 20th Anniversary, the acknowledgment not only proves it's longstanding genius but allows new fans, who may only be aware of 50 Cent's dubious 'hell-raising' antics, to engulf themselves with the revolutionary sound that put gangsta rap on the map.
Originally released in 1988, Straight Outta Compton compelled the mainstream audience to see the hostile, underprivileged side to American living. N.W.A. did have an influential message. However, unlike Public Enemy's rational Fight the Power ethos, these teenagers were angrily brazen about sticking up a middle finger while possibly waving a AK47 in the other hand, in their pursuit of free speech. With Dre and DJ Yella on productions, the tracks were written predominantly by Ice Cube, while Easy E and MC Ren contributed with delivering the rhymes. It would be the group's notorious mantra F**k The Police that would create the most mayhem, with radio bans and FBI investigations. Nevertheless, the album reached double platinum sales status, being the first to do without commercial support.
_DJ Shadow/Endtroducing
DJ Shadow, a.k.a. Josh Davis, could be credited with bringing newfound introspection to the gloating sounds of hip-hop. Condensed with urban oscillations and scatological beats, Endtroducing... shutters with eclectic samples and aural montages that reach beyond the constraints of hip-hop style. Enhancing the mix with fundamentals of rock, soul, funk, ambient, and jazz, the modern fusions fail to go unnoticed, even by the casual listener. While most of the tracks are compiled by layering samples from vinyl treasures found in used-record bins, the production quality of the mosaic is unmatched. Darkened melodies carry throughout the album with its eye on the end of the tunnel. The narration samples come from numerous sources and keep the listener involved and waiting for resolution. With a message as fragmentary as an overheard conversation,Endtroducing... conveys no apparent conclusion, but begs the mind, body, and soul for some rewind.