Ras Kass feat. Killa Priest, Canibus& Kurupt- This Sh!t Right Here

i was just sayin yesterday when i was goin thru the more recent posts g\that its mostly old skool shit. i dont mind that, i love history. but it made me think that i really aint came across nothin that made me feel like thats that shit from no current niggas in a while. til i came across this.

i couldnt help but notice that Kurupt was really on some shit on this one. i mean, Ras killed it. what im sayin is, i aint heard the baw put in that much effort in years. and i really appreciate it. cause as talented as he is, he been soundin like a real lazy dude for the last past couple. no shots. but no shit.

this is reminds me of what i remember hip hop to be. now wheres that crazy comical dude? Biz Markie, Fresh Prince (dont get it fucked up, that baw was a WRITER) or even fly funny like Slick Rick? niggas scared to be funny these days too. even Eminem hardcore now. its room for it all. imagine eating peanut butter and jelly for breakfast, lunch and dinner. thats called RADIO these days.

well, these niggas fixed a real good meal for you.

enjoy...

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BREAKBEAT TUESDAY

Breakbeat Tuesday: I have so much going on right now that I can't get into a full in-depth thing about this next record. All I know is that it's a MONSTER, and that I played it somewhere and sometime in my set on Sunday to thunderous effect. I first heard this in the form of Kool G Rap's "Untouchable Remix" of "On The Run." Someone told me it was a Ray Bryant record so I spent the next 6 months buying every record by dude I could find, until I copped "Up Above The Rock." Like so many soul jazz records of the late 60s it was chock-filled with tepid standards of the time like "Little Green Apples" and Burt Barcharach jawns. But the title cut? Damn... So ill, and it's been a favorite ever since in my sets. The production is very unique in it's sound, as it's on Cadet and they had a very distinctive sound and feel to their records at the time, courtesy of producer Richard Evans. The composition of the song is very cinematic and matched perfectly for the storytelling prowess of G. Rap's mafia fairytales. And to me this was one of the first productions that made me think the Trackmasters had taken their shit to the next level. Anyway, a Philly DJ living in Brooklyn plays a jazz song by a Philly pianist sampled by a Queens MC at a party in Los Angeles, and all because of that, it being give to you.


Ray Bryant "Up Above The Rock" (Cadet, 1968)



And for good measure,


Kool G Rap & DJ Polo "On The Run (Untouchable Version)" (Cold Chillin', 1992)


Yeah I've been slacking on the posts. Whatever, man. It's summer. Who cares? Shouldn't you be outside instead of reading this? Anyway, if you've gotten this far, let me take the time to let you know I'm about to hit the road for a few days. Tomorrow I will be in Calgary rocking with DJ Fashen and the Smalltown DJs. Friday I will be at Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver. Saturday I return to Seattle to rock at HG Lodge (formerly known as War Room) with the homie Fourcolorzack. Then Sunday, I'm off to Los Angeles for a few days, starting with me DOING a special top-secret daytime event in Hollywood. Whatcha Want To Do? Hit me on Sunday to find out... And peep the Events Page for all the details of the trip. Other than that, I am "this much closer" to the launch of the new site. Like probably to 4 weeks from now. Super psyched. The new site is crazy and going to change the game.


In the meantime me and The Rub crew have been full steam ahead with our History Of Hip-Hop series. We started chronicling our favorite rap songs for each year in hip-hop starting from 1979 and going all the way to 1999. 20 mixes in all, and we've just relaunched the series to tackle the first decade of the 21st Century. So peep us at www.itstherub.com for a new year every Thursday, and check out the archive of past years here.

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Yeah He Went There

These dudes. Before you continue to read this, if you haven't checked this out, you may want to. When I saw the tracklist to 'Teflon Don' and saw 'Free Mason', I was like, is he gonna go there? I agree with the homie DV8, he should have said nada. The grumbling was dying down. But since he did...

No one told Jay to do those visuals for 'Run This Town' and 'On To The Next One'. If Jay couldn't see what was materializing in those videos to stop and say "I ain't feeling this, let's go in a different direction", then we are giving him more credit for his intelligence than he is due. Jay himself said he's reading Crowley. We all saw Jay wearing the hoody. You could have just wore button ups and slacks instead of all black Jay, you know, the apparel that people have successfully associated with the occult. I won't go into how someone who's "blacked-out" has an all white cover for their last project, bright as hell, called a blueprint in it's third installment, with 3 stripes. Jay you have spewing countless forms of symbolism, and many rap fans know you deal with subliminal tactics.

What Jay didn't expect is for people to catch on to these symbols. A lot of people are home now because of the economic strife. They actually have time to take closer looks, study, and even fact find.

See there are a lot of things you don't get close to in this game unless you submit. Yes, there are plenty and many of 'Indecent Proposals' that occur for many people to be even remotely successful in the entertainment industry. What you have to understand is that for a rapper, a supposedly former drug rapper, who gets uber millions, to now sit next to politicians, especially when said rapper has done nothing political, you gotta expect a red flag to go up somewhere down the line. How did you get there? Paul McCartney was caking way before Hov, I don't see him breaking bread like that. And I bet you they know more about Paul's music than Jay's. But Jay is known to cool out with Sting.

Jay may not be a mason, but he damn sure is a pawn for them masons. They know he has a large following, what better way to incorporate these new ideas? Get one of their "heroes" to tell them it's cool to do it, show them it's OK that it's happening. They know he will bring some people in, ready to submit, like Ross, who clearly wants to be in that group. Yeah Jay, you are amazin', if you think we can't see what you did to get paper. You know about the math, you grew up in Marcy. You know about the Ansaar ways too, you and Jaz recorded on Bushwick Avenue back in the day, you couldn't be in that midst without them speaking to you. You became a Muslim son, the ten percent who blood suck off of the underprivileged and not knowing any better. And you know they call Muslim sons masons. Wordplay is deadly (see Nas with "godson". Can you see a little clearer with what Griff was saying?).

And I'm not buying that when you get successful people wanna associate you with certain things excuse. No one's associating Dave Chappelle, Aaron McGruder, or 50 Cent with being in that space. Just Hov.

* If you readers will notice, those I named above pretty much said no. *

At the end of the day, it's all about the agenda, and profit. If you don't back the agenda, your profit decreases.

Ross suckered you in Jay, he's dying to get membership.

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Free Mason Rick Ross feat, Jay Z

i aint even gonna add on yet. i'mma let $yk manuever this... i think he probably already got this post written...

(click the post title to link to the song...)
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AY YO! YOU GOT TO CHECK THIS OUT! THESE ARE SICK. GO HERE FOR MORE!

                                                   

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BREAK BEAT TUESDAY

so what i'm late. i got a lot of shit goin on. shouts to Avenger XL. cause i wasnt even gonna post this cause the break is soooo nasty. if u make a beat, send it. ill post it. then i'll do one to burn you in true bboy fashion...

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- Breakbeat Tuesday: So this Breakbeat Tuesday thing has really taken off and I'm pleased to announce that the column is soon going to be syndicated on a bunch of other sites. Also, be on the lookout for several guest entries for BBT starting very soon with some of your favorite DJs, producers, artists and just all around "folk." But let's get started with this week's entry.






Now I've mentioned this before but my man ESPO aka Steve Powers was really instrumental on putting me on to a lot of records back in the day. I would lamp over his house in West Philly and he basically sat me down in front of the turntable and would be like "Okay, now you LISTEN to this Funkadelic record and LEARN IT." So I am forever beholden to this dude for putting my head on at the right place and right time. For the few people out there who don't know who dude is , get your shit together. And while you're at it, stop messing around and buy his book. So anyway, this is a record that he put me up on, from Black Heat's "No Time To Burn" album.


I'm going to start with Phillip Guilbeau, who was a trumpeter and session player that was most known for recording with legends such as Count Basie, David "Fathead" Newman, Hank Crawford and Ray Charles (he was soloist on the landmark 1961 album "Genius + Soul = Jazz.") Guilbeau recorded a ton of music during the 60s and by the time the early 70s had rolled around, Guilbea became involved in the latest evolution of sound, funk music. He was living in Washington DC and was the trumpet player for the group The Young Senators. The Young Senators were the top-rated R&B group in the area after the release of their hit, the Guilbeau penned "The Jungle" after which they were asked to tour as the backing group of Eddie Kendricks. Kendricks was so enamored of their sound that he recorded his seminal album "My People... Hold On" with the Young Senators as the band who played all the music, including what is widely considered the first ever Disco song, "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind."



Gilbeau was still very active in the DC community which was a hotbed of talent that included Chuck Brown's Soul Searchers, and another group that Gilbeau discovered, Black Heat. Black Heat was in the community and, had ties with The Young Senators. Gilbeau took Black Heat to Joel Dorn at Atlantic Records, whom he had known from his days as session player for Ray Charles and Hank Crawford. The funk outfit was signed and, with Dorn on production, Atlantic (which was always a very forward thinking imprint in general) was ushered into the future with a brand new sound. Black Heat recorded 3 albums before they disbanded, but not before leaving their mark.


Espo pulled this record out and put it in my hands in what was probably 1990 or 1991 and told me "Do not tell anyone what this record is or share it with anyone." I looked at it with the wild dudes on the cover with all the flames and the words "No Time To Burn" across the front and I swore I was looking at the baddest shit I had ever seen. When he placed the vinyl on the turntable and "You Should've Listened" came on with it's heavy funk and overall ATTITUDE (that's a common theme with me I think) I was beyond excited. But then when right past 2 minutes the song revs up and launches into one of the baddest breaks I had ever heard it was game over. Just furious drumming, with percussion where you can definitely see the DC sound, and the very beginnings of what would eventually become Go-Go music. Espo looked at me and was like "I told you, so so keep this under wraps." That was probably the beginning of a long stretch of time where I blacked out my labels and was very secretive about my records. Well the pendulum swings again and here we are, with me sharing this with the world. Not that this is a Secret Squirrel break at this point or anything, but I think you know what I mean. Anyway, I hope you don't mind Steve. I figure the Statute Of Limitations for Funk Breaks expires around the 20 year mark. But thanks, my dude. This one is a killer.



Black Heat "You Should've Listened" (Atlantic, 1974)

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ODE TO IVY BETTY (repost)

Ivybetty.com is a blog spot that me n $yk also throw content on. it's a real fly spot and my man Mike is a real cool dude. for those of you that want exposure for the shit yall doin, check him out. he is currently takin submissions. SUBMISSIONS, not guaranteed positions. this is me fuckin around like i usually do...

click on the post title to go to their site.... tell 'em Cult sent u....


Ivy Betty! whaaats up! fer sure. i mean, i take it from the title im talkin to a white girl. or at least, a chick with really nice teeth. either way, hello doll.

i have no choice but to comment on how good you look these days, babe. i mean, there used to be a time when pancakes and white girl ass were synonymous. oh, those days are long gone. you are a brick shithouse these days, love. and i love you for it. i remember there used to be a time when white guys would call the majority of the fine women i see nowadays fat. now, curves and ass has become the shit to them. welcome to club fellas! come on in! now, lets have that debate again about the image of women in music videos, and see if we can find any positive outcome from that depiction. with white, black and brown all united under the banner of fat ass appreciation, we see another way hip hop has united us. it may sound funny, but there is a such thing as sexual politics. and that has everything to do with an individual's right to earn. and me personally, i'm all for any means that a poor person, white or black, can use to change their economic situation. why shouldn't our girls get paid for lookin good? is being smart any better? should they only get paid for being smart? and isn't being smart just as much a gift as being beautiful?

i'm a recording engineer, and i'm in the process of finishing my new room, as well as the inaugural project from my label, TasteMakers Music Group. where i'm building is right above a main strip here in Philly, (South Street), and beautiful women walk by right outside the window ALL day. good thing i'm on the 3rd floor, or i'd probably look like a real pervert. far from it. i'm an artist and i appreciate art. and some of you are. works from THE master, for sure. you are the inspiration for this post. well, that and guilt. cause Mike is such a cool dude, and he's given me another spot to be an asshole at, and i dont wanna loose my asshole license. (being an asshole makes me the SHIT! ha!)

it also made me think, that i've never had a relationship with a white girl. i mean, except for a sexual one, cause judging from Tube 8 and Jizz Hut, there is no better sexual performer than a white girl. especially in the head department. she's the only one to make make me, uh, release, (i guess?) from the oral borealis. i'm West Indian (Guyanese/American), but i've been mistaken for Latino all my life. except in New York. they can tell the difference. but there was a time when the white girls from the burbs used to come down the hood, they used to just wanna lay it out for anything Spanish. so, as u imagine, yo soy Latino por al dia esso. mi tiende?

i guess i shouldnt be so stereotypical. but they say they come from real places. im sure that white girls are much more than spectacular head jobs. and i'm open to explore that. sincerely. but you got to admit, great head IS a real deal sealer. what? don't start with that lady. see, if you women would realize that guys are really that short sighted, you'd probably just suck a cock and ALWAYS get ur way. but that too much like a solution. and gotdammit, what else would u have left to start a f@ckin argument about?!?

i guess that's stereotypical too. the girlfriend that always argues. its funny, u guys are the most agreeable when you are not in a relationship. before we say we love you, you are a guy's best friend. sincerely. well, until a bottle of Guinness comes with a vagina attached to it. it'd have to be attached to it, cause the bottle openin just won't accommodate some of us. well, maybe my Asian homies. i guess thats stereotypical too. but i remember this one dude from Laos actually complaining bout his incher. out loud. in the club. but i guess that the breaks. see me, i'm a chubby dude. but i'm fly. and you know the stereotype about the fat dudes dong. well, there's always an exception to the rule. and i'm it. like a m@thaf#cka...

call me some time, babe...

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WAR AT 33 1/3

what $yk was referencing.... you can't make a Public Enemy reference around here without exciting the engineer and producer in me. listen to what we used to do well...

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War At 33 1/3

I'm not gonna even link Griff's latest video. Go to WSHH and peep game.

For any first timers here, I'm a thinker, not a follower (no Twitter, but look at the wordplay). That last posting I submitted I held on to for like 3 months, but of course I updated the info to make it current. On the real, I have over 20 blogs ready, yet even I know with my train of thought, they aren't ready for the masses. But anyone can easily come to the conclusion that a person writing things about the universe and a survival series clearly doesn't care about Ross & 50.

There are times when I wanna put the pen down, yet I know it's my duty to teach savages civilization, because at the end of the day, their blood is on MY hands, but I can't save the world. Real talk.

Your mind is the most precious jewel on this planet. There is a full scale war going on for your riches. The very thing being used against you is the same thing you love, which is music. Music has been used for centuries as a spiritual expression as well as a form of language. What I don't understand is why people can't realize how the art form of music can be used as a weapon, when the warning signs are as clear as the day sunshine.

Like cartoons, music has been used as a form of entertainment to train the minds of the younger population through images and content. This is the reason why the older population is omitted from the equation, because they can see the signs and detour (notice my previous blogs?) the naive. It is only feasible for you to follow this propaganda.

So while the people who have been bashing this USA (say it like a word) continent, the same many who became so patriotic this weekend they partied (if being patriotic means getting so drunk you kill someone with your car), I was cooling with the click delegating responsibilities. We were grilling up the BBQ on the 4th, and it was mid 70's and cloudy over here. We saw aerial activity, and all of a sudden, the skies broke. We knew the deal.

* In response to Meka from 2dopeboys blogging over at XXL with his 'Ingorant' topics, I like fast food too, but I want nutritional meals. My body needs it to survive. *

There's a war going on outside, and I know many aren't ready for it, because they are not built for it. Just understand that this war is YOUR war, so don't expect someone else to fight it while you "do you". Useful eaters are considered an immediate casualty.

Please educate all constituents early.

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