Rhymesayers has been a stamp in Midwest Hip-Hop for as long as I remember. They also have their fair share of classics, but I’m almost positive that Brother Ali’s Shadows On The Sun is still the best album from their catalog to date. Brother Ali leaves the microphone murderously massacred on every single track on this album, and Ant’s production is nothing short of superbly stellar. I am a fan of everything that Ali has put out, but I really don’t think that any other album stands up to this one. There are so many different feels on this album, one track Ali will be spitting furiously, and the next track he’ll be having fun. If this album makes one thing clear, it’s that Brother Ali loves Hip-Hop, and Hip-Hop loves Brother Ali. Continue reading
Archive for the Wildstyle Wednesdays Category
Wildstyle Wednesday Review: Brother Ali, Shadows On The Sun
Posted in Music Reviews, Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Ant, Brother Ali, Rhymesayers Entertainment, Shadows On The Sun, Slug on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 by Tim AlthausWild Style Wednesday Review: Common, Like Water For Chocolate
Posted in Music Reviews, Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Common, DJ Premier, J Dilla, Like Water For Chocolate, Slum Village, Soulquarians on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 by Tim Althaus
A lot of people might totally hate on me, but I’ve never really been a huge Common fan, with the exception of Like Water For Chocolate. I honestly think that this album might be one of the best Hip-Hop albums of the last decade. The production put forth by Jay Dee and the Soulquarians is nothing short of perfect, and Common manages to compliment every single beat on this album the way it should be. Jay Dee did a great majority of the production and he absolutely killed the beats on this record. In my opinion this album is and always will be a classic. Most emcees wish that they could drop an album this good. Continue reading
Wild Style Wednesday Review: Talib Kweli, Quality
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Ayatollah, Black Thought, Dave Chapelle, Kanye West, Megahertz, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I remember being a Junior at La Crescent High School and learning about poetry and poetical devices from an incredible teacher named Ms. Sandy. I took an interesting re-appraisal at the music that I had been listening to previously, and I realized (with the exception of classic rock) that the Rap I had been listening to was pretty shitty to be frank. I remember at the time I had been hearing about Talib, and the things that I had heard were so positive that I had to get one of his albums. Quality is the first Kweli album I purchased, and it was a great entrance into the world of malicious metaphors, sick similes, wicked words and brazen bars. To me, Talib Kweli is easily one of the greatest emcees of all time, and I thank God this album exposed me to him. Continue reading
Wild Style Wednesday Review: Rjd2, The Horror EP
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Aesop Rock, Blueprint, Dead Ringer, Def Jux, Murs, Rjd2, Vast Aire on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Rjd2 is one badass dude, he released Deadringer in 2002 (one of my favorite albums of all time), and roughly one year later he released this ten track gem otherwise known as The Horror EP. Don’t get me wrong, Deadringer is a multi-level musical masterpiece but I think The Horror EP is a little better. This EP has ten top tier tracks, revisits some of the best moments of Deadringer and further more, it features some of Rj’s best beats. I feel as though if this was the only material that you owned by Rjd2, you would still be listening to his best music. Continue reading
Wild Style Wednesday Review: J Dilla, The Shining
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Black Thought, Common, D'Angelo, Guilty Simpson, J Dilla, Karriem Riggins, Madlib, MED on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Tim Althaus
This album was posthumously released shortly after Dilla died. Good friend Karriem Riggins took the album under his wing with the wave from Ma Dukes. Many sources say that Dilla was only able to finish around 75% of the album before his untimely death. Even though this album wasn’t on my top 10 albums of all time, I can assure you that this is one of my favorite albums of all time. This is the first album I ever heard of Dilla’s solo material, and for that reason alone I am forever grateful to this album. I remember reading reviews on Amazon, and hearing people complain that this album is just over 30 minutes long. This album just proves that good things really do come in small packages. Continue reading
Wild Style Wednesday Review: Cage, Hell’s Winter
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Cage, Darryl Palumbo, Def Jux, El-P, hell's winter, Movies For The Blind, Rjd2, The Weathermen on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Hell’s Winter might be one of the best label debuts I’ve ever heard. Hell’s Winter is Cage’s sophomore album, and it saw him coming into a different light than Movies For The Blind, and all I can say is that this album is really fucking impressive. Cage rhymes about some of the most insane shit that I’ve ever heard, but the crazy part is that he has actually lived most of it. Def Jux as a label has put out a lot of really good material, but this album might be the best. This album makes for one hell of a violently vicious view inside of Cage’s mind. Continue reading
Wild Style Wednesday Review: CunninLynguists, Southernunderground
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags cunninlynguists, Deacon, Kno, Masta Ace, Rjd2, SOS, Southernunderground on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Before hearing this album, my view of Southern Hip-Hop was grossly grim(except for Little Brother). I had been hearing the same shit over and over again with Three Six Mafia and Lil’ Jon all the time, and frankly I was getting sick of it. Kno, Deacon & SOS are what you would call a boisterous breath of fresh air for the lungs of southern Hip-Hop. One of my best friends had been telling me about these guys for a long time, and my attitude towards Southern Hip-Hop stopped me from listening to them for awhile. After I started listening to this album I couldn’t believe what I had been overly oblivious to for so long, these guys are incredible. Continue reading
Wild Style Wednesday Review: Jay-Z, The Blueprint
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Bink, Classic, eminem, jay-z, Just Blaze, Kanye West, The Blueprint on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Although you guys don’t hear my talk about Hov very much, I can assure you that he is one of my favorite emcees of all time. In my opinion The Blueprint is his shining moment as an emcee (although many would argue Reasonable Doubt is) without a doubt. This album has pristene production and Jay-Z’s flow, delivery and lyrics on this album are truly top notch. I picked up this album when I was in 8th grade, and I’ve been bumping it ever since. Now that I look back on this album, I can’t believe that I didn’t even think about this record for my top 10 most influential albums. The production on this album is handled by Kanye West (in his prime), Just Blaze, Bink & Eminem. With those names already you know the beats are going to be crazy as hell. Continue reading
Wild Style Wedensday Review: Immortal Technique, Revolutionary Vol. 2
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Hip-Hop, Immortal Technique, Revolutionary Vol. 2 on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 by Tim Althaus
After listening to this album, you will realize that Immortal Technique is one intelligent ass dude. He is one of the most passionate, intelligent and furious emcees I’ve heard. He attacks the microphone like a serial killer, and every track on this album is a testament to this. This album absolutely dominated my CD player for almost two years when I bought it. Immortal Technique truly is a revolutionary. Most of the rhymes that Technique spits, are way deeper in meaning than you could even fathom. The metaphors and similes that he spits are pretty close to unparalleled.
The album basically starts off with “Point of No Return“, and this track really paints the picture for what the rest of the album is going to be like. Over the eerie beat Tech spits, “This is the point of no return nigga you better believe this/Mary Magdalene giving birth to the children of Jesus”. The track “Peruvian Cocaine” will truly make you question the legitimacy of the war on drugs with an incredible narrative from Immortal Technique, Tonedeff, Poison Pen, C-Rayz Walz and others about the cocaine trade. “Harlem Streets” is a dark and dismal picture of the city that Technique was raised and lives in.
The highlight of the album (and maybe his career) is a track entitled “Industrial Revolution“. The lyrical display on this track is nothing short of amazing, “The “Bling Bling Era” was cute but it’s about to be done/I leave you full of clips (full eclipse) like the moon blockin’ the sun/My metaphors a dirty like herpes but harder to catch, like an escape tunnel in prison that I started from scratch”. He tells everyone why he’s not recognized very much, “…nobody’s better than me they just got better marketing schemes.”
This album is a great example of vivid emceeing at it’s very finest. The raw lyricism displayed on this album is what every emcee should aspire for. There is definitely a reason why this album was on constant repeat for years, because it’s a great fucking album.
8.5/10
Wild Style Wednesday Review: Mos Def & Talib Kweli, Black Star
Posted in Wildstyle Wednesdays with tags Black Star, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Wildstyle Wednesday on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Tim Althaus
This is another album that almost made my top 10 most influential albums. The lyrical content that is displayed on this album is damn near untouchable. Mos Def & Talib Kweli go together like mashed potatoes and gravy. They mesh on just about every level that you can possibly imagine. This album came out originally in 1998 and this is an album that I feel will echo in the hallways of Hip-Hop for a long time. I remember being in eleventh grade and learning about poetic devices. When I found this album, it was the epitome of everything I had learned about.
From the minute that “Astronomy (8th Light)” kicks off, Kwel & Mos pass the mic back and forth shouting similes and metaphors faster than most people can comprehend. “Definition” is a great upbeat track with Mos & Kweli rapping about the things going on in the country (at the time), and why they are the “definition” of a group. Continue reading
MIND INVERSION 