Vodpod videos no longer available.
It’s almost as if we haven’t heard a great deal of magnificent music from the city of Detroit this year. Royce Da 5’9″ dropped this video for the lead single off of his soon to come masterpiece Street Hop. If you watch the video closely you will also notice that DJ Premier makes a couple of cameos in this video, well that’s because he executive produced the whole Royce album. If you aren’t familiar with Royce you need to get acclimated with him because you are truly missing out on something special. I can honestly say that this may be one of my most anticipated albums for next year, next to the Elzhi & Royce Da 5’9″ album (that’s right they are doing an entire album together) and Guilty Simpson & Sean Price album.
Archive for Guilty Simpson
Video: Royce Da 5’9″ “Shake This”
Posted in Video with tags 2009, DJ Premier, Elzhi, Guilty Simpson, Royce Da 5'9", Sean Price, Street Hop on Friday, December 19, 2008 by Tim AlthausAlbum Review: Illa J, Yancey Boys
Posted in Music Reviews with tags Affion Crockett, Detroit Hip-Hop, Frank N Dank, Guilty Simpson, Hip-Hop, Illa J, J Dilla, The Ummah on Monday, November 24, 2008 by Tim Althaus
The first thing that I need to tell you in regards to this album is that it’s never easy to follow in the footsteps of a legend. The second thing that I need to tell you is that this album may be the best treasure trove of “Ummah era” beats I’ve ever heard, and for that alone I could give the album at least a 7. The beats that are on this album are very laid back and very omniscient of the work that Jay Dee did with Tribe and Pharcyde. The one thing that I love about Jay Dee is that he had the ability to make beats seem so effortless, and at the same time sound so complex.
Illa J is one of those cats that can rhyme and sing (as Phonte would say “Sometimes I rap, sometime I sing like the Moody Blues), and it really makes for an interesting mix. “We Here” is the first track that really kicks things off with a sly and smooth beat with Illa going off like a pistol on this beat. I’ve heard a lot of people critisizing Illa J’s flow but I don’t think that’s necissary because this kid definitely has some major potential. “R U Listenin’?” is a serious highlight for the album that has Illa J and Detroit veteran Guilty Simpson exchanging verses over a futuristic synthy beat. Guilty completely kills this track (“I cheef cheeba/sleep with divas/and serve these whack rappers like pizzerias”) and outshines Illa J a little but not too much. Frank Nitty (of Frank N Dank) gives some great insight into the Yancey family and very well may convince you that they are all aliens and Affion Crockett provides some comedic relief and spits some rhymes as well. The beats (as I’ve said before) are great, and this album may be one of the best compilations of ummah era Dilla beats I’ve heard.
I have seen a lot of people giving this album a pretty low rating for the quality that it actually has. I think that a lot of people are over estimating Illa J because they expect to hear the next Dilla. Illa J has some serious potential, and I wouldn’t be surprised to end up seeing him on the Stones Throw roster doing some serious damage in the future.
7.5/10
MIND INVERSION 