The Mahabharata of Hip Hop: Catalouging 100 Should-Be Classics

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

If you are interested in general kookiness and want to know more about hip hop and it's place as the most bizarre and misunderstood music genre, please keep tabs on this one. I tracked each and every selection down on youtube, so you will be able to click and hear the awesomeness! No more lists about music with no music!

ALSO: CLICK THE ALBUM COVER Of EACH POST TO CHECK OUT THE SONGS ON YOUTUBE
SOME OF THEM HAVE COOL AND OR FUNNY HOMEMADE VIDEOS, ALTHOUGH SOME ARE JUST THE ALBUM COVER:(

In the meantime, here is some trivia to test your hip hop-ness whilst the list is prepared.

(1) Which classic hip hop track sampled a hairdryer?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-MLp3l2fkA&feature=related (hear it?)

(2) Which early 1980's group pioneered the "fast rap"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk_DBrjtH0s (specifically Kool Moe Dee... seems slow now.)

(3) Which artist/song sampled part of the score to the Zucker's 1980 film "Airplane!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A96QXTw_M28 The melody is sampled from the "Love Theme" from Airplane!

(4) In the ultimate "fuck you" to one of the worst artists in history, Tracy Chapman, which group balatantly ripped off her hit "Fast Car"?

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myqQGg_s-Pw

(5) In a cautionary tale that souds like it came out of a Guy Maddin's Careful which future rapper was blinded as an infant by irresponsibly monitored broken glass?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGF7CqCPfr8

[MacGuffin]

I
(4) In the ultimate "fuck you" to one of the worst artists in history, Traci Chapman,
:confused:

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

#100 Binary Star - Reality Check

Album: Masters of the Universe (2000)
(click album cover to listen to song)
http://bp1.blogger.com/_WZH6IzT6JYY/RxNgUsF-t_I/AAAAAAAAAX8/qfEAuRhbEec/s400/binary27676.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnD_CXnXEB8&feature=related)

Samples: Al Kooper - Great American Marriage (off the 1969 LP You Never Know Who Your Friends Are)
(you can here a 30 sec clip of the sample here: http://exclusive-mp3.com/track/16531/66510/765639/

A small miracle of an album, it was made on such a low production budget, they supposedly had only one take for every track to get it right. The two principal MC's, One Man Army and Senim Silla met in jail as juveniles and decided to form a group, recording their debut Waterworld in 1999. When it didn't sell, they switched labels and rehashed it into 2000's Masters of the Universe, with a few minor song changes. The album didn't sell well again, and Binary Star soon disbanded to pursue solo careers. One Man Army's solo venture has gone a bit better. Now going by the name "One Be Lo", he released a sucsessful indie album S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. Senim Silla has struggled as a solo artist.

The Binary Star concept was supposed to illustrate how two seperate rappers can orbit around each other to seem as one entity and this is illustrated on a few tracks by trading off words in verses in an elliptical fashion, such as the title track. On "Reality Check" they keep their own seperate verses.

The first track on an album that is full of basement tape production values, "Reality Check" really showcases the ear of the producer for the group, Decompoze. The track starts with the Al Kooper sample, a haunting piano melody but then shifts to a layered, livelier piano mixed with a vocal harmony and returns to the Kooper sample in between the verses. One Man Army's verse has a bevvy of whip-smart one liners and alot of charisma, but the more I listen to this song, the more I prefer the second verse by Senim Silla, who is much better at riding the beat.

Masters of the Universe is an unheralded masterpiece of indie hip hop, and most likely the only record the group will ever put out.

Songs to also check out (on same album): Slang Blade, Solar Powered, Masters of the Universe, Glenn Close

[lovejuice]

neato! hip hop alienates me, but i always have much curiosity for the genre. hope i can use this mahabharata as a guideline.

[D_Davis]

Cool - that Binary Star sounds like something I should check out.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

#99 J Live - Them That's Not

Album: The Best Part (1998)
(click album cover to listen to song)
http://bp1.blogger.com/_L2ht95i8c4Q/RnLT2c1ENSI/AAAAAAAAAAM/83Qc5i_dliI/s320/J-Live+-+The+Best+Part.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEx2T1NLsqw)

Samples: Eddie Russ - All But Blind (off the 1974 LP Fresh Out)

A former middle school teacher turned rapper, J-Live received acclaim (and the "Unsigned Hype" label in Source Magazine) for a couple tracks he recorded while a english major in college. His first album The Best Part took years to record even though he received help from such wizards of beatmaking as DJ Premier and Prince Paul of De La Soul fame. Success didn't come overnight and he took a job teaching middle school english until his chance to make rapping his full time profession presented itself. In 2002, he released All of the Above with the help of more top notch producers such as DJ Spinna of the Jigmastas. J-Live is also a DJ himself.

"Them That's Not" showcases J-Lives masterful control of being able to shift tempo on a dime, as he hyperkinetically sets up the story of the track through bursts of rapid lines that are so punctual and perfect despite their speed, then he slows and slows more to an almost drawl at the closing. The vintage jazz sample ads a complementary swagger to the slowdown. A classic cautionary tale of rises and falls to make a name for yourself in the music world.

Great tracks also on album: The Best Part

[Horbgorbler]

Number five is Slick Rick, which is why he has the eyepatch! *is proud*

This thread should be amazing. I must relisten to Binary Star, as I remember finding it too darn long on first spin.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

#98 Sole - Year of the Sexxx Symbol

Album: Bottle of Humans (2000)
(click album cover to listen to song)
https://store.anticon.com/library/thumbnail.php?image=../products/abr0011/sole-bottle.jpg&width=310 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGRQ1olT-Lg)

Samples: Ars Nova - Please Don't Go (off the 1969 LP Sunshine & Shadows)


"It took me 21 years to make this album but I did 3/4 of it in the last 2 weeks..."
Anyone familiar with Anticon will recognize Sole's trademark frantic flow, which coupled with the sampled pseudo-psychadelic guitar loop, produces an instant classic for a rapper who has always pushed the envelope of rhyme structure. Every line is fresh if not teetering on the edge of insanity.

Famously ripped apart in the song "Stress Rap" with his physical appearance being mocked as "just a toy with Lucile Ball's hairdo" by Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox, Sole has been no stranger to beef because of his perceived nerd rap appeal (the whole Anticon crew could be perceived as such.) However, Sole's first works were very much like this track, soulful and hardhitting. Moving to the west to collaborate in groups such as cLOUDdead and Deep Puddle Dynamics, Sole has put out a couple quality solo albums, but he has always been a divisive rapper, however I think this is his most accessible track.



Great tracks also on album: Bottle of Humans

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

I must relisten to Binary Star, as I remember finding it too darn long on first spin.

Yeah, there a few too many skits or interlude, and one or two dumpy tracks, but the albums high points I've relistened to for years without tiring of them. The had great chemistry together on the tracks but just stopped getting along with each other I guess.

[D_Davis]

I'll have to check out that Sole album - I haven't listened to any of his solo stuff.

What do you think of Murs? This dude's pretty sweet. I dig his stuff.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

What do you think of Murs? This dude's pretty sweet. I dig his stuff.

His album with 9th wonder "3:16" is great. There may be a Murs track on the list at some point.

[D_Davis]

His album with 9th wonder "3:16" is great. There may be a Murs track on the list at some point.

Yeah - this is my favorite.

[MadMan]

I'm still getting into rap and hip hop. So yeah I'm subscribing to this thread.

[megladon8]

:confused:


Ya I didn't get that either.

Traci Chapman's wonderful.

[lovejuice]

#99 J Live - Them That's Not

Album: All of the Above (2002)
(click album cover to listen to song)
http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/1423922.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEx2T1NLsqw)


on itune store, there's this album, all of the above, but i can't find this song, them that's not. is it in any other album?

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

on itune store, there's this album, all of the above, but i can't find this song, them that's not. is it in any other album?

wow. thanks for discovering my error. It's on J-Lives album "The Best Part", not "All of the Above"! will have to fix post.

http://bp1.blogger.com/_L2ht95i8c4Q/RnLT2c1ENSI/AAAAAAAAAAM/83Qc5i_dliI/s320/J-Live+-+The+Best+Part.jpg

stayed tuned, will knock out more songs later today.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

#97 Bush Babees f/ Mos Def - The Love Song

Album: Gravity (1996)
(click album cover to listen to song)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519513YW50L._AA240_.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcM6fNsBD_c)

Samples: Richard "Groove" Holmes - Onsaya Joy (off the 1975 LP Onsaya Joy), Kool and the Gang - Summer Madness (off the 1974 LP Joy of Worlds), Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun (off the 1972 LP It's Just Begun)


A very early appearance by a (then) pretty unknown Mos Def, he lends his now trademark vocals to a ridiculous beat provided by Posdonous of De La Soul.

The Bush Babees put out a solid debut album but their second effort Gravity propelled them to the top of the NY rap scene for a brief time with their catchy flows and great choruses, "The Love Song" was the biggest hit off the album, with verbal odes to Slick Rick and a nonsensical Sci- Fi 1984-esque music video. As they never really put out anything significant after that, this masterpiece has fallen through the cracks. One of my favorite hip hop groups of all time.



Great tracks also on album: Wax, Maybe, S.O.S., Melting Plastic

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

#96 People Under the Stairs - San Fransisco Knights

Album: The Next Step (1998)
(click album cover to listen to song)
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00002MCDP.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbUCjmMn8uo)

Samples: The Animals - San Fransiscan Nights (from the 1967 LP)


Two man group comprised of Thes One and Double K. Very prominent underground group and they put on great live shows. This track is off their debut, and the sample off the Animals is just Eric Burdon's line " on a warm San Fransiscan night..." distorted and looped over and over on top of an unbelievably chill beat. A perfect summertime song and a classic if you ask me.



Great tracks also on album: Time to Rock Our Shit

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

#95 Peanut Butter Wolf f/ Wildchild & Quasimoto - Styles, Crews, Flows, Beats

Album: My Vinyl Weighs A Ton (1999)
(click album cover to listen to song)
http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/p/peanutbutte_myvinylwe_101b.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXl5_bBXsG8)

Samples: ????


The hip hop equivalent of The Grass Roots' "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature", a fusion of two insanely complimentary songs that are radically different at the same time. The first part is a subtle cascading beat that features Wildchild's mellow flow, then suddenly shifts into a more dissonant beat with Madlib trading verses with his own high pitched alter-ego.

The song showcases the debut of Madlib's "high" pitched "Quasimoto" alias (on the second part of the song). Peanut Butter Wolf, one of the most criminally underrrated DJ's and producers in hip hop, formed Stones Throw Records after the untimely death of Charizma, the MC of his first group. The duo had just been signed and just released a demo of their now-classic single "Red Light, Green Light" when Charizma was killed in a car wreck. After his death, fortune began to smile on PB Wolf as he formed the new label and signed all the right pieces to it, including a college radio group, Lootpack, whose two members are featured on the two parts of this track. Stones Throw is now a highly visible force in the independent hip hop scene after aligning itself with Adult Swim.

The label has quietly released the most eclectic lineup of genre-bending albums of any progressive music label out there, while always carrying a chill west coast vibe. The cover art to this album is awesome.



Great tracks also on album: In Your Area, A Tale of Five Cities

[Horbgorbler]

I love P.B. Wolf and Charizma's Big Shots.

Have you heard any Divine Styler? *fairly certain the answer will be 'yes'*

[lovejuice]

still waiting...

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

still waiting...

thanks for the remider, I forgot about this. I'll post some more very soon.

[Thirdmango]

I gotta say I'm loving this thread, being as how I listen to this kind of music religiously now a days. I'm curious to see where it goes and see where your style of hip hop leads you. Me? I'm a Quannum crew kind of guy.