Nas, Gang Starr, De La Soul, The Roots
I have been into hip hop since the age of 7 or 8, I can remember watching rap videos on MTV (without permission, of course), or when my Dad gave me a single from the Roots (Proceed/Distortion to Static), I remember watching the news of 2Pac’s murder in my inner city classroom where I spent 5th grade. I have gone through phases when it comes to hip hop, I’ve been deep into mostly underground and old school hip hop, but I’m always willing to give more commercial tracks a listen…provided it’s not an insult to my taste and intelligence. These musicians have each seen varying levels of commercial success, but their contributions to hip hop will be their ultimate legacy. Here are just a few old school picks from my favorite rappers.
ALSO, I am testing out a new format of tracks to the descriptions, this makes more sense to me in terms of the reading/listening experience. If anyone has anything to say about it, please share your thoughts!
Nas – Deja Vu
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is a rapper who has seen a great deal of gradual success, this demo I came across on really drives that point home. Created in 1991, almost 20 years ago, Nas laid the foundation of an important contribution to music history by capturing the sentiment of project life in Queensbridge. The instrumentals from a number of these songs are just unbelievable. I often have to remind myself that this was ’91, as Nas’ flow really sounds a couple years ahead of the curve. And as a lover of lo-fi indie, you gotta love the tape decay and lo-fi quality of the recording, it feels like I’m listening to it on a small boombox in my dusty basement.
Gang Starr – Speak Ya Clout ft. Jeru Da Damaja & Lil Dap
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Up next is a very, very hard track from Gang Starr ft. and from . I used to roll around in my uncle’s van when I worked for him one summer, the van had a full Alpine setup, and I would blast this track while driving around my old hometown of Cooperstown, NY. This track bumps really hard, I absolutely love Jeru’s energy opening up this track. The instrumentals also switch up, each doing a great job of matching the character of each artist’s style of wordplay.
De La Soul – Breakadawn
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This track will forever be etched in my memory as a late-night school-night track, often before I would go to sleep. Philly’s Power 99FM used to have a great old school show, which I would listen to while finishing off homework or whatever it is I used to do back then. I love the bouncing flow, which does a great job of embodying the album’s title Buhloone Mind State. Best of all, the Rhodes in this beat melt me when they kick in. I’m a sucker for Rhodes piano.
The Roots – What Goes On
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Finally, remain since the age of 10 to be my favorite hip hop group, hands-down, I think primarily because of one album: Do You Want More?!!!??! As mentioned above, I first heard the Roots when my Dad gave me a single for Proceed/Distortion to Static (to this day, I still don’t know why, he tossed my Red Hot Chili Peppers tape out the car window a couple years later). I lost the single shortly after recieving it, and it would be years before I was able to get my hands on the full album, but it’s tracks like this that capture Philadelphia in that year I lived in Roxborough and went to an inner-city school. The lyrics are versatile, entertaining, not focused on some of the less positive aspects of hip hop, no misogynistic statements, no flaunting of non-existent riches. The instrumental rolls along, switching moods dynamically…I love the breakdown verse by ELO, and how that rolls back into Malik B’s verse. The entire album is unbelievable, definitely one of my all-time faves.
One Response to “Nas, Gang Starr, De La Soul, The Roots”
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on 21 Jul 2009 at 5:11 pm # Taylor
Thank you!! Finally somebody gives DYWM?!!!??! the credit it deserves. Since the day I heard it I have searched endlessly for a better hip-hop album, and have not succeeded. I almost wish I hadn’t heard it yet, because -although I hate saying it- everything else almost disappoints compared to it! Best hip-hop album ever hands down. Keep ‘em coming