Come Back like Jordan wearin the 4-5... - J. Cole

"Blood on my sneakers
No remorse for the grievers
He played the corner like Revis
He shoulda had better defense"  - J Cole, Miss America Reprise





Cole on the the most difficult position to play in all of sports (corner back),  and the challenges of making a living "on the corner".

...Also the shrinking of "Revis Island"....(go Patriots!)

"...Black people prayed for JFK then...

He got blown away..." - Saigon


So I don't review videos at all but this one speaks to me on a few different levels.

For starters, full disclaimer, I have written about Saigon before and I am on the record as being and card carrying member of the Sai Giddy fan club and unabashed STAN.

Come back like Jordan wearin the 4-5 - Ka

"...Zoned out on the block, cops iso'd..." Ka





While I appreciate the line, it has a flaw. If one were really running a zone defense then isolation would be really ineffective. You can iso vs  man-to-man, not a zone. Or perhaps that is exactly what he meant...

Vomitspit - Talib Kweli

"Never looked up to see the stars in all their heavenly glory
Just straight ahead cause the peripheral is buildings with mad stories (story's)" - Talib Kweli, Good Mourning

Talib on how difficult it is to see a way out...figurative and literal...

Vomitspit - Andre 3000

Sleepy Brown feat. Outkast
I Can't Wait - 















"That just lets me know your a human being 
And being humans hard, on the boulevard..."

"VALUE, is what I'm talkin bout..." - Andre 3000

My Grandaddy Car by Scotty is a nice laid back, drive 15 MPH around the neighborhood song. But that's not all it is.

It's a statement of deference to a different period of time. Scotty simultaneously salutes his grandfather, while paying homage to classic American craftsmanship in automobiles. His measured flow does not temper his passionate delivery on both topics.

Nice song. Solid video. Wonderful concept.

Vomitspit - Talib Kweli

These cats drink champagne/and toast to death and pain/
Like slaves on a ship talking about who got the flyest chain - Talib Kweli

Africa Dream - Talib Kweli & Hi- Tek



Talib on ...um not sure what to say. Kinda Self explanatory.

Vomitspit - Ka

"Long as there’s dough to grab I’ma hold the mag
load the bag...
’Till I’m a helmet and a folded flag" - Ka

Iron Age- Ka, Featuring Roc Marci

Dope simile.

"YOU THINK HONESTY IS WEIRD YOU SON?!?!

SON, WHERE YOU FROM?!?! - Homeboy Sandman

 I was trying to find lyrics to Eclipsed by Homeboy Sandman but I could find any. I flashed back to one of my earlier rants about rappers not leaving written documentation of their works, if for nothing more than historic and archival purposes.


It was then that I remembered that the song in question did indeed have liner notes! My excitement was dampened when I realized that the PDF that Stones Throw put out with Homeboy Sandman's First of a Living Breed was protected, preventing me from copy and pasting. Grr

Vomitspit - Homeboy Sandman

"We used to beat on Bush but now he's not around so people find another bush to beat around" - Homeboy Sandman

Illuminati - First of a Living Breed



Mr Sandman voicing his thoughts on politics, the two party system, complacency and the public's inability to be objective when it comes to "their" guy.

Vomitspit - Roc Marciano

"Had high hopes for folks
That got high off coke
They used to be responsible adults" - Roc Marciano

Iron Age - Ka feat Roc Marci, Grief Pedigre

Marci on the awkward disappointment of hood mentors who eventually themselves fall victim to the pull of the streets.

West Coast Cypher

This made me smile. Where do I start?

DJ Quik beating on the table brings me back to high school. The lunchroom table is where my man Rahkii used to hold us down with the beats. His assortment of silver rings served as a perfect carrier for the high-hats and symbols which complemented perfectly the deep bass resonating from his thenar and hypothenar colliding with the faux wood table. The fact that he eventually migrated to the left coast is merely a coincidence to this post. Either way, good times...

Anyway, IMHO Snoop is a great, not good, but great, freestyle rapper.

Yeah. yeah,  his lyrics might be simple, and his flow not overly complicated but he just always seems to rise to the occasion. Fun. Appropriate. Not overdone or forced

As much as I love the "Free"styles that many of the deep and complex wordsmiths and punchline junkies alike come up with, there are times where it just comes of a too much. Like a dude that shows up on casual Friday in a tux.

A free, or "free", should be fun.

Snoop just gets it.

Vomitspit - Saigon

 



"As a matter of fact, what's the matter with rap?
Crackers done did it again, they jacked us for that
Same way they did Fats Domino's phenomenal chat
But i'm the rap Geronimo Pratt so (Brrat!) "- Saigon

 Whoo Kid Freestyle - Warning Shots


The Yardfather speaking on the corpapratization of rap music. Here he evokes the past practices of white artists co-opting black music to support his point.