While posting Cyndi Lauper yesterday I was reminded of this track. It features a memorable, almost post-modern sample where the protestor manages to mangle several of the listed artists names, with Cyndi amoungst them.
It is taken from Scottish DJ Mylo’s excellent 2004 album of the same name.
Mylo:
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I stumbled across this on YouTube earlier in the week and haven’t been able to shake it since. I love how smooth it is. Now Mos Def seems to be a full time actor activist it is easy to forget that he has got some significant music game.
The track is taken from Taken to the Next Phase (Reconstructions), a 2003 album comprising of remixes/reimaginings of Isley Brothers tracks.
Mos Def:
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Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ is someone who I first discovered earlier in the year and have been enjoying his mellow rhymes ever since.
This track is taken of his excellent mixtape 1999, which was released last summer. It featured the beat from a track called Alien Family by the late, great J Dilla.
Joey Bada$$ – 1999:
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This still sounds great nearly 10 years later. Although given that it samples my favourite track of all time I may be a little biased. The video is pretty solid here too.
Touch the sky:
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This track almost seems post modern to me. After posting Return of The Mack on Friday, which reminds me vividly of my early teens, I stumbled across this on YouTube which samples it. This made me feel singularly old!
Trae Tha Truth is a rapper from Houston,TX and the track also features an impressive array of Hip Hop talent.
/RjK
*Artist #660
A bit of a throwback 90’s classic (1996 for those keeping score at home) from one hit wonder Mark Morrison. The eagle eared amougnst you may spot the 80’s classic from Tom Tom Club being sampled here.
Mark Morrison – Return of The Mack:
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*Artist #659
Joey Bada$$ is a boyish rapper from Flatbush Avenue, NYC (just like The Underachievers who I posted a few weeks ago).
I really like the contrasting languid beat (previously used by Mos Def) and the rapid-fire rhymes.
Joey Bada$$:
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*Artist #641
There has probably been a Soul Music deficit on the blog recently. It is my first musical love and while I continue to get distracted by the shiny new things that I encounter I find myself returning to it over and over again.
What better way to redress this than with Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions. Curtis is a massive hero of mine and I started this blogging journey all those months ago with the incomparable Move On Up, which remains my favourite track of all time.
The reason I have been thinking of this song in particular, which is taken from the 1969 album The Young Mods’ Forgotten Story, is that it was sampled by Oddisee in his track The Carter Barron which was one of my favourites of 2012. I only managed to place this a couple of weeks ago after randomly stumbling across it on YouTube.
Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions – The Young Mods’ Forgotten Story:
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This track, taken from Jay-Z’s classic 1996 album Reasonable Doubt, contains one of my all time favourite hooks sung by R’n’B royalty Mary J. Blige. It has a languid ease and perfectly compliments the dexterous, playful rhymes. For some reason it has been running about my mind for the past few weeks.
Jay-Z:
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I had been racking my brain trying to work out where I recognised the Fela Kuti track I posted last week from. It finally struck me that it was this gem from InI. It was produced by Pete Rock who, along with DJ Premier and J.Dilla, is one of my very favourite hip hop producers.
I love how languid it sounds and also can’t help but admire his imagination managing to take the Afrobeat classic Water no get enemy and end up with this is quite a leap!
/RjK
*Artist #596