Lauryn Hill: "Lose Myself"

Back in the day, the Beat King and I used to run another blog about rap stars that fell off. Clearly, one of the main contenders was Lauryn Hill - and we linked to a great story in Rolling Stone about how L-Boogie lost her goddamn mind, which can you find here. Among other things, Lauryn started playing the guitar - which is always a sign that something is wrong where rappers are concerned.

It's pretty interesting to note, because if you look through any late 90s magazines and such, you will see Lauryn being held up as a the future of hip hop music. She could sing, rap, produce...the whole deal, and her Miseducation album won a ton of awards and still stands as a masterpiece, despite having possibly the worst skits ever. Of course, it turned out that Lauryn wasn't exactly the sole musical genius she would have had us believe - and a lot of that album was blessed by collaborators. Including John Legend when he was doing his 10 year stint as the world's greatest backing artist.

The reason I'm putting all this down, of course, is that Lauryn Hill has surfaced with a new track, called Lose Myself, which may or may not be an ironic title. Man, first D'Angelo comes back, and now this. I'm not sure I can handle the excitement.

Rap podcasts

I can't lie. I never really understood what the point of podcasts were. I'm still not sure I do. So you get to listen to something that is 10 minutes long. And then what? But the longer ones I can dig, and I've been gravitating towards some of the better rap podcasts out there on the web.

Which often brings me to another problem. Mixtapes are too hit and miss - quite frankly I don't always want to listen to a throwaway, unmastered verse over a 10-year old instrumental. But I think I may have finally a found a few podcasts that are consistently worth checking for.

The first, and by far the best, must be Fat Beats radio, as eastvillageradio.com - if you check the May 6 show playlist here you will see what I mean. There's like 15 white labels in a row, including some pre-Illmatic Nas - always guaranteed to get me open. And, at least most of the time, the DJs let the damn song play and don't ruin them with two much deck flexing. Another decent show at East Village Radio is Mark Ronson's one, although sometimes there's all sorts of crazy tracks featuring the likes of M.I.A. and various other head cases.

The other one that I'm listening to is the mixtapeshow.net podcast, which was doing OK before the latest episode, which had no music whatsoever. Instead they gave us a roundtable on the Don Imus affair. It almost sent me to sleep before Willie D suddenly turned up from Iraq, of all places, and started talking about public policy. Now that was one of more surreal experiences of the past week.

Jointz: International Players Anthem

It can be easy to forget that, before Andre 3000 lost his goddamn mind, he was a very fine rapper. Then he stopped rhyming because, for whatever reason, he found guitar chords more interesting. Which was OK for a while, but soon started to irritate, especially when he was singing about Dracula getting married. So he started rapping again, or at least stumbling over a few tracks on that Idlewild mess.

But now he seems to have got his flow back together, pretty triumphantly too, on the UGK track International Players Anthem. His verse is over no beat, no less. This must be the first time an Andre 3000 verse has had me amped since, like, the year 2G. And actually reminds me of the verse he kicked on the Goodie Mob track Thought Process from that Soul Food album in '95. Yes, that is the kind of useful knowledge I carry round in my head these days.

Cricket: Shoaib Akhtar is a gangster on the run

Now that the interminable World Cup is finally over, and I can start insisting it never actually happened, it's about time to get back to the real business of cricket: namely, observing the glorious spectacle that is Shoaib Akhtar.

This time, he has been interviewed by Osman Saimuddin for this excellent piece in Cricinfo, where he muses on matters of great import:

"You can't sow sugarcane and expect to reap rice. We have a knowledge of everything but knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is doing. Being practical takes a lot of emotion."

No, I'm not entirely sure what he is talking about either. Still, makes a change from slapping coaches and waking up their wives. And allegedly taking steroids, before missing the World Cup because of trace levels of Nandrolone. I sense that Shoaib will never find true happiness until he takes his place on the Bollywood screen. And that might happen, according to this link. Perfect role too as a "gangster on the run".

Case of the P.T.A.

So my main man Ghost Style has got me taking part in an 'ELT rap' programme for kids at a school here in HK. Which is pretty cool, because they are the future.

I've decided to perform 24 Bars Roll Out, mainly because there is only one cuss word in there and I can remove it easily. And the track can't really be misconstrued about being about anything that might lead the kids astray. Plus it's a battle rap, in case any cocky punk thinks they want to start something.

So in honour of my return, I thought I'd link to my favourite song ever about school. And funnily enough, it doesn't involve Coolio and Michelle Pfeiffer. Unfortunately YouTube won't let me embed the video, but you can watch the Leaders of the New School classic Case of the P.T.A. here. I tell you, Busta Rhymes should rock a fluorescent hoodie more often. And what in god's name happened to Dinco D, Milo and Charlie Brown? On this, Wikipedia isn't much help.

The Crates: La Di Da Di

One question: what exctly are the DJs doing in this clip? The records are being manipulated and at one point even swapped over. Surely a golden rule of scratch miming is not to do it in the presence of the human beat box.



Wikipedia has a page on the rappers who subsequently borrowed from Slick Rick (including Snoop and Biggie). There's also a cover in Norwegian, which must be quite something.

The beef is over

When exactly did KRS One lose his goddamn mind? Or was he always crazy? Personally I thought it happened when he declared himself the embodiment of hip-hop. But now he has decided to dead the BDP-Juice Crew conflict, almost two decades since the battle was live, and is releasing an album with perhaps the only producer he can afford these days, Marley Marl.

At the linked release, you will see Kris banging on about how his album, called Hip Hop Lives is not a response to Nas' Hip Hop is Dead, because of something he calls "upper case" hip-hop.

"This album is about KRS ONE saying thanks to Marley Marl, MC Shan, Mister Magic, Roxanne Shante, Fly Tye, DJ Red Alert, DJ Chuck Chill Out, the Awesome Two and everyone who had something to do with the legendary "battle" between Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew. This album is about refocusing Hip Hop and preserving "that original sound" that got everything started in the 1980s."

It can be hard to reconcile this kind of nonsense with the fact that KRS-One really did reign supreme over nearly everybody, something I've been re-discovering recently by listening to Criminal Minded. But that was released 21 years ago. Anyway, you can check out two tracks from Hip Hop Lives: Kill a Rapper, and Hip-Hop Lives (I Come Back) if you really must.

On a side note, this might explain why the Beat King has been keeping a low profile lately. I know the BDP-Juice Crew conflict affected him quite deeply, particularly when it came down to KRS-One vs something like 20 rappers from Queensbridge.

D'Angelo swaps pipe for mic

Back when myself and Beat King were dropping knowledge and science at various nightspots, our sets usually included the only R&B cat out there at the time with any street cred: the supremely talented D'Angelo. This was around the time he dropped that Brown Sugar album, which blew a lot of people away because it was all produced, mixed, composed, arranged, engineered, pressed and whatever else by D'Angelo himself.

Then the man's second album kept getting "pushed back", which is pretty much code for "smoking too much weed". Except it must have been a mountain of the stuff given that Voodoo only came out 6 years later. The album was pretty good, even if - apart from the DJ Premier beat - every track sounded the same. And since then...nothing. Apart from this arrest on some Whitney & Bobby type drama.

And now, it appears D'Angelo is back with a new track, ahead of a new album. You can't say he doesn't know the value of pacing himself. Still, the good folk at okayplayer.com aren't completely convinced. 1995-era heads tend to view D'Angelo as a kind of cross between Prince and the prophet Moses. So John Legend better be ready.

Cricket: Mohammad Yousuf vs Yousuf Youhana

Younis Khan has decided that life is too short, and the Pakistan vice-captaincy will do just fine.
Now that the queue of contenders for the honour is practically vacant, Mohammad Yousuf has surprised no one by making his own intentions plain. The artist formerly known as Yousuf Youhana converted from Christianity to Islam in 2005. That decision made it considerably easier for him to now become captain, although the Pakistan Cricket Board may look for a younger candidate.

Which is all well and good. But, more importantly, surely someone should look at whether Yousuf is a better player as a Christian or as a Muslim. And then draw all manner of inflammatory conclusions. Put simply, Yousuf's Test average as a Christian - 47 - is nothing compared to the 84 he boasts in his Islamic incarnation, if you'll excuse the unfortunate choice of words.

And that performance over the last 18 months includes a flurry of centuries and double centuries, and a world record for the most runs and centuries in a calendar year. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's the track Mathematics by Mos Def where the chorus includes the Fat Joe lyric - "It's simple mathematics." Then again, as Beat King never fails to remind me, look at how Q-Tip's career nosedived after he switched codes and adopted the name "Kamal Fareed". Perhaps this is an area that requires further investigation...

Kool Moe Dee drops jewels

My earlier post on LL Cool J seems to have ignited some interest in Kool Moe Dee. Which is good, because I'm assuming that at this point Kool Moe Dee's record catalogue could do with a little attention.

And in the course of my research I came across this superb interview with the man himself, where he breaks down practically everything related to New York MCs. I don't think I've ever digested so much knowledge in such a short space of time. Observe:

"The blood line is Me , Mel & Caz - the trinity , then KRS One , Rakim & Kane then Biggie, Nas & Jay Z. Even further you can go Caz - Kane - Jay Z .....they all had street flavor ; then Mel - KRS - Biggie...they had the social thing (even Biggie with the story telling was social) , then the cerebral side was myself - Rakim - Nas."

I never quite realised there was so much to Moe Dee's robot flow.

Cricket: Sanga's simple song

Well I guess I can't just pretend that the World Cup isn't exactly taking place, even if India has been knocked out, and in a few months I'll be claiming that the tournament never actually existed this year.

With India out, it's pretty simple for me to choose my pick for the Cup - the only other team with a Tamil player. In fact, the only team with a Tamil player, given that Dinesh Karthik was never adjudged to be good enough by the Greg Chappell Brains Trust to displace the misfiring Indian dinosaurs.

So step forward Sri Lanka. And while Murali has my linguistic loyalty, the real joy in the Lankan team must be their wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, who - apparently - is a law graduate. Like me. (I can almost hear my dad saying that Sangakkara is also wasting his education). But I digress. Sangakkara's particular appeal for me - apart from his excellent batting and keeping - has always been his ability to sledge in a rather more erudite manner than most cricketers.

Or if you prefer video take a look at the clip below. Even if Sri Lanka don't win the tournament, I'd happily settle for seeing Shaun Pollock crumble again.

The Crates: Back By Dope Demand

Looks like I posted too soon. While Common's Resurrection is a track I love (and a great way to kick off the blog, in a sort of mission statement manner) you really have to check out what these guys are wearing.

Filmed at the Edison Awards (Holland's - go Holland! - oldest and most prestigious music awards, according to Wikipedia) King Bee's dancers lay down their moves dressed in double-breasted suits a colour not too far removed from our header. Even the DJ's vinyl's matches.

Yet, it's still brilliant.

If you don't agree. Zyke.

The Crates: Don't call it a comeback...

I've been here for years. And on that note, it's only right for me to select my own re-up track. It wasn't too hard a choice. People have been bashing LL for years but, pound for pound, I still he feel he's one of the top five rappers to ever rock a mic. At least among rappers that are still breathing. But that's a story for another post. For now enjoy one man, a microphone, an empty boxing ring and a Marley Marl beat. It doesn't get much more low-budget than that.



It's nice to see LL bullying other rappers too - the way he did in his prime. Whatever happened to Kool Moe Dee anyway? According to the linked article, he wrote a book a few years ago about his top 50 MCs. And ranked himself as number 5, ahead - presumably - of LL. Now that would be a great book to get hold of.

The Crates: Resurrection

There were so many I could have dug out for a full don't-call-it-a-comeback vibe ... Rakim's It's Been A Long Time ("... new days is dawning, new ways of performing") or King Bee's Back By Dope Demand*. But, really, it had to be Common.



* Which, say some - ok, say some online record shops - was "the nearest thing the UK ever had" to Eric B and Rakim’s I Know You Got Soul. I can't imagine how Rakim feels about that.