NEW WEBSITE
15 years ago
Monday, January 19, 2009
Heavy Rotation Part III
Lil' Wayne - Best Thing Yet
It was always going to happen. In fact, i'm surprised it didn't happen earlier. In fact, i'm surprised all these Heavy Rotations' haven't been Lil Wayne tracks.
There's not really an awful lot that needs to be said about this track. Off The Empire's "The Drought 6: The Rebirth",this track shows Wayne back at his lyrical best. Still not talking about anything more susbtatial than cars, chicks, and why he's the best ever, but who cares?
Stick it out until the last verse, it's pretty much stream of consciousness rapping. Some wild shit.
Grab that bad boy right here.
It was always going to happen. In fact, i'm surprised it didn't happen earlier. In fact, i'm surprised all these Heavy Rotations' haven't been Lil Wayne tracks.
There's not really an awful lot that needs to be said about this track. Off The Empire's "The Drought 6: The Rebirth",this track shows Wayne back at his lyrical best. Still not talking about anything more susbtatial than cars, chicks, and why he's the best ever, but who cares?
Stick it out until the last verse, it's pretty much stream of consciousness rapping. Some wild shit.
Grab that bad boy right here.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Back on my Grizzly...
.... 'cos i'm a bonafide hustler. Been a bit slack of late, had a long wewk at work and a hectic few days off, but i'll be back tomorrow with a few random thoughts to extrapolate.
Peace,
Broke
Peace,
Broke
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Overpriced Popcorn '09
So '08 was pretty good for movies, The Dark Knight was killer, 300 rocked, Judd Apatow came out with some great comedy, and the gangster movie was reinvigorated with American Gangster.
But '09 looks even sweeter, with some monster comic book adaptations, apparently some new Tarantino, and a bio of one of the greatest rappers ever.
Here's the rundown of the movies i'm most looking forward to this year. I don't guarantee they'll all be for everyone, and they're not necessarily Cannes material, but they will be dope.
NOTORIOUS
Biggie was one of the best to do it, and i'm glad it looks like they made this bio the right way. Jamal Woodard is actually a pretty good rapper, and looks and sounds a hell of a lot like Biggie, and whoever is playing Puff does a damn good job. Hopefully the movie lives up to the trailer.
THE SPIRIT
The Spirit looks dope like Cheech and Chong. You have Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jaime King and Eva Mendes all rocking the Frank Miller film noir style. Sweet.
WATCHMEN
Yeah, you know i'm looking forward to this one. If you don't know about Watchmen, you really should get a copy and read it. There's a reason it's the most celebrated Graphic Novel of all time, and i'd highly recommend reading it before seeing the movie, as movies can change the way you read things, and Watchmen wil be way more potent as a book if you don't know the ending.
WOLVERINE
'nuff said, you know it will be sweet.
AVATAR
You can count on James Cameron to come with the heat, and the Times tipped this to be the film of the year, perhaps even Titanic proportions.
Cameron wrote the script himself, and the plot follows a future human invasion of a planet rich in natural resources that is also a biological time-bomb, appropriately known as Pandora.
We follow an ex-marine who changes sides, choosing to defend the ammonia-breathing indigenous creatures on the target planet against his fellow invading Earthlings. The film straddles two of the most important current themes, the fear of environmental catastrophe and an endemic sense of guilt about the destruction of nature.
No trailer as of yet, but the concept art can be seen at avatarmoviezone.com
Well, that about sums it up for the movie releases for this year, there's probably a few that I missed but these would be most of the standouts. Get out and see these bad boys, as there's nothing like a massive screen and banging sound, even if most movie crowds suck these days.
Peace,
~Broke
But '09 looks even sweeter, with some monster comic book adaptations, apparently some new Tarantino, and a bio of one of the greatest rappers ever.
Here's the rundown of the movies i'm most looking forward to this year. I don't guarantee they'll all be for everyone, and they're not necessarily Cannes material, but they will be dope.
NOTORIOUS
Biggie was one of the best to do it, and i'm glad it looks like they made this bio the right way. Jamal Woodard is actually a pretty good rapper, and looks and sounds a hell of a lot like Biggie, and whoever is playing Puff does a damn good job. Hopefully the movie lives up to the trailer.
THE SPIRIT
The Spirit looks dope like Cheech and Chong. You have Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jaime King and Eva Mendes all rocking the Frank Miller film noir style. Sweet.
WATCHMEN
Yeah, you know i'm looking forward to this one. If you don't know about Watchmen, you really should get a copy and read it. There's a reason it's the most celebrated Graphic Novel of all time, and i'd highly recommend reading it before seeing the movie, as movies can change the way you read things, and Watchmen wil be way more potent as a book if you don't know the ending.
WOLVERINE
'nuff said, you know it will be sweet.
AVATAR
You can count on James Cameron to come with the heat, and the Times tipped this to be the film of the year, perhaps even Titanic proportions.
Cameron wrote the script himself, and the plot follows a future human invasion of a planet rich in natural resources that is also a biological time-bomb, appropriately known as Pandora.
We follow an ex-marine who changes sides, choosing to defend the ammonia-breathing indigenous creatures on the target planet against his fellow invading Earthlings. The film straddles two of the most important current themes, the fear of environmental catastrophe and an endemic sense of guilt about the destruction of nature.
No trailer as of yet, but the concept art can be seen at avatarmoviezone.com
Well, that about sums it up for the movie releases for this year, there's probably a few that I missed but these would be most of the standouts. Get out and see these bad boys, as there's nothing like a massive screen and banging sound, even if most movie crowds suck these days.
Peace,
~Broke
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Heavy Rotation Part II
Once again, high like a Hi-Top Fade....
But anyway, this week's Heavy Rotation is an undiscovered gem, a sweet funky groove from one of my favourite MC's, Brother Ali. Any festival heads probably caught Atmosphere and Brother Ali at Falls Festival over NYE, an apparently they ripped it down once again (not surprisingly).
This funky little number is a bonus cut from The Truth EP, so most people missed it, making it even more delicious for those who picked up on it (no non-delicious filler around here, only chocolate filled goodness). I'm way into the funky piano at the moment, so Ant is (once again) hitting all the right buttons with the smooth bass and tinkly piano styles on this one, and the Brother comes through again with an impeccable flow, and some heartfelt lyrics. Ali is usually on the positive tip, but he's way into the happy-to-be-alive thing on Good Lord. Not surprising, considering the shit he's been through, he probably is happy to be alive.
But onto the dissection.
Good Lord is an obvious statement of Ali's beliefs, and how they have affected his life. From the opening line of "best believe the Q'uran influenced all of my songs...", Ali makes no bones about where he stands religiously, however my favourite thing about Ali is I never feel like he's preaching, more explaining and celebrating how his religion has influenced him throughout his life. The discussion and religious references continue throughout the first verse, with Ali mantioning the effect that his religion has had on his fans, as well as namechecking numerous prophets and Islamic figures, including Bilal ibn Rabah with a tight couplet:
"Holler like Bilal in the tower,
Hayya 'alal-falah, Allah is the power"
(for those who don't know, Bilal ibn Rabah was the first official muezzin of the Islamic faith, known for his beautiful voice with which he called the people to their prayers. Step your 7th century muezzin game up, y'all.)
Ali then closes the verse out with a typically juxtaposed line,
"Laying in the alley I whisper the Shahada (The Shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as his prophet),
The bullets fly by from the drive by."
And then a fantasy of what might be called a black paradise, but is really closer to a celebration of pinnacles of black history and culture. Admittedly a bit strange from an Albino guy from Minnesota, but he has addressed the reasons for his Pro-Blackness in many a track, and that's really a discussion for another day.
"Imam Mohammad used to pound on the podium,
Popmaster Fable worked it out on the linoleum.
Chappelle busts funnies, Mos Def busts rhymes,
and Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time."
It's really in the second verse that Ali gets on the pro-life tip, and I don't mean any anti-abortion talk. This is emo-rap at it's best, or possibly worst. If Ali didn't have swagger like a pirate, this verse would be dangerously close to waaaaay too soft for my liking. I don't need guns and bitches in every verse, but I like a little backbone to whatever i'm hearing.
"Something spiritual happens when the hands get to clapping,
can you tell me what religion do you laugh in?
The human reaction of smiles and cries,
What language are the tears when they're falling from your eyes?"
Again, great lyrics, don't get me wrong, and I think this verse was very deliberately structured to be humanity based, rather than religion based, as there's a real "I am Human, and so are you" vibe about this verse.
"You've probably seen the sun rise hundreds of times.
But let a painter paint it or a poet describe,
the very moment where heaven and earth might collide,
and god let the breath of life come outside.
Satan doubted it, angels bow to it,
I'm so beautifully human and i'm proud of it.
Soul of a soldier, heart of a scholar,
I wrote this poem with the blood of a martyr."
A tight 16 bars, closed out with a callback to the first verse dismount, and the chorus kicks in to take it all home. Flow like Niagara.
All in all, this track will remain heavy in my Iriver for a while, there's better Brother Ali tracks out there, but this jam puts me in a good mood for the day, and it's a banger to throw on when you're headed home from work and need a lift after a shitty day.
Enjoy the track, and be sure to cop as much Brother Ali as you can. Support the artists doing their thing kids, otherwise we'll have to listen to Nickelback all day.
Grab that bad boy RIGHT HERE
But anyway, this week's Heavy Rotation is an undiscovered gem, a sweet funky groove from one of my favourite MC's, Brother Ali. Any festival heads probably caught Atmosphere and Brother Ali at Falls Festival over NYE, an apparently they ripped it down once again (not surprisingly).
This funky little number is a bonus cut from The Truth EP, so most people missed it, making it even more delicious for those who picked up on it (no non-delicious filler around here, only chocolate filled goodness). I'm way into the funky piano at the moment, so Ant is (once again) hitting all the right buttons with the smooth bass and tinkly piano styles on this one, and the Brother comes through again with an impeccable flow, and some heartfelt lyrics. Ali is usually on the positive tip, but he's way into the happy-to-be-alive thing on Good Lord. Not surprising, considering the shit he's been through, he probably is happy to be alive.
But onto the dissection.
Good Lord is an obvious statement of Ali's beliefs, and how they have affected his life. From the opening line of "best believe the Q'uran influenced all of my songs...", Ali makes no bones about where he stands religiously, however my favourite thing about Ali is I never feel like he's preaching, more explaining and celebrating how his religion has influenced him throughout his life. The discussion and religious references continue throughout the first verse, with Ali mantioning the effect that his religion has had on his fans, as well as namechecking numerous prophets and Islamic figures, including Bilal ibn Rabah with a tight couplet:
"Holler like Bilal in the tower,
Hayya 'alal-falah, Allah is the power"
(for those who don't know, Bilal ibn Rabah was the first official muezzin of the Islamic faith, known for his beautiful voice with which he called the people to their prayers. Step your 7th century muezzin game up, y'all.)
Ali then closes the verse out with a typically juxtaposed line,
"Laying in the alley I whisper the Shahada (The Shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as his prophet),
The bullets fly by from the drive by."
And then a fantasy of what might be called a black paradise, but is really closer to a celebration of pinnacles of black history and culture. Admittedly a bit strange from an Albino guy from Minnesota, but he has addressed the reasons for his Pro-Blackness in many a track, and that's really a discussion for another day.
"Imam Mohammad used to pound on the podium,
Popmaster Fable worked it out on the linoleum.
Chappelle busts funnies, Mos Def busts rhymes,
and Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time."
It's really in the second verse that Ali gets on the pro-life tip, and I don't mean any anti-abortion talk. This is emo-rap at it's best, or possibly worst. If Ali didn't have swagger like a pirate, this verse would be dangerously close to waaaaay too soft for my liking. I don't need guns and bitches in every verse, but I like a little backbone to whatever i'm hearing.
"Something spiritual happens when the hands get to clapping,
can you tell me what religion do you laugh in?
The human reaction of smiles and cries,
What language are the tears when they're falling from your eyes?"
Again, great lyrics, don't get me wrong, and I think this verse was very deliberately structured to be humanity based, rather than religion based, as there's a real "I am Human, and so are you" vibe about this verse.
"You've probably seen the sun rise hundreds of times.
But let a painter paint it or a poet describe,
the very moment where heaven and earth might collide,
and god let the breath of life come outside.
Satan doubted it, angels bow to it,
I'm so beautifully human and i'm proud of it.
Soul of a soldier, heart of a scholar,
I wrote this poem with the blood of a martyr."
A tight 16 bars, closed out with a callback to the first verse dismount, and the chorus kicks in to take it all home. Flow like Niagara.
All in all, this track will remain heavy in my Iriver for a while, there's better Brother Ali tracks out there, but this jam puts me in a good mood for the day, and it's a banger to throw on when you're headed home from work and need a lift after a shitty day.
Enjoy the track, and be sure to cop as much Brother Ali as you can. Support the artists doing their thing kids, otherwise we'll have to listen to Nickelback all day.
Grab that bad boy RIGHT HERE
Friday, January 2, 2009
Ron Barassi.... Straight Gangsta.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2009/01/02/1230681672966.html
Barassi still bringing the ruckus after all these years, top notch effort.
And who punches an old guy? Poor form to those guys.
Barassi still bringing the ruckus after all these years, top notch effort.
And who punches an old guy? Poor form to those guys.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The '08 Video review
Well, no better time than New Years Day to review the year that was. This is the internet video highlights of 2008, according to me. It's by no means complete, just a lot of my favourite moments from throughout the year.
Classically Trained Hip Hop
'08 was the year that "musicians" i.e. People trained in playing an instrument other than the turntables (yes, I know about all the great Hip Hop bands out there, i'm talking about musicians from other backgrounds who have never rocked beats before) discovered hip hop. There was a slew of great collaborations between MC's, DJ's and orchestras, as well as an increase in touring artists incorporating featuring live instrumentation in their stage show. The resulting music is off the chain.
My personal favourites are listed below.
Ryan Leslie - Lollipop
Ryan Leslie is a hugely underrated R&B artist, and this little gem was recorded for Green Lantern's Sirius Radio show about a week after Lollipop was released. Ryan learns the chords on the spot, and proceeds to massacre the beat, totally freestyled. Killer work, dude is legit. If Wayne re-released Lollipop with Ryan ripping solo's throughout, i'd listen to it.
Ronald Jenkees
Ronald Jenkees is exactly what he appears to be, a nerdy white boy who made deal with the devil, Robert Johnson style, to be infused with Ray Charles' AND Jam Master Jay's spirits. The results?
Mmm...... yummy.
Jay Z Live at Glastonbury
'Nuff said, really. Doesn't come much hyper.
Viral Video
Viral video was everywhere in '08, hence the name. Youtube became the requisite source for water cooler talk, and I would wager 30% of inter-office emails were nothing at all to do with work, but contained random Youtube clips of bears falling onto trampolines and cats being slammed into walls from ceiling fans. World Star Hip Hop has rightfully claimed the title of "The CNN of Hip Hop", which is quite a strange title, considering KRS-ONE called hip hop itself "CNN for black people", but now any rapper with a camera phone can start beef with anyone (Souljah Boy Vs Ice T, Charles Hamilton etc..), and probably will. I'd like to think that CNN will pick up on WSHH's popularity, and start calling themselves the WSHH of world affairs. Probably not though.
Jacked from ByronCrawford.com, the following is a montage of some of the most memorable moments from the internets last year, and i've included a few gems I think were overlooked.
Indian game show host slapped on live television
This guys gets stomped. Well deserved though.
Best of SNL 2008 Election coverage
There was so much great gear from SNL this election, here's a montage of the best bits. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin was pretty dead on, and funny as hell.
Bachelor Cooking with Aria Giovanni
If you're not up on Bachelor Cooking, it's a cooking show starring porn star Aria Giovanni which is informative and pleasing to the eye. If you've just moved out of home and never cooked for yourself before, I recommend getting onto these lessons so you don't end up surviving on Mi Goreng and frozen pizza.
Eli Porter: Rap legend
Eli porter set the rap world on fire with his razor sharp lyrics. My personal favourite? "Like Rosie O'Donnell at a Bi-sexual bridal shower". What does that mean? Would it be the coup de gras of Bi-sexual bridal showers to have Rosie O'Donnell roll out, dildo's akimbo?
This Video has been dissected and discussed for months, but doesn't lose any potency the more I watch it.
Well, that's it for the time being. I'll be back with a wrap up of Movies and music at some point, as well as a look to the year ahead.
Peace,
~Broke
Classically Trained Hip Hop
'08 was the year that "musicians" i.e. People trained in playing an instrument other than the turntables (yes, I know about all the great Hip Hop bands out there, i'm talking about musicians from other backgrounds who have never rocked beats before) discovered hip hop. There was a slew of great collaborations between MC's, DJ's and orchestras, as well as an increase in touring artists incorporating featuring live instrumentation in their stage show. The resulting music is off the chain.
My personal favourites are listed below.
Ryan Leslie - Lollipop
Ryan Leslie is a hugely underrated R&B artist, and this little gem was recorded for Green Lantern's Sirius Radio show about a week after Lollipop was released. Ryan learns the chords on the spot, and proceeds to massacre the beat, totally freestyled. Killer work, dude is legit. If Wayne re-released Lollipop with Ryan ripping solo's throughout, i'd listen to it.
Ronald Jenkees
Ronald Jenkees is exactly what he appears to be, a nerdy white boy who made deal with the devil, Robert Johnson style, to be infused with Ray Charles' AND Jam Master Jay's spirits. The results?
Mmm...... yummy.
Jay Z Live at Glastonbury
'Nuff said, really. Doesn't come much hyper.
Viral Video
Viral video was everywhere in '08, hence the name. Youtube became the requisite source for water cooler talk, and I would wager 30% of inter-office emails were nothing at all to do with work, but contained random Youtube clips of bears falling onto trampolines and cats being slammed into walls from ceiling fans. World Star Hip Hop has rightfully claimed the title of "The CNN of Hip Hop", which is quite a strange title, considering KRS-ONE called hip hop itself "CNN for black people", but now any rapper with a camera phone can start beef with anyone (Souljah Boy Vs Ice T, Charles Hamilton etc..), and probably will. I'd like to think that CNN will pick up on WSHH's popularity, and start calling themselves the WSHH of world affairs. Probably not though.
Jacked from ByronCrawford.com, the following is a montage of some of the most memorable moments from the internets last year, and i've included a few gems I think were overlooked.
Indian game show host slapped on live television
This guys gets stomped. Well deserved though.
Best of SNL 2008 Election coverage
There was so much great gear from SNL this election, here's a montage of the best bits. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin was pretty dead on, and funny as hell.
Bachelor Cooking with Aria Giovanni
If you're not up on Bachelor Cooking, it's a cooking show starring porn star Aria Giovanni which is informative and pleasing to the eye. If you've just moved out of home and never cooked for yourself before, I recommend getting onto these lessons so you don't end up surviving on Mi Goreng and frozen pizza.
Eli Porter: Rap legend
Eli porter set the rap world on fire with his razor sharp lyrics. My personal favourite? "Like Rosie O'Donnell at a Bi-sexual bridal shower". What does that mean? Would it be the coup de gras of Bi-sexual bridal showers to have Rosie O'Donnell roll out, dildo's akimbo?
This Video has been dissected and discussed for months, but doesn't lose any potency the more I watch it.
Well, that's it for the time being. I'll be back with a wrap up of Movies and music at some point, as well as a look to the year ahead.
Peace,
~Broke
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
