Rock Randalls in the Rain

Rock the Bells mo’fucker. Better late than never (seems to be the theme of all my posts) but last Sunday me and the Green Hornet were at Randalls Island getting soaked checkin’ out this festival. Speakin’ for myself I thought it was dope especially considering I got cheap tix and there were a lot of groups I’ve been listenin to for years that I finally got to see. When I first got in I was at the Paid Dues Stage and caught the tail end of Mr.Lif which wasn’t as dope as I would have imagined although he’s a really nice guy and I was lucky to meet him later in the day.

Next up was Cage and Yak Ballz two of my guilty pleasures in the underground hiphop scene. Along with Cage came the rain and everyone got drenched but luckily his performance was dope and they made up for it. I dunno if it woulda been as nice for someone who wasn’t as familiar with the songs but it hit the spot for me. Brother Ali was next and he’s always been impressive live. That albino gets the crowd goin' every time and his set showcased mostly his new album, a sick acapella and a couple older favorites . Felt was up next and Slug and Murs were in good spirits getting the crowd into it. Slug and Ant pulled out godlovesugly to please the Atmosphere fans but right bout then I left for the main stage.

Erikah Badu pulled a no show so Cypress Hill set got bumped up and I ran over there to join the crowd and pull a blunt break. Seemed like it was a greatest hits set for them and I was kinda out of it (go figure) but they played Hits from the Bong, Dr. Greenthumb and I wanna get High which sounded pretty tight. After that Public Enemy came on but I wandered back to catch Living Legends and get some grub ($8 Philly Cheese Steaks – fuck that). Living Legends were on for awhile and shit kinda lagged towards the end even being familiar with most of what they played. After they got off we waited again for DOOM to turn up and the DJ bullshit over the mic. I’ve seen DOOM a few times now and he always makes the crowd wait and this time was no different. When he came on he dropped a couple Dangerdoom tracks he’s never done live and Monkey Suite which was a treat but the rest was pretty standard and he only was on stage for 30 min even though he was scheduled for a full hour. My guess is he cut it short cause over half his crowd bounced when Wu Tang was came on stage in the middle of his set.

Wu was dope and Method Man took the front man roll and held the act together. I’m not a huge Wu fan so I’ll let Green Hornet chime in on this one for a better run down on their performance. Rage came after and it sounded liked 1996 all over again. Nice to finally see them live and they were tight as could be with a trimmed down set-list hittin all the favorites to fit their time slot. Great show overall and I’d do it again if I had the chance. Here’s a couple youtube clips from the show, enjoy.

DOOM Montage



Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill a Man


Rage - Know Your Enemy Clip


Hot 97 Interviews/ Run Down

Hallelujah Holla Back

I really wish I didn't like the white rapper show so much. Serch is a jackass.

There's been a lot of folks writing about Dilla lately, with it being a year since his death and all. Of all the stuff I've read, the one that stands out the most was posted by Talib Kweli almost a year ago (stumbled on by way of ninoy brown). Check it out here, it's definitely worth a read.

Spine Magazine had a video up the other day with a young lookin Nas on stage with Biggie, as introduced by Movin' on Yo Left, Mr. Mef. That video was cool and all, but it's still not my favorite Biggie Internet moment. That would be this one. It's crazy how he sounds exactly the same, but looks like such a kid.

And while we're talking about sidewalk freestyles,

et en français

and we put it on Wax... it's the Newwww style

I found a record store a block over from where I do construction and I've been spending a good amount of my lunch breaks in there as of late. I guess as a result of all this shiny new (and dingy old - new to me) vinyl, I've finally set up my computer to rip songs from my turntable. Anyways, here's a bunch of songs that I am now able to post.



"Say" feat. Lauryn Hill by M.E.T.H.O.D. Man
I tried to post this one a while back but it never worked and I sort of forgot about it, since I'm not really the biggest Meth fan in the world. Today I saw that the single had just hit the record shop though, so I felt obliged to pick it up, and then to share it with you kind folks. Method Man over acoustic guitar is not something I ever saw coming and I can say I'm glad it happened.



"Huddle Formation Remix" by RJD2
A friend of mine picked me up this Go! Team single a while ago, and I've been forever indebted to her since. This remix lacks that Go! Team energy, but if you don't go into it looking for that, it's a really cool track.



"(The Best Part of) Breaking Up" by the Ronettes
Buying Phil Spector's top twenty for under five bucks was probably the best vinyl purchase of my life. It's an assortment of tracks from the Ronettes, the Crystals, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, a young Tina Turner with Ike, Checkmates Ltd., Darlene Love, and the Righteous Brothers. I can honestly tell you that there was a pretty lengthy phase during which this album was played exclusively on my turntable. It's just a crowd pleaser. Ronnie Spector is also never sexier than on this track when she half sings, "come on, baby". Just plain saucy, and sultry, and any other s-adjectives you can think of. That is, except slutty, because Veronica Spector is a saint. This song came through kind of quiet for whatever reason. Turn them speakers up.



"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder
Does anyone not like Stevie Wonder? The basslines are so overly funky, his piano sounds like it's actually being tickled, the trumpets rarely go below blast, and with his perfect wailing vocals, it all comes together into this one sonic package that should be a mess with all the things going on at once, but always comes out beautiful. This song in particular is damn near impossible to hear without hearing it in your head all day. I think in this case, that's a good thing. I got this off of a compilation LP that I found today called Million Performance Songs. Look at what a good find this is:

Side I
"Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder
"I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
"Sail On" by the Commodores
"Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" by Diana Ross
"Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder
"Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" by the Temptations

Side II
"For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder
"Get Ready" by the Temptations
"Going To a Go-Go" by the Miracles
"You're All I Need to Get By" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
"Never Can Say Goodbye" by the Jackson 5
"All This Love" by DeBarge
"Superfreak" by Rick James
"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder

Apparently all these songs were performed over a million times. Good job, songs.

got em...

For those of you following along at home, you'll probably remember when MC Abstract Douchipster dropped knowledge on French Hip Hop recently. Well, I have my small group of blogs that I peruse on a day to day basis, one of them being "Oh Word." Well I checked it out today and they had thrown up a post that was a little more in-depth, but covered a lot of the same bases as Mr. Douchipster did. Now I'm not saying they ripped us off, I'm not gonna get arrogant enough to think anyone's actually reading this of course. It's just nice to know that here at Cigar Box Guitars, you hear it first. word.

French

I recently got introduced to the awesomeness that is French hip hop. Now, while I can't understand what they are saying, the ability of the French language to sound good when put to a beat is undeniable. The language was made for rapping. The French scene is the second biggest in the world after the US hip hop scene. Few outside of French speaking countries realize how big French hip hop really is.






Noble Art - IAM featuring Method Man and Redman

IAM is one of the biggest groups in the history of French hip hop. This song was realesed in 2004, but IAM has been around in one form or another since 1989. This song even makes Redman listenable.

La Haine - DJ Cut Killer and Supreme NTM

DJ Cut Killer is a great French DJ and here is helped by a band that in the world of French hip hop can only be compared to controversial US groups such as N.W.A. Here, Cut Killer uses very recognizable American samples (including Biggie, and yes that is a Wu-Tang sample at the very end of the song) along with Supreme NTM's harsh use of the French language to great effect.

Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo - MC Solaar

No post about French hip hop would be complete without the most popular of them all. MC Solaar is the definitive French hip hop artist. He even recieved a small amount of success in the US. This song is the title song from his 1990 platinum album. The title means "He who sows the wind reaps the rhythm". His voice is smooth as hell, and his production is stellar.

I bomb atomically

Inspectah Deck's verse on "Triumph" blew my motherfucking mind when I heard it for the first time. Since then I've always maintained that he's the most underrated MC in the Clan. This new track doesn't really live up to my lyrical expectations of the Rebel INS, but there's some solid production on it.

What They Want by Inspectah Deck

Speaking of all things Wu, Method Man's got a new album that should be coming out soon, entitled 4:21. I think I read July 18th? I've always thought he was the most overrated MC in the clan, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy him. This track with Lauryn Hill is a bit of a changeup from what I'd usually expect from the man.

Say by Method Man feat. Lauryn Hill

NOTE:we have some technical difficulties going on right now. the link for the Meth download will be fixed shortly.

EDIT: I don't know what the deal is, but this song just isn't working for me. If you wanna check it out, go to Meth's site and it just starts playing.