Wale feat. J. Cole - Beautiful Bliss (2009)

J. Cole has created quite a bit of buzz this weekend by announcing his newest album 2014 Forest Hills Drive will be released in just a few weeks, so I thought it was worth taking a look back at an example of why I'm still excited for this release despite finding his two previous albums incredibly disappointing.

Cole made his name coming up as a Mixtape rapper and generated quite a bit of hype off those alone, but it was his appearance on Wale's debut album that really caught my attention.

Over a triumphant, rousing instrumental, helped by a great hook from songstress Melanie Fiona, Wale kicks things off with a pretty nice verse that includes some memorable lines.  I can't help feel that he makes a rod for his own back by comparing himself to Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart though, because while Jim was a solid wrestler Bret was on another level and in the second verse Cole comes through and Bret Harts the shit out of him.

__________

But I'm giving it foundation when I write lyric

That anvil Neidhart minus bright knickers

Maybe not quite the star but my heart's in it

__________ Wale

Cole's verse lasts about a minute and a half and it's filled with the kind of energy and passion that's been sorely missing from the majority of his first two albums. He was clearly looking to make a real impression on this feature and he succeeds, but he should be aiming for, if not hitting these heights every time he steps in the booth. Some of his standout lines provide a bit of advice that he would be wise to heed.

_________
At dinner with Hov
Hoping that he pass the baton, he just pass the Patron
Ain't nothing given dog, it's earned, if you just living dog, you learn
________ J. Cole


After shouting out his Mom with a couple of inspirational lines featuring some son/sun wordplay, he namechecks 2Pac and Nas to show that he believes or at least hopes he'll belong in that bracket some day. If he can get back to this level consistently then he would stand more of a chance of being in those discussions.  Let's hope he's in this kind of inspired form on his new album.

Despite Cole stealing the show on this track it would be unfair not to acknowledge that Wale had two very strong verses of his own and closes out with probably the best bar on the whole song with some really exquisite wordplay

_________
Peep me how I'm raising up the capital from Nathan
Capital I'm raising like I'm through punctuating
Or shift keys or I placement cause
Shifting keys get your capital raised up
_________ Wale


Personally I think this is the best song that either artist has been involved in, enjoy it below!

Jay-Z - Encore (2003)

When Jay-Z dropped The Black Album on this day in 2003, here was a rarity in Hip Hop - one of the all time greats choosing to bow out on the very top of his game.  I honestly can't think of a comparable example of someone else doing the same.
__________

As fate would have it, Jay's status appears
To be at an all-time high, perfect time to say goodbye
__________

The album is stacked with classic songs that show exactly why Jay was so revered in the community, even 11 years ago, but the song that epitomises the whole thing is without a doubt Encore.

Kanye West blessed Jay with a sumptuous, soulful instrumental to say his goodbyes over and also chipped in on the hook with John Legend.  With some trademark horns, killer keys and crowds chanting "Hova", this track could easily get by on sentimentality alone, but that's not Jay's style.

I honestly couldn't pick a favourite verse on here as Jigga absolutely kills all three of them, dropping some of his most quotable lyrics with one of the best flows in the game.  The theme of the song is basically Jay telling everyone how great he is and how much everyone is going to miss him - who else would have the balls and the ability to do something like that without sounding ridiculous?
__________

And I need you to remember one thing, I came, I saw, I conquered
From record sales, to sold out concerts
So motherfucker if you want this Encore
I need you to scream 'til your lungs get sore
__________

You would think the fact that Jay was tempted back to rap a few years later might weaken the effect of this song but it doesn't at all.  The sincerity in Encore is plain for all to see, this was Jay leaving the game and challenging others to step up and take his place.
__________

All cause the shit I uttered was utterly ridiculous,
How sick is this?
You wanna bang send Kanye change, send Just some dust
Send Hip a grip, then you gotta spit
A little somethin' like this....

Kanye West feat. Cam'ron & Consequence - Gone (2005)

On Kanye's debut album one of the many standouts was the epic closing track Last Call, so when his second album dropped a couple of years later I was excited to see how he would close it out.

OK, so Gone isn't actually the last track on Late Registration, but it's the last one that isn't a bonus or hidden track so I consider it the official album closer.

'Ye enlists Cam'ron and Consequence to help him out as he shows off one of the most impressive sample based instrumentals of his career. Employing a trick that he would use again on Watch The Throne, the track opens with a vocal snippet from the legendary Otis Redding, before Mr. West chops up the sample and makes it his own while delivering the kind of braggadocious lines that only he can get away with.

They claim you never know what you got til it's gone,

I know I got it, I don't know what y'all on

As the track continues, the instrumental gets more and more layered and while the guests deliver fine verses, Kanye steals the show with the last verse though as the beat and the song take a slightly darker turn.

If you couldn't already tell, I think this is one of the best examples of the kind of trademark soul sample based production that helped establish Kanye as the hottest producer around early in his career.

Personally I think that Kanye has continued to grow as an artist since then, but there are plenty that yearn for this kind of Kanye West to return. I think this Kanye is long gone and unlikely to return, so for now let's just enjoy this classic track

Outkast - Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1) - 1998

Lots of people with tell you that Andre 3000 is one of the greatest rappers of all time, despite never having released a full solo album.  It's songs like Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1) that place him comfortably in this bracket.

Big Boi opens up the song (that some of you may recognise from the J. Cole song that sampled it and slapped it in the face) with a decent enough storytelling verse about a girl that is... let's say "well known" around town that calls him up for a bit of fun. Big Boi clearly has very little respect for this woman, Suzy Screw, but that's not gonna stop him from meeting up with her.  She gives him head in the parking lot and he goes about his ways.  So far, pretty good song right?

Turns out that Big Boi was just laying the groundwork for what was about to happen as 3 Stacks delivers one of the best verses in the whole of Hip Hop, telling the story of Suzy's friend, Sasha Thumper.  It's one of the only verses that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it thanks to a mixture of the lyrics and the intense delivery.  It's incredible and you really just have to hear it for yourself but I'm just gonna leave you with THE standout timeless line that any self respecting hip hop fan should recognise immediately:

Talkin' bout what we gonna be when we grow up
 I said "What you wanna be?"  She said "Alive"

Chills.

Wu-Tang Clan - Ruckus In B Minor (2014)

New Wu-Tang!!!!!

Let's not get carried away, this isn't 36 Chambers or Wu-Tang Forever-level stuff - but it's a damn sight better than anything on 8 Diagrams and would hold its own with the best tracks on The W and Iron Flag.

It's absolutely brilliant to hear vocals from all 10 members of the Clan on the same track though, for the first time since 9 Milli Bros. on Ghost's 2006 album Fishscale and they all sound in inspired form.

Ghostface, Cappadonna and Method Man on the hook put in standout performances, while ODB's ad-libs throughout truly warm the cockles of my heart.

The best part of the song is without a doubt saved until near the end though.  It's been a while since the Genius has made me really sit up and take notice,  but as the beat slows down to a crawl and the GZA starts dropping trademark knowledge you know that something special is happening.  The beat switches up midway through his verse and the experienced veteran rides it smooth as a wave and really got me amped up for RZA, Rae and Masta Killa, Meth and Dirt McGirt to close the song out.  This track gives me new hope for the album.

Wu-Tang is Forever.

Xzibit feat. Eminem - Don't Approach Me (2000)

Today's cut is from Xzibit's 3rd album, Restless, his first release after getting a lot of mainstream exposure due to showstopping guest appearances on Dre's What's The Difference and both versions of Bitch Please. Appearing on Dr. Dre's, Eminem's and Snoop Dogg's latest albums can heap a lot of expectation on a rapper who had previously got most of his attention from West Coast and underground fans.  

Wisely, Xzibit used his new found friends to help him out on Restless and one of the tracks that generated the most buzz when the tracklist was released was the Eminem assisted Don't Approach Me.

Following on from some of the themes that Eminem raised on his smash single The Way I Am, the pair trade verses about the problems that fame has brought them, particularly the way that fans and the media listen to their songs and then assume that they know the artists on a personal level.  Fans might feel like that because the rappers put so much honesty into their lyrics, but they take it to another level sometimes and when they see the artists in public they'll greet them as if they've just seen their best friend, forgetting that this familiarity is a one way street.

The artists don't know who is coming at them in a friendly way or who has something more sinister up their sleeve and the song lets us see that these feelings put them on edge.  It's not that they're being a dick on purpose, but as they say in the intro, they're merely protecting themselves and their families by any means necessary.

Em's closing verse contains some of the most hard hitting lines:

And it's a disgrace Hailey can't play with her toys
in the front yard without you drivin by honkin your horn
screamin some shit, leanin out your windows, beepin n shit
Or pullin up in my drive like I won't leap in your whip
And so these kids tell their friends and relatives where I live
so my address ends up on the internet again
So then, I do an interview with Spin, tellin them
that if someone comes to my crib, I'ma shove a gun in their ribs
And reporters, blow it out of proportion
"Oh, now he's pullin guns on his fans
just for tryin to stand on his porch"

Cypress Hill - Dr. Greenthumb (1998)

I saw a gardening truck down the street from me today with "Greenthumb" pasted on the side and it reminded me of this classic track.

You can probably guess that Cypress Hill aren't rapping about gardening and you can also probably guess what they are rapping about, but regardless this song is brilliant. Classic Cypress Hill bouncy Muggs beat, classic Cypress Hill infectious hook, classic good fun Cypress Hill verses...it's just classic Cypress Hill from their underrated album Cypress Hill IV.

That's six times I've written Cypress Hill now. Seven.

Happy Sunday.

Sadistik - November (2008)

Break up songs are nothing new in any genre of music and definitely not in Hip Hop. Every now and then though, something a bit special comes along, that rather than being a whiny drone of a song about getting back together, is just a refreshingly honest look back at the breakdown of a relationship.

Sadistik's November definitely fits into the latter category, as over a minimalistic piano instrumental - that samples Yann Tiersen's Comptine D'Un Autre Été: L'Après Midi from the Amelie score - he delivers three gut wrenching verses about a destructive relationship that really did a number on him.

The pain in his voice is tangible and he holds nothing back with some deeply personal lines. There's a section in the middle of the second verse that gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.

The final verse shows Sadistik in a more hopeful place with a positive outlook, but you can tell that although the wounds have healed, the scars will always remain.

If you're a fan of this song be sure to check out Black Rose as well.