Showing posts with label Nas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nas. Show all posts
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Friday, August 21, 2020
The MC Incarcerated Scarfaces Freestyle - Ring the Alarm
Incarcerated Scarfaces by Raekwon from the 1995 album Only built for Cuban Linx produced by RZA contains Dialogue sampled from John Woo, Chow Yun Fat movie The Killer, Sound effects from Wang Dang Doodle by Koko Taylor, beat break sampled from "You're getting a little too smart" by Detroit Emeralds. One of the most sampled beat breaks in the game, over 180 times, you can find this sweet thing on songs like: Monicas "Don't take it personal", Keith "Murrays Most Beautifullest thing in the World", Commons "The Light", Kendrick Lamars "You aint Gotta Lie", Jill Scotts "Fools Gold", and many others. There's something infectious about that snare to open hat relationship that just gets me going no matter what.
"When music hits you feel no pain, so I wont refrain from saying... Ring the Alarm!"
Undoubtedly a classic album, very pivotal to hip hop and a significant song to me. By 1995 I was heavily invested in all things Wu. Any project that came out with a Wu-Tang member or affiliate I had to have it. I think I wanted to be an honorary member when I grew up, and while Wu Wear wasn't available to purchase in Jamaica I'd print the different member logos on plain T's and rock em. It was actually this album that formally introduced me to Nas.
I'd listen to Incarcerated Scarfaces until my neck hurt. Rza knew how to cook em up and Chef served on this one. This beat is playful, to the point and hard hitting. An emcees dream. So simple it gives me lots of space to be tonally diverse.
"So I check check a microphone for verbal abuse, sharpen my super powers and prepare to use em ...'scuse me!"
War, Genocide & Famine
Systemic Racism & Slavery
Paedophilia & Adrenochrome
Organ Harvesting & Animal Cruelty
Injustice and Inequality
Viruses and Vaccines
Pollution & misuse of earths resources
Food, Drug, Air and water poisoning?
...Ring The Alarm
Thursday, August 6, 2020
The MC Ready Or Not Freestyle - No Ready
Kicking off a Freestyle Fridays vibe in the heat with something classic for those that know
Contains a sample of "Boadicea" by Enya and its chorus is based on "Ready Or Not Here I Come (Cant Hide from Love)" by The Delfonics. .
Somewhere around 96 I had this album stuck in my disc man, only to be interchanged with the likes of maybe Nas - It Was Written or Mary J. Blige - My Life. To this day it remains one of my all time favourites. Classic
Captivated by the culture crossing vernacular, and blended singing and rapping vocals over infectious multi genre neck snapping beats, I was hooked. As a group of socially conscious intellectuals The Fugees had a voice, sound and story that felt closer to mine than any hip hop I'd listened, to that date.
I love this beat for its sheer simplicity; literally a moody synth bed of Enya for some phat hip hop drums to sit on top, and that's it. An emcees dream. Id freestyle to this for hours. Eventually I wrote No Ready which celebrated the Reggae/Danehall/Hip Hop lifestyle lived in Jamaica while making commentary on how my immediate environment ironically just wasn't ready for me to bring such music to the wider world.
Still you know... I just wanna sing my song
Listen to the original recording of Nuh Ready here...
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Loving and Living Playlist on Spotify
Loving and Living has now been added to the Loving and Living playlist on Spotify curated by yours truly.
Enjoy
Enjoy
Also available on Youtube
Friday, July 21, 2017
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