Weird that the first huge pop song of 2019 references The Sound of Music and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (I assume Ariana Grande means the Audrey Hepburn movie and not the nineties one hit wonder sadly). But it is weird at the height #MeToo movement that the biggest pop star of the time is making an exploitative nineties hip-hop music video.
Cop Shot the Kid – Nas featuring Kanye West
Nice of Nas to bring in Slick Rick for a cameo, but I forget how weak the Kanye verse was on this song since I have not bothered to listen to any of the G.O.O.D. month of albums since they were released.
Always nice when people are recognized but it is weird when someone gets a featured credit on a song but after the song is over you are note entirely sure what they contributed. Did Zoe Kravitz sing back up on this Janelle Monáe song? Does she play guitar like her father?
Who would have guessed The Killers would make a protest song? Unfortunately is is not very good. Brandon Flowers singing about how nice it is to drive when white is pretty cringe worthy. Really, all the anti-Trump songs kind of sucks. Makes me wonder when was the last great and popular protest song was? Do we have to go all the way back to American Idiot?
For me, Ice-T’s The Art of Rap is the quintessential rap documentary. Of course when you are Ice-T, you can open up your digital Rolodex and get every living MC, past and present, you would possible want to talk about the craft. And being a rapper himself, Ice can steer the conversation to make sure you got all the important information out of the subjects.
So Work Is Bond has a lot to live up too. First off, director Sacha Jenkins (Fresh Dressed) does not get the names Ice-T did. This documentary is top-lined by Nas, Rakim, and Big Daddy Kane. But the thing is, the guy found some rappers not big enough for the Ice-T one that still had some fascinating insight like Brother Ali, Flatbush Zombies, and the Run the Jewels guys.
There were a few oh yeah, I remember those guys. Seriously, anyone remember Peedi Crakk? Then there is a segment on Rhymefest who is apparently still working and recently added an Oscar as a co-writer on Glory to his Grammy he won for Jesus Walks. While Freeway has noticeably lost a lot of weight since he was Roc-A-Fella’s next big thing about a decade ago and sadly we learn why as he is dealing with a serious health issue.
Okay, not all the talking heads are winners. Is anyone really that interested in hearing J. Cole’s thoughts on anything? Most of the interviews focus mostly on each rappers experiences and influence, but there is a fascinating discussion in the middle of the documentary where everyone is asked their stance on ghostwriting in rap, and oh, boy, there are a lot of strong, varying thoughts on the subject.
Word Is Bond premieres Friday at 10:00 on Showtime.
We live in an era of overnight success. Since the nineties, record labels have put millions of dollars launching new artists making it hard not to get at least one minor hit with enough promotion. Back in the day, even some of the biggest stars took a while to hit; Bruce Springsteen did not have a top fifty album or top one hundred single until his third album. Billy Joel’s first album did not even crack the top one hundred. Even Prince needed five albums to hit the top ten on either Billboard chart.
Even though we live in an era of instant fame, most of those overnight successes are lucky to have more than two good songs on their debut albums. It is very rarely that any artist comes out the gates with a five mic album but Nas did that with Illmatic, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. In a time when rap was moving to the west coast, Nas reminded everyone where the genre was birthed bringing the focas back to the east coast with the help of Wu-Tang Clan and The Notorious B.I.G..
Ten tracks, not a weak or skipable one among them or even a misplaced lyric in the forty minutes. Illmatic is one of the rare albums you ripped to your computer as a whole in a time before iTunes. Nas had the laid back delivery of A Tribe Called Quest with the street knowledge of KRS-One. And the production was on point, from Gang Starr’s DJ Premiere on New York State of Mind (which has been gone on to be sampled more times to count) to the Human Nature sampling It Ain’t Hard to Tell.
After Illmatic, Nas spent the next twenty years chasing the next classic. He created some better songs like If I Ruled the World and came close with Stilmatic but never a finer album he created than Illmatic. But of course his debut is one of the best in history, not just rap but of all music.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Christina Aguilera has a new song out and it is better than Not Myself Tonight. Which I guess does not say much. But thanks to The Voice, Maroon 5 were able to climb back to the top of the charts with mediocre music so this will probably be a hit too. But I am more interested in the video. What is up with the blue goo in the bathroom? Did she just kill an alien? Am I better off not knowing?
When I first heard this song on the new Nas album I thought it was exploitive because it did not really fit and really was not that good and doubt if a dead Amy Winehouse did not sing it the song would have never been released. After seeing the video, I have the same feeling.
I guess it should not be much of a surprise that Kimbra may be mentally unstable, but it is oh so enjoyable. I actually would like to go inside her head after watching this.
It seems like the last couple albums, Nas has made more headlines with his titles than the actual songs on the record. In 2006 the rapper declared Hip-Hop Is Dead while the follow up went Untitled after he announced he was going to title the album a word I am not allowed to use. His latest album Life Is Good may not sound as controversial as his previous two until you get a glimpse of the cover art where Nas has his ex-wife’s wedding dress (which Nas claims is the only think she left behind in their house when she left) draped across his lap.
Not surprisingly Life Is Good is heavily influenced by Nas’s marriage and subsequent divorce to Kelis. None more so than the song that closes out the album Bye Baby where he directly talks to his former flame and baby mama and recounts their history. Due to the subject matter, this is his most grown up album to date. For those keeping track at home, this is his tenth solo album, a rare milestone in hip-hop, especially as he remains relevant. Or close to it, some could argue he has not had a hit in almost a decade (which is probably why he has gone with controversial titles lately to stay relevant).
And Life Is Good probably will not change that trend either. When he gets around to releasing a Greatest Hits package, Nas will rival anyone in the history of rap, but it is hard to image anything from this album making his Greatest Hits unless he feels obligated to put one of these songs on it. Sadly one of the better songs, the old school Nasty is resigned to the Deluxe Album Bonus Tracks as it would not have sound out of place on God’s Son. For the album proper, the best song is the reggae tinged The Don produced by Salaam Remi who has also produces his great Made You look track.
The most noteworthy track on the album is Cherry Wine featuring Amy Winehouse (also produced by Remi who turned a Marvin Gaye song into her Tears Dry on Their Own) but it is weird hearing her posthumously sing about alcohol considering how she died. After that, the most talked about track is Daughters where Nas opens up his relationship with his and coming to terms with her growing up. Since I cannot relate I really cannot get into the song. But at least he did not sample or shout out John Mayer in the song.
Usually I start off my quarterly music preview by complaining about the lack of good albums, but something strange happened last month, there was actually a dearth a good music released. And though the summer months may not see as many as we did in May, there may still be plenty of worthy music to bump at you cookouts and bonfires this year. Here are the five I am most looking forward to followed by a rundown of what else is coming your way soon. Click the album name (or cover art) to preorder on Amazon or click the artist's name to be taken to their iTunes page.
1. Handwritten – The Gaslight Anthem (July 24): Nas (who is also on this list) famously declared a couple years back that hip-hop was dead. Of course it was not dead, it was just bastardized by ringtone rappers and people who thought Lil’ Wayne, T.I. and Rick Ross were credible rappers. Rock on the other hand has been on life support for a couple years, basically since the month and a half when Kings of Leon was the biggest group in the world. The Black Keys (who also had a theory of why rock was dying revolving around people being fine with Nickleback being the biggest band in the world) brought rock back somewhat with their last two albums and if there is any justice The Gaslight Anthem will have their breakout with their upcoming album.
2. TBA – Mumford & Sons (September 25): Of course sometime the death of rock is not because no one listens to rock anymore, just the mainstream does not talk about it. I am sure everyone would think Katy PerryKaty Perry actually has sold the same amount as Teenage Dream since both were released two years ago. Of course this is what happens when you let teenage girls control the pop culture zeitgeist. It is doubtful the banjo strumming band will become “cool” after the release of their next album, but I bet they have a longer career than Katy Perry.
3. Life Is Good – Nas (July 17): But back to Nas. You want to feel old? The MC is releasing his tenth album this summer. Sure his albums have been hit or miss and sometimes uneven since his seminal debut Illmatic, but Nas has had four years to record a record so hopefully that was time well spent.
4. Write Me Back – R. Kelly (June 26): Kells last album was his best since the nineties and Write Me Back is a thematic sequel of more classic soul music of Love Letter, sharing a similar name. Hopefully more chapters of Trapped in the Closet, which Kells said were “coming soon” back in March will soon follow.
5. Uncaged – Zac Brown Band (July 10): As I grow older, I have been listening to more country music, especially the folksier side of the genre and the debut album from Zac Brown Band was heartfelt in the right place and fun in others. With any luck that continues on their follow up.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
If Schrodinger's Cat means that something can be alive and dead at the same time, is there a corollary that a song can be simultaneously the greatest and worst song ever made. If so: ladies and gentlemen, the latest Toby Keith song.
- Geto Boys
- Geto Boys
- Leaders of the New School
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1. Handwritten – 
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5. Uncaged – 
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