piece of shep

Today marks the releases of another QN5 gem. I’m talking of Mr. SOS’s How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb album.

From QN5.com, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (named after the Stanley Kubrick film) is an amalgam of every bit of darkness and light in the life of SOS and how he is influenced by the world. The album, released by independent powerhouse label QN5 will feature production by Tonedeff, the UK’s Quincey Tones, The BeatChefs, as well as Mr. SOS himself, continuing the progression of cleverly mixing traditional backbeats with abstract production and pensive content. When asked why he chose the title, he simply states, “because the movie is about the end of the world and so is my album.”

I’ve had this album for a week now and it is fantastic.  QN5’s ability to put out great hip hop, release after release, never ceases to amaze me.  Their albums are always killer with no filler.  Please support the artists who make true hip hop.  Please pick up this album today!

BUY DIGITAL @ [iTUNES] | [AMAZON]

BUY PHYSICAL @ [FAT BEATS] | [UGHH] | [SANDBOXAUTOMATIC]

Listen to Bionic (produced by Tonedeff) below.

10 years ago two of the best rappers in the game joined together to finally release an album. The result is one of the better albums from the late 90’s. I’m talking about Method Man and Redman’s Blackout! album. Meth and Red have an undeniable chemistry, on and off the mic. They have been called hip hop’s Cheech and Chong, and their contrasting styles makes makes them the perfect fit for each other.  Method Man is more laid back on the mic, whereas Redman is more aggressive.  10 years have passed without another collaboration album between the two hip hop heavyweights. Today, we see the release Blackout! 2.

I’ve been looking forward to this album for a long time. It’s a reminder of a time when rappers could actually flow and have word play. While some of the lyrics on this album are a bit dated (references to the movies Old School and Tango and Cash), it is one the adults can definitely love while the youngins are listening to the shitty sounds Soulja Boy and Flo Rida.

Don’t get me wrong, this album isn’t amazing or groundbreaking, it’s just more of that Meth and Red that we have all come to love.  Hearing them trade verses again after a 10 year silence is literally music to my ears.  This album has several radio friendly hits, such as A-yo and Mrs. International. It is definitely something you will be able to bump in your car all summer long.  I was excited for this album to drop and I have not been disappointed.  If you are a fan of real hip hop, make sure you buy this album from Amazon or iTunes.

Hip hop is, by far, one of the youngest genres of music in America, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been around for a while.  It really is amazing to see that the pioneers of the music are still around entertaining.  I recently read that one of the pioneers, Grandmaster Flash, released a new album.  If you don’t know who Grandmaster Flash is he is one of the men responsible for DJing.  From his official biography:

The career of DJ Grandmaster Flash began in the Bronx with neighborhood block parties that essentially were the start of hip-hop—the dawn of a musical genre. He was the first DJ to physically lay his hands on the vinyl and manipulate it in a backward, forward or counterclockwise motion, when most DJs simply handled the record by the edges, put down the tone arm, and let it play. Those DJs let the tone arm guide their music, but Flash marked up the body of the vinyl with crayon, fluorescent pen, and grease pencil—and those markings became his compass.

The Bridge: Concept of a Culture

He invented the Quick Mix Theory, which included techniques such as the double-back, back-door, back-spin, and phasing. This allowed a DJ to make music by touching the record and gauging its revolutions to make his own beat and his own music. Flash’s template grew to include cuttin’, which, in turn, spawned scratching, transforming, the Clock Theory and the like. He laid the groundwork for everything a hip hop DJ can do with a record today, other than just letting it play. What we call a DJ today is a role that Flash invented.

By the end of the 70s, Flash had started another trend that became a hallmark of hip-hop: emcees asked to rap over his beats. Before long, he started his own group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Their reputation grew up around the way the group traded off and blended their lyrics with Flash’s unrivaled skills as a DJ and his acrobatic performances—spinning and cutting vinyl with his fingers, toes, elbows, and any object at hand.

Flash, now 51, is still making music. He recently released the album The Bridge – Concept of a Culture featuring artists from all around the world. He is still a grandmaster when it comes to production. Even with all the new technology and style changes in hip hop, the man still has it. If you love hip hop, respect your elders and buy this album.

I’ve not done a song of the week in a long time but I was listening to music on my iPhone and this song came on. It is one of my all-time favorite songs. The song is Yesterday by hip hop group Atmosphere. If you don’t know who Atmosphere is, they are a two-man group from Minnesota made up of rapper Slug and producer/DJ Ant. I’ve been listening to some Atmosphere music for years, but never really connected with a specific album. That all changed when their latest album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, came out. The album is such a great album. I’d say it’s probably their best. The production on it is spectacular. There are only a couple tracks that I don’t particularly care for.

Anyway, back to the song at hand. Yesterday is a song where Slug raps about thinking he saw someone yesterday. Really listen to the lyrics and you’ll understand why this is such a great song. He is at his best on this song. His flow is outstanding and Ant came through with a great beat. This is probably in my top 10 of all hip hop songs. You can visit Atmosphere’s MySpace page or their record label, Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Chris Cornell is getting a lot of heat lately. Longtime fans of the Audioslave and Soundgarden singer were quite vocal about the news of his latest solo album attempt, Scream. When news broke that it would not be a rock album and that hip hop uber-producer Timbaland would be producing it, the fans revolted. Many claimed it could be the worst thing he could ever do and bashed Cornell and Timbaland to no end. I understand where they are coming from. An album produced by a hip hop producer probably isn’t going to sit well with fans of hard rock. I was even a bit leery of the collaboration because I love Audioslave. I’ll tell you what though, yesterday I bought it and I love it. I know it won’t appease all the fans who only listen to hard rock and detest everything not hard rock, but Cornell didn’t make this album for them. I applaud him for branching out and testing new waters, quite successfully I might add.

Chris Cornell has a unique voice. There is no other singer that sounds like him and he sounded great with both Soundgarden and Audioslave. I did wonder about the sound of the music that him and Timbaland would come up with. I was scared that it would be a rock-hop fusion that we heard so often in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. But it’s not rock. It’s not hip hop. The tracks on the album are funky and electric with a hint of pop. It’s something completely different from what Cornell and Timbaland usually do. Cornell’s voice over Timbaland’s production fits a lot better than anyone would have thought. This simple fact shows how great singer Cornell is and how talented of a producer Timbaland is. If you are looking for something unique, with great production and the unmistakable soulful voice of Chris Cornell, I suggest you purchase his album Scream.