Frank Ocean

When it comes to hip hop and RnB, it's been a long while since I've heard an album that blew me away. The whole thing isn't perfect but some of the joints are just incredible.

"Strawberry Swing" and "We All Try" are the soulful tracks that have been sorely missing in the game. And I'm not talking about syrupy, corny, formulaic and ultimately empty 'soul'. I mean something that sounds like some passion went into it. Where the only formula is the finding the right construction to make the melody, not the pandering to consumers.

"Swim Good", "Novacane" and "Songs For Women" are also bangers!

I came across another blog that reviewed Ultra. I entirely agree with his/her sentiment, so much so that I'm gonna copy the paragraph:

"Ocean isn't as corny as Drake and not as earnest as Bruno Mars. He's more nimble and intelligent than Trey Songz, and not as overt or agressive as Chris Brown. Hopefully nostalgia, ULTRA and Frank Ocean mark the turning point for sensual, thoughtful contemporary R&B."

 http://theshimmyshake.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-were-listening-to-frank-oceans.html

Please everyone and please no one

Young Guru is talking about "Watch The Throne", the Otis video, and 9th Wonder among other things.

Big ups to Young Guru. Dude seems like a cool ass dude.

This video shows why I don't like a lot of new hip hop albums, especially Watch the Throne. and why they'll never even come close to classic albums of the 80s/90s and some in the 2000s.

When you make music to please everyone, everyone from hip hop fans to girls in Ibiza who don't really care about hip hop (they like whatever's on the dancefloor), to grandmothers who saw you on Oprah one time, the album is gonna suck 9 times out of 10. It'll be slipshod by its very nature. It'll sound like what it is: BUSINESS. Pure corporate music.

Look at all the classic albums in hip hop - they weren't trying to please EVERYONE, especially people outside of the culture or hanging on the fringes of it. They were trying to please a certain type of people (usually hip hop fans), and the musicality was so good that when you became a hip hop fan, you would automatically realize how dope it was.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is ONLY BUILT for Cuban linx cats. NY drug dealers. People who understand and feel street slang. Illmatic -- was made strictly for the heads. Nas wanted to prove he was the nicest rapper period. Infamous, Midnight Marauders, Paid In Full, etc.

They weren't for the everyman. They had issues that related to the everyman but put in a way that was authentic to hip hop. All the great albums introduced new hip hop nuances/atmospheres that people loved. And how are you going to love a nuance (or even see it) if you don't understand the culture to begin with?

Anyway, it aint about the album experience anymore. it's about individual tracks on iTunes. which means there's no such thing as a cohesive sound for the album. Or an 'atmosphere'. Or the story. And I'm all about atmosphere and storytelling. That's where great art lies. All great artists are dope storytellers in their own way. At least that's what hip hop amazing. Atmosphere, great storytelling over funky and melodic beats.

with that said, I feel underground hip hop today is often on the opposite end of the extreme. They make these ultra niche albums that don't feel relatable unless you're into that kind of subject matter.

e.g. Madvillainy vs a lot of Stones Throw releases.

Madvillainy is a weird ass album, but some tracks are funky as hell. Accordion, Fancy Clown, Strange Ways, All Caps and Rhinestone Cowboy and are some of the dopest joints since 2000. They're weird, but still funky. Got that everyman bounce and are really catchy. Get some big speakers and play this joints -- they'll move you.

Whereas I find some Stones Throw stuff is just so out there that I can't f*ck with it. And what's the point of making a hip hop album without bounce and swagger?

So I guess the key is balance between the two extremes.

 p.s. That Otis video is the only dope thing about WTT. I agree with YG. Kanye and JayZ having fun, smiling... few-to-no models. Just kicking it. Reminded me of when I listened to hip hop and felt good. As opposed to not being good enough.

Art is a progression...

(picture from Amazon)

I love the oldies. I'm talking about the Motown, the soul era, jazz works, the funks, James Brown, etc. Mostly because it is so pivotal to the foundation of hip hop. If you don't appreciate older music, you're missing out on a huge part of what makes hip hop so great IMO. Hip hop at its finest is modern soul and funk mashed together with raw attitude.

Art is a progression. And as a friend of mine JohnBronski said, "each one teach one." The elders lay the foundation, the youth learn and take it to the next level, and so on. If you don't appreciate the foundations, how are you going to make anything worthwhile? Same thing applies to movies.

Since I've been listening to Nas's "Take It in Blood" on the regular, I present the original tune by the Fantastic Four:

Fantastic Four - Mixed up Moods & Attitudes (Take it In Blood sample source)

That brings me to Ghostface. One of the most soulful rappers in the game. First of all, Supreme Clientele has to be one of the greatest rap albums ever made. Maybe not top 20 in the grand scheme of things (although it's in my top 20) but still, it's a landmark album. All the songs on there are incredible (terrible skits, though. except for the "Who would you f*ck" skit. lmao).

But one of the tunes that's really close to my heart has to be "Child's Play". One of those hip hop records you can just rock side to side with.

Never mind the sound quality, but I'd love to see this joint live:

Ghostface - Child's Play (Live)

But without George Jackson, that whole record wouldn't exist.  

George Jackson - Aretha, Sing One for Me (Child's Play sample source)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat....

I've always been fascinated by rain, especially a nice, comfortable patter of rain. So when it rained today (it's still raining as I write this), I went out to the patio and watched the garden.

I looked down at some flower pots and it reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is one of my all-time favorite films. There's a scene in the movie where Joel (Jim Carrey) is trying to recall his childhood and then it flashes to a kid taking shelter under a roof as it rains. And the gentle melody of 'row row row your boat....' lulls the audience to reminisce.

FANTASTIC film! And it does what all great movies do - they speak to you. I had gone through a painful breakup a year earlier. It wasn't a bad relationship or anything like that. It's just the separation of someone you're close to can be quite painful. I thought about writing a novel that deals with two former lovers, set in the future, who had their memories erased and somehow find each other again. Would they remember each other? Would the attraction still be the same?

Then I saw the trailer for a strange movie that was about to come out called "Eternal Sunshine". And the trailer blew my mind. Immediately I thought: I HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM.

So I went opening day and proceeded to have one of the greatest cinema experiences of my life. At the end of the film, no one moved. Credits rolled and we all sat there in amazement. It's only when the credits were about to end then some people got up and walked out.

Things that inspire me: Eternal Sunshine is definitely one of them. I knew it was an instant classic the moment I saw it.

And the score is simply brilliant. ESSENTIAL listening, even to this day. I still use it to write.

So I leave you with this great video by Marcel Ramos:

Jon Brion - Phone Call (video)

and my favorite song in the entire soundtrack.

Jon Brion - Elephant Parade

P.S. It humors me when people act like Jay Electronica was so revolutionary for rhyming over an Eternal Sunshine loop. This is not to discredit the man's craft. I told friends of mine (especially the musically inclined) FOR YEARS to sample the soundtrack and do a nice little rhyme on it. But nobody listened. Then Electronica did it and people were amazed. So is life. 

Go get your shine box!

 
Goodfellas is one of my all-time favorite films. I haven't seen it in a while and I happened to come across a scene on Youtube. This scene, like pretty much the entire movie, is immaculate. Just brilliantly, brilliantly written.

I hope my craft will be as good as that one day.

Goodfellas - "Now go home and get your f*cking shinebox!"

I can't go to sleep....

 (from the FreakingNews.com, by johnx1)

I've been sleeping weird for the last few days. I'm not sure if it has something to do with my travel to LA last weekend. Well actually, it does, and not for jet lag reasons.

My mind is just wired. I'm anxious to prove myself. I don't want to rush my material but at the same time, I want to make sure I'm using every possible moment to enhance my craft and push me to the next level. I go to bed with my mind buzzing with ideas and possibilities. Go to bed late, wake up early. Think a little more, jot some stuff down. Then back to bed for a few hours then up again for the day.

All in the quest of greatness. lol. Like Common said, one day it will all make sense. 

and that brings me to some Wu-tang:

Wu-Tang ft Isaac Hayes - I Can't Go To Sleep

what do you get when you combine my favorite Isaac Hayes tune with the stylistics of the Wu? Well, you get epicness. I'm feeling very much like Ghost right now. Crying and rapping at the same time, lol. How can you NOT feel Ghost?! one of my favorite Ghostface verses.

"peace to Biggie, 2Pac, Big L and Big Pun..."

Maybe if I get a pair of those "wujamas" (Wu-tang pajamas) I'll sleep better.

Off to an excellent start!

(this image does not belong to me. Just putting it up to illustrate a point.)

So I wrote the first five pages of my first feature ever! and it feels GREAT! I realize there will be many revisions but I can't help but love what I've already written. lol.

Since this is my first post, I will start it off with a bit of hip hop.

Nas - Take It in Blood Part 2

There are a lot of great rappers, but Nas is my favorite of all time. Few emcees can touch his level of imagination and clarity IMO. Definitely an inspiration for me when I approach the craft of writing. Plus my screenplay deals with blood in a very unique way.

Which is better, the "Take It in Blood" off the It Was Written CD, or part 2? Personally, I feel Part 2 more. It's just more....raw. The first is more of smooth gangsta feel, which is great. But I like the added edge in part 2. I feel like Nas was just blacking out when he was rhyming. Plus the chorus is better.