Jeru the Damaja - Wrath of the Math (1996)

"this album was created to SAVE hip-hop and the minds of the people who listen to it"

so it says in the liner notes and so i introduce the sophomore album of Jeru the Damaja produced entirely by the amazing DJ Premier. Premo laces up some funk nuggets on this album which Jeru thoroughly rips apart, torches and smokes. Like his debut album Jeru brings the conscious lyrics and never settles into any hip-hop stereotypes. Premier brings those characteristic boom bap drums and from listening to the beats on the album it is easy to see why Premo is Premo. Diving in...

First five tracks are all great especially, "The Frustrated Nigga" & "Whatever."

On "The Frustrated Nigga" when that guitar, or whatever that is, kicks a second after Jeru starts flowin theres not much you can do but let that head start noddin. Flowin without fear because yaa know

"nothin can scare a nigga, after 400 years of this shit."

"Bullshit" is one of many tracks on this album throwing some satire at money grubbing, materialism but on this track Jeru does it by rapping as if he has become what he most loathes in some kind of funky nightmare soundtracked by DJ Premier.

"Whatever" has a mellow ass beat with the topic of not getting dragged down by all the wackness. Whatever ya do make it clever. I mostly just like that vocal sample Premo uses "and to all ya'll crews.... whatever" good ass diss stinging like nettle

I got to say that my least favorite track on this album is pretty easy for me to choose. I just can't get into the beat for "Physical Stamina (ft. Afu-Ra)" it's a little robotic and eclectic for me.

"One Day" is about how puff daddy kidnapped "hip-hop"

Pretty much the sole reason I made this post about this album is because I've been diggin "Me or the Papes" so damn much. This beat right here is ridiculous and that piano loop just drives me nuts all day. from just thinking in my head how it sounds, it gets me smiling and thinking about some silly ass chick tryin to use me and me just laughing her away from me. silly imaginary skanks. if you gain anything from this album let it be that if you play this song when I'm around I'll melt.

Ending with "invasion" about racial profiling cops. even though I love cops to death, I somehow still like this track. especially because of that outro beat with that nice orchestral loop or wind section or something.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Jeru the Damaja - Wrath of the Math (1996)

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1	"Wrath of the Math"
2	"The Frustrated Nigga"
3	"Black Cowboys"
4	"The Bullshit"
5	"Whatever"
6	"Physical Stamina"
7	"One Day"
8	"Revenge of the Prophet (Part 5)"
9	"Scientifical Madness"
10	"Not the Average"
11	"Me or the Papes"
12	"How I'm Livin'"
13	"Too Perverted"
14	"Ya Playin' Yaself"
15	"Invasion"

Slum Village - Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1

This here was a released in 1997 and is the debut album of Slum Village. Jay Dee, T3, and Baatin from Detroit all flow with impressive mic control over some of the smoothest and earliest J Dilla beats released. This album is part demo so it has that vibe but it is filled with awesome tracks. I think that almost anyone can find a favorite track on this album.

At this moment "I Don't Know"........

Perfect use of James Brown vocal samples throughout the the track intertwined with smooth flows along mellow groovin beats with those Dilla drums.




or "Rock Stuff"

Short but sweet . Savage song structure and some burnin flows "fuckin up instrumentals." Hard and bangin' over sweet guitar or vibe samples? who can tell me? keyboard!? i think thats what it is.

or maybe its "Beej en em"......

Slum Village - Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1

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remixed by DJ Troubl-A Journey Into Fresh Diggin'-Qu@sim0t0 Meets Hisself

This my dear sir, is a very well put together mix of source samples, cuts, Madlib/Quaz flows, and plain good music. This mix is perfect for the Madlib/Quaz fan weaving together original Quaz material and original samples seemlessly and is best when listened to from start to finish. Enjoy.

1. Intro VAST AIR “Look mom no hands”
2. QUAS “Dinosaur Brain Beat” Original Sample (SCRATCH “Soulfly”) Not sure of this one??!
3. DJ DESIGN “Sparkdala”
4. QUAS “Microphone Mathematics Remix”
5. QUAS “Microphone Mathematics” Original sample (DON CHERRY “Complete Communion”)
6. QUAS “Come on feet Remix” Part 1
7. QUAS “Come on feet Remix” Original Sample (Melvin Van Peebles “Cmon Feet”)
8. QUAS “Come On Feet Remix” Part 2
9. QUAS “Come on feet remix” Original Sample (ROY AYERS “Sensitive”)
10. QUAS “Come on feet”
11. QUAS “Come on feet” Original Sample (ALAIN GORAGUER “La planete sauvage DVD!!”)
12. QUAS “Loop Digga” (part 1)
13. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (IMPRESSIONS “on the moves”)
14. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (RONNIE LAWS “Tidal Waves”)
15. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (GALT MC DERMOT “Harlem Medley”)
16. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (ONENESS OF JUJU “Some Breakbeat on African Rhythms LP”)
17. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (SON AND DAUGHTERS OF LITE “Darkuman Junction”)
18. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (KOOL AND THE GANG “North East South West”)
19. QUAS “Loop digga” Part 2
20. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (ELECTRIC PRUNES “Holy Are You”)
21. QUAS “Loop digga” Part 3
22. QUAS “Loop digga” (DAVID AXELROD “A Divine Image”)
23. QUAS “Loop digga” Original Sample (EUGENE MC DANIEL “Supermarket blues”)
24. QUAS “Blitz”
25. QUAS “Return Of The Loopdigga”
26. BEATLESS “Dominant”
27. LOOTPACK “20 Questions”
28. DECLAIME “Don’t Trip”
29. QUAS “Discipline 99 Part 0″
30. QUAS “Astronaut”
31. QUAS “Astronaut” Original Sample (JOHN DANKWORTH “Return From Ashes”)
32. LOOTPACK “Answer” Original Sample (”LEE MASON “Shaddy Blues”)
33. QUAS”Boom Music” Original Sample (SAM & DAVE “?!”)
34. QUAS “MHB’s” Original Sample (KOOL AND THE GANG “Little Children”)
35. QUAS “Discipline 99″
36. QUAS “Discipline 99″ Original Sample (GALT MAC DERMOT “Harlem Medley”)
37. QUAS “24-7″
38. QUAS “24-7″ Original Sample (DELLS “When You’re Alone”)
39. QUAS “Low Class Conspiracy” Original Sample (JIMMY SMITH & WES MONTGOMERY “Mellow Mood”)
40. QUAS “The Unseen” Original Sample (DAVID AXELROD “The Signs Part2″)
41. QUAS “The Unseen”
42. QUAS “The Unseen” Original Sample (9Th CREATION “Bubble Gum”)
43. QUAS “Realize” Original Sample (ACCADE “Accade A Bali”)
44. QUAS “Green Power” Original Sample (BOBBY LYLE “Inner Space”)
45. QUAS “Green Power” Original Sample (MANDRILL “Khidja”)
46. QUAS “B.S” Original Sample (IGOR KANTER & WILLIAM LOOSE “Cherry, Harry & Raquel”)
47. QUAS “Hittin Hooks”
48. MADVILLAIN “Shadows Of Tomorrow”
49. KING BRITT “Spaces”
50. QUAS “Broad Factor Troubl’ Mix”
51. BEATLESS “Rock on”
52. JAYLIB “Strip Club”
53. JAYLIB “Strip Club” Original Sample (JACO PASTORIUS “Opus Pocus”) …And Back to “Strip Club”
54. MADVILLAIN “America’s Most Blunted”
55. QUAS “Brainasorus”

DJ Shadow

Heard of DJ Shadow? Hip/Hop producer and DJ. Excellent producer and DJ. Always brings some large beats to the table. Sequences them up so funky. Here are 3 EPs of his featuring some material that you might not have heard before and some that you might have. Two of these EPs, High Noon and Stem feature some tracks that appear on Shadow's debut Endtroducing... while the third, Lost & Found (S.F.L.)/Kemuri, is a split EP featuring the Japanese DJ, DJ Krush on the latter track. Definitely some gems in here.

"High Noon" is a sweet track featuring a guitar riff which drops out to a solid break and keys section. A fairly typical DJ Shadow instrumental which in my opinion is most often a good thing cuz at least you'll be able to hear some awesome drums.

The vocal sample in "Devil's Advocate (Heaven v. Hell - Bonus Beat)" says it all. It's all about the beat on this track. Many various other instruments and sounds come into this track but it is the drums that keep it going and when the track strips down to solely drums the track really stands out.

"Stem" features some more electronic sounding beats. The other version of stem, "Long Stem" uses part of the sample from "Organ Donor" and is a good alternate mix to the original. Much more drawn out and without the enormous drums in the original. Upgrade IMO. "Red Bus Needs To Leave" is once again another chance for DJ Shadow to show off his drum sequencing skills. Finally "Why Hip Hop Sucks In '96/Soup" feature the same beat but with different vocal samples. This time I'd have to favor the album cut.

The final EP features the awesome DJ Krush and you can hear his influence in both his cut and Shadow's. I'd have to say that DJ Krush's track gets my head nodding quicker but Shadow's track on this EP is one of my favorites of all 3 EPs.

Overall just a bunch of solid tracks from a couple solid EPs by a couple solid artists.

DJ Shadow - Stem, High Noon, Lost & Found (S.F.L.)/Kemuri

also more DJ Krush! His album Holonic which has the track "Kemuri." Check him out. A DJ from the other side of the Pacific.



DJ Krush - Holonic

or support the artist and:

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1. Forward

2. Anticipation

3. Yeah

4. What's Behind Darkness

5. Freestyle 1

6. To Be Continued

7. Fucked-Up Pendulum

8. Freestyle 2

9. Am3:00tyo

10. Duality

11. Light (Can You See It)

12. Dig This Vibe

13. Temps

14. Only the Strong Survive

15. Real

16. Shin-Sekai

17. Kemuri

18. Bypath -- Would You Take It?

19. Skin Against Skin

A Yes Yes Ya'll (Madvillain introduces you to Four Tet)

Madvillain-Great Day (Remix by Four-Tet)
Ya'll know Madvillain right? Well ya'll best be knowin about the producer Four-Tet cuz its for your own good. And a nice easy way for all ya'll to do this is through a remix by the producer Four-Tet of the Madvillain track "Great Day"? Make sense? So ya'll should take a listen to this sick track because it is my favorite track off of the Four-Tet Remixes of Madvillain EP. The song builds incredibly and is powerful shit with some phatty breaks ya'll.

Listen to it/Download it

Now that ya'll know who Four-Tet is and what he's about, here is his album "Pause."

Four Tet - Pause (2001)

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1. "Glue of the World" – 5:02
2. "Twenty Three" – 3:24
   
3. "Harmony One" – 1:41
4. "Parks" – 6:03
5. "Leila Came Round and We Watched a Video" – 1:39
6. "Untangle" – 4:36
7. "Everything Is Alright" – 2:31
8. "No More Mosquitoes" – 3:39
9. "Tangle" – 3:44
10. "You Could Ruin My Day" – 7:03
11. "Hilarious Movie of the 90s" – 3:29

Project Polaroid - Project Polaroid (2006)

Comprised of Kool Keith (of Dr. Octagon) and TOMC3, Project Polaroid is one of my favorite Kool Keith releases. The production is similar in style to Dan the Automator so the album does end up sounding somewhat like Octagonecolagyst and that is definitely not a bad thing in my opinion.

The "Project Polaroid (Intro)" sets off the album right. Just from the intro you can get a sense of Kool Keith's lyrical style but mainly TOMC3's beatmaking and scratching skills. After about the 1:20 mark the track is an instrumental featuring TOMC3 on the wheels of steel and he tears it up. Solid. Real phat drums.

"Diamond District" has got that groovy bass line goin for it and Kool Keith just sounds so damn mellow on the mic. His flow is so relaxed and he drops creative ass lines that no one else could pull off.

My epidemic is formatted with static dramatic
The baddest P.I. supreme, P.I. with steam
The 104th Street walker, a.k.a. beat walker
The sharp unique walker
Overtonin drinkin Corona, sidestep a evolution scheme
Pro-calistheticssss... boost, credits from the duration
Illustration tough, illustration rough
The plaid stay sharp as a pencil, designed with a 3-inch
cuff
Operating drastically, I still active be
And octave see ozone
I'm comin through Technic trebles and pro tones
Actually in pro tone

"Rhyme That Quit" is similar in structure to the intro in that it starts with a flow and then breaks off into some scratching. Keith raps about a wack MC who is pushing his rhymes up a hill but his rhymes quit on him and roll back and crush him. Interesting topic and sick choir samples for the beat.

"Midwestern Shoe Calhoun" is another solid track with some piano and guitar samples. I just wish TOMC3 would loop that sick ass electric guitar loop a little bit more. It loops 2 times then disappears and I wish it would stay longer. The outro also features samples from that tight movie with Robin Williams in it "One Hour Photo."

I was impressed by the solid performance throughout by Kool Keith and this release helped restore my faith in Kool Keith after his more recent upsets. The production on this album is a departure from the style that Keith has been pursuing since Dr. Octagon and I like the direction that Project Polaroid is heading in. Good shit from TOMC3 and Kool Keith.

Project Polaroid - Project Polaroid (2006)

or support the artist and:

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1. "Project Polaroid (intro)"
2. "Space 8000"
3. "Talk to the Romans"
4. "Mechanical Mechanix feat. Prince Po"
5. "I’m Libra"
6. "Diamond District"
7. "Rhyme That Quit"
8. "Clubber Lang feat. Motion Man"
9. "Uphill.....Strange"
10. "Digital Engineering"
11. "The Overviewer"
12. "Feel Me feat. Roughneck Jihad"
13. "Midwestern Shoe Calhoun"
14. "Photo Shop (outro)"

The Beta Band - The Three E.P.s (1998)

The Beta Band is a scottish group of fellows whose career together lasted from 1996-2004 with a discography comprised of three E.P.s and three L.P.s. This album is a collection of their first three releases (which by the album title you could probably speculate were E.P.s)

• Champion Versions (1997)
• The Patty Patty Sound (1998)
• Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos (1998)

One of my favorite tracks on this compilation is the first song "Dry the Rain." The Beta Band are often labeled folk-hop for their blend of mellow acoustic guitars and sick drum beats and "Dry the Rain is a very good display of the Beta Band's overall style. Starting off with some sick guitar and shakers until around the two minute mark those drums kick in and then it just keeps building. Adding in more and more guitar tracks more and more shit starts happening and the whole track seems to start swelling up and then around 3:30 that bass gets damn funky and then those horns come in and then the final layer comes which is the perfectly suiting lyrical refrain:

If there's something inside that you wanna say
You can say it out loud it will be okay
I will be alright, I will be your light
I will be your light, I will be your light

I need love
I need love

That build up is just so fucking religious at the end it makes the weight of the world feel just a little bit lighter.

"I Know" is a mellow song with a funky tambourine drum loop some guitar and some beeping sounds and thats about it and it rocks the whole way through.

"Dog Got A Bone" has no phat drums but does have a cool accordion sounding instrument and a bunch of vocal tracks on it. You can't really complain because the harmonica solo comes in after the three minute mark somewhere and the vocal tracks keep on layering and building up. A real chill track that builds up nicely without relying on the funky drumming.

"Monolith" is one trippy ass song that explores multiple genres. The beginning starts off with some ambient sounds and some vocal loops. Then the drums fade in and out and the song even goes into a Middle Eastern or Indian sounding beat and then they use like some scratched up dog bark to create the beat around 12 or 13 minutes. Sick percussion throughout this track.

"She's The One For Me" builds up until the 4 minute area and then those crazy altered pitches keep repeating the song title while the drums and guitar just go off. Good shit right here.

Overall, the Beta Band are a very experimental and creative genre defying band that explores many new structures, styles, and sounds. I think that my favorite E.P. at this time would probably be their first, Champion Verses, because lots of my favorite songs on the album are from this E.P.

The Beta Band - The Three E.P.s (1998)

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1. "Dry the Rain" – 6:05 (Champion Versions)
   
2. "I Know" – 3:58 (Champion Versions)
   
3. "B + A" – 6:35 (Champion Versions)
4. "Dogs Got a Bone" – 5:58 (Champion Versions)
5. "Inner Meet Me" – 6:20 (The Patty Patty Sound)
6. "The House Song" – 7:15 (The Patty Patty Sound)
7. "Monolith" – 15:48 (The Patty Patty Sound)
   
8. "She's the One" – 8:21 (The Patty Patty Sound)
   
9. "Push It Out" – 5:22 (Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos)
10. "It's Over" – 3:50 (Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos)
11. "Dr. Baker" – 4:08 (Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos)
12. "Needles in My Eyes" – 4:32 (Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos)