Ronnie Reese (ronnier@tunes.com)
Tue, 28 Sep 1999 11:33:33 -0500
>what up all. I'm fiendin for some FRESH hip hop... i need my cure
>Something high on dopeness scale is required !
Damn...this could take all day! Here's some of the sh*t I've been feeling as
of late:
West coast underground (Dilated Peoples, Styles of Beyond, Superstar
Quamallah, Lootpack...f*ck it...damn near anything on ABB records!). THIS is
hip-hop...sinister production (often courtesy of Ev of Dilated Peoples,
Kutmasta Kurt, Beat Junkies) and mind-shattering lyrics...not conscious per
se, but more like, "I'm a dope MC, and this is how dope MCs rhyme." These
cats avoid wackness at all costs. Defari, Ras Kass (perhaps my favorite MC),
Xzibit...the left coast is just TOO RAW!!!
I have to throw Hiero and the Sound Providers in here, too. I'm not sure if
the Sound Providers are exclusively West Coast, but they're on ABB. Hiero is
not, but they're still dope...Taj, Del, Casual ("bit so hard I thought the
sh*t was a quote..."), all highly recommended.
I'm not feeling anything out of the South with the exception of Goodie Mob
and Outkast. That's more commercial, though. I still believe the underground
is where it's at (despite working for TheSource.com, but that's another
matter altogether:), but even that has its disadvantages. A lot of cats are
underground because they're sh*t isn't very good.
My town, Chicago...All Natural, Eratik Statik, Common (who), Rubberoom,
Molemen...all different flavors, but all dope. All Nat, ES and Com are more
true to traditional hip-hop...Com is arguably one the the best MCs in the
business. Rubberoom's known for the abstract, deep-bass production, and
Molemen are Chicago to the fullest. Don't sleep on J.U.I.C.E. either...mad
freestyles.
Out East, there's so much raw sh*t, it's ridiculous. Personally, label-wise,
RAWKUS (High & Mighty out now, Reflection Eternal, Pharoah Monche, Mos Def
soon) and DIGGIN' IN THE CRATES are prime. Remember that anything DJ Premier
and Pete Rock touch turns to gold, but seek out some lesser-known producers
too. Their beats are often ill because of their minimalist approach to
production. Shawn J. Period (Rawkus) is a good example. Big ups to DJ Spinna
as well. In Philly, the Roots rule, but if you haven't heard of them yet,
don't sleep on the Mountain Brothers. Please. Minimal samples, hellish
beats, and tight true-to-original-hip-hop lyrics. That's M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N
B-R-O-T-H-E-R-S.
Seeing as how I'm on the clock, I'm dropping our URL to make it legit. The
printed mag has received much criticism for it's approach to hip-hop, but
some of us in the cyber world are holding true. Features up now include an
ill Rawkus video, footage/interviews of DJ Shortkut(Skratch Piklz) and
Dilated Peoples (separate), and live footage of a Common/Kweli performance
here in Chicago...special appearance by Special Ed.
http://thesource.tunes.com/sections/home/text/default.asp
Questions, comments, jokes and backhand slaps are welcome!
Ronnie
***********************************************************************
Ronnie L. Reese
Tunes.com
312-642-7560, ext. 209
312-642-0616 (fax)
http://www.tunes.com
http://www.rollingstone.com
http://www.downbeatjazz.com
http://www.thesource.com
http://www.rsradio.com
"Music is a journey...the journey is endless..." --Sun Ra
"I mean...people say you can get more flies with honey than you can with
vinegar, but flies are always hanging out around garbage and sh*t, so I
don't really understand how that works..." --Gustafo Jimien
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Tue Sep 28 1999 - 18:54:24 MET DST