Haven’t done one of these in awhile (and looking at my blog stats it seems that the Headphone Music posts were some of the most viewed, I guess because the artists and / or songs featured in the content came up in more Google searches than your typical obscure THAT REAL SCHITT post). Anyway, let’s get to it as I let y’all know what I’ve been rockin’ on my iPhone and iPad recently (the stuff I don’t mind mentioning, anyway… yeah, I’m still on my Secret Squirrel / Morocco Mole for real)-
Soundsci – Soundsational lp – fantastic concept featuring only samples from obscure soul man Mike James Kirkland‘s “Don’t Sell Your Soul” anthology (music from back when he was doin’ it as the frontman for Mike And The Censations) and certified real-schitt bars courtesy of super rappers Soundsci. Really good rhyming and production on pretty much every single song- no fast forwarding necessary.
FIrst Words – All Day Breakfast lp – another great project from the producer who must never sleep Jorun Bombay. Feel-good rap schitt, like eating bacon for every meal. Another one where every song is nice but my joints would be “Bamtronix” and especially “Norma Loves Her Gin”.
Seeds Of Fulfillment – self titled lp – One of those little obscure albums in my collection that’s damn good but doesn’t get mentioned by many people. 70’s jazz with a smooth sound (as opposed to “smooth jazz” – there’s a difference), I just put it in digital form before I sold it and gave it a good listen probably for the first time in all the fifteen years or so that I had it. Might not be everybody’s thing, but this is the kind of stuff I play while I’m cleaning the house on a Saturday.
Total Experience – Contradiction
Superior Elevation – Don’t Let Go Babe
Diddy’s featuring Paige Douglas -My Special Love
Rabbits & Carrots – Soul Latino lp
Peter Wolf – A Change In My Life lp
Ghettosocks – Everyday Apocalypse featuring Timbuktu – Two of my favorite emcees ripping an insane track by The Process (Jonny Cuba and Ollie Teeba 2/5’s of the aforementioned Soundsci) totally to shreds. And thanks for the instro Ollie!
Kanye West – Yeezus lp – Yeah, I’m sayin’ it. I know a lot of people, be they mainstream or underground rap fans, are NOT feelin’ Ye’s latest experiment. For various reasons. I’m gonna tell you, I really believe history is gonna look at this album differently than people are seeing it / hearing it right now. Maybe I just like it when people make music that screams “I don’t give a F*** what y’all think about it!”, which Kanye clearly did NOT when he put out an album like “Yeezus”. And I respect when people have the courage to take music to new uncharted territories, and I ABSOLUTELY feel that Ye, with the very important help of the legendary Rick Rubin, did that here. Is the result something that you really want to listen to? I don’t know, maybe not. But I like where this record is coming from- time will only tell where it ends up going as far as history is concerned.
DJ Format & Phill Most Chill – The Foremost lp – oops, probably not supposed to mention this yet. Yikes! Oh well, y’all better get ready for it because it’s gonna be caving your whole world in very soon. VERY soon. Get ready. And in case you didn’t know already- DJ Format is a BEAST.
Kendrick Lamar’s verse that everybody was talking about on whatever that song was – Actually, no, this wasn’t in my headphones in mid- September or any other time. Just thought I’d mention it since everybody else had something to say about it- I didn’t want to be left out of the party. No dis to Kendrick, he’s a very talented dude (no old man hate here).