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Above the clouds
“Above the clouds” is the best Gang Starr song ever. I dare you to name a better one. I’ve been listening to some playlists while training for the ATT Marathon (coming up this weekend!) and this track came on. It was levitating. I looked for a video and I don’t think one was ever made…
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Dilla Time and 50 Years of Hip-Hop
Hip-hop turned 50 years old this year (August 11, 1973, is considered it’s birthday). My relationship with hip-hop started 30 years ago, but, like Common says, it’s the (longest) love of my life. There has been a lot going on to celebrate hip-hop this year. Here are some of my favorites.
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Music to rob banks too
Ritmo Machine is a collaboration between Cypress Hill’s percussionist Eric “Bobo” Correa and mix master Latin Bitman. I discovered it while listening to The Morning Show, with DJ John Richards describing it as “music to rob a bank to.” I can’t think of a better way to describe it; it’s that cool.
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Rakim’s melody
One of my recent books was Sweat the Technique by Rakim. Reading it prompted me to go back to the “quartet of classics” by Eric B and Rakim (they released four albums together before breaking up). Aside from the occasional track, I never really gave these albums a proper listen, my hip-hop addiction starting just…
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On The Miseducation of Eunice Waymon and supporting good things
Right now, I’m listening to the crazy good Nina Simone & Lauryn Hill mash-up album, The Miseducation of Eunice Waymon, from Amerigo Gazaway. It was released back in 2018 and hasn’t lost any of its shine. It’s incredible. It’s also free. I believe the world of music is a better place because of this project…
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Every moment, every day, you can decorate it in your own way
This lyric has been coming back and lifting me up recently. It’s from Elzhi and Georgia Anne Muldrow’s Every Moment from the outstanding album Zhigeist (one of my top albums of March).
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What I learned last week (#91)
Learned last week: The art of music sampling, the apple tartness continuum, every nuclear explosion of the last century, and more!
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What I learned last week (#78)
Learned last week: Walking is making a comeback, reading on the history of hip-hop, race-conscious things to say to your kids, and more!
Writing and drawings by Nick.
