My dude Action Bronson has been on heaaaaavy rotation in my household. Big, fat white guy with a cool name who sounds like Ghostface Killah = #winning. Peep the record below, and hit the jump for more sweet action from Action...
Friday, April 22, 2011
while u were sleepin'...
My dude Action Bronson has been on heaaaaavy rotation in my household. Big, fat white guy with a cool name who sounds like Ghostface Killah = #winning. Peep the record below, and hit the jump for more sweet action from Action...
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
while u were sleepin'...
Kendrick Lamar released the best track I've heard from the left side of the country in a long time. J. Cole (the producer) with the assist.
Monday, April 11, 2011
while u were sleepin'...
Sade and Jay-Z became the most random pairing I've heard on a track this year. And, not that I'm surprised, everything clicks like a motherfucker.
Just like my old man told me when I was a kid, trying to understand who this "Say-ed" chick was: "This is grown folks music, son. You'll understand when you're older".
Word, Pops... Word.
Just like my old man told me when I was a kid, trying to understand who this "Say-ed" chick was: "This is grown folks music, son. You'll understand when you're older".
Word, Pops... Word.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
while you were sleepin'...
J. Cole showed another reason why his album is my most anticipated of 2011... Especially now that Saigon dropped (still can't believe I'm saying that).
while you were sleepin...
I swacked this from Mr. Greens twitter (@greenhiphop)...
Really wanna learn to do this.
Mr. Green "Live from the Bedroom" Part 2 from Mr. Green on Vimeo.
Really wanna learn to do this.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
while you were sleepin'...
Saigon went all opposite-of-Detox on us and finally shared The Greatest Story Never Told...
...and what a story it is! I've had a week to soak it in now, giving it more spins than a Las Vegas roulette table, and I can honestly say that this album, although years late (and much less likely to be listened to at the same frequency I would've listened to it back then, given my current music tastes), has still managed to be right on time.
In case you don't know me, and you probably do if you're checking this site, you already know that Saigon is, and has been, one of my favorite rappers since first hearing him 10+ years ago on the Alchemist-produced track "Say Yes". For years I've marveled at his talent, his ability to blend that ruff, rugged, and raw with socially aware rhymes, uplifting anthems, and even a stint as an actor on the hit TV show Entourage. His mixtapes, which he has quite a few of, largely in part are better than most emcees albums. Warning Shots is a classic, and All In A Days Work, a collaborative effort he completed in just 24 hours with producer Statik Selektah, was one of my favorites of 2009. The point is, Saigon has been "on the come up" for far too long, and the lack a real debut album, in my opinion, is the only thing that's kept him from being a name that holds some serious weight in the hiphop community.
<Enter super-producer Just Blaze, a true hiphop heavyweight in every respect>
Rumors swirled a few years back that Just and Saigon had teamed up to finally tell TGSNT and when the single "Come On Baby" was released, Saigon (with the help of Jay-Z) was once again at hiphop's forefront...only to mysteriously fade into oblivion yet again shortly thereafter. As more time passed, and nothing more than a blurb, snippet, or clip kept the albums hopes alive, many, including myself, had accepted the fact that Saigon had probably missed his opportunity. And when Warning Shots 2 was released in late 2009 to unanimously terrible reviews, it was clear that Sai's ship had sailed. Once again, Saigon had disappeared and this time it felt like forever.
2010 marked the beginning of another humdrum year in hiphop, and naturally, being older and more mature, my ear continued to look elsewhere for stimulation. Around summertime I got word that TGSNT was being talked about again, and surprised even myself when I realized that I just didn't care anymore. "Jesus himself will arrive before that album does," I remember thinking. It just wasn't worth getting excited about again. My favorite rapper from Mooseknuckle, NY was full of shit and it was OVER.
...Until it wasn't.
Talks picked up, tweets got tweeted, articles got written, leaks got leaked, and suddenly it's February 2011. The Greatest Story Never Told was days away and I couldn't take it! So I downloaded a leak...I downloaded several, actually, until coming across a piss poor copy of a collection of songs that I had never heard from Saigon. The quality was bad, tracks were cut off in weird places, there was no apparent order, but goddamn was I jacked up! I was a believer again, this album was actually dropping.
Tuesday the 15th arrived and I took my broke ass down to F.Y.E. and bought the "Deluxe Edition" of The Greatest Story Never Told; the first cd I've purchased since Jay-Z's American Gangster. After sliding it in the disc changer in my truck and listening to the first 2 tracks, it was apparent that I was in for a hell of a ride, no pun intended. The beats were thumping, Sai's rhymes on point. Best of all, this "great story" I had been waiting years to be told was actually just that--A STORY. I love concept albums, and this one, the story of an incarcerated rapper being locked up, pushed down, and held back, is metaphorical magic, my friends. Then track number 3, "Come On Baby" came on, and it was like I had never heard it before...THIS was where and how this song was meant to be heard! And when I realized that Saigon's first verse had actually been changed, that too made me revel in how great this experience was shaping up to be. Song after song, bar after bar, I was in awe: Not because this album was anything new or different, but because it was the same! Saigon, after all the bullshit, after all the politics and pushbacks, was the same! His sound, more polished than ever before, thanks to Just Blaze.
After the last track on the album faded out, I got to thinking about something I've thought about 100 times before: Everybody these days is so determined to be the next big thing, start the next new trend or invent the next hot dance. And while that's cool, and we all like new things, there are very few who actually excel at this. Kanye West clearly comes to mind in the rap world (did I mention he also produces on this album?), but other than him, who's really doing anything that groundbreaking? No one. Even more rare, perhaps, are the guys who pay homage and stay true to themselves and their music. Well, Saigon is one of those guys, ladies and gentlemen, and The Greatest Story Never Told is proof of this. It is a testament to hiphop music, a dedication to his true fans, and an undeniable reminder that "good things come to those who wait".
The wait is over. Congratualtions, Saigiddy.
4.5 out of 5
In case you don't know me, and you probably do if you're checking this site, you already know that Saigon is, and has been, one of my favorite rappers since first hearing him 10+ years ago on the Alchemist-produced track "Say Yes". For years I've marveled at his talent, his ability to blend that ruff, rugged, and raw with socially aware rhymes, uplifting anthems, and even a stint as an actor on the hit TV show Entourage. His mixtapes, which he has quite a few of, largely in part are better than most emcees albums. Warning Shots is a classic, and All In A Days Work, a collaborative effort he completed in just 24 hours with producer Statik Selektah, was one of my favorites of 2009. The point is, Saigon has been "on the come up" for far too long, and the lack a real debut album, in my opinion, is the only thing that's kept him from being a name that holds some serious weight in the hiphop community.
<Enter super-producer Just Blaze, a true hiphop heavyweight in every respect>
Rumors swirled a few years back that Just and Saigon had teamed up to finally tell TGSNT and when the single "Come On Baby" was released, Saigon (with the help of Jay-Z) was once again at hiphop's forefront...only to mysteriously fade into oblivion yet again shortly thereafter. As more time passed, and nothing more than a blurb, snippet, or clip kept the albums hopes alive, many, including myself, had accepted the fact that Saigon had probably missed his opportunity. And when Warning Shots 2 was released in late 2009 to unanimously terrible reviews, it was clear that Sai's ship had sailed. Once again, Saigon had disappeared and this time it felt like forever.
2010 marked the beginning of another humdrum year in hiphop, and naturally, being older and more mature, my ear continued to look elsewhere for stimulation. Around summertime I got word that TGSNT was being talked about again, and surprised even myself when I realized that I just didn't care anymore. "Jesus himself will arrive before that album does," I remember thinking. It just wasn't worth getting excited about again. My favorite rapper from Mooseknuckle, NY was full of shit and it was OVER.
...Until it wasn't.
Talks picked up, tweets got tweeted, articles got written, leaks got leaked, and suddenly it's February 2011. The Greatest Story Never Told was days away and I couldn't take it! So I downloaded a leak...I downloaded several, actually, until coming across a piss poor copy of a collection of songs that I had never heard from Saigon. The quality was bad, tracks were cut off in weird places, there was no apparent order, but goddamn was I jacked up! I was a believer again, this album was actually dropping.
Tuesday the 15th arrived and I took my broke ass down to F.Y.E. and bought the "Deluxe Edition" of The Greatest Story Never Told; the first cd I've purchased since Jay-Z's American Gangster. After sliding it in the disc changer in my truck and listening to the first 2 tracks, it was apparent that I was in for a hell of a ride, no pun intended. The beats were thumping, Sai's rhymes on point. Best of all, this "great story" I had been waiting years to be told was actually just that--A STORY. I love concept albums, and this one, the story of an incarcerated rapper being locked up, pushed down, and held back, is metaphorical magic, my friends. Then track number 3, "Come On Baby" came on, and it was like I had never heard it before...THIS was where and how this song was meant to be heard! And when I realized that Saigon's first verse had actually been changed, that too made me revel in how great this experience was shaping up to be. Song after song, bar after bar, I was in awe: Not because this album was anything new or different, but because it was the same! Saigon, after all the bullshit, after all the politics and pushbacks, was the same! His sound, more polished than ever before, thanks to Just Blaze.
After the last track on the album faded out, I got to thinking about something I've thought about 100 times before: Everybody these days is so determined to be the next big thing, start the next new trend or invent the next hot dance. And while that's cool, and we all like new things, there are very few who actually excel at this. Kanye West clearly comes to mind in the rap world (did I mention he also produces on this album?), but other than him, who's really doing anything that groundbreaking? No one. Even more rare, perhaps, are the guys who pay homage and stay true to themselves and their music. Well, Saigon is one of those guys, ladies and gentlemen, and The Greatest Story Never Told is proof of this. It is a testament to hiphop music, a dedication to his true fans, and an undeniable reminder that "good things come to those who wait".
The wait is over. Congratualtions, Saigiddy.
4.5 out of 5
Friday, February 11, 2011
while you were sleepin'...
Tyler the Creator "created" a very disturbing video.
Sick. In a very good way.
Sick. In a very good way.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
while you were sleepin'...
Producer Elite made the best beat I, and you, have heard in 2011. He also helped to keep this site from becoming my very own glorified youtube channel, which I definitely feel good about.
Jon Connor rides the track pretty impressively, but then again, those drums and that sample could bring back Chingy's career.
Basically, I say that to say this: WAKE UP! LISTEN TO THE DAMN SONG already!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
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