As we get closer and closer to March Madness, and I whimper to the reverberations of confirmation that Little Brother will put out there last album this year I thought this would be a good time not only to start this series of articles called The Starting 5, but to focus this first edition on Groups in Hip-Hop. The premise of the series is simple, who/what would be my starting 5 in a particular category. So come with me as I unveil my Starting 5: The Group Edition.

Point Guard: A Tribe Called Quest
The Point Guard (PG) job is to distribute the ball, call the plays, see the court, control the tempo and when needed to, score (of course, depends on the player.) The ideal PG is fast AND quick, makes good decisions, and can spread the floor with his quicks and range. This position is embodied in the music of A Tribe Called Quest. When you thought they were going to sound a certain way, they sounded different. When you thought they would do this, they did something different. Each album they came with made folks take a new notice of who they were while never compromising quality. With music that was clearly influenced by blue lights and smokey evenings, and lyrics that were the product of dedication and the long lost ability to construct a rhyme that even at bar 40 still has relation to bar 1 while not being so complex you had to pause and rewind just to “Check The Rhyme”, this group is one of the standards of group mastery not only in Hip-Hop, but in music. When you think about what other groups ATCQ has brought us or touched, this choice becomes even clearer. There were the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul which with ATCQ formed the Native Tongues. You also had classic work with Leaders Of The New School, Mos Def, Common, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, and Black Sheep. Nuff’ said.

Shooting Guard: N.W.A.
Typically, one of the best fusions of offensive skill on the court, the Shooting Guard (SG) is often asked to be the first scoring option for the team. They tend to have the ability to slash or hit the jumper, they have some handle and can pass well, and are generally the ideal look outside of the paint. With the primary goal being offense, I have to go with N.W.A. I wrote about them before in Classic Material but I’m not sure you understand. This group is probably the toughest group on record, period. I don’t mean that in any colorful, creative way nor is there any cryptic meaning behind that choice. Simply put, nobody has come harder or more direct than N.W.A. The way they played the game, they influenced the ENTIRE Hip-Hop culture and STILL have lasting impact well after the group has since disbanded and lost a core member in Eazy-E. Disagree, but lets check out a few rappers you may know that were influenced by or involved in this group shall we? Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, The Game, Eminem, and 50 Cent to name a few. How are they connected? Before N.W.A. Made gangster cool to mainstream America, this type of thuggery was only known locally. Gunplay and lyrics were dating before, but now they were married. Drugs and the dark life of the hood were myths before, but now they were fact. You can debate it all you want, but the idea of what it meant to be black and what it meant to love this Hip-Hop was not understood by the outsiders until N.W.A. With their best defense being offense and offensive, I’d have no other group shooting the rock….

Small Forward: Outkast
We can debate this one, but in my opinion, the Small Forward or Shooting Guard is the most important position on the court. The SF has to be able to not just shoot the J, but play with his back to the basket. He needs to be able to handle the rock inside as well as make the open pass. He needs to be offensively capable as well as be defensively minded. Let’s not forget they often have to be able to get the rebound as well as lead the break. This position is for someone who can do whatever you need done. Insert Outkast here. For my money, Outkast is the greatest group of all time. From the moment they touched the mic and blessed us with “Player’s Ball” from the classic album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, it was undeniable that we were in the era of Outkast. If you look forward from that album, they went on to give us what is largely regarded as 3 more classic albums. It’s hard to argue with over 25 million albums sold and 6 Grammy Awards. As many groups and artists do, they are responsible for putting their city on the map, Atlanta. The flip side is that they put an entire region (The Dirty South) on the map as well. I have all of their music and had to chop some stuff out to make it fit on one CD to play in the car. I had that CD in there so long, I had to press the eject button SEVERAL times to get it out. I don’t have anything negative to say about them or the music at all and for those of you that slept on Speakerboxxx, your loss.

Power Forward: Run DMC
One of the two largest players on the court traditionally, the Power Forward (PF) may have more responsibility to score or rebound depending on the team and player skill set. Someone like a Tim Duncan is the Point Guard of the big men where someone like Bosh is more of a Shooting Guard up top. Either way, they have to be able to pick up the pieces, occasionally score, but at all times contest anything around the paint. Run DMC (the first mainstream rap supergroup) is the Tim Duncan of Hip-Hop Groups. They are consistent, seemingly un-hyped in most “greatest” discussions, but easily have carried the genre further than any other group in the game (similar to how many players have won rings with Duncan at PF). They are the alpha of groups success in Hip-Hop and one of the cornerstones of the very culture we adore. With a group of firsts that would challenge even the most stubborn critic, there is no denying the greatness of this group.

Center: Public Enemy
The Center is usually the largest and strongest player on the team. They are often asked to score inside 5 feet of the hoop, control any rebound and defend any shot taken in the same area. Of course there are variations a’la Shaq and Yao Ming, but the thing all successful centers have in common, the ability to dominate. With a focus on defense and defensive rebounding, no group is more of an obvious choice than Public Enemy. I don’t think there has ever been a more militant or socially conscious visible group in Hip-Hop than PE. Their focus was clearly set on the struggle and strife of the voice of Hip-Hop in a world that had us on mute. They weren’t the gangsters of the West Coast, the flashy, braggart thugs of the East Coast, the different jazzy sound of the Couth, nor the pop funboys of the genre that some other groups were. They were The Voice of a people, the Voice of a culture. Public Enemy probably helped sell as many leather Africa medallions as Run DMC did Adidas and Kangol Kid did Kangols. Before PE, we had no one to spearhead the lyrical Black Panther movement and say what we wanted to say in the same arena we wanted to say it. The music of PE in the music industry (largely controlled by the same people that oppress the common folks) was the collective fuck you to the bosses that had the knees on their knees on our neck when we got to work at 9:01am even though they knew about the accident on the highway and that you took that route to get to work.

Notable Subs: (PG) De La Soul, (SG) Little Brother, (SF) The Roots, (PF) Wu-Tang*, ( C) Blackstar

*there are two reasons WU is a sub and not a starter, 1) I don’t think they have near the accomplishments of any of the previous 5 mentioned, and 2) they weren’t as much as a they were a collection of artists…kinda like a label. That’s my opinion I guess, but I think RZA said something like this too.

Anyway, who are your starting 5?

The transition of Phonte to a singer (who’s Foreign Exchange is nominated for a Grammy this year) and the anticipation of Lil’ Wayne’s Rebirth Rock album, I’m looking for other transitions this year. Now, I’m not talking about transitions like Flavor Flav’s transition to singing on his new song, but those moves that have potential to be…well, good.

Brandy as (Rapper) Brand Nu:
In case you’ve missed it, Brandy is plotting on a serious comeback, if you want to call it that. Check her out on YouTube to catch her giving you flat out singing greatness with no tricks, music, or Auto-Tune. While her impromptu singing performances have people buzzing and remembering what a great pure voice she has, her rapping has this dog;s ears really perked up. The female emcee game is a HOV lane on a highway of single occupancy cars…WIDE OPEN. While Nicki Minaj is taking the attacks of sexsationalism, Brandy has an image that isn’t marred by the controversy that is a women and her embracing her sexuality. Here’s the real caveat to that…she’s pretty good. You can hear her on “Symphony” on Timberland’s Shock Value II. Brandy, if you are reading this, you have to make this happen. Folks are really checking for you to do this, and are eager to hear you and Rodney Jerkins hook up and give some heat to the game.
Example: Timbaland feat. Brand Nu, Attitude, & D.O.E. – “Symphony”

R.Kelly as MC Kellz:
Scandal aside, this man’s musical dexterity and ability are unrelenting. His typically sets the trends in the game and makes others try and do what he’s perfected. On his latest offering, “Crazy Night”, we hear MC Kellz do more of the rapping that he’s slowly been working into his albums. Never mind that its a melodic clone of “Pop Champagne” by Ron Browz, he’s not half bad with the lyrics. I’ve also heard that with the explosion known as his Trapped In the Closet series he’s toyed with the idea of producing a play that sings sentences like he did in that song. Color me curious as well as optimistic. I mean, we are talking about a guy that has made some off the wall shit sound good and become hits, just check his catalog for examples.
Example: R. Kelly feat. Rock City – “Crazy Night”

The Roots with (Singing) Black Thought:
We’ve all become used to the musical prowess of The Roots music and Thoughts ever mastery on the mic. They are no longer our dirty little secret as Jimmy Fallon nabbed them to be his house band on his Late Night talk show. From the first moment we heard Thought hit melodies on some of the sketches to the impressive renditions of guests movie and show themes, everyone else outside of Hip Hop was introduced to this band that can sing and play, and has a black front man. As I attempt to remove my bias from the equation, they have secretly become the real reason folks still tune in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we will hear Thought singing some slow song a ccapella or them taking on he vocal acrobatics of “Halo” anytime soon.
Example: The Roots – “How I Got Over”

Angel Lola Love as Lola Monroe:
Ok, so this transition isn’t completely new and since the competition is so thin that I feel like I’ve been hearing about this move forever? Anyway, Angel Lola Love used to be on the arms of various cats in videos and causing sticky pages for some in magazine spreads across the country. She’s decided that she wants to hang up the thong and be a emcee. To back this up, she’s even (supposedly) dropped some mixtapes out there. I’ve heard her flow, and she’s not bad. I’m just excited to see more visible female rappers in the game again, cause as you know, Saule Wright loves the ladies.
Example: Yo Gotti feat. Lola Monroe, Lil’ Boosie, & Trina – “5 Star Bitch (remix)”

Here is a mix that I’ve been working on – a late Christmas gift for our viewers. There are a total of 3 mixtapes below. The files are zip, so they just need to be extracted after downloading. And in case you’re wondering, that’s Brother Ali in the background during Paid Dues last March.

Disc 1: The Five Boroughs

1. Masta Ace(Brooklyn) & Edo G – Pass The Mic (f/ KRS-One) (Bronx)
2. KRS-One (Bronx) & Buckshot (Brooklyn) – Runnin’ Away (f/ Immortal Technique)(Harlem)
3. M.O.P. (Brooklyn) – Blow The Horns
4. Blaq Poet (Queens) – I-Gititin
5. Torae (Brooklyn) & Marco Polo – Hold Up (f/ Sean Price & Masta Ace) (Brooklyn)
6. RZA (Shaolin) – Whar (f/ Kool G Rap, Ghostface Killah & Tash Mahogany) (Queens)
7. Rakim (Long Island & Queens) – Holy Are U
8. O.C. (Brooklyn) & A.G. (Bronx) – Reality Is
9. Raekwon (Long Island)– Cold Outside (f/ Ghostface Killah & Suga Bang)
10. Raekwon (Shaolin) – Radiant Jewels (f/ Cormega & Sean Price) (Queens & Brooklyn)
11. Cormega (Queens) – Make it Clear
12. AZ (Brooklyn) – Money Makes The World Go Round
13. Raekwon (Staten Island)– Walk Wit Me
14. Jay-Z (Brooklyn)– Empire State Of Mind (f/ Alicia Keys)
15. Mos Def (Brooklyn) – History (f/ Talib Kweli) (Brooklyn)
16. Skyzoo (Brooklyn) – The Beautiful Decay
17. U-God (Shaolin) – Stomp Da Roach (f/ GZA & Scotty Wotty)
18. Method Man (Shaolin) & Redman – Diz Iz 4 All My Smokers
19. Joell Ortiz (Brooklyn) – BK Rican Ebonics
20. Jadakiss (Yonkers) – Letter To B.I.G. (Brooklyn) (f/ Faith Evans)
21. C-Rayz Walz (Bronx) – The Family Crest (Dedication To Gang Starr) (Brooklyn)
22. Saigon (Brooklyn) – Goodbye

Download: The Five Boroughs [Mixtape #1]

Disc 2: From The Bay & L.A. To Minneapolis

1. Soul Assassins – Classical (f/ Evidence & Sick Jacken)
2. The Alchemist – Therapy (f/ Evidence, Blu, Talib Kweli & Kid Cudi)
3. Brother Ali – Talkin’ My Shit
4. Toki Wright – The Feeling (f/ Brother Ali)
5. Zion I – Caged Bird Part One (f/ Brother Ali)
6. Gift Of Gab- Dreamin’ (f/ Del The Funky Homosapien & Brother Ali)
7. Del The Funky Homosapien – Get It Right Now!
8. Souls Of Mischief – Proper Aim
9. Abstract Rude – Nuff Fire
10. B-Real – Fire (f/ Damian Marley)
11. Zion I – Geek To The Beat
12. Felt – Bass For Your Truck
13. The Grouch & Eligh – Teach Me The Way
14. The Grouch & Eligh – Say G&E!
15. Eligh & Jo Wilkinson – By And By (f/ The Grouch & Paul Dateh)
16. Fashawn – Life As A Shorty (f/ J. Mitchel)
17. Blame One – Wonder Why (f/ Blu & Exile)
18. Atmosphere – They Always Know
19. Brother Ali – Tight Rope
20. P.O.S. – Goodbye

Download: From The Bay & L.A. To Minneapolis [Mixtape #2]

Disc 3: Everywhere Else

1. Slaughterhouse – Sound Off
2. Clipse – Door Man
3. Wale – Mirrors (f/ Bun B)
4. 810 – Bill Gates
5. CunninLynguists – The Park (Blue Sky Black Death Remix)
6. CunninLynguists – Never Come Down (The Brownie Song)
7. Tech N9ne – Strange Music Box (f/ Brotha Lynch Hung & Krizz Kaliko)
8. Eminem – 3am
9. Royce Da 5’9” – Murder
10. Royce Da 5’9” – Part Of Me
11. DOOM – Gazzillion Ear
12. CunninLynguists – Die For You (f/ Mr. SOS)
13. CunninLynguists – Broken Van (Thinking Of You) (f/ Mac Lethal)
14. Dela – How To Fish (f/ Reach)
15. Reks – Year Of The Showoff
16. K’Naan – Somalia
17. Mr. Lif – I Heard It Today
18. CunninLynguists – Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes) (f/ Slug)
19. Kid Cudi – Day N Night

Download: Everywhere Else [Mixtape #3]

I haven’t done a good job of putting you onto R&B lately like I should have, but with the Grammy’s around the corner, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about some of the nominiees. Now, there are way too many categories for R&B with them flipping in contemporary or traditional and all kinds of stuff to distinguish one from another. Me, I just want to talk about the music.

Anthony Hamilton – Garnering some much due respect and love for his work. If you see any interview, this dude is everyday people and he’s damn good at music. Since 2003, he’s put out 5 albums that are secretly must haves in the R&B collection of any real music lover. He sings and exemplifies the totality of bieng a true man and the dynamics of being that man and understanding feelings and relationships. I think he may split his noms with Maxwell, but he’s ahead of Maxwell as far as careers go in my book.

Maxwell – Now, I said that Anthony Hamilton was ahead…but according to sales, Maxwell just told me “bullshit”. The face of the neo-soul movement has had 3 of 4 studio albums go platinum and he’s less than 250k away from his 4th consecutive plaque. While BLACKsummers’night is a turn from his previous sound, he quietly put out the R&B album of the year…and it’s only 9 songs long. The scary part, “Pretty Wings” is a helluva song, and not even the best on the album. That award belongs to “Playing Possum”.

India.Arie – Admittedly, I’m biased. There is nothing elaborate about this statement, simply put, I love India Arie. She’s much more talented than you hear on her albums and I have had the pleasure of hearing her live, and I loved it. Her approach to the industry is admittedly underpromoted, underground, and strctly from the heart. She came to my college a few years back with NO advertisement outside of the local school paper. There were no commercials on the radio, no posters, no anything. Even more shocking was the cost…$10 bucks. Unfortunately, getting nommed and not winning a Grammy is know known as getting “India Arie’d” but lets look at the snubs: 2002-7noms no wins, 2003- 4 noms 2 wins, 2006 – 2noms no wins, 2007 – 3 noms no wins, 2008 – 1 nom no win, 2009 – 1 nom no win. So now we have her in 2010 with 3 noms. Unfortunately, she’s going against Maxwell for album of the year, Jamie Foxx and T.Pain for “Blame It”, and Foriegn Exchange for Urban Alternative Performance…whatever that is. I think she should win one, but I don’t know how when she’s going against such monsters as those. Understand this though, she doesn’t need a Grammy for you to appreciate this latest album.

Ledisi – Folks try and say that because she doesn’t look like the other ladies in the biz is the reason that she doesn’t get the shine she should. I don’t think that’s it. She has such a big talent, that in today’s music biz of put me in a box and package me doesn’t work for her. She can/does sing soul, jazz, and almost anything else that you can think of. On this album, she has gone very contemporary in comparison to her previous albums, but still manages to deliver one fantastic album. The most enjoyable revealation I got from this album was that she has now reached into the realm of Michelle Ferrell, the dopest female singer I’ve ever heard. I hate the phrase get your grown man/woman on, but Ledisi is the mascot for that thought process. If you are in the mood for something more in the jazzy soul arena, check any of her previous albums. Now, it’s always good to be on your Hip-Hop, but make SURE to Turn Yo’ Headphones Up to R&B

I ran across Danny Swain’s music a while ago in some forum where folks were sharing music. Now, the thing that made me check him out was that he was the only artist that had replies and co-signs. There were the Kanye comparisons, people commenting on how good the production was, and several folks saying he got next. Then, there were the comparisons to Eminem and even mention that this young rapper/producer/artist from South Carolina was being considered for the Grammy’s. Needless to say, I downloaded the joint. I was blown away by the album, that was Charm.

I purchased that and went on to purchase 4 other albums after hearing that. While I think Charm was probably the best album in the catalog (lyrical album that is, he does have 2 very rare instrumentals), there was never a dull moment on any of the albums. The claims were pretty dead on. He has a multi-sylable style of flow that is similar to Eminem at times, his style seems to be off the regular topics like Kanye was when he first started, he’s very abstract and sometimes goes really deep with his lyrics like a Lupe Fiasco, and the production was sample driven similar to 9th Wonder, but he was a lot more unconventional than that. I had to cosign this dude myself.

Most recently he signed with the Definative Jux label. This label seems to have the knack for finding some of the hottest indie acts in the game. Some names that they have signed include Murs, Dizzee Rascal, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Aesop Rock, and Mr. Lif. That signing garnered him a lot of attention as well as a mtvU appearance, single, and video release. He’s also racked up a following and garnered acclaim by being featured on most every website and in every magazine that has anything to say about Hip-Hop.

Leading into this latest album, reports were that this album would be, different. When I spoke to Danny, he declared the same thing. Now, I wasn’t sure what that meant…was he warning me or preparing me, two very different approaches if you ask me. I gotta say, he was right, the album is very different, and he was preparing me. In other interviews, he’d stated that folks had always loved his production but slept on his lyrics and often said, “His beats are nice, but lyrically….he’s OK.” D took that personally and went to the lab. Reports say that the reason that he let Alex Goose produce this album was so that he could focus on the lyrics. He’s clearly a lot more like his original flow than he was on Charm and And I Love H.E.R.. Swain went on to say in another interview that he wanted to say the most off the wall stuff he could get away with on this record just so folks would recognize his lyrics again. Was he successful? You decide.

With permission of one of the most enjoyable cats in my collection, nappyafro has a double feature for you. Initially, we were going to do a huge blow out for this album coming out, but delays and other things kinda of messed with the timing of that. I’ve been working with D. Swain to try and figure out how we can help him. So what we’ve got, is a double feature for you. I made a mix of some of his music to help you get introduced to who D. Swain is. The mix contains music from each of his previous albums, The College Kicked-Out, Danny Is Dead (Japan Bonus tracks), F.O.O.D., Charm, and And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. It also has two hand picked instrumental jams that he wanted included. Along with that, we have, in its entirety and with full permission from his camp, his new album, Where Is Danny?. I’m sure that you’ll find his comedic-abstract flow and subject matter enjoyable and worth supporting. You can log onto www.DannySwain.com to get more of his music as well as iTunes.

Bottom Line:
I listened to this album and like I said, I agree, this album is definitely different. I didn’t mention that Swain attended The Savannah College of Art and Design but it’s important because that helps you understand this album a lot more. Dude is an artist, in every sense of the word. This album is very unconventional with somewhere around 17 songs being less than 3minutes long on an album with an instrumental, only 2 “interludes” and moments like “Man, Mutherfuck An Intro” and a commercial, you get a LOT of material to digest, and I think it’s probably easier to accept after you listen to his other music. I think it’s a good album, but it’s most assuredly a slow burn, meaning it will get better and better with each listen.

nappyPicks: “Where is Danny”, “Tattered Fedora Flow”, “Still Got Love”, “Theme Music To A Killing Spree”, “Lost One”, “Mama I Want To Fucking Sing”

1. Man, Motherfuck An Intro
2. Manic At The Disco
3. Where Is Danny?
4. Tattered Fedora Flow
5. Hoedown Showdown (feat. Von Pea)
6. I Ain’t The Walrus
7. Turn Me Up
8. Many Reasons
9. Still Got Love
10. Sloppy Joe, Pt. 1
11. Commercial Break (Interlude)
12. Fa Fa Fa
13. This Is Your Life (In West Watch-A-Ka-Tella) (Instrumental)
14. Off The Hook (feat. Che Grand)
15. George Wendt
16. Nah, I Don’t Like This Beat Yo
17. Theme Music To A Killing Spree (feat. Danny Brown)
18. Lost One
19. Scrambled Eggs
20. Sloppy Joe, Pt. 2
21. Seven Seconds Of Static (Interlude)
22. Mama I Want To Fucking Sing
23. Wake The Fuck Up Man (You’re Trippin’ Man)
24. Crank Dat (Hey DJ) (feat. Ladi Jade)
25. Get Down

Download: Danny Swain – Where’s Danny? [Full Album]

1. Janelle Monae (Instrumental)
2. The Lesson
3. Guess Who’s Back
4. Fly
5. Can’t Nobody
6. Charm
7. Mind’s Made Up
8. Grateful
9. I Wish
10. Prove Myself
11. Cafe Surreal Pt. 2
12. The Train (Instrumental)
13. No Gaurantees
14. Stay Away
15. The Lesson
16. I Only Wanna Be With You (Neptunes Remix)
17. Fullaschidt
18. Never Change
19. Rise & Shine (Interlude)

Download: nappyafro presents: Who the Fuck is Danny Swain? [Mix]

We haven’t dealt much with the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards outside of the cyphers this year, but I can’t act like it didn’t happen. This year’s show was, performance wise, one of the worst. However, from a production standpoint and things of that nature, it was one of the best shows they’ve had. It did however, leave some questions burning in my mind.

1. Is Joe Buddens THAT good?
I’ve heard some Buddens stuff, I’m not going to act like I am well versed on that dude. However, I don’t remember a time that I was like THIS DUDE IS A PROBLEM. After his flow on the first cypher, I was left scrambling to get re-acclimated. He perked my ears with the Slaughterhouse album, but it still didn’t send me searching for his music. But now, the combination of the album and the cypher, I need to go back to ground zero and research dude, because clearly, there is more to him than I thought.

2. Has Nicki Minaj FINALLY found her formula for success?
Minaj gets more than her fair share of hatred and doubt. Those two attacks are pretty standard uniform for female emcees in the game. I’ve always liked her on the mic and that was BEFORE I saw what she looked like. The net seems to be hell bent with proving she’s got fake body and Weezy writes her rhymes but lets be completely honest here. Number one, sex sells. It has sold since there was a way to put a price on it. If you are in the entertainment biz, and you are female, chance are, you are going to go under the knife at some point or at least add some tracks, nails, or something man-made to your structure. Lets not crucify her for what may or may not have happened to her, but routinely happens in the business. Secondly, ghostwriting or flat out writing for someone else is regular in music. I understand that Hip-Hop puts paramount importance on authenticity, but at the same time, its music is a form of entertainment. When we get around those two formalities, her new animated delivery and flow along with the void in the game, may have finally put her in prime position to make her mark. I’ve often found myself on an island when I speak highly of Minaj, but even those that didn’t care for her too much saw the light after her cypher and recent verse on the remix of “5 Star Chick”. Hopefully, folks will pay attention to her “Killin’ these bitches, Mike Vickin’ it up.”

3. When is BET going to really bring back RapCity or at LEAST do a show called The Booth?
Cypher 3 featured Mos Def, Black Thought, and Eminem spitting some of the most “oh shit” worthy flows ever done on BET. With everyone being able to write down lyrics and drop an album on iTunes, we rarely get to see this side of the game from experienced emcees anymore. You may get some hotlines from them when they show up to the radio station, but rarely do you get emcees of this caliber on at one time, doing what they love. BET, you can reach me at  saulewright at gmail.com if you want to work on this idea. I’m just saying…

4. What about graffiti?
There are four or five elements of Hip-Hop, depending on who you ask. However, no matter WHO you ask, they will both name graffiti as part of it. It clearly has transitioned to a legitimate art-form to the masses, but it has also seemingly been neglected and ignored by what we know as the Hip-Hop culture. I’ve seen more cars, jewelry, and basket ball hoops in music videos than I’ve seen actual tagging being done. Again, BET, you can reach me at  saulewright at gmail.com if you want to work on THIS idea. I’m just saying…

5.What happened to the Emceeing part of Hip Hop?
Disclaimer: Little Brother nor the Justus League do not pay nappyafro.com for our support or anything similar to that kind of agreement. Now that that’s out of the way, have any of you seen Little Brother in concert? If not, YouTube them, they are a recent example of stage presence and what being an emcee is about. They are clearly cut from the same cloth as Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, LL Cool J, Run DMC and other emcees that understand how rocking/moving the crowd is not just a hot lyric. The ability to put on a show doesn’t come with the signing bonus. The amount of underwear, crotch grabbing, pacing, etc. were at an all time high during this show while ability to perform was absent. I don’t know that I’ve been as unmoved or uninspired as I was with the collection of stage performances that happened at this show. I could go onto a number 6 being about having some excitable fans around the stage, but I think if the show is up to par, then the audience will show it, no matter how motionless they are.

So those are my questions, what are yours?

I’m not going to lead into this one lightly or anything. Simply put, this is an instant classic and album of the year. Who the fuck is Brother Ali? Hands down the best rapper you don’t know. I’ve said folks are one of this, and that album may be one of that…but this shit right here, this shit right here? Unrelenting, unparalleled, unapologetic, thought provoking, masterful, classic, and perfect are words that MAY begin to describe this album. I’ve done over 40 reviews for The Fro’ and I joined the crew after Eardrum dropped, which was the last album that I deem classic or at least REALLY close to classic. I have only given two albums 4.5 ratings and while I think both Relapse and Rising Down are personal faves, they haven’t made classic status for me. But this shit right here? This shit right here? Flawless.

Sometimes, doing a track by track review gets difficult because at the extremes you can only sing praises or voice displeasure so many different ways and do justice to the folks that take time to read what you took time to say. This album would be one where each track would be a new way to say amazing…15 different times.This is nothing new for Brother Ali though. This man has dedicated his Hip-Hop life to giving you top quality albums that are all underground staples to the game. His lyricism is up there with your favorites and he tends to be one of those that has done such high quality work for so long that you tend to take it for granted. I have NO improvements, complaints or anything negative to say about this album, and the song “Best @It” with Freeway and Joell Ortiz is pure napalm. No matter if it’s story telling, brash lyricism, conscious lyrics, or heartfelt songs, Brother Ali delivers. Us is the best offering from an emcee who is just as outspoken and controversial as he is talented. Do you hear me now? Good. (Shout out to anyone who gets that.) Make SURE to Turn Yo’ Headphones Up to Brother Ali.

Download: Brother Ali – “Best @It”

With “Chamillitarymayne” coming out with the last of his mixtape series, Mixtape Messiah 7, I figured now was as good a time as any to start a new column…or at least write this article. I plan on doing this and hopefully the staff will get involved and do a few of their own because let’s be honest, we don’t always get it right the first time…even though I think we do more times than not. Sure, we could just change the score but sometimes, we may want to talk about it. So let’s get into this.

My rating on Chamillionaire’s Ultimate Victory back on September 18, 2007 was 1.5 / 5. I can’t really openly say that I’d change that grade based on aging because hey, I haven’t played that album since that review posted. I have, since that date, listened to some of his mixtapes in the series as well as have written MANY more reviews (I think that may have been one of my first reviews). I can freely say that this was not a shining moment of me being objective. I don’t dig dude’s style or delivery at all, I think that his music is kinda run of the mill and all that detracts from what is some decent wordplay and pretty fly concepts as an approach to the game. That said, it’s hard to grade dude. I’ve listened to his last mixtape and it’s the same guise. Good/dope concepts, nice wordplay, terrible delivery and hooks, and mediocre beats. I just can’t get into dude, pause.

So the questions comes, is his music BAD or do I just dislike it? I can say that Cham, even on his latest mixtape, doesn’t get any more spins from me personally. I can respect him for having his lane, and doing his thing, but this is not my kind of music. Yeah yeah nigga, but is it BAD music? Did UV really deserve a 1.5? I think if I were reviewing that long ass album today, I’d probably grade it higher than that because I’ve better learned how to be more impartial and separate my opinion from the reviews. Let’s not go crazy, I don’t feel like that album would get a 4 or no shit like that, but a 2.5 (from what I can remember) may be applicable. I can appreciate his message, I just don’t like his methods.

Another STL rapper, cause I love my city. You gotta admit, we have some good shit in Da Lou. I hit you up with Soul Tyde, Rockwell Knuckles, Unladylike, Black Spade, we have some talent. This new cat is one of the hottest ones doing it in the 314 right now. His flow and delivery are enjoyable and lyrically, he’s holding his own. Every once in a while, you run across an album that has you noddin’ along and smiling with each track, this one is that for me. I had no expectations because I knew nothing about him, but as each track played, I enjoyed it more. I think he could do some damage with some different beats and I imagine that when he does drop an album, that will be addressed. Keep your eyes peeled for Will Victory and the STL rap scene, it’s not a game. You can check Will out and get more familiar with him on his MySpace and follow him on his Twitter

Download: Will Victory – Spit ‘N’ Envy Vol. 1

This weeks topic is dear to my heart. You’ve heard me talk about the importance and absence of women in Hip-Hop and my beloved hometown of St. Louis…I get both of them this week. Unladylike dropped their debut CD Certified this last week, shout out to under promotion! Def Jam, do better. They still seem to be doing better than you’d expect with no exposure outside of the 314/618 area code. I think that has a lot to do with loyalty of the Midwest, loyalty to artists, and them being female in a game that is sorely lacking in that area.

Enough about that, how’s the CD. In a word, NICE. The beats are largely “swag” music (think Dro) meets Three 6 Mafia. I don’t know that there is a song on this 12 track album that wouldn’t do well in the club. I bet Club Casino is going crazy to this joint, as evidenced by the lead single “Bartender”.

Lyrically, Gunna and Tee bring a few different flows to the table. They flawlessly go from a harmonies sing song flow to a slower paced southern feel and then kill the track with a more frenetic rapid fire delivery. You get the STL accent with some “hurr” and “thur” scattered over the album, but it definitely doesn’t crowd the album or become a gimmick. The topics range from the baller-riffic, drinking, and partying to love, relationships, and the global community.

In a market where the majority of CD’s are not only made by men, but are full of sex and songs overtly advertising trickin’ (if you got it or not, it’s still trickin’) and violence, this is a CD about having a good time, the club, and having a good time in the club.. They have the braggadocious “Sit Down”, one of my favorite tracks, where they chant “Why you bitches keep jumpin (sit down) 3x / So sit’cho ass down (3x)” where they openly challenge any chick to step to them, but even that has the chant and hand clap (and Lil’ John sample) to make sure that everyone will be having a good time talkin’ shit. They also have songs like “Like You” (another sure fire hit) which is that song about the mack and approach and “Old You” where they openly talk about lost love due to folks changing and letting go of the history tied to someone that you really don’t know like you thought you did, or once did.

If you are looking to find a fun album, some serious breakneck thump, and something that makes you roll down the windows and break the volume knob, this is the CD. Fellas, you may want to skip “Papi Over There”, unless that’s how you roll. If you are like more and more people in today’s economy and rolling with the public transportation, make sure you check out Unladylike and be sure to Turn Yo’ Headphones Up.  Amazon.com has the low low on this one, $7.99 for a digital!!!! Get involved!)

Check the samples here: Unladylike – Certified