Soul Blogger #1

Most of my weekends are spent studying, doing mundane chores/errands, working and if I'm lucky, downloading music and posting some of the goodies I find that I think others will enjoy. This past weekend was an exception to the rule though, as I actually got out of the house and went to see one of our favorite bloggers spin. That's right, Oliver Wang (O-Dub) was rockin' the 1's & 2's at Star Shoes Bar in Hollywood. As I'm sure most of you already know, O-Dub is one of the OB's (Original Bloggers) out there...actually before the word "blogger" even existed, O-Dub was posting music up for the masses. But he's more than that. So I was hyped to see the guy who primarily inspired the GETDOWNNN crew to give this whole blog thing a shot. And I was not disappointed (except for the fact that the buddy I went with refused to talk to these 2 lovely ladies who were trying most of the night to get his attention). Anyways, it was packed, everybody groovin' and movin', a great night and definitley worth the price of admission (free). So I thought this would give me the opportunity to post some songs that I've been wanting to post, but that I thought would also be appropriate to the style and flavor or what O-Dub does regularly...at least I hope too (& no, they're not all super-rare funk tracks). Consider this a "tribute" to O. Here's to O-Dub getting a regular spot in LA.

[MP3] The Commodores :: High On Sunshine
{A break that's more than just the break. Before the Commodores started "Dancing On the Ceiling"}
[MP3] Manu Dibango :: Iron Wood
{No other words besides needed besides funky. If you like James Brown & Fela Kuti, you should check this guy out as well.}
[MP3] Carol Fran :: I'm Gonna Try
{This is just between me & O-Dub...and those who know. Kanye or someone should just sample the hell out of this!!!}
[MP3] Beastie Boys :: Open Letter (Cut Chemist Remix)
{I found this one in the $0.99 bin with just the blank white label. Good thing I brought my VW. You'll have to bump this one.}

For everything Oliver

I hope this is enough a$$ kissing to get us a permanent spot on the blogroll.
::MISTA HIPPO::

These Boots Are Made For...

{HIPPO'S NOTE: What would Bjork and Timbaland sound like? Check it out: FOR THE SONGS & FOR THE INFO}


{I think Timbo should just release a DVD of him and different artists in the studio. The vibe is just crazy!}

...STOMPIN'!!! Just picked up the new Timbaland album, Shock Value, which hits the streets 4/3. Out of all his solo work (and I'm including his material with Magoo), this is his best effort to date. You can really see his growth as a producer and artist. I wouldn't say he's on Kanye West's level as an MC, but he keeps you interested and of course the beats are ill enough to give you scars. And he is still experimenting with his sound, which is encouraging, since he seemed to fall into a funk when both Bubba Sparxxx's and Nelly Furtado's sophomore albums, for which he did a majority of the production, had very little commercial success. I also heard that he's working with Bjork now too. Sorry, but Scotty Storch has nothing on Tim (by the way, how did Storch go from the official Roots crew sound to moving to Miami, buying some name brand sunglasses, and working with Hulk Hogan's daughter??? That's gotta be worse than taking a picture with P. Diddy...maybe?).

[MP3] Timbaland :: Oh Timbaland
{He flips Kanye and Nina}
[MP3] Timbaland feat. Amar & Jim Beanz :: Bombay
{From the man who invented & made the "Bombay" beat hot, this track shows Tim's growth in production best...with a mixture of his Indian style with his new freshness from the 80's}
[MP3] Timbaland feat. She Wants Revenge :: Time
{Timbo spreads his wings on this track...and it works well. Remember when She Wants Revenge sounded like this? Prince Paul and all!}
[MP3] Timbaland feat. One Republic :: Apologize
{More of a remix of this great tune}
[MP3] Timbaland feat. Elton John :: 2 Man Show
{Just wish Elton would have sung...maybe costs too much}


{You can't beat this classic. The best MTV Cribs episode ever - flipped!}

...GRINDIN'!!! Most likely on someone's throat with Redman repin'. That's right the new Funk Doc. album drops 3/27, but GETDOWNNN Exclusive Heads get theirs first. Not to be confused with the video, Redman Gone Wild (Thee Album) brings it back like only he can.

Redman feat. Def Squad & Biz Markie :: Walk In Gutta
Redman :: Rite Now
Redman feat. E3, Hurricane G, Melanie Rutherford :: Soopaman Luva 6
{I mean come on...bring that Curtis Mayfield ish! Can never get tired of this break.}
Redman feat. E3, Hurricane G, Melanie Rutherford :: Soopaman Luva 6.5
{Come on, maaaan...Rocky got nothing on this series}

Is hip-hop dead? It's like being at the front of a buffet line for Christmas dinner (but get your's quick before Hulk and Brooke do an encore - see above).
::MISTA HIPPO::

Rock 'n Roll High School

A minute ago I was thinking that I needed to get back to putting up hip hop since I've been blogging about everything else the past couple months, but after seeing this video, I changed my mind. Again.

Oreskaband is an all-female high school sextet out of Osaka, Japan that came together in 2003 when the band members met while in junior high. By early high school, these girls were not only tearing up local clubs, but had put out their own self-produced album. Soon after, they were signed to Sony and to date have released two albums, Penpal and Ore. While Oreskaband have yet to release anything stateside, they just performed at SXSW, and had shows in both SF and LA (yep, I missed them all).

Oreskaband's brand of ska isn't necessarily anything too far out of the box, but there's definitely that infectiously saccharine J-Pop sound in the vocals that distinguishes their music. What I like best about Oreskaband though, is that you can really hear and see how much these girls just love to play and rock a show. In a time of jaded and pretentious artists, it's really refreshing to hear a group like this that seems blissfully content to be putting out and playing the music they love, and this really shines through.

[MP3] Oreskaband :: Pinocchio
[MP3] Oreskaband :: Knife & Fork

Oreskaband's MySpace
Oreskaband's Official Site

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The Weather Is Detoxicating

Well, well...I thought I had something here. I thought this was an early release of Dr. Dre's highly anticipated Detox album, but I think it's more of a mixtape to wet our chops for what's to come. The album was supposed to drop a year ago, but you know how Dre do. So like I said, I don't think this is really real, as there are very few tracks that actually have Dre on it and the beats seem at bit raw (without that THX sound) that Dre likes to bring it with now. However, this does make me curious enough to check out the real deal when it finally drops.

[MP3] Dr. Dre feat. Method Man :: Take The Heat
{Not sure where Dre is in the track, but it's definitely his production}
[MP3] Dr. Dre :: Gorilla Pimpin'
{For all you who liked Dre's early sound, a la Chronic funk, before the THX fx. And at least he's on the chorus for this one.}
[MP3] Dr. Dre :: Mind Made Up
{This one actually has Dre spittin' on it}
[MP3] Dr. Dre feat. Eminem & 50 Cent :: Numb Encore
{I know this is not Dre's beat, but I'm sure lots of people will love this just cause of the MCs, though not their best efforts. More like a freestyle session.}

Dre's site

Also thought that I might as well include another LA based productor/MC's fresh freshness, Evidence's new album The Weatherman, (3/20). I just wish that these guys (Dilated Peoples) along with Jurassic 5, People Under The Stairs got more play. While this may not be his strongest effort in terms of production, Evidence never strays too far to the point of BEP (that's Black Eyed Peas y'all) mainstream. I'm not expecting a track with Fergie anytime soon...keep your fingers crossed. Here are my favorites:

[MP3] Evidence feat. Defari, Joe Scudda & Big Pooh :: NC To CA
[MP3] Evidence :: I Still Love You
{Word up Ma!}

Evidence's Myspace

The real beatdown.
::MISTA HIPPO::

What's Next: Blue Scholars

[HIPPO'S NOTE: I guess "The Man" has been coming down hard on us recently, making us take down the Teri Boyz feat. Kanye track and now these Blue Scholar tracks. All apologies for the inconvience, but you can still check out all of the Blue Scholar tracks, and more, in their entirety at their website linked below.]

Sorry to bring back the kid from Ju-On, but that’s the extent of my Photoshop skills (besides, it’s not really the kid from Ju-On). It’s been long overdue, but I’m finally getting around to posting on my favorite underground hip-hop group from The Great P.N.W. (Pacific Northwest), the Blue Scholars. These two brothers truly represent doing it for the love, as they’ve been around for more than minute now (dropping an EP and LP and some vinyl), doing shows from college campuses to local community events to even opening up for Kanye West. Really putting in the work 24/7. With roots out of Seattle, they bring it back to that raw, 1 MC & 1 DJ noise, on a jazzier tip. Sort of a cross between Gangstarr and J-Live (I know, I know, I still need post on him). I could do with a little less preachy righteousness in the lyrics spit by Geo, but that’s just me, and I do like the rhythm of his flow and sound of his voice. Saba just kills the beats and should be making tracks for someone like J-Live or even Jay-Z as well. Below are some of my favorite tracks, but if you want more…trust me, there’s more (I especially like their LP), make sure you check out their website, cause you can listen to all their songs there.

[MP3] Blue Scholars :: Blink
[MP3] Blue Scholars :: Burnt Offering
[MP3] Blue Scholars :: Sagaba (Remix)

It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to see that the Blue Scholars just make sense.
Master of clichés.
::MISTA HIPPO::

Reeeeeeemix

I've been wanting to put up some hip hop for some time now, but lately, it seems like good hip hop is just harder and harder to come by. I'm not saying it's not out there, it definitely is, you just have to sort through a lot of commercial filler before getting to the good ish. While I don't have anything new to put out there, I do have some remixes from one of my all-time favorite hip hop groups (just don't call it alternative West Coast rap).

The Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride album represented hip hop at it's best - like a teenage boy, it was brazenly immature, fun, shameless, and fresh. J-Swift's production gave us a new sound that I have yet to hear the likes of while Dilla's LabCabin, delivered a more mature, slightly darker Pharcyde. To me, Imanibootybrownfatliptheslimkidtre were just so good that you knew that they wouldn't last. The fact that they didn't (well not really, but you know), was for the best. And really, have you ever heard of people NOT liking Pharcyde? Not much can be added that hasn't been said already, so I'll just leave you with Spike Jonze's video for "Drop", and some of my favorite Pharcyde Remixes. Unh!!!

[MP3] The Pharcyde :: Otha Fish (Remix)
[MP3] The Pharcyde :: Passin' Me By (Fly as Pie Remix)
[MP3] The Pharcyde :: Passin' Me By (Z-Trip Remix)
[MP3] The Pharcyde :: Y (Be Like That) (Jay Dee Remix)

ps. there's also a Jay Dee Remix of "She Said" on this previous post.

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