Wiley - Numbers in Action

A return to form for Wiley and probably the coolest video of the year so far.

Big K.R.I.T. - Dreamin'

This is some real special shit right here. Returnof4eva drops next week according to NahRight.

Get High/Rule The World

Mad prop's to Don't Sleep for putting this on. Perth has a few hip hop nights around and while they're fun and feature some amazing DJing, they're a little bit dated, stuck in the 90's if you will. There's no shame in that, but Don't Sleep is here to offer something a bit different.

Get High Rule The World will bring you the very best of modern hip hop, from the hits that pass us by down here in Australia, to obscure mixtape cuts, the avant-guard of the internet, a bit of LA Beat, a touch of R&B, alot of bass and of course all that classic shit that we all know and love. We'll be keeping it up to the minute and taking it back, so long as it gets your head nodding and dancing.

Think Outkast, think Curren$y, think Yeezy, think Weezy, think Nosaj Thing, think Pharcyde, think Odd Future, think Dr. Dre, think Cassie, think Cool Kids, think Vado, think Missy Elliot, think classic Timbaland and Neptunes, think Starlito, think Biggie, think Drake, think Wu-Tang and all the solo projects, think Dilla.

Also cheap booze!

Anyways, to get ya in the mood, here's a mixtape I put together for it. Enjoy, tell me what you think. Hope ya enjoy!

Get High/Rule The World: Vol. 1 by 72 & sleepyhead

Cam'ron & Vado - Sour Life

This is catchy as fuck. Between the old musical sample and the infectious duo of personalities that is Cam'ron and Vado.

I'm thinking about going back and exploring old Dipset stuff. They were kinda before my time, in the sense that in Australia, most peoples hip hop education, including my own, comes from the heavily fetishised 90's before catching back up to the modern. This isn't a bad thing in and of itself (except for the redheaded step-child of musical genres that is Australian Hip hop, but that's another story) but it means that for modern hip hop fans, there's a gap in their knowledge between then and now in the 2000's, when Dipset were king. If anyone has a suggestion for where I should start with this, I'm all ears. Until then.....

SLIME!

Cam'ron & Vado - Sour Life

EarlWolf - Orange Juice

So there's this group of LA skater punks that are also rappers and the internet is going nuts over them. They're called Odd Future, or Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFGWKTA for short) and are a collective of an indiscriminate number of rappers. Much to their dismay though, cause now their shows are packed out with blogging elite as opposed to the kids who usually make their shows good. And as a result are the victims of over-hype and being called the new Wu-Tang (HI PITCHFORK!) At the same time they're shut out of the usual internet rap circles because of their tendency to tell Nah Right and 2dopeboyz to go fuck themselves at every opportunity.

End of the day I agree with most of the other writers out there with their heads on their shoulders. They're no doubt talented kids and are making some of the most exciting music out there today. But they still have along way to go in terms of polish and focus.

But yeah, Orange Juice sees members Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt going in over the Lemonade beat (which I love) and do the best job on it I've seen to date. Credit to GVB cause I found it on their best of list the other day. If you dig that, go check out Tyler's mixtape Bastard. Its pretty good.

EarlWolf - Orange Juice
Tyler the Creator - Bastard

Best.Of.2010 Honorable Mention - The Stimulus Package

“It’s the reason why we named the album the stimulus pack,
all the fans giving us love and now we giving it back”

This project is pure love. You can feel it in every kick and snare, every pad press by Jake One, every guest verse, every sample, every exclamation of “Throw your hands up!”, and every line spat by Freeway himself. The sheer enthusiasm espoused here for hip hop is a rare commodity in a release these days. Too often we are given records that are hip hop in name only, with a cold detachment to the genre, or records that treat hip hop as something fragile, that needs to be saved, preserved. Freeway and Jake One get over these hangups by essentially ignoring them, making great music and have your head nodding constantly as a result.

This year there were more adventurous and forward thinking records, stuff that was crazier or cleverer, but there was nothing that was done so enthusiastically, with as much love for the art form. A true hip-hop album in a decade where true hip-hop albums don’t come along very often anymore. All of this done without a holier-than-thou attitude or vintage throwbacks, it’s an album that is undeniably 2010.

Freeway & Jake One - Throw Your Hands Up

Starlito - Happy To Be Here

Came across this one by accident. Copped the full mixtape, Renaissance Gangster, at the start of the year at the behest of a friend and it lived up to the hype he gave it. Its a really cohesive and quality project and deserves all the praise that came its way. Burn One continued his winning streak, not only as a great mixtape DJ (he doesnt say a thing, only the occasional and discrete tag from time to time) but also as a producer for the entire project. Its a truly slept on tape for 2010.

However then something happened. I forgot about it...

Despite the occasional post I came across, or a reminder from my friend, it kinda sank to the back of my mind in a year of hip hop for me that was dominated by Curren$y, Kanye, Big KRIT, Freeway, Yelawolf, Jay Electronica, that amazing Lupe tape from the end of last year.... Plus it seemed at the time that Pill was probably the surer bet for success. Cynical yes, but as stated in other posts, I only got so many hours in the day to listen to music. Sometimes things get left behind.

So after a chance revisit to the Q-Tip album left Renaissance Gangster up into my iTunes list, tape standout Happy To Be Here snuck up on me. Sonically it's reminiscent of Da Art of Storytellin' Pt4 if Dre and Big Boi were possessed with melancholy rather than a desire to light a fire under the rap world. The raps are lethargic yet wise, giving them a weight usually missing from standard rap mixtape fare.

Ultimately what got me though was the chorus. While intended to be an affirmation of still being alive despite the conditions, it came across to me as as an ironic take on his situation. Like who could possibly want to be here out of all places? When one could be elsewhere? Like showing up to a party and having to say the right things. Its a sentiment I can relate to these days.
Starlito - Happy To Be Here
Starlito & Burn One - Renaissance Gangster - iTunes, show some support.

Falling on Def Ears

Just read a massively interesting article on The Vulture. Essentially the premise is this. Sam Anderson, a literary critic, has never really listened to rap or hip hop, yet is widely schooled in all forms of literature. Thus when the Yale University Press publishes an 800 page collection of rap lyrics, it becomes accessible to him as it lays out for him the metaphors, similes, assonance, diction and other poetic devices from traditional poetry. After all the bragging, wit and vivid imagery of rap is not exclusive to it, its been in conventional poetry for centuries, just obscured by dead dialects, expressions and references.

The writer is fully aware of his limitations. He readily acknowledges hes missing out on the aural side of rap, what can be done not only with the beat but with delivery and tone of voice. Hence his focus is inherently on simply the words on the page, filtered through his own understanding of poetic traditions. He admits he has little knowledge of context and history, and the names and references seem somewhat simplistic to the average rap fan/nerd. But he does give us a perspective thats not usually available to the average fan.

Yet what he does bring is an unbridled enthusiasm and wide-eyed wonder of someone discovering the rich history and catalog of hip hop. He states his excitement to listen to artists like Mos Def, DMX, Bun B, Jay Z and Lupe Fiasco. And I wish him well. Just imagine when he gets lost in the hypnotic boom-bap sounds of the east, the smooth G-Funk groove of the west or better yet when he delves deeper into the impenetrable sonics of something like Madvillainy. He's in for a quite a ride.

Straight out of Comp 101 - Sam Anderson - NY Magazine

Sleepyhead - Everythings Coming Up Milhouse

Sleepyhead is back! I finally got off my ass and made a new mixtape, just in time for summer. Ditching the turbo styles of yesteryear (electro bangers are for amateurs), this new mix features a blend of disco and hip-hop, with a bit of soul and moombahton on the side. No tracklist for this one (keeping it hidden for surprises, Greg Wilson style), but I can tell you it has songs from Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Aeroplane, Mayer Hawthorne, Talking Heads, and the XX, remixes from Classixx, Canyons, Holy Thursday, Mark Ronson and Mathew Dear, and raps from Snoop Dogg, Curren$y, Q-Tip and E-40. Bump this on your laptop or in your car when its swelteringly hot and it’ll seem like everything is coming up Milhouse.
Everything's Coming Up Milhouse - Sleepyhead by 72 & sleepyhead

Curren$y x Gold Panda

"Gold Panda, I wish that was my name." - Curren$y

When Pitchfork and hip-hop get mentioned in the same sentence, there’s usually some sort of eye rolling or hesitation involved. Not entirely sure why, but I’d wager its due to a perception that the arrogance, agenda setting and pretension present in its Reviews section which deals mainly in indie rock and pop is also applied to the genre of hip hop, which beyond being what people dislike about Pitchfork in the first place, it’s simply not its traditional territory of criticism.

Fortunately, there’s the Pitchfork TV show, Selector, which is more similar to the unbridled enthusiasm of the News section than the cold pretension of the Reviews. The set up is simple: take a Pitchfork approved rapper (Clipse, Big Boi, Freeway and now Curren$y) and interview them about how they pick the beats they rap over. Then play them a few indie pop, underground hip hop or LA beat examples, get them to pick one, explain why and let them freestyle away on their unconventional choice to the delighted squeals of fans who finally get to the Clipse over an MF DOOM track.

And you know what. It works! Despite the Pitchfork indie awkwardness of the whole endeavor, the intent is genuine and it gives more insight into the rapper and their creative process than the usual interviews that a promotional cycle yields. Especially this weeks episode, which features a well toasted Spitta yoga dancing, getting incredibly enthusiastic about a Gold Panda beat and hypothesising on what sort of car he drives to the studio. Its clear the man just enjoys rapping and music in general (second only to more weed), and as mentioned before it’s always a trait of a great rapper. (Weed doesn’t hurt either.) Also doesn’t hurt that he sounds right at home over Gold Panda too.

Mixtape of the Year?

Dear Mixtape DJs
Want to know how to make a mixtape of the year? Just shut the fuck up. Thats all.
Love,
72

PS, this song is pretty great though, Joell has been fairly impressive from what I've been hearing. Call Me is a fun throwback, Sing Like Bilal was killer and his verse on Prowler 2 which I've already posted was great. Good stuff for a guy on a constant mission to downplay the fact hes a dead ringer for Turtle from Entourage.

Joell Ortiz - Joell Christopher (From the so called Mixtape of the Year)

So Appalled

So while I've been trying to not just write about every single G.O.O.D Friday track that comes out, its been getting harder and harder till finally, this Saturday morning, I couldn't help myself. Jesus tittyfucking Christ, its getting insane. I mean, Lord Lord Lord was crazy, I love that track except maybe the Swizz verse. Good Fridays, I didn't really rate, but then Devil in a New Dress was fantastic, vintage Kanye.

Now we come to the long anticipated So Appalled. Its simply crazy good. Jay-Z has a fantastic verse featuring some of his cold vicious logic ("What you rather be, underpaid or overrated?"). Kanye keeps his form on this with some amazing assonance along with good verses from Pusha T and CyHi The Prince. But the best moment for me comes at the very end with the RZA getting on his hype thing again. It comes as such a rush, that with the sheer multitude of verses, the dark and ominous beat and the cold aggression of the rappers, when RZA starts doing the chorus, its like being back in the 36 Chambers, without it ever seeming forced or hackneyed. Another good song from a G.O.O.D. series.

But what of G.O.O.D. Fridays themselves? Rappers have done stuff like this before, whether its a relatively constant stream of mixtape tracks or freestyles, a weekly thing, or even daily (like Freeways Month of Madness). Yet what we have here with Kanye is of a different breed. These aren't throwaway mixtape freestyles over the hot beat of the day. These are songs! These are originals with A List features. They're curated with dream lineups and striking artwork and design that sets them apart from the dubiously photoshopped mixtape covers that line the pages of Nah Right. Kanye has taken the breed of rappers that depend on the 24 hour internet rap news cycle to survive and completely son'ed them.

Yet that's what should have happened. Maybe I'm not getting the full picture cause I'm not on the ground in America, but it seems to me like there's a disconnect between these songs and the reaction Kanye usually gets. 70% of the tracks on here should have meant at the very least the internet should have ground to a halt. Yet it seems its business as usual, beyond the posts on the news sites like Nah Right and The Smoking Section. There's no follow up, no analysis, no real engagement with it. Maybe we've grown used to Kanyes crazy lineups, maybe we're just overwhelmed by it, maybe the songs are ahead of their time. Either way no-one seems to be coming to terms with it or admitting that most of the tracks that coming out of G.O.O.D. Fridays are a head and shoulders above everything else right now in rap, with a desire to sound like no one else.

It demonstrates the disconnect between the 'real world' and the class of people permanently connected to the internet (I am in box number two for sure). Especially for music, its becoming more and more evident that there is a huge gap. Many of my friends are fans of Kanye. Like Jay Z, hes one of those artists that's immediately accessible for white people, pop without being commercial. There is no uniform Kanye fan, they range from the casual who just get helllll turbo to Stronger, to those who got into him from 808's and Heartbreaks cause they could identify, those who exclaim (correctly) that Gone is the best Kanye song, those who can recite every word to his verse from Run this Town, those who don't drink the kool-aid and critique but still cop every song and to those who are simply 'Ye stans like myself. Its these broad spectrum of people who really really enjoy Kanye but simply just aren't hearing the new stuff. Whether it's due to the delay to reach terrestrial radio (about a month after Monster dropped I finally heard from my friend that hes 'heard the new Kanye song with Bon Iver and that chicks verse is crazy!') or just aren't as focused on the stuff.

Maybe thats the problem, Kanye despite being a guy who came up being a backpacker, from the underground, hes always been a guy who made songs for the radio, not to be searched for on the internet. And while every internet talking head will end up putting Kanye albums in their best of lists (Hi my name is 72) the reality is they're more focused on the new up and comers. And with most Kanye fans getting their fix through radio and tv, we wind up with this chasm where all this good music gets lost in. I'm so appalled!

Kanye West - So Appalled (feat. RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & CyHi Da Prynce)

Ignorance is Bliss

Note to self: stop just reblogging stuff from Passion of the Weiss.......

In all seriousness, this is captivating stuff. Visual fits the song perfectly. No chorus or hook, just straight up rapping over a beat which that both floats along and pounds the pavement, simultaneously. Would really like to know who produced it, sounds alot like Flying Lotus' more conventional hip hop material. A must listen.

Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here

So I’m pretty late on this. You know you’re doing a bad job at this rap blogging thing when Def Jam has already signed him before you’ve even heard about him, let alone heard one of his songs. But in the flurry of news following his signing and a vague recollection of Gorilla vs. Bear having it on their On Blast list, I decided to commit the time and download allowance to get it and check it out. What I found has become one of my favourite hip-hop albums/mixtapes of the year. One of the few rap projects which actually has an air of gravity to it. The delay in writing about it has come from both laziness and desire to spend as much time with it as possible, just enjoying it, before trying to mentally deconstruct it.

K.R.I.T. Wuz Here is a soulful and lyrical take on Southern hip-hop. This is not to say that southern rappers aren’t soulful or lyrical, but hey, these days too much of it is sounding like Waka Flocka. But while I love a good “Hard in the Paint” freestyle as much as the next guy, K.R.I.T.’s sample filled southern soul is much more my cup of tea.

To me, Big K.R.I.T. occupies a similar space in rap as a young Kanye West. Both are producer/rappers. Both come from relative backwaters in rap geography, Kanye from Chicago in the North, K.R.I.T. from Mississippi in the South, and both are aware of and motivated by that outsider status when mixing with the bigger fish from N.Y./ATL. Neither are lyrical powerhouses (though Kanye has improved immensely over the years), yet both compensate for this through directness and honesty. One notable example of this from K.R.I.T. is the second verse on tape highlight “Good Enough”, where he laments his unfaithful ways as it drives the girl that he has and wants into the arms of another man, caught between not wanting to show how much she means to him and the fact that he knows he’s lost her forever.

The tape is a sprawling one, yet it never drags. From the opening declaration of “It’s the return of forever, ho!” to the epic and orchestral outro at the very end, we very gladly reside inside K.R.I.T.’s soulful and cinematic soundscape. K.R.I.T. is a talented producer and its obviously he’s put his heart and soul into these beats. It never sounds monotonous, yet keeps a unified persona over the varied tones in the beats. Extra personality and cohesion is injected into the tape with his use of dialogue from long forgotten and obscure movies (I assume so anyways, I don’t recognise any, and the man himself has a contest running for whoever can name them all.) giving the tape its cinematic quality.

This is key to its success, as it has the same quality as many of the hip hop classics of yesteryear. Its maintained sound, spirit and thematic concerns create a world for the listener to get lost in, something which is behind the status of such records as Midnight Marauders, 36 Chambers and Ready to Die. While I’m not necessarily suggesting that K.R.I.T. Wuz Here is a classic on par with these, the escape it provides reminds me of the times I fell in love with those hip hop classics.

To put it simply this is a work that deserves your time and attention. Back in the day, I can only assume, this would have been a much lauded debut album, which would have reaped much fame and wealth for the creator instead of just being a free release that got him enough attention for a major label deal. Its funny how times change.

Though its not all doom and gloom I guess. While record sales are slipping, as a listener the amount of good music coming to my ears is simply phenomenal (Not to mention as I try to step up my game as a writer, the flood of awesome music brought to me through my broadband connection keeps me in constant supply of material and inspiration). In order to stand out in the Nah Right era, it’s imperative to have something to set you apart from the sheer volume of other rappers flooding the internet with mixtapes. And in more democratized internet playing field is simply to make better music than the other guy. Determination, inspiration, originality and quality is the result.

Unfortunately history predicts that he’ll be forced to give up these things in order to gain a pop audience. Furthermore he’ll eventually dropped due to the fact the pop audience doesn’t want him and his original fans feel betrayed. It’s a vicious cycle, one that’s difficult even if the artist is aware of it. (See Wale’s The Perfect Plan). Hopefully this doesn’t happen. Though at least we will always have K.R.I.T. Wuz Here.

Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here (Mixtape)
Big K.R.I.T. - Hometown Hero (Remix Ft. Yelawolf)
Kanye West - Spaceship (Ft. Consequence & GLC)

J. Cole - Who Dat

"Cloud told me “ain’t you roc? well where the fuck yo chain at?”
Guess it’s somethin like your girl n***a, it aint came yet."

This has been around for a minute, but this is what a young, success-hungry rapper should sound like. It sounds exciting,powerful and hits all checks for what modern rap should be. No pop hooks or Bruno Mars features. Uncompromising yet not boring and preaching about 'real hip-hop'. Doesn't stamp out his regional roots and differences for bland nationwide acceptance. Good song too.

Also a very good video, showing where he came from. BBGun is in the same boat as Rik Cordero these days, making hip hop videos that both catch the eye and keep the attention. They're unmistakably hip hop without resorting the usual 'boats n' hoes' paradigm.*

*BOATS AND HOES!

Kanye West - Monster

Wow. Just wow. Look at that lineup. Most of the time in rap, big track lineups are designed to be ‘too big to fail’. Yet mostly they do because we’ve seen so many huge ones over the years (DJ Khaled, I’m looking at you*) and they never really live up the to the potential that they had in the minds of fans. This one here differs for a couple of reasons. Firstly Kanye and Jay strictly regulate the supply of their verses to big posse tracks, hence they’re a hot commodity, something that will get left at the top of Nah Right for maybe a day if they’re lucky. Secondly Rick Ross and Minaj are veterans of the posse tracks; one who’s on a career high of form right now and the other has a habit of stealing the show. Finally the addition of Bon Iver is bait to the indie crowd, and even those of us whose hearts aren’t exactly a flutter at the news are interested to see how it turns out.

That’s all well and good for context, but how does the track sound? Awesome. Assuming Kanye actually produced it (I’m gonna say yes cause it sounds like the sort of drums he has been using these days), he’s had a bit of a return to form behind the boards. His production has seemed a bit wanting of late to me yet this track just works. Each rapper tailors their verses to the variations in the beat so everything sounds like it belongs and isn’t just tacked on. Even the Bon Iver parts that bookend the song sound like they’re crazy important and not simply an afterthought of a power mad ‘Ye.

In terms of the rapping, Nicki Minaj comes out on top, simply because she has that fantastic quality of someone who sounds like they’re having the best time of their lives rapping. Her extended verse is both wildly enthusiastic and completely off the wall, and it’s these qualities that allow her to outshine rappers who are far more skilled than she. Not unlike Kanye back in the day come to think of it. Jay Z gives us what’s one of my favorite verses from him in recent memory. Getting his Vincent Price on, he conjures up vintage monster movie images to explain his current situation in rap and since he isn’t saying UGHHHHH every single line, it’s a joy to listen to. Also of note, Ross’s** 10-second intro and Yeezy’s Napoleon Dynamite reference. All in all, it’s a wildly entertaining song that for once lives up to the promise of its lineup.

* Is it just me or is T-Pain going for that Wolverine look.
**Oh dear, that’s two Rick Ross related posts in a row.

Kanye West – Monster (Ft. Jay Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross & Bon Iver) LINK FIXED!

Ross x Erykah

"Anyhow, I begin to yawn,
the human bong,
kick my Clarks off and recline,
just like a Don"
-Rick Ross

24 Hour Karate School

At this point in time it seems like 72waystosuckatdancing is spending most of its time yelling about promised projects that have fallen off the radar. And in that vain we continue today with Ski Beatz' 24 Hour Karate School tape. This particular project was formed in the dungeons of Dame Dash's DD172 complex with Ski Beatz working with which ever rappers happened to be passing through, which usually include Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Jim Jones, the current Cheech & Chong of rap; Curren$y & Wiz Kalifa, S.T.A.L.L.E.Y and The Cool Kids.

Everything that has been let out from this tape has been absolutely banging. Prowler 2 is simply one of the best posse cuts I've heard in yonks, with Jay Electronica staggering all over the beat like a drunken master and Jean Grey simply tearing the track to shreds. New leak scaling the building has one of the catchiest beats in a while too plus the very hot right now Cheech and Chong combo that worked so well for the How Fly Tape.



Problem is this tape was hinted at for ages and promised to all on March 30th. That day came and went with a general air of confusion on the internets as there was no sign of it and the eventual excuse came of sample problems. New work on the street according to Nah Right is Sept. 7

Ski Beatz - Scaling the Building (ft. Currensy and Wiz Kalifa)
Ski Beatz - Prowler 2 (ft. Jean Grey, Jay Electronica, Joel Ortiz & Mos Def)

Fuck You B.O.B.

I was ready to write B.O.B off. While he showed promise with some of his early recordings, he almost immediately went down both the rabbit holes of Andre 3000 pop/rock with his Bobby Ray persona and actual shitty pop rock with his debut solo album (see lead singles with Bruno Mars and that emo chick from Paramore). He was just another new generation rapper who threw away what made them interesting and worthy of attention in order to avoid being shelved by a major label (see Wale).

Then all of a sudden he pops up on the stripped down remix to Janelle Monae’s Tightrope, spitting absolute fire. He walks all over an unusually demure Lupe Fiasco (see Enemy of the State) and a surprising good verse from Monae herself, trying her hand at rapping. It’s pretty fucking awesome.

This frustrates me immensely. There is too much good music coming out these days for me to pay attention to it all. Despite committing myself to really trying to expose myself to as much as possible, I’m still yet to even listen to the new records from acts like Flying Lotus, Ariel Pink and The Roots. And with one more artist selling out via way of radio baiting swill, it frees up valuable time to artists who are not. So fuck you B.O.B. I don’t have time to check if anything you put out is the usual swill or if you managed to sneak out something good while the label heads weren’t looking. Either capitalise on your newfound status and try and sell something without a sugary hook on it or don’t bother me with anything quality ever again.

B.O.B. - Generation Lost
BONUS - Forgot he made this, its fucking funny

I want to make music like this IV