It's the 44th Anniversary of Hip-Hop y'all! As the legend goes, DJ Kool Herc introduced the world to the extended break ("merry-go-round") by setting up two turn tables at a block party in the Bronx, and the Bongo Band featured prominently. (Disco haters need to pause here to respect that this way of setting up equipment originated with the disco DJs). I imagine we have all heard samples from "Apache" mixed into other hip-hop and dance tracks, as well as appearing in the background of commercials and films. I had a great time learning about the early days of hip-hop recently from episodes of the podcast Mogul: The Life and Death of Chris Lighty - I finished the miniseries yesterday, in fact. Woke up today to this Google Doodle and violá! Hope you enjoy this blast from the past, and whatever it reminds you of.
Skepta - Konnichiwa
By now you should know I hate waitin'
I got no patience
Right now man are tryna get out the matrix
Far from the agents
Tryna stay far from the devil in the red dress
Far from the pagans
Only time man are gonna see me again
Is if I share location
It's been a little while since we had any hip-hop up here, so let's fix that with "Konnichiwa" by London grime-ster Skepta. The song comes from his 2016 album of the same name. It's a fairly angsty album, and a classic capture of early 2000-style grime. Think The Streets, Dizzee Rascal and the like: grungy beats, rapid-fire vocals, quick cuts and the occasional club jam all done with a techno flair. If this wets your whistle, have a dip into his back catalog, there's a lot of hot tracks in there.
RIYL: Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Gorillaz, Wiley
Upcoming Shows
Beastie Boys - A Year And A Day
M.C. for what I am and do
The A is for Adam and the lyrics; true
So as pray and hope and the message is sent
And I am living in the dreams that I have dreamt
Because I'm down with the three the unstoppable three
Me and Adam and D. were born to M.C.
And my body and soul and mind are pure
Not polluted or diluted or damaged beyond cure
Just lyrics from I to you recited
Arrested, bailed but cuffed and indicted
Enter the arena as I take center stage
The lights set low and the night has come of age
Not a well known Beasties track (and maybe cheating since it's a slice from a 12-minute suite), but fitting title for the day-after our first blogiversary! We're also just a few days past the fifth anniversary of Adam Yauch's passing. The Beastie Boys were very formative to me, frequently misogynistic lyrics notwithstanding. I already liked a lot of rap/hip-hop but knew I wasn't really included in that scene, as a white middle-class middle-schooler, until Licensed to Ill came out. We've strived to put a little something of everything we like in the music world on The Most Important Song during it's first year, and hope that means it has something for everyone on it. Let us know on FB or twitter if we've missed your old or new favorite!
RIYL: Run-DMC, Public Enemy, House of Pain, Digital Underground, Twenty One Pilots
Lil Dicky - $ave Dat Money
I ain't never hit a bar with a cover
Low thread count, hard with the covers
Free trial memberships though
I never join the shits though
Fuck you think this is though?
Frequent flying like a motherfuckin' finch tho
General Tso, half a dozen on the stick
Just so I can whet the appetite of dick
What you talkin' about?
My AC never doing nothing, blow fans
Walgreens card shoppin' all the off brands
Boy go hard when collecting, got Venmo
Save every motherfuckin' roach, tryna smoke
Check the clothes in my drawers, I ain't playin' around
It's LD, lil boy, Mr. Hand-me-down
Dirty drawers gettin' worn, can you blame me now?
You think I got $4.50 up in quarters on me well I fucking don't!
I've spent way too much time this week listening to Lil Dicky. Turns out his cuts are good for running. Who knew? Anyway, he's a bit more than the second coming of MC Paul Barman. But really, the reason I chose "$ave Dat Money" for today's MIS is so I could include the bonus video for "Pillow Talking". If you've not seen that, you're in for a crazy, clever, and surreal treat.
RIYL: The Lonely Island, Macklemore, MC Paul Barman
Upcoming Shows
WHY? - Proactive Evolution
I'd be white, weak and blind
The opposite of oxen
Feeling for an exit with
Fingers stiff as branches
Of a tiny bonsai birch
Bark falling off in strips
Leaving nude wood, white
So bright in raw scar-glow
Like a fresco angel, except
Starved and deranged though
And for an exit, trying
Through blindness and time
If I wasn't when I am
I've got a very clear, and very cool memory of one of my first experiences with Oakland's Why?. It comes from back when I first moved to San Francisco from Seattle. I'd just discovered their 2008 release Alopecia and had "The Hallows" in frequent rotation. I remember sitting there on the floor of my new apartment, sun and summer air streaming through open bay windows, listening to Alopecia and dreaming up my SF adventures. Good times. It's been a bit since I'd thought about them, but the couple new tracks I've seen come through lately are great. And today's Most Important, "Proactive Evolution" has piqued my interest quite a bit again. I'm sure I'll remember this for awhile as well, sitting here jamming their catalog as I write this, thinking about this week's upcoming summer adventures in Melbourne.
RIYL: Menomena, Dan Deacon, tUnE-yArDs, YACHT, Dirty Projectors