Hip Hop

Global rating of the product: 5 stars

Nasir Jones deliberately chose not to give his CD a precise title. When he first announced his intentions to call it ” Nigger”, the outstanding rap artist was very much conscious of the controversy it would raise all around the world. However- not the N word is the real problem- it is rather the attitude some racists and conceited people still carry towards black people and other ethnic minorities. Prejudice and discrimination are part of black people’s allday life. Sometimes peace can only be gained if you go to war. God’s Son is determined to raise his powerful voice as a prayer and a contribution for a massive change in the United States. Come into his world and understand black people’s fight over the centuries. Let his word penetrate into your mind. Not every truth is easy to swallow. But it has to be said and heard-no matter what. So listen to the rap genius’ words carefully.

One could barely ignore black people’s plight over the centuries, even though some comfortable wealthy Whites would like to do so. Those are the same people who built their wealth on the shameless exploitation of black folks, To them, recalling the scars of slavery and discrimination of any kind will make them feel uncomfortable. Stop with the hypocrisy here: the prophet has spoken and here are his words.

Like an outburst of heavy rain, lyrical and instrumental creativity will pour down the listeners’ ears. Queens Get The Money opens up its curtains on daily ghetto drama that are linked with politics. Slight piano notes will accentuate the overall bad impression. Nas hasn’t lost an ounce of his rhyming fluency despite harsh criticism from his fellow emcees. You are going to love the way he composes his words in which he recalls the Twin Towers collapse. Built on a soulful, yet very dynamic tempo, You Can’t Stop Us enlightens Nas’ sharp lyrical bullets. Loud trumpets introduce Nas’ history lesson. The emcee points an accusatory finger against the white world. The soft chorus contrasts with Nas’ strong words. The atrocity of racial hate crimes is exposed. Never defeated, always consistent in his speech, Nas makes the sword of veracity shine. You can’t stop his folks from moving. Breathe’s jazzy accents will discuss discrimination from the police. Even if some selfish people won’t take it into account, this is actually the way it is.

Make The World Go Round features Chris Brown and The Game. Its syncoped sounds mixed up with female vocals, rhythmic instrumentals unleash incisive, powerful words.

Hero will surprise you with the astute drumbeats/ keyboards combination. An army is marching on, supporting its hero. Get caught into Nas’ verbal typhoon that will erase everything on its route. I was amazed with Nas’ instrumental inventivity and raw verbal energy.

America: with his authentic, grimy and well placed words, the rapping genius raises his voice against America’s fabricated heroes and fake gangstas. Nas will take you back to the slums and make you contemplate the place where he came from. Enjoy his scribble jam and pay attention to his words. Real street talk, from a real emcee. Sly Fox has been written against a corporate American media system that monopolizes all news. Don’t be a sheep and don’t let the system manipulate you. Open your earsand eyes. Don’t believe everything you hear, read and see on the media. Electric guitar accentuates the sensation of discomfortthat is suggested by the song’s melody. Nas also courageously raises his voice to denounce the scandalous exploitation of hip hop culture. It needed to be said. Again, the lyricist’s brilliance needs to be underlined.

NI**ER Heartbeats begin the song that reflects peace after the ouragan. Understand the emcee’s rants.

Untitled: symphonic sounds start the song. Listen to Nas’ variations on the N word. Let him recall black history, express his mistrust about black leaders. Violins, drums and keyboard guide you into a soft musical universe that totally contrasts with Nas’ surgical syllables. In his way of operating, Nas reveals the whole truth about black folks’ lives over the centuries.

Fried Chicken featuring Busta Rhymes is not my cup of tea, though.
Black President, that is built on a Tupac sample, raises some interrogations about Obama’s place in the Presidential race. Is the world ready to welcome him? If so, will he respond to its expectations?
At the time Nas wrote this song, he didn’t know if Obama did actually stand a chance to get elected. The impossible became possible on November the 4th, 2008. Hopefully, America’s first black President won’t disappoint his folks

Since the days of Illmatic, Nas never lost his integrity. Please note that the CD ends up on a very positive note of hope for humanity.

Untitled is a masterpiece, as far as I am concerned.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

I know you’ve all been waiting for this! At least most of you…well, despite a mad busy schedule, I managed to buy Nas’ brand new CD…I’ll write the review as soon as I can…so stay tuned, folks:)

Dymez is not your average underground emcee: he is very passionate about composing his music. When you will enter his hip hop universe you will enter a new, refeshing oasis in which only good music matters. His rhythmic, innovative use of his instrumentals combined with a good dose of ghetto rage and hip hop dedication will allow you to share his enthusiasm for the music.

Hip Hop: in his song, the Philly artist will convince you that the art of hip hop is pretty much alive. Softness, rhythm, a rough spirit matched up all together make Dymez’ originality. Hip hop is something he lives out day after day. Be sure of it. He’ll manage to transport you into his musical universe.

Make It Work: the girly song is not really my cup of tea, though.

Raised In Da Ghetto: move along to the swinging song. You are going to like Dymez’ ghetto anthem. Drums and vocals enhance the euphoric spirit of the song, that reaches its culmination while combining soulful female vocals to the chorus.

I’m also very enthusiastic about the very well handled drum beat in Yung Stunna. Dymez’ flow delivery takes you by storms while he drops his sharps words. Well done:)

Goon 2 A Goblin carries that rough, ghetto spirit. Catch the scary atmosphere, get surrounded by the repetitive vocals that create an unsafe, creepy atmosphere, while screaming violins will cut into the darker keyboard sounds.

Discover an outstanding hip hop artist who masters his art here.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Avarice hails from Danbury, USA. Inspired by hip hop’s greatest such as Nas, Rakim, Big Pun and many more, the young emcee has developped a rich, original style of his own.

In his Strive song, his chords are hammering, introducing the listener, into a tense, heartbeat interrupted atmosphere that describes a dangerous living mode. Rough times, men trying to make fast money, the dirt of the city, each element perfectly fits with the musical background in which bass and violins work together to increase the tension. You gotta like this sharp worded style!

Bad decision is built on soft salsa sounding vocals. A vague of nostalgic words are about to invade the listener’s ear, but Avarice’s vocal strength forces it to vanish like a weak cloud trying to hide the sun for a second. His remarkable flow, his energetic delivery, his rage in spitting his words make Avarice stand out amoung the infinite crowd of underground emcees.

Character Assassination opens up in a very dynamic and swinging way. Powerful piano notes are combined with Avarice’s mighty words that recall centuries of slavery. Politically incorrect on purpose, the song raises some insightful past historical and political issues. It also points an angry fist at contemporary hypocritical politicians. Maybe not approved nor endorsed by Barack Obama, the song nevertheless represents the voice of the hood.

Keyboard and soft vocals start Don’t Understand. Again, Avarice’s strong flow delivery comes to shine.

Discover hip hop passionate emcee Avarice here.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Ready for a lyrical and instrumental ride with the Sky Pilots? The group, that is composed of Rio G aka Dark Gable, Tribaluv aka Extra Butta and DJ E-Green aka Reese Black will offer you listeners a ticket for an intense ride in the air. With their good sound technique knowledge, the Sky Pilots manage to create some deep and special resonance. The Sky Pilots are spraying their dynamic and elastic sounds that seem to emerge from a universe of darkness that is reinforced by the use of dark vocals.

Like a plane taking off, The Whole Night is imbued with some rough, energetic, keyboard sounds while the powerful emcees will guide you through your adventurous journey. You are going to like the darkness, the inventivity in the use of various sounds combined with rhythmic keyboards. Lose your mind on the Sky Pilots lyrical date. Well done.

Passport accelerates without warning…however you are invited to relax during your trip. The Sky Pilots are hosting your space while invading your ears with their creative skills. I enjoyed the soft, nevertheless rhythmic track that puts a lot of efforts on the group’s vocal performance.

The Rhythm enlightens Jazmine Alison’s vocal talent…again, you are invited to follow them Sky Pilots for a crazy, unplanned ride…don’t take your seat belt off until the plane lands.

The artists’ vocal performances reveal a well mastered sense of rhythm, loads of creativity…get caught into a typhoon of verbal and instrumental dizziness.

Honestly, I don’t think the Sky Pilots could leave you indifferent. Check their page here.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

ERRATUM: I posted a topic about Hood Surgeon yesterday. I received some mail from a reader mentioning that Hood Surgeon is alive. Looks like I misread the news and made a confusion between Andre Jr and Curtis Young.
Curtis Young aka Hood Surgeon is alive and doing well.
My apologies to my readers.

(credit to Rahul for the picture)

RIP Andre Young Jr. My sympathy goes out to Dr Dre and his family.

Read the original article here.
The son of legendary rap producer Dr Dre has been found dead at his home in Woodland Hills on Saturday morning.

Andre Young Jr., 20, was unresponsive when his mother went to check on him around 10 A.M., calling 911 to alert paramedics.

Young’s cause of death is pending completion of a toxicology report.

His father, Andre Young Sr, is better known to the world as “Dr. Dre”, an award winning producer who shot to fame as a pioneer of the influential gangsta rap group NWA, and becoming co-owner of West Coast record label Death Row records.

Later, he became popular for his discovery and production for white rap artist Eminem.

Global rating of the product: 4.5 stars

Edga Tha Messiah is back with a few killa tracks straight out his brand new CD: God’s Infection.
Constantly instrumentally innovating, Edga Tha Messiah magically trnasports his audience’s minds into a highly lyrically creative, rhythmically shaken world.

In his CD, he offers several versions of Cold World, a song with a jazzy- soul feel spiced up with a touch of salsa. While the trumpet and electronic instruments reveal a dark metropolis anguish, the drumbeats will open up on a prolongated instrumental ballad. An icy world dran by Edga, warmed up by vocalist Shannon Valdiviez, denounce the vicious effects of a money driven society.
This is indeed a song anybody can relate to. We live in a material world, but what can we do to bring love instead of coldness?

” I want to change this”, utters Edga ” but who am I?” in an incessant identical quest. You can’t stop the unstoppable.

Phudasouf unleashes some lyrical creativity in which powerful drums play the role of an annunciator, insisting, hammering Edga’s powerful anthem.

Again, Edga will offer his listeners several versions of the track.

The Revolution Has Begun starts in a symphonic mode: the high volume of violins combined with Edga’s mastery of other instrumentals actually reflects an artistic revolution in the making. Edga dares to be different. He dares to combine sounds and lyrics other emcees would probably be too shy to match.

Globally speaking Edga’s new CD is simply worth your interest.

Sharpen your ear and listen carefully to Edga’s original, instrumental compositions: enjoy his lyrical mastery, the darkness of his vocals.

Edga is truly a gem in the world of underground hip hop.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

I recently came accross Jim Jones’ profile and I’d like to invite you readers through a ride through the Harlem artist’s world.

Definitely gangsta, a well mastered flow, a various and inventive instrumental craft, a powerful voice, Jim Jones carries the spirit of the hood. You could barely stay indifferent in front of his natural gift for the music he makes.

Splash features Byrdgang. Built on dark background instrumentals, rhythmic drum beats, trumpet sounds, the song truly unleashes Jim Jones’ powerful verbal whirlwind. You gotta like the well mixed dose of filthiness and hustle. Jim Jones takes over with a confident and merciless spirit while astutely jungling with syllables.

Emotionless totally reflects a tough OG spirit. Light piano sounds totally contrast with electric guitar and keyboard sounds. Welcome to the world of the killers. Walk through the mind of criminal in which tears are forbidden. The ” Ride Or Die” motto is law in the depressing universe the song describes. Emotionless is definitely worth your attention.

Joyful flute sounds allow the listener to walk through Jim Jone’s colorful world. Follow him to a party, get blind of weed smoke, drink a cup of Champaign, dance along with him on a cadenced melody.

The originality of Jim Jones is probably is unique way of mixing instrumentals, maybe it reflects his intertwined Puerto Rican and African American musical influences.

Discover the artist of exception here.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Read the original article here.

Legendary hip-hop icon Dr. Dre is finally satisfied with the quality of his long-awaited Detox album – and is aiming to release it by the end of the year.

The LP is the rap mogul’s first album in nine years, following the 1999 release of his disc 2001.

And the perfectionist is now happy for fans to hear the CD in its entirety.

He tells newspaper USA Today, “I’m just now – over the last couple of months – starting to feel that it’s going to be right and it’s something I can be proud of, and everybody is going to love it.

“In a perfect world, I’m shooting for a November or December release.” Dre, real name Andre Young, admits the long hiatus in between albums is unintentional – although he has no plans as yet for a fourth solo release after Detox.

He says, “I’ve never set out to do that (release albums years apart). I just make the music feel the way I want it to feel and I don’t put it out until I’m totally happy with it. Then it does what it does.”

He adds, “I’m going to put this record out, promote it, tour and then become a hermit. I’m going to stay in the studio and produce.”

With his blue bandana, his penetrating glance, his raspy voice, Daz Dillinger got his mind on the hustle. Meal Ticket is built on soft chords and light guitar notes. His repetitive lyrics are intented to represent the grand hustle of his hood.

DipDropStopDip is a is an offensive club song. Rhythmic, enhanced with soft female vocal, totrally contrasted with Daz’ harsch voice and undestructible flow, the song reflects the artist’s inventivity.
I like the fluidity of Daz’ flow that will drop down and wet your thirsty minds with his refreshing instrumental composition.

Only On The Leftside, is a crip gang dedicated song. Offensive on purpose, a good dose of agressivity, a filthy spirit, the song is the mirror of the crips’ way of life. ( The blue bandana represents the crips, for those who don’t know).
Creep with them bad gangsta killers. They have connections everywhere. I loved the scary dimension of the song that shines through various instrumental mixtures.

Regreats is a soft song based on a piano background in which Daz Dillinger has some self criticsm to offer. The symphonic song has ‘a little bit of Tupac’ in it.

Drums will hammer like a heavy attack, introducing Daz Dillinger entry to the party song entitled Thiz Weekend again. The ” Shake That” song’s filthiness enlightens Daz’ lusty spirit.

Curious to know more about Daz Dillinger? Check him out here.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved