Benz and a Backpack

Ridin’ solo has become passé.  Everyone nowadays is linking up, whether it be it hip-pop stars or backpackers.  Young Money, Slaughterhouse, Diddy Dirty Money; the list goes on and on.

Last week, out of nowhere, Dizzy and I were blessed with the opportunity to interview Chuck D of Public Enemy as we sipped sweet tea at his kitchen table.  Much of the conversation was about the decline of live hip-hop shows and the disappearance of crews, two things Chuck believes have a serious correlation.  He dropped knowledge about the predeccesors of hip-hop shows, all out funk fests from the likes of Earth Wind and Fire.  “You think an emcee would come walking onto the stage like nothing after an entire funk orchestra rocked out?  Nah, they would come out dancing their asses off.”

Inspired by miss a.k.w.’s Throwback Thursday: Posse Cuts Edition (Parts One and Two), here are ten of 2010′s hottest team efforts.  At first, I wasn’t gonna rank these cuts so you guys could be insulated from my opinion.  But, fuck it, leave some comments.

1. Curren$y Feat. Mos Def and Jay Electronica – The Day

The lead single and anthem off of Pilot Talk.

“I’m so sorry/ if I don’t look happy to be here/in your label office/cause they said I cant smoke weed here”

The first question we asked Chuck D in our upcoming interview was what he though of Jay Electronica’s verse on this song.

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2. Rick Ross Feat. T.I., Jadakiss, and Erykah Badu – Maybach Music III

Rick Ross’s 2010 release Teflon Don shows serious growth and maturity.  Ross is one of the few artists this year that has successfully put together a solid, 12 track album that is replayable from front to back, over and over.  Top 3 so far for me.

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3. Young Money – Bed Rock

No one can ever say Birdman is bad for business.  After nurturing a young Lil’ Wayne into a mega-star, he has now constructed a super-group of young and up and coming (if you can still call them that anymore) rappers and singers around him.  Now that Drake and Nicki are household names, I’m thinking Tyga is next to burst, starting with “Dueces“.

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4. The Roots Feat. Blu, Phonte, and Patty Crash – The Day

If you put on How I Got Over, the latest release from The Root’s, as background music, you will barely be able to tell when one song ends and the next one starts.  The whole album blends seamlessly, with The Day sitting right at the middle.  The best part might be the rare appearance by Blu.

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I’ll admit, it was love at first sight.  The place: one of The Roots weekly jam sessions last summer at the Highline Ballroom.  The victim: Amanda Diva.  A Diva she was, quickly commanding the attention of the mostly male crowd with her beaming confidence, brightly colored spandex, and adorable personality.  The best part?  She’s talented as a mo’fucka.

As an OkayPlayer junkie in high school, I already had a vague sense of the girl who ran with The Roots Crew.  I wasn’t the only one; once she took the stage, I heard guys around me mumble to each other “Oh shit, that’s Amanda Diva?”  Attempting to list her different talents is futile, but I’ll try anyway.  Poet, rapper, singer, painter, radio and TV personality,  and academic (Masters in African American Studies from Colombia, are you serious??) are just a few labels that barely capture the breadth of her ability.  If I only had one date….

I could write for days (one day I will), but instead I’m gonna direct you to Amanda’s homepage and twitter for more intellectually stimulating eye-candy.

Hit the skip for one of the latest episodes of Amanda Diva’s online series Diva Speak.

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I’ve mentioned Native Tongues Posse and I’ve definitely discussed ATCQ’s ability to put me on a natural high, but I have yet to dedicate a Thursday to the man who is arguably one of these groups’ most illustrious members.

“If you can’t hear it, then get the wax utensils”

Jonathan Davis aka Kamaal Ibn John Fareed aka The Abstract claims he got the name Q-tip during his youth because he was skinny and had bad hair. He made his first on-record appearance on The Jungle Brother’s first LP, ‘Straight Out The Jungle’, in 1988. Super talented as a rapper, producer, singer, actor… (His role in Spike Lee’s “She Hate Me” just made him that much more appealing in real life… Just completely sweet and naive and adorable… Def makes you say “aww”.) Always good-natured, positive, light-hearted, and virtuous, but never self-righteous. I’m totally swooning now, but he’s just fuckin’ dreamy. And for real, who doesn’t love him? This man is a 10. Why can’t more boys be more like Q-Tip?

This Thursday’s throwbacks are a selection of some of my favorite Q-Tip appearances on non-Native Tongues tracks.

The Roots feat. Q-Tip: Ital (The Universal Side) (1996)

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Organized Konfusion feat. Q-Tip & O.C.: Let’s Organize (1994)

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Slum Village feat. Q-Tip: Hold Tight (2000)
“It’s The Ummah shit for real”…

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Pete Rock & InI feat. Q-Tip & Large Professor: To Each His Own (1995)

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Mad Skillz feat. Q-Tip & Large Professor: Extra Abstract Skillz (1996)

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Earlier today Clutch, Q-Love and I got the chance to sit down with the drummer from The Roots Crew (and Jimmy Fallon House Band), Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson. It was a lucky coincidence that we spoke to Questlove today- February 10th- because it also happens to be the anniversary of the death of the late great producer J Dilla. We know Quest worked with Dilla a substantial amount, and when asked about him, Quest’s voice immediately brightened up, and it became clear that he and Dilla were good friends, and Quest idolized Jay Dee in a big way. Quest also explains why Reagan and Republicanism were good for hip-hop, and how although Barack Obama may be great, he is certainly not Superman. The audio of our conversation will air on 95.5 WBRU’s 360 this Sunday, but the text is under the cut!

“I never saw Obama as a figure that was like a wizard, that could just pull out his wand, and sort of like the cat in the hat, clean the house up in exactly one fell swoop. I knew from the gate that this was the equivalent of one person being asked to clean an entire frat house with 48 hours left before mom and dad get there. And with no sponges, only a toothbrush.”
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Two summers ago I was lucky enough to catch the Paid Dues Tour at New York City’s Nokia Theatre in Times Square. I was particularly excited for it because the lineup included a bunch of artists I’d never seen in concert before: Kidz in the Hall, dudes from Boot Camp Clik, Blackalicious, GZA, all culminating in what I hoped would be a satisfying set from the godfather of hip-hop, Rakim.

I remember the show with particular clarity because my boys and I endured an hour-and-a-half-long train ride that should’ve only lasted twenty-five minutes. The stifling June heat had us sweating our shirts out while we were held in station after station by train dispatchers. People in our car were fanning themselves with whatever they had: Yankees and Mets fitteds, celebrity gossip magazines, folded-up copies of the Daily News (with a picture of a smiling Barack Obama- who’d just secured the Democratic Presidential nomination- under a headline that read: ‘HISTORY!’).

Once we pulled into 42^nd Street, we bobbed and weaved through swarms of people in the station and on the fume-filled streets (hustling because we were already way late), and by the time we got to the Nokia Theatre we’d practically melted. Making it through security felt like clouds parting to allow us entrance into a very well air-conditioned heaven.
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Already, twenny ten started with a bang- or, as I like to say, a bong bong! So far:

• The Reflection Eternal mixtape (featuring Jay Elect and J. Cole!),
• Raekwon’s Coke Up In Da Dollar Bill,
• Emilio Rojas’ The Natural,
• Jay Electronica’s Victory, and
• If you didn’t catch it, Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids earlier today…

What’s To Come

It will only get better; with the promise of the new Rae, Ghost, and Meth group/album, the forthcoming Strong Arm Steady album (produced entirely by Madlib), releases from Luda and Lupe, Statik and Black Milk, Random Axe, Redman, and The Roots. Em’s Relapse 2, Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives, new Kanye, Cudder, and J. Cole. And sheeit, that’s just touching the surface of hip hop!

For our indie heads, you’ve got OKGO, Vampire Weekend (…), Animal Collective (yeaboi!), and the Cold War Kids. But 2010 holds more than just the promise of good music. Next month Vancouver will hold the 21st Winter Olympics, then in May the World Expo will be in Shanghai, and on June 11th the FIFA World Cup will kick off in South Africa.

2010 marks Obama’s second year in office, and with health care tucked securely under his belt still hanging in the balance, we can only hope that there will be the opportunity to tackle other equally pressing issues like unemployment, terrorism, and climate change.

To that end, 2010 holds the promise of the US’s first plug-in electric car (courtesy of Chevrolet, called the Volt and scheduled to drop in November). To charge the Volt, one need only plug it into a standard household outlet and it will be powered for 40 miles (which exceeds the distance of the average American’s daily commute). Beyond that point, minimal gas is used to propel the vehicle 300+ miles!

Big things are already poppin’ in twenny ten, and there is much, much more to come. Hit the skip for 15 brand new tracks from the Wu Tang and Wiz, Strange Fruit Project and Statik, Ryan Leslie and Wale, Bun B and Jump-Off Joey, plus an unreleased Drake verse for his smash hit Successful.

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Rumor has it The Roots, who are now the house band on The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon, have a recording studio set-up in the back of the NBC Studios. Apparently it was one of the things that really enticed the band to make the jump onscreen. This way, when they’re not touring, they can be getting paid AND recording at the same time! Hit the skip for some real live Roots-crew music.
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