Dreams Money Can Buy-Drake

THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Ever since I was a little kid my pops would introduce me to new music whether it being Hip-Hop, Rock and Roll, R&B etc… I loved it the music caught my eye because it was a story of somewhat and could relate to me or a person somewhere in the universe. Hip-Hop, rappers like LL COOL J, NAS, SNOOP, BUSTA RHYMES, PETE ROCK, JADAKISS, I can go on and on with rappers they all told a story and was around my fathers era or around others not mine being 17 but i still know my music haha!.. But the game has changed tremendously and now there’s rappers in my era that are probably up to par with the old ones even though you Vets may differ. let me put them out Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, J Cole, Drake… Bad Ass list if you ask me. To show you that this little list has the potential im going to talk a little about the artist and a song that to me says true Hip-Hop. Alright now Drake just released a song called “Dreams Money Can Buy” and honestly its one of those songs where the message is like a slap in the face look at the title especially when the chorus is like a 60’s chick singing “Dont Fuck With Me” this song to me stresses the New generation of Hip-Hop and a New Kid On The Block…

By, Khalif “One” Murrell

Peace. Elmer Gerard “Geronimo” Pratt

July, 1997 I was at Santa Ana, California’s main county jail waiting like many others the release of Geronimo Pratt.  As he walked out through the glass doors in the back of the jail, cheers and tears from generations of people from all walks of life, races and economic backgrounds gathered around the podium to hear the first words from a man who endeared so much.  I watched and filmed trying to hold back tears as his daughters cried and others cheered.  Peace, Geronimo.

Star Wars Live Action TV Show…C’mon son, Work it out!

The Star Wars live action tv show according to the New York Post and George Lucas is still on hold.  It’s like the anticipation of the next REAL Rakim record…remember the anticipation of a collaboration between Rakim and Dr. Dre, yeah it’s a little like that.  According to the Post, George Lucas has over 50 hours written or two seasons of what is supposed to the best thing since…well…Episode 1 (chuckle).  Lucas says that he is waiting for, “a different type of technology we can use so it’s economically feasible to shoot the shows.”  They are saying that TV shows have to be produced at one-tenth of the cost of movies and Star Wars can’t be made the way Lucas wants to see it at those costs. 

 

Well it’s kind of like Rakim being in the studio with Dre and saying, “Well those beats are dope, but they are not quite there yet.”    I mean what can’t he do?  The technology in the prequels wasnt as dope as  HE thinks it was.  If  Star Terk could do it, Star Wars can do it.  But Lucas once again has his “vision” and regardless of what the fan wants it always comes down to what LUCAS wants.  

Lucas wanted to write and direct the prequels and look, worldwide controversy ensues.  Most people Star Wars fans and not, have said he ruined the franchise with Episode 1 and the choice of as Ankian Skywalker.   It’s like when KRS-One produces an album, it’s not that KRS’s production is wack it’s just not DJ Premier.  I would rather listen to  him rhyme than hear him rhyme over his own tracks.  Lucas is the same way, I would much rather him give a better writer the storyline and let the writer do his thing.  I like most fanboys would rather him get a better director like he did with The Empire Strikes Back, but it seems like that is out of the realm of possibility.  It is almost like he is saying to himself, “I let someone else direct my vision and they did what I could not and made the best of all the Star Wars films, NOT happening again” 

I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to go on this tangent, I only wanted to report the developments  the about long anticipated live action Star Wars TV show that is never going to happen because of George Lucas, but then again nothing in the Star Wars Universe would have ever happened without George Lucas that’s why we love him.  Just keep waiting, be patient and above all May the Force be with You.

Peace.

Gil Scott Heron

What’s not to Runaway Love…Hip Hop 101

We used to play a game back in the day when walking from city to city in search of the next Hip Hop show or on the way to a record shop to well…shop for records.  It kind of went like this, ” How about if Big Daddy Kane did a song with Anita Baker…?” then someone would come back with, “What if Ultra Magnetic MC’s did a song with Luther Vandross!?” It would just keep going each one of us trying to one up the other.  In the mid 80’s all the way to I’d say about ’95 we played that game, then all of a sudden the game just ended.  I don’t know why but after thinking about it recently I think the game we played as kids in Hip Hop died because our game started to become reality.

The funny thing about the game that I have now come to respect it that if done right it’s actually not that bad.  We’ve become accustomed to it now, all through the late ’90’s and into today Hip Hop artists collaborating with R&B artists is the norm…right?  The song attached to this post might take the cake though.  I think in my old age I am either, less and less willing to argue mute points, becoming soft in my decision-making and principles or am succumbing to your sisters love for JB, the Beibs, J to the B or Justin Bieber…I can’t call it but I love this shit!

I have heard many a “collabo” in my days and have made plenty of witty suggestions in the game of “what if…” but let me tell you what, if the game was still relevant in today’s Hip Hop and I would have said, “What if Justin Bieber and Raekwon did a song?” I would have won that game.  That would have been some funny shit to say walking on a hot summer day building about Hip Hop.  But I like it, as a matter of fact Justin Bieber is one of my favorite acts, I don’t know why maybe because your sisters like him so much, maybe it was the movie that won me over, maybe my tastes have changed I can’t pit my finger on it, but I do know I not afraid to admit it.  Raekown, well what can I say about Shallah?  One of the best albums of all time (Only Built for Cuban Links) I think it’s on the list and the way they did the song is off the hook.

  I mean can you imagine Raekown and JB in the lab coming up with the hook and the lyrics to this song?  Justin Bieber and Raekwon the Chef, damn kid!  Nah, but that’s Hip Hop we can do that and get away with it, make some simple shit like that look cool and have people accept it.  I don’t know if Rock and Roll can do that, I don’t know that Justin Beiber can do a song with The Mars Volta and pull it off like this, even if it’s just some studio shit and not an actual collaboration, I don’t know that they could do it so seamlessly as Hip Hop.

Look at the kid, he looks like an MC, he probably gets with his little crew and freestyles and shit!  JB is dope!

 

So, start a new game of “what if” collaborations and see what you come up with, I am real curious to see what kid’s will come up with now a days.  “What if Chuck D and Elton John did a song?”  No, no “What if Scarface did a song with Celine Dion?”  That would be the shit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s like that…

There’s a lot to be said about what has come from what was.  Hip Hop changed as much as we changed as individuals.  It wasnt until recently that I had to come to the realization that not only was I one of those old guys who say “old school” music is better than “new school” music, speaking of Rap music in particular but I also came to the understanding that playing both sides of the fence isn’t working.  In other words, I can’t say, “Somebody now a days try to make a better video than Run’s House…” while in the same breath saying that Jay Z video for 99 Problems is the doppest I’ve seen in minute.  See the situation is I don’t want to be one of those old guys who say the “back in the day” shit is doper than the new shit.  I don’t want to because I know in most cases that is simply not true.  Then again, in my heart of hearts I think I believe that it is.

  See, even when I argue amongst myself I lose. I know that Emcee’s today are dope and some even legendary but none seem to be as raw and uncompromising as Emcee’s where back in the day.   I don’t know.  I made this list for my son to explore and learn from.  I thought I was being fair by including a lot of Emcee’s from the past as well as some from the now but I don’t know if I did so to appease those who are going to read the list or if I did it because I honestly believe the list to be accurate. 

Album	Artist	Year
Amrikkkas Most Wanted	Ice Cube	1990
It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back	Public Enemy	1988
By Any Means Necessary	Boogie Down Productions	1987
Yo, Bum Rush the Show	Public Enemy	1987
The Low End Theory	A Tribe Called Quest	1991
Looking For the Perfect Beat	Afrika Bam	1980
Only Built for Cuban Links	Reakwon	1995
36 Chambers	Wu-Tang	1995
Illmatic	Nas	1994
Jazzmatazz	The Guru	1993
Follow the Leader	Eric B. & Rakim	1988
Rhyme Pays	Ice T	1987
Daily Operation	GangStarr	1992
Resurrection	Common	1994
Raising Hell	Run DMC	1986
Talib Kweli & Mos Def are Black Star	Black Star	1998
Black on Both Sides	Mos Def	1999
The Chronic	Dr. Dre	1992
Illadelph Halflife	The Roots	1996
Licensed To Ill	Beastie Boys	1986
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick	Slick Rick	1988
Reasonable Doubt	Jay Z	1996
The Score	The Fugees	1996
One for All	Brand Nubian	1990
Enter Da Stage	Black Moon	1993
Life Styles Ov Da Poor & Dangerous	Big L	1995
Quality Control	Jurassic 5	1993
Mecca and The Soul Brother	Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth	1992
BAD	LL Cool J	1987
Lyricist Lounge Vol. One	Lyricist Lounge Vol. One	2002
Return of the Boom Bap	KRS ONE	1993
A Future Without a Past	Leaders of the New School	1991
3 Feet High and Rising	De La Soul	1989
Death Certificate	Ice Cube	1991
N.W.A. and The Posse	N.W.A	1987
Breaking Atoms	Main Source	1991
Critical Beatdown	Ultramagnetic MC’s	1988
Runaway Slave	Showbiz and AG	1992
Rags to Riches	Kool G Rap and DJ Polo	1989
Liquid Swords	GZA	1995
The Cactus Album	3rd Base	1989
Long Live the Kane	Big Daddy Kane	1988
Strictly Business	EPMD	1991
To The East Blackwards	X Clan	1990
The Message	Grandmaster Flash and the…	1982

Then again when reviewing the list, I never made it out of the “Golden Era” of Hip Hop, I didn’t include the likes of Lil’ Wayne, Kanye West or Joe Budden etc.  Not because they are not dope or because I am out of touch with the Culture but because I don’t think they’re worthy.  Now, some people in today’s game will say I’m full of shit and don’t know what the hell I am talking about and they may be right.  But the fact of the matter is “It’s like that and that’s the way it is.”

vs.

Related articles

• Hip Hop’s top 45 albums of ALLL TIIIMMMEEE…? (thelisthiphopstop45.wordpress.com)
• The Tens: 10 Emcees You Shouldn’t Sleep On After SXSW 2011 (dayandadream.com)
• EmCee Lungz from Chicago (josephemmanuelsaintjames.wordpress.com)
• Interview with an Emcee (evolvingelle.wordpress.com)

Route of the “revolutionary?”

“I’m bout to hit you wit that traditional style of cold rockin Givin options for head knockin non stoppin Tip-toppin lyrics we droppin but styles can be forgotten so we bring back the raw hip-hoppin Just like the records and tapes you be coppin Cop some breakdancin, boogie poppin, and lockin Tic tockin, guaranteed to have you clockin We only get better and only better we have gotten This type of flow don’t even think about stoppin Beware, the length of the rhyme flow can be shockin All music lovers in the place right now That never understood the way that KRS got down Yo I’m strictly about skills and dope lyrical coastin Relying on talent, not marketing and promotion If a dope lyrical flow is a must You gots to go with a name you can quickly trust I’m not sayin I’m number one, uhh I’m sorry, I lied I’m number one, two, three, four and five…” —KRS One

                                        

I don’t know if you’re gonna go the route of the “revolutionary”,  the ordinary kid or perhaps the knowledge seeker all categories or labels common to kids coming in up in Hip Hop or at least they were.   Perhaps you even choose the road of the “gangsta” I don’t know.  Nonetheless I want you to be mindful of one thing that many people may remind you of through out your life time and that is, “Life is a marathon, not sprint.”  What does that mean, it means life  is a long journey not a simple sprint to the end, life will also lead you down routes that will force you to change direction, re-focus thoughts, breath heavy, shed tears, make decisions and re-think decisions in order to make the right the decisions later in life.

What does all that mean?  It mean’s that no matter what you decide to do or who you become, life has a funny way of forcing you to be who you really are.  What does that mean?  It means at 17 you may decide who you are, what’s important to you, what your into or even take some sort of sociopolitical stance.  It also means that the chances of you sticking to those decisions your entire life are slim to none.  You may change from pacifist to sudo-revolutionary, from jock to nerd, from a Hip Hopper to a Punk Rocker who knows, however it turns out understand that evolution is necessary and should be embraced.

The point of this blog is to try to steer you more toward “cultural” understanding verses political awareness.  Why? because your political awareness or stance will change with your personal and professional growth, it will change with the people you hang with, it will evolve as people and social circumstances change.  Hip Hop Culture however will stay the same in the sense that the Elements are what they are and the practice of those Elements only evolve to get better but at their essence remain the same.  It’s not that Hip Hop is what the world has been looking for to solve societies ills but it will help you answer questions and help in your development if you respect and learn the culture.

Hip Hop wont take the place of Knowledge of Self or education but it will help you understand both in a more grounded way.  Hip Hop wont pigeon-hole you into one frame of thought, it wont allow you to conform to a certain belief system yet allow to explore them all.  Hip Hop will take you through the world and show your cultures, religions and you may never get to experience otherwise.  If you take in all that Hip Hop Culture has to offer you will be able to go from Revolutionary to  spiritual en lightener  to artist.  Let yourself be engulfed in the Culture learn from those who have come before you take this list (The List: Hip Hop’s top 45) and add to it break it down, digest it, apply it and in the end decide if you want to go the route of the “revolutionary” or follow your own route to your own understanding.

Peace. Pops

Who got it made?

 Since I’m always talking about how Hip Hop is life and Hip Hop is a Culture that if taught correctly and nurtured can manifest great things for you and since we are always talking about ways to make you a better young man, in hopes of ensuring you have a successful adult life, let’s talk about what it’s going to take to make it all happen.

I’ve always tried to teach you the reality of things and that one day you will be held accountable for your actions, it may not be the same day that you commit an act but rest assured you will deal with all your shortcomings and deeds.  I have never tried to preach to you a lifestyle that I want you to live or a religion that I want you to practice, I leave that to those who “think” they have chosen for themselves the “right path”.  That said, I have tried to show you through my ways and actions what to do and more importantly what not to do.  I have tried to fuck up in my life so much so that you can simply look to your old man and say to yourself, “well I know that’s not for me!”

I’ve tried to be as honest and forthcoming as possible these past 16 years, although long distance fathering is not the ideal way to do it but I think we did ok communicating over the years.  But one thing has been bothering me, one thing has been continuously eating at my subconscious, and that is do you have what it takes to stand up before the world and say, “I got it made.”  Because that can be a powerful statement to make, it can uplift, build confidence, make you feel good about yourself and all the while it might even be true.  But do you have the audacity to say it? Do you have the balls?  I don’t know.  I mean really, how can you “have it made” at 16 years old, at 17 or 18?  Well, ask Special Ed he said, “I got it made” and he didn’t have it made, but he had the drive and attitude to stand in the worlds eye and say it.  That is Hip Hop.

Hip Hop Culture is built on that.  Saying things before they actually manifest, that’s part of what gives Hip Hop such a unique perspective on life and what draws people to the culture.  “i got two big cars that definitely aint the wack i got a lincoln continental and a sunroof Cadillac so after school, i take a dip in the pool which really is on the wall i got a color tv so i can see the Knicks play basketball…”  They didn’t have any of that shit, but they said it.  Special Ed did the same, “I’m your idol, the highest title…” of course he wasn’t but he said it and I’m sure for some kids back then he became just that to them.  Maybe even the Sugar Hill Gang got some of that material wealth they talked about having.  The point is not obtaining that stuff but having the strength to say it, to put it in the world so that it can manifest itself fully.

It’ s about that time in your life going into your final year of High School to start to think about what you want and how your going to get and begin to manifest those thoughts so that they become reality.  You have to begin to say what you want and even fo so fare as to say you got it already.  When people ask you, ” A Khalif! How you doin’, what you been up to?”  Your response shouldn’t be, “Awh, nothing you know, same thing, I’m good.”  No your answers need to become manifestations of what you want, of what you are going to obtain, your answer should be more like, “Awh, you know, I’m about to graduate and heading to culinary school, getin’ myself a new car, you know, makin’ it happen!”  That’s Hip Hop, that’s saying what you got before you got it, knowing you’re gonna get it.   But it’s not just about talking about what you want or bragging about what you have, or lying about what you have.  It’s about developing the desire to go after what you want and the confidence to know your going to get it, that way you’re not lyingor just talking your verbalizing your plan.  “Thinkin of a master plan Cuz ain’t nuthin but sweat inside my hand So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint So I start my mission leave my residence Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid So I think of all the devious things I did I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain’t nuthin funny Stop smiling, be still, don’t nuthin move but the money But now I learned to earn cos I’m righteous I feel great! so maybe I might just Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive Then maybe I’ll stay alive So I walk up the street whistlin this…”

See it’s about realizing what you don’t have, learning about what you want, having a plan to go get, manifesting what is right and going out and getting it.  “I got it made” to me it’s a powerful mantra if you will, a powerful quote to say to yourself over and over and over until that becomes a reality.  “I got it made” doesn’t have to mean you have the freshest car, the most money, the best job or the best looking girlfriend it could simply mean your happy with who you are, your content with yourself, your secure with who your REALLY are.  It’s time, right now is crucial, the choices you make over the next couple of years may not define the rest of your life but they sure will let you know whether the rest of your life will be a struggle or will be a walk in the park.  Hey look son, not that life is a “walk in the park” but there is a hard way to go through life and a much easier way to go through life, I hope you manifest the right thoughts and verbalize those thoughts so that one day you will have it made.

Peace. Pops

Fresh for 2011, you suckas!

You know what Khalif ?  The fact of the matter is, things simply don’t change.  People even say, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”  In my old age I am beginning to believe that to be the case.  Although in my youth, at 16 like you, no one could tell me shit.  Hip Hop was the way to live life, Rap music was the freshest thing since Michael Jackson and B-boyin, DJin’, Graffiti Art and Beatboxin were the only thing I was trying to deal with.  I guess you can say in a sense it’s still like that.  You, however have so many more options available to you that Hip Hop Culture may seem like the furthest thing from your mind.  At least you think it is.  See, I think it’s more ingrained in the fabric of “American” culture so much so that it is almost unrecognizable.  What do I mean?  Well, when I was coming up you can SEE Hip Hop Culture you can pick out the B-boys, the Emcee‘s, the DJ’s etc, now a days everyone pretty much looks the same.  Today people can be rockin shit that would be considered “Hip Hop” clothing or attire and not even be down with the Culture.  You can be rockin an Adidas suit and some fuckin shell toes and no one would think anything of it.  But “back in the days” if you saw some dude walking down the street wearing that shit you KNEW he/she was into Hip Hop Culture.

Fresh for 2011, you suckaas!

Hip Hop as become so much a part of  today’s society, everyone whether they know it or not is in some way shape or form tried to Hip Hop as a Culture.  They talk it, walk it, wear it, design lines of clothing to mimic it and even market it as if we wont recognize it for what it is.  Your so caught up in it that the term Hip Hop may not even ring in your mind as something you are living, that is a  beautiful thing.    It means that you ARE Hip Hop and the fact that I have to show you Hip Hop simply means I have to show you who you are and that’s the job of any father.

Man son, I hope this all makes sense.  I don’t know that it does, but one day it will.  Maybe. I hope.  If you stick to our original idea and begin the process of completing The List of Hip Hop’s top 45 albums of all time, then maybe you will begin to see your own transformation.  The List is about building a foundation for you to begin to learn Hip Hop which is to learn about yourself, to learn about what helped to create you.  This “List” is not just a random list of Emcee’s or albums, ok maybe it is, it came as a pretty random idea but the reality is this “List” was easy for me to put together which has to mean the majority of the albums MUST have had meaning in my life.  Most of the albums on The List are interchangeable as we have talked about before, but of course that comes with the criticism your dad is known for.