#140: the humble & low ep [2011]

"should i join the system i can’t be? or gamble with the heat? cancel all the dreams i speak for dying on my feet? why should i rely on a piece of the pie that’s incomplete? judas with the judge and the jury, hurry to catch defeat."

"a stray bullet wrapped in a love letter from the early days of the millennium. an era of hard rocks and hard rhymes, coupled with a contradictory sense of optimism and expansiveness. an era i recall as grimier and more innocent, at the same time. before mainstream hip hop made the full-on transition from culture to market. before the way we were in the world was put up for sale. before his untimely demise, lastchild lived in the typical cats house. evidence of a lost style. it sounds like him — cynical and sincere, rugged but nimble. he is heartless and plaintive in the same breath. he was a wayward genius, a multi-instrumentalist, a punk rocker and hip hopper, a lost poet, and a last son. he was my brother. he’s gone now. but we’ll see him again—and soon. some leave because they were too swift for babylon to catch. they’ll never touch him now. rest in peace." - denizen kane

this tape is valuable.. it's rare.. it's a gem.. it's ethereal.. i actually bought the album.

tracklist:
lastchild's lament 01
lastchild speaks 02
lastchild's wrath 03
last shot 04
last days 05

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

#139: cinemetropolis [2011]

"cinemetropolis is a solid effort from blue scholars. sabzi’s beats show a fantastic progression from "bayani" and geo maintains his thoughtful and topical rhymes. however, the album’s "visual soundtrack" theme falls short in presenting truly evocative music as the concept really clicks in only a handful of songs. nonetheless, the album is a more subtle and mature record than their previous work, very worthy of a listen." - kevin nottingham

tracklist:
cinemetropolis 01
hussein 02
fou lee 03
lalo schifrin 04
seijun suzuki 05
anna karina 06
marion sunshine 07
slick watts 08
george jackson 09
oskar barnack ∞ oscar grant 10
yuri kochiyama 11
rani mukerji 12
tommy chong 13
chief stealth 14
fin 15

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

#138: none shall pass [2007]

"created over a 2 year period following his last release, "none shall pass" documents not only a vast amount of personal change that aesop experienced over this time, but also deftly depicts scenes and stories relative to all ages of life. the majority of production duties have been handled by aesop's longtime partner blockhead, while label mates el-p and rob sonic each make offerings. aesop himself confidently produces a handful of his own tracks as well." - amazon

tracklist:
keep off the lawn 01
none shall pass 02
catacomb kids 03
bring back pluto 04
fumes 05
getaway car 06
39 thieves 07
the harbor is yours 08
citronella 09
gun for the whole family 10
five fingers 11
no city 12
dark heart news 13
coffee 14

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

#137: labor days [2001]

"aesop rock doesn't try to contend with rap music's commercial villains. instead, on "labor days," his first release for the def jux label, aesop ignores the mainstream and displays an unshakable confidence rarely seen in independent hip-hop. although a staccato, dadaist delivery is his trademark, subsequent listens reveal his storytelling gifts and rhyme structures to be thick with purpose. there's also a sensitivity only hinted at on "float," his first mass release. On "daylight," he informs, "life is not a bitch / life's a beautiful woman," while "no regrets" tells the life story of a woman who only communicated through her drawings until her death in a nursing home. surely, this is a fine example of hip-hop's formidable underground." - arno kazarian

tracklist:
labor 01
daylight 02
save yourself 03
flashflood 04
no regrets 05
one brick 06
the tugboat complex pt. 3 07
coma 08
battery 09
boombox 10
bent life 11
the yes and y'all 12
9-5ers anthem 13
shovel 14

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

#136: float [2000]

"cd reissue of aesop rock's long out of print, second album and first major release, "float", which was originally released on mush records in 1999. float features appearances from slug [atmosphere], vast aire [cannibal ox], doseone [anticon]." - amazon

tracklist:
float 01
commencement at the obedience academy 02
big bang 03
garbage 04
i'll be ok 05
breakfast with blockhead 06
basic cable 07
fascination 08
oxygen 09
skip town 10
6b panorama 11
lunch with blockhead 12
spare a match 13
attention span (ft. vast aire) 14
how to be a carpenter 15
prosperity 16
no splash 17
drawbridge 18
dinner with blockhead 19
the mayor and the crook 20

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

#135: music for earth worms [1998]

"while attending college, bavitz initially recorded and released two self-financed efforts, "music for earthworms" [1997], a full-length featuring underground artist percee p on two tracks. bavitz also released a music video to "abandon all hope", which was one of the tracks on the cd. the album sold over 300 copies.

with the money he made from his previous release, he then released his "appleseed ep" in 1999 which received critical acclaim in the underground hip hop circuit. both of his early records were produced by long-time friend blockhead, and underground producer dub-l. he completed these albums while also working as a waiter." - wikipedia

tracklist:
abandon all hope 01
wake up call 02
the substance 03
merit 04
night train promo 05
live on 89.9 fm night train 06
coward of the year (remix) 07
shere khan 08
antisocial 09
coordinates 10
plastic soldiers 11
troubled waters 12

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

take it to the next level, ha ha! check it out.

#134: self: volume 1 [1999]

''this is what hip hop was all about. tight flows, ill beats, smooth mc's who know how to work the mic. I heard these cats play thier own instruments so I'm really wondering if they're going to come out with a live cd. maybe down the road. It's obvious that chops is the one with the major skills, he has the ability to survive on his own if the group was to ever dis-band.'' -amazon.com

this album defines the word dopeness. track #2 is a trip to other galaxies, scattered across the humongous universe.

tracklist:

intro (every hero needs theme music) 01

galaxies: the next level 02

brand names 03

fluids 04

adventures of... (nutrition breakfast mix) 05

love poetry 06

dig it 07

paperchase 08

super saturday 09

whiplash! 10

turntable mathematics 11

day jobs 12

wake-up call 13

things to do 14

days of being dumb 15

black whirlwind 16

ain't nuthin' 98 17

5 elements 18

oh-oh-oh 19

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

dopeness

lots of 1's and 2's. it's almost 2012. grab this tape, put it on continuous replay is all i'm gonna say. it's a compilation album of tracks i've been listening to frequently for the past few days.

tracklist:

genelec & memphis reigns - chicken soup 01

genelec & memphis reigns - offerings 02

living legends - never fallin' 03

blu & exile - so(ul) amazin' (steel blazin') 04

p.u.t.s. - acid raindrops (ft. camel mc) 05

the visionaries - if you can't Say love 06

memphis reigns - mad hatter 07

the sound providers - the field 08

genelec & memphis reigns, dan j & son of ran - cedar bump 09

gorillaz - tomorrow comes today 10

gorillaz - 19-2000 (ft. miho hatori & tina weymouth) 11

memphis reigns & d-mitch - post script to mars (ft. hypoetical) 12

rizzle kicks - prophet (better watch it) 13

son of ran - the so 14

memory tapes - green knight 15

son of ran - second wind 16

son of ran - the professor 17

people under the stairs - earth travellers 18

richie cunning - if 6 was 9 (ft. genelec) 19

Typical Cats - Reinventing the Wheel 20

genelec & memphis reigns - taming the beast 21

gorillaz - november has come (ft. mf doom) 22

mountain brothers - brand names 23

mountain brothers - galaxies: the next level 24

mind mechanics & piloophaz - 5 minutes to midnight 25

stoneface - third eye 26

duvelduvel - alles gaat voorbij 27

son of ran - street science 28

rizzle kicks - miss cigarette 29

funkdoobiest - rock on 30

az - pieces of a (black) man 31

people under the stairs - anotha' (bbq) 32

kendrick lamar - hiipower 33

son of ran - brief soul 34

people under the stairs - the wiz 35

son of ran - dear music 36

link: download: link: download.

up 133: children of god [2008]

''for his third album, new jersey rapper hasan salaam continues to speak his mind in a deep voice that, trained like an instrument, commands attention.'' - thomas quinlan

tracklist:

conception 01

best time to pray 02

insomniac pt. 1 (nightfall) (ft. dj gi joe) 03

history of violence (ft. badsportt) 04

angel dust (ft. lord jamar) 05

deliver my soul (ft. majesty & maya azucena) 06

culture shock (interlude) 07

the uprock (ft. masta ace) 08

the downrock (ft. rugged n raw, smarty pants & badsportt) 09

15 minutes 10

the reign (wudu) 11

suga 12

children of god 13

how to make a nigger (interlude)14

someplace 15

blessed (interlude) (ft. sos, aja & elijah) 16

kingdom of heaven 17

bonus track 18

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 132: bayani: redux [2009]

'bayani' was originally released in 2007 on rawkus records. duck down records re-issued the album in 2009 as 'bayani: redux' with 3 extra tracks released for the first time on cd.

tracklist:

Introduction 01

second chapter 02

opening salvo 03

north x northwest 04

ordinary guys 05

still got love 06

bayani 07

loyalty 08

fire for the people 09

xenophobia 10

the distance 11

back home 12

50 thousand deep 13

morning of america 14

joe metro 15

27 16

southbound 17

dawn song (ft. shad) 18

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 130: stunts, blunts & hip hop [1992]

''this album came out when hip-hop artists were hungry and had to perform well, or they would get snipped from their label right quick. this was before people could make wack, ice and moet-laden raps and coast through gold or platinum courtesy of a lot of ignorant listeners.

this album covers everyday life topics that everyone can relate to like the dilemma between long-term relationships and one-night stands as elaborated on in ''red light, green light,'' the eventual deterioration of gold-diggin' girls who were spoiled from day one in ''sally got a one-track mind,'' or the tension of sticky situations in ''i'm outta here''.

the rest of the album contains other topics barely touched by today's emcees and just straight skills on the mic. this was the best era that hip-hop had ever seen and diamond d was not only in tune with it, but ahead of it as well. it is shocking to hear him foreshadow the inevitable decline of hip-hop on ''stunts, blunts, & hip hop'', when he says "back then it wasn't done for the cash, i hope the legacy continues to last." well, the legacy has not lasted to its fullest extent in all ciphers, so I have to be content living in the past with this album by my side, and if you are a true hip-hop head i recommend you do the same.'' - sugglife

tracklist:

intro 01

best-kept secret 02

sally got a one-track mind 03

step to me 04

shut the fuck up 05

fuck what u heard 06

i'm outta here 07

a day in the life 08

last car on the 2 train 09

red light, green light 10

i went for mine 11

comments from big l and showbiz 12

check one, two 13

what you seek 14

lunchroom chatter 15

confused 16

pass dat shit 17

freestyle (yo, that's that shit) 18

k.i.s.s. (keep it simple, stupid) 19

stunts, blunts, and hip hop 20

wufman stressed out 21

feel the vibe 22

a view from the underground 23

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 129: love supersedes lp [2010]

''after working together on 2008’s 'beautiful loser lp' (goon trax records) rapper awon and producer kameleon beats decided it was time to team up again. the duo envisioned a project reminiscent of the pete rock & cl smooth or guru & dj premier partnerships that garnered much acclaim in the 90’s.

with all of the lackluster music out there, they decided it was time to move things forward while staying true to their roots. nostalgic music heads long for the golden era of hip-hop, but as products of the great influencers, awon and kameleon beats plan to reinvigorate the game.''

-blog.istandardproducers.com

their collaborative lp entitled 'love supersedes' showcases their creative synergy as awon delivers cleverly crafted rhymes over kameleon beats’ vintage jazzy production. the project also features fellow soul students crew members dicap and mac da menace. the end result is thought-provoking hip hop you can feel.  enjoy your free copy of this lp.

tracklist:

intro 01

back with the tracks 02

never say never 03

love supersedes 04

for the grimey 05

l.o.z. (ft. dicap) 06

the spotlight (ft. fiv of the gift) 07

busy dreaming 08

spit on it (ft. man j raw & mac da menace) 09

push 10

audio therapy 11

crimes of passion 12

believe in us 13

outro 14

=

the album is available for free,

you can either get it from the-0uternet or from awon & kameleon's bandcamp.

up 128: 22 channels [2007]

not much information can be found about this south-korean producer.. what can be said though is that loptimist produces some of the freshest beats. the album features a few (to me) unknown asian artists who fortunately only add more quality to lopti's dope beats. this album is definitely worth checking out.

tracklist:

intro 01

new vision 02

black cancer (ft. dead p) 03

ocean to ocean (ft. unknown prophets) 04

눈물샘 (ft. 나찰 of 가리온, 대팔) 05

wethereal (ft. phebruary) 06

85 paradise (ft. sol flower) 07

hard hittin (ft. underclassmen) 08

love (ft. blackliszt) 09

no doubt (ft. deepflow) 10

dear unknown (ft. wimpy of 두사람) 11

la rapondeur (interlude) (ft. deaf switch & toon) 12

ko is th name (ft. the legendary k.o.) 13

struggle to rise (ft. sick status) 14

nostalgia (ft. addsp2ch) 15

last for one (ft. 배치기) 16

가난한 사랑 노래(Loptimistic Remix) (ft. UMC) 17

illest form (ft. underclassmen) 18

coffee break 19

the tiumph (ft. simon dominic) 20

like they used to (ft. d. randle of the legendary k.o.) 21

keep on rockin (ft. side-b) 22

hidden agenda (ft. braille) 23

outro 24

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 127: nocturnal [1996]

''true hip-hop heads long for the day when commercial rap no longer appeals to the masses. when mc's go back to the days were talent received radio play. only the expertly crafted rhymes and raw beats were the catalyst of a respectable career.

although we may never again reach this point, it's good to know that we can always pull 'nocturnal' from the vault and dwell on the underground talent the defined good music. although most of the beats of the album are simple, what is significant is the fact that dru ha, evil dee and buckshot did a great job of matching these beats to the lyrical flow of ruck and rock.

the album can be played from beginning to end with virtually no weak tracks. 'letha brainz blow,' a real head bangin' track is an example of how the beat and the rhymes compliment each other seamlessly. 'who dat?' is an extremely slow track in which the raps almost seem freestyle.

when comparing tracks like these on the album to mainstream tracks today, it is obvious that the hip-hop's golden years have passed. it's difficult to determine who the better mc is (ruck or rockness) but that just forces you to listen to the whole album. and still no determination can be made. i recommend this album to people who can appreciate the underground, let the madness begin!'' - joe borello ''jbore26''

tracklist:

intro (here we come) (ft. starang wondah) 01

letha brainz blo 02

understand 03

who dat? 04

sean price (ft. illa noyz) 05

clan's, posse's, crew's & clik's 06

therapy (ft. vinia mojica) 07

place to be 08

soldiers gone psyco 09

the square (triple r) (ft. representativz) 10

da wiggy 11

gettin ass gettin as (ft. vinia mojica) 12

leflaur leflah eshkoshka (ft. the fab 5) 13

prowl (ft. louieville sluggah) 14

grate unknown 15

operation lock down (ft. buckshot) 16

lock down skit 17

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 126: tribute to sky city [2007]

''...as the album is free, the only thing I can do is help promote it... the album is sh!t hot from start to finish & to be quite honest i can't get to grips with why the album is free... anyway if you like relentless emceeing, jazzy soulful beats and literate & articulate rhymes (strictly no non-sense) grab the album below.'' - jusmusic.blogspot.com

tracklist:

the so 01

can i 02

brief soul 03

the professor 04

second wind 05

no sunshizzle 06

gates to cybertron 07

get up 08

street science 09

as long as there's you 10

ya'lls truly 11

lions heart 12

grab it (support the artist).

up 125: the reset [2010]

''apollo brown is amazing and what an incredible title for the album. there's no way any true hip-hop head could bypass this album. keep your eyes and ears open for this up and rising producer because the rap game needs ''the reset''. 'big up's to detroit and mello music group!'' - jazzy tre'

tracklist:

our time 01

hungry (ft. rapper big pooh & black milk) 02

lower the boom (ft. oddisee, kenn starr & sareem poems) 03

beauty of a day (ft. the regiment) 04

real detroit (ft. the left) 05

seasons (ft. stik figa) 06

brag language (ft. buff 1 & magestik legend) 07

streets won't let me chill (ft. diamond district) 08

balance (ft. john robinson & kenn starr) 09

turn & run (ft. med & rapper big pooh) 10

odds ain't fair (ft. hassaan mackey) 11

brainwash (ft. yu, grap luva & finale) 12

just think (ft. magestik legend) 13

propa (ft. oddisee & tranqill) 14

ghetto soul music (ft. declaime, prince po & finale) 15

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

moving forward

awon & kameleon beats

up 124: how i got over [2010]

''to call it ''long-awaited'' or "''eagerly anticipated'' would be the understatement of the year - as hip-hop's most daring pioneers the roots release their 9th studio album (and third for def jam recordings) on june 22nd, 'how i got over'. the album, which takes its name from clara ward's gospel classic (made popular by mahalia jackson), is the roots' first new release since joining late night with jimmy fallon for a full time gig as the show's house band.

grammy award winners the roots characterize the songs on 'how i got over' as ''depicting the everyman's search for hope in this dispiriting post-hope zeitgeist''. - amazon.com

tracklist:

a peace of light 01

walk alone 02

dear god 2.0 03

radio daze 04

now or never 05

how i got over 06

dillatude: the flight of titus 07

the day 08

right on 09

doin' it again 10

the fire 11

tunnel vision 12

web 20/20 13

hustla 14

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 123: rising down [2008]

'''rising down' is a solid follow-up to 'game theory' which in my opinion was the best album of 2006.

black thought's raw lyricism just puts 99% of all other emcees to shame. the man is just a beast on the mic. production is on point, guest spots shine (although imo there are too many features). if you like the roots and real hip-hop.. buy this album, you won't regret it.'' - j. konara

tracklist:

the pow wow 01

rising down 02

get busy 03

@ 15 04

75 bars (black's reconstruction) 05

becoming unwritten 06

criminal 07

i will not apologize 08

i can't help it 09

singing man 10

unwritten 11

lost desire 12

the show 13

rising up 14

pow wow 2 15

birhtday girl 16

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 122: game theory [2006]

''despite their signing to def jam, on 'game theory' the roots head in a direction opposite from all the trendy, commercial formulas that the label has pioneered.

this is as intensely a ''roots album'' as anything they've put out, the rightful sequel to their brilliant, creative 'phrenology' (unlike their last album, the off-balance 'tipping point.' 'game theory' is a dark and brooding affair, not just in black thought's foreboding lyricism but also in its musical textures. there's a layer of melancholia running beneath nearly every song, whether in the heavy thump of ''in the music'' or the frenetic verve of ''here i come.'' track-for-track, this isn't the roots' most scintillating collection of songs, but listened to from end-to-end, it's actually a remarkable achievement in album-making.

every song builds into the next one, and those willing to experience 'game theory' as a 47-minute suite of 13 songs will be richly rewarded by how precisely the whole puzzle fits together.'' - oliver wang

tracklist:

dilltastic vol won(derful) 01

false media 02

game theory 03

don't feel right 04

in the music 05

take it there 06

baby 07

here i come 08

long time 09

livin' in a new world 10

clock with no hands 11

atonement 12

can't stop this 13

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.

up 121: the tipping point [2004]

''on their sixth album, the roots backslide a bit on the creative promise they showed with 2002's 'phrenology'. instead of expanding into more ambitious and experimental areas--the way outkast has, for example--the roots tend to fall back to basics with vigorous, but ultimately conventional, lyricism.

there are definitely some truly great moments here: the album opens with near-magic on ''star,'' a mesmerizing song that is one of the finest of the group's career, and black thought is a one-man tour de force on ''boom!'' where he mimics big daddy kane and kool g rap down to their velour sweats.

but 'the tipping point' also has some of their blandest production ever, and, at 10 tracks (plus two hidden cuts), the compactness of the album makes the problem spots stand out more than usual. ''i don't care'' and ''duck down!'' in particular seem derivative and commercially tailored. the main thing missing here is an overall guiding concept, something the roots have never lacked before.'' - oliver wang

tracklist:

star/pointro 01

i don't care 02

don't say nuthin' 03

guns are drawn 04

stay cool 05

web 06

boom! 07

somebody's gotta do it 08

duck down! 09

why (what's goin on?) 10

your choice: get it easy/support the artist.