Few things go as well together as hip-hop and science. The lexicon of bleeding-edge theoretical physics is practically overflowing with
rhyme-ready particles (real, virtual, anti-, and otherwise), and from Dr. Octagon to The Sounds of Science, the rap canon abounds with more-or-less learned verses.
So if you're like me and have trouble finding enough to time in your life to nurture your twin loves of hip-hop and quantum cosmology, let Alpine Kat grab the mic for a minute. Science writer by day and science rapper in her spare time, Alpine Kat has recorded a number of "science raps," the most notorious of which serves as a primer on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), an immense subterranean machine on the Franco-Swiss border designed to slam protons together at near-light speeds in order to see what happens.
If you like what you hear, check out more of Alpine Kat's science raps.
Either way, let us know about the best science-based hip-hop we might have missed...
Freeway & Jake One's The Stimulus Package is a marvel. The music itself is definitely worth a listen if you're into hip-hop, but the design is a straight-up object lesson in concept art for music. That plastic card you see in the video below? It's got a code to download the whole album's instrumentals for free.
SoundUnwound is the new music website from IMDb and Amazon. We are primarily a music database, which is editable by all users, but moderated to help keep data quality high. Recently we’ve been adding a few extra features for a bit more fun. We know some of the Chordstrike team have been enjoying them, so we thought we’d let you know too.
We’ve made use of Amazon's vast library of 30-second song samples to put together five genre quizzes which test your musical knowledge, and your reaction times. Do you think you know about pop, rock, indie, country or hip-hop? Can you tell the difference between Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato? Pearl Jam and Soundgarden? Modest Mouse and the Manic Street Preachers? Toby Keith and Brad Paisley? Jay-Z and Ludacris?
Yeah, of course you can! But can you make your choice within a few short seconds, before you've heard their voices? The longer the clock ticks, the less points you win for answering correctly. We’ve already seen some users rack up impressive scores. Can you join them on the individual genre leader boards, or on the overall board?
And once you’ve mastered your own specialist subject, why not try the quiz of a genre you know less about? Everything you hear is shown with links to the main SoundUnwound site, so you can find out more about any new discoveries, or add them to your SoundUnwound library.
We have to warn you: please make sure you’ve already done your homework, washed the dishes and put the cat out, because these quizzes can be addictive!
We’d love you to try them out and, if you’ve got any comments on the quizzes or on the rest of the site, please let us know in the comments here, or by sending us feedback.
If you follow the movements of certain international politicians, you may have noticed that Vladimir Putin has been polishing his image of late, as evidenced by some widely-distributed photos of the Russian prime minister in recent months. We've now seen this rugged man of the people shirtless with gun, shirtless on horseback, fishing shirtless, and of course flexing on his own Judo DVD.
Last week, Putin covered his famous pecs with a turtleneck and appeared at a hip-hop show to warn his younger countrymen about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. At a music contest aired on Russia's Muz TV, the prime minister stood stiffly between his nation's young b-boys and b-girls, and as they danced and swayed around him, he clapped off-beat and looked somewhat uncomfortable. After the rappers performed, ABC News reports that Putin shared some thoughts about hip-hop culture:
“Street rap may be a little bit rough but it contains social
meaning, raising social problems. Graffiti has become a real elegant art, break dance is something
special. It is really a promotion of a healthy lifestyle. It is hard to
imagine break dance being combined with alcohol or drugs."
It may feel a little early for this sort of thing, but we on the Amazon music team have pooled our collective knowledge and taste to determine the best music of 2009.
We spent 2009 soothed by Neko Case's wail, moved to dance by Yeah Yeah Yeahs' turn towards big beats, intrigued by Somali hip-hop Troubadour K'naan, and ready to hear three key words from neo-twangsters the Avett Brothers.
On the songs side, French popsters Phoenix went nutty for a composer and we went nutty for Phoenix. La Roux made us feel invincible, Jay-Z officially crushed an awful trend, and Passion Pit sent us reeling.
Voting with their wallets, our customers told us they really like U2, as it was both our bestselling CD and MP3 album of 2009. Black Eyed Peas also popped up in plenty of playlists, as they locked down the top two slots on our songs chart.
Every year, great albums slip through the cracks. This year, our
editors wanted to save some from that unfair fate. We shine a spotlight
on excellent underheard CD and MP3 albums across all genres, and we've even made a playlist featuring a single song from each record, so you can sample 'til you find something you like.
Dig into the lists and see which lists line up most closely with your personal tastes:
Head over to our best music of 2009 store to find complete lists, plus the best in everything from Latin music to Gospel to comedy and all points between.
We're aware there's still a decent chunk of the year left. We'll be adding a latecomers and honorable mentions feature over the next few weeks. Hit the comments, let us know what we missed, and perhaps it'll make an appearance.
Mariah Carey is the Rainman of pop music. Focused, blank faced and sometimes capable of genius. Each toothpick lying on the diner floor is a hit song; each cheese puff is a music video featuring a greased-up, jiggling Mariah bearing an expression that translates to either a)Tabula Rasa; or b) “I’ve had too much turkey dinner.” I can’t tell. My Latin ain’t so good. It goes without saying that Mariah Carey is an undisputed talent who has achieved greatness. She has a reported 5-octave voice and has sold something in the neighborhood of, what – like 200 million records? Amazing! I used to get chills listening to she and Whitney Houston dominate radio in the early 90s with pop songs that showcased considerable soul and range. Like major powerhouse vocal business. It just knocked me to hear voices like that. Whitney disappeared from the scene and Mariah stole it, supplementing her vocal range with some kind of fantastical Hip Hop genie oil that, when applied directly to skin, creates MTV and radio perfection. A quick scan through music video history finds Mariah in all manner of locale (a school, a countryside hoedown, in water, in posh cars, on various silk beds, in her knickers, in bikini in front of Vuitton luggage, in mansions, etc.), jiggling awkwardly and touching herself prettily while wearing a bloated, vacant smile that reminds me a bit of Patrick Swayze’s smile in Ghost when his spirit left Oda Mae for the last time. Perhaps the smile is just a way of coping with the interminable breeze that seems to follow the poor woman around onscreen (it’s always windy in her videos, which is perplexing considering many of them take place indoors.). A couple vids from the early years are below, but the new ones, the really gross/awesome ones ("Don't Forget About Us," "We Belong Together," "Say Somethin'," "Touch My Body"), cannot be shown here, sadly. "Embedding disabled by request." (Sigh*).
The lips parted, peekaboo glances and self love that mark her music video performances could be almost lovable if there were something substantial -- like her shining TALENT, for example -- to anchor it. There's not. The last few albums have been produced within an inch of their digital lives, her vocals seemingly quadruple tracked and Pro-Tooled to bits, only to be ultimately sidelined by Hip Hop glitterati guest appearances. I’m all for double-tracking vocals (Dave Gilmour in Dark Side of the Moon, anyone?) and collaborating with your buddies but at some point it becomes a major bummer. The vocal legend’s latest (with its straight-faced title), Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, provides no reprieve on the bummer front. More breathy vocal business. More songs with barely any sung words. More tiny dresses fit to burst. More indoor breezes. More self-conscious touching of the face and hair. More lazy grins. More killer song titles like “Angels Cry” and “H.A.T.E.U.” (although to be fair, "H.A.T.E.U." is one of the finest songs on the album). A quick aside: while Memoirs… came close to winning the award for Best Accidentally-Comedic Album Title, the trophy still stays safe in the harbors of Mariah’s 2008 release, E=MC2. I know the new album has sold a quarter of a million and that my opinion may elicit derision from some, but folks - please be gentle. I am an imperfect angel; Don’t H.A.T.E.ME. Love me, love me…
There are plenty of live albums issued solely as afterthoughts or
contract fulfillments, but there are plenty that are as transcendent as
the best in-person concert experiences, only with zero lines at the bathroom. For
this particular list we came up with the following criteria:
• Only one album per artist.
• Albums were been performed live in front of an audience, but don't necessarily have to be culled from a single performance.
• No EPs or singles—this list is about albums
• We decided to limit this list to music, which means no comedy. We
wanted to save those records for a separate list for laffers.
Of course, we exercise their judgment regarding quality and/or
historical significance. If you disagree with our choices (and there's
a good chance you will), let us know in the comments.
As an incidental result of listening to a lot of Brother Ali's Us, R.E.M.'s Accelerate, and the Beatles' Revolver this week, my coffee table happened to be strewn with these three great black-and-white albums covers.
There must thousands more out there, but what are the best?
I've already got a graphic artist interested in putting together a collage of these, which is where you come in. Leave comments with your suggestions for great black-and-white album covers. I'll collect them and--eventually--post the artist's finished collage.
Foo Fighters - "Wheels" Even though their last couple albums have been spotty enough to make me almost lose interest, I've always felt like the Foos had it in them to assemble a pretty stacked greatest hits collection, which they've VERY CONVENIENTLY done just in time for the holidays. Unfortunately for us, the band tacked on two new jams, of which, "Wheels" is one. Listening to the beginning, I felt like the MP3 was mislabled and I accidentally downloaded some Keith Urban. What followed was a generic smear of limp, slick, unfortunate, late-period Tom Petty impersonation. I'm not against the new stuff, but I'm pretty sure I would have been happier if they had clipped this from the tracklist in favor of "I'll Stick Around" or "Walking After You."
Suggested if you like: Tom Petty, an extremely competent cover band performing Tom Petty songs, "mediocre-of" material appearing on a "best-of" Rating: 13/69 Full Moon Fevers
Consequence (feat. Kanye West and John Legend) - "Whatever U Want" Because he has but one flow and a steadfast refusal to vary his rhyme schemes, Consequence is best taken in small doses. For a number of IMMA-LET-YOU-FINISH-related reasons, our old pal Yeezy has, as of late, also been getting his mail forwarded to an address in the best-in-small-doses zip code. As such, you'll be satisfied to know that they're each limited to four bars at a pass in this slinky Gin and Tonic of a tune. With its low-key vibe and 2:37 run time, it feels more like the suggestion of a song than an actual song. Still, I've listened to it five times in short succession, mostly because I'm left wanting more each time. When was the last time you could say that about anything involving any of these parties?
Suggested if you like: "I'm Good" by the Clipse, "Love Hangover" by Kidz in the Hall, surprise awesome Rating: 26/30 prefunk cocktails
Melissa Laveaux - "Crazy in Love" I have no idea who this person is and I'm generally against covers of songs I like (TWO STRIKES, LADY), but this thumpy, acoustic reinvention of the Beyonce ultrajam is-- no exaggeration-- the best new song I've heard in months. Should you decide to scoot over to her MySpace page, you can listen to, along with some of her originals, another unique cover, this time of Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay." Her version of "Crazy in Love," however, is so good I don't even miss the Jay-Z verse. A++++ NEW ARTIST. WOULD BUY FROM AGAIN.
Suggested if you like: Lykke Li, Emiliana Torrini, making a great thing even better Rating: 93/100 oh-no-nos
KRS-One weighed in on Def Jam Records' legacy (which he believes "sucks, straight up") at last week's filming of the 2009 Vh1 Hip-Hop Honors--an event honoring the legacy of Def Jam Records. Watch the video (via xxl):
While Kris somewhat confusingly flips back and forth between harsh words and claims of love and respect for Def Jam, his criticism rings much more sincere than the praise he uses to pad it. It seems everybody likes to point the finger at someone else for killing hip hip--even the man who released an album entitled "Hip-Hop Lives" in 2007 as a sort of retort to Nas' 2006 "Hip-Hop is Dead."
Jeru the Damaja handled the subject with a bit more elegance on 1996's Wrath of the Math, blaming Sean "Diddy" Combs and his Bad Boy Records imprint for the decline and commercialization of hip-hop in the 90s. In the storytelling lyrics of "One Day," hip-hop is kidnapped by the Bad Boy crew, dressed up in a Versace suit and fake alligator boots, and forced to quaff Cristal with the likes of Foxy Brown... who was actually a Def Jam artist at the time. So maybe The Teacher has a point.
Is hip-hop dead? Alive? Did Def Jam kill it? See what other hip-hop recording artists think of the label when Vh1's celebration airs on Tuesday, October 13th, at 9 pm ET/PT.
The hip-hop community suffered another tragic loss this weekend with the untimely passing of one of its best turntablists: DJ Roc Raida of New York City crew the X-Ecutioners.
Born Anthony Williams in 1972, Roc Raida made his first indelible stamp on DJ culture as a young competitor in the DMC World DJ Championships, an international competition that challenges beatmasters to test just how far the turntable can be pushed as an instrument. Each year competitors lift the disciplines of scratching, mixing, beat juggling and body tricks to ever-higher levels. In 1995, ten years after the competition began, Roc took home the champion's spoils: gold turntables and hip-hop infamy. In recent years he has been better known as Busta Rhymes' tour DJ.
Those who were lucky enough to play shows with Roc Raida say he was as humble as he was skillful - always the nicest guy at the party.
His family released the following statement on Saturday: "Anthony Williams... has passed away unexpectedly today, September 19, 2009. He is survived by his wife, three lovely daughters, mother and friends. Raida was recently in a mixed-martial-arts accident, something that he has been practicing for several years. Although he had undergone two surgeries with great success, was released to an inpatient physical therapy facility and was in great spirits the past few days, this morning he started to have complications and passed. The family asks for privacy at this time."
Check out Roc Raida's championship-winning 1995 battle routine for some stunning examples of turntable science. RIP.
London rapper Speech Debelle is the surprise winner of the 2009 Mercury Music Prize. Her debut album Speech Therapy
won the award, which is given to the best album of the last 12 months
by a British or Irish artist according to a panel of judges. The prize
comes with a check for £20,000 ($33,000), and it will give a huge
boost to her profile. Reportedly, prior to its nomination Speech Therapy had sold only 3,000 copies. After nomination she was quoted as a 15/1 long-shot, though odds had shortened nearer the ceremony. She told the BBC after winning: "It feels so much better than I
imagined. I don't really get emotional but I'm emotional now. This
proves that if you believe in something, you can achieve it." Speech
Debelle's victory was a big surprise, with several better-known names
also in the running. Florence and the Machine were favorites, thanks to debut album Lungs, while Glasvegas, Kasabian, Bat For Lashes and Friendly Fires were also all widely tipped. Last year's award was won by Elbow's fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid.
So what do you think - do you agree with the judges' choice? Here's a few videos of the budding star to help you decide:
"The Key" is available as a free download from Amazon here, and British fans can download the entire album for £3 from here.
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.
Boogie Down Productions'
legendary rapper KRS-One has never been afraid to get on his pedestal
and preach, in his lyrics or in interviews. Now he's gone even further
than ever before: he's written a 600 word book, called it The Gospel of
Hip-Hop, and declared it to be the start of "a new religion on the
earth." In an interview with AllHipHop.com to promote the new book, the
man known as The Teacha said: "It explores the spirituality of Hip-Hop,
the divinity of Hip-Hop... I think I have the authority to approach God
directly, I don’t have to go through any religion [or] train of
thought. I can approach God directly myself and so I wrote a book
called The Gospel of Hip Hop to free from all this nonsense garbage
right now. I respect the Christianity, the Islam, the Judaism, but
their time is up.” The book is structured like the Christian Bible and
offers practical advice about life, as well as philosophical
discussions on morality and spirituality. "I’m willing to go beyond my
born culture to create a whole new civilization," KRS continued, "[I]
happen to be one of the first citizens of this new culture, new
civilization called Hip-Hop. In a hundred years, everything that I’m
saying to you will be common knowledge and people will be like, 'Why
did he have to explain this? Wasn’t it obvious?'" The book is due to be
published in the fall, but here's The Teacha's "Outta Here" in the meantime...
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
I am, quite frankly, surprised by this. "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" are good songs, but really? Number 1? Record-breaking?
Don't get me wrong--I like the Black Eyed Peas' music. I just don't get why these songs have such broad appeal. Yes, they're good party songs, and they're fun to dance to. Is this why people like them so much?
I personally prefer the Peas' more socially-conscious early work, like their debut album, Behind the Front and their sophomore title, Bridging the Gap. I like music that explores social and cultural themes, that touches me in some way, that makes me think. But I admit that too much thinking can get old. Maybe, when it comes down to it, most people just want to forget everything and dance--hence the Peas' most recent success on the charts.
D.Folks' self-released album Jupiter doesn't stay in one place very
long, moving seamlessly between organic, '80s-indebted, uptempo pop and
contemporary loverman R&B in a way that's more refreshing than
schizophrenic. Jupiter is an album that both parents and kids will
enjoy, but would probably never enjoy together as a family. Songs like
"Superficial World" bring to mind not only the golden era of his fellow
Virginians the Neptunes' production career, but also their label signee
Robin Thicke. "Falling In Love Again," on the other hand sounds almost
like a soul song for the Yacht Rock set, which is a surprisingly good
thing. D. Folks' closest contemporary is Van Hunt, who is also
currently working sans-label. Maybe they're onto something.
As they're both from Bergen, Norway and seem to share most of the same influences, it's difficult to imagine Matias Tellez as anything but the sequel to Sondre Lerche. Clouds in particular sounds like an extension of Phantom Punch, only written by a teenager. This is charmingly spastic, raucous rock, a musical expression of what it is to be young. This will likely make you feel joyful or awkward. For me, it's a little of both.
Assembled by a crew of some premier sidemen, this fluid set of thumping
soul is the sort of album that as fun to listen to as
it seems like it was to make. With one eye pointed towards the past and the other one
winking, they show love for not only the funky greats of the past 30
years, but affection for kitsch, too. Vosotros takes their motto,
"music for you-all," seriously. They've made the album available as a free download for a limited time and licensed it under Creative Commons to encourage sharing. Enjoy it, remix it, and tell your friends.
Though she's had a song featured on a couple of TV shows you might recognize, there's a good chance you don't know about the Swedish singer-songwriter Miss Li. "I Heard of a Girl" is somewhere between the Cure and Belle and Sebastian, only sung by a dark, unknowable pixie. Much of the rest drifts towards cabaret or '60s girl group sounds. It's pop with a weird streak, salty and sweet, all delicious.
Shimmering, lo-fi, and glorious, Build a Garden feels like the
early work of Beulah, only more earnest and with boy-girl vocals.
Featuring more low-key revamps of four songs from last year's Build it Up and another four new cuts, my only complaint is that the serving size is too small.
Finale, A Pipe Dream and a Promise Produced by the Motor City’s lava-hot Black Milk, Finale’s Pipe Dream was bound to snare at least a little underground notoriety. Instead, though, it’s the clear-cut leader for the year’s best hip-hop album. Track for track, Milk’s beats outdo almost anything he’s touched before, the pitched instruments rolling like waves atop the twos and fours, but Finale’s delivery is the real discovery here. Lagging about as far behind the beat as possible without derailing, his rhymes layer and resolve with the confidence of a seasoned veteran, and he swings as hard and deeply as anyone out there today. If you only listen to one hip-hop album this year, make it A Pipe Dream and a Promise. (CD, MP3)
K'Naan, Troubadour Though it plays second fiddle to his brilliant, Juno Award-winning debut, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, K’Naan’s Troubadour is a well-played amalgam of hip-hop strength, Afrobeat shimmy, and immediately accessible pop balladry. As he says in song after song, this Somali ex-pat’s street-toughened bona fides provide the bitter, poetic backdrop to a variety of songs about growing up severely disadvantaged and nevertheless letting the love shine brightly through. (CD, MP3)
P.O.S., Never Better As mentioned in an earlier post, P.O.S. finally lives up to his potential with the aptly named Never Better. Backed by should-be Minneapolis superstars Doomtree, P.O.S.’s gritty crowning achievement mixes hook-driven sing-alongs with feral, mile-a-minute diatribes in what may prove to be year’s most gymnastic album-length rap attack. (CD, MP3)
J Dilla, Jay Stay Paid Under the reverent direction of Pete Rock, J Dilla’s posthumous, 28-track mix highlights guest spots by both hip-hop legends (Black Thought, Doom) and lesser-knowns (Frank Nitty, Cue D), the variety of which throws the full weight of Dilla’s production savvy into the sad vacuum left by his death at 32. Sadly, the guy was just getting started, but he could already mix circles (er, donuts) around almost every producer of his generation. (CD, MP3)
UGK, UGK for Life Southern rap isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for an in, try the guitars. True to the precedent they irrevocably set on 2007’s Underground Kingz, Pimp C and Bun B continue to enlist the best guitar performances around. A posthumous affair (Pimp C died in December, 2007), the reverently named UGK for Life offers an apt testament to a duo whose sound defined its city (Houston) for more than a decade. (CD, MP3)
Suspicious Omissions
Eminem, Relapse Eminem’s still got plenty of the zany lyrical swerve with which he made his name. Just listen to “Bagpipes from Baghdad,” a five-minute cut of surreal, R-rated fun interrupted, unfortunately, only by the chorus’s insistence on Shady’s own crazy unpredictability. For 10 years now, Eminem’s been brilliant when he’s not being the least bit serious or self-reflective, and Relapse devotes more time than ever to the self-commentary that chronically deflates his lyrical impact.
Mos Def, Ecstatic Like The New Danger before it, Mos Def’s Ecstatic is a limp collection of exquisitely mastered sketches. Despite its 16 tracks, the album lacks songs. Everything here sounds like a mediocre MC’s really well-funded demos. Once again, it’s clear that there are few sonic pairings that work as well together as Mos Def’s voice and a fat stack of low brass, but “songs” bearing this unforgettable dance of timbres are few and far between, and even they lack the musical motion of the least memorable tracks from 2002’s Black on Both Sides.
Asher Roth, Asleep in the Bread Aisle Kudos to the guy’s PR machine for pulling the wool over so many eyes simultaneously, but really, people: How, in 2009, does an MC’s being white and smokin’ dope still lend a hip-hop album this much cultural momentum? Granted, I’ve never been one to subscribe to the absolute value of lyrical sincerity, but could someone please ask Asher Roth to sound a little bit like he cares about his own music? Asleep in the studio is more like it…
