Delicate

[Photo by Elizabeth Lattern]

Damien Rice: Delicate [zshare]

Why do you sing with me at all?

to a place I've seen only in my dreams

If you don't know about Tanya Morgan then you are seriously, seriously missing out on on some future classic music. I really don't know what I can say about this album except just listen to it (myspace.com/tanyamorgan), check out the website (www.brooklynati.com) and buy it (www.imculture.com). Here are some of my favorites from the album (which I bought twice!)

Tanya Morgan - On Our Way

This song is amazing, and a great intro song for the album. I was about 30 seconds into this song when I decided to buy the Brooklynati Survival Kit. So, I pretty much bought the album twice on the strength of this song.

Tanya Morgan - So Damn Down

This is the lead single from the album, and comes third on the album after Alleye Need (not posting it here). The three together make a pretty perfect kick-off trifecta.

Tanya Morgan - Never 2ndary

Just listen, I've said enough.

Please, buy the album and support these guys.

...but I'm not worried at all

[Photo by Guy Sargent]

All of these tracks deserve their own separate post.
Keep that in mind.
Here is a short list of my favorite songs at the moment...
Enjoy.




Thiago Pethit: Fuga Nº1 [zshare]

I love Portuguese. And I love Beirut.
So this song became an instant favorite.


Menahan Street Band: Tired of Fighting [zshare]

I have to thank Soul Sides for getting me into this group. THANK YOU!
I've been listening to them for a while now, and not until recently did I actually look into the group. And everything just came full circle.
Sharon Jones & Dap Kings [Yes, please!] + El Michels Affair [more on these guy later] + Budos Band [!!!] = Menahan Street Band. What more could you ask for.
And this song. This song is my new "That Hump". And that's saying a lot.


Novel: Sky Might Fall [zshare]

I'm not a big fan of Kid Cudi's "Sky Might Fall". So I was definitely open to some remixes and covers. Novel did not disappoint. His soul version is amazing. This track has been on repeat for a while now. Cudi should seriously consider producing from some R&B acts.


Dionne Warwick: You're Gonna Need Me [zshare]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this song. It's just simply amazing.
"You're gonna need me one day" is something that everyone has said at least once.
On my list of all time favorite songs. Thank you, Dionne.


MC Solaar: Caroline [zshare]

There's no surprise that MC Solaar is France's most well know rapper. Not knowing any French at all, one can easily recognize this man's talent.
"Caroline" is about love, loss, and a hint of gambling. It's filled with beautiful poetry and plenty of wordplay [the interwebs told me so].
The most infectious line "L’as de trèfle qui pique ton cœur" is literally "The ace of clubs that stings (also ’spade’) your heart".
Marvelous.

[translated chorus]
I’m the ace of clubs that trumps your heart
The ace of clubs that trumps your heart…
The ace of clubs that trumps your heart…
Caroline…


El Michels Affair: Shimmy Shimmy Ya [zshare]

Wu Tang. Kids chanting. Horns.
How could this cover [?] get any better?
Check this pretty dope article over at NPR by O.Wang. Won't disappoint.


Vybz Kartel: Last Man Standing [zshare]

I was in Trinidad & Tobago from January to May.
Basically what I'm trying to say... this isn't the last V.Kartel song that will be posted here on the Interstate.
This is a great example of some popular dancehall at the moment. And it turns out that rap feuds are universal. This is a great diss song, and the crowds get hyped at T&T parties when it comes on.

BACHANAL

my boy, Carlos doing his thing with the almighty Destra Garcia.

I miss you Trinidad and Tobago

yes it is quite lovely in my atmosphere...

This post is the *official* interstate 8 space/stars/sky/martians/future/robots post. I figure, if so many hip-hoppers are taking this "I'm from outer space" angle, I might as well do a little chronicle of the (unexplained) phenomena, word to Fox Mulder. Honestly, not all these tracks fit the theme exactly but they do all contain lines stating their not-from-earthiness.

Ced Hughes - Polite Rap Song

This is the source of the title quote, and is one of my favorite Ced Hughes songs, which is actually saying a lot considering What Up Tho?! is one of my favorite mixtapes. Anyways, despite the atmospheric lyric, I'm posting this song because it has what I refer to as the "moment." For any song to be good, or worth listening to over-and-over again, it has to have that moment that makes you really notice it. Sometimes, the moment doesn't actually happen, but the song teases you the whole time with brief glimpses and never actually hits it (example: Gnarls Barkley - Open Book). Anyways, for me the moment when the beat swings up and Ced jumps in for the third verse is the reason I keep listening to this song. Check it out.

David Bowie - Space Oddity

A classic space song detailing the happenings in the mind of Major Tom as he experiences outer space. Probably one of the earliest really popular space-y songs.

K-Os - Mirror In the Sky

From Atlantis: Hymns for Disco. I honestly can't say if this truly fits the space theme, but this song is awesome and the whole album is awesome, and his new album YES! is awesome, so buy it (like I did).

B.o.B. - Starship Strobelite

The adventures of Spaceman BoB as he searches for a Strobelite honey. Just a very entertaining song all around.

KiD CuDi - Embrace the Martian (Round Table Knights remix)

I honestly wasn't a big fan of Embrace the Martian when I first heard it on A KiD Named CuDi, but this remix has changed all that. Usually, I'm not a big fan of CuDi remixes because they usually focus on Day N Nite and they pretty much always make it worse, so this is a refreshing chance to catch a CuDi remix that actually improves on the original.

KiD CuDi - Sky Might Fall prod. Kanye West

The early version of the CuDi single, great production by Mr. West, sorta makes me wonder what could've been if the KiD from Cleveland had done all the vocals for 808's. Beatwise, this song fits right in with Kanye's production on that album and of course KiD CuDi shows his skills on here. I'm certain that the album, when it comes, will be one of the best of the year.

Drake - I'm Still Fly

This is an amazing use of the Big Tymers song, and Drake puts down some very solid lyrics. Great moment a couple minutes in when he "wastes" some lines, if you're not looking for Drake's lady-killers like Best I Ever Had, this should fit right in your library.

U-N-I - Hey Neighbor

Alright just get on the spaceship and go. A pretty dope song from the Cali-based duo U-N-I, from Before There Was Love, the prelude mixtape to their album, A Love Supreme. This song and Night Nurse are my current favorites from them, and both the mixtape and album are definitely worth a listen.

I had sorta hoped that I could showcase a little bit of hip-hop history regarding the outer space theme, but I seem to have completely missed that target. Oh well, good music all around anyways.

I come in peace, but I need y'all rockin with meeeee, pleeeeease, embrace the martian, and this is how it sounds...

"and at the end of it all, its you"

In case you forgot, The Renaissance was possibly the best rap album of last year. Here's a couple reminders to check it out if you haven't yet, plus some extra random tracks.

Q-Tip - Official [zshare]

Q-Tip - You [zshare]

Both these songs are great, as expected Q-Tip holds it down lyrically but where this album really stands out is the production. Every beat on this album is absolutely incredible, and there's really no better music to just throw on and relax, or to put on the iPod when you're walking around on these sunny spring days.

Q-Tip - Gettin' Up Megamix [zshare]

A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario (original demo unreleased) [zshare]

A couple bonus tracks, a very dope remix of Gettin' Up and a true gem in the original demo of ATCQ's hit Scenario, not great sound quality but the pure joy of listening to the rough draft of a hip-hop classic like this should be enough for you.

QuESt - Sky Might Fall remix ft. Nero [zshare]

As I've pointed out before, QuESt is dope, and Nero is pretty solid too. This definitely gives the leaked CuDi version a run for its money.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - And they thought that was hell [zshare]

From Del's recently released album Funk Man available for free on the internets, this song is definitely nice.

Aceyalone - Mr. Outsider [zshare]

Aceyalone - Anywhere You Go [zshare]

Aceyalone - Deep and Wide [zshare]

Three great songs from Aceyalone's classic album All Balls Don't Bounce, probably one of my top 5 hip-hop albums ever. I remember playing NFL 2K5 with my friend Jim back in 2004/2005 and they had "Deep and Wide" on their jukebox thing, and you could customize soundtracks so we made a soundtrack that was just "Deep and Wide" and it would repeat for hours while we played.

Mr. Lif - Pull Out Your Cut [zshare]

RJD2 - Clean Living [zshare]

These two songs were the only others on the NFL 2K5 soundtrack that got any play. 2K5 has a special spot in my heart as not only the greatest football video game ever, but also for having the best game soundtrack ever, and introducing me to some classic underground hip-hop, thank you 2K Sports. Sadly, it was so good that Madden had to buy exclusive rights to the NFL and video game football has sucked ever since. It actually took me a long time to eventually hunt down all three of those songs from the game, so I hope you appreciate what I'm doing for you.

The New Lyricists (Unofficial Mixtape)

I've been sitting on this idea for a while, but I needed enough songs to make it worthwhile. Needless to say, I've got the tracks I needed and here it is: a little compilation I threw together of tracks from Wale, Skyzoo and Young Chris. These dudes absolutely rip every track, check it out.

I'm way too lazy to photoshop any "art" for this mixtape, and I honestly couldn't care less.

Tracklist:

1. Skyzoo - Lyrically Inclined ft. Wale
2. Wale - The Cyphr ft. Young Chris, Freeway & Beanie Sigel
3. Young Chris - Searchin' ft. Wale
4. Wale - 5 Minutes ft. Skyzoo
5. Skyzoo - Do Remember ft. Young Chris
6. Young Chris - Large ft. Wale
7. Skyzoo - Freshfest ft. Wale
8. Wale - Whole Time ft. Young Chris
9. Wale - Nightlife ft. Young Chris & Tre of UCB
10. Wale - No Better Love (Live) ft. Young Chris
11. Young Chris - Searching Remix ft. Wale, Bun-B & QuESt
12. Wale - The Hacksaw Jim Duggan ft. Skyzoo
13. Wale - The Cyphr (Live) ft. Freeway & Young Chris

Download untagged version: The New Lyricists unofficial mixtape
Download it tagged as an album: The New Lyricists unofficial mixtape

"back in my go mode, back in the go-go"

I'll be honest, there's nothing really inspiring this post linking these songs together other than the fact that I just want to post them (and the Wale concert last night). In that respect, I'm gonna give you a couple go-go songs, but other than that this is all random.

Jimi Hendrix - Midnight [zshare]

I don't really think I need to explain a Jimi Hendrix song, but nevertheless I'll say that this song is an incredible showcase of his skill.

Jimi Hendrix - Star Spangled Banner live @ Woodstock [zshare]
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower [zshare]

If you know anything about Hendrix and Vietnam and Woodstock and Bob Dylan, these songs not only are brilliant but show the incredible social power of music and the incredible talent of Jimi to cover a Dylan song (Watchtower) and make it more popular than the original. I forget who it was but some famous artist said after Jimi performed at Woodstock he didn't want to touch a guitar for a year. That's ballin.

Go-Go time:

The Northeast Groovers - Aquaboogie (by Parliament Funk) Live [zshare]

Not *quite* a cover in the strictest sense of the word, but I guess it's an interpolation? Anyways, from a live performance in 1993, this is pretty cool if you like drums. What more can I say? Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop.

The Northeast Groovers - Represent (by A Tribe Called Quest) Live [zshare]
The Northeast Groovers - Sadie (by the Spinners) Live [zshare]

A couple more live performances from that 1993 show, covering one of my favorite Tribe songs and a great classic by the Spinners you may recognize as the sample for 2pac's "Dear Mama"

The Northeast Groovers - You Got me (by the Roots) Live [zshare]

As far as I can tell, Go-Go bands don't have songs unless they're doing covers, so here's another go-go version of a great song. Right now I actually don't know if this is really a cover or if they're just playing but I'm calling it that because I've got nothing else to call it.

[/Go-Go]

Diz Gibran - Truly Yours ft. BJ the Chicago Kid [zshare]

I don't know if I've posted this before, but I'm posting it anyway because he just released a new free mixtape, Soon You'll Understand, available on the internets via google search.

Kanye West - Amazing (live on VH1 Storytellers) [zshare]
Kanye West - See You In My Nightmares (Live on VH1 Storytellers) [zshare]

The whole VH1 performance by Kanye was amazing, if you're down with 808's and Heartbreak, and these two performances are definitely better than the album versions. I've cut off most of the talking/interlude parts, leaving just the music.

KiD CuDi - Sky Might Fall [zshare]
KiD CuDi - Look Up in Da Stars ft. Wale [zshare]

A couple recent tracks by Dat Kid from Cleveland, both are pretty good, I'm glad he didn't actually retire.

QuESt - Bigger Than World remix [zshare]

Why not, I like this song. QuESt is pretty dope, keep an eye out for him.

Wale - The Feature Heavy Song ft Bun B & Pusha T [zshare]

In honor of the Wale show last night, I bring you the final piece in this posting puzzle, also known as "Back in the Go-Go," this song is from Wale's Mixtape About Nothing, one of the best hip-hop releases of last year, without a doubt. Featuring two rap heavyweights in the legendary Underground King Bun-B and Pusha T representing the Clipse, how can you doubt this?

"I do it for the capital, Wale Ovechkin"