Week Eight

Hey all, hope you had a great spring break, and if you haven't had it yet i wish you the best for yours. I was talking to my friend about metal today and told him that Toxicity by System Of The Down was my favorite album. Then i thought about it and realized i haven't done a metal album on here yet so here it is. Probably my favorite part of System is their harmonies, they're eerie, but still really beautiful. The lyrics are poignant in a lot of the songs, they talk about politics (such as Prison Song) relationships, life and have a couple funny songs. Their songs are mostly melodic, so even people who don't really dig the screaming part of metal can get into it. My favorite songs off of this album are Aerials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-iepu3EtyE , Prison Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JaMBEIM0kM and their number one hit Chop Suey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSvFpBOe8eY. but really you can't go wrong with any of the songs. Toxicity was released by American Recordings in 2001. Keep on listening to music and expanding your knowledge. Stephen

Week Seven

When it comes to freestyle rapping there is a pretty obvious king, Big L. Although a lot of his lyrics are misogynistic and homophobic he's incredible. Big L is classic East Coast Gangsta, he's from Harlem from the 90s and you can hear it in everything that he does. His debut album Lifestylez Of Da Poor & Dangerous is a gritty, angry and intense album with minimalistic beats and dirty rhythm. The control that he shows over his flow is amazing, seamlessly transitioning from a slow tempo to a fast section, and his word play is incredible. My favorite song off of the album would have to be Put It On, http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=put+it+on&aq=f which is a song that my friends and I rap all of the time, it's awesome. Also off of it is the murder song All Black, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U1UN4P9Mnw which I also really like. Anyways, a song of his that isn't on this album is 98 freestyle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToTRFS-6eUs but you should check out all of his stuff. He's probably the most under rated rappers of all time. This album was released in 1995 by Columbia Records. Keep listening to music and expanding your knowledge. Stephen

Week Six (Sort Of... Sorry)

Hey all, it's been a long time since I last posted, but I hope you'll forget that and just go along with it. This week my album is Blue Collar by a rapper from Chicago named Rhymefest. Not many people know who Rhymefest is, so it can give you some major hip hop credit knowing him. Blue Collar contains some funny tracks, but also a lot of social commentary and songs addressing some really heavy stuff. It also has collaborations with major artists such as Kanye West (whose song "Jesus Walks" was actually co-written by Rhymefest) Wu Tang Clan's Old Dirty Bastard, and Citizen Cope. Rhymefest likes to tell stories with his songs which means that most of his lyrics are perfectly understandable, unlike a lot of rappers who some people have a hard time understanding. He doesn't overwhelm you with beats, but really makes you focus on the words. My 2 favorite songs are Bullet Feat. Citizen Cope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_56YPH50bGI and Sister, which isn't on youtube, so get the album, it's incredible. Blue Collar was put out by J Records in 2006. Keep listening to music and expanding your knowledge. Stephen