Sampling is a fundamental component in Hip-Hop; sampling is also one of the most controversial elements too. While in recent times producers are resorting to their own instrumentation to craft the sound of their production, sampling still remains as one of the most prominent ways to create beats.
Many people argue that sampling destroys the original intent of whatever has been sampled, and while that CAN be the case, in many circumstances it follows the pattern of a classical hip hop ideology: take something from a song and turn it into your own. Just as Kool Herc started by looping breaks, producers take samples from other songs and turn them into their own.
Hip Hop Hooray was a single released in 1993 by the Hip Hop group Naughty By Nature. The single was created for Naughty by Nature’s album 19 Naughty III, and aside from their hit OPP, it is probably one of their most well known songs. The video itself is directed by Spike Lee and also has appearances from Eazy-E and Run DMC. Just In knowing Lee directed the video is enough for me to give it credibility. The album, 19 Naughty III, uses Hip Hop Hooray as a great selling point, and in turn provides other excellent tracks; while I cannot say that I liked any particular song on the album as much as Hip Hop Hooray, I can say with confidence that if you enjoyed this single you’ll definitely enjoy some of the other songs the album has to offer. Go listen to a copy.
On my commute to College today, I look through my list of albums and decide to listen to one of my favorites that I hadn’t listened to in awhile… Illmatic. It got me to thinking, Nas’ Illmatic is to me, and many others, the archetypal perfect Hip Hop album. The flow of the music is brilliant and not once does the music become bland or boring. I can listen to any track on Illmatic and still enjoy it just as much as the first time I ever heard it. Genius.
Normally I dislike the standard album intro but Illmatic was different. The Genesis was like a thesis of everything brilliant in Hip Hop during the 90′s. The samples from Wild Style and Nas and AZ talking about their distaste of the radio is more than enough to send tingles down my spine. Following the brilliance of The Genesis is the first actual track, New York State of Mind, Nas rhymes poetically about his lifestyle yet keeps it on a street level.
“Some DT’s took my MPV, I was rollin’ with niggas wildin’, bucking up the block while we listen stop the violence!”
Criminal is a peculiar album in that, the album embodies everything that a classic 94′ album would, but the masses have barely any clue what it is or who it is by. Criminal is the debut album by Scientifik, and it is a shame such a great debut has been lost in the realm of obscure Hip Hop albums. So you would think Scientifik with such a strong debut offering would at least reappear with other works… right? Well, sadly there is not much known about Scientifik other than that he died shortly after releasing this excellent album; as depressing as Scientifik’s premature death is, he released one brilliant piece of work before leaving, and while Criminal is not the second coming of Illmatic–like some blogs may assert–Criminal is a great piece that did not get the shine it deserved due to a very subtle release and the death of it’s main star.
Mad Ammo is the single from Celph Titled’s gorgeous boom-bap filled album from 2010. The video in my opinion is even better than the actual track on the album because of the interviews between verses. The album Nineteen Ninety Now as a whole is completely solid, and Mad Ammo is a great example of what’s on it. In addition to beautiful songs like Mad Ammo, the whole entire album has similar boom-bap tracks like this one provided by legendary producer Buckwild.
“93 ’til Infinity” is the single by Oakland group “Souls Of Mischief”, off of the album of the same name. This song became a hit amongst Hip Hop fans in the 90′s, however despite it’s success the album only had moderate sales and failed to garner as much praise as it deserved. The group was noted for their production and unique rhyme styles; making their debut album shine during the early nineties.
“Soul On Ice” by Ras Kass is a classic; while this song is on his debut album (bearing the same name), it’s not the far-superior remixed version. This album failed to garner very much mainstream attention, but it became highly popular amongst underground rap fans at the time. He was noted for his battle lyrics and strong messages, however with such messages came controversy. His song “Nature of the Threat” while incredibly intelligent and fact based, it was considered racist due to the Afrocentric context it was presented in.
Combining Hip Hop’s underground heavy weight ‘El-P’, of Company Flow fame and two very talented New York underground artists ‘Vast Aire’ and ‘Vordul Mega’ comes one of the freshest albums in Hip Hop. Many purists will tell you Company Flow’s ‘FunCrusher Plus’ was a classic in it’s own right due to the unique production and stylized battle lyrics done by El P and Big Juss, and with this you’ll also get the “there’s no album that broke ground like this one”. Well, while Cold Vein may not have broken this ground, it’s just delved deeper.
Now, you’re probably wondering, what’s the recipe to what I’ve already summed up as a genius album? Top notch production and some of the finest lyrics ever heard on a Hip Hop album. Vordul Mega’s style is laced with multiple-syllable flows and a dash of abstract metaphors pertaining to his depressing views on life. Now, to be honest Vordul isn’t the reason this album is still playing on my stereo, his lyrics are good but they don’t have the same level of uniqueness as Vast Aire’s do. However, without Vordul’s input on this album, it wouldn’t feel right. Vast Aire, while not having the incredible flow that Vordul does, makes up for it with his charismatic delivery and genius wordplay. Each track, he laces his lyrics with some of the wittiest line’s I’ve heard in Hip Hop thus far. Lines from Iron Galaxy such as: “You were a stillborn baby, mother didn’t want you but your were still born, boy meets world of course his pops is gone, what you figga, that chalky outline on the ground is a father figure?” leave my jaw still dropping.
