Rappers these days just don’t seem to revel in words and rhythms like the old school guys did. Everybody on this track just flows! The…
Hip Hop
13/12/2020: “Talkin’ All That Jazz” by Stetsasonic
Sampling has long been a controversial part of hip hop culture. Not within hip hop, of course. But record labels have tended to feel strongly…
30/11/2020: “Flava In Ya Ear” by Craig Mack
As with many hip hop classics, this song is underpinned by a smooth beat. Terrible rapping ruins great instrumentals, and great rapping is wasted on…
12/11/2020: “Brooklyn’s Finest” by Jay Z & Notorious BIG
What to say about this… two of East Coast Hip Hop’s best, as the name implies, together on a beat like this. They actually went…
26/10/2020: “Pick Up The Phone Remix” by Belly Squad and Abra Cadabra
There is an American version of this. Strictly speaking, the US song is the original, but I prefer this – by miles! Undoubtedly the beat…
15/10/2020: “Da Bumble” by E-40
E-40’s been spitting the same way since the 90s and it’s still not got old. He’s got one of the best flows in the game…
06/10/2020: “Limitless” by Sudan Archives
Sudan Archives sounds like a band, but it isn’t. It’s a woman – and a very talented woman at that. She plays violin, produces and…
24/09/2020: “Jasadik-Hom” by DAM
Arabic music doesn’t feature on most English speakers’ playlists. Arabic singing is very different – disarmingly so. In many ways, Arabic allows a completely different…
23/09/2020: “Push Up Ya Lighter” by The Roots
Illadelph Halflife, released in 1996, is up there with the best hip hop albums ever. It’s easy to see why, when a nugget like this graces…
09/09/2020: “Water/If Only They Knew” by Kojey Radical
Technically, the track I wanted to highlight was “If Only” – but the YouTube version is a great piece of art and smoothly integrates the…