Month in Review: May 2008

On a personal level, May was a pretty good month. On a music level... ehh not so much haha. Mainstream wise, there wasn't shit outside of Bun B's "II Trill" which is straight ass cheeks compared to "Trill" from 2005. On the under the radar type level though, shit was on and poppin'. Check my 5 picks for May 2008 below and top 10 tracks of the month are now up for download! And a happy belated birthday goes out to myself. I'm 19 BITCH!


7L & Esoteric- Esoteric vs. Japan: I can't say that I've listened to a 7L and Esoteric album from start to finish in one shot until this. I've heard "Dangerous Connection" and Esoteric's "Too Much Posse" all jumbled up at random times and liked what I heard. When I heard "God Less America" last month, I knew that this album couldn't disappoint. And I was right. 7L is a super slept on producer and althought Esoteric's vibe is an acquired taste, dude is sick too. Naturally, the whole album as that whole Japanese vibe, with both Jap raps, quotes, samples, and skits. Check out "God Less America," "Real Rap Design," and "Mecha Mecha."

J-Live- Then What Happened?: Can't say I've heard of J-Live until I saw the cover for this joint on Poisonous Paragraphs. And because that blog is so dope (big ups to Dart Adams), I know I had to peep as soon as I got my hands on it. I fucking loved it. J-Live gives off the perfect vibe when it comes to what I want to see in an album and in an MC (even though he's not the super epitome of one). Beats are oh so dope, flow is on point, and the lyrics are there too. Dude even gets a guest spot from De La's Plugg One aka Posdnuos. Please do the world a favor and give this a spin or two. As a sampler, check out "The Understanding," "Ooweee," and "The Upgrade."

Next up is Kidz In The Hall's "The In Crowd." Having KitH signing to Duck Down was probably some of the greatest news I heard this year, and the album shows it. Although they promoted the shit out of "Drivin' Down the Block" til it made its way to #6 on MTV's TRL (fuck Viacom, btw) I hoped that this album was not one of those "dope-underground-artists-try-to-go-pop-by-switching-their-style-up-
and-making-a-frisbee-instead-of-an-album" type joints. MC Naledge and Producer Double-O did a good job in covering it up, but there were a few hints and vibes here and there that they want fame. On the plus side however, you can witness the growth both on the vocals and production side in comparison to "School Was My Hustle" which made this album that much more better. The year is only 5/12 of the way done, but this has the potential to make my top 10 list. I sincerely doubt it though. Regardless, Naledge spits that heat on "Inner Me" which for sure can earn a top 10 song spot for '08. Outside of "Inner Me," check "Black Out" and "The Pledge." At least Duck Down put out a non-grimey album with mainstream appeal! Haha.

Elzhi (of Slum Village fame)- Euro Pass: When first hearing about this, I thought it was some random CD that was being sold on tour or a complation of live tracks or something but it ended up being a solo LP that is straight up BANGING. I never realized how long I've been listening to Slum Village and how much I love them until I heard this joint. Unfortunately there is no Dilla production on here *sobs* but Black Milk comes with the heat (as always) along with additional beats provided by DJ Dez, Denmark Vessey, Leef Mayfield, and fellow S-Villa member T3. Not much to say about this album, but check it out for yourself. Top joints: "Mowtown 25,""That's That One," and "Talkin In My Sleep."

And last, but not least is Santogold's self titled album, "Santogold." Alright, alright go ahead and hit me with the late pass but this is too amazing on a musical level for me not to blog about it. I feel really stupid for not immediately jumping on the bandwagon the way a lot of others did. When it comes to us underground heads having a general consensus on a non hiphop act, it's always for a good reason, and this artist right here is a prime example. Bringing in a mix of almost everything (but heavily influenced by New Wave and Reggae Dub), many compare her to M.I.A. I personally don't really see the comparison. M.IA.'s "Kala" was a bunch of noise that not even my Indian bias could help me like. Santogold on the other hand made a close to flawless album that I'm telling all of my friends about. And to top it all off, she's coming down to Miami for Rock The Bells! Though you should check out the whole album, the bums can sample this by listening to "Lights Out," "Shove It," and the lead single "L.E.S. Artistes."

Other Ish To Listen To:
Wale- The Mixtape About Nothing
Wildabeast- Wildahead Portibeast
Giant Panda- Electric Laser
Tanya Morgan- The Bridge
J Dilla- MCA

Trakks2ChekOwt:
Little Brother- Black Light Special
Common- Universal Mind Control
Kenna- Say Goodbye To Love feat. Lupe Fiasco
Jean Grae- Love Thirst (Remix) feat. Busta Rhymes
Skyzoo- The Necessary Evils
Danny!- Yoko Ono feat. Che Grand
Jadakiss- From Now Til Then (DJ Premier Remix)
Reks- Say Goodnight
Immortal Technique- The 3rd World
Wale- The Kramer
DOWNLOAD HERE

As always, bigups to Poisonous Parahraphs and the New Music Cartel

-FtK