29
Jun
Old Fashioned Joint by De La Soul
The timing is right for this one as I contemplate many decisions about life. As always, the Stakes is High! So, I’m taking it back to De La, and you gotta love the De La Soul Dunk Highs. So beautiful, so lovely. “Talking bout them De La’s, not low, they high.”
Be cool, world. Big week coming up. Gonna see the boy Hov on Thursday. He rocked Glastonbury Festival last night. Would anyone think otherwise?
28
Jun
100 DOWNLOADS!
It’s the Mixtape, Bitches! has reached 100 downloads! Myself and Mr. Benjamin Franklin would like to thank YOU for making the meaning of 100 downloads so important! Now that we’ve reached 100, let’s get greedy and make it 130 downloads. Can’t NOBODY hold me down.
Really though, people bought Bubba Sparxxx CDs. So let’s go people! Tell a friend to tell a friend. More importantly, it’s free. It will only take little memory on your hard drive. Let’s make the push for success. I know there are more than 100 people using the internet!
Cheers, and thanks to everybody who has downloaded it thus far. L’haim!
Be cool, world! You made my day.
28
Jun
Inside the Mixtape – Final Installment
“Little city, but ain’t nothin’ here for free.”
I’m back with the final installment of Inside the Mixtape. I’m gonna let you in on the background of tracks 15-18, yes sir. Normally, I update this after a night out on the London town, but just in the Go Mode as I woke up. It’s Saturday, it’s Saturday!
’96 and Forever…This is an interesting track for several reasons. First, Outkast’s “Elevators” is one of my top 10 favorite songs, possibly on sentiment alone. I was a huge Kast fan growing up, and I would play the shit out of this track. Naturally, then, I wanted to rap on it for the mixtape.
The original idea was to blend Kanye’s line, “having money’s not everything, not having it is” in as the hook. Didn’t work out. Therefore, I went back to the time, 1996, when I just played “Elevators” to death. Yeah, I was a little bad ass 12 year-old then. Straight suburban thug. Awesome. Therefore, the track is an ode to ’96. That year our Little League All-Star team won the State Title. We would caravan to North Canton everyday to play the State Tournament. My dad drove the white 1995 Chevy Blazer, and he let us listen to the cassettes (mixtapes) I made off of recording 106.7 Pittsburgh’s Hip-Hop Station’s Top Nine at Nine. It consisted of Pac (All Eyez on Me came out that year), Crucial Conflict’s “Hay”, Do or Die’s “Po’ Pimpin”, and Bone’s “Crossroads”.
Once we won the title, we packed up in an RV and headed to the regional in Indianapolis. This is when our coaches let us watch Under Seige (Segal, cringe), but it had Daniel Gibson’s in it. That’s about all you can ask for when you watch something when you are 12 years old. Either way, kick ass time.
If I Can’t Freestyle…I f’in love this one. Definitely one of my favorites. My back was against the wall to finish the mixtape. I had gathered my things and headed back to Youngstown and had two days of shit to do before I left for London. But my main priority was to finish the mixtape. Literally, like I said in the song, I just woke out of bed and started putting these random thoughts together. Normally, my writing or thinking process consists of taking a shower, coming up with lines, and then forgetting them before I get out the shower. This time the lines stuck, and I was able to just run with them. Not to mention, the beat is ROSS!
I’ll highlight a few of the lines I love.
“Man, I rock Jordans, I shop for Gucci/ I rock the ice like Kristi Yamaguchi.”
Like Ye said, “I got a problem with spending before I get it.”
“So all the girls out there get the dress game tight/And I could care less if it’s only one night.
Cause it’s only one life, and you can make a heart stop/The flow resuscitate every time the beat drop.”
“Fuck, I rock dunks, I shop for Polo/I’m Tony, you don’t wanna be Manolo.
And that’s cold tho, the way he did it to/Like when Alomar spit on that ump dude.
You know the Glove never get in a slump, lame/Wrist frozen like Old Teddy Ballgame.”
Okay, so that is kind of like the whole song, but you know. I guess I’m just feelin’ myself. Just to touch on that last verse and the references. I love baseball and was able to mix in the Roberto Alomar spitting incident. That shit was just ridiculous and cold-hearted. Then, I was able to carry it over to reference Ted Williams being cryogenically frozen. These are just my thoughts, just my thoughts, mane.
A Million and One Questions…A more personal track that allowed me to talk about a lot of the questions I have at times. I would have re-recorded this song if I had more time to make it sound a little better. It was one of the first ones I recorded over a five month period. The content is on point though, and it was mad fun to put together.
“Will passing out checks make the economy stable, will I spend it on shit that I really don’t need? Buy products made in China, they got families to feed!”
ADD Rap…Now, to the opus. I loved doing this for so many reasons. Though, I won’t lie. I got the idea from Wale’s Paint a Picture mixtape. And I also just noticed I didn’t even rename it what I wanted. Again, working against the clock. I did this last, last minute before I got out of the country. See, I still had a lot of beats left I wanted to rap on, but I didn’t have the time. I ended up chopping these four beats up and writing the content in about 25 minutes. I think it worked out well, and these are four of my favorite beats, for sure. The segue I stole from the Clipse mixtape, We Got It for Cheap, Vol. 2. One sequence glove can never make you Michael!
Round 1- Get Money beat, what is better than this? Okay, some people got in a little tizzy over the topless chicks, Catholic priests line. This is America people. First Amendment anybody? Okay, so it was a cheap shot, but it fit well with the opening lines. I’m a Catholic. I will go to confession and say the appropriate Hail Mary’s. Forgive me, Lord. “So I’ll just catch the next beat like the Tube and go/And you can watch me pass like you stuck in slo-mo.”
Round 2- “But I just side step ‘em like Deion in his prime.” Love it. Prime Time was my football idol growing up, other then Bernie Kosar (Boardman’s own) and Eric Metcalf. Also, “Bout as laid back as a perfectionist gets/Real meticulous while the memory slips.” There you have it.
Round 3- “Always lovin’ Youngstown, that’ll be my home for ever/Always in my heart these ties will never sever.”
Round 4- I don’t know what you all think of Diamond Girl, but it’s obvious I love it. Might be my guilty pleasure. My belief is one of the best lines on the whole mixtape is right here, although it could have been easily overlooked.
“The best glove to do it since we seen Mark Fuhrman.”
So, the hottness of this line is predicated on your knowledge of Mark Fuhrman. Click the link. As a brief synopsis, he was the lead detective in the O.J. case, and found the bloody glove. Hence, the line. I can’t spoon feed you everything. Do your homework.
I’m out. Be cool, world. Time to start my day.
27
Jun
Joint of the Week
Joint of the Week coming from my man C O M M O N. Chi-town legend. Accept no impostors.
Be cool, world.
26
Jun
Mixtape of the Week
Introducing the Mixtape of the Week by 88-Keys. One of last week’s Joints of the Week was off the hot mixtape, Adam’s Case Files. I have been rocking this mixtape since I got it a few weeks back. The mixtape navigates through Adam’s adventures with women and features a different MC telling the tales on each track. Kid Cudi’s joint is my favorite, but there are a ton of hot tracks on there inspired by 88-Keys’ smooth production. The mixtape is a prelude to his debut LP, The Death of Adam which will be executively produced by Chi-Town’s finest Mr. Kanye West.
88-Keys is a hip-hop vet who has worked on the classic “Blackstar” album, as well as, with Musiq and some of hip-hop’s other finest acts.
Enjoy the tape. Like I said, I love how the theme carries throughout. You don’t get that much anymore (cough, Carter III, cough).
Be cool, world.
22
Jun
Old Fashioned Joint
This week’s Old Fashioned Joint is an East Coast all-star collaboration from Puff Daddy & the (Dysfunctional) Family. Back when the Lox were wearing shiny suits, and Puff was getting ¬†good ghostwriting done for him (Who knows where the verse on Victory came from? That made me believe Puff’s the biggest boss that we seen thus far.) But I love this song for when the beat switches up, and Biggie just comes in to rip the track to shreds. I love me some Biggie. Since we went West, West last week, I figured it be a good time to show the East some love. It’s All About the Benjamins, baby!
Be cool, world.
21
Jun
Inside the Mixtape, Part II
Bape Store – London
Well, I am back with Part Deux of Inside the Mixtape where insight will be provided about tracks 10-14 of It’s the Mixtape, Bitches! So without further ado…Oh and here is the mixtape again, you bastards!
Unseen Dream II…Using one of my favorite beats of one of my favorites songs of all-time, Allure off The Black Album, I set out to write an introspective verse from the third person point of view. I do think it worked out well, as I was able to convey many of my thoughts and feelings at this juncture in life. It really is about having dreams and the struggle/grind one can go through on a daily basis to stay afloat, while keeping the ultimate goal in mind. Overall, it’s a record about self-awareness and being conscientious.
The Champ is Here…Just a swag/introspective track into the way I am with lines like: “I’m the baddest motherfucker you know, no question/Not even Jena 6 would think to protest it.” Or “I still tick like you, grind every damn day/Always trying to juggle shit like Cirque du Soleil.”
Dirt…This track is obviously a little different than most of the other tracks on the mixtape. More similar to Welcome to the Zoo. Just talking about the down and dirty of some things I have gotten myself involved in. They say desperate times call for desperate measures. And like the boy Hov said, “Gotta learn to live with regrets.” Life is all about choices and sometimes we don’t make the best ones, or for the right reasons. Nuff said. Listen to the track, it is on point and quite descriptive. Do as I say, not as I’ve done. Ya dig.
Baby Girl…I previewed the first half of the mixtape for a few friends of mine, and the feedback I was getting was all about, “You need to make a few songs with some catchy hooks.” Baby Girl spawned from those critiques. The first time I heard this track was the remix with Wayne and a bunch of others. I loved how the beat hit, and their concept of the song. So I took it and ran with it. Just talking about girls, trying to find the right one and what that will take. I have been blessed to have a few great relationships in my life, however the older I get the more cynical I have become. This song expresses some of that sentiment.
Vans…”Fearless, that’s what they say about me/Go ape shit like you PJ, I’m Spree. And I got my Nike’s laced up/Don’t step on them or you get traced up. Slammin’ Kicks that’s what I rock/Throughout my life got the Jordan game locked.”
“Ya boy so fresh like a pair of S.Dot’s/But they stop making those. So I’ma rock Bapestas and a bunch of Bape clothes/And I go to London for those, Carnaby Street or tell ‘em ship ‘em to my home. But that’s if I call NYC.”
Those bars epitomize the song for me. It was a fun track to make and easy to write. Got to talk about my Jordan fetish I have had since I was like 11 and continues to this very day. I woke up at 7 a.m. this morning to buy the Jordan VIs Carmines. And have bought three other pairs in the last week. I definitely have an issue with Jordans and Bape. Love the Bape store in London off Carnaby Street. London has some of the best shopping in the world, for sure. Slammin’ Kicks was a small sneaker boutique off Carnaby Street that just recently shut down. They had some of the most exclusive and crazy limited shoes in the world there. Jordan’s and Bape shit makes me feel good about life for some odd reason. I guess it’s better than smack, huh.
Be cool, world.
20
Jun
Joint of the Week
Joint #1
The first joint of the week comes from the boy Wale. It’s a song done to the Mr. Carter beat on Tha Carter 3. Dude is on point right now. You will always be seeing hot stuff on the blog from Mr. Folarin.
Here is sample of a few lines from the joint.
‘I’ve been in more two lips/tulips here than a florist.’
‘If I ain’t strive to be Shawn I’d end up like Ki-Jana.’
Love the Ki-Jana Carter reference. Peep the Wikipedia on Ki-Jana here. Get educated youngsters. Wale is always dropping hot sports references.
Joint #2
This week we are having two Joint(s) of the Week. The second coming from Shaker Heights/Cleveland’s own Kid Cudi. The song is off producer 88-Keys mixtape, Adam’s Case Files. Some of you may have heard the Cudi joint, Day N’ Nite which is available on iTunes and has gotten radioplay. The Kid named Cudi is one of my favorite artists out right now. He is always bring a freshness and style of his own to each track.
Background: Cudi is an artist signed to DJ/Producer A-Trak’s Fool’s Gold label. A-Trak is Kanye’s personal DJ. Cudi released two songs on iTunes, Day N’ Nite and Dat New New. Both tracks have a great vibe, but are distinctively different. Cudi is interesting in the fact some songs he will sing on, while others he raps on. He will normally not mix the two styles in one song. He makes very unique records. Though he is not considered a top notch lyricist yet, he does make feel good music about his life experience that people can surely relate to. So check him out his webpage, and peep this joint off the 88-Keys mixtape. It’s called Wasting My Minutes. I can’t stop listening to it. Midwest, stand up!
Be cool, world.
19
Jun
Mixtape of the Week
Last night, I went to an unbelievable hip-hop show at Koko in Camdentown. The bill featured Brother Ali and Atmosphere, as well as, up and comers Kidz in the Hall. They are three of my favorite acts. The show had a great crowd in a very intimate venue. I love live music, and this was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Kidz in the Hall, made up of MC Naledge out of the Chi and DJ/Producer Double-0 of Jersey, just dropped a solid sophomore record called The In Crowd. I was actually able to grab all the performers and DJs’ ears for a quick second. It was one time where I actually wish I had brought my camera. I am like anti-pictures. I guess I am a rebel, or dumb. They are all down to earth dudes who appreciate their fans and love making great music. They are the epitome of what hip-hop should be about. Even after speaking with all of them, the highlight of the night was a Brother Ali acapella. Shit was fire.
Therefore, this week’s mixtape of the week comes from one of my favorite duos: Atmosphere. The Minneapolis, MN natives MC Slug and producer Ant have been making heat for years now. I was introduced to them my freshman year in college and haven’t stopped listening since. To me, Slug is one of the nicest MCs ever. He can story tell and paint pictures with the best of them. They recently dropped a record, When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold. They are one of the few acts whose music I will actually purchase. But peep the mixtape. It’s not your normal Atmosphere record, but worthy nonetheless of getting introduced to the masses.
Be Cool, world.
15
Jun
Old Fashioned Joint
This week’s Old Fashioned Joint ¬†comes from Kurupt Young Gotti. It’s called We Can Freak It. This comes off his double CD, Kuruption! This was one of my favorite songs back, back then. Something nice to pop in the car and cruise. It has a great West Coast vibe to it. I was a huge Dogg Pound fan back in the day. I am sure more music from them will pop up as we go along.
Cheers. And Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Thank God I’m not one of them.
