Only Built 4 The Infamous Egyptian Linx, Pt. II


Yeah Yeah.  Hol’dafuck up, nah’m sayin’?  Goodwill Hunter and his Time Masheen be on some outer-space shit, dunn.  What’s the drilly wit dat?  It ain’t bangin.’  He my kiko and alladat, but I gotta hit you with the real.

Imma put it like this.  The Infamous was back in the house once again.  Yeah, Mobb Deep was on some “Fuck the format” steez.  We thought they were gonna bless us with The Infamous album in it’s entirety, but that concept got thrown out the QB Housing Projects windows from The Start of the Ending.  Prodigy popped off from the jump, spittin’ that ill shit from “Survival of the Fittest.”  Havoc followed suit with his verse, Alchemist manned the decks, and it was on.  ”G.O.D. Father Pt. III” followed.  Then, the ALC cut the sound, Pee dropped his acapella “Just Step Prelude” and we all knew what was next:  ”Give Up the Goods (Just Step).”  The track wouldn’t be complete without the R-A-double P/E-R/ N-O-Y-D, and boy you couldn’t fuck with he.  Rockin’ an orange Hennessy jersey, Big Noyd proceeded to kick his classic cameo.  The Mobb would later bring out their west coast Co-D, 40 Glocc for a little shine.  We then got blessed with a medley of ALC x Mobb collabos, including an Alchemist guest verse and personal faves “Got It Twisted” and “Win Or Lose.”  Outta my hazy peripheral, I’m almost certain I caught Goodwill crooning like Jean Plum.  What a fuckin’ clown.

Prodigy went for delphia/self-ia on H.N.I.C.‘s “Keep It Thoro,” kickin’ bars sans hooks.  The hits kept coming, reminding us just how deep the Mobb’s catalog really is.  The Poetical Prophets look like they haven’t aged a bit since their breakout in 1994.  The only difference was that 1994 Pee woulda rocked 2011 Pee in the nose and stabbed his brain with his nose bone (for the suspect skinny jeans/tank-top/pink snap-back trifecta).  Then again, ’11 Pee is fresh out the joint, and could prolly “Get Away” with Lil’ Wayne’s jeggings if he wanted to.  Like they say, “you play with that fire, your ass could get burned.”  The Rock the Bells portion of the night ended the hardest beat of all-time, as the entire crowd sonned halfway crooks to “Shook Ones, Pt. II.”  They had us stuck off the realness.

All in all, it was a dope show.  It’s not often that this caliber of tour stops in the 317.  All praises due to M-Eighty and Holy Toledo Productions for bringin’ the shit to the Naptown.  Props go out to Kyle Long (Cultural Cannibals) for the access.  Once again, big ups to Manny C (Golden Eagles) for the shots popped and sounds captured.  Shout outs to Rusty Redenbacher, Nino Graye (reppin’ Toledo, OH), C-Rayz Walz and Supernatural for rockin’ the stage.  The crowd was small, but showed love.  The Infamous Mobb and Wu-Tang Clan returned the favor, bringing us back to the Timbs and Carhartt era with a memorable performance.  Our Bells were considered Rocked, and we migrated south to Coaches Tavern for another stellar set from DJ Metrognome.

It’s the reeeeaal.  Hip-Hop.  Hip-Hop.

 

#ThrowbackThursday ATCQ Edition

Much has been said in the whirlwind of promotion surrounding the release of Michael Rappaport’s documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.  Most of the Beef, Chides & Strife were courtesy of the blogosphere and twitterverse, so salt intake has been considered.  While those in the Midwasteland have not yet been privy to a screening of the film, we are patiently awaiting our turn, which is 08.12.2011 for those in the Naptown.

For now, we’ve got a trailer:

Continue reading

#ThrowbackThursday: The Afros

I know a lot of you hipsters slept on The Afros. Sleep no more. The Afros Kickin’ Afrolistics LP (1990), on cassette tape helped me get through several mowing sessions in the Midwest summer heat. This is ego-free hip hop for the win. My favorite track on there has to be Hoe Cakes. Continue reading

#ThrowbackThursday: Top Quality “Magnum Opus”

Message to “DJ” Khaled:

When you’re pulling tracks straight outta the Trash (or Recycle Bin, since you ain’t a Mac), I wonder if your wack-ass slogan is really just a typo.  With Akunt and T-Plain on damn near every joint you pass (no fire), it’s gotta be “All We Do Is Whine.”  Sure, you got the Auto-Tune effects and (g)A(y)-List guests (Aubrey, et al) for the mindless masses.  But w-w-we’ve got newwws f-f-fo’ya:

We The Best.  Word… Life, Son.  The Top Cats.  Drinkin’ top-shelf bottles, poppin’ Top Models.  The shit we do is nothing but Top Quality.

Yeah, you know, Top Quality like pMd‘s cat that blazed that Helen Keller shit.  The Magnum, searching for the Opus:

 

What?  For #ThrowbackThursday? I Can’t Hear You,” you say.

Well, You Gotta Check ItCheck the Credentials.  This late-night hype was made for The Graveyard Shift.  Top Quality never got the recognition he deserved, but he offered Something New when Parrish Smith reorganized The Hit SquadErick Sermon scored a bigger heist with The Def Squad when EpMd went Out of Business, with Redman and Keith Murray.  But I always had love for TQ’s 1993 debut, Magnum Opus, a surprisingly strong debut.

Much like Hit Squad cohorts DAS EFX and their iggities, Top Quality incorporated a unique flow and some vocal gymnastics to the “keep it real” topics of the mid-nineties.  Production from the likes of Solid Scheme (DAS EFX), EpMd engineer extraordinaire Charlie Marotta and Bad Boy Jesse West (among others) kept it moving.  Horn stabs and sampled keys were sprinkled liberally over the trunk-rattling bass lines and typical boom-bap drum programming.

The White Plains (New York) drifter vanished from the scene after he failed to impact at radio (back when decent hip-hop was allowed on the airwaves). Ever since, I’ve wondered why Someone So Fly could get Caught Up In the Filzny

My guess is that only a trail of safety pins will lead us to this week’s #ThrowbackThursday honoree, a Top Quality choice in my honest opinion.

But back to that “DJ.”  Khaled: you suck! And that’s without a doubt.

This Message Is From Uptown,

U Know My Name