Waitin' To Inhale

To put it bluntly, I was kind enough to weed through some recent happenings on the internet so that I might chronicle the highlights for my peoples. Don't let the grass grow under your feet, soul children. I promise you---the stash is extra-dope this time:

Smoke one for this---Devin The Dude, Snoop Dogg, and Andre 3000 have blessed us with one of the few quality hip-hop joints to emerge so far in '07. Download "What A Job" courtesy of Palms Out Sounds.

If you're diggin' soul, hip-hop, jazz, and/or funk, an acquaintance with The Blackbyrds is essential. There's an excellent post about them at los amigos de durutti, including a brief sampling history and few mp3s.

Download "Cleo's Back" by Jr. Walker & The All Stars at Jesse Jarnow's Frank and Earthy Blog.

As many of you know, the 10th anniversary of Biggie's death was on March 9th. Be sure to drop by Biochemical Slang to d/l a nice selection of original songs that were sampled on some of B.I.G.'s records. Also, if you haven't had a chance to cop Mick Boogie's Unbelievable: A Tribute To Biggie Smalls, you can get your download on at The Rap Up.

While you're at The Rap Up, you might also want to check out this post, featuring both versions of Snoop's track "Boss' Life".

Just in case our votes are actually going to count in '08, you can educate yourself about most of the presidential candidates at ExpertVoter.org.

As you may have heard, RJD2 sings on most of the tracks on his latest LP, The Third Hand. Being a Deadringer enthusiast makes it all too easy for me to dislike this record, but don't hate it on my account. Thoughts on the album, as well as some mp3s, can be found at The Passion of the Weiss and all up in your earhole.

There is an excellent write-up about Weldon Irvine at Audiversity, and his song "Watergate" is included in the post. If that leaves you wanting for more, you can d/l "Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk" by way of Dilated Choonz.

"Woman To Woman" by Shirley Brown is also available at The Choonz via this post.

You can download some nice cover versions by newer funk artists at this is tomorrow. Leftie's Soul Connection's take on DJ Shadow's "Organ Donor" is jaw-dropping if you haven't heard it yet, but Breakout's version of "Planet Rock" is my favorite discovery this week. Thanks, Mike...

For all of your deep questions on existence and truth, you may want to consult AskPhilosophers.org. You can pose whatever questions you are currently pondering about the universe, and a philosopher will answer you. This is some magical shit, children...I have some big questions to ask these people, too---such as: If a schizophrenic person threatened to commit suicide, would that constitute a hostage situation? Does killing time damage eternity? If a cow laughs really hard, will milk come out of its nose? If Wal-Mart is "lowering prices every day", shouldn't we be getting some free shit by now??? Just sayin'...Maybe I've inhaled enough for now...

Laura Lee fans rejoice---Colin Dilnot has an incredible blog "dedicated to the lady of soul music".

I've been a little bit lazy about featuring artists lately, but I'll get back on my grind. Meanwhile, appreciate the immense talent behind Chris Stain's political graffiti.

Speaking of graf art, Adam took some great photographs at 5 Pointz, and incorporated them into a post that includes tracks by Aretha Franklin, Robert Johnson, A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, Biggie, Bob Marley, and Gnarls Barkley. More images from 5 Pointz can be viewed via this photoset on Flickr.

Cop a few remixes of joints by The Pharcyde courtesy of Get downnn.

The remix madness doesn't end there, either---Bird Peterson's mix of "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit" is available at MissingToof.com, while joints from the second volume of Ratatat remixes can be found at Music For Robots and fluo kids.

Visit From Da Bricks to find out why Dan says "Pete's Jazz" by Pete Rock is one of the reasons he loves hip-hop.

Two classic Candi Staton tracks are currently available at Feel It. Download "Darling You're All That I Had" and her version of "In The Ghetto".

Moistworks is featuring "Bring It On Home To Me" by Sam Cooke and "What Did I Do Wrong?" by Betty Harris.

Finally, Travis is so focused at this point that he's in the process of making internet history over at Wake Your Daughter Up. He's far too laidback to be doing this intentionally, but he's officially put the rest of us weak-ass bloggers on notice. Dammmnnn...

I wanted to thank a few sites for the link props, but my mom is already kinda pissed because it's way past my bedtime. I'll get you next time, though---I promise.

Word From Your Moms:

"Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here, and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?"---Willie Nelson