When It Comes Time To Choose Sides

I didn't discover Nina Simone until I was in my first year of college, mostly because I was raised in an environment where Aretha Franklin reigned as the undisputed Queen of Soul. Now don't get it twisted---I greatly respect Aretha's contributions to popular music. However, I hadn't heard shit until I listened to Nina---and that's the truth. As a result of my overwhelming admiration, I can't help but feel that Simone still hasn't received her proper placement in the pages of music history. I guess this oversight is to be expected from an industry in which commercial viability and capitalistic interests supercede talent and genuine artistry. Artists who can't easily be processed into a formulaic package are frequently marginalized into relatively obscure musical territory. There is often little room for artistic integrity in the corporate equation, which is why I'm forever urging people to think outside of the industry's box when selecting the music they want to hear. If you become an industry drone, you'll find yourself listening to Chingy and liking it, okay? You'll end up buying both Sweat and Suit by Nelly, but you won't know shit about Saul Williams. You really have to expend some energy in the search for good music, because it won't be fed to you on a corporate spoon...and Nina's a pretty damn good place to start:

Breath of Life is featuring three mp3s this week that can begin your primary education. Download the "Porgy and Bess Medley" by Nina, the Joe Claussell remix of her song "Feelin' Good", and Talib Kweli's interpretation of her classic cut, "Four Women":
http://www.kalamu.com/bol/.

Read more about Ms. Simone here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone
and here: http://www.boscarol.com/nina/.

So Much Silence is offering three b-side remixes of Pharcyde tracks:
http://www.somuchsilence.blogspot.com/.

Vinyl Addicts have been posting some killer tracks lately. Cop MF Grimm's "Get Down", "Brainstorm" by 45 King w/ Latee, and the East Coast mix of "Poppa Large" by Ultramagnetic MCs, and more: http://vinyladdicts.blogspot.com/.

At Fifteen Minutes To Live, you can download a beautiful instrumental track by Omega One called "Memento": http://15minutestolive.blogspot.com/.

Besides these joints, I've been listening to this all weekend:
http://music.ign.com/articles/601/601772p1.html. I slept on this until just a few days ago, and I have no good reason why I didn't cop it sooner. If you are cursed with a pack on your back, you'll probably love this shit as least as much as I do...

Jigga makes nice with Nasty Nas:
http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/news/85282.php.

Nerdy Caucasian male does surprisingly amusing impersonations of several famous MCS:
http://media.putfile.com/white-guy/320.

Feel like you're being lied to by muthafuckin' CNN? Seek the truth here---if you think you can handle it:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/.

The CIA's World Factbook contains an informative profile of every country on Earth. Choose a nation and learn about its climate, government, economy, international disputes, etc. This site promises to make you appear very worldly and intelligent within just a few days:
http://cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html.

Finally---the news we've all been waiting for---research suggests that weed does not propose a significant cancer risk: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051026/hl_nm/pot_cancer_dc.
Start rollin' up those trees, kids...

A Picture Ain't Worth No Thousand Words

So here's the picture that was meant to go with yesterday's post. Of course, I don't have shit to say now that I've fixed my little image problem---ain't that a bitch? I guess this is just my immature inclination to validate my triumph over Blogger, and all of its idiosyncratic behaviors. If you need more crack before I get back, check out some of the fine blogs/sites that are in my permanent linkage...peace.

To Write In Every Color I Think In...

I really would have liked for there to be an image accompanying this post, but Blogger is being a total bitch right now. Consider this a rare opportunity to exercise your imagination by creating your very own mental picture:

MP3 4U is hosting a dope mp3 by The Dead Kenny Gs. Great track, and brilliant band name, don't ya think?: http://www.mp34u.com/songCard.php?posting=3226.

At Ear Fuzz you can cop two Kev Brown songs---"Always" and "Outside Looking In":
http://www.earfuzz.com/.

The Broke BBoys have a post about DJ Format that includes four joints from his album Music for the Mature B-Boy. If you do nothing else today, make sure you check out "Little Bit of Soul": http://brokebboys.blogspot.com/.

Can I Bring My Gat? recently updated with a post dedicated to MC/producer Arythmatik.
There are a couple of instrumental tracks available, as well as one vocal mix:
http://www.abitnice.com/canibringmygat/.

"Spray Paint" is a fuckin' excellent track from the Fort Minor project. Ghostface and Lupe Fiasco both appear on the song, which can currently be acquired at From The Polo Fleece To The Jesus Piece: http://jesuspiece.blogspot.com/.

At Checkerboard Chimes, you can download ODB's "Lift Ya Skirt" and "Comeback" by Juelz Santana: http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.

Visit No Frontin' to pick up "The Death of Chris Palko" from Cage's Hell's Winter LP. If for some inexplicable reason "Iron Galaxy" by Cannibal Ox isn't already in your collection, you may want to check that, too: http://www.songz.blogspot.com/.

Largehearted Boy is offering "Awful Raw", a song from Mike Ladd's upcoming LP, Father Divine: http://blog.largeheartedboy.com/.

Soul Sides has had a lot of good stuff this week. Download tracks by Afrika Bambaata, Grandmaster Flash, Dionne Warwick, and her lil' sista Dee Dee Warwick. Dee Dee's track "I'm Glad I'm A Woman" is beautifully sung, but the lyrical content may actually be even more damaging to women than most of the shit that The Ying Yang Twins have come up with so far: http://soul-sides.com/.

So Much Silence posted the classic cut "Stress" by Organized Konfusion, as well as the sample source---"Mingus Fingus No. 2" by Charles Mingus: http://www.somuchsilence.blogspot.com/.

MF Doom has a number of upcoming projects in the works, including doing the voice of a giraffe named Sherman on Cartoon Network's new series "Perfect Hair Forever":
http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/7697.

If you can still afford cable after filling up your gas tank, I sincerely hope you're watching "The Colbert Report". If not, you'd better say five Hail Marys and watch this clip of his opening monologue: http://www.devilducky.com/media/36945/.

If you still don't know what the hell to do with yourself, here's a way to breakdance without ever getting off your ass: http://www.poplockin.com/flash.php. Simultaneously amusing and wack... kinda like this blog...

I Plan To Have A Whole Army By The Time That I'm Through

IMAGE: Erykah Badu LYRIC/TITLE: Saul Williams

Music:

The Rookie is back with some pretty dope mp3s by Insomniac and Spex. Even if you've never heard of either of them, trust that they're both worth checking out if you're a fan of independent hip-hop. Insomniac once had an infamous battle with Murs which some of you may recall: http://www.soothsayrecords.com/rookie/.

Checkerboard Chimes is offering a track with Rakim and Talib Kweli---"Getting Up Anthem": http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/.

At Silence Is A Rhythm Too, you can pick up two incredible tracks from Bill Withers' debut album---"Harlem" and "Better Off Dead": http://siart.blogspot.com/.

Spine Magazine has a remix of Saul Williams' song "Black Stacey" w/NAS. They are also offering the track "Shotta" by Juelz Santana: http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Speaking of Juelz, you can also download his track "Clorkwork", courtesy of Notes From A Different Kitchen. Link to your right.

The Smoking Section continues to be an excellent resource for downloading miscellaneous tracks, mixtapes and complete albums. Right now, one of my personal favorite things that they're featuring is "Tell Me Why Our Love Has Turned So Cold" by Willie Hutch. This song has recently become familiar to many, as it was sampled in Three 6 Mafia's "Stay Fly": http://smokingsection.blogspot.com.

Breath of Life has another great selection of tracks this week---an Opolopo remix of Erykah Badu's "Southern Girl", "Queen in My Empire" by Rhythm and Sound w/ Jennifer Lara, and a joint by crazy-ass Fishbone:http://www.kalamu.com/bol/.

Two tracks from Biggie's Duets album are available for download at Lemon-Red---"Spit Your Game" w/ Twista and Krayzie Bone + "Old Habits" ft. T.I. and Slim Thug: http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/.

ART:

I tend to take this site for granted because I've been a frequent visitor for quite some time, but Stencil Revolution has quite possibly the best stencil graffiti galleries available online. They feature both street and studio art, and every day there are an abundance of new images that have been posted. If you've never had the pleasure, make it a priority to visit soon: http://www.stencilrevolution.com/photopost/.

POLITICS:

As many intelligent individuals have already surmised, the George Bush administration has been heavily promoting their own brand of weird science---replacing years of knowledge, testing, and study with whatever voodoo bullshit suits their needs and motivations at the time. This video is a humorous take on their treatment/denial of global warming and other issues affecting the environment: http://www.climatemash.org/.

If you find this interesting (and/or it angers you), a site called Bush Greenwatch is tracking the Dubya administration's "environmental misdeeds": http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/. Much more on this topic can be learned by visiting their site.

LIFE:

As I've mentioned several times before, I'm a vinyl junkie, and part of what I love about record albums is (undoubtedly) the covers. Somehow, I've never been able to feel the same way about CD insert bullshit. Some of the covers in my collection are outstanding works of art---and then of course, I've got some really bizarre stuff that isn't all that appealing to the eye. I haven't developed an actual list of the worst album covers I've ever seen, but someone has---and well--they're pretty fuckin' atrocious. That should be all I need to say in the way of an introduction: http://porktornado.diaryland.com/albumcover.html.

I leave you with just one thought...

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened" ---Dr. Suess

This Is My Pain/ These Are My Drugs/ This Is My Brain

So---how's my people? Things have been mad hectic in my world, but despite that fact, I've still been screwing around with some different ideas for upcoming posts. However, like any good weedhead, I suffer from a hyperactive procrastination gland, so most of my "projects" end up hangin' out in purgatorial limbo for quite some time. Apologies. Anyway, allow me to at least hit you up with some linkage, and then I'll go back to the drawing board (and quite possibly, the blunt):

At MP3 4U, you can cop the song "Prankster", some nice stuff by Will Bernard and Motherbug: http://www.mp34u.com/index.php. This track was recorded live at Bruno's in San Francisco a few years ago, and there's no proper way to describe it, except to say that it's pretty damn groovy. If you're interested in learning more about Bernard, check out his official website here: http://www.willbernard.com/default.htm.

Earfuzz recently posted a couple of songs by Rasputin's Stash:
http://www.earfuzz.com/. If you've never heard their music before, Junior accurately described their style as "a quality blend of funk and soul". If you know what's good, you could learn to love dat shit, son.

Checkerboard Chimes posted the mp3 for "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart", redone in the image of ODB and Macy Gray: http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/. All I can say is that's one crazy-ass track---my guess is that you'll either love it or loathe it. If Big Baby Jesus just isn't your thing, you can also cop Just Blaze's mix of "Kookies" by MF Doom. I had every intention of liking that track, but I was pretty underwhelmed upon first listen. I don't know about you, but I find that it really sucks when that happens...

Breath of Life is featuring three outstanding musical selections this week. Download tracks by Les Nubians, John Coltrane & Thelonious Monk, and Nona Hendryx:
http://www.kalamu.com/bol/.

The Number One Songs In Heaven has had a couple of quality posts this past week. You can currently acquire two classic cuts by Jimmy Holiday, and a song by Ruby & The Romantics---"Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore":
http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html.

The Broke B-Boys are featuring the artist responsible for today's image and quote---Roots Manuva. They posted three outstanding tracks from Run Come Save Me, an album that I played to literal death when it first came out: http://brokebboys.blogspot.com/.

In other news...

Noing Noing takes a stab at "scientifically" proving that Republicans are "more stupider" than Democrats. Peep the methodology behind the madness here:
http://www.noingnoing.net/home/2005/10/its_official_bu_1.html.

I'm still undecided as to whether or not Hillary Clinton would make a good president, but I'm absolutely positive that Bill would make a kick-ass First Lady. Get your t-shirts now, bitches! :
http://www.billforfirstlady.com/billsvideo/.

Finally, this has been circulating around the internet like crazy, but in case you haven't come across it yet, it's still worth posting. Cassette Jam '05 has a picture of just about every blank tape that was ever made: http://hanazuc02.ld.infoseek.co.jp/cassettes/cassettes.htm. I realize that many of you don't give even a tiny little fuck that the cassette tape has gone from endangered to nearly extinct. I probably wouldn't get all nostalgic about this fact either, if I wasn't such an old school rap reject. Prior to the technological revolution, it was just like Biggie said---"I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped". Surely you must have an old mixtape somewhere---my advice is to apply that bitch to your nearest ghetto blaster, and chill sucka...chill...

Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones

MUSIC: So maybe it's redundant, but I have to try every so often to promote the soulful brilliance that is Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. I'm diggin' this poster like C. Delores Tucker's grave: http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/news/85221.php. Damn----sometimes it feels so right to be wrong...Anyway, I'm definitely not in the habit of trying to inflict bullshit advertising schemes on my readership, but today I'm making a rare exception. I'm convinced that the handful of people who read this blog who are still in their right minds should purchase at least one of these posters (creatively designed by Darren English). Each limited edition print is signed and numbered---and if you call now, this highly functional work of art will also remove stubborn pet stains, and tighten your flabby beer-bloated abs, practically overnight. Check out all of English's posters here: http://www.darrengrealish.com/2005P2.html
and here is a direct link to purchase the Jones print only: http://www.darrengrealish.com/sharonjones.html.

If you just stopped by to check out some free shit, the mp3 of Jones' rendition of "This Land is Your Land" is available at Moistworks:http://www.moistworks.com/. However, you must observe the following guidelines: If you're white---borrow the song. If you're Latino---steal it. If you're black---go loot that muthafucka.

While at Moistworks, you may also want to download "Winter in America", by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson. They've been generous enough to offer both a live and a studio version of the track, so you can hear the song any way you'd like.

Fans of Fatlip (formerly a member of The Pharcyde), will want to pay a visit to Diggin' Music in the near future. They are currently featuring "What's Up, Fatlip?" in mp3, music video, and documentary form. The latter two were created under the direction of Spike Jonze: http://www.digginmusic.blogspot.com/.

"Soul Reggae" is a classic cut by Charles Keynard. Download it now at Soul Sides:
http://soul-sides.com/.

Am I High? just posted several tracks for download, including "Read My Lips" by The Alkaholiks, and a Collipark remix of Twista's "Slow Jamz": http://amihigh.blogspot.com/.

At Stylus Magazine, you can cop "I See It", by The Staple Singers:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/ipod/. This is definitely not one of my favorite songs that they've done, but it's a worthwhile track, nonetheless. I also happen to like the Los Impalas offering, but it's a little different than most of the music I write about on this blog. I would recommend giving this a try if you are a fan of The Doors, The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, etc.

ART: Odd Wall has some pretty dope artwork on their site, as they've displayed a diverse selection of San Francisco street art: http://www.oddwall.com/. There's a little bit of everything there, including stencils, murals, and garage door paintings.

Politics: By now, most of you have heard about the violence and mayhem that unfolded in the streets of Toledo, Ohio yesterday. I don't particularly trust the media's representation of what
happened, but I'm posting a link to a CNN article in hopes that you will find the grains of truth in what's being reported:http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/15/nazi.march/. If you ask me, Neo-Nazi and KKK marches/rallies are inherently always inflammatory on some level, and possessing a permit and describing the event as peaceful doesn't do a damn thing to change that fact. I think it's a testament to the patience of minorities in this country that these uprisings don't occur more frequently. Don't get it twisted---as a strong proponent of free speech, I don't believe that hate groups should be silenced. However, we the fuckin' people have to at least try to understand and accept the emotional/psychological basis for a negative reaction to such flagrant displays of racism. Additionally, whenever African-Americans engage in any form of a struggle against their oppression, they shouldn't automatically be portrayed as unthinking animals, both vicious and animalistic. The choice of language utilized by the media makes evident one of the many subversive forms of racism that still prospers underneath the top layer of American society. As a prime example, two or more black people in assembly are considered a gang---while white folk who congregate in large numbers are described (more kindly) as a group. And hopefully, you caught onto the whole looting reference earlier in this post.

To top it all off, there are people in the media who question why the black people involved in the scuffle displayed signs of anger towards the police. Is it possible that people are really that uneducated? The way that law enforcement treats minorities is another one of the clearest examples that racism is not yet dead---despite the ridiculous claims of those who believe we've magically achieved a state of equality in recent years.

I sincerely don't believe in violence as a solution, and I cannot support the actions of anyone who was involved, because I'll never know what really went down---and sorry, but neither will you. I am simply asking my readers to realize the complexity of this situation, before blindly pointing fingers towards the African-Americans who came to protest. Predictably, the latest results of a poll hosted by CNN indicates that more people blame the "gangs" than the neo-Nazis.

LIFE: Finally, this is on the lighter side, but this blog I found is pretty interesting. It features bizarre products that are currently available for purchase. I'm not personally endorsing any of this shit---I just find a lot of these items to be sort of amusing. Are you cutting edge enough to be the first person sporting ear muffs shaped like breasts this coming winter? :
http://www.strangenewproducts.com/.

I'm So Busy And Stressed Out I Didn't Even Have Time To Give This Shit A Name

I only have 4 minutes and 32 seconds to get this post together, and I type more slowly than a quadriplegic. Links only for today, but I swear that I'll hit you up with some stupid stream-of-consciousness shit as soon as I possibly can...

Razorblade Runner recently posted "Build Me Up" by Rhymefest and ODB .

There are 4 No I.D. tracks currently available for download at The Low End Theory.

Treat Williams continues his retrospective of the 90's with some dope joints from 1991. Download tracks by Pete Rock, Freestyle Fellowship, KMD, and more.

***The links to all of the aforementioned blogs are available to your right.

At So Much Silence, you can acquire the mp3 for "Got Me A Woman" by Ray Charles. For anyone who isn't already aware, Kanye sampled this cut on "Gold Digger":
http://www.somuchsilence.blogspot.com/.

Checkerboard Chimes has a Diplo remix of Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad":
http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/. I love both Outkast and The Cure, but I'm on the fence about whether or not it was wise to mix the two. I wouldn't necessarily eat peanut butter with bacon, if ya know what I mean...

Part 2 of Loosie's interview with MF Doom was posted yesterday:
http://www.loosie.com/words/archives/2005/10/000590.php.

Last, but never least, much gratitude to Lemon Life for writing about a charity that is very close to my heart (as her featured organization for the month of October). Please visit her blog to read more...catch her link to your right.

I'm 14 seconds past my time limit...peace...

I Remember When I Lost My Mind

Cee-Lo reminds me of this fat girl I used to know who peed her underoos on the regular. The kids on the playground used to rip on her constantly, but I didn't give a shit what anyone said---pee girl was cool with me. Her real name was Joyce, but I'm...you know...trying to protect her identity from any urinary investigators who may decide to probe further into this matter. Anyway, thanks to all the haters, Joyce is most likely a bulemic junkie these days, and let's just pray that she's not still dealing with that incontinence issue on top of everything else. Unlike most of the other twisted bastards I went to school with, my conscience is clear regarding pee girl. I used to pop a cap in any ass who dared to fuck with her, and yes--I'm prepared to defend Cee-Lo Green in much the same way. No--he doesn't pee his pants---not that I know of anyway. I've just heard and seen many people criticize him for being too different/bizarre to be palatable to the average hip-hop consumer. If that's the case, then the only people who should be buying Andre 3000's music are members of his immediate family, cuz that brotha's weird as hell, and everybody knows it. I'm unaccepting of most of the reasons given to scorn this man and his music...and if you hate on him unjustifiably, I'll be forced to handle you the same way I did those prepubescent gangstas who taunted Joyce. You got that? And judging by this photo, Cee-Lo's ready to battle you his damn self...

Now that I have that bit of insanity off my chest, you can go to Spine Magazine and download "Crazy", a track from Lo's new project with Danger Mouse, Gnarls Barkley: http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

On a political tip, get educated about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers by checking out her Wickipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Miers. It seems Dubya strikes again by attempting to place another of his incompetent friends in a position of power. I guess that all of the public scrutiny over the immense failures of his boy " Brownie" still wasn't enough to dissuade him from repeating his mistakes. I can't figure out why so many Republicans are concerned about her being appointed. She may not have a bit of judicial experience, but she's been a conservative bitch for her whole entire life. Isn't that enough to make them absolutely love her? And Condaleeza Rice happens to be one of her very close homies---'nuff said?

This video is dope...literally. Roll it up, light it up, and cue it up. This is on some Alice in Wonderland, acid freakout shit. Enjoy: http://www.1st-ave-machine.com/video/anime_final.htm.

A few more mp3 links, and I'm out:

Download a remix of "Yo Chevy" by Trill da Playa at Lemon-Red:
http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/. Don't worry---you won't need to purchase a Chevrolet to enjoy this track...it'll blow the backseat off of your Ford Escort, too....if you let it.

Cop "Live and Direct at the House of Hits" by Intelligent Hoodlum and Craig G at Unkut.com: http://www.unkut.com/.

A couple of tracks by Tajai (of Hieroglyphics) are available at So Much Silence:
http://www.somuchsilence.blogspot.com/.

Alright kids---in case I didn't make myself clear---today's lesson is to give Cee-Lo his propers, and don't pee on any electrical fences...until we meet again...

I Breathe Rusty Air Logic...It Becomes The Lung

A couple of weeks ago, I made a very sound investment. I bought a waffle with the likeness of Jesus burnt onto it. If you're looking for a relatively painless way to become rich, I highly recommend bidding on some of the Jesus food items that can be purchased on E-Bay. However, don't make the same mistake that I did---prevent disaster in your own life by heeding this cautionary tale...Earlier today, my friend and I smoked a gigantic shrub together. Motivated by an overwheming case of the munchies, she ate my sacred Aunt Jemima when I wasn't looking. I've been totally fuckin' bummed out all day as a result of this relatively significant loss in my life... The worst part is, I had some Pop Tarts with sprinkles, and would have shared.

The moral of this story is: DON'T GET HIGH WITH YOUR DUMBASS FRIENDS. Getting high by yourself may make you a lonely, loser weedaholic, but at least you'll have your Jesus toast for comfort food. I hope my friend feels damned guilty right now about having swallowed our Lord in one effortless gulp...

Potentially more shaken up on a spiritual level are the handful of Mormons who recently purchased the Latter-day Saints production, Sons of Provo. In a few cases, the Mormon-themed DVD was switched with a film about a gay porn star. Makes you wonder how many of these people watched this movie 'til the bitter end, just waiting to see when Jesus was gonna happen. Find out the whole story here: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,615155174,00.html.

Ear Fuzz posted a couple of my favorite Aesop Rock joints, both of which appeared on the Euphony compilation. "Water" is one of the tracks, and the other is "Sinister", featuring Vast Aire and Yeshua DapoED: http://www.earfuzz.com/. The title of today's post comes from Vast's clever rhyming on the track. If I may say so, that brotha is straight poetic on the mic. "My poetry's precision is the sole definition of latitude"...

In contrast, Busta Rhymes' new track "Touch It" manages to score fairly low on the scale of lyrical brilliance. His rhymes on the cut are fairly weak, and the overall tone of the track is too much like his previous material to be considered particularly original or creative. That said, I'd go download the damn thing anyway. The music is pretty infectious, and Busta seems more like himself this time around than he has on any of his other recent efforts. You can cop this track at either Checkerboard Chimes ( http://checkerboardchimes.blogspot.com/) or Lemon-Red
( http://www.lemon-red.org/blog/).

Freemotion is back from a brief hiatus with several mpfrees. Some of the tracks featured are "Red Hot" by Jurassic 5 and the Dap-Kings, Pharrell Williams' "Maybe" remix, and a cover of "Summer Breeze" by Jackie Mittoo. Link for Freemotion is to your right.

At MP3 4U, you can download "Yo Yo Yo" by Medina Green and Mos Def: http://www.mp34u.com/songCard.php?posting=3177 . The song is actually quite a bit better than its monotonous title suggests.

From the Polo Fleece to the Jesus Piece is featuring three solid tracks from the upcoming Slum Village album: http://jesuspiece.blogspot.com/.

Check out The Smoking Section for lots of free songs, as well as several full albums available for download: http://smokingsection.blogspot.com/2005/10/less-filling.html.

Before I go, I'd like to apologize for the fact that it's damn near impossible for most of you to leave a comment on this blog. The comment spam I was getting was totally ridiculous. As I've said before, my readership doesn't usually seem to have a whole lot to say, but I still feel badly that you can't cuss me out if you so desire. I'll try to make that option available again soon, but for now you're just gonna have to bite your tongue, or insult me via e-mail...

I Had To Lose An Eye To See Clearly

What if Gary Coleman and the devil had a baby?...

It's pretty much an undeniable fact that Bushwick Bill is one crazy-ass mutha---and if you disagree, you may want to consider having your own head checked, freak. As one-third of the legendary Geto Boys (along with Willie D and Scarface), Bill remains one of the most intriguing characters to ever grace the pages of rap history. At this point, I'm considering launching into a boring commentary about the life and times of Mr. Bill, but I don't really want that---and hell---neither do you. Instead, I'm going to present a few random facts about the Bushman, and let you fill in the blanks (if you happen to be fascinated by diminutive rappers, like I am):

*Bill lost his right eye to a bullet in 1991, due to an unfortunate incident involving his former girlfriend. When he recounted the experience on his track "Ever So Clear", he explained that he asked his girlfriend to shoot him, and when she refused, he ultimately threatened to drop their baby. His injury allegedly ensued during the subsequent tussle. The graphic scene following the episode was immortalized on the cover of the Geto Boys' LP, We Can't Be Stopped. The image depicts Willie D and Scarface wheeling Bill on a hospital gurney right after the shooting. Not all of this was in vain though, especially since God talked to Bill afterwards, and helped him to use his inner eye to his supreme advantage.

*In 1995, he legally changed his name to Dr. Wolfgang Von Bushwickin The Barbarian Mother-Funky Stay High Dollar Billster.

*During a number of interviews, he has completely flipped the fuck out---including the last one he did for XXL several months ago.

*He's a dwarf, dammit. How many midget rappers can you name?

Billster's most recent projects include his newest solo joint, Gutta Mix, and the Geto Boys reunion album, The Foundation. One of the new Geto Boys tracks--"Leanin' On You"---features a sample of "If You Move I'll Fall" by Soul Children. You can currently download this track at The Number One Songs In Heaven, and you probably should:
http://www.londonlee.com/blog.html.

Listen to and learn about the Geto Boys here:
http://www.mp3.com/geto-boys/artists/35/summary.html.

More Bushwick stuff here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushwick_Bill

and also at this location:
http://www.mp3.com/bushwick-bill/artists/21579/discography.html.

In other musical news:

Treat Williams is doing a pretty dope retrospective of 90's hip-hop. Recently available are mp3s by Poor Righteous Teachers, Masta Ace, K-Solo, Kool G Rap, and more. Treat is permanently attached to my right...catch the link over there.

Spine Magazine is featuring a lot of nice tracks right now. I'm personally diggin' "My Favorite Mutiny" by The Coup (w/ Talib Kweli and Black Thought):
http://www.spinemagazine.com/index.php?task=.

Moistworks has a few Gravediggaz songs available for download. They also posted RZA and MF Doom's "Biochemical Equation", so if you were negligent in getting it last time, you know what to do:http://www.moistworks.com/.

At Can I Bring My Gat?, you can download a few mellow tracks by Silent Poets:
http://www.abitnice.com/canibringmygat/.

And finally, I'm gonna throw you a curve ball, but the Elbow tracks posted at Borrowed Tunes are definitely worth a listen. Some of you may already be familiar with their music, especially the song "Fugitive Motel", a track that was remixed by RJD2 for a 12" release by the group. This is my unhip-hop shit of this particular moment: http://www.borrowedtunes.com/. Hopefully you're not too gangsta to recognize...

Born Again

Those of you who know how to adequately employ your powers of perception have probably figured out that I haven't done any posts lately. I finally have all of my computer equipment, and I'm finished moving most of my precious shit into the new crib. I'd like to say that things will now be back to normal, but we both know how unlikely and misleading that shit is... Anyway, I should really be unpacking my possessions right now---you know, so I can figure out if I really need to store two or three record crates in the bathroom or not. I feel like I just emptied the contents of a mansion into a shed, and I'm truly not sure where the hell to put everything---but that's personal problem type shit, now isn't it?

Anyway, some really earth-shattering stuff has been happening in the universe since I've been away. For example, did you know that Layzie Bone recently had his finger bitten by a disgruntled fan? : http://www.rapnews.net/News/2005/09/30/Layzie/. I've actually missed staying current with important news items such as this, but then again, there is that old adage about no news being good news. Since world events have been pretty depressing recently, perhaps I should be relieved that I've been pretty much oblivious this past week. Thankfully, I just found this site (http://www.happynews.com/index.htm), which features nothing but happy things that are happening all across the globe. Perhaps this is the remedy for my toxically pessimistic viewpoint...

I'm still trying to catch up on all of the good music I've slept on lately, but here are a few gems I've unearthed so far:

The Low End Theory has a great post featuring mp3s and biographical info on talented MCs who are now deceased (Biggie, ODB, Charizma, Subroc, Big L, etc.). Catch the permanent link to your right.

Ear Fuzz has a couple of super-funky tracks by a cat named Del Jones. I don't know diddly shit about the dude, and I don't have time to find out right now. Definitely check this out though, and Google him later: http://www.earfuzz.com/.

Cocaine Blunts is featuring "Should I?", an unreleased track by The Roots and Project Pat: http://www.cocaineblunts.com/new/index.html.

Cuban Links has been posting a lot of good ish lately, including "Window Shopper" by 50 Cent and a Green Lantern remix of Rick James' track "Mary Jane":
http://onlybuilt4.blogspot.com/.

Filthy Choice has a classic Funkadelic cut from Maggot Brain, "Back In Our Minds":
http://filthychoice.blogspot.com/.

As many of you already know, Prince Paul's latest offering is called Hip-Hop Gold Dust. Straight Bangin' is offering two selections from the album---"Monolith" w/ Last Emperor and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", a Gravediggaz track featuring Craig Gee:
http://www.straightbangin.blogspot.com/. Additionally, Soul Sides has posted two different joints from the effort----LA Symphony's "Broken Now", and "My Mindstate" by De La Soul: http://soul-sides.com/. There are also some excellent Curtis Mayfield songs currently available for download there, so don't neglect to check those out, too.

Diggin' Music is featuring a great post on Martian Gang, the combined efforts of DJ Real and Shin-Ski. There are a few mp3s available, as well as an informative interview about the duo: http://www.digginmusic.blogspot.com/.

Last, but not least, peace and thank you to one of my favorite mp3 blogs, No Frontin', for posting a link to Souled On: http://www.songz.blogspot.com/.

Hope that momentarily cured you of your separation anxiety, my friends...