Fresh Out The Fryin' Pan Into The Fire

I know that I can't possibly supply you fiends with enough good music to satiate your carnal auditory desires, so I went back to the crates to unearth some more treasured sounds:

"Something You Got"---Alvin Robinson
Although it seems impossible to sound enthusiastic and weary at the same time, Robinson somehow managed to capture both of those feelings in equal measure on this track. Everyone should download this mp3. Share a copy with someone you love, like your grandma. She'll appreciate it, too---I promise.

If this song sounds familiar to my hip-hop heads, let me save you the mental exertion---RJD2 sampled this record on "Work".

"Good To Me"---Irma Thomas
I'm obviously in the mood for some good old New Orleans soul, and Irma reigns as the indisputable Queen. This particular song is her amazing rendition of an Otis Redding track. Ms. Thomas recorded this tune at Muscle Shoals, and it was originally released on Chess Records. I can't recommend this song highly enough, but I have an admitted bias---it's been a longtime favorite of mine. Hopefully you, too, will be souled on its merits.

"Public Service Announcement (DJ Ernest Borgnine remix)" ---Jay-Z
Yet another bedroom/basement mix of a track from Hova's Black Album. Especially considering how short this joint is, even the haters have to admit that Jay packed a lot of lyrical punch on the track. If you try to front on this, Jigga might just "shoot at you actors like movie directors".

"The Bodega"---Skyzoo/ 9th Wonder
I don't know enough about Skyzoo to say a great deal about his skills on the mic. This joint comes from a mixtape called Cloud 9: The 3 Day High. I get so caught up in 9th Wonder's beats that I usually have unconditional love for his projects and productions. This is no exception...

"Feel the Beat"---DJ Dub/ J Dilla
"Beat 6"
"History"
All three of these joints are from DJ Dub's mixtape: J Dilla: Legacy Volume One. Dub is one of those DJs who likes to shout himself out a little too frequently for my personal taste, but overall, this is a relatively solid mix. I don't know about you, but I still miss Jay Dee. Dead or alive, I love that brotha like a pork chop.

Word From Your Moms:

"When the water starts boiling, it is foolish to turn off the heat"---Nelson Mandela

You Wouldn't Understand If You Stood Under It

Since I'm still putting the finishing touches on my next links post, I thought I might be a good blogger, and hit you up with a few extra-special joints in the meantime:

"If Time Could Stand Still"---Ella Washington
This is a beautiful track by a soul sista with a wonderfully unique voice. If you're diggin' Ms. Washington like I do, you can also check out these resources.

"Moment Of Clarity (Pete Rock remix)"---Jay-Z
I can honestly say that Pete rarely disappoints me. He's an amazing DJ and producer, in addition to being an exceptionally accomplished crate digga. I may be in the minority with this, but Eminem's production on the original joint didn't particularly impress me at all. However, if there are any Stans in the audience who want to argue that Em is a better producer than Pete, I'm always up for a good debate ;)

"Throw Your Hands Up"---Eightball & MJG w/ Outkast
This isn't my favorite Outkast joint or collabo by any stretch of the imagination, but I was bumpin' some grooves earlier, and this song ended up in the mix. I'm one of the few people who isn't hatin' all over Idlewild, but I admit that I miss the days when Big Boi and Andre 3000 sounded like this---just plain durty. No matter how hard I try, I can't snap my neck to "Hollywood Divorce". Call me shallow, but sometimes the head-nod factor can be rather essential...

Word From Your Moms:

"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."---Oscar Wilde

You Gotta Listen To Hear

Bangin' on your eardrum with the sound of some amazing music:

"That's How It Feels"---Soul Clan
Soul Clan was a legendary soul supergroup comprised of Solomon Burke, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Ben E. King, and Don Covay. There is quite an interesting backstory on the group's origins, including the fact that Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett both planned on being part of the project when the idea was first conceived. Unfortunately, only two Soul Clan tracks were recorded, this being the B-side of the single. More information on the group is available here.

"Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do"---Betty Wright
As I mentioned in my last post, JT at Feed Me Good Tunes recently posted some classic soul joints, including "Secretary" by Betty Wright. This inspired me to revisit some of my favorite songs by her, and in my humble opinion, this particular track is an absolute gem. Apologies in advance to any soul sistas out there who think "screw being a lady" after listening to this mp3 ;)

"Listen (Sparks Fly Remix)"---Talib Kweli (featuring Q-Tip)
This joint is from Kweli's Brooklyn Tennessee mixtape. Out of 35 tracks, there were approximately three that I seriously considered posting. This one just seemed destined to reach my peoples...

"Threat (Fresh Prodeuce mix)"---Jay-Z
Travis made a good point in the comments section today. It really has become sort of "uncool" to like Jay-Z anymore---at least in certain circles. I guess it's pretty obvious at this stage that I don't give any kind of shit about being cool. Besides, if I posted music based only on popularity, I'd be writing about Clay Aiken and Chingy. This blog would have no heart, and if it existed at all, it would be called Souled Out..."The greatest" trumps "the latest" every time.

The weed takes me off on tangents---I know--- but what I meant to say was that this is a dope mix from FP's Green Album. Uhhh...enjoy.

"Super Freak"---Just Blaze
Readers who went to Soul Sides to download Jay-Z's new song ("Show Me What You Got") probably noticed that Oliver also posted another fresh Hova joint as a bonus---"Kingdom Come". Just in case you slept while this was circulating, here is a studio version of the beat for this joint that JB recorded back on February 28th. The best thing about it is that Just talks, laughs, and cuts up all over the track. I consider this an absolute must for rap nerds everywhere.

(Afterthought: This track still appears on Mr. Blaze's MySpace page---I guess these days it's called "Bored". However, you can only stream the audio from there, so you know what to do...)

Word From Your Moms:

"No one is as deaf as the man who will not listen"---Jewish proverb

Feel Me From Where I Am To Wherever You Are

It's been yet another entertaining week in the world of music, art, politics, and life. Let's do this damn thing...

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most overblogged song of the week was "Show Me What You Got"---the new Jay-Z single from his upcoming Kingdom Come LP. I'm ordinarily rather hesitant to embrace the hype when it comes to mainstream hip-hop, and let's face it--Hova is pretty much the McDonald's of rap. Despite this fact, I became a Jay-Z fan several years ago, through a process that can only be described as Jiggafication. I manage to find a way to excuse the excessive commercialism, the industry politricks, and even the lame-ass songs he does with Beyonce. Bearing that in mind, the best thing I can think of to say about this track is that it doesn't totally suck...just mostly.

I could get my thesaurus out right now, and start building a pseudo-intellectual argument to support my opinion, but why waste the time? Truth is, I'm still going to buy Kingdom Come the very day it hits the shelves. Bloggers, critics, and eggheads worldwide are going to spend countless hours lamenting the fact that this record doesn't measure up to Reasonable Doubt. Well, no shit...I ain't never been as high as the first time I smoked some greens, but I'm still puffin', aren't I? Think of this Jay-Z joint in much the same way, and you won't even have to think about pondering its worthiness...I promise.

Anyway, for all my cellar dwellers in the place to be, you can cop this track at a billion different locations. I'm providing a link to the post at Soul Sides, because O-Dub was kind enough to include the songs by Johnny Pate and Afro Lafayette Band that Just Blaze sampled on the track.

Movin' right along...

If you love funk and/or soul music, then you probably know a thing or two about Shuggie Otis. If it's not already part of your collection, make sure you pay a visit to Tuwa's Shanty to download "Aht Uh Mi Hed".

Nah Right featured a couple of killer "stray shots" this past week---"Undeniable" by Mos Def and "Josephine" by Dj Hi-Tek w/ Ghostface.

Download "Get Up and Get Down" by The Dramatics at Funky 16 Corners.

Today's "what the fuck?"---Congress wants to know if they've molested you.

And while we're discussing the many ways in which sex and government are inexplicably intertwined---is it just me, or has the GOP been spending an extraordinary amount of time both in and out of the closet lately?

The Mark Out is featuring what Ben describes as "a tight little mix of original soul tracks as sampled by the Wu-Tang---both solo and as a group".

Head over to Berkeley Place to cop a fistful of Dr. Dre rarities.

Before The Ohio Players got all funked up, their style was more akin to soul and R&B. "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow" is a phenomenal track that they recorded in 1968---download it courtesy of Darcy at Feel It.

Regulars around here already know that I love both album covers and stuff that's bizarre. The two finally meet here, where Billy Joel fires shots at Rick James, but it's Eminem who ultimately kills him. Whoa...

Download songs by Nina Simone, Bill Withers, and Little Milton via this post at Moistworks. You should also stop by there to cop "Fuck What U Heard" by the incredible Diamond D.

If you're not already part of Vikter Duplaix's "love movement", you may want to get familiar. His new album Bold & Beautiful is perfect mood music---whether you're makin' babies...or just relaxing. I uploaded "The Way That I Feel" so that you can experiment freely---d/l the track via SendSpace.

The man JT at Feed Me Good Tunes recently posted some stellar soul joints by the likes of Betty Wright, Gene Harris & The Three Sounds, The Manhattans, The Trammps, and The Sylvers. Hip-hop fans also need to recognize--- these tracks were all sampled in joints by J Dilla, Madlib, and RJD2.

As I mentioned recently, I've been mining the internets for even greater musical treasure than what I discover at my usual "hot spots". This week I came across a few dope hip-hop spots that I wanted to give some shine. I'd love to offer a detailed description of each, but I need my fuckin' beauty sleep. Here's the links, and I'll let you handle the rest:

all up in your earhole

U Gotta Digg Dat

Ego Trippin

Also, peace to DJ Uncle Rico and It Happened In London for the links.

Word From Your Moms:

"Anywhere is walking distance, if you've got the time."--Steven Wright

Can't None Of Y'All Mirror Me Back

I'm back with more musical crack for my peoples. Break it down. Inhale. Take pleasure in the intoxicating sensation that you feel...

"All I Want Is You"---Zilla Mayes
While many of you may not know a damn thing about Zilla, I'm hoping that you'll trust in her funky soulfulness because I said so ;) This is a phenomenal track that has been included on several compilations, including Master Cuts Funk Divas, Funksoul Sisters 2, and The Allen Toussaint Touch: 22 Classic Recordings Produced By The Legendary Soul Man.

"Skinny Legs And All"---Joe Tex
There are many outstanding Joe Tex songs to choose from, so I would encourage you explore his discography further if you're diggin' this particular track. Apparently Joe liked a little extra junk in the trunk. Unthick chicks need not apply...

"Encore (Smoke 'Em Out Records mix)" ---Jay-Z
This is from a mixtape called Marvin Jay---The Black Album blended with Marvin Gaye joints. Occasionally things get a bit imperfect, but I still love the overall feel of this track. Besides---who you know fresher than Hov? Riddle me that...

"Rock Co.Cane Flow (Cenzi remix)" ---De La Soul w/ MF Doom
At first I wondered why Cenzi would bother trying to fix something that wasn't even broken. The original version of this track is undeniably dope, but sometimes I have a definite preference for this particular remix. It brings a certain H.E.A.V.I.N.E.S.S. that refuses to be ignored.

Word From Your Moms:

"Modern music is as dangerous as cocaine."---Pietro Mascagni