I'm currently not mad at new music... (PT. 1)

:) Hello good people. It's true, I've gotten a good amount of music lately that I'm really feeling. It seems better than he has been as of late but I may just be in one of those "moods"....ha. I'll have to look at the whole picture soon and see how this year measures up but for now I'm feeing pretty good about it.

In any event, in my last few weeks of themes I have collected and nice stack of new music so I'm going to spend the next few weeks sharing it with with the world via Redefinition Radio. I also figured I'd do some short write ups on some of the artists/albums here for a more in depth look.

On last weeks show (10-6-07) we heard releases from the likes of: Fresh Daily, Mac Lethal, Zimbabwe Legit w/YZ, Stedy Serv, Rob Sonic, Esoteric w/Raydar Ellis and Jawn P (Top Choice Clique), Masai Bey, Percee P, Hezekiah, Wise Intelligent, DJ SIgnify w/Grandmaster Caz, Jaz O, Chubb Rock, Superstar Quamallah, Heliocentrics, etc...

If you haven't heard the new music from any of the above I suggest you check it out!! There's a lot of great stuff there. It seems like in these recent releases many of the artists have really stepped their game up with the lyrics and/or delivery. Plus there's been a lot of veteran artists in the game dropping songs or verses recently that show they still have that fire and passion for Hip Hop. You will find examples of both of those on this weeks and next weeks show. To give just a few examples*....

Rob Sonic-Sabatoge Gigante LP just dropped on Def Jux. I've been checking out his music since the Sonic Sum days and he has always had key songs that have impressed me. However, with this album he went all out. It sounds like he is at his best lyrically and his delivery got a nice upgrade as well. This album definitely impressed me.

Percee P-The man is a lyrical legend first off! When I first heard him in '92 on "Yes You May" and then "Lung Collapsing Lyrics" I was stunned. No one could match him word for word, style for style, with the patterns, wordplay, speed changes, and all that. Then I had to play catch up around the same time and heard "Let The Homicides Begin" from '88 and I was amazed that he was rapping like that back then! I thought it was a mistake and that it couldn't have came out in '88....ha. I mean that's saying a lot because '88 was a year of some amazing lyricists. Anyway, he's been in the game since then (even before then honestly) just dropping verses and a few singles but Stones Throw had the vision to put him the studio with Madlib and craft his first album. Percee has not lost it by any means.  20 years later and he is still rhyming with the best of them!

I was also impressed with recent efforts by Chubb Rock (who murders it on the Zimbabwe Legit album and the 8/8/88 compilation), Grandmaster Caz (who proves he is still The Grandest Of Them All with DJ Signify and also on the 8/8/88 compilation alongside he is tag team partner Mele Mel). OK, quick side bar on this 8/8/88 Compilation. If you haven't heard about it you should check it out. It's a compilation consisting of pretty much purely legends in the game; Caz, Mele Mel, Doug E Fresh, Master Ace, Biz Markie, Grand Puba, Craig G, Just Ice, Chubb Rock, Dres, MC Lyte, Jungle Brothers, Special Ed, Big Daddy Kane, Smooth B, etc... On Top of that, there's a bit of mystery surrounding it as the marketing/press on it suggests these are all lost recordings from '88 recently rediscovered. Though there is a lot of disbelief in that (google the store in NY Times for more info) it's defininitely a fun listen.

Other great notes of longevity go to:

Jawn P (of Top Choice Clique): If you don't know about Top Choice you need to brush up on your Boston Hip History. They are a key group in the '80s/90s out there. I remember they would get a decent amount of mention in those very first Source magazines. That's back in the day when I would look in the Source and make lists in my notebook of all the 12" singles I needed to find....I could never find any Top Choice Clique to my dismay...ha. I didn't get to hear them until later when they went the major label route with A&M and dropped "I Think To Myself" for the Posse Soundtrack. I was doing promotions for the label at the time and I gave that 12" to a million DJs for sure...ha. I always thought it was a cool song and nice video, but a few years even after that is when I finally heard the "classics", "Peace Of Mind" and "You Can't Deal" then I really got it!! They were ill! Jawn P drops a great verse on the new Esoteric EP and he also has his own new project that I've heard some snippets on his myspace page that  show n prove his work ain't done:   http://www.myspace.com/jawnp78 <http://www.myspace.com/jawnp78>  

I'm the self proclaimed biggest fan of Jaz O (aka The Jaz, Big Jaz, etc...). I still remember the day I heard his first album on the court playing basketball. My friend brought that album and I brought two other new releases. I can't even remember what I brought and I definitely kept his tape...ha. From there he only got better with his slept on should-be-classic "To The Soul" and the massively over-looked "THE EP" (with production by Prince Paul, Large Professor and 45 King!!!). He spent a few years under the radar then came back back in the mid 90s producing hit singles (Jay Z, M.O.P, etc...) and even nicer with lyrics. Things haven't changed. I just got three new tracks and he is still razor sharp.

Here's a fw guys who I plan to more full features on sometime in the future so for now I am suggesting you check out their myspace pages. I'm really feeling what these guys are doing. They are all rather innovative and refreshing to hear:

1)Masai Bey: http://www.myspace.com/masaibey <http://www.myspace.com/masaibey>  (I'm            pretty sure he is one of my most played artists...ha)

2)Stedy Serv:  http://www.myspace.com/stedyserv <http://www.myspace.com/stedyserv>           (The man is a underground Chicago Legend and a pioneer of the futuristic B-boy style!)

3)Fresh Daily: http://www.myspace.com/freshdotdaily <http://www.myspace.com/freshdotdaily>  (Expect to hear a lot more from him on the show!)

That's all for now good people. Have a great weekend and check out the show if/when you have time:

-LISTEN THIS SATURDAY NITE!!
11 pm until Midnight (central us time)
Twin Cities: 89.3 The Current
Online: kcmp.org (if you miss it it's online forever along with every other show and playlist I've                 ever done!!)

*THIS IS A NOT A LISTING OF ALL THE NEW MUSIC I'M FEELING!!! THIS IS JUST THE NEW MUSIC I LIKE FROM SOME OF THE ARITSTS I PLAYED ON THE SHOW LAST WEEK. I HAVE A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF I'LL BE PLAYING/WRITING ABOUT NEXT WEEK AND OTHER STUFF THAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN PLAYING. EX: MUSAB, ETERNIA, COOL KIDS, U-N-I, Y SOCIETY, GRAYSKUL,  BROTHER READE, HANGAR I8, AESOP ROCK, HIGH PRIEST, LUCKYIAM, SCIENZ OF LIFE, PEANUT BUTTER WOLF, LUPE FIASCO, DJ ALIBI, EDIT, & more than likely a few others I'm not thinking of at the moment...