Books, Sports, Rhymes & Life
After four decades, it’s hard to create a hip-hop project that doesn’t sound like everything else that has come before it while also maintaining the elements of what has made the music endure and grow for so long.
Sometimes, though, an album finds a new space that hasn’t been plundered yet. A World Only Gods Know, the new project from Scorcese and Alpha Davis, aims to be one those albums.
Of all the conversations and debates surrounding the best of the best in hip-hop — MC’s, groups, producers, labels — perhaps the most difficult to ascertain is what is the greatest year in hip-hop history.
This is not a new question, of course, but I thought I’d bring a new angle to it by determining the best through a 16-slot bracket tournament.
Occasionally, it takes time to recognize greatness.
I have a confession to make: I didn’t love Enter the Wu-Tang [36 Chambers] the first time I heard it. Actually, I kinda sorta didn’t even like it. I know that’s like the Pope saying he didn’t dig the Bible the first time he read it, but it’s true.
Continue reading “We’re So Spoiled by the Availability of Music That We Don’t Appreciate It”
It’s been an interesting year for all of us, but for me, this was even more true.
It seems everyone is now listening to streaming services. From Spotify to Pandora to Tidal to Beats 1 Radio, there are plenty of options.
Continue reading “No Streaming: Why I Choose to Control My Media”
If a (supposedly) new Wu-Tang Clan album doesn’t move the needle the way it once did, it’s largely because it’s easy to be skeptical about new material coming out of Shaolin.
Continue reading “A Wu-Tang Album in Name Only – The Deception of “The Saga Continues””
Much of the reaction to Jay-Z’s thirteenth album, 4:44, from much of the press is that Jay – finally – has matured and is allowing himself to be shown through his music.
