Generic list post: October 2020

Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London
(From Excitable Boy album; 1978)


Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when Halloween pub parties in the U.K were cancelled due to the 10pm curfew. All I wanted was one night I could bust Tom Cruise moves to Werewolves Of London in my local and 2020 wouldn't give it to me.

YG - Swag (2020)
Open Mike Eagle ft. Video Dave - Headass (Idiot Shinji) (2020)
ShuggyBo - What I Like (2020)
Homeboy Sandman - Waiting On My Girl (2020)
Gzus Piece - Hot Tub TIme Machine (2020)
DJ Chose ft. BeatKing - Thick (2020)
GetEmTree - Only Way Is Up Step (2020)
D'Angelo ft. Redman - Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine (Def Squad remix) (1996)
Pa Salieu ft. BackRoad Gee - My Family (2020)
Donae'O - Partey Hard (2020)

Other notables: YG & Lil' Wayne's Blood Walk was also surprisingly good; while it was fun to mock Jay He's A One Song Wonder, I was kinda disappointed that the album didn't have any keepers for me; 2020 stays full of surprises like a new single by 3MG; I get that Rio Da Yung OG's Practice is a lyrical exercise track, but that shit could still do with a hook; I foolishly thought the new Busta Rhymes songs with Q-Tip, ODB, and M.O.P might be my sorta thing - turns out I shoulda just headed straight for his banger with the Bell Biv Devoe chop-up instead.

Martorial Elegance: The Ice Isn't Right

Before Ice-T was the the O.G: Original Gangster, he was the O.G Andre Macassi on the hot tarmac of South Central. This particular outfit woulda been perfect for poolside loungin' in the High Rollers video if Ice hadn't have f**ked it up from the knees down like David James on Strictly Come Dancing. So nearly fly and yet so far - why you tryna look like Borg and Jordan at the SAME DAMN TIME? Tennis garms and Basketball gear don't mix like two dicks and no bitch, find your outfit in some serious shit.

Ice-T - High Rollers
(From Power album; 1988)

Harriet Hot Tubman

Gzus Piece - Hot Tub Time Machine
(From Soxndrawz album; 2020)

gzuspiece · Hot Tub TIme Machine

File this under 'Midwesternplayalisticbubblebathmuzik.' I fuxwit Taladega and Hitman Theme heavy, but I'm settling on Hot Tub TIme Machine as my de facto favourite song from Gzus Piece's new album.

PS: there's a cool song from this album which was cut from the retail/streaming tracklist but is still hidden on Soundcloud. Shit's called Shout Out To OJ Simpson and I use it as the secret B-side to Hot Tub Time Machine.

Instamagnetic MC

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By @the_cassette_memories "Mac Dre songs recorded on 4 track cassette recorder 1992. #CassetteTapes #MacDre #StudioTone #Khayree #vallejocailf

A post shared by Khayree Shaheed (@khayree_music) on Jan 19, 2015 at 12:35am PST

Straight out the f**kin' archives of Khayree's Instagram, here's a snippet of an unreleased Mac Dre demo from 1992. Dre may have been Too Hard For Da F*ckin' Radio but he ain't too hard for da RadioShack cassette deck. Can Khayree & Studio Tone just collate all Dre's demo tracks/Crest tape songs and release them on one album plz?

Clock Of The Heart (no Culture Club)

"Do I even have to mention, thee bathroom is like another dimension
What goes on inside is something I can never explain, time exists on an entirely different plane"

Homeboy Sandman - Waiting On My Girl
(From Don't Feed The Monster album; 2020)

HomeboySandman · Waiting on My Girl

Time waits for no man, yet man waits for every woman. This is reality Rap - we all go through it! The realest shit Homeboy Sandman ever wrote or wot? Would love to know what Quelle Chris sampled here because this beat sounds like a lost DOOM production from the King Gheedorah album.

Late pass: EPMD'Angelo

D'Angelo ft. Redman - Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine (Def Squad remix)
(From Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine remixes single; 1996)


Damn, why'd nobody ever hip me to the existence of this remix? TBQH, this mix floats my Billy Ocean more than the original - you've got the same damn D'Angelo syrupy goodness, but a refreaked groove by Erick Sermon and two quick verses of flagrant du Redman featuring an amusing homme pas. A song like this makes me wish the ol' Funk Doc had been let loose on more 90's Rap & Bullshit remixes.

What's yer favourite Erick Sermon remix then? I wanna say mines is Redman's Can't Wait remix 2 but that's #actually the original version in disguise. So, it's between Redman's Rockafella remix and Keith Murray's Dip Dip Di remix where Erick Sermon transformed two songs I don't particularly like into two songs I do indeed like.

One 4 the Britz (and Ghanaianz)

Donae'O - Partey Hard
(From YouTube; 2020)


9/10 for sheer opportunism here: Donae'O remakes his own U.K Funky classic Party Hard in tribute to Arsenal signing Thomas Partey. Maybe it deserves a 10/10 since the video is hosted by Arsenal Fan TV and features multiple annoying mugs from the channel. Not entirely sure that the proverbial roof of the Emirates Stadium has ever been "on fire", but let's not let deetz get in the way of bantz. Anyhoo, it's all fun and games until Donae'O ends up with egg on his face if Partey turns out to be the Ghanaian Denilson innit?

Bus' The Facts

Busta Rhymes - As I Come Back
(From Genesis album; 2001)


Always my favourite Busta Rhymes track with The Neptunes track because that beat was so very obviously a bespoke creation for Busta. In hindsight, As I Come Back was as close as New York got to its own equivalent of Crunk and its a pity nobody else took the baton and ran with it. I wanna say that bassline is pure U.K darkside Rave but that'd make me sound like Grimey Simey and noone should ever wanna sound like Grimey Simey when talking about Rap.

A bum note

"Whassup Brie?
Whassup Kei?
Whassup Lisa? Damn, I want all three!
Ohhh Ashlee, ohhh Ashlee
I get hard when she walk past me"

DJ Chose ft. BeatKing - Thick
(From YouTube; 2020)


Put a badunkadunk on it! Ain't gonna lie, I much prefer this to BeatKing's own Then Leave. In fact, I'd opine that Thick is the best Booty-Chatter™ slumper since Back It Up by Trap Beckham & Flo Milli. Three is still the magic number for DJ Chose & BeatKing; for the rest of us, however, good things come in twos like arse cheeks.

Birds can do Baton Rouge Brawl Music™ too (part 3)

"Putcho cups up, let's get f*cked up!"

GetEmTree - Only Way Is Up Step
(From YouTube; 2020)


One of these days yous lot are gonna realise that GetEmTree is Baton Rouge's answer to Katie Got Bandz. Until then I'm gonna keep wildin' out to her music, and keep myself amused by the YouTube comments which mistake her for a him.

Stupid Doo Dude Dumb

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Treal Playa's @devindude420 #Tbt

A post shared by Official ThizzNation (@thizznationbiz) on Oct 8, 2020 at 8:57am PDT

When regional G.O.A.T's collide or wot? Sux these two never recorded any music together because they'd have surely had great chemistry beyond their shared penchant for being photographed on the bog for their respective 1998 albums. Imagine Dre on a Devin song like Go Somewhere or Devin on a Dre song like Dreganomics. Alternatively, you can always just pretend that Pawns In The Game was a Domo beat for Devin's first album which Dre nicked for himself.

Mac Dre - Pawns In The Game
(From Khayree's vaults; 1997/The Musical Life Of Mac Dre Vol 3 album; 2014)

Jam On It part 2

Mac Dre & Khayree - Times R Gettin' Crazy (acoustic)
(From Billy Jam's HipHopSlam KUSF radio show; 1991)



Ripped an MP3 of Mac Dre & Khayree's live performance of Times R Gettin' Crazy from Billy Jam's HipHopSlam radio show. Download that shit here. Officially, the only acoustic cover version of a Rap song which doesn't make me go wild like Blutarsky and smash guitars.

Stop eatin' me like chips with no cheese, bitch I'm nachos

"I hit up my insurance, I'm at your door like I'm Geico
Verses cutthroat, I'm in your dreams like I'm Psycho
Don't say I'm wrong, when I pull a left I'm really right tho""

ShuggyBo - What I Like
(From YouTube; 2020)



File this under 'somebody was bound to slappify Tiny Tim's Livin' In The Sunlight, Lovin' In The Moonlight eventually, huh?' Shout outs to ShuggyBo for makin' Sacramento sound like Loompaland on this one, and for havin' the most quintessentially NorCal Rap name ever.

Brief thoughts on the leaked Jay Electronica album

Jay Electronica? More like Jay He's One Song Wonder amirite. Deepest condolences to anybody who genuinely thought this album would "save Hip-Hop" lolz. Even Saigon's mediocre The Greatest Story Never Told LP was better than this meandering nonsense. This shit is just a half-arsed Killah Priest album with shout outs to Puffy and Kate Middleton.

PS: the next time your tinfoil hat stoner m8 tells you that the Rothschild family secretly control the world, remind him that the Rothschild family couldn't even control one of their heiresses from getting babbied up by a lazy drunken crackpot Rapper like Jay Electronica.

The Jerk part 2

"One call, they pull up fast
Wrong move that pistol blast
I'm dressed in all black, match my glock, I think I'm Shaft"

YG - Swag
(From My Life 4 Hunnid album; 2020)



Also feelin' this recent YG single on the 2Pac Jerkur tip, although I can't decide whether it's Jerk in Future-Swag clothing or Future-Swag disguised as Jerk? Either way, goin' back to the future has worked a treat on this and Out On Bail. Homie shoulda brought his Le Coq Sportif sweatsuit from the Toot It And Boot It video back for this one.

Cot damn, the new album tracklist looks like yer bogstandard major label spreadsheet-soundin' bullshit, though. Just what 2020 needs - another Rap album featuring Chris Brown, Tyga, Gunna, and Lil' Tjay.

Can't truss 'em

Beastie Boys - Rhymin' & Stealin'
(From Licensed To Ill album; 1986)


Here at The Martorialist we live by the code that you can't trust anyone who turns their nose up at 80's Beastie Boys. Son, the Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves breakdown from Rhymin' & Stealin' shits on your whole life and your whole bloodline.

Were the Beasties the first Rap group to release a VHS tape or was it Run-D.M.C? Please, don't ask Dart Adams or he'll just start ranting about he's the only man alive who knows when the Dungeons & Dragons pinball machine was released in north America.