Generic list post: December 2020

"The tick-tock up in my watch froze like Eskimos
Oh yessir, we up in China eatin' egg-a-rolls"

Dude 'n Nem - Watch My Feet
(From single; 2007/Tinted Incubators album; 2009)


Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when we say farewell to the year China's diet went from egg-a-rolls to infected bats. I suffered through the year and sat through so many Tiers. Happy frigging NYE.

Da Kamp - We So Ghetto (1999)
Mic Terror - Hoopty Music (2008)
Attitude ft. Jackie Chain - Money (2009)
AZ - Different (2020)
Yung Cat - Ya Know (2020)
Cuzin Jiggy - Cadillac Slidin' (2020)
GetEmTree - Look Stupid (2020)
ZelooperZ - Tryna Figure Out Where My Phone At? (2020)
Psychotropic - Hypnosis (SL2 remix) (1992)
UNiiQU3 - UNiiQU3'S Groove (Get Down) (2020)
The Attraction - She's A Girl (1966)
Beabadoobee - Care (2020)

Other notables: very pleased that Homeboy Sandman's Waiting On My Girl got blessed with a video which is as good as the song; Mac J's OnaSet makes a decent B-Side to Sparky; sad to say that Kurupt's voice sounds totally shot on NHale's new single.

Bonus beats: best songs of 2020 and best late pass discovery songs of 2020.

Birds can do Baton Rouge Brawl Music™ too (part 4)

"Said you pressure when you come back, I was pressure when I left
I see why they lookin' at me, I be lookin' at myself"

GetEmTree - Look Stupid
(From YouTube; 2020)


Passed on her last two singles but I'm feelin' this new echo-party pressure from GetEmTree AKA Webbie without a willy AKA the tomboy with a Tommy drum gun AKA Baton Rouge's answer to Katie Got Bandz AKA Lily Savage Life. If Alex McPherson doesn't write a 1000 word GetEmTree article for The Guardian in 2021 then he's all talk and might as well join Kool G. Rap & Akinyele's Bitch Haters Club.

Rather UNiiQU3

UNiiQU3 - UNiiQU3'S Groove (Get Down)
(From UNiiQU3'S Groove (Get Down) single; 2020)


Pretty funny that this has ended up one of my favourite choonz of 2020 - Jersey Club is not a type of music I've had any interest in previously, so UNIIQU3 is the siren luring me onto Jersey's shore. Basically, this track is some Loopmasters sample pack Hip-House which strikes the exact perfect balance between Hip-Hop and House; straight to the pleasure-centre dance music that'll turn your living room into a rave pon lockdown and beyond.

Mere coincidence or is UNiiQU3's moniker a homage to British Rave pioneers Unique 3? Top tip for Jersey Club producers: pitch Unique 3's Musical Melody instrumental up slightly, add some booty-chatter™, and you've got yourself the first great banger of 2021.

Unique 3 - Musical Melody
(From Musical Melody single; 1990)

Cuzin Jiggy With It

"And I'm flexin', ridin', Cadillac slidin'
This shit a machine, type to take you back in time"

Cuzin Jiggy - Cadillac Slidin'
(From DTS EP; 2020)


Christmas comfort food in the form of some old fashioned regional Gangsta-Rap which sounds closer to Pittsburg California than its actual home of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (plus a much-unexpected interpolation of a New Orleans classic at the end!?) In a year when half these Rappers forgot how to write hooks it's nice to hear a song that's 60% chorus.

Late pass! Hoopty dreams

"Tank on E, blazin' that weed
Ain't got insurance like f*ck the police!
If you you ain't got sounds turn ya radio loud
This a Mano beat so it's still gonna pound
Ayyyyy, you ain't got no Benz but you can do it
Because this ain't for the ballers, this hoopty music
Ayyyyy, you ain't got rims but you can do it
Because this ain't for the ballers, this hoopty music"

Mic Terror - Hoopty Music
(From The Terrordome Vol. 2 mixtape; 2008)


I'm a Mic Terror connoisseur but he still has cuts I've accidentally treated like a red-haired stepchild. For example, I totally slept on Hoopty Music even though it's one of Mic's best pairings with Million $ Mano production and it's good enough to have been his third single after Cold As Hell and Juke Them Hoes. A pean to everyday entrepreneurialism and livin' la dolce vita within one's means, it also triggers good memories for ya host - Mic T sold fake coke to white folks, Marty sold fake acid tabs from Plastikman's Sheet One CD to posh kids.

Father forgive me - it was the late 90s, I was on a tight budget, and imported Rap CDs and 12"s were expensive.

AZ you were

"Down in the tombs 30 years can bring a n*gga to tears
Neutralised, numb and scared, can you imagine you there?
I'm elsewhere, my chick pussy pretty, shaved like a pear
Her derrière make a queer n*gga sit there and stare
This is the year, since the ball dropped been ballin' on top
Then came the Kobe death, Covid, and cops"

AZ - Different
(From Different single; 2020)


Son, who laced you with the ill Soul-crack? Been testing this one for the past week and my conclusion is that it's categorically the best original AZ song since We Movin'. Some non-fancy 70's baby New York Rap that's still flyer than Aladdin's magic carpet. Bite ya lip, let's hope Doe Or Die 2 sounds like this.

Be rude not to discreetly add this to my 2020 songs list.

Remember remember Nickatina & Jacka?

AKA damn it's been a decade since My Middle Name Is Crime and the EP from whence it came?

Andre Nickatina & The Jacka - We Miss You Furl
(From My Middle Name Is Crime EP; 2010)

Andre Nickatina · We Miss You Furl

Never been able to decide whether I wish Nickatina & Jacka had rhymed over this beat or it's most evocative as it is as a wordless ode to lost ones. Probably the latter since it made for hecka emotive backing music to those Jack History Month videos which Thizzler did a couple of years ago. I ain't too familiar with We Miss You Furl's producer K-Maxx but maybe I should since he was also behind my fave track on the EP where Andre & Shaheed went full tag-team on some Erick & Parrish Making Blapz type shit.

Andre Nickatina & The Jacka - Square Crows
(From My Middle Name Is Crime EP; 2010)

Andre Nickatina · Square Crows

"Down for the count like Dracula's people" was such a hot line that Jacka used it on Square Crows and Loyal To The Mob. Great simile, Jacka pushed heat like a chimney sweep.

The obligatory best Rap songs of 2020 list

2020: the year when Kevin Gates created Coronavirus or sumfink.

You probably wanna read another opening blurb about The Year None Of Us Will Ever Forget™ about as much as I wanna write one so let's just get on this this eh? In no particular order of preference, here's the songs which are soundtracking my 2020, including a handful of songs from the dying days of 2019. The list also features a handful of artists I don't particularly like for whom the stars aligned briefly on one glorious song I couldn't resist; however, please believe this doesn't mean that the list contains any Drake, Griselda, Lil' Baby, Gunna, Run The Jewels, London Drill songs, or Pitchfork poptimism - a man's gotta have some standards.

Best Rap songs of 2020 IMHO:
Duke Deuce - Bad News
Max B - Phenomenon
Flo Milli - Not Friendly
Mic Terror - Ride
Gzus Piece - Hot Tub TIme Machine
YG - Swag
79rs Gang - 79rs Bout To Blow
Mozzy - Big Homie From The Hood
Trap Beckham ft. Flo Milli - Back It Up
Homeboy Sandman - Waiting On My Girl
Eatem - Spent It All
Rio Da Yung OG - Groovy
Mick Jenkins - Carefree
Mac J - Free Bris
Bris - First 42 Hours Freestyle
Boldy James & The Alchemist - Speed Demon Freestyle
Dee-1 - Corona Clap (O.G video version)
Heavy Steppers - Whateva
Megan Thee Stallion - Savage
Yhung T.O - You Know
DJ Preservation ft. TREE - Money In The Wild
P-Lo - Get Me Lit
GetEmTree - Opp Watching
AZ - Different
Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death
NHale - Dealin' Wit A Hoe
Sada Baby - Whole Lotta Choppas
Nefew - Blockaholic
Open Mike Eagle ft. Video Dave - Headass (Idiot Shinji)
Ka - I Love (Mimi, Moms, Kev)
YN Jay & Louie Ray - Reflection
Pop Smoke - Armed N Dangerous
DJ Chose ft. BeatKing - Thick
DB Tha General - Upgrade Em 3
Ether Da Connect ft. Mr. Swipey & Waka Flocka Flame - WAKA (Remix)
Nef The Pharaoh - ABC
Sleepy Hallow ft. Sheff G - Molly
Yung Cat - Ya Know
Cuzin Jiggy - Cadillac Slidin'
ShuggyBo - What I Like

Best non-Yank Rap songs of 2020 IMHO:
J Hus ft. Burna Boy - Play Play
S1mba ft. DTG - Rover
Pa Salieu ft. BackRoad Gee - My Family
M1llionz - B1llionz

Best Other Genres™ songs of 2020 IMHO:
Dua Lipa - Good In Bed
SAULT - Wildfires
Jenevieve - Baby Powder
Usher ft. Ella Mai - Don't Waste My Time
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun
Koffee - Lockdown
UNiiQU3 - UNiiQU3'S Groove (Get Down)
Moodymann - Just Stay A While
Maurice Fulton & Peggy Gou - Jigoo
Beabadoobee - Care
Juiceboxxx - Deal With The Dream
Archers Of Loaf - Rayleigh Days
The Chats - The Clap

Bonus beats: the obligatory 2020 late pass list.

The obligatory 2020 late pass list

Archaeology for those who dig it, post-mortem. 36 songs from years past which have become personal favourites in 2020. I call this the Corona list because it's proper sick.

Andwella - Hold On To Your Mind (1970)
Ennio Morricone - Svolta Definitiva (1970)
The Flys - Love And A Molotov Cocktail (1978)
The Beat - Noise In This World (1980)
Jennifer Lara - I Am In Love (1981)
Tailor Made - Fast Lane (instrumental mix) (1985)
Smiley Culture - Roots Reality (1985)
Captain G. Whiz - Red Alert promo (1987)
Dangerous Dame - My Name Is Dame (1989)
Intelligent Hoodlum - The Rebel Returns (1989)
Michigan & Smiley - Tom's Diner (1990)
Monie Love - Don't Funk Wid The Mo (1990)
39 Posse - Got What It Takes To Make It (1991)
Mac Dre & Khayree - Times R Gettin' Crazy (acoustic) (1991)
Aretha Daye ft. MC Chan - No More (Making Love) (1991)
Psychotropic - Hypnosis (SL2 remix) (1992)
Chilee Powdah - Nuthin' But Game (1996)
D'Angelo ft. Redman - Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine (Def Squad mix) (1996)
Ghetto Mafia - In Decatur (1998)
Prince - Love Sign (Shock G's Silky Remix) (1998)
Sire Sensai - 1999 (1999)
Mac Dre - Doin' What I Do (2001)
Jhi-Ali - My Way (2005)
Field Mob - At The Park (2006)
Husalah - Slap N Da Trunk (2006)
Mic Terror - Hoopty Music (2008)
Hollywood Holt & Million $ Mano - The Show (2011)
Juiceboxxx - Like A Maniac (2015)
79rs Gang - Drama (2015)
Donae'O - Marimba (2017)
Mac J & Bris - Forgot About Me (2018)
Cavalier - Go Brooklyn (2018)
The Chats - Pub Feed (2019)
Flo Milli - Beef FloMix (2019)
Pronto Spazzout - Jiggy Music (2019)
Casanova - Jail Call (2019)
High five to those of you who recommended me some of these songs, hat tip to meself for comin' across the rest. Like I always say, it's never been easier to search for music from the past, but findin' songs you love remains as tricky as ever dunnit?

Bonus beats: also came across across a couple of videos I'd never seen before for two bona fide 80's Rap classics. First was Woppit by B. Fats, and second was the formerly banned video for A Nightmare On My Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Both videos have made me love each song even more than I did beforehand so job's a good 'un to everybody involved.

Clock of the heart (no Culture Club) part 2

Homeboy Sandman - Waiting On My Girl
(From YouTube; 2020)


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Doseone. I watched Jel-beams glitter in the dark near the Odd Nosdam. All those moments will be lost in time, like minutes spent waiting for women when they're in bedrooms, bathrooms, or changing rooms. Time to leave already, luv!!!

Gotta love it when a great song gets blessed with an equally great video. Slightly #problematic but utterly realistic Rap. I'll say this for Homeboy Sandman - when his music and my taste do converge it's always on some idiosyncratic bugged-out shit which could only come from him. And if that ain't the very definition of It Hits Different™ then I dunno what is.

Wanted dead or alive: I'm An Asshole by Mic Terror

Anybody got the MP3 of this? All zShare linx have long since been nuked and there's only live versions on YouTube. Where's Rey when I need him? Somebody, anybody, help me, screeeeaaaam.

Quelle surprise: Google tells me that Bol liked this song which is both a total shock and totally on-brand. That's Bol AKA the world's only black bloke who prefers Run The Jewels to Killer Mike's music beforehand.

**EDIT** Cheers to Russian Ray for hookin' up the MP3. Strap your tinfoil snapbacks on for this one, lads.

Mic Terror - I'm An Asshole
(From King Of The New School mixtape; 2009)

Cat Tone back again

Yung Cat - Ya Know
(From Fat Tone Jr. album; 2020)


Via Yohan, a Yung Cat single I'd missed. Cat's always good for one slap a year, particularly when the aforementioned slap finds him colouring between Fat Tone's lines in the style of Husalah's hyperactive country-cousin from Kansas City.

Here starts the petition for a deluxe CD reissue of Fat Tone's Tha Stick Up Kid album with liner notes from C-Bo, Yung Cat, and whoever runs the OnlyNKillaCity YouTube channel.

Deal with it

Juiceboxxx - Deal With The Dream
(From It's Easy To Feel Like A Nobody When You're Living In The City album; 2020)

JUICEBOXXX · Deal With The Dream

Proper Brat-Wave bubblegum Power-Pop from Juicy B & The Thunder Zone Band. If I say Deal With The Dream is catchier than an STD in Times Square circa the early 80s it's not to lower the tone, but because this shit wouldn't have sounded outta place in season two or three of The Deuce. Song surely woulda been a single if Juiceboxxx hadn't vanished entirely from the internet.

The Flys - Love And A Molotov Cocktail
(From Love And A Molotov Cocktail 7" single; 1978)

Dorothy B-Orridge · THE FLYS // Love and a Molotov Cocktail

Let's be honest here - 70's New Punk Rock ain't a patch on 70's British Punk Rock. The proof? Even a third-tier U.K group of Coventry oiks like The Flys have a legit 10/10 gobshite Punk classic which bodies the combined discographies of the entire 70's New York scene other than Blondie, The Ramones and the one good Richard Hell & The Voidoids song. New York's alright if you like junkies with nary a decent tune in sight!

Generic list post: November 2020

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when there was no sadder sight than European men masquerading as American political experts and arguing about Biden Verzuz Trump. You nerds need to cultivate some Yank interests which are actually fun - like Rap music, natch.

39 Posse - Got What It Takes To Make It (1991)
Mac Dre - Doin' What I Do (2001)
Jhi-Ali - My Way (2005)
Mac J - Sparky (2020)
NHale - In My Hood (2020)
Eatem ft. 70th Street Carlos - Spin The Bottle (2020)
M1llionz - B1llionz (2020)
Prince - Love Sign (Shock G's Silky Remix) (1998)
Moodymann - Just Stay A While (2020)
Michigan & Smiley - Tom's Diner (1990)

Other notables: OHFR? is the first Rico Nasty song I've kinda liked this year; listened to Goodie Mob's new album and I wish they'd replace Cee-Lo with Witchdoctor or Backbone or Nathaniel or damn near anyone who's ever appeared on a Dungeon Family album; Rio Da Yung OG should be forced to retitle his Accidental Shit Talkin' EP as Here's Some First-Take Freestyles I Can't Be Bothered Writing Any Hooks For; no matter how many times YouTube recommends it to me, I'm not listening to Kay Slay's Rolling 50 Deep 18 minute posse cut; shit I wasn't expecting this month: a Tinashe Xmas EP where she covers Wham's Last Christmas.

PS: last thing I wanna say - R.I.P Lil' Yase.

True story or no story part 6

"Ay' I'm a reptable
Treat him like he cut the line 'cause he next to go
I think I'm a timebomb, yeah I'm next to blow
He was talkin' all that beef 'til he a vegetable"

Mac J - Sparky
(From the internet; 2020)


Now I'm checkin' in, check me out. Missed this one last month but now I've caught up it's my fave Mac blast since OldSkoo. Hookless if you take the song at face value in homage to producer Sparky Made It Slap, once you realise Check Me Out was the O.G title then there is a sneaky hook in there like Abu Hamza in a cheap suit.

Whenever I listen to Mac J on Soundcloud and leave shit runnin', it always ends up playing some terrible Mac Miller song with Juicy J. No disrespect to the dead, but Mac Miller sex-raps were second only to Mindbender Futurama sex-raps in terms of sheer horrificness.

Late pass! Michigan & Smiley's culture

And there was my uncultured arse thinkin' that the ultimate remake of Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner is the Shock G remix of Dopefiend's Diner by 2Pac...

WRONG!

This Dancehall refreak by Michigan & Smiley of Nice Up The Dance fame takes the crown. Jah's greasy spoon uptown ranking which almost certainly woulda been banned from the jukebox in Tom's IRL diner if Kramer's racist arse was in the building.

Michigan & Smiley - Tom's Diner
(From Tom's Diner single/Gunman Riddim; 1990)

Michigan & Smiley · Tom's Diner

Late pass! Dre Day part 2084

Mac Dre - Doin' What I Do
(From Mac Dre's The Name album; 2001)

Mac Dre · Doin' What I Do

Every year I come across a couple of Mac Dre songs I'd previously slept on and 2020 is no different; first there was the acoustic version of Times R Gettin' Crazy and now there's this hubba knock from that dodgy Mac Dre's The Name album. Ain't gon' lie, first time I heard this song I sat there sweatin' bullets expecting an uncredited guest verse from some Gilligan pill-carrier like BA or Miami The Most to spoil it. Praise the Lord - Hallelujah for some uninterrupted guerilla gurp from Furl Hawaiianshirt.

Slangin' humble pie and Stella pints in the same sentence

M1llionz - B1llionz
(From B1llionz single; 2020)



FFS can't believe I enjoy a U.K Drill song by some breh afflicted with the dreaded kid's TV presenter voice which runs rampant in the sub-genre. Tbf, M1llionz's Brummoi accent does have chutzpah and the B1llionz beat conjures up images of green grass rather than grey pavements. Not arf bad for a miserable style of music I usually can not stand.

Maybe I'm buggin' but the flow/beat combo here kinda make me think of a midlands Jacka. Midlands Jacka: a phrase I never expected to type lolz.

Martorial Elegance: The Blacker The Beret

It ain't necessarily a bad thing that Jeezy's gone from berettas to berets if he's rebranding himself for the Western Europe market on some Jacques Or Die type shit. It is, however, a bad look that he's gone from Circulate to resemblin' an uncircumcised Plush Penis©.

Bonus hats: are Quartersnacks' Coinstar caps inspired by Juiceboxxx's ode to the loose change dream machine?

Born To Audiomack: 2007 Bonus Beats

Uncle Murda on Noz's 100 best Rap songs of 2007 list eh? 2020 keeps throwing up all sorts of surprises. Top bloggin', but missing twelve Martorialist classics by twelve different artists who didn't make the list. So, here they are in an easily-digestible Audiomack playlist. No surprises here for regular TM™ readers, just twelve songs I'll never resist an opportunity to Stan for.

1. Camp Lo - Black Hollywood
2. Rock D The Legend ft. Big Boi - DDT
3. ByrdGang - Anniversary
4. Tha Camp - 1 Rubber
5. Grand Puba - Let's Go
6. Smooth B - I Want My Money Back
7. Jackie Chain - Waffle House Pimpin'
8. G-Side ft. Marcellus - Feel Like I Look
9. AZ - Doin' That (Memphis Sessions mix)
10. Mic Terror - Juke Them Hoes
11. Blaq Poet - Don't Give A Fucc
12. A-Wax - Gatez



Favourite find on Noz's list has gotta be Jhi-Ali's My Way. Very unique vibe - like if Bizzy Bone's little cousin from Alabama made his own version of Devin's Do What You Want To Do. Not only had I never heard the song before, I'd never realised Jhi-Ali was a bloke until the video later popped up in my YouTube recommendations. Cinderfella Jhi-Ali - 2020 truly is full of all sorts of surprises innit?

Jhi-Ali - My Way
(From My Way mixtape; 2007)



**EDIT** Just lookin' for a no-DJ MP3 of My Way and it turns out the song first dropped on this Slow Motion Soundz compilation in 2005. There's another solo Jhi-Ali solo track on there called On The Run that I'm curious to hear - anybody got it? It ain't on YouTube or Ali's Soundcloud.

R.I.P to Nate Dogg, he got to procreate (part 2)

NHale - In My Hood
(From Young Dogg EP; 2020)



Feelin' this intro to his upcoming EP by Nate Dogg's Scrappy Doo NHale. Nate Sprogg can't quite hold a note like his dearly-departed old man, but the quivers in his voice give him accidental Kokane vybz and stop him becoming the 3D Nate Dogg hologram.

Bonus beats: five years on and Warren G's single with the posthumous Nate Dogg hook where he interpolated Madness' Our House is still very much my shit. Even Russell Grant couldn't have predicted that G-Funk and 2 Tone's paths would ever cross.

Warren G ft. Nate Dogg - My House
(From Regulate... G-Funk Era Part II EP; 2015)



Warren G clearly not a believer in All Property Is Theft™ eh? Do call it a comeback, don't call him a comrade.

Sorta late pass: the lost tribe of Salieu

Pa Salieu - B***K
(From B***K single; 2020)


So, ya host is warming to the U.K Rapper I'd previously dismissed as J Hus' equivalent of Dana Dane. This B***K song is an Afro-Bashment/Lakim Shabazz hybrid and I'm all over it like a Seagull on a bag of fish & chips.

My Family with BackRoad Gee is his choon of choonz, though. It was the first Salieu song where I didn't wish J Hus had got the beat instead, and the first Roadrapfrobeats song with big Next Hype energy.

Pa Salieu ft. BackRoad Gee - My Family
(From My Family single; 2020)



If Salieu drops a couple more undeniable choonz then he's officially the best thing to come outta Coventry since Fun Boy Three.

Fun Boy Three - The Telephone Always Rings (single version)
(From The Telephone Always Rings single; 1982)

Tears of a 'town

The only American The Beat I acknowledge belongs to ESG. That's my diplomatic way of saying it was an act of cultural imperialism that The Beat had to rename themselves The English Beat for the U.S.A when 'Murica's own The Beat were little more than a Costco Cheap Trick. Certainly, the so-called English Beat went on to have far greater cultural impact stateside than their Yank namesake with various songs popping up in Hollywood movies over the decades - most notably Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Grosse Point Blank, and some shitty Spiderman flick. Ultimately, The Beat U.S.A was aiight, they was cool, but they never recorded anything as John Blaze as Mirror In The Bathroom, Ranking Full Stop, or Tears Of A Clown.

The Beat - Tears Of A Clown
(From I Just Can't Stop It album; 1980)


A glaring ommission from my Cover Me Good list, tbqh - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles gave it wings, The Beat made it fly. Same happy music/sad lyrics contrast as the O.G version, but with the whimsical Motown sweetness replaced by spiky 2 Tone Ska. Plus, a saxophone solo and Ranking Roger's outro!

Final score: 2 Tone - two, Motown - one.

Everybody eats, b! (But preferably at their own table)

"F*ck it, go and spin the bottle
You know I don't do no cappin', that's why a n*gga wearin' goggles"

Eatem ft. 70th Street Carlos - Spin The Bottle
(From YouTube; 2020)


Pffft - you wait a couple of years for two of Baton Rouge's rowdiest to hop on a proper track together and when it finally happens Carlos' vocals sound like they've been clumsily Pro Toolsed in from another song entirely. Is it too much to ask for a guest verse that's cognisant of the lead rapper's presence and the song it features on? That is why ya host is a solo song afficionado nowadays - gimme a singular vision rather than a shared collaboration.

Late pass! Tuba(ular) Bells

39 Posse - Got What It Takes To Make It
(From 39 Posse 12" EP; 1991)


Whoa na! Killer combination of Second Line brass band and Bob James Mardi Gras bells from very young KLC. Heard this for the first time yesterday on Chicken-N-Kalinka's Parkway Pumpin' Records mix and it was love at first listen. Stream C-N-K's full mix here:

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

View this post on Instagram

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.

Generic list post: September 2020

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when Mello-T was finally back on the BBC. (Albeit unseen footage of Mello-T when Louis Theroux revisited him in 2004.)

Mac Dre & Khayree - Times R Gettin' Crazy (acoustic) (1991)
Chilee Powdah - Nuthin' But Game (1996)
DB Tha General - Upgrade Em 3 (2020)
YG - Out On Bail (2020)
Sire Sensai - 1999 (1999)
Hollywood Holt & Million $ Mano - The Show (2011)
Mic Terror - Ride (2020)
Gzus Piece - Taladega (2020)
Mick Jenkins - Carefree (2020)
YN Jay & Louie Ray - Reflection (2020)
GetEmTree - Intro (2020)
Andwella - Hold On To Your Mind (1970)
SAULT - Son Shine (2020)

Other notables: Mac J's Go 1st makes a decent B-side to OldSkoo; Veeze's Law N Order is a notable new entry into the TV theme tune Rap canon; nice to hear a 3 minute Valee solo song and see him wearin' Adidas Superstar tracksuits again; Hotbox was right about CeeFineAss' Payback; Jmil was right about Durand Bernarr's Summons being a dope Nate Dogg homage and Jacquees dis at the same damn time; judging from the snippets of Pullin' More Strings, it sounds like A-Wax is supplying me Spotify playlist bunk with no bass in its trunk.

Generic list post: 2005 postscript bonus beats

Word to your mum, I'm in my own world. Thus I had no idea Noz was bloggin' again until someone linked me his Best 100 Rap songs of 2005 list. Other than him picking the wrong Edan song (Funky Rhyming FTW) it's a great list dedicated to the greatest year of the 2000's. Such a great year, in fact, that it's possible to keep going with songs by artists who didn't make the Noz list (technically in a couple of cases, tbf.)

M.O.P - Instigator
Fam-Lay - Amalance
Dirt McGirt - Lift Ya Skirt (12" solo mix)
Killer Mike ft. Three 6 Mafia - Get 'Em Shawty
Maino - Rumors
Bailey ft. Dave Chappelle - Fuck Yo' Couch
Purple City - It Ain't Easy
Mac Dre, Boss Hog, B-Luv & Husalah - Hustle
Husalah - Since '88
Mobb Deep - Cobra
Saigon ft. Kool G. Rap - The Letter P (remix)
Ludacris - Number One Spot
Playaz Circle ft. Shawnna - Gucci Bag
Blaq Poet - Bang Dis!
A-Wax - Money / Life
Woodie & A-Wax - The Yoc & The Burg
Redman - Gilla House Check
Down Bad Ent. - Keep Rollin'
Black Rob - Ready
Dru Down - Summer In The City
Clinton Sparks ft. Beanie Sigel & Peedi Crakk - Philly
Consequence - Caught Up In The Hype
Jakki Tha Motamouth - Cleptobrainiac

The Jerk

YG - Out On Bail
(From YouTube; 2020)



Just when I'd got outta the habit of checkin' for new YG, he pulls me back in with FTP and his new single here. Ratchet is dead, baby - this is YG reborn as 2Pac Jerkur. Half these rappers can't be bothered to write hooks nowadays, so I appreciate a song which is almost like two big hooks goin' back-and-forth on some EPMD shit for half of its two and a half minute run-time.

Hit The Flaw

"Luckily I just touch the streets sucka free with my company
Hell nah I don't remember your baby-dad, he's a chump to me
Dungarees sit on some number threes comfortably in some bucket seats
Ashin' joints out the window when crackin' up at your f*ckery"

Gzus Piece - Taladega
(From YouTube; 2020)


Honestly, this is exactly the sort of soaring Midwest fly shit that I want from a new Gzus Piece single until it gets all Lord Jamar's laundry list of complaints during the 2nd verse. But in this shite sandwich year you've gotta embrace the flaws and get your jollies wherever you can.

Please give a warm welcome to our special gust...

"Put that on my momma, 15 I was a young boss
Red dot on his nose, that's a Rudolph"

DB Tha General - Upgrade Em 3
(From 10 Years Strong album; 2020)


Oakland's Mr. Methane back up on The Martorialist. This one's a treat for us seasoned DB Tha General connoisseurs who've not kept up with his new music in recent years - the long-awaited third installment of his Upgrade Em song series. DJ Upgrade's subtle Jail House Rap interpolation means it also functions as a Rockin' In My Blues sequel for the seasoned DB connoisseur.

Craic Your Body

Andwella - Hold On To Your Mind
(From World's End album; 1970)

delirious music · Hold On To Your Mind - Andwella

Psychedelic rockers from Northern Ireland invented House music in 1970. Listen to the opening piano on this song for the proof. Like Curtis McClain nearly sang on Marshall Jefferson's Move Your Body, gotta have Hop House all night long! Anyhoo, these fellas were a big influence on Thin Lizzy, apparently.

Bonus 1970 beats:

Ennio Morricone - Svolta Definitiva
(From Città violenta soundtrack; 1970)

delirious music · Svolta Definitiva - Ennio Morricone

Charlie motherf*ckin' Bronson always brought the best out of The Vividest Composer. Seriously - who'd have ever thunk that The Maestro™ could compose a song that sounds like The Stooges jamming with The Mohawks? Alas, ya host can neither confirm nor deny whether the movie lives up to the soundtrack