"My aunty name is Kita, my other aunty Rita
They both 'bout that cheddar, they be on that Velveeta"
GetEmTree - Intro
(From YouTube; 2020)
Talk about a bird's eye view. Best way to describe GetEmTree's brand of henchwoman Baton Rouge Brawl Music: Webbie without a willy or tomboy with a Tommy drum gun? Doz that kept both eyes shut previously should also peep Opp Watching.
"I just got a call from my dawg, he comin' home
I just dropped some fondue on his books and on the phone
F*ck 12, free my n*gga right or wrong
Bitch, 'cause all I speak is facts in every song"
Dramatic piano banger alert! A song about some real shit which gets real specific about one of Mic T's ex-m8s at the end of verse one. Nowadays I don't give a f*ck about gossip unless it's a stock tip, but the aforementioned part of the song is a heartfelt explanation of why Mic no longer fuxwit his longtime producer Mano. Song hits hard because it's a universal concept with a dash of anecdotal personal context.
"But we be killin' shows like haters kills hoes
Got me throwin' out flows just like blowin' my nose"
Hollywood Holt & Million $ Mano - The Show
(From the internet; 2011)
Bonus Treated Crew beats: there's a buncha Mic Terror, Gzus Piece/White Gzus songs I wish had blown up, and then there's Hollywood Holt's best song here. Sometimes the obviously corny sample is the absolutely correct sample.
Bonus beats: best video Tha Barber ever put me onto is obvs the main single from Twista's second Legit Ballaz group album. The video is Chicago's answer to the Flava In Ya Ear remix, while the song itself is the ultimate in Midwesternplayalisticjiggyshit. Watch for Twista's proto-"DATAZZ!" face at 3 seconds in.
Twista & Legit Ballaz ft. Johnny P - Ball Wit Us
(From Legit Ballin: New Testament 2k Street Scriptures - Volume 2 compilation; 2001)
Mic Terror ft. Gzus Piece & Bruus - Forever Gangster
(From The Rona album; 2020)
This now has a video. Good thing it does too because it's the obvious single on Mic T's new album, and I need to rectify a slight mistake from first time round: it starts as a space-age Return Of The Gand ends as the return of Big Moe from the grave and ends as the return of Jodeci. Everybody played they position like Mourinho's Porto team.
Bonus beats: every single needs a B-side so I nominate One Day as the flipside to Forever Gangster. Don't even mind the faint use of Auto-Tune on this one because it's got that classique Greg Nice echo to it.
Mic Terror ft. Bruus - One Day
(From The Rona album; 2020)
Before The Chad & The Virgin, there was The Chad & The Pharrell. Neptunes productions are a hot topic right now so lemme add my tuppence. Top 20 fave Neptunes produced Rap songs. No repeat artists and no order of preference. You know the Neptunes were 5 star general producers of their era when they've got me enjoying early noughties Jay-Z in 2020.
"It just don't look like this
If you livin' carefree then you probably don't look like us
Damn, n*gga, let me cook right quick"
Mick Jenkins - Carefree
(From The Circus EP; 2020)
Need an investigation into how a Mick Jenkins single produced by Black Milk has ended up a semi-hit in the U.K. Granted, it's a legit jam about a topic that's become even more horribly pertinent as 2020 unfolds, but who'd have thunk such a song would become Big In Britain™? Personally, I'm diggin' this shit because its hazy late night vibe is the exact opposite of what I'd expect a Mick Jenkins & Black Milk collaboration would sound like.
The first Chicago Rap song to be bigger in the U.K than the U.S since Vic Mensa's Hip-House song. AKA the only Vic Mensa song where his inherent corniness could blossom into something listenable.
Billy Jam's HipHopSlam YouTube page has got more gems than a sunken ship. Best of all, there's the time Mac Dre & Khayree turned up at Billy's KUSF radio show in 1991 and performed an acoustic version of Times R Gettin' Crazy with Dre in Furly Guthrie mode and Khayree pulling strings (no A-Wax.) Forget drumless boom-bap, it's all about drumless mob-slap:
Billy's also uploaded a handful of electronic press kits Noo Trybe Records sent out in 1994 to promote The Bounce Squad, Diezzle Don & Tha Govenor, and The Luniz. The latter's epk is somewhat infamous because it's where they first dissed Too $hort:
Billy later broke the news to Too $hort during an interview with the Dangerous Crew and was the first to glean a response from $hort before the beef went to record:
There's a Black Artists Against Drugs PSA by Public Enemy with Chuck D in the Minor Threat t-shirt Glen E. Friedman gave him and the hilarious spectacle of Flava Flav warning da kidz not to get high:
There's even rare videos like this sweet lil' single from O.G TRU member Chilee Powdah:
Chilee Powdah - Way Too Real
(From Way Too Real album; 1996)
Lots of other good stuff on there and very active recently, so one to keep an eye on.
You, a square: wow, Gunplay naming himself Don Logan after Ben Kingsley's character in Sexy Beast was a true World's Colliding moment.
Me, a connoisseur: son, Wiz Khalifa made a song that, from its title to its sample, was a homage to a specific scene in Danny Dyer's one good movie The Business.
Wiz Khalifa - The Kid Frankie
(From Kush & Orange Juice mixtape; 2010)
Much like Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, The Business is a Mockney crime movie that's loathable in theory but stupidly enjoyable in reality. A good chunk of its appeal comes from the lead actor's clobber, but that's true of many a movie innit? Do The Right Thing has The Shoes™, The Business has The Shorts™.
Hands up if The Kid Frankie is your fave single from Kush & Orange Juice.
Now keep 'em there if it's your fave Wiz single full stop.
