Trunk Muzik

TREE - The 3rd Floor
(From The 3rd Floor mixtape; 2010)


The 3rd Floor has gotta be one of TREE's best songs, right? If he'd never recorded any more music after this, he'd still go down in the history books as mastering the art of Soul-Trap musik on this song. Also a good example of how percussion-free Rap can knock with motion and not linger in the air like a fart in a cold car.

Digging through TREE's YouTube page recently it seems like My Ether was his debut single as a solo artist. Peep his exquisite use of ad libs to fill the spaces during the chorus. A very good debut single which doesn't sound like anything else that dropped in 2010, albeit a very good debut single which doesn't sound like the Soul-Trap musik TREE became known for either.

TREE - My Ether
(From The 3rd Floor mixtape; 2010)


Then again, TREE's sound has always been broader than a lotta folks : Know Y was Swag-Rap with a Chicago twist; 1 Is For The Money sounded like DJ Toomp hooked up a track with the Films drum-break; Probably Nu It sounded like a game of Pong turnt Rap musik; Like Whoa sounds regionally ambiguous in a good way etc etc.

Sittin' here thinking of potential pseudonyms for TREE. So far I've got TREE AKA Branch Nubian AKA Bark The 45 King AKA Chief Leaf AKA Afrika Bambootaa AKA Log Foe.

The obligatory BEST RAP SONGS OF 2024 post

UrFavGrannie - Boy Bye
(From Boy Bye single; 2024)


Martatina says cast ya votes. Tell E-40, yeah grab ya peacoats. Tell Lakim Shabazz, yeah grab ya notes. And DJ Kool & crew, y'all lads clear ya throats. Check it out, I'm bloggin' on the spot, postin' like an anvil ready to drop.

Nowadays, I'm at the point where I consider the modern music I like as the apex of contemporary art, and the modern music I dislike as the worst shit I've ever heard in my life. Listen, anybody can write words, who's prepared to do the dirty work like a swineherd? And searching for new Rap I like REALLY feels like dirty work when I've listened to eight terrible songs in a row just to find that one Killer Track™. Nobody ever said finding Legit Choonz™ would be easy, but when I'm lying on my deathbed I'll definitely regret the time I've wasted separating Rap music's thumbs up from its thumbs down. Fortunately, the pain and strain of listening to audio dung is eased when I come across Certified Gems™ like these songs. That's the beautiful thing about Bona Fide Jams™ - anybody can get 'em and anybody can give 'em to ya, they're like Secret Santa.

Favourite Rap songs of 2024 IMHO:
Mello Buckzz - Move
Ezale - Fun
GloRilla - Yeah Glo!
Kurious - Cow's Eye
LARussell & P-Lo ft. Malachi - Who Else You Know
Sexyy Red - Get It Sexyy
Seiji Oda - A Gentle Gigg
Common & Pete Rock - Wise Up
Pooh The WriteR - Bestie
Coyote - Devils Contract
Pookie F'n Rude - Hold Up
LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes - Huey In The Chair
Busta Rhymes - Do The Busabus Pt.2
Eatem - Start It Off
Mac God Dbo - A Whole Brick
Latto - Sunday Service
Brotha Hung Lynch - Da Siccness
41 - Save Me
Nef The Pharaoh - Essence
Mic Terror ft. Bruus - Big Steppas
Kendrick Lamar - Squabble Up
Doechii - Nissan Altima
Myaap & Yonaa - Choppa Sound
Bruiserwolf - Dope Boy
AMB EZ ft. Nasty Nell - Birthday (video mix)
BigXthaPlug - The Largest
Homeboy Sandman - Win Win
Daya1k ft. Kiki Tha Prize - Good
YG - Knocka
R.A.P Ferreira & Furnitake Tamura - Jes' Grew In Osaka
Heaven - In There

Favourite British Rap songs of 2024 IMHO:
Nine & Dex - Pecan Pie
Knucks & K-Trap - Cautionary Tales

Favourite non-Rap songs of 2024 IMHO:
Tommy Richman - Million Dollar Baby
Tinashe - Getting No Sleep
Rajah Wild- Gone Bad
Mall Grab & Real Lies - Ripples In The Timeline
DMX Krew - Cloud Ocean Part 1
Alfonso de Vilallonga - Dog and Tin At The Beach
Beabaadoobee - Take A Bite
Mean Jeans - Reggie

Bonus beats: the 2024 late pass awards.

The 2024 late pass awards!

Year end season done took flight. Here at The Martorialist we're post-time, baby. That's why the old songs we discovered and fell in love with are as important as the new songs we discovered and fell in love with. If the Rap songs list below rings a bid-ell like Big L it's because ya host made a truncated Audiomack playlist out of it last month.

Best non-2024 Other Rap songs I discovered in 2024:
Hard Rock Soul Movement - Double Def Fresh (1986)
Professor X - Professor X (Saga) (1988)
LL Cool J - Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix) (1990)
Jay Tee ft. Mac Dre - Do The Crew (CDQ version) (1990/2018)
Kurious - Fill 'Er Up (1991/2008)
G. Dep - Dollar Bill (1998)
Saafir aka Mr. No No - Street Scene (1998)
Warren G - Dope Beat (1999)
AZ - Rap Fanatic (2002)
Big Moe ft. Mike Wilson - Leave Drank Alone (2003)
Saigon - Favorite Thingz (extended version) (2006)
DaBanggaz314 - Run Up Get Dun Up (2009)
Rack-Lo - What's A Lo-Life To Me (2013)
38 Dezzie ft. Mouse On Tha Track - On My Shit (2021)
Pookie F'n Rude ft. Kedaru & Hash Hearted - One Of Them Dayz (2023)
TREE - Prom Night She Puked On Me (2023)

Best non-2024 Other Genres™ songs I discovered in 2024:
Flo & Eddie - Keep It Warm (1976)
Ramones - S-L-U-G (Road To Ruin mix) (1978/2018)
Keith Mansfield - Underlying Menace (1978)
Brian Bennett - Solstice (1978)
Haircut 100 - Nobody's Fool (1982)
Charlie Green - The Bus Stop (1983)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Police Helicopter (demo version) (1983)
Vincent Gallo - Her Smell Theme (1985)
The Feelies - Let's Go (1986)
Bribe - Squidge (1992)
Urban Jungle - Back In The Daze (1994)
Sharon Forrester - Love Inside (1994)
Rogue Unit - Good To U (Rogue Unit mix) (1995)
DMX Krew - Dry Acid (2015)

Holla @ ya host with your own late past discovery choonz of 2004.

The River Juvenile

"I make these slaps for the hustlas, made men
I pulled us out a dark hole, was cavemen
What can I say? She was a 10, I caved in
So many n***as in the Backyard it caved in
I worked for mine, this ain't somethin' you could trade in"

LaRussell & Cam Cortez ft. Malachi - Brainchild
(From From Vallejo With Love album; 2024)


One last LaRussell song for 2024. NOLA-influenced NorCal tracks always yield better results than NOLA-influenced tracks from other Rap regionals because NorCal artists tend to infuse them with a sense of fun which is generally absent elsewhere. This song, Boycott and Beautiful Day In The Bay from LaRussell's new LP with Cam Cortez behind the boards make me forgive 'Russell for that Godawful Chance The Rapper-core shite he was dropping a couple of months back.

Standing By Starz

The RAH Band - Messages From The Stars (12" mix)
(From Messages From The Stars 12" single; 1983)


LARussell & Cam Cortez - Beautiful Day In The Bay
(From From Vallejo With Love album; 2024)


Riddle me this, Blapman: how come Northen California is the only Rap region to recognise & realise the brilliance of The RAH Band's space-boogie classic Messages From The Stars? DJ Fresh freaked it for Keak Da Sneak back in 2011, and now Cam Cortez has hooked it up for LARussell in 2024. Basically, Messages From The Stars is the greatest Trevor Horn & Anne Dudley production which wasn't actually produced by Trevor Horn & Anne Dudley. Props to the song's #actual creators husband & wife Richard Hewson & Liz Winning; they put their whole artistic solar plexus into composing a choon which sounds like it was beamed down to Earth from a whole 'nother solar system.

Flip you, melon farmer!

Apropos of El Calvo Y La Cruz by The Plugz featuring in the latest episode of What We Do In The Shadows, here's some music from Repo Man the movie which wasn't included on Repo Man the soundtrack. Used in the scene where Otto chases J. Frank Parnell's Chevy Malibu through L.A's streets, it's some instrumental score work based on the movie's main theme by Steven Hufsteter & Humberto Larriva from The Plugz. True story: that East Bay Ray type Surf-Punk guitar as Otto frantically descends the freeway's steps at 0:55 is one of my favourite marriages of music and moving image captured on film. Call me the chairman of the (surf)board.


Another frustrating omission from the Repo Man soundtrack is the instrumental version of the main theme which was used during the opening credits sequence. It's time for an expanded reissue of the OST album which includes that track, all the Hufsteter & Larriva instrumental scores, and other frustrating omissions from the original OST album like Rhumboogie by The Andrews Sisters and See See Rider by Louis Armstrong. Ayo Alex Cox - put it all on a CD, son, I'll enjoy it more.

Northern Exposure

"Reagan set us back 100 years, I'm glad he died
Zimmerman done killed Trayvon, he still alive
I ain't tryna hear your lil' song 'bout how you slide
If I don't change the world before I die just know I tried"

LARussell - Boycott
(From From Vallejo With Love album; 2024)


Don't say the truck is a monster, say that thing got a BBL. A BBL made from them 1980s WWF steroids or sumfink. Coldest LARussell song/video I've heard/seen since all the singles with P-Lo in the boiler room. Speaking of which, let's talk about NorCal Rap in 2024...

* Weighing up which of the LARussell & P-Lo singles is gonna make my 2024 EOY list. Yankin' is their best song and thee anthem, but Who Else You Know is the song I've jammed the most.

* P-Lo's sequel to Player's Holiday has gotta be the biggest NorCal disappointment of 2024. If P-Lo decided on that line-up then he should donate all his profits from the song to charity.

* Ezale's Fun gets my vote for best NorCal Rap single of 2024. Pity the video got removed from Ezale's YouTube channel due to illegal usage of a FedEx truck (lol) and ended up quietly reuploaded on the video director's own channel.

* Seiji Oda's A Gentle Gigg is his best song since City Pop 001 IMHO. Props to him for good-naturedly eluding to my frustrations with his singy Auto-Tune music in an interview.

* Mac God Dbo's A Whole Brick is my favourite unexpected random NorCal slap of 2024. If I never dig another Mac God Dbo song in my life at least I'll always have A Whole Brick.

* Forever inconsistent but always dependable for a few slaps per annum, Nef The Pharaoh's top 3 songs of 2024 are Essence, Don't Stop and the Splash Bakery performance of Big Tymin' IMHO. He's been inconsistent but dependable for a decade now too because Bitch I'm From Vallejo celebrated its 10th birthday this year.

I Post You With A Passion

"This shit remind me of, like, Andre Nickatina Killa Whales type shit... foreal, foreal"

Nef The Pharaoh - Puppet Theatre
(From Vallejo Playa album; 2024)


Here's a melancholy knock from Nef The Pharaoh's latest album which he compares to Andre Nickatina's Killa Whale. The kid really missed a trick by not AKA-ing himself as Changdre Nickatina or Nef The Fillmoe. Not sure I catch Nef's drift with that comparison tho tbh. This is more like some Andre Nickatina Ghost Of Fillmoe type shit innit? Whateva, man - Puppet Theatre best gets in where it fits in as the B-side to Don't Stop.

Mask Off

"Yo, make sure the mics is right, I'm gonna take my mask off and reveal my identity out here... DAMN!"

MF DOOM - Gas Drawls
(live at Wetlands, New York; 2000)


The New York backpack scene was full of irksome, myopic people, but hats off to whichever one of them captured DOOM's third show on video where he removed his mask to perform Gas Drawls. Dome blown in the comforts of my own home at him actually wearing a Stetson hat like Paul C. Hats off to Megalon too who kept his mask on under those nuclear-grade stage lights. The only Rap sidekick to hit the stage lookin' like a Cobra Techno-Viper or wot?

Generic list post: November 2024

Heaven - In Here
(From YouTube; 2024)


Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when Johnny The Boxxx found a Party Up-interpolating smutty New Orleans Bounce song by some lass who looks like a back-up dancer from an old J Hus video. Also the month I dropped a playlist of non-2024 Rap songs which have been all up in my ears this year.

Arabian Prince - Simple Planet (1988/2008)
Saafir aka Mr. No No - Street Scene (1998)
Kurious - Cow's Eye (2024)
Kurious - Separation Anxiety (2024)
Homeboy Sandman - Win Win (2024)
41 - Save Me (2024)
Nef The Pharaoh - Essence (2024)
Nef The Pharaoh - Don't Stop (2024)
Nef The Pharaoh - Big Tymin (live at The Bakery) (2024)
Kendrick Lamar - Squabble Up (2024)
DMX Krew - Warp Zone (2024)
DMX Krew - Cloud Ocean Part 1 (2024)

Bonus bloggin: 1nce again I'm gonna use my monthly wrap-up post to keep track of the best movies and TV shows I've been watching. * indicates rewatches dunnit.

Movies I watched and liked:
Whisky Galore (1949)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) *
The Firm (1989) *
Point Break (1991) *
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Heretic (2024)

TV shows I watched and liked:
Prisoner: Cell Block H (episodes 158 to 164) (1980)
Neighbours (new episodes) (2024)
What We Do In The Shadows (series 6 episodes 5 to 8) (2024)
Asia (series 1) (2024)
Only Connect (new episodes) (2024)
Match Of The Day 1 and 2 (new episodes) (2024)

Bonus bloggin' part 2: me on the best U.K Punk singles of all time; Party Sparty on Blake's 7 and Franco Micalizzi's best movie scores.

What's the 41?

41 - Save Me
(From Save Me single; 2024)


First 41 song I'm all in on with no reservations. All I want from New York zoomer Drill is some barional rotten apple Rap which could double as a modern day Tunnel Banger™.

My Mind Spray 17.5

You already know Squabble Up is my shit, but the rest of this new Kendrick Lamar album is unlistenable to me. He sounds like he's trying so damn hard, and I like rappers who work their magic by sounding effortless: Spoonie Gee, Slick Rick, Rakim, Mac Dre, Snoop circa 1992 to 1994, Biggie, DOOM circa Operation Doomsday, Devin The Dude, Max B etc.

If you don't condider MC Shan's So Def one of the greatest Juice Crew songs, we can't be Rap maven m8s.

Something I learned yesterday: there's a Berner-core rapper from Seattle called DZ who looks like a Mob Music Gentle Jones and is dropping an album with Dru Down.

Damn, son - James Brown's 70s TV show Future Shock has been almost entirely wiped from YouTube aside from a couple of uploads of the T-shirt commercial. Worse still, they've yet to reappear on Vimeo or Dailymotion. What happened to the world when we can't even watch random Future Shock clips on the internet anymore?

Duck Alert

Kendrick Lamar - Squabble Up
(From GNX album; 2024)


As Kase2 nearly said, it's the Debbie Deb and the Kenny Ken!

In 2015 people got mad when I called Kendrick Lamar yhe highfalutin Kid Ink: a great singles artist from California who makes horrible albums. It's now 2024 and my theory holds true more than ever because Squabble Up is the best song on his new LP by a Shorty Long mile. This shit has the full-toned knock of a Bay Area track and it doesn't mention That Canadian Nonce™, thus I prefer it to Not Like Us. My only complaint is he didn't get Ezale and Nef The Pharaoh up in this video like he did for the Alright video.

**EDIT** I just realised the guys on scraper bikes in this video are the same guys on scraper bikes who were in Ezale's Day Ones video.

From the BBQ to The Bakery

Nef The Pharaoh - Big Tymin' (live at The Bakery)
(From the Splash Bakery channel; 2024)


Excuse two Nef The Pharaoh posts in a row, but, damn, this is a cold Live Instruments Performance™ video of Big Tymin'. Maybe the cheat voce with live performance videos is that they only hit proper if you dump the guys with guitars and grab some AZN musicians from NorCal. Chef's kiss @ the call-and-response during the bridge. "Ballin' like Bibby" on the captioned lyrics tho? I know Bibby had a mixtape song called Ballin', but c'mon now - it's Baby like George Dawes.

Pharaoh Islands

Nef The Pharaoh - Don't Stop
(From Vallejo Playa album; 2024)


This one's a real grower even though loosie single Essence is still better than anything on Nef's new album. Producer Carter Boy combined a vocal sample from Janet Jackson's All For You with a First Class Type Beat to create a slap with warm Off The Rictor euphoria. Too much current Rap music sounds like the crowd at an MMA event. Me, I'm tryna bask in Rap music which sounds like that first rush of MDMA euphoria.

PS: I added Essence, Don't Stop and another track to my best of Nef The Pharaoh playlist.

Bone Idol

Gen X - Dancing With Myself
(From Dancing With Myself single; 1980)


10/10 song from 1980 which became an 9/10 song when it was re-recorded and re-released as Billy Idol's debut solo single in 1981. The 1980 Gen X version is one of the greatest U.K Punk singles ever recorded, but I guess Billy F**kface here was too stupid to realise that because he toned down the guitar & bass considerably for the 1981 solo version. I'm not tryna get Enid Coleslaw on datazz, I'm just sayin' the 1981 version doesn't crank nearly as hard as the original and that's all fact no opinion. I always presumed Dancing With Myself was about Billy being lonely on tour and wanking in a Tokyo hotel room on some Lost In Masturbation type shit. Turns out I got the song's inspiration lost in translation because Idol's artistic impetus was seeing the crowd in a Tokyo club dancing with their own reflections in mirrored walls.

As a concept, Punk Rock is kinda cool. But as a culture, Punk Rock is invariably corny. Out of all the terrible British music critics, Those Blokes Who Can Only View Rap Music Through The Prism Of Punk Rock™ are the absolute W.O.A.T. Ain't gonna lie tho, some of the music is undeniable, particularly as a singles genre. Ergo, here's the official Martorialist top ten U.K Punk singles of all time in no order of preference.

The Damned - Neat Neat Neat (1977)
Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant (1977)
The Flys - Love & A Molotov Cocktail (1977)
The Stranglers - No More Heroes (1977)
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (1978)
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't) (1978)
Subway Sect - Nobody's Scared (1978)
Gen X - Dancing With Myself (1980)
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Happy House (1980)
The Jam - Funeral Pyre (1981)

Don't give me no lip that The Jam weren't a Punk band. They may have been rigged out in 60s Mod clobber, but them lads were a Punk band in sound until 1982.

Treasure Planet

Arabian Prince - Simple Planet
(From Innovative Life • The Anthology • 1984-1989 compilation; 2008)


Help me out here - is this an unreleased track from 1989 or is it a 2008 track recorded especially for this anthology compilation? Either way, this shit is everything I like about Electro music from L.A and Detroit in the SAME DAMN TRACK! It even featuress that weird stretched chiming sound which popped up in various TV shows and movies from the early 1980s.

If this is a 2008 track then file it alongside Programmed 4 L.O.V.E by Newcleus, Future Computer by Jamie Jupitor, and 5¢ Camel Ride (Long Version) by Egyptian Lover as 'late career choonz by 80s Electro pioneers.'

Dog'n The Earwax

Homeboy Sandman - Win Win
(From Rich II album; 2024)


This is a reality-Rap video, you really go through it every time you have Sandman's music up in your lugholes. I was a huge fan of Boy Sand dog'n my earwax before he got too prudish and prigish these past couple of years (never trust a tee-total, vegan conspiracy theorist!) But Win Win is that old Sandman and gives me hope for his forthcoming sequel to Enough where he's reunited with J-Live and Kurious. Baby, I stay strapped mentally...

Walk like A DOOM

Kurious - Cow's Eye
(From Majician album; 2024)


It's funny how a great video can transform a song into your favourite jam on the whole album. Absolute perfect marriage of music and music image resulting in a prequel to the ? video and the greatest DOOM tribute ever. Shit twists my tearducts like a muppet; keepin' it honest, I can't listen to it in public. Also, a rare modern Kurious video where he's not wearing jhorts. That man definitely owns more cut-off denim than an ECW wrestler.

If I ruled the world, Kurious would have included I Don't Even Exist and Don't Know on his Majician album rather than his Mystery Mixtape. One of my biggest pet peeves with Rap is rappers not including great songs on their proceeding album. It's an annoying practice which dates back to the mid 1980s when Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde didn't include Gettin' Money, Fast Life and A.M./P.M. on their album. Run-D.M.C also got in on the act when they neglected to include Together Forever on Raising Hell or Here We Go (Live at The Funhouse) on King Of Rock. The Beastie Boys also threw their baseball caps in the ring when they decided She's On It wasn't going to appear on Licensed To Ill. The Beasties now hate that song and refer to it as "Cheese Omelette", but they're terrible judges of their own catalogue so who cares what they think?


** EDIT** Ice-T was another early offender when he left Killers and Dog 'N The Wax (Ya Don't Quit Part II) offa his Rhyme Pays album.

Born To Audiomack: 2024 Faves Not From 2024

~~ Martorialist 2024 Faves Not From 2024 ~~

1. Hard Rock Soul Movement - Double Def Fresh (1986)
2. Professor X - Professor X (Saga) (1988)
3. LL Cool J - Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix) (1990)
4. Jay Tee ft. Mac Dre - Do The Crew (CDQ version) (1990/2018)
5. Kurious - Fill 'Er Up (1991/2008)
6. G. Dep - Dollar Bill (1998)
7. AZ - Rap Fanatic (2002)
8. Big Moe ft. Mike Wilson - Leave Drank Alone (2003)
9. Saigon - Favorite Thingz (extended version) (2006)
10. DaBanggaz314 - Run Up Get Dun Up (2009)
11. Homeboy Sandman - Talking (Bleep) (2016)
12. 38 Dezzie ft. Mouse On Tha Track - On My Shit (2021)
13. Mic Terror - OJ Simpson (2021)
14. Pookie F'n Rude ft. Hash Hearted - Put That On Everythang (2023)
15. Mello Buckzz - Move (2023)


15 songs from the rich tapestry of Rap history which have been up in my ears like malleus bones in 2024. Most of them are new-to-me discoveries, but a couple of them are old favourites which have snuck back into regular rotation. Shout out to Step Wun for recently hippin' me to that AZ song.

Nef The Not Fairoh

"If you ain't from the Yay then I'm over n*ggas heads
Bitches askin' Siri 'bout some shit that Chang said"

Nef The Pharaoh - Essence
(From Essence single; 2024)


I ain't from the Yay so I'll tell you what's over my head: why Nef's Essence loosie from a few months back is better than anything on his Vallejo Playa album which dropped this past friday. When Nef says "I'll do a song and won't ever send the session, I don't want your engineer f**kin' up my essence" I feel like he's mocking me because he's never dropped that song with Mannie Fresh he teased on Instagram back in 2016. The snippet has long since been deleted, but that shit sounded exactly how a Mannie Nef song should sound. Call that shit Simon Cowell because it's never coming out.

Generic list post: October 2024

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when we said goodbye to British legend and former two times World's Strongest Man Geoff Capes. Also the month when I dropped a 100 best songs of the 2020s so far list.

Charlie Green - The Bus Stop (1983)
Busta Rhymes - Do The Busabus Pt.2 (2024)
Professor X - Professor X (Saga) (1987)
Kurious - 1984 (2024)
Kurious - Bacalao Opera (2024)
BigXthaPlug - The Largest (2024)
Brian Bennett - Solstice (1978)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Police Helicopter (demo version) (1983/1994)
Mean Jeans - Reggie (2024)

Bonus bloggin: 1nce again I'm gonna use my monthly wrap-up post to keep track of the best movies and TV shows I've been watching. * indicates rewatches dunnit.

Movies I watched and liked:
Chimes At Midnight (1965) *
Carrie (1976) *
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) *
Near Dark (1987)
They Live (1988) *
Smile 2 (2024)

TV shows I watched and liked:
Prisoner: Cell Block H (episodes 153 to 158) (1980)
Neighbours (new episodes) (2024)
What We Do In The Shadows (series 6 episodes 1 to 4) (2024)
Ludwig (series 1) (2024)
Mr. McMahon (all 6 episodes) (2024)
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (series 7) (2024)
Only Connect (new episodes) (2024)
Match Of The Day 1 and 2 (new episodes) (2024)

My Mind Spray 17

Pour out a Styles P smoothie for DJ Clark Kent. It's all luv to Biggie's Sky's The Limit and Realms Of Junior Mafia, but my favourite Works of Clark were Slick Rick's I Own America Part 1 and Why, Why, Why.

I checked out some music by that Malachi kid whose guest verses on the LARussell & P-Lo EP are such a joy. Alas, his own solo songs are some sub-J. Cole type shit where his puppy dog energy has been replaced by painful earnestness.

If Yams were still alive then he'd surely have steered A$AP Rocky into buying a better football team than Tranmere Rovers. Crazy visionz, BOOM: Rocky buys Chester FC instead and launches into a TV ratings battle with Chester's arch rivals/Disney's bitches Wrexham FC. Daphne & Celeste could flip Ooh Stick You for the Chester TV show's theme: "OOH STICK YOU, YOUR MULLIN TOO AND YOUR DISNEY!"

If the best Rap love songs of the 1980s are Slick Rick's Teenage Love, LL Cool J's I Need Love and Whodini's One Love then the worst have to be LL's One Shot At Love and Nice & Smooth's Something I Can't Explain. Kurtis Blow's Hello Baby deserves an honourable mention for drowning a very nice Davy DMX production in a sea of schmaltz.

People always over-think music bloggin'. You're a DJ/host and your blog is your radio show. It's that simple like Posh Spice & M.O.P.

Large Processor

BigXthaPlug - The Largest
(From Take Care album; 2024)


I'm not sayin' nostalgia is a good thing, I'm just sayin' that the best BigXthaPlug songs are the ones which sound like Swisha House songs from 20 years ago. Plz believe The Largest is one of those songs. BigX reminds me of a Texan equivalent of Duke Deuce: he's a modern incarnation of an old sound which has never dated, but he only manages to nail that sound once or twice per album.

The best songs of the 2020s so far IMHO

HAAAAAAAAAAAS ANYBODY SEEN PITCHFORK'S 100 BEST SONGS OF THE 2020'S SO FAR LIST??? I haven't because I've been too busy ripping it off with my own list of Martorialist favourites from the last four years. Obviously there are songs missing from this list, but plz believe they aren't the songs you think should be included. On one hand, the past four years has resulted in some of the absolute worst music I've ever heard; on the other hand, it's also resulted in these choonz.

KMD - Scrambled Eggs (1993/2021)
Max B - Phenomenon (2020)
Flo Milli - Not Friendly (2020)
The Chats - Pub Feed (2020)
Duke Deuce - Bad News (2020)
Jenevieve - Baby Powder (2020)
Homeboy Sandman - Waiting On My Girl (2020)
Rio Da Yung OG - Groovy (2020)
Cookiee Kawaii - Vacation (2020)
Pop Smoke - Armed N Dangerous (2020)
Mac J - OldSkoo (2020)
Bris - First 42 Hours Freestyle (2020)
79rs Gang - 79rs Bout To Blow (2020)
Maurice Fulton & Peggy Gou - Jigoo (2020)
AZ - Different (2020)
Gzus Piece - Hot Tub TIme Machine (2020)
Sault - Wildfires (2020)
Mozzy - Big Homie From The Hood (2020)
Ether Da Connect ft. Mr. Swipey & Waka Flocka Flame - WAKA (remix) (2020)
Beabaadoobee - Care (2020)
NHale - Dealin' Wit A Hoe (2020)
UNiiQU3 - UNiiQU3'S Groove (Get Down) (2020)
Dee-1 - Corona Clap (video version) (2020)
2nd Grade - Velodrome (2020)
Ka - I Love (Mimi, Mom's, Kev) (2020)
Juiceboxxx - Deal With The Dream (2020)
YG - Swag (2020)
Boldy James & Alchemist - Speed Demon Freestyle (2020)
Ezale - Raised Like This (2021)
Remble - Touchable (2021)
Eatem - Go Get Yo F**kin' Brotha (2021)
Turnstile - New Heart Design (2021)
Seiji Oda ft. Lil' Ricefield - Gasbreakdip (2021)
Monaleo - We Not Humping (2021)
Dru Down - Everywhere I Go (2021)
Pa Salieu ft. Slowthai - Glidin' (2021)
P-Lo - Going Off (2021)
DAWN - Boomerang (2021)
Ballout - Lift It Up (2021)
Bruiser Wolf ft. Apropos - Momma Was A Dopefiend (2021)
Danny Brown - Dylon (2021)
Olivia Rodrigo - Brutal (2021)
Stunnaman02 & QuakeBeatz - Big Steppin' (2021)
Children Of Zeus - I Know (2021)
Saweetie - Fast (Motion) (2021)
Cajmere - So Happy (2021)
Yuno Miles - Road To Riches (2021)
Day Day Sustaaa - B.A.N.P (2022)
Benzz - Je M'appelle (2022)
Hitkidd & GloRilla - FNF (Let's Go) (2022)
Real Lies - Dream On (2022)
Mouse On Tha Track - Big Blossom (2022)
Mr. Fingers - Coastline Paradox (2022)
Asian Doll ft. Bandmanrill - Get Jumped (2022)
Young Jr - Bird Walk (2022)
2Rare - Oochie Coochie (2022)
Luh Tyler - Law & Order (2022)
Paramore - This Is Why (2022)
Young Bleed - Dat' Water (2022)
Texas Boyz - Awready (2022)
Knucks ft. SL - Nice & Good (2022)
D4M $loan - Swiper (2022)
SZA - Nobody Gets Me (2022)
Lady Ice - Up North (2022)
Kookei - Incredible (2022)
AD - All I Do (2022)
Lebra Jolie - What Kinda (2022)
TREE - 10 Mac 11's (2023)
The Guy - Sorry Buddy (2023)
Coyote ft. Shaquille O'Neal - 3 Lokos (2023)
J Hus - It's Crazy (2023)
Zae Shakur - Donuts In A Benz (2023)
Peggy Gou - It Goes Like (Nanana) (2023)
Sexyy Red - Shake Yo Dreads (2023)
Lil' Ricefield - Him Burton (2023)
Everything But The Girl - Nothing Left To Lose (2023)
Mic Terror ft. Gzus Piece - The Titty Song (2023)
Mean Jeans - I Don't Give A Shit Anymore (2023)
Nef The Pharaoh ft. LARussell - Furley Ghost (2023)
Kenya Grace - Strangers (2023)
iCandy - Keep Dat N*gga (2023)
Berner ft. The Jacka - Gone (remix) (2023)
Lord Sko - Pimp Socks (2023)
Myaap - HTS (2023)
Suga Free & Kokane - Bitch In Da Trunk (2023)
Donae'o - Let There Be Light (2023)
BeatKing ft. Sukihana, Diamond & Princess - On Yo Head (remix) (2023)
BigXthaPlug - Texas (2023)
Mello Buckzz - Move (2023)
Pete & Bas - Mr. Worldwide (2023)
LARussell & P-Lo ft. D-Lo & Malachi - Yankin' (2024)
LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes - Huey In The Chair (2024)
Busta Rhymes - Do The Busabus Pt.2 (2024)
Pookie F'n Rude - Hold Up (2024)
Mac God Dbo - A Whole Brick (2024)
Kurious - I Don't Even Exist (2024)
Pooh The WriteR - Bestie (2024)
Common & Pete Rock - Wise Up (2024)
Alfonso de Vilallonga - Dog and Tin At The Beach (2024)
Nine & Dex - Pecan Pie (2024)

My Mind Spray 16.5

For the past 5 or so days YouTube has recommended me videos of Lord Jamar talking about homosexuality while dressed like an Egyptian mummy. Trap goin' Hamunaptra?

Back in 2002 Westwood played a Freeway song which I'd never been able to identify. A couple of days ago I randomly came across it and it's not a Freeway song, but a Naam Brigade song he guested on called Early In The Game. YouTube commenters reckon it's a Philly minor-classic?

Call me Poo Man because two of my favourite random regional Rap song discoveries of 2024 are Hold Up by Pookie F'n Rude and Bestie by Pooh The WriteR.

Some bloke recently tried to tell me that Eric B & Rakim's fourth and final album was "a disappointment". Bruv, an album which contains Know The Ledge, The Punisher, Casualties Of War, Keep The Beat, Don't Sweat The Technique, Kick Along and What's On Your Mind shits on the lives of you and your entire bloodline.

You midlife crisis Rap internet guys who are out here pretending to enjoy Xaviersobased's music need to grow up and listen to some real adult-contemporary Rap like Yuno Miles.

Double nickels on the humble pie

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Police Helicopter (demo version)
(From demo; 1983/Out In L.A compilation; 1994)


For 32 years I lived by the belief that Give It Away is the only good Red Hot Chili Peppers song and you couldn't tell me nothin' to the contrary. But a month or so back I saw Johnboxxx mention the demo version of Police Helicopter and that shit has been up inside my speakers like a diaphragm ever since. It's the best song Minutemen never recorded, and it conclusively bodies the official studio version (over)produced by that commie Andy Gill; them Chili Pepper lads shoulda heeded the Ramones' third rule. Anyhoo, I betcha Pimp C woulda loved this song as he loved Give It Away.

New York, ya out there?

Busta Rhymes - Do The Busabus Pt. 2
(From Do The Busabus Pt. 2 single; 2024)


Forget what the song title says, this is Busta's equivalent of Mystikal's Hit Me in a Do The Bus a Bus sequel's clothing. Very unexpected turn of events where LL Cool J, Kurious and Busta are dropping some of my favourite Rap songs of 2024. That Greg Nice saxobeat-core song from a few months back was cool too.

**EDIT** a video for this single just dropped with Busta wearing an outfit which looks like it was crocheted by my aunty Liz. More importantly, I just found out that Busta's song was inspired by this amazing 1983 TV clip set to Do It Any Way You Wanna by People's Choice. One day later it all makes sense. I'm guessing this video is some real everlasting Black History™?

Charlie Green - The Bus Stop
(From The Chicago Party TV show; 1983)

Generic list post: September 2024

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when J-S.A.N.D said "anybody can get it and anybody can give it to you, it's like secret santa."

Kurious - Fill 'Er Up (1991/2008)
Kurious - Untainted (2024)
LL Cool J - Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix) (1990)
LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes - Huey In The Chair (2024)
LL Cool J - Basquiat Energy (2024)
Seiji Oda - Last Summer (video) (2024)
UrFavGrannie - Boy Bye (2024)
Nine & Dex - Jesus Piece (2024)
Ramones - M.P.S.C's TV studio performance (1976)
Ramones - S-L-U-G (Road To Ruin mix) (1978/2018)
Ramones - 7-11 (New York mix) (1981/2023)

Bonus bloggin: 1nce again I'm gonna use my monthly wrap-up post to keep track of the best movies and TV shows I've been watching. * indicates rewatches dunnit.

Movies I watched and liked:
The Stranger (1946)
Charade (1963)
48 Hours (1982) *
Miracle Mile (1988)
The Mask (1994) *
Hundreds of Beavers (2022)
The Substance (2024)

TV shows I watched and liked:
Prisoner: Cell Block H (episodes 147 to 153) (1980)
Neighbours (new episodes) (2024)
Colin From Accounts (series 2) (2024)
Jamali Maddix: Follow The Leader (all 4 episodes) (2024)
Only Connect (new episodes) (2024)
Match Of The Day 1 and 2 (new episodes) (2024)

One heLLuva guy

LL Cool J - Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix)
(From one of the Jingling Baby (remix) 12" singles; 1990)


LL Cool J - No Airplay (Bad Boy remix)
(From Bad Boy's Gettin' Down In Da LB mixtape; 1995)


LL Cool J - Bring On The Mo's & Ho's
(From Double L Cools Down bootleg 12" EP; 1996)


Oil up your ankles and let your Timbs tap to three of my favourite LL Cool J deep cut gems. Firstly, we got the Illegal Search (Pre-Trial Hearing mix) which was done by Large Professor and is more flavour like praline than the LP version. Secondly, we got the blowticious No Airplay (Bad Boy remix) which features entirely new lyrics and a completely different beat. And third and finally, we got a track recorded for Mr. Smith which was relegated to a Def Jam bootleg EP due to it sharing the same sample as a certain 2Pac song, word to mama. If LL ever does a Lost Tapes album then I guess like the jeans that these three tracks would be no brainer inclusions alongside Mr Controversy, Year Of The Hip Hop, the uncensored version of the O.G No Airplay, and Set It Off New York.

Kangol bucket hat tips to EttelThun and Step Wun for the Audiomack uploads of the two remixes, and to Yohan for suggesting Year Of The Hip Hop which completely slipped my mind.

Hanging on the telephone

LL Cool J - 1-900 L.L Cool J
(From Walking With A Panther album; 1989)


What's an LL album track beloved by you and seemingly only you? I'm a 1-900 L.L Cool J type of guy, meself. Uncle L used the 1-900 number concept before The Convicts or Roc-A-Fella, and hit the same Watermelon Man loop as the Dolly My Baby remix before Super Cat, Biggie et al. And LL did it while sounding effortlessly smug in a flow which probably made MC Shan real mad. In a perfect world 1-900 L.L Cool J woulda been the 4th single from Walking With A Panther instead of the nauseating ballad One Shot At Love.

Shit's got me thinking about what the first Rap song to start with a phone call was. Earliest I can think of is Spoonie Gee's The Big Beat. If not, The Big Beat was definitely the first Rap song to feature a "freak this" breakdown with the sound of squeaking bed springs. Insert your own Puffy joke here ----> _________.

My Mind Spray 16

I copped the CD of that new LL Cool J album and he's only gone and printed all the song credits and shout outs in tiny red text on a black background which I can't even read properly with my magnifying glass. Rappers, if you learn anything from this blog then let it be the layout - white text on a dark background is unfadeable, baby.

Another problem with the new LL CD is that there's no tracklist on the back sleeve. An unforgivable rookie mistake from a rapper who dropped his first CD in 1985. Musicians should always have the tracklist on the back of their CDs and should always have the tracks numbered. If I crash my car searching for songs on the CD then I'm sending LL the bill for damages.

My m8 went to see Alchemist DJ on Saturday night and offered me his spare ticket. I declined because a modern day Chemical Alan DJ set would be fulla dreary-arse recent songs by Griselda, Action Bronson, Armand Hammer and Earl Sweatshirt & his boring m8s. If I go watch Alchemist spin choonz then I wanna hear his obvious old anthems plus his banger ne plus ultras like Agallah's Crookie Monster, Casual's I Gotta (Get Down), Saigon's Stocking Cap, Big Noyd's Shoot 'Em Up, Bang, Bang, Prodigy's Raining Guns & Shanks and Boldy James' Moochie.

Fave Rap videos of 2024: Move by Mello Buckzz; Fun by Ezale; Devils Contract by Coyote; Yeah Glo! by GloRilla; A Gentle Gigg by Seiji Oda; and Yankin' by LARussell & P-Lo ft. D-Lo & Malachi. It's nice to see rappers making an effort and coming up with visuals which enhance the songs and which make the songs best experienced in video-form.

Is Milo from The Mask the greatest dog companion in movie history? Loyal, smart, inventive, crafty, funny and cute (no Bodil Joensen), Milo was the perfect lil' homie. And, unlike Jim Carrey's other great dog companion in a movie Max from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Milo was played by a single dog and not six different near-identical dogs.

Whose gran is this?

"Can't trust you no mo', so I have to say goodbye
Too much drama even for a lil' guy
Haha, yeah, that's you - the lil' guy
Put me through a lot, boy bye!"

UrFavGrannie - Boy Bye
(From YouTube; 2024)


Vera Punt from Neighbours raps now? Cot-damn, "you was dead wrong, so back to the trap where you belong" is one of the coldest lines in a 2024 Rap song. Anyhoo, last time I posted a UrFavGrannie song it was for the bantz, this time it's for the bantz and because the song actually jams. Grannie looks like she ate Eazy-E, and maybe she did given how she's replicated his flow on this shit. That Nirvana shirt tho - name 3 non-album tracks, luv!

Late pass!

"Time is overdue, so I'm gonna spill
My guts on the theory 'cause things is gettin' ill
Dreams get traded and sold like gold ropes
And ya hopes get sunk like boats"

Kurious - Fill 'Er Up
(From unreleased; 1991/A Constipated Monkey Demo Sessions EP; 2008)


The recent renaissance by Kurious has finally inspired me to check out that EP of his unreleased pre-A Constipated Monkey recordings. I was already up on Trueness To The Blueness but unfamiliar with the rest. Fave song on there is Fill 'Er Up where Yung Jorge is already in fine self-deprecating form over some Pete Nice production; even though Jorge has already been bitten by cynicism, the song still retains that 1991 Rap innocence. In a perfect world Fill 'Er Up shoulda been Kurious' debut single before he followed it up with Walk Like A Duck.

(I asked him on Instagram when it was recorded and he reckoned late 1991.)

Even when Im bloggin' Im bein' sincere

LL Cool J - Basquiat Energy
(From The Force album; 2024)


Me when LL Cool J & Q-Tip's first collaboration The Force sounded like Cannibal Ox: WTF are they thinking with this weird Def Jux bollox LMAO? Where's Will High when I need him?

Me when Basquiat Energy from LL Cool J & Q-Tip's collaborative album sounds Camu Tao if he were produced by Edan: LL is the true G.O.A.T, baby! Def Jam does Def Jux is the steez I've been waiting on my entire life! MHz WHAT WHAT!!! Someone get Basquiat's old m8 Vincent Gallo to direct a video for this shit ASAP.

**EDIT** the LL & Busta track over big ole bits of Halleluwah is even better. L, Bus & Tip really Krautrocked the Bells.

LL Cool J ft. Busta Rhymes - Huey In The Chair
(From The Force album; 2024)

Today Your Lunch, Tomorrow The World

Ramones - M.P.S.C's TV studio performance
(From not in Arturo's Loft; 1976)


Sum shit I just found out: there's a video of the Ramones' infamous 1975 Arturo's Loft performance on YouTube where the audio doesn't take a nosedive in quality after Loudmouth. Sum other shit I just found out: the performance was #actually filmed in some New York TV studio in early 1976 a couple of weeks before the Ramones debut LP dropped. California Sun aside, this performance sounds exactly like the debut LP only rawer and louder - which is exactly what I'm looking for in a Ramones performance video. The problem with live Ramones performance videos after O.G drummer boi Tommy Ramone left is that replacement drummer bois Marky Ramone and Richie Ramone had Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone up their tempo which would leave Joey rushing his vocals to keep up with the music. The result: Da Brudders 2.0 and 3.0 had Joey out there sounding outta the pocket like Blueface.

But there aee always exceptions to the rule. Peep the time they cranked out Do You Remember Rock 'N' Radio? on British TV show Old Grey Whistle Test in 1980. I fuxwit the fancy saxophone & organ Phil Spector added to the studio version, but the song knocks different here without Spector's Wall Of Sound™ embellishments dunnit?

Ramones - Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio? (live)
(From Old Grey Whistle Test TV show; 1980)


And now for the real reason I made this post: who wants to indulge in a game of food & drink-based Ramones puns? One, two, three, flour...

Blitzkrieg Bap
Sushi Is A Headbanger
Beat On The Bratwurst
Creatine Hop
Carbonara Not Glue
Today Your Loaf, Tomorrow The Whirl
Rockaway Peach
End Of The Celery
Rocket Salad To Russia
Sheena Is A Pork Rocker
Cabbage Cabbage Hey!
The CaKe CaKe CaKe Took My Baby Away
53rd & Thirst
Um Bongo Goes To Bitburg

Don't worry, be Hyphy

So I'm reading a Seiji Oda interview and I'm curious who he's talking about in this second paragraph? Like Willie Joe, I wonder...

"I was doing that because I feel like I have other albums, like ORA [太陽], for example, where it’s a lot of R&B and softer stuff because I really enjoy making that music, too. Actually, there’s people who tell me they only listen to that part of my catalog. They’ll tell me they really love that kind of sound and wish I would make more stuff like that.

But then there’s this one guy who writes Bay Area rap blogs, and he would always write about my shit and whenever I was putting out my R&B stuff, he was like, oh man, this shit is wack. Like, we need more rap, Seiji. He would say he didn’t want to hear any auto-tune bullshit (laughs). The beauty of it though, as artists, is we can be multifaceted and we can make different kinds of music for different kinds of people."

Guilty as charged! But an accidental compromise is reached on Seiji's latest single This Summer. It starts off wishy-washy sangy, but it's good because he's paying homage to my favourite City Pop song ever, and then he goes into bopper-dropper mode with an insane beat-switch before he flips back to the sea-front sunset City Pop vybz to close the song out. A proper Best Of Both Worlds song to encapsulate the duality of man/his fanbase. The Yee & The Yang.

Seiji Oda - Last Summer
(From Last Summer single; 2024)


Previously: Twinkle Twinkle, little slap (part 2).

Generic list post: August 2024

Obligatory wrap-up post of those songs I've played most during the month when my only contribution to the Oasis discourse is thus: they are a pox on northern England and I once walked out of a pub in disgust during a Euro '96 England match when someone put Wonderwall on the jukebox and the rest of the pub burst into a mass singalong. BUT I've always loved Supersonic ever since I first heard it on The Word, and Gallagher Junior's outfit up top is the only good get-up to be worn by a member of a Britpop band.

Young MC - Principal's Office (video) (1989)
Pookie F'n Rude ft. Kedaru & Hash Hearted - One Of Them Dayz (2023)
Pookie F'n Rude - Hold Up (2024)
LARussell ft. Freeway & Peedi Crakk - Flipside (remix) (2024)
Kurious - I Don't Even Exist (2024)
Kurious - Unknown Species (2024)
Urban Jungle - Back In The Daze (1994)
Mall Grab & Real Lies - Ripples In The Timeline (2024)

Bonus bloggin: 1nce again I'm gonna use my monthly wrap-up post to keep track of the best movies and TV shows I've been watching. * indicates rewatches dunnit.

Movies I watched and liked:
Rock 'N' Roll High School (1979) *
Eating Raoul (1982)
Meantime (1983)
Little Shop Of Horrors (director's cut) (1986/2012)
Attack The Block (2011) *
Totally Killer (2023)
Sky Peels (2024)

TV shows I watched and liked:
Prisoner: Cell Block H (episodes 132 to 147) (1980)
Neighbours (new episodes) (2024)
Only Connect (new episodes) (2024)
Match Of The Day 1 and 2 (new episodes) (2024)

PS: I made a little playlist of Kurious loosies from 2010 to 2014. It's only 4 songs deep but they're a good 4 songs which deserve better than being lost in loosie purgatory.

LAte Property

LARussell ft. Freeway & Peedi Crakk - Flipside (remix)
(From Flipside (remix) single; 2024)


One of the best things about NorCal Rap is how there's very little generational Too Cool For School posing because those muhf**kers are all ears to all eras of Rap; if a song knocks then 9 times outta 10 NorCal fuxwit it. Thus, only an Oakland rapper would think of revamping Freeway & Peedi Crakk's Flipside into a 2024 slap by jacking the hook and reuniting Free & Peedi on that shit. How effortlessly does Peedi bounce, rock, skate & slide on this beat? Makes me wish Peedi had guested on some of the Freeway & Jacka songs.

LARussell is a weird artist. His singles with P-Lo are some of my absolute favourite music of 2024, but he's just dropped a handful of singy Chance The Rapper type singles which are unlistenable to me. I'll always hate Chance's stupid crying Adam Sandler sounding-ass voice, but I got luh love for him for effectively putting that terrible MTV News website outta business lolz.

Late pass!

Pookie F'n Rude ft. Kedaru & Hash Hearted - One Of Them Dayz
(From One Of Them Dayz single; 2023)


Another single I'm feelin' by the fat guy behind Hold Up and Put That On Everythang. This one's a change of pace: it's some crooning-under-a-waterfall L.A pimp ballad shit which stems from the On My Way family tree. R.I.P to Kedaru - he ain't dead, he just pasta way.

Gonna add this shit to my list of top 10 favourite non-2024 Rap songs I discovered in 2024. Peep the other 9:

Hard Rock Soul Movement - Double Def Fresh (1986)
G. Dep - Dollar Bill (1998)
Warren G - Dope Beat (1999)
Big Moe ft. Mike Wilson - Leave Drank Alone (2003)
Saigon - Favorite Thingz (extended version) (2006)
DaBanggaz314 - Run Up Get Dun Up (2009)
Rack-Lo - What's A Lo-Life To Me (2013)
38 Dezzie ft. Mouse On Tha Track - On My Shit (2021)
Mello Buckzz - Move (2023)

Russell Athletic: the reprise!

LARussell & P-Lo - Lil' Lad (Unimpressed)
(From Majorly Independent EP; 2024)


You already know I've been waitin' on a video to do this choon justice. LARussell got Funky Grampa from the Give Me A Beat video to pop, lock and dumb-knock it again. Turns out Funky Grampa is an old skool Electric Boogaloo dancer called OG Mike Chaos who has previous form for strutting his stuff to classic P-Lo productions. If the BBC ever accept my pitch for a Strictly Turf Dancing TV show then OG Mike Chaos needs to be a contestant.


When I've been to Oakland it seems like there's an old white bloke in a cap and an M-65 jacket on every block. Mans are in da streetz like black & white Nike Dunks.