[noisereductions]

I agree sev. Love that album. In fact, I'd rank VV above MM Food. Still need to hear that bonus disc though.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

 

Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty - 1998 - Capitol
Released after a lengthy hiatus, the fifth Beastie Boys album is a bit of a reinvention. Whereas the previous records - Check Your Head, Ill Communication and the Aglio E Olio EP felt a lot more like the work of the Beasties as a band, Hello Nasty highlights the Beasties as MC's. And there's a very good reason for this - Mixmaster Mike. With Mike behind the wheels of steel, this album has a very old school (see: "Three MC's and One DJ") feel to it. If you were a fan of those other records, it may feel a jarring shift, but at the same time it's also a bit of a shift back to the feeling of Licensed To Ill and Paul's Boutique except brought up to the sound of the late 90's. And it's damn good. Although it feels a bit front-loaded as well. The opening stretch of "Super Disco Breakin'," "The Move," and "Remote Control" is just fucking ridiculous. And then things shift a bit with the pretty out-there "Song For The Man." But this won't be the first shift in tone throughout the record. Indeed over the course of 22 tracks you're going to hear all kinds of styles. And in that sense, it plays out like some crazy mixtape of the Beasties' favorite songs, where no genre is off limits. And truth be told that's fun as hell, but also slightly frustrating as sometimes the sequencing doesn't feel optimal. Sticking some of the more experimental or meandering tracks between "Intergalactic" or "The Grasshopper Unit" may have been a bit more beneficial than throwing some of the less-than-three-minute experimental excursions together in bundle. But at the end of the record, it all seems to make some kind of weird sense in the blendered world that the Beasties always created. Sure closing the record with what basically feels like three outro tracks is kind of baffling, but ultimately nothing here sounds like a throwaway either. Even the slightly failed experiments are worth experiencing. Maybe it's not the best Beastie Boys album, but they're one of those rare bands where even at their worst they're still worth listening to. And even if I personally adored the sound they had been exploring on Check Your Head and Ill Communication, the fact that they are so willing to switch gears from album to album is a reminder of why I love them.

The Beasties have always had a lot of really exciting and diverse moves hidden up their sleeves. It's really the one thing that makes them a band of lasting influence. Hello Nasty was a big album for me. It's actually my favorite Beastie Boys album, I think.. And not because of “Body Movin'” or “Intergalactic” (I hear the videos are great, but if I ever saw them, I quickly forgot them) but because the album seemed to play to their strengths... In the late '90s the Beasties didn't represent hip hop, so it was wise to make this album a more alternative affair.

Didn't they tour with Rage Against the Machine or something around the time this album was dominating radio? I seem to recall some drama about the B-Boys finding themselves stick with the overly aggressive crowds of some co-headliner, and not being terribly into it. If it wasn't RATM then I have no fucking idea. But they should have been comfortable sharing stages with the Blurs, Becks, Lips & JSBX's of the world by that point.

But I digress .. I just really liked the whole vibe and feel of this record. I liked the mish mash of future sounds and old school rhymes. I can't really believe it got as much play as it did, but I'm glad it got it. What a weird couple of years for hip hop.. Honestly... I'm so glad the Beasties were around to handle damage control during this period.

[noisereductions]

personally, I prefer Check Your Head and Ill Communications. But those were like albums I really cut my teeth on y'know? They had a big place in my heart because of when I heard them. Hello Nasty is great though, no doubt. The "Intergalactic" video is awesome though. Watch that shit. Kaiju and all.

[noisereductions]

Midnight Marauders is my favorite hip hop LP of all time, so maybe biased. But I think it birthed a whole sound. I think it is the blueprint for Illmatic and The Infamous. It inspired so much else - The Roots, et al.

Thing is sure, Low End was more innovative, but MM is the beginning of the sound that classic 90's NY records followed. Yeah?

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I get a lot of slack for loving the love movement more than midnight maruaders

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

And the all time best ever national beastie boys moment was the sabotage video

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

What y'all know bout that RBL Posse and where the,fuck did ZZ Top even find 25 Lighters on My Dresser" ??

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

Midnight Marauders is my favorite hip hop LP of all time, so maybe biased. But I think it birthed a whole sound. I think it is the blueprint for Illmatic and The Infamous. It inspired so much else - The Roots, et al.

Thing is sure, Low End was more innovative, but MM is the beginning of the sound that classic 90's NY records followed. Yeah?

Yeah.

I was also going to mention that MM is the best and most notable high-profiile album to contain multiple/sequential "skits" all based on the same concept. Those skits, as I'm sure you all would agree, are fucking awesome, and precedent setting, though they were never really replicated or duplicated by any following album.

Conceptually, MM is more fully realized than Low End, though they're both extremely great albums.

[noisereductions]

 

Cypress Hill - III: Temples Of Boom - 1995 - Ruffhouse
Cypress Hills' third album marks a definite shift in their sound. And it's pretty easy to figure out why. Four months after they dropped their celebrated sophomore effort, Black Sunday another hip hop LP would blow way up. That album was Enter The Wu-Tang and its influence was indescribable. With that in mind, it's not shocking to see both U-God and RZA as guests whereas previous Cypress Hill albums were completely Soul Assassins family affairs. The other major change would be Sen Dog's lack of input in the project. Around this time he was also dabbling in outside work, and as such barely has any presence here at all. But while III feels very different sonically, it's still very much a Cypress Hill record. Though instead of the aggressive, high energy of the first two records, the production here takes a bit of a breather. This a far more subdued work. Tempos slow down a bit. The atmosphere is all dark tones. The rather incredible "Illusions" is a great example, with its lazy, eerie vibraphone motif. Elsewhere guitar samples and jazz breaks fill in more space, Eric Bobo gets to showcase his bongo work and there's even Buddhist Monks chanting. On a whole, it's maybe a step back from the urgent work of their first two records, but it's also nice to see the group experimenting a bit more out of their comfort zone.

 

Lil Wayne - I Am Not A Human Being - 2010 - Young Money
I Am Not A Human Being wasn't actually recorded as a studio album, but instead was a smattering of outtakes - I'm guessing from both Rebirth (in the case of the title track) as well as the still-in-progress Carter IV sessions. As such, it doesn't really sound like an album as much as a smattering of outtakes. But luckily, they're mostly all solid ones that deserve to make up a full length on their own. All three Drake duets (he's listed as being on "I'm Single," but he's so totally not on that song) are top-notch, and "Right Above It" certainly made a great single. Elsewhere he brings in Nicki Minaj to handle the chorus of "What's Wrong With Them," which definitely works and Lil Twist to do the same on "Popular," which also works. The record keeps its momentum while constantly switching gears. Opener "Gonorrhea" is hard as nails. The title track is a sort of throwback to Rick Reuben style guitar samples (not unlike Jay's "99 Problems") that I'm guess most people wished that Rebirth had sounded like. Slower tracks like "With You," "I'm Single," and "Popular" all have focused deliveries by Wayne so as never to sound boring. Then we get to the tenth track, "Bill Gates" which is a slow, epic, low-end filled scorcher that somehow sounds triumphant and depressed at the same time. If only the record had ended here, it would have been far better received. Instead, the final three tracks come across as tacked-on outtakes from We Are Young Money. It's a pretty downer way to end an otherwise solid collection.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Temples of Boom is a masterpiece I haven't heard since 2000.. we used to freestyle to those beats like crazy

[louder]

Kendrick's 1st single dropping in 3 hours, YES! CAN'T WAIT!

[louder]

OUT NOW - https://soundcloud.com/topdawgent/i-1/s-GT9Cd

getting strong The Love Below vibes from this one! LOVE IT.

Kendrick is gonna drop a classic album!!

[louder]

"Year and a Day" off Paul's Boutique was probably a strong influence on that new Kendrick joint.

[Severian]

Having now purchased SYRO officially, and having heard the new Kendrick single (as well as the FlyLo single f/ Kendrick), I'm starting to worry that LIL WAYNE and (waaaay more importantly, Kanye West, will NOT actually get around to releasing their new albums before the end of the year.

Has anyone even heard any speculation about an album title for Yeezy's new joint? I know I read rumour back in May about various stupid sounding titles like "God Mode" and "Made in Florence" (which would probably both sound fine if I heard them from Yeezy and not dumb bloggers repping their own shit fan art)

But that's it. The new single "All Day" was just a low quality bootleg leak, never actually taking the form of a certified, official Kanye song.

I'm worried fellas.

The 3 artists that were supposed to bring Tha noise this year (Weezy, Yeezy & Wu-Tang) have simply not come through. At least Wu has a (really crappy) title, and a (so-so) single. But I wouldn't be surprised if all three of them went over schedule and failed to release their albums in 2014.

Meh.

Aw well, I've got SYRO blasting from my speakers as I type. Things could be way worse.

[louder]

Kanye just turned his album in yesterday, so you can stop worrying about that.

as for Wayne, every song he dropped so far was a failure (besides D'usse, which was just a freestyle), he's been relying on Drake too much, and even the cover art sucks. things aren't looking too good at the moment. he needs to scrap the whole thing and re-start recording it once he found a real inspiration.

anyway.. Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan and Birdman are putting out a mixtape under "Rich Gang" next week, which has strong classic potential if you ask me. "Lifestyle" and "About the Money" are the shieet. Thug in general is the future.

[noisereductions]

Wasnt Rich Gang already used by ymcmb ?

[louder]

@NR-

http://www.mtv.com/news/1941020/youn...strong-impact/

Birdman has vision. The Cash Money co-founder, alongside his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams, has guided the careers of some of the biggest names in hip-hop music. With artists like Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Drake carrying the torch for the brand, Bird sought out a couple of other newcomers to build with: Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan.

“I met Thug, flew him to L.A. to come see me and we connected from there, then Quan came to the table. I always believed in unity, that’s always been my thing,” Birdman told MTV News on September 11, when we traveled to Atlanta to cover a video shoot for an upcoming Rich Gang single.

Baby brought Thug and Quan together on “Lifestyle,” the #5 rap single in the country, according to Billboard. Next, Birdman plans to drop a Rich Gang mixtape, which will star Thugger and Rich Homie, and then an upcoming tour for the three of them.

“They were already working on a project, them two, and I said, ‘Let’s do it together. Let me take it to the next level for y’all, ’cause I see y’all got the potential and the talent,’” Baby told us of his pitch to the rising stars.

Both Thug and Rich Homie had solo success before meeting Birdman. Young Thug’s 2013 breakout “Stoner” launched him into a national spotlight, and Quan scored major points with his singles “Type of Way” and “Walk Thru.”

“I just thought by them being together, it would be a stronger impact and then they still can do their solo things,” Birdman said.

Their solo situations are a bit murky, though. Thug is reportedly signed to the newly formed 300, but when we asked him on the carpet of the 2014 BET Awards, he only confused matters. “It’s not no 300, it’s not no 100, 250, whatever you call it — it’s a lifetime warranty, you dig? It’s in and out. Blood in, blood out,” Thug told us then.

Quan is reportedly signed to Def Jam, but he denies ever inking with the storied hip-hop label.

There seems to be no dispute about Thug and Quan’s Rich Gang affiliation however. “I wanted to come to the A and rock with them and put artists on… I want them to be able to put other acts on like I do,” Birdman said. “We gonna make acts, put acts on and it’s gonna always be about them two.”

[noisereductions]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Gang_(album)

[louder]

i know the Rich Gang album from last year. i wasn't digging it when it came out, but some of it grew on me. it's a lot better than "Rise of an Empire" for sure. Detail is a good composer.

however, i expect this new project to be a lot better. Thug isn't an official YMCMB member yet, but apparently he's signed under Birdman's management, and he's a part of the clique or whatever.

[louder]

Young Thug Wants to Make ‘Tha Carter’ 6-10: http://radio.com/2014/09/19/young-thug-tha-carter-6-10/

i'm cool with it. i mean he has a lot of talent, i've listened to his older tapes and he's been improving so much in the last couple of years. of course he still has a lot of room to grow as an artist, but i believe he'll get there with the right label support and experience.