At the end of the day, you gotta know where you've been to know where you are going. I will not be going through what I loved about 2006; that's what my reviews are for. Check the side panel for links to the various bits and bobs I dug or dig dug this year.
These sweets are sendspace goodies that will be available for as long as they allow them to be. I should just let the music do the talking, but..
.
01/James Brown " "..
. first off, RIP to James Brown. It's hard that a guy can have such a direct influence on so many genres of music, and still maintain his own singular voice.
Many imitators, none duplicators, and many niggas owe their bank accounts to this man's work. He's one of the only Black men in America who did it without asking for help or assistance or giving a fuck about what anyone else thought - he converted millions. And he did it without really being the best singer.
He had his own voice, but his tracks weren't about him singing. It was a full package, a single groove. The sum was definitely greater than the whole of it's parts.
And we will miss him for it...
02/Mobb Deep " "...
One of my fav Mobb tracks of all time. They signed to G-Unit this year, and although I loved their album, it failed to crack any serious numbers. Shame, shame.
Probably too much Fiddy dick-riding, but Prodigy seems to be , so maybe they will take it back to how they were coming up. "Until my death, my goal's to stay alive..
."
03/Cassidy ft. Lil' Wayne Fabolous " ".
.. this is the best shit off Cass' last album, no bullshit.
I slept on the CD -- it was just a bit too much crack-rap from someone who is a hell of a lot more than a crack-rapper. My nigga Boo put me onto this one, and it stuck. Symphonies run rampant on the beat, which is mid-level kicks and loads of live-sounding snares.
Weezy drops one of the most slept on verses of 2005, Fab spits his smooth one-liners and Cass just one-ups both of them for about 2 and a half minutes. , Cassidy.
04/T.
I. ft. Bun B Rakim " ".
.. you fucks slept on this track, this mixtape, and this blog for too long.
was about DJ Green Lantern's Alive On Arrival mixtape, which is hands down the mixtape of 2006. If you don't believe me, then fuck you. This track is off that tape, so sorry if you are looking for a full clip - I don't have one.
Anyways, Green laces this bass heavy beat with some odd Rakim vocal snippet as the chorus, and Tip goes off about being "a rebel", but music just being a way for him to escape...
and UGK's finest just pimp slaps this track with another banger. Go , quick. Stop sleeping.
05/Lil' Scrappy ft. Young Buck " "..
. I'll admit it -- if it wasn't for the bleeps in that minimal beat, I wouldn't give 2 shits about this track or this LP. The LP ain't half bad -- it ain't half good, but that's how it do.
Scrappy doing it for BME and G-Unit, and Buck Fiddy-riding about a whip he is allowed to drive by his boss. Gay, but whatever, shorty whatcha drank!?
06/Obie Trice " "...
i heard this on the promo version of Obie's 2nd lp...
I never wanted to peep the 2nd LP, for I didn't like the first. I think Obie stepped his game up a tad, he started emulating Jay and others. This track is just straight thick.
That beat, I don't know who did it, but its a heavy head nodder with some dope horn work in it. Obie tries to go into some politicals, and it works, but its that beat. Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm?
07/Masta Killa ft. Ghostface Killah Raekwon " "..
. this is one of those tracks that, when I am working, I can throw on repeat and get a shitload of things done. That repetitive loop might bore some, but this is the essence of the Wu.
Beauty in monotony, and some poisonous darts from 3 of the Clan's finest. Who knows what the track is about, don't you wish more Wu-Tang joints sounded this dirty?
08/Beanie Sigel " ".
.. Beans was my favorite enigma of 2006.
He put this out, a dope mixtape with Drama and 'em, and pretty much just gave . Hopefully more of his mixtapes will surface, so we can find out what is really going on with him. He's without the best MC out there right now putting his life on the mic.
Not too many sound sincere - B Sig IS sincere. And raw. And real.
And in your face. And all over the map. Keep pushin', nigga.
09/Snoop Dogg ft. Dr. Dre D'Angelo " ".
.. best track on Snoop's new one?
Yes. Don't you just love knowing that Snoop and Dre grew up, and can get introspective about live. And D'Angelo showing up on this AND a J Dilla album!
? Gotta love it. Dre didn't get much props for his beats, but he did his thing this year.
I won't say grab Snoop's LP, but def. check this one out.
10/Big Kuntry T.
I. " "..
. this is called THE FUTURE. Dubstep and Rap united.
We like to call it THUGSTEP. My boy is going ghost for a bit in a bit, so I'll be providing you guys with more of his heatrocks in due time, for due time. You'll be aware when its time to make you fucks aware.
Until then, do a search on this blog for DJ NAPPY, and go dload what you can. You can't tell me that trap niggas and dubsteppers are some long lost twins. Nappy just had to play Maury.
..
You know how we do, though.
It's not just about free shit I am providing you...
arQer and Realtime, two of Texas' finest DnB producers, dropped a of 320kbps tunes...
for FREE! Eight licks of funky shit, from the bouncy funk of arQer's "Atlantis Touch" to Realtime's neuro-dub exploration on "Homegrown", you are not ready. Realtime also brings in some old school vibes with "Rough Age", and on "Grasshopper Lies Heavy", arQer goes classic as well, but with a modern twist to it.
Back to the future status. Why these tracks aren't signed already is anyone's guess, but that's not the point. We got them now, for cheap, too.
So grab while they are able to get got, and keep an eye peeled for them.
kapsil recently dropped his , and while you might not recognize all of the names, you will be stunned by the tracks and the mixing. Pure funk, baby.
In terms of a final thought, I don't really have one. Keep music good, and make quality albums, or niggas will continue to steal your shit. I hate bootlegging, but why would I spend $10 on a Jay-Z album where I can honestly only say I like the first 3 cuts?
No sir, not this nigga. I have been trying to champion some Nas Primo shit, and this video is the reason why:
It was not even a month ago that towards "Funky Drummer", the track I have playin' again, right now. I had no idea that the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, would be come Christmas Day.
I mean, he was 73, but if you ever saw him perform, he always looked like he was 18. And for many of the people making money in music these days, you owe a great deal of respect and due to the one like JB. I mean, Funk was not a state of mind until James fleshed out the sound he heard in his head, using artists he knew he could push.
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone published on James, following him around in the modern day, showing his demented studio work to his work on the stage. For anyone who has had even a fleeting interest in the man, I highly recommend you check it out and see all sides of this genius.
For many beatfreaks out there who, like myself, take pride in knowing where that producer nicked that break to create a new sonic bed, you know that James has been a constant in the Hip-Hop scene, from his grunts and wails to his drummers' drumming.
I wish I could provide like Edan did, showcasing the guys who paid homage by looping and reworking James' grooves, but I just think, by week's end, I'll provide some of my favorites to you guys, with words about each lick. Not today, I want to let the God rest. Soon though.
..
One more question, which I just posed to Rafi of : How do we lose both James Brown and James Yancey, and yet Puff Daddy is into this world?
God, you are one cruel sommabitch.
EDIT: while hitting up the DOA board, I saw that BlueWater has of classic James 45s up for dload. Check the original thread for the tracklisting (peep the 45 pics), and show some love.
First off, shouts to for originally posting up . As you can see, the person who posted this obviously awesome clip of the RZA on has no Christmas (Kwanzaa? what exactly does the celebrate?
) spirit, as they chose to not allow this clip to be embedded! Well, a quick call on the dub phone to Rafi Kam, the one behind , , and by 12:36AM, he had the linked and ready for mass consumption. Massive respect to Rafi each and every.
In an even greater show of Christmas/Kwanzaa/5% Spirit, Oh Word, along with that agent b, have hooked up for you guys to print out and give to your beloved ODB fans. If you aren't up on Wu-Peanuts, you are missing out on something powerful. .
So, bong bong, get'cha Christmas/Kwanzaa/5% Holiday on!
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