Free Hip Hop Albums

It isn't radical to post an album for free online anymore. It's risky, but more and more, it is becoming the best way to get your name out there. In an environment where the music industry seems to care more about profit and selling ringtones to tweens than enabling artists to create art, it seems more and more artists are forging a name for themselves and posting albums online.

The problem is, most of it really sucks. These two albums don't. You should check them out.

Debaser - Back to Work

Debaser is Sapient and Ethic from the mighty Sandpeople crew from Portland. Sapient just might be the hardest working emcee/producer in Hip Hop. This is the second of three albums he's giving away in as many months. That's on top of a solo album, a Sandpeople EP, and an upcoming collaboration with Luckyiam from the Living Legends.

The album features guest appearances by the aforementioned Luckyiam, Illmaculate (Sandpeople), Rasco (from Cali Agents), and Phat Kat, but the real stars of the album are Debaser themselves. Fantastic wordplay and banging production. It's easy to see how hungry these two are. Listening to the album makes you hope they break through, there aren't many who deserve it more.

Download it here.

The Slew - 100%

Here's the story, Kid Koala and Dynomite D were set to produce the soundtrack to a movie. The movie never happened. Never will. The two enlisted the help of the rhythm section of Wolfmother to perform the album on a one off tour. 100% is a psych-rock infused journey to an alternate reality. DJs are guitar wielding rock stars, disembodied voices of blues singers drop knowledge, and nothing is quite what it seems.

Strangely enough, it's one of Kid Koala's most accessible albums to date. They gave away the album so people would have more fun at the live shows, which have now ended. But don't think this is a live-only experience. 100% is one of the most original recordings I've heard in a long, long time.

Download it here.

I made a comic strip.

My library will hopefully have access to a mobile laptop lab in the coming year. I was looking at some possible uses for it, and came across the Bitstrip website. I can't really "do art" very well, so this site is my only hope of having my own comic strip. It's so easy kids could dive right in and have a blast. And there's the bonus of the site being relying heavily on social networking and remixing. If there's one thing newspapers and morning shows have taught me, it's that the kids these days love social networking. So, there's my first idea for uses of the lab, a "Make your own comic" workshop for kids.

I figured I should practice using the site if I'm going to be helping kids with it, so I created my first comic! I think it's pretty neat. You might disagree.



It looks like it will be just a tease on this blog, so click the picture to see the exciting conclusion!

Back in Black (Part 2)

Alright, just like Amy Winehouse I'm back to black.

The next artist I listened to was Black Milk. Kanye West thinks he's the voice of the our generation, but he should watch his back for the next producer of our generation. Black Milk's beats knock. No one would call Black Milk the greatest lyricist out there, but I don't think anyone would bestow that title on Kanye either. The two albums I listened to were his masterpiece "Tronic" and the mixtape he released leading up to "Tronic," which features Marv One - one of the great freestyle rappers out there. Observe.



Switching gears completely, Black Sabbath was next. Can anyone explain to me how this band came up with "Paranoid," one of my favorite albums I've heard thus far in my iTunes listening, and also can produce such crap. By crap I'm talking about albums like "Tyr" and "Technical Ecstasy." In their heyday, they were underrated and amazing. Later, they became overrated and tired. Too bad.

I have one Black Velvet Elvis track on my computer. Something that pains me a little bit. I would count all three members of the band among my friends, but I don't have a copy of their album. All I have is a copy of My Daddy live on KBGA, which is awesome. I didn't see a copy for sale at Ear Candy last time I was there. So if anybody has one, let me know. I'd be happy to pay for the album and the shipping if need be.

Then, up popped Blackalicious. I love their old stuff. "Nia," "Blazing Arrow," and "A2G" all rank in the top of my high school hip hop albums. I have a personal problem with the group, though. I've gone out to see them twice, and they've canceled both shows. I think they don't like the winter in Montana, but too bad. Because of that, I've lost respect for them. One thing I do respect is that they sampled Nilsson, of "Put the Lime in the Coconut" fame in one of their songs. That same album gave the Oblio Joes, my favorite Missoula band ever, their name. So props to them for picking a good song to sample.

Hi Mom, So Far I'm Getting All A's

I still haven't gotten out of the A's. Anyone with me till the end? It'll be a long haul. But fun.

So this picture is me playing music at one of my good friend's weddings. All you need to know about that is that I was coerced into playing "The Chicken Dance," "Greased Lightning," and countless other songs that made me want to die. Plus, I spent the last hour just getting onto the Children Theater's WiFi and playing the audio from YouTube. But, I did have a lot of fun. People danced more than they ever did at the Palace, so I should feel like a real DJ.

I've been slacking on my music listening, I blame politics. I spent the last two weeks watching the Republican and Democratic conventions. Some of you may know that I'm an election judge; others may not. So I feel like I should pretend that I'm politically unbiased. That wouldn't be true though, so if you want to know what I think about this election so far take a look at this...




That said, I would rather vote for any third party. Since Montana has little to no sway in the electoral college, I would rather vote for a viable 3rd party to get them equal federal campaign funding. Obviously a two party system doesn't work, so let's make a real change. No offense to Obama, but he doesn't represent the change I'm gunning for. Whoops! Let's not talk politics on this blog. Anymore.

...you know I'll be talking politics sooner than later. The book that got me into politics, read it.

In music news, I'm just starting Atmosphere's "Strictly Leakage" (download here, scroll down a bit and download from one of their two options) after listening to a lot of their old stuff. Strictly Leakage is hella dope. Yes, I said hella. The new album ("When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold") doesn't compare to this fun, funky, old-schoolish, party album. Cop it for free and see why Slug is one of the dopest rhymers in the game today, not to mention Ant's banging beats.

Speaking of people hating on Slug...wait, that was mainly me a couple of years ago, and totally out of line. I was convinced that Slug had fallen off in the years right after "Seven's Travels," but still wouldn't miss his show at the Other Side. I showed up after imbibing a few too many and proceeded to drink way too many black russians, especially considering the state I showed up in. To make a long story short, Slug killed it and I ended up finding him at the bar since Missoula is a tiny town with tiny towns that don't have green rooms or backstage areas. I told him that I showed up ready to heckle and that I thought he'd fallen off, but he totally proved me wrong. I'm sure that was slurred and didn't come out eloquent at all, but he looked at me from under his hooded sweatshirt and simply said, "Yeah, whatever." Even then I knew it was a great response. If I was in his place I would have wanted to punch me in the face. Great restraint Slug.

After listening to "Strictly Leakage" while writing this, I would again stress that you should download this album. It's a straight up classic. Plus it's free, so what's your prob, son? Or should I say, "dun?" They'll be at the Wilma on September 16th, so cop a ticket.

B's are coming soon I swear.

Lookin' For The Perfect Beat

After a little break, I'm back to my iTunes collection. I started with the one Afgan Whigs album I've uploaded to the computer, 1965. I've always liked the Afgan Whigs, but they haven't ever stood out as a big influence on me. That's one thing that I like about going through my collection this way, it forces me to revisit stuff I wouldn't normally. Like Afrika Bambaataa.

I'm listening to the only full album of his I have, which is the Looking for the Perfect Beat retrospective of his big hits between 1980 and 1985. I recently thumbed through a great book by Jeff Chang called Can't Stop Won't Stop detailing the orgins of Hip Hop, and attempts to define the "hip hop generation," of which Afrika Bambaataa plays a large part. He would unite all of the different burroughs of New York, and literally march between them when others stuck to their own neighborhoods, to gather kids together for block parties. To say he is a legendary and influential artist in the world of hip hop wouldn't come close to describing Bam, so I'll stick to this: I love the hip hop sound of the 80s that Bam helped shape. The old school 808 beats, the non-sensical words shouted out at during choruses in place of hooks, the fun that is epitimized in tracks like Unity Pt. 1 ("Peace, Unity, Love, and Havin' Fun" is the opening chant)...simply awesome.

The A-Z Challenge: In the Beginning...

I've decided to undertake an almost impossible feat: listening to my entire iTunes library from A-Z. iTunes estimates my collection as lasting for roughly 45 days if I listened 24 hours a day, which I won't. I expect this project to last the next 2-5 years. Maybe. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt I'll finish it before the end of this year.

First up is the hip hop group The A-Team. Mr. T doesn't make an appearance, but the first track, and possibly standout track on the album is called "A.B. Baracus." The A-Team is comprised of Aceyalone and Abstract Rude, both of whom I've seen here in Missoula. Both are prominent members of the hip hop community, with Aceyalone founding both Freestyle Fellowship and Project Blowed, and Abstract Rude signed to Rhymesayers. I remember really liking these guys in my Freshman and Sophomore years of college, but I'm not as big of a fan these days. Good for a few tracks, but it gets to be a little much for a whole album.

Thus the curse of this project finally rears its ugly head right from the get go. The worst part may be that I know I won't be able to finish even one complete album before I have to go to work. Oh well, I'm still committed, wish me luck!

Who Makes Me Want To Survive This Week?

Aesop Rcok. Damn. Aesop Rock kills it. I don't think I know anyone in Hip Hop who keeps coming incredibly sick. Every time I hear Aesop Rock on a track, I feel like he destroys whoever he's rapping with. See: Aesop with Del on the Wu Tang Meets the Indie Culture. And his solo albums? Legendary to say the least. People who don't understand just don't get it. Don't worry, someday you'll figure it out. But, for now, take my word for it. Aesop Rock will make you want to keep living, and give you a reason to fight. But fuck listening to me, listen to the man himself. And thank him for giving you a reason to live another day.

I Hate You, Go Find MP3s For Yourself, Stream His Tracks Here