Some Love Shit

Joe Budden was at one point in time my favorite rapper. Mood Musik 4 is one of the greatest pieces of rap work that has released in the last 10 years. The lyrics are at times somber, but Joe manages to explain emotions that otherwise aren't understandable except to ourselves.

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For A Nostalgic Night

I remember myself as a young man in high school. Respected in several circles, I still felt misunderstood by most around me. I yearned for freedom, and though I couldn't find it in those around me, I found it in music.

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Riiiight!!

The first time I'd heard of Smoke DZA, it was right after he dropped Substance Abuse. If you take a look on Live Mixtapes, that would date Substance Abuse to some time around 5 years ago. If that's not a throwback, I don't know what is.

After Smoke Dizza dropped Substance Abuse, he came through with

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Believe Me

The first time I heard Sha Stimuli, I wasn't sure if I was grasping the song I heard fully. There seemed to be a mix of satire and truth wrapped around lyricism with a hint of pain. I'm not sure if that description is totally fitting, but I think it combines elements of Sha's style.

He is one of the better lyrical artists I've heard, and even though songs in his catalog are dangerously similar, he provides messages through each track. I like him so much I actually bought his work, and that's saying something.

Today's Throwback Thursday track will be that very first song I heard from him, Believe Me. The video attached to the song is indeed silly, but may help you follow along with the lyrics.

Below Believe Me, check out Sha in the Backroom on BET.




Sha Stimuli's Backroom Freestyle

Believe In H.O.P.E.

Back when Jhene Aiko was tweeting him on the regular, I found  Hope Wright, (rap name H.O.P.E.) on 2dopeboyz. I enjoyed him almost immediately with his unorthodox word play, and since he was apart of the New West, I had to play. Today's Throwback Thursday song is just like the picture with Jhene, a throwback gem.

Bliss was created long before its 2011 project, Believe in H.O.P.E. Wright debuted, yet is still an impressive song. I adopted the mantra, "Chasing my happy," from the track. Enjoy it below, and if you want to see the video with H.O.P.E.'s then adorable young-one in it, go to the Read More section.

The song looks like it doesn't work, but if you press play, it will.

Sade

Courtesy of mis padres, I stumbled upon a vinyl entitled Promise. It's artist is Sade. We know her from songs like Sweetest Taboo, Ordinary Love, and the famous Smooth Operator. She was a huge artist in the mid 80's to the early 90's, recording and touring with her band of the same name.

The music is heavily rooted in jazz and takes on some of the early characteristics of what we consider today to be classic R&B. Today's Throwback Thursday song is a little known gem by 20-something and younger, yet is a miraculous opener to a wonderful album.

The video is very 80's-esq, but weaves a story around a wonderful song. Enjoy.

Inspired By Recent Events

Who remembers DJ Ill Will and DJ Rockstar? What happened to them anyway?

When Wiz Khalifa cared about rhyming (I'd say Kush & OJ and before) he dropped this random gem of a mixtape, Burn After Rolling. The name was probably inspired by the hilarious political dramedy, Burn After Reading. Check out the covers and say that there was no influence.

Today's Throwback Thursday track is inspired by Wiz's recent marital trouble and supposed split from wife Amber Rose. You can view that here.

In the meanwhile, listen to When U Find by the divorcee. It almost seems that with the allegations Mrs. Khalifa has thrown against him, he tailor made this song for her in 2009.

I Really Wanna Be

Rap, if no one has noticed, has it's central hubs. Favorite J. Cole, although from Fayetteville, North Carolina, got signed to Roc Nation while he lived in New York City. NYC is known to be a central hub for music as well as the birthplace of hip hop.

Kendrick Lamar, although from Compton, California blew up from L.A. Our hometown hero Big K.R.I.T. hails from Meridian, MS which I dare anyone to locate on a map, moved to Atlanta to get his career to take off.  Chicago has hosted and helped launch several careers also. Houston has always taken care of its own, as has the Bay (San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, etc.), Miami, Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans,  and other cities.

As rap is universal, it is not confined to the above cities. To keep a long story short, some of the rappers I have admired most throughout life are from across the map. Rap has not always been kind in some cities however, maybe contributing to a lack of knowledge of these individuals. The rappers featured in today's Throwback Thursday are indeed from Sacramento, CA and Las Vegas, NV respectively.

Trade Voorhees and Illecism (now know as Xuice Hades) were in a collective (prior to the rise of collectives) known as Fly High. They garnered a lot of attention on the Internet through various releases. Illy has remained in the shadows of hip hop since his name change to Xuice Hades, and has relinquished his social media presence to sporadic mixtape and EP drops.

Trade is continually working, although his pace has slowed also. He seems to have focused more on his productions ability.

Regardless of this, these were two rappers that I highly favored and spoke of highly when I stretched my small legs into the pool of hip hop.

Today's tracks come from Mr. Mike Televisions solo release Trade Voorhees II and the joint EP released between Illy and Trade, Child's Play. Enjoy, and if you dare, ask Trade what happened to Illy. I'm curious to know.

I Wanna Be... is dedicated to the people who have a dream bigger than them. Continue to pursue it.






Trade Voorhees - Water ft. Illecism (Xuice Hades)

I Can't Wait

I'm nearly sure that most people aren't extremely familiar with J. NiCs , yet he has put out consistent drops each year since he began his rhyme slinging. The raspy voiced Miami spitter continues to impress with his unique flow,  and the Throwback Thursday track today comes from him.

2011's Champion Rizla started off with this track, The Return. Take a listen and check out his new release, DJ Saved My Life from his upcoming album SNAS (Southern Niggas Ain't Slow). Both songs are heat.



J NiCS - The Return (Prod. by Numonics) from UnkleLuc on Vimeo.


J NiCS - DJ Saved My Life

The Memories

There are some songs that fill you with such a rush and sense of nostalgia, you can't help but sit and remember a time in the past when the flowers smelled sweeter, the sun shined brighter, and times were much simpler.

Such is the feeling aroused when No Such Thing by John Mayer. I've loved this song since I was a 10 year old boy flying from Indianapolis to Texas and back. I was inspired to put it up by my little sister, who has started her freshman year of high school and is becoming a young lady.

The truth of the words is dedicated to all the high school students in hopes they dare large and vast and great.

 Enjoy this Throwback Thursday cut.

I Gotta- Ge-Ge-Get It

Another Throwback Thursday post, in 2010 (again) TiRon dropped his at-the-time-highly-anticipated project MSTRD. To help with the anticipation, he dropped his single-with-no-video, The Richers featuring Asher Roth and Blu. At the time, these men were some of the front runners of the ''underground'' hip hop scene, and they collabed to make a great song with fabulous production from Oddisee.

Check out the updated and Jeremih assissted lead track off of Tiron and partner Ayomari's last full length project A Sucker For Pumps below. (BJ The Chicago Kid did better than Jerimih, so check that video here.)

Tiron - The Richers:

Tiron & Ayomari ft. Jeremih - Her Theme Song

What's The Point In Trying

Courtesy of a blog that got discontinued around the time of the Golden Age of Internet Rap (2010), I stumbled into this song a few days ago. I've seen the name Coolroy a couple of times at the Dope House, but I never paid attention.

Here's the first Throwback Thursday track for you called Golden. Mellow and totally introspective, I completely related to the first 8 bars incredibly well. Coolroy is still making music, so go to the Read More section to check out some more of his recent work, including the throwback project that Golden was featured on.



Lite - Golden *Official Music Video* from Trescher Catron on Vimeo.

They Call Him Wildfire

Seeing as it's Throwback Thursday, here's one for you in a 70's light rock style.

I bought a random record at Goodwill on First Saturday and it  turned out to be a nice one. The record is called Blue Sky White Thunder by Michael Murphy and the standout track from the LP is the opener, Wildfire.