It's hard to do something like this without repeating myself, and I also realized I don't have some of these songs, though I think that may be a good thing. These songs disturb me, but it's all love like tennis. Anyway, let's get this started:
Diddy- The Future
Two years ago, when the rap blog world found out Pharoahe Monch had written 2(!) songs for Diddy, we were all in shock. After "The Future" leaked, the response was even worse. Personally, I think this thing is great. It just proves Diddy could never command respect using the power of speech. He stumbles over his words, making a potentially great line like, "this is the man who provided more jobs for Blacks than Armed Services" into some silly goose shit. It doesn't hurt that Pharoahe didn't even attempt to write a real song for this guy. "Early, I skip breakfast/ A nigga be on his grind like he needs new brake pads?" He's had better days. But hearing Diddy sound so convinced the Monch gave him the gospel, it's hard to to enjoy. Especially when he yells towards the end, "Fuck with me now!" "Hold Up" is another Monch/Diddy gem.
Download "The Future"
Cedric Ceballos- Flow On
This may not seem like a collaboration, but the song was produced by Warren G (you can hear him in the second and third verses). This thing is too great. If you ever get a chance, check out B Ball's Best Kept Secret, Patrick introduced it to me last year and it has some gems. What the hell is the "Ba, ba, bababa?" When is LeBron going to release an album, I'm sure he has a bunch of bad king similes and metaphors in a notebook somewhere. Though he probably saw what happens when you say, "step to me with faggot tendencies, you'll be sleepin' where the maggots be."
Maxwell- Fortunate
This is the only decent song out the bunch, and for whatever reason, I was reminded of it recently. R. Kelly's lyrics are serviceable, but it's really sold by Maxwell, remember, that guy who covered that Kate Bush song? This came out for the soundtrack to Life, which also had that K-Ci and JoJo song where they sang the word "life" for about four minutes. Yea, this was much better. Also, where has the R-ah been recently? I heard him singing about his lemonade on the remix to "Customer," but since then he's been AWOL. These two should get together again, it worked the first time. Or Maxwell could do what Bilal does now, and become the budget Anthony Hamilton on rap hooks, and he was the budget Nate Dogg. Well, Maxwell did do some song with Nas on Street's Disciple (do they hang out?), so I guess that would make him like D'Angelo.
I really wish I had zshares of all these suckers, so if anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.
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Yeah, I need to do a post where I piss everyone off and declare Press Play and Purple Haze the albums of the century. I do listen to Press Play more than Blueprint or Purple Haze these days. Certainly much more than Stillmatic... what else good came out this millennium? Seriously, Press Play's such an amazing album. The r&b half basically ethers Beyonce's whole career. The rap half's golden. Even the interludes are strangely affecting.
even though i wouldn't agree witht the basic point of that post, i'd be really interested to see how you defend both albums and the subsequent fallout when people call you all sorts of names.
The Blueprint isn't much fun, in my mind. it's by the numbers street tales by someone who's been out of that life for some time and was always better at just stringing clever phrases together or defending his come-up. i'm not his biggest fan by any means, but vol. 2/3 jay is the best in my mind.
when you sing songs about having your father be your unborn child or how the 'other woman' is going to take away all the stuff that's been bought for you (never mind the significant other), yea, a lot of things ether your career.
I mean, The Blueprint is so well-produced and well-rapped that it kinda transcends the vapidity at its core. But yeah, it's looking worse and worse as the years go by.
Those Diddy/Monch joints aren't that bad. At least, you gotta appreciate how Pharoahe can incorporate aspects of Diddy's lifestyle into a very Pharoahe-ish rhyme. Everything in his house is voice-activated, "new CD's in 3D holograms", "tell a friend, warn a brother/ about my splurges, mergers with Warner Bros." Good stuff
Also, I recently discovered that b-ball comp and threw it up on my blog. Here's the megaupload of the entire album if you wanted:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FK0D5GY8
quan- thanks so much. like i said on your blog, i would love to hear demo versions of the pharoahe songs (if he did demo versions) to see how/if they differ.
another good example of ghostwriting is jay on "Still D.R.E." or those songs Nas did for Will Smith a while ago (seriously).
also, lines like 'went from blacks degraded to fortunes rap related/ so now everything i own is voice-activated' is pretty slick, even coming out of diddy's mouth.
Swagger jackin' is another intriguing aspect of ghost writing it seems. It seems that so many fucking MC's are getting minted through loose associations that hold no water once they have to prove their worth through their own work.
That said, I'm touched in a deep, horrifying way by the Diddy/P. Monche collabo. It makes me think about Pharaoh dropping that line, "Tighter than pants around hipster's ankles" (off of Black Milk's "Tronic"[I know, I know I gotta get off that dude's dick a little]) and how white people hated on that shit all over the interweb.
Stillmatic is so flawed, but so wonderful.
Stillmatic... a not very good album with some stellar songs.
>>another good example of ghostwriting is jay on "Still D.R.E." or those songs Nas did for Will Smith a while ago (seriously).
Haha, man that's hella wack. Bc after Big Willie Style died, Will Smith released that one album where he tried to keep it real and call out fake emcees. And he had a ghostwriter? pshaw!
At least Diddy never fronts.
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