Bent nickels down your way, don't trip

Back when I was in high school, I took the bus every morning and the bus driver would always have the radio tuned to Power 99. Sometime in my junior year, I heard Freeway's "What We Do" and was really grabbed by him. I knew him from that one verse on "1-900-Hustler" but this was his first single and considering he has guest spots from Jay and Beanie Sigel, he ripped it. Lines like, "when the sneaks start leanin' and the heat stop workin', then my heat start workin'" or "if my kids hungry, snatch the dishes out your kitchen" made what he was going through sound much more urgent than the usual sell crack/grind/paper chase talk. It sounded like that album was Free's only shot at a way to make a decent living, and if it didn't work out, he would go to any length to provide for his family. I think his dynamic tempo and barrage of words and details can be too much for some people, but luckily for me Free was in town to do a show. Since he's not homegrown or huge, the turnout wasn't great and that was disappointing. I know if this show had been scheduled at, say, the Trocadero in Philly it would have been pretty nuts. But Boston isn't the most rap-friendly city; I've never seen people more enthralled by UFC fighting than by an act on stage. Regardless of the patrons there, I was kind of surprised at how business-like the show was. When I hear Free's songs, I imagine concerts that are really emotional for him and he does all (and only) the gripping stuff. For example, I could have done without "Take You To the Top" and for most of his set, he only did his opening verse, then a quick snippet a cappella. I would have loved to hear "Baby Don't Do It" or all of "Free." So in honor of Freeway's perpetual grind in his songs, and my lack of hot water, here's what I'm rocking to this week:

Freeway feat. Faith Evans- Don't Cross the Line

The thing that has always stood out to me about Philadelphia Freeway is how Free is completely unapologetic about showing his love for Biggie and Snoop. The album is littered with Big quotes ("red boxers so my dick can breathe") or comparisons to DPG as well as doing songs with Snoop or Nate Dogg, whether or not they fit the album's tone. This song is no exception, but it finds Free at his best rapping like he needs to get something off his chest over a nice Just Blaze beats. As a quick sidenote, why would JB not work with free to devote his time to Saigon? Freeway's a great rapper with a unique style, while I can't recall a line by Saigon. Not to mention Free has actually been able to get his music out to his fans and develop a following, while Saigon complains on myspace. But what do I know?

Bohagon- Sing the Blues

If you never check out BLVD ST, you need to do so right now. Apparently, Bo's appeared on a gang of Lil Jon and Trillville songs, but I neglected to check those out, and I am quite fine with that. The only songs I know that feature Bohagon are "If It's Bumpin'" from Bubba Sparxxx's first album and an unreleased Jim Crow song. Noz, ever the champion of mistreated rap acts, caught up with Bohagon for the Fader a couple months ago, and hopefully we'll get to here more joints like this. This was produced by OutKast affiliate Mr. DJ, and BLVD ST has a great running series of unreleased songs produced by him. It's not some crazy, outer-space beat that might work for 'Kast, it feels like something in the vein of "Big Dreams".

UGK- Belts to Match

If you've ever heard "Tough Guy," you know that a UGK/Organized Noize collaboration makes for a great song. You also know that it means the song end up on the soundtrack of a terrible movie, in this case The Wood. While some wonder why Jive can't get their act together, I wonder why Bun and Pimp never added these songs to Dirty Money since they were both recorded before the album came out. In some ways, I see how Organized Noize and OutKast sound out of place compared to the beats of UGK, but it's a risk that should have been taken. Bonus track status at the very least would have been OK with me. This beat sort of reminds me of an upbeat version of "Spaghetti Junction" while Bun, Pimp and Smitty sound like they're doing a sequel of sorts to "Pinky Ring."

Cam'Ron- Killa Cam

Come on, he's the realest since "Kum Ba Ya."

Fun at the thrift store

Since I am finally getting adjusted to my new home in Boston, I figured this weekend I'd try and find a used record store that I could frequent whenever I felt the need. Last summer, when I was in Seattle, this worked out pretty well. I lived right around the corner from one and got Deliverance, Still Standing, Ain't A Damn Thing Changed and at least one non-rap album, I just forget off the top of my head right now. I've heard so much about how Boston is a great music town, so it seemed obvious to me that there would be plenty of used record stores all over the place, especially since I live pretty close to BC.

Not so. On my first outing to find records, I came up with basically nothing. Imagine that, there are no used record stores in the hipster section (however small) of this city. All I was able to find were two cassette singles: 3rd Bass' "Pop Goes the Weasel" and Kriss Kross' "Jump." They really helped with my Halloween costume at the very least, but I rarely want to hear much from either of those groups. Anyway, I was at a party on Friday night with a friend of mine, and instead of mingling (like any good young, single person) with the other guests, I read the recent city guide put out by the Weekly Dig and saw an entry about the thrift store Diskovery. What a great find that was. I got some great stuff for only $4. Here's the stuff I could upload really easily:



Jim Crow- Holla At a Playa (Single)

What. A. Find. And it was free. There's really nothing more to say that I haven't mentioned before. I will say I'm disappointed that the Trackmasters remix only comes edited. Luckily, the Polow remix has the same verses but keeps most of the elements of the original beat. The switch when Too $hort comes in is pretty slick, too. It's no "Throw Some D's," but it's a cool early look at Polow's skills.

Holla At a Playa (Polow Remix feat. Too $hort)



Rahzel- Make the Music 2000

I cannot tell you how many afternoons I wasted as a kid with my brother playing NBA Live 2000 and hearing "All I Know" and Naughty By Nature's two biggest songs (if you have the game, you know). I also remember seeing him on MTV's "Direct Effect" with Sway and thinking he was the coolest guy around. Probably because he was a former member of the Roots. And he could do a beat like "If Your Girl Only Knew" while doing the vocals at the same time. Gimmicky? Yes. But a great gimmick nonetheless. In hindsight, was he even a part of the Roots after their first album? All the skits on the later albums I have say "vs. Scratch," even though Rahzel has tons more personality and talent. Why he left is something I'd be curious to know, as well as how he got beats from Pete Rock, Scott Storch and Marley Marl. I'll give it a better listen and then offer my thoughts soon. The nostalgia value alone of remembering my great seasons playing as the '98-'99 Kings made this find way worth it. Free .99 as well.

All I Know

Like my name was Stone Cold Austin

Wow, does anyone remember this? Apparently, Informal Introduction is getting the anniversary addition treatment. Record labels were just giving anyone a deal six years ago, damn.

From '88 to right now, I was never broke.

Let me start by saying this is not a post like last week. I didn't scour the internet looking for an album that, while it had a sizable impact at the time of its release, faded into obscurity quickly afterwards. No, Mr. Man and Boo Bonic do not deserve that sort of dedication. Let's be real: these guys sucked. Lame voices, lyrics and just an overall unoriginal aesthetic makes it hard for me to tolerate these guys much. The main reason I'm paying them any attention is because they're from the Delaware Valley, and Power 99 will support any artist that comes out of there, even Ness from Da Band with his (terrible) single "My Hood." I remember being on the bus in high school and hearing "Cross the Border" at least once on the way to Princeton. The beat wasn't great, and the lyrics certainly didn't bring much to the table, but over and over again it'd get burn. I like the song mostly because of nostalgia, so imagine my surprise when a) I learned there was a remix and b) it was really, really good.

Both songs are produced by the Neptunes, and the "Cross the Border" remix has a completely different feel than the original. Gone are the cheesy fake Mexican guitars and offbeat horns on the chorus. Instead, we have a keyboard sound similar to "Superthug" paired with some great, vintage 'Tunes drum programming. This is easily one of their best beats.

One would think all this effort would get wasted by two lame and thankfully forgotten MCs (how they got so much support from the Neptunes near their peak, I will never understand), but there are all new verses and guest spots that steal the show. The first is Pusha T on the second verse. It's obvious he'd come a long way since "The Funeral," slowing down is flow while keeping the writing crisp. It serves as a good preview of what was to come on Lord Willin'. The second one is Fabolous. Someone should have told him early on to stick with this if he wanted any sort of status in the rap world, as songs like "Baby" and "Tit 4 Tat" just aren't doing it. It's not as good as "Breathe," but it's only one verse. Besides, any halfway competent rapper sounds golden next to these two clowns.

Here is the "Cross the Border" remix.

Here is a 2002 Clipse freestyle from Rap City over the same beat, and I think the origin of "Eghck"

Wrecking ball nuts.

If I told you there was an album released in 2000 that featured production from the Neptunes on four songs and Earthtone III (which is just OutKast and Mr. DJ) on another three songs, you probably would not believe me if I said it had been pretty unfairly overlooked over the course of time. Especially considering it went 3x platinum and spawned one of the biggest hits of the year, and one of the other singles featured OutKast. Yet, such is the case for Mystikal's Let's Get Ready, even though everyone knows the song "Shake Ya Ass."

During the time of this album's release, my understanding of Mystikal's previous musical output was mostly limited to songs like "It Ain't My Fault," which besides Silkk the Shocker, was pretty awesome. Imagine my surprise when, before starting high school, I heard and saw the video for "Shake Ya Ass." It was a totally different sound compared to what I had heard from him previously, and the video didn't hurt either. Ultimately, I figured that the album would find Mystikal back to his old No Limit ways with features from amazingly awful rappers. I was very wrong.

Obviously, anytime you get production from late 90's - early 2000s Neptunes for almost a third of an album, your bound to be interested by the beats at least. Thankfully, it is more than the beats that are engaging. Kind of like Backbone, Mystikal has a very dynamic tone of rapping, it's just that, unlike Mr. Fat Face, The Braids knows when to accentuate his phrasing at the right point. This works really well with the Neptunes' off the wall production, so that even when Mystikal spends an entire verse naming family members on "Family," it's hard to stop listening. I wanted to know who came next.

What really surprised me about this album was how weird and insular it is. Though "Shake Ya Ass" and "Danger" work alone and in the context of the album, they don't really represent the tone that Mystikal seemed to be going for. It's not so much that it is a personal album as it is a definitive portrait of Michael Tyler as an artist. While someone like Brandon Soderberg is talking about post-lyricism and its roots in the verses on Andre 3000, Mystikal is forgotten in all this talk. He will change is tone of voice at will, rap about seemingly weird and random topics with a bunch of tossed off punchlines, and then come back with some emotional punch, like "Murderer III" where he finds and deals with his sister's killer.

Though the songs with the Neptunes are all really good, Mystikal really shines on production from collaborator KLC and Earthtone III. Just listen to "Neck Uv Da Woods," which would have sounded right at home on Stankonia or "Mystikal Fever," which sounds like a precursor to the great "Pussy Crook." It's a shame he got locked up, because after hearing this album, he sounded like he had enough energy and support from the right camps to make even more great music.

Click here for The Braids
Click here for Mystikal Fever

Raps.

There are a few songs I've mentioned that are pretty great, though I realize not everyone has the time for "___ zshare" searches on Google like I do. So let's try this out. Do enjoy.

Backbone feat. Cee-Lo & Joi- Lord Have Mercy

Jim Crow- Big Dreams

O.C. feat Organized Konfusion- You Won't Go Far

Big Gipp- History Mystery

Diamond D, Sadat X & Lord Finesse- You Can't Front

Do Your Time (RMX)

Dirty South mind blowin Dirty South bread
Catfish fried up, Dirty South fed
Sleep in a cot'-pickin Dirty South bed
Dirty South guls gimme Dirty South head
Hand me down flip-flops, hand me down socks
Hand me down drug dealers hand me down rocks
Hand me down a 50 pack Swisher Sweets box
And goodfella rich niggaz hand me down stocks

Indeed, Mr. Bridges.