I'm Back!!!

HEY Y'all well I'm back with news! My debut EP "Skinny" just dropped yesterday. Cocktail Prophets is the bandname and you can download it free here: http://cocktailprophets.bandcamp.com

Also, THE BLOG is back!! I'll be postin more and more in the upcoming weeks so check back soon. Might throw up a post tomorrow about the current state of pop music after watching the grammies tonight...let's not talk about it...yet

NEW SUFJAN!

THANK YOU! Finally there's some no-nonsense new Sufjan!  You better finish up the 50 states project, Sufjan ...or else.  A word from his bandcamp:

All Delighted People is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad "All Delighted People," a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s "Sounds of Silence." Sounds delightful, yes! The song was originally workshopped on Sufjan’s previous tour in the fall of 2009. Other songs on the EP include the 17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers "Djohariah," and the gothic piano ballad "The Owl and the Tanager," a live-show mainstay (and Debbie Downer if you ask us; what’s it doing on a "Delighted" EP?). 

Raise Your Hands!

Cee-lo Green Tears Up the Internet with F*ck You Single

Cee-Lo you lord.  This is for everyone out there who enjoys good music.

Mp3:

Download

Top 10 Rappers: #4

#4: De La Soul

They're the real deal and some of the most underrated rappers of all time.  Started in 1987, De La Soul would eventually prove crucial in influencing some of the biggest players in the game today like Mos Def and The Black Eyed Peas, placing them among the godfathers of modern rap, while garnering heavy criticism and marginal, fluctuating success themselves.  The best thing about Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo is that they continue to update their sound and style with every new album.  They rarely retread over old material.  With their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising and lead single "Me Myself and I" you get the classic late 80s/early 90s, sing-songy, Fresh Prince style, which is so laughable now but still cool in a retro way.

There's some of the same on their sophomore De La Soul is Dead.  "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" is in the same vein as "Me Myself and I" but they also come out of the gates with "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa." It's an amazing song about a girl that gets abused by her father and plots to kill him.  Very creative and nuanced (he volunteers at Macy's as Santa, thus the title).  That was 1991 and that sh*t sounds like it could have been released tomorrow.

Then it's Buhloone Mindstate, which starts to incorporate some new jazzy sonic architecture and is one of my favorite albums.  It even features a full instrumental sax solo (no rapping) called "I Be Blowin,'" which yall should grab and drive to (preferably in the early morning or late night) immediately.  Or listen to "I Am I Be," because it's just poetry:

But it's a must to decipher one's queen 

from a worm who plays groupie and spreads around the bad germ

I cherish the twilight 

I maximize, 

My soul is the right size 

I watch for the power to run out on the moon 

(And that'll be sometime soon)

This song is one of De La's most introspective and my favorite on the album.  You should also check out the lead single "Breakadawn" with the MJ and Smokey samples to make you jizz your pants.

With their 4th LP, Steaks is High, the modern sound briefly encountered in "Millie" is expanded and becomes De La's definitive sound.  Good god, all you need is the title track (produced by J DIlla!!!).  I'm gonna say it again: sounds like it was released tomorrow.  "ITSOWEEZEE (HOT)" is a mixture of People Under the Stairs (on the verse) and Kid Cudi (on the chorus).  And, again, this is '96!  Listen to that sh*t! It's crazy. Did Cudi just hear this song and try to build a career off it???  Pay some homage, man!

And then we got the two AOI albums and The Grind Date.  I don't even need to tout these albums; if you're a real hip-hop fan you already know how good they are.  But check out "Oooh" and "Thru Ya City" (another Dilla jam) off Mosaic Thump, "Held Down" off Bionix, and "Rock Co. Cane Flow" off Grind State.

De La Soul are amazing lyricists and producers.  But what makes them so good is their fearlessness in trying new ideas and new sounds.  It pays off in a big way.  


Rock Co. Kane Flow
 Rock Co. Kane Flow-De La Soul by TheBoyandColors 

Top 10 Rappers: #5

#5: The Knux

Now these dudes are some crazy nerds from New Orleans.  They actually got displaced during Katrina and wound up in Los Angeles, making a big splash with their live instrument garage-rock and hip-hop skills (they were both in the school band in high school, playing brass).  What's cool is they do both; one track will feature the craziest flow you've ever heard and then the next one will be them trying to sound like The Strokes, which is kind of tight in a cutesy amateur way.  I tend to ignore those songs for the most part though.  It's kinda like when B.o.B does his whole acoustic guitar Keane bullsh**, it's like, "I don't care that you know how to use a capo!  Just stick to rap!"  They also have a kinda Outkast, sing-song rapping style, which is refreshing to hear these days, gotta love melody.  But seriously these guys know what they're doing in the rap/hip-hop department.  And they're live shows are phenomenal.  Here's a little snippet of an interview with them where they try to explain their ability to inject raw energy into their crowds:  

Krispy: Anytime we get invited to anything we goin' do it to

Krispy and Joey: 100%

Joey: No too cool for school sh*t, man.

Krispy: I don't give a f**k if we first, last, none of that extra, like, prima donna stuff.  Numbers that rock hard to ya nose, punk, old-school hip-hop, raw punch ya in the face aggression.

That pretty much sums it up.  Remember what I said before about Kanye and Dre not having the greatest lyrical prowess, but instead creating fantastic soundscapes with mass appeal?  The Knux do that... and rock the mic at the same time, making them a force to be reckoned with.  The best examples of this are their songs: "Bang! Bang!" "Cappuccino," and "The True."  They're all sonically pleasing while at the same time lyrically complex.  They're pretty funny, too.  One "Bang! Bang!" lyric goes: "Your job, yes, ya ho-jocker/ Put that pop on ya like Redenbacher!"  Seriously though, mastery: "Runnin from the rollers/ Heat is for haters up in the holsters/ Mash on these miniature mafia toy soldiers/ My purpose is to apply the pressure to pu**y ni**ers and puppets that perpetrate what I demonstrate he opposes/ I told ya/ Ripping them records like I'm supposed ta..." It goes on.  He has like seven more rhymes for the same word.  That was off "The True."  Keep an eye on these guys.  They're gonna be huge in a few years.  Pick up "Remind Me in Three Days..." if you haven't already.  

P.S.

Y'all should check out/download (for FREE) their new EP here:

F**K You EP

Top 10 Rappers: #6

#6: People Under the Stairs

As a native Angelino, I might be a little biased, but PUTS is where it's at.  Like Kanye and Dre, Thes One and Double K are rapper/producers.  They're decent lyricists, but not amazing.  Instead, their appeal lies in their deference to the hip-hop styles and artists that came before them, as well as their unique production.  PUTS is one of the few groups these days spouting true hip-hop.  You won't find any Daft Punk samples here.  Thes and Double throw down chilled out, jazz-influenced grooves and beats similar to De La Soul circa Buhloone Mindstate while rapping in classic Nice & Smooth throwback essence, yet still maintain their own modern sound.  The "O.S.T." is their masterpiece and features Sugar Hill Gang-esque "Hang Loose," Tribe Called Quest tribute "The Outrage," the chillest song on earth "Montego Slay," Los Angeles love "L.A. Song," and, of course, "Acid Raindrops."  They cover so many different sounds and genres, adding their own flavor and using L.A. as the glue that holds it altogether.  The "O.S.T." is a must-have for Los Angeles residents.  

Montego Slay

 Montego Slay-People Under the Stairs by TheBoyandColors 

Top 10 Rappers: #7

#7: Busdriver

Cick Here: Nuff said