TiVo's Listology

It’s crazy how hip-hop has grown so far beyond anything one person or entity can really manage. There are entire websites, radio stations, TV shows and magazines devoted to hip-hop that I would never even consider listening to.

And even in the expansive world of non-commercial hip-hop which I seem to enjoy most, albums upon albums seem to fall through the cracks.

With nothing coming out until Outkast’s Idlewild and Dilated Peoples’ 20/20 that I’m really anticipating, I finally stopped to realize all the stuff I’ve missed.

It is that thought that inspired this edition of Listology:

Five not-that-new CDs that make up my heavy rotation right now:
(Basically I’ve been listening to mix CDs and DJ Mentos beat CDs for a while now)
1. The Coup - Pick a Bigger Weapon
2. Ghostface - Fishscale
3. Tha Alkaholiks - Firewater
4. Talib Kweli - Right About Now
5. GZA/Muggs - Grandmasters

Five CDs I bought but did not listen to as much as I should have:
1. J-Live - The Hear After
2. Kanye West - Late Registration
3. Little Brother - The Minstrel Show
4. Nas - Street’s Disciple
5. Planet Asia - The Grand Opening

Eight artists I like and need to check out further:
I recently ordered this Phil Da Agony CD Aromatic off Amazon.com, but I thought his debut was gonna be called Philharmonic, and I read recently it hasn’t been released yet. So I have no idea what it is that I bought, but in any case, Phil is one of those artists I need to hear more from. Others:
1. K-Os
2. J-Zone
3. C Rayz Walz
4. Strong Arm Steady
5. MF Doom’s alter egos (Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah)
6. RJD2
7. Peanut Butter Wolf
8. DJ Shadow

One artist I’m sure I would dig if I ever bothered to check him out:
1. Curtis Mayfield

Five artists I used to really like who I don’t even acknowledge anymore:
1. LL Cool J
2. Wyclef Jean & Praswell
3. U-God
4. Fat Joe
5. Erick Sermon

Three artists who make classic songs, but really average albums:
1. Common (Be being the notable exception)
2. The entire Boot Camp Clik, except for Black Moon
3. Dilated Peoples

Eight R&B artists I completely forgot about until I actually opened a recent BMG Music mailing:
1. MoKenStef
2. Tevin Campbell
3. Dru Hill
4. Monifah (not Monica)
5. Joe
6. Soul for Real
7. Aaron Hall
8. Groove Theory

Nine more that would make the list if I hadn’t remembered them for some odd reason:
1. Mint Condition
2. Deborah Cox
3. Shai
4. Intro
5. Silk
6. Chante Moore
7. Jesse Powell
8. Rashaan Patterson
9. Allure
P.S. What happened to Dream, Puffy’s white-girl group that was on Bad Boy?

Back to hip-hop:
Three albums I intended to buy but never did:
1. Likwit Junkies (name escapes me, but it’s Defari & Babu)
2. Masta Killa - No Said Date
3. Masta Ace - Disposable Arts

Three Songs I like that do not fit the mold of songs I like:
1. Wanna Be A Baller - Lil Troy
2. Chickenhead - Project Pat
3. Shoulder Lean - ??

Five “hot” artists I wouldn’t recognize if I was sitting next to them on a plane:
1. Chingy
2. Chamillionaire
3. Fabolous
4. T.I.
5. Ne-Yo

Three old-school tapes I haven’t listened to in probably five years that I need to bust out:
1. Special Ed - Legal
2. Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (and Death Certificate and Predator)
3. My thoughts here were Gangstarr’s Step In The Arena and Xzibit’s At The Speed Of Life, but I’m sure I’ve listened to both those

Four artists I miss more than Biggie or Pac:
1. Jam Master Jay
2. Eazy E
3. Big Pun
4. ODB

Four living artists I just miss:
1. Das-EFX
2. The original-voiced D.O.C.
3. The Artifacts
4. A Tribe Called Quest

Two questions I need answered:
1. How did Kweli get on the ESPYs with the O’Jays and Yolanda Adams? Nice work!
2. What happened to Inspectah Deck’s voice?

Enjoy.

-- 'Vo

The requisite Rakim sample: It's been a long time

(originally written and intended to be posted on July 11th)

It's been a long time, we shouldn'ta left you, without some strong posts to ... Ah, Jesus.

My bad, folk. We all out of sorts over here, with Brother B getting his wed on, myself playing Daddy Day Care and Mentos, Snizz and Ox doing they own thangs. But damn, it ain't like we're the only people blogging about hip-hop ... I'm sure the world kept on spinning without us.

Plus, that dude in the yellow speedo in the YZ post has kept me laughing for months.

Since I last posted, I wanted to touch on the Run's House reality show (shit's kinda good), the new Outkast (Kinda ehh on the Cab Calloway hook, but the Mighty O beat is so dope you just hope there's more of that on Idlewild), Gangstarr's Check the Technique (I still love this song), me purchasing turntables, which I've wanted since about age 12 (found something on eBay, surely to Turntablelab's chagrin) and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Still loving the Pete Rock beats off Ghost's Fishscale, and the "Kilo is a thousand grams" sample, which had to come off of Electric Company or something ...

Basically, we're still talking about hip-hop on a daily basis, we're just being a bunch of lazy-asses about blogging it. No promises, but I'm sure we'll get it together eventually.

In the meantime, Mentos is holding it down at the officethug blog, and TiVo (that's me, kids) is back online at Rotogods.com.

And for today's parting shot, if you haven't seen it already, my lord it's some funny shiite. Proving once again the internet is a weird, yet wonderful, place, here are the Muppets and some Sesame Street characters doing N.W.A.'s Fuck the Police.

Oh, and there's a clown on iFilm's WebJunk 20 who actually uses the word "motherbitches" (as in freeze motherbitches! from the first Bad Boys movie) in his rhymes, but I can't find the exact link, so here's the general one.

:shakes head in disgust:

Peace

-- Vo