Ear Drums Pop: September 2010...The Z-Ro Edition

If I'm honest with myself and the people who care to read what I post on HITS, I only really started listening to Z-Ro 2-3 years ago.  In that short amount of time he has quickly become my favorite rapper.  To me there isn't another rapper out right now who is more talented or consistent.  Ro has been rapping since the late 90's, averages about an album a year, and rarely releases sub-par material.  I can't think of many rappers who can make the same claim.  In addition to being consistent, he is one of the most versatile artists in the game.  Ro can sing passionately while spitting lyrics with varied flow, intensity, and subject matter.  That's why I'm dedicating the September edition of Ear Drums Pop exclusively to Z-Ro.

"Rain (Original Version)"- ABN (Z-Ro and Trae)

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Ro and Trae rhyming over a slowed up New Edition sample is pretty tough to beat.  While I enjoy the album version of "Rain", it can't hold a candle to this. 

"Tired (Original Version)"- Z-Ro

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The album version of "Tired" featuring Mya was great.  This version is incredible in its own right and succeeds at evoking a completely different feeling due to its uptempo production.  Z-Ro is at his best here, baring his soul for the world to see while singing some of his most heartfelt lyrics.

"Thatz Who I Am"- Z-Ro

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Chill-inducing production from Mr. Lee coupled with vicious lines like, "I put my trust in no man, only my motherfucking glock.  Cuz she ain't never let me down before, fuck a gang, I follow my bitch 'cuz she be busting rounds for Ro" make this one of the best Z-Ro songs ever created.

  
"Never Take Me Alive"- Z-Ro feat. Trae

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I'm very picky when it comes to rappers using well known instrumentals for exclusives, freestyles, and unreleased songs.  I honestly tend to prefer the original versions most of the time.  "Never Take Me Alive" showcases the dynamic duo of Ro and Trae going to town of 2 Pac's notable "So Much Pain" instrumental.  The end result rivals the Pac original.

 

"The Mo City Don"- Z-Ro 

 

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Although I know reactions to Crack were mixed amongst hardcore Z-Ro fans, I consider it one of his most

consistently produced and fluid efforts.  Mr. Lee (one of the most under appreciated producers of all-time) provides several of the albums standout tracks, including this incredibly somber and reflective effort. 

 

  
"Foundren & Main"- Guerilla Maab

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Guerilla Maab was a rap group consisting of Dougie D, Trae, and Z-Ro.  Their first album, Rise, also features original member Taz.  Unfortunately, the Maab has been on a long hiatus due to Dougie D and Z-Ro quitting the group at different times and various inner group turmoil.  "Foundren and Main" features one of Z-Ro's best sung chorus's.  

"No Help"- Trae feat. Z-Ro

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To understand the lyrics of the song is to understand Trae and Z-Ro.  Simply put, they want everyone to leave them the fuck alone.  This track does a great job of questioning the value of fair weather friends and pointless acquaintances.

"Smoker's Anthem"- Z-Ro

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This feel good weed anthem from Z-Ro's early catalog has him adding his own reggae stylee to the beginning of the song.  His first few albums have several stand out tracks that showcase his reggae talents.  It would be nice him bring back the reggae sound on one of his current projects.    

"Let The Top Down"- Z-Ro

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Much like the above mentioned version of "Tired", this is another outstanding musical moment intended for Crack that was left on the cutting room floor.  Shout outs to Cocaine Blunts for posting this and "Tired" a while back.   

Who's The Man- ABN

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Another song that showcases the undeniable chemistry between Trae and Z-Ro.  Although the It Is What It Is didn't quite meet my lofty expectations, it had several essential Ro moments on it.  This is one of them. 

     

Ear Drums Pop: July 2010...The Prince Paul Edition

Since I just ran a two-part interview with Prince Paul, I wanted to let his music be the focus of this month's edition of Ear Drum's Pop. My goal in compiling this list was to shed light on some gems from Paul that you might have missed. I ended up unearthing songs that I was completely unaware he produced until a few days ago. This includes the J-Live song "The Day I Fell Off", which I can't stop listening to. I am constantly amazed by the diversity of artists he has worked with and the quality of songs from his catalog.

I hope that you enjoy these songs as much as I do.


"My Friend the Popmaster"- Prince Paul

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Paul's maniacal creation The Black Italiano gets the royal treatment with this unforgettable track off of the excellent Itstrumental album. Paul's haunting instrumental, which is primarily composed of dusted string and piano samples, gets layered with bizarre vocal samples and hilarious dialogue from Paul "playing" himself and The Black Italiano.


"The Day I Fell Off"- J-Live

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A very reflective, heart-felt song from J-Live about losing your love for the rap game. Crisp drums and somber, minimalist production from Paul are a perfect compliment to J-Live's verses.


"Drug Dealer"- Boogie Down Productions

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I'll be honest...I had no idea this song was produced by Paul until I started composing this post. Let me take it one step further. I've owned Sex and Violence for at least a decade and I didn't know Paul produced ANY songs on it until a few days ago. Vintage KRS doing some very musically sound social commentary.


"Breakdown"- Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. Jack Johnson

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What looks like a recipe for disaster on paper turns out to be one of the highlights of the White People album. Only Paul and Dan The Automator could make something as random as Jack Johnson singing over scratched samples work.


"Everybody Needs Love (Prince Paul Mix)"- Marvin Gaye

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Paul does a fine job of breathing new life into this track while respecting Marvin's original version. I'm surprised there wasn't more hype around the re-release of Here, My Dear that this was featured on. There are some really nice remixes by people like Salaam Remi and Easy Mo Bee and the remastered O.G. version sounds great.


"Secret Wars (Prince Paul Remix)"- Last Emperor

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Last Emperor's imaginative lyrics that pit super heroes against rappers comfortably ride Paul's piano based production. The amount of creativity in this song is mind boggling. I wonder how long it took Last Emperor to write these lyrics.


"Macula's Theory"- Big Daddy Kane

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Big Daddy Kane devours this beat with an intensity and clarity rarely heard on his more recent output. After listening to this song, one wonders why Kane and Paul have only recorded a handful of songs together.


"Tattle Tales"- Horror City

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A sadly overlooked, never (properly) released gem from Amityville rapper Superstar a.k.a. Horror City. Paul recorded an entire album with dude right after The Gravediggaz dropped 6 Feet Deep. How labels were not intrigued enough to pick up this duo is beyond me. As Sam Hockley-Smith of Fader Magazine put it, "How insane is it that dudes are just sitting on albums like this?" To download the entire album for free, compliments of Paul, click here.


"Mommy, What's A Gravedigga (Prince Paul Mix)"- The Gravediggaz

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This interesting alternate take from the group's 6 Feet Deep recording sessions has a completely different feel than the final version. Although I prefer the album version, Rza's insanely amped verse helps make this well worth a listen.


"Blue Flowers (Prince Paul's So Beautiful Remix)"- Dr. Octagon

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The pairing of Paul and Keith on a remix for one of Keith's more bugged projects is a match made in heaven. While I love the original version, this one takes the cake.

Ear Drums Pop: May 2010

This series is a thinly veiled excuse for me to cram personal music preferences down my readership's collective throats. Each month I'll be posting 10 random songs from all over that I can't get enough of. I'd like to have these posts spark some sort of discussion, as I've been unsuccessful in getting people to post comments with almost every other HITS project I do. I'm aiming to focus on somewhat rare/forgotten/under-appreciated gems. If you'd like to see something from a specific artist in Ear Drums Pop, let me know.


"Deja Vu"- Nas

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One of the all-time great Nas cuts, this songs origins can be traced back to his pre-Illmatic demo album. The T.R.O.Y. Blog has done a bang-up job providing some background info on this cut, as well as posting a new, higher quality version, which you can download by clicking here.


"24-7-365" FWC feat. Lil' Keke

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Great slice of obscuro H-town rap with a nasty feature from Lil' Keke. According to Deadly Grounds, FWC was signed to Underground Records, a label under Rap-A-Lot, where they released their first and only album.


"Tour Stories"- Souls of Mischief

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One of my favorite cuts off of the Souls most recent effort, which was pretty damn good front to back. Props go to Domino for crafting this extra smooth beat.


"Smoke"- Mr. Tinimaine

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An early 2000 NO gem, I discovered this incredible weed anthem on my boy Kid Slizzard/Jib Kidder's Twankle & Glisten Blog. I don't know much about Mr. Tinimaine beyond this song, but would love for readers to help school me in Tinimaine history and current projects.


"Things I Dream"- CunninLynguists

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Although I had a hard time digesting Dirty Acres when it first came out, re-discovering cuts like "Things I Dream" have me questioning my initial impressions. In my mind, Kno is one of the great producers of the past decade, and this track is a perfect example of why.


"Hay"- Crucial Conflict

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I owe Pandora a shout for re-introducing me to this forgotten Chi-town smoke out anthem. In addition to some nice production, "Hay" contains the memorably offensive line, "That hay got me so goddamn horny, but i don't like that tramp. The only reason I'm poppin' that coochie cause the hoe had a book of food stamps."


"Po' Pimp"- Doe or Die feat Twista

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Twista dominates this beat, delivering what some consider his best verse ever. Between the smooth hook and Twista's devastating clean-up verse, this song equaled an instant hit for Do or Die when it dropped 12 years ago.


"Impossible"- Diz Gibran

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Queens producer Moonshine created a masterpiece when he utilized one of the most unlikely rap samples in recent memory for LA based MC Diz Gibran. If you're feeling this cut, make sure to download this duo's full-length in high quality MP3 format compliments of them.


"In The World"- Akinyele

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An overlooked gem from Ak's Put It In Your Mouth EP, this song owes much to its DJ Enuff production, which often gets the silver medal when put up against the Large Professor version. Personally, I like Enuff's version better.


"As The World Turns"- C-BO feat. Sherelle Fortier and Spice-1

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Vintage soulful west coast shit from an often overlooked legend. The style might take a minute to get used to, but give this a chance before writing it off.