Top 10 Hip-Hop Shows I've Been To

DJ Dummy...you prolly saw him on Common's "The Food" vid from Chappelle's Show

What is hip-hop without live shows? Nothing at all. Providing experiences that simply cannot be matched by bumping a record in your car or room, hip-hop shows are things I can't get enough of. It cripples me financially, but fuck it...only live once. Here's my top 10 hip-hop shows I've attended:

1. Common
This was the greatest show I've been to...it was, in fact, at Big Day Out (Jan 2006). It was the last session of the day, and the vibe there was just great, even before Common stepped out. DJ Dummy, Common's road DJ, was spinning some classic hip-hop tunes, and I remember he put on Shook Ones Part II and these two cats were reciting every line of Prodigy's verse. I joined in. I fucking love that verse. Every track Dummy put on was just a straight out classic, and it was setting the mood perfectly. Then Common came out, and by then the sun was pretty much set. But it had been a hot day, and the evening was still quite warm. The show was in a tent type thing you see often at these music festivals, so it was a real nice warmish yet outside-fresh feeling in there. Common took the vibe that had established itself and just multiplied it by a million. He connected with the crowd like few do. He mixed it up with some Resurrection, Like Water for Chocolate and Be joints. The DJing was perfect, every word was clear, and what's more, you could tell he was living each song individually, which means the crowd felt it even more. Then Dummy had a 5-10 minute solo scratch session which was fucking incredible. The shit he was doing was crazy. Then Common continued on with his most popular songs, and he picked some fine lady out of the crowd to dance with him for one love-ballad track. Then came everyone's favourite, "I used to love H.E.R.", where he rapped the second half accapella which was sick. I think he finished off with a "Be" joint, although I can't remember what it was cos I was already blown away by the show. But yeh, that was an incredible show...
2. Kanye West
Lol yeah this was later on, some time in Winter 2006, at Festival Hall here in Melbourne. And Common was there again for a brief cameo. But this show was a great achievment by Kanye. A great spectacle...great energy from Ye. There was a 5-piece mini orchestra feat Miri Ben Ari...I assume it was her anyway. Halfway through the show she just started playing random violin riffs that weren't related to Kanye in any way. She played "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and the crowd went off at that. But yeah as I say, Kanye had great energy and the crowd was really feelin it.
3. M.I.A.
Yes I classify this as hip-hop. And she was incredibly charismatic up there on stage. Her lame little dancing was awesome, and she was just so cool! This show was early 2007 I think at Prince of Wales, St Kilda. The lights I remember were awesome. Everything was always pink and purple and shit, which matched the music. M.I.A. bounced her way through the show and this was before Kala, so no "Paper Planes" yet. Even so, it was mad!
4. De La Soul
Word. This was at Prince of Wales again, probably in 2005 sometime. Maseo was getting the crowd going something crazy. And you just gotta love these cats, the way they do it. You talk about personality on stage. These guys had it. Pos just straight out murders his lines live, as they are kinda of conversational like...so he's like talking to the crowd when rapping. Plug 2 comes direct too. It's just dope to watch. So I'm sure every show they do, even though there's no fancy shit, is awesome. Just because of the way they do it...
5. Jay-Z
This was definetely the largest hip-hop show I been to. I believe it was sometime in 2007, and it was at Rod Laver Arena. Plenty of too-young-to-be-wearing-that girls around, which was um...bad. Lol. NeYo opened...and I actually didn't mind his set. Then Rihanna came on and I didn't really enjoy it. Her forehead was huge with the way she had her hair. But anyways, then came Jay. He rocked the house for sure, and Just Blaze was there behind him churning the tunes out. My only gripe was that there wasn't enough old shit. ZERO Reasonable Doubt jawns? Come on dude. I guess all us Australian cats don't really know that shit, and he was doing all the mainstream shit for the young girls and shit. But it was cool when he pointed out random people in the crowd and commented on their fashion sense. My homeboy got a shout out which was cool. Jay liked his hoody or some shit. Then to wrap it up everyone involved with the show came on stage, including Beyonce, and danced. It was a happy moment, and rounded out a real good show.
6. Slum Village
This was at the Espy, late 2007. After a few joints outside, I proceded into the rear ESPY band room for the first time. I liked...it is actually an awesome hip-hop venue. Just the right size for international large-type underground acts. There was a great atmosphere in here yet again, which made it a very enjoyable show. There were a lot of shout outs to Jay Dilla and it was cool to head-nod to his joints with the Slum cats. Those guys came nice live too, I especially took a liking to T3's style. And Elzhi did an acapella freestyle which I recall was incredibly dope with incredible mutli-syllable rhymes. But yeh that was a nice show.
7. Dizzee Rascal
This was at Prince of Wales a month or two ago (2008). Dude came out and just did my 2 of my favourite tracks first, I was fucking amped. I loved how he came out and did that. "I Luv U" got the crowd rocking, following it up with "Where Da G's". Halfway through the show he just says "this is for all the indie heads" and puts on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana and just rocks out with the crowd through that, then White Stripe's "7 Nation Army." I never experienced anything like that at a hip-hop show before. It was insane. The crowd ate it up. And then? "Fix Up Look Sharp!" Awesome. But then the last coupla tracks weren't my favs of his...a few of them "Showtime" jawns. And then there was no encore. That also was a first...
8. Talib Kweli + Jean Grae
This was at Good Vibrations...2006. It was barely a day after Jay Dee had died, and Kweli was noticeably not as happy as he good be, but gave a great tribute to him. His voice was kinda not like on his studio recordings...as he had a tough schedule he couldn't deliver the rhymes in that pristine high-pitched voice, but rather in a shouting lower voice that kinda gets the crowd going more anyway. But I prefer the studio voice. Anyways, he spat it real, and the crowd was really feelin it, especially for "Get By". Jean Grae was there too and contributed some mad verses...she really left a positive influence on me and crowd.
9.Masta Ace, Stricklin and Wordsworth
This was just like a few months ago, again at the ESPY, like a couple of weeks after the Slum Village show. And I gotta say, it was definetely the latest show I been to. Those kants started at like 12:40AM, finished up at like 3AM. Cos at like 2:20AM Ace was like "let's just keep going, ya'll are awesome." The crowd was feeling it, that's for sure...it was straight hip-hop. Personally the late thing got to me cos my back was hurting after all that standing. Lol. But yeah the way Ace rocked it, it was like late 80s New York again. And Stricklin really comes nice...his voice translates well to the live stage, and he is very charismatic up there on stage. Wordsworth also rocked out an awesome freestyle which culminated with him walking up to this security guy who was standing there on stage and proclaiming "[something something something rhymes with "friends"] / theres no need for security, these people are all my friends" or something like that and the crowd went crazy. You could also tell he was a veteran of live shows. When Ace did the "Nostalgia", "Brooklyn Masala", "Beautiful" joints, I was loving it, the whole crowd was just vibing out to them. A fair few tracks Ace did I wasn't familiar with, as I only have listened to "Disposable Arts" and "A Long Hot Summer". He said each show he did he chose different tracks at random. But yeh it was a pretty ill show in conclusion.
10. Ugly Duckling + Pigeon John
This was one of the first shows I went to. Would've been 2004 or so probably not long after I turned 18. I remember Pigeon John (who I had no idea who he was) opening for them and then joining them during their set. And we was a fucking funny kant up there on stage. Got the whole crowd laughing and shit. I went home and downloaded his shit immediately, and love Pigeon to this very day. And Ugly Duckling just played a straight out hip-hop-upped show, as UD say themselves, DJ Einstein just rocks loops and Dizzy and Andy just spit some sick lines over it. I remember they got some guy from the crowd to drink a "Meatshake" and obviosuly it looked gross. And Piegon came back on dressed as Pete the cow - remember Pete the Cow from the "Taste the Secret" album? Lol.

Consequence

Don't Quit Your Day Job!

Aite yeah I just been listening to a heap load of new music lately. Something that has been banged constantly over the past week or so is that debut Consequence album "Don't Quit Your Day Job!" Dude has been around a while but it is a joy to hear him on every track on an album, rather than the odd Kanye or A Tribe Called Quest Track track here and there.

Quence (originating from Queens) immediately sets himself apart from other rappers with his unique voice and flow. It's not surprising he is Q-Tip's cousin. He has that kinda higher-pitched voice but his flow is real cool too: very laid back. He kinda rhymes in a similar style to that with which he speaks (you here him speak on the rather amusing skits in the album). It's kinda like he is here, but his mind is elsewhere. And he can't really be bothered articulating what he is saying much, cos he's not really thinking about it anyway. Maybe he is thinking of the next line...cos cat keeps streaming onto the next line. He rarely pauses. And all this combines for a real cool, different rapping style.

As for the album, its dope how it has a bit of a theme. I like an album with a theme. It sorta means, if your feeling a certain way, you could return to a certain album that speaks to you in that area. For example, with this album, it's about weighing up pursuing the dream of making hip-hop music, or staying realistic and following more subdued work choices. At the start of the album Quence decides to put "pride to the side/Go get a 9 to 5" over a deliciously laid back beat on the track "Job Song." Throughout the remainder of the disc he touches on other subjects along the way (like "Sexy Mamas"), but ultimately gets fed up with that job and decides to quit and focus on music, despite his mother's nagging. So you could easily have similar frustrating periods in your life (I know I have) and just kick back and play this album and chill. The final track culminates everything nicely: "Who New My Luck Would Change." Who indeed?

While some lament the inclusion of the 4 year old "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly," I applaud it. It is a strong track, and this is after all Consequence's debut album. Artists should put all their best songs they have created on their first release, no matter how long ago they may have been made. Another not-so-new track is DJ Khaled's "Grammy Family." But is again a solid, laid back track and really fits in on the album so I have no qualms with that. The seagull in the beat, while cliched, is cool.

On "Callin Me" Quence puts out some of his best work on the album. He sounds completely disinterested when letting some guy know about a girl who keeps calling him, and it works perfectly. As for production on other tracks on the joint, the preceding track, "Feel this way" featuring John Legend, is another chilled beat, as is the following track "Disperse" featuring GLC and Really Doe. You may have noticed I mentioned that a lot of these tracks have nice soulful chilled beats. Its true. The production on this album is top-notch, for the most part.

Where the album doesn't work is when cat Consequence tries to do that normal rapper bravado stuff...most noticeably on the track "Night Night". Cat just doesn't sound fierce enough to be getting away with all that shit. I don't really think he is gonna smack me and make me go "Night, night." He might make me some tea and then tell me "Night, night."

Still, its a small blip on an otherwise dope album. I'd recommend ya'll check this album out some time soon. Its the 2nd best album this year after Sean Price: Jesus Price Superstar, so word that up.

Night, night!

Top 10 Producers of All Time

Sorry Quik...your Number 11 on my list!

Waddup ya'll. Here check this here post out I'm about to make. I was thinking, "What to write about?" Yeah why not list my top 10 hip-hop producers of all-time.

10. Just Blaze

The dude sneaks into the top 10. Top effort for a young cat. Man this guy can produce some bangers. Most recently he has produced some fire with "The Second Coming" for Juelz and Nike. But the cat has produced some real nice tracks in this century: "Breathe", "Flipside" and "Pump It Up" being just a few examples. Cat likes the MPC and can whip shit up bloody quick on that. Always brings that big sound.

9. Pete Rock

Ok so some people might have him higher. Yeh, maybe as far as contribution to hip-hop goes, this guy should be higher. But the 8 guys above him on this list, I just enjoy their music more. Ya dig? That said, I really dig Pete's shit. There are producers who wouldn't even be in my top 20 producers who I still enjoy. So this is a pretty high position anyway. But chances are you know all about Pete Rock. Mr Soul Man. The Soul Survivor. This dude produced straight up classic shit for CL Smooth in the early 90s. The music he created, fusing Jazz and Hip-hop, seemed to fit CL Smooth's style perfect. Then, after falling out with dude CL, his solo "Soul Survivor" LPs proved that he can produce that quality with all kind of cats. A living legend.

8. The Neptunes

Hugo and Pharrel are quite a match made in heaven. They have been making music together since high school, which is quite remarkable if you think about it. Two talents of that magnitude ending up together by chance is akin to the four Beatles ending up together by chance in Liverpool. Or all the Wu-Tang Clan fools ending up around each other. Anyways, point is, these guys are fucking talented. They're a collective hit-factory, but can stay critically acclaimed at the same time as they manage to sell records without compromising quality. That is a rare gift. They have a real ear for interesting sounds and have no hesitation in sharing their ideas with the mainstream public. Sometimes it fails. Mainly it works...My favourite joints are the two Clipse albums they produced, "Hollaback Girl", Lupe's "I Gotcha", Noreaga's"Superthug" and T.I.'s "Goodlife".

7. Timbaland

There was a time where I didn't really dig Timbo that much. But recently dude has won me over with an incredible amount of quality productions. The guy's drum programming is quite simply the best I have ever heard. The percussion he brings to his songs can be varied...but always sounds immaculate and interesting. He is very creative with sounds. Not afraid to use his own vocal chords to bring you the sound he's thinking of, he remains ahead of the game creativity wise. His production for Justin Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" is the best he has done pop wise, and some of the best pop production I've ever heard. And then you realise he released Nelly Furtado's "Loose" in the same time it's astonishing the quality and quantity he keeps up. Other classic cuts of his are Ginuwine's "Pony", Aaliyah's "Try Again", Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and Jeezy's booming "3 A.M."

6. Kanye West

Kanye just brings his heart and soul to the production table. His perfectionism is matched only by Dr Dre of producers on this list. He always brings a nice feel to his songs. His strength is definitely in utilizing soul samples extremely well and incorporating memorable melodies into his songs. My fav productions of his are Kweli's "Get By", his own "Never Let Me Down" "Two Words" and "Heard em Say", Jay-Z's "Lucifer" and "Heart of the City" and Keyshia Cole's "I Changed My Mind". Kanye can do it with strings, piano, anything.

5. J Dilla

The late Detroit producer was really making strides before his death in early 06. The thing is, if it wasn't for his illness, "Donuts" might not have been so personal, so special, so beautiful. Without the illness he may have never looked within himself so deeply and never unlocked such inspiration and shared it with us so candidly. Or maybe he would have...who knows. Its a shame we will never know. We are lucky that J Dilla made such dope music. We are all blessed with many great recordings thanks to him and should be thankful not just for him, but every artist on this list. Dope cuts he produced for other artists are "Verbal Clap" for De La, the album "Fantastic Vol 2" for Slum Village, Kweli's "Stand to the Side" and Common's "The Light."

4. Madlib

Madlib will just put anything down on the MPC and loop it up. Anything. Any type of sample. The result is a shit load of recordings...some of which are shit. However, a high proportion are brilliant. Fucking creative cunt. I guess that's what happens when you smoke weed all day. He is the first one to remind us that weed brings out creativity, either telling us through rap or inserting samples regarding the matter. The guy can sometimes go overboard with the vocal samples, disrupting songs halfway through by stopping the music and playing the sample, sometimes multiple times. This puts some people off, but I love it. He does it so it actually fits in if you think about. If your on weed...

Lol anyway the shit on Quasimoto's first record "The Unseen" is straight up classic jazz hip-hop style shit. One of the best collection of beats I've ever heard. Madvillain with MF Doom is on the same level. Other dope cuts are "Shopping Bags" for De La, "Nightlife" for MED, and "What Can I Do?" for Kweli.

3. Dr Dre

Dre! The most famous hip-hop producer of all time no doubt. This guy just lives by his music. He wants to make high quality shit. It all starts in the drums for him. Everyone knows Dre has the best drums. But on top of that, he just keeps it real chill. Guitars are popular. Synths. Anything chilled. "Nuthin But a G Thang" is one of greatest hip-hop songs of all time, and easily the most chilled. Then he just brings out stupidly simple classic shit like "Still D.R.E." - yeh Scott Storch came up with the chords but the fact is, Dre brought it all together. You can come up with some dope shit when Dre is around. He doesn't just make the music - he produces. He'll make you a hit. He'll make sure you bring what's appropriate. Recently I have enjoyed his laid-back Piano Chord jams "Lost Ones" for Jay-Z and Young Buck's "U Ain't Going Nowhere" although others haven't been impressed. Don't worry...Detox is gonna be so hot you'll forgive him for the years of delays. His track record suggests so anyway...

2. DJ Premier

This is New York hip-hop right here. Premo always brings it raw. Using his trusty MPC 60 this guy will give you a great platform for you to rhyme over...always. It all starts with those Boom Bap drums. It's real hip-hop...the beat doesn't dominate and allows you to listen to what is being said...but you will always be nodding your head regardless. Check out all them Gangstarr cuts. Or Jeru's shit. Dude fucking sampled water drops on "Come Clean." Ridiculous. Other 5 star shit he produced is Nas' "NY State of Mind," J-Live's "The Best Part", Jay-Z's "Bring It On" and recently Termanology's "Watch how it go down." All allow the MC to shine while being incredibly hot beats...that is no mean feat.

1. RZA

Just can't help it. Can't resist those beats he made back in the mid 90s. Can't help but be seduced by those minimalistic gems. GZA, Raekwon, Method Man and Wu-Tang Clan are always at the top of my most played list. While the lyrics are often dope, the main reason is RZA's production. That's real production - producing whole albums. That's where you can bring that real shit. You can create a whole MOOD. On Wu-Tang's debut, shit was incredibly raw. Straight from the streets. Just a gritty, tinny beat, and some hardcore spitting over it. The use of samples was ingenious too. "C.R.E.A.M." is just an impeccable track. The nursery rhyme piano line just stays in your head, and Deck and Raekwon brought some real shit over that - the point is yet again, its a dope beat without taking away the lyrics of the MC. When he progressed in the next few albums, he didn't really progress at all. He'd bring in some dirty bass lines maybe. But he'd keep that shit simple, on his Ensoniq keyboard. The debut full-length GZA and Raekwon albums are just all perfectly produced in addition to his classic shit on the Wu-Tang debut. The other albums he produced in full are also high quality (when the name Bobby Digital was not involved lol).

This guy is thus my number 1 producer. A combination of quality and quantity which is hard to beat. Ask me tomorrow I migth say Premo again those two are neck and neck to me. Shout out to cats like DJ Quik, 9th Wonder, Prince Paul, Hi-Tek, Alchemist, Eric B, Havoc, Large Professor, Bomb Squad, Pimp C, Oh No, Black Milk, Muggs, DangerMouse, Will.I.AM, DJ Toomp and Scott Storch who would be on the next level down.