Emerson students start records label
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

In terms of resume building, Emerson sophomore Molly Casey definitely has one of the most eye-catching extracurricular activities: president of a student-run music label, Emerson Records.

"The record label is run entirely by students, but nothing was really happening with it for the past few years. This year we really decided to do something," said Casey in an interview with The Heights.

In addition to their academic responsibilities, Casey and the rest of the students on the staff of Emerson Records have turned the inactive record label into a thriving young organization that recently signed its first band, Audible Mainframe. The label plans to release the band's first record next month.

"We don't really know what to expect in terms of sales because there's no precedent at Emerson Records for what we're doing. We're not getting paid or anything, so this is supposed to be a learning experience for us and it definitely has been. We're all really excited to hear the album once they finish mixing and mastering it," said Casey.

To promote the band's debut album and raise money for charity, Emerson Records brought old school hip-hop pioneer Jeru the Damaja to the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center in South Boston last Saturday.

The unusual venue wasn't an ideal location in terms of accessibility and acoustics, but Jeru and especially Audible Mainframe gave an inspired show for the small crowd of dedicated hip-hop fans.

In addition to the headliners, Emerson records brought the Deck Deamons, an amazing DJ quartet which includes DJ JayCeeOh, and the Floor Lords, who have been break dancing in Boston since 1981. From their youngest member (13) to the oldest (37), the Floor Lords left the audience in awe with their dance moves and their unique custom b-boy and b-girl sneaker from Saucony.

The graffiti of a local crew called Hi Cost Low Art complemented the music and the break dancing perfectly, making the entire experience perfect for true hip-hop fans.

Jeru the Damaga has been synonymous with quality old school hip-hop since his classic 1994 debut The Sun Rises in the East. Jeru's separation from Gang Star following his beef with Guru has apparently prevented him from performing all of his DJ Premier-produced hits

Despite a good set from Jeru, the star of the show was Audible Mainframe. The eight-person hip-hop band comprises guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, saxophone, with a DJ and emcee.

Their energetic live show and eclectic combination of rap, funk, and rock gives Audible Mainframe a contagious energy spilling into the crowd.

The band's politically progressive lyrics, musical virtuosity, and kinetic stage presence puts Audible Mainframe in good company with bands like The Roots and Ozomatli.

Audible Mainframe will be playing a live acoustic set on WAAF (107.3) on May 2 to promote its record release party at the Middle East Upstairs on Wednesday, May 5. Its debut album Framework will be available for $5, and local emcee Jake the Snake will perform.

Head to Lupo's
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Boston is blessed with a great assortment of music venues ranging from the edgy and always dependable Middle East in Cambridge to the fancy Wang Theater in the Theatre District.

The best local concert venue, though, unfortunately isn't that local. It's Lupo's at the Strand in Providence, RI.

Despite being only one hour closer to the musical epicenter of America, it appears as though many musicians would prefer to only travel to Providence if they have to leave New York, rather than coming all the way to Boston.

Or maybe it's just that Providence has the best live music club north of New York. Lupo's attracts a consistent flow of top notch performers who are too big to play in a smaller Boston venue like The Paradise, yet still not big enough to fill the FleetCenter.

In the next few weeks alone, Lupo's will host Bouncing Souls and Reel Big Fish on June 20, and Incubus on July 2. This week, BB King, whose Boston bar/club was closed last year, will be at Lupo's on May 1 in addition to Talib Kweli on April 28.

The arrival of Talib Kweli in at Lupo's is just one example of a fairly major artist coming to Providence who will not perform in Boston on the same tour. On the night after his Lupo's performance, Kweli heads back to New York for another concert rather than continuing on to Boston. This trend is especially noticeable among popular underground rappers. In addition to Kweli, The Roots and the fifth semi-annual freestyle battle called the Mic Wars will appear at Lupo's.

The superior hip-hop concert selection in Providence, despite the smaller city size, cannot be attributed to a greater demand in Rhode Island for urban music but is a direct result of how great of a club Lupo's is.

Though the Middle East and the Paradise are phenomenal clubs, they both have a reputation as primarily rock clubs, despite their often diverse schedule. The reputation isn't entirely undeserved though. The Paradise is, after all, officially called "Boston's Legendary Rock."

The ambience of Lupo's is comparable to the Middle East but considerably less claustrophobic. There is plenty of space in front of the stage for mosh pits and generally rowdy behavior without needing to worry about crashing into anything but fellow fans.

The balcony is the best view in the house and allows people to escape the crowded pit of fans near the stage. The acoustics and lighting are superior to just about anything in Boston. No matter where you are, you can hear and see the music on stage just fine.

Unlike the reputation of many other bars and clubs in Providence, Lupo's is a very strict enforcer of the legal drinking age and will only accept real identification. The beefy bouncers are not subtle with underage drinkers or anyone else causing trouble, which can add added entertainment to your visit as long as you're not the poor guy in trouble.

An announcer repeatedly reminds the crowd over the PA system that they are in a non-flammable building with plenty of fire escapes. The motivation is to calm patrons following the recent club fire tragedy in Rhode Island, but its more irksome than comforting.

For some reason, artists seem to stick around after the concert at Lupo's more often than they do here in Boston, and music fans aren't ushered out of the venue as hastily. As a result, Lupo's might be your best chance to get that coveted autograph from your favorite musician.

Though Boston offers plenty of concert options, the trip to Lupo's is worth the fast and cheap train or bus ticket to Providence. Find a friend at Brown with whom you can stay the night, and enjoy a nice night in Rhode Island.

Mixtape Friday: Classic Rock Remix
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights

"Hey DJ, got any classic rock?" I love classic rock, but it's not party music. There is something fundamentally wrong with partying to music that your parents still listen to. I'm glad your family can all agree on Billy Joel on summer road trips, but at a party the music needs to bump louder, dirtier, and a lot sexier. Nevertheless, I try to accommodate everybody's tastes - but like Atmosphere said, "I'm the type of DJ that only plays what I like." Here's the closest thing to classic rock that you'll hear me play while people are dancing.

Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (Remix)
The original version of this song is just about as perfect as music can get. Fortunately, the Neptunes respected the basic structure of the classic on their remix but threw a thick bassline under Mick Jagger's vocals to make it even more danceable. The remix amounts to something like an Irish coffee: A nice cup of joe gets even better with an added shot of whiskey for the extra kick. If you don't immediately recognize the bongos because of the new beat, then Jagger's opening lines will certainly catch your attention: "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste." The Neptunes get points for self-restraint, but that's about it.

Sublime - Summertime (ft. Pharcyde)
In general, playing this ode to the Southern California sun while I'm here in Boston is kind of depressing. A Sublime song is perfect for warm weather and wafting weed at the beach, but it's a bit chill for serious partying. Once again, Pharcyde slightly alters the original to make it more appropriate for dancing, throwing some meat on the bassline and a few rapped verses in between Bradley Nowell's singing.

Public Enemy - "He Got Game"
There's something a bit sneaky about hip-hop. It's both exciting and a little disappointing to find the original song that Kanye West turned into a modern radio hit, because it seems like he's pretending he created the song all by himself. Producers need to be more meticulous with their bibliographies and cite for the public where they stole the hook for their new song. Or they should just include a whole verse of the original like Public Enemy does with Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth."

Jay-Z - Encore (Danger Mouse Remix)
The best part about DJ Danger Mouse's brilliant Grey Album was that it didn't sound like your typical mash-up, where a DJ superglues 50 Cent's lyrics to Britney's beat. These hybrids are surprisingly entertaining when done well (see below), but they ultimately sound hollow and uninspired. Danger Mouse, in contrast, made it sound like the Beatles actually went into the studio with Jay-Z to record this song.

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ludacris - "Stand Up"
Here's your basic mash-up song: Take two unrelated songs and mash them together. What separates this song from the pack is that it actually works; the Red Hot Chili Peppers have (or at least used to have) quite a hip-hop sound to them already. Most of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, including "Suck My Kiss," was produced by Def Jam co-founder and hip-hop producer Rick Rubin, which makes it the perfect beat for Ludacris to rap over.

Jay-Z - "The Takeover"
When Puff Daddy released his painfully horrible version of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" for the Godzilla soundtrack, I blamed Jimmy Page for not only granting permission but for also actually going into the studio with Puff to re-record the guitar solo. In contrast, The Doors made the right decision to give Jay-Z clearance to sample their classic "Five To One." Though they rarely permit their songs to be sampled, The Doors' drummer John Densmore finally agreed after Jay-Z promised that he would donate a significant portion of his royalties to charity.

MixTape Friday: Radio Hell
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights.

I loathe the radio. I would be tempted to give up music altogether if I had to rely on Ramiro and Pebbles on Jam'n 94.5 to bring me my hip-hop. Am I just one of those obnoxious music snobs who dislikes a song just because everyone else likes it? No, it just turns out that the masses have pitifully poor taste in hip-hop. Nevertheless, in an attempt to better understand the musical taste of the proletariat, I sat down to listen to Billboard's Top 10 Rap Singles.

A-Side

#1 - J-Kwon "Typsy"
This song deserves my most venomous criticism, but I'll admit it: I can't help shaking my ass when it comes on. This week my roommate asked me, "How could everybody in the club get tips? Isn't the bartender usually the only one that gets tips?" Oh God.

#2 - Chingy "One Call Away"
This is the best proof that just because you have more than one hit, it still doesn't mean you're anything more than a one-hit wonder. If you hear a song like this every 20 minutes and you still can't remember any of the lyrics other than the catchy chorus, then it's not hip-hop, it's radio pop.

#3 - Ludacris "Splash Waterfalls"
I've got nothing nasty to say about Luda; unlike most rappers, at least he admits he's just a cartoon.

#4 - Jay-Z "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"
You should be embarrassed for yourself every single time you actually "brush some dirt off your shoulder" when this song comes on.

#5 - Cassidy, ft. R.Kelly "Hotel"
When you see R.Kelly wearing that silly Batman mask in the video, your instincts say there must be a joke there: "Maybe next time you videotape yourself pissing on a little girl you might remember the mask and avoid the lawsuit" Ha-ha! Good one.

B-Side

#6 - Twista "Slow Jamz"
Chuck D finally came out and said it: "I'm trying to understand how somebody gets top notch producer credits for speeding up old records." Obviously everything Kanye touches turns to gold (or platinum more likely), but turning goofy Jamie Foxx into Nate Dogg was truly impressive.

#7 - G-Unit, ft. Joe "Wanna Get To Know You"
I seem to remember 50 Cent rapping, "I don't dance around like Diddy." And now what's he doing in the video? Dancing around like a little girl. Eminem must cringe every time he hears this song.

#8 - Ying Yang Twins, ft. Lil Jon "Salt Shaker"
I refuse to listen to this song

#9 - Sean Paul "I'm Still In Love With You"
Is America incapable of enjoying more than one Jamaican musician at a time? We loved Marley for 25 years without feeling the need to learn about other reggae artists, and now it's the same with Sean Paul.

#10 - Petey Pablo "Freek-A-Leek"
Hearing Lil' Jon yell "What?" and "Yeah!" in a real song is even funnier and more ridiculous than watching Dave Chappelle make fun of him. I liked this song the first time, when Usher did it.

Murs Interview
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Canyon Cody: On your new album you say, "I wanna blow up/ but I don't wanna go pop." Why do you think some artists refuse to sell out, and why do others seem to have no problem with it?

Murs: It's just the respect you have for yourself and for hip-hop. I'm too proud of my music to do some stupid sh-.

CC: Do you think those other people, someone like Da Band or Loon, are proud of their music or do they just not care?

M: Loon is different situation. He's from my 'hood, he grew up near where I'm from. He's got some problems, decision-making stuff, and that's always been the case. I dunno, his brain wiring is all f-ed up.

CC: How has your life changed since you signed to Def Jux? Because even though it's an "underground" label, Def Jux still has the resources to really promote your album.

M: It's been good. Good and bad. I mean, I still haven't seen any money from Def Jux. In fact, I'll probably end up owing them money after this whole thing, but that's just the way the music industry is. I still haven't enjoyed the sort of success that I feel like I deserve, especially for how hard I work. I'm not blaming anyone; it's just not my time yet.

CC: On your last album you said, "If I don't go gold, then my people say I flopped/ But if I go triple platinum, I'm not hip-hop." What would be a success, in terms of sales, with your new album?

M: I'd be happy to move 100,000 units. I'd love to sell 13 million records of course; it's not like I'm trying to keep my album sales down because I'm in the underground or whatever. But I'm not 50 Cent, and that doesn't bother me. I'm not mad that I'm not friends with Ludacris. I like my group of friends. I'm proud to be friends with talented people like [Def Jux founder] El-P.

CC: How do you feel about people downloading your album from the Internet?

M: I totally understand why kids download. As long as they get my stuff and they like it, I can't really get too mad. I'm still a huge hip-hop fan like them. I go out and buy like three or four albums every Tuesday, but that's because now I'm in a financial position where I can do that.

CC: Has making hip-hop a profession affected your love for the music?

M: Yeah. I mean, that hasn't really happened to me yet, but I can see how the business could do that to you.

CC: Is that one of the reasons why you've been considering retiring?

M: Oh for sure. Really though, it's just that I don't really get along with others.

CC: Anything else on your mind?

M: Yeah, I wanna give a shoutout to John Cena and Trademark. And I'd like to say that Gordon from Sesame Street is an adulterer and a punkass b-. And you better come to the show.

Murs + 9th = Classic
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

To an underground hip-hop fan, a Living Legends, Definitive Jux, and Justus League collaboration is nothing more than a wet dream: something fantasized about but probably too good to be true. After listening to Murs' new album Murs 3:16 - The 9th Edition, which features production entirely from 9th Wonder, hip-hop fans will probably need to take their bedding to the laundromat for a cleaning.

A few years ago, Murs was traveling through Europe, showing up at rap concerts, and convincing performers on the night of the show to let him open for them. Halfway around the world, producer 9th Wonder was sitting in his bedroom, using Fruity Loops to layer an a cappella version of Nas' God's Son on top of his own mellow, fluid beats.

A year later, Murs signed to underground superlabel Def Jux, and 9th was the critically-acclaimed producer of the debut from indie favorite Little Brother. Murs and 9th were both bubbling just under the radar that defines commercial success, and they decided to do an album together.

Then Jay-Z happened. The reigning king of rap was impressed by one of 9th Wonder's beats and hired him to produce a song on The Black Album alongside Timbaland and the Neptunes. Suddenly, 9th Wonder was the hottest producer on the block and Murs, for a second, worried that 9th would forget about him.

Instead, 9th used the collaboration project as an opportunity to show off his producing abilities and, as a result, created a number of beautiful instrumentals, but at times, he also seemed to be trying to demonstrate his ability to produce radio-friendly singles. On "Bad Man," 9th Wonder and Murs jump on more bandwagons than an Amish hitchhiker, rapping about exaggerated sexual exploits over a high-pitch Jamaican dance hall sample, as if to say, "I can do the Kanye West thing, too."

In general, though, the production and rapping are superb, exactly what you expect from two artists of this caliber, but nothing more. The album doesn't astound; it is simply very good. At his best, Murs tackles the problems with underground hip-hop, such as on "And This Is For," in which he warns white fans against using "the N-word" and laments the fact that albums from white rappers sell so many more copies than his do.

On his last album, Murs declared that it was "the end of the beginning" of his career. "Now it's the end of that 'cause now I gotta do in-stores, photo shoots, interviews," he complained. Def Jux, his new superpower record label, expected him to contribute to the marketing of his album, and Murs seemed annoyed with the additional responsibilities that produce a commercial success. With increased exposure of his new album, Murs now hopes to reap the benefits of his efforts and enjoy increased sales.

Murs (which, among other things, stands for "Makin Underground Raw Sh-") brings a distinct West Coast flavor to Def Jux and the underground in general. He isn't as lyrically abstract as most Def Jux artists, such as Aesop Rock. He's also black, which in underground hip-hop is becoming something of a novelty. His West Coast upbringing also exposed him to fellow Los Angeles natives Sublime and Red Hot Chili Peppers, both of whom he references as major musical influences.

Murs' background brings a unique perspective to hip-hop: He's no drug dealing gangsta like 50 Cent ("I'm more Coldplay than I am Ice T," he raps), but he's not a daisy-wielding, suburbanite hippie like De La Soul, either. In fact, it's surprising that there aren't more rappers like Murs: He grew up in the 'hood and, as a result, personally experienced the issues that affect poor black Americans, but never actually started shooting people or selling crack. Murs comes off like a regular guy with some stories to tell, the best of which is "Trevor an Them," a hilarious story of a 7-11 robbery gone wrong.

"Walk Like a Man" is the most impressive demonstration of 9th Wonder's progressive production and Murs' unique storytelling ability. 9th divides the song into three separate movements to complement the mood of each verse. In the first verse, Murs decides to get rid of his gun ("I never did use it/ What's the point of holding heat if you're never gonna use it, stupid?"). 9th creates a somber mood for the second verse, which chronicles the murder of Murs' friend. In the final verse, Murs raps about the funeral and the retaliatory murder of the killer. Instead of bragging about his violent history, Murs admits, "Now I'm haunted with remorse, and I wish I hadn't done it."

Murs' new album won't disappoint those who eagerly anticipated his collaboration with 9th Wonder, but no one will be astounded, either. Both of them are capable of more, but until then, Murs 3:16 - The 9th Edition will keep the underground happy.

Cee-lo overflows with soul on classic new album
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

In the event of an emergency, when drowning in the bland wasteland of music in the TRL-generation, Cee-lo's new solo album, Cee-lo Green is the Soul Machine, can be used as a quality flotation device.

Following years as the standout member of Goodie Mob, Cee-lo broke into his solo career with his 2002 debut, Cee-lo Green and his Perfect Imperfections. The album was just that: perfectly imperfect. Despite quite a few unnecessary musical digressions, the album anticipated both the brilliance and sloppiness of Andre 3000's The Love Below, but lacked the radio-friendly "Hey Ya!" to boost its sales.

The critical success but commercial failure of his solo debut can be largely attributed to the fact that Cee-lo did all the production himself. On his follow-up, Cee-lo brought some of the best in the game on board and challenged the most successful mainstream producers to broaden their musical horizons.

Timbaland took a break from his day job (carrying Missy Elliot on his back) to produce Cee-lo's new single "I'll Be Around." The club song bounces on top of loud trumpets and African drum percussion and is accompanied by a great music video (though not as creative as his video for "Gettin' Grown" in which the egg-shaped rapper dresses up like a Teletubbie).

Cee-lo even conjured a few interesting beats out of the Neptunes, who could probably compose a hit song with nothing more than a stick and a hard surface but really haven't produced anything with much artistic merit in quite a while. "The Art of Noise" and "Let's Stay Together" are both demonstrations of the most dangerous quid pro quo deal in hip-hop: Pharell will give you a nice beat, but you have to let him sing on the hook.

Even DJ Premier breaks out of his characteric style of jazz samples and scratched hooks (which, by the way, no one has ever complained about) on "Evening News." Surprisingly, the best production on the album comes from fellow southern boys Organized Noize, who offer a silly, mischievous beat layered with a xylophone and a stuttering piano on "Childz Play." Here we see one of Cee-lo's many sides, when his fun, playful alter-ego comes to play with an equally puerile Ludacris, making one of the few guest appearances on the album.

Of course, the highlight of the show is not the amazing production but none other than Mr. Cee-lo Green. By force of sheer energy, God-given talent, and irrepressible freakiness, Cee-lo is truly funky.

Born to two preachers and raised in the streets of Atlanta, Cee-lo's personality overflows with so much zeal and soul that even when he falters, he sounds good.

On his last album, Cee-lo seemed preoccupied with showing off his "closet freak" eccentricities. Yet, on his new effort, from the infectiously catchy chorus on "Living Again" to beatnik spoken-word poetry of "Sometimes," Cee-lo seems confident of his unique place in hip-hop, and now he is just strutting around.

"My Kind of People" contains an entertaining interpolation of "Pass the Dutchie," the 1982 pop-reggae hit from Musical Youth. The best songs on the album are "All Day Love Affiar" and "Die Trying." The former is an endearingly simple but sweet serenade to his wife while in bed. Unlike the exaggerated braggadocio used by most rappers to woo their women (such as Usher, who apparently has the beat that makes the booty go clap), Cee-lo offers nothing more than to "make it a Blockbuster night."

From his outfits to his lyrics to his singing ability, Cee-lo is everything that Andre 3000 wishes he could be but fails to match. On his first album, Cee-lo showed the world he had beautiful music inside of him but was unable to present it in a commercially palatable way.

Cee-lo has followed through with the promise of his debut with his remarkable new album that deserves to reverse his former reputation as the "second-best Southern rapper."

On the album, Cee-lo raps, "Sometimes I don't think people think I'm as good as I really am." After Cee-lo Green is the Soul Machine, there shouldn't be any more confusion about it.

De La Soul is not dead
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Hip-hop pioneer De La Soul brought its left-of-center flow to the Middle East on Feb. 28 to support Music for America, a partisan, political nonprofit organization working toward getting one million new young voters to participate in the 2004 elections by promoting concerts around the country.

For years, De La Soul has being trying to shake its "hippy-hop" image earned after its classic debut Three Feet High and Rising, but De La Soul members Pos, Trugoy, and Maceo have resisted the temptation to exaggerate their gangster image to compensate for their undeserved flower child reputation. Onstage, De La Soul came off as it does on its albums: friendly, smart, fun, and easy-going.

Opening for De La was 4th Pyramid, who is promoting his single on the new compilation from underground hip-hop super-label Def Jux, where he recently signed. 4th Pyramid, an emcee from Toronto, caught the attention of the underground with an instrumental album he produced when he was just 16 years old.

In an interview with The Heights, 4th Pyramid said, "This whole thing is huge, but look, I'm still out here all on my own. I mean, I ain't got no tour manager, no DJ with me on the road. Right now, I'm a one-man wrecking crew, a one-man army. But just wait for [Def Jux] to roll through when we're on tour."

Also opening was Zonk, a trip-hop band from the Bay Area in California. They won a download contest with Music for America, which awarded Zonk with the chance to open for De La Soul. The band was filled with vibrant energy and played an excited set of diverse music, with lead singer Nic McFiendish bouncing across the stage with the microphone stand straddled between her legs the entire time.

The highlight of Zonk's performance was when two emcees, Bolo of Pawray and Mic Kaos, came up to give the band some hip-hop flavor. Like De La Soul in the '80s, Zonk's most enjoyable quality was that it seemed like they were having a good time along with the crowd on stage.

Once De La Soul arrived, the crowd exploded, but not in the raucous way one expects from a hip-hop crowd. Of course, De La Soul doesn't attract the typical hip-hop crowd and, as expected, the Middle East seemed to be filled with people drinking who probably used legal id. to get a wristband.

Despite recently releasing two great albums in the Art Official Intelligence trilogy, most of De La Soul's fans were initially attracted to its groundbreaking earlier work. As a result, the crowd reacted the most to classics such as "Me, Myself and I" and "Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays.'" During our interview, De La Soul frontman Posdnous said that a new album is finally set to come out later this year. "We had a lot of trouble with our last record company, who weren't going to release part three, but now we're pretty much ready to put it out there. We also have another album coming out after that, but it doesn't even have a name yet."

Unfortunately, De La Soul stuck to its popular old stuff and didn't bless the crowd with any tastes of the new album.

During an intermission, a video played with a brief segment put together by the concert organizers. They tried to convince the crowd to vote by reminding everyone how close the result of the presidential contest was in 2000. After the show, they handed out packets filled with 10 mail-in voter registration forms and information about such issues that are important to young voters, such as reproductive rights and education funding.

After the show, De La Soul stuck around to talk to fans, which mostly consisted of women who were invited on stage by Pos and Trugoy (who now just goes by Dave) for their closing ode to meaty girls, "Baby Phat." The show was entertaining and proved that De La Soul still has quite a bit of soul left in it and that it's not yet time to retire De La's number into the hip-hop Hall of Fame.

Hip Hop '85-'93
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Consider this a "Backpacker's Guide to the Galaxy."

In recent years, the term "backpack rapper" has evolved from a condescending term for nerd rappers to a proud label assumed by dedicated true-school hip-hop fans. Boston is a bustling metropolis of backpackers, filled with white college students and lacking a voice in the mainstream to claim Beantown as its hood. These are the songs from '85 to '93 that inspire the metamorphosis from a passive rap fan to a hip-hop fanatic. This era led up to next week's mix, which covers '94 to '96.

A Side

1985 - LL Cool J "Rock the Bells" Radio
The intro to "Rock the Bells" is one of hip-hop's most infamous battle cries: "LL Cool J is hard as hell!" LL Cool J's recent digression into R&B doesn't seem to be motivated by greed (a la Ja Rule and 50 Cent's cheesy love ballads) but by his libido; he has admitted to being uncontrollably addicted to sex. Until nymphomania got the best of him, LL Cool J used to be a mean dude (until he got that horrible TV show). The album boasts one of hip-hops most famous covers, with a classic '80s boombox. Someone should give LL Cool J some Blistex and tell him that licking your lips makes them even more chapped.

1987 - Boogie Down Productions "South Bronx" Criminal Minded
Before KRS-One turned into the hip-hop preacher/teacher, he revolutionized the battle rap. Anyone who thinks 2Pac and Biggie is a good example of beef in hip-hop needs to go listen to "South Bronx." Sadly, only after his DJ Scott La Rock was murdered did KRS move on to his more philosophical and pacifistic raps. KRS is also responsible for the backpacker mantra, repeated five times a day while facing the South Bronx: "Rap is something you do, hip-hop is something you live."

1988 - Public Enemy "Rebel Without a Pause" It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Chuck D scared the tighty-whitey underwear off America with Public Enemy's classic album. Instead of coming off as violent, ignorant gangstas like NWA, Public Enemy declared themselves violent, intelligent revolutionaries in the tradition of Malcolm X. They were some of the first rappers to be respected outside of the hip-hop community as legitimate and talented artists. When white punk rockers started heading uptown to Public Enemy concerts, the media predicted race riots, but instead hip-hop embraced its new fans. To this day, people are still confused by Flavor Flav. What is he doing? Nobody knows.

B Side

1990 - A Tribe Called Quest "Can I Kick It?" People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Along with De La Soul, ATCQ pioneered the movement away from gangsta rap and diversified the hip-hop community. Though labeled "soft" by the media, ATCQ came with hard beats and impressive lyrics that DJs have been spinning before underground hip-hop shows for almost 15 years. Though "Bonita Applebum," "Scenario," and "Award Tour" all make regular appearances in a backpacker's WinAmp, the call and response of "Can I Kick It?" will forever remain the Tribe's classic. Six years later, on the last true backpacker's album of all time, Jay-Z references the "Can I Kick It?" on "22 Twos."

1992 - Pete Rock and CL Smooth "They Reminsce Over You (TROY)" Mecca and the Soul Brother
Ask a b-boy when he fell in love with hip-hop and there's a good chance he'll tell you it was Pete Rock. His mellow beats were years ahead of their time and are still imitated by producers like 9th Wonder today. Pete Rock is the ultimate producer for a backpacker: there is nothing flashy or distinctly remarkable about his music except its simple beauty. This is some of the best music of all time, but you'll never see it on 106th and Park.

1993 - Wu-Tang Clan "CREAM" Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang is the closest thing to a cult in hip-hop. Many fans will not even entertain the idea that 36 Chambers might not be the best album ever. Obessed with bees and kung-fu films, no one knew quite what to do with Wu-tang. After starting a few dozen solo careers, the Clan is the Wayans family of rap. And please, don't embarrass yourself: remember, Redman was never in Wu-Tang.

Mixtape Friday - I Blame Badu
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Erykah Badu should be banished from hip-hop.

I love her neo-soul and even respect her as a well-rounded b-girl (check out her break dancing, scratching, and freestyling in her video for "Love of My Life"), but she is single-handedly ruining hip-hop. Like the Sirens from Homer's Odyssey, her pretty voice tempts talented emcees into her bedroom, only to be stripped of their rapping abilities while they are sleeping. Rappers: Do not be tempted by her mellifluous voice and furry bush! Stay away at all costs!

Andre 3000 "A Life in the Day of Benjamin" The Love Below

For years, Andre was one of the most versatile rappers around, but then he met Badu and turned into a granola-eating hippie. The guy who used to brag that his "oral demonstration is like clitoral stimulation" basically gave up rapping altogether for The Love Below. I'm glad that white college girls who would otherwise never listen to hip-hop have found a place in their iPod for "Hey Ya!" but hip-hop lost a true emcee. Who is at fault? Ask Andre: "I started likin' this girl/ Now you know her as Erykah 'on and on' Badu/ We're young in love, in short we had fun/ No regrets, no abortion, had a son." Thanks a lot, Erykah.

Badu also committed the most notorious girlfriend atrocity: She came between best friends. When Outkast breaks up, thank the modern day Yoko Ono.

Common "Come Close" Electric Circus
Once Badu broke Andre's heart, she moved on to Common. Though he has always been an eccentric rapper, he used to temper his artsy rhymes with just enough venom to keep his respect. Once Badu touched his loins, his beef turned to tofu. He once said, "I rap with a chip on my shoulder," but now he just raps with a knitted hemp hat on his head. It makes me cringe to see Common in his video for "Come Close," drawing flashcards to express his love for his blind girlfriend. He raps, "The pimp in me may have to die with you." Sadly, the rapper in him died with Badu as well.

B-Side

dead prez "Mind Sex" Let's Get Free
Badu ditched Common and moved on to M1 from dead prez. M1 was on the rebound after being dropped by his record label and needed Badu's warm love. dead prez hasn't released an album since M1 was contaminated, but I would like to blame Badu retroactively for "Mind Sex," which is quite possibly the pansiest rap song ever. dead prez should stick to its black nationalist agenda ("Pimp the system, bang for freedom, f- the high schools, burn the prisons") and avoid oversentimental love songs. Real gangstas don't like salad. "How bout we start/ with a salad, a fresh bed of lettuce with croutons/ Later we can play a game of chess on the futon." I bet 2Pac didn't own a futon.

DOC "The Formula" No Once Can Do It Better
Recently, HipHopSite.com floated this rumor: "Badu: Pregnant or Fat?" To everyone's surprise, she's expecting and the father is old-school rapper DOC. In 1989, the DOC's debut album earned one of The Source magazine's coveted five mics (back when The Source was a reputable publication), but shortly thereafter the rapper suffered a near-fatal car accident that crushed his larynx and severely damaged his voice. Fortunately, he doesn't have much of a career for Badu to ruin, but if you see the DOC rockin' plaid thrift store pants, you know who to blame.

Mixtape Friday: Bliss
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Making a girl a mix is always a dangerous idea. If things don't work out, the painful memory could spoil the songs forever. I can never listen to Ace of Base again after a traumatic breakup with my fifth grade girlfriend. I think about us every time I hear "our song." If it's early on in the relationship, buy her a diamond or make her a card, but don't make her a mix and risk ruining a great Al Green song forever. If you really love her, share your music with your girl (but don't blame me when you get a subpoena from the RIAA).

A-Side

Blackalicious "Make You Feel That Way" Blazing Arrow
This song, arranged around light strings and horns, floats above your head near the altitude of enamored love. Gift of Gab raps about all the things that make you feel that way, including "Christmas day when your momma got your first bike/ type of feeling when you went and won your first fight/ How your team felt winning championship games/ Celebrate in a huddle, dancing in this rain." Gab seems to admit that love remains just beyond the boundary of speech and prefers to sing about the other parts of life that almost compare. He doesn't even mention love until the last line of the song, after he rather awkwardly and unsuccessfully tries to describe feeling that way: "It's love. It's love. It's love."

The Cure "Just Like Heaven" Greatest Hits
Some songs represent your love for your girlfriend or remind you of her. These are the dangerous songs because they are subject to the fickle tide of relationships. "Just Like Heaven" is safe from such contamination because it's about the abstract sensation of love, not someone in particular. My mom once told me she has never fallen in love without this song to accompany her.

The words, though beautiful, are rather unimportant compared to the emotion the song conjures. "Spinning on that dizzy edge/ I kissed her face and kissed her head/ And dreamed of all the different ways I had to make her glow." The only thing better than the original is the live acoustic version on Disc 2 of The Cure's Greatest Hits compilation, stripped naked to reveal its subtle, nervous emotion.

B-Side

Louis Jordan "Knock Me a Kiss" Greatest Hits
There are very few things that I can unequivocally state that I have loved my entire life, including muted trumpets, free parking validation, and most of all, cake. As a result, I understand just how much Louis Jordan loves his girl when he sings "I like cake, make no mistake, but baby if you insist/ I'll cut out cake, just for your sake/ Baby, c'mon and knock me a kiss." (I was equally, though very embarrassedly, amused by 50 Cent's promise, "I love you like a fat kid loves cake." This is the worst part about mainsteam rap - it tricks you into liking something that you actually hate with a passion).

Jordan knows the exact moment he fell in love: "When you pressed your little lips to mine, that was when I understood/ they taste like candy, brandy, and wine/ peaches, bananas, and everything good."

G. Love & Special Sauce "My Baby's Got Sauce" G. Love & Special Sauce
G. Love lacks the gooey Al Green croon, the poetic U2 lyrics, or the sexy D'Angelo bassline, but he loves his girl nonetheless. Endearingly off-tune, he sings, "My lady got the special sauce/ that's why she's my baby, my baby, my baby/ And of course I'll do anything for her." While rappers exchange unrealistic brags about how big their penises are and how often an assorted group of females have come into contact with the aforementioned penis, G. Love proves himself to be the truly enviable one: "My baby got sauce, your baby ain't sweet like mine."

Teen girls scream for Atmosphere
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

The crowd at Atmosphere's concert at the Roxy on Feb. 10 could be divided into two groups: hip-hop fans and Atmosphere fans. The hip-hop fans rapped along with classic Mobb Deep songs before the show and were impressed by the freestyle encore, while the Atmosphere fans sang along with Slug and were impressed by his sensitive lyrics and boyish good looks.

Atmosphere (composed of emcee Slug, DJ Mr. Dibbs, and producer Ant) has been the most recent underground darling to bubble up to the mainstream. After years of consistently releasing quality albums, promoting new talent and relentlessly touring, Atmosphere's Minneapolis indie label, Rhymesayers, could no longer manage to distribute its records to match increasing demand. Atmosphere didn't sell out; its popularity simply outgrew the infrastructure of the underground.

Instead of jumping ship by himself when major labels began courting him, Slug declared that his Rhymesayers crew came as a package. To get Atmosphere, labels needed to agree to distribute all of the artists on Slug's label as well.

Surprisingly, Slug found a willing accomplice in punk label Epitaph. Rappers often go back and promote their crew after they make it big, but Atmosphere jeopardized his own stardom by refusing to abandon them in the first place.

Opening for Atmosphere were label mates Eyedea and Abilities. Eyedea is a talented lyricist paired with the absolutely astonishing DJ Abilities. Abilities was the surprise highlight of the concert, outshining all of the emcees. He created entirely new beats for the rappers while onstage that would compete with some of the best underground production that's labored over in a studio for hours.

Eyedea unfortunately seemed to suffer from a little brother complex. Eyedea's style of slightly maniacal emo-rap seemed all too familiar. He's trying to do what big brother Atmosphere does so well, but it isn't his particular strength. Though his emotion seemed feigned and exaggerated, his lyrical abilities shone through the content, demonstrating his strength as a rapper despite his undeveloped song-writing potential.

When Slug came onstage, the girls went wild. He gave a passionate performance, accompanied by fellow emcee Blueprint. He opened his set with "Trying to Find a Balance," his current single that earned him his first-ever video on MTV2. Atmosphere enjoys a large body of work from which to choose and played songs from a wide variety of his albums, including Lucy Ford, God Loves Ugly, and his newest, Seven's Travels.

Halfway through the show, Mr. Dibbs surprised everyone and dropped a Rage Against the Machine song on the turntables. A circle immediately opened in the audience, but it wasn't a cypher with local b-boys, but a raucus mosh pit, which again demonstrated that Atmosphere's fans are not the typical hip-hop crowd.

Racial diversity at underground hip-hop shows is no longer a novelty. White kids at a Boston rap concert are certainly nothing to write home about, but white girls, on the other hand, are a rather rare occurrence. The hip-hop market tends to be male dominated, but Atmosphere's success can largely be attributed to his popularity with white college girls.

Don't misinterpret this as an indication that Slug is some sort of pretty boy pop sensation. Slug is definitely not very pretty. Nevertheless, his emotionally-charged lyrics about his tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend have attracted female fans who are otherwise uninterested in rap.

Slug seemed to recognize this and encouraged his fans to expand their musical tastes to other underground artists, such as Jean Grae and Cannibal Ox, which should end the ridiculous misconception that there is any sort of underground beef between Rhymesayers and Def Jux.

Slug ended the show by calling Eyedea out for an impressive freestyle session to remind everyone that Slug is still a great rapper under all that emotional baggage. After everyone else left, Slug told the crowd, "I'm not here to make money. I'm here because this is what I love. When I go home, I don't know what else to do.

"I suck at X-box, so I go on tour and rap for you people," he said.

Beatles Sing Back-up for Jay-Z
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

When John Lennon said, "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it," clearly he failed to anticipate underground hip-hop producer DJ Danger Mouse.

Danger Mouse (DM) has taken the anarchy of musical intellectual property to a new level by remixing Jay-Z's Black Album, using nothing but samples from the Beatles' White Album, creating an impressive and entertaining new remix, The Grey Album.

When Jay-Z released the a capella version of his entire Black Album on vinyl, he seemed to be offering his tacit approval for DJs remixing his vocals onto their own beats. In just a few months, no less than six major producers have offered their own versions of Jay-Z's final album.

The remix fad began with 9th Wonder, when he remixed Nas' God's Son, layering Nas' vocals on top of his own signature fluid, old school beats. The remix project earned the unknown producer so much buzz that when Jay-Z was gathering his all-star list of producers for The Black Album, he included 9th Wonder.

At first, Danger Mouse wasn't even going to do his own remix, since he knew that so many other DJ's would be doing the same. He was busy working on other projects, including the follow-up to his stellar debut album with emcee Jemini, Ghetto Pop Life.

Then, the idea of taking samples exclusively from the Beatles' White Album dawned on him. "I did it real quick," Danger Mouse told The Heights in an interview, "because I was afraid someone else was going to have the same idea." After just two weeks and over 200 hours of studio time, Danger Mouse released his remix.

The Grey Album is awe-inspiring collage of Ringo's snare, Paul's bass, Lennon's voice, and Harrison's weeping guitar that demonstrates the delicate art of sample-based production. Some songs are immediately recognizable as looped samples, while DM rearranges some songs to an almost indecipherable effect.

"It was basically just an experiment for me, like an art project," DM said. "I'm actually surprised people like it because I really just did it for me. It was a test, like 'For this song I have two loops and that's it, so let's see what I can do with that.'"

On "What More Can I Say," when Jay-Z's first verse drops on top of a slowed down guitar riff from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the collaboration at first catches the listener off guard. Fortunately, the quality of Danger Mouse's production eclipses the gimmick that initially piques listener's interest.

Many will listen to the album simply for the concept's novelty value, but this is no generic mash-up. On "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," DM takes "Julia," speeds it up, slices it in half and throws some meat on the beat until it's an entirely new song.

As Nick Hornby writes in Songbook, to accuse an artist like Danger Mouse of plagiarism is ridiculous: "You may as well make the same case against a writer whose book contain words that other writers have used before."

Unfortunately, copyright law does not agree. Sampling has been a rich man's game ever since Biz Markie was sued for sampling in 1991. The judge ruled that the Biz had violated "not only the Seventh Commandment, but also the copyright laws of this country."

Danger Mouse knew there was an insurmountable sample clearance issue that prevented him from releasing the album commercially and instead made the album available to friends and fans on underground hip-hop sites on the Internet. Recently, the album has even disappeared from these non-traditional venues.

Danger Mouse suggests, "Go find it on the Internet and make copies for your friends. I knew I was never going to make money off this, that wasn't why I did it."

On "Encore," DM's production reaches its most impressive point, with a looped breakbeat from "Glass Onion." Halfway through the song, DM switches the beat to a short drum-based sample from 1:08 into "Savoy Truffle."

On some songs, such as "Moment of Clarity," Danger Mouse falters and fails to create an engaging beat from the scraps of "Happiness Is A Warm Gun." Similarly, The Beatles' "Cry Baby Cry" doesn't seems to be able to keep up with Jay-Z's double-time rhyme on "My 1st Song."

The Grey Album shows what Danger Mouse and sample-based production in general is capable of, if not for the financial limitation involved in clearing samples. Most likely this sort of art will continue to flourish in the underground, below the radar of record label lawyers but just perfect for true hip-hop fans.

Mixtape Friday - International Hip-Hop
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Puff Daddy (I refuse to call him P. Diddy) once bragged, "I been around the world," but these emcees are from around the world. As technology increases the speed and ease with which music can traverse international borders, billions of ears around the world have fallen in love with hip-hop. By fusing regional style and international flavor, rappers from around the world have created some of the most innovate hip-hop in years. In the '80s, Slick Rick's British accent was a novelty; now KRS-One is rapping on a track with a teenage Japanese emcee, Lil Ai.

k-os "Call Me" Exit
Canadian rapper k-os (pronounced "chaos") raps in the tradition of fellow anti-Babylon revolutionaries Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill and combines large chunks of reggae, jazz, and funk. His debut album is quite simply one of the most impressive, beautiful pieces of music released in recent memory. Most notably, Exit is a complete album, with 11 diverse but thematically related tracks, with acoustic flamenco guitars, wailing vocals, and deep organic beats.

k-os explains the spiritual undertones of his tracks: "My parents are Jehovah's Witnesses so they go door-to-door with their messages. But for me, I've made a CD that has a chance to get into people's homes, and I don't have to knock on doors. People are taking me into their homes simply because they want to."


Lyrics Born "Callin' Out" Later That Day
When Rakim was rapping in New York in the '80s, he probably never imagined that people would be listening halfway around the world. Tokyo-born Tom Shimura moved to California and started making beats with friends at UC Davis. One of his friends, Josh Davis, is now better known as DJ Shadow, while another, Gift of Gab, later formed Blackalicious. On Later That Day, Shimura's debut under the moniker Lyrics Born, he proves UC Davis might be the next Berklee School of Music.

"Callin' Out," featuring pro-skateboarder Tommy Guerrero, offers a nasty beat for Lyrics Born to drop his breathless flow: "My life is the culmination of my past achievements/ with a lotta heavy liftin, a lotta deep breathin/ a lotta courage, a lotta doubt, a lotta mixed feelins/ a lotta love, a lotta luggage for a lotta reasons."

Orishas "537 CUBA" A Lo Cubano
"It's a goddamn hip-hop world, and now it has even invaded Cuba," complained Ry Cooder, producer of Cuba's most famous musical export, Buena Vista Social Club. For those excited by change and progress, rather then afraid of it, the Orishas are the future of hip-hop and world music in general. They rap in fluid Spanish over classic Cuban afro-jazz combined with contemporary hip-hop beats.

In their 2000 debut A Lo Cubano and follow-up Emigrante, the Orishas generally avoided sampling, but "537 CUBA" is a hip-hop remix of Compay Segundo's classic "Chan Chan." They also avoid the polemic issues of politics and communism in Cuba, preferring to focus on the personal experience of growing up on the island. Rapper Yotuel explains, "Adding a danceable rhythm to socially conscious lyrics is like the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down."

The Streets "Weak Becomes Heroes" Original Pirate Material

Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, recorded his debut album in his basement, while his mum screamed at him to turn the music down. His lyrics are filled with local lingo: Girls are "birds," guys are "geezers," and weak rhymes are "rhubarb and custard verses."

He doesn't even actually rap, but just kind of talks in some sort of syncopated rhythm, often apathetic to the beat. He is definitely not rapping about life in "the streets," but mostly about PlayStation 2 and ordering Chinese food with some serious munchies.

KRS-One hosts annual Boston MC Battle
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights

As 2,000 hip-hop fans waited for the Sixth Annual Superbowl MC Battle to begin, a circle opened up in the middle of the crowd. To everyone's surprise, the cipher wasn't started by local freestlyers or break-dancers, but the legendary KRS-One.

"We want to take it back to where it all started," KRS yelled. "With b-boys showing their skills in the cipher."

The scene was entirely different from last year's battle at The Middle East. Fans in the crowd said that last year's battle felt gritty and underground, whereas this year radio station Jam'n 94.5 advertised the event heavily. The inclusion of KRS-One guaranteed a huge showing.

The increased advertising clearly affected the appearance of the battle. Sponsored by MetroConcepts, Digizaar.com, Scion, and Vitamin Water, the stage was filled with advertisements for products. The contestants did not comment about whether the pink bottles of vitamin-enriched water helped their performance.

Many people complained that the battle felt corporate and that the organizers sold out by betraying the foundations of what an emcee battle should be.

Nevertheless, the increased exposure brought a more diverse crowd. KRS-One celebrated hip-hop's ability to bring people from different backgrounds together when a young white girl wearing Abercrombie & Fitch started break dancing on stage alongside an Asian man wearing Triple Five Soul.

"This is hip-hop, right here!" KRS-One said. "We got people here of every race, every social class, every gender."

The increased sponsorship also allowed the grand prize to be raised, from last year's $1,000 to $5,000 this year. Instead of giving the winner his prize in cash, as usually occurs in a battle, the winner was handed a big check, like he'd just won Ed McMahon's Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.

The annual Boston battle pits 16 contestants from around the country against each other in alternating one minute, one-on-one freestyles. Last year's winner, local rapper Jake the Snake, competed again, but lost before the finals.

The finals showcased Diabolic from Long Island, and Rhymefest from Indianapolis. To the disproval of much of the crowd, the celebrity panel, which included local rapper Akrobatik, awarded Diabolic the win.

Despite quite a few talented contestants, the highlight of the battle was still KRS-One's half-time show. The former Boogie Down Productions emcee performed most of his classics, like "South Bronx" and "My Philosophy," and some of his new songs such as "Let's Go."

Most of the contestants seemed to be in awe of KRS and referenced his presence and influence on hip-hop repeatedly in their lyrics. Other popular topics included Kobe Bryant's rape case, local rapper Benzino, and the New England Patriots.

The battle is known as the Superbowl Battle because it used to take place on Superbowl Sunday, yet it was changed three years ago when the Patriots were in the big game. Past contestants include Jin, Sage Francis, C Rayz Walz, and Mr. Lif, all of whom were unsigned hype at the time and have moved on to successful careers at major underground hip-hop labels.

"Rap is something you do. Hip-hop is something you live"

MixTape Friday: Game Recognize Game
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Thank God '80s music sucked so bad. Future b-boys were so disgusted by the songs on the radio that they went searching for music in their pop's record collection. What they found was a treasure chest of soul that would supply hip-hop with samples for years to come. After pillaging Motown and sucking dry every last funky riff from the trinity of James Brown, Al Greene, and George Clinton, producers have been forced to dig deeper in those crates of LPs for that perfect sample.

A-Side

Mtume "Juicy Fruit" Juicy Fruit
Rappers capitalize on the musical public's poor memory. Songs that were over-played radio hits just 10 years prior are now all but forgotten, allowing hip-hop to remix, repackage, and resell old goods. Notorious BIG's classic "Juicy," the first single off Biggie's classic debut Ready To Die, was produced by beat maestro Pete Rock using considerable portions of Mtume's 1985 song "Juicy Fruit." Pete Rock took the light beat and rerecorded the hook with a chorus of women rather than paying Mtume for her vocal sample.

Michael McDonald "I Keep Forgetin" If That's What It Takes
Warren G's "Regulators" keeps the simple, minimalist melody from McDonald's 1982 love song, but changes the former Doobie Brother and Steely Dan background singer's sad, wimpy lyrics from "I keep forgettin' we're not in love anymore/ I keep forgettin' things will never be the same again" to "I got a car full of girls and it's going real swell/ The next stop is the Eastside Motel."

Freddie Scott "(You)Got What I Need" Cry To Me
Listening to Scott's beautiful voice sing his 1968 hit doesn't sound right. Biz Markie has the best horrible voice in hip-hop and his laughably bad singing on "Just A Friend" from The Diabolical Biz Markie is one of the best songs for drunk karaoke. His croon is endearingly off-tune, perfectly matching his cartoon personality with a ridiculous voice.

It was a sad day in hip-hop when Biz Markie sanctioned an R&B remix by teeny-bopper Mario. When given the choice between Freddie Scott and Biz Markie, Pepsi decided to use the Biz in their Super Bowl commercial. Like he said, nobody beats the Biz.

B-Side

David McCallum "The Edge" Music: A Bit More Of Me
How Dr. Dre ever came across David McCallum's music escapes me. McCallum is an obscure British actor who dabbled in some orchestral writing in the 1960s, producing mostly crappy lounge music, but "The Edge" is his masterpiece. It opens with a bang (the same bang that opens Dre's "Next Episode"), but whimpers off with a light melody. Dre threw some heavy bass on top of McCallum's, to give it the meat you hear on 2001. Ever-thrifty, Dr. Dre usually prefers to rerecord the entire sample in his studio, turning it into an "interpolation" rather than a sample. This allows him to pay only the writer of the song, and not the performer.

Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway "Be Real Black For Me"
No duet since Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong has produced such beautiful, soulful music as Roberta and Donny. From the pathos of "I (Who Have Nothing)" to the lush melody of "When Love Has Grown," the duet's only album was nearly perfect. Scarface looped the short piano intro to "Be Real Black For Me" for his song "On My Block" from The Fix, one of the most under-appreciated hip-hop albums of the last five years.

William Bell "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" Bound To Happen
This is one of the most over-sampled guitar licks in hip-hop. From Ludacris' "Growing Pains" to Dilated Peoples' "Worst Comes To Worst," the electric guitar melody and accompanying chorus of violins beg to be sampled.

Does the N-word stand for Never?
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

"I hate niggers."

The president of the University of Alabama's NAACP had to scrub those words off the organization's office just three weeks ago, proving that racism is still a very real part of America today.

"I love niggas! I love niggas, cuz niggas are me!" A group of white teenagers sing these words along with 50 Cent's rap from "Realest Niggas," proving that racism in America is a more complicated issue than it has ever been.

In the OJ Simpson case, prosecuting attorney Christopher Darden argued that the N-word, as he referred to it, is the "filthiest, dirtiest, nastiest word in the English language."

It is one of the very last truly taboo words in the contemporary culture. Most major newspapers refuse to publish the word, even when reporting legitimate news issues, preferring instead to write "n-," unless the word is in a direct quotation. Uttering its two syllables can cause severe ramifications, even if the speaker does not intend to be racist.

In fact, problems can arise even if the speaker is denouncing racism, as happened to a white employee at the University of Virginia, who was recently criticized by the school's president for a comment he made to coworkers regarding the name of the Washington Redskins. He said, "It is as derogatory to Indians as having a team called Niggers would be to blacks."

In a similar situation, David Howard, the white director of a Washington DC municipal agency, was forced to resign after he warned his staff that he would have to be "niggardly" with funds. An uproar followed that resulted in Howard's resignation, despite the fact that "niggardly" has no etymological relation to the racial epithet.

Experiences like these have taught white America that the N-word stands for "Never." Among many African-Americans, on the other hand, the word has become part of everyday conversation as a result of its proliferation in hip-hop.

In 1940, Langston Hughes wrote, "The word nigger to colored people of high and low degree is like a red rag to a bull. Used rightly or wrongly, ironically or seriously, of necessity for the sake of realism, or impishly for the sake of comedy, it doesn't matter."

To an extent, in 2003, this was no longer true. When Chris Rock can joke, "I love black people, but I hate niggers," and win an Emmy for his performance, clearly things have changed.

In the top-selling album of 2003, Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent raps "nigga" 131 times.

Though most hip-hop albums are recorded by black artists, the majority are purchased by white teenagers.

Ice Cube said, "When we call each other 'nigga,' it means no harm. But if a white person uses it, it's something different, it's a racist word." Many disagree with what they view as a racist double standard that allows some people to use the word, while prohibiting others.

In an interview with The Heights, John Kanka, news editor for The Observer, said, "You really shouldn't have some people use it and other people not use it because how are these kids supposed to figure out who is allowed to say it, and who is not allowed.

"If something is okay for some people to say, then it seems like it should be okay for everyone else to say," he said.

Justin McLean, president of the Boston College chapter of the NAACP, refuses to recognize this as a legitimate argument and feels that it is nothing more than an excuse to ignore the real issue of racism in America.

"The right-wing argues that the battle for equality is over and that since we're all equal now, then it's unfair that whites can't say nigga," McLean said.

"What they are actually doing is simply hiding behind the mask of equality and perpetuating false notions of victimization, rather than coming out with their true intention, which is to further their own notions of white privilege."

McLean said that he hears the word used at Boston College on a daily basis among blacks, a trend that Donald Brown, director of BC AHANA Student Programs, disparages.

Brown said, "For me, and for everyone else that grew up during the '60's, the word 'nigga' will never be a term of endearment, because when I heard 'nigger,' there was usually a cross burning somewhere nearby."

Brown disagrees with the distinction that many rappers make based on the spelling of the N-word, as articulated by 2Pac: "Niggers was the ones on the rope hanging out on the field. Niggas is the ones with gold ropes hanging out at clubs."

In fact, many in the hip-hop community argue that the definition of the N-word has evolved for the better as a result.

Rapper Mos Def says, "It's an act of empowerment. When we call each other 'nigga,' we take a word that has been historically used by whites to degrade and oppress us, a word that has so many negative connotations, and turn it into something beautiful, something we can call our own"

Last year, Harvard professor Randall Kennedy's book Nigger explored the tragic history and enduring legacy of racism in American as embodied by six letters.

He wrote, "I think we should take comfort from the idea that a word that has miserable, terrible, hurtful roots can be appropriated by folks and made into something entirely different, including an anti-racist word, including a term of endearment."

"There is much to be gained by allowing people of all backgrounds to yank nigger away from white supremacists to subvert its ugliest denotation, and to convert the N-word from a negative into a positive appellation," he continued.

When Dr. Dre calls Eminem his "nigga" in "What's The Difference" it demonstrates the difficulty of defining such an ambiguous word.

As a result, much of the difficulty of dealing with the N-word comes from its protean quality: historically the word means too many things and yet in much of hip-hop it means nothing at all.

Kennedy concludes his book by asking, "Can a relationship between a black person and a white one be such that the white person should properly feel authorized, at least within the confines of that relationship, to use the N-word? For me the answer is yes."

As for now, most leaders in the black community disagree. Burnell E. Holland III, president of BC AHANA Leadership Council, states simply: "There's no way that a white person can ever say 'nigga' and not offend a black person, no matter what his intention is. There is just too much painful history in that word."

MixTape Friday: Live Fast, Die Young
By Canyon Cody
Originally published at The Heights

2Pac rapped, "Marvin Gaye used to sing to me." All music fans can relate to Shakur's feeling that a musician was speaking directly to them. As a result, the premature deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, John Lennon, and Marvin Gaye were as painful to many fans as the death of a close friend. Unfortunately, the next generation of musicians failed to learn from the mistakes of their forefathers, and we have all suffered through the deaths of some of the most talented artists of the last decade.

Sublime "KRS-One" 40 Oz. to Freedom
Sublime recorded its debut album for under $1,000 and sold the first 30,000 copies out of the trunk of lead singer Bradley Nowell's car. After signing to MCA, Sublime's self-titled third album sent the band into superstardom and expanded its fan base beyond the beaches and half pipes of Southern California.

On 40 Oz. to Freedom, Nowell demonstrates his eclectic musical taste in his ode to rap pioneer KRS-One. Nowell's song shows how hip-hop can educate the masses by expressing the otherwise muffled voice of America's disenfranchised. KRS called it "edutainment." Nowell sings, "In school they never taught about hamburgers or steak/ Elijah Muhammed or the welfare state/ but I know/ and I know because of KRS-One."

Nowell died of a overdose on May 25, 1996.

2Pac "Keep Ya Head Up" Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
2Pac, of course, doesn't deserve to be on this mix, because he isn't actually dead. Pac's keeping it real in Cuba with Elvis, just waiting for the perfect time to come back like Superman after his "death" to save rap from evil-doers Nelly and Ja Rule.

On "Keep Ya Head Up," 2Pac sings a ballad to oppressed women that sounds so sincere that one could almost forget his misogynistic raps and sexual assault conviction. 2Pac sang about the reproductive rights of woman at a time when Newt Gingrich was fighting against a woman's right to choose: "And since a man can't make one/ He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one."

Shakur was murdered on Sept. 6, 1996.

Nirvana "Stay Away" Nevermind
Listening to Nirvana again isn't the same as going back to listen to Sublime. Sublime conjures nostalgia; Nirvana smells of regret. Nirvana was the perfect band at the perfect moment, but listening to it again 10 years later isn't as fun as it should be.

On "Stay Away," Cobain sings some of the incomprehensible lyrics that typified Nirvana. Reading the actual lyrics tends to ruin Nirvana's songs; they are never as profound as Cobain's voice made them sound: "Monkey see, monkey do/ I'd rather be deal than cool/ Every line ends in rhyme."

Cobain died from a self-inflicted gun wound on April 8, 1994

Notorious BIG "Everyday Struggle" Ready To Die
Like 2Pac, Biggie eerily prophesized his own death on "Everyday Struggle." On the chorus, he sings, "I don't wanna live no more/ Sometimes I hear death knockin' at my front door." Biggie lacked the political philosophy of 2Pac, yet managed to tell his story in a poignant, personal way.

The song is also a good reminder that Rudolph Giuliani wasn't always as popular as he was after 9/11. Biggie expresses his opposition to the mayor's policies, which were viewed as racist and draconian by much of the New York black community. BIG was just trying to make a honest dollar selling crack, but "our mayor Guiliani/ ain't tryin to see no black man turn to John Gotti."

BIG was murdered on March 9, 1997.

Sell Out With Me
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights

Video killed the radio star, and soon mp3 will kill the video star. Globalization not only means a Starbucks at every corner, but a Beyonce song at every frequency. A healthy underground has grown out of an allergic reaction to all the bling, yet even the righteous ones can be tempted by the limelight. Loyal fans are quick to renounce allegiance to a band that sells out with an appearance on TRL. "I liked their older stuff better," is the unofficial mantra of music snobs everywhere. Music aficionados demonstrate their knowledge by celebrating unknown bands, while criticizing those with a record deal.

Though much of the music on MTV isn't worth my KaZaA download time, many of the so-called "sell-outs" are still the talented, innovative artists they were before they went platinum. Stuck on the radio, these are the best of the worst.

A-Side

The Roots "The Seed 2.0" Phrenology
The Roots have built themselves one of the most loyal fan bases in music by tirelessly touring the country, often playing colleges and small venues. Their fans chastised the band for their radio-friendly single, snickering at the song's popularity with hip-hop philistines, the sort of people that love Outkast's "Hey Ya" and misprounce ENYCE.

Nevertheless ... "The Seed 2.0" rocks, and that's exactly why some people criticize it. The song won heavy rotation on rock 'n' roll stations, exposing hip- hop to a greater audience, which threatens protective fans. Ironically, lead singer Black Thought admits his hip-hop infidelity, rapping metaphorically about cheating on his girl with another lover, who then gets pregnant: "Sit and watch it grow, standin' where I'm at / Fertilize another behind my lover's back." The Roots are amazing talented musicians with diverse musical interest, and though their allegiance will forever remain with hip-hop, other genres deserve their attention as well. If nothing else, the song deserves respect for introducing neo-soul singer Cody ChestnuTT, whose solo albums drips with sexy songs like "I Look Good In Leather."

Talib Kweli "Get By" Quality
Talib built his reputation as a true lyricist, recognized by the the underground and the industry as a true-school emcee. Jay-Z admitted, "If skills sold/ Truth be told/ I'd probably be/ Lyrically/ Talib Kweli." After two underground classics, Blackstar and Reflection Eternal, Talib decided he wanted to get paid dollars as well as respect, so he called Jay-Z's producer, made a video, and tried to sell his skills to the Carson Daly generation.

Nevertheless ... "Get By" fulfils Talib's promise that "it ain't commercial or underground/ it's true." Kanye's layered piano loops create an infectious chorus around a sample from the late Nina Simone's 1965 cover of "Sinner Man."

The Strokes "Someday" Is This It?
The Strokes sold out before they even sold an album, cursed by their own hype. The critics prophesized the second coming of Christ, and the buzz killed the band. Lead singer Julian Casablancas sings, "Promises they break before they're made/Sometimes, sometimes." The Strokes were too cool for school, until they were expelled from all the true hipster's stereos.

Nevertheless ... "Someday" is the best thing to come out of two guitars, a bass, a drum set, and a long-haired twentysomething lead singer since Nirvana sang "Here we are now, entertain us." The eight second breakbeat at 1:41 into "Someday" begs for a b-boy with two turntables and a mixer to loop the drum solo into a hip-hop beat.

B-Side

Jay-Z "Lucifer" The Black Album
After his debut classic Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z sold his underground soul for "Money, Cash, Hoes." After big pimpin' for almost a decade, Jay-Z finally admitted on his last album, "I dumbed down for my audience/ to double my dollars."

Nevertheless ... "Lucifer" bounces with a sinfully catchy hook from Kanye West. Though the accelerated Max Romeo sample demonstrates Jay-Z's tendency to jump on a passing craze, he redeems himself by rhyming "Jesus" with "facetious."

The Cure "Love Cats" Strange Attraction
The Cure never, ever plays "The Lovecats" at its concerts. Lead singer Robert Smith always seems to resent the band's mainstream success and prefers its more dreary tunes. Just as Radiohead's fans despise "Creep," dedicated (aka snobby) Cure fans claim it's a silly little song for the radio.

Nevertheless ... "The Lovecats" bubbles with ebullient fun. Easily danceable for even the most rhythmically challenged, the jazzy piano melody seems as mischievous as the "cagey tigers" Smith sings about. Despite the upbeat tempo, the song's appeal is its rainy, sleepy Sunday lyrics: "Curl up by the fire/ And sleep for awhile/ It's the grooviest thing/ It's the perfect dream."



2Pac "Can't C Me" All Eyez On Me
Most rappers are criticized (rather foolishly) for abandoning the gully lifestyle of guns and drugs for the cushy suburban life. 2Pac, on the other hand, reversed the sequence and emerged from the 'burbs, only to begin a prolific career in crime to complement his equally prolific music career. In that sense, 2Pac never sold out, though in retrospect, he probably should have. 2Pac didn't sell his music to The Man, but instead sold his soul to the devil. Sentenced to four years for sexual abuse, 2Pac accepted a quid pro quo deal with notorious gangster Suge Knight: 2Pac signed to Knight's record label, Death Row, and Knight paid Shakur's $1.4 million bail. Pac immediately flew to LA and began recording All Eyez on Me with the man that would later drive the car in which 2Pac was shot and killed.

Nevertheless ... "Can't C Me" opens the first rap double LP with a bang. George Clinton sings the hook on top of Dr. Dre's bumping beat, both of which are overshadowed by 2Pac's angry verses, rapped with the violent passion of a man straight of out jail. In three lines, Pac proves that he's the real gangsta and that 50 Cent is nothing but a bad, redundant imitation: "Tell them tricks that shot me / that they missed / they ain't killed me."

Keys Strikes Again
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights

When a British magazine recently asked Alicia Keys how her life had changed since her last album, she replied, "I'm definitely older." Fortunately, Keys proves herself more adept at songwriting than interviews on her impressive, soulful sophomore effort, The Diary of Alicia Keys.

Alicia Keys has quite a bit to live up to following her critically acclaimed debut, Songs in A Minor, which earned the 21-year-old singer more Grammys than she could carry. Not to be outdone by fellow mellow diva and reigning Grammy empress Norah Jones, Keys once again combines her amazing (though often self-referenced) talent as a classical pianist with her passionate voice and romantic lyrics to produce another beautiful album.

The first single on the album is the Kanye West-produced "You Don't Know My Name," which samples the Main Ingredient track "Let Me Prove My Love To You." The song's lush Motown sound explores the moment before speaking to someone that attracts your attention. The song features Keys as a waitress interested in one of her customers, played in the video by (former) rapper Mos Def, who has apparently abandoned hip-hop altogether in deference to his thespian career.

Keys takes it back to 1971 for a remake of Gladys Knight and the Pips' "If I Were Your Woman" and Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By" for the creatively titled "If I Was Your Woman (Walk on By)." The song, along with "Samsonite Man" and "Diary," allow Keys' rolling piano to compliment her soaring voice, which she at times exaggerates until it borders ridiculously orgiastic levels.

Keys deviates from her usual romantic R&B ballads on "Wake Up," an unexpected criticism of the War on Terror. Two days after September 11, Keys told a reporter that she "saw lies" in the American flag, yet she posed for a magazine in front of a large flag three months later. "Wake Up" is sung from the perspective of a soldier's wife, pleading, "Bring my baby back home."

Timbaland brings more old school flavor to the album on "Heartburn," which sounds like a theme song to a 1970s blaxpoitation film. By working with more hip-hop producers, Keys' album lacks the consistency of her previous pure neo-soul album, yet she demonstrates greater versatility as an artist. She will hopefully never turn into just another R&B/hip-hop cross-over singer such as Ashanti or Mariah Carey, but her undeniable musical talent seems to indicate this will not occur in the near future.

So far, her collaborations with hip-hop artists have produced wonderful results, such as "Streets of New York." Unfortunately, the song, which is currently exploding on the mixtape circuit, was inexplicably left off the album at the last second, though it might be included as a bonus track on a reissue. The song samples the DJ Premier-produced hip hop classic "NY State Of Mind" from Nas' 1994 debut Illmatic and features new verses from Rakim and Nas.

Keys takes a few limited risks with her music and succeeds in producing another listenable album that, at times, borders on the beautiful. She better bring a backpack with her to the Grammys this year, and Norah better be practicing.