The Cool

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool came out today. Buy it! He deserves the support. The Cool is arguably the best album of '07. Listen to the first two singles here...

Lupe Fiasco feat. Matthew Santos - Superstar => LISTEN

Lupe Fiasco feat. Gemstones and Graham Burris - Dumb It Down => LISTEN

What a year for Chicago hip hop. Kanye West's Graduation, Common's Finding Forever, and Lupe Fiasco's The Cool should be in everyones Top 10 (5!) list.

Walk Like A Man

"Walk Like A Man" is my favorite Murs track. The acronym MURS stands for 'Making Underground Raw Shit,' which he has been doing successfully for about 10 years now. This song comes from one of my favorite albums, Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition, entirely produced by the incredible 9th Wonder (another favorite). On "Walk Like A Man," Murs eulogizes his best friend while commenting on the uselessness of revenge. It's a real deep song. Check it out...

Murs - Walk Like A Man => LISTEN

They Schools

Dead Prez is the duo of stic.man and M-1. They are, much like Immortal Technique, known for their politically provocative lyrics. Their debut album Let's Get Free, released in 2000, was led by the hit single "Hip Hop" (you've probably heard it). Also on that album is today's song, titled "They Schools," which takes on racism in the school system.

Dead Prez - They Schools => LISTEN

Cool fact: they met in my hometown, Tallahassee, Florida, while attending FAMU.

Shadow Business

Quick post tonight. A song about slave labor by Jedi Mind Tricks, a rapper/produced duo from Philadelphia consisting of Vinnie Paz (emcee) and Stoupe (producer). Vinnie's voice is one of my favorites and Stoupe's production never fails to amaze me. This track is from their latest CD, Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell, released in 2006.

Jedi Mind Tricks - Shadow Business => LISTEN

Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night

The Coup is from Oakland, California, and currently has two members: Raymond "Boots" Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress. "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night" (please forgive the long title) is one of the most emotional stories to be told on record. Whether it's literal or an allegory is for you to decide. The Coup often confronts social and political issues so the latter is certainly a possibility. Either way this track will leave an impression on you.

I suggest you read the lyrics as you listen. You can find them here.

The Coup - Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night => LISTEN

This was the first single off their 1998 album, Steal This Album. Its video, which enhances the story, can be found here.

Bin Laden

My apologies for being away for so long. Time to get back on track to finish out '07. I'm giving you two tracks today from the most politically-charged rapper you've ever heard - Immortal Technique. His raps are not unsubstantiated musings. He's well-educated, well-spoken and his punchlines, you will never forget.

"Bin Laden" has gotten him the most mainstream recognition, primarily because of Mos Def's chilling chorus. People tend to get caught up in that though and miss the deeper message. The remix, produced by DJ Green Lantern, has a harder beat and begins with a great clip from an Al Sharpton speech.

Immortal Technique feat. Mos Def - Bin Laden => LISTEN

Immortal Technique feat. Chuck D & KRS-One - Bin Laden (Remix) => LISTEN

Government front religious, but their heart is empty
Like a televangelist preaching out of his Bentley
Call an abortion murder in a medical building
But don't give a fuck about bombing Iraqi children

The Ugly Truth

So I've been M.I.A. for a few days. My bad. I'm hitting you with something profound today though. I'm not even going to intro this other than to say: listen to the whole song before making any judgments ;)

Louis Logic - The Ugly Truth => LISTEN

P.S. Buy the CunninLynguists' new album, Dirty Acres!

Beautiful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm upping a "beautiful" song today. It's a love song to hip hop called "Beautiful" by Masta Ace, one of the most consistent rappers in the game today. He's been an underground legend for years and this song is one of my favorites.

Masta Ace - Beautiful => LISTEN

A Long Hot Summer was released in 2004 and I consider it to be one of the best albums released this century... this millennium!

A.B.C.

Phi-Life Cypher is a hip hop group from Luton, England, known for their incredible rhyming. This track shows that off like none other. On "A.B.C.," the group members go through the entire alphabet. Every word for four or five lines at a time starts with the same letter. You have to hear it to really understand.

This song will never cease to amaze me.

Phi-Life Cypher - A.B.C. => LISTEN

This track is on Millennium Metaphors, released in 2000 on Jazz Fudge Records.

B.I.B.L.E.

"B.I.B.L.E." = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

Killah Priest - B.I.B.L.E. => LISTEN

Killah Priest is an affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan and this track was featured on GZA's Liquid Swords, released in 1995. That album frequently makes it onto 'top 10 albums of all-time' lists (including mine). With that being said, this was his breakout track. It established him as religiously-conscious, a trend that was expanded upon on his first solo album, Heavy Mental, released in 1998. Pay particular attention to how his biblical references connect to the contemporary African-American experience.

Rewind

Nas has been one of the most consistent rappers in the game for over a decade now. This track comes from Stillmatic, arguably his second best album (behind the timeless classic Illmatic). Nas is particularly good at telling stories, but this concept song is a bit different. The story is told backwards.

Nas - Rewind => LISTEN

Lonely People

Ready for a song made using a Beatles sample? Check out "Lonely People" by Talib Kweli, featuring a sample of "Eleanor Rigby." Not only is the production great, so are the lyrics (as expected).

Talib Kweli feat. Michelle Williams - Lonely People => LISTEN

This track is from "The Beautiful Mixtape," released in 2004. It was not released on Kweli's studio album, "The Beautiful Struggle," due to clearance issues with the Beatles.

Wordsmith

"Wordsmith" by Chino XL is one of the most lyrical songs you will ever hear. The wordplay is incredible and the best part is: it's about words.

Chino XL - Wordsmith => LISTEN

This song comes from his third album, Poison Pen, released in 2006. The entire album is raw and lyrical, two things which have kept Chino XL from mainstream rotation. A lot of people only recognize his name because 2Pac said "Chino XL, fuck you, too" towards the end of "Hit 'Em Up," a diss track primarily directed at The Notorious B.I.G. and Bad Boy Records. However, that's another story. For now, enjoy the track.

Mic Like a Memory

I'm going to start sharing a song a day from my 25k+ song collection. We'll begin with the song that inspired this blog's domain name:

CunninLynguists feat. Kory Calico - Mic Like a Memory => LISTEN

"Mic Like a Memory" is my favorite song by the CunninLynguists, a duo from Lexington, Kentucky consisting of Deacon the Villain and Kno. The melodic production is courtesy of Kno himself, who has produced the majority of the group's songs. The perfect lyric sample on the hook comes from "1-9-9-9" by Common. As far as the content, it speaks for itself: "I hold the mic like a memory to ease the pain..."

It is on their first album, Will Rap for Food, released in 2001. Their fourth album, Dirty Acres, comes out on November 27th.