Doomtree - False Hopes

Artist: Doomtree
Album: False Hopes
Genre: Hip-Hop
Year: 2007
Origin: USA

Doomtree is the hip-hop collective of P.O.S., Dessa and a bunch of other cool cats. They seriously are the best hip-hop artists in the world, to the point where I almost feel like they ruined other rappers for me. They have released a self-titled album now that is also very good (you should buy it if you like this stuff!), which they say is the music that really represents them. But I think this album might be their best collaborative work, despite being called False Hopes which is what they name a lot of releases that they think of as secondary.

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Alex Kresovich - Gold N' Fly 007

Artist: Alex Kresovich
Album: Gold N' Fly 007
Genre: Hip-Hop mashup
Year: 2010 (I think)
Origin: USA (New York)

If you don't have nostalgia for the game, this post probably won't hold much interest for you. But it really is an expert production job, with the tempos and crescendos seamlessly matched. Of course I've played Goldeneye many times and it really brings back memories, but it's kind of amazing that these songs weren't made for this. The quality of the rapping is mixed, from those tracks that could stand on their own (Nas, Tech N9ne, 2Pac) to some really terrible rap by really terrible people (Lil' Wayne, 50 Cent). Admittedly it starts to feel a little repetitive after 22 tracks, but if the concept sounds interesting to you at all you should check this out.

Also, I'm not sure if Alex Kresovich was part of The Ocarina of Rhyme or Vinyl Fantasy VII projects, but they're pretty cool too and are linked from his website.

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Beyond Decay - Dropping the Bomb

Artist: Beyond Decay
Album: Dropping the Bomb
Genre: Skacore
Year: 2008
Origin: USA

Beyond Decay play a mix of ska, reggae and hardcore, with rap thrown in on a song or two, which comes from the now-worldwide "crack rock steady" scene. I come across a fair amount of this style on the Internet these days, but this is an album that is executed much better than most (see No Cops For Miles as another very good, though less creative, example). Yes, the album cover is larger than my review, but it does look cool doesn't it?

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Dessa - False Hopes EP

Artist: Dessa
Album: False Hopes EP
Genre: Hip-Hop
Year: 2005
Origin: USA

This post was partly prompted by my noticing that P.O.S. - Audition is by far the most downloaded thing I've posted here. Dessa is the sole female rapper in P.O.S.'s Doomtree collective, and who doesn't like a good femcee? She's into poetics (she seems to think of herself as a writer more than a musician), and her lyrics are similarly personal in nature to the P.O.S. album. I think there are somewhere around 12 cds titled False Hopes by the various members of Doomtree; the only other I've heard is the group release, which is quite good.

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P.O.S. - Audition

Artist: P.O.S.
Album: Audition
Genre: Hip-Hop
Year: 2006
Origin: USA

P.O.S. is a rapper from Minneapolis. He started out his music in a punk band, and the influence can still be heard, but now he makes intelligent but angry underground hip-hop. The main thing that stands out is that his beats are sometimes crafted from chugging metal guitars (and is that double-bass I hear?). He's also a part of the Minneapolis-based Doomtree collective, which I also recommend to hip-hop fans. This was requested, but I have definitely been listening to (and posting) a lot of hip-hop recently; five years ago I never would have guessed!

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K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philospher

Artist: K'naan
Album: The Dusty Foot Philosopher
Genre: Hip-Hop
Year: 2008
Origin: Canada

K'naan is an African-Canadian rapper, originally from Somalia. His vocal style is unique (in my limited hip-hop experience anyway), giving me the feeling that he is just having a conversation. This leads me to think he doesn't take himself as seriously as most rappers, though his rhymes are excellent and his beats fresh (and he does give the occasional trash-talk). A lot of his music relates to Africa and being a refugee, with an insightful global perspective. Musically he also has a lot of rock/pop leanings on this album, particularly with the amazingly catchy If Rap Gets Jealous.

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Dead Prez - Let's Get Free

Artist: Dead Prez
Album: Let's Get Free
Genre: Revolutionary Hip-Hop
Year: 2000
Origin: USA

Dead Prez is a revolutionary hip-hop duo, with an extra emphasis on the 'revolutionary'. These guys are very angry about things as they are in the US, and they mean to do something about it. This is probably the most 'serious' rap music I have ever heard. They aren't against having a good time, as can be seen in the slightly more upbeat songs "Mind Sex" and "Happiness", but the lyrics are thoughtful and the focus on revolutionary social change is always clear.

I'm not sure how I feel about the "Revolutionary But Gangsta" stuff they have made more recently. I understand about solidarity with the oppressed and all that, but on this album they made a big point about mainstream rap culture being counterrevolutionary, and I'm worried that they might be moving toward that. It seems that they release an album every election year, so the new one should be out soon.

Anyway, this here is one of my favorite hip-hop albums; I highly recommend it.

artist site

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Michael Franti & Spearhead - Yell Fire!

[Barack Obama being given the cd by a fan. Not even photoshopped!]

Artist: Michael Franti & Spearhead
Album: Yell Fire!
Genre: Reggae, Hip Hop
Year: 2006
Origin: USA

I was first introduced to Michael Franti at the Power to the Peaceful festival that he puts on every year, which was originally a rally to free Mumia Abu-Jamal I believe, but it has become a huge concert and anti-war/hippie gathering in San Francisco. He's a hip hop artist who draws heavily from funk, reggae and rock. This album was written and recorded largely in Kingston, Jamaica and it really became a down-tempo reggae recording where he utilizes his full vocal range rather than rapping. The songs are very catchy, and the lyrics are inspired by his visit to Iraq, Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine. "The thing that I found when I was in war zones was that nobody wants to hear songs about war. They want to hear songs about connection to people, and songs about love and life, songs that make them dance." (quote from his website) Time to Go Home is especially one of my favorite songs in the world.

band site

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Keny Arkana - Entre Ciment et Belle Étoile

Artist: Keny Arkana
Album: Entre Ciment et Belle Étoile
Genre: Hip-Hop
Origin: France
Year: 2006

Keny Arkana is a revolutionary hip-hop artist of Argentinian heritage, living in Marseille. This album title translates to something like "Between Concrete and Beautiful Stars". She is a very political artist, being a part of the alter-globalization movement. This album includes La Rage du Peuple, which I suppose is her hit single. I don't know a lot about hip-hop music, but I know that from the perspective of a rock fan, this is what I think hip-hop should be. She is clearly very angry and passionate about her lyrics, without being the kind of gangsta-rap some people might be expecting.

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