The Doctor’s Advocate

Okay, Game’s new album is official. The first time I say the cover of the Documentary, I was pretty psyched about it. The Chuck Taylors, the screw face, the hundred spoke wheels; all that West Coast iconography is a trip. There is a reason we love regionalism in hip hop. Each region brings their own flavor and we’d been missing the West for a minute there. I thought maybe we could get some of that laid back, needlessly nihilistic, gangsta shit that’d been missing from radio for a while. I’d been for hoping forthis guy, Balance(he’s got a hell of a laid back flow) to deliver, but it’s been three years since I first put one of his tracks on a mixtape and I’m still waiting for dude to blow. So Game looked like the cat to do it. And he sort of did.

In spite of his questionable rap skills and all the name dropping , The Documentary was kind of a hot album. Lot’s of great beats, some fun tracks with 50 and once in a while The Game even managed to come correct as a rapper (see “No More Fun and Games,” over Just Blaze’s monstrous track). Lyrically, he’s been getting better in the gap between albums. I can’t believe that Obie Trice’s album didn’t have the track they did together, “Growing Up in the Hood.” G-Unit feud or no, that is one of the best tracks either artist has ever done. If you haven’t heard it, find it and listen to it. It’s definitely worth it.

Because in this new day, one doesn’t listen to an album but a whole series of leaks, I heard 8 or so tracks from Doctor’s Advocate before the whole scorcher landed on my desk last night. When I said I wanted West Coast, this is what I meant. This is not new music, this is classic stuff. All of Dre’s signatures are on this album, everything he did with N.W.A and subsequently studied and reproduced with attention to detail. Game is still no general in the rap field; he’s more like a private but his flow works nicely on most of the tracks and when he gets an appropriately scorching beat, he steps to it like a man.

Exhibit A? “Compton.” Someone described this track as Game doing a one man N.W.A impression and that description pretty much fits. The song is entirely in their mold, from the ultra abrasive “nigga, nigga, nigga, I’m from Compton” that he starts every verse with to Will.I. Am’s mythologizing hook, the insane, insane drums and all those lovely WestCoast signifiers on the beat, the spare piano loop, the multiple breakdowns, this track is a monster. If you disagree, listen to it three more times, dip quickly intoStraight Outta Compton and The Chronic and then come back and say thank you.

More West Coast goodness on “Remedy” and “Ol’ English.” “Remedy” has a nice bounce to it, riding music, while “Ol’ English” is smoked out on a really big blunt with a bottle of, what else, Ol’ english type music. “Wouldn’t Get Far” is a pretty cool track featuring Kanye, with both rappers going on about girls and the way they love stars on a chill but fairly typical Kanye produced beat.

“Let’s Ride” and “One Blood” are both already on the radio; the first so so and the second a nice shot of adrenaline, Game spouting angry bluster at everyone and everything.
“Why You Hate the Game,” with Nas features the beautiful line (and my next tagline), “Pro black, I don’t pick cotton out of aspirin bottles” and Game holds his own against the God son pretty well, if only causeNas is pretty laid back anyway. I don’t like the production on this track that much. Just Blaze did far better work on Documentary with “Church for Thugs” and “No more fun and games.” This beat is merely okay and the verses deserve far better, although it is kind of a nice closer for the album in it’s own way.

I’m not in love with the title track featuring Busta. Game often acts like an immature kid unable to decide who he wants to be that way and tracks like this where he sounds weepy and choked up over minor things highlight that immaturity unnecessarily. I’m also not a fan of the track withJamieFoxx . What do you all say we impose a moratorium on that guy continuing in the music industry. We’ll keep watching his movies and he’ll leave our music alone? Sound like a plan?

Altogether the album is pretty cohesive, with one absolute monster of a track, a handful of very good ones and not enough bad tracks to seriously drag it down. It also gets major points for repping that West Coast sound hard. Considering I wasn’t expecting anything at all, I’m very pleased. I rate this highly listenabl.

Steal this album here

Buy this album here

See another early review for this album here

4th Quarter 06- Glorious

Nigga, nigga, I’m from Compton, Compton

It’s the home of America’s gangster rap, the place of danger
where the gangsta boogie, the gangsta boogie, the gangsta boogie

where the cops is crooked and them bitches is killers,

and them niggas hold it down like black guerrillas
where the gangsta boogie, the gangsta boogie

nigga, nigga, nigga, I’m from Compton

I cannot tell you how excited I am about the final couple of months of this year. Five albums coming out by four top notch rappers, one legend gone soft and one wannabe gangsta who already has a very good album to his name. These things are leaking like the Bush administration and my hard drive is exploding with regularity. I’m playing Game’s “Compton” for about the hundredth time tonight, and our wannabe gangster, the least proficient of these rappers has created a fucking monster. It’s even more astonishing that it’s produced by Will.I.Am. I can’t tell you how much I despise the Black Eyed Peas or how much I love this track. At this moment, I’m ready to nominate it track of the year and the best West Coast track since Still D.R.E., maybe earlier.

Still to come: Snoop (back in form with the gangsta rap), with Tha Blu Carpet Treatment, Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come, Nas’ Hip Hop is Dead and the Clipse with Hell Hath No Fury. 2006 is going to go down as a hell of a year for hip hop if these things hit with any precision.

The Clipse are already guranteed. XXL in XXL and the leaked tracks are all certifiably hot (see “Wamp Wamp” below). Jay-Z faltered out the gate with “Show Me What You Got,” a track even worse than the abomination known as “Change Clothes” but recovered fairly well with “Kingdom Come” and “Lost Ones,” one a nice work of braggadocio and the other a thoughtful examinations of real issues with people, even if the flow is somewhat questionable. Snoop is in fine form with tales of g’s behaving badly in “Vato” and “Gang Bangin 101.” And Nas sounds just fine on “Hip Hop is Dead” even if he is recycling his own beats. He’s also pretty damn nice on Game’s “Why You Hate the Game.”

Which brings us back to Jayceon Taylor, whose album leaked 8 tracks before appearing in its entirety tonight. It’s hot, better than The Documentary and just as perplexing that such a grand album should come from such an okay rapper. But I ain’t complaining. It’s hope that this year is going to end on a fantastic fucking note. Fuck an Idlewild, this is what Hip Hop is supposed to sound like.

4th Quarter Insanity

Clipse – Wamp Wamp

Snoop Dogg – Gangbangin’ 101

The Game – Compton

Clipse – Ain’t Cha

Jay-Z – Kingdom Come

Nas – Hip Hop Is Dead

Jay-Z – Lost Ones

Snoop Dogg ft. B-Real – Vato

All this leaked goodness comes to you courtesy of Eskay, Rizoh and these Smoking fellas.

The Game ft. Nas & Marsha of Floetry – Why You Hate The Game

Burn a Stogie to This

One of my more succesful mixes, the back story story below is from my old music blog. I’ll be posting more of these, old and new, up as time goes on.

I once worked at a cigar lounge in Montreal. Great place, lots of good people and one of my better experiences working in a bar. The music though, was absolute shit. They had a Dj who considered himself a funny guy but obviously hadn’t bought a new CD since 1999 and they had the worst load of trashy electronica loaded for the times when there was no DJ in the house. Suffice to say, it made working twelve hour shifts a very trying experience. Right after I quit the job, I was sitting at an Egyptian airport with time to burn and I figured I’d try to make a mix of songs that I’d want to listen to if I was going to smoke a really cigar. This is that mix.

Burn a Stogie to this

Track list

Howlin’ Wolf – Evil
Ray Charles – What’d I Say Parts I & II
Minutemen – Hit Song
Johnny Cash – Solitary Man
Bob Marley – Concrete Jungle
Jay-Z – Ain’t No Love (Heart of the City)
Dangerdoom – Mince Meat
Handsome Boy Modelling School ft. RZA, Mars Volta & AG
Basement Jaxx – Good Luck
New Age Sleepers – Fade Away
Nina Simone – Sugar In My Bowl

I love me some good advertising

Wicked cool ads. Found by Florence.

Don’t call it a comeback

Okay maybe that’s what it is. Who cares? Whatever the case, I’m back on the net again. In this pretty new incarnation, I will be writing about fashion, music, media and all that jazz. Whatever I’m interested in generally, I will comment upon here. I’m going to import my music mixes from my previous blogs, old style pieces and generally merge it all in this space. And then we will go forth and write new and hopefully interesting stuff. From previous experience I can warn you that this will not be a reliably updated blog. I generally go through periods of extreme productivity followed by lots of slacking. Keep your expectations low, put me in your RSS feed and hopefully we can this thing feeling fresh. Looking forward to entertaining you and reducing your productivity in the office.

Your man, Flint