"Soul" Music

Seeing as how I've been a grumpy old ranting man lately, I think I'll change up the pace of this blog. I got the urge earlier today to make a list of music I've been into for the past year or so. Here we go-

Jay Z - American Gangster. Based loosely on the movie of the same name, which is also my favorite recent movie. As far as lyrics, the production value, the overall flow of this cd, in my opinion nothing in the last few years comes close to this one. "Watchin' Eric Estrada, baggin' up at the Ramada. Table full of powder. AC broke, bout to take another shower on my 25th hour." That line sums up the entire cd.

Prodigy - Return of the Mac. Ok, this is more of a mixtape, or so he says. The precursor to H.N.I.C. 2. But even so, that grimy raw New York sound keeps this one steady bumpin' in my rotation. From the dope production of the Alchemist, to the gritty tales of crime and woe that Prodigy spits, ROTM is a must for heads like me.

Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab. GFK is another New York artist that always comes hard with both raw beats and fly lyrics. With wallabies, furs and plenty of nose candy, Ghostface is constantly bringing style to the table, right along side of tales from the street. The perfect blend too, if I may say so. Even though Fishscale came out a few years back, that one is still on rotation too. Big Girl is still my ish.

So what do these albums have in common? Besides being New York rappers, all whom have been out for years now, these three albums to me is what should define hip hop. Dope beats, dope rhymes, in the words of Little Brother. Also, they all have SOUL. And not just soul samples, which they all have plenty of. Every artist comes hard with emotion, honesty, and feeling with their music. To me, that's soul.

Ohhhh yeah, a few more cd's that I should have added to the list-

Kanye West - Graduation
Little Brother - Getback
Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
Scarface - Made
Pete Rock - NY's Finest
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

Ya Heard.