hiphopinspector

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“Tearz” - Wu Tang Clan

Damn this song will always be a special one for me. I remember the first time hearing it. Think i was like in 8th grade, at a time where being in a car with an older friend driving felt like the coolest thing ever - bumping explicit music cuz there were no parents there to tell us to turn it off. I was on the way to the skatepark and my homie threw this one on the aux. I had already been listening to biggie and a couple other iconic New York rappers but I’m pretty sure this was my first introduction to Wu-Tang. It was such a new sound to me - raw and gritty but fluid at the same time. This song kinda pushed me to dig deeper into more underground hip hop sounds and to look for skill and uniqueness rather than just a good melody. Thanks @calvin for putting me on.

Released with one of the most iconic Hip Hop albums ever, “Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).” “Tearz” was one of the mellower songs on the album. RZA and Ghostface Killah each tell a story about an experience they had that gives us insight about their upbringing. In RZA’s first verse, he raps about the time where his brother was shot and killed, while on his way to get wonder bread for their mother, because he refused to give up his belongings while getting robbed. Instead of endorsing crimes like this , RZA seems just to shine light upon urban street violence, and with brutal honesty portrays the pain and suffering that comes with it. The next verse, rapped by Ghostface Killah, tells a story about his homie that refused to wear a condom and eventually got HIV. Not super common you here rappers from a place like staten island promote safe sex in there raps. And that’s why Wu-Tang Clan has always been so respected - a group of talented lyricist with a dope raw, underground style that use their skills and first hand experiences to share the truth about growing up surrounded by poverty, violence, gangs, and street crimes.

#wutang #wu tang clan #rza #ghostface killah #hiphop #Youtube

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Who Sampled It Best?

Andre Nickatina - "Smoke Dope and Rap"

Brotha Lynch - "24 Deep"

Jadakiss - "Show Discipline"

Cormega - "American Beauty"

Original Sample - Southside Movement - "I Been Watching You"

#Youtube

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Sample Tapes 1

Zapp - "Computer Love" -> Tupac - "I Get Around"

2. Bill Withers - "Use Me" -> UGK - "Use Me Up"

#Youtube

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“Funkin’ Around” - Outkast

Woooooowwwww. Fucking love this track. I’m surprised it wasn’t released as part of OutKasts album “ATLiens” because it has that intergalactic sound to it. Thought it would of worked perfect on that album but instead it was released as a one of the three new tracks that was dropped on this best of Outkast compilation.

Only Outkast could come up with a masterpiece like this. I always say to people that I think hip hop has the most talented artists, out of all genres, because of the innovation that goes into it. First of all you have to appreciate all genres of music in order to find the sample, turn that sample into your own creative beat, using the samples instruments and favorite vocals. Then on top of that the rapper comes in and turns this remixed sample into a whole new genre.. Hip Hop.. I think this song is a fucking perfect example of this process. Just on this song you here Andre 3000 and Big Boi showcase southern hip hop, and ofcourse their own unique talents. The way they flow should be sounding patchy but they just make it sound so smooth. It’s that Southern twang.

To my knowledge, apparently Outkast would smoke excessive amounts of weed before hoppin in the studio. And you can kinda see how that effects their music. The chorus comes in so smooth, and Andre is in absolutely no rush to finish it. You’d think that after Andre does his chorus Big Boi would come in with his verse.. ah-ah. They just bring Sleepy Brown in there to sing a whole other one. Another fuckin smooth one actually, kinda disco like since he sings “bounce, rock, roller-skate” but it fits so well on top of this intergalactic typa disco hip hop beat. Yea That’s exactly how to describe it.

Outkast… Andre 3000… Big Boi… Organized Noize… perfectly executed

This is a really unique track because i feel like it is a medley of all the genres used to influence and produce this song. It also doesn’t focus on one more than another, it gives each section its own stage while still making the whole song flow so well. *the intro to this song is also sooooo sick* *listen with headphones*

Makes whatever your driving feel like a intercadillactic spaceship

#outkast #big boi #andre 3000 #hiphop #90s rap #southern hip hop #Youtube

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"Wanna Get To Know You" - G-Unit

One of my favorite melodic rap songs. Just some gangsters talkin smooth on a vibey beat and joe comin in with a sing along type chorus. Hard to choose my favorite verse on this one. Young buck rides the beat so smoothly and his flow just sounds so dope, especially when he says “visualizing my name tattooed on that ass baby.” For sound and rhythm young buck is my number one verse. But Since this songs theme is basically just bein gangsterly flirtatious I’d say best verse gotta go to Lloyd banks. Starting his verse with “latley she’s been frustrated with the baller” referring to himself is tuff as fuck. His whole verse is smooth as hell and he just sounds like a player. Also he has my favorite line in the song which is “i make her feel special i let her call me by my government name.” Simple bar but also just a cool flex since rappers are normally referred to as their stage name and Lloyd brought light to the fact that when someone knows your real name its more of a personal relationship. 50 cent just never fails so u can’t compare him to the rest of g unit. He sounds tuff, he rides the beat smoothly and spit a solid verse. Not anything overly impressive for 50 so not much to talk about. If he put a little more time into this one he prolly could of spit one of his best verses since he killed it on “best friend” which is a similar typa song. Either way I’m not disappointed. One of the best g unit songs for sure.

This song makes my 22 year old tacoma feel like a drop too Cadillac on a summer day drivin on west cliff

#50 cent #g unit #hiphop #y2k #Youtube

[hiphopinspector]

“Player’s Ball” - Oukast

Album: Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik 1994

OutKast, one of the most proficient rap groups, along with Geto Boys that really put southern rap on the map and damn they did it good. Before, hip hop was a rivalry between the east and west coast, but when Outkast won Best New Rap Group in 1995 at the Source Awards they brought a new sound to the game. New southern type beats, that southern swagger and twang in their voice, a careless but incredibly intricate style of rapping. When they won the award they were actually booed by the crowds. Now Outkast has some of the most popular songs in hip hop. Most well known now for “Ms. Jackson” ,

Even though I always had lots of southern rap on my playlists, especially Outkast, since high school this genre of rap seemed to be a bit forgotten since I didn’t listen to it as much. This year my roomate actually kinda resparked my love for this song. I have “Player’s Ball” on vinyl record as a wall decoration in my room, but never actually used it cuz I didn’t have a record player. When I came home one day my roomate was bumping it on the record player he had just brought from home. Didn’t even realize the record i had was “Players Ball” haha. Pretty sure that vinyl stayed and played on that machine for the next couple days after. We listened to that record over and over again, and it still never got old. This influenced a southern hip hop phase in my headphones and I learned a couple things.

During this time, artists were being asked to release a Christmas song. Outkast thought that was wack cuz that’s not what they do. They didn’t want to release a Christmas song but they had to. So instead they released a song about what they do on Christmas Day and “Player’s Ball” was born and used to promote OutKasts Debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.

Damn this song is so groovy, but so raw at the same time. Outkast came into the game with a whole new voice in rap and made a true southern masterpiece.

Another song that makes whatever your drivin feel like a Cadillac.

#Youtube #outkast #big boi #andre 3000 #hiphop #southern hip hop #90s rap

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Webbie

1: Wipe Me Down (feat. Foxx, Webbie, & Lil Boosie)

2: What is It

3: Watch My Shoes (feat. 3 Deep & Boosie Badazz)

In the ghetto of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Trill Entertainment was able to give a young prodigy an opportunity to avoid a criminal lifestyle and pursue becoming a rapper. At 15 he dropped out of high school and was introduced to Pimp C. After his talent was recognized from doing multiple projects with Boosie Badazz, he became THAT GUY with the perfectly shaped fro that embodies 2000s swagger…Webbie

In early 2000s hip hop fashion, Webbie rocks XXL baggy clothes, big shades, gold grills, and a smooth but cocky persona. This new era of hip hop was a shift away from gangster rap and towards more commercial rap. Hip hop was finally gaining enough popularity to be recognized by the music industry, with pop elements infiltrating the genre and the emergence of technology platforms that helped rappers become famous. Suddenly, hip hop had its own pop stars, it’s own celebrities. People started to care more about who was singing and not just the music. Rappers started making music videos showing off their exaggerated lavish lifestyles, trying to fit the image of a "celebrity." Hence the excessively baggy clothes, wearing bling wherever they could (gold grills), and the massive shiny watches. The previous generation of gangster rappers wasn't too thrilled about this change. Rappers also started accompanying their songs with dances, like Soulja Boy with his hit single "Crank That." The early 2000s were still heavily influenced by the iconic 90s rap era, so rappers of that time had a new style but were still raw and talented. However nowadays, it seems like hip hop has strayed too far down the commercialized path, leading to a lot of rappers becoming more about entertainment and fame rather than talent, unlike the 90s and early 2000s.

Webbie isn’t THE BEST example for this new era. I just went off on a tangent. More influential artists during this era would be rappers like: Lil John, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, etc etc. but that can be for another blog post. I just been listening to Webbie recently so i figured he should be part of this collection of blog posts.

Anyways

Now looking back at the early 2000’s hip hop music videos and fashion, shit is pretty goofy and comedic.

Fun fact: Pimp C was so adamant on making sure that Webbie and Boosie Badazz were signed and pursued rapping because the duo reminded him of himself and Bun B, another iconic duo with two different dope styles that worked harmoniously well together.

Listening to that song “What is It” in my headphones makes me feel like the flyest dude ever. My walk changes to a strut, and my thrifted fit suddenly feels like a designer velvet track suit or some sorta smooth ass material. This song prolly influenced my recent purchase of @Tyshawn valor adidas track jacket. It’s tuff, but tuffer when paired with the song.

#Youtube #webbie #hiphop #y2k

[hiphopinspector]

“How’s it goin down” - DMX

Album: It’s Dark and He’ll is Hot, 1998

It took me a while to realize that DMX was actually one of Hip-Hop’s overlooked legends. I’m pretty sure the first time I stumbled upon him was in the movie “Cradle 2 the Grave” where DMX and Jet Li played diamond thieves. What a combo. Movie soundtrack had “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” and ofcourse it bumped. But that still didn’t really do it for me. I couldn’t really rock with DMX until I developed a better ear for hip hop. At first I kinda just thought he screamed into the mic and had the couple songs I would play for the chorus then switch it. Took a couple years before I kinda got that ear for hip hop and appreciation of different styles and lyrics and got into it enough where I felt the need to listen to everything and know more about the artists and history and shit like that. 

Eventually I stumbled upon this song. I didn’t know he knew how to not yell let alone story tell and sound smooth, and it changed my entire view on him. After listening to this album countless times and digging up more info about DMX, I realized that DMX has a crazy arsenal of different flows and sounds, and I think this album showcases his talent. He has this loud barking style in some of his more aggressive songs. But also he can switch it up and sound smooth and just cool as fuck. But no matter what he always kinda  shifts in between these two sounds and as the listener I feel like you can just tell that he has a wild temper.  Makes sense tho cuz of his crazy upbringing, and he was in an outta jail before this album. 

Just some quick fact to illustrate the world DMX grew up in ⬇️

He was “raised” by teen parents that beat him growing up in Yonkers, New York. Beat him as in, there’s a story where his mom knocked his teeth out with a broomstick. Theres a story where DMX stabbed a kid in the face with a pencil when he was fuckin 6 years old. At 10 years old he got arrested for arson cuz he was trying to burn his school down. At 14 DMX moved out and slept on the streets to get away from his mom's abuse. In high school that’s when he started really gaining that reputation of being “unfuckwithable.” Only attending school to Rob 3 people per day, and eventually got into the rest of the gangster activities. . 

Like this fool has a fucking wild history, and that’s probably what gives him that griddy sound. Combining that upbringing with his talents in hip hop just sounds unbelievable and gives him an incredibly unique style. 

I could write a fuckin essay about DMX but that’s not what I’m tryna do with this account. Just tryna focus on single songs. But I think talking about and listening to DMX is much more interesting when you have a broad idea of his background.

“How’s It Goin Down” is one of my favorite DMX songs. The story telling on this track is great and I feel like you get a good perspective of who DMX is as a person. He raps about meeting and being into this chick that has a boyfriend. Mentions how he heard that her boyfriend hit her because she had banged Him. He considers what seems like killing him but doesn’t because he had 2 kids with that chick. DMX knows that it would be wrong to leave the kids and her without a father, and at the end of the song even admits that he’s wrong for being with her. I think this song and story is a good showcase of what DMX calls his inner demons, showing that he keeps his cool until situations call that wild gangster side of him. 

Also fuckin A this song is just smooth as hell, lyrics and shit aside, DMXs flow is so good on this beat. He kinda goes in and out of this cool dude and demon side of him. Like his voice changes when he talks about a situation and you can hear that demon side kinda showing face a bit. That’s why I said before that you can hear the temper he has. 

DMX’s real name is Earl hahahah. Funny to me when I think of just his first name. But his full name is Earl Simmons and that sounds tuff.

#hiphop #rap #DMX #90s rap