Q-Tip The Renaissance

Damn, I’ve been gone for awhile. No worries though, I’ve been thinking of that good music to bring to you the whole time. Hawaii takes a lot of my time but I can never stray away from what’s truly real to me, MUSIC. Lately I’ve been trying to find the artist who can match the view I wake up to every morning, I’ve been searching for the artists I can wake up to and listen to from track one to track twelve. The abstract one, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest has been my answer. The Renaissance is the album I am bringing to you, the most diverse album I’ve heard in awhile, I don’t think you can compare his diversity to any artist of late. Q-Tip, with every song brings a vibe of, c’mon everybody feel good and let’s unite. Since I’ve moved to the islands I’ve played his album religiously, my roommates love him and I caught some of the locals nodding their heads to his vibe when I drive by. It’s such a Vibrant Thing that you can’t help but share it with the world; his music is honestly the therapy to my non-existent homesickness. I can’t help but feel every word he spits, whether it is Raphael Saadiq or Norah Jones and even D’Angelo, the chemistry he has with featured artist is amazing. My favorite song on the album happens to be Life is Better featuring Norah Jones, this song sends chills through my spine simply because I didn’t feel like life could get any better then Seattle. I mean there’s a reason why I named my blog Emerald City Lights I have mad love for my city and everyone and thing in it, but there comes a time when people can become stagnant and content with there present being. Not I, I remember when I first listened to Life is Better every word and sound put me in a place where I was at peace with myself. Norah’s sound took me down a couple notches from my day and my over thinking of life.
In Seattle I was content with my being, I was working and writing a lot but in the back of my mind I didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t exploring my outer limits. Honestly, Q-Tip and Norah Jones gave me the confidence to find out how much better life could actually be. No doubt I was a shook one when I was approached with the opportunity to relocate, but listening to this song eased my worries and made me Believe that there are greener pastures out there to graze. Believe, which is the next track on The Renaissance after Life Is Better, is the perfect one two punch for your confidence. I listened to these tracks all the time, until it was time for me to make my decision and because of these songs and Q-Tips album, I feel like I made the best decision I could have made. You never know what life has in store for you it takes a belief in self and the confidence that you can make life better for yourself. Thanks Q-Tip for instilling faith in those who needed a boost to chase their dreams.

Paying Homage to J Dilla

J Dilla thank you for your beats of tranquility, throwing on a Dilla track sets the mood for any occasion. Partying with friends, socializing with people over wine and cheese or alone with that special person, Dilla can make the mood right. J Dilla to me is a cornerstone of Hip Hop, the essence of beautiful music, if you were to look inside a CD case of a Hip Hop artist and open up the book of the artist and view the people responsible for making the song J Dilla might be one of those people. Dilla started as a producer coming from Music city Detroit, in the early 90’s he stepped outside of his boundaries and embarked on a musical mission to open the ears and minds of Hip Hop artists and listeners. During his mission he was able to connect with artists such as Common, Talib Kweli, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Mos Def and many more. Dilla’s music and vibes along with the brilliant artists he’s worked with painted Mona Lisa’s with sound, the Leonardo da Vinci of music is my comparison of Dilla. No one else in the Hip Hop world was making beats and rhymes of life and had an entourage of highly acclaimed artists who could attest to Dilla’s contribution to Hip Hop.
I only have three Dilla albums Donuts, Ruff Draft and The Shining and all three albums are dope, dope because of the sounds and samples he can lay over tracks, along with Dilla’s rhyming skills he was constantly turning over leaves to stretch his imagination along with the Hip Hop game. One trait Dilla has is the ability to absorb people from different cultures and have them dancing to his sounds, Dilla’s music is universal, it’s very sad we lost a pioneer and an innovator if alive today maybe would have a stronger influence on the music and artist we hear today. If Dilla had one thing to say to every artist in the Hip Hop game I believe he’d say stay true to self and good music will follow. I don’t know J Dilla but I know him through his music and even though I only have three of his eleven albums and EP’s, the three I have, paint a picture of where Dilla comes from when he makes music. Hopefully you to can enjoy J Dilla as much as I do and recognize real music for what it is. Rest in Peace J Dilla and thank you again for leaving your mark as one of the best to ever do it.

Little Brother & Jake One - Home

Home is where the heart is. It’s our safety net, it’s where our families reside, it’s the place we come back to when we’ve been away for some time. No matter how hard life can get or how boring a place could be, coming back to Seattle or any city you come from brings upon an instant feeling of revival or a sense of renewal of life. From my experience, every time I had the chance to go home from school, I relished at the opportunity to see the beauty Seattle posses and also catch up on the things in Seattle I’ve missed. I loved coming back and seeing all the new structures and sights Seattle added to the beautiful artistry it contains. After a weekend or a break spent here, going back to school was a cake walk because of the determination of finishing school that consumed me, all that matters is that I make it home. After graduation the first song I listened to leaving Cheney and the first song I listened to arriving back to the homeland were two songs about home. The first home track is entitled Home by Little Brother (LB) featuring Joe Scudda from my favorite LB album Separate But Equal. Whenever I listen to LB’s Home track, I’m always in the mood of wanting to get home as quick as I can. For me wanting to be home was a weekly thing but playing this song was like medicine for me to exhibit some patience until I got my chance to bounce. I listened to this song at least three times a day for a month straight, counting down the days until I was free from my five year sentence over east. “Home is where the heart is and that’s real, cuz you don’t appreciate home until your gone.” Although we hear this phrase everywhere it remains true and engrained in those who value home. LB made a banger for those who have that itch for getting back home and need a scratch, quality music that enlightens the soul and mind.
Home track number two features artist from the Pacific Northwest all residing in the beautiful 206. Home by Jake One features Vitamin D, Note, Maneac B and Ish, a collective 206 sound that needs no visuals to know what they’re rapping about. I love this song because it’s hard to paint a picture on some of the things they spit about but since I’ve lived here my whole life I know exactly what they’re saying. When Maneac gets on the track talking about things that are relevant to me and the city like “ At qwest field 12th man my Seattle dude, Nate Burleson wearin that Seattle blue, Bosworth made all of Seattle boo, The Sonics let Kemp go, Seattle’s threw.” Just hearing that takes me back to the ’95- ’96 season when we were ill on the court, and showing love to the town and the Hawks is a plus. To me Jake One made one of the best hometown songs, listening to songs like Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z or artists who like to mention in a verse about where there from although it sounds tight and has a good vibe, it doesn’t have the description and wordplay Jake One and the hometown artists display. I was driving on I-90, came out of the tunnel, hit the bridge with nothing but blue water and a bright blue sky and the best landscape imaginable. I played this song and felt an instant overwhelming sensation of accomplishment, I graduated from Eastern and I Finally made it HOME!!!!!

People Under The Stairs

If you want something done you got to do it yourself. People Under The Stairs (PUTS) embodies that phrase; Double K and Thes One have done it since 1998, recording their debut album themselves entitled The Next Step. First of all dope album, I don’t know about you but the sounds and the vibes of a debut album show me that the artist put 100% into their music. Which they did, but many Hip Hop heads can agree with me, one of the best debut albums ever to surface was 50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin’. You could tell in each bar of each song, 50 was serious. Patiently waiting, I was right in the middle of the herd of faithful sheep waiting for his next album expecting it to be nothing short of a banger. The Massacre was more like a disaster for those who were expecting the same punch lines and delivery 50 had in his first album, leaving you probably as disappointed as I was. When money and bright lights flash and record exec’s make the decisions, I cant place the blame on 50 for making money.
There in lies the difference between Hip Pop and Hip Hop, some do it for the cash and quick fame and some do it for the personal pleasure and the people who feel the music and dig where they’re coming from. PUTS do what they do for sole purpose of making good music. Music that makes you move, think and relate to everything they have to say. Another underground group who are content with their place in Hip Hop, PUTS sounds are rhythmic pulses directed to the heart and conscious of a Hip Hop fan. I’ve been listening to PUTS for a couple of years now, as some of you know I’m very relaxed and laid back, Mr. Nonchalant is a name I was given by a friend. Listening to songs like The Cat from their second album Question in the Form of an Answer or Road Beaters from Or..Stayed Tune EP released in 2003, PUTS keeps me in the tranquil mood with their Jazz sounds and laid back lyrics, which only bring out the fun in your day. Hook the Ipod up and add PUTS to the play list, after listening to them you’ll understand why I’m mellow my man. PUTS continue to share their talent with underground Hip Hop listeners who are searching for that feel good music . I heard they have a new album releasing later this year or early next, I’ll be on the lookout, hopefully you will to.

Brother Ali- Begin Here

The piano is such a beautiful instrument it’s wide variety of eloquent sounds can describe any type of day. On a sunny day in Seattle the sounds of a piano can raise my spirits level with the Space Needle. The piano can also make sounds of sadness coming from the clouds on an overcast day as they cry rain drops because the sun couldn’t come out today. That was tight huh? Anyway the piano feeds the mind and body food for thought, that food consists of nutrients that enable stronger feelings and emotions towards the type of mood we are in. Take a day like today, its grey but I’m content because it’s Seattle and it’s that time of the year when it rains all the time, but is this weather going to prevent productivity for today. The answer from me is, no because I have a song with the sounds of a beautiful piano playing as the beat and the lyrics of a conscious rapper to recite rhymes of life that keeps my head above water so I can see the light for the day. Brother Ali of Rhymesayer’s Entertainment, if you haven’t heard of him before please acknowledge him and his music because it comes from the heart. Every album he’s dropped has come from the soul of the Brother Ali; he lets you in to his life with every lyric and every song.
Begin Here comes from his latest EP called The Truth Is; it’s the very last song on the album which in some ways is fitting. The whole album makes me fall back into my chair and listen, his music has the ability to capture me and think of life from the angle of someone who has touched rock bottom. Because of that rock bottom everything in between is a story of what it took for the Brother to make it to where he is now. I appreciate his music because he’s not just telling you about his life he’s giving tips on how to conquer what we think is impossible. Brother Ali in many of his songs stresses being true to oneself as the driving force to success, people can’t find happiness through others so why not be true to self. “As I memorized the words I genuinely believed every line I heard, I thought that these men that I referred to was prophets of our time would never lie inverse, I can't begin to tell you how it hurt as time went on some of them disguises burst, I always said if ever I get heard, if ever I am perched in an elevated place, high enough so this world can recognize my words I would never turn and try to hide my face.” The lyrics he recites speak to my mind and gives me the fuel to take on challenges that cross my path, harmoniously the piano in the background calms me down and allows me to think clearly about how to make my next move in the game of life. Brother Ali’s melodies and lyrics start the engine of determination and helps keep tunnel vision on the goals we’ve set so we can reach divine happiness. “A lot of people waiting for their big break to make it you going spend your whole life waiting until you learn that anything given to a man can be taken, only thing that's ever really yours is what you earn.” Words of wisdom from the Brother.

LYRICS!!!!
http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/brother_ali_lyrics_12206/the_truth_is_here_ep_lyrics_97046/begin_here_lyrics_936981.html

Mos Def - Auditorium ft. Slick Rick

The Ecstatic, man oh man I’m glad to have discovered this album, I can get down with mellow flows and beats from Mos Def anytime, any day but the main musical attraction has to be his diversity. The only rapper I know who uses instruments from the motherland and raps over them and its sounds tight. What gets me along with his music are the ad-libs he uses, for some reason they have me getting down with his songs because they flow so well with the beat and it’s peaceful and puts you in a good mood. As does his song Auditorium from the album The Ecstatic, this song’s all around sound is crazy and to top it off Slick Rick The Ruler is featuring. Now, the song possesses tranquility and a story from the greatest story teller of our time even more reason to listen. Listening to this song and comparing it to others I believe Auditorium is one of the best. I mean its tough to top the countless head bobbers of Black on Both Sides or collaborating with another BK knight Talib Kweli and forming the forever shining Black Star but Auditorium has many musical elements to the song that come from previous work, elements that made me want to listen to Mos in the first place. Instruments rather than electronics make Mos Def who he is, listening to Mos I feel like his music thrives because it’s different from everything heard and seen on T.V. You won’t hear anything traditional from Mos Def and that’s tight, Mos Def keeps me on my toes with his music, with his music I’m under great anticipation because I’m excited for the next song to hear the sounds and the lyrics that make Mos Def one of the most popular Hip Hop heads in the game. The man is talented another reason why I get down with his music and I’m in awe of all the accomplishments he’s corralled over his life. I hope he continues to keep on making that music of inspiration that keeps people level headed and on a positive track in life.

Lyrics!!!
http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/auditorium-lyrics-mos-def.html

Blackalicious - Shallow Days

Today is feeling like a Shallow Day, there’s a lot of grey outside, the wind is blowing pretty hard and there doesn’t seem to be a balance for what’s to come. A Shallow Day can consist of many things; many factors in our lives that make us feel grey. Like when someone doesn’t understand your perspective or outlook on a subject and feels that your outlook isn’t beneficial, but you know in your heart it is, something like this falls into the Shallow Day category. Why give an opinion if what I’m saying is falling on deaf ears. How come it’s so hard to embrace change or differences these days? Blackalicious lyrics speak to those who are willing to listen and accept diversity, after seeing him in concert a couple years back, I knew he wasn’t about the limelight because he has no stage presence at all. No one was pumping up the crowd, he never told us to put our hands in the air but he did say sit back and enjoy the music. He showed up on stage dressed in all black, stood in one place for almost the whole show and ripped the concert inside out. Spokane never saw a Hip Hop show of that magnitude in awhile, I along with the people of Spokane had no idea we were going to get the show we did for only ten bucks and he did a two hour set. Again, a great musical talent is questioned for the type of lyrics he displays, conscious raps for the brain go a stray in the mainstream world, because his words differ from what the average black rapper speaks about. “Time and time, a brother asks why the rhyme is not laced with a gangsta touch I said "Simply because I don't live that way, still kickin' them rhymes rugged and rough. But that won't sell, cause you gotta keep it real so that we can feel where you're coming from because these streets is ill so if you ain't killing niggas in rhymes your whole sound's just bubble gum." Blackalicious isn’t a hardcore rapper; in fact if peaceful rap was a genre he’d probably fit right in, peaceful harmonies are exhibited through his beats and lyrics. "I won't contribute to genocide; I'd rather try to cultivate the inner side and try to evolve the frustrated ghetto mind the devil and his army never been a friend of mine.” These are lyrics fighting against those who speak negatively to the youth, topics such as violence or drugs that detour young minds into believing that these lyrics are a way of life.

LYRICS!!!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blackalicious/shallowdays.html

Little Brother - Beautiful Morning

Wake up you guys, Little Brother's in your ear. Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh and 9th Wonder y'all on the beat. "Wake up to a new day, spread my wings, take a shot of the crown cuz I'm going through things" the beat along with the opening verse blows me away and gets my mind, body and spirit ready for the day. Little Brother in my eyes, is the most underrated Rap group in the music world, with no recognition from mainstream heads for there brand of Hip Hop, Little Brother's just trying to tap into your conscious with beats and lyrics that grab you and give you an idea of the struggles they go through as college graduates trying to make it out of there dorm and compete with artists who claim they bang and slang. Bangin and slangin of some sort is what a majority of people like to hear in America, it's all about the money one has or the cars and the hoes, if a rapper ain't got that they aren't proven. I can tell you from my own experience as a college student, money is something students don't have. Little Brother would be the first to tell you they're not ballin but most importantly they're not acting like they are ballin to satisfy you. They're doing this rap stuff to pay homage to those who constructed the blueprints for them to become who they are today. That's why I love this group, your never going to hear a track that sounds like what you hear on the radio or MTV and BET, instead your going to hear music with meaning. "Each day's another chance to do the things I could've done the day before, but I didn't and I known I should've, So I say a prayer for the gone for gooders, Who left this world, then kiss my girl "good mornin', shuga" this song could be every bodies wake up song. Could you imagine setting your cell phone alarm to this song and waking up to lyrics of motivation. I know, because its my alarm ring tone. I wake up to this song every morning because I expect every morning to be beautiful, rain, sleet or snow you make your morning beautiful by what you do once you get out of bed. I'm not talking about hygiene, I'm talking about what leaps and bounds you've made to make the life you live beautiful. I guarantee this won't be the last you hear from Little Brother.
It was hard to find a link but i did, here's a direct link to download the song
http://www.iridebeatsandmelodies.com/mytop5/top5ers/july/Beautiful%20Morning.mp3
And the Lyrics to the track.
http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/little_brother_lyrics_13601/the_minstrel_show_lyrics_41082/beautiful_morning_lyrics_444591.html
Enjoy y'all.

Aesop Rock - Shovel

“My kitchen sink leaks like your itching to speak a secret ‘bout the world spins but nobodies pledged allegiance and why? His beaming smile knew a private agony that burns and when the children met divinity, I sat to watch the merge.” Since 2001 I’ve been bobbing my head to Aesop Rock, because he’s “6 foot 4 with a sick flow”, then, Aesop Rock’s rhymes were mind boggling (and they still are) in fact too much for a sophomore high school mind to follow. Back then I didn’t comprehend music fully; instead I understood beats and rhythms, melodies which put me into a coma of listening. I can remember so many occasions where I found that one song and would have to play it at least 3 or 4 times a day to reach my musical satisfaction of the day. When Aesop Rocks’ Labor Days came out I discovered one of my favorites from The Aesop Rock collection, Shovel. To me Shovel has the type of beat that gets the brain waves cooking in a way that motivates or inspires ingenuity in the form of how to approach rough days ahead. Every time I listen to Shovel I feel like I’m conspiring something big, plans and thoughts of how I can take over the world haha, but that’s just the beat, wait until you listen to the song and try keeping up with Aesop’s wordplay. Guarantee it’s going to be hard to follow, in fact you may think, damn Joe what the F**k are you listening to, but you have to give him a chance. Being an underground hip hop fiend I definitely have the patience for rappers good and bad, but trust, Aesop Rock is Hip Hop in its truest form. Most importantly through his lyrics you can tell he’s content with his current status in the social listening of Hip Hop. His lyrics aren’t meant for you to keep up with, they’re meant for you to sulk over and rewind from time to time, to figure out what he means when he said “I don’t shrug instead of the ramifications of my shovel, loving the consequence of uprooting the jungle.” Thank you Aesop, for real Hip Hop.
Here's the link to the song and a link to "Shovel" lyrics, check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdRSCxWYot8
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Shovel-lyrics-Aesop-Rock/D1AB138B3734BD1048256D0B001101E6