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