Pusha T on Unpredictable Lyrics

Interesting RapGenius annotation from Pusha T himself on his fantastic new song, Crutches, Crosses, Caskets:

[Puff] told me that if he could see where my next line was going then that’s the wrong line. 

I can remember being in the car listening to Big verses and asking “What in the world makes Big think he can rap about a shootout, the love of his daughter, balling at All-Star in six bars?" 

How do you transition that? 

Puff telling me he doesn’t want to see where I’m going in a verse is the best explanation I got to answer questions pertaining to my favorite artist.

Is unpredictability truly the secret to great lyricism? Certainly it's one aspect of it, but can it be overdone, coming at the cost of coherence and narrative?

Track Review: Pusha-T, Got Em Covered

Consider the many layers to the beat in Pusha-T’s new track, Got Em Covered:

• Pulsating bass, providing reverb throughout the entire song
• Hypnotic, drug-addled strumming of the guitar 
• Hollowed-out drumming, funny and demented at the same time
• Clanking tam-tams, not entirely in rhythm and lending the song a chaotic feel
• Sparse snare drum, striking a single hit only every few measures

The depth of this production should be no surprise, given that Timbaland is the man behind the controls. But even for him, the beat of Got Em Covered is so textured, so hypnotic, and so unusual that it stands out on Pusha-T’s latest project. While very reminiscent of the Neptune’s production on the Clipse’s Lord Willin’ and Hell Hath No Fury, Got Em Covered is also infused with Timbaland’s trademark obsession with unusual, almost bodily sounds. And for that, it is definitely worth a listen.

Track Review: Like Me, Joey Bada$$

Joey Bada$$'s "Like Me" is notable more for what it doesn't do than what it does. The beat is utterly understated, with The Roots complementing a J Dilla instrumental that is subtle, wistful, and completely relaxed. The soft horns, the strumming guitar, and especially the sparse keyboard line only add to the mellowness. Joey raps right in the pocket, never raising the tone of his voice above a gentle pitter patter. BJ the Chicago Kid croons casually in the background, adding atmosphere without subtracting cohesiveness.

Towards the end of Like Me, the beat modulates to a more up tempo, intense cadence. The song concludes open-endedly, the guitar line moving back and forth between two chords, seemingly posing an open question. In the end, Like Me is the rare hip hop track that successfully establishes a laid back vibe without sacrificing precision or musicality. And for this, the track is one of the most delightful and surprising tracks of the year so far.

The good, the bad, the beautiful

There are few things better than discovering a song you’ve never heard before, yet feeling like you’ve known the song for decades. You simply forgot how much you loved it.

I recently had this experience when I listened to Consequence’s “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly,” produced by and featuring none other than Kanye West.

First and foremost, THE BEAT. This is classic Kanye in every sense of the word. The song opens with an introduction to the underlying sample, and soon accelerates towards the actual beat.

One of Kanye’s greatest characteristics is his ability to create completely new sounds without abandoning the vibe of his underlying samples. This song is a premiere example of just that. Listen to the way the sample is used first as a triplet hemiola against the drums, and then the syncopation of the second half of the repeating vocal pattern. The strings are also classic Kanye, reminiscent of so many heaters off Late Registration.

With a beat like this, Consequence and Kanye don’t have to do much. Consequence does a pretty good Talib Kweli impersonation. Kanye says a bunch of Kanye things.

But that beat man… DAMN. This is the epitome of the soul sound, and everything that Kanye used to propel himself to the top of the music world. In short, this song shows one of the greatest producers ever at the peak of his powers. Revel in the good, the bad, and the otherworldly.

Allow me to introduce myself; favorite album openings

My five favorite hip hop album openings:


1. Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle - Snoop chatting with Warren G over the smooth grooves of Curtis Mayfield. In a bathtub. It doesn't get any better than this.

2. Nas, Illmatic - Hennessy, subway noise, and hand guns - this track sets the tone for the entire album. And it does so over one of the best and most underrated beats on the LP, thick with heavy bass and driving percussion.

3. Drake, Take Care - One of the most brilliantly orchestrated album opening of all-time. A simple and daring declaration of what Take Care will musically be about. The piano starts with a simple riff, followed by the gentle tapping of a muted drum. By the time vocal part enters, we're in heaven.

4. Eminem, The Slim Shady LP - "Don't do drugs." Enough said.

5. Common, Be - An album opening that I personally go back and forth on... but the innovative approach here is undeniable. This opening lays out the formula that others (see Drake, Take Care) would perfect. The record starts with a single base line, completely exposed, and gradually builds towards a somewhat regrettable string part. But still, the courage and simplicity of Kanye's production, combined with Common's terrific flow, makes for one of the most distinctive intros ever.

Honorable mentions:

50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Tryin
Jay-Z, Kingdom Come
Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Wu Tang Clan, Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)

Hot in Herre... FOREVER?

Latino Mix 105.7, a radio station in San Francisco, has been looping Nelly's Hot in Herre for 19 hours straight and counting. I've been listening to the station online for the last hour and I can verify this report. The song plays, and with literally no break at all starts again from the beginning. Nary an interruption, save for the occasional commercial in Spanish.

I cannot express to you how amazing this is. But let us try and count the ways:

• Hot in Herre is awesome. Nelly at the peak of his "powers." One of the greatest choruses of all time. And a beat that just puts a smile on your face. I literally haven't stopped smiling since I put this station on.

• A subtle way in which Pharrell continues owning the pop culture moment. Pharrell helped write the song, and also produced it as one half of the Neptunes.

• "I think my butt getting big!"

• Hot in Herre came out in 2002. It's 12 years old. And yet it's still more fun than *anything* being played on the radio today. Seriously, name a song that came out in the past decade that's more fun than Hot in Herre. Call Me Maybe? Single Ladies? Blurred Lines? Please.

• Nelly is actually really great on this song. His rhythmic integrity is impeccable. Right with the beat, every time.

• "I am getting so hot, I'm wanna take my clothes off." A sentence no human being has ever said in real life ever. And who is the woman who says this on the song? Did she get paid? Is she seeing royalties from this whole episode?

• Oh wait, an English commercial just came on. All the other ones were in Spanish. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

• Is it possible environmentalists have commandeered the station, with this being their way of drawing attention to global warming?

• The wikipedia article on Hot in Herre has already been updated: "At 3 PM on March 14, 2014, Latin Mix 105.7 in San Francisco began playing this on loop for eternity." Let us hope they're right!

Ab Soul's Control System

The all around winner of hip hop in 2012 was Kendrick Lamar, and with good reason. His debut major label album, good kid, m.A.A.d. City, is a triumph of lyrical virtuosity, impeccable production, and vivid storytelling. But another album from the past year, largely overshadowed by good kid, is also deserving of recognition: Control System, by Lamar's fellow label-mate, Ab-Soul.

Control System is a weird album. It includes one track named after a region in the brain (“Pineal Gland”), another named after a piece of legislation (“Sopa”), and another describing a symptom of Ab-Soul’s rare skin disease, Stevens Johnson Syndrome (“Black Lip Bastard”). And yet, from this weirdness emerges a unique and thoughtful perspective on ideas treated far more conventionally by mainstream rap.

On "Pineal Gland," for example, Ab-Soul deconstructs his drug-induced high in an almost scientific manner: “We in a space where matter don’t matter / just spirit molecules and geometric patterns.” He also describes his former poverty: “I was po’ like Edgar Allen.” This is not the type of allusion often found in mainstream rap. On “Track Two,” Soul describes himself first as an “abstract asshole,” only to then rap: “Just imagine if Einstein got high and sipped juice / Broke rules, got pussy, beat up rookies on Pro Tools / You probably call his ass Soul Brother #2.” The lyrics of Control System always make for interesting, unexpected listening.

Beneath this eccentricity sits a layer of grief, specifically for the loss of Alori Joh, who committed suicide earlier in 2012. Joh’s vocals appear several times on the album, including on “Empathy.” The album’s catchiest track, "Empathy" explores a melancholy, on-again-off-again relationship with presumably Joh: “I guess things ain’t going as well as you expected / but baby don’t stress it / I hope you learned a lesson.”

And then, on “The Book of Soul,” Ab-Soul is heart-wrenchingly candid:

But I'm such a nice guy, why Lord?

Why Lori? Why'd you have to take her from me?

Guess you needed your angel face for all of heaven to see

Your picture still on my mirror and it's so scary

I swear I still ain't looked at your obituary

So now I'm so doped up I think I'm flying

I hope the spliff will never finish

I guess the Mayans wasn't lying

2012 my world ended

You used to say that I could see the future

You was wrong, cuz you was in it

Honest, mournful, a little quirky – this is what Control System is all about.

That’s not to say that the album is a complete downer. It’s also full of certified bangers, including “Track Two,” “Bohemian Grove,” “Mixed Emotions,” and “Lust Demons.” The rich production, provided largely by the Digi-Phonics, helps make the album a cover-to-cover listen, though it does require a few plays to get oriented. Dense, introspective, and mournful, yet also virtuosic, mesmerizing, and unexpected – Control System most certainly represents a high point in hip hop for 2012.