The Family Sign- Music Monday [4/11]

For my last Media Meditation for CCM-120 I chose to write about the new Atmosphere album that just came out. If you haven't heard of Atmosphere, they are a hip-hop group out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and they are one of the biggest names in hip-hop. The duo of Sean Daley AKA Slug, and Anthony Davis AKA Ant started the record label Rhymesayers Entertainment in 1995. Slug is the voice of the duo and Ant provides the music. The Family Sign is their newest album following the release of their 2008 album When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold. 

Track List

1. My Key

2. The Last to Say

3. Became

4. Just for Show

5. She's Enough

6. Bad Bad Daddy

7. Millennium DoDo

8. Who I'll Never Be

9. I Don't Need Brighter Days

10. Aint Nobody

11. Your Name Here

12. If You Can Save Me Now

13. Something So

14. My Notes

The title The Family Sign gives you a small inkling that this album is going to be touching on Slug's family life when he was growing up. The Last to Say talks about how a father figure used to beat his mother until the day that he died and his mother never stood up for herself and he carries out that anger and rage for her. The song Became tells the tale of a cold campground where he follows the footsteps of what I assume is his father into the woods and the footprints slowly turn into wolfs paws as the song goes on saying that he changed into an animal and he was no longer human. Just For Show is about a woman wanting to leave her man but she realizes that he is what she wants even though he is not good to her. She's Enough is a song about his woman and how she is everything he needs and he would do anything for her. The song Bad Bad Daddy is obviously about a bad father who takes his kids to a bar and lets them do whatever they want and just doesn't care about what they do. Millennium DoDo is about life on the road as a rapper and what its like to live out of a van. The song also calls out a very important R.I.P. to Eyedea. Who I'll Never Be Slug being inspired by a female musician and him listening to her write her songs but not being able to write songs with her and how he looks up to her. I Don't Need Brighter Days I cant quite figure out what it is talking about. I gave the song 3 listens and it still confuses me. The song Aint Nobody talks about how he is with someone he doesn't want to be with and they are bringing him down and making the excuses and placing the blame on him. Your Name Here is about catching up with an old friend and how he doesn't miss them or need them in his life. If You Can Save Me Now is about an accident and the driver laying on the ground bleeding out and recapping the last thoughts before death. Something So is about how life is a blessing and that we have to live to our fullest. My Notes serves mainly as an outro to the album but talks about as long as he can keep rapping he will keep on being at the top of the game.

The beats are all done using live sound which they started doing with their 2010 released double EP To All My Friends. This adds a unique style to the album that is uncharacteristic to most hip-hop. There is a lot of piano and guitar used in the beats and they make the songs feel like they have much more work and meaning behind them.

So far She's enough is my favorite song on the album. 

All in all I think this is a great album and it tells the chilling tales of the inner workings of Slug's life. This album will be their groups sixth album and it is a great addition to their discography. I fully recommend picking it up if you're at all a fan of hip-hop. 

Music Monday [3/21]

Its been a while since I've made a Music Monday post but its monday again so here goes.

This weeks Music Monday is all about Eyedea & Abilities. Eyedea & Abilities are a hip hop duo from Minnesota who played a huge role in underground hip hop starting in the early 90's. Eyedea is the lyrical genius while Abilities provides the sounds to put the message through. Eyedea has a way with his lyrics that really get his message through and hit home. In his song "Bottle Dreams" he tells the chilling tale of a girl who is abused and crys out for help but gets no reply.

Unfortunately Eyedea(Mike Larsen) passed away late 2010 but he lives on through his music and his music will always be a staple in hip hop.

I'll leave you with one of my favorites "Infared Roses"

Music Monday [2/28]

MUSIC MONDAY!!

This week brings the Aesop Rock post I promised last week. We'll start off with the song "Daylight" off the album Labor Days.

Aesop Rock is truly a one of a kind rapper who has one of the best flows I have ever heard. Aesop uses highly detailed words and intense metaphors to his songs that make them very hard to interpret to the untrained listener. However the song "No Regrets" also off the album Labor Days is a song that tells a direct story and it is one of his only songs like that. 

I first heard Aesop Rock from a friend who played it regularly in the car. I got my hands on all of his albums in EP's and became an instant fan. I could never actually pinpoint my favorite song by him because they are all so different. I have been desperately awaiting new music from Aesop but I have not heard anything about any new projects. I'll leave you with one of his most popular songs off his most recent album None Shall Pass. 

Music Monday [2/14]

Happy Music Monday everyone!

On this particular Music Monday I received some awesome news! Two of my favorite artists are coming to beautiful Burlington Grieves and Atmosphere! Atmosphere should be a familiar name to anyone who likes hip-hop, but Grieves is an artist on the rise.

(Image from Abovegroundmagazine.com)

Grieves on the right with his producer and dj Budo on the left

The song "lockdown" is off his album 88 Keys and Counting. 88 keys was re-released under Rhymesayers Entertainment along with the E.P. The Confessions of Mr. Modest.  When I first heard Grieves and his Dj Budo, I was taken away by their sound and depth of the lyrics. Grieves has since become my one of my all time favorite rappers moving quickly up the ranks of my last.fm page (second only to the great Aesop Rock) 

(image from thedailymusicblog.wordpress.com)

Slug on the right and his producer Ant on the left.

Atmosphere is a Hip-Hop legend and I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to see him live. Especially with Grieves!!!! Both artists are dropping new projects this year and I cant wait to get my hands on them. There is no doubt that Atmosphere is hip-hop royalty. The song "Freefallin"is off his EP called "To all my Friends."Ant makes the beats and Slug kicks the flows the duo has put out 6 studio albums and 10 EP's. I suggest you give them a listen if you are interested in hip-hop. Here is some Atmosphere to wrap up your music monday. I hope you enjoy and I'll see you next week with some Aesop Rock.

Music Monday [2/7]

It's Music Monday again!

This week I bring to you Mac Lethal's "Backward" off his album 11:11. Mac Lethal is a mid-west rapper from Kansas City, Missouri. Mac has lyrical talents that I can do no justice to with words. Mac is known for his punchlines and most recently rapping in double, triple, and quadruple time! This means taking regular lyrics and doing them faster. He can rap so fast that you almost cant keep up.

This video was recorded in response to a youtube video of a kid rapping pretty fast. Well Mac likes to be the fastest around so he posted a response video of him rapping faster. The video above is timed on an iphone because of the comments left on the response video. The video features Quadruple time which is the fastest rap recorded.

Speeding up timing makes writing songs even harder. When I am writing lyrics, I find that I often use double time as a means to keep the pace of my songs constant. Pace and tempo are just as important to me as the content of my songs which is why it takes me so long to get lyrics down to the beats I make. Mac's content spectrum is so vast, from battle rapping in Scribble Jam, to songs like Backward, Mac has the versatility to be a true Hip-Hop legend.

Mac Lethal's lyrics are influential and often deep but that does not stop him from bashing Miley Cirus when he made this remix of her famous song "Party in the USA."

Personally I find this to be quite entertaining and much better than the original.

Mac Lethal's albums and mixtapes continue to be among the top played songs in my Itunes and I dont see that changing any time soon. See you next week for another Music Monday!

Its Music Monday Get Used to it! [1/31]

HAPPY MUSIC MONDAY!!

Hey everyone as you can tell its Music Monday and I plan to do this every week so get used to it.

I start off this blog with Macklemore's "I Said Hey" off of his album "Language of my World." The song talks about Macklemore's inspirations and origins of his love of Hip-Hop music. This song speaks to me because I feel the same way about Hip-Hop. It creates a feeling inside me like no other music and I can use it to create my own viewpoint on life.  I in this blog I plan to touch on why I love Hip-Hop and how it is a major part of my life.

Since introduced to the world of true Hip-Hop by a friend, I have created a playlist to suit any mood I am in. Music can change my mood very easily. I can always find the perfect song to play to fit the mood that I'm in. I also listen to music to look for inspiration for when I create my own music.

                                        















(My personal workspace. Photo by me)

Since I got my MIDI keyboard this past Christmas I have been trying to get back into making music. I have been using Pro Tools Se to create loops that I can stick together to eventually make a whole beat. I like this process because it lets me record live sound using my keyboard and software instrument tracks. I try to create as much of my music as possible to really make it my own and set it apart from people who only use samples. I am not saying that sampling is bad by any means but I prefer to do it my own way. Hopefully I will have something to post of my own soon.