Ready to Die - 20th anniversary

"Who the fuck is this paging me at 5:46 in the morning crack of dawning now, I'm yawning..."

Ladies and gentleman that's easily one of the most iconic lines in hip-hop history. From one of many great songs on the classic debut album - Ready to Die - by the Notorious B.I.G aka Biggie Smalls. Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the album, which is now considered a masterpiece (and rightly so too).

Ready to Die presented to the world the rap phenomenon that is Biggie Smalls - debuting at a time when hip-hop was at it's artistic peak - especially when you look at the releases of that year. 20 years on we can now look at the album as one of the greatest contributions to music and here's why...

Looking at the landscape at the time of it's release - the West Coast was completely dominating hip-hip. The likes of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Dogg Pound were controlling the radio, completely nullifying the East Coast sound. Nonetheless, a 22-year-old from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn was soon going to change that. Many may argue that there was a resurgence brewing in New York, as 1994 saw some notable releases including:  Redman's Dare Iz a Darkside and Jeru the Damanja's The Sun Rises in the East and of course Nas' glorified Illmatic as well Method Man's Tical. However, with Biggie he was the chosen one, the Neo if you like. To put it in basketball terms, Biggie was the franchise player in the "East Coast team" - he was the man who was going to bring back the East Coast sound to the mass.  

Ready to Die redefinined hip-hop for two core reasons. One confounding reason that many avoid to admit or fail to understand was the engine that was Bad Boy Records. It goes without saying that Biggie's lyricism, his flow, his ability to tell stories is what made us love the album and the emcee himself. But, Diddy/Bad Boy need their credit here. Diddy's ability to pick beats and samples were the nucleus and foundation to the album's  success. While Biggie provided the hardcore and brash lyrics, Puff added the necessary sheen that allowed the album to be radio friendly and attract the average listeners ear. Both factors collided to produce the now greatness that we hear today. 

With that in mind, looking at the album as a composition - it is actually the perfect example of hardcore and radio-friendly. Which to my knowledge hasn't been rivalled (except for his sophomore album of course). You had songs like Everyday Struggle, Things Done Changed, Warning and Gimme the Loot for the hardcore rap fans while Biggie also catered for the soft listeners with Big Poppa, One More Chance remix and Juicy. With no fans being disappointed with either side of the spectrum. It was this dualism that can be put down to the album's success - Biggies awesome talent as well as having the machine that was Bad Boy Boy/ Puffy to push him to new realms.

I think it's worth discussing briefly about the magnitude of Juicy. In my very humble opinion it's actually hip-hop's greatest and most influential song to date. To my knowledge it's the only song where every single line is a quotable. The song perfectly captures and embodies the ideals of what hip-hop is; the whole rags to riches semantic that we often hear. Juicy is easily the purest hip-hop composition with relatable but clever lyrics , matched with a sound that is friendly to all but still has its roots to the hip-hop sound. 

Ready to Die is a masterpiece in all aspects, the only way I can describe it is "Raw". The production was gritty, uncleasned and unmastered for the right reason, perfectly complementing Biggie's lyrics. The production sonically presented the hardships of New York or more specifically Brooklyn. Especially with Easy Mo Bee's production who really provided the perfect assist to Biggie's lyrics. I could go so much deeper into Biggie's lyricism on this album but I think I've done that far too often with past blogs. But what I will say, is that what Ready to Die presented - was a raw 22-year-old who was completely unrefined and hungry - and this was reflected within his lyrics. Whereas with his later works such as Life After Death he was refined, had bravado and whit, which he should of as he was now at a better point in his life during that creation of that album.

It's weird to think that Biggie was the same age as I am now when he released Ready to Die and yet my life is half as cinematic as his was at that age (that's kind of a good thing... I guess). I just hope in the next 20 years my children will appreciate this album as much as I have. 

Gezza 

20th anniversary of Illmatic - the best hip-hop album ever!

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Nas' debut album, Illmatic. I'm really not going to delve too deep with this post cause honestly there's so much that can be said about this album. I titled this post as Illmatic being the best hip-hop album ever and rightly so I can't imagine many disputing that - while Illmatic isn't my favourite hip-hop album - it is still indisputably the greatest hip-hop album ever. 

It's both a gift and a curse that I get to review or should I say shed my thoughts on the album, twenty years on. As now I'm plagued by the curse of it already being mentioned as a masterpiece and it now having a GOAT status. But it's too a gift, as had I had the opportunity to review it when it first dropped (I was like 1 and half years when it was released) I would of probably been scared to say how good it is. We're all aware the cruelty of hip-hop as its such a nostalgic genre of music when you heap praise to something new its often greeted with much displeasure, especially if you say an album is the best of all time or within a shout of being the best.

The key things to note about the album - that it was pretty revolutionary in terms of its structure. We're talking about a time where the production of an album was handled by one person it was solely produced in-house, artists rarely sought the help of other producers. However, with Nas he was blessed with a super group of produces - easily the best producers in New York at the time -  DJ Premier, Pete Rock, the Large Professor, Q-Tip and L.E.S. I mean what a team, usually working with so many gifted produces tends to effect the cohesiveness in both constructing the album and the output - but in this case it worked beautifully.

Another feat that's not often mentioned enough is the album is relatively short, especially for a hip-hop album - just 10 songs-long. I think the often said quality not quantity can be used here, as no song falls short, they're all near perfect their own way, perhaps more of the same would have become monotonous and probably would have dampened the album's overall quality. Hey, let's not forget the best-selling album in music history only had 9 songs (that's MJ's Thriller, if you're a moron), so yeah, that says something.

Looking at the album itself, its a perfect blend of what a hip-hop album should sound like. Nas' lyrical ability on the album is of course the album's strength, he had/has this ability to be so deep but not too abstract, finding the exact right medium with his lyrics. While we are all aware Nas is arguably the best lyricist, it's best exhibited here - he's conscious without trying to change your opinion like a conscious rapper would, his ultimate aim is quite literally to show you what the "New York State of Mind" is. I mean I'm 21, from Croydon in South London, but when I listen to Illmatic, I'm instantly teleported to Queensbridge, New York. And, it is his ability to detail his surrounding through a matter of  just rhyming words that does that, you can just feel what life must of been like in Queensbridge in the late 80's/90's. 

 It's the simplicity but depth to his lyrics that I love, like - “It drops deep as it does in my breath/I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death/Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined/I think of crime when I’m in a New York state of mind”. He mirrors the city that never sleeps but not for joy that we're often presented, but a city that is rife with crime so you can't afford to sleep otherwise you'll ultimately die. The satire of his New York life being a city of crime as opposed to what it's often known for of being the city of opportunity, is seriously brilliant. Then, you just have clever whitty lyrics - "You couldn't catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer/That's like Malcolm X catching the Jungle Fever". That doesn't need explaining it's just really clever to be honest. Lets not forget - I switched the motto/instead of saying fuck tomorrow/that buck that bought a bottle/could a struck the lotto. I think this line best explains my thoughts on Nas' lyrical ability and his resonance in hip-hop today - while he's philosophising, he does it in a way that everyone can relate to, I mean despite any background you reside from you can all relate to this line - the lotto is a metaphor for good fortune in the future - something we can all relate to, just love it. 

Nas' is lyrics are perfectly laced with the production he was benefited with. The samples used, the beats, the loops were all perfectly chosen and created to provide a sonic presentation of New York. The Chords on "The World is Yours" by Pete Rock to portray the darkness of Queensbridge, the hypnotic bounce on "Represent" by Premier, the ever so jazzy crescendo on "One Love" by Q- Tip and the rawness of "Half-Time" by Large Professor. The production just creates a myriad of sounds that complement the picture that Nas' is trying to make of New York.

With that being said - Illmatic is now the blueprint of what not only a great hip-hop album should sound like but how a great album should sound like, ultimately. It completely changed hip-hop, to the point where you look at hip-hop as pre-Illmatic and post Illmatic. I think the legacy it's brought to hip-hop is un-measurable, it's the album that people who don't like hip-hop actually like, it's so good that's genreless it's just a great compostion of music.

Happy 20th birthday Illmatic!

The College Dropout - 10-year-anniversary

Today marks the 10-year-anniversary of the modern classic album - The College Dropout. The debut album of the then relatively unknown Kanye West. The impact the album has left on music and popular culture as a whole cannot be measured or compared - an album that totally redefined hip-hop and our understanding of its culture.

From a personal point of view this album resonates with me a lot, as around that time was when I actually began listening to hip-hop with more purpose and a certain level of understanding. College Dropout offered listeners something completely new, a message and audience that hip-hop had never really addressed. Okay, let’s set the scene here...a year prior to the release of The College Dropout, an absolute colossal of an album dropped that shook hip-hop and the music industry as a whole. That of course being 50 Cent's - Get Rich or Die Tryin' - which completely annihilated every other album that was released that year and defined 2003 as a whole. With it brought back gangsta hip-hop to the mainstream market, similar to the way Snoop Dogg did ten years prior. College Dropout on the other-hand was completely left-field, not only to Get Rich or Die Tryin' but different to anything that was being played at the time or anything that came before it. 

It's weird to think of a music world where Kanye West was relatively unheard of (at a mass scale anyway) - back then he was the producer that no-one thought could rap. Wearing pink polos and a backpack - unlike the present day pop-magnet, drunk at award-shows and fighting paparazzi Kanye we're now used to. Nonetheless, one thing that has always remained the same is his huge ego, Yeezy always knew and believed he'd be a star. And, it was this album that got him to this preeminent pop icon status he has today.

As an album College Dropout transformed hip-hop, it provided a new sound and a new type of listener. The concepts that Kanye was discussing was stuff we've never really heard of from a rapper before - the whole underdog who's trying to succeed narrative spoke volumes and resonated with us. A progressive album that didn't lend itself to its forefathers before it, the whole "conscious rap" - yes it is conscious, but not in the sense of being afro-centric and race-driven, but conscious in the sense of one finding themselves despite their sociological restraints. As I get older I begin to relate more with the album, especially now being a recent graduate the skits and Kanye's experience's at University (College) resonate with me even more. The whole rhetoric's of  trying to make it in the real world after the protective bubble that education creates, the issue of self-consciousness and the obstacles of society. Are all issues that people of that generation and this current generation are going through.

The more obvious point - the production, sampling soul classics that were sped-up, a trend that later characterised hip-hop in the years to come - notably being the "Kanye sound". The key to the album's success is its singles - breakthrough songs like 'Through the Wire', 'Jesus Walks' and 'All Falls Down', all of which deal with concepts that present a persona that listeners can relate to. Other likable and fun singles like 'Slowjamz' and 'The New Workout Plan' added the necessary charming sheen to the album. Not forgetting the now cult classics - 'Spaceship', 'We Don't Care' and 'Family Business' working as the compound that made the album so popular among listeners. As West commented on the album - "My persona is that I'm the regular person. Just think about whatever you've been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album".

Looking at it 10 years on, I feel as though I now understand his vision of what he was trying to achieve and is still achieving. I'd go as far as saying he's certainly the greatest artist of this generation, cause really and truly he's the only artist that we or in this respect, myself, has seen from the beginning and witnessed their growth as an artist - with the College Droput being the blueprint of his success. While it isn't my favourite Kanye album, it certainly is a classic album that revolutionised and reinvigorated hip-hop. 

Happy tenth birthday College Dropout!

(Subscribe and follow me on twitter @Gezza_O)

Gezza...

Midnight Marauders 20th anniversary

I'll keep it short and sweet with this post - truly not much needs to be said, to be honest.

Yesterday (09/11/13) marked the 20th anniversary of one hip-hops most defining albums. With two albums under their belt A Tribe Called Quest reaffirmed their status as hip-hop icons and pioneers - an album that truly left a lasting effect on music and hip-hop culture to date. 

While as many of you can tell by the name of my blog the - Low End Theory is my favourite Tribe album and also my favourite album, period! But, I'll digress by saying - in hindsight 'MM' is actually the Tribes best album when you look at it as a whole, as everyone in the group was at their peak. Phife with his rhymes, Tip on production and Ali on the decks - The Holy Trinity.

P.S cool post by Complex mag about the album cover..check it out: http://www.complex.com/music/2013/11/where-are-they-now-the-faces-that-graced-the-three-different-covers-of-midnight-marauders/?utm_campaign=complexmag+socialflow+11+2013&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Also if anyone wants to listen to the whole album..here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ido6-_erTGY

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - "The Last Real Masterpiece"

At some point three years ago - Kanye West was probably the most hated man in not only music, but show-business as a whole.  His Taylor Swift stage-bomb exploits; left him humiliated, embarrassed and hated by all. Myself included, I had lost a lot of faith in the egotistic rapper, prior to the VMA's even. More so, as a result of his then latest album 808's and Heartbreaks, which I felt at the time was very substandard to its predecessors. And now with his drunken exploits at the VMA's, I truly thought this was the end for Kanye - (giggles) BOY WAS I WRONG! After exiling himself for a year in Hawaii, many critics, journalists and fans all discussed what exactly the ostracised rapper was doing - when in actuality, he was making a modern classic album. 

After leaked versions of the first single Power marauded the internet, the official version was finally released in July with the visuals for the track, causing mad  hysteria . It seemed as though Yeezy was back, but a Yeezy who had now mastered his own sound (I'll come back to that later). Following this, he further blessed us with weekly free giveaways building up to the album, noted as "G.O.O.D FRIDAYS" and mind you despite 3 of the songs being on the album, most if not all were album-worthy. This, plus the short-film Runaway whetted everyone's appetite for the album itself. November 22nd, 2010 *Wipes Tear*.

Ok, now this is where I explain why I think My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF) is a masterpiece and why all hip-hop albums thereafter have to try and beat it - to be mentioned as a modern classic...

I won't go into great detail about the songs within the actual album, (you can listen to them for yourself really). But, what I will do is discuss the album as a composition. As a whole Kanye made an all-encompassing album - by that I mean the album is a construct of each of his previous four albums. Particularly, the production, you can hear the soulful samples in songs like Devil in a New Dress reminiscent of The College Dropout, opera-like and stadium'esc sounds in All of the Lights similar to Late Registration and Graduation, while his recent spurge of using auto-tune which is prominent in 808's is present throughout the album, especially Runaway. While encompassing all his previous sounds - he had now mastered it and rendered something newer and more daring, with his Rock-like samples and heavier bass production which is most appreciated in the overwhelming song Power. Here, in terms of production we found a Kanye West who had grown to new heights beyond conventional hip-hop, which of course he was always doing with his previous albums - nonetheless he did it this time embracing his previous sound and evolving to a new level. Having said that, it is clear to see why Kanye considers himself to be more than just a rapper- but rather a great artist that raps. 

It is often debated that Kanye is a producer who can rap rather the other way round, or that he's good at both. Nonetheless, with this album, he demonstrated that he is very much so, a strong rapper, who can compete with best lyrically. Without a doubt in my mind his best display of lyricism was in MBDTF - and no song on the album best displays this than Gorgeous. In actual fact, Kanye denounces the negative stigma of him being a producer who can rap, in Gorgeous where he goes on to say -  'Act like I ain't had a belt in two classes, I ain't got it I'm going after for whoever who has it, I'm coming after whoever! Who has it?'. Firstly, this is a really dope line to be honest - more importantly he negates the stigma of him being a producer who can rap, but rather a champion at both crafts and to be fair, off this effort, who can really argue with him. 

I mean, what I most appreciate about the album is it's duality - by that I mean; it's an album for all lovers of music, whether you're lover of hip-hop or not, but at the very same time it still resonates with the core foundations of hip-hop, so not straying away from the genre itself. It has probably the best posse-cut track in the last decade with So Appalled, as well as an honest and very candid song that all listeners can relate to in Devil in a New Dress. Plus, it really demonstrated and allowed other artists/producers to flourish- both his own artists in G.O.O.D Music, but as well as emerging/new-gen' rappers like Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross to drop arguably their best verses. 

Having said all of this, I genuinely feel this album deserved all the plaudits it received- considering Kanye was all against it at that specific time, he really did deliver a stellar album that will go down as a classic, if it isn't already. I mean it got 5 mics from The Source even (who even knew they still existed lol). This is certainly, in my opinion the best hip-hop album in the new decade (2010- ) and probably since the Carter 3 or well before even. In which, for me this is the plateau that all forthcoming attempts should aim to top - a reference of what a modern classic is, if you will. 

Cheers...

Was it worth it? Superstar goes as 7 new recruits enter...

Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring winner against West Ham last season

After weeks of speculation, near confirmation and U-Turns it can finally be confirmed that Real Madrid have secured the signature of their marquee summer target Gareth Bale (subject to a medical); for a world record transfer of 100m Euros (£85.3m), (whether he is worth it or not, is a whole different debate in itself). Bale who now carries the hefty price tag has all to prove his worth, as he can now add himself to the ever glowing list of Galácticos.

While, the Bale saga was taking place and receiving mass media attention, a lot of action was happening behind the backrooms of the Lane. As Daniel Levy and Franco Baldini were fashioning the plans for the post-Bale Tottenham - which has now resulted in the signing of some of Europe's top footballers, seven to be exact. Which totaled to a staggering £110.5m and with a few more hours left in the transfer window who's to say it's stopping there.

Anyhow, while on paper it does seem all rosey for Spurs, one can't dismiss that Tottenham are ultimately weaker without Bale whether or not they've signed some of Europe's top players.  Don't get me wrong, the signings Spurs have made are top draw and any Football Manager fan like myself has probably tried to buy one of the lucky seven before. However, Bale is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world and has been the best player in the Premier-League over the past two seasons. Thus,  being the linchpin and saviour for Spurs for the last couple of seasons - to which weaker counterparts truly do not equate to the former Spurs superstar, that is Bale...

New Tottenham summer signings Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen

Yes, you heard right, I said superstar! Need I remind you of his stats last season; 21 goals with 7 assists in the league alone, with a run of 11 goals in 10 games this very year. While his stats speak for himself; he was very much a big-match/cometh the hour, cometh the man type of player for Tottenham, with his spectacular strike against West Ham in the final minutes of the game coming to mind. Whether or not you agree, Bale was single-handedly deciding games for Spurs last season.

Which is why I feel they are now quite significantly weaker without Bale. For two specific reasons. The first being the most obvious - while they now have a squad with a lot of depth and quality, they are now plagued with a bulky squad full of stars that want to start. Which,  of course will need time to gel as many of these players have been bought after or in the middle of the preseason period. 

Secondly, Spurs's recent success was built around Bale and the "Bale factor" worked for Tottenham, however, now they have to completely restructure and find a formula that works, bearing in mind its a Premier-League season where in my opinion there's six teams who are all close to each other in terms of quality and all fighting for the promise land that is the "Top 4". Had they somehow managed to keep Bale and added to their squad they would have definitely in my mind finished among the top 4. Now however it'll be increasingly difficult even with the quality they've added. 

Yes I can hear you saying how much creativity Eriksen has, or that Lamela scored 15 in 35 for Roma last season. Regardless of this it's a completely different league, style of play and these players need time to gel with their new teammates. 

Having said all of this, this is football and it is a matter of opinion and believe me, my opinion has been wrong a number of times (I said Liverpool were going to win the league in 09/10 and they finished 7th :/).  For all I know Tottenham could be champions come May. Nonetheless we'll let the football do the talking. Have a good one people!

Has the La Liga taken the Premier League's title as 'The Best League in the World?'

Before I begin with this post; those of you who do not know me personally will be surprised to know that I am a massive football fan. To my own surprise, I have no idea, as to why I haven't blogged about football yet but hey that's about to change starting from here. So enjoy, comment and share!

Cristiano Ronaldo scoring against Manchester City earlier this season in the Champions League Group stages

Since the turn of the century it has been widely accepted that the Premier League is quintessentially the best league in the footballing world. Due to it's fast pace, aggression and high money spending features has helped it to attract millions of sports lovers to the Premier League. Similarly, the Premier League sides have dominated European competitions for the last seven plus years. However, recently there has been a shift in superiority, Spanish clubs and players are now the dominant force in world football.

Earlier this week the annual FIFA Ballon d'Or 2012 awards took place and with it the worlds best XI of 2012 was announced. The XI was completely comprised of teams from the La Liga. Even more it was confined to just three teams; Barcelona (5), Real Madrid (5) and Atletico Madrid (1). We can go as far as saying the world's best XI is confined to just two Spanish cities. Not Manchester, London, Munich or Milan. Simply just Barcelona and Madrid.

FIFPro X1 2012 Players

(IKER CASILLAS, DANI ALVES, MARCELO, GERARD PIQUÉ, SERGIO RAMOS, ANDRÉS INIESTA, XABI ALONSO, XAVI HERNANDEZ, CRISTIANO RONALDO, RADAMEL FALCAO, LIONEL MESSI.)

Firstly, myself included, I was a bit taken aback, when the XI was announced not one player from a non-Spanish club? Putting other European players aside, surely one player from the Premier League could have made the XI. Of course first person on your lips is Robin Van Persie, undoubtedly the best player in the Premier League last season scoring 37 goals in 48 appearances for Arsenal. Or perhaps Ashley Cole who put a solid performance last season in particular in the Champions League as well as being an eventual winner. Nonetheless, neither made the list which is quite surprising considering Van Persie did score one more goal than Falcao in fewer appearances. Similarly, to my belief I can't recall seeing anything special from Marcelo definitely in comparison to Ashley Cole.

Many critics of the Spanish league would argue that it is dominated by two super teams (Barcelona and Real Madrid), who are almost guaranteed a victory every game. Lack of challengers for the super teams, as the rest of the teams are nowhere near the quality of Barcelona and Real Madrid. While with the Premier League any team can seemingly beat any team, a victory is never guaranteed (even if you're Manchester United Or City). There's always at least four main challengers for the title at the beginning of every season. 

Falcao celebrating after scoring his hat-trick against Chelsea in the Super Cup this season 

Though many critics argue that the English league is majorly over-hyped with unattractive football, over-priced players and a media who portray it to be something that it truly isn't. More accurately, Atletico Madrid, a side that finished fifth last season, demolished a strong Chelsea side in the Super Cup at the start of this season. With Falcoa being the criminal in the murder, scoring a hat-trick within 45 minutes. Atletico a feeder club to many of England's top sides for years, beating Chelsea the current Champions League winners, with ease. Same can be said for Manchester City current Premier League champions, were drawn in the 'group of champions', in the group stages of this seasons Champions League- that being Real Madrid (champions of La Liga), Borussia Dortmund (champions of Bundesliga) and Ajax (champions of Eredivisie). This should of been a great testament of English football, displaying our very best among Europe's very best. Tragically, Man City finished bottom with just 3 points and not one single victory. Not to forget Manchester United who crashed out to Atletico Bilbao in the Europa League last season. So if seemingly the best team from England cannot beat at least one of Europe's elite teams; what does it say about the supposedly best league in the world?

The La Liga has the two best players in the world (Messi and Ronaldo), two best teams (Barcelona and Real Madrid). More people watched the El Classico (1.7m twitter mentions) than the Manchester Derby (420K twitter mentions). To take the the argument further, there's a huge difference between either national sides Spain who are both world and European champions; play romantic, attractive and passing football. While England play dull and unfulfilling football, not reaching the final of any tournament since winning the World Cup in 1966. Lastly, English teams look to Spain to buy their youngsters as English talent are never to the quality of Spanish players. Spain simply produce better players, have better coaching staff and facilities. 

It seems there's been a shift in what is the best league in the world, as Spanish teams now dominate European football. Being a Premier League lover myself I will always prefer to watch the Premier League, but have to concede that Spanish football trumps English football.