Ya Boy is Not a Bay Area Rapper

Ya Boy, Dr. Hollywood "We Run L.A."

Because Bay Area rappers don't make songs with Autotuned white dudes singing about Los Angeles. They don't wear "button ups". They certainly don't rap about going out of their way to spend money on women (though it looks like the move South has stepped up the caliber of women available to YB, can't hate on that).

I'm not trying to say people shouldn't stray from the expectations their region has laid out for them. I am all for innovation. But not this.

Where are Ya Boy's defenders now? I want to hear your opinions on this bullshit.

Computer Love

Not that I'm loving my computer much at all these days, but I did manage to do some research on 415 Bigg Ocean Mobb. I think they might have been from Pittsburg? Or Oakland? Or maybe San Francisco? But who knows, because I've heard them claim every city in the Bay on this album. Fuck them for being around when the 415 area code was so inexact. And, while I'm on the topic, fuck Marin county for getting to keep SF's area code whenever the switch happened.

[I had a great video to put here. It was an old TV ad for the album, but MySpace is so fucked they give out shoddy video embedding codes. MySpace, step it up. Here's the link]

415 Bigg Ocean Mobb "Gangsta Driven"

According to what little info I've been able to find out about 415 Bigg Ocean Mobb, Khayree produced most of the album. So, take this Kraftwerk sample to be further evidence that Khayree was ahead of his time. But where is Khayree now? And for that matter, what ever happened to TC (who produced a lot of old Dre Dog classics)?

Are Rick Rock and Rob Lo the only good Bay Area producers left? Is Chops a new dude or have I just not heard of him?

The Kraftwerk sample reminded me of this old Turf Talk song that also - without giving ANY credit whatsoever - samples the Komputer-loving Krauts. Let's call this Frowback Friday:

Turf Talk, Kaveo, Mugzilla "Do the Robot"

It also made me realize that I don't think I've heard any non-Bay Area rap that samples Kraftwerk [check comments]. Maybe next year, we'll hear Mistah FAB rap over a Steve Aoki remix of a Cut Copy song, or some shit. We have a lot to look forward to, people.

Throwback Thursday Wednesday

Lil Bruce "Mobbin in my Old School"


Jay-Z "Can I Live?"


Like I have to ask. What would you rather hear over this beautiful Isaac Hayes sample? Jay-Z bitching about/describing some hustler's fantasy and asking you "Can I Live?", or Lil Bruce letting you know that he is living in ways you could never imagine? Lil Bruce says yes to life everyday when he hops in his old school and does silly shit with his car. The thought of someone stopping him from doing this is preposterous; Lil Bruce is "down for the high-speeds", meaning that if you attempt to stop his dangerous driving practices, you will only make him drive more dangerously.

His pants are sagging in an incredibly awkward fashion. He has bad posture, and he is probably too fat to be wearing a wife beater. But there is no way to deny that Lil Bruce was happy as a pig in shit - or a trough full of money - when he made the video for "Mobbin in my Old School".

Jay-Z never seems happy about rapping, and that might be my biggest issue with him. I have never listened to Reasonable Doubt in its entirety.

Digging in the Crates iTunes

Oh man what a boring Sunday. Chocobot totally flaked on what would have been my first time on a skateboard in about a month and a half. Probably not the worst thing. That scene might've been ugly. So, having no internet, and not wanting to read, I ended up going through my iTunes for a few hours. I have some good mp3s in here!

Because a good deal of my internet time is dedicated to blogging and finding new music, I often limit myself to the "Recently Added" section of my iTunes, just to keep things fresh in my mind. If you've gotten the vibe I'm a flavor-of-the-month kinda dude, well, there's the reason. I have a hopelessly short-term memory built in to the way I use iTunes. Terrible.

Here's some tracks I've been meaning to post, and some I just came across on a boring ass Winter Sunday. (Note: There were supposed to be more, but my technology situation is just perpetually fucked. Also the first one is an mp4. My bad)

Husalah, Lee Majors, Ten Til "We Rock"

This is one of the sickest Husalah verses/hooks I am aware of. Tragically, it's on a Lee Majors song (how often must this happen?). As Hus puts it, it's music for "schizos and psychos with pistols and rifles". Lee Majors and this guy named Ten Til totally ruin it, but Hus' verse comes first, thank god. I might've never found this verse otherwise.

415 Bigg Ocean Mobb "Drug Sellin"

Some unheard-of - to me, at least - early 90's San Francisco shit. I picked up some bizarre mixtape at Amoeba years back called "West Coast Flavas Gangsta Mix" (I'd have been a fool not to, with a name like that!), and this was on it. It's pretty real. Realer than Ocean Ave, if that's where these dudes are really claiming.

Young Jeezy, Slick Pulla, Boo "Miss Me With that Rap Shit"

Great track off of DJ Drama and Jeezy's classic Trap or Die. If you like Jeezy, you'll be happy with this one. This is pre-Barack Obama, and pre-Jeezy's popularity, so you don't have to hear Drama call himself "Barack O'Drama" or yell about how many classics he's put out (read: one, Trap or Die).

Mac Dre "Little Bitch (Lil Bruce Diss)"

This one isn't easy to come by. I'm glad Dre steered clear of beef for most of his career - tragically he didn't entirely - but it would've been nice to hear a few more of these. A couple choice lines:

you mixed breed, Korean and Black/
is your mama in the kitchen cooking dogs and cats?/
...I know some things about Vietnam/
that's where yo daddy met yo mom/"

Went to UCSD y'all. Love a good AZN joke, what can I say?

Funny thing about this song is that Lil Bruce used it to make "Fuck Lil Bruce". Listen around 6:30ish and you'll see. Unless it was the other way around?

It's back to work for me. I'm just counting down the days til I'm back in San Francisco right now. Which burrito should I fuck with first? Farolito? Can Cun? Taqueria San Francisco? Or should I branch out and try El Castillo, which I've heard so much about?

Don't say La Taqueria or El Metate, because you'd just be outing yourself as a don't-know.

Welcome to Scokland ScOakland Sounds Tyt/Pilly Does Twitter

So my internet situation isn't fixed up at all, but some anonymous commenter came through and hooked up a couple dope tracks off of Quinn and Keak's new CD.

San Quinn, Keak da Sneak "Welcome to Scokland"

San Quinn, Keak da Sneak "Streets Don't Lie"

The title track is cool, but "Streets Don't Lie" is bananas. That circa-1970's-sounding synth loop, along with the chopped up sample are really talking to me. Quinn's verse is really real, too. He admits to going to Catholic school and snorting too much yowder when he was young (did he really stop?). And Seff tha Gaffla was the dude who told him to stop, if I understood that right? You know you're in trouble when a dude named Seff tha Gaffla is staging an intervention on your behalf.

Anyway, I had my suspicions about this being one of those throwaway FriscoStreetShow or (recent) Messy Marv joints that have FruityLoops production and verses so bad you wonder if these rappers give a shit about their fans. Which reminds me, there was some talk on the comments from a past post about how San Quinn was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most appearances on albums or some shit. Right neighborhood, wrong rapper. That's JT the Bigga Figga, who more or less pioneered the Take-Advantage-of-your-Loyal-Fanbase approach to making a few bucks. He was basically the rap R.L. Stine. I hope that bullshit hustler's mentality to the actual making of music is dying out in the Bay Area (though certainly not at Thizz Ent), and quality albums like this suggest it might be.

Onto the second part of this post, your boy joined the 21st century by hopping on Twitter. Someone was asking about that a few weeks back. Here I am. I need more people on this thing to "tweet" with.

Oh yeah, I got to go to the Kid Cudi/Wale show over at Highline Ballroom on Tuesday night, thanks to the good people at RCRDLBL (THANKS!). The show was dope. Lots of surprise guests. Here's a quick rundown of people I saw in reverse order of how impressive it is:

Pure Fire

Kicking around Joell Ortiz's name a lot these days and never got around to posting this. Two jams that hit the nets in November by the super group Slaughterhouse. The tracks are pure fire and I think it should be one of the most anticipated albums of 08-09. The line up:

Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9", Crooked I, Joe Budden

Nino Bless is also on the second track.

Slaughterhouse - Onslaught
Slaughterhouse - Slaughterhouse

A lot of chat about who brings it the hardest, but I am not even going to try and call it. Getting goosebumps thinking about the album.

Also, speaking of nets, for all my Blazer fans out there I know we should have won that game. 1 point, so tragic:



D Howard, go to sleep!

Kaz Kyzah Stays Losing

Gonna continue this barrage of short half-assed posts by sharing this item I spotted this over at Nah Right.

Memphis Bleek, Tru Life, Uncle Murder "That's the Recipe"

That shit is credited as Gucci Mane ft Memphis Bleek, Tru Life, and Uncle Murder (!).

If I were Kaz Kyzah, I'd be HELLA pissed at this point. Not only did your beat, voice, and concept get snatched by 40 for his album (I obviously didn't pay real money for 40's album, but I'd hope he at least got a writer's credit as C. Kaiser or some shit), but now dudes from Brooklyn - one of whom was in a shampoo commercial - are rapping over it, and it's on Nah Right credited to some dude who had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Damn, Kaz. Did you lose a bet or something?

Dr. Doodoo Number 2?

My turn. Sorry boys. Picked up the new Kool Keith - Dr. Dooom 2, here are a couple tracks and some thoughts.

First of, like all Kool Keith, the production is very on point, funny at points, the concepts are semi-legit, and the flow is...well is the flow. So if you like that, then get the album, you won't be disappointed. KutMasta Kurt and Kool Keith did the production: really fucking legit. Do Not Disturb will definitely be heard banging down some blocks.

Dr. Dooom - Do Not Disturb
Dr. Dooom - I Followed You
Dr. Dooom - The God of Rap

That being said, the album is not tight. No Kool Keith albums is tight, not even Dr. Octagon. Let's be real with it. There were like what, 2 good songs on that album? I love Kool Keith, I think he is a trunk in the hip hop tree, but you can only appreciate it so much.

Well, swoop the album, I did. It's fun, but after I listen to it twice and memorize the funny lines I'll put it in my closet with the rest of the Kool Keith discography.

PeePee5 1DooDoo, know what I'm saying?

This Has Never Been Sampled Right? This Was totally Sampled by Mistah FAB in "City Limits"

Internet situation is still fucked y'all. Hey look, YouTube videos!



How is it that no one has ever flipped this one? I mean San Quinn rapped over Scott McKenzie's hippie anthem "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" just because they say "San Francisco" in it. That shit is soft though. This could be flipped into something really nice. Thanks Edgar!



Another classic that has never been referenced or sampled in any SF rap song I am aware of. Something tells me it never will be.

Am I the only one that thinks 40 cal rocks?

It has been a while but Mr. International is back. I was studying for finals, and finding myself listening to a lot of 40 cal when I came across this video.



Dos and don'ts of shooting a low budget music video:
1. Do: Have a white guy dressed up like a butler, who pours you champagne and carries a gigantic bottle of hennessy around (I need to get my hands on that). It is priceless when 40 cal tells him to stop pouring the champagne around 42 seconds. The butler seems like he is really happy to be doing his job.
2. Do: Wear a black T-shirt with different slang termanology for money on it.
3. Don't: get the ugliest chicks on the planet to be in your video.
4. Do: get a random white girl who wears a white turtleneck to play the background.

Because I am Mr. International I will throw this in here also.



Wow!

Video: E-40 "Earl"

Your boy's internet situation is fucked the fuck up these days. It almost seems that every single poachable wireless connection in Bushwick seems to be broken, or password protected, or otherwise shitty. I even went to a coffee shop last night to use their internet and THAT shit didn't work. I'm just having one of those weeks where it feels like the whole world is conspiring to make my life difficult. Nothing like some sinister gangsta rap to ease - or augment - the pain.



Shots of whiskey and billiards? Now that's a combo I can get down with. It's all too rare that you see rap videos filmed at dive bars these days. What's so street about going to the club and paying a 1000% markup on a bottle of Goose? Go kick it with a jukebox and some well whiksey. Find out how you really feel about things.

40's album is surprisingly tyt, except for the areas where we all knew it was going to suck (fortunately most of my predictions were wrong, except for the Gucci Mane appearance). It's odd he would release all those god awful singles before his shit dropped, but hold onto a gem like this until afterward. The production is straight hardbody Mobb shit, all piano and synth, and they lyrics are a throwback to pre-record deal E-40. That's a combo almost as real as whiskey and billiards.

Hopefully I'll have some internet up and running by the end of this week. I guess you have to pay for that shit. Who knew? It's about damn time, cause my computer's feeling about as worthless as an Ice-T cameo at the end of a great song. What the fuck?

Mrs. P You

Lil Wayne does it again!

See You In My Knightmares Ft. Lil Wyane - Kanye West