Archive for November, 2010

The ‘LO-End Theory On The Internets…

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

lifestyle

I have a few quotes here in this piece at XXLmag.com featuring some of the lifestyles greatest and well known connoisseurs.

Polo and Hip-Hop, an Oral History [Pt. 1]

SNEAKER FIENDS UNITE!

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

black friday

You know I had to make a Black Friday SFU video?!?

SNEAKER FIENDS UNITE!: Black Friday from dallas penn on Vimeo.

GORDON VOIDWELL >>> KANYe WEST…

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

gordon voidwell

Okay, so I made the post title to be provocative, but seriously, Gordon Voidwell is nice with his and you should get up on his sound.

Go download the Ivy League Circus EP and dig this young man’s grooves.

‘Ivy League Circus’


‘PlanetLove’


‘Disco Afternoon’


‘Late Sleep’

gordon voidwell

The Dude vs. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy…

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

dude

While I have the attention of all my favorite commenters I’m going to post some tracks from Quincy Jones seminal R&B posse album with cuts from ‘Ye Tudda’s seminal Hip-Pop offering. Enjoy these while we have the chance to before the Dept. of Homeland Security seizes my server

The Dude vs. Dark Fantasy

‘The Dude’

‘Dark Fantasy’

I believe that’s the one and only Michael Jackson on The Dude’s auto-tuned backgrounds. I wonder who wrote the rap verse for this track? Ludacris? The subject of the song sounds like he’s a bad mofo, but he def ain’t got no Murcielago.

In their original length both songs run too long for standard radio playlist formats but you can cut the Quincy Jones track at 4:00 before the reprise. I give the points to KanYe for the music but Quincy wins in making a joint easily adaptable for smooth jazz radio stations.

Razzamatazz vs. Monster

‘Razzamatazz’

‘Monster’

‘Monster’ isn’t the best track on MBDTF because Jay-Z and Rick Ross hold it back from total greatness, but ‘Monster’ is the track that opened my ears to Nicki Minaj.

Betcha Wouldn’t Hurt Me vs. Lost In The World

‘Betcha Wouldn’t Hurt Me’

‘Lost In The World’

‘Betcha’ is another track off The Dude featuring Patti Austin at her soulful best. I can remember hearing this song at an after hours disco in midtown Manhattan called LoveLite. The Lost In The World song will be played at some rave in Dubai.

In 2010, Bon Iver is Patti Austin and Nicki Minaj channels Michael Jackson. All this to say that in 2040 when some dude creates the next MBDTF/The Dude I just hope that KanYe West has the class and prescience to give them their props.

KanYe West Is That Dude…

Friday, November 26th, 2010

ye tudda

Let’s have a toast for the disco cavemen!

It was during the G.O.O.D. Friday leaks that I noticed something developing in the KanYe West oeuvre. I began to notice artists after they had done tracks with him. I’m no fan of Nicki Minaj or the Clipse, but I at least found myself listening to them now instead of pressing fast forward. KanYe was getting eye opening performances from these artists. The Raekwon x Justin Bieber track showed a prescience to tap into rap music’s pantheon with a pop music juggernaut. His ability to secure the RZA on the ‘So Appalled’ track was a watershed moment for my realization.

KanYe West was Quincy Jonesing rap music. Quincy Jones was the O.G. who had the audio senses to craft popular culture music from more serious, dedicated forms of music. He made jazz accessible where it was previously nuanced and specialized. He made R&B that served the millions with his collaborations with the late, great Michael Jackson. Quincy Jones was far from a superb musician himself, but he had an ear for sound that would move the masses. Quincy Jones also knew that music was a global force and he wasn’t confined by even the domestic borders of the American pop charts.

I had to invoke Quincy Jones for the way KanYe was using EVERYONE that he knew in the production of his latest album. He didn’t just feature artists like Rick Ross, Kid Cudi and Common, but producers as well. Swizz Beatz and No ID would be credited on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. MBDTF also introduced me to the vocal stylings of Bon Iver. The extraction of all this varied talent for a single cohesive project is something I thought Quincy Jones accomplished on his LP ‘The Dude’. My dad might have played this album 10 millions times. I don’t think my dad would have fuxed with the latest KanYe disk too tough.

Coincidentally enough, Quincy Jones does not fux with KanYe musically.