Is that a Parliment, an American Spirit or a Newport? Feeling confused and/or guilty that you’re not frothing at the mouth over the third RTJ album after reading gushing reviews from both well-established critics and Hipster Music Mafia interns? Fear not, for you are not alone.
There you are, just minding your business, when suddenly – seemingly out of nowhere – another rapper dude decides to return to the game and put out a new album. While this is all well and good (I wouldn’t say no the idea of a second Barsha record) in theory at least, insofar as I’m…
[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.unkut.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/CRC-Rapper-Report-Card.pdf”] Link to full size version After last week’s Jadakiss impromptu grading as a rapper, I got to thinking about how other rappers might fare if I scored them using Kool Moe Dee‘s patented Rapper Report Card system. For the purposes of this test, I simply plucked a name out of mid-air and scored…
I really wanted to like Straight Outta Compton, and in many ways, I did. But in many other, more important ways, I did not. The fundamental problem with any biopic that’s produced by the people it’s telling the story about is that you’re getting an incredibly sanitized, white-washed version of events which goes to extreme…
Time and time again I read claims that the reason why the producers who cut their teeth in the 12-bit sampling era aren’t bringing the same level of beat-making wizardry to the table is because they’ve moved on from their dusty old SP-1200’s, MPC 60’s and EPS’. I’m claiming bullshit. Sure, there’s no denying that…
There’s going to be a Sean Price album produced entirely by Lil’ Fame, which is a true reason for the CRC to celebrate since it means that we don’t have to hear Termanology waste any more Fizzy Womack beats for a little while, but also because they both continue to put in some fine work….
I realized something deeply troubling today. After checking out the latest releases from Ghostface and Statik Selektah I’m convinced that we have now officially entered the Elevator Muzak era of rap music. While The Roots have been churning out tunes seemingly designed for coffee shops and cafes for the better part of the last decade,…
Does. Not. Compute. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: Why Every ‘Greatest Rapper of All-Time’ Discussion Is Wrong
This week has seen the release of Pete Rock‘s latest album, PeteStrumentals 2, the follow-up to the first edition from 2001. Unlike the original, which was spiced-up with outstanding appearances from Roc Marciano and The UN, Freddie Foxxx, Nature and CL Smooth, the new one is a beats only affair. As much as I enjoy…
My old drinking buddy Phillip Mlynar penned Lyricist Lounge: An Oral History this week, which reminded me of just how disappointing the actual album dedicated to that place was. As a record buyer during that period, I fondly recall that period in the mid to late 90’s when MF Doom, Juggaknots, Jigmastas and Scaramanga were…
The new web editor over at Acclaim asked for me to write about the new Kendrick Lamar album. I attempted to keep an open mind as best I could. No Country For Old (Rap) Men: To Review A Butterfly
The limited shelf life of most rap groups is a an unfortunate reality. For some MC’s, the window of opportunity is so small that getting stuck in record label limbo for two or three years can spell career ruin, while even some of the genre’s greatest groups such as Run-DMC and Public Enemy suffered album…