download: top choice clique
One of my abiding frustrations is, try though we may, we are curiously unable to persuade people to download hip-hop records from eMusic. It’s a predictable pattern: any time a hip-hop record is either Review of the Day or a Daily Download, it will not perform nearly as well as the indie records on either side of it (unless it’s a record by, say, Aesop Rock or El-P). This is particularly troubling to me because, not only do I personally love hip-hop, but we have an almost improbably great collection on eMusic. And while mainstream hip-hop is (to these ears anyway) becoming more boring by the day, underground artists like J-Live and Blue are keeping the spirit of the mid 90s alive with dextrous lyricism and grainy, soul-based production.
So I’m going to make an impassioned pitch here for a hip-hop record that I guarantee will even appeal to people who think they don’t like hip-hop: Top Choice Clique, Reel Chemistry.
Top Choice Clique were apparently an obscure Boston hip-hop crew who operated from 1987 – 1995. I’ll confess I’d never heard of them before this compilation, but from the get-go I was basically floored. This comp hits all of my sweet spots: grimy, sample-based production, lightning-fast flow and nimble, artful verse construction. The title track is built around a sitar loop, for God’s sake. “Scripture 93″ beats the living hell out of a scuffed-up acid guitar lick and “No One Like Me” sounds like some bizarre precursor to trip-hop, heavy-lidded bassline and codeine boom-bap. Those with a soft spot for a particular sound and style of hip-hop will lose it over this. Sample Downloads: “Reel Chemistry,” “Scripture 93,” “The Perils of Punishment.”
Related: I regularly update this hub, which features eMusic’s best new hip-hop.
Added to my Check out list
Nergal (formerly MiDoJo)
)
Resident 17dots hip-hop head (plus evcerything else too
The Hip-hop selection is the second reason I joined eMusic. (The first being the jazz selection.) So there.
Yeah, this album is pretty unbelievable. To the songs Joe recommends, I’d add “Survival” which uses HARP loop and synthesizer’d flutes in the background. It’s improbably pretty and delicate for a boom-bap East Coast hip hop track, and reminds me of the sort of left-field move that RZA would employ. Awesome record.
Also, the hip hop hub is a must. For everyone. Everywhere. I
joe, will check these references out for sure. i am an old school hip hop fan (i used to breakdance badly back in ‘86) and am sometimes lost with the current crop of hip hop artists. the thing for me is i am an album fan and most albums are crammed with filler and crappy skits. nothing like the gold of P.E. and Beastie Boys who know how to craft a good abum. Having said that i am really enjoying The Cold Kids album. Superb!
I hadn’t heard that eMusic had an especially strong rap catalogue. I’ll check it out (I have a few discs by rappers, but it isn’t my cup-of-tea, normally, except for a handful of exceptions, e.g., GhostFace, Kanye West, Madvillian, Quasimoto). (n.1)
That hip-hop hub isn’t easy to find, BTW. Where does the hyperlink or banner for the hub normally appear?
__________________________________
(n.1) I draw a distinction between hip-hop, which is a broad category, and rap, which I think is a smaller subset within hip-hop. I know eMusic has a good hip-hop catalogue, e.g., the Stones Throw label. A related question: Do UK dance genres — e.g., 2-Step, UK Garage, Dubstep — count as hip-hop?
(I love a lot of that indie hip-hop on eMusic, BTW (rap is much more hit-or-miss for me)).
Dan – interesting your take on the definition of hip hop, never thought of it like that. I saw hip hop as rap as hip hop. If rap is a “smaller” subset, what makes up the larger part?
Dubstep, garage etc are all on there own again – they do get grouped together as Urban music here in the UK.
OK, I added this album to saved for later list although I’m a bit cautious because of the number of tracks.
Mr. B: I’m right there with you. My favorite hip-hop records were made from 1987 until about 1999. And *totally* agree about the skits weighing things down; we have that EMC record, which is great for fans of the classic sound, but it’s overloaded with skits (interestingly, I also have it on vinyl, and the vinyl omits the skits entirely). With Top Choice Clique, I’d add that you probably only really *need* Disc 1, though there are some choice cuts on the second disc, too.
Daniel Esq.: Yeah, the hip-hop hub being buried is tough, *but* I also made it one of the default pieces of editorial for all hip-hop records. So if you’re ever curious to see what’s new, just look up any hip-hop record, and you should be able to click off from there. I try to only add stuff that I’d recommend instead of *everything* that’s new.
I’ve been drawn more and more and more to the underground hip-hop lately. I like a good party jam as much as the next person, but I get a little burned out when that’s all there is — and it seems like mainstream hip-hop has definitely been trending that way. What I miss more than anything is the sound of the production in the 90s — I love those burned-out soul loops. I tend to gravitate toward stuff that emphasizes that sound.
Mr. B: Some examples of non-rap hip-hop are (a) Jay Dilla and Dr. No (instrumental hip-hop on the Stones Throw label) and (b) Jill Scott (I guess some people consider this “nu-Soul,” but I think that also overlaps with the hip-hop genre),
I’ll come up with more later. Now, my brain hurts from trying to unpack the various constituencies’ positions on the proposed Wall Street bailout. And from work.
I guess TV on the Radio does not count as hip hop….What about Tricky? I liked the new Tricky album that came out.
For me it’s just that I rarely find hip hop music that speaks to me. I’d rather have some rap back from when ti was good…Public Enemy…yeah boy.
Public Enemy doesn’t appeal to me anymore. it’s too much; an all-out assault on the senses. I’m more with Joe, I think, in that the (little) rap I like seems like it’s updating the sizzling soul of the 70s. You know who’s good at that? GhostFace Killa (and tip-o’-the-hat to a friend who pointed this out to me). See, e.g., Walk Around.
Speaking of GhostFace . . . maybe I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure the song “My World Is,” from Below the Heavens by Blu & Exile — a disc highlighted by Joe above — uses the same sample used in “Shakey Dog,” from GhostFace’s Fishscale. Joe, is that right? (n.1)
______________________________________
(n.1) BTW, “Shakey Dog” is, IMO, one of at least two GhostFace songs that are among the best singles of the decade (the other is “Walk Around,” from Big Doe Rehab).
To respond to Joe’s original frustration, I’d say that the accepted emusic customer demographic (slightly older etc) is simply a group that’s mostly not that interested in rap/hip-hop.
Maybe it’s a generational thing, although in my case more cultural I think, as I often like the music, but not the vocal style or content.
After about 30 seconds of pretty much ANYBODY rapping I just want to make it stop.
Although there have been very occasional exceptions that I liked and I do keep trying the new stuff I stumble across in case I magically ‘get it’ one day, it still induces the ‘off switch’ reaction nearly every time.
I’ll check out some of the recs above though, you never know
Daniel: “Shakey Dog” was my favorite song of that year — the lyrics are flat-out stunning. It’s like a crime narrative set to music! Totally agree with your appraisal. And, good catch — that is totally the same sample. I’m not sure I even noticed it until you pointed it out. I love Ghostface like crazy.
And I should have been a bit fairer in my original post: I certainly don’t begrudge anyone liking or disliking any kind of music — lord knows there’s plenty of stuff on eMusic that’s not for me. For some reason I take it strangely personal with hip-hop.
Related: one of the guys from Top Choice Clique saw this post and dropped a line, so we’ll be doing an interview for eMusic and for the EVR show sometime within the next week!
I’m digging the samples from some of the titles featured on your rap hub, e.g., the EMC disc. Some of those discs are seriously under the radar — e.g., virtually no biographical information on the act or reviews of the disc. In a way, the mystery increases the allure of the acts, making them kind of like a rap version of Burial (FWIW, EMC has received some (favorable) press, but that kind of media coverage looks like an exception).
Joe, what do you think of the new Koushik disc, BTW? I love most of what I’ve heard on Stones Throw Records, but this is a very different kind of disc for them, I think. Based on the samples (and the first single I heard (”Lying In The Sun”)), I’m not even sure it’s hip-hop (maybe more like laptop music in the same vein as Four Tet).
http://www.emusic.com/album/Koushik-Out-My-Window-MP3-Download/11268835.html
I need to spend some more time with it for sure — I like what I’ve heard though. Definitely agree that it’s a bit more like Four Tet than, say, Oh No, so I’m curious to spend more time.
Another great hip-hop record on eMusic that may appeal to listeners who aren’t enthralled with the current state of the genre is “Mingle” by the Saturday Knights. They are from Seattle, and they got Jack Endino, Kim Thayil, and Chris Ballew to play on it. The Dap-Kings also guest on it. My favorite tracks are the first two, “45″ and “Count It Off”. Bonus: no skits!
You party like a rock star — so delirious
I party like a dog star — so Sirius