Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - Sunday Candy

My boy Chance has crossed my path again with some of his special brand of music, my own boy turned me onto him way back when and now he's on my radar. As I did back then, after I listened to some of his newest work, I continue to find myself amazed. I don't know too much about the genre, but I feel like this guy is a one of a kind type of spirit, at times deeply rooted here on earth and other time soaring through the clouds. The young man is definitely putting in his time and surrounds himself with other like minded creative minds. On this latest tour, he's been doing a cover of the theme song for the cartoon Arthur (I remember watching that show with my son back in the late 90s), "Wonderful Everyday". On the studio version, among others, it features Wyclef Jean. Such a thoughtfully optimistic and cheerful song... Chance the Rapper & The Social Experiment - Wonderful Everyday: Arthur Most recently, as in I just heard about it the other day a new tune and another forth coming album (mixtape?) called "Surf". I laid the tune on my son Liam, for his thoughts and his reply, "I don't know about you but I loved it...so fresh so new...so different." No lie huh, Chance is like the first person to set foot on another planet, and his reply back to us is in his music. This newest tune/release is called Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment and features Chance with three other like minded folks (the back up female vocalist Jamila Woods has an otherworldly voice). This thing is pretty much like anything Chance has a hand in, solid, as in a solid block of gold... Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - Sunday Candy

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/178525956" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

Chance The Rapper - Juice

Cops are an easy target for ridicule, probably have been since the first thug was assigned the task of law enforcement, I imagine it was just mob rules, by divine right, prior to that. I've always been wary of them though, people with guns and the law on their side, are best kept at a distance. I've called them for assistance a few times in my life, once when my truck got stolen (never recovered) and another time, on myself, when I was a couple days into a really bad detox, hallucinating that there were dragons and babies in my house.  If there's one thing I want my Son to know about cops, it's do not resist.  It sucks to say that, and it shouldn't be taken generally as a philosophical way of life (Know Your Rights), but every time I've been arrested, I did what was asked of me and the process was relatively painless.  The best practice though, is to never get caught in the first place, and if you're going to do crime, make sure you're smart about it...obviously, and never admit to a crime. Speaking of my Son, who was just accepted to Eastern Carolina University (Go Pirates!), he just turned me onto some good tune-age.  He, like his old man, is a music lover, always has been, but go figure.  His drug of choice is rap and hip hop, which took a little while to settle with me, for various reasons, but music is music right and creativity has many shapes and sizes?   ...and some of that shit really is wicked.   So far he's opened and blown my mind with the likes Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, and Riff Raff.  All very stoney guys, I should probably be worried about my boy and the refer, but I'd just be happy if he took it real easy when it came to the bottle.  This time he's got me groovin to the delightful sounds of Chance the Rapper. He's a youngen, just barely out of high school, a few years older than my boy, and just dropped with his first mix tape in 2012. Wikipedia has a minimalist biography on him, but he so brand new that there isn't a lot to say, except that he's got mind blowing talent. All his stuff is free, where it first found itself at datPiff. I'm not quite sure who is doing his beats and samples, maybe he's doing them himself, but as a foundation for his words, the music is pitch perfect. There's quite the variety to the mix, but one common thread is this stoney, jazz vibe, mostly laid back, with horns and piano here and there. You can almost envision yourself in this smoke filled room, lights lowered, everybody lightheartedly nodding their heads. His rap is equally stoney and really takes it to the next level, from sativa on up to indica, sticky green, juicy raps. He can do that cabaret R&B thing and/or this hybrid hip hop, in a trance thing, pulling rhymes from other dimensions. Like Jimi Hendrix on the guitar, Chance noodles back and forth with these new rhythms, sub-rhythms and tripped out melodies. Going back to my youth, his rap reminds me a bit of De La Soul or better yet Digable Planets, if you're in the know, you'll know what I mean. Apparently his DOC (drug of choice) is LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), which works well with this otherworldly, hallucinatory sound. Even Justin Bieber (my Granddaughter's favorite, I call him "the Beaver" to her), or at least his management recognized Chance's skills... Justin Bieber - Confident (ft. Chance the Rapper) On a side note, that is the first time I have listened to the Beaver, and I can't deny why he is so popular, it's so tame, perfect for the masses, like a sugar substitute. Anyway, Chance's first outing, the 10 Day mixtape is out of this world good, considering his age and not having mountains of production behind it... Brain Cells Family (ft Vic Mensa and Sulaiman) He steps it up a little bit with his next and latest outing Acid Rap, a little more experience, a little more production, sophisticated, cultivated. I love how he has this smart ass tone, like everything he says could be followed up with a smirk, the only way to capture the colors of his rap would be in a cartoon, he's Loony Tunes... Everybody's Something (ft. Saba & BJ The Chicago Kid) I like how on this one he samples a conversation with his Father, who is praising his son...nothing better than being proud of your progeny, overcome by your offspring... Everything's Good (Good Ass Outro) The vid below was my first exposure, the tune my son Liam turned me onto...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8nIHZ-0kS4]

[Intro/Bridge] Thirsty, thirsty, tryna choose I mean, I know I'm pretty cool My Nitty bag, my kitty boost I got the juice, I got the juice

[Verse 1] Chano, Chatham's own Foolies glad I'm home Even my haters kinda glad I'm on Rest In Peace to my Vagabond Rapper song, singer - suspended, subpoena For misdemeanors, dreamer, held back ass is lowkey still a senior And I still shake up BO Squad, praying for my BroBois City on the Come Up, shout that nigga Sosa! Shout my nigga Fat Trel, shout my nigga Joseph Playing Buenos Aires while they sleepin' Buenas Noches! Wonder if I wrote this cause it's so crisp The most brokest cold stock broker winter solstice I could win an Oscar, Russian Accent Husky Acid addict, Costly avid Actor Kevin Costner

[Interlude] AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! TURN UP TURN UP!

[Hook x2] Juice! (Juice!) Juice! (Juice!) Juice! (Juice!) Juice! (Juice!) I got the juice, I got the juice (YUP!)

[Verse 2] God give me one sentence more Maybe I just gotta get suspended more? Hash tag it, get mentions for it Make you love it, get it trending more And then act humble Hear some bull that some dude mumble Wantin' to jump dude, but let that nigga punk you Knowin bitch niggas wanna bring guns to the rumbles, igh! But I love y'all souls Don't let the juice spill Pac! Blue pill pop Til you feel good enough to pop the popped bitch in the blue heels yop! That one - drown in the juice nigga Hunnid proof get found in a youth nigga Stop with all the trynna introduce nigga Everybody know you dude you the new nigga! Hows it feel to be you? Yo no sé I ain't really been myself since Rod passed I ain't even really need that shop class I ain't really been weak since pops smashed I'm a genius, a mothafuckin pop smash Hit sensei, master Jack and Lindsey, Wiley, Kembe Been paid, 10 Day been they FAFSA

[Interlude] AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! TURN UP TURN UP!

[Hook]

[Verse 3] Yup, JUUUUUUUGO You never tasted paper Tripped, racing yaself trynna chase the paper I just faced a Vega And you love being Kobe when you make the lay up Till you realize everybody in the world fuckin hates the Lakers, Hahaha And then everybody wanna sip, til the juice spill everybody want a bib And then everybody wanna dip Told you I ain't worried, I ain't scared of the booth All you can do is spit a verse of the truth Merge the mixture with the purest and the fruits And the thirst, just the worst, it's the curse of the juice!

[Hook + Bridge]

[Outro] Juice, juice, juice, juice... yup! Juice, juice, juice, juice... yup!

Somebody went and compiled a bunch of Chance's featured appearances for you to listen to... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qixxrRlTtTE]

Happy New Year!!! (8 days late)

Made the local paper again. Funny, it's not till I see a picture of myself , that I realize how hefty I am. If it wasn't for my herniated discs I'd do crunches...yeah right.  Hit 44 yesterday, not much of a birthday, something about two 4's. Had my boy, who is now a man, here for the holidays, first time we've spent Xmas together in 10 years. Fucking stud, his old man could not be any prouder. Hell of a way to drop into 2013...does not get any better than that. Just like his old man, he's a music lover (and a video gamer, lover/not a fighter) although his deal is hip-hop and rap. WTF right, at least it's not all about emo or Green Day.  So he is my consultant in a genre where the full extent of my knowledge is pretty much the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and NWA (and maybe few more from the same era).  Now you need to put aside all sensitivities when you go exploring thus because you're guaranteed to get a shit ton of niggas, ho's, bitches, gunplay, a fascination with shiny objects and most certainly all about the MONEY!  "Time is money so I went and bought me a Rolex."  Objectively though you have to support the creative process.  Of the newer stuff, my son and I share a fondness for the stoney sound, where you're almost certain the rapper and DJ have been hittin' the green...shit they're not shy about it.  Damn the samples are critical to that vibe too.  Anyway, Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa figure pretty heavily on my Son's playlist...these four tunes have the Mustard Relics stamp of approval. Big Sean - Made (Feat. Drake) Wiz Khalifa - Phone Numbers (Ft. Trae Tha Truth & Big Sean)

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2QoJqBdfGE&w=560&h=315]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wc3D55WD4E&w=560&h=315]

Doug E Fresh

 I was looking through my recent posts and noticed that I haven't posted something besides metal and hardcore in some time , so I thought I would do something different (that everyone will hate).  Call it an obstacle for those who just surf on through for downlaods or call it motivation for those who have been dying to leave a negative comment.  I listened to this again while ripping it and it still left me with a smile.  This was released in 1985 I think and was not even close to what I was listening to at the time.  It was popular music back then and actually when you think of the Human Beatbox Doug E Fresh, this is historical as well.  I always took the hard classes in high school so I had some nerdy friends too (we called them 4.0's as in their grade point average) and I think they turned me onto this.  One thing it reminds me of for some reason is of getting busted for smoking pot on a Youth and Government trip to the state capital, Sacramento.  I didn't think it was funny at the time but I can remember the teachers asking me why I did it, while I was totally stoned.  My mom didn't think it was funny either.  She always taught me that if you were going to do something bad don't get caught for it.  I failed in that mission.  Anyway this is Doug E Fresh and MC Rikki D with their biggest "hits" from a 12" I got for almost nothing dhortly after it was popular.  Give it a listen to get a taste of something a little humorous in it's 80's-ness and the story on La Di Da Di is funny as well. EDIT: Links deleted for fear of copyright police...go give your money to iTunes or something...

Egyptian Lover

You guys didn't think I was going to give you a killer band like Doom and then not make you read a story and listen to some pretty silly music did you?  If you are a die hard hardcore fan you should skip this post unless you just want to do a little bit of reading.

 (my son's favorite soccer player Wayne Rooney)  From the ages of five to twelve I played AYSO soccer at Fairfax High School in LA.  That's where at least a few of the Chili Peppers went to school, at about that time.  It was there that I first saw Black Flag spray painted on a wall in about 79'.  I took the bus starting when I was ten, by myself, from 6th and Shatto, all the way down Wilshire, over to Beverley down to Fairfax, and walked up from there.  I wouldn't let my eleven year old take that bus ride by himself these days.  On that walk one time I got caught trying to steal a nudie magazine from a stand.  The kids I played with were mixed up into groups, the Jewish kids from that neighborhood, the rich kids from Hancock Park and kids like me from the surrounding ghettos.  It was cool, kids from so many races and backrounds playing together.  One kid from a neighborhood like mine that was also in AYSO soccer was Senon Williams.  Over the years we got to know each other pretty well and he was a good friend.  When I graduated from 6th grade we decided to move to the San Fernando Valley, Burbank, because my next school would be Virgil Junior High.  This school was not the best to go to for many reasons and I think got burned in the LA riots.  After that I would have gone to Belmont High, not the best school either for so many reasons.  I lost contact with all those kids that I had played soccer with.  Six years later I graduated from Burbank High and got accepted to Syracuse University in New York and Humboldt State in Cali.  I couldn't afford to go to Syracuse, so Humboldt it was, which was fine by me because it was as far as you could get from the LA area and still be in the state.  On the first day I was up at HSU I met a guy named Gage, we are still good friends to this day.  He looked just like a member of the Ramones, who I really dug on, so we hit it off pretty quickly.  He was staying in Redwood dorm while I was staying in Sunset which are right next to each other.  We got up there and I was tripping out on the newness of the whole experience and this giant black guy with dreads rolls up to me and says, "what's up Justin" (or something like that).  I was really tripping at this point because I was kind of skinhead looking and this guy was like 6'6".  As it turned out this was my old childhood friend Senon Williams.  My first real experience with the small world phenomenon.  We caught up and actually hung out quite a bit for the years I was up there.  He had a roommate from Berkeley named Jeremy Valverde who I ended up hangin out a bunch with two.  Next to them was this guy Stephen and some other guy.  Stephen taught me how to roll my own cigarettes (joints), how to blow smoke rings and got me into huffing nitrous oxide.  Brain cells were dying fast there.  Stephen was killed by a logging truck on his way back to school the next year.  Anyway Jeremy turned me onto some of the best blues I have ever heard, which I will have to post some day when I can find the tape.  One thing we had in common was Egyptian Lover.  We used to crank that shit from their dorm room all the time.  I used to listen to that guy with the Mexican kids in my old neighborhood.  Historic stuff if you actually give it a listen even though it sounds pretty silly to my ears now.  It was disco's transission into techno rap.  Here's a pic I found of Senon with a guy named Zac, also from HSU, who played in a band I've already posted, Dieselhed.  Senon has played in a ton of bands but I guess has been in the Radar Bros. for some time.  Here's a tune by them, Radar Bros-On Nautilus .  I found some info about them here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_Bros and a website for them here, http://www.radarbros.com/index.html .  Anyway check out Egyptian Lover and tell me what you think.  Haha. EDIT: Links deleted for fear of copyright police...go give your money to iTunes or something...

Cypress Hill

I mentioned these guys a while back and it turned out that a bunch of us had all gone to see them at the same show in Humboldt in the late 80's.  Well this post does not resemble the band at that show in the least.  This is the stuff I wish they were playing when we all went to see them.  This is a kind of rap metal and is represented that way in my categories.  If you're familiar with the band you will recognize them but this is like a whole new band.  This was given to me by I can't remember who but I happily accepted once I heard it.  I love it when rappers use a live band and this shines in a hard heavy kind of way.  All I have is disc 2 "Bones" so you'll have to buy it in order to hear the whole "Skull and Bones" cd.  Here's a couple of samples for you. EDIT: Links deleted for fear of copyright police...go give your money to iTunes or something...

Mad Lion - Predatah or Prey

 I like mixing it up and I was thinking about Gage so I thought I would do a post for him.  I'm not a huge rap fan as I've mentioned on other posts but I like this one.  I guess it's the fact that I like reggae and this guy has a reggae backround.  I had heard some of his stuff before, check my Long Beach Dub Allstars post, and thought I would get some of his own music.  I got this off of ebay about three years ago for cheap and kind of dug it.  Gage I hope you dig it because I don't have much more besides the almighty Public Enemy.  Actually Gage if you have anything that you think is worthwhile, send it to me so I can post it.  This is just a sampling because as far as I know this is still in print.  You can check out more here, www.madlion.com and here, www.killahpride.com .  Every kind of music has something to offer.

EDIT: Links deleted for fear of copyright police...go give your money to iTunes or something...

Geto Boys

Well Gage and Slam were talking about rap so I decided to do a short rap post.  I am not a big rap fan because of the talk about bitches, niggers, and money, but I do like the political stuff, ie. Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions.  I dig the Beastie Boys except the first LP.  I remember everyone listening to that one at the evening high school hang out spot while I was cranking out the white noise in my bug.  Some good stories there about hanging out at the Tommy's parking lot.  I remember hanging out with Match, Deutsche, Ivan and Enok, and a host of others.  One night we almost got our asses kicked by 15 or 20 of Eric Castillos gang, can't remember which one that was or his gang name either, But Match was his neighbor so they spared us.  Match do remember that old guy that wanted to shoot us or Deutsche do remember getting shot at , at the Manson caves?  Good times, but back to the rap.  I've only seen two rap shows and that was Cypress Hill and the Beastie Boys.  I was into Cypress Hill because they were hardcore stoners like me at the time.  I saw them at HSU with I can't remember who (12 Gage, Steve?) and they sucked.  I think there was a big brawl or a mini riot that shut the show down.  Now the Beastie Boys I saw at the San Diego Sports Arena and they ripped.  I could still score the best Humboldt had to offer and I got my whole section so stoned some of them started to trip out.  Bad Brains opened up for them and they rocked too.  When the Beasties played with live instruments they really tore it up and proved they could be funky and do hardcore at the same time.

Anyway this song by the Geto Boys or is it just Bushwick Bill (help me out Gage) is a good political song that still applies today with Bush number two.  This band was definitely about the bitches, niggers, and money but this song hits the spot.  I got it off of a mixed tape Gage made me back in college with SFM (which I already posted), Saint Vitus, One Man Running live on KHSU and the Geto Boys.  All it needed was the Ramones and the Stooges to make it a legit Gage mix.  Anyway give the song a listen and let me know what you think.  Do me a favor you all and wish or pray or whatever you do, that Boner comes home safe to his wife and two kids. Fuck A War