WE love G.O.O.D Music! & not just that mainstream music either! We love... anything really & from anyone too! If it sounds GOOD, we'll plug it (plug = spread the word lol)! We aim to bring 2 U G.O.O.D music that radio doesn’t play... that U won't hear anywhere!
OK so Pineapple Now - Laters is actually a candy! When I first heard the intro to this record, I thought BJ was just reciting some really cool Spoken Word with some deeper meaning but he’s actually just talking about candy people! Apparently it was his favourite candy as a kid and in previous interviews, he has stated that this pre-album is just a taste of everything BJ - he refers to it as "World Soul R&B". I refer to it as a perfect mix of all things Soul and GOOD.
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2012. We hope to keep the trend of plugging G.O.O.D music to you as always. Therefore in a bid to start of the year with some much needed freshness, I bring to you music that smells like the sweetness of rain... We plug to you music from a Chicago-born East African lady of Rwandan/Ugandan parentage, who spent her early childhood in Zambia and is currently resident in New York. We plug to you SOMI.
Hello world I have been gone for a minute but I'm back with a real jump off for you this time! Oh by the way, did I forget to ask you how your extended Easter holidays were? OK so how were you Easter holidays? Anyways enough of the chit chat, please walk closely with me on this one
When this particular album was sent to me, on first sight the thought in my head was and I quote, "wow Festac 77" but on a closer look at the album cover art, I could not help but admire the concept behind the design (shout out to Lloyd Cooper) - a really art inspired creation. Now my thoughts start to race as I hear murmerings of myself directed at no one in particular saying, "i hope this lives up to the expectation". I clicked play and can I just say that the rest is history.
21 year-old Blink - real name Nelson Agose - was born in Abia State (Eastern Nigeria) and raised in Lagos State until his teenage years. At age 16, he moved to America to pursue a degree in Economics, which in August 2010, he obtained from the University of Illinois Urbana champaign. The World Is Small is his debut album and this album tells a story of a traveling boy, interacting with the circumstances and situations he finds himself in life and how he uses those experiences to grow into a man. The experiences which are common to most people in the same circumstance include music, culture, race, religion, education, sex, and nationality but what makes Blink unique is his ability to fuse all of these into this interesting masterpiece, making good music for the ear.
The album kicks of with 'Dreams of A Winner' which serves as an apt beginning to the story on The World Is Small. On this record, Blink proclaims that he's ready for "blast off" as he speaks to his listener about his continued journey to achieving his dreams while remaining grateful for his present blessings as he seats somewhere "on coach" where he conjures up these "international dreams"… 'Dreams of A Winner' is a really chilled-out record which speaks volume about personal motivation and did I mention that the hook on this track is hella infectious plus the mellow drum-kicks infused production by Baron Boys is just straight fire. Listen below...
"Dreams of A Winner":
"I'm still dreaming like a winner/ but living like a sinner/ but my blessings are more so thank God for forgiveness"
The album moves further into a more conscious space with the song titled 'Pay Attention' and pay attention is exactly what you need to do on this drum and horns-led track produced once again by Baron Boys. On this one, Blink referring to himself as an "artist and thinker" goes in on everyone and everything from selling out in his music to fake rappers to ignorant listeners to the Church to Science to the media and even down to lack of electricity in his home country, Nigeria all in little over three and a half minutes. Check it out below but please make sure you 'Pay Attention'.
"Pay Attention":
"The truth is a blunt u got to take a hit/nowadays u make dollars u aint gatta to make no sense/so should i bring change or make sense?"
The 16-track album also features loads of exceptionally good Hip-Hop tracks such as the thumping and bass heavy "The Countdown", the incredibly catchy and infectious banger "Super" which sees Blink and The Baron Boys on 100% top form plus the braggadocious "Everywhere I Go", "Road to Riches" which features G.o.d jewels and the solemn, hard-hitting and very profound "Blanket of Dreams" which is backed by heavy keyboard arrangements and vocal from SLV. The song sheds an in-depth light on the problems and troubles facing his home country Nigeria and asks the poignant question of where the nation is going after 50 years of independence - a worthy listen by all accounts.
However, the final track I've decided to share (only because I've simply fallen in love with the tune) is the smooth and soulful key board-driven 'Jet To Lagos' backed by lush drum kicks and features Nigerian rapper Lynxx and singer Teeklef (can I hear you say "utunu") and in Blink's own words,
"Even though I have experienced four winters in America, I'm still not used to the Illinois cold or the Chicago wind… Since the first time I came to America, I spent every Christmas break from school back in Lagos Nigeria. This song describes what my experience on the way back home is typically like and what life on the good side is like back home… Jet to Lagos"
I could relate to this song in every aspect of it as this reminds me so much of home and any one in diaspora will get this "catch a plane back home" feeling once you hear this record, especially if you are African... Still missing home? OK click play below and "Jet to Lagos"...
"Jet to Lagos":
The World is Small makes for a very good listen especially for a debut album and at a point where a lot of so-called "hip-hop" albums are laced with meaningless party songs, true Hip-Hop heads and aficionados will love this album as it addresses relevant individual, community and world issues while still keeping that braggadocio as Blink tells a good story that fuses culture, politics, sex, education and religion into one very G.O.O.D record. The young emcee sums up the album nicely in his own choice words and we will close out this piece with them:
"I am not a conscious rapper, I am a semi informed citizen of this world. It helps to THINK and ASK before you BELIEVE anything. Just a simple way to keep TABs on real life - The World is Small." - Blink
What up, y'all? *checks calendar* word, it's December already? 2010 definitely pulled a Usain Bolt on us. Not gonna lament on it, though, cuz it's been a good year for me (hopefully, it was a good one for y'all too). Moving along, a while ago the chief Ayo suggested I plug some Hip-Hop. A specific project in particular. I was game, but a little wary, because this specific artist is one I could literally go on & on & on about. And he's from my city, Chicago, so that bias is one I can't completely get rid of, no matter how much I try. He's just that good. Without further ado, I plug to you Add-2.
I became a fan of Add-2 back in 2008. Besides the uncanny resemblance to someone I attended college with (LOL), I used to read his blog on hiphopdx.com back when they had blogs (ahh...the glory days). Seems like forever ago, though. It was there that I heard his murderous freestyle over The Roots' '75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)', I've been hooked ever since. He spat with such ferocity & tenacity on that freestyle, I'm pretty sure I rewound that ish a couple times. Later that Summer, he dropped 'A Tale of Two's City, Vol. 2: The Return of the Menace'. Since then, he has been consistently spittin' ETHER, via features, freestyles, more singles and his next mixtape a year later, 'A Tale of Two's City, Vol. 3: The Rise and Fall'. Personally, that mixtape was spun on a daily basis for a long time. The breakout song 'Luxury' was being played on radio, and #TeamAdd2 was stronger than ever. Add's buzz was building greater by the day. Even 9th Wonder was put on game.
In March, I saw him kickin' freestyles with Tanya Morgan, Blu & Exile, and he even got to perform with The Roots (!!!!) at the Highline Ballroom this past June. It was really dope to see all the success for the homie; besides being super talented, dude is super humble. Periodically, he kept hinting that an EP called '...Better Days' would be dropping sometime this year. Lord knows I was geeked. In the meantime, he was featured on Actual Proof's 'Super Genius' remix, which included spitters such as Naledge, Kendrick Lamar & Laws (just to name a few), and the recently released 'Drunken Style' by The Away Team (both of these songs bang, btw). Long story short, '...Better Days' soon turned into the mixtape 'A Tale of Two's City: Better Days', one of the BEST (yeah, I said it) mixtapes to drop this year. Add sticks to a winning formula for the 4th installment of his tales, and I can't complain at all. Truthfully, if I could, I'd highlight every song on the mixtape, cause there isn't a skippable track, but alas, I can't. I'll highlight the 3 (out of the many) that I absolutely loooooooooove.
"Success makes me look so damn good, don't it?"
MAAAAAAN LISTEN. The beat provided by The Getards is just so crisp. And I'm not afraid to say I stan for Tanya Morgan, so when I saw Donwill & Von Pea on the track list, I knew that the three of 'em were gonna deliver nothing less than heat. Everyone (or almost everyone) has those people in your lives (exes, even ex-friends or the like) who didn't support or care until they saw your success. They see that you're on, so they try to get on. This is the song you play when you gracefully decline and then spit in their face lol. The song is aptly titled 'A Love Letter To All My Exes'...
"Nobody gotta accept you, EXCEPT you"
Add dedicated this song, 'Brown Skin Girl' to the youth, more specifically our young women. This song is a beautiful dedication. I definitely love the second verse, because Add's telling young women (even some of these older ones, yo) that they're fine the way they are and not to fall victim to society's "standard" of beauty, and to basically love themselves for who they are. Andy Allo does a beautiful job of adding her vocals to the chorus, which is life-affirming in it's own right in my opinion. Beautiful song all around. This is a song that needs to be played on radios, in schools... man, anywhere kids need some support.
"I lost my mind man, Google couldn't map that / tryna hit Dondria & see if she got a Phat Phat"
I'm a sucker for charging beats & awesome horns, and D-Man delivers with this, 'Spare None'. I can only imagine the screw faces in the room when this beat came through the speakers. But yo, Add spits line after line, rhyming like a damn savage. When I heard the line "runnin' over every n*gga that you runnin' with / then walk up to ya grandpa & kick over his bucketlist ", I literally said "that's rude as hell!" and then rewound it. That's vicious as hell, man. The song is quite menacing, from the lyrics to the production. All around dope.
Another song I dig a LOT is 'Slow it Down'. Gives me that perfect Chicago Do or Die / Twista feel. Good job on that one. You could slip this in a 90s playlist & it'd fit perfectly. And the song is a grooove. *snaps on beat*... More songs to check out include 'DGK', 'The Feeling is Gone', and 'Off Our Cloud'. But seriously, the whole tape is solid.
*the link is missing track three for some reason, so click on this
Peace,
doJo.
PS: Add recently released the track Comic Book Flow. Peep it here, and read his words here:
"As an artist whose career has been aided heavily through hip hop websites, blogs & the internet as a whole it upsets me to see the powers that be trying to dismantle our outlets for our voice in an attempt to gain control over us. Try as they may they can not, nor will they ever be, successful at silencing us."
