The first lady of Neo-Soul has yet to disappoint and with her latest effort she once again cements her position as the queen. “New Amerykah Part Two” offers a luxurious trip through the lovely sound of Erykah, and might be the soundtrack to the summer of 2010. As a direct opposite to the first part of her “New Amerykah” series, “Return of the Ankh” takes us on a lovely sound blast through love tunes delivered by one of the most distinct R&B voices of modern times.

With her raspy signature voice, Erykah focuses on the good things in life rather than the struggles we saw on “4th World War” and it’s great to hear she hasn’t drowned herself in politics. “Return of the Ankh” is a work of expressions, expressions of what life has to offer and what makes it all stick together – love. The majority of music releases are built off of romantic feelings and for me that gets very repetitive, but sometimes it can just hit the spot for me. When it does it’s because of one simple thing, honesty. True emotions and feelings are easy to spot, but you might have to look through 25 albums each year before finding the one that contains them. It’s that honesty and those real emotions that keeps this album together, besides the beautiful and mellow production throughout, it’s Erykah’s hoarse voice that holds you close on every track.

It has become rarer and rarer, especially these days, for an R&B/Neo-Soul album to drop with the honesty that makes the genre so interesting and with the correct and matching sound – beautiful music in its purest form is created. This is one of those rare cases. Backed by J Dilla, Madlib, James Poyser, ?uestlove and 9th Wonder she pulls off a flawless piece of music. Last year it was Maxwell, the year before that it was Rapahel Saadiq, but so far, 2010 is all Erykah’s. Take her hand and venture into the soothing and wonderful music of “New Amerykah”, I promise you’ll come out on the other side with a smile.

by Oskar

A lot of rappers owe the world to a certain crew of Geto Boys. What they did back in the late 80’s has been practiced over and over till this day, but people rarely manage to hit as sharp as they did. Scarface was always the most prominent of the group, Bushwick Bill was a character, but the smooth voice and street poetic words of Face were truly groundbreaking, especially coming from the south. Through his solo career he topped with his now gangster-classic “The Diary”, an album where he mixed brutal honesty with trigger happy rhymes, but nevertheless I find the more introspective and reflective Face more attractive, and “The Fix” captures the mind of a troubled, grumpy old man who is closer to self acceptance than he ever was before.

Besides a few wisely incorporated street anthems produced by Mr. Kanye West, thrown into the pot alongside heavyweights Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel and WC, the album is surprisingly subtle. It might be a mixture of Face’s calm flow, deep pitched voice and the warmth in the beats, but “The Fix” has to be the hardest, realest, grittiest, prettiest, softest and most huggable gangster record of recent memory. Face takes us through his neighborhood on “My Block” which ain’t much different from any other block around the globe, and this is where his strengths lie. Always down to earth, he talks to you and it just happens to rhyme like a dime. As the record steadily moves forward he gets more and more spiritual, even as an atheist it’s very easy to relate to his biblical references and thoughts, the search for meaning.

He uses his talent for descriptive tales to the maximum throughout. The imagery on “Keep Me Down” is incredible and you’re sucked into his painting, the compassion felt on “What Can I Do” alongside the spine-chilling streams of thought Face keeps pondering out. Nas makes a surprising appearance (who would’ve thought Jay-Z and Nas would be on the same album in 2002? Guess only Scarface could make that happen…) on “In Between Us”. One of my favorite tracks ever, it’s almost a shame to describe it in words, but Nas and Face lay it down as only they can. A prominent search for a fix in the form of some kind of salvation is the tape that holds it all together. Even though the harder tracks such as “Safe” and “I Ain’t The One” stand strong in sound and aggressiveness, tracks like “Heaven” and “Someday” lift the album up from the sidewalk gutter and into the cloud-free skies.

by Oskar

Pete Rock is often listed as one of the greatest and without a doubt, one of the most soulful Hip Hop producers ever. Relying on funk and soul samples, his sound has revolutionized the genre and without Pete and his way with the samples the game would’ve gone in a whole other direction. Alongside microphone controller CL Smooth, they created history. “All Souled Out” is the short, but perfect testimony of that.

From the intro track “Good Life” to its remix, “All Souled Out” provides Hip Hop in its Mecca. Stripped down funk and soul samples laced over smooth bass-lines and break-beats, futuristic glimpses of sounds alongside by-the-book perfect scratches of James Brown, all mixed together in a pot full of genius and sewn together by the ever amazing CL Smooth whose, as the name indicates, flow is smoother than your average MC. Backed up by plenty of trumpets, a subtle bass-line and a knocking drum pattern, “Good Life” stomps ahead and CL Smooth takes you on a journey of inner struggles and dreams as he summarizes: “A tough situation cuts like a knife/In search of the Good Life”.

“Mecca & The Soul Brother” is the name of their huge breakthrough debut album, the album that contained “T.R.O.Y.” and defined a whole era of Hip Hop music. But before it was an album it was a song on this first EP. “Mecca & The Soul Brother” is Pete Rock when he’s at his finest, the neck breaking drum beat sprinkled with big band trumpets, a bass-line that has been used till it’s very last breath on countless future Hip Hop tracks, laced with characteristic scratches it grasps the essence of golden era Hip Hop and holds it within the break beat and never lets it go. CL Smooth takes us on a rapping showcase of his very best battle rhymes on “Go With The Flow”, and on the simplistic “The Creator” we are again accompanied by James Brown as Pete Rock proves that just because you sit behind the soundboard, it doesn’t mean you can’t kill it on the mic as well. The fast paced drum beats continue on the title track, and the EP ends with the same song that started it all, the remix version provides a second take on it and even though they are fairly similiar, the Group Home remix is just a tad more rugged.

I’m a big fan of both Pete and CL so it’s my match made in heaven, they come right in alongside the three other MC/Producer duo’s that have defined Hip Hop for many years from now: Eric B. & Rakim, DJ Premier & Guru, DJ Polo & Kool G Rap and Pete Rock & CL Smooth are the holy four and not to know about these would be a crime. So take your time to listen to this EP, move on through the next two LP’s and just understand why so many have tried to duplicate what they’ve created together.

by Oskar

Rap-Rock has never been an especially explored part of Hip Hop music. Mostly because basically all attempts to create a blend of the two genres has gone horrible wrong. It has worked a few times, Run-DMC and Aerosmith did it back in the 80’s and Public Enemy teamed up with Anthrax for a track. Beastie Boys might be the closest thing we’ve had so far that’s been consistent and successful with that sound, but that has been changed now – 25 years after Beastie Boys first popped up, The Black Keys, a Blues-Rock band from Ohio has teamed up with some heavy weight Hip Hop acts.

With a range of artists from Ol’ Dirty Bastard to Mos Def, The Black Keys have, alongside Damon Dash (former friend of Jay-Z and co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records) managed to collect one of the best line-ups for a collision course album in a long time. It’s a very simple album, yet very powerful with low-fi guitar riffs and deep gloomy bass lines, it’s a harsh sound The Black Keys have set up, and to hear Q-Tip rhyme over a track like “Hope You’re Happy” is so out of place, but somehow it just works so incredibly well. The chemistry between the artists seems real and shines through on each track. All held together by a lovely hook provider in Nicole Wray who shows up on four tracks, combined with The Black Keys gritty sound made up by dark and sharp bass lines makes it a smooth trip onto the rainy streets of the combined forces of Rock and Hip Hop. It’s so lovely to hear Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s voice again, speaking from beyond the grave, he steals the show on the intro track “Coochie” where not even Ludacris’ punchlines can overshadow ODB’s characteristic drunken-monkey styled delivery as he spits out: “I got somethin’ to prove/I done got my groove back/I’m all in the news/But papa got a brand new weed bag, and some blue suede shoes.” Mos Def shows up for two tracks, he shines on both of them and his presence throughout those two tracks ties the rest of the album together, you can feel how much he loves this kind of music and it’s refreshing to hear how free he sounds.

Billy Danze from M.O.P. contributes to “What You Do To Me” with Jim Jones, who sounds a lot better here than he’s ever been with The Diplomats. Billy Danze infuses the slow clapping beat with his vicious voice and frantic delivery to perfection. Raekwon drops by for “Stay Off the Fuckin’ Flowers” where he only continues his incredible high quality sound from “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II” painting a vivid story, as Rae does it best, over the gritty sounding beat that goes deep into the dark streets of New York. My Favorite cut of the album however, is “Dollarz & Sense” which features RZA and best to do it MC Pharoahe Monch. RZA laid down a few awkward guitar keys, but mixed in with a psychedelic atmosphere and hard hitting drums it all seems in place and when Pharoahe drops his first 2 lines there’s no denying it. He just is beyond insane.

The Black Keys and Damon Dash have managed to create what so many have failed to do for over 20 years or so. Create a unique and artistic blend of Hip Hop and Rock without it being corny. Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit seem like kids lip syncing lyrics in a language they don’t understand compared to this release. The true force behind Blakroc is simply – it works. And it works very well. It was a gamble, one that on paper, shouldn’t work, but it just does.

by Oskar

A warm and honest record from our favourite mid-west philosopher. “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” is a collection of soulful jazz and funk inspired tracks that flows together perfectly in the hands of Common and long time collaborator No I.D. Being the album after Resurrection and the album before Like Water For Chocolate it’s often his most overlooked effort, but that doesn’t make it any less of a joyful trip.

What Common has mastered so well throughout his career is being exactly who he is, and that’s Lonnie Lynn. Never does he stray far from laying his poetic thoughts over soothing instrumentals. He’s one of those rappers who has such a melodic sound to anything he does and “One Day It’ll All Make Sense” is properly his most melodic to date with its deeply founded roots in the lounge-jazz from the basements of Chicago. No I.D., who produced most of the album, surrounds the MC with an atmospheric and full sound to paint his landscape on, and that makes for an incredibly intense and personal record despite the smooth delivery of it. The way he deals with abortion on “Retrospect For Life” and the religious subjects on “G.O.D. (Gaining One’s Definition)”, both manage to stay away from being too preachy and instead just give you an opinion based on his personal experiences. Tracks like “Invocation” and “Reminding Me” make you wanna get up and move those feet; while “Food For Funk” and the “Stolen Moments” series (especially Pt. 2 and 3) brings the funk, and Common’s rhymes about everyday life only drags you further into the tracks. The DJ Premier inspired “Real Nigga Quotes” showcases a sharp MC with witty punchlines and intelligent content.

There’s no doubt that Common is a corner stone of the Mid-West movement in Hip Hop culture and with this album, “Resurrection”, “Like Water For Chocolate”, “Be” and “Finding Forever” it’s undeniable that his talent is present. His bebop organic flow is godsend over No I.D.’s instrumentals and together they form a career milestone in both of their discographies. The album contains appearances from Lauren Hill, De La Soul, Cee-Lo, The Roots, Erykah Badu and Q-Tip so the whole A-Team is in place.

by Oskar

This album had a very difficult birth, since neither Jean Grae or Blue Sky Black Death actually approved the release of this. Babygrande Records somehow merged what must have been Jean’s untouched rhymes over BSBD’s untouched instrumentals, afterwards they went ahead and released it without the consent of the artists. Despite this fact, it’s quite amazing how such a great album has come out of it. It’s obvious that this was only doable because of the fact that Jean is such a quality rapper and BSBD is such a quality production team.

The female equivalent of Talib Kweli, Jean might be the best female MC there has ever been. Only a handful of women have achieved big things in the male dominated genre of Hip Hop. To even think of 5 female MC’s that could compete with any of the better male rappers is a tough if not impossible task. Nevertheless, Jean Grae is the first that comes to mind and you best believe she can compete with the heavy weights. With an elegant and smooth, yet vicious and frantic flow, Jean shares her heart with us through touching stories, destroys every battle oriented rapper out there with lines that would make Lil’ Jon scream “WHAT?!”, and does it with a sharp delivery and the passion of someone who works a 9 to 5 job at day, but reveals the superman logo under her shirt at night.

I’ve praised the production duo Blue Sky Black Night on here before, and I’m not afraid to do it again. Quite simply, the most innovative and genre-stretching production team that has sprung up in the past decade. Four years in, five albums deep, they continue to evolve and their usually dark and gloomy sound is captured to perfection on the majority of the songs on this effort. The haunting horns, the soulful bass lines, fast paced but rooted rhythms, their build-up throughout the tracks, gloomy yet joyful, you always seem to see the sun shine through the sorrowful clouds that surrounds their music.

Ironically enough, a project that never should have been, became a prime example of what happens when three great minds are at their best. Ms. Grae shines just as much as she did alongside 9th Wonder and on the musical side Mr. Kingston and Mr. Young God, yet again, seem to have excelled in what they do best.

by Oskar

First popping up on the scene alongside long time collaborator Mos Def, Talib Kweli has been a prominent figure in post 90’s conscious rap. Showcasing his excellent MC abilities in both Black Star with Mos Def, and in his second group effort Reflection Eternal with producer Hi-Tek, Kweli never strays far from the pondering and observing lyrics. Doing it better than most, he’s a force to be reckoned with and even though he takes a bold move away from Hi-Tek on his debut solo album his joy for thrilling and heart driven beats keep him on track and it turns out to be quality, just as the title indicates.

“Rush”, “Get By”, and “Shock Body” might be the most spectacular intro-tracks I’ve come by. The way the tempo is set as soon as “Rush” turns on is incredible, with a Jimi Hendrix-like energy filled into a guitar riff it pushes forward and “Get By” carries that on as Kanye West delivers one of his first attention grabbing beats and also one of the finest he’s created, as the chorus chants out to hand claps “This morning, I woke up/Feeling brand new I jumped up/Feeling my highs, and my lows/In my soul, and my goals/Just to stop smokin, and stop drinkin/But I’ve been thinkin’ I’ve got my reasons/Just to get (by), just to get (by)” you can’t help but feel high and it doesn’t stop when “Shock Body” drops. With pulsating horns and a killer drum beat, Talib passionately rhymes on top and makes you wonder why it’s so popular to write about guns and cars, when he can make it sound just as hard and vicious when he spits about “My rhymes’ life support, dog breathe to it/Rhymes are bright, the sunshine beams through it”.

The first three tracks show the passion that goes through the entire album over light tunes with thoughtful lyrics, beautiful choruses and incredible guest verses, Quality gives you exactly what it promises, and from front to back it’s one of the most complete Hip Hop albums to come out in the last decade. “Joy” takes you right back to the Black Star days with Mos Def as Kweli dwells over his two children, the beautifully honest “Talk to You” with Bilal is one of the best R&B/Jazz/Hip Hop joints put out that’s not on a Jazzmatazz project, Black Thought of The Roots and Pharoahe Monch incinerate the intoxicating Kanye beat on “Guerilla Monsoon Rap” and DJ Quik puts up a beat funkier than anything on “Put It In The Air”.

Just as the first three tracks deliver a certain kind of energy, “The Proud”, “Where Do We Go?” and “Stand To The Side” do the same, but in a totally different way. “The Proud” is a brutally honest song that deals on pre-9/11 subjects especially the hypocrisy surrounding the American mentality and Kweli gives you his thoughts with no compromise: “Niggas with knowledge is more dangerous than niggas with guns/They make the guns easy to get and try to keep niggas dumb/Target the gangs and graffiti with the Prop 21/I already know the deal but what the fuck do I tell my son?/I want him livin’ right, livin’ good, respect the rules/He’s five years old and he still thinkin’ cops is cool”. “Where Do We Go?” and “Stand To The Side” are both J Dilla [2] produced tracks, mellow and haunting they creep along as Kweli subtlety pours his heart out and makes you ponder on the important things in life.

What Talib gives us on this release is honest, joyful, passionate, scary, beautiful, real, fun, heartbreaking, thought provoking, moving, danceable, life-affirming and full of love hip-hop – all these are what make Hip Hop music such an inspiration for me at least, and this album contains all of that. Nothing less. Nothing more. Simply put – Quality music.

by Oskar

Today on May 18th, Nas & Damian drop a modern classic in the form of their collaborative album Distant Relatives. Never has a collaborative effort from two different music genres worked this well, from the chemistry between the two when they trade words, to the ground breaking production which is executed so incredibly well. What Nas & Damian do with this album is what I can’t seem to recall anyone ever doing as effective. Breaking through wooden barriers with spears and shields, and building new walls out of the toughest stones; they enlighten us with words of wisdom from the continent where we all come from – Africa. I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this project together nor could I imagine a more satisfying result than what we have here.

Both Nas & Damian have, throughout their careers, earned the respect of their peers and fans of their genres. Nas has gone multi-platinum and is always mentioned as one of the best to ever grace a mic and Damian has, as the first ever, received a Grammy outside of the Reggae category. So to see two successful artists come together to make something as unique and innovative as this record is such a refreshing breath of air in a time where sales overshadow anything else. Now, what these two artists come together for on Distant Relatives is simply astonishing: incredibly sharp and thought provoking lyricism from both Nas and Jr. Gong, and mesmerizing music to flow it over put together by a range of the Marley family, in particular Jr. Gong himself and his brother Stephen (who’s also featured on 2 of the tracks).

On the intro “As We Enter”, the bass pumps forward in an intoxicating speed having the two trading words at the speed of sound makes for a neck-breaking track where the chemistry between the two MC’s is solidified, chanting out (Nas) “I got the guns” (Damian) “I got the ganja” (Nas) “and we can blaze it up on your block if you wanna” and even busting out some Swahili in-between. The next track, “Tribal War”, is sprinkled with hard hitting African bongo drums and here the duo invites the Somalian wonder kid K’naan to vibe with them. Nas gets in on the issues in Darfur and the gang warfare in America, then K’naan comes up with a show stealing verse that starts out with “I drink poison, then I vomit diamonds” and ends with the five steps that would make two brothers kill each other because of tribal warfare, and the track finishes up with Damian viciously spitting out about the aggressive nature of humans and how far they will go to get power. “Strong Will Continue” slowly creeps forward with faint heartbeats and heavy guitar riffs and Damian’s strong delivery is really shown in the chorus as he chants “When the Armageddon start get dread/A lot of weak heart a weep and moan.”

Three tracks in, “Leaders” provide us with a funk inspired track that has Nas and Damian flowing effortlessly and bouncy over a drum potent beat, each taking a shot at how much influence certain individuals have on whoever is looking up to them, and Nas drops a true gem in form of the rhyme “Malcolm on the podium/Shells drop to linoleum/Swipe those/Place ‘em on display at the Smithsonian.” Moving on to the spine chilling and all too relatable “Friends”, Damian has captured the spirit of Africa in the form of wailing guitars, bongo drums and even a sampled African intro. What is so amazing about tracks like this one is how Damian can jump on the track and absolutely kill it with his first verse, then Nas lays down his and leaves you in denial of what you’ve just heard and then again Damian totally outshines Nas on his second verse, only to be topped by Nas in the end. Astonishing track.

“Count Your Blessing” and “In His Own Words” are both infused with delightful and chilled out music reminiscent of the legacy that Bob Marley started. Especially “Count Your Blessings” which hits a home run for me: Nas reflects on the joys of being a father, the very simple message it sends in the form of the chorus, and the title gets me every time, it’s something that everybody should take to heart and think through. “In His Own Words” is a very spiritual song with reflective thoughts about religion and the unknown, and in danger of being preachy it manages to stay free-minded and reflective as Damian sings: “Can you think of a color that you never seen? Can you reminisce on places you never been?”

“Dispear” is most likely my favorite track of the album, the neck breaking beat along with intense rhyming, and using the wordplay on “Dispear” as “This Spear”. It just pulsates away and makes you feel like you are right in the middle of the jungle with spears flying around your ears and the roars of the wild coming straight at you, this is of course only amplified by the breakdown of the beat in the middle. Reggae legend Dennis Brown’s “Promised Land” is sampled on the track of the same name and as the bass knocks hard ahead with horns and distinctive piano keys Damian playfully imagines parallels between African countries and the states of America within his rhymes and Nas describes the apocalypse as he confidently raps: “If these are the last days/And 100 foot waves come crashing down/I get some hash and pounds/Pass around the bud then watch the flood.”

Reminiscing of Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E.” a fast and hard hitting bass line sets it off on “Patience” and along with a haunting sample of Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, it makes for one of the most thought provoking pieces of art I’ve ever heard, so sorrowful and mesmerizing you could have it on replay for hours upon hours straight. “My Generation” again features upbeat drums and guitar riffs and Lil’ Wayne shows up for one of his better verses, and even though I’m not a big fan of his he did what he had to do, and showed that he can be a very talented MC. The words dropped by Nas and Damian are unparalleled and with “Africa Must Wake Up” as the outro there is no doubt that Distant Relatives is a milestone in music history.

What ties the whole album together is the incredible chemistry between Nas and Damian, you can feel how much they inspire each other and how they’ve breathed the same air for basically 18 months in the studio. This has been my longest recommendation to date, but there really isn’t a way I could boil this down to anything less. So sorry for the long read, but since you’ve already come this far, how about supporting some real groundbreaking music by buying this album as soon as you can!

by Oskar