A few things i don't like about Rap

I'm a major music nerd, i buy books, magazines and Cd's like there are no tomorrow and spend plenty of time finding obscure groups no one has ever heard of and my main genre (besides Reggae) is Rap/Hip hop. That does not have to mean that i like everything that goes on whit in the confines of this genre, consider this a list of things that annoys me, in no particular order.


1.Anniversary magazine issues
Seem like every major rap/urban magazine existing are very keen on finding 1 billion reasons to celebrate some sorta anniversary and look back at previous issues and pat themselves in the back (while they say the best is yet to come). This is starting to bug me, i mean there are legitimate reasons to celebrate, like for an example the 100th issue, 10 years in the industry or even your 1st year as a magazine but shit are starting to get a bit ridiculous now.......


2.Acronyms
One thing that really, really gets on my nerves is when artists claim to be a thug, gangsta, pimp or whatever and then flips the word into some bogus positive acronym (like T.H.U.G.=them healthy uplifting guys). It's like they think, "I'm gonna call myself all these cool street things and if someone criticise me for glorifying negative shit i can just claim it mean this........." Just give it up and represent what you are and nothing else. However, this is not to be mixed up whit for example religious artists who tries to camouflage their message to reach lost souls in the streets (like "I'm slanging the gospel to the Jesus fiends"), i consider that pretty clever.


3.Overused samples
Am I the only one seriously fed up whit folks who samples "Scarface" quotes in their songs? It seem like every rap album known to mankind have to include the lines "All i have in this world.....". Unf. I'm guilty myself of making beats whit samples from this movie, call it hypocritical or not but i can't stand hearing Al Pachino on every album i pick up, i way rather go whit James Brown or George Clinton samples (which is criminally overused in the sampling world as well).


4.Intros, skits etc....
De La Soul's "3 feet high and rising" may be one heck of a classic album and i absolutely love it but it was also the first Rap/Hip hop album to feature "skits" a plenty and these little things are something i hate whit a passion. Why do we have to put up whit all these phony radio broadcasts, news show segments and game shows whit lame attempts at humor? They're at the best of albums as well as the worst and are never funny so please quit it, NOW!!!!

5.Coming soon
This may not totaly fit the criteria as i don't disslike or hate this phenomenon but isn't it kinda funny looking at the inside booklet of many of the independent releases and see how many albums there is that is adverised as "coming soon" that never came for one reason or another. Seems like the rap game was not the "pot of gold" that so many thought it would be. I wonder what happened whit the folks behind all these failed labels whit grand plans that amounted to nothing......

Graveyard Soldjas - Day of execution

Man, this is quite some creepy shit we got here, these cats may be from New Orleans but it's not the usual gangsta or bounce sound they come whit. This is their first album and usually the one that fans likes the most, on their other 3 albums the released after this one they changed up their style a lil bit. If you are into toungetwisting and and horrorcore like music (not the rap/metal sorta horrorcore that they do in Detroit, like ICP, Twistid etc..) u will go crazy over this album.

After the obligatory intro comes "Natas of nos" ("Son of Satan" backwards) and while I'm 100% against satanism i gotta admit this is one heck of a strong opening and a str8 killa track where they rap about how they are possessed and kill and slaughter folks, the lyrics really ain't that different from something you would find on some sorta more extreme "Metal" album. They really got a "Bone Thugs" sound on this one though so it's more slow and creepy than rock like.

Then comes "5 leaf clover" which is a relaxed smoking weed song whit a very different feel than the first one, it's not my favourite song of the album but it's still good and their flow is as tite as ever. The beat on "Listen" is among the best of the album (whit it's synthetic sounding flute melody) and their toungetwisting is 100% on point, damn if i could rap like that. Whit "Sites were back to the dark, creepy shit whit "Bone Thugs" typa harmonies, would be the perfect tune for a horror movie whit it's killa typa lyrics.

I could go on and praise each and every song on this album, even though some are better than others this is one of those rare albums you could listen to from start to finish and not skip one single track. Except for the Intro there is only full songs on here, no annoying skits, not 1 million guest features that distract you or any other annoying things. If I am forced to find a weak spot it would be the lyrics, not that they are bad but pretty much every song is about the same shit, Murda, murda, kill, kill.....

For shure a New Orleans classic, full of sooopah tite songs but don't expect variety or your usual NO rap, u wont find it here and y'all better not be too sensitive to violent lyrics either. If you can find it, get it. There is a re-release out there but it's also pretty rare, worth it though....

Reggae Vinyls, R.I.P. ?

When i started buying music way back in the days, the only format that counted was Vinyl, casettes where availible but didn't feel as real so I never bought em (unless they where on sale, whit huge discounts). Time passes by and it was a long time since I stopped bying vinyl.

There has however, been a scene for vinyls long after i gave it up in the early 90' ies. The market for reggae on vinyl has been very strong among the more hardcore fans and soundsystems. Now it seem as if that is pretty much dying out, whit only extreme nostalgia buffs still being interested, or?

"The reduction in vinyl production in the West Indies has dramatically affected the way I access music," explains the legendary DJ - or selector - David Rodigan, host of the weekly Rodigan's Reggae show on London's Kiss 100 FM."

read article here:

http://music.guardian.co.uk/urban/story/0,,2242297,00.html

I miss "Pen and Pixels"

I know alot of folks tend to disslike the "over-the-top" bling bling covers from "Pen and Pixels" but oooh, how I loved them. They are getting more and more rare for each day that passes by but have they been replaced by anything better?

I dunno if it is because im kinda into graphic designing but covers play a large part in deciding what cd's i buy and i have bought countless albums, unheard simply because i loved the special fx laced "Pen and Pixel" cover whit it's cartoony Gangsta look.

That realy isn't happening too often whit todays mixtape covers or the overly airbrushed covers of recent years. Please, return "Pen and Pixel" cause i miss y'all

Best place to buy underground music

For those of us who still prefers to buy music, in it's physical shape and who prefers the unknown, upcoming talents where do we turn? This may seem as an paid, sneaky advertisement but i would have to say that Cdbaby is a safehaven for unknown but great sounding artists "on-the-come-up". You can tell this is a place run by fellow "music nerds", they even have a 5$ cd section that makes it way less risky trying out new artists that you've never heard of but that fits in your favourite genre.

As far as genres go, they got every genre covered and categorised in a multitude of subgenres (it's starting to border on too many subgenre classifications) so no matter what music you like you will easily find the local, hidden gems that would normaly go under your radar. To make shure youre getting something you like they are pretty generous whit song samples, no need to buy anything unheard, even if it's only a 5$ album. If you want unknown artists, give them a try.

http://www.cdbaby.com/

The blog previously known as "Vybes Central"

When I first started this blog i decided to exclusively dedicate it to Reggae and anything related to it, the thought was not to create the Ultimate blog read and debated on by everyone into Reggae. However, spending time creating a blog that hardly anyone reads or show any interest in is a waste of my (not always so precious) time.

This is why a change had to come, the old content will still be there and i will still cover Reggae music but hte focus has been expanded to cover everything i like and enjoy, such as movies, music, fashion, books, graphic design and whatever else I enjoy....... Hopefully this will boast the interest in this blog and motivate me to update it more often.

So, I hope y'all will enjoy the blog more now than y'all did before/Christoffer

Russian Reggae

By now y'all should be aware of this blog's international take on Reggae, Jah Jah's music truly has gone international and is everywhere now. Act's are popping up all over the Eastern Europe, one of these groups are "Jah Division" from Russia. They have a much polished and professional sound, well worth checking out if you dare to cross language barriers.

http://www.jahdivision.ru

Another great act from Russia would be "Rebel Steppa" whit a more British Roots/Steppers sound, from what i have understood he's more of an producer/player of instrument than vocalist and has worked whit a few British acts, not very Russian sounding but very good.

http://www.myspace.com/rebelsteppa

Natural Way - 1924

Since I am from Sweden it has always made me extra happy whenever i hear good Swedish Reggae. In recent years there has been plenty of good artists and releases but i remember when there was hardly any artists or releases and far between any concerts. Natural Way is among the first, truly Swedish Roots bands there is. They formed 1982 in Uppsala and did sadly split in 2003, after only 2 releases. This is their first album and a classic among Swedish fans. The title, 1924 refers to the year Haile Selassie I visited Sweden and a photo from that visit can be seen on the cover which obviously is not that good looking (couldn't they have found an photo where it doesn't look like H.I.M is hunchbacked?). But as they always say, don't judge a book by it's cover because this is a very competent album. Fans of "Israel Vibrations" will absolutely love this group as their style (and the singers voice) strongly reminds me of them. It's not a copycat album though, far from it!

First up after the intro (which is a lil drum solo, not that awful but hardly an impressive Nyabinghi showcase either) is "God blessed music nah stop". This is not a lighthearted "lets smoke a spliff, listen to reggae and be irie" nonsense track that you might expect but deals more whit musics positive and uplifting qualities and Reggaes spiritual qualities. This is a very solid track whit top notch backing, singing and lyrical content, if "Natural Way" haven't won you over by the time this song ends you might wanna reconsider if you really are the Roots reggae fan you think you are. A couple of great tracks later we come to song 5, "10000 Volts" which is one of my favourites on here and i think I've spent about a week humming "why should the children in a Lebanon die" to myself and will probably hum it for a few weeks more. It's about the poor and unfortunate of the world and how much pressure they can handle. It has a melancholic vibe to it while still being kinda energetic, VERY GOOD!!!

Let's not forget about the next tune, "Remember" who at first seem as an man-woman love song but i really don't think he's singing about that sorta love but more about love to god and RastafarI prophets that we shall always "Remember", this song features an early (at least when we talk recorded material) appearance from Swedens top veteran Toaster, "Governor Andy" who has been very active in recent years. As whit every song on here it's a great one but (even though the message is a worthwhile one) the lyrics may not be as sharp as elsewhere on this album. Other good songs is "Coke locks" about drug dealers and the standout "Barber dread" an personal observation on how it is being a Rasta without dreads and how short hair does not necessarily mean you're a "baldhead". I can very much relate to this as I've struggled whit having dreads but always failed.

Well, I can't praise this album enough as it is everything I could ever ask for as far as Roots Reggae goes, you can tell that "Natural Way" stand firm whit their feet's in the 70'ies sound but that they have not got stuck there and tried to imitate, they have modern feel whit contemporary influences and some jazzy instrumentals to go. As far as lyrics go I would say that this album is very much "on point", they have taken classical "RastafarI" themes and made them their own, this is no cliched wannabe Rasta lyrics. Unf. "Natural Way" only released one more album before they broke up, 2 albums over the span of 20 years is not much but what they do not deliver quantity wise they make up for in quality. It will be hard to find any of their albums wheter you're in Sweden or not so thanks god for Internet and mp3'z, in cases like these i wholeheartedly recommend illegal downloading.

Khari Kill - Picture of Selassie

Among the billion or so countries who has a very active and talented Reggae scene is the small Caribean islands of Trinidad & Tobago where we find artists such as Marlon Asher, Queen Omega and last but not least Khari Kill who finally has released his debut album. It was a few years in the making and most definitely worth waiting for. Together whit Digital B and the others in New York (where Khari now resides) he made one of the top 10 albums of the year, next to "Lutan Fyah" id say Khari Kill is my favourite Sing jay dj.

Things start out kinda familiar but very strong whit "Bird pepper" who was available to download from Khari's Myspace page some time ago. It's a peculiar title but deals whit the current state of our youths whit some pleas to praise Selassie I thrown in. It's a nice uptempo cut bound to please. Next, we get more of the same (good) stuff whit "Humble as a lamb" where he serves us another dose of uptempo positivity, being of Scandinavian origins I'm kinda curious about the references made to Finland.

"Mary grandson" is among the more well known cuts on here, saying it's a hit may be too much but people into reggae should have heard of it. It's a call for peace among the poor people in the ghetto's and that inevitable criticism of Babylon who under the banner of police and military get away whit murder and violence, anotha strong tune but not the best on here. There is a couple of "smoke weed" songs on here such as "Smoking around" and "Marijuana pumpin" (built around the same riddim as Marlon Ashers hit "Ganja Farmer"). Usually the weed songs are not my favourite type of reggae songs but these 2 are very good and should not be ignored.

It would be crazy to not include the huge cultural anthem "Picture of Selassie" on here and of course it's on here, this was the tune who introduced me to Khari Kill in the first place and still remains my favourite song, check the video on youtube to this song where Khari can be seen in a classroom full of kids handing out photos of H.I.M. to the students, a great video full of goosebumb inducing footage of Haile Selassie I.

To sum things up i would have to say that this is one of the major albums of the year (god knows how many obscure but amazing albums i am missing out on) and one that has to be purchased, even if you like me is starting to think that there is too many singjay's out there. Not to be missed.

http://www.myspace.com/kharikillmusic

African Movies

Many moons ago I visited Gambia, it was one of the most amazing experiences in my life and I could talk about it forever but I will resist the temptation. As a movie geek I was amazed to find African movies, I am not talking about boring, artsy movies made in French and backed by European intelectuals either. This is the real deal, made by Nigerians for the African market and covering all the genres Hollywood does.

You may wonder how this relates to Reggae and RastafarI and there is no direct links, we are not talking movies about Jah, Dreadlocks or Soundsistims but considering how Afrocentric Roots Reggae is, any fan of the genre should be interested in them.

For years you could not get ahold of these movies unless you lived in Ifrica but Internet makes the world smaller and Nigerian movies more accesible. So, soon I wills tart covering Nigerian movies here. I will focus on the "traditional" movies about tribal matters but basicaly anything except the "Adult" genre will be covered.

For more info and ordering, check out these pages (that I am not affiliated whit or take any responsibility of):
Afrikan DVD

African Movies Direct