Okay, so two new songs by two artists I greatly enjoy dropped this week. I don’t have download links to them but you can stream them/watch them here.
What i wanna know is which joint do you like more??!?!?
Open Mike Eagle: Qualifiers
OR
Danny Brown: ODB
There can only be one!
Just kidding. But i think both these songs are very dope but also very different. What do you think?
I love movies. I try and go often. But , sometimes (IE most of the time) , hollywood puts out movies that I don’t need to see. In fact, I can pretty much just watch the previews and get the gist of the entire movie. So, as a time saver, I’m reviewing movies I would never watch in a million years based entirely on their trailers. So simple.
The Mortal Instruments: City of bones
Listen, I’m way to old to care about this. I could not be less in the demographic for this movie. So, there is no use in even bothering with a critique. The reality is that this will probably a huge hit with tweens, resulting in many awkward teen fingering sessions in the back of dark movie theaters. That’s the best possible case I can make for this movie. That and the Porn spoof spin off possibilities are endless. Things like:
The hormonal instruments: City of bonerz
Or
The More-hole instruments: Titties and foam
And that’s just off the cuff at this moment. Gimmie 10 minutes to really think about it and I’ll win an AVN award just off the title.
Anyway, the only thing I can pick out of the trailer that’s odd is that the leading man looks both old as fuck and like a young hitler youth. I like when these tween movies try and cast weird looking dudes as the hunky male lead cause it really puts the fickle taste of young women to the test. Just know that this dude will be wearing hair plugs by the time he’s 24 and , after that, will be type cast as a Nazi for the rest of his life.
But also know that he will be turning down sexual advances from girls with braces for the next 10 years of his life. Fame is a bitch, huh, bro?
Battle of the year
Man, it’s been a while since a good dance movie. Like…a long time. Like, it’s never happened. But, perhaps mixing a dance movie with a Coach Carter type character is the answer. Nah, just kidding. It’s gonna suck twice as much. Also, casting Chris Brown in anything seems like a kiss of death. But, hell, what do i know? I’m sure there are plenty of young ladies out there willing to turn the blind eye to his horrible actions cause, you know, he dances good and shit.
I gotta say though, I’m fascinated by this world that all dance movies create where street dance is everything and people take is super seriously. Where people literally die for the right to do windmills. Also, a world where dancers are tough guys/outsiders. That’s the best. It’s funny cause I’d venture to say “Glee” is the best and most accurate depiction of Dat dance lyfe.
I’d also like to add that any time a movie features a black dude with dyed blonde hair ALA Sisqo, two things are a sure bet:
1)It takes place in the future.
2)it’s REALLY bad.
One Direction: This is Us
I literally have never heard a One Direction song in my life. As it should be. I’m a grown man in my mid 30’s. That said, I’m not particularly bothered by them. They’re boys. in a band. They’re a boy band. Pretty harmless. This movie is pretty much porn for 14 year old girls. That’s fine. I’m sure it’s wholesome. My stance on this is actually coming from a different place. There’s been a thing over the last few years where they make these documentary movies about musicians. Taylor swift, Beiber and Katy Perry have all had them done. I get why they exist and, truth be told, i actually watched the Katy Perry one a few weeks ago(My brief review of that: SERIOUS LACK OF TITS). Something , outside of the obvious, doesn’t sit right with me about the movies. They’re clearly just promotional material made to make the artist look both glamorous and human at the same time but, man, how good would they be if they showed the real people? Like what an insecure cunt Taylor Swift really is or how much pussy these One Direction dudes actually wrangle on a day to to day basis.
Bieber has already proven himself to be a truly boundless little asshole…I wanna see that! In a movie! Hopefully someone is filming Miley Cyrus right now cause her downward spiral would be amazing to watch.
I’m in love with a church girl
Hey you dropped your thug in my bible!
oh, you dropped you bible in my thug!
Put them both together and what do you get? An awesome new movie starring a former vaguely successful pop star who was in love with Rob Kardashian with a washed up fake thug rapper from hip hops worst era ever who used to do videos where he dressed up like he was in Grease.
This is a script Tyler Perry probably glanced over and thought “Nah, too corny…” Which is like Will.I.AM watching a gay porn and thinking “Eh, not gay enough…”.
From what I gather from the preview, Ja Rule’s hesitance to accept the lord has less with him being a street thug (who doesn’t love these hoes and/or his holiness) and more with him being insecure that the lord might accept him for who he is. What a pickle!
I think the best I could hope for with this movie would be a possible duet between Ja rule and Adrienne bailon where they cover “What’s love?” in front of a room full of both Church folk and dead in the heart murderers. Perhaps this duet might even lead to these two total opposite factions of people to understanding each other, if not just a little bit. Then, shortly after the song ends, a plane hits the church leaving no survivors but teaching a crucial lesson that God works in mysterious ways. *shrug* Maybe that can be how the sequel ends.
What’s up. It’s time, once again, for more demo reviews. These are songs that readers willingly sent to me to pick apart and judge. So, I’m do them that service. I’m not accepting submissions for the time being so, if you think you want to do that, I ask that you hold off until I open the floodgates. Just a warning, the queue is pretty full so it might be a while. Think “Months”.
Anyhow, the reviews work like so: I do a brief write up. The I assign arbitrary number ratings on a scale from 1-10 in these categories:
Production
Vocals
Listenability
Originality
As always, I can stress enough how little these numbers mean. i simply do them cause people like numbers. Ol’ Lil man Tate ass dudes. If you get a 5 out of 10, consider it a victory.
So, here are todays batch. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite demo below!
Artist: Noog
Song:U WRNED//U REDY
Well, off the bat, not really my wheelhouse. That said, it’s fucking strange and would make a great score for a movie involving foreign espionage. I don’t dislike it, I just don’t know what to do with it. Still, it’s well made for what it is.
Production:5 out of 10
Vocals:N/A
Listenability:3 out of 10
Originality:6 out of 10
Artist: Dirty Porcelain, MDF & Gringa
Song:Summertime
The beat is what jumps out at me first. It’s very good. Nice changes,cool mood and some clever nuances threw in there. The rapping is okay. She has pockets that click but then other times she flies off the rails a little. Not so much falling off beat but it gets a little corny. In an abstract sense, I feel as if a lotta of choices she makes lyrically and flow wise are wearing a head wrap. Definitely sounds like a less polished Jean Grae.
Production:6 out of 10
Vocals:4 out of 10
Listenability:5 out of 10
Originality:4 out of 10
Artist:Hal Two Feat. GeeWhiz
Song: Fall off
This beat is kinda all over the place. It’s pretty hype but needs some ritalin. I feel as if, perhaps, the artist was trying to cover too many bases with this one. You can’t make every happy , bro!
As for the rapping, dude has a decent voice and confidence but his flow is pretty suspect as times and , lyrically, he’s very average.
I will say this though, I rarely get demo’s like this so it’s a breath of fresh air in the form of really polluted air.
Production:4 out of 10
Vocals:4.5 out of 10
Listenability:4 out of 10
Originality:3 out of 10
Artist:The Anjovi
Song: Terrible People
This is pretty average rapping that i know appeals to a lot of people. So, he’s not bad at all. In fact, there are plenty of rappers out there far worse doing well making the same kind of stuff. I just have trouble caring about stuff like this cause nothing really sets it apart from it’s contemporaries.
The beat is understated and smooth. not sure if the drums were a choice or that’s just how the producers drums sound but I would have gone with something a little more active. Maybe something as simple as some more percussion over the kick and snare.
Production: 5 out of 10
Vocals:5 out of 10
Listenability:5 out of 10
Originality:3.5 out of 10
Artist: Wesker
Song: Deranged
This sounds like a dude who just got his equipment trying to figure shit out. New synths, new recording equipment and some new software plug ins.
It’s simply not ready for prime time. Who knows though, in a few years he could really sharpen his skills and make some good shit. But for the time being, this one shoulda been kept in the lab. We should learn to make a decent egg before we try to make a gourmet meal.
Production:3 out of 10
Vocals: N/A
Listenability:3.5 out of 10
Originality:4 out of 10
Artist: Dwell
Song: The Big Picture
There’s something muppet like about this dudes rap voice. Can’t put my finger on it but, if there was a video for this a he was a muppet, it wouldn’t shock me. He can rap well enough, just some weird infections going on.
(he sounds nothing like the cookie monster. i just wanted an excuse to post this video)
The beat is dope. Some good old head nod shit. Very Primo-esque but, hey, that’s almost expected with boom bap shit like this.
Production:5.5
Vocals:5 out of 10
Listenability:5.5 out of 10
Originality:3 out of 10
Artist:LnkEnt
Song: Boy who plays with pud
Back when demo tapes that got sent to record labels was still a thing, a rule of thumb was to never have a song with an intro that carries on too long cause the record label executives will sign off if they don’t have their attention grabbed immediately. This song is all intro, no song. What the fuck is this? really? I think I’m being trolled with this one cause if this dude actually considers this a “song” he “made” then we got a problem.
Production:1 out of 10
Vocals:N/A
Listenability:1.5 out of 10
Originality:1 out of 10
Artist:KCLS
Song: Smoke Shit
Sometimes weed songs were clearly made by people who were too high. This isn’t to say they’re too weird…I’m saying these high motherfuckers were so high they thought their song was dope when it was, in fact, pretty bad.
The beat is okay if not a little repetitive. The rapping though…Dude is barely hanging on to the flow the entire song. Sounds like he wrote it (or is it a freestyle?) to a different beat or something. It’s too bad cause there are moments where he could be okay. But,more than anything, weed songs are fucking corny.
Production:4 out of 10
Vocals:3.5 out of 10
Listenability:4 out of 10
Originality:2 out of 10
Artist: Windmills
Song: Truly yours
Whoa, hey there double-time guy! This rapper definitely can flow his ass off. He actually sounds comfortable in the pocket doing the fast rapping thing. Very solid. The beat is well made and has a nice melancholic feeling to it but it’s ultimately kinda boring. My one main issue with this is the hook. It’s mixed way too loud and I don’t know if it works that well in the context of the song. It doesn’t ruin the song or anything but it just sounds slightly out of place. That may just be cause of the mixing though.
Production:5 out of 10
Vocals:6 out of 10
Listenability:5 out of 10
Originality:4.5 out of 10
Artist: Insolen+
Song: Classic milk and cream
Dark, violent white guy drug rap is a subtle art. I’d say it’s successful maybe 5% of the time. It’s comically bad about 80% of the time. This falls into that 15% where it’s not great but also not comically bad. He can rap.
It just feels dated to hear this kinda stuff nowadays, regardless of how well it’s pulled off.
The beat is good for what it is. It’s thick and sets a dark mood. A dark mood that is extremely well tread territory.
Production:4.5 out of 10
Vocals:4.5 out of 10
Listenability:4 out of 10
Originality:3 out of 10
It’s that time again! the touring season is almost upon us and I got shows starting to line up. Pretty happy to be hitting some places I haven’t hit in a long time. There’s a chance more dates will be added (I’m hoping for some european dates in december but not promises) so , if you’re town isn’t here, don’t abandon all hope. Regardless, I hope tos ee you all on the road this fall/winter. Let’s gooooooo!
So, here’s what’s popping at the moment.
Shows with Yppah
4/03/14 Vancouver, BC Venue Night club
4/4/14 Seattle , WA Nectar Lounge
4/5/14 Portland ,OR Rotture
4/11/14 Denver , Co Filmore (Opening for Beats antique)
4/24/14 Munich, Germany
Make Or Break Festival
VENUE: Feierwerk - Kranhalle
Oh and it’s free!
What’s up everyone? Hope your weekend was good as summer is coming to close. You better milk it for whatever’s left, guy!
I watched the VMA’s last night specifically to make snarky tweets about it (Don’t freak out TV illuminati assholes, I also watch Breaking bad) and, I gotta say, I may have tweeted my greatest tweet ever. I don’t wanna brag but…man…I nailed it.
Was it juvenile and mean? Yes. In fact, it was downright shitty of me. But man, that pun though!!! My apologies to that girl. I meant no harm but I couldn’t resist.
Anyway, this is not about that. this is where I answer your questions. If you’d like to ask me anything, now is your chance. Be creative and try to think outside the question asking box. Send all questions to me at: Phatfriendblog@gmail.com or leave them in the comment section below.
This week, a lot of these questions read like an in depth interview.So, maybe you’ll like that…or not. I don’t know you , bro.
Ok, loooongtime reader since defjux.com with a question for you, Block. In your recent “Movies I’ll Never Watch” article you described Sandra Bullock as “a bitch floating around in space for two hours.” This made me laugh, so I ask you: how do you go about disarming comments from the emergent word police on the internet? The people who have nothing to do but scan every blog and facebook post for things to be offended for, even if it doesn’t personally apply to them? It’s the fucking worst and, while I would never use a racially hateful term unless SPECIFICALLY quoting Danny Brown, I need a good, dismissive rejoinder for these assholes. Or do you just ignore that ish and move on? Because, apparently, saying outlandish shit for comedic effect is no longer permissible. Bill Burr would be turning in his grave. If he was, you know, dead.
This a huge problem and I’m afraid there is no easy way to defuse it. People are gonna be offended by what they’re offended by. It goes way beyond just words though. I’ve had just as many people get offended over concepts. Jokingly using the word bitch for effect, in a certain (comedic) context should be okay but there’s just no way to explain to someone who claims to be offended by it. People have gotten way angrier at me for making fun of men who wear open toed shoes than if I were to use a word like “faggot” in a joke. in 2013, it’s all about you and what bothers your delicate sensibilities. in other words, a lot of what bothers people is based entirely on their own insecurities. Words of “hate” are easy pickens but, i’ve found that, people get really dramatic when you strike a nerve with them about something far more pedestrian that just happens to relate to them personally.
I’m convinced the people who do all the policing of words on the internet aren’t actually offended by any of the things they complain about. They’re just jumping on anything they can because they feel it’s their job to save the world one derogatory statement at a time.
The thing is, I get why people are offended by words. Obviously, some words have lots of power behind them. I just wish people on the internet could grasp the idea of context a little better and , also, if they had a slightly more evolved sense of humor. That wouldn’t hurt.
But , hey, I’m a straight white male so what the fuck can I say about anything.
You do some incredible remixes that often trump the original. Of course the rap ones (From Aesop to Despot, Lodeck, Cage and Nacho Picasso, to name a few favorites), but your take on singer/songwriters, on the rare occasion I come across one, are always great. I can’t say I listen to much Fionna Apple otherwise, but your remix of “Hot Knife” gets played on my ipod all the time. Same for the brilliant “Fidelity” remix. So my question - do you have any plans / desires to remix more music that falls outside the category of hip hop? Obviously you could never sell them, but any plans to put more out? Or do you have a treasure-trove of those such remixes stashed away somewhere?
When I do remixes like the Fiona apple one, it was pretty much on a whim. I had been listening to that album a ton and fairly obsessed with it. I tried to remix some other songs but some of the key changes made it difficult. So, I landed on “Hot Knife” as one I could pull off.
Honestly, a large part of being able to remix anything like that is the song instrumentation being minimal. I can only remix that kinda stuff when there isn’t a lot of stuff going on behind the vocals. In the case of the regina Spektor remix, I was given the acapella to work with so that made it easier.
I love doing those type of remixes but it’s rare to both find a song I want to do it to , that also fits the restrictions I needs to even be able to remix it correctly. Here is another one I did cause the original song allowed me to work with it.
Hey Block, when you first started working on music when did you realize that THAT was what you wanted to do and nothing else? Were you 100% confident about it at the time? Before music were you confused or lost on what you wanted to do? I’m 19 barely started community college and I have no clue what I wanna do with my life 😐 you got any ideas/advice on what might help me discover what I wanna do?
I don’t think I really thought of it in that way. It was just something I loved doing so I did it. The fact it worked out for me was just luck. I started doing music in a different time too so seeing the boom of indy hip hop definitely gave me more confidence about my possible place within that universe.
That said, I was/am a college drop out with no discernible skills that can be applied to real life and making money. So, yeah, i was pretty confused about where my life was going. I’d venture to guess that most people without real careers feel that way well into adulthood. I know i still get pangs of it now and then when I think of the prospect of making hip hop at age 50.
You’re young. 19 is nothing. You got time to figure things out. I would never tell anyone to put all your eggs in the “I’m gonna be a musician!” basket, cause that’s simply so unlikely to work out long term but, in general, something will come along that will stick. If not, you can always be homeless. Those dudes answer to no one, bro.
Why don’t you smoke weed anymore? It’s kinda rare for people to just -stop- smoking without some sort of impetus (for instance, no longer spending time with their smoking circle), which makes me curious as to what your reasons were for quitting/never starting/whatever.
I stopped smoking weed cause I stopped enjoying it. It made me anxious and the “fun” aspect of it was little to none. I even had trouble sleeping when I’d be high and the day after smoking I’d just be in a haze. I didn’t like how it made me feel. I think this is more common than you think and has a lot to do with getting older. Some people are built to smoke and their brains are wired to be high in an effective way. Other, like myself, reach an age where it simply stops feeling good.
When i did smoke, I loved eating, watching tv/movies, freestyling and listening to music. That was it. There was nothing else i really got out of it. Once I stopped freestyling regularly, had to watch what i eat more and started finding myself confused while watching tv/movies high, i knew it was a pointless venture for me.
I should also add that I find “weed culture” extremely corny. Being around people who seem to focus their existence around being high and worshipping weed makes me never want to do it ever again. It makes me feel like someones dad , thinking “Jesus, get off the couch and do something with your fucking life!”. Seeing those people around me definitely made me want to be less like that as much as possible.
Do you think you grew up pretty well to do, (upper middle class maybe)? Also, do you think white privilege has ever helped you get a gig or record deal or gave you an edge/leverage, when discussing a project/album with record label execs, then say a 19 year old black kid from the projects would have?
I’d say I come from an upper middle class family. My dad was an artist and my mom was a social worker so it’s not like we were rolling in dough but we were certainly comfortable and my dad made some great financial choices (buying certain stocks and buying property early on) that definitely elevated our lifestyle.
As for the whole white privilege angle in music, that definitely was not the case. It’s different now and there certainly have been cases of white people rising to the top of black art forms but, in my world, being white and making hip hop wasn’t an advantage. If anything, in the 90’s, we were kinda laughed at and proving your worth was an uphill battle. This is probably cause I wasn’t making mainstream music. But the bottom line is that it’s not like your average white kid has more connections to record labels/venues than your average black kid. Sure, there are exceptions but most people , in general, are outside the bubble. regardless of race or economical background.
The advantages of being a well to do white would come later when it’s time to pay lawyer fees and shit like that. But getting noticed? That’s all luck and timing. No matter who you are. Talent is a distant third in that equation.
So you and your peers (like Aesop) careers got it’s start more or less due to the internet. Being a fast moving channel for new information it helped “spread the word” quicker than the traditional route of labels. So since then others have done it too, specifically Macklemore.
So here is my question and potentially offensive part. Let me start out saying I fucking hate Macklemore. Given Macklemore’s success off of the same medium what made him much more successful than others? Is it the accessibility of his music? Or the content? Just wanted your thoughts around that.
He had a hit song. The “thrift store” joint blew up and then everything snowballed from there. I can’t even be mad at the dude as he’s been doing this shit since the early 2000’s. I may not like his music much but the last thing I’m gonna be hate on is a dude who blew up on his level and kept it independent. I was watching the VMA’s last night and thinking “Holy shit…this dude must be so fucking rich right now.” cause he owns hs own music. That’s obviously got nothing to do with quality of his product but I can only take my hat off to what he’s achieved. It’s pretty incredible.
But, back to his success, I see it this way:
He made a catchy/funny song that blew up off of a youtube video. instead of fizzling out, he released more songs. One was a serious social message song about gay rights and the other was a crowd pumping song built to be played at sporting events. All these songs were well produced and had a “now” sound. Basically, he played his cards perfectly and was rewarded for it. A ton of people related to at least one of those songs. Sometimes that’s all it takes. I have a feeling he’s gonna be around for a while, whether you like it or not. On the bright side, if you don’t like his music, you simply don’t have to listen to it so, there’s always that.
Juggaknots: In control
Well, I had no idea that any gave a shit about “song of the day” until I asked. So, good news! I’ll be doing these again every now and then.
So, this song popped on my radar kinda late last night. If you’re familiar with Breeze Bruin and the Juggaknots, then I’d imagine you’re as hyped as I am that this leaked. Breeze is most likely your favorite underground rappers favorite rapper. There’s a reason for that. He’s also a dude that, much like Despot and Jay Electronica, people have been begging for a release from (Pause) for as long as I can remember.
This is a response to Kendrick Lamar’s verse that everyone shit their pants over. That verse was cool but also, who gives a shit? No one verse should ever get that much attention. This verse, however, is the level headed words from a dude who’s been ripping better verses than that KL verse since the mid 90’s. Just saying.
Because this is only streaming, I added a download extra of an older joint.
Enjoy!
Generally: Juggaknots
http://www38.zippyshare.com/v/92020052/file.html
This is kinda like a Phat Friend Census report. I can’t do it without you.
I do this blog for a few reasons. It’s fun. It gives me something other than music to focus on. It’s promotional without being annoying (at least, I hope that’s true). But , most of all, I do it for 100% free and for the people. Meaning you. With this in mind, I feel as if you should have some say in what I post. Granted, I am one man and there’s only so much i can do to fulfill your needs but sometimes a dude needs a little direction.
While feedback in the comments is always nice , it’s hard to get a grasp on what people are really enjoying. Like what columns have found a following and which ones are just kinda there to take up space. August is a fairly dead month in general so I’d be lying if I said content was easy to come by lately. So, as a way to both have content for this very day AND get a glimpse into what you, the readers, are partial to, I just wanted to throw this poll up. Please vote and lemme know what columns are doing it for you the most. AKA doing the most. If you’re not a regular reader and none of these names look familiar, feel free to skip over this one. I’ve made it so you can vote up to 3 times. Meaning, if you really like three of the columns, you can pick them all. If you only like 1, then you only need to vote for that one. The results could be a higher frequency of those features and maybe even less of the ones that don’t receive many votes.
In case you’re confused about some of the subjects, here are examples:
Answers for questions
https://phatfriend.com/2012/05/14/answers-to-questions-vol-85/
Tim and I discuss music and stuff
https://phatfriend.com/2013/06/04/tim-and-i-discuss-music-and-stuff-vol-32/
Ask Dr. Tony
https://phatfriend.com/2012/05/02/ask-dr-tony-vol-14/
Fuck/Marry/Kill
https://phatfriend.com/2012/03/09/fckmarrykill-vol-10/
Yay or Nay?
https://phatfriend.com/2013/04/04/yay-or-nay-shirt/
Random rants about stuff written in a humorous manner
https://phatfriend.com/2013/06/05/how-to-be-an-asshole-online/
Promotional Blockhead related info
https://phatfriend.com/2013/07/02/dour-candy-by-billy-woods-and-myself-is-here/
Movie Preview reviews
https://phatfriend.com/2013/05/29/preview-reviews-of-movies-ill-never-see/
Demo Reviews
https://phatfriend.com/2013/01/03/demo-reviews-vol-13/
Things that are wrong with the world
https://phatfriend.com/2011/09/14/things-that-are-wrong-with-the-world-part-22/
Behind the scenes music related posts
https://phatfriend.com/2012/06/20/the-making-of-music-by-cavelight-part-1/
Funny/personal stories about my life
https://phatfriend.com/2010/09/29/my-neighbor-the-faceless-pussy/
Other
https://phatfriend.com/2012/08/08/poll-men-and-shorts-whats-a-bro-to-do/
I’m really not trying to make album reviews a regular part of this blog cause, honestly, it’s weird reviewing music when you yourself makes music. The only other one I did was Kanye’s new album but I felt that was okay cause it was such an “event”. However, Earl is someone I’ve been pumping up on this blog since his very first video dropped. Unless your name is Despot (Who, for those who don’t know, is the most ear to the street human being alive) or you’re one of the tumblr nerds, I doubt you’ve been big upping Earl in a public forum as long as I have. It’s because of this I feel obligated to comment on the finished product that many of us have been waiting on since first laying eyes on the bug eyed little kid in the barber chair who could rap his ass off in the “Earl” video.
By now you should know his history and all the drama that surrounded him over the last few years. If not, Wiki that shit.
One note though, due to the amount of leaks this album had prior to it’s release, it’s kinda hard to sit back and see this album as cohesive. That’s not Earl’s fault really but more just a testament of how albums get put out nowadays. It’s like every thing needs to sound like a mix tape. this doesn’t , but still, I’d imagine if I heard all of these songs for the first time upon getting this album, I might have a different take on it.
Anyway, enough bullshitting, I’ll get right into it and do a song by song review of his Debut full length “Doris”.
(Because they’re apparently being really tight about posting this album on youtube, I’m having trouble finding links so here it is streaming if you care to play along…)
http://www.ventlyfe.com/publ/album_streams/earl_sweatshirt_doris_39_album_stream_39/2-1-0-193
Pre (Feat. SK La’ Flare)
I got issues with people setting their own albums off with verses by other people. While it has worked a few times in the past, this is not one of those cases. Mainly cause this dude SK La’ Flare is pretty mediocre. It’s almost as if this verse is there as a comparison for earl to look good next to for the rest of the album. It works on some level cause Earl comes in pretty hungry on this track. Beat wise, this song starts a theme that continues throughout the album. Beats that are okay. If Earl is dope on it, then the song is good, if he’s not, then it’s forgettable. That’s kinda the formula for much of this whole album.
Burgandy
This really should have been the intro/lead off song. It sets the table for exactly what you’re gonna get into. It’s a clearly depressed Earl self loathing over a choppy Neptunes beat. It’s got a less drastic “What’s up fatlip” vibe to it.
The dude either isn’t happy or he’s not into being a renowned rapper. The same way Tyler the Creator backlashed against his own notoriety, Earl seems to not wanna deal with the special powers he’s been given. Yeah, he’s a gifted rapper but I get the feeling he wishes he wouldn’t mind just rapping alone in a room to himself.
20 Wave caps (feat Domo Genesis)
I would have never Guessed Domo Genesis would emerge as the one Odd Future rapper from the early days that seemingly has the tightest grasp on making solid rap music. He’s more typical than Earl but he’s really tightened up his screws over the last few years. His energy kinda outshines Earl on this song even though Earl is clearly in a different league, mc wise. The beat is…okay. Again, another one of those “The rapping is gonna make or break it” kinda tracks.
Sunday (Feat Frank ocean)
Yeah, I don’t have time for the love jones ass tracks. I don’t doubt Earl is a sensitive man and has dealt with some girl issues. While he’s entitled to make these kinda tracks, I’ll stay skipping them until I die. Especially when done by 19 year old kids. I’m simply too old for that shit. But you probably aren’t so, have at this one.
Also, I like Frank Ocean….but his verse on this is like one of those Andre 3000 verses on R&B songs except it’s not very good. It’s not bad either. It’s more “who cares?”.
Hive (featuring Vince Staples)
This one sounds like it could have been on the first Earl Ep. Earl does really well over these super simple dark beats. But , let’s not avoid the elephant in the room, Vince staples murders this track. It’s funny cause I feel like Earl does better on songs that have guests on them. But, here, he simply can’t keep up with Staples energy. His mumblecore rap style just doesn’t match up with Staples swaggy shit.
Chum
This was the first song leaked. I like it. It’s the ramblings of a sad kid. Not to be confused with #sadboys. This is one of is his more personal tracks. You can even hear what sounds like pencils scribbling and pieces of paper being crumpled up in the back ground. Clearly, this one is a little deeper than many of the other tracks on the album. It’s basically a state of the union address for Earl’s headspace upon returning from his hiatus in Samoa. And that headspace? Cloudy with a chance of being overwhelmed by everything and possibly jumping off a bridge.
Sasquatch (Feat. Tyler the Creator)
Straight up, I can’t listen to Tyler any more. I don’t know if it’s him or me but, whatever it is, I hear that growl and just lose interest. His verse on this veers into a weird eminem like territory after he drops that line about Rihanna and Chris Brown. On the bright side, he seems to light a flame under Earl on this one. Earl’s verse is awesome. On, and that beat? Guess what? It’s…okay.
Centurion Feat. Vince Staples
The first start of this beat sounds like an outtake from one of the earlier Odd Future shit when Tyler did all the beats. Which isn’t good. Then, Boom! In comes a track that sounds straight off of a Kool G Rap album. For as badly as Staples blazed Earl on “Hive”, Earl makes up for it here. If there was a way to edit out the first part, this might be the best song on this entire album. At least for dudes who like “bars”.
Uncle Al
53 second song. how mad can you really be at it? This must have just been a verse he had laying around. I’m not mad at this but it’s kinda pointless.
Guild (feat. Mac Miller)
As part of Mac Millers image reconstruction, he’s doing tracks with all his favorite rappers and trying to rap like them. This is that. He does a decent enough job but, really, he simply doesn’t have much to say. He’s just getting better at saying nothing. Also, the last thing earl needs is his vocals pitched down. He already sounds like he’s sleep walking through the track so slowing it down only makes it seems like he’s barely breathing.#deathbedraps
Molasses (Feat Rza)
This is dope. The simple loop that screams “Wu-tang” seemingly breaths life into earls effortless/exhausted flow. As an old school dinosaur , it is nice to hear Earl rap over a sample like this. A whole album of this might be counter productive for a young relevant rappers career but , much like Kanye’s “Bound”, I’m pretty sure it’s secretly what we all were waiting to hear from Earl, production wise. Also, “I’ll fuck the freckles off your face, bitch” is a great hook.
Whoa (Feat. Tyler the creator)
This is kind of a forced hyped up track. Earl certainly kills it but I can’t help but think he’s not into these kinda tracks. Truth be told, he seems to prefer tracks where he can just sadly whisper his feelings. Maybe I’m reading into it too much though. Cause this song is as close to the song “Earl” as this album gets. The kids would say “he went in” on this one.
Hoarse
Now this seems like the kind of songs Earl wants to make. Emo, verbose, personal tracks with emotive beats. He sounds like a dude who either just finished crying or who is going to cry later in the day. I don’t mean it as a diss. This song is really good. In fact, if he’s gonna go the emo route, I wish he’s use this track as a playbook. He’s always sounded good over beats that have a feeling and, unfortunately, he decided to fill an album with beats that are…you guessed it..Okay. Emotive tracks really play so well of his lethargic rapping style. They seemingly connect the dots for him. Basically, he needs more this:
That’s his comfort zone that best puts his skills on display. The thing is, even when he’s on a more upbeat track and killing it, he just sounds more at home on depressing tracks where he’s allowed to rap about whatever he wants to rap about.
Knight (feat Domo Genesis)
This is a good farewell track. Domo does his thing. Earl does his thing. One problem, the slowing down the song thing seems like something that was a better idea on paper than in reality.
Overall, Earl made a solid underground rap album with above average rapping and beats that didn’t do him any favors. Sure, the audience may be more widespread and it might consist of people angry he didn’t rap more about rape but, to his credit, he seemed to make the album he wanted. That is to say, if he wanted to make an album at all. I can’t help but think that there’s an aspect to all this of a kid who’s very indifferent about his popularity and would rather be making demo’s in his bedroom for him and his friends than making music that will be judged by the entire internet. Earl is a great rapper. There’s not question about that. This album is very flawed but does show signs of what he’s capable of doing. The question I have is really “How much does he even want to do it?”. Hopefully, down the line, he’s figure out exactly what lane he needs to be in/feels comfortable it. He’s got the talent. All he needs is more focus (and high standards for beats).
This week Timmay AKA Tim AKA Alaska of Atom’s family AKA Dad AKA my internet life partner and I discuss the music of King Krule, Juicy J and rapping basketball players. As usual, we agree about some stuff then don’t agree about other stuff. It’s magical how that works.
http://www.syffal.com/juicy-j-king-krule
Hi everyone.
Back again for the 149th time, bringing you the truths the lamestream media is scared to tell you. Just kidding. I’m just talking bullshit up in here in general. I played at the Rootwire festival this weekend. It went off. Now THAT was a hippie ass festival if I’ve ever played one but those people got down. Shout out to the girl I glanced at while on stage who was dancing completely nude. Also shout out to whatever drugs she was on cause not a fuck was given by her in the slightest.
Anyway, you got questions that need answering? about anything? Send them my way! Email them to me at: Phatfriendblog@gmail.com or leave them in the comments below. They’re both anonymous so, have no fear. Also, if you need love advice, send those questions over too. My “Dr. tony” question pile is pretty thin right now and I need ammo for future entries.
Okay? Great…on with the questions.
Are there any movies you’ve seen that you believe to be in need of a sequel/sequels, or are you an anti-sequel type of dude?
I’m not an anti-sequels type of guy but, in general, sequels do tend to be thrown together and pushed out before they’re ready. Every now and then , though, they nail one. I though Blade 2 was awesome. Gremlins 2 was better than the first, in my opinion. The second X-men movie was better than the first. And did you see the last Rambo installment? Holy shit.
As for movies I’d like to see give it a second go? Obviously, Macgruber.
That needs to be made into a 15 part mega series. Still, one of the most slept on and hilarious movies I’ve ever seen. What else? hmm…I’d love to see another Team America. Mostly comedies work for me as sequels. Action or drama movies tend to spill their load in the first go round.
I have an opinion type question. What do you think is the perfect friend dynamic? Like, for example, when I was young (primary school) I would just be friends with everyone and have a new best friend every couple of months, but I guess that was just growing up. Later, through high school and start of college I had a clear best friend and it was great but it was a little difficult sometimes. It was a real bromance, we would talk on the phone everyday, hang out almost every day, even go on vacation just the two of us a couple of times (no homo, we would get together with girls while there) and it was great to have that kind of friend but it became like a relationship. I had to call him and talk, it was an obligation.. So we grew apart and now I have a couple of good friends but no one to call my best friend, while my former bf has a new one (lol, no homo). I like this arrangement more, because I already have a girlfriend and I only have 24 hours in my day, but sometimes I miss having a friend who would be down for anything, anytime. So what would be your perfect friend dynamic?
I like to look at friendship levels like strata. Let’s say, you are the core of your “earth”. and every layer around you are your friends. You have the the first layer which is mostly made up of family , girl/boyfriend, husband/wife and your very closest friends. While I do have a “best friend” , I also have a small handful of other friends who I’m just as close with. They would all be on the first strata.
The second strata would be people I’m very cool with and enjoy hanging around with but they aren’t exactly my go-to friends. They’d be at my wedding. They’d be at my birthday parties but they wouldn’t exactly be expected to visit me in the hospital. I’d see a movie with them and go out to dinner with them but they probably don’t know my moms first name.
The third strata are people who you don’t really keep close contact with but you see frequently and like them enough. They’re casual buddies. But, beyond that, they are people whose company you enjoy , just not on a regular basis. That’s a very light relationship. If one of these people pops off at you about some bullshit, they’re the type you can be like “eh, go fuck yourself” and life will go on like it never happened with or without them.
The fourth layer is acquaintances. People you don’t really know well. Perhaps internet friends or co-workers. You greet them and small talk but that’s about it.
The fifth layer and beyond is for strangers and people you’ve met once.
That’s how I see it.
All that said, whenever I hear a grown man harping about his “Best friend”, I do find it kinda weird. That’s a very “care bear” ass thing to think about as an adult in general. By the time you’re grown, all these things should be established to the point of it no longer being a conversation piece.
Any thoughts on “fixed gear hipster cyclists”. I laugh uncontrollably every time I see one of these poor lost souls…You?
I honestly didn’t even know what “Fixed gear” meant until this year. Hell, let those people ride what they wanna ride. If they hate brakes so much, give them what they want. I’m not a bike rider so I truly am completely indifferent about the whole thing.
But, speaking of bikes, in NYC right now we got these Citibikes popping off like crazy. For those who don’t know, they’re rental bikes that allow people to basically travel from point A to Point B and that’s it. That’s cool and all as it cuts down on car usage but , from the looks of it, those bikes must weigh 400 pounds each cause I am yet to see someone riding one that doesn’t look like they’re going up a hill on a 30 degree angle. Shit looks brutal.
What’s with rappers, underground usually but it can go anyway, often not putting their lyrics out? I understand that printing a booklet for a CD would cost more money, but why not put them out on the internet? Sometimes it’s hard for fans to decipher every word a musician says, so we can’t always write them out ourselves. I myself like having a printout of the lyrics in front of me when I’m trying to figure out the meaning of a complicated rap song. I know fans aren’t obligated to having written lyrics given to us, but I just don’t understand why the musician won’t put them out in the first place, because (in my opinion) it’s really not too much effort.
So, what do you think? Just laziness or some other reason?
Transcribing a whole album is a tedious project for any rapper. Especially for the more verbose mc’s out there who are the ones people might want to get the lyrics from in the first place. It’s not like the streets are begging Rick Ross for his lyric book. I actually think transcribing lyrics is something so few people in rap do that many rappers don’t even think about it. So, it’s not so much laziness as it is just not a standard practice of rap music in general. It should also be added that, with the way cd sales are doing, there isn’t much incentive to do extra work on a physical cd fold out that like only a few hundred people are gonna read anyway. I would say, as a fan, you should expect to not get those lyrics but be extra appreciative when you do cause that artist really wanted you to see his words.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1909348/ You ever see HBO’s Talking Funny? (Louis CK/Chris Rock/Jerry Seinfeld/Ricky Gervais). I’m interested in seeing more groups of 4 talking like this… kind of “the view” but with men. But do you think that many dudes talking at once can work? Either audio podcast style or filmed live? Or do guys tend to talk over each other too much these days for it to be effective?
I have seen it and I loved it. I’m fascinated by comedians just shooting the shit though so I was definitely the target audience for that kind of show.
I’m pretty sure shows with men like this exist already. Sports shows, comedy shows and podcasts. If women can have shows where four of them squawk at each other for an hour (I mean, have you seen the fucking View?!?!) surely four dudes can pull it together and not have a show that turns into an hour long argument and chest beating contest. I would hope the people would be professionals.
This was a weird question in general though as, you know, that thing exists and has existed for quite some time now.
After reading your blog for a while, I’ve occasionally seen you mention things about your girlfriend. I’m curious, how exactly did you meet her?
I ordered her from a serbian dating site. It only cost me one horse and the rights to name my first born son.
Just kidding.
I’m not gonna go into personal details but here’s an abridged version:
I met my girl when I was out Djing. I used to do this bi-weekly party in the east village. She had a friend who was a fan of mine and they would sometimes come after work and get shit faced on a wednesday. One night, it was particularly slow. I was djing and my friend “Jackie gold” was there with me. There were only a few people left in the bar and it was fairly late but these two girls were just dancing to everything I was playing. My boy Jackie went up and spoke to them, just kinda shootinng the shit for a little bit. At some point, he told them about a halloween party I was going to be djing. Turns out, one of the girls (my future GF) had a birthday around that time and decided to have her b-day party there. My time line is a little shaky (this was over 6 years ago) but I think she hit me up on myspace (like i said, it was a long time ago) just to thank me for letting her party join with mine. That opened a dialogue that would eventually lead to use writing back and forth on Myspace on a regular basis. Tons of detailed and long winded interactions over a pretty long period of time. I still had only met her in passing at this point. So, she came to the halloween party and at the end we chatted. After that, the myspace interaction picked up speed. I definitely was into her but there was also some looming boyfriend/ex-boyfirend situation going on so things went pretty slowly. She finally broke up with whoever she was seeing and we went on some dates. Like, real old fashioned nerd style. I don’t think we even made out much on them. We’d see movies together and act awkward. To be honest, cause I liked her, I wasn’t really trying to rush things cause I had a feeling that, once things did get serious, she would probably be my girlfriend and that would be the end game of it all. I had been single for like 5 years at that point so it as certainly an idea I had to ease into. Not to mention , she was pretty freshly out of a relationship so I wasn’t trying to rush her into anything. So, to skip a head a few month, time passed, we got our AIDS tests and now we’ve been living together for 3 years (dating for over 6 years though). But, it is crazy to think that Myspace definitely facilitated the beginnings of my entire relationship. Dreams do come true guys!
