The Program 101

Old School of the day… Jeru The Damaja’s “99.9%”

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:29:21 +0000

Was this a Gang Starr specific diss track? Or is this just a diss track to pretty much 99.9% of the Hip Hop artists at the time?

Regardless, Jeru didn’t hit it out of the park with his third album “Heroz4hire”, but he did produce at least one classic track from that albun, which is today’s entry into the Classic hall of fame! You can see all the classics we have nominated at the link at the top of the page titled “The Classic Tracks”. Coming out in 1999, and produced by Jeru himself, enjoy 99.9%…

Nas, Q-Tip & Common forming a supergroup called “The Standard”?? YES PLEASE!

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:24:17 +0000

As was the case with the news that the Dogg Pound was getting the band back together with Dr. Dre and Snoop, which you can read about HERE, I would like to put this story about a Nas, Q-Tip, Common supergroup into the “Believe it when I see it” file. That being said..even the THOUGHT of an album being done by these three can make a man go buck crazy with excitement!

Seriously…if I told you to make a list of the greatest 10 MC’s of all time….chances are that these three are somewhere on it. For them to do an album together? Again…believe it when I see it. But here is the scoop….

” Q-TIP WILL BE will be rapping solo for the time being. Despite hinting in the fall that he was finally ready to work with fellow emcee Common on their “super group,” The Standard, a source close to the Queens native assures us that won’t happen anytime soon. That’s because the former front man for A Tribe Called Quest is “in the studio, working on his own album,” says the insider. Q-Tip and Chicago native Common formed The Standard in 2007 but have yet to release any music under that name. They’re also still mulling the idea of adding another emcee to the group, so don’t be surprised if it’s Nas. While reps for the three rappers declined to comment, we recently ran into the “Illmatic” legend — who’s also finishing a solo album — and ask if he would be working with the duo. “Definitely,” Nas told us.” NY Daily News

The good news…. new QTip and new Nas is on it’s way.
The dream…. after that we are getting a Nas/Common/QTip album that might just be the greatest album EVER! (or it might be The Firm pt 2, but I doubt it with these three)

2011 Rookie of the Year… TABI BONNEY

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:37:25 +0000

As I talked about in the “Check this out…” selection today, X*Cell is not only a talented MC, but he also knows a thing or two about what’s going in the world of Hip Hop today. We are fortunate enough to have access to his knowledge, as he will be adding his thoughts on Hip Hop from time to time. That starts today with his selection of the 2011 Rookie of the Year!

X*Cells picks for top Rookies!

2006: Skyzoo
2007: Jozeemo
2008: Torae
2009: Donny Goines
2010: Big Remo

The 2011 Hip Hop Rookie of the Year is…..

Tabi Bonney

To the same effect in which Washington D.C. rapper Wale was king of the underground around 2009, you have new-comer Tabi Bonney using some of that same method to garner his own success. Tab-O-Nay. That’s how you say it by the way. Anyways, most of us have been made aware of Wale’s arrival at Rick Ross’ juggernaut record label “Maybach Music”. While this gives Wale fans something to cheer about (or not cheer about, depending on your stance on the whole underground vs. mainstream dynamic), it leaves the door wide open on a new underground act to take precedence in the nation’s capital.

Much like Wale, Tabi Bonney is a style-driven emcee with the knack to light up a party atmosphere using the famously dubbed “Go-Go” sound made popular in the DMV area. After a few unofficials and the advent of his group “Organized Rhyme”, Bonney was able to affiliate himself with the long-time legend, Ski Beatz. With a stellar portion of beats done by Ski, and his own personal talent at shooting/producing music videos, Tabi Bonney was ready to bring on his first official LP entitled “The Summer Years”.

While many magazine critics sold Bonney short on the basis that he couldn’t keep up with the strong instrumentals, one should pay attention to the reader/listener reviews that perhaps, better understood the larger-than-life feel that Bonney was distinctly striving for. The issue could be the byproduct of picking a ho-hum single for representation. Said single was “Hip-Hop & Love” ft. Murs, which made it’s way onto Murs’ project “Love & Rockets” and most recently, Ski’s “Twilight”, however, it lacked the flair displayed on the other tracks.

Bonney set the tone for his album with fast-paced imposition, shown on “Top Notch” and crowd-favorite “Hello & Goodnight”. As well, he kept the adrenaline fueled with masterful hooks done by the beautifully-voiced Nicole Wray and the talented Terri Walker. His previous album “Fre$h” may have brought the young rapper exposure and name recognition working with the likes of Wale & Raheem DeVaughn, but it’s “The Summer Years” where you will notice insurmountable improvement from the emcee in raw skills, and more commitment to his overall direction.

- X*Cell

iTunes Link for “The Summer Years”: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-summer-years/id464524404

36 of the greatest albums ever… IN ONE PLACE! Time to “Check the Technique”

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:04 +0000

Ever picked up a book about Hip Hop & put it down because you realized that you knew more about Hip Hop than the author did?

I remember reading an article in the first issue of Tower Records magazine while buying Nas’s first album Illmatic. The article contained a map of New York City & the 5 boroughs showing Hip Hop landmarks & important geography. I loved it until I saw Mt. Vernon referred to as “Money Makin’” when it is known as “Money Earnin’ Mt. Vernon”. While it may seem to be a minute detail it shows how little is thought of Hip Hop that incorrect details get published. Would anyone say that Aretha Franklin is the Baroness of Soul? NO she’s the Queen of Soul! Why is it ok for a someone to refer to a place in Hip Hop by the wrong moniker? Hip Hop often gets so little coverage of it as an actual art form that it is hard to find material in print that will actually educate you about hip hop. If that has happened to you as much as it has to me you must read Check The Technique By Brian Coleman

. The books genius is in its simplicity.

. It probes deeper into what the author considers “36 immortal rap albums” which is stated on the cover. While I may debate the absence of some albums on the list, for example Black Sheep’s “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”, he makes up for that by delving deep into the albums he discusses.

. It reads like a directors cut of a movie informing you of the art as well as the creative process. Each album is discussed with the artist to give the context of the album to the time period it came out, as well as the background stories of the artist themselves.

. The author gets down and dirty into explaining how groups were formed & where they were mentally while making each of the albums on the list. Then the groups offer discussion on each song of the various albums. Whether it’s how the song came about or DJ’s elaborating on which samples they used, few details are left out during the discussion.

. Example…. In the book there is a discussion on what Poor Righteous Teachers had to do in order to get their album back! How The Pharcyde members usually came to blows over beats while making BizarrerideIIthepharcyde. De La explains from their Three Feet High album who Derwin is. Plus A Tribe Called Quest discusses why Skeff Anselm was important to their development.

Some of the groups album’s review are Diggable Planets, Wu-Tang Clan, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Boggie Down Productions (Will always get paid…paid…paid!), Common, The Roots, De La Soul A Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde & Too $hort. Yes, the albums from these groups are the albums you want to read about. My only actual complaint is that in discussing the album Low End Theory, Brian did not discuss the song Vibes – n – Stuff. C’mon, Son!!! “It’s all about a kid who couldn’t rap & didn’t run”.

Check The Technique is a must have list for any real hip-hop head!

- Steve Berger

Check this out… Koncept’s “Aspirations”

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:22:11 +0000

For this entry today, I asked for just a little bit of help in making this selection. Some help in letting me know whats good right now that will blow you all away! Well, not only is X*Cell a talented MC as seenhere, but he also has his finger on the pulse of the world of hip hop today, and no one is better to ask then him on what is good right now. So I asked him “Please, give me just one single track to share with the PRogram that is going to blow them all away”! His response?

Koncept’s “Aspirations”

So how did X*cell do?

Old School of the day… Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can it be all so simple”

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:16:29 +0000

Sometimes I like to really dig into the crates for the “Classic of the day” to blow your mind with something you ether completely forgot about, or never heard before. But once in awhile you also got to pay respect to the obvious selections.

A Wu-Tang track from 36 Chambers?

That is the definition of an obvious selection. The only question though is WHICH classic do I pick from that legendary album? CREAM? Protect ya Neck? How about we go with my personal favorite from the album… “Can it be all so simple”. I know that the majority of you, while I am sure enjoy this track quite a bit, feel that its not THE best from 36 Chambers, and thats fair enough. “Can it be all so simple” might not be THE BEST but it is my favorite.

So sit back, and relive the classic…

Just for fun, lets throw this one in here as well…

Erick Sermon attempts to put an end to the whole “he’s gay” rumors

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:48:51 +0000

Legendary hip hop artist Erick Sermon recently addressed the rumors that he was gay.

“No, that was a long time ago. That was like 13 years ago. No. Somebody who put that out there a long time ago was Wendy Williams, that had all of us on there. Puffy, everybody was in that category then, doesn’t matter who it was. But people who know… You can’t go out there and make accusations about something, which is retarded about the press and about people, too. You have to have something else to go on that to say that,” he said. “People know about me, about the women, there’s no hiding that. Ni**as known I was dominant with that. Not to be boasting, but are you serious?”

He added…

“It’s the same about when you talk about sports players, too. We don’t know if that’s going to ever happen because that’s a curse to be in sports and to be gay and be in Hip Hop and be gay. You can’t be on a basketball team, a football team and be homo.”

See the interview here…

Check this out…. Cage’s “Good Morning”

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:32:46 +0000

The website Catchy Hip Hop has been finding gold for a long time now, and the Program is fortunate enough to have access to sharing some of the magic that they have found. Here is Nathaniel Bentley…

Just heard this one last night for the first time. It threw me off because the intro was so long and quiet, but all of a sudden, BAM, banger. I’ll be the first to admit that I had only heard Cage’s newer stuff and just never investigated further but I’m glad I did. This whole album (Hell’s Winter) is ridiculously tight.

-Nathaniel Bentley
Get more Catchy Hip Hop here!

New Dogg Pound album with Dr. Dre and Snoop on board!

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:37:20 +0000

Put this in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” file, along with every other Dre related rumor, but this is the news coming from Kurupt himself! According to Kurupt, the project will be overseen by Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg will have his hands on the project as well, which at this point is being called “Alumni”.

What a way to conduct an interview by the way.

So can DPG bring us back to the mid 90′s? Obviously you can’t copy, but you have to evolve. At the same point, there was a cetain vibe to those West Coast hits that these guys were dropping during the 90′s which included “The Chronic”, “Doggy Style”, “Murder was the Case Soundtrack”, “Dogg Food”, “All eyez on me” and so on. Any attempt to continue the vibe established has mostly failed (not completely, as with Dre’s 2001, but overall the west coast vibe they had going had died down considerably). So can they make a return to the glory years?

Finding A Tribe Called Quest

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:25:32 +0000

As a young man in middle school, I was never into girls that much, (Except for the time Lacey’s Bikini top flew off at the beach but anyway) so relating to any song about love was still about 6 years away for me. I first started listening to rap a few years before this time, but I was kind of over it at this stage. I listened to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince & Run DMC, and I liked rap but never truly related to any rap artist. I wondered when would a group come that represented me in the realm of Hip Hop ? The answer to that question came to me as I was a sophomore in high school. I was sitting at home, channel surfing with my buddy as I was watching my little brother. I came across MTV & on came this….

All of the talking in that room stopped! It was awesome. They were kicking the word Styrofoam word “It”, something I’d have done had I made it. This changed my relationship to Hip Hop forever, as I had finally found my voice. A Tribe Called Quest struck a chord that day, but the crucial next step in my relationship with the group was to check out the album! Being introduced and enjoying a group through a video is one thing, but to truly love a group, the album they make must be great one. People’s instinctive Travels of the Paths of Rhythm was that great album.

.

.

The mark of a great album is that it never gets old hearing the same group of people discuss aspects of life & not feel like you are just listening to one giant song. Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm had tracks about the following;

Girls (Bonita Applebum)
Foreigner’s experience in America (Luck of Lucien)
Infidelity (Pubic Enemy)
Dietary issues (Ham N Eggs)
Going out at night & not doing much (After Hours)
A road trip (Left My Wallet in El Segundo)

.

.
That album I played for a solid 4 months, until I got the Low End Theory. From then on Tribe was the soundtrack of my life. Flashforward a couple of years, and I vividly remember standing in line with all of the hippies who discovered them from Lollapalooza to buy Tribe’s forth album “Beats, Rhymes, & Life”. For me and my crew, I was the guy known for blastin’ Vibes–N-Stuff while getting ready to go to the club…

I put electric Relaxation on every mix tape, including the one I gave to my future wife. I still remember pulling an all nighter & listening to a friend declare how Sucka Ni*ga was one of the most accurate discussions of the complication of the word ever! Tribe has always been trendsetters. I stood in another line at a record store to buy Tribe’s last album “The Love Movement”, and was saddened to realize that every one else was standing in line not to buy the last ever Tribe album, but to buy Aqumini from Outkast. Outkast was banging, but this was TRIBE! How dare they not support the Quest?

Plus the remixes! Tribe didn’t invent remixes but they showed how to do remixes the right way. “Bonita Applebum’s” remix is almost as well known as the original. The fantastic “What’s the Scenario!?!” Remix became famous because it did the unthinkable, which was being just as awesome as the original!

Tribe was one of the first groups to go broke while touring for a hugely popular album with The Low End Theory, eventually causing other rappers to start their own record companies. Tribe was the group that helped other artists drop classic hits, as seen with De La Soul’s “Buddy, Fu Schnickens “La Schmoove”, Black Sheep’s “La Menage”, Nas’s “One Love” and Mobb Deep’s “Drink away the pain”. But it was not just on the mic that they were helping out other artists turn out classics. On the production side as well, Tribe was giving out support. Many famous beats has come from Q-Tip’s The Ummah collective with J Dilla. Bottom line is that A Tribe Called Quest was not just putting out hit records on their own albums, but also bringing the goods with an entire generation of some of the finest Hip Hop artists ever. People think of the early to mid ninties as the golden years, and Tribe was one of the reasons why that is the case.

Sadly they were one of the groups to be forced apart due to their record deal. They signed a 10-year 5-album contract with Jive records & refused to simply put out a final album to fulfill the contract. They are known for demanding perfection, which is why often it took a minimum of 2 years between their albums release date.

Sadly they were also the first group to feel one of the biggest rap curses out there. They were the first group to show us that they shouldn’t go solo. While Q-Tip had some success with his first solo album, he has not become the luminary he seemed destined to be. Phife’s has had numerous solo releases that allowed him to show off his skills, but his album that came out in 2000 was not the quality you’d expect from the 5 ft. assassin. Like a good rap group they have teased reuniting with numerous appearances at concerts & even a single in 2003 ICU Doin’ It.

I used to hope that they’d reunite & return Hip Hop to good standing, but instead I will just be thankful that they lead me down the rabbit hole that is hip hop in the first place. From the moment I saw them on MTV, this has been my life with A Tribe Called Quest!

-Steve Berger