Something Old...
The Roots are one my favourite hip hop acts, hailing from the US as pioneers of alternative hip hop/ funk/ neo soul movement, the 8 piece band formed in 1987 by Tariq Trotter and Ahmir Thompson in Philadelphia, better known as front man Black Thought and drummer Questlove (who also has the best ‘fro in music). Over the years the line-up has included former world champion beat boxer Rahzel and Incubus’ basist Ben Kenney played guitar for them for 3 years. Originally known as ‘the square roots’ they brought their sound of intelligently structured, perfectly musically executed style of intellectual hip hop that stands the test of time against the mass of badly made ghettos, guns, bitches and bling RnB hip hop that fills the airwaves.
Having collaborated with a wide range of artists from Isaac Hayes to Mos Def; career highlights include ‘How I Got Over’ which reflects the relief the band felt at the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama presidency. Other notable tracks from their arsenal are the brilliant tracks ‘The next movement’, ‘You Got Me’ (featuring Erykah Badu) and ‘Here I Come’ the later featuring in the cult comedy Superbad and the utterly genius ‘The Seed 2.0’ featuring Cody Chesnutt which was featured in the movie Collateral taken and from the bands most critically acclaimed album, 2004’s ‘Phrenology’...
Something New...
Ghostpoet aka Obaro Ejimiwe is an English singer and electronic producer with definite hip hop vibe with his vocals somewhere between Maxi from Faithless and a laid back Roots Maneuver. He is known for his remixes, including Cocknbullkid’s ‘Asthma Attack’ and Birdy’s ‘Skinny Love’ but it was following the release of his brilliant debut album this February this year that propelled him to the big time.
‘Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam’ features his genius debut single ‘Cash & Carry Me Home’ and the fantastic new single ‘Liiines’. This then lead to a much deserved Mercury nomination, of which he was my favorite nominee but expectedly lost out to the uba talented PJ Harvey as she became the first person to win the award twice (to read my Mercury Prize 2011 blog click here: mercury rising) and he has since gone on to perform at Glastonbury, Sonar, Latitude, Secret Garden Party and Bestival, definitely one to watch for the future...
Something Borrowed...
Roots Manuva, otherwise known as Rodney Smith is a British rapper from South London, he is described as the voice of urban Britain, encompassing dub, reggae, funk and hip hop as it sweeps from crumbling street corners to ganja-filled dancehalls, setting gritty narratives against all manner of warped beats. His warm and recognizable voice can be heard on many songs with other artists such as DJ Shadow, Herbaliser, Gorrilaz, Sainan Supa Crew and Leftfield’s ‘Dusted’.
He was rewarded for his breakthrough with a MOBO as Best Hip Hop Act and 7 albums later he is still at the top of this game; this mash-up with indie kings Arctic Monkeys works brilliantly. The track used, ‘Witness (1 Hope)’ is probably his best known track taken from his most successful album, 2001’s ‘Run Come Save Me’ that also features the brilliant ‘Dreamy Days’. The lyrics of both the bands’ work seamlessly as they both have a distinctly British edge in both their strong accents and in lyrical references such as eating cheese on toast and drinking bitter, enjoy...
Something Blue...
Jurassic 5 were the 1st group (along with the Beastie Boys) that made me see the other side to hip hop when I was a teenager and realize it wasn’t all guns, bitches and bling...alternative hip hop is much more up my street and delivers a much more intelligent message in both its content and lyrics.
Formed in 93 when rappers Chali 2na, Akil, Zaakir and Mark 7even teamed up with two of the world’s finest DJs; Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist to form J5 and it was their debut, self titled album in 98 and 2nd brilliant album 2000’s ‘Quality control’ were I fell in love with their intellectual, fast paced style and they will always be one of my favourite albums in history; featuring the genius tracks ‘Concrete Schoolyard’, ‘The Influence’, ‘Jayou’, ‘Improvise’, ‘Action Satisfaction’ and my favourite J5 track ‘Quality Control’. ‘Power in Numbers’ was later released in 2002 featuring the awesome ‘High Fidelity’, ‘What’s Golden’ and ‘Freedom’, this was before Cut Chemist left to pursue a solo career before the 5 remaining members of J5 went on to work with DJ Format on the awesome track 'We know Something'. J5 then went on to release their 4th album ‘Feedback’ in 2006, featuring a collaboration with Dave Matthews Band on ‘Work it out’ which would be there final single and album proceeding the groups split in 2007 after an argument, making them perfect for this week something blue.
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