"Baby, You're Like Lightning in a Bottle"

99% of the time I'm focused forward with music trying to seek out new tracks with the potential to impact listeners. Whether it's happiness, frustration, elation, excitement, there's a place in life for music that moves people. Not often enough do I go back and sort through music of the past year to re-evaluate songs that I didn't quite give the attention they deserved.

That being said...this weekend I dusted a lesser known one off the shelf and couldn't stop listening to it all weekend. BØRNS' Electric Love is a song that you will remember no matter how many times you listen to it. If I were asked to describe the vocals of Garrett Borns on the track, I'd liken his high pitched harmony to Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale or Queen's Freddie Mercury. The drum beat lead in for the song will remind you of Beautiful People, but only for a few seconds before that catchy as hell guitar riff comes in. It's about as pop rock as you get, but the memorable vocals and easy-listening sound make it a smart addition to just about any playlist. If you're looking for more from BØRNS, check out his Candy EP and the acoustic version of the track that he did with Zella Day...#ElecticLove

Throwback Thurs: A Tribe Called Quest - Find A Way

I'm not tryin' to fill y'all up with unleaded when I say the track below from A Tribe Called Quest may be one of my top 25 favorite tracks of all time. No matter how many times I listen to it, I can never skip past it, I have to give it a full listen and that is extraordinarily rare when it comes to my promiscuous, on-to-the-next-one attention span with music. Every element of this track is unique and blends together seamlessly, leaving with a finish as smooth as a shot of Pat Ron. From the muffled intro, followed by the bouncy, but ocean floor deep bass that creates a beautiful backdrop for Phife Dawg and Q-Tip to craft a few coherent, flawlessly delivered verses. Add to that an interesting injection of female harmony over the hook and you've got yourself the makings of a classic track.

The sound of the track is about as smooth as it gets Hip Hop wise, but what has stuck with me over the years is the relate-ability of the lyrics. The subject matter of the track borders around that always tenuous gray area between being friends and more than friends. It centers around the complete let down feeling you get when you think you're becoming more than friends with a girl, but then she gets to talkin' about "next man" and coincidentally that guy doesn't sound like you. And to make things even more complicated, the girl has "Got me like a friend what confuses me though, is kisses when we greet tell me what's the deal yo?". The whole mind game behind figuring out feeling is always intriguing because the emotional stakes are high and it's never easy for anyone to figure out or predict...#DontFront, you yourself have found yourself in this position before. The reason why the story is so great has to do with the logical progression that a guy goes through where he's first trying to start a relationship with the girl, then finds out she's not tryin' to be with you in a relationship despite acting like more than friends, which eventually results in this final reaction:

"Start to make affections, which is good not the hurt
But it, it aint me, and I, I ain't blurred (uh)
I'ma still just chill with you
Maybe things could change if you change your view (come on)
If not then I guess it is cool (yeah)
just, to keep to yourself and adbide by the rules, right"

Yea that's right kick rocks 'til ya getcha mind right girl, that's wassup. While it can be fun to be casual, it's hard to be that way with a person you really like, hence the predicament.

Last week Kanye sent out a cheers to the douchbags and assholes, so I figure I might as well second that toast to all the no good, trick-ass women out there tryna play mind games actin' like they interested when they just tryna get ahead and string a brotha along. Go ahead with that bullshit, actin' like we can't see through it even though it's been sprayed all proper with Windex through the years. Ain't no way you ever gonna ever be able to keep a good man ridin' the emotional fence by being just friends one day and FWB the next. That act is played out, word is bond, raise a glass!

Seriously though, when I say classic track, this is in the mix of tracks whose shine will never get tarnished...get it a couple listens and pay respects to ATCQ, one of the best Hip Hop groups of my time...

A Tribe Called Quest - Find A Way
| Download

Throwback Thurs R.I.P. 2pac Edition...I Ain't Mad At Cha

Kinda crazy that this past Monday was the 14th Anniversary of 2pac's death in 1996. On the real, kinda makes me feel old and that I didn't really appreciate the depth of inspiration he provided Hip Hop (and me) until years after he passed away. I'm not gonna lie man, I got a little choked up watching the various reactions to 2pac's death on the 30 for 30 titled One Night in Vegas, centering around the Tyson fight the night he died. It's not the well-funded documentary, but the emotions were real no matter how low budget it looked. In case you missed it, here's the preview of the documentary...

It's unfortunate Hip Hop didn't know what it had when he was running the game back in the mid-1990s. He gave off a prophetic aura, always living life like a playboy but remaining grounded and entrenched in his beliefs that always came off so bold and with so much conviction you couldn't help be inspired. As a tribute, it's only right to dedicate Throwback Thursday to one of my favorite songs of his that touches on how he dealt with the death of a close friend of his.

To any true Hip Hop fan who grew up being inspired by your words, I could think of no better song to commemorate the anniversary of your death...

"I kiss my Mama goodbye, and wipe the tears from her lonely eyes
Said I'll return, but I gotta fight the fate's arrived
Don't shed a tear, cause Mama I ain't happy here
I'm through trial, no more smiles, for a couple years
They got me goin mad, I'm knockin busters on they backs
in my cell, thinkin, "Hell, I know one day I'll be back"

2pac - I Ain't Mad at Cha
| Download

Throwback Thurs: "I Was Young, I Was Surviving the Times, Waitin' For My Moment I Was Destined to Shine"

A little strange that this classic Nas track never made it on the album prior to the Greatest Hits album, released in 2007. Says Nas about the track:

"Actually, I had it done a good while ago. I forgot I had the record. It was just perfect to go with the Greatest Hits. It just came from a conversation. I needed people around to remind me of certain things that happened, so I got a lot of information from somebody that was hanging around while I was in the studio. It's crazy, because when I talk about people from a whole other rap era, I don't know if people understand how much that meant to me, just coming up around legends like Kool G Rap and Eric B and Large Professor and people like Akinyele who was around in the early stages that I met through Large Professor from a rap group named Main Source that most cats today never even heard of."

I feel like this track was extremely appropriate given the context of Hip Hop and the stages it has went through. Nas touches on the feeling of disconnect that a lot of different generations have with the previous style/generation and how he deeply revered the lyricists he grew up watching...the artists who shaped the type of rapper he became. He also vents on the track about how he was spurned by Def Jam and signed with Columbia Records to craft one of the truly classic Hip Hop albums in Illmatic. Music aside, I believe in two saying that although cliche, are also a reason why artists and people gain respect in life.

1. If you forget where you came from, you're never gonna get to where you're goin'
2. Respect those who came before you because they probably know more than you and can teach you a few things

And that's what Nas did, he respected who he learned from and created his own path based on the skills he learned, never losing track of his QB roots. Sidebar: I've got a lot of sympathy for Nas man, he went through hell with that Kelis divorce, having to now pay $51,000 in child support PER MONTH...seriously Kelis? Last I heard you had a paying job?

Even better, the intro takes a classic sample by Nipsey Russell from The Wiz, a classic adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. Extremely fitting for the context that Nas uses this sample, wondering "What he would do to survive the times". Gotta love the soul from the sample, not many Hip Hop artists can pull off a jazzy sample like this. Check the original...

Like everything else this week, I'm going to related this back to Drake because if you read the fine print on the inside of his CD, he makes a point on the start of the second page to thank Nasir Jones for "inspiring my whole mindset on this album (Thank Me Later)".

This ties into the whole respect for the elders and let's be honest, it's hard to find a more mature artist than Drake at the age of 23. Brings to mind a verse off his track You Know You Know, which didn't make the cut to Thank Me Later. Drake says:

Why has every woman never dined her before?
Am I the only 23 year old wine connoisseur?
The Rothschild’s, the Cru’s, the ‘Caias and the Opuses [wine brands]
Its always nice when youre out with someone that notices

Not too much of a surprise Drizzy managed to sell 462,989 in the first week, which was only 13k away from Blueprint 3. While those who predicted a million in the first week are disappointed, he's still #1 by a LOT this week and if the hype couldn't have been any bigger, so he was a victim of expectations. Thank Me Later review to follow in the next week...

Anyways, went on some crazy tangents there, but still you can't discount the way that the truly great artists are great in part because they respect the game and the pioneers who beat the path they are able to freely walk down now. Cheers Nas, you were one of those and this is definitely one of my top 5 favorite songs of yours.

Give it a listen...

Nas - Surviving the Times
| Download

Throwback Classic: Ghostface Killah feat Mary J Blige - All That I Got is You

This week I've had a lot of time to get away from the day to day grind of work life and visit home, which I rarely get to do since I live about 700 miles away from home. Now having run into and caught up with so many people this week that I hadn't seen in a while, I feel like I've gained some perspective...perspective that only a few slightly awkward, but ultimately beneficial conversations can give. Yea I know everyone dreads the awkward fake conversations with people they either didn't like or barely associated with from back home, but when you rarely go back home, you don't mind it as much.

All the reminiscing and catching up with long lost friends reminded me of one my my favorite "Hip Hop Ballads" of all time. Off Ghostface Killah's first studio album released back in 1996 titled Ironman, the track All That I Got is You has always stuck with me through the years. While I personally can't relate to the struggle Ghostface endured in the Staten Island, NY projects, I do remember vividly the first time I saw the video for this song. It has a really sentimental, nostalgic vibe to it, from the high pitched violin backdrop to the mellow complimentary piano to Mary J's soulful verse...I can't think of many other Old School Hip Hop songs that come off as this genuinely heartfelt (Dear Mama - 2pac and I Ain't Mad at Ya - 2pac are two others that come to mind).

What really stuck with me in this song was the monologue at the end of the song by Papa Wu. The deeply philosophical advice he preaches isn't delivered in a very coherent way, but that's why it stands out. Listening to someone you wouldn't expect say something deep that makes you think about what to value in life can be unexpectedly inspiring. Think about that...and take Papa Wu's advice because you're never gonna get to where you're goin' if you forget where you came from.

Poppa Wu's Monologue at the end of All That I Got is You:

You see the universe, which consists of the sun moon and stars
And them planets, that exist in my space
Like man woman and child
You understand?
We got to keep it real, and what reality and reality will keep it real with us
I remember them good ol days
Because see, that's the child I was
What made me the man I am today
See cause if you forget where you come from, heheh
You're never gonna make it where you're goin, aheh
Because you lost the reality of yourself
So take one stroll through your mind
And see what you will find
And you'll see a whole universe all over again
and again and again and again and again

Listen:


Ghostface Killah feat Mary J Blige - All That I Got is You Classic!!!