Know Good Music

Las Supper - Back to the Future

2013-03-27T23:55:00.002-05:00

I kept seeing the Big Daddy Kane Facebook and Twitter pages talking about he has a new album coming out (it's hard to tell if it's really him typing or his publicist). But none of the rap internets were talking about it and even when I used teh Googles nothing would come up. Eventually I figured out that it was a group project going under the moniker Las Supper.

This isn't really a Big Daddy Kane album. It's a throwback soul band that happens to include a legendary emcee in its ranks. There's only one song that would qualify as a rap song. For that reason if you're the type of person who hates r&b singing you'll hate this. It'll take more than one listen for me to form an opinion. I like Kane's rhymes/delivery on here better than some of the random appearances he made in the first decade of the 2000's. But yeah, it's going to take me a second to process this album.

Best song: Last Chance

J Cole - Truly Yours

2013-03-27T23:21:00.000-05:00

I didn't really like J Cole's album. It probably wasn't even his fault. I felt like the machine was trying to force him on us as the latest in a long line of new rappers who are going to save hip hop from itself. Whenever I sense that I get real cynical about said artist. I'm going to give J Cole another chance though.

This is a free download J Cole through out there. It's 5 songs that aren't going to make the album. They're all story rhymes or (somewhat) introspective songs. I'm normally a sucker for that sort of thing but I've been listening to a lot of Rodriguez and Phil Ochs lately. Not many rappers can compete. I have a ton of other albums to listen to so this probably won't get anymore burn with me but if you're already a J Cole fan I can't imagine that you'd have anything to complain about.

Best song: Crunch Time

Unavailable on Spotify, download from J Cole's blog.

Father Jah - Manuscripture of the Father as Inspired By D.R.U.G.S. (Dope Real Under Ground Sh*t)

2013-03-02T01:11:00.002-06:00

I'm a big Father Jah fan. I really don't understand why he's not more popular. Probably the whole being from and operating out of Louisville thing (no shots, I love the city). On this album he's teaming up with a producer named Drugs Beats. Drugs Beats has done work for the likes of 50 Cent and Killer Mike.

A lot of the beats on here utilize samples that are super chopped up. I'm not the biggest fan of that style. Sometimes it works (When I'm Gone, Baby, Lovin My Life) other times it doesn't (the Flashlight and Message samples). The more traditional style beats on the album are really strong though. I wish there were more of them. I guess if that's the worst thing I can say about the album then that means it's still pretty good, right? For what it's worth I'm going to cop a physical copy even though Father Jah sent me the mp3's for free.

Best song: Get In Line

Joe Budden - No Love Lost

2013-02-06T01:56:00.001-06:00

I am tough on Joe Budden. Unfairly so. He's my friends favorite rapper and even though I have a high level of respect for Joey's skills it is hard for me to wrap my head around him being someones all time favorite. That makes it hard for me to give a completely fair critique.

My first impression is that considering Joe is on one of those god awful reality tv shows right now this was a great body of work to put out. I don't think I'll be listening to this much though. It doesn't do much to appeal to my rappity rap sensibilities. I haven't heard solo Joe Budden in awhile so for all I know this is his new direction but to me it feels like he intentionally made this album to appeal to his inevitable influx of new fans from his tv show, not core rap fans. There's not anything wrong with it, it just doesn't match the zone I'm in right now.

Best song: Top of The World

Cuzzo D - Bad At Rap (Mixtape)

2013-02-04T19:24:00.001-06:00

A whole mixtape of bad rap? Yes please! I used to always sneak a horrible song into the mix on my old tapes so this is right up my alley.

I can't believe how many of these songs I'd never heard before! I suppose I should be thankful? A lot of the songs lean more towards being corny than flat out bad. I mean, at least most of this stuff rhymes & the verses/hooks are in the right places. Unlike some of the music that has been passed to me at shows. I don't recall any actual mixing going on but the transitions are tight and sometimes pretty funny.

Best (worst) song: Chocolate Strawberry by Darryl Strawberry

Unavailable on Spotify, download or stream from badatrap.com

Ras Kass Barmaggedon

2013-02-02T10:41:00.000-06:00

Somewhere down the line I stopped checking for Ras Kass. I was just looking at his discography on Wikipedia & there's a lot of titles I don't remember.

My initial impression is that Ras is following the old formula for making a rap album; make a record for everyone. There's the "club record," the "west cost record," the "real hip hop record," etc. I think veterans shouldn't fall into that trap but perhaps this truly is the music that represents him at this period of time. If so, who am I to judge? If you're a Ras Kass fan you'll find something you'll like.

Best Song: Sushi

$10 download from Bandcamp.

Consequence - Movies On Demand 4

2013-01-24T23:14:00.002-06:00

I downloaded this and wasn't in any kind of rush to listen until I saw a youtube of Consequence barking at a bunch of rappers and explaining his keys to a successful relationship. It was quite entertaining! And now I have a lot of questions about the Cons. None of them related to music.

Movies on Demand 4 is difficult for me to sum up briefly. It's good but I can't see me recommending it to anyone. I don't think my rappity-rap friends would like most of the beats. On the opposite end of the spectrum I think the story telling, and almost every song is a story, would probably be too cerebral for everyone else. Still, there are some well put together songs here and I was left thinking about how much of a shame it is that things have evolved to the point where artists have to give away such well polished material.

Best song: How You Gon Be Broke In The Rap Game

Free download from DatPiff.

A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$Ap

2013-01-17T02:07:00.000-06:00

I've heard the name A$AP Rocky for a long time but never actually heard A$AP Rocky.

Everything about this album was hit or miss for me. I couldn't get into all of the beats but then some of them really held my interest. There were flashes of lyrical brilliance. I especially like his couplets about conscious rap. Complex simplicity at it's best! I think I need to give this album a few more listens before I can form an opinion on A$AP Rocky.

Best song: 1 Train

Juelz Santana - God Willin

2013-01-17T00:48:00.002-06:00

God Willin is Juelz Santana's comeback mixtape. Not hating but I kind of didn't notice he was gone.

This wasn't really my cup of tea. The beats didn't speak to me and he's pretty much just boasting about his sexual encounters with your girlfriend the whole way through. I'll still check for his next album though.

Best song: Sho Nuff

Unavailable on Spotify, free download from DatPiff.

MC Eiht - Keep It Hood EP

2013-01-13T03:10:00.000-06:00

Eiht has three or four albums that I didn't even know about. I don't know what that says about my fandom. Perhaps I am no longer worthy?

Personally I was impressed by the hard drums and the fact that there is scratching on more than a couple of the songs. I don't know that Eiht is going to win over any new fans with this EP but that's not to say that this isn't a solid release. Eiht proved that he still has it and he introduced me to a new (to me) producer, Brenk Sinatra. I'm looking forward to Which Way Iz West.

Best song: Where U Goin 2

Blogging Again in 2013

2013-01-12T20:22:00.001-06:00

So I've been thinking that I should return to blogging this year. My primary goal is to document everything that I've listened to for the year. That's pretty much the reason why I opened this site up in the first place. I will be doing crappy commentary on hip hop albums and probably not much else. There's no need to flood my inbox with blog submissions. I'm only reviewing things that I would have listened to without your email blast.

The first post should be coming soon!

Welcome back.

DA Smart - Walk Wit Me

2011-12-05T01:31:00.001-06:00

This right here is an indisputable Chicago classic. It took like 15 years and some of the projects he mentions don't even exist anymore but they finally made a video.

Blaise B "We Run This"

2011-11-06T13:10:00.001-06:00

I made this beat years ago. I kinda stole the sample from Blaise. I didn't know him back then but a mutual friend had a CD of his songs & at the end there was the backwards loop. I had to have it! I'm not even really sure how Blaise got his hands on the beat but I guess it's only right that he did.

Not many of my beats have been made into actual songs & this is the first time I'm hearing the studio version so I'm pleased as punch but still, I cringe because it's unfinished! It's a sloppy 2 track recording, unmixed, no efx. I never even finished programming the beat! Hopefully I get the opportunity to clean things up.

But still, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. I'm sure this will be in steady rotation in my ipod for weeks!

Supreme Counsel - Supreme Science Mixtape

2011-09-07T20:02:00.001-05:00

Supreme S.C.I.E.N.C.E. Mixtape.Mp3 by SupremeCounsel

My friends Supreme Counsel (Grave Danger & Smug Zef) just put out this lil mixtape that I put together for them probably a couple years ago. This is one of those mixtapes where the emcee's are rapping to "industry" beats. I'm betting they just did this for fun because Smug is easily one of the illest producers that I know personally & he has tons of beats just laying around.

Please don't pay attention to the mixing! I hadn't done any DJ'ing for a year or two & thought it would be like riding a bike. Nope! I lost all of my timing!

Check out Supreme Counsel on Tumblr.

King Purp - Watch Me feat Grave Danger

2011-07-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

What's this? A knowgoodmusic update? Must be local rap.

Damn skippy! I don't know King Purp but Grave Danger is my dude. He's got that "you suck at life" style.

Daughter Brite & The Soda Pop Mikes - Tuff Tuff Kids

2011-06-02T01:54:00.000-05:00

I wonder how many rapping Peorians don't know about this group. They are legends if you ask me. As far as I know they're the first rappers from here with an album with actual distribution. They were signed to, of all people, Luke Skyyywalker records & this video got played on Rap City & Video Soul (you're old if you know what Video Soul is). It probably got play on The Box too but we were too lame to have The Box around here.

If you're not a local this group consists of a guy known as Soda Pop Mike & his kids.

After all these years I still get disappointed when at the end the kid is acting like he's from Chicago when I remember they had that house over there by Glen Oak Park.

Seeing this video now (today's the first time in eons I've seen it) I'm also disappointed in how much the DJ was acting for the camera. That's standard fare for old rap videos though.

Have you seen the new video for Take The Guns From Your Sons? The song is like 15 years old now but this video is new. For the non locals, this is the dad from the video above.

Blaise B - The Same

2011-02-18T01:15:00.000-06:00

My dude Blaise B with the homemade video for one of the best joints from his most recent mixtape. Elements of this video make me uncomfortable like rapping in a bathrobe & waving dogs around but it's still dope(sauce) pause.

Epic Rap Battle: Chuck Norris vs Abe Lincoln

2010-12-10T19:56:00.000-06:00

I don't go swimming... water just wants to be around me

Visual feat Que Billah - So Crazy

2010-12-05T00:02:00.000-06:00

VISUAL - So Crazy feat. Que Billah Music Video from Visual on Vimeo.

Que Billah is a favorite & this is a little different vibe than I usually hear from Visual (usually he's on his grown man rap steez). What's not to like? I didn't even realize Visual had an album out. I have some AmazonMP3 credit I don't know what to do with. I think that problem has just been solved!

Sean Price Teaches You How To Dougie

2010-10-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

RIP Eyedea

2010-10-18T01:23:00.000-05:00

I can't remember when I first heard Eyedea. That's been bothering me all day. I'm guessing that it was on one of the videotapes of live Atmosphere shows that I have because when I saw him at Scribble Jam 1999 I instantly recognized him. The 1999 Scribble Jam MC battle is easily one of the top 5 battles I've ever witnessed in person. I really hate that my friends were on some haterism & forced me to leave before the championship round. Today those feelings resurfaced.

Eyedea passed Sunday morning in his sleep. There aren't many details yet other than his mom found his body & they're waiting on an autopsy. His mom has set up a memorial fundraiser page on Facebook.

My favorite Eyedea related story is about my first trip to the Fifth Element. I didn't really know how to parallel park back then & the only space I could find in the area was a parallel spot right in front of the store. I finally got into the space but it took me a few tries so I was feeling self conscious. Before I could take the key out of the ignition Eyedea & some other guy walked out of the store & hopped in the car in front of mine & sped off. I felt stupid because they were the first car at the corner. If I had circled the block one more time I could have saved face & not put my pitiful parking skills on display for the entire Uptown to see!

I know. That story is not very good. But it's my story.

The other thing I remember about him is my friend made me do one of the lamest things in the world (if you ask me) & take a picture of him & Eyedea together. I'm not one to care about pictures or autographs or anything like that so it was all corny to me but it led to an introductions & salutations type conversation & I remember he introduced himself as Mikey & not Eyedea. That stuck with me. I also remember meeting his mom. She was a real cool lady & I'm sorry she has to go through this.

Blueprint - Dream Big (Video) + Free EP

2010-10-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

I'm super late with this but I have a lot of music to catch up on. This joint has been one of the standouts so far & although I recognized the sample I couldn't place my finger on exactly what song it was so I used teh googles to figure it out & discovered that Blueprint did a video for the song. Nice.

You can cop the EP that this comes from over at Bluprint's site.

I Need To Work On My Drums

2010-10-06T14:21:00.000-05:00

Wow. I can barely keep a pattern going for 8 bars lol! I wish I had the time to get back into beat making. I wish I had a job so I could cop a Maschine. Damn school.

Is there a rapist in linkin park?

2010-09-25T03:32:00.000-05:00

lols! Listen. The Bed Intruder song is the best song of the year. Easy. I've watched the video so many times its not funny. They put the song on iTunes & the proceeds go towards moving the Dodson's out of the PJ's. I won't front, I made my own mp3 of it at first but even the 480p version didn't sound right so I broke down & bought it. The ironic thing is I'm unemployed with zero income so I just put myself $1.29 closer to getting the Dodson's old apartment.

You are so dumb. You are really dumb. Forreal.

RIP Kay Tone

2010-09-18T17:44:00.000-05:00

Yet another RIP post. It's sad that that's about the only time I update the blog but it is what it is. D To Tha S is one of my favorite Chicago rap groups of all time (OF ALL TIME! *Kanye shrug*) I look at them as the bridge between Chicago's gangster rap scene & the more traditional "hip hop" scene. Traxster, who was in the group with Kay Tone, pretty much invented the Chicago gangster sound but D To Tha S stuck with more traditional styles for a long time. I won't front, for a long time I only knew who Traxster was but I went back & did my homework on Kay Tone. I only wish that all my records & CD's weren't in storage back home so I could listen to his music.