Murrr

SEASON FIVE.

Textbook GoT season opener. Lots of people arriving at new destinations, little motion but plenty of seed-sewing. I particularly enjoyed the Varys/Tyrion scenes -- I could gladly watch a whole episode of those two bantering each other off.

It's a shame that the first four episodes have already leaked. Avoiding spoilers for the next few weeks is gonna be like tip-toeing through a minefield.

I know there were only in Aberdeen for a cup of coffee, but Lubo Blaha and Dave Bus deserve a special mention. Utter brutality. And that goalkeeper... Bossu? Bassu? The Boss? Bruce Springsteen?

this is good.

 

 

Will check out his album when it comes out for sure.

I love everyone involved with this song. Bamz's mixtape "Strictly 4 My P.A.P.I.Z" is definitely worth a listen, but the songs I've heard from his forthcoming album are a definite cut above.

I'm mostly excited for the L'Orange/Jeremiah Jae collab album that comes out in a couple of weeks at the moment:-

There was a fella called Kuda a few years back who was decent. There's always been a few good hip hop djs on the go. Giles' hip hop sets were always great. There was a period during the rise of backpack hip hop when Aberdeen would consistently get good names playing - yoda, format and abdominal, scratch perverts, a lot of ninja tunes artists, etc. There was almost never local support outside of djs though.

The problem most Aberdeen rappers have is they talk about 'the game' and 'hustling' as if they live in compton as opposed to shedocksley. There may be a modicum of talent in there but the insincerity of appropriating hip hop culture instead of taking elements of the genre and doing your own thing prevails, making for pretty dire stuff. Not all rappers of course but the majority. Most on that list were a 20 seconds and done job I'm afraid.

Take that Edinburgh hip hop group whose name I forget. The one who did a track about the referendum that got a bunch of press. I think their music is mostly shit but at least they're rapping about stuff they genuinely feel/experience and for that they get a lot of respect in my eyes. Funk, what's their name?

I think you're talking about Stanley Odd (who I tried to listen to but are wholly unpleasant to my ears). Young Fathers are also from Edinburgh and significantly less off-putting than Stanley Odd, but there discography's a bit patchy and very abstract. They have a new record out that I need to invest some time in.

The big list of Aberdeen MCs posted earlier is nice. I'm gonna get stuck into that shortly, see what's going on in my town.

Crying out for a good hip-hop club night though. Like, I'm pretty sure there's not a big audience for it here, but if I knew of such I night I'd pretty much be there every single time.

I am a gigantic hip-hop head based in Aberdeen, yet I have never heard of any local MCs/producers outside of Shy & Drs, Cheeens and Ekizel. Please educate me on the local scene.

First person to post that MC Mad Mickey video is getting Pedigree'd.

That's absolutely brilliant man. Pat on the back.

Yeah, it's a belter. Bronson's always a fun listen: his personality and charisma really carry the music. If you've not checked-out his Vice food series "Fuck, That's Delicious" on YouTube, you really should.

"Easy Rider" is potential song of the year material for me. Ride that goddamn Harley into the sunset. 

Managed to cop tickets for Wu-Tang, Nas and Run The Jewels gigs over the space of four nights in London this June. Wu-Tang, who are a fucking riot live, on the Thursday, Nas (performing ILLMATIC!!!!!!!!!) on the Friday, RTJ on the Sunday. Buzzing. 

I think the mish-mash of jazz/funk elements didn't grab me. I think I was so focussed on that aspect (i.e. the fact I wasn't really into the music on most of the tracks) that the lyrics didn't stand out. I'll give it another few listens I think because I'm genuinely keen to get into it. 

 

I think a lot of Hip Hop I like is pretty straight forward. This is maybe too complex for my tastes. I like simple production and verses that you hang onto every word because you have no other choice. With this, there's a lot going on that diverts my attention. Take 'Institutionalized' for example... the verses are great but there's so many other elements going on (the group chorus at the beginning, the switching up of the beats a couple mins in, the panning) that by the end i'm not quite sure what i've listened to. That's probably why I like the tracks I do - they're the most straight forward. The Blacker the Berry is another great track.

 

I'll be listening to Action Bronson today. I watched that Coming to America video yesterday, didn't think it was very good so hope the album is better.

 

What else should I be listening to?

That's cool man -- totally appreciate your stance. I'd say about 95% (maybe more) of the music I listen to is hip-hop, so I guess I have more time to invest into digging into things like the new Kendrick album. I love straightforward bangers as well though. Who can't throw on an Action Bronson record and just have fun with it? A person I don't like, that's who.

2015 has been an incredible year for hip-hop so far. Check out Fashawn's "The Ecology" album if you haven't -- really varied and well-rounded album, mostly produced by Exile. TUT's "Preacher's Son" mixtape has some great smoothed-out, soulful vibes and kinda reminds of Isaiah Rashad and Mick Jenkins. I'd be checking out Mello Music Group's "Persona" compilation too: that stable of artists is just ridiculously talented, and the album should point you towards each of their solo discogs. I've heard the new Earl Sweatshirt album is a big step forward, though I've not listened to it yet. 

So much heat, and we're not even out of the first quarter yet. It seems like an amazing project is dropping every couple of days at the moment. 

Listened to it this morning. Not really my cup of tea. Half of it sounds like interstitial music from the Cosby Show. I really wish I understood what it is that's making people fall over themselves with this album. King Kunta is a good track, didn't get anything out of it apart from that one.

 

I take it back, How Much A Dollar Cost is really great too.

That's pretty interesting, because I think King Kunta is probably my least favourite jam on the album.

It's his message, the skill with which it's delivered, and the way it meshes with the gorgeous musical backdrop. I've enjoyed the album from the first listen, but it really came together after giving it 4-5 plays, focusing on nothing else but the music. It transcends beats and rhymes. Like, it doesn't even matter that he is already one of the best rappers alive (imo). He's created this towering, novel-like experience that honesty leaves me with chills every time I get through it. It's how I felt watching the final episode of The Wire, or hitting the last page of The Great Gatsby. And the beats! By God, those beats. Calling them "beats" is insulting. These aren't just looped samples and scratches: they're gorgeous, fully-formed jazz and funk tracks.

This motherfucker had a conversation with Tupac on his album and it sounded natural, not corny or contrived. How is that even possible?

I dunno. I'm pretty bad at articulating why I like something, I think. I'm not trying to convince you, I just feel that this is a transcendent album, and one of the best I've ever heard.

... that being said, I've been jamming the hell out of the new Action Bronson album today. It's a lot of fun. So nice to just drift into his carefree, fun vibes after spending the last week rooting through Kendrick's density. 

I'm gonna bow out of this. I know I didn't post for the last round of reviews, etc. Just not getting anything I like out of it, really.

THIS, DICK, AIN'T, FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This guy injects so much character and humour into heavy subject matter, it's ridiculous.

Still at a point where I'm not really able to articulate much more than "I LOVE THIS ALBUM," but holy fuck I love this album.

Anyone else listening to Kendrick? I honestly haven't felt this enthusiastic about an album since I was like 16 years old. It's a dense, towering work and it almost makes his previous output sound amateurish in comparison. I'm smitten.

It's fucking phenomenal. 

So, Kendrick's album dropped early...

Xzibit - "At the Speed of Life"

I've never properly listened to this guy's stuff, as surely there was no way that the guy fronting "Pimp My Ride" could be responsible for quality music. Having heard a few of his mainstream crossover tracks from the early 00's, I was expecting Eminem features, half-baked Dr. Dre cast-off beats and not much else. What I got was a total smacker of an album. This is his debut album, and its seriously good. Xzibit never really gives you too much to think about lyrically: he just comes at you head-on with a gruff delivery that sounds great over the production. Lots of songs about how he's a great rapper and you're a fuckboy, interspersed with some surprising reflective moments. The production is brilliant though, and is far more East Coast in execution. Dusty boom-bap drums coupled with fresh loops and a sprinkling of West Coast bounce, but not too much. If you like gruff, no nonsense rappers flowing over classic production then you will definitely enjoy this. 8/10.

Captain America's just described Newcastle. I feel your pain.

But yeah: fuck Jackie McNamara.

That tackle was beautiful. It says a lot about Newcastle that my favourite part of our season thus far has been seeing our goofy Labrador of a winger coming on for the first time in 17 months and immediately launching into the worst tackle ever.

Total shite game compunded by Man United fans doing plane gestures during the 17th minute applause for our fans who perished on that Malaysian plane laat year. Wankers.

High point was seeing Big Jonas get on. That ovation, man. I was close to welling up.

This might be the absolute worst game of football that's ever happened. FFS.

Yeah, our football is objectively horrible as well. "Turgid" doesn't even cover it. I thought we were gonna at least be a little more fun to watch under Carver, as he'd initially appeared to take the shackles off the likes of Cabella, but he's injured now so we'll likely field two of Ameobi, Obertan and Gouffran on the wings. Riviere started up front on Saturday, and he's totally shit. It's just aimless long-balls to under-sized centre forwards at the moment. Total wank.

It'll be the worst game of the season and finish 2-0 to Man U.

Some complete idiot has decided to put our game against Man United on the telly tonight. Sounds like a pretty effective insomnia cure.

Jonas Gutierrez is back on our bench today for the first time in 17 months. Great to see. I have no idea if he has anything left in the tank, but he deserves a run-out before the end of the season, if only for the standing ovation. GBOLATB.

I know that they lost last night, but how good is the Thunder's bench now? They lost Reggie, but that was inevitable -- he clearly wants to run his own team, and Detroit is a great fit for him. Kanter is a great option on offense and a nice rotation piece with Stone Cold Steve Adams, DJ Augustin is the definition of "perfect back-up PG" and he won't complain about not getting minutes, Waiters is totally overpowered against the second units he's playing against...

If KD can stay healthy, they're going to be a real problem in the playoffs. I wouldn't bet against them upsetting the Warriors...