Thoughts
Sorry, going to be a shorter one today, traveling for work this week.
Happy birthday this week to one of my favourite homies Noyz! 45!!!
Dope remix from the homie Dren for the First Thing song from Awol One, Id Obelus and Rove. Enjoy!
The homie Rove dropped the second single from his sophomore album Poke The Bear. This one features the incomparable Mestizo. When Rove first showed me this beat and he said that Mestizo was going to rap on it I knew he would kill it but he took it to the next level. Again Rove shows his strength as a producer in the truest sense in crafting beats that bring out the best in each rappers styles. Check out the track Hold Fire on streaming platforms now!
Third Single from the homies Tachichi and Lxvndr, Clap Cuz Ya Cold produced by Dirty Dane. The album Found Money, drops June 30th on CD, Tape and Vinyl courtesy the good folks at Hand’Solo Records.
On the chorus of his new single with LXVNDR, Tachichi raps, “To the honeys in the back, make it clap cuz ya cold / this is for the g’z who ain’t breakin’ no codes.” And that about sums it up. “Clap Cuz Ya Cold” will have the honeys groovin’ and the heads of the true g’z nodding. Halifax producer Dirty Dane provides a smooth backdrop drenched in synth and skittering club-friendly drums that allows the two MCs to flex their flows. Lyrically it’s strictly braggadocio as LXVNDR opens with a modern, sing-song delivery that masterfully rides the beat before Tachichi jumps in with the high speed delivery he was well known for in his younger years, their verses bookended by a simple but silky chorus. Another ice cold composition blowing in from north of the border. Please clap.
New album from Dillon dropped this week produced by Diamond D. Another shout out to the homies Id Obelus and Rove for putting me on to Dillion a few years back now. Full Plate has emerged as one of my favourite labels . Vinyl, CD, Tapes, shirts and some cool bundles available now.
Sorry no Third Verse this week due to work travel. Back next week
Record One
Building off their 2019 masterpiece self titled album, Dose One and Mestizo did the damn thing once again. Game Over is my jam. It is Dose One at my favourite and Mestizo continues to grow and refine his style with every release. In my opinion these two along. with Buck 65 and Sole are making the best rap music of their careers. Each release is better than that last and blows my mind. I have been fans of both of these MC’s for a very long time and I am glad they have teamed up once again. Meaty Ogre on the beats on this one and they have crafted a perfect landscape for these two rhymers. The red spatter vinyl leaves me once again scratching my head. This could have been timeless and in the Thoughts From The Rap Nest Hall Of Fame if it had been on classic black vinyl. Shouts and appreciation to Hand$made for continuing to release incredible release after incredible release.
Record Two
Codefendants - This is Crime Wave
As Ceschi and I have talked about numerous times in the past, it is rap if the ethos behind it is rap and that is the case with this one. There are so many brilliant moments of chopping and singing intertwined off of one another throughout casting magical spells on the listener. This record has really grown on me with each listen. The standout track for me is super obviously Fast Ones, which Factor creates an insane beat. I would love to hear a full length Codefendants album produced by Factor. Sam King is super impressive on this track and to hear the iconic D.O.C. on this track is the cherry on top. This track is worth buying the record alone. I also opted for the cheaper timeless classic black vinyl version! I love it when the black vinyl is the cheap version.
Classic Material
Dru Down - Explicit Game
This has always been one of my favourite albums. I didn’t know a lot about Dru Down when I first saw it on one of the new release shelves at the Sam The Record Man in Midtown Plaza here in Saskatoon. I know that this album was released in the fall of 1994 in the US but it didn’t show up in my record store until March of 1995. This was typical of albums in this era especially not the super “popular” rap albums. I put popular in quotes because rap was still carving out its place in the music echelon and was no where near the dominant juggernaut that it is today.
I had seen advertisements for this album in the Source Magazine and the album cover always stuck out to me. The iconic eye and crosshairs in the scope looking right at the listener. When I saw the tape I immediately picked it up. I remember it being on the cheaper side because there were multiple copies and it was one new release shelf. I wonder where these other copies went in Saskatoon? Like, who in Saskatoon bought this album back then? They probably got in like 5 CD’s and 5 Tapes max. Did they all sell or did some get sent back? These are things I wish I had answers to. The album that was beside it was an all time release as well. It was also the release day for Ol’ Dirty Bastards Return of the 36 Chambers. I then immediately grabbed that one. I did that thing where I was like I want both of these albums, Do I have enough money for both of the albums that is the question. The Ol’ Dirty was even cheaper than the Dru Down album so that helped. I did the thing that I still do to this day and said, “fuck it” which was a precursor to the phrase “Yolo” in those days. I am not sure what the modern equivalent to those sayings are. I still use them interchangeably in may head when I by a record to this day. It eases the burden somehow on the old bank account.
These albums are inexplicably linked to each other for me. They are like weird distant cousins. I can’t think of one without thinking of the other. You are probably wondering which one I played first on the drive home from the record store. You best believe I was with the homie Funky and we were in his 1970’s Mazda RX3 with the rotary engine in the front and the Rockford Fosgate 2 x 12” woofers in the back. If you know me it probably wasn't a hard guess. If you guessed Dru Down , then you guessed correct. Rescue 911 is typically everyones favourite jam on the record and that is a heater for sure but my jam has always been Pimp Of The Year!
I have fond memories of this day. Anytime I look at the cover I am instantly transported back to that day. I can picture myself seeing it on the shelf for the fist time and picking it up and flipping it over to check the track listing and then noticing the Ol’ Dirty Record beside it and doing the same. If I could only listen to one of these two albums for the rest of my time, I would pick the Dru Down album over the Ol’ Dirty one. I am not sure what that says about me as a rap listener, nut I am sure it says something.
Closing Ramblings
As always, thank you for reading and for the feedback!
**legal disclaimer all records and songs were run through the RAP NEST 5000 SUPER ANALYTIC COMPTROLLER MACHINE that is certified by the I.A.A.R.R.A (International Association of Analytical Rap Recordings Analysis) in layman’s terms, it means the machine is never wrong.
Catch you next week with more thoughts from the rap nest.
Peace
-chaps