Griselda Records: From NY's Best Kept Secret To The Most In-Demand Label in Hip-Hop

 What's happening folks! It's been a pretty long time since we've connected but this piece may (hopefully) be well worth the wait.  In this piece, we will examine a label that has become arguably the most looked upon label in the game.  Who's stars aren't many, in fact only a few, but the few that are there have brought eyes back to that nineties dark, grimy New York hip-hop.  Back in the nineties, gritty, brooding hip-hop from the likes of Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, and others was the primary sound, along with tales of drugs, murder, revenge, and hustling.  This crew of emcees is exactly what fans of that type of hip-hop have been yearning for for years, and are emerging from the underground and becoming a tour de force in hip-hop.  

Introducing Griselda: a label and crew hailing from Buffalo, NY. Previously not really known for their hip-hop scene on a major level, Buffalo started to bubble with this crew of hardcore, gritty emcees that was looking for their city to be the next in demand city of hip-hop talent.  The crew consisting of founder Westside Gunn, his brother Conway The Machine and their cousin Benny The Butcher were the foundation members of the label (along with fallen emcee/Benny's brother Machine Gun Black and their late mentor DJ Shay), which was originally a clothing company (Griselda by Fashion Rebels).  They ended up bringing in fellow Buffalo emcee Elcamino, along with extended family members Tha God Fahim, Mach Hommy, and producer Camouflage Monk.  In 2012, the label became official and the first tape from the crew/label was Gunn's Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape (although his first ever mixtape was 2003's Flyest Nigga In Charge, which was re-released for streaming in 2020).  Filled with haunting soundscapes primarily from in-house Daringer, this was a local bubble point, but then came Conway's Phyzikal Therapy, which came just after his near fatal shooting that ultimately altered his life and career.  From there came Benny's 1 On A One (although his Tana Talk and Tana Talk 2 tapes were heralded pre-Griselda) and Mach Hommy's H.B.O. (Haitian Body Odor) were gaining acclaim.  

Fast forwarding a little bit, this grinding, burgeoning label is gaining more and more steam slowly but steadily, but they still needed that one album to really make them known on a national level outside of Buffalo.  Enter, FLYGOD, Westside Gunn's first full-length album.  The album was signature WSG and Griselda, filled with a nineties, NY feel with sinister production by the aforementioned Daringer, Camouflage Monk, Apollo Brown, Statik Selektah, Fahim, and the legendary Alchemist containing brutal rhymes about the streets, hustling, and being...well...fly.  Considered an underground classic, it was the sonic boom Griselda needed to start being on people's radar on a somewhat mainstream level in spite of radio single.  The successes of his Hitler Wears Hermes tapes was the spawn of this tremendous release, along with the equally acclaimed Conway tape, Reject 2, a successor to his grimy as fuck, The Devil's Reject mixtape.  Add to this, Benny, Conway and Gunn were doing more features and more people started to speak the name Griselda.  

Efforts such as the continuing Hitler Wears Hermes series, Butcher On Steroids, Reject On Steroids, The Blakk Tape, and many others kept the bubble they were already developing hotter than fish grease.  Gunn kept his full-length effort momentum going with the CRAZY Supreme Blientele.  However, Benny was gaining traction more and more, especially based upon his Butcher On Steroids tape with Green Lantern.  Thus came his official full length debut, Tana Talk 3, which many critics referred to as the new Reasonable Doubt, a huge comparison as RD is widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever created.  Not to mention Conway's blazing efforts such as the aforementioned Blakk Tape, G.O.A.T., his Everybody Is F.O.O.D. mixtape series and Look What I Became kept putting this crew among the most noticed "newcomers" in rap.  

The attention they were getting attracted the eyes of Eminem, who signed Gunn and Conway to Shady Records, while Benny was focused on his Black Soprano Family squad and remaining independent through Griselda.  Also, the almighty Jay-Z became a fan and signed them to a management deal through Roc Nation.  It became clear these Buffalo boys were on the radar.  The first release of the Griselda/Shady Records relationship was the Gunn/Benny/Conway release of WWCD (What Would Chinegun Do), named after Benny's fallen brother, who was also best friends with Gunn and Conway.  With no samples and all original yet dark and gritty production, once again handled by Daringer and cohort Beat Butcha, the Griselda train was on a whole roll.  There was no denying Griselda now.  Acclaimed project after acclaimed project.  However to those that thought that because they "made it" that they would stop or slow down, how foolish of a thought.  They closed out 2019 with WWCD, but come 2020, in came highly acclaimed efforts such as Conway's breakout album, From King To God, Gunn's FLYGOD Is An Awesome God 2 and his breakout album, the immensely popular, Pray For Paris, and especially his Shady solo debut, Who Made The Sunshine, and Benny's stellar collab with west coast Grammy award-winning producer Hit-Boy, Burden Of Proof to keep their collective foot on haters necks.  

They also decided to expand the family, bringing in Detroit's Boldy James and Buffalo-bred Armani Ceaser to expose them to more mainstream appeal.  Boldy was previously known for his work with Alchemist with albums such as Boldface and especially the much heralded Price Of Tea In China.  His official Griselda debut was the Jay Versace-produced, The Versace Tape.  As for Armani, the NC transplant had grown up with the Griselda members and was quietly crafting her art to one day be in that limelight, and after a couple of guest spots, she dropped The Liz and it was every bit a Griselda album through and through, even with some down South influence on a couple tracks.  Getting more acknowledgment from their peers was becoming a major deal with more and more heavyweights such as Jay, Kanye, T.I., Rick Ross, Drake bigging up the Griselda movement.  The star appeal was on the come up for this crew/label, and hasn't slowed down yet.

In 2021, so far, the label has dropped Benny's Harry Fraud-produced sequel to his 2018 effort The Plugs I Met with The Plugs I Met 2, the movie and accompanying soundtrack Conflicted, Conway has dropped the sizzling La Maquina, and we are eagerly anticipating WSG's final installment of his Hitler Wears Hermes series.  Speculation has other releases coming from Armani Ceaser, Boldy James, a Conway x Benny project, WWCD2, Mach Hommy's Griselda reunion album, Pray For Haiti, and Conway's Shady debut offering, God Don't Make Mistakes.  This could very well be another triumphant year for the once promising underground label that has now turned into a mainstream hip-hop juggernaut that is at the top of their game in many aspects.  Releasing multiple projects in a year more than most labels deliver in two years, Griselda has officially put Buffalo on the map and is Griselda city. Credited with bringing the raw, grimy, atmospheric music back to New York hip-hop along with the likes of Roc Marciano, many nineties New York purists have rejoiced with this timeless sound they've brought back and much like Black Moon, Nas, Biggie, and Jeru did when the west was dominating and they brought the spotlight back to NY, they've effectively accomplished it as well for this generation. As time has gone along, Conway has expanded to his own label, Drumwork Records, plus Benny is just as deep with his BSF label and projects under the label, however the core is still Griselda so let's not get it fucked up.  With Westside's visionary schemes to keep Griselda as the biggest force in the game (did I mention his obsession with professional wrestling has once again made hip-hop and wrestling an official marriage much like Wale and his pre-Wrestlemania party, Walemania), Conway's chip-on-shoulder attitude and grind and Benny's crossover star appeal, them along with Armani, Boldy, GA representative YN Billy, and Mach Hommy back in the field, Name another label that has the game on lock right now?

Notable Griselda Albums Worth Checking Out Not Mentioned:

Conway The Machine- More Steroids

Westside Gunn- Hitler On Steroids

Conway The Machine & The Alchemist- Lulu

Conway The Machine & Prodigy- Still Hell On Earth

Benny The Butcher- My First Brick

Benny The Butcher & 38 Spesh- Stabbed & Shot

Westside Gunn- FLYGOD Is An Awesome God

Westside Gunn & Conway The Machine- Hall & Nash

GXFR- Don't Get Scared Now

Westside Gunn- There's God & There's FLYGOD...Choose Both

Westside Gunn & The Purist- Roses Are Red...So Is Blood

Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, & Big Ghost LTD- Griselda Ghost

Benny- 17 Bullets

Elcamino- Elcamino

Elcamino- Don't Touch The Water

Happy 20th Anniversary Salute: Deltron 3030

                                                                    

What's good peoples?! This next twentieth anniversary salute goes out to one of the most unique and original concept albums in all of music, not just hip-hop, but music overall.  When sci-fi meets opera and hip-hop in a triple threat match, this is the album you'll come out with.  Much like the much heralded Dr. Octagon or A Prince Amongst Thieves before it, this album is a virtual movie.  An album that belongs in the realm of old Star Trek easily.  The production, the feel, the aura and the concept as a whole went way beyond the realms of what traditional hip-hop should've been.  Much like the aforementioned efforts, this album was recognized as one of the most innovative and brilliant albums ever delivered, and has since become a cult classic.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is west coast emcee Del The Funky Homosapian and producer Dan The Automator as Deltron 3030 and their self titled album. 

Dan The Automator had been known up to now for his work with the aforementioned Dr. Octagonecologyst, as well as his collaborative project with the legendary Prince Paul, Handsome Boy Modeling School, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.  Obviously, his name was in tight circles.  Plus later collaborations with Gorillaz would further raise his stock within music.  As for Del, the famed cousin of Ice Cube was known especially for his first two very impressive albums, I Wish My Brother George Was Here and No Need For Alarm, which produced cuts like "Mista Dobalina", "Boo Boo Heads", "Catch A Bad One", "Sleeping On My Couch", and others.  He also delivered a year 2000 release entitled Both Sides Of The Brain, which itself was a pretty good release.  These two together, along with DJ Kid Koala, comprised a group of forward thinkers to create quite the musical and conceptual experience. 

Del plays Deltron, a mech soldier that resides in a world where evil soldiers are out to eliminate human rights, but also want to kill hip-hop as well.  Deltron is pretty jaded and disillusioned, but is out on a mission and ultimately becomes hip-hop's champion and saves the world as well.  The intricate and detailed nature of this story reads like an audio comic book.  Del completely hooks you in to his mission as he presents to us how serious his calling is.  Automator presents him with such a haunting yet engaging soundtrack for Del to have.  Cuts like "Mastermind", "Positive Contact", "Time Keeps On Slipping", and "Battlesong" are very clever and intriguing cuts that display the nature of Deltron's complex yet essential battles.  Also, guests such as the esteemed MC Paul Barman, Prince Paul, Brad Roberts, Mr. Lif, and Sean Lennon all assist in this masterwork as very necessary characters that either help or try to hinder Deltron's progress.  The slick part comes at the album's very end as the song "Memory Loss" throws in a bit of "Catch A Bad One", presumably to help Deltron remember Del somewhere in there. 

What Deltron 3030 managed to pull off was an album that was among the most unconventional rap albums to ever exist, but also a way to show that, if done right, sci-fi rap can be cool.  If Kool Keith as Dr. Octagon didn't show that, this album definitely does.  This has been considered an "Alternative Rap" classic, along with the likes of all the aforementioned along with Madvillainy, The Unseen, Endtroducing, Black Up, and One Word Extinguisher.  They delivered a sequel to the debut entitled Event 2.  Although it was definitely a great sophomoric effort, it would be unfair to compare it to the unmistakable genius of the first effort.  Del, Automater, and Koala presented an epic release that showed thinking outside the box and presenting an album for a specific type of audience can resonate into an album for the ages.  We toast our glasses in salute to this unforgettable album.  Until next time!

Happy 20th Anniversary: The Big Picture

                                                    

                                                            

What's good my folks?!  Hope everyone is straying safe during these unsure times.  It's definitely trying times, but we will get through this like we do everything else, regardless of who our leadership (I use that term loosely) is.  With that being said, let's continue the twentieth anniversary salutes with an album that has been considered among the most underrated albums of the current century.  This was an album from an artist who had among the wittiest punchlines in all of hip-hop.  A lyrical wizard, this Harlem native first blessed our ears with his superb writing ability on his debut, Lifestylez Uv Tha Poor & Dangerous.  It featured heaters such as the Kid Capri-assisted "Put It On", "No Endz, No Skinz,", "Fed Up With The Bullshit", and "MVP" (although quite honestly the remix was the better version).  The talent displayed within thast album was definitely impressive and showed what type of beast he could be on the mic.  Unfortunately, tragedy occurred when he was murdered for mistaken identity in February of '99 in his own city of Harlem.  While the hip-hop world was shaken from the loss of a potential star in the game, he left behind a slew of cuts promising to satisfy the taste buds of his fans plus attract new ones as well. With the help of his business partner from his label, Flamboyant Entertainment, the album that dropped was a collection of some of the best work one could ask for from an emcee of his caliber.  It showed a glimpse into how bananas this young Harlem upstart was and the star he was about to be.  We salute the late, great Big L and his final full-length album, The Big Picture.

The majority of this album was leftover cuts and B-sides, although known mixtape singles were here a lot as well.  Known cuts such as the searing "Ebonics (Criminal Slang)", "The Enemy", and "Size 'Em Up" helped to propel the album from outside NYC, as most of the rest of the nation hadn't heard these dumb dope cuts.  Same with joints like "Casualties Of A Dice Game" and "The Heist".  What was perhaps the best example of his lyrical swordsmanship was his surprising, yet impressive, collaboration with another late hip-hop icon, 2Pac, on "Deadly Combination".  Although there's no definitive story about how the track came together or if they were actually in the studio together, it's still a very strong cut.  Not to mention, the ferocious "'98 Freestyle", in which he blisters the mic, and spits frequently rewindable lines like : "Get mad hoes, ask Beavis, I get nothin, but head (Butthead)".  The commercial single from the album came in the form of the Miss Jones/A.G./Stan Spit-assisted single, "Holdin' It Down",   Over a knocking Pete Rock production, Big L stings and delivers with lines like: "L is rap's most livest cat/I'm making stacks while you asking people 'Do u want fries with that'".  Clearly, dude had a way with the pen game. Plus an incredible Premo-crafted cut with the legendary Big Daddy Kane, "Platinum Plus" made this album that much hotter.

Rumors of him being courted to sign with Roc-A-Fella at the time were heating up, as one could only imagine how crazy his stature would've been as part of the legendary Roc.  Although we will never know, L was definitely an emcee's emcee.  He knew the art of the quotable and the rewindable bars.  Other posthumous efforts such as the acclaimed Return of the Devil's Son, 139 & Lennox, and The Danger Zone all show how ridiculous of an emcee he was and the potential he had to be one of the top stars in the game.  With The Big Picture, this should've been the launching pad for his quest for stardom.  He had all the capabilities for that to happen.  While it's been over two decades since his death, his legacy of being one of the most promising emcees of his generation remains.  Harlem can forever be proud of Lamaont "Big L" Coleman.  Lift your glasses and salute Big L and The Big Picture.

Happy 20th Anniversary Salute: H.N.I.C.

What's going on happy people?! This twentieth anniversary salute goes out to an album that once and for all established this emcee as a seminal artist and mic handler during this time.  He was already one of the most in demand emcees around with his no holds barred, chilling delivery and vivid, tough guy talk rhymes.  Being one half of one of the most compelling and influential duos in all of hip-hop, Mobb Deep, he was fully saturated in acclaim already with prior albums like the unforgettable classic, The Infamous, its insane follow-up, Hell On Earth, and their breakout album, the double-platinum selling, Murda Muzik.  It was finally time for him to step out on his own for a solo effort, and this album reminded people of why he needed to be mentioned again of why he was among the true elite in hip-hop circles.  We salute the late, great Prodigy of Mobb Deep and his solo debut, H.N.I.C.

From the moment we saw that epic image of Albert Johnson on a throne of ice with the letters 'H', 'N', "I', and 'C' carved in to the throne, we knew another quiet storm was coming soon in the form of a solo album.  When the storm came, it dropped more fury with it.  We got a first taste of what we were in for with the thunderous first single, the Alchemist-crafted, hook-less banger, "Keep It Thoro".  P obliterated this single with lines a-plenty and bars that made us put P among the best in the first place.  The second single was "Y.B.E. (Young Black Entrepreneurs)" with Cash Money Millionaire and former Hot Boy, B.G.  The cut, which obviously highlighted being your own boss and making big moves, was heavily sampling Whodini's "One Love", but in all due respect to Whodini, "One Love" never sounded so gangsta.  These cuts set the way for what would be an excellent album for Bandana P.

Folks, P never softened his blow not one bit on this album.  While he was more of a thinking thug on this release, he was also his nihilistic best with tracks like the epic title track, "Infamous Minded", "Gun Play", and the ice-cold "Wanna Be Thugs" with partner in rhyme, Havoc.  These cuts are vintage Mobb and puts you at relative ease if you were wondering if P would loosen the pressure on your neck just because he went solo.  With contributors such as Rockwilder and Just Blaze providing some of the boardwork, some of the sounds on here could be heard on the radio such as the aforementioned "Gun Play", "Diamond", and "Do It", and you could add the knocking Bink-produced "Rock Dat" to the same list.  However, he gets painfully serious on a couple of tracks as well.  On the track, "Veterans Memorial", over a melancholy Alchemist track, he reminisces on those that were gone and how he's handling them all being gone.  Very surreal stuff, especially in retrospect.  It especially got real on the haunting track, "You Can Never Feel My Pain", in which he vividly details his struggles with sickle cell anemia and how the dreaded condition pushed him to depression and tending to drugs and alcohol to cope.  For anyone who either suffered through it themselves or those who knew people who has suffered through it (R.I.P. to my childhood homeboy June!) this was a particularly poignant cut that resonated.

For those that wanted a complete and fluid album from P, they got it.  This was a big time album and it put P as not just a sociopath with a fetish for guns and crime, but it also pulled back some of the covers to realize there was also a method to his madness as well as a source of his anger and pain.  For later solo albums such as H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, H.N.I.C. Pt. 3, The Bumpy Johnson Story, Return Of The Mac, Albert Einstein and his final; album, the much talked about Hegelian Dialectic: Book Of Revelations all demonstrated his profound talent on the mic as well as being quite the storyteller, it was H.N.I.C. that made it all official.  We all wanted to know how it would be like to do an effort without Hav, and we found out, and was very pleasantly pleased.  Nearly three years removed from his untimely (and very questionable) death, the game hasn't been the same without P.  His talent of the pen and his rhymes and knack for telling some of the most thugged out stories known to man are gone.  We lift our glasses, not just to commemorate the greatness of H.N.I.C. and its twentieth year of blessing our ears, but to the memory of the best emcees we've ever had the privilege of hearing.  He taught us what "Shook Ones" were, his put his lifetime in between the paper's lines, and taught us that there was a war going on outside no man was safe from.  We toast to the memory of Albert "Prodigy" Johnson.  Long live P.  Long live the Mobb.  Salute and rest in Him! Until next time folks!

Happy 20th Anniversary Salute: Stankonia

What's good folks?!  This twentieth anniversary salute goes to arguably the greatest hip-hop duo of all-time, definitely the most commercially successful.  These two Atlanta natives transcended hip-hop and made themselves pop phenomenons throughout their careers.  Selling over twenty million units combined. these two redefined how cool hip-hop can really be.  On their fourth album, they capitalized off the momentum of one of the most artistically brilliant hip-hop albums to ever exist in Aquemini, and came back with an album filled with funk, synth, soul, and plenty of hip-hop for dat ass.  This album also experimented with other sounds such as techno, psychedelic, and a bit of salsa to further expand their reach.  This effort also won them a Grammy for Best Hip-Hop Album and Best Rap Performance For a Duo Or Group.  This album still continues to age with grace and you still experience artistic and lyrical mastery from these tow guys.  Ladies and gentlemen, we salute Andre 300 and Big Boi, Outkast, and their stellar album, Stankonia.

According to Dre, "Stankonia" is a (fictional) place where "you can open yourself up and be free to express anything".  You can best believe when it comes to expression, these two do it as good or better than anyone else around, especially musically.  Since their classic debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, they've established themselves of wanting to be different, thus their name.  On Stankonia, they continue to separate themselves from the pack starting with their blistering lead single "B.O.B."  The psych-techno,heavy drum cut is as left brain as you could possibly get from them, and it works with the masterful artistic and lyrical abilities of Dre and Big Boi.  Complete with electric guitars, rapid-pounding drums, and deep basslines, this cut is high energy and contains enough juice to pack the floors of the club and still produce tons of sweat.  The second single wasn't as fast-paced, but was nonetheless momentous with "Ms. Jackson", an apology of sorts to what's assumed to be the mothers of their baby mamas, especially the much known mother of Dre's son Seven, Erykah Badu.  However, this obviously isn't where the greatness ends.  It just starts from here.

The next single was prototypical Outkast, "So Fresh, So Clean".  With Big Boi giving himself a lyrical kiss to his own reflection in the mirror, Dre spits about an infatuation with a woman, thus exemplifying their ever-conflicting, yet complimentary styles and visions.  Beyond this was more highly infectious cuts such as "Call Before I Come", "Spaghetti Junction", "Gasoline Dreams", and the excellent "Slum Beautiful".  With every cut, we see the southern charm, yet intriguing complexity between the two emcees, even more than we saw on previous releases of the aforementioned Aquemini and the stunning ATLiens.  Dre and Big Boi perfect their duality with the common thread of bringing entertainment through unbelievable music and at times substantial lyrics and concepts.  From reaching out to suicidal pregnant teens on "Toilet Tisha" to speaking of materialism and flash on "Red Velvet", these two continue to let the music speak for them by continuously pushing the envelope.  With other cuts such as "Snappin' & Trappin'", "Xplosive", and the knocking "Gangsta Shit", it's legit hard to pick out a true favorite, as each track is unique and has a life of its own, with Big Boi and Dre like mad scientists crafted an album that, although this album has unique tastes per track, everything here flows as roughly smooth as only Outkast can do it.

Outkast's string of widely successful and monumental albums would continue with the amazing Speakerboxx/The Love Below commercial and critical monster and the soundtrack to their own excellent movie, Idlewild.  Unfiortunately, Idlewild would be their last album together to this very day.  Big Boi has found solo success with his simply unbelievable debut solo, Sir Lucious Leftfoot, and his follow-ups of  Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors, and the intergalactic funk of Boomiverse.  However, Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton created an album as succulent as a fresh pot of ribs with the skin falling off the bone.  With Stankonia, this is what down home dirty south sounds like with some Funkadelic mixed in on occasion.  This was quite the enormous album and still deserves the acclaim it's gotten over the years.  We salute Outkast and Stankonia.  With that, we lift our glasses.  Until next time folks!

Happy 20th Anniversary Salute: Train Of Thought

What's the deal homies?!  This 20th anniversary salute goes to an album that is widely considered among the true great modern hip-hop albums of this new century. This DJ/emcee combo had been known from underground efforts such as Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1, Soundbombing, and Soundbombing II.  The Brooklyn-Cincinnati pairing had quite the anticipation growing, especially once the Black Star project hit.  What resulted was an album that was as fundamentally hip-hop as it was culturally substantial.  We salute Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal, and their debut album, Train Of Thought.

Fresh off the overwhelming critical success of his effort with Mos Def as Black Star, Kweli had the heads ready and open for his debut, and in 2000, it arrived.  He collaborated with longtime partner, DJ Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal, and they brought Train Of Thought.  The album was first powered up by the thumping first single, "Move Something", but it was the infectious second single that put more people open to them.  The cut, "The Blast" was an excellent cut that even highlighted Hi-Tek behind the mic as well.  This was a cut that wasn't just for the fellas, as the ladies were able to do a good two step to it in the club as well. A great mid-tempo beat, along with great lyrics from Kweli and an introspective few bars from Tek made this cut a definite standout.  The majority of this album is fairly introspective, but also relies on Black culture, the community, ancestry, and the human spirit.  Cuts like the simply gorgeous duet with French duo Les Nubiennes, "Love Languages", "Memories Live", "Africa Dream", and the dazzling "Four Women" are so rich with culture and with self introspection that it's impossible not to get completely lost in them.  Kweli's ability to grab you, yet educate you is a gift, and it's vividly displayed all over this effort.

Kweli is also an emcee, and don't ever forget that.  Cuts like the Kool G. Rap-assisted "Ghetto Afterlife", the Mos Def-featured "This Means You", "Name Of The Game" and the lyrical slap-tastic collabo with Rah Digga and Xzibit, "Down For The Count" all highlight Kweli's excellent abilities to hold and control the mic, as a battler just as much as a teacher and poet.  These are more rugged tracks that Hi-Tek crafts more so than the melodic, slow to mid-tempo grooves that he provides on here.  Of course, there is the somber "Good Mourning" that gives the album even more of a reflective vibe as Kweli give a salute to those that have passed on.  Kweli sounds absolutely hand-in-glove over Hi-Tek production, as everything Hi-Tek crafted was seemingly very appropriate for the rhymes and delivery that Kweli was presenting.  This album was much cultural as it was day to day humanity, and these two pulled this off effortlessly.

Talib Kweli later delivered a thunderous solo album with Quality, and from there delivered other tremendous solo efforts such as The Beautiful Struggle, Eardrum, Gravitas, Gutter Rainbows, and Radio Silence.  As for Hi-Tek, he delivered three highly enjoyable self-produced compilation albums, Hi-Teknology , Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip, and Hi-Teknology 3: Underground.  All these albums highlighted the best out of emcees both known and unfamiliar.  As for these two together, they presented one more album in RPM: Revolutions Per Minute, which pretty much just as hard as their debut, but make no mistake about it, Train Of Thought was a diamond in the ruff, with highly thought-provoking rhymes, exceptional and consistent production, and a substantial, yet honest, look at the celebratory nature of the Black experience.  Not to mention, this was also just as much good ol' fashioned hip-hop for both club-goers and backpackers alike.  For this unbelievable album, we give Kweli and Tek a firm salute and raise our glasses! Until next time.

Happy 20th Anniversary Salute: Let's Get Free

What's happening beautiful people?! This twentieth anniversary salute goes to a duo who's debut album invoked images of legendary albums such as It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Fear Of A Black Planet, Straight Outta Compton, and Steal This Album due to themes of Black empowerment, socio-econimic divisions, the education system, health/wellness, and of course police brutality.  After first making their presence felt on the AWESOME Soul In The Hole soundtrack for their track "Score (Game Of Life)" and the n again the enxt year on the Slam soundtrack with the stellar "Selling D.O.P.E.", it was time these two Tallahassee, Fl-turned-Brooklyn residents to deliver their message to the masses, and did they ever.  It remains one of the most underappreciated debut albums in modern hip-hop.  This salute goes to dead prez and their stunning debut album, Let's Get Free.

From the onset, you see the ever controversial cover art of the OSPAAAL Tricontental Conference, as well as the back cover art of a man who's back was horrifically decimated by getting presumably whipped.  You already have a sense that you know what type pf ride you're about to be on.  The key to m-1 and stic.man is that both emcees present militant and conscious rhymes that aren't overtly preachy.  In fact, they still bring some street elements to them as well, which makes this more relatable to those on the corners or in the prisons that want emcees that they can relate to while getting educated as well.  The intro alone is worth the listen, as it's a monologue by Omali Yeshitela of the Uhuru Movement ( do yourself a favor kids.  Research and Google the Uhuru Movement for a sincere education in African liberation worldwide).  From there, it transitions into "I'm am African", a rallying cry of sorts reminding people (Black people) of their ancestry.  We are pretty familiar with the sickeningly bouncy first single "Hip-Hop" and its message of not allowing these corporations to restructure the culture.  We may also be familiar with the hypnotic and slightly seductive "Mind Sex", which is an ode to loving your mate's mind as well as their body.  The rest of the album is as pro-Black and afro-centric as any album we've ever been blessed to hear.

The uncomfortable realities from cuts such as "Police State", "Psychology", and "They Schools" are unsettling, but they end up being such intriguing listens as they shoot right between the eyes with facts and images of struggle, socio-ecominc inequalities, and oppression.  Also, other topics such as media irresponsibility and mistrust on "Propaganda", the prison system on "Behind Enemy Lines", and how we're look at as savages on "Animal In Mind" are so vital to the central theme of this album of liberation and afro-centric education.  While an album like this would've been more iconic during the conscious rap period of the early nineties, this album is especially relevant in today's times.  This isn't fluff, sugarcoated material, or something to ignore.  What m-1 and stic.man managed to do was to grab you by the throat and knock some sense into your heads about how much further we as a people and a community have to go.  Over mostly ominous yet nonetheless excellent production, DPz presented an essential look at the world we live in and how it still really hasn't changed.

While they presented a couple follow-ups in the slightly more accessible yet still in credible RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta and Information Age, as well as a few mixtapes (especially the Turn Off The Radio series), Let's Get Free remains their holy grail and the main album that presented their message with complete power and vigor to wake the socially and culturally dead.  In this Trump era, this album is even more important than it was when it was released for obvious reasons.  We than stic.man and m-1 for an album explosive enough to cause another red, black, and green movement.  For these things and more, we salute dead prez for an unforgettable job well done.  Until next time!