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Raekwon, “knowledge god”

Q: What’s today’s mathematics, son? A: Knowledge, God. “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…” is an all timer. IDK why Rae doesn’t get more run as one of the greatest rappers of his generation. Easily at the top tier of the Wu which bested just about all comers in the 90s. This whole record is smokin hot Plus dude’s government name is Corey 💯

@coreydubrowa

Feb 14, 2025

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Roc Marciano

Upon realizing that the wind was bound to slap me in the face last night when I left home to buy groceries, I tightened my hooded sweatshirt, put on my big puffer coat, and pressed play on the music of Roc Marciano. Yes, it is the season of winter, where your hands tingle by way of the low temperature. This also means that it is Roc Marciano's season of drug talk, Black nationalism, mafia references, and expensive clothes and dinners. Marciano, or "Roc Marci" for those in the know, is a Long Island (Hempstead) rapper who functions as a specialist for New York hip-hop fans. He is an expert in the lush-sounding, lyrical coke-talk that has permeated in New York for my entire lifetime. However, it would be a mistake to lump Marci with the rest of the old-soul rappers that are nostalgic for Prodigy. He's much more disruptive than that. First off, he spent decades being underground with Busta Rhymes's collective Flipmode Squad before breaking through without compromising any of his original ideas. Here's the difference between Roc Marci and the traditional boom bap: he is the bridge between generations. He has the flow of Kool G Rap, the ability to be cold and cool at the same time, the grit of Prodigy, but he also has the no-drum and laconic production of Cloud rap geniuses like Lil B and current rappers like Xaviersobased. This is not an annoying kid who talks your ear off about old school hip-hop; this is a sincerely cutting-edge rapper that was able to create something new and brilliant from an already-established style. (The rapper Ka, who died in October, was a frequent collaborator of Roc Marci's. Check him out too). There's nothing like listening to Roc Marciano in the winter time. His voice is grotesquely seductive, as if he is intimidating you and whispering at you at the same time. See "Wheat 40's", where he flows over a Blaxploitation beat, and starts the song with "I have no home, I'm a rolling stone/Life's one long road, God lighten my load/On the low I might need lipo, white sold underneath the light pole/I believe police might know." Do you hear that? It is the sound of a God MC, taking what I heard growing up, and putting his own self-destructive spin on it. He has more songs that match that vibe, pure id while maintaining a veneer of style and glamour. He's a hero. So much rappers -- even rappers I adore like Conway the Machine -- took his style, and then added their spin, but it was never as good and intricate as his work. Roc Marciano is rap music. He's a trip to Brownsville while wearing a mink coat; he's a trip to the heavyweight match at Madison Square Garden in a polo jacket; he's a Five Percenter who could have been a romantic interest on Golden Girls. (Maybe that's why I connect with his music so much. That's what my vibe is, or at least the vibe I want to convey at all times). Roc Marci is cool, in an era rappers where rappers are losing their cool by either being insular, emo kids (Nettspend is a star but the music is brain-dead right now, sorry not sorry), or they're weirdly collaborating with Trump and the right wing for more fame and clout. Start with 2010's Marcberg and 2012's Reloaded --- for my money Reloaded is one of the five best rap albums of the 2010's --- and then check out his new album, The Skeleton Key, which comes out this Friday (it is produced by The Alchemist). ROC MARCI, I LOVE YOU!

@jayson

STAFF

Dec 11, 2024

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a love letter to B.O.B.S. by mos def

While Hip-Hop aficionados laud Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) as one of the most talented MCs the genre has ever seen, Bey has seen little appreciation among PEOPLE I KNOW IN REAL LIFE. I chose to EXCLAIM that because I know that Mos Def still remains firmly ingrained in the minds of many people to this day; however, for as much critical and fan attention as this man gets, I simply do not think it is enough! Why am I bouncing on Bey’s balls so brazenly? There’s not many albums that I consider to be genuine 10/10s. Many come close, but the weird little Anton Ego goblin inside of my head who tells me that everything in the entire world is garbage always has something to bring up that often ends up in whatever album I’m listening to falling short of the fabled Ratatouille Realm. And then there was Black on Both Sides. Almost everyone I’ve met that has listened to this album in full has great things to say about it. So many back-to-back bangers that you’d think you were watching Human Centipede. Fresh production combined with witty lyricism and more flows than a leaky diaper make this album truly one of a kind. Actually, I suppose every album is truly one of a kind so this doesn’t really mean anything. How about I just say that this album is a masterclass in Hip-Hop as a poetic art form? Delivering powerful political messages in a way that doesn’t bore the listener or feel overly preachy is always a difficult task, but Bey steps up to plate and knocks that shit into the stratosphere. It’s not just stuffy politics either; Mos Def knows how to have fun. It’s rare to see such a blend of characteristics in one rapper, especially during a time in which many Hip-Hop artists drew from a limited pool of subject material and remained confined to the styles of their predecessors (aside from notable mavericks such as Kanye West and MF DOOM). If you call yourself a Hip-Hop enjoyer or just want to find a new album to listen to, please consider checking out Black on Both Sides by Mos Def.

@dhaky

Jan 27, 2025

Top Recs from @coreydubrowa

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When your new book is finally available for preorder ❤️

Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here: https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/ The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s. Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha). For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️

@coreydubrowa

Mar 27, 2024

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The cure announcing their first album in 16 years by PUTTING up a single poster outside the pub in crawley UK where they played their first gig

“Songs Of a Lost World” coming to a goth listening station near you Nov 1 🖤 The fr FW Me Friday the 13th the world was looking for

@coreydubrowa

Sep 14, 2024

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Unwound

I will fail to explain just how much this band meant to me in the 90s. So I will borrow from AV Club who did a fine job of distilling it: “Unwound is the best band of the ’90s. Not just because of how prolific, consistent, and uncompromising it was, but because of how perfectly Unwound nested in a unique space between some of the most vital forms of music that decade: punk, post-rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, slow-core, and experimental noise. That jumble of subgenres doesn’t say much; in fact, it falls far short of what Unwound truly synthesized and stood for. Unwound stood for Unwound. But in a decade where most bands were either stridently earnest or stridently ironic, Unwound wasn’t stridently anything. It was only itself. In one sense Unwound was the quietest band of the ’90s, skulking around like a nerdy terror cell. In another sense it was the loudest, sculpting raw noise into contorted visions of inner turmoil and frustration.” R.I.P. Vern Rumsey. This is their finest song, from their finest album. I really can’t say enough about the sheer bloody minded genius of this group. 🖤

@coreydubrowa

Mar 23, 2024