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Sometimes theres an implicit stank put on my city; on the East Coast there’s a kind of New York Supremacy. People think of Baltimore as a failed state backwater, a curiosity at best. It can be tough living here sometimes, to be sure. But Bmore has, however, easily the most vibrant, exciting, original, diverse and ambitious music and art scene of any small city in the East and from what I can tell, in the entirety of the country. At any rate, this breakout hit from Tate Kobang is quintessential Baltimore popular art. The style of minimalism with hard pulsing snare claps and the parsimonious use of sampled groove bits (which, that’s all Bmore Club style, distinctly), obviously the lyrics too and the settings of the video which tell a story without telling a story, it’s genuinely one of my favorite hip-hop songs, and you gotta watch the video.
2d ago
Related Recs
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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.
Jan 27, 2025
IDK why this seminal L.A. hip-hop quartet doesn't get more love/respect.
When I listen to this track I hear Dilla's influence straight away -- he samples Stan Getz's "Saudade Vem Correndo", loops his sax parts, and then drops a snippet of Run-DMC's "Rock Box" on top of it for good measure.
Artists from Wiz Khalifa to UNKLE to Juice Wrld to JPEFMafia have used it in some form.
And it's appeared in "8 Mile," "Entourage," "New York Undercover" and "Big Daddy," among other shows.
It's a very unique, L.A. (not 2Pac or NWA's L.A.) take on alternative hip-hop (which De La Soul, another Dilla-produced group, was also mining). I think they were incredibly influential for an act that had really only one bona-fide "hit" and barely went gold once during their active career.
P.S.: I'm pretty certain that the slang phrase "low key" is invented here (it's 1995, BTW).
"Amani, Booty Brown Fatlip and Slimkid Tre/ we do it this way, we do it this way."
Sep 21, 2024
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dave blunts stole everything from him and big moe made city of syrup word to houston never went there before but a lot of great music from that city, also beyoncé
Mar 7, 2025
Top Recs from @odradek
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CANDOR is SPLENDOR. Reject the categories of based and cringe + say exactly the thing that you feel from the gut and heart before you erode those things
Irony is great at the service of jokes and wild pastiche. But don’t let it be a stumbling block. Shoot your shot, be embarrassed, be open like a snow angel and trust the True + Good
4d ago
Ian MacKaye semi recently in a talk said something like “I’m not the kind of person who goes through phases, everything I believe in and loved when I was 19 I still believe in today, there’s just more of it.”
I like reflecting on the past and I don’t think that has to infect or damage your ability to be in the present and look forward, in fact, esp thru writing about the past (my kind of crazy life in my late teens thru early 20s), it brings up people that Ive decided, fuck it, I’ll give reconnecting a shot. You shouldn’t be afraid of hitting somebody up you haven’t seen in five or ten years, if you enjoy them, as long as you haven’t become like, nemeses or whatever. And I’m in the Ian MacKaye camp. I’m smarter and more well adjusted at 33 than I was at 18-24 but I forged my taste and values and loves of people then, and those things really haven’t changed much, and I’m glad for that
3d ago
Thanks for this post. here’s a link to some of my fiction. It’s all quite short, surreal and intentionally a bit light heartedly repellant. Published a few small places but ive not published nearly as much as I ought to. And if this endearin but still glitchy app allows, a couple links to my one man synth pop post-punky alter ego
https://pr0pertybr0thers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6t7fti
3d ago