Peace ya'll...
In an effort to stay sane and explore new avenues, I've taken to doing these Audio Blogs. There's music, musings, thoughts and ramblings. Updates on my life and times and my thoughts about our collective life and times.

This is the link to the zShare site where you can listen online, download and burn or do whatever you like: http://www.zshare.net/audio/35658218584736/

Pass it along to anyone you think might dig, shoot me comments, critiques, ideas, etc. Thanks for checking and be at peace...

Dave aka Verb aka Talib

Bugged...
Ya'll heard this new Mos Def True Magic ish yet? Mos is still a nasty MC. Serious.

He's bugging me out with a limp sense of continuity and no serious production. This feels like a whole lot of nothing, but with some solid content in between. A throw-away of an album I copped like an idiot, as labels and artists fight back and forth and my $13 got caught in the middle.

Meanwhile, I - late to the game - got that Spinna album from earlier this year. Dedication, craft and artistry. Going for it. It's not perfect, but it's a labor of love that matters when it works and when it doesn't. Either way you feel it.

Cop the indie cats for feeling and heart. Cop the major label cats when they do undergroud shit. And don't cop indie for indie, cop indie for good. Go overseas for insipration and information on some Shuggie shit. Overall, let's step up game.

I can't afford to piss on $13
Math

One More Crate is just what the name says: one more collection of old records for you to get with and explore. In this case, were raiding our own creations, pulling some joints that wont make the album, some that will (although possibly in another form) and some joints that we love. One More Crate is also our mission statement, and the drive that fuels our love of vinyl collecting. I dont care how long youve been in the store, flea market, basement, garage sale, were not leaving if theres one more crate.

DJ Ian Head and I have been collaborating for years, ever since we were introduced by mutual friend, musical (and personal) fam Subtext. But the birth of Dolla Bin came not from the collaborations, but from the record shopping. Dropping rhymes over Ians ridiculous beats was the shit, but I kept turning around to ask about his crates, look through the stacks and trying to tag along when he shopped. So as the friendship grew with the crates, so too do did the music we were making. As we press down the home stretch of finishing a full-length Dolla Bin album, we decided to stop and let you check One More Crate of what weve been working on.

Beatin Em The first line popped in my head on my way to class, and the rest followed in the middle of lecture (with apologies to Dr. Ingersoll). I ran home, scanned through the files of criminally un-used Ian Head beats and dropped the vocals. I love this joint because I was able to salvage a great line Id never used (Now they like the morning moon), but heads geek off me styling out at the end go figure

Beautiful In a lot of ways, this is the birth of Dolla Bin. Back in 2002(3?) I was coming out of a rough patch personally and came through Brooklyn and heard this beat it was over. Perfect. Its a personal record, but people seem to really feel it. That response let us know that we could do some special shit when were on the same page, and theres your Dolla.

Oh One of the new generation of Ian Head beats. Amazing. Dudes getting so sick with the arrangements. Theres a vocal version, but its gonna take some more work before it meets the standard of this instrumental. Enjoy.

S.A.T. (Serve All Toys) We laid this right after deciding on the name. Its an old concept playing off of my name (Verbal and Math happen to be the two main sections of the S.A.T. nerdy as fuck) but keeping that classic hip-hop style and language. Ians beat was so battle ready I had to come with the punch lines. Not an album cut, but one of the better of our cast-off songs. The second verse is the realness catch all the references and you get a Dolla (hint, buy Style Wars and youre halfway there).

Heavyweights Ian is a secret weapon on the mic. This is his concept and chorus, and he wrote his verse in the beginning (w/ drops for my fill-ins) and sent it to me to finish. Heavyweights is the essence of Dolla Bin getting in them crates wherever they are. Can you tell I was listening to a lot of Doom at the time? Check the delivery. My man Big Piece one told me you have to bite in order to get good, but damn!

Infatuated Sometimes less is more and this short, one verse joint from our early sessions is a perfect example. As a whole song, this love letter to vinyl (thinly disguised as a woman) could have been lame. Spit it and quit it. You gotta know when to shut the hell up. Like now.

Pragmatic All about the beat. One of my all-time favorite Ian Head beats. I salvaged half of a discarded verse and came up with one of my favorite choruses. I do hate self-righteous underground grandstanding but hopefully this avoids being heavy-handed. Pragmatic is the sound of Dolla Bin finding ourselves musically. You can just feel the pieces falling together sometimes

Bonus Track Freestyled to a beat to hip Ian to a song idea, and the freestyle took on a life of its own. Cooking eggs.

Ain't really nothing to say about the man.  His music says much more than any of us ever could.  I'm just really feeling this one, ya'll.  He's the first of this school of hiphop - the children of Native Tongue - to pass away.  Now I know how New York hardcore heads must have felt when Biggie died, or what Cali cats must have felt about Pac. 

Truth is, if Dilla was from any of our hometowns, we would have known him.  He was one of us - just better than any of us at making ridiculous beats and being one of the best producers of this generation.  Who made better albums?  With clean transitions, fluid movement and emotional journeys?  He understood music.  He was just moving past hip-hop comparisons, as one of the greats of music.  So many classic albums with no pub for his contributions.  So many great songs for other artists pushed out of sight by lackluster singles he didn't produce.  Fuck, man.

Just can't stop listening to them Donuts.  And I never will...

 

Since many people are of the opinion that hip-hop is in some state of crisis (a debate decades old by this point, mind you), all kinds of discussions emerge with theories as to what ails our favorite culture.  What’s interesting is when blame is placed on those who aren’t involved.

Rappers in particular are guilty of waxing poetic on how the absences of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.  Think about it.  How many times have you heard, “It would be different if Tupac was still around,” or, “that couldn’t go platinum if Biggie was still around.”? 

Surely the rap game would be different – if not straight up better, if these legends were with us.  Sadly, Tupac and Biggie aren’t the only hip-hop heads to die in the short history of this culture, so today we look at some of the amazing events – both good or bad – that we’ve missed because of those who’ve left us far too soon.  And, for those who think this is a tired subject – forget it.  Until the murderers of Tupac, Biggie and Jam Master Jay are brought to justice, there’s no room for silence. 

 

Big L earning the expectations

Mainstream rap fans may not know, but Big L was 50 Cent long before 50 decided beats were better than bullets and started mauling mix tapes. Big L was an underground legend and Harlem’s answer to Jay Z.  Hilarious, powerful and fearless, Big L dropped a couple of albums that make today’s spitters look downright sissy.  He didn’t have the star power to take on the dominance of Death Row at its peak (only Biggie did), but Big L would certainly be platinum-plus right now, and Fabolous would be his Ja Rule.  Another victim of senseless street violence in 1999, Big L’s murderer is also roaming free.

 

The Duets

Could you imagine The Game and 2Pac doing a song together over a Dr. Dre beat?  Talk about thoughtful, heartfelt thuggery… What about Biggie spitting over a Kanye West track with Ludacris, or trading verses with Snoop while Pharell of the Neptunes sings the hook?  Wow.  The music we’re missing right now is crushing.  How would 2Pac sound over a Scott Storch burner or one of The Alchemists’ brooding concoctions?  What about Biggie with Eminem – for real?  We could go on forever, and unfortunately we have no choice.

 

Bad Boy Records would still matter

I got much love for P. Diddy, I really do.  But, can we all admit that Bad Boy hasn’t released an album that matters since Notorious B.I.G.’s magnum opus, Life After Death?  G. Dep was somewhat overlooked and Carl Thomas has decent voice, but P. Diddy’s star power doesn’t equal great music.  With Biggie on board, Bad Boy was home to The Lox – whose talent has never been matched with marketing muscle since leaving Bad Boy behind.  Lil’ Kim would still be a rapper instead of a jailed starlet who's more plastic pimping, and any new artist on Bad Boy would get to mingle with a legend.  Diddy’s brilliance is barely keeping this ship afloat, and the “Making The Band” phenomenon is losing steam – fast.

 

Eazy-E reconciling with Dr. Dre – and the return of N.W.A.

Do we really need a N.W.A. reunion?  Of course not, which is why it would have been so much fun.  The whole Dre back with Ice Cube thing was nice, but the real drama was between Dre and Eazy-E, and something about their combined presence, with Cube writing the lyrics, was magic.  MC Ren was the added spice that’s pretty flavorless alone.  No, Eazy didn’t have much talent; he was Mike Jones with more charisma and a Jheri curl.  An N.W.A. reunion would have been all about the money, but it also would have been nice.  It would also be nice if we celebrated Eazy-E’s memory by doing more to fight H.I.V and AIDS, but I digress.

 

A Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z album

Method Man and Redman made it happen, so logic says this was a foregone conclusion.  No one had better chemistry with B.I.G. than Hova, and their rap-duo classic “Brooklyn’s Finest” from Jay’s debut makes that more than clear.  “I Love the Dough” from Life After Death was marginal by comparison.  So what?  Jay Z and Biggie’s dynamic free-verse, battle rhymes, wit and priceless storytelling over the course of a whole album would have been unprecedented.  Plus, there would have been no need for the Jay-Z/R Kelly debacles.

 

No 50 Cent Domination

Seriously, does 50 Cent get this many sales if 2Pac is still alive and dropping current material?  Part of 50’s mainstream appeal is his Alpha-Thug status, and he could have never taken that title from Pac.  2Pac raised the bar on gangsta tales by adding keen insights, chilling prophecy and deep love for the ghettos he so poignantly narrated.  50 just loves our money.  To be fair, 50 Cent once was a potent underground act who was merciless, funny and different.  Now he follows pop-hop’s success model along with Fat Joe, et al.  Can you imagine 2Pac following anything?  You get the point.

 

Another Run DMC show

By all accounts, no DJ could orchestrate a rap show like Jam Master Jay.  Run was certainly a huge personality and DMC offered a perfect barrel voiced foil, and the two were led through electric sets by the cuts, scratches and mixes of Jay.  There were no DATs at Run DMC shows, and since Jam Master Jay’s murder we’ll never see another.  DJ’s Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash get due props, but has any one DJ besides Jam Master Jay been a larger force in shaping the modern rap show?  What a joy it would be to see how he did it one more time.

Check back to the Verb Math blog for the occasional "So, You Wanna Cop Some..." guides to music.  Here we start off with the universal genius Stevie Wonder.  Simple and kinda not necessary, but it's a good intro to the style.  Upcoming drops will include Steely Dan, Minnie Riperton, Joni Mitchell and Hip-hop's overlooked classics.  As usual, it's that Math raw shit...

 

The Basics:

Everybody reading this should already be clear on the greatness of Stevie Wonder.  If you’re not, drag yo’ ass out of that box and welcome to Planet Earth.  Virtually every artist (and writer) in this magazine has been influenced by one Steveland Morris, so it’s time to get hip.  If you are hip, but only to the great songs you hear on the radio or your music-savvy friend’s house, here’s five to grow on.

Stevie became a ‘Wonder’ when he recorded his first hit for Motown, “Fingertips Pts 1 & 2,” at the age of 12.  And while inside Motown’s hit machine, the blind harmonica wiz learned virtually every instrument from Motown’s legendary house band the Funk Brothers.  He then began writing, arranging and playing every instrument on a string of near flawless albums.  Here’s a sampling, so get ta listening.

 

The Rundown:

1.         Songs in the Key of Life, 1976, Motown Records

Across two jaw-dropping discs, Stevie spans through genres of music and crystallizes his genius.  It’s all here – the blissful pop songs (“Isn’t She Lovely,” “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” “Sir Duke”), the powerful state-of-the world addresses (“Village Ghetto Land,” “Pastime Paradise”), the relentlessly funky instrumental (“Contusion”), the anthemic soul (“As”) – you get the picture.  The sprawl of the music does result in a couple of iffy numbers, but that’s only compared to the precision of the three albums that came before.  Any questions about Wonders talent, influence and scope are resoundingly answered here.

 

2.         Innervisions, 1973, Motown Records

The haunting beauty of Innervisions is hard to overstate.  Even with the funky shuffle of opener “Too High” and the sweaty workout of “Higher Ground,” there is an air of contemplation and introspection (hence the title, duh!).  Wonder’s songwriting is focused mainly on America’s seeming decay in the mid-70s.  The album’s centerpiece, “Living for the City” captures inner-city plight into seven powerful minutes, including tense dialogue and street noise.  But all is not dark, as the gorgeous “Golden Lady” and the sunny “Don’t you Worry ‘Bout a Thing” (remade by John Legend on the “Hitch” Soundtrack) happily attest. Innervisions is a seamless collection of powerful songs that stand remarkably well by themselves. 

 

3.         Talking Book, 1972 Motown Records

What Innervisions is to urban living, Talking Book is to love.  Often overshadowed by its super-hit singles, “Superstition” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” Talking Book is as perfect an album as you’ll find.  Wonder’s grasp on the joys and pains of falling in and out of love are frighteningly on point.  Check the grinding funk of “Maybe Your Baby” for the anguish of suspecting cheating, or see wedding mainstay “You and I” for the pinnacle of love declarations.  The aching honesty of “Blame It on the Sun” reveals the self-flagellation that follows a break up, only to be followed by the two-way street realized on “You’ve Got It Bad, Girl.” The songwriting is amazing, the musicianship stunning and the singing is peerless.  Innervisions might be better known as an album, and Songs in the Key of Life a better place to start, but Talking Book is Stevie’s best album.

 

4.         Fulfillingness’ First Finale, 1974 Motown Records

This was a tough call.  This spot just as easily belongs to 1972’s first Stevie album, Music of My Mind, but Fulfillingness’ First Finale wins by a nose, or should I say a “Reggae Woman.”  Music is a stunning birth into greatness, but lacks a single track of sheer groovalicious, fun funkiness like Fulfillingness’ First Finale’s “Boogie on Reggae Woman”  It also boasts the sultry “Creepin” and the Stevie’s howling performance on “Please Don’t Go.”  It does get a little preachy on “Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away” and the harrowing “They Won’t Go When I Go,” but Stevie’s pop mechanics make everything work.  Heck, even an ode to popping pills becomes an infectious cut with shiny backing vocals. 

 

5.         Hotter Than July, 1980 Motown Records

Stevie’s last stand.  It’s fair to say that the Wonder man blew his wad on his perfect period of the 70s, but he had one classic left (so far).  Hotter Than July defies conventional wisdom that says that 80s music was rarely fun and good.  Hit song “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” is a boisterous celebration of Bob Marley and “All I Do” is guaranteed to get any spring/summer party jumping.  “Rocket Love” rates with Stevie’s best breakup songs, and Wu-Tang mined its addictive melody for GZA’s “Cold World.”  Jodeci remade the heartbreak classic “Lately” and just about every African American family knows the “Happy Birthday” chorus from Wonder’s effort to make Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a holiday.  Still a notch below his glory years, Hotter Than July is the best R&B album of the 80s – that Prince didn’t make.

 

The Best “Best Of…”:

At the Close of the Century, 1999 Motown

This four disc collection of hits and greats gives a career spanning look at the progression of a legend.  Recommended mostly for the early work (which can be quite spotty) and the good 80s and 90s work (which is pretty rare), it’s a glorified tease for the purchases that are to follow.  But, if you know you’re too cheap to keep buying records – this is the only way to go.  Interesting side note: every song from Innervisions, except “Jesus Children of America” is featured on At the Close of the Century – what does that tell you about that album?

 

For Advanced Listeners Only:

Where I’m Coming From, 1971 Motown

The true beginning of Stevie Wonder’s best work, Where I’m Coming From had been inexcusably out of print for years.  It features the infectious “If You Really Loved Me” and “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer,” the source of the Lauryn Hill voiced chorus on Common’s classic “Retrospect For Life.”  This is an unheralded gem that isn’t as strong as Wonder’s other 70s work, but still sports that timeless sound.

We were supposed to be rhyming.  I was gonna feel bad about that until I found this CLEAN Sergio Mendes record with a bunch of Stevie Wonder covers.  Nice.

The whole point of hooking up with Nails (Philly stand up!!!) was to cypher, write and connect with some of the emcees in my new hometown of Illadelph, PA.  Needless to say, pointing out a small bookstore with a selection of used vinyl will distract any digger from his appointed rounds.  Oh, and this choice Womack & Womack record, too.  Can't sleep on that early 80s soul and dance music.

OK, time for some honesty.  I knew Nails was a crate digger when we agreed to build on some rhymes, and I had every intention of falling through a local record store.  Ever since hearing DJ Language's new mix CD, I've been on a mission to find Patrice Rushen's "Haven't You Heard."  I might have it in the crates, but my crates are literally staggered over 3 states, and only a couple hundred records are here in Ardmore with me (fellow music lovers feel my pain), so I'm just going to buy it again.  What's a hot song if you don't have doubles?

Luckily we did get to freestyle as we rolled around.  But as most good emcees know, it all starts with the beats.  The beats always comes from the crates, and the more you know the crates - and the music, the better you rhyme.  Greatness ain't magic - it's work, dedication and love.  If you truly love great music, you're on your way to making some of your own.  Watching Nails pull Renaissance for samples and citing which Traffic records I need to just check for checking's sake, it was clear which side of the fence he was on. 

The afternoon ended with helping Bear 1 finish moving, and an awe-inspiring look at YEARS worth of digging spread across an entire living room floor.  I'm drooling just thinking about it.  So no, we didn't write any rhymes, just ended up with a story to tell.  Damned if that ain't the same thing.

Math...