Tha legend lays em down. Its a undoubtedly a stacked list. But hey, where’s the Common? Blu and Exile? Percee P? Black Milk’s Popular Demand? YOU DECIDE.

1. Ghostface Killah, Big Doe Rehab (DEF JAM)

2. EVIDENCE, The Weatherman (ABB)

3. Redman, RED GONE WILD (Def Jam)

4. Kanye West, Graduation (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)

5. Statik Selektah, Spell My Name Right (Brick/Traffic)

6. Little Brother, Getback (ABB)

7. NYGz, Welcome 2 G-dom (Year Round)

8. Marco Polo, Port Authority (Rawkus)

9. Big Shug, Street Champ (Babygrande)

10. KRS-ONE & Marley Marl, Hip Hop Lives (Koch)

11. WC, Guilty By Affiliation (Lench Mob)

12. Scarface, MADE (Rap A Lot/Asylum)

13. UGK, Underground Kings (JIVE)

14. Jay-Z, American Gangster (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)

15. Killer Mike, I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind (Grind Time Official)

16. Black Milk & Bishop Lamont, CALTROIT, (Music House)

17. Devin The Dude, Waiting To Inhale (Rap A Lot/Asylum)

18. Styles P, Super Gangster,Extraordinary Gentleman (D Block/KOCH)

19. Special Teamz, Stereotypes (Duck Down)

20. Smif N Wessun, The Album (Duck Down)

HONORABLE MENTION: (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

1. J.Dilla(Ruff Draft)

2. Percee P(Perseverance)

3. Planet Asia(Jewelry Box Sessions)

4. Soopafly(Bangin West Coast)

5. Freeway(Free At Last)

6. Havoc(The Kush)

7. Beanie Sigel(The Solution)

8. Strong Arm Steady(Deephearted)

9. Talib Kweli(Eardrum)

10. Snoop Dogg presents The Big Squeeze

11. Jedi Mind Tricks presents the Army Of Pharoahes

12. Public Enemy (How Do you Sell Soul To A Souless People Who Sold Their Soul ?)

Thanks FatBeats for the link.

Last weekend I watched a friend’s copy of and it is hilarious. Makers-Minneapolis natives Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, began collecting found videotapes in 1991 after stumbling across a training video entitled, “Inside and Outside Custodial Duties” in a McDonald’s break room.They find the cream of the forgotten crop. The clips mainly from the seventies and eighties are actually histerical- they range from dance instructionals to  Self Defense (my favorite is the bearded knife guy). Now they’re back at home with two shows at The Heights Theatre on Oct. 23rd at 7 and 9:00. The guys dish and discuss throughout and afterwards, and they’re always availavle to accept submissions of your favortie find. Even if you can’t go, rent this or something… it’s all i’ve been tlking about for the past week.

foundfootagefestiv

So a couple weeks ago I was flipping through some vinyl at the St. Paul Cheapo on Snelling (who recently remodeled) absent-mindedly listening to music playing over the store speakers (which is usually crap). At first I thought it was just some electronica stuff- what with a fast paced pulsating drum beat, but it had a really hot female vocal sample. As the cd continued to play not straying from it’s path of tightness I started listening more intently attempting to solve the mystery of who the artist was. It wasn’t until the third song that played when I decided the artist was indeed hip-hop orientated and my friend and I convened,

“What is this fire playing?”

“Yeah it’s hot business, I think I’ll ask…”

I approached the Cheapo dude (I hate the St. Paul Cheapo employees by the way, but that’s another post) asking what was playing. He told me with a smug grin “Paper Tiger” adding condescendingly he’s like, “local twin cities hip-hop… yeah.” Ohhh thanks

I heard Paper Tiger, the Doomtree killabee, had released a new album recently but didn’t think much of it- I’m not a big fan of Doomtree. They had a few copies of the cd, False Hopes, in the hip hop section: 8 tracks for like 7 bucks. I already knew it was hott so i copppped it.

Best buy of Diciembre. Hands down. Paper Tiger gets down hard with his producing game- it’s a gem. There are 7 tracks of sample based instrumentals and the last track includes his commrade Dessa singing. A notable aspect of the album is the procussion. Either sampled and filtered to perfection or possible that he recorded each drum noise live- whatever the methodology for lack of a better word, they bang.

The songs inspire alot of moods and inisight into your life. In fact, a found the insight/mood level very high, possibly a nine, while driving alone in the car with the car heater heating up your icy winter fingers. You can really just get lost in this shit.

Notable tracks: “Cannonade”. “MAke-MAke.”

The samples- an array of vocal and instrumental, are catchy and heavy- chopped in unique and memorable way. A lot of the songs actually remind me of old school RJD2 and Shadow.

Although its not the album to bang at the winter house party on the weekend. It’s definitely the one you’ll want to play on the way back from that party, alone, late at night. Or on your ipod while crying yourself to sleep in a vengeful dramatic way….

Overall, I highly reccommend this cd, for the hip hop head, the indie rocker, the guy making music for an epic movie or the old middle class man, looking to support the “local music scene.” I ALSO requested that a couple of the songs be played on The Current buuut- suprise suprise nothing happened.

Tetsumi Kudo: not as conventional as he looks.

At the risk of sounding trite, Tetsumi Kudo is one dope dude. In the Walker’s exhibition “Tetsumi Kudo: Garden of Metamorphosis” (October 18, 2008 - March 22, 2009) I saw, what in my mind is true contemporary art. In describing Kudo’s work, a lot of different words come to mind- abstract, simple, complex, revolting, alluring, inspiring, incongruous. The exhibition is undoubtedly one of the most interesting solo artist shows I’ve seen at the walker, displaying a variety of objects, sculpture, installation, drawing, and painting—covering the entire path of his career, from the late 1950s through the late 1980s.

Some of my favorite pieces within the exhibit were the birdcages, the cocoons, the room full of penises, the photos from his giant installation a penis carved into the side of a rockface, the walk in box filled with blacklights and neon flowers, and the many other components that’s made you ask yourself, “What the hell?”

There is footage of Kudo 40 or so years ago with some friends explaining that in 20 years the penises in his work will not be seen as penises, but simply as symbols. As insightful and thought provoking such an ideology is, they still look like penises.

Go see this exhibit and spend some time to take it all in. Just don’t plan a meal right afterwards.

Ant and Slug’s free 13 track fan-appreciation album, Strictly Leakage, is out now (it’s actually been out for a couple weeks I think, but in case you didn’t know). It’s hot fire, loud swinging beats- meant to be a “party album”. You be the judge- I have not established an official opinion yet and I’ll let Chantz go in to depth about Slug’s rapping. If anything else, get it for the song ‘Crewed Up‘ featuring a bunch of local cats. COP IT COUSINS- www.rhymesayers.com/atmosphere