Oddisee

If you pay close enough attention to my writing tone, you can tell I don't care much about the current hip hop scene. I've explained it many times before about how and why I'm so disgruntled and have been for many years. However, I still keep my ear to the ground and peep for peeps putting out good music. It takes special artists and songs to make an impact on me.

In the case of Oddisee, I've known about him for a while but never paid attention or took the time to pay attention. It took some browsing of blog posts for me to understand what he's been about for all this time.

For about two years, I’ve been convinced that Oddisee, whether behind the microphone or mixing board, produces some of the best hip hop for consumption today.

I discovered Oddisee on a Marco Polo produced posse cut from his album Port Authority. I have liked every track I’ve heard of his since.



Oddisee's just the right type of artist for me. At a time when I need a bit more from hip hop, I luckily learned that he delivers. 

It was a pleasant surprise to see him as a featured artist on DJ Center’s Left Of Center album.

I couldn’t have been happier to see and hear he remixed Shad’s Ya I Got It.

The Suite Delight new time slot is Tuesday morning 2-3am EST on www.ckut.ca & 90.3 FM.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Below are some podcasts to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download them and more.

The Suite Delight - 2013-12-10 by Dj Solespin on Mixcloud

The Suite Delight - December 10, 2013:

1. Reflection Eternal - Just Begun (Ft. Jay Electronica, J Cole & Mos Def) 
2. Stik Figa - From the Top 
3. Gangrene and Roc Marciano - Momma Told Me 
4. ELMNT - Tesla's Son 
5. Marley Marl - What Ruling Means featuring Kev Brown & Grap Luva
6. Gang Starr - Code Of The Streets (Kenny Dope Mix)
7. Common Sense - Soul By The Pound (Thump Mix) 
8. Blame One & Exile - Disturbed feat. Sean Price 
9. The Extremities - Just The Day feat. Relic & Saukrates 
10. Simahlak - Under Pressure feat. Theo3
11. Black Sheep - Butt… In The Meantime (The Nostrand Ave Rastafarian Mix)
12. Ultramagnetic MC's - One, Two, One, Two
13. Ultramagnetic MC's - Two Brothers With Checks (San Francisco, Harvey)

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier is the most important Black man in the history of Hollywood. You didn't need me to tell you that. He is also one of the most important men in the history of me.

There was a time in my life when I wanted to be the Best Actor of this generation, of this decade. Among my role models and inspirations was Sidney Poitier. I grew up hearing his name called, saw books with his face on them and saw him in movies long before I dreamed of being like him.

I would have liked for him to have won the Oscar for In The Heat of The Night but his landmark Best Actor win for Lillies of the Field gives me no reason to complain.



Anytime I saw him walk on the Oscars stage was uplifting and inspirational because I wanted to be there one day, or in my wildest dreams, as a multiple winner.

I can't guess how many times I rewound the scene where he learns Willie's gone. I imagined my own moments of brilliance on the screen. Thank you to whoever posted this video up!

I had a lengthy rough draft about Sidney Poitier hanging around for a long time but as past history proves, that was not the best way for me to write about him. Short and sweet seems to be the way to go. I decided to take the time to write about the legendary actor and his influence on my life.

Sidney Poitier celebrates his heavenly birthday in February.

K-os – Collected (2007)

I was a big K-os fan since the release of his Joyful Rebellion album. I’ve seen him perform countless times, own his Publicity Stunt DVD twice and all of the CDs in his discography from Exit onward. The live album eluded me for a while until I found that one as well.  The majority of all of that K-os material was found in Montreal.  Funny enough, it took one of my trips to New York to find his Collected CD.

I had known of the Collected compilation and might have had the chance to buy it on my music purchasing path. If I didn’t, it was because I thought I already had its tracks waiting for me at home. 

The Collected CD was among the very first purchases upon my arrival at the WFMU Record Fair.  If I had thought I had most of the tracks already, I would be more than happy to have them again because they were accompanied with exclusive remixes that I otherwise would not have owned.

Until I got Collected, I was not sure when, how or if I would ever have his Superstarr Pt. Zero remix.  My search for the 12” proved fruitless a few years ago. 

Sunday Morning personally placed me on the fence but I have stood with K-os regardless.  There is a Twilight Mix of the song to check out.  Lastly, a song called Equalizer (Go! Remix) ends the compilation. 

I was always been big on unleashing remixes on my The Suite Delight radio show playlists to give listeners a different take on the artists or songs they may or may not know.  Collected allows me to continue doing just that where K-os is concerned.  It is also a great one-stop shop of K-os cuts.

k-os - BLack On BLonde

I have been a K-os fan since the release of his Joyful Rebellion album.

Joyful Rebellion is the first Canadian hip hop album I bought upon its release since Maestro Fresh-Wes’ Symphony in Effect and got me interested in Canadian hip hop again at a time when I cared little about hip hop on a whole.



I’ve seen him perform countless times, own his Publicity Stunt DVD and all of the CDs in his discography from Exit onward with the inclusion of the live album.

K-os is more of a musician than conventional MC but I love it when he rhymes.

The Grammy-nominee released Canada's first double album.  

The special guest list includes Black Thought from The Roots, Corey Hart and Sam Roberts. 

Check out YouTube for the track The Dog Is Mine.

Please make yourself familiar with the playlist and link below.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com
 

Below is a playlist to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download.

The Suite Delight - December 17, 2013:

1. Lightnin' Rod - Sport 
2. Shuggie Otis - Bootie Cooler 
3. Elvis Costello & The Roots - Walk Us uptown 
4. Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa 
5. Kia Lomingo - Urbano De Castro 
6. The Poets of Rhythm - More Mess On My Thing 
7. Blood, Sweat & Tears - Spinnin' Wheel 
8. Colm K & The Freestyle Mellowship - Love To Love You 
9. Bridget Kelly - Street Dreamin' featuring Kendrick Lamar 
10. K-Os - NYCE 2 Know Ya 
11. Cyndi Lauper - All Through The Night 
12. Foxtrott - Colors 
13. Jonathan Emile - Endless Light 
14. Charles Bradley - Strictly Reserved For You 
15. Charles Bradley - Heart of Gold

K-os – Joyful Rebellion (2004)

I've already written a great deal about K-os on this blog. 



Joyful Rebellion got me interested in Canadian hip hop again at a time when I cared little about hip hop on a whole and was one of the last Canadian hip hop CDs I bought upon its release.

Please make yourself familiar with below.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Below is the 1st Anniversary CKUT podcast to bring you up to speed. Click here to download.



The Suite Delight 1st Anniversary CKUT Playlist:

1.       The Monkees – Mary, Mary

2.       Harmonica Paul – Motherless Child

3.       Eddie Kendricks – Date With The Rain

4.       Yellow Sunshine – Yellow Sunshine

5.       Magic Disco Machine – Scratchin’

6.       The Incredible Bongo Band – Bongolia

7.       Lack of Afro – P.A.R.T.Y. (Instrumental)

8.       The Jimmy Castor Bunch – Troglodyte

9.       Booker T. & The M.G.s – Lady Madonna

10.   GZA & Ras Kass – Lyrical Swords

11.   RZA & MF Doom – Biochemical Equation

12.   Camp Lo – Luchini

13.   Digable Planets – 9^th Wonder (Blackitolism)

14.   Danger Mouse & Jemini – Ghetto Pop Life

15.   Hi-Tek – The Sun God

16.   K-os – The Love Song

K-os

I made any attempt to catch any K-os live show, no matter how brief the notice, because it was worth the time.

He has over half a dozen albums worth of material to explore. 

Man I Used To Be is my favorite K-os song because I learned how happy I am when I hear it.

Anyone knowledgeable about K-os knows that each of his albums from Exit to Black on Blonde is colored green, yellow, blue, red, purple, black and blonde.  That makes me understand how much
K-os has accomplished during this past decade. 

 If anyone asked me if I would want to see K-os live again or listen to a new album, the answer is Yes!

Below is a video from K-os.

Ice-T

I've said it before and will do so again. I am East Coast hip hop all the way.

I have always been and most surely will always be. That doesn't mean hip hop from other parts of the globe didn't reach me.

As a teen, I was proud of my home-grown Cancon talent. Philly had DJs. Back then, the South wasn't saying much to me. That leaves us with the West Coast to talk about.


Ice-T is the first figure of West Coast hip hop for me and many of my generation. We knew about him before Rhyme Pays but unless your memory of Breakin' was vivid, you may have forgotten about that fact. He was also in Joeski Love's Pee Wee's Dance video.



Today, Ice-T can be seen on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He was recognized at the VH1 Hip Hop Honours.


I was reluctant to see Ice-T at Foufounes Electriques years ago but changed my mind. I decided it was worth seeing the hip hop legend in concert at least once in my life. The finale was bringing Coco on stage to prance around for a few minutes until he and entourage left the stage. Seeing Coco was worth the price of admission.



Like LL Cool J and Will Smith, Ice-T is in a class of old school hip hop artist that managed to rise above the recording career to mainstream success and visibility. I'm proud of his accomplishments but can't help but feel his status as West Coast's Godfather of Hip Hop may have suffered a little over the years. My generation knows Ice-T's legendary status and is aware of the classics he produced. After over 40 years in the game, he proved that rhyme does indeed pay.

The Electric Flag

Certain groups and albums scream the decade from which they came from. 



There is an undeniable imprint of the time the music was recorded from either the album cover or the music created by the producers and musicians.  One such album that screams the mid to late 1960s is The Electric Flag’s A Long Time Comin’.



I used to see the album cover above at a Montreal record store on numerous occasions.  I was of course fascinated by it because it was from the 1960s but never studied or explored it any further. I almost believed the aesthetics of the cover had more value than the recorded material on its accompanying vinyl.

A Plateau record store was going out of business and I rummaged through their racks to see what treasures were possibly waiting for me.  To my surprise, The Electric Flag’s album turned up among their stacks and I knew it was my chance to finally learn what the album what this album I had seen so many times was all about. 

Seeing the photograph of band mates Buddy Miles and Mike Bloomfield at the back of the record was almost painful.  I learned that there is some truth in not judging a book or record by its cover.  At the time of my finding that Electric Flag record, I was hunting for 1960s & 1970s rock, soul, jazz and funk records that could incorporate as many of the genres I just listed within the music.  The only matter was finding out if the music was as incredible as the cover. 

From the moment I heard Killing Floor, I knew I was going to own the record.  Over-Loving You with Buddy Miles on vocals convinced me I didn’t need to listen to anything else. 

The record was not in the best condition but I figured I could still get some mileage from some of the other cleaner cuts for the price I was paying for it.   If an altogether better copy of The Electric Flag's A Long Time Comin' crosses my path, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up as well.    

Big L Rest in Peace

I had high hopes for Big L ever since I heard him on Lord Finesse's Yes You May (Remix). 

Lord Finesse was already one of my favorite lyricists at the time and to introduce this new jack that ripped that track meant that there could be better down the road.

His appearance on Showbiz & A.G.'s Runaway Slave whet our appetite for what would follow.



Big L never came weak on any track whether his own or a feature. My favorite song from O.C's Jewelz is Dangerous. Can you guess why?




A former work colleague of mine asked to join me on my radio show a while back. The idea was to commemorate Big L's life. I gave him the green light upon hearing Big L from his lips. I remember he brought tracks that I never heard before and Big L was brilliant on all of them. The green light's always been there for you to hear the brilliance from Big L's lips. Thankfully he got to record Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous for us to hear.

History repeated itself because I filled in for WeFunk just before the 2013 holiday season began in November.

To hear what I did as fill-in host, click play on the Cloudcasts below.

DJ Solespin - WeFunk (November 2013) by Dj Solespin on Mixcloud

Maceo Parker

Although Prince is not outright a jazz artist, I believe Maceo Parker’s saxophone was more than sufficient to compensate for whatever Prince lacked as far as performing jazz during his epic 2011 Festival International de Jazz de Montréal performance.

When Maceo Parker performed Pass The Peas, my mind went directly to James Brown. 

James Brown produced Parker’s Pass The Peas. Brown was instrumental (no better word) in the foundation of hip hop. 

He influenced Prince as well as Michael Jackson, who too is no longer with us. Seeing and hearing Maceo perform the classic track made my eyes watery. 

Prince was onstage with his mentor’s main man and I was watching two of my own mentors in front of me.

Happy Birthday to Maceo Parker.

Tim Dog

20 years ago on one of my epic New York trips, I bought Tim Dog's Do Or Die cassette on the strength of the I Get Wrecked single with KRS-One.

I also bought it because I didn’t buy his Penicillin on Wax debut. At the time of its release, Tim Dog launched an anti-West Coast hip hop campaign. The targets were a few key NWA members. His initiative was admirable.



Penicillin On Wax is the funniest hip hop record I’ve ever heard. Dog’s Gonna Getcha is simply hilarious. If memory serves correctly, he and the rabid dog in the Step To Me video foam at the mouth.



On the flip side, the album’s production is no laughing matter. The point can be made that there is not one weak beat on the album. The momentum and legend of F*ck Compton might have made people unaware of how sick the album’s production is.



I still don’t own a copy of Penicillin On Wax. 

One for purchase has yet to cross my path after all of these years. I’ll have to take matters, or a laptop, in my hands to make it happen.

Jeru the Damaja

The 1993 single Come Clean was much-needed at the time and what a lot of hip hop fans wished they could have recorded if they were able.

With DJ Premier at the helm of production for his 1994 debut, The Sun Rises In The East, is essential for any self-respecting hip hop fan. 

Anyone that hasn't yet caught the hip hop legend live in concert should do so like I did for his show at Cabaret Underworld.

Please make yourself familiar with the link below for more.

Below are some playlists of podcasts to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download.

The Suite Delight - 2013-03-19 by Dj Solespin on Mixcloud

Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous

I don't need to explain that 1995 was a hot year for hip hop.

The proof lies in a listen to Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous.

I loved hip hop back then and Big L represented what I stood for where hip hop was concerned.

He was a talented East Coast MC that would've only gotten better with time.

He ran out of time years ago and our time with him ended then too. What a loss.

If you haven't already, please make yourself familiar with the link below for more of your favorite show and mine.

http://suitedelight.podomatic.com

Below is the 2013 CKUT Funding Drive podcast to bring you up to speed.  Click here to download it and more.

The Suite Delight - April 8 2014 Playlist:

1. Big L - Put It On feat. Kid Capri
2. Common - Resurrection
3. O.C. - Time's Up
4. Big Pun - Super Lyrical feat. Black Thought
5. 2Pac - Ambitionz of a Ridah
6. Jay-Z - This Can't Be Life feat. Scarface
7. Gang Starr - Just To Get A Rep
8. Nice & Smooth - Early To Rise
9. The Beatnuts - Off The Books
10. Cypress Hill - Hits From The Bong
11. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & The Soul Brother
12. Black Moon - I Got Cha Opin
13. Smif-N-Wessun - Bucktown
14. Nas - The World Is Yours (Remix)