First song this week is by Lewis Taylor. It’s called “Stoned Part 1? and it comes from his 2004 album of the same name. I heard this song on the radio last week and that was the first I had heard of him. He’s a very talented neo-soul musician/singer. I read a little about him and heard some other songs of his and it’s obvious that he’s an extremely underappreciated artist… Check him out if you like this song.
Second song is old school… It’s the Dreamwarriors’ 1991 track “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style”. You’ll definitely recognize the samples from Quincy Jones’ “Soul Bossa Nova” that they use for the beat. I heard it again recently and I wanted to share this great, forgotten gem of old school hip hop…
Dreamwarriors – My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style (Click here to listen in Amazon)
And speaking of hip hop from 1991, and for the third song, I’m sending you all an old track from Main Source’s album Breaking Atoms called “Live at the Barbeque”. I’m really sending this as a tribute to Nas, who is featured on the track, and because, last night, he killed it at the Rock the Bells Festival with a great set of classic hip hop songs. I would have sent A Tribe Called Quest or a Pharcyde track, both of whom also played at the festival last night, but I’ve already sent songs by them in earlier emails. “Live at the Barbeque” has Nas spitting the first verse that foreshadows the impressive and unforgettable classic, Illmatic, which in my opinion is one of the top 3 hip hop albums of all time (maybe number 1). Nas’s verse in “Live at the Barbeque” makes it no wonder that Illmatic, which came out 3 years after Breaking Atoms, was produced by Pete Rock, Large Professor (from Main Source), and DJ Premier. Good shit, Nas…
Main Source featuring Nas – Live at the Barbeque (Click here to listen in Hype Machine)
