Hip Hop Heads song of the day

[goDawgs1433]

First off, got this idea from some dudes over on the IGN NBA 2K boards but I figured I would bring it over here after seeing mike's thread.

I go out of town for two days tomorrow but I'll be posting something new in here every day. I don't like your typical Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne (sue me), that type of shit. I'm more of an old-school hip hop guy and some of the newer, non-mainstream stuff as well.

First up:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbPPO1FxyYI"]Masta Ace feat. Jean Grae - "Soda and Soap"[/ame]

Ace has been around since the early 90's and still goes hard. This is off one of his later albums. Spits the truth and I love this beat. Also, the lyrics are really clever and the song's called "Soda and Soap" because of all the subtle soda mentions throughout the song - 7up, Orange Crush, Coke, etc. Take a listen.

See I went to a club like this in Toronto
And came back from "Canada dry" with no dough
And ever since then I see and see clear
You never find love in this atmosphere
Sometimes you gotta find a better place to be in
Maybe go to a "mountain do" a little skiing
So I finished up my drink andI said goodbye
And got home before the "sun kissed" the sky
No matter where you from or which way you leaning
Now goin' pop got a whole new meaning

[goDawgs1433]

This should be fun. I'm always trying to share my love of good hip hop and get people exposed to it instead of all the shitty rap these days.

[goDawgs1433]

I'd rather it not turn into a thread where people just post random shit because that would get out of hand. I don't mind the occasional post, though.

[Maestro]

No Soulja Boy, fuck, now this thread will actually have quality music.

Signed FishStickz

[goDawgs1433]

I figured I would just post another while I'm at it and keep this thing going. Feel free to give me feedback - what you like, what you don't like, I don't give a shit. I'm curious what you guys like and what you don't.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjTyrfmO_Mw"]Blu and Exile - "My World Is..."[/ame]

[goDawgs1433]

The most underappreciated, too.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiOcVWQY2bc"]Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y.[/ame]

Quite possibly one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. Most of you (hopefully) have heard it at some point, or at least the beat. It was on the opening menu of NBA Street Vol. 2.

Noddin off, sleep to a jazz tune
I can hear his head banging on the wall in the next room
I get the pillow and hope I don't wake him
For this man do cuss, hear it all in verbatim
Telling me how to raise my boy unless he's taking over
I said pop maybe when you're older
We laughed all night about the hookers at the party
My old man standing yelling good God, almighty
Use your condom, take sips of the brew
When they reminisce over you, for real

[goDawgs1433]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUn2YRFJBJY"]Nas - "Doo Rags"[/ame]

A great Nas joint off the Lost Tapes. Most people haven't heard the Lost Tapes but he's got a couple underrated classics off there - "My Way", "U Gotta Love It", etc.

Doo Rags is basically about the growing prison culture in ghettoes, from what I can tell, and Nas is basically saying it's not cool to go to prison.

N***** used to wear rags on they hair when it was fried up
That's when we were lied to, buyin hair products
Back before my generation, when our blackness started disintegratin
'til awareness started penetratin
The styles come from prison, they used potatoes makin liquor
just to prove we some creative n*****
Turnin nothin into somethin, is God work
And you get nothin without struggle and hard work
War is necessary to my n***** in chains
From Greene to Sing-Sing, I'm wantin y'all to know one thing
The hardest thing is to forgive, but God does
Even if you murdered or robbed, yeah it's wrong, but God loves
Take one step toward him, he takes two toward you
Even when all else fail, God support you
I done it, got Gods son on my stomach
My heart and my lungs was affected from Henny's and gettin blunted
Do your body right and it loves you back
You only get one life, and yo because of that
I'm still blazin, goin out for the cause
Still rockin stockin caps, not for the waves, obeyin no laws
And it's like that

[MvP]

I love all the songs you've posted, TROY is one of the best hip-hop songs of all-time.

[goDawgs1433]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH3hrtp1T84"]Gang Starr - "Moment Of Truth"[/ame]

Gang Starr is...amazing. Well-written and well-spoken, incredibly well-produced (Preemo), and very laid-back. Preemo and Guru had their own style, that's for sure.

"Moment of Truth" definitely has a great message and has helped me get through some difficult times. Guru's style works perfectly on this joint:

Sometimes you gotta dig deep, when problems come near
Don't fear things get severe for everybody everywhere
Why do bad things happen, to good people?
Seems that life is just a constant war between good and evil
The situation that I'm facin, is mad amazin
To think such problems can arise from minor confrontations
Now I'm contemplatin in my bedroom pacin
Dark clouds over my head, my heart's racin
Suicide? nah, I'm not a foolish guy
Don't even feel like drinking, or even gettin high
Cause all that's gonna do really, is accelerate
The anxieties that I wish I could alleviate
But wait, I've been through a whole lot of other shit, before
So I oughta be able, to withstand some more
But I'm sweatin though, my eyes are turnin red and yo
I'm ready to lose my mind but instead I use my mind
I put down the knife, and take the bullets out my nine
My only crime, was that I'm too damn kind
And now some scandalous motherfuckers wanna take what's mine
But they can't take the respect, that I've earned in my lifetime
And you know they'll never stop the furious force of my rhymes
So like they say, every dog has it's day
And like they say, God works in a mysterious way
So I pray, remembering the days of my youth
As I prepare to meet my moment of truth

Absolutely incredible verse.

[Coked Up Elmo]

doo rags is an amazing song, one of my favorite

[FedEx227]

Lost Tapes is SUCH an underrated Nas album.

Next to Illmatic I think it's the most complete in his career. Fetus is an awesome concept song, Doo Rags is amazing, Purple is nice, Black Zombie all good stuff...

As far as T.R.O.Y...shit...might be be my favorite song ever.

[goDawgs1433]

doo rags is an amazing song, one of my favorite

Agreed. That and "U Gotta Love It", at least off of the Lost Tapes.

Dude, NAS is great, awesome idea to start the thread.

Thanks.

Godawgs, good two songs. TROY is a classic. And doo-rags was probably my favorite song off of the lost tapes. That was a good ass CD.

TROY is hip-hop, that's for sure. No purer example than that.

Lost Tapes = a good ass CD that not enough people have heard.

Lost Tapes is SUCH an underrated Nas album.

Next to Illmatic I think it's the most complete in his career. Fetus is an awesome concept song, Doo Rags is amazing, Purple is nice, Black Zombie all good stuff...

As far as T.R.O.Y...shit...might be be my favorite song ever.

Very, very underrated, lol. That, Illmatic, and Stillmatic are my three favorite Nasir albums. I forgot about Purple, great song too.

And like I said, T.R.O.Y. is like an encyclopedia entry for hip hop.

[Big C-Dub]

I think too many people sleep on "It Was Written" The Message is one of my favorite Nas songs.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws3Ks0FGxYM"]YouTube - nas the message[/ame]

[goDawgs1433]

Eh, I don't really mind it, as long as you post good shit, lol. I've heard some Jay Electronica stuff before.

The Message, though, is a really well-known song but still good.

[goDawgs1433]

I haven't heard enough of him to really agree or disagree. All I know is that most of the ATL rappers around here aren't very good outside of Luda and OutKast.

I like New York rap the best, though, plus some Chicago and a little bit of West Coast stuff (Blu, Blue Scholars, etc).