Third time a charm, 3rd instalment of 7 mins of VII Breaths (003).
Another random selection from the crates.
STRESS
Crush, Kill, Destroy, Stress.
“Pain, stress
My brain can't even rest
It's hard to maintain the pressure on my chest
Excess frustration strikes!”
Organised Konfusion are criminally underrated in my opinion. The track STRESS is one of their outstanding songs and video.
Along with the mind-blowing “Releasing Hypnotical Gases”, they delivered dark backpack classics.
The incredible cover art was created by Matt Doo of Dooable Arts. (He also designed the cover for Company Flow's seminal Funcrusher Plus.)
Hailing from Queens, Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch weaved words and themes effortlessly. The Buckwild produced ‘Stress’ utilises Charles Mingus’ “Mingus Fingus No. 2” to create a sinister backdrop for rappers prophetic scriptures and parables.
“You will now consider me the apocalyptic one
After this rhyme, henceforth, there is none
No more will exist when I emerge
From the mist in whence I was born into, scorned”
Pharaohe went on to have a seminal solo career and is an elite-level lyricist. He falls into the “your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper” category.
Pharoahe Monch possesses one of the illest flows in hip-hop. He flips linguistic acrobatics and verbal gymnastics
WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS
Hip-hop culture is comprised of five elements: DJing, Emceeing, Breakdancing Graffiti and Knowledge.
I’ve studied the craft of emceeing and djing, while continuing to ‘do the knowledge’. I can bust a little groove, I’ve hosted and been involved in the breaking scene but never fully ventured into the art, although i loved to watch breakers throw down.
That leaves only one element - Graffiti
In some ways art and writing were one of my first passions. Having initially been a messy writer as a kid, my parents got me a calligraphy set, which improved my writing and got me interested in typography and the art of writing. This continued into a passion for drawing and illustration. By the time I reached primary and High School I reached a pretty good standard, with thoughts if maybe taking things further, but due to my family’s views on art as career it was something that I never really pursued. When I started getting into hip-hop culture, I was drawn to the beauty, skill and creativity of graffiti. I started to design my own tags and pieces. Eventually I met with some like-minded individuals and we decided to take the next step of actually going out on the street and doing some graffiti. This started with tagging and quickly progressed. Until we got on the ‘wrong side of the track’ Haha. One night out, we got lifted by the police, and put in the back of the van. Nothing came of it because we weren’t actually caught in the act, but the brush with the law stopped that direction.
Scotland has a vibrant Graffiti scene, with some top tier artists:
Yardworks is one of Europe’s biggest and best festivals dedicated to street art and graffiti.
FAR FROM YOURS
OC is a member of the D.I.T.C collective.
An interesting link, is that OC made his recording debut on Organized Konfusion's "Fudge Pudge”
He’s perhaps most famous for his single ‘Times Up’. Which is an underground classic:
On ‘Far From Yours’, OC is joined by Yvette Michelle,
REMEMBER WE
I feel like the Da Bush Babies were a little unfortunate to not gain more success. They were affiliated with Native Tongues, and had a similar sound and vibe to the likes of Tribe and De La Soul.
The Salaam Remi produced track samples the jazz record ‘Shes Here’ by Les McCann
It’s got such a warm sound that resonates with the reflections and sentiment of ‘Remember We’.
NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY
“I got your back like Altoids and trapezoids”
Production by Ayatollah
(He also produced…Mos Def - Ms Fat Booty & Styles P - The Life)
Its an underground jam, which gets the head nodding.
The Wind Cries Mary
My dad was a big fan of Jimi Hendrix and my entry point to his music. I began learning the guitar in my early teens, and inevitably Hendrix was a huge inspiration. Sadly, I didn’t pursue my guitar skills/development (I' keep telling myself I need to properly learn to play an instrument), but my love of Hendrix has never faded.
“Somewhere a Queen is weeping; somewhere a King has no wife."
The dreamy spirit of this track is mesmerising. Whilst Hendrix is best known for his electric solos, this track showcases his melodic voice and delicate touches of genius on a slow ballad.
Apparently the song is inspired by an argument about mashed potatoes Jimi had with his then girlfriend Kathy (whose middle name is Mary), who is also the ‘Foxy Lady’
WONDERFUL WORLD
Another classic from the old man’s create.
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took
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