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Portavoz - Escribo Rap con R de Revolución 

A rapper from Mexico City once told me that Latin American hip hop is what hip hop used to be in New York during the 90s. A bold statement, but as I opened my ears more and he sent me some tracks from around the globe, I started to realize this is true. Portavoz is from Santiago, Chile, one of the biggest underground hip hop hubs of Latin America. I've seen many authentic MC's come out of here, and this guy holds true to its reputation. They spit nothing but knowledge and this video is a perfect example of what they aim to represent: who they are and where they come from. The presentation of this track and video is clean, classic, and inspiring. And that beat though! Wuddup Chile?

[delazand]

The Jazzual Suspects - This Beat (Original Mix)

This Beat. 

I capitalize "Beat" because it has had such a significant meaning in my generation and the ones before my own. The track is embedded excerpts of Jack Kerouac talking about the Beat Generation: it's the Beat to keep, it's the Beat down...it's all in the Beat.  Any kind of Beat has always sparked a movement in history, whether is people getting up after the Beat down or creating their own non-conformist Beat. 

Hip Hop expressed the Beat of the streets, the individuality and community of our people. It gave us the opportunity to express ourselves without fitting into a mold. This instrumental, among billions that exist today and continue to be made, is one of the many gateways in which we express the Beat we want to keep...and continue to pass on to future generations.  What does your Beat sound like?

[delazand]

"I Thought You Knew" - Three 6 Mafia

Before Three 6 Mafia was trying to stay fly with Columbia Records, they spent the 90's immersed in the dark "horrorcore" depths of hip hop. This track features Gangsta Boo, the only female member of the group and yet another badass lady emcee. These raw lyrics over deep beats create an overwhelmingly eerie mood, so much that you can feel the darkness looming over the streets of Memphis.

Somebody got locked down, and shackled with fuckin chains. They ruined their fuckin brain, they ain't treated like a man. This shit gotta stop here, I'm tryin to maintain....In my eyes I see blood red nigga you scared. Bullet lead in ya head dead nigga you bled, Out the closet come a skeleton that you tryin to hide, Misses bitches gangsta gangsta nigga livin to die

(Shouts outs to that ex-cholo who showed me this the other day, now I'm kind of addicted.)

[delazand]

hip hop at its best has an incredible beauty to marry words to the natural rhythm of the world.

[delazand]

Aaliyah. Classic.  www.delazand.tumblr.com

[delazand]

Too $hort "I Ain't Trippin" (1989)

Here's some classic Bay Area hip hop straight from Oakland, taking the old school natives way back to those funky beats. This song is about all the player haters before the word player hater even existed. Everyone's gonna run into haters on the road to success, but Too Short's reminding us that he still ain't trippin. 

I ain't trippin' no more Really ain't worth my time So to squashed it off I kicked on back And wrote you all the rhyme Benzes rollin', Beemers jettin' And Caddies keep on dippin' You keep on talkin' all that crap I ain't trippin'...

Damn now I'm craving some Kwik Way ....

[delazand]

The Pharcyde - "Drop"  (1995)

I've been watching a some of Spike Jonze's older work lately and I fell back into this classic video. The Pharcyde stepped on the scene in the midst of the 90's West Coast gangsta rap era, bringing a refreshing, jazzy, and playful vibe to California hip hop: "When many MCs and rappers were striving to 'keep it real', The Pharcyde instead went out of their way to 'keep it original'." 

This video was shot in reverse, meaning they performed it all backwards (even rapped it backwards), and then replayed the footage backwards...so it looks...kind of forwards? Crazy yet amazing idea to fit the chopped and bouncy beat of this song. 

Enjoy the ride.  

[delazand]

New unreleased DāM-FunK. Diggin this mellow funky vibe for late nights and early mornings. 

"All U need is your mind, the 'force' & the FUNK. Just 'glyde' w/ this... naturally.

All G.

*Peace. 

- D-F (The freshest in L.A... right now & at this very moment, humbly speaking)"

[delazand]

The Underachievers "Gold Soul Theory" (2012)

Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder welcomed The Underachievers  this past September. Issa Dash and AK are from New York. Their style echoes spiritual philosophies, taking on hip hop through their “elevated mafia”/”elevated soul” theories. “Gold Soul Theory” sounds like the soundtrack to some creepy level on a Super Nintendo game, all while sippin on 40z and spittin conscious verses with tapestries and murals of Sitting Bull in the background. Definitely keeping an eye out for their debut mixtape ‘INDIGOISM’ this month. 

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Es como la vida, no sabes lo que puede pasar mañana. Eso es freestyle

It's like life, you never know what will happen tomorrow. That's freestyle. 

[delazand]

Karriem Riggins “Round The Outside” (2012)

Video for Karriem Riggins’ Alone Together album. Directed by Tuomas Vauhkonen and Jeremias Nieminen.

Stones Throw's done it again. So many thoughts on what this video says, but I think it's more worthy of your personal imagination. I must mention, however... those Nike's being carried by dancing feet with the backdrop of exotic rugs and the embellished gold jewelry is pretty much my dream aesthetic finally brought to life. 

Determination. Focus. Expression. Sensitivity.  Now repeat.  

[delazand]

I remember watching this right around my college graduation, in the midst of those whatamigoingtodowithmylife/whoami/wheredoicomefrom thoughts. This 1994 interview with Tupac settled with me because this is one of the many moments where his individual expression is simultaneously manifested with the greater influence of hip hop culture. He didn't just tell his story, he was the storyteller for the struggle. Tupac fought to tell that story, regardless of the controversy & the criticism. That's what he was doing with his life, that's who he was, and that's where he came from. His words in this interview are especially significant because they convey the necessity of hip hop as a voice for the unheard; a voice that surfaces pain, poverty, struggle, and survival. Tupac also talks about social processes that we continue to face today: the continuous fight for civil rights; the dysfunctional relationship between race, social class, and economic class; the commodification of "the hood"; the questioning of social order; and inevitably, the immense social impact of hip hop & its big mouth: sparking the brain that will change the world. 

This is the only commencement speech I needed.  

[delazand]

www.delazand.tumblr.com

[delazand]

I've been doing some work for Ineffable Music/Hieroglyphics Imperium lately and ran into this Bay Area native. A-1 was born & raised in the Mission District of San Francisco by immigrant parents. His style is silly, intellectual, with so much swaG! Another storyteller reppin where he's from, staying true to his roots, and expressing a conscious mind. The video posted above is a beautiful intro to his mixtape: The Book of Adam. Below is his video for "Now You Do."

Spread Bay Area love!!!

[delazand]

"There is something in music which forgets us, when we listen we are remembered."

[delazand]

Outkast - "Player's Ball" (1994)

Early Happy Christmas present for you: A BABY ANDRE 3000

Something about this funky beat + Andre's voice makes me so happy every time I hear it. This is Outkast eating cereal, playing pool, chillin at the barber shop, driving around town, hanging out at house parties, reppin the hustle. This is Andre 3000 in a Braves jersey and a fuzzy hat. 

"I made it through another year can't ask for nothin much more."

[delazand]

Oddisee - "You Know Who You Are" ft. Olivier Daysoul (Acoustic Version) 2012 

I honestly wish I could post all of his songs, or at least this whole album in one post. For now, let's appreciate the beauty of this acoustic session with Oddisee & Olivier Daysoul. I saw these guys about a month ago when they played for their first time in San Francisco. It was a great show and I gained mad respect for Oddisee especially, both as an individual and an underground hip hop artist. He writes and produces all of his songs, and his lyrics always keep it real. He talks about his hometown, gentrification, boredom, inequality, the questions of making it big...(and what the hell does that mean, anyway?) What I love most about Oddisee's style is that he raps as if he were talking directly to someone or telling a story. He brings back the power of hip hop, which is essentially all about sharing your own story. 

This song is about the people who supported him from the start, and, inevitably, also about the people who didn't. The lovers and the haters. You know who you are. The journey through relationships & friendships that every person faces as they struggle to achieve their dreams.