“Woody Allen was an auteur: he did his thing, and that particular thing was completely his own. That’s what I decided to do with music. I want to create a director’s role within music… have to be in control of the project I’m doing. I can create different kinds of musical worlds, but the artist needs the desire to go into that world…. Musically, there is no one who has the career I want. That’s why I have to use film directors as a model.”

-Danger Mouse, “The DJ Auteur” in the New York Times Magazine, June 20 2006.

These two talents have their own distinct styles that they interweave into every track they touch.

Danger Mouse specializes in varying up his beats and rhythms within songs, so that the listener never has to hear the same repetitive drums or samples within a track. It’s a pleasure to listen closely for a skipped bass thud or an extra couple snares thrown in to the end of a loop in any of his hip hop albums. That is to say, he also produces for other genres as well, producing Beck’s recent album Modern Guilt and the debut from The Good, the Bad, and the Queen.

Dan “the Automator” Nakamura boasts a record collection totaling over 15,000, ranging from classical to B-movie soundtracks and into vintage television sound clips. His most easily identifiable characteristic is the myriad of sources and musical tastes reflected in his tracks, as he grew up playing violin but quickly delved into electronica and hip hop. Partnering with scores of producers and MCs, including Prince Paul, Kool Keith, DJ Shadow, and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Nakamura is one of the more well-traveled and eclectic producers out there.

Which do you like better, MdM guests? I find it hard to pick between the two. An interesting point to note is Dan the Automator’s production of the first Gorillaz album, followed by Danger Mouse producing their second album, Demon Days. Small world.

Tell me who you tickles your musical fancy more, and hey, isn’t hip hop music so much more interesting when you know who’s producing it?

Danger Mouse

Danger Mouse- What More Can I Say
The Grey Album (2004)
Danger Mouse & Jemini ft. The Pharcyde- Medieval
Ghetto Pop Life (Lex Records, 2003)
Danger Doom- A.T.H.F.
The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph, 2005)

Dan the Automator

Dr. Octagon- Bear Witness
The Octagonecologyst (DreamWorks, 1996)
Dan the Automator- My Guru
Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars, and Sitars (1998)
Handsome Boy Modeling School ft. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien- Magnetizing
So…How’s Your Girl? (Tommy Boy, 1999)

Image: fensterbme

Having lived my entire life on the east coast of the U.S. and briefly in Europe, the concept of California and the west coast was always an imagined, distant place for me. Eventually I’d like to make it out there, maybe spend a few years in San Francisco, experience some of that laid back attitude you hear so much about.

Anyway, these artists and songs, all from the Golden state, represent collectively the California consciousness. For me, as an outsider to this culture, it gives me an idea of the range and energy inherent in all the different genres of music that emanate from Cali. I can’t include some of the more popular choices such as Dr. Dre, Snoop, Sublime, and the Chili Peppers, but I’m sure you’ll recognize a couple of these artists. Enjoy and chillllllllllll…..

P.S. Gotta give props to the Mamas & the Papas too…bunch of characters, those guys.

Souls of Mischief- Let ‘em Know
on 93 ‘Til Infinity (1993, Jive)
Murs- Brotherly Love
on The End of the Beginning (2003, Def Jux)
Madlib- Sickfit
on Madvillainy (2004, Stones Throw Records)
Ugly Duckling- Rio De Janeiro
on Taste the Secret (2003, Emperor Norton Records)
The Nonce- Mix Tapes
on World Ultimate (1995, American Recordings)
Long Beach Dub All Stars ft. Barrington Levy – Saw Red
on Right Back (1999, Dreamworks Records)
The Crystal Method- Wild, Sweet and Cool
on Tweekend (2001, Outpost)

Image: Brandon Cayaban

Chilling out on the beach this hot, sunny 4th of July weekend, I took some time to reflect on some of the pioneers of hip hop, even though I wasn’t really around to listen to them at the time. Now I know I’ve left out a few notables such as Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, etc., but these tracks and artists help remind me how great hip hop was at its humble beginnings.

About a few of the tracks-

“Everyday People” is a classic American song of equality and working class people, and along with other funk acts of the time period, was instrumental in setting the stage for hip hop in the 80s and 90s.

“The Bridge Is Over” is the one of the first diss songs, off of one of the very first gangsta rap albums, Criminal Minded. This kicked it all off for Biggie, 2Pac, and Jay-Z in the 90s.

Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, and EPMD all speak for themselves as defiant, rebellious hip hop acts of the 80s. Each respective album is an absolute classic.

The Beastie Boys album “Paul’s Boutique” would be illegal nowadays, as the prescence of over a hundred unlicensed samples was revolutionary and, well, prohibited. Note Bernard Hermann’s Psycho shower theme in the chorus to “Egg Man”.

The last 3 tracks include Dr. Dre and the D.O.C., who released this album and never rapped again due to a car accident that severed his vocal chords, and Nas’s debut on Main Source’s “Live at the Barbecue”. Thought it was fitting for July 4th weekend. Finally, Immortal Technique, leading the charge against the media in “The 4th Branch”.

I apologize for the long article, enjoy your weekend and incorporate some hip hop into it at some point…

Sly & the Family Stone- Everyday People
Stand! (1969)
Boogie Down Productions- The Bridge is Over
Criminal Minded (B-Boy Records, 1986)
Public Enemy- Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam, 1988)
Eric B. and Rakim- Follow the Leader
Follow the Leader (1988)
EPMD- You’re a Customer
Strictly Business (Sleeping Bag Records, 1988)
Beastie Boys- Egg Man
Paul’s Boutique (1989)
The D.O.C.- Lend Me an Ear
No One Can Do It Better (Ruthless Records, 1989)
Main Source- Live at the Barbecue
Breaking Atoms (Wild Pitch Records, 1991)
Immortal Technique- The 4th Branch
Revolutionary Vol. 2 (Viper Records, 2003)

Image: americanhustle

“Money is cool, I’m only human
But they use it as a tool to make the workers feel excluded
Like the shinier the jewel the more exclusive the troop is
Bullets don’t take bribes stupid, they shoot shit”

-Aesop Rock

It’s really too bad popular hip hop is filled with people like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Flo Rida, and G-Unit. If only people would wake up and see how much more talented and interesting some of this underground hip hop is, the world might be just that much more intelligent.

Wish it was still the 90′s….at least the 2000s have given us these guys:

Aesop Rock- 39 Thieves
None Shall Pass ( Definitive Jux, 2007)
Brother Ali- Nine Double’Em
Rites of Passage (Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2000)
El-P ft. Mars Volta- Tasmanian Pain Coaster
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (Definitive Jux, 2007)
Shinsight Trio- Early Dayz Amazement
Shallow Nights Blurry Moon (Bad News Records, 2006)
Cannibal Ox- Pigeon
The Cold Vein (Definitive Jux, 2001)
Viktor Vaughn aka MF Doom- Vaudeville Villian
Vaudeville Villian (Sound-Ink, 2003)

Image: Lynt

Any serious discussion of East Coast hip hop and rap music must begin with reference to the legendary DJ Premier. Preemo, as he was affectionately known by the various emcees he worked with throughout his career, revolutionized the hip hop beat with his simplistic use of a punchy two bar breakbeat. His greatest contribution, however, may have been in the incorporation of vocal scratching into the rap producer’s arsenal.

His wide-ranging choice of samples also being a point of interest, it is mainly the perfecting of the scratch technique, that crazy wiki wiki sound, that has cemented DJ Premier’s legacy as one of the greatest of all time. He introduced the scratch to rap songs as a rock guitarist would perform a solo, and in doing so, completely changed the genre forever.

This is a small sampling of his work, if you are interested and want to listen to more, I suggest using his extensive discography on wikipedia to hunt down his beats. You may already have a few of them and not even know it, as he produced for Nas on Illmatic, Notorious B.I.G. on Ready To Die, and Jay-Z on Reasonable Doubt, in addition to Gang Starr’s entire catalog.

Sorry to ramble, but I can’t say enough about this guy. One of the best that ever touched a turntable.

Jeru the Damaja- Not the Average
on Wrath of the Math (1996/UMG Recordings)
Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth- Slave to my Soundwave
on Funky Technician (1990/Wild Pitch Records)
Gang Starr- Precisely the Right Rhyme
on Step In The Arena (1991/Chrysalis Records)
Jeru the Damaja- Come Clean
on The Sun Rises in the East (1994/Polygram Records)
KRS-One- Mortal Thought
on The Return of the Boom Bap (1993/Jive Records)
Freddie Foxxx- R.N.S.
on Industry Shakedown (2000/Landspeed Records)
Buckshot LeFonque- Some Shit @ 78 BPM (The Scratch Opera)
on Buckshot LeFonque (1994)
Mos Def- Mathematics
on Black on Both Sides (1999/Rawkus Records)