Watch: Think About it - MostDope (@_daGifted)

It’s funny where you can find quality hip hop nowadays. In this case, I didn’t have to comb through SoundCloud, rap blogs, or DatPiff mixtapes to discover this up and coming emcee. Hell, dude just happens to be my kid brother’s best friend and roommate. Hailing from Asbury Park, MostDope recently put out visuals for his song Think About It.  The song itself reminds me of something that would come from mid 2000s Roc-A-Fella or maybe present day Jamla. The beat is sample heavy with a distinct guitar riff and light piano melody over snapping drums. It’s refreshing to hear a young rapper from around my way that isn’t obsessed with the Southern trap or Chicago drill sound when it comes to beats. I can also appreciate with MostDope’s craftsmanship inasmuch as he created a song with two verses, a melodic bridge and a good chorus. He goes the introspective route on this one and speaks about life around the way and how he aspires to do better than his surroundings. It’s honest but hopeful.

The video complements the message in the song. When I first heard the song I was like “This is some real bodega/corner store rap. We need more of this. I’m feeling it.” So naturally the video was shot in and around the notorious Sheffield Market in Asbury Park and the surrounding area. The video looks professional but still has a gritty feel to it. New artists naturally film their first video in their neighborhood and in this case MostDope and director King Ramses made a good choice in keeping it local. If this is what MostDope has to offer as a debut I can’t see what he has going on next.  Keep an eye out for him because he seems to be wise beyond his years.

#TBT: Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous

One of the most underrated things in life is rediscovering an old album that you loved back in the day but kind of forgot about.

This was the case when I was looking for an album for this throwback Thursday column.  Seeing as the 16th anniversary of his murder just passed, I decided to go with Big L’s debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous.  For those of you unacquainted, Big L was a talented Harlem emcee whose lyrical stylings inspired an entire generation of punchline rappers.  He is also credited for essentially starting the “horrorcore” sub-genre with his brutal lyrics, although he wasn’t beholden to just that style.  At the time of his death in 1999 he was in the process of signing with Roc-A-Fella Records.  A number of posthumous albums of varying quality have been released but his 1995 debut remains one of the most slept-on albums in the history of hip hop.  

Laced with beats from Buckwild, Lord Finesse, Showbiz, and Craig Boogie, Big L constructs an album that serves as a time capsule of sorts to 1995 and almost a blueprint for how to make a balanced album.  L had a plethora of jazzy beats on which to showcase his lyrical dexterity. 

He starts off with a couple of braggadocios/radio-friendly songs in Put It On with Kid Capri on the hook and next raps over a very familiar DeBarge sample on MVP.  Throughout the rest of the album, you get your posse cuts (8 Iz Enuff and Da Graveyard feature a “before they were stars” Cam’ron and Jay-Z respectively), socially conscious songs (Street Struck talks about avoiding the trappings of the hood while Fed Up wit the Bullshit speaks on police brutality and racism.)  The tracks All Black and Danger Zone stand out as the most gritty and dark tracks on the album, the likes of which haven’t been seen since.

I don’t feel like this album is dated or aged poorly as far as the music goes.  This album isn't for everybody though, to be honest.  On a few of his tracks, L uses his gift for wordplay to craft some of the most brutal lyrics out.  Murder is a frequent topic, to say the least.  In a more socially conscious era, I recognize that some of the content is blatantly violent, misogynistic, and homophobic.   While this won’t sit well for many people, I’m also wise enough to understand that well, that’s kind of the point.  The lyrics are meant to be outrageous and shocking.  If you can see past this, you're left with an album of 90’s era beats with some of the most clever wordplay ever put on wax.  And since Big L didn’t have a Tupac-sized trove of unreleased material, this is essentially his masterpiece since his career and life were both tragically cut short.  L set the table for mixtape rappers who became punchline-obsessed and horrorcore emcees that tried to come up with the most outlandish and demented shit that they could think of.  But no one ever replicated the layers and diversity of Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous.  Big L was only scratching the surface.  May he rest in peace.