In an effort to further explore the myriad and "Komplicated" musical tastes of the modern "post-Black" denizens of the world, we present Spin City, which will feature recommendations from some of the world’s finest DJs, Joining resident turntablist DJ Jedi, we're proud to present the musical musings of Brutha Gimel (also known as Gimel Hooper), a double threat who not only is well known for his skills on the wheels, but also as a spoken word artist of considerable renown and one of the co-founders of LA's long-running venue Da Poetry Lounge. We now present Gimel's favorites for this week …
I had a conversation with a couple of friends a week ago about the state of hip hop in the mainstream. I contested that we need more options when it comes to the tone and messages our children are receiving. So, I decided to throw a few suggestions that would make hip hop forefathers proud.
- "Grew Up Fast," J. Cole
Man! I was wondering when I would hear the young lad really blaze a track and he delivered with esteem and vigor on this one. I know. I know. Fans of J. Cole will claim to have known this all alone and I say sure he's had the potential but I had yet to hear the metaphors and maturity with the cadence until now. Now, I will be placing him in "the future of rap" conversations. Dare I say, "It's a Cole World?"
- "Cartoon & Cereal," Kendrick Lamar
If you are not up on this young future of rap, get up on him fast. As a DJ, typically look for tracks to move the dance floor first. Within those tracks I do lyric analysis. Well, this is not a dance track — it's strictly lyrics and built up production. In other words, it's made for listening, not dancing. However, the listening experience takes you on a metaphoric street ride into the mind of Kendrick Lamar with his "Elementary Hood Ish." The kid got skills for real.
- "Gotta Git It (Dripped Up)," Nappy Roots feat. Aleon Craft
Yeah buddy! Them country hip hop boys are back with another feel good joint for the hard worker in you. "This is for the hustle generation not imposters" is a quote from the first verse which gives us a sense of the direction these twanged out lyricists are taking it. I look forward to hearing more of their new music because Nappy Roots have always been on some down to earth reality ish and frankly I respect that about them. This is reality rap your mama could listen to.
- "Raw (Oddisee remix)," DTMD feat. Godly MC & Kev Brown
This one is for all of my boom bap lovers who love that basement flavor old school hip hop sound. These cats give it to you exactly how the title suggests. Raw, without a lot of flash just simply putting it down over a laid back greasy track made for hip hop purists. I'm done talking about it, get a sniff!
- "Rotweilers," Brown Bag AllStars
As you may have noticed, this week is all about hip hop lyricism. I ran across this group and was instantly reminded of the days when crews got together and blessed a track a la "The Symphony" and "Scenario." You can almost tell that when they were in the lab creating the concept that the idea was to grab the mic, lock on to it and rip with the ferociousness of … a Rotweiler.
Check out Brutha Gimel out tonight at Da Poetry Lounge.
Barring unforeseen challenges, Brutha Gimel's Spin City should be waiting for you, right here on Komplicated.com, every Tuesday afternoon.
[Source: Brutha Gimel]