Big Michael comes out of the traps with a huge, cinematic, unashamedly religious offering that balances - albeit a little clumsily - badman grime hitters, post-Pablo gospel-hop, and laidback love songs. Massively ambitious, and mostly executed with aplomb. Sure to be talked up as an instant classic in certain circles. It felt a little like grime's mainstream ascent depended on Stormzy, and he doesn't dissapoint.
A concept album about the highs and lows of being inebriated, told through a series of unerringly funky and loveably goofy vignettes. Not as enotionally affecting as Apocalypse, but more coherent and confident. Thundercat deploys a clean sound throughout, bending otherwise cheesy genre tropes to his will and crafting a sound that is unmistakably his own, managing the rare feat of being both showily virtuosic and also writing incisive, memorable, capital-S Songs.
This is the best Future, the almost unbearably honest, petty, joyous, walking contradiction with the sad robot voice and 1001 mini-melodies ready to go. He effortlessly melds trap, R'n'B, straight up pop, and that diet dancehall that's been everywhere recently, but does so in a way that feels infinitely more human than Aubrey or Abel. He's mean as fuck, but it comes from a place of genuine hurt. With every listen it becomes more and more apparent that this is his magnum opus, and could quite conceivably end up being in my top five at year's end.
Quelle Chris deals in off-kilter, sample-heavy, dryly funny, conversational hip-hop. He fits into the Detroit Weirdo Rap Continuum somewhere between Dilla and Danny Brown. He sounds like Quasimoto, sans helium. He has the same worries as Open Mike Eagle, but his jokes don't land the same; he has no punchlines, only receding hairlines. He hates himself, yet he is his own favourite rapper. He has all my heroes on speed-dial, and is unafraid to ask for favours. Does that make him a rapper's rapper? Or a rapper's producer? Most likely, he's just a lovely dude. He comes across as one. His new album is about self-acceptance. You should check it out.
"My nuts hang like ribs in a meat truck"
"Pockets lumpy like puffer fish"
"My trail of broken hearts is like ocean sharks"
"The weed loud but the money quiet"
"I'm too pretty, don't pity me, just a ghetto boy like Willie D"
"Read the bulletin, you just some shit to put some bullets in"
"My smile's porcelain, my hood's a gauntlet"
"My shoes worth an MF Doom verse"
"Crack tore my fam apart, but it bought my first apartment"
He spits these rhymes over dusty, cocaine-encrusted soul samples, which sound more like they've been exhumed than stumbled upon in A1. If that isn't perfection, I don't know what is. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Been a while, but here's something extra special for your pleasure: a 19-year-old Dizzee Rascal on Felli Fel's Power 106 show in 2004, his first ever appearance on American radio, promoting his first US tour and debut album, shouting out likeminded regional rap progressives E-40 and (future collaborators) UGK, as well as long-forgotten novelty grime spitter Marga Man, talking about the influence of drum'n'bass on his music, audibly confusing Felli with his untamed London accent and MLE slang, to the point that he is eventually asked to literally spell out his album title for listeners, apologising for swearing freely on daytime radio, recommending himself to fans of Outkast and N.E.R.D., and sounding surprisingly at home spitting rapid-fire street knowledge over contemporary American hip-hop beats. Whilst it possibly sounds somewhat tame now, especially in the wake of Danny Brown's Dizzee-inspired cadences, Atlanta's seemingly endless procession of near-wordless rap experimentalists, and the wider grime takeover, led by Skepta and co-signed by Drake (among others), unsuspecting L.A. listeners must've treated this young alien upstart with either strange excitement or total confusion. It's a perfectly preserved example of a mildly uncomfortable culture clash in rap from a time before the internet encouraged this post-regional morass that much of mainstream rap currently resides in, for better or worse, and yet it still feels way fresher than its 15-year age would suggest. It confirms my long-held viewpoint that pre-21 Dizzee was one of the best to ever touch mic, and it's essential listening for those with any interest in this sort of thing, obviously.
Post subject: Re: History of the Communist Party of Great Britain 1927-194
meccalecca wrote:
Skinny wrote:
An introduction would be redundant. You already know what it is. Been completely obsessed with this in the last ten days or so, falling more in love with every listen:
Just gave this a first listen. Damn. Just as incredible as you say.
I know the above is from a while back but Im going to have to check this one out. Until I looked at your thread and chart I didnt realize you were into several albums I like quite a bit. Id only ever seen you talk about Hip Hop albums and just assumed you were first, foremost and last a Hip Hop buff ... which has a lot of value anyway, for multiple reasons, semi selfishly because I have been itching for years to find a Hip Hop album that I would legitimately call an all time masterpiece on my way-too-strict ratings scale. _________________ Best Classical Best Films Best Paintings
First up is my favourite rap record of 2019 thus far, a selection of recordings made by the Stinc Team's resident livewire prior to his recent incarceration. Over a series of lo-fi hyphy instrumentals with blown-out bass shudders, Ketchy and his snowplough flow bark their way above and across beats with scant regard for finding or staying in the pocket, alongside a series of L.A.'s other major rising stars, including Shoreline Mafia, Desto Dubb, Bambino, and inimitable songbird 03 Greedo, offering unapologetic, slang-laden shit-talk, largely about selling and/or consuming various drugs, but no less entertaining for it. Whilst not quite as dense nor as beautifully surreal with the pen, respectively, as fellow Stinc members Ralfy the Plug (who also shows up here) and de facto group leader Drakeo the Ruler, Ketchy is a unique presence whose mix of charming Keak Da Sneak energy and growling DMX intensity make him one to watch closely the minute he's released.
Payroll Giovanni, of Detroit street rap legends Doughboyz Cashout (RIP Roc), has carved out a lane in recent years as one of hip-hop's finest purveyors of nimble, technical, decidedly unglamorous gangsta rap, a post-Gibbs type who takes his craft as seriously as his code. Whilst my particular preference is for the luxurious g-funk he puts out in collaboration with Cardo (last year's Big Bossin Vol. 2 was amongst 2018's very best, of any genre), he sounds equally at home over that monstrous, bass-heavy, Detroit sound (which is also present on Sada Baby's critically acclaimed latest), itself a close cousin of the Bay Area hyphy found elsewhere on this list, namely Free Sauce and No Pressure. Over eight catchy, focused tracks, Giovanni's contempt for the music industry shines through, with some of his most vivid lines ever, forming a mission statement of sorts that wouldn't outstay its welcome were it double the length.
Tree, Chicago's gravel-voiced street preacher whose signature 'soultrap' innovation - which consists of, you guessed it, dusty soul samples over trap percussion - and pair of Sunday School mixtapes should have made him a much bigger star than he is, has been all but missing in action for the past few years, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see him return with this low-stakes collection of wizened, knowing street rap in collaboration with grimy smart aleck and fellow Chicagoan Vic Spencer. The pair complement each other extremely well, with Vic's sharp, nasal punchlines cutting through Tree's bluesy impressionism, and a scene-stealing guest verse from one of rap's in-form stars, longtime Spencer collaborator Chris Crack, is simply the cherry atop a highly satisfying cake.
Oakland's Offset Jim is best-known as good friend of and cold-blooded counterpoint to the rapidly rising and hugely likeable motormouth ALLBLACK, who turns up with a guest-spot on this polished, memorable debut. Built on a bed of skeletal Bay Area slappers with earthquake-inducing bass thuds, Jim's quiet, plainspoken, emotionless flow renders his constant threats of physical violence slightly terrifying, like the psychopath pimp whose punchlines you're cautious to laugh at for fear of Pesci in Goodfellas style, "funny how?" retribution. Needless to say, this particular mix of throwback Bay Area minimalist synthetic funk and hushed, dead-eyed intensity is a winning combination.
15-year-old DMV native YungManny is an ADHD rapper, a highly entertaining goon who switches effortlessly and without warning between sugary, post-Thug warbling and aggressively offbeat (and just plain aggressive) snarling, filling his stream-of-consciousness threats with cartoon characters and bad-taste pop culture references in a way that only a hood kid in the information overload age could. At times, his pure, unfiltered energy and relentless sense of fun call to mind those halcyon days of early grime, even if his sound is rooted in ever-so-2019 melodic trap. With a knack for both earworm hooks and "what did he just say?!?" quotables, Manny has all the tools to establish himself as one of the truly standout voices in a crowded field, and it's fair to say that - given his almost unbelievably young age - he's got time firmly on his side.
Let me know if y'all hear anything you think I might like. Peace. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
'Genius of Love' has long proven fertile ground for beatmakers and rappers. Its playful lyrical tributes to the then-burgeoning hip-hop scene (and the mention of plenty of disco and soul names, most famously producer Hamilton Bohannon and legendary singer James Brown) make clear that these white guys had a shared kinship from the beginning, whilst the song's opening salvo of, "Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail? I'm gonna have some fun," has continued to chime with rappers to this day due to the continued proliferation of the prison-industrial complex and the sheer amount of incarcerated young African-American men. With its effortlessly funky, post-disco guitar, its meaty bassline, and fragile yet freaky synth riff, it's has always seemed an obvious choice for producers who want something recognisable and funky to play with, and it's no surprise whatsoever that it has become one of the most sampled rhythm tracks at all-time.
However, it would take years to comb through every song to have ever slyly incorporated a single hit from the drum machine or a particular bass note - the twenty songs listed below all feature overt elements of the song, be they vocal interpolations used as hooks, nods to that synth line, or - in a surprisingly large number of cases - simply the entire backing-track taken wholesale. (All of that said, I've decided to leave any chopped'n'screwed versions of either the original or songs that sample the original off this list, for consistency's sake, but please know that most screwed versions I found would've fared very well.) When ranking these songs, the only metric I've actually used is how much I enjoy them, so whilst there are times when 'Genius of Love' has been incorporated in a way that's more fresh or interesting than others, that doesn't necessarily mean a higher ranking. Anyway, I hope it goes without saying that you can feel free to disagree with me, and to tell me which obvious numbers I may have missed out. Otherwise, have a read, have a listen, and have some fun (natural fun!).
First up - and worst up - on this list are long-forgotten Canadian hip-hop duo Dream Warriors, whose legacy is pretty much non-existent, and certainly didn't begin with this Frankenstein's monster of early '80s disco, taking the bassline from The Graingers' 'Shine A Light' and tacking on our heroes' synth riff during the hook, all the while dropping charisma-starved pearls of early-'90s faux-enlightened bullshit such as, "drink to victory in my victory cup", and "realise my eyes hypnotise, what are you, surprised?", none of which means anything whatsoever (though their debut album, of which this is the title track, was somehow well-received at the time). The beat itself isn't terrible by any means, but the pair are borderline incompetent on the mic, aside from having mastered the art of saying nothing whilst steadfastly refusing to have a personality. Next!
19. X-Ecutioners - Genius of Love 2002 (feat. Biz Markie)
I could be wrong here, but it sure sounds like Tina may have recorded new vocals for this faithful, 2002, Biz Markie-assisted cover version, though why remains a mystery to me, as does the popularity of turntablism as a genre (though that argument is for another day). This sort of "four elements", retro-fetishism just annoys me, and getting Biz Markie to do vocals on anything post-1991 is generally a mistake ('Girls, Girls, Girls' excepted, obviously). There's nothing wrong with this particularly, but it all just feels so unnecessary. It does what it says on the tin, in that sense: it's a 2002 remake of the original with added scratches and Biz Markie shouting about sex over the top. Why?
18. Lucky Luciano - Chop Dat Hoe (feat. Baby Bash, Jay Tee, Mac Dre & Don Cisco)
An unimaginative sampling job isn't necessarily gonna mean a low ranking on this particular list, but when matched with such personality-starved, cookie-cutter misogyny as this, it's difficult to defend. Even a reliably entertaining - if entirely off-topic - Mac Dre verse ("I can't ride with them, they got crumbs on their table, can't sign with them, they got bums on their label") comes in far too late to save this shower of mediocrity, which does absolutely nothing to stand out from other songs of its type. The message of the story here is a simple one: give Mac Dre all the verses.
Best-known for being one half of EPMD, this is the first of two Erick Sermon beats on this list, and the lower of the pair for perhaps being somewhat tamer, though the difference is, quite frankly, negligible. Both take those fabled synth- and bass-lines and add some slightly harder-hitting drums, whilst also slowing the whole thing down slightly to give it that party-starting, funky, East Coast hardcore sound that Onyx or the Boot Camp Clik would've sounded great over. Neither are bad, exactly, although the other version features Redman rapping instead of Erick, and is therefore better, featuring nothing quite as cringeworthy as Olivia and E Dub's post-hook question and answer session: "Whatcha gon do when you get in the jam? I'm gonna have some fun. What do you consider fun? Doin' it for Pac, Big L, Tah, and Pun."
I honestly can't in good faith put this any higher on the list as it features about one minute of rapping over a version of the original that virtually nothing has been done to, coming as it did from a 2008, DJ Whoo Kid-hosted mixtape. It barely qualifies as a song, frankly. But I was tempted to put it Top 5, because that flip of the classic "Jaaaames Broooooooown" bit into "my dope be beeeiiige brooooooooown" is fucking genius, and because for that one minute at the beginning of this before he just lets the original play out, Fiddy proves himself to be one of the most natural rappers on this whole list. However, ultimately, whilst this shines so brightly, it just burns out far too soon.
15-11 coming next time, featuring J Dilla, De La Soul, Cam'ron, and more... _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
'Genius of Love' is one of the all-time great meta examples of pop imitating pop; a song by a bunch of white indie kids, influenced by and about hip-hop, going on to become the basis for so many other actual hip-hop songs. The first of these, and one of the best examples of early hip-hop in general, is Dr. Jeckyll & Mr Hyde's 'Genius Rap', which came out mere weeks after the original, predating Lil Wayne's legendary ability to take contemporary hip-hop beats and craft entire mixtapes of himself rapping over the top of them by around a quarter of a decade. This whole thing is just great fun, and really makes you wonder why Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde never became bigger names. They try to spell out that this new music - which, at the time, was considered a fad - was its own separate entity ("it's not the hip-hop of the discos, it's not Don Juan or Romeo"), and presage rap's love of materialism ("we walk these streets without a care, spending cash money like millionaires"), all the while having just about the best time possible. Whilst it certainly sounds dated to modern ears, there was something quietly revolutionary about 'Genius Rap', and it deserves a place among hip-hop's most important records.
The second Erick Sermon beat on this list, 'Brick City Mashin'!' comes from Redman's 1998 collection Doc's Da Name 2000, an album that is both far too long and yet remarkably consistent, from a time when Redman could quite justifiably claim to be one of the best rappers in the world - a wordy weirdo whose slang-heavy, punchline-laden, endlessly energetic verses made him an entertaining presence, even when going through the motions, as on tracks like this. His gruff growl later made him exactly the type of rapper people would use to add a street texture to their songs (see: Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty'), but over the course of a 70-minute album (of which this song comes towards the end) he could become quite tiresome. This is standard fare, block-rockin', hardcore Redman shit, which makes it better than the vast majority of rap music, but by his own high standards it's also kinda nondescript, hence its relatively low placement here.
X Clan were a post-Public Enemy, black militant hip-hop group who, for obvious reasons, only very occasionally (and very gently) flirted with the mainstream. As such, it may seem strange to find out that they rapped over the sugary, carefree, very much white-artist-appropriating-black-genre 'Genius of Love', but they use throwaway line "there's no beginning and there is no end" as a hook for a song about Kemetic spirituality and the Scales of Ma'at - which, well, if it sounds insane, that's because it is. A relatively sparse beat is based around our heroes' bassline, but this self-produced song cleverly pits it against minor piano keys, weird bell noises, and occasional horn blasts, for an urgent, slightly sinister effect found nowhere else on this list. This song is made even more insane by the vaguely apocalyptic ramblings of Professor X the Overseer, who pops up between verses and makes less and less sense as the song goes on. Then, of course, lines like Brother J's "I'll grab you by your crackhead neck, take you back to Egypt where you'll learn respect" really hammer the theme home. Whilst this entire escapade is obviously very self-serious, it's also extremely enjoyable, and certainly the weirdest interpolation of 'Genius of Love' you'll find here.
12. Cam'ron - Me, My Moms & Jimmy (feat. Kenny Greene, Fredericka & Jim Jones)
There's something lovably soap opera about this song, which is future Dipset member Jim Jones' first appearance on record, playing himself on a song in which he and Cam'ron argue with Cam'ron's actual mom about selling drugs, but instead of arguing about whether they should or should not be selling drugs, instead argue about the way they go about it (I think, though the whole thing is somewhat incomprehensible, not helped by Fredericka's below-incompetent rapping ability). As if the song weren't convoluted enough, this also pulls the old Frankenstein's monster trick of pitting two '80s post-disco songs together, as Kenny Greene (RIP) sings the hook from Junior Giscombe's timeless 'Mama Used to Say', though that gets a pass here due it being thematically relevant at least. It's very notable that Cam'ron and Jones, at this stage, hadn't even developed their voices yet, let alone reached the levels of strange, chaotic genius that they would in the early 2000s, but this is still an ambitious endeavour that features some great lines sprinkled throughout, and gets a lot of mileage out of the novelty of hearing Cam'ron's actual mom rapping.
And in at number eleven is another ambitious number that doesn't quite come off as it should, though not for the want of trying. After Dilla got tired of making luscious neo-soul beats, he tried his hand at numerous other sounds, including this clanking, electro-dancehall take on 'Genius of Love', which may have been a better fit for somebody like M.I.A. than old-school New York rappers, but which is charming nonetheless. This was part of a double A-side with 'Much More', and only one of those two songs was deemed fit for a place on their return-to-form 2004 album The Grind Date - it wasn't this one. Professional poor man's Shaggy, Sean Paul, doesn't necessarily help proceedings here, but realistically we are still talking about De La Soul rapping over a J Dilla beat, which is never going to be less than competent, and in this case produces a shuffling track that is goofy in the best way possible. De La always employed nimble flows, and the percussion here is gorgeously off-kilter. Dilla also makes great use of the Tom Tom Club's doo wop-esque backing vocals, a severely underappreciated and underused element of 'Genius of Love' which get some much-deserved focus here. Overall, this track gets points for creativity, and would be somewhat higher on this list if the end product felt like more than the sum of its parts; unfortunately, it doesn't.
10-6 coming next time, featuring Mark Morrison, Busta Rhymes, 2Pac, and more... _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Don't you dare insult the Dream Warriors when I'm around > Absolute masters of having raps with no rhymes whatsoever, and one of the more fun bands I've heard _________________ It's easier to say "I love you," than "Yours, sincerely," I suppose
Very similar to Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde's effort, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's 'It's Nasty' is a very early interpolation of 'Genius of Love', and as such favours the now long dated party-rockin', call-and-response vocal style that really defines that particular era. The advantages this cut has over its close cousin are in its instrumental, which simply pops in a way that 'Genius Rap' doesn't: a more pronounced, practically shimmering synth line; a much fatter bassline; creative horn- and cowbell-propelled breakdowns; a fucking kazoo solo. It's also the first example of the vocalists mimicking the bassline for their flow, a trick later used to great effect later in this list by the likes of Menajahtwa and, most notably, Ol' Dirty Bastard. On top of all of this, it contains one of the all-time great hip-hop boasts in "I've got waterbed seats in my limosine", which - when you actually think about it - is not so much as sign of wealth as it is poor and impractical design nous, and a dubious (in more ways than one) bit of French rapping from arguably the first truly great rapper: "Je m'appelle Melle Mel, donne-moi la petite mademoiselle, donne-moi cinq, donne-moi six, donne-moi huit, neuf, dix." The whole thing is just a riot, and proves why Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five are rightly remembered as the first great hip-hop group.
Potentially the most subtle sampling job on this list, I was somewhat cautious about included the widely beloved 'Return of the Mack', but the drums are so unmistakably those from 'Genius of Love' (to say nothing of the synth line which deliberately takes its cue from 'Genius of Love''s shuffling rhythm guitar), and it seemed a shame to leave it out. A perfect midpoint between the rugged muscularity of New Jack swing and the luscious romanticism of quiet storm-inspired neo-soul, the song was a huge worldwide hit for a man of Barbadian descent, born in Germany, and raised in the UK (and later, briefly, Miami). Quite simply, the song feels like money, straight from that initial "ooooaaahhooooooaaaahhoooooaaooh, I'm on!" His strange, breathy, Horace Andy-esque vocals are what really sell it, though, and are most likely what made the song such a global smash - a voice that sounded like it could've come from anywhere. Previously, Morrison had managed a couple of minor UK hits, so his claims of being "back to run the show" seemed like heavy posturing at best, but despite never really capitalising on the song's success, it remains a beautifully rendered ode to feeling on top of the world, and continues to slay dancefloors over two decades later.
8. 2nd II None - Niggaz Trippin' (feat. AMG, DJ Quik & Hi-C)
The most uptempo entry on this list - for reasons that should be obvious, given that 'Genius of Love' is already the perfect tempo for rapping over - 'Niggaz Trippin'' is a fairly low-stakes, earlyish DJ Quik production that acts as posse cut ode to partying and pussy, the type of early '90s West Coast banger of which there are hundreds, but one which has aged particularly well. All Quik appears to have done is speed up the drums, synth and bassline, whilst stripping away everything else, but it's the team nature of this song that really appeals, and all of its strange idiosyncrasies. Pitch-shifting is used so that it sounds like a cute cartoon alien is rapping, repeatedly, "there's pussy on my dick, shall I kill it?", which is just hilarious. Hi-C raps not only of "fuckin' doggystyle", but also "fuckin' froggystyle", which is also just hilarious. Gangsta D finishes his opening verse with a slightly extended metaphor, rapping, "I slang this dick like a fishing pole, see, what I catch I don't eat, 'cause they're ain't nothing fly about coochie meat", which obviously outlines his own insecurities about oral sex, but is also, y'know, just hilarious. And then, at the end of the song, they steal the chorus melody from Parliament's 'Give Up the Funk' to sing about how each of them, in turn, has "gotta bust that nut", which, again, hilarious. Look, it's probably not for the faint-hearted, or anybody who doesn't want to listen to a group of grown men tell dick jokes and talk about their sexual conquests for six minutes over a Tom Tom Club sample, but I am not - and hopefully never will be - that person.
I have a friend who is a huge 2Pac fan. He believes that Pac is the greatest rapper of all-time, and will hear no word to the contrary on the matter. I can understand his position on this, even if I beg to differ. He also believes that the Outlawz are a highly underrated group of actually very competent rappers who only struggled to become more popular because they were saddled with the weight of expectation that came with being associated with 2Pac. I cannot understand his position on this. They are little more than glorified weed carriers, and Pac's insistence on including them on so many of his songs really drags down large parts of his output. One exception to this rule, however, and perhaps the most notable one, is the posthumous 'High Speed', a paranoid, 'Genius of Love'-interpolating anthem about destroying your enemies on which Outlawz Yaki Kadafi and E.D.I. Mean bring their absolute A-games. The theme of this song is a common one for 2Pac, but this is surely one of the best examples of his own particular micro-genre. Over menacing, ringing synths that subtly recall those from 'Genius...', the three of them rap about getting too high on weed, questioning god, chasing paper, shooting enemies and, per Kadafi, "leavin' [their] family in mourning". And then, of course, there is the pièce de résistance, the whole reason 'High Speed' is on this list in the first place: "Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail? I'm gonna buy me a gun." It's the focal point of this song, the hook's repeated mantra, and the point at which 'Genius of Love' proves its undying worth in a gangsta rap world. With that hook, Pac turned an ode to fun (natural fun) into an ode to violence and paranoia, and provided the world with one of the most memorable twists on this song ever made.
Much like the aforementioned 'High Speed', Busta Rhymes and Erykah Badu's Rockwilder-produced collaboration 'One' recasts 'Genius of Love' in ways that are subtle and downbeat, although that's about where the similarities end. Whilst the former is a weed-addled ode to gunslinging, the latter is a Common-style ballad about oneness and an encouraging, universal idea of love, bathed in soothing neo-soul sounds and a bed of glorious "oooh"s borrowed from Stevie Wonder. If this sounds like an unusual direction for hardcore motormouth and occasionally gangsta-adjacent Busta Rhymes, that's because it is, though it's not completely out of the blue, especially given Busta's previous association with Native Tongues alumni A Tribe Called Quest and the fact that these sorts of male-female, rap-meets-R'n'B experiments were commonplace on albums like 1997's When Disaster Strikes..., which had unashamedly mainstream intentions at a time when Badu's star was probably at its brightest. It's a song about equality, and its lyrics are so vague as to escape real criticism, but it definitely feels much more in Badu's wheelhouse than in Busta's, which is most likely for the best, frankly. It lacks the punch or specificity of something like the aforementioned Common's 'The Light', and it's evident that Busta didn't necessarily feel completely comfortable writing in this style, but as a piece of laidback, works-best-when-stoned, soulful hip-hop, it's perfectly lovely, and its opening, 'Genius of Love'-quoting salvo adds a much-needed element of fun to proceedings. Also, y'know, it has Erykah Badu on it, which immediately makes makes it better than almost everything else.
The top five coming next time, featuring ODB and Mariah, going back like babies and pacifiers... _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
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Absolute masters of having raps with no rhymes whatsoever, and one of the more fun bands I've heard
