jzarecta's Last.fm Journal

How hiphop are you

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:06:49 +0000

So for the longest the best way to describe my hiphop flavor was simple. Shaolin, everything from the Wu I would listen to, and even if I made efforts to listen to more underground stuff, I always stick to the Tao of the Wu.

Sure I will go off my way and enjoy some Jay-Z, Ja Rule, lil Kim and some eventful east coast rapper. The thing is that things have never been the same since Biggie die. I used to like Badboy/Death Row a lot and usually worked as gateways for other crews including Too $hort, Scarface, Busta Rhymes, and others.

Then came the Kanye west era and 50 Cent. The west coast somehow died, with teh end of Gfunk and being replaced with some Eminem and other non coasters rappers.

Also NAS was a big influence from the east coast but the thing is the whole QB scene was more associated with the Wu than with Badboys style of party rhyme. Mob Deep, CNN and Terror Squad were also influences in my hiphop style but they werent really trasenent as the W.

Sure this make me go and look underground and find good hiphop with abstract hiphop such as Binary Star, Sole, Eyedea, MF Doom, and then came the big flag of Rawkus which had the potential to change the game with Blackstarr. Truly a huge piece rising also to the Wu status. However it never lasted, sure Talib Kweli and Mos def was something else, Reflection eternal grasp my imagination and Mos Def black on both sides was an athem. But you always have to get back to the Wu in the end when everything was said and done.

Yes now I am a big fan of Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks and new commers like Jay Electronica. Also 2nd acts seem pretty strong like AZ, CNN, and others. However I will still think Wu has that special something that makes me become hiphop. After many years every Wu join still sound as fresh as when it first came out with incredible beats.

Much peace to hiphop and long live the W engraved in solid rock.

More hiphop maybe too late

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 01:42:49 +0000

One thing I have been meaning to write about is the recent discovery I experienced when I heard that my long time friend and rapper — Zabio aka Pakal was about to release a new album. Since then I have been just not listening to hip hop as a movement until recently where I found that there seems to be a lot of hiphop in tabasco. :o

Yes, Tabasco has hiphop, and not from me or my friends, seems there seem to be a whole crew of rappers that are performing and just doing fresh hip hop stuff around their way. Even videos with cyphers and freestyle show how at least they are in touch with the culture.

I would love to see more people getting into hiphop and even making more moves like this. To Agresor and South Sector Crew big props up.

On other notes I am digging the new Mos Def album and the uber-classic Only Built for Cuban Lynx II.

Rescuing my old songs

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:41:24 +0000

So after almost 10 years I finally got myself to put some of the album I pulled together with some friends. Production sucks, but at least was original, well... almost. Most beats were from other albums -- instrumentals.

Still it was nice to see that I still have the tracks and now I am endurring them on the cloud of last.fm, jamendo and magnatunes. See if maybe the combined cloud can guarantee the survival of my music even if its wack and/or even if its just for educational and testimonial on what I once did.

However stop by La Nueva Especie and show ur support.

Last go

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 07:21:51 +0000

This is the last go at trying to rescue my relationship with her and what better than with Soul.

Chocolate Rain

Thu, 2 Aug 2007 06:54:19 +0000

Nothing really to say here except is really sticky song. Is he the next web celeb of Barry withish mixed with Kanye West. youtube is really having their own shares of musical talented.

another awesome stuff I found on youtube is:

Linking with Last.FM friends

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:22:31 +0000

So I am on a campaign to try to chat with some of my last.fm friends. I think that there is a lot of underground talent and a lot of public knowledge that is interesting seen it flow once we start discussing hip hop, groups and exchanging recommendations.

Also people is people and is fun to get to know people that are into the same things you are into. Doesn't mean that you are closed minded but on the opposite you can learn on other things that might not be the same to you.

The only problem is that the communication is not standard meaning that while one guy might have Yahoo another might have MSN. So far I have decided to have the buddies up on skype since is a bit unique in the Voip area. Also there are openwengo, gizmo and others I think it has a very good momentum for anyone to be on it.

My Birthday Concert in Brooklyn

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 20:01:15 +0000

HipHop has become way too over commercial but every now and then there are days where you remember what was hip hop was all about. [event=HiphopFest 2007]Hiphopfest[/event] show exactly that, a cookout type BK event in the middle of the New York Summertime.

People dancing, screaming, chanting and rhyming to what hip hop is all about. Ghostface and Fat Joe as well as Large Professor just playing for the crowd.

With the Brooklyn Bridge on the background and the Manhattan skyline the loud speakers resonate around the park.

Nihonjin Hip Hop

Sat, 26 May 2007 19:19:30 +0000

Recently I have been coming to listen more and more Asian hip hop, specifically Hip hop from Nihon/Japan. Ever since I found a blogging body called elniro, he has been pushing some Japanese artists such as one of my favorites, Nujabes but also some new ones like DJ Muro, DJ Nozawa with Memory Of The Future.

I hope to be listening to more Japanese hip hop and even get a couple of friends from the land of the rising son to educate me on the Nihonjin hip hop scene.

Sayonara!!

New Rhymin Pit Bull

Sat, 26 May 2007 19:12:34 +0000

So it might not be new but is new for me, this cat has earn his status on just a couple of videos I've seen. Bring hiphop back is when you have a rapper actually rhymin and saying something.

I am not a big fan of the hispanic rappers, most of them are very foreign anyway, they are not black nor hispanics, they are newyoricans or dominican. Some are white, some are white, some are brown but really is where is the heart at.

There was something in Terror Squad sound that just didn't completely get me.

It just sounded like a real rapper and the rest was just average dudes that didn't even shine at all. It wasn't like Wu-Tang Clan where there is no real leader that shine above the rest or rather there are leaders that doesn't really mean they are the one shining best. Sometimes might be Method Man, some other times is Ghostface Killah.

Yet Terror squad was either Fat Joe or Big Pun, som when Big Pun died, the whole group die with it.

Anyway enough of that, the point is that there is a new dude in the street and I hope he doesn't become a new version of Big Pun and either come up with real talented backups or excel on his own. But Joel Ortiz is the best new thing that has come up since that whole southern invasion of songs with 3/4 chorus and 1/4 rhymes and 1/200 of content.

Is like a virus and then u have hibrids like MIMS which is a the new york sound wtih a southern influence. Is like the east coast version of the new G-thang.

I am just not feeling it.

However Joel's verses like Hip Hop, and the amazing rhyme-a-thon 125 Grams is what New York City hip hop is all about.

Big Props to the new rapper to bring hip hop back.

Internationally Mr. Nigga

Wed, 9 May 2007 18:41:46 +0000

So I been listening to ODEO a lot lately and have found some interesting stuff there. However I discover something I wasn't expecting, I found a blog site.

Recently I have gone back to check out the hip hop bloggsphere and I found this podcast/blog site called The Couch Sessions.

One of the most interesting posts was something that happened to Nas at one of his concerts where security wouldn't let him get in to his own show. That can't just compare it with what happened to Questlove.

The whole time I was just thinking on the Mos Def's song Mr. Nigga.
The only brother in sight the flight attendent catch fright I sit down in my seat, 2C She approach officially talkin about, "Excuse me" Her lips curl up into a tight space Cause she don't believe that I'm in the right place Showed her my boarding pass, and then she sort of gasped

Questlove is not the vareage rapper, he is not loud extrovertive or just have the ghetto, gangsta mentality. Yet this seem to be the people that get caught up in the mix and the Police show their true color.

because of the SSSS on my ticket i had to go through the “special security line”. and it was there they discovered my dj money stash from countries all around the world. the tsa (who resembled the chuby white dude from the office) starred me up and down and made his decision: “drug dealer”

This was incredible, I mean he was getting on a plane althought I am a bit bias here. Even if the thing is messed up all together if I was in his position I really want to keep low key.

Having tons of money into an airplane is not a good idea. Specially when you are already wearing a hippie outfit:
30 dollar old navy jeans (white boy shit) and a 3000 dollar louis bag (nigga shit) and 5 figures in cash (white boy shit) and a coach seat (nigga shit) and a story of stadiums sold out across the world (nigga shit) but can’t name a hit song of his (white boy shit) (and what the hell is you doing in buffalo of all places (white boy question) followed by my “shrug” (nigga response).