Half-Assed Links Dump

In keeping with my stunningly superficial* knowledge of rap and those who write about it, I've got some links for you that you've almost certainly seen but to which I thought I should call your attention anyway.

The Notorious BIG - Guaranteed Raw + Microphone Murderer (Dirty/CDQ). Nahright drops two unreleased cuts from Big's demo tape which are apparently going to be featured on the soundtrack to that Biggie movie. By the way, please don't see that; it looks like an even crappier version of Get Rich or Die Tryin. (The bad movie, not the pretty great album.) Microphone Murderer, a freestyle over 'Ain't No Half Steppin,' is definitely the better of the two; 'Guaranteed Raw' is interesting though, you hear a Biggie who hadn't really grown into his own flow yet and was using somebody else's... although I'm blanking on who that somebody else is, but it sounds so vaguely familiar. If you recognize who he sounds like, please tell me.

A Rational Conversation Between Two Adults: What Should Become of the Major-Label Hip-Hop Album? Eskay and FADER deputy editor Eric Ducker get together to discuss what the title says. I wish Eskay would write more instead of just sharing the contents of his inbox with us; when he does he's always really insightful. Though, unlike Eskay, it doesn't amaze me at all that Saigon can't get an album in stores.

A Labyrinth, A Maze (2). Noz throws some cold water on the noxious hipster hop trend infesting the airwaves, most recently and surprisingly at the hands of Jim Jones. Like I say in comments, I don't really care how Jay and Jimmy fuck up what remains of their careers, but if every song on the radio starts featuring some hipster chanteuse with a funny accent, I won't be too happy.

Fifty Remixes You Need To Hear (1-10). If you haven't started reading T.R.O.Y., you really should. It's the best 90s rap blog out there. Tons of rarities and occasionally they have great writeups on the profound hidden meaning behind some Leaders of The New School song I didn't even know existed. Sort of like OhWord in its heyday. This post has a Large Pro remix of Slick Rick (!!!), a Premo M.O.P. remix that attains a measure of poignance that I didn't know Premo had in him (although I guess NY State of Mind Pt. 2 is pretty poignant, but it's also a little mawkish, maybe that's why no one ever talks about it), and an absolutely stunning remix of Das Efx's 'Microphone Master,' the version without Mobb Deep.

'The law is on Blagojevich's side.' My old Con Law professor explains to you lay folk why the Senate has absolutely no business refusing to seat Burris. Do not fall, ye Slate readers, for the clever but BS arguments advanced by Akhil "Effing Genius" Amar. Don't fall for the insane canard that if Blago gets impeached, his successor could appoint someone else and there would be competing appointees; it doesn't work like that. And whatever you do, don't get your analysis of these matters from Hardball, Countdown, or any other cable news show of such intellectually infantile ilk.


* By the way, on the basis of my stunningly superficial knowledge of the Camp David peace process, I think Ziggy's totally wrong about this. Hell of a putdown though.