Best Chappelle's Show Hip Hop Performances (Also, PSA For Dave Chappelle)

Arguably one of the most talked about and hilarious television shows of the last century, "Chappelle's Show" is still giving new comedians and actors inspiration even today (although the last episode premiered more than 10 years ago, give or take a few months). The show tackled many social issues which at the time were scary and so new to people that they were afraid to talk about some of them; except Dave Chappelle wasn't (he actually had a goal of getting canceled which is pretty funny, if you watch the first season he talks about it). But Chappelle was also a huge fan of "the hip hop music" as he says, his interest spanning from the Roots, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, and many more. So to celebrate one of my favorite shows of all time, allow me to introduce to you 5 of the best hip hop performances from "Chappelle's Show".

Snoop Dogg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0XobLIVndk

I apologize for the link to the video instead of the video itself, but Snoop Dogg's appearance on "Chappelle's Show" was nothing short of spectacular. Snoop performs "187" with Tyrone Biggums as his hype man... who better to help you with back up vocals?  He wouldn't ask for money for the help either, probably just asked for some crack (or money, to go towards crack of course). This doesn't have anything to do with the performance, but an interesting factoid about Dave and Snoop is that Snoop has came out and said that Dave actually smokes weed better than Dr. Dre. Seriously, ask Snoop. How does one smoke BETTER?  I couldn't tell you, but apparently Dave's a champ with his weed.

Big Boi

Half of Outkast also made a pretty funky appearance on "Chappelle's Show" as well. I don't know much about Big Boi besides his hits with 3 Stacks, but the song he performed on this show was exceptionally dope (song is called "The Rooster" off of Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album), and it definitely has that real musical and funk influence that Outkast was known for around this era. It's too bad they both don't see eye to eye now...

Kanye West + Common

This performance is nothing short of dope just like all the other ones, especially considering the fact that this is before Kanye West really blew up. This isn't the last time that Common and Kanye link up though, because Kanye also brings Common on stage in the movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party (ironically enough, which J. Cole made a very brief appearance in as a fan in the crowd, seriously you can find it online). In an interview last year with Jimmy Fallon, Dave had a funny story about why he knew Kanye was going to be one of the greats as well, and you can peep that here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4SYIfhzMmU.

Chappelle also had countless other hip hop performances on the show that you really don't think about how dope they were until you look back and actually realize... "damn, that was pretty dope" (not the most clever line I've thought up, bear with me). But the rest of this post I'm going to use to get my message out to Dave Chappelle; please come back to comedy. The games needs you. I NEED YOU. Your influence remains on the stand up and acting world still, and the world DEFINITELY still needs it now. Some comedians and entertainers are great, but none compare to you. Many today are afraid to say what you aren't afraid to say, and there is nobody that has the pull and the comedic ability to make even events like Ferguson somewhat laughable and enjoyable for people (which I saw you did in your stand up somebody taped on their phone and put on YouTube, go find it if you're curious, it's from 2014). Dave, you have the ability and the comedic timing the be one of the most well known and funny people who ever lived, and also make people smile in a world so full of negative, bleak world war and violence. Please consider how you make people feel. Thank you,
Geff          




















   

Eminem's Rawkus Records Stint

If you haven't heard of Rawkus Records then you're certainly missing out on some hip hop GEMS. The hip hop label Rawkus Records was founded in 1996, and even though their hip hop domination didn't last for long, they certainly brought up big names that are still giants in the game even today, such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, and they've also had multiple legendary names record to their production, such as Common and Pharoahe Monch, but probably the most notable rapper to make music with them is Eminem. When it comes to Eminem's career, obviously he is seen as one of the most decorated rappers ever, but not many people know about his (more so) underground stuff. Which is why I'm here to shed light on these things (being the rap nerd that I so claim to be). What contributions did Eminem give to Rawkus?  You're about to find out (*Funk Flex bomb drop noise*).

Eminem's hardcore fan base (Stans) would know more than anyone, but before Dr. Dre and Aftermath Records, before D12, and before Shady Records was even a thought, Eminem recorded some pretty bombastic rhymes for Rawkus in the mid to late 90s. This to me seems like the perfect Eminem; very hard raps while still remaining hilarious, and Em rapping over some catchy boom bap production (which has always been a question to many, Em can rap hard and sound even better over the right production).

 ("I liked the shit you did with Rawkus too, that shit was fat." = Stan's complimenting Eminem's earliest work.)

Doesn't this sound more like the hungry, battle rap-ready Eminem?  The high voice may have been more annoying to some, but Eminem is practically the rap game Joker; absolutely hysterical in his rhymes and can make you fall on the floor from laughing, but if you mess with him (diss him), he will MURDER you.

I found this track interesting and had to look into more, and when I did I was hooked. You could ask anyone who calls themselves an Eminem fan, whether that means they've been listening since Infinite or the Slim Shady EP, whether that means they love Relapse and Recovery or they don't, Eminem's work with Rawkus Records is some truly special stuff, and it surely seems like Em is still pretty salty about them not making any offers to sign him, as made evident on the Marshall Mathers LP 2 bonus track "Don't Front." All we are left to wonder is "what could have been?" Surely Rawkus is kicking themselves for not seeing the potential Em had (that is, if they still exist).

So that's the post on Eminem and his little known (again, not to Stans', because they know everything Eminem) Rawkus Records stint. It's definitely something interesting to know if you like to dig into rappers' pasts and like to know how they really got to where they are at (in other words, if you're a proud rap nerd). Plus if you're a Stan (or know about any of Eminem's diss track history), you know that Eminem does not take others' disrespect very lightly, and he actually goes at Rawkus on a track on Marshall Mathers LP 2. Check out "Don't Front" below (you hear the diss around the 2:48 mark).

                                         (*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)





  



  






           

Multi Talented Rappers (Actors, Ball Players, Etc.)

Sometimes you hate to see your favorite emcees do anything BUT rap, but it can be a cool thing to see them appear in your favorite TV show, play in the celebrity game at NBA All Star weekend, or even make business deals (focus on your music though guys, *cough cough Dr. Dre, Jay Z, Diddy, etc.). Rappers rap for a living (hence the term "rapper") but this is a new day and age. I put together a small list of some rappers who could probably do other things with their careers and be pretty good at them.

Dizzy Wright - basketball player

Sorry for the crappy picture quality, unfortunately this is how all pictures shown in this post will appear (#TechnologyStruggles). Anyways, Dizzy Wright was quite the baller in his high school days, and he could have even played at UNLV but bad grades prevented him from doing so.

2 Chainz - basketball player

Twooooo Chaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiinzz! This dude is just funny period. The last thing you think of when you think of 2 Chainz is smart, intelligent mind building rap (or smart, intelligent, mind building anything), but Chainz was actually a college basketball player, and even graduated as a 4.0 GPA student in only 3 years at a 4 year school (attended Alabama State University on an athletic scholarship, believe it, it's true).

Common - Actor

Common is an easy choice as one of the stand outs because he is very hot right now, especially after coming off winning a Grammy for best original song ("Glory" ft. John Legend). When you think of conscious, thought provoking rappers, Common is the epitome (where do you think the name "Common" originated from? Common Sense of course! [His original rap name]). Common is always in the conversation when it comes to rappers who use their voice effectively, and his role in AMC's original series Hell On Wheels only adds to his already impressive resume of talent.

Childish Gambino - Actor/Comedian

Childish Gambino is the most interesting character on this list (literally a "character"). Gambino has made quite a career as a rapper with his mix tape releases and his debut album Because The Internet, but the "Gambino" I personally got to know wasn't Gambino at all. Donald Glover (his government name) started out as a comedian who even got a couple of stand up specials to air on Comedy Central, and his hilarious takes on race and everyday observation sold me more than any music of his could. Not only does Gambino rap AND do stand up (or did do stand up, no rumors on if he still does or if he will return) but he also has a great resume of acting, and even has appeared on the television show 30 Rock multiple times, and wrote for the show for 3 years (from 2006 to 2009).

Seeing any type of celebrity tackle as many careers/topics/activities as they do could make any person's head spin. When I think about what I'm doing and then compare it with what Jay Z's day might consist of, I start to feel pretty bad about myself (but then I remember I'm just a hip hop writer). But anyways, you should never limit anyone by the way they appear to you. Talent is never fully measured by ones interests, ones career, or even ones demeanor. Sometimes you can tell how great someone is destined to be just by the way they talk to you. If this list isn't even a slight example of what it means to make the sky the limit (or the galaxy [Hip Hop Unlimited], this is what we do now, come on) then maybe you should re-evaluate what you make your limit. The people on this list did, and look at them now.              


   

 

Royce Da 5'9 & DJ Premier's "PRhyme": Why You Should Be Excited

It seems Royce Da 5'9 is taking it to the next level with this one. Earlier this week a short video surfaced of DJ Premier joining alongside Royce rapping in a video over what you could only assume was some choice Premo production. People of the internet were rather excited about what this could possibly mean, but since then no further details were released...until now.

PRhyme is going to be a full length Royce Da 5'9 LP with DJ Premier taking the reigns handling production. It's hard to tell where Premo is going to take the production with on this one, whether or not he chooses to sample certain artists or keep the sampling to a minimum. He did have this to say about the album recently; "I've never sampled just one artist, I'm known for my reputation and my creativity. I wanted it to be my traditional thing where I sample everything I find, but I am really proud of how the project came out and Royce is one hell of a pusher."  From the sounds of this it seems there is a minimum of sampling from Premo, but time will tell what we see in terms of production on the album.

PRhyme will boast some MONSTER features, however. It is confirmed that the project will feature Dwele, Killer Mike, Common, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, of course his fellow group mates Slaughterhouse, and Royce and Premo even managed to grab Jay Electronica for a feature. Are you excited yet?!  PRhyme has not been given a release date yet, but is rumored to be put out before the end of the year.

The route the Slaughterhouse members have been taking for their music releases has been an interesting one to say the least. Crooked I's last release Apex Predator was put out about halfway through last year, Joell Ortiz's House Slippers saw a release a bit more than a week ago, while Joe Budden has plans for his EP Some Love Lost in November and the release date for the album All Love Lost has yet to be determined.

Being that it is almost October already, so far it seems like these releases from Joe and Royce will spill into next year, while Slaughterhouse as a whole will supposedly be featured on the anniversary project Shady XV and also have their album Glass House coming (no release date given) as well. So far it seems next year will be a very exciting year for Slaughterhouse and Shady fans alike, but all you can do now is wait. Check out the teaser video for Royce and Premo's PRhyme below.

              (*I do not own this video, or the rights to it, Royce Da 5'9, DJ Premier, or PRhyme*)











                  

Jhene Aiko's "Souled Out" Album Review

Has there ever been a singer who has demanded as much attention as the lovely Jhene Aiko?  You have your Rihannas, your Beyoncés, your Lana Del Reys and your Lordes, but Jhene has been doing things her own way since the day she emerged onto the music scene. From her acclaimed EP Sail Out, even dating back to her debut mix tape Sailing Souls, Jhene has seemingly been the perfect blend between soul singer and rap feature, and everything in between. In her previous projects, Jhene had attempted to find a voice. Not that she's needed to hearing how great it already is, but in terms of her music, she needed to find herself. Was Souled Out really the answer that she and her fans were looking for?

The Jhene that everyone got to know so fondly was on display early in the opening track "Limbo Limbo Limbo". The deep, metaphorical and somewhat trippy songwriting takes flight with lines like "falling from high buildings till she, was numb from the feeling, really", and continues throughout this track. If there were a song to bump on this album, it's safe to say "Limbo Limbo Limbo" is that track. Hard drum kicks are accompanied by a smooth, yet bumping bass line that round out her voice very well in a different way Jhene fans might not be so used to hearing. Listening to the intro track you don't get a very good feel for what to expect on the rest of this piece of work though.

"W.A.Y.S" is a great return to form for Jhene, the second track falling in line after "Limbo Limbo Limbo". This track is a dedication to her brother Miyagi who passed away from cancer back in 2012, and a reminder to herself to "keep going" as she says throughout the song. The background strings in this song really make it stand out along with the movie theater-like bass line that hits about 25 seconds in. Jhene said in an interview not too long ago that "W.A.Y.S" stands for "why aren't you smiling," which is a tweet that her brother Miyagi sent out not too long before he passed away, and it stands as a phrase that keeps Jhene going to this day.

The lovey dovey Jhene is as alive as ever on this album, with multiple songs that discuss such things as a past love, or her fears of trusting someone in a relationship. The song "Brave" is a message to any guy who happens to be "brave" enough to get in a relationship and go all in with her. The intro guitar in this song creates the type of "I've been crossed too many times before" vibe that Jhene vents through her poetry. The song "It's Cool" sets quite a different tone, however. In this cut she talks about how easy is it for her to fall for someone, or so it seems, and she confirms so in lines like "and I'm not even gonna front, at first I was just tryna fuck, but you have got me so in love." "You Vs. Them" is another dreamy love song that differentiates the time she has to split between the industry and her loved ones, an her discussion on how hard it is to choose between the two.

A very weird thing I felt I had to point out on this album is that 2 of the songs ("Blue Dream" and You Vs. Them") were 2 completely different songs in the past with different beats. Has any other avid Jhene listener noticed this?  The song "Blue Dream" has the same lyrics as a previous song of hers titled "My Afternoon Dream" that has a different beat, and the song "You Vs. Them" is a song of the same title and lyrics, but has a completely different beat behind it. Look it up if you don't believe me, I just found this odd. Maybe it came down to a few last minute decisions before the album had to be turned in?  Who knows.

Her "Pretty Bird (freestyle)" is a nice touch to round out the album. This song includes a banging beat that sounds like it'd be more for rapping, and she gives it a shot on this one. Her poetry is evident on this song and you can feel what she's saying as opposed to hearing it. I liked the ending featuring Common as well, another great poet who can put things into words very smoothly and almost effortlessly. He does the same on this song as he does Kid Cudi's "In My Dreams" intro on his Man On The Moon: The End Of Day album.

One of the most stand out songs on this album has to be "Promises" featuring Jhene's daughter Namiko and deceased brother Miyagi. Jhene has stated in an interview that this song is dedicated to her daughter for whenever she misses her and wants to hear her voice, and she even goes as far as to put Namiko on the hook the first time around! It's pretty cute to hear her messing around with the microphone at the very end of the song as you hear Namiko say "echo" along with some microphone static. Hearing this song and not being moved by it you have to have a heart of ice. It's as simple as that.     

A nice refreshing vibe Jhene gives is on the song "To Love & Die" featuring her group singing mates Cocaine 80s. Her love of Tupac and the west side movement shows on this song near the end: "which side, this side, you should switch sides, on that acting like a bitch side by the way, you need to switch sides right away, we can live forever maybe die today. Love side hate side never in between, that's what we stand for y'all fall for anything, west side west side by the way, live forever for love or you can die today." The message on this song seems to be that you should live by the love, as well as die by the love (I don't know how you do both, seems you'd just end up getting hurt in the end... oh... *has an epiphany*). Jhene is clearly living by the love and it shows in her music.

And that's Jhene Aiko's Souled Out. Jhene has received a lot of criticism for her songs sounding the same or having a lot of the same topics in her songs, and she does have many love stories to tell on this album, but altogether this is not a bad album at all. Top notch production from the best in No I.D., Fisticuffs, Dot Da Genius and Key Wane find a way to mold beats around her voice and give it a feel that is refreshing, yet familiar to Aiko diehards. It was interesting to see her go for less features and more of a personal sound on this one, perhaps in the future she dabbles with more features?  Time will only tell, and Jhene will have a lot of it to last in the industry if she can keep making honest music that touches people of all kinds.