Forgiveness & Love (3)
Me’shell Ndegéocello
Download Only, 2003 (?)

This is a track that Me’shell made available to her email list for free download several years ago. My memory is a little hazy on this one and this was before I had iTunes so I can’t see exactly when I added it to my library.

This song grew/morphed into “Fellowship” on Me’shell’s Comfort Woman album that came out in 2003. In my mind, I feel like she posted this song a few months after Sept. 11th, 2001 (I remember several artists offering free downloads of political/war songs, some new versions of old songs, some, like this, advance material) but she also had an album that came out in 2002 (that it wasn’t on) so it was probably later (closer to the beginning of the Iraq war – March 2003). Either way, it was definitely during a period when I felt that someone questioning the American government’s response to 9/11 (outside of closed circles) was still going out on a limb. Accordingly, I was moved when she basically said “yeah, you heard me” in the pause between “welcome to the reign where the son like father” and “welcome to the reign where the son murder like his father.” (emphasis added).

great white man discoveries
to another man that’d be robbery
mr. politician – how you sleep?
hide behind all the justice money can buy
all the justice money can buy
god bless america / who god you talkin’ bout? (twice)
my god – forgiveness and love
mother mother, mother’s mother
government slave they rape and murder
tell me that i’m set free
now my brothers wear their uniforms
brutality
who god you fight for?
let me tell you who you kill for
welcome to the reign where the son like father
welcome to the reign where the son murder like his father
god bless america / who god you talkin’ bout? (twice)
my god – forgiveness and love
god bless america / who god you talkin’ bout? (twice)
my god be forgiveness and love

If you like Me’shell (or like what you hear) and don’t own Comfort Woman – don’t sleep – it’s a masterpiece (available on iTunes, or CD).

Songs are available for two weeks.

King Heroin
James Brown
There It Is, 1972

This is another James Brown nugget that I forgot about until I heard D’Nell‘s 1st Magic album recently (“Different Day” samples it). This is “James Brown does anti-drug spoken word” and it is hilarious. The whole song is about a, um…”vivid” dream that he had. The dream is far enough out there that you might have cause to wonder the dream was “influenced” itself.

Obviously the delivery is half the humor but I’ll list a few choice lyrics so you can get an idea.

Ladies and Gentleman…Fellow Americans…Lady Americans…this James Brown.
I want to talk to you about one of most deadly killers in the country today.
I had a dream the other night and I was sitting in my living room
Just doze off to sleep so I start to dreaming.
I dream I walked in a place and I saw a real strange weird object standing up talking to the people and I found it was heroin, that deadly drug that go in your vein, he said:
I came to this country without a passport
Ever since then I’ve been hunted and sought
My little white grains are nothing but waste, soft and deadly and bitter to taste
But I’m a world of power and all know it’s true
Use me once and you’ll know it too
I can make a mere school boy forget his books
I can make a world famous beauty neglect her looks
I can make a good man forsake his wife
Send a greedy man to prison, for the rest of his life
I can make a man forsake his country and flag
Make a girl sell her body for a $5 bag

I’m financed in china, ran in japan
I’m respected in turkey and I’m legal in Sian (spelling?)
I take my addicts and make them steal, borrow, beg
Then they search for a vein in their arm or their leg
So be you Italian, Jewish, Black or Mex
I can make the virile of men forget their sex

Can anyone else think of songs that sample this? I heard another one this week but forgot it already.

>> songs are available for two weeks [5.5 MB]

Sunny (Funk Master J.B VS Funk Master J.S Hardboiled Remix)
Jun Sasaki
James Brown Ultimate Remixes (Japan), 2002

I never knew there was a James Brown version of (Bobby Hebb’s) “Sunny.” Apparently it’s on Gettin’ Down To It (1969), which was just added to my shopping list. This mix doesn’t sound like it’s too far what the original might sound like (aside from the percussion) but one thing makes me really curious to hear the original is the dueling electric and acoustic guitars in the left and right channels on this mix (you can hear the acoustic most clearly at 3:21). I can’t name many (really any) JB tracks with acoustic guitar and if that’s a Jun Sasaki addition, it’s a really interesting choice because it works perfectly.

I’m probably the least qualified person to write a James Brown eulogy so I’ll just say that musically, his legendary status is well-earned and his influence, which reaches over many genres of music (especially hip hop) is so wide that it’s hard to understand. Respect.

>> songs are available or two weeks [7.4 MB]

Runnin’
The Pharcyde
12″ Single, 1995

I was looking through Bedroom Rockers (.pdf), a book of photos of DJs home set-ups along with short Q&A’s, a few weeks ago and one of the questions was, “What is the most precious record in your collection?” I thought about that for myself and couldn’t come up with anything. I knew it would have more to do with sentimentality than rarity but I still drew a blank until last night when I was flipping through my collection and passed my Pharcyde “Runnin’” 12″. In fairness, I couldn’t say this is my most precious record but it is definitely up near the top of the list.

This record has a special place in my heart because it was one of my first 25 or so records. Whenever I see my initials on a record (oops, I don’t do that anymore!), I know I’ve had it for a long time. [I'm slightly ashamed to say that I think I stole this record from WAMH, my college radio station; I hope they are not reading this.]

For me, it’s also the most personal, if obvious, tribute to the life of J Dilla and his incredible production style. I’ll refrain from detailing all the instrumental layers of the track but somewhere between the Stan Getz bossa nova guitar sample, the drum pattern and “1,2…2 listen here…there comes a time in every man’s life when he has to handle sh*t up on his own” this track dug deep roots in my timid 19-year-old mind.

After reading the above-linked discography I realized that J Dilla had his hands in more of the music that I love than I even knew (D’Angelo’s Voodoo, Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun…). I am definitely one who can get annoyed by over-eulogizing but J Dilla deserves all of the praise that he is getting and he deserved more while he was alive.

[The "94" on the label is the BPM not the year.]

>> songs are available for two weeks [7.0 MB]
>> songs are available for two weeks [7.0 MB]

From “I Can’t Wait” [Track 2 on N***a Please]

I want to give a shoutout to Funkmaster Flex and all the DJs across the world
I want to give a shoutout to my n*gga Luke
I want to give a shoutout to my n*gga Suge Knight
To my n*gga Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg
I want to give a shoutout to um, um, what’s them n*ggas? OutKast
I want to give a shoutout to um, them crazy n*ggas that, that, in parts of the world that I never been too
I want to give a shoutout to the Eskimos
I want to give a shoutout to the submarines
I want to give a shoutout to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines
Know what I’m saying? Cause y’all playing my music in the submarines and the boats, know what I’m saying?
Play that shit, know what I’m saying?
It’s called travelling music, busting ya ass style
Yo Big Baby Jesus, know what I’m saying?
It’s one love
I give a shout out to all the woman
I give a shout out to all the babies
All the munchkins all across the world playing hopskotch
I give a shoutout to all the school teachers
I give a shout out to ummm,ummm, myseeeelf

But I think we can all agree that he made us smile, more than once. I thought I would take this time to share to of my favorite ODB moments. My favorite lines are in bold, comments/commentary are in italics.

. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : .

From “Recognize” [Track 1/Intro to N***a Please]

Yo, this is Chris Rock
You heard my man, he ain’t on no commercial sh*t!
It’s the Ol’ DB! It ain’t the Young DB!
It’s the Ol’ DB…doing that old sh*t!
This ain’t the Embryo DB. This is the Old Motherf*ckin’ DB!
I’m Chris Rock, I’m chillin with the ODB, so I’m in the wrooong place at the wrooong motherf*ckin’ time, with the wroooong motherf*ckin’ man. The Ol’ DB baybay!

. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : .

“Rollin’ Wit You” [Track 5 on N***a Please]

[this is the ENTIRE song, so just skip to the bold parts if you want the quick version]

[starts a capella]
you can’t imitate me on this f*ckin’ tape
you ain’t ringin’ a bell, you ain’t / i’m ready when you are
(i.e. “cue the music”)

you ain’t ringin’ a bell, you ain’t bussin’ a grape
you ain’t imitatin’ me on this f*ckin’ tape
[4 times]

my sh*t ain’t corny! [said over top of it]

[piano/strings start in the background]

you ain’t ringin’ a bell, you ain’t bussin’ a grape
you ain’t imitatin’ me on this f*ckin’ tape
[this continues until beat drops]

[on top of the bell/grape line:]
but i’m tellin ya’ll b*tch *ss n*ggas
if y’all don’t f*ckin,
if y’all colored b*tch *ss f*ggot punk *ss motherf*ckers
don’t see that these white people are trying to take over ya’ll sh*t
don’t worry – ya’ll better be happy the ol’ dirty bastard is here
y’all better be happy i’m here!
to, to, to beat the sh*t out of all of ya’ll f*ggot punk *ss motherf*ckers!

[This is particularly funny, because, assuming he's referring to the hip hop, black people lost the majority of their control of it when they took it into studios, just about 20 years before this song came out in 1999.]

[Note: He then commands people to be happy that he is about to kick their asses.]

[the last "you ain't imitating me on this f*ckin' tape" is followed by:]
b*tch *ss n*ggas!

[beat drops]
i shut whole f*ckin’ world down!
[said as if he was going to start a verse but then he pauses and goes back to ranting]

you white motherf*ckers could never, ya’ll can’t ever take over!
you can’t EVER take over!
you shut the f*ck up and you shut the F*CK up
that’s what the F*CK you do!
(yo, could i get a beer, yo i need some beer)

[1st Verse:]
you ain’t using your phone, you ain’t callin’ the cops
cause n*gga, i’m the only king of the block
i’m the ONLY black god, motherf*cker!
and i came to rock the spot
when i throw at football pass at a b*tch she miss
ain’t trying to be funny – gonna use my fist
you can’t use the family feud
you can’t run it on a cuckoooo!
your brain sayin’ keep Ol’ Dirty safe
not locked up, cause i’ll have your F*CKIN’ *ss locked up!
i’ll stash you, lickin’ you down, [like?/light?] that blunt
you ain’t getting’ what you want, i do what i want!
if i got a problem, a PROBLEM got a problem til it’s gone
i’m the only Unique Ason
you reap what you sew / f*ckin with the – O
i got the precinct locked down / you ain’t using the po-po
f*ck you soso / i got the key to your hoe
i’ll stop your whole flow / all you b*tches roll
with me from the ghetto / you want me to control
this f*ckin’ show / give ol’ dirty what he waaant and mo!
cops, I’ll stop your dough / mafia I’ll slow
cops, I’ll stop your dough
yo, mafia! pay me all my motherf*cking money
or i’ma slow down your dough!

[chorus]
jesus i’m rollin with you [x4]

[under the chorus:]
yo, ya’ll scared to death of me when I…
yo, let me get another beer, one more beer? one more beer?

you’ll all be in danger
you’ll have a sex change-ah
i’m gettin more anger – call me dr. straaanger
i master the demon demonic toys
sting you with the venom – kill your joy!
b*tches throw hands in the air like to be sodomized
that’s what i’m here for
that’s what i’m all about
i get girls and ___ they want to get physically f*cked from me
oh big baby!! [falsetto]
hippa to the hoppa and you just don’t stoppa
i control michael jackson’s thriller
catch him and roo ha ha ha
don’t f*ck with the guy that’ll make you shrug
i’m the only original
f*ck you chump!
shut the f*ck up!

yo, did you understand that?

[chorus]
jesus i’m rollin with you (x8)