The Narcicyst – Hamdulilah

“We could live together if the cycle of your violence
didn’t silence our life with all your rifles… “

For one this is the preview of a track that’s going to be on Narcy’s long awaited album, now rescheduled for March 09. The fact that his album is finally dropping soon would be reason to rejoice.

Sadly – and much to my annoyance and fed-up-ness – people in a small place called the Gaza Strip are getting rained on by Israeli artillery and bombs – the varieties that actually hit and kill people most of the time, about 550 in the last two weeks, as opposed to Hamas’ about 7,500 self-made rockets that have killed like 8 people in the last 8 years. It’s bullshit to weigh one body count against another but just to get a sense of the power imbalance at hand here…

Always one to speak out against media bullshit and the misrepresentation and suffering of the opressed peoples, Narcy has made this track with Palestinian singer Shadia Mansour (who lives in London.) The great quality of this track is that it doesn’t spare the rod for some of the Arabs out there making shit decisions. It’s not as predictable as one might think.

The Narcicyst – Hamdulilah (Gaza Remix) ft. Shadia Mansour

Here’s what Narcy has to say on his track and why he made it.

Post: “Free Gaza song” on his blog

Keep up with dude’s work and writings on his blog or his myspace.

Support the suffering Palestinians with a buck or two. Even the UN’s relief agency UNRWA is running out of food for them. And don’t give me the “Hamas had it coming” line. Those kids there have no business getting their houses bombed. UNRWA have been looking after the basic needs of Palestinians since Al Nakba in 1948, and they will continue to do so with no partisanship – if Israel and the international donors let them.

Oh, and here are the lyrics. I found them on his space (thanks ears) and cleaned them up against the audio. (FYI, hamdulilah means “praised be Allah” and bismillah means “in the name of Allah”. For more here and here.)

Lyrics:

Bismillah
Sends shivers when you hear it,
regardless of the hardship, we will never ever fear it
Hamdulilah
For your perseverance,
got me feeling blocked up like egypt’s border clearance
Bismillah
May God bless your dead and gone,
we say we undefeated, you say we’re headstrong
Hamdulilah
for the will to believe in life,
if you struggle God loves you man, relieve the strife
Bismillah
Please read Su’rat Yassin
for the purest always fall for the furious I’ve seen
Hamdulilah
to be grateful for your place you never know what
fate will bring us from the hateful.
Bismillah
for the souls anguish love
and the moments our brothers get snuffed out by slugs
Hamdulilah
we see through the politics, when a missile is issued
to kill and follow our kids….

Bismillah
Children have the realest dreams, waking up in cold sweats out in Philistine
Hamdulilah
You could really tell you see, turned the news on, heard they sent shells to scenes
Bismillah
two hours later in Gaza, the floor starting pounding and they felt the Ha’za
Hamdulilah
Hessa the policies lied, when a house was blown to pieces, and an olive tree cried
Bismillah
The ch’thib that move too fast out the mouth of Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas
Hamdulilah
We need real leaders instead of fickle beasts wicked streets
cripple beings rippling through the middle East
Bismillah
God while we’re on the subject please cut the strings off our political puppets.
Hamdulilah
bil rooh bil dem when soldiers creep
your men thinking that our souls are cheap speak….

Let the world know that hip-hop is the rock that we bring when we aim our slingshots
Bismillah
The claim you call Israel
and the way you defend it shames Ismaill
Hamdulilah
See we could live together if the cycle of your violence didn’t silence our life with all your rifles
Hamdulilah
Alaikum Alsalam, Arab Jarab when there’s harab man, 3laihum il haram
Hamdulilah
Ta’thamoon lil nas wal hu’ra, we refuse to have anymore Mohammad Al-Durrahs

 

Merry Festivities to ya…

To celebrate the spirit of “giving is holier than taking”, all rapidshare music downloads on this blog are switched to direct for the day of 24th December, starting with midnight CET.

I have a few gigs of direct download quota to kill, so dig in, dig back and enjoy. The only exception is movies.

This does, however, also apply for rapidshare links I posted over at strictlybeats. Get these goods while it lasts. When the quota is up, it’s over.
Enjoy.

9@home

 

Oh America…

First off, let’s not even get into another “general election analysis”, let’s just peep two of the best at the game, as they comment the exit polls as it happens.

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert teaming up for their election night special: Indecision 2008.

And as a special throw-in for this occasion, I give you the audiobook version of The Daily Show’s own America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction of 2004. A school textbook on the history of democracy and what America’s made of it, with the typical Daily Show twist. (More here)

Mind you, despite the heavy tongue-in-cheek approach and the hilarious sections from the foreword by Thomas Jefferson to the study questions and countless aside boxes, this is actually very enlightening and of great pedagogical value. The book is extremely well-made, the Daily Show writing staff and graphics department had a field day/year with this. So it’s well worth the buy, btw. But here’s to you folks who do not read, the audiobook for your ears. Enjoy.

America The Book Part 1 //  Part 2

Peace, 9@home

 

The Corner (Miniseries)

If you enjoyed The Wire, you may want to get this.

The Corner is like the bud of what would later bloom into The Wire. Based on the book “The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood” by David Simon and Ed Burns, Simon and David Mills turned the story into a TV series. Made in mock observational documentary style it’s the portrait of a family and their friends and street buddies in West Baltimore, in the midst of drug-slingers, crackheads, crime and poverty. You could say that The Corner is one aspect of the many that later got incorporated into the big picture that is The Wire. And a lot of the actors from The Corner got different roles for The Wire again — and sometimes you wouldn’t believe the career steps they’d made in the meantime. 6 episodes of goodness.

You must see this.

click the cover

Peace, 9@home

 

Muzion (2 albums)

Muzion (pronounced mew-zigh-on) are Impossible, J. Kyll and Dramatik. They represent Montréal (Québec) and the fact that they live in a world where French and English are spoken side by side also shows in their lyrics which consist in great part of French, but with some very noticeable insertions of English phrases. – Just as they come out, it seems. On top of that, they draw on their Haitian background using Kreyol in their lyrics as well. The result is a powerful and heartfelt language mixture that just flows effortlessly. But that’s not enough. They also have quite a bit to say and it becomes clear that they take their time crafting their lyrics and arranging their beats that continue to win people’s hearts on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Here’s the videos to their infectious “Men Malad Yo” (no pun intended)

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And the anthem for the Haitian diaspora: La Vi Ti Neg (A black person’s life)

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And both of their albums…

01 – Pas un Jour Sans Une Ligne
02 – Rien a Perdre
03 – Le Soleil se Couche
04 – L’education
05 – Tel Pere, Tel Vice
06 – Rien Qu’une Simulation
07 – Noire Noblesse
08 – La ti vi Neg
09 – Mentalite Moune Morne
10 – Le Concept (Tome 3)
11 – Ghetto Genetique
12 – 666 Theme
13 – De Bonne Foi
14 – Ce Soir Encore
15 – Lounge With us (Rock On)
16 – Get it Right
17 – Ainsi Soit-Il

Muzion – Mentalité Moune Morne (Ils n’ont pas compris) (1999)

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01 – Intro
02 – Le Concept (Tome 4)
03 – Démondialisation
04 – C’est Pas un Hasard
05 – C’est la Jungle Dehors
06 – Acceptez-Vous Les Frais
07 – La Classe Disparue (Hell)
08 – Nap Debake
09 – Men Malad Yo
10 – Les Sept
11 – Vous Pouvez Parler
12 – Ne M’en Veux Pas
13 – Ghetto Génétik
14 – J’rêvolutionne

Muzion – J’rêvolutionne (2002)

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Muzion.com

Muzion’s Myspace

Peace, 9@home

 

Def Poetry Jam Season 1 (2002) DVD

Let’s raise our eyes above the splendour of our mudhole for a minute to see what’s going on in the puddles around us. That’s right. There’s life out there. In fact, if you love ill lyricism and bleeding edge poetry with an urban feel, this just might be the thing for you.

Just to give you an idea what we’re talking about…

Founded by hip-hop pioneer, enterpreneur and general smartass Russel Simmons following his success with Def Comedy Jam, this show is into its 6th season already. Featuring extraordinary talents in poetry, this is the missing link between your longhaired lofty bard skipping across meadows and praising the warmth of the sunrays on the one side and the kid on the drafty project corner who pathologically racks his brains to come up with this extra fresh punchline that’s gonna get him all the girls at the next rap battle.

In a nutshell: It’s proper poetry of the hip-hop generation, i.e. without the uncool douchebaggery that occasionally goes with it. ;)

Peep more…

Def Poetry Jam Season 1 (7 parts)

Peace, 9@home

 

Illmind – A Mission to fill the Void (2006)

There aren’t many producers out there that sprinkle their genius onto the audio tracks for little-known underground cats such as Chi-Town’s Pacifics, for instance, and at the same time paint the soundscapes for G-Unit, Jay-Z, Heltah Skeltah or whatever big names there are — AND get away with making it all sound dope while keeping their respect in the underground.

Illmind is such a rare specimen and this 4 CD compilation gives a nice overview of dude’s body of work. Being a bootleg comp from two years back, like 90% of the tracks are sort of under to middle groundish. The man from Bloomfield, NJ came up through the Beat Society showcases and has worked with an incredible number of artists from all coasts. More recently, he’s been the G-Unit’s in-house producer (I smell a proper pay check.) I can’t even say too much, just look at the tracklists and peep the music. With those names on it, it’s got to be good stuff from beginning to end.

CD1
01 03:30 Supastition – Chain Letters Intro
02 03:57 El Da Sensei – Crowd Pleasa
03 04:58 Eyesoulated Mindz – Keep It Snug
04 03:31 Saigon, Inspectah Deck And Bekay – The Raw (Remix)
05 04:45 Little Brother And Median – Right Here
06 04:22 Deloach Ft Bavu Blakes And Poisoned Fetus – Labor Of Love
07 03:25 Jay-Z-Justify My Thug (Remix)
08 03:47 The Procussions Ft Strange Fruit Project – Changes
09 04:45 K-Otix And Deloach-Hands Off
10 04:03 Supastition – Boombox
11 03:43 Muneshine – Nine To Five
12 03:45 Strange Fruit Project Ft Little Brother – Rise
13 04:21 M.B.B’s – Ain’t No Speakin
14 04:22 Raks One – Over You
15 04:05 Skyzoo – Remember Me
16 03:44 Organic Thoughts Ft Chan – No Options
17 10:44 Hezekiah – Before I Go
18 03:26 Supastition Ft Little Brother – Soul Control

CD2
01 04:03 Boot Camp Clik – Let’s Go
02 04:08 Jay-Z-Encore (Remix)
03 03:40 Dave Ghetto-Day In & Day Out
04 05:02 Strange Fruit Project, Proh Mic Sence – Been Gone
05 03:48 Edgar Allen Floe – I For An I
06 03:18 Grand Agent Ft Reef – Plans To Blow
07 04:04 Organic Thoughts Ft Large Professor – World Renowned
08 04:25 The Pacifics Ft Rakka – Talk Is Cheap
09 04:01 Akrobatik – Remind My Soul
10 04:03 Little Brother Ft O – Dash And Darien Brockington-Nobody Like Me
11 04:27 Deloach Ft Kay – Wha Cha Gon Do
12 03:46 Supastition – Special Treatment
13 04:00 Muneshine Ft Surreal – Imagine That (Remix)
14 03:40 Organic Thoughts Ft Prince Po And Uniq – Be Alright
15 04:12 Masta Ace And Guru – Conflict (Remix)
16 04:34 Braille – Nobody
17 03:34 Phocus – Body Language
18 03:55 Little Brother – Cant Let Her
19 04:19 The Procussions – High Powered

Illmind – A Mission to fill the Void CDs 1-2

CD3
01 04:04 El Da Sensei – Hold On
02 04:24 The Pacifics – Magnificent
03 04:13 Tree And Dow Jones – Club Aquarius
04 04:29 Fel Sweetenberg – Lost Children (Remix)
05 05:05 Supastition – That Ain’t Me
06 03:57 Dave Ghetto Ft Fel Sweetenberg And L Dorado – The Game
07 03:12 Completion – Inspiration
08 03:35 Krs One – Fucked (Remix)
09 03:44 Organic Thoughts – Next Levelists
10 03:38 Strange Fruit Project – The Broke Song
11 03:53 Ghostface Killah, Trife And Myone – Milk’em
12 03:57 Muneshine – Luke Warm
13 04:09 Supastition – Hip Hop Vs Life_(Remix)
14 05:51 Eyesoulated Mindz – Dirty Mutha_Fuck
15 03:44 Organic Thoughts Ft Peril – L And Mounta-Get It Right1
16 04:15 Little Brother Ft Yahzarah – The Beginning
17 05:40 Organic Thoughts Ft Uniq – All Too Easy
18 04:12 Raks One Ft Hassaan Mackey, Supastition And Kenn Starr – This Is It
19 03:20 Reef The Lost Cauze – Get Lost

CD4
01 03:10 Raks One – Stand Down
02 04:22 Infinito 2017 – Free Man’s Soul
03 04:04 Strange Fruit Project – You (The Only Ones)
04 03:32 Supastition – Adrenaline (Remix)
05 03:14 Organic Thoughts – Hypnotic Travellin
06 02:45 Unseen – Keep Moving
07 04:08 Little Brother – Whatever You Say (Smooth Remix)
08 03:54 Jay-Z-99 Problems (Remix)
09 02:31 Supastition – Ain’t Going Out
10 04:27 Strange Fruit Project Ft Erykah Badu – Get Live
11 03:37 Ken Fluid – Must Kome Down
12 04:08 Strange Fruit Project – Eternally Yours
13 03:25 Organic Thoughts – Soul Movement
14 04:11 Pumpkinhead Ft Sean Price – Best Rappers Out
15 05:27 Moon Cricket And Verbal Seed – Day After Day
16 04:13 Myth, Bavu Blakes And Chucky Sly – We Three Kings
17 04:09 Skyzoo – Sick Wit’ The Slang
18 03:43 Verbal Seed Ft Thesis – Take Advantage
19 04:31 Organic Thoughts – Unthinkable
20 03:48 Supastition – Step It Up (Remix V2)

Illmind – A Mission to fill the Void CDs 3-4

Peace, 9@home

 

Rogue State Alliance – Rogue State of Mind (2006)

**Edit: With their second album coming out every moment and the crew going on tour again I reckon it’s time for a re-up of their first album. I’m looking forward to seeing the RSA live not once but twice within the next few weeks.**

Clockwise from the top: Pan, J.J. Flueck, Black Tiger, EJ von Lyrik, Shameema, Greis, Burni Aman

A rare gem of intercontinental collaboration between some of South Africa and Switzerland’s finest. This album is centered around the connection between Pan and Greis, two MCs from Berne, Switzerland, on the one side and the female trio Godessa from Cape Town on the other. After Godessa performed a few gigs in Switzerland in 2004, they met and decided to stay in touch by visiting each other. In several recording sessions over the course of one and a half years, and with the financial help of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, they put together songs. In addition, each side brought on a good bunch of friends to make appearances on the album whose entire proceeds go to the “Party with a purpose productions” self-help project in the Cape Flats.

You’ll hear people rapping in English, French, Swiss German and Afrikaans (the latter two may be hard to tell apart for the uninitiated, but never mind), subject matters ranging from very particular issues like South African apartheid (peep “Pencil Test” – killer track!) and standing up for one’s rights to the universal themes that connect hip-hop heads around the world.

If you live in Switzerland or South Africa you should be able to grab this album and contribute a few Francs or Rands to charity, or you go see them live in your area. Please do.

1. Rise Up Now / Jitsvinger – Greis – EJ von Lyrik
2. Heavy Mental / Godessa & Whodis
3. Can’t Stay / Rennie & Shameema
4. 2gether / Mr. Dmus & Pan
5. S.O.F.I.A. / Greis & Burni Aman
6. Pacifiers (Double Rebellion-Mac With Cheese) / Burni Aman & Greis
7. One Day / Burni Aman – Greis – Shameema – Alexus President
8. Won’t Stop / Pan – Cross – Burni Aman
9. Pencil Test / Godessa & Greis
10. Kabels / Jitsvinger & Pan
11. Truth Is / Sky 189 – Seven – Greis – Pan
12. Planet I / Burni Aman – EJ von Lyrik – Chicu – Pan
13. Indie Takeover / Black Tiger – Jitsvinger – Robbe – Aman – Baze – Dimitri – Mr. Dmus – Perspektif – Gaston – Pan
14. The Reason Why / Jean Pierre – Perspektif – Pan
15. Do The Things / Godessa – Black Tiger – Rennie
16. Wake Up Call / Dubmasta China – Pan – Perspektif
17. Breakin’ The Barriers / Pan – Burni Aman – Cross
18. Broese Brasse / Mr. Dmus & Jitsvinger
19. Life / Teba feat. Tumi & EJ von Lyrik

Rogue State Alliance – Rogue State of Mind (2006)

And to give you some eyeball material to gauge the vibe, peep their Road Trip Movie, shot mainly while touring the festivals of Switzerland in 2006. Dope video.

Godessa

Greis’ Myspace

Rogue State Alliance Myspace

 

Blue Break Beats 1-4

Most of us may be more familiar with the samples pulled from these tracks than with the originals themselves. This compilation of joints by Blue Note label artists is kind of like the update on stuff we missed to check out – or maybe I should only speak for myself…

1 Grooving With Mr. G – Richard “Groove” Holmes
2 Sookie, Sookie – Grant Green
3 Who’s Making Love? – Lou Donaldson
4 Weasil – Donald Byrd
5 Kudu – Eddie Henderson
6 Harlem River Drive – Bobbi Humphrey
7 Blue Juice – Jimmy McGriff
8 Final Comedown – Grant Green
9 Turtle Walk – Lou Donaldson
10 Your Love Is Too Much – The Three Sounds
11 Blackjack – Donald Byrd
12 Olilloqui Valley – Herbie Hancock

Blue Break Beats 1 (1993)

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1 Ain’t It Funky Now – Grant Green (9:54)
2 Beale Street – Donald Byrd (5:24)
3 Good Humour Man – Blue Mitchell (5:39)
4 Higga Boom – Gene Harris (6:00)
5 Jasper Country Man – Bobbi Humphrey (5:17)
6 Kumquat Kids – Eddie Henderson (4:32)
7 Orange Peel – Reuben Wilson (6:36)
8 Street Lady – Donald Byrd (5:39)
9 The Caterpillar – Lou Donaldson (6:52)
10 The Worm – Jimmy McGriff (3:24)
11 Ummh – Bobby Hutcherson (7:45)
12 Viva Tirado – Gerald Wilson (5:44)

Blue Break Beats 2 (1994)

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1. Walk Tall – Cannonball Adderley
2. You’ve Made Me So Very Happy – Lou Rawls
3. Ode To Billy Joe – Lou Donaldson
4. Sho’ Nuff Melon – Reuben Wilson
5. Howling For Judy – Jeremy Steig
6. Light My Fire – Shirley Bassey
7. It’s Your Thing – Lou Donaldson
8. Put On Train – Gene Harris & The Three Sounds
9. Don’t Call Me Nigger Whitey – Gene Harris
10. Dominoes – Donald Byrd
11. Mystic Brew – Ronnie Foster
12. Get Out Of My Life Woman – Joe Williams With Thad Jones
13. Ground Hog – Duke Pearson
14. Soul – Jackie McLean

Blue Break Beats 3 (1997)

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1. Prelude – Gene Harris
2. Holy Thursday – David Axelrod
3. Sitting Duck – Gene Harris & The Three Sounds
4. The Beat Goes On – Buddy Rich
5. Three Is The Magic Number – Bob Dorough
6. Shack Up – Banbara
7. Boomp Boomp Chomp – The Sons
8. Little Green Apples – Monk Higgins
9. Bring Down The Birds – Herbie Hancock
10. Whole Lotta Love – Ike & Tina Turner
11. Repeat After Me – The Three Sounds
12. Inside You – Eddie Henderson
13. Woman Of The Ghetto – Marlena Shaw
14. This Is Soul – Paul Nero

Blue Break Beats 4 (1999)

Peace, 9@home

 

Sway and King Tech – The Anthem & The Wake Up Show Freestyles

No real introduction necessary, I guess. DJ Sway and King Tech are world famous for their Wake Up Show and the high-caliber freestyles that MCs have blessed their mics with over the last years.

And as an opener to the freestyle collection, I give you The Anthem 12″, complete with video. The track is teeming with big names who’ve all brought along some of their hottest verses – hell I even like Eminem’s verse a lot.

The Anthem 12” (ft. DJ Revolution, RZA, Tech N9ne, Eminem, Xzibit, Pharaohe Monch, Kool G Rap, Jayo Felony, Chino XL & KRS-One)

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Vol. 1

Vol. 2

Vol. 3

Vol. 4

Vol. 5

Vol. 6

Vol. 7

Vol. 8

Peace, 9@home