True Hip-Hop Stories: Big Daddy Kane

The story of the making of one of the greatest rap songs ever! (by one of the greatest rappers ever)

The making of...


The final video of the timeless 1988 hit "Ain't No Half Steppin"

New Natalie Imbruglia!!!

Now I'll go on the record saying that Natalie Imbruglia is my favorite pop singer/songwriter, but I don't know how I feel about this song. This is probably the first Natalie Imbruglia song that I don't like.



Considering that I have all four of her cds and almost all of the cd-singles (for the b-sides), I can't believe that I've found a Natalie Imbruglia song that I don't like. But the bright side is that this song has brought a new video (which she looks great in as usual) and a new album is forthcoming. And with some luck I might even be able to score a promo banner for her new album.

Here's another new song "My God." I thik that it's better than the other song, but nowhere near anything that she's put out before.



Her new album comes out in the UK on October 5th. Though I am not feeling "Wild About It" or "My God" I am looking forward to the 1st single "Want" which is co-written by Coldplay singer Chris Martin and produced by Brian Eno.

"A bit annoyingly we've given her the best Coldplay song of all time," Martin said when in Australia in March. "Half of me wishes we still had it. But she sounds brilliant on it." (Here's the whole article.)

That sounds like a song that can make up for these sorry excuses for a Natalie Imbruglia songs. I just hope that they release the album in this country so I don't have to buy an expensive import again.

If I lived in the UK I could already pre-order it here. To read why I'm such a big fan of Natlie Imbruglia (besides her beauty and great songwriting) read my previous blog entry on her that I wrote in 07.

Quan Goes Independent With Amalgam Digital

We're finally going to get to hear an album from the talented rapper/singer thanks to Amalgam Digital. Those in the know will remember when the world was introduced to Quan from his classic song "Just A Moment (ft. Nas)."



Here's a new video with Quan saying what's going on and give a nice freestyle to show that he's kept his skills sharp while he's been on the shelf (then released).



If we get two albums from Quan this year, Cormega's "Born & Raised", AND Saigon's "Greatest Story Never Told" this might be the best year for real street hip-hop since 1995... (If is the key word)

A Hip Hop Musical (and it's written by a real rapper, Sticky Fingaz)

The Sticky Fingaz movie "A Day In The Life" is finally coming out on July 7th. I can't wait. Here's the trailer (which also plays like a music video).

A DAY IN THE LIFE Music Video/Trailer from KB on Vimeo.

After hearing Sticky's debut album "Black Trash" and realizing how incredible the story was and wanting to see it created as a movie it's good to see that Sticky was able to make it happen (even if he didn't get to do the Black Trash movie like he originally intended).

I'm going to buy it, and the best price that I was able to find on the net is amazon which has it for only $ 9.99 (w/ FREE Super Saver Shipping).

If you love me for the beauty of my personality...

Then I'll stay here forever, Don't you see?

I just love the feeling and meaning of this song. I've always felt that when I fall in love again that I want to make sure that me and the lucky woman (lol) will both love each other for our personalities, how we make each other laugh, how we respect each other, and how we trust each other completely. This song illustrates that feeling perfectly and I feel that's why it speaks to me.


Angel Taylor - Maple Tree



This great song is available from Angel Taylor's debut album "Love Travels" that's only available digitally (on itunes). If you want to see her live you can catch her touring with another talented singer-songwriter, Kate Voegele.


Here's another song from her album titled "Like You Do."

I just know exactly how you feel...

Here's a song that I've been listening to non-stop for about a week now cause it describes perfectly how I feel. In the past three months I've met plenty of people who I knew I wouldn't have a future with (those are easy to filter). The hard part comes when you meet someone who on paper has a lot of potential, but for some reason you're hesitant to invest the time that they deserve to get to know them and their personality. It could be that they don't live in the same city, they don't seem to get my humor, or they're a Laker fan. (j/k. I really don't hate the Lakers that much, but I do love talking mess about them.)

But seriously... Whether that time is invested writing emails, calling, or dating... Everyone (with potential) deserves and needs time to show the beauty of their personality.

I know that I've been hesitant to go into the getting-to-know-someone stage lately and I think that this song spoke to me and woke me up a little.

Jenny Owen Youngs - First Person

First Person music video from Jenny Owen Youngs on Vimeo.

what's the worst thing, that could happen
but find out that we don't quite fit
but on the flip side, we could be just right
and sure there's the chance
that we'll both end up broken and split
but that's my kind of risk

i'm not trying to make you think
this is some kind of great big deal
i just know exactly how you feel

How can you not love that song? Besides, don't you know that people sing with more meaning when they close their eyes? This song is the opening song off of her album "Transmitter Failure" that comes out today (5/25). It's a forty second teaser of the song "Last Person" that appears later on the album.

Jenny Owen Youngs - Last Person

If you need a song to explain how you feel if you do get to know someone, date for a while, and then realize that you're not right for each other... Jenny Owen Youngs' got you covered there too with these two gems.

Here's "Led To the Sea" which is my second favorite song on the album.



Here's the video "Clean Break" which was the first single from "Transmitter Failure."

Jenny Owen Youngs - Clean Break from Jenny Owen Youngs on Vimeo.

Kate Voegele - Manhattan From The Sky

For some reason I had a feeling to check Kate Voegele's web page to see if she has any new music coming out. I still listen to her debut album "Don't Look Away" album quite a bit. I'm glad I did because I saw that she has a new album, "A Fine Mess," coming out on 5/18/09.

Of the four songs from her upcoming album that are on itunes (and that have been performed by her character Mia on "One Tree Hill") this is the song that really stuck with me. I love the mood, meaning, and sound of the song and have been listening to it on repeat since I first heard it. I got the same feeling when I first heard her song "Only Fooling Myself." (which was one of the songs from 2007 you need to hear post)





After digging for a little info on her upcoming album I came across this article on the Aceshowbiz page where she describes her inspiration for writing the song:

Voegele states the idea for the piano-driven pop number came to her while she was sitting in a plane, 30,000 feet above New York City. "I was just thinking about how Manhattan looks like a little piece of Lego," Voegele recalls, "but once you're inside, it's totally crazy and messy and there's a wonderful chaos going on all around the city."

My interpretation of the song is it's Kate describing the excitement that you get when you want to get to know someone that you're interested in. You know that they're not perfect and that they have flaws but you're still looking forward to getting to know their beauty, personality, strengths, and weaknesses.

You are my Manhattan from the sky
You look so neat and tidy when I’m way up high,
But I know your streets are lined with a fine mess inside
And I wanna come down and walk around your mind.

I will be buying the deluxe edition of her cd the first week it comes out and would see her concert in June if I was able to make any of those dates. Hopefully I'll be able to catch her next time.
A Fine Mess comes out on May 18th. Let's support great music and talented musicians. You can preview more of her songs on her myspace.

Oh, and for the record I only know that she performs the songs on "One Tree Hill" from reading about it. I don't watch the show. Just putting it on the record. :)