Recently the hip hop world has had MF Doom and Double K from the People Under the Stairs taken from us. To OG hip hop heads this is a very big deal. Both emcees were staples in Underground Hip Hop’s emergence from the late 90’s into the 2000’s. I know I speak for a lot of us when I say we’re numb from these 2 losses. But if it has done anything for me it has cemented the fact that I love hip hop now just as much as I did back then. I’ve stayed bumping Doom and this week I’ve been going through the whole PUTS catalog. Do you remember when People Under the Stairs included a beadie with each CD purchase for The Next Step? That is brilliant marketing! If anybody has a sealed copy I will throw you a good amount of cash for it. That CD belongs in the West Coast Hip Hop Smithsonian.
Going back and listening to my favorites from this era has sparked something inside of me and I have been on the hunt for good new hip hop lately. And it’s out there too. You just gotta look hard for it or your DSP algorithms better be on point on serving you the music from artists you like. And I got hit with a doozy the other day. While listening to a lot of MF Doom I can’t help but go back and listen to Count Bass D. Oh you don’t know “The Slugger from Louisville?” Well then… You have some homework. That Dwight Spitz album was nasty and Dwight Conroy Farrell and Daniel Dumile were on the same wavelength with their vibes. Well, Count Bass D hasn’t been slacking with the releases of late and yes he still drops some heaters. Spotify served me with this beauty of a boom bap hip hop track a few weeks ago. Here’s LA producer Bei Ru on the beat with Count Bass D on the rhymes on the track, “We Have the Starz.” This is too damn smooooooooth. Only 721 views on YouTube? People are sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeping.
And then going back to PUTS I instantly thought of Murs when Double K passed because I know they were tight both being from Mid-City LA. I didn’t know how close they were though. Murs just shared a post on IG this week and it was Double K who gave him his first beat on the song “Red Dots.” A lot of you probably don’t know “Red Dots” so now take a few minutes out of your busy day and peep it. And then it was Double K who was scratching on “Melancholy Manuscripts” from 3MG from the Log Cabin crew out of Los Angeles? My underground hip hop mind was blown finding this out. Hip Hop, the gift that truly keeps on giving. Oh, and the 3 Melancholy Gypsies better known as Murs, Eligh, and Scarub? They dropped a dope song called “The 3” not too long ago. Their bigger collective the Living Legends are buzzing a bit now so they could have something coming?? A lot of nostalgic type posts coming from their IG feed. I like the direction its heading.
And are you following JID at all? While Kendrick and J. Cole are kickin it on the sidelines I think Young Jiddy J.I.D. from Dreamville is up next. That flow and lyrical content from JID is nice man. Can’t deny it one bit. I’m checking for all of his verses and songs at this point just like I used to for MF Doom so many years ago. He was dope over the Kaytranada beat and now he is linking up with Conway the Machine on the “Ballads” track? MAJOR. Griselda stays hungry. I really like that they signed Boldy James to the squad too. ALC and Daringer on the beats? That’s the formula for dope music right there. Read the lyrics on “Ballads.” This is some ode to the boom bap era 90’s type of shit. Hip Hop has some heaters right now and I’m here for all of it.
If you’re up on my blog you know I’m on those Curren$y and Harry Fraud vibes. Throw in some Larry June and it’s a wrap. Larry June coming with that Bay Area swag over some smooth production just gets you on those wavy vibes. The swagger on Uncle Larry’s verse is fresh on “Sunday Morning Drive” and then Curren$y just does what Spitta does on his verse. Consistency folks! Mellow stoner vibes to kick back to.
Kota the Friend dropped Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2 recently too. In case you weren’t up on it, it’s really good. Kota is dope and I’m digging the whole release. Just let that album play this weekend and you and your family will be smiling. That’s the vibe I’m trying to be on right now. Good vibes with my wife and my baby boy as we enjoy each other’s company in this Covid world we live in. Kota drops lyrics like, “Always appreciated the sunny days knowing that I had to be grounded before the money came.” Fire.
I’m just riding vibes today on this hip hop shit because I love it. There is a good community of peeps out there who love it too. No matter how old I get I’ll have my rap music to help keep me young. And nothing keeps me young like thinking about the Masters of the Universe days of San Diego hip hop in the 90’s. San Diego still hasn’t blown up on the hip hop scene outside of Jayo Felony and Mitchy Slick but Masters of the Universe were fresh. Orko? That easy flow at dark grimey hip hop shows in San Diego in the late 90’s was when I earned my hip hop stripes. And Masters of the Universe? They’re still active… Odessa Kane and SCVTTERBRVIN just dropped “Sight 2 Behold” and it is on some double timing modern flow over some hard drums with a modern western outer space type of sounds. This song goessssssssssssss! Paradise Hills stand up! San Diego stand up!
I could go on and on but I’ll just let the Friday Afternoon Hip Hop Vibes do the rest of the talking here for me. These are all songs that are fairly recent and there are some gems in here that you probably haven’t heard. I know what I’ll be bumpin the next few weeks. Hopefully you will too. RIP to MF Doom and Double K. We miss you guys down here!