Music | What I've Been Listening To

As you may or may not know, this past week my mother had a baby! On Mother's Day! Amazing. I didn't sleep for the whole night as I was gripped with excitement, even though I didn't get to witness the birth this time (I saw my two brothers being born and cut their umbilical cords etc etc... It's a great story, honest) I'm so proud of my mum, she truly is a superwoman and I love her to bits! These past couple of days have certainly been filled with joy, excitement, love and happiness and of course whatever music I played reflected my blissful mood. I did say that when she was born, I'd play my sister A Star Is Born so hopefully she'll be a hip-hop head from early that way I can pass down this blog to her... Sort of like a rites of passage. Ha! In other news, last week's Nas and Damian Marley concert was irie! (read the review here) My back and feet were completely destroyed afterwards but it was well worth it. As always, I hope your past week was as fabulous as mine and here's to a fulfilling week ahead!

Love.

Big K.R.I.T - Returnof4eva
Yo g. I start off this week's post with Big K.R.I.T's latest release Returnofeva (no my spacebar is not broken). The Mississippi wordsmith's twenty-one track album possesses a much more southern style than his prior releases although K.R.I.T's emotive and lyrical flair is ever present; definitely making him the one to beat this year. Entirely self-produced, the album features well known southern exports Ludacris, Bun B and Chamillionaire, David Banner as well as singer/song-writer Raheem DeVaughn. A complete piece of work, with soulful instrumentation and well though out lyrics. Dope.

The Vent

Another Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Racism

Lions and Lambs

Mos Def - The Ecstatic

I missed Mos Def this week and found myself playing his most recent album, The Ecstatic. While I'll always maintain that 1999's Black On Both Sides is my favourite Mos record, this album certainly matches up. Considered to be his most lyrically sound piece of work since then, The Ecstatic proves just how boundless and creative hip-hop can be. Laced with brilliant production credits, including the late J Dilla, Mr Flash and Madlib, this album is one all should own. Trust me man. Would I lie to you?

Casa Bey

Pretty Dancer

No Hay Nada Mas

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Pt. 1 (4th World War)

Erykah Badu's fourth studio album, New Amerykah Pt.1 (4th World War) is just perfect. Everything that Ms Badu is famed for, her quirkiness, soulful intricateness and flat out musical transcendence is on this album. Right from the off, we're presented with a multitude of concepts and themes, both social and cultural and  though this record may be less introspective than her previous work, it doesn't make it any less great. Loaded with jazz, funk and hip hop sounds (we can thank 9th Wonder, Karriem Riggins and Madlib for the diversity) New Amerykah Pt. 1 is another one of those classics that will still have me yakking about it in ten years time.

The Healer

Me

Honey

Event | Nas and Damian Marley (Distant Relatives Tour)

So, on Thursday I had the pleasure of attending Nas and Damian Marley's concert at Wembley and before I write anything else, let me tell you how awesomely amazing it was! Erykah Badu and dancehall legend Spragga Benz were the night's supporting acts, with Miss Badu delivering an awe-inspiring performance of her best known hits. I can shamelessly admit that I cried, even more so when she belted out Apple Tree off her 1997 debut Baduizm. With her quirky sense of style, bold sense of humour and echoic, svelte vocals, Badu aptly warmed up the audience and perforated my eardrums as well as my soul. I was ready.

The more I remember of that night, the more it sounds like a story out of a book. Anyway. After more DJ sets, reggae and hip-hop music, the atmosphere became heavy with marijuana smoke and the restless noise of the awaiting crowd. And then it began. With the booming sounds and instruments from the track As We Enter, Nas and Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley ambushed the stage, reciting the lyrics of the song, sending the whole stadium into musical frenzied ruckus. Charging through various tracks from their joint album Distant Relatives, the energy was high as fans chanted and sang along; the stage littered with colourful images and people. Damian's dreadlocks cascaded down his back sweeping from side to side as he performed Nah Mean, Tribal War and Dispear while Nas' gold Sphinx medallion hung heavy from his neck. And even as Nas slipped into his solo performance, with him taking the crowd back to his Illmatic days, there were no signs of slowing down. Represent, Nas Is Like, Street Dreams, If I Ruled The World and Hip Hop Is Dead boomed from the speakers and I swear I could see the sweat and concentration on the faces of the die-hard Nas stans as they recited his songs word for word. Nas hit every lyric as hard as the first, as if he'd just written each bar a second before. It was the Nas' of old who graced the stage, Illmatic Nas, God's Son Nas, Stillmatic Nas. Amazing Nas.

And of course, Damian Marley was not to be upstaged. Forgive me for not knowing every single solo song that he performed - reggae was never really an interest of mine. But believe you me, I jumped, shouted, hollered and even had my little Kingston bop going on. I enjoyed it and whether or not that was marijuana induced, who cares? The whole experience was phenomenal.

To cut a great story short, the night ended with all the acts on stage while Nas and Damian performed the anthem Africa Must Wake Up, with Erykah now sporting a "Hip-hop Is Bigger Than Religion" t-shirt (which I want need in my life). Then as an encore, Nas humbly returned to the stage to perform an emphatic rendition of One Mic to the sounds of Phil Collin's legendary tune In The Air Tonight. And not to be outdone, Damian Marley paid homage to his father by belting out Bob Marley's 1980 hit Could You Be Loved to end the night.

All in all, the night proved to be beautifully powerful and one I'll remember forever. If you missed this, you should be jealous of me, you know.

I'll upload what few pictures and videos I have later, since my camera died on me in the middle of the concert! -__-