bow down

I'll keep it rather brief, as the World Cup finals beckon me. I'm going to have a marathon crystal castles listening sesh, so I can prepare for the incessant eardrum eroding sound of the vuvuzelas.

Busta Rhymes- Holla

Ah, what's not to love about Busta Rhymes? (Besides the extreme homophobia and enormous ego, I mean.) The man is a legend in the game, and is always pushing the envelope. He's been rhyming since the late eighties, and unlike most of his contemporaries, has constantly kept re-inventing himself and his music. To the layman, Busta might seem to be just another overly aggressive boastful rapper, but he is much more than that. Everything, from the classic videos to the image he portrays, is calculated down to the last letter. The dude is goofy as hell, his swagger is often out of this world, but his style never feels stagnant. He isn't really a divisive figure, to be honest: people from all genres of music have a lot of respect for his craft. I've heard that Daft Punk didn't charge Busta Rhymes a lot for his use of "Technologic" on Touch It, because they respected his body of work, whereas they charged Kanye millions for the use of Stronger.

This particular tune is an often overlooked gem in Busta's discography. The beat, (in all of its bouncy Halloween soundtrack-sounding glory) a fine Dr Dre production from 2001, combined with Busta's stream-of-consciousness rhymes make this anthem unforgettable.

Slum Village- Raise it up

Slum Village are known by most people to be the late, great J Dilla's group, a trio of Detroit juggernauts. Baatin (r.i.p), J Dilla & T3 made countless great songs, no matter your taste in rap. J Dilla produced all of their songs, which probably has something to do with it, as they are most well-known for the classic soul flips that characterize their sound. This particular song has a great little backstory to it, which, hilariously enough, includes another Daft Punk reference.

One day, as J Dilla was record digging for random samples, he came accross a bootleg recording of Thomas Bangalter's Extra Dry. Dilla figured that he was an obscure producer that no one had heard of, so he flipped the sample and created Raise It Up. Thomas Bangalter was quite aware of Jay Dee's amazing body of work, and was a fan, so all that he asked was that Slum Village remix one of Daft Punk's songs. They gladly obliged, and added their own groove to Aerodynamic.

This Rollie just don't look right, sittin' on my wrist, huh.

DJ Mujava- Township Funk

South African Kwaito meets house music. Not only is this one of the catchiest melodies of the past few years, it is created by a South African producer/DJ who made a classic tune with old, beaten-up equipment. This is a song of hope, man. Fuck regional bias, great music can come from the places you'd least expect. It's all about the love of music.


[edit: Congrats to Spain on their first World Cup win ever.]

Avenge The Virgins.