Ski Beatz - "Winners Parade", "Cream of the Planet", "Luchini"

Just a quick bit of awesome music to brighten your Wednesday. Ski Beatz (AKA David Willis, DJ Ski) is an American Producer who has been quietly influential in Hip-Hop since the mid 90's. Ski produced most of Camp Lo's classic debut album Uptown Saturday Night including one of my all time favorite jams, "Luchini" (below), and helped create J-Z's Reasonable Doubt including tracks "Dead Presidents". More recently his work has included collaborations with Tabi Bonney (Above), Mos Def (below), Jay Electronica, and Curren$y. Each of these tracks are guaranteed to mellow you on your way through the rest of the week.







Luchini (This is It)- Camp Lo


Tabi Bonney-Winners Parade

Black Star:: "Respiration" :: Concert Follow-up

Before the show last night we all agreed that the best thing that could happen during a Black Star concert in Chicago would be Common joining Mos and Talib for "Respiration". About an hour into the encore the crowd's energy had gone from intense to bonkers, but no "Respiration". Then when we all thought our hopes may not come to pass, BAM! The below happened. I have never seen a crowd respond in such a frenzy like they did here, surging towards the stage, screaming, and jumping in pure bliss.



Maybe I have rose-colored glasses on 1-day post-concert. Maybe my shattered eardrums have affected my judgement. But I would argue that the show last night may have been the best I have ever seen. Yes, I said it. The best. The energy was so infectious, and you could see Mos and Talib were eating it up. Chicago, man. Wow. What a show. Not to be forgotten. Escuche la. La ciudad respirando.


Respiration

Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli):: "Thieves in the Night", "Brown Skin Lady", "Definition"

Tomorrow night I'll be heading out to the House of Blues in Chicago to see one of my all-time favorites, Black Star. The group (comprised of MC's Mos Def and Talib Kweli) rose from the underground NYC hip-hop scene of the late '90's. Though they produced only one self-titled album (1998), their work quickly rose to international prominence due to a combination of superb lyrical quality and content centered on themes of race, social consciousness, and most importantly, anti-violence. Following the violent deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. only a few years before, the Black Star collaboration seemed a clear and direct effort to call out the harmful role violence often plays in hip-hop music. It was one of the first albums I heard that was a clear and jarring departure from the gangster rap era that preceded it. I ate it up, fell in love with the MC's, artistry, and messages, and have rarely found anything close to its equal since.

From what I hear, the tour going on now is gonna revisit the stellar tracks of their first album, and give audiences a first glimpse of Black Star's hugely anticipated 2nd album,Blackstar 2, expected to drop in 2012. If this is your first exposure to this group, I highly recommend getting the whole 1st album and spending a good hour or two listening to it from beginning to end. Its hard to choose a favorite tune to post here, so please pardon the excessive clips/mp3's below. Man, I just can't wait to see them live!


Thieves in the Night


Brown Skin Lady