No Skipplables.

"Please save a kid that needs some help and I can't see ahead of me so I move in stealth.

Hide and seek within a dream I seem to glide above my horror though I feel I'll never be
Complete inside the dark I borrow to proceed and remain intact, my mental is so unstable
And they talk and judge a man they have no clue of what I'm capable til I show a side of
Me no one had thought could be within, I told ya no I'm not no loser won't see you in hell

"give me a paper and a pen
so I can write about my life of sin
a couple bottles of Gin
incase I don't get in"

"Im the second dopest nigga
From Compton you'll ever hear
The first nigga only put out albums
Every 7 years (haha)"

"Things just ain't the same for gangstas
Cops is anxious to put niggaz in handcuffs
They wanna hang us, see us dead or enslave us
Keep us trapped in the same place we raised in
Then they wonder why we act so outrageous
Run around stressed out and pull out gauges
Cause everytime you let the animal out cages
It's dangerous, to people who look like strangers"

Beautiful Hip Hop.

To Live And Die In L.A.-Tupac Shakur

This song is the epitome of hip hop. The ugliness of Los Angeles was beautifully crafted into a popular hip hop song over a soulful beat that played into the ears of the youth. Tupac brought Los Angeles alive in a way that no other artist has been able to. No song dedicated to California or Los Angeles captured the real, unadulterated truth in these streets. Yes, Los Angeles is filthy and dangerous but we are all adapted to it and know where to find the beauty. I feel it's in the the general atmosphere of every Los Angelian in the whole county.

When this song came out, it provoked a higher sense of pride that still resonates within us today.

The music video makes me remember all the times I've visited the different places 'Pac shows. That Fatburger, Barbary Coast, Crenshaw Plaza, MLK Hospital and City Hall...This is all Los Angeles!

Tupac's intent was to show the unity of Los Angeles. Music is the medium through which our unity is spread.

"To live and die in LA, where everyday we try to fatten our pockets. Us niggas hustle for the cash so it's hard to knock it. Everybody got they own thang, currency chasing. Worldwide through the hard times, worrying faces."

Beautiful Hip-Hop.

Luniz-I Got Five On It
This is one of those automatic straight chiiill joints. You know what I'm talkin' 'bout. As soon as it comes on we start groovin' and noddin' our heads. You could lay back and just chill to the beat. What all these "Beautiful Hip-Hop" songs have in common is that they are BBQ-material. Know what I mean? You could play these songs at a Summer time BBQ with all the homies, having a good time dancing with kool-aid in one hand and a carne asada plate in the other. Music brings people together. That's the idea.



" 'Cause fools be havin' them vaccum lungs,
And if you let 'em hit it for free,
You hella dum-dum-dum-dum. "

Beautiful Hip-Hop.

This weeks beautiful hip-hop song is Too $hort's "Gettin' It". It goes along with what I was talking about in the earlier post about getting something out of your life. He grew up in Oakland, sold his own tapes out his trunk, never lost sight of his goals and was soon signed to a major label. After the release of "Gettin' It" (Album Number Ten) in 1996, Too $hort decided to retire.



"You gotta lot a dreams but you can't get out
The first thing you need to do is set your self some goals
Think positive, everything else is old
and work hard, never stop hustlin'..."

Beautiful Hip Hop.

For me to consider a hiphop song "beautiful", it needs to fulfill several criteria such as a laid back beat, smooth hook, metaphors, style and overall good execution. This weeks Beautiful Hip Hop song is
Da Art of Storytelling by Outkast/Slick Rick.

The beat automatically makes you bob your head like a true hiphop enthusiast. Big Boi starts his verse off by describing an affair he's having with "Suzy Skrew" and the drama that involves his baby's mother. Andre 3000's story "goes hard" :

"All of the bullshit we on our back starin' at the stars above/ Talkin bout what we gonna be when we grow up/I said what you wanna be, she said, "Alive" It made me think for a minute, then looked in her eyes/ I coulda died.../"

Slick Rick finishes it off with his dilemna about trust in relationships. Knahmean?

Beautiful Hip Hop.

Every now and then, I'll post up some true hip hop songs which I feel to be a true masterpiece in many aspects. I wasn't sure which to start this off with, so since this song randomly came on, here's the first one:
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony/ Tha Crossroads.

This is just a real laid back track on a real emotional subject. No mention of bitches, weed, blasting gun, lowrider or hoes. I mean, they're speaking about close friends and family passing away, judgement, and "livin' in a hateful world". Even if you don't pay attention to the lyrics, the beat is very mellow. This song was not made for the Pop charts.


"God bless you working on a plan to Heaven/ Follow the Lord all 24/7 days, GOD is who we praise/even though the devil's all up in my face/But he keeping me safe and in my place, say grace/For the case to race with a chance to face the judge/And I betcha my soul won't budge/Grudge because there's no mercy for thugs/Oh what can I do it's all about our family and how we roll..."



Extra:
Eazy-E signed these cats in 1993. In 1995, they released E.1999 Eternal. This was the same year Easy-E died from AIDS.