Ghislain Poirier |
Compartmentalized hip-hop is dead — at least that’s what a backpacker I met at the Jeezy concert told me. But there’s still great independent hip-hop out there, pushing the limits of the genre while only occasionally talking about dealing cocaine. Here are a few places to find it.Ghostface and MF Doom, “Angeles”
This hotly awaited collaboration proves that anyone who believes Ghostface and MF Doom can do no wrong may have a point. Cinematic strings set the track up as a faux theme song for a new crime drama. “This shit come on after Hart to Hart,” Ghost says, and personally I can’t wait to get home from school.
CunninLynguists, “Beautiful Girl”
CunninLynguists (I know, but what’s in a name?) hail from Kentucky, not exactly the center of the hip-hop universe, but with solid production and conscious lyrics they have every reason to hope for a breakthrough. Their conceptual album A Piece of Strange has singles to spare, notably this funky chipmunk-soul ode to, well, a beautiful girl. Named Jane. With flamed-colored hair. Okay, it’s about marijuana.
Living Legends, “2010”
It’s strange to hear the signature riff from Nirvana’s cover of “The Man Who Sold the World” serving as the backbone to a hip-hop single. But if it works, it works. This left-coast crew are starting to live up to their name in the underground community after years of hard work, solid group and solo records, and the kind of growing buzz you get from chopping a Nirvana riff.
ds
Ghislain Poirier, “Avec La Musique” (feat. Jacobus and Maléco)
Poirier has devoted his life to brain-scrambling productions. Whether it’s in his own buzzy glitch-hop or his monster remixes of everyone from Jay-Z to, uh, Vanilla Ice, the Montreal native is a genuine beatmaster. This track features a couple of Canadian rappers who switch smoothly between French and English, but don’t worry, you’ll get the point: it’s about blowing your mind.
Related:
Canadian clubbed, Say what?, Sean Price, More
- Canadian clubbed
As red-hot underground DJs go, Ghislain Poirier is as understated as it gets.
- Say what?
Good news for perplexed suburbanites: a new site called UnderstandRap.com lets experienced rap interpreters explain difficult urban slang to hip-hop neophytes.
- Sean Price
Like MF Doom before him, Sean Price has switched personae, reconfigured his style, and given his underground hip-hop career a second life in recent years.
- Linwood bounce
Beat Research is going large this Friday with Bouncement, a party of extreme bass sound and huge beats with an experimental touch. Juelz Santana, "Santana's Town (Ghislain Poirier remix)" (mp3)
- Ghost world
“For those who don't know me, I’m known for using soul music,” Ghostface proclaimed. “I get a lot of pussy for it too.”
- Big business
Now that the music biz has licked its wounds from a nasty 2005, things are finally starting to heat up, and an indie-heavy winter is giving way to a more major spring.
- MF Doom & Madlib | Madvillainy 2
Madvillainy 2, not the much expected follow-up to the groundbreaking Madlib + Doom 2004 collaboration but a radical remix of the original album.
- Ghostface Killah
For the second time in 2006, Wu-Tang’s Ghostface has released an album that makes it seem everyone else in the hip-hop world should be paying more attention to Ghostface.
- dDamage
The French hip-hop brother duo dDamage want your brain.
- Mr. Magic, R.I.P.
By the time this goes to press, DJs and designers will be mixing and manufacturing mix-tapes and shirts commemorating Mr. Magic, the seminal New York radio jockey who died of a heart attack at 53 in Brooklyn this past Friday.
- Li(f)e story
Should nothing change over the next couple of months, July will mark one year since Providence’s Sage Francis — who comes to the Middle East this Wednesday — has written or recorded a single verse.
- Less
Topics:
Download
, Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music, More
, Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music, Culture and Lifestyle, Underground Hip-Hop, MF Doom, Travel and Tourism, Jay-Z, Ghislain Poirier, Outdoor Recreation, Less