Why We Still Listen to Notorious B.I.G.

So that we're finally done with GAMESHOW MONTH, we can get back to basics.  And what's more basic than a little old school rapping.

Honestly this should be titled "Why We Should Still be Listening to Notorious B.I.G." because honestly after he died, rap music in my opinion started to die as well. I'll admit that I didn't care much for any newer crap that came out after that. I'm certain that some of it is good (listening to the Office Space soundtrack right now), but I'm willing to bet that at minimum 90% of the stuff out now has gone so far from their roots that it's nothing more than auto-tuned vocals with drum beats from a machine so simple that my son could've created it and borderline pop music. And I'm not about to go down that road to hell again. So here's my tribute to one of the greatest rappers that ever lived and the legacy he left. I just wish these damn fools nowadays would learn and improve their crap to something close to what he'd done. 

• He was Big Papa :: He was hands down one of the best rappers by far. And that's not just me, that's actual critics, fans, and other rap artists. He knew what to say and how to say it even if he was dissing who he was talking about they were still in awe and wonder. Biggie and only, ONLY a handful of other artists could make such an impact. He spoke of having more money and more problems cause it was true. He was straight hood prior to making it big. He didn't fake it like most of these fools talking about nothing but bling and bitches like it was a golden nugget that fallen out of their asses. If you believe that, I'm here to tell you that that ain't gold, that's corn cause it ain't nothin but bullshit. 

• No Diddy :: Pure and simple, if there was no Biggie, Sean Combs would be just another wannabe wanting to do something. Maybe he would've done something because he's a pretty good producer now and one helluva marketing guru. But lets face it, if it wasn't for being Biggie's right hand man, those odds of all his success would not be in his favor. He owes his whole professional career to the life and death of Big Papa and the grace of God for associating them. 

• East Coast vs West Coast :: You're probably wondering why I choose Biggie over 2Pac? Well that's simple. I'm an east coast brotha tried and true. Well, realistically I'm an old-school brotha but since most the great rappers came from the east coast I gotta represent. And back in the 90's it was just the same. That rivalry was like the Montagues and the Capulets of music. You were one or the other. And the feud was hellish, taking two greats in their prime; Biggie and Pac. In retrospect, it was uncalled for cause violence is nonsense. And both blends brought a helluva lot to the table. But the crap on nowadays can't even hold a candle in their presence. 

• Not just talked about how pimp he was :: This mo-fo was pimp. He was the bridge from old school where they rapped about actual shit in their hoods and the government to nowadays where rappers who just start on the scene and aren't even established rap about bitches and bling. How ya gonna rap about shit like that when you don't even have the status to back it up. Biggie started small and had the hard knocked life, and he rapped about that. Then he got big and rapped about hoes and booze and money because he made it. Only a handful of rappers nowadays still rapping can claim that, and I think Jay-Z said it best; "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one". That sums up Biggie's life right there. 

• Bad Boy Records :: He was the catalyst that started the label. Without him, we wouldn't have had such great acts like P. Diddy or Ma$e, well, Diddy at least... The label wouldn't be in existence pure and simple. And only a handful of acts can bring up that claim. 

And with all that being said, if you're listening to anything that's not old school when if comes to rap, you should be ashamed of yourself. These reasons alone should be enough for you to go listen to some of the forgotten freshness that was Biggie and anything before his death. You'll thank me later.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

List o' Best Songs You Might've Never Heard Of

So I'm back with another list. This time its a music list because as we all know, I loves me some good tunes from time to time. But I feel that some songs go unrecognized on how epically great they are. That really saddens me on that concept. So I decided to give these tracks some well deserved recognition. The only thing is that they're so many songs for me to choose from that deserve some respect. I mean do you choose those that are meaningful in their lyrics, ambiguous with their instrumental prowess, a combination their of, or just something that is just wacky and left of center. I mean, that's a lot to sink your teeth into, so I just decided to make it a hodgepodge of it all and make the sky the limit on which stylings to have available. In saying that, what I did was that I decided to give myself a restriction on such by just limiting songs that I could find and put onto my project playlist which is embedded on my post for your listening pleasure. Also I wanted to add the stipulation of only 1 song per artist/group/band so that it inhibits more of a variety for you all. So without further ado, here's BootLeG sampler..'s top 17 underrated songs... or whatever the hell I called this post. Just look at the title and you know... (And why top 17 you ask? Because it's the perfect length of tracks for a mix tape, duh!?!)

*Disclaimer :: This playlist is rated M for Mature. Don't listen unless you want your ears to bleed from all the possible F-bombs*

And in the order of my mix tape on how they're played out, here they are:

• 11:59 by doubleDrive :: Didn't I already mention that I friggin' love doubleDrive!!! They're so talented and yet so underrated themselves. Thus the reason why I established the 1 song stipulation.
• Zebra by John Butler Trio :: This Aussie outfit lends some great skills to creating a neo-folk piece of greatness.
• Starshines by 311 :: Just listen to the first set of words in the song, it says it all. (Honestly it was a toss-up between that and Homebrew, but I had more of a fondness for this track, so Homebrew deserves an honorable mention).
• The Icicle Melts by The Cranberries :: Such a subtle track but powerful in meaning, it deserves to be on this list.
• Charlie Brown's Parents by Dishwalla :: If you ever had angst about authority and fitting in as a kid, this one's for you.
• Lemonade by Tsunami Bomb :: When life gives you lemons, yada yada yada... And this song takes the cake in that message.
• Suite-Pee by System of a Down :: This track is just sick, no other word to say it, it's just friggin sick.
• End of the World by Cold :: Screw R.E.M.'s song of the same name, this is what I want to play just before it happens.
• Walking thru Barbed Wire by Papa Roach :: Quite honestly their best song in their entire catalouge that didn't end up as a single (Between Angels and Insects is their best song, but it's too well known to be considered underrated.)
• Pollution by Limp Bizkit :: I tried to find one with the intro track before this so that it would be even more epic; but it's still stands out on it's own and a great leadin to the next track.
• Everything Remains Raw by Busta Rhymes :: When I first heard this back in 1995, I was like "Damn, that's some great solo rappin shit!!! He's gonna go far in his career." And I was right.
• Inhale by Stone Sour :: People really gotta give Corey Taylor more props with his stuff outside of Slipknot. Stone Sour ain't just all mellow and pussified, they have balls.
• Alone I Break by KoRn :: This is one of the few of my tracks that actually made it as a single. While most thought of it as tame, I thought of it as intriguing and stepping into a new realm for the band.
• O Paranoia by Gangster Fun :: I don't do ska that often, but these guys are really good. I had to find the best one available instead of the track I wanted, Skarabia.
• Summer by Alien Ant Farm :: It shows the complete range of the band all in one track without mocking a classic Michael Jackson song.
• Boyz In Da Hood by Dynamite Hack :: This is the only cover I have on my list and they made a great song by NWA legend Eazy-E even greater.
• Triumph by Wu-Tang Clan :: In my opinion their last great track they produced. Honestly, anything after 36 Chambers really was shit, so I had to promote this track cause this was really good in my opinion.

And just for show, here's the playlist for everyone to enjoy. You'd honestly think that I would leave ya'll hangin?!? C'mon...

So that's my piece on great songs that need to be recognized. Hope ya'll enjoyed it.

BootLeG sampler.. signing out...

When two passions merge, pt 2

Earlier I've talked about my two favorite things; music and videogames; come together in holy matrimony. That was pretty cool in amongst itself. But then there are some music/videogame tie-ins are just not meant to be. And to my displeasure (call me a masochist) I'm gonna get into some detail on some of them. But not too much hopefully...

The first of these monstrosities that I'll dive into would be the Make My Video series of games for the Sega CD. These pile of feces were like taking the worst of the 90's and putting them in the form of a customizable editor booth to make their already crappy music videos even more crappy; by adding in stock footage of old silent movie era bits of film and whatnot to 'make your own video' of their crappy songs that no one really cared about. There were four games that were made in that series featuring Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, INXS, Kris Kross, and C&C Music Factory (which really wasn't part of the series, but just as equally crappy.) I would go deeper into this but, seriously, I just ate and I wanna keep what food I have left in my stomach if you don't mind.

The second of these fun-filled-failures is of a recent. The series of 50 cent games; Bulletproof and Blood in the Sand. As a videogame, the controls are choppy at best, the story is practically non-existent, and all and all, the game was a complete joke. As for the music, I was never much of a 50 cent fan, or fan of recent hip-hop to begin with. My allegiance will always be to the old school giants such as Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Naughty By Nature, Onyx, hell, even Body Count. These in my opinion is what made hip-hop cool; why? Because it wasn't hip-hop, it was RAP! The kind of music that was original in amongst itself taking the music industry to new heights. Now people aren't even ballsy enough to call their art rap anymore but still declare themselves rappers. That's major BS in my opinion and this game is a fine example of crap-on-crap action.

Another game that falls just short on this (barely) was the Def Jam series, in particular Fight for NY. This game was kinda like BET's 106 & Park meets EA Sports Fight Night (of course since it was produced by EA.) but what I think of that was it was a poor rendition of something that was already perfected one videogame generation before with Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style. Both of which were fighting games that were at least mediocre, but with Wu-Tang you had a better soundtrack. It was the better game and it was for the PSone. That's a lot to say for the Def Jam series that tried and tried again; but kept on failing on its endeavors.

I'm not trying to be bias towards rock in games versus hip-hop and R&B in games, but there is a bit of tinge in these posts. But that's not to say that games that had rap/hip-hop isn't all bad. Take for instance the Grand Theft Auto series. Ever since GTA3 incorporating its radio in their cars, you can change from rock to rap with the push of the L or R button respectively for each console it was on. Another take would be the soundtrack to some of the most recent Madden games that were released in the past few years. Hell, if it wasn't for that, we probably wouldn't have even gave two craps about Avenged Sevenfold and all their pop-punk rock greatness (or at least popularity.)

But that's my rant on music and videogames at least for the time. I dunno, maybe I'll revisit it. But for now...

Bootleg sampler.. signing out...