P.O.S.- We Don't Even Live Here (2012)

Yo ya'll. It has been a hot minute since I did a Ninko post up in here; mostly that is due to the overwhelming amount of amazing math coming from all of our various contributors, and although this is a pretty direct destination for your math rock needs, I feel like spreading a little astray goodness up in these parts.

P.O.S. has just recently caught my attention, as I have read a few "top 20 albums" lists that have cited his 4th release, We Dont Even Live Here, as one of the best of the year. Before these year-end lists, I had seen glowing reviews of this album, but had only until recently checked the singles instead of the whole.

New Years Eve, I was about to head out on a 20 minute drive to a party and wanted some new music for the ride, so I found my way to this album, and I have not stop listening to it since. It meets all my criteria for good hiphop: it is well written, well produced, and smooth as hell. It starts off aggressively with a one-two combo of swaggering intimidation in opening tracks Bumper and its excellent follow up and single, Fuck Your Stuff, but then in comes How We Land, which is what really caught my attention. It reminded me of a combination of Brendan from Gruvis Malt singing over some Outkast rhymes and production. Its full of hooks, great flows, and a very well placed vocal breakdown featuring some dude you might know from Some Band. Check it here:



Do check it. Further listening leads to the other single from the album, Get Down, as well as his 2001 debut in the group Cenospecies: their self titled is Here.

we dont even live here

This Music Moment- The Roots 2001

So, it does stink to start a post this way, but the music i want you all to hear and appreciate is so far unavailable in my standard pre-blogpost digging; maybe you guys here at the Swords can help me out with finding a link, but i do hate starting off by saying i do not have the sufficient links to share with you.

That being said, i love hiphop. As i have said many times before in many, many blog posts about my history with the style, hip hop is a strange beast; for the most part, i look to strong production and smooth rhyme flow in the artists that end up really sticking with me. As a highschool kid graduating in 2002, a few of my close friends had a deeper love of hiphop and rap than i did, but i sucked it all up in long blunted cruises, listening to and talking about all kinds of music, and why we loved our respective favorite genres.

metaghostin' vol V - Deadly Duos

Deadly Duos - 34'26"
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What's better than rapping by yourself?

Rapping with your best friend, of course.
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1. "The Science of the Two" - Edan (w/Insight) / Beauty & the Beat / 2005

EDAAAANNNNNNNN! Obviously it's his prerogative, but I really wish Edan would release some new rap material instead of the occasional mixtape blender thing. His beats are too dreamy. (Swoon)

2. "Bring it On" - Organized Konfusion / Stress: The Extinction Agenda / 1994

I wonder if it was sad to be Prince Po, an undeniable force on the mic, yet still getting upstaged on every track by Pharoahe Monch. Pharoahe's verse is probably about as vicious as an emcee ever got, going so far as to point out that he buttfucks other emcees. He also molds brains like pottery, apparently.

3. "What a N---- Know?" - KMD / Black Bastards / 1994

MF Doom in his earlier incarnation as Zevlov X still rapped hella drunk. I feel like if I keep typing "rapped", I'm eventually gonna type "raped".

4. "RE:DEFinition" - Black Star / Black Star / 1997

Mighty Mos and Talib Kweli, back before they were dudes whose albums you didn't care about.

5. "Wheelz of Steel" - Outkast / ATliens / 1996

Outkast got the best basslines in hip-hop.

6. "Survival of the Fittest" - Mobb Deep / The Infamous / 1995

I can't really listen to this album because I find it too damn depressing, but it's got an abundance of hot trackz. I wanted to pick a Big Noyd track, but then it wouldn't be much of a "Deadly Duo" thing, would it?

7. "Off (with) Their Heads (Be Prompt)" - Latyrx / The Album / 1997

Probably the least well-known group on here, being late 90's West Coast rap that didn't really fit the mold of any of the big names at the time and being way more chilled out than the East Coast underground of the era. Kinda funky, kinda stoned out.

8. "Lower da Boom" - The Artifacts / Between a Rock and a Hard Place / 1994

Every rap album needs a weed jam! So authentic.

9. "Scream Phoenix" - Cannibal Ox / Cold Vein / 2001

They made one LP and it's so good.

Big Boi-Shutterbug

This will be a mini-This Music Moment. I was talking to metaghost earlier this night about how, before just a few weeks ago, the only Outkast i knew beyond their singles was Speakerboxx/The Love Below, and how strange of a place to start it was. At that time, the double album was in fact split up into 2 separate discs where Big Boi and Andre were in charge, respectfully. I picked up Stankonia recently, with Mrs. Jackson, So Fresh and So Clean, etc, and instantly began reconnecting with another recent purchase, Big Bois solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot. Big Boi brings it in considerable style, as usual, and offered this single right before the album dropped:



Such a sick video for such a sick song. Love that obvious product placement at the start, but damn this is such a good track. Its just goddamned sick all throughout, with that at first hilarious but then, when integrated into the future sound, just badass deep vocal rhythm line, the tight rhythm guitar bass and drum, and his smooth flow. That chorus is just so fresh. A little dirty though.



I wanted to also offer up his epilogue before the outro to Sir Lucious, The Train pt. 2. Again, with most hip hop that i listen to, production is my first impression for new listening. Big Boi doesnt ever disappoint, which i am now realizing as i dig deeper through their catalog. Outkast had it from the start, and as solo artists Big Boi and Andre have found their own styles and sound and have done well growing.
Shit do i love those palm muted licks that get their just deserts in that instrumental outro.
sir lucious left foot