Friday, January 14, 2005
AFTER MY LAST MOODY ASSESSMENT OF THE YEAR IN HIP HOP, IT SEEMS ONLY RIGHT TO PAY RESPECT TO ALL THOSE WHO GAVE US SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE 'O5...
aka - Don't call it a top ten list.
+ M.I.A.
The superfreaky first lady of British worldbeat dancehall delivered an unstoppable juggernaut on the dancefloor in the form of "Galang," the one tune this year guaranteed to deliver any dancefloor into smiling, swiveling bliss. Lotsa folks are expecting big 'tings from M.I.A. on the hype of her Diplo-mixed "Piracy Funds Terrorism" mixtape session.
+ Rephlex Records Gets Grimey
I gotta hand it to the one like Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin, whose Rephlex label had the balls to release some of the deepest, darkest, most bassbin-vibrating underground dubstep records of the year, call them "Grime," and in the process dare the global IDM massive to report to the dancefloor.
+ Reggaeton
The island of Puerto Rico happens to be situated culturally between Latin America, the Caribbean, and the USA. As such, it seems only natural that urban PR has produced a streetwise synthesis of the sounds of those places to create something truly original: the sound of young Puerto Rico is REGGAETON, and chances are it's already pumping out of car stereos in a hood near you so don't sleep.
+ Kano, Davinche, Tinchy Strider, D Double E,...
Too many great MC's and producers to name, but let there be no mistake: 2004 belonged to the streets of London, where GRIME ruled supreme. Grime really hit its stride in 2004, on the heels of Dizee and Wiley, a seemingly endless number of talented artists created some of the most original flows and dopest beats I've heard in years.
+ Digital Mystikz
Running parallel to grime like it's paranoid alter-ego, dubstep also came into its own this year, letting its Rasta flag fly led by the amazing, prolific Mala and Coki, aka Digital Mystikz. The Mystikz raised the bar high this year for all who dare follow down the path of the dread bass, the skunk-blunted riddims, and the echo chamber. In that vein, respect is due to Horsepower/Tempa, Kode 9, Loefah, SLT Mob, Mark 1, Plasticman... Leading the Ongy Boingy massive ever Forward...
+ The Next Wave: Vex'd, Search & Destroy, DJ Distance...
I'm leaving a bunch out here, but the main sentiment is that a number of promising producers have been rearing their heads at the tail end of '04 who look to be set to make serious noise in the dubstep/grime underground. More to come...
+ The Return of Clipse
"Pussy" got like 2 spins last year then disappeared. No album. No followup. Not even any rumors. Then "Definition of a Roller" pops up without fanfare on the Diplo/M.I.A. mixtape. It's heavvvy. Clipse, where are you??? I can feel it, you're gonna blow up the coke spot again this year! Prove me right!!! ¶ 7:07 PM
aka - Don't call it a top ten list.
+ M.I.A.
The superfreaky first lady of British worldbeat dancehall delivered an unstoppable juggernaut on the dancefloor in the form of "Galang," the one tune this year guaranteed to deliver any dancefloor into smiling, swiveling bliss. Lotsa folks are expecting big 'tings from M.I.A. on the hype of her Diplo-mixed "Piracy Funds Terrorism" mixtape session.
+ Rephlex Records Gets Grimey
I gotta hand it to the one like Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin, whose Rephlex label had the balls to release some of the deepest, darkest, most bassbin-vibrating underground dubstep records of the year, call them "Grime," and in the process dare the global IDM massive to report to the dancefloor.
+ Reggaeton
The island of Puerto Rico happens to be situated culturally between Latin America, the Caribbean, and the USA. As such, it seems only natural that urban PR has produced a streetwise synthesis of the sounds of those places to create something truly original: the sound of young Puerto Rico is REGGAETON, and chances are it's already pumping out of car stereos in a hood near you so don't sleep.
+ Kano, Davinche, Tinchy Strider, D Double E,...
Too many great MC's and producers to name, but let there be no mistake: 2004 belonged to the streets of London, where GRIME ruled supreme. Grime really hit its stride in 2004, on the heels of Dizee and Wiley, a seemingly endless number of talented artists created some of the most original flows and dopest beats I've heard in years.
+ Digital Mystikz
Running parallel to grime like it's paranoid alter-ego, dubstep also came into its own this year, letting its Rasta flag fly led by the amazing, prolific Mala and Coki, aka Digital Mystikz. The Mystikz raised the bar high this year for all who dare follow down the path of the dread bass, the skunk-blunted riddims, and the echo chamber. In that vein, respect is due to Horsepower/Tempa, Kode 9, Loefah, SLT Mob, Mark 1, Plasticman... Leading the Ongy Boingy massive ever Forward...
+ The Next Wave: Vex'd, Search & Destroy, DJ Distance...
I'm leaving a bunch out here, but the main sentiment is that a number of promising producers have been rearing their heads at the tail end of '04 who look to be set to make serious noise in the dubstep/grime underground. More to come...
+ The Return of Clipse
"Pussy" got like 2 spins last year then disappeared. No album. No followup. Not even any rumors. Then "Definition of a Roller" pops up without fanfare on the Diplo/M.I.A. mixtape. It's heavvvy. Clipse, where are you??? I can feel it, you're gonna blow up the coke spot again this year! Prove me right!!! ¶ 7:07 PM
