Jackson Free Press

The Grammy noms are out. I know I'm harping on music this week, but I told you it's my favorite time of the year. The Dixie Chicks "Not Ready to Make Nice" is the most Grammy-winning song I've ever heard. And Mary J better clean up with "Be Without You," but I just think the best hip-hop is a little whack:

Best Rap Solo Performance
(For a solo Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Touch It
Busta Rhymes
Track from: The Big Bang
[Aftermath/Interscope Records]

* We Run This
Missy Elliott
Track from: The Cookbook
[Goldmind/Atlantic]

* Kick, Push
Lupe Fiasco
Track from: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
[1st & 15th/Atlantic]

* Undeniable
Mos Def
[Geffen Records]

* What You Know
T.I.
Track from: King

Aside from T.I., this is the biggest hip-hop for white folks list I ever saw. I love Lupe; I really do, and I imagine he'll win here, but I just can't help thinking the hip-hop judgers at the Grammys haven't really been listening to hip-hop. He's an easy choice because he's smart and has lyrics you can understand: skateboard narratives that make you feel good. He's like Kanye without the ego.

But Mos Def? Missy Elliott? I like them, I do, but it seems like a real best of hip-hop list would include something like E-40 or Rick Ross (I know, Pat, every day I'm hustlin', but don't you think he's more representative of where rap is right now?)

T.I. track is a great choice, but I doubt he'll really win.

Previous Commentsshow

Casey writes: I know I'm harping on music this week, but I told you it's my favorite time of the year. As far as I'm concerned, there's never a bad time to harp on music. I just ran across this quote in a sigfile: "Music is essentially useless, as is life." -- George Santayana So please, keep it up. Heck, if it wasn't for a thread you started, I might never have learned that Rabbit in the Moon was progressive house! :o) Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Dec 7 2006

Ooooh I love Rabbit in the Moon!! I agree there is always room for a music thread. I don't listen to as much hip-hop as I used to (am I getting old?), but that does look a bit like a Y101 playlist instead of a true representation of the best hip hop has offered this year. I'd like to see the other nominees. I bet a donut that all the categories look like this one -- not necessarily the best music that has been put out in 2006, but rather whatever sold the most or got the most radio play. Which is why I rarely even listen to the radio anymore. There's wayyy too much good stuff out there to waste time listening to Justin Timberlake over and over.

andi

Dec 7 2006

andi writes: There's wayyy too much good stuff out there to waste time listening to Justin Timberlake over and over. But he's bringing sexy back, Andi! Doesn't that count for something? I mean, he apparently spent three years wandering the Earth looking for it. Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Dec 7 2006

I never knew it was lost, Tom! But thank goodness he brought it back!! Just looked at the noms myself. Glad to see Imogen Heap on the Best New Artist list, although I've known about her for at least two years. And I do see some other worthy choices, such as the Raconteurs, Death Cab, Keane, Beck, and that neat pairing of Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint. Overall, though, I'm not impressed.

andi

Dec 7 2006

I'm-a have to give it up for a second to J.Tim, though. He is a pop artist like no other. He sets the trends, doesn't follow them. FutureSex/LoveSounds is a real jump. He pairs the wackiest things, brings back some old sounds that no one else would dare (okay, well that's probably Timbaland doing that, but come on). "My Love" is about as good and brave a pop song as you're ever going to get. But I like "Since U Been Gone," so who knows.

casey

Dec 7 2006

i will admit that i have his first album on my list of guilty pleasures. i wasn't as impressed with the new one, but he definitely does his own thing. my point was really that the radio just plays artists like JT over and over instead of playing a lot of different stuff. thus the reason i am scouring ITunes for new stuff right now.

andi

Dec 7 2006

oh yes! That I'll agree with. I just love to dance, and J.Tim feeds that. Post your favorite albums/songs of the year!

casey

Dec 7 2006

Well I saw somewhere else that the Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, and so is Thom Yorke - Eraser, so I'm glad the vote isn't up to me because that's a tough one! Other favorites from this year: Beck - The Information Zero 7 - The Garden Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood Decemberists - The Crane Wife Gomez - How We Operate those are just a smidge... but a lot of things I thought were released this year that were awesome actually came out in '05, so they don't count.

andi

Dec 7 2006

I haven't heard Zero 7, but Knol mentioned them, too. Fox Confessor is my swoon album. It is so amazing. What were your awesome 2005 albums?

casey

Dec 7 2006

Andi, I'm happy to see someone else appreciates the new Thom Yorke and Zero 7... Odd to find someone in MS that even knows Zero 7. Another goodie is "Röyksopp's Night Out"... A live album released in 2006 by Röyksopp. They're incredibly good chill/downtempo/trip hop/electronica/dance or whatever other electo-genre you want to throw at them.

kaust

Dec 7 2006

If you're into the Flaming Lips, you must see this video from one of their live shows... An incredibly simple idea that is visually impressive.

kaust

Dec 7 2006

How funny, I was going to mention Royksopp too... I'm also glad to see another Zero 7 fan around these parts!! I think I found out about them first through the movie Garden State, but I listen to this internet radio station at work called Radio Paradise and they play a lot of Zero 7. For 2005: Feist - Let it Die Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise My Morning Jacket - Z and I forgot one for 2006, they're not big yet but should be: Mute Math

andi

Dec 7 2006

that was pretty cool, Knol -- I had heard about it but not seen it yet. if i make it to a FLips show before I die I will be a happy woman! They have so much fun!

andi

Dec 7 2006

uh, i've not even heard of that Missy track. what the heck? and the Busta track? where? what? huh? i've always been kind of indifferent towards T.I. but (and this is so bad) his verse on J.Tim's "My Love" converted me. mmm mmm yes. i give very little credence to what the Grammy's have to say, especially in regards to Hip Hop. Knol: i love Röyksopp, i had no idea they put out an album this year. i am behind as hell.

Vince

Dec 7 2006

T.I.'s rap on My Love is really something spectacular. I read this cool magazine piece that sai TI was at a party when Diana Ross came up and started singing "What You Know" to him. How freaking cool, to have D.Ross singing your song to you. I've not heard the Busta or Missy either.

casey

Dec 7 2006

or Rick Ross (I know, Pat, every day I'm hustlin', but don't you think he's more representative of where rap is right now?) LOL! i actually do tend to think of you when i'm bumping that track on itunes ;) but actually, i was very surprised i didn't see rick ross on that list i love that album and i agree that it's a good representation of where rap is/going today (and nothing wrong with harping on music. art, music, and dance is what makes us human) ;)

William Patrick Butler

Dec 7 2006

I have not heard of most of these guys. And TimberQuake is off my list, after this comment about Taylor Hicks (American Idol): “If [Hicks] has any skeletons whatsoever, if God forbid, he’s gay, and if all these people in Mississippi who voted for him are like [then he takes on a thick southern accent], ‘Oh my god, I voted for a queer!’ It’s just too much pressure.”

Lady Havoc

Dec 7 2006

sounds to me like he's criticizing homophobes more than anything else. What's wrong?

casey

Dec 7 2006

Not everyone is a homophobe in Mississippi.

Ironghost

Dec 7 2006

no, but there are sure a lot. There are definitely less in Jackson than in other parts of the state, but 86% votes against gay marriage don't do much to further our pro-gay reputation. i see your point, though, lady / irong. i dont like when people stereotype mississippi either.

casey

Dec 7 2006

It's not like old Justin there would ever get any of my CD budget, mind you. I don't do mass-produced pop pablum, thank you. Still, I reserve the right to call him on that bit of idiocy.

Ironghost

Dec 7 2006

Lady, your name reminded me of another favorite for 2006.... Lady Sovereign's "Vertically Challenged" (late 2005) and "Public Warning" (late 2006). She's a UK rapper that has a sound I really like. While I'm on female hip hop/rap, God-Des's "Reality" (late 2005) is an amazing album. Very smart lyrics with good beats. Her duo EP with She entitled "Awesome" is just as amazing. "She" is an incredibly soulful vocalist (and she sang me Happy Birthday too!). Talk about conscious rap... God-des slings some harsh words at the president and society but maintains an intellectual and often humorous bend. There are a few "party" tracks on their albums that aren't so "intellectual" and push the line of vulgarity, like "Lick It' (on Awesome) and "Debate" (on Reality)... Of course, every album needs a "party track" and these tracks are simply silly and vulgar. I personally enjoy those two songs though I'm sure they'd make most blush and possibly wince. I'm talking 2 Live Crew vulgar but all in humor. Also, another UK hip hop artist I dig from 2006 is The Streets. Mike Skinner has released several albums as The Streets and his latest "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living" is pretty damned good... More like "alt.hop", it's not your standard hip hop/rap found on MTV and Clear Channel. The bloke is not afraid to sing about birds, drinking, and partying. Still, his sound is what I enjoy most. And, finally... I must recommend Princess Superstar's concept album "My Machine." It's a 2005 release where PS shares her vision of a possible future. I HEART concept albums. The album really speaks about current pop culture, art and commerce from a vantage point in the not-so-distant future. Everyone that hears it in my car or at my home loves it. With producers like Arthur Baker, Jaques Lu Cont, Todd Terry and more, it manages to embrace nearly all facets of electronic music from house to hip hop to glitch. Casey, if you haven't heard God-des' full albums, let me know... I'd love for you to hear them. Also, I'd like to get you some of Katastrophe's tracks... Industrial meets hip hop with dashes of Outkast and Eminem (vocal flow). Rocco is genius and I love him like Pop Tarts! Maybe we could hookup via AIM tomorrow and I could let you hear some samples? ;-)

kaust

Dec 8 2006

i haven't heard any god-des and she or katastrophe, but i love that newest (and really all) streets albums. let's hook it up!

casey

Dec 8 2006

Casey, I should be online most of the day. IM me.

kaust

Dec 10 2006

One more great album of 2006 i almost forgot: Grand National - Kicking the National Habit - this is a band from the UK that started out years ago as a Police cover band. Danceable tunes with a touch of electronica. The best songs on the album are "Drink to Moving On" and "Talk Amongst Yourselves"

andi

Dec 11 2006