JG Choice Cut: 9th Wonder "Brooklyn In My Mind"

Greetings. Welcome. This is the series of blog posts where JG recommends a track and I review it. The guy has pretty good taste in music except that recently he recommended two Frank Ocean songs ("Pink Matter" & "Pyramids") which I won't review becasue this is a hip hop blog and I hate R&B. Honestly, Pandora is always trying to throw Frank Ocean tracks into my Kendrick Lamar mix and I'm always hittin' "DISLIKE" as quickly as I can. Fuck that singing shit. 

Anyway, we all know who 9th Wonder is. Some of you like him, some of you don't. I do like him. He's a good producer. So this song is a compilation track in the vien of the great Crooklyn Dodgers. I guess this is our generation's version of the team, and we get Mos Def, Memphis Bleek, and Jean Grae. Eh. I don't really like any of those guys. Maybe Jean Grae a litte, but not that much....this might not be so good. Let's find out. 




I have a theory that if you sample Biggie, your song is automatically dope. However, the Curtis Mayfield sample used all through this track is (1) tired and (2) boring. So the MC's need to step up and crush some home runs.

First verse is boring, I think it's by 9th.
Jean Grae is technically good, but not all that fun to listen too.
Memphis Bleek is the best of the track, but it's not that good.
Where was Mos Def?

Eh. This track is the pits. Not hittin'. You gotta remember that music representing Brooklyn music is some of the hardest out there. If you're going to represent Brooklyn you gotta come correct. This shit is just weak.

Here's a good Brooklyn Track:



I'm not even a Jay-Z fan, but I know dope when I hear it. Go hard. Come again.  






Skip ahead to 2:20 for one of favorite Brooklyn tracks, the beat is insane. Plus, I shot a man in Brooklyn just to watch him die. Yep.









In Conclusion: You gotta bring it if your talking that Brooklyn shit. Nothing was brought here.

BROOKLYN IN MY MIND SCORE 5/10

JG Choice Cut: Big Boi "In The A"

Welcome back friends! This is the post series where my friend from Detroit recommends a song, and I review it! It always turns out great, except for when he recommends a commercial. Remember that one, JG? Remember when you blew it?

Anyway, to make up for it, JG has recommended a Big Boi track, and I genuinely like Big Boi. In fact he's one of the best ever. On the serious. He overcame his kind of dumb name and impressed the world. But even so I would be uncomfortable calling him Big Boi. "Hi, Big Boi!" - nope.

So the song is called "In the A" which is good. I hear they have bad drivers there, and real housewives. Dope. But even thought this track seems to have everything going for it, it also has a couple of big minuses: the FEATURING OF LUDACRIS and T.I.. I know they're from Atlanta and all, but I don't like to hear them rap! And I don't like to see them act. Stay out of my media, assholes.

Maybe this time they will be chill? Can Big Boi save the track (probably)...let's find out...






Oh. Pause at 0:14. I don't like this. Is this song done? I don't want to hear a slowed down old sample. Yikes. Who produced this? Showdown, DJ Aries, & Black Owned C-Bone. Good grief. Who? Black Owned C-Bone? Is that like collar bone? Frowny paint face. In the A in the A in the A in the A in the A.

Who raps that fist verse? I can't tell. This shit is insane, not in a good way. It's like a kid got on the soundboard and turned on all the fucking samples at once. I can tell three or more people produced this shit at the same time.

In the A in the A in the A in the A in the A.
In the A in the A in the A in the A in the A.
In the A in the A in the A in the A in the A.
In the A in the A in the A in the A in the A.

I hope "A" doesn't mean "Ass".

Big Boi has verse two. And guess what: it's dope. Can any beat trip up Big Boi? No. I think Big Boi was like, "Hey DJ Aries! Hey, Black Owned C-Bone! Hey Showdown! Make me the worst beat ever to fuck up whoever I have guest spot." And they were like, "Wait, Big Boi, it'll fuck you up too!". And Big Boi was like "I CAN'T BE FUCKED UP BY A BEAT. MAKE IT THE WORST"...and so they did.

Big Boi killed the beat without even showing up. He just probably rapped in his car on the speakerphone while he ate Taco Bell becasue he doesn't have to worry about it.

T.I. was overwhelmed by the beat. He stepped in front of it confidently and it grabbed him by the brim of his cap and sucked him in, then it shredded him up and he ended up losing an arm or some shit. Amputee shit.

So Ludacris saw all this shit going on, and heard the beat and called his manager and was like "Make Black Owned C-Bone tone down this bullshit ass beat or I'm walking." and it was done. The beat was tamed for Luda, and he was still maimed, but not as bad.

So that's the true story of how T.I. lost an arm. Only in the A, right?

IN CONCLUSION: What have we learned? 

1. When doing a beat with Big Boi, STOP. Think. Keep a safe distance and evaluate the beat to judge its danger level. Use a long stick to keep trickier parts of the loop away from your most vulnerable body parts.

2. Do NOT follow Big Boi. You'll sound like shit no matter what.

3. Give yourself plenty of time to lay your verse. Don't rush it or you'll sound like shit.

4. Eat a healthy breakfast and get plenty of sleep before writing your rhymes. Big Boi will make you look like a rookie if you're even a bit off your game.

5. Be prepared to abandon everything you wrote if the flow doesn't match the beat (which it probably won't).

6. Try not to think of how Big Boi killed the beat without even writing anything down. He's a pro. Worry about not sounding like shit on a bad beat.

Done. This song sucked except for Big Boi.

IN THE A SCORE 6/10

JG Choice Cut: ADD-2 "Ain't Shit Change"

By the way young blood, hit me off with that Green Bay hat.


We're back! Tort Team Official JG strikes again with another track selection. Today he has picked Ain't Shit Change by Chicago native ADD-2. Hooray! Another track that I am familiar with since I regularly check for ADD-2's mixtapes. I gotta say, while I appreciate the lyrical content of this track and the theme, I don't like the hook (way too smooth) or the flow. Don't take that the wrong way, but I don't regularly spin this track I like my shit RAW.




AIN'T SHIT CHANGE SCORE 6/10
JG TRACK QUALITY = GOOD

JG is a Tort Team Official representing Detroit, MI. He is a music enthusiast and a rec room wrecker. #Salute

JG Choice Cut: J. Dilla "Rebirth of Detroit"

In this series of posts, Tortoise General Staffer JG selects a song to get posted on the blog and reviewed by me (Dag Diligent). "What a great idea" - nobody.

So this track isn't really fair and kind of breaks the tradition of this series of posts. Why? Because JG is SUPPOSED to pick songs that I wouldn't normally listen to so that I can be delighted by something new. Today we are going with a track from someone I like, and a song that I definately would have listened to. I have not heard this song yet, but there is a good  chance that I will like it. Great choice JG, you've ruined everything.

"So why not juss pic something else lol #oddfuture #houseofstyle #mtv" - you (on Twitter).

Well, the system is what it is and I can't really go against it. Plus JG is from Detroit, and I've got to give that city some respect for their major contributions to hip hop.  Not to mention that Dilla is the best and I would like to hear any of his shit. Let's go...

WHAT THE HELL? That was just a trailer! A good trailer! But still a trailer. For something that came out like two months ago. I know you Detroit guys love this (so do some Philly guys (me)), but give me the whole track, JG. No trailers.

I'll find it myself...

"Dillatroit"



Now that's good shit. Refreshing. "Army platoon shit! Welcome to Detroit. Welcome back to the unit." Hahaha! You got Bullwhipped. I got bullwhipped. What a good song. Classic video.

Everything works in this song. That beat should be put up as example of what to do behind the boards. Would you expect anything less from Dilla? No. He's a heavyweight. This is legacy shit.

Supa Emcee, Nick Speed, and especially Guilty Simpson kill the shit and we're left with a classic. Dream Team shit.

IN CONCLUSION: I forgive you JG, for sending me a trailer instead of a song. It led me to a track that I should have already been spinning.

DILLATROIT SCORE 9/10

JG Choice Cut: BJ The Chicago Kid "His Pain"

Steppin' live in the place.


We're back with another musical selection from Detroit's own: JG. Give him a round of applause. Do it you ungrateful lowlife.


Today we're checking out His Pain by BJ the Chicago Kid. Who? I have no idea who this is and I work on Hip Hop every day of my life. I suspect that I am out of the loop on this one because I would probably never check for this track thanks to the name BJ the Chicago Kid. What is that all about? Sounds weird. Plus the song name, "His Pain" sounds like some weak R&B business, and I don't like weak business. Although as soon as I heard the album title "Pineapple Now & Laters" I remembered him, "Oh yeh, that guy" - me.


The song features Kendrick Lamar, someone I have heard of but am not a fan of thanks to all the singing and not enough rough rapping. But I've got nothing against him. I hope he makes a lot of money and has all the success.


Okay, let's see how the track is...





Well. So jazzy. Too jazzy. Too much chorus, repeat x500, right? I guess I'm going to have to do a word count on the low: the word "bless" was used in some form 36 times! That's overkill BJ the Chicago Kid.

That aside, I like the track, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE BEAT DROPS LIKE AN HOUR INTO THE SONG. The lyrical skill is high, I appreciate the structure with the mirroring of the first verse in te second verse and the clever counterpoint between those who are blessed, and those who are not. The follow through. Plus the answer to the question "why does he keep blessing me?". Nicely done. Even the singing at the end is mad nice. Very good. Excellent.

I can't believe I'm going to do this but:
HIS PAIN SCORE 9/10

JG Choice Cut: The Illz "Weightless (Alamar)"

Check it out, check it out, check it out now. Trife life got me livin' like an animal. It's time to build and add on. Word. I think we have officially dropped the #NP post series because they took FOREVER to put together and I didn't like working on one post every single day and still missing my deadline. That's really unfortunate because I honestly think that those posts were my favorite since they featured so many good tracks in one place. Too bad. Those were the good old days. The best old days.  


So, now we're changing it up and letting one of our staff, JG, post his choice cuts. I might not always agree with his picks,  and you might not always agree with his picks, but they are what they are. DealWithIt.com. He'll pick 'em, and I'll say a few* words about them.
*knowing me that means a million words.


I'll go ahead and mention that I am a little nervous about this series for two reasons. First, even though JG is a regular contributor and a long time friend, he and I have had some major fights which have led to us disbanding before, so that could happen again. Fingers crossed that ti does not. Second, he likes new R&B which I HATE, so we might be showcasing some of that stuff. Sad face emoticon, and literal sad face on my face.

Enough talk, let's get it:

For our first post, JG has selected a track I genuinely like from The ILLZ. Is that a guy or a group? I don't know! I think it's a guy from the Dominican Republic who is pretty new on the scene, but so far his shizz has been off the train. This is a good track from the kid...



WEIGHTLESS (ALAMAR) SCORE 8/10
JG TRACK QUALITY = EXCELLENT


 JG is a Tort Team Official representing Detroit, MI. He is a music enthusiast and a rec room wrecker. #Salute