SB.TV - Devlin F64 #2

The last Devlin F64 that was posted on YouTube and featured in my last post has received 800,000 views on YouTube so far. So I guess they thought it was necessary to make another F64 featuring Devlin so here it is the F64 #2 featuring Devlin.



The UK grime scene has done a really good job of keeping their scene fresh and new with the steady supply of freestyles and new songs they feature on these different YouTube channels.

I find it hard to continuously follow some artists in the US but in the UK they have a great outlet. Although they have a more familiar outlet like YouTube many of these artists would die to have the kind of marketing power and influence that comes with being signed to a label in the states.

The acoustic guitar makes you feel like you are really in the studio with the artists while they are performing. The guitar also displays Devlin’s versatility as a lyricist because he maintains his lyrical complexity while at the same time managing to tailor his flow perfectly to the instrumental.

Fuck a pint drink beer from the barrel/
Still be on point with the bars/
I’m hard like striking a sparrow in flight with an arrow/
I’m live and I’m raggle you’ll thrive in a gallows/

If you are wondering what he says into the camera at the end he says, “Neeeeeev.” This is a quote from the movie Chopper which is based on an Australian gangster who is famous worldwide. Hint they call him Chopper because he chops his own ears off in prison to get transferred lol.

SB.TV F64 Freestyle - Devlin

Once again here is something different for you guys tonight. I’m bringing you a very talented UK grime artist by the name of Devlin. In this video he spits 64 bars for the camera.

In my freshmen year of college I stumbled across one of his videos and it really caught my eye and got me interested in the UK grime scene.
Devlin after many years of hard work on pirate radio sets and bookings was signed to Island Records, the same record label Bob Marley was signed to. He has really exploded in terms of popularity in the UK and recently released his debut album Bud Sweat & Beers in the start of 2011.

The fact that I realized this young man’s talent the first time I heard him and now seeing him build on those talents, get better, and final get signed has made me feel connected to the artist in a way. I can’t go overseas and experience the grime scene myself but instead, I got on YouTube regularly to keep tabs on my favorite artists in the scene. The internet has really broadened my horizons in terms of music and more generally life.

Devlin is a conscious artist that out of all the artists I listen to uses the most advanced vocabulary. It is refreshing to see an artist bring intelligence in his work rather than just speaking on the more misogynistic aspects of life.

I catalyzed half of the scene into making songs with their hearts on their sleeves/

Devlin in all of his songs is lyrically focused. It is the reason I admire him as an artist so much. His main focus is making music that he likes which is lyrically complex lyrically. When I listen to one of his songs or freestyles it gives me a mental picture of what his life and the lives of other youths are like over in the UK.

In closing here are a few of his bars that stood out in the freestyle:

A minute and a half/
I burry anybody with my lyrics and my bars/
Rippin’ you in half casue I’m lyrically advanced/
If you look up in the sky well be sittin’ on the stars/

Cause whether you like me is irrelevant/
You can’t deny talent when it’s evident/
I’m off the scales at an inadequate measurement/
Most of these men have a vocal impediment/
My names Devz im a local degenerate/
So I drink and smoke for the hell of it/
Play the beat and I carry on deadin’ it/
This is war there’s 64 from devlin/

I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but the next post involves a song that is extremely depressing to some of those who have heard it. The title of the song is Dance with the Devil. It is written and performed by Immortal Technique and underground and very talented hip-hop artist from Harlem, New York.

Much like my last post which featured Juelz Santana’s Lil' Boy Fresh, this track tells an even more complicated story. Here is the opening few verses of the song that immortal technique uses to set the stage for the listener:

I once knew a nigga whose real name was William/
his primary concern, was making a million/
being the illest hustler, that the world ever seen/
he used to fuck movie stars and sniff coke in his dreams/
a corrupted young mind, at the age of thirteen/
nigga never had a father and his mom was a fiend/
she put the pipe down, but for every year she was sober/
her sons heart simultaneously grew colder/
he started hanging out selling bags in the projects/
checking the young chicks, looking for hit and run prospects/

The instrumental is simple as it only has kicks, some bass, and the piano. The simplicity of this beat adds to the dark and ominous feeling that the lyrics give off. The character in the song is young and as is shown in the song is easily persuaded into leading a life of crime despite his mother cleaning her life up and working hard to keep food on her sons plate.

After the first verse is over Immortal Technique has one of the best hooks I have heard on a song.

Everyone trying to be trife never face the consequences/
you probably only did a month for minor offences/
ask a nigga doing life if he had another chance/
but then again there's always the wicked that knew in advance/
dance forever with the devil on a cold cell block/
but that’s what happens when you rape, murder and sell rock/
devils used to be gods, angels that fell from the top/
there's no diversity because we're burning in the melting pot/

Throughout the entire song you can tell that as the actions of the main character continue to get worse and worse that something terrible was going to end up happening at the end of the song.

And boy, is that exactly what happens in the end. Here are the last few bars in the song:

cocked the gat to her head, and pulled back the shirt cover/
but what he saw made him start to cringe and stutter/
'cause he was staring into the eyes of his own mother/
she looked back at him and cried, cause he had forsaken her/
she cried more painfully, than when they were raping her/
his whole world stopped, he couldn't even contemplate/
his corruption had successfully changed his fate/
and he remembered how his mom used to come home late/
working hard for nothing, cause now what was he worth/
he turned away from the woman that had once given him birth/
and crying out to the sky cause he was lonely and scared/
but only the devil responded, cause God wasn't there/
and right then he knew what it was to be empty and cold/
and so he jumped off the roof and died with no soul/

The end is depressing but the entire song builds up to this moment and it is wild to see a lyricist who can do just that with complex rhymes that make you actually feel something by the time the song is over.

So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never/
because a dance with the devil might last you forever/

Juelz Santana - Lil' Boy Fresh

The name of this song is Lil' Boy Fresh by Juelz Santana. The song was on his 2005 album, What the Game’ Been Missing. This was a great album and unfortunately was the last solo album to be released by Juelz Santana. You could say that Juelz Santana is what the games been missing if he could come with quality songs like this every time he drops.

The song is based on the 1994 movie Fresh. Here is a short description of that movie from Imbd, “12-year-old drug pusher who lives in a crowded housing project with his cousins and aunt. His father has become a street bum, but still meets with Fresh on occasion to play chess. Fresh is rather quiet in a crazy world. Fresh's sister is a junkie who sleeps with the dealers who Fresh sells for. As the story progresses Fresh realizes that he doesn't want to sell drugs anymore, he wants out.”

Juelz does an amazing job of telling the story of this young boy from the movie so much so that when I watched the actual movie it kind of spoiled it for me. Despite the fact Fresh was an amazing movie to watch and I suggest you watch it for yourself.

Juelz Santana is not necessarily known for his complex rhymes but his style fits perfectly for telling this story. His tone and paced flow really build the listener up for the ending of the song that if you hadn’t seen the movie sneaks up on you

Jose think shorty on his side/
But he don't know shorty on his side/
So shorty called Jose, like listen, it's going down, I need more cocaine/
So they met up/
it was a set-up, Guess who? CJ, Melek and Boo sped up/
You seen the look on Joses's face/
Like you never seen the look on old man's face, told him no man's great/
and it's no man's place, to fuck with no man's fam/
Then he said, where's my sister before I kill you/

The Abyssinians Satta Massagana

The song I’m bringing you today is a drastic change from the hip-hop I have been posting on this blog. This is a video taken from a documentary made in 1977, named 'Beats of the Heart: Roots Rock Reggae’. The documentary ‘depicts an unforgettable moment in Jamaica's history when music defined the island's struggles and immortalized its heroes.’ (Imdb)

The name of the song is Satta Massagana by the Abyssinians. The documentary fell adds to this video as it shows the Abyssinians in Jamaica playing inside a shack with just their instruments, voices, and of course the camera man.

It is interesting to see after watching this documentary that music helped people cope with their already difficult lives. Areas in and around Jamaica are impoverished and songs like this helped individuals cope and find God. The power of lyrics accompanied by instruments is demonstrated by the fact that most of these songs were used in churches to inspire those that were present.

Look into the book of life and you will see that there’s a land far, far away/
Look into the book and you will see that he-he-he rules us all/

In this song God is the central theme. They talk about a land far away where there is no light only day. It is easy to see that a song like this could inspire its listeners. The music of the Abyssininas and other musicians become a real force in the Jamaican society. This example shows that music isn’t simply just form listening pleasure, it also gives people strength to carry on with their lives despite the trials and tribulations that they may come across.

Nas - Good Mornin (Unreleased)

YEAH DJ ENVY THE PEOPLES CHOICE!!! HAHA. I can’t fuckin' stand when DJ’s yell at the beginning of a track and almost ruin the whole experience. Thankfully Nas is so talented you are able to look past the sometimes annoying DJ. But, this is not a rant against DJ’s because after all DJ’s did come before MC’s back when Hip-Hop was in its early stages in the boroughs of NYC.

The next track I’m bringing is an unreleased Nas project ft. Ron Isley on the chorus. It seems more often than not Nas is telling a story or painting a picture of a sequence of events for the listener. Here are the first nine bars of the first verse that sets the mood and tempo for the rest of the song.

Good morning the same old jerks goin' to work/
Garbage man pick up the dirt, the birds don't chirp/
There's this nice Lady I know, she always speak/
Wit her two children, headed to the school building/
Then rush home and again to lit housin/
And they are puttin' out the new ceilings/
Cuz her shit is leakin'/
Water keep drippin'down, so she beefin'/
Husband keep cheatin', he've been out all-evenin'/

The rhyme scheme is simple but the way that Nas manages to use simple words to make the listener they are really with that woman walking her children to work. It is also a real life situation that is common now days and that is a mother practically raising her children without the help of their father who in this case is cheating.

Good morning, police shifts the hood is on-in'/
So they drive around all-day wit bench warrants/
Eatin donuts and sippin' on coffee/
Ooops!, sudden stops spills on the walkie-talkie/
Damn this nigga is a creep/
Whispers to police at the wino in the middle of the street/
Wit missin' front teeth twist blunts deep in the cut/
It's my nigga so I holler it up, niggaz good morning/

The instrumental, Nas’ flow, and the vocals by Ron Isley make this a track I wish Nas would have put on one of his albums. Either way I’m glad this piece of work got to see the light of day. More Nas songs are sure to be featured in the future.

Last Emperor - Do You Remember?

Last Emperor wrote this song entitled Do You Remember? The track was featured on the And 1 Mixtape Vol. 2 soundtrack as well as the "Hidden Treasures" mixtape.

I heard this song when I was still in grade school. I had bought a pair of And 1 basketball shoes and with the shoes they gave me the video mixtape which featured “Do you remember” in one of the portions of the video. I liked the song so much the first time I heard it I stopped the dribbling I was doing while I was watching the mixtape and just sat down and listened to the entire track.

The acoustic guitar goes along perfectly with the whole theme of the song, it really makes you feel like you are traveling back in time to when you were a kid running around with you friends without a care in the world.

The originality and song concept that Last Emperor comes with is refreshing to listen to in a day where most of the mainstream music is watered down and repetitive.

One day I'll travel from the East to the West/
And tap into the hidden strength that all men possess/
I'll always be young, see a young mind is fresh/
And its clear my memories will one day disappear unless/

Last Emperor is still regarded as one of the most underrated MC's. It is a shame that talent like this can go unnoticed by the public. It shows that no matter how talented you are in the music industry only a select few reap extreme financial benefits. But, music isn't all about money and it is clear to hear when listening to the Last Emperor that money was not the only thing on his mind when writing this song

At times, I feel old like I'm going out of style/
So I turn down the music on my FM dial/
I beg of you to come and listen for a while/
And look at this wonderful world through the eyes of a child/

Taste of What's to Come

For the first post to this…illustrious blog, I would like to describe its background and what it’s all about. Since I have been listening to music the words, rather than the instrumental have always caught my ear. Whether it was the music of my parents such as The Beatles or Bob Dylan up to the music I myself choose to listen to, the way in which people express themselves through lyrics is fascinating to me.

Hip-Hop is what I listened to growing up and it is still the genre of music I find myself listening to most often. The entire Hip-Hop scene appealed to me from the start. The new way DJ’s, B-Boy’s, Graffiti artists, and Rappers had found to express themselves was something I admired in a deep sense of the word.

I myself was born and raised in Chicago and attend College at a Chicago University. Growing up I was always surrounded by different cultures and the ways in which those different cultures expressed themselves.

Living in the city opened my eyes to a means of self-expression that I would have never been privileged to if I had been raised in a more sheltered environment. Hip-Hop was never kept from me and because of that I was able to fully appreciate the skill of those who managed to use music as a way of telling a story whether it was real or fictional. So THANK YOU, Chicago.

This Blog however is not just based purely Hip-Hop lyrics but rather lyrics from all genres of music that paint vivid pictures, stories, and scenarios in the listeners mind. Word play and the level of intricacy that goes into writing complex lyrics will be displayed, dissected, and analyzed for your listening and reading pleasure ha-ha.

Despite the fact I will be making posts involving many different genres, I have to say I cannot stand country music and most of today’s modern music. But, if you are a fan of those types of music possibly reading my posts will lead you on a path toward enlightenment.