Nas - It Ain't Hard to Tell TBT

It Aint hard to tell, was Nas's  second single off his album Illmatic that debuted in 1994. The song was a cross sample of Michael Jackson's 1983 hit single "Human Nature", "N.T". by Kool & the gang, Why can't  people be color's too? by the whatnauts, "Long Red" by mountain and "Slow dance" by  Stanley Clarke. The song had many musical influences and landed #91 (not a hash tag but a pound sign) on the billboard hot 100. It may sound like  a low ranking but when for Nas to be a new artist and a second single off his first album, he didn't do so bad. Well anyways for TBT I present to you, It ain't hard to tell. Thank you for stopping by "No Title" the random blog. Feel free to roam around and check out my other writes and music I posted. When you get a chance, can you please do me a huge favor and click on the green links. =) That's how some of us bloggers get paid. Thank you in advance and one love. =) 

Nas - The Don (Explicit)

Nas is like....one of the best rappers out there and one of my favorite rappers amongst a few others. When I first heard Nas, I thought he was a tad boring because I was still use to artist like Kris Kross, Naughty by nature, Wreck-N-Effect, the New Jack swing sound and many more; Nas was poetry slam meets the streets. I didn't understand early on but as time went on, Nas slowly grew on to me. The song that caught my attention was with Lauryn Hill, "If I ruled the world". Fast forward some years. In the present years of Nas career, I still jam to some of his music and this is one track I think the radio completely ignored, a track that gives you a taste of the old Nas meets the future Nas, I present to you, "The Don". Thank you for stopping by "No Title" the random blog. Hope you enjoy... =)

The past is our future...(kind of)

            Technology has taken us to some new heights. Technology has allowed us to be able to communicate with people all over the world and incase we don’t speak the same language, we created built in translators; all one has to do is click on an icon tab that has a list of different languages, click the language one speaks, and pages can be translated into the language of choice. We have designed cars that don’t run on fossil fuel, we’ve designed phones to be like mini computers, we almost don’t even need a desk top anymore, we’ve designed first class cities, that are advance and stay open 24 hours and one can get almost anything they want at any time of the day…..we’ve advance so far that the old way of living has become a thing of the past but it can be a tad bit of a problem.

            I see mankind advancing little by little, but I pictured us integrating our old life style with our new one. What happens if we mixed the ancient way of living with the technology of today? When you study the ancient societies like Rome, Egypt, Aztecs, Mayan’s, Incans, and the list goes on, they were pretty advanced, some may say almost equivalent to today’s standards or maybe even ahead of us, what happens if we started to maybe bring some of their beliefs or standards into today’s world? For example in Ancient Egypt that had sayings like, “Know the world in yourself. Never look for yourself in the world, for this would be to project your illusion.” Or “Peace is the fruit of activity, not of sleep.” One more, “When the governing class isn't chosen for quality it is chosen for material wealth: this always means decadence, the lowest stage a society can reach.” These saying’s were said back in BC, yet the meaning is very powerful till this day; I mean the last one pretty much hits home.

            All of our machines have advanced but our society could be better; at some scary point, one day robots may run this world, when we should be advancing our tools and doing just that. So what can we do to get back on track? In my opinion, we might want to start with diet. I don’t mean starve yourself but take a look at what you’re eating and compare it to what the ancients eat; we have things like the Mediterranean diet which when you look at it, it’s nothing special, a diet of fish, chicken, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, hummus; when you read about other civilizations, these same sort of foods pop up so there must be some correlation right?  We live in a time were the mind has out grown the body, and well, we need mind, body, and spirit, “The body is the house of god. That is why it is said, "Man know yourself." I’ll Leave you with a little food for thought and feel free to state your opinion below.

Mase going back to hip-hop

Growing up in the 90’s was a tough time when it came down to musical influences. Everyone had mad skills and you wanted to emulate their sound or even lyrics; only problem with that is you would have to lead the life these rappers were talking about, and most of them didn’t even live that life. The mid 90’s era of hip-hop was Gangsta music, the dark period in Hip-Hop, the infamous East/West coast beef, the period when gang violence was at its highest here in Los Angeles; I’m sure some of you out there remember on, “April 29,1992/there was a riot on the streets tell me where were you?” For those who don’t remember, I’ll break down the 90’s in short, a simple time that was complex and full of color, the 90’s in a nut shell. In the middle of all this East/West coast beef, emerged a rapper out of Harlem by the name of Mase.

            Mase wasn’t your typical rapper for that time, if anything, Mase kind of puts you in mind of today’s rappers but with a stronger flow; he was ahead of his time sort of speak. So when Mase came out a lot of kids (including myself in 6^th grade face palm) wanted to be like Mase.   When you listen to his first album, some of the stuff wasn’t pretty but it was more cleaned up then what Wu-Tang or Tha Dawg Pound was saying at that time. Mase was smooth with the ladies; he was a player, however he’s someone at that time, you wouldn’t want to have your son emulate how to treat a woman; He was a playful normal guy from Harlem who linked up with P-Diddy and Biggie on Bad boy records to make a song you might be familiar with. A few say Mase was harmless when compared to what was out at that time; would you rather have dealt with a Mase or have a little, “murder was the case that they gave me” on your hands? You decide.

                         2Pac died and following six months later the demise of biggie, lead to the success of Mase’s debut album Harlem World.  The after math of the two men dying put both record labels in a strange position, Snoop left death row and went to No Limit, Mase stayed on Bad Boy for one more album, then retired to lead a life of God; there was a rumor going around saying he wanted to leave because he was scared of what happened in Hip-Hop. I don’t blame him if it was true, three years after Pac and Biggie died, Suge Knight still wanted to battle because death row was becoming irrelevant fast. Mase left Hip-Hop and dedicated his life to God, wrote a book about his life and then, Murda M-A-$-E, became Pastor Mason Betha; from this point on, he’s been on and off with Hip-Hop.

            Recently, Mase dropped a song and did a music video which I think is fairly good but the critics and haters think otherwise; most of them being Christian. The new song he has out is labeled as feel good music. A lot of these critics in Hip-Hop today don’t remember Hip-Hop in the late 80’s early 90’s phrase when De la soul, Fresh prince, a tribe called quest, even Naughty by Nature, came out with songs that were feel good songs right before Gangsta rap started to submerge again in 93. Make a long story short, There was a time period when rappers just came out with positive songs, maybe a little edgy if you listened to Naughty, but for the most part, just positive vibes; most Christian people need to understand that’s what Mase is bringing back or trying to bring back in today’s Hip-hop; today’s Hip-Hop is positive, if anything a lot softer then the predecessors before it, but most of the music is talking about heavy drug usage; of course you feel good if you’re  rollin’, on molly, ate some Scooby snacks while being  cross faded with a white girl taking veggies, you all good

            However, from what I know of, Mase doesn’t appear to be on that, he appears to be bringing back some positive sounds, something this world needs. “Oh at first he was a pastor, now he’s a rapper!? Pick one!” He did, if he made someone feel good for three minutes, if he lifted someone’s spirit, if the positivity of his song moved someone and made them happy which he did because there’s a lot of people happy to see him back, then he’s done his job as a pastor and as a performer. When you lead people, one is suppose to show them the light not show them light if you get what I mean. I might be looking deeper into this but the man does not appear to be stupid, he appears he wants to live life and he loves music, and a lot of hip-hop heads do not like Gospel rap; nobody wants to be preached to when there listening to music, however you can uplift someone’s spirit through music, by bring up their vibrancy…Google light body when you get a chance….on that note check out his recent song called “Nothing” feat Eric Bellinger. Thank you for stopping by “No Title” the random blog, hope you enjoy, feel free to roam around and please, when your finished, click on those little green links. One love.

Snoop Dogg - Upside Ya Head

Time to lace up ya Chuck Taylors with the fat laces and throw on a white t-shirt, get ya walk on, on death row...not really. The song Upside ya head by Snoop Dogg off the album Tha Doggfather, was released on November 12,1996.When this album was released, it did well selling 478,971 copies in its first week but didn't do as well or have the commercial success also prior to this album, snoop had caught a murder charge and the release of his album was a few weeks after the death of 2Pac; so all on in all, Snoop had a rough year and this album was over shadowed but not a bad album at all, just a lot of shit going down that over shadowed it which probably spawned the re-release of this album July 11, 2005. Anyways I present to you, Upside ya Head by S-N-double O-P Dogg. As usual, thank you for stopping by "No Title" the random blog, hope you enjoy today's TBT, feel free to roam around and check out other writes and other music and please, when you're finished, click on the green links. =) Thank you and One love. (Not my music nor video, found on You Tube)

To the Hip-Hop world

                                              

                 

                                                            (This is not my art work.)

             For those who know hip-hop, it’s all about individualism, doing something new, doing something fresh, being your own person with your own style but adding the elements of hip-hop to it; sometimes you might integrate other cultures or beliefs into hip-hop. Hip-Hop is the music of America and it reflects that because like America, the music is mixed of all kinds of cultures. In hip-hop, one can use a Japanese flute, take samples from an Arabic rhythm, add some 808 beats, add some elements of scratching, get an MC in the booth and boom! You have a song. When it comes to style in Hip-Hop, if everyone is rocking timberland boots, then you rock a different style of boots,(But with style not just thrown together) if one is rocking Air force one’s, you go out and wear some dunks, if everyone is wearing Jordan’s, one may decide to wear Reebok pumps. It’s all about being different, adding flavor. In today’s hip-hop, if you’re caught not wearing the norm, nobody is fucking with you….for lack of words.

                                                    (Not my art work found on Google)

            Hip-Hop is about spreading love. At some point in the 90’s, hip-hop lost that. It became this sort of heathen beast music. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in the 90’s and loved listening to Biggie, 2Pac, Bone Thugs,Outkast, Snoop, Tha Dawg Pound, Nas,  Jay-Z, Mase, Wu-Tang, Cypress Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, De la Soul  and the list goes on; most will say that 90’s hip-hop was and is the shit. I agree but that time period (including the media) lead to the demise of two young men who could’ve really changed Hip-Hop. When I look at 2Pac, he was more than just thug life. 2Pac was poetic, an actor, an activist, he was more than what the media portrayed; however, there’s a lot of people who only view 2Pac in one light. Personally I believe Pac would’ve grown pass hip-hop and became something more, something that would’ve lead hip-hop back into the direction of one love; maybe lead hip-hop back into an evolved poetic state of mind. Biggie, I think would’ve tightened up hip-hop’s mainstream’s game a little more; I could be wrong. I don’t dislike today’s hip-hop, because if you dig around, you’ll find some pretty dope artist, you’ll also find some artist who can really rap but they dim-witted their lyrics in order to fit in with today’s music. I understand, when you’re at a club, nobody wants to hear, “When I was sleeping on the train
Sleeping on Meserole Ave out in the rain
Without even a single slice of pizza to my name
Too proud to beg for change masterin' the pain
When New York niggas was calling southern rappers lame
But then jackin' our slang
I used to get dizzy spells, hear a little ring
The voice of a angel tellin' me my name….” Those lyrics are mad DOPE but nobody wants to party to that or the radio doesn’t want to play that, they would rather push some shit and force the artist to come out with something that if listened to isn’t the best. Hip-hop: we control the industry, not the other way around. They have the power but without the people, they might as well be selling their music down at Venice Beach; I don’t want the artist to suffer because most of the time, the artist is only putting out what the studio heads tell him; however if we encourage the artist to put out what he/she feels, and everyone supports that real hip-hop, the A&R’s vision will change. There’s a tons of people who think Hip-Hop today is shit not because it’s new or it’s part of a younger generation, it’s because they feel it’s lost its edge, it’s not as fly. What’s your opinion? Do you think Hip-hop could make that change? Or is it completely dead?

                                                           (Not my art work found on Google)

       

Hip Hop Mix - Dj XS Funky, Jazzed up Soul & Hip Hop Mix - Free Download

Hip-Hop is a mix of a few different sounds. What most people don't understand about hip-hop is it takes what's already been and making it unique. I mean everything has already been done so it's kind of hard to create something brand spanking new out the blue; however, one can take sounds that they love and create something from how they would've done the song; or what if this rock song had a mellow jazz sound to it? What happens if I slow this house beat down, mix my delivery between Jay-Z and Eminem, then add my own flair? Don't be afraid to mix it up, many will criticize but let them, it's better then making cookie cutter rap. Sure there has always been one uniform sound in hip-hop no matter what era you look at, but there's also been tons of artist who came up because they sounded different from the rest, it was fresh, usually that's what kicked off that sound. Well anyways, enjoy the funky chill mix and thank you for stopping by "No Title" the random blog. Feel free to roam around, check out some other music, check my out my other writes; and don't forget, click on the green links please. One love. (Not my work, found on youtube)

Let's get to the core of things

            There are a lot of people who have six pack abs but the question seems to still be circulating: How do you obtain a six pack? It’s funny because some of the people who have it really can’t tell you, and the ones who do have it, tell you but it’s something you may not understand because the answer might be too advanced if you’re a beginner for fitness; so this in turn leaves people doing 300 crunches and all kinds of sit-ups which yes, it’s not bad for the body but one must remember, your only making the muscle bigger not really shedding off the fat.

            So what should one do? There are a few things you can do and it may work. My cousin who’s pretty fit was the one who told me, “Just run”. I looked at him like he was crazy a few years ago…but a in those few minutes, it clicked. Just Run. As I mentioned above, sit-ups, crunches, planks, all of those core strengthening exercise are just that, they strengthen you’re core. It’s like lifting weights sure you’ll gain muscle, but will it be the lean cut “I just came off the scene of an action movie” muscle? Probably not depending on what kind of weight you lift. Heavy weights = bigger muscles and some weight/fat loss. Light weight/heavy weight combo= weight loss, muscle gain, and toning; the body combo most are looking for; however, one can lift heavy and lose weight depending on what you eat.

            I’m not going to go into the list of what one could eat because that will be a long list; but I have a post  Called Good health foods, I did back in February showing five foods that can get you started. Remember this, 70% diet, 30% workout. If you want your stomach muscle to show, just keep running. I’m not saying completely cut out sit-ups, planks, any other core exercise but eat right and go with cardio for a bit. The key is getting fat out of your mid section and cardio will do that. I know cardio sucks and when you’re jogging or running, it burns and the last thing on one’s mind is paying attention to the body but if you can, pay attention to what muscles are at work when you’re running or doing any cardio; including swimming for those who hate running. One’s abs are at constant work when running or swimming and in turn heating up the core section and burning off the fat; now if one eats right each day, you’ll start to see some results. Give it a shot…everyone’s body is different but some things are a must.