I Can't Forget New Jersey

Heavy D was a talented dude. Without necessarily knowing everything he had a hand in, I was/am fairly familiar with a bunch of his work, moreso through Uptown Records than anything else. Still, somehow it's this cameo in Nick Gomez/Spike Lee's "New Jersey Drive" that seems to come to mind more than anything when I think of him. Heavy was a gifted musician, but he also was a strong actor, as you can see here.

While we're talking about it, the soundtrack for "New Jersey Drive" is real nice too. Tommy Boy released it in 2 volumes, and there's some truly classic records on there, including BIG & Total's "Can't You See," Outkast's "Benz or Beamer," and a few others.

This one below from Latifah really speaks to me, though. As someone who has spent some time in Jersey over the years, albeit not in Newark, I love this record..and I love that Biz Markie sample too!!!

Queen Latifah - Jersey





And here's a couple other favorite odds & ends from Heavy D's catalog.

Game Over

The other month I had the pleasure of DJing over at Little Miss Whiskey's with Blake9 of tenured DC hip-hop group Nine:Fifteen. I hadn't been in touch with Blake since like 2003 or so when I was doing college radio, so it was cool to re-connect with a familiar face, especially someone with similar taste in music. And while I remember some of Nine:Fifteen's earlier material, I wasn't prepared for what I heard when Blake put me up on some of their new stuff…honestly, this new isht here?!?!!! My goodness!!

These cats have come a long ways...and this song below is one of the sickest records I've heard in quite some time. Add to that a dooope video from director Hilton Carter, and you got something special (50 Cent voice.)

Sure, hip-hop has changed over the years, but that thing that ties it all together is alive and well in 2012 thanks to cats like Blake and emcee Bisquite PowerPoppin (or Comel, as he was previously known.)

As the youngsters might say, #swag.



To download "Bachelorette Party" and for more on Nine:Fifteen, visit CandleWaxRecords.com.

Kendrick Lamar

I'm sure there are other albums from new(er) hip-hoppers nowadays equally as deserving of praise and recommendation, but I've listened to a lot of music in my time, and I know when I hear something cohesive and promising enough to warrant telling my friends to go buy it (or at least give it a listen.) This is one of those occasions, and this is one of those artists.

So, if you consider your tastes aligned with mine in some way, take out your wallet (or type & click) and let Kendrick Lamar take you on a journey through Comptown California.

This is some classic west coast biz for 2011, or 2012 (yeah, grant me a late pass on this one please)…the type of record that will still sound good 10 years from now.