Poundcake, by Harmony. Not sure why this song popped in my head this morning, but upon watching/listening again for the first time in a while — there’s A LOT going on here. To wit: – It’s not a GREAT song, but it’s a pretty good song. Kind of weird, the random samples and the broken structure. – From Lauryn Hill to T-Pain to Pharoahe Monch, it’s always interesting, those people who can sing and also choose to rap. – The easy low-hanging fruit type observation to make here is — hey, wow, women in a video don’t have to be half naked. More interestingly, I feel like no one today would consider this video even remotely sexual — despite lots of gyrating and romance type talk. – What exactly are they getting at with this particular “Sucker MC?” Who are they trying to make fun of? It’s like classic LL Cool J or Kane, mostly — but with oddly rapey overtones? – Poundcake? What does poundcake have to do with...

Judgment Day, the first single from Method Man’s Tical 2, was a criminally underrated quasi-sequel to “Bring the Pain” — it’s almost a more polished version of the same song. Furthermore, the bigger budget post-apocalyptic video fit the song PERFECTLY — and let’s be honest, this video as a full-length movie would have been pretty...

So, one of the things I’ll be doing here is highlighting songs that are essentially perfect. I’m starting this bit off with Mama’s Always on Stage by Arrested Development. “Tennessee” introduced the world to what a Southern drawl sounds like if it were a hip-hop song, and “Mr. Wendall” was sing-songy enough — but God knows why they didn’t release this one. It may have been too much; the beat is absolutely pounding and relentless, yet somehow celebratory at the same-time. A good thing; any lesser beat would have probably made a song this wholesome too much to bear. But the funk shines through here. (note, there’s a weird intro on the youtube link, give it a...

Consistently mellow dancehall; I’m curious as to what happened to Born Jamericans? I rediscovered this album recently, and kind of forgot that it’s the kind of album that I can always listen to. “Solid” is the first word that comes to...

I dig this here “Shoot ’em up movies” by The Deele, despite not remembering it from when it was apparently popular — but it has spawned some heavyweight greatness. Check out Babyface singing backup and playing piano. Also, admire the almost more ridiculous (is that even possible?) songs that have sampled it. First, the underrated Kwest the Madd Ladd, who met his baby at the V.I.M. And the newer Camp Lo. There oughta be some rule about the same group having the same name for two different songs, but not here. This is the 2nd “Gotcha” by the Lo. It’s on the “Stone and Rob”...

Ever have a song stuck in your head and you’re glad it’s there? New song by Greg Nice of Nice & Smooth, “Get it, Get it.” Worry not, this is not the dancey-electro Greg Nice you may have been hearing about. Thankfully, damn near the...