Slept-On But Very Dope Hip Hop Songs From The Week Of 11/21/2011

Two veteran acts of the early 1990s made pungent records this week. Backed with contemporary music, former stars from Loud Records and Priority Records made sharp comebacks in video and audio. Meanwhile, a Flint, Michigan native built after artists like these continues his movement towards a label situation.

Ras Kass – “Holes In The Ozone”

For me the whole “listening” and “hearing” thing that Wesley screamed about to Woody is a larger truth that goes beyond being Black, White or a fan of Jimi Hendrix. The first time I listened to Ras Kass was on the Four Horsemen track featured on Killah Priest‘s The Offering. I had to play “Inner G” four or five times in a row before my jaw could close again. It was gem after gem; “The mind of Caesar Augustus, rockin’ a Caesar, eating a Caesar salad in August;” “Talk Slimy like okra he will spit backwards, just to make Harpo out of Oprah.” Yes, a take a moment to gather yourself.

This week’s “Holes In The Ozone” will hopefully achieve the same thing for the uninitiated that “Inner” G did for me. Held together by another trippy Doc Hollywood beat, it has all the elements of a classic Ras Kass track. Gourmet foods, double entendres and pop culture references collide with the right kind of slightly bored braggadocio. “My nuts hang low so I walk in their studio, dipping two Plutos in their Menudo, catch me in a fucked up sweatsuit like Hugo, scratching a lotto, ordering an Iced Caramel Macchiato.” Or try, “The bronze Fonz who finds the blondes so I cut down Amazons in the tanning salon…” Yeah…

Can someone be allowed to be this disgustingly smooth this often? Just the fact that the question even applies to an emcee in this current climate full of empty unmemorable rhymes, the answer is yes. – Michael Sheehan

Listen to “Holes In The Ozone” by Ras Kass

Jon Connor – “No Thrillz”

Maybe Jon Connor should change his name to 3Chainz, because it feels like no one is paying him the attention he deserves. This is probably the eighth time that I’ve spoken about Connor and that’s fine; he deserves it. On “No Thrillz” he brings that blue-collar Rap and slaps around some verses about his setbacks. He chants at the center of the song “I’ma make ya love me!” and they will eventually. His combination of staunch lyricism coupled with reckless arrogance makes him the poster-child for the merging of old school and new school Hip Hop. This cut takes his usual pledge of allegiance to his Flint, Michigan crew (“My posse goin’ strong”) and backs it with J.C.’s understanding that heads might not readily be listening, but he’s hopeful they’ll catch on. Hip Hop is wide open right now, and with tons of rappers getting chances, when will Connor get his? – Kathy Iandoli

Listen to “No Thrillz” by Jon Connor

Mobb Deep featuring Bounty Killer – “Dead Man’s Shoes”

The opening track to Mobb Deep‘s just-released Black Cocaine EP is my favorite. Although Prodigy and Havoc are still climbing back to their lyricism of the 1990s, the duo has the mood and approach from their litany of classic songs back. The video for Dead Man’s Shoes, albeit brutally violent, suits the attitude of Prodigy perfectly. Some dope shots of Downtown Manhattan and a message that murders are happening right under our noses makes this visual complement the song accurately. A beat courtesy of Beat Butcha sounds right out of the Havoc/Alchemist MPC, and if you had a reason to believe the accounts of Mobb’s “murda muzik” after nearly 20 years, you’ve got it here. – Jake Paine

Last week’s Slept-On But Dope Songs.