Noj's Rap Blindfold Test

[Noj]

Sal and Martyjazz have received their copies of the Rap BFT, so I thought I'd start a new thread for everyone to post their responses. Rap doesn't really work for a blindfold test, since rappers very often mention their own names at least once per song. I have taken a few measures here and there to disguise songs, but for the most part I left them alone. That said, I do think listening to the songs without a track list will help draw less pre-determined responses.

Three discs total. Two with rap, one without.

The first disc I titled "The Bright Side" and the focus is on rap which is lighthearted and displays the best qualities one can hope for from rap. The most offensive lyrics on "The Bright Side" are certainly not delivered with the most serious attitude, rather they are juvenile and silly on purpose.

The second disc I titled "The Dark Side" and its focus is more to show some of the ugly side of rap and the rap which can easily be misinterpreted. I included a few tracks on this disc which actually offend me, which is saying something (one track, as I mentioned before, has lyrics that should offend just about everyone).

Throughout, I have included many of the most widely recognized and recommended rappers. I have chosen rap songs with beats I think are cool. I think the first disc is very listenable throughout.

The third disc contains no rap, and is just a funkin' good time. Enjoy!

[sal]

I'm still getting through the discs. Will post here again once I'm done. Looking forward to discussing!

[Chuck Nessa]

Crap!!!!! I thought we'd get to blindfold Noj and subject him to testing.

[Noj]

[Indestructible!]

Hi Noj,

I've only had a chance to listen to a bit of "The Bright Side" (work has been crazy lately), but I just want to say thanks for the discs!

I've only made it through the first few tracks, and I'm still at work so I'm going off the top of my head here, but I'm glad you put some Pharcyde and De La Soul on that disc! They take me back to my younger days when I was first getting into rap and hip hop (late 80's, early 90's).

I was/still am a huge fan of the "Native Tounge" stuff coming out of NYC back then... De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, and hell, even Queen Latifa and Leaders of the New School! That, and the jams Public Enemy were throwing down, was some great stuff (how fuckin' good are It Takes A Nation Of Millions..., The Peoples Instinctive Travels..., The Low End Theory, etc.!?!).

Looking forward to digesting the BFT in more detail this weekend!

Cheers,

Shane

[John B]

I've made it through 8 tracks of "the Bright Side" disc and have really been digging it so far!

I recognized Mos Def (although I was initially clued off by them saying his name over and over again) and the Beastie Boys track. I'm really looking forward to hearing the rest of it.

I couldn't help cracking up at the "ass so big you can see it from the front" line.

Am I correct in guessing that most of the Bright Side disc is from the '80's into the early '90's? The tracks I've listened to so far all have that feel to my ears.

Edited August 29, 2005 by John B

[Noj]

Am I correct in guessing that most of the Bright Side disc is from the '80's into the early '90's?  The tracks I've listened to so far all have that feel to my ears.

←

Definitely correct for the most part John, though a few are from the 00s. My main rap collecting days were the early 90s, so the majority are from that timeframe.

[John B]

through track 11 now. The KRS One track was better than I expected. My memory of his tracks that I have heard was that the Edutainment focused too much on the message to the detriment of the music. This track wasn't bad, though.

[Noj]

Agreed. KRS is hit and miss for me too. Even on this track, I think he fumbles a few of the ideas. His heart was in the right place, though.

[JSngry]

Listened to all three discss last night, and wasn't offended by anything.

Most of this is after my time, since I became less of an "active" follower of the genre somewhere in the mid-80s (no real reason other than that was when our first child was born and also when I began to seriously attempt to develop my own music (I stopped avidly following most of the new jazz releases around that same time as well)), but I did recognize, aside from those whose name was mentioned during the tracks, Slick Rick (an all-time favorite, and a truly creative cat) & the beasties (just some plain wack mofos, period).

"The Dark Side" wasn't nearly as dark as I was expecting, btw, and for that, I guess I'm thankful, maybe.

What I dug the most was the lack of obviously faux, cartoonish type gangstaisms. That shit just wears me out in nothing flat. Same for all the scream-rock that's out there today. I'm old, what can I say.

And speaking of being old, after hearing all these bright, sharp, and perceptive young cats, the Bonus Disc, which theoretically should appeal more to somebody of my generation, was the most mixed bag of all for me. Sharp is sharp, jive is jive, and in this 3-fer, the hip-hoppers definitely get the nod for sharpness. But there's still some real gems in the old stuff. Definitely!

Don't know that this collection will change anybody's mind about rap in general, but as somebody who already digs the genre in principle (and often enough in specific) and who was into it reasonably heavy in the early "breakout" years (I still got some Sugar Hill 12-inchers, and the Slick Rick flipside to Doug E. Fresh's "The Show" is something with which I will never part), it was a real treat to hear a lot of cuts with which I was not familiar. I would've liked to have heard some of the freestyle cats like the ones that Steve Coleman has used (now that's just pure poetry, and improvised at a very high creative level), but then again, who's comp is it anyway?

Thanks, Jon. I dug it.

[MartyJazz]

I'm having the most difficulty. This is a genre that I've purposely (I'm afraid) ignored from Day One. Rather than listen to this stuff at home where quite frankly I find the music mostly disruptive, I'll begin anew in my car which serves as the optimal listening booth for me. Hope to get back to you, Jon. Thanks a whole lot. l

[John B]

So far "The Dark Side" hasn't been as dark as I expected. The Ice Cube track finally got me on board with the Dark Side being dark. Another better than expected KRS-One track, as well as track seven, which made the ride into work a lot more fun that usual. "Her neck smelled sweet, like a plate of yams with extra syrup..."

[Rosco]

Got the discs today, just putting the Bright Side into my player...

[Noj]

Listened to all three discss last night, and wasn't offended by anything.

Most of this is after my time, since I became less of an "active" follower of the genre somewhere in the mid-80s (no real reason other than that was when our first child was born and also when I began to seriously attempt to develop my own music (I stopped avidly following most of the new jazz releases around that same time as well)), but I did recognize, aside from those whose name was mentioned during the tracks, Slick Rick (an all-time favorite, and a truly creative cat) & the beasties (just some plain wack mofos, period).

"The Dark Side" wasn't nearly as dark as I was expecting, btw, and for that, I guess I'm thankful, maybe.

With "The Dark Side," I was arranging the tracks to illustrate the difference between rapping about gangster topics, rapping like an actual gangster, and just plain talking shit. I also included some tracks that discuss uncomfortable topics such as racism and graffiti. The topics tend to be dark, but not the messages.

I'm suprised that you weren't offended by Dark Side track #9, Jim. I mean, those lyrics are some coldblooded shit.

What I dug the most was the lack of obviously faux, cartoonish type gangstaisms. That shit just wears me out in nothing flat. Same for all the scream-rock that's out there today. I'm old, what can I say.

Overall, I was aiming for things to be listenable. I held off on getting too gangster, figured I'd spare everyone. I can't listen to that gangster stuff, it irks me and I don't think it holds up at all. Guess I'm no spring chicken anymore, either.

And speaking of being old, after hearing all these bright, sharp, and perceptive young cats, the Bonus Disc, which theoretically should appeal more to somebody of my generation, was the most mixed bag of all for me. Sharp is sharp, jive is jive, and in this 3-fer, the hip-hoppers definitely get the nod for sharpness. But there's still some real gems in the old stuff. Definitely!

Most were sampled at some point. None too sacred, imo.

Which tracks would you consider the "real gems?"

Don't know that this collection will change anybody's mind about rap in general, but as somebody who already digs the genre in principle (and often enough in specific) and who was into it reasonably heavy in the early "breakout" years (I still got some Sugar Hill 12-inchers, and the Slick Rick flipside to Doug E. Fresh's "The Show" is something with which I will never part), it was a real treat to hear a lot of cuts with which I was not familiar.  I would've liked to have heard some of the freestyle cats like the ones that Steve Coleman has used (now that's just pure poetry, and improvised at a very high creative level), but then again, who's comp is it anyway?

Thanks, Jon. I dug it.

←

Well, I'll be a little bummed if I don't succeed in changing anyone's mind in the least. I gave it my best shot. I'm no DJ, and really don't have the most comprehensive rap collection. My early rap section is really lacking.

I'm not familiar with the "freestyle cats like the ones that Steve Coleman has used...???"

Thanks for your comments, Jim. I'm glad you dug it.

Edited August 31, 2005 by Noj

[Noj]

I'm having the most difficulty.  This is a genre that I've purposely (I'm afraid) ignored from Day One.  Rather than listen to this stuff at home where quite frankly I find the music mostly disruptive, I'll begin anew in my car which serves as the optimal listening booth for me.  Hope to get back to you, Jon.  Thanks a whole lot.  l

←

Marty, many thanks for making the effort. I know how difficult it is to use valuable listening time on a genre you've never been attracted to. I'll be interested in reading whatever comments you may have, even if your only inclination is to describe what it is you dislike.

[Noj]

So far "The Dark Side" hasn't been as dark as I expected.  The Ice Cube track finally got me on board with the Dark Side being dark.  Another better than expected KRS-One track, as well as track seven, which made the ride into work a lot more fun that usual. "Her neck smelled sweet, like a plate of yams with extra syrup..."

←

All three are long-time favorites of mine, especially track 7!

[John B]

All three are long-time favorites of mine, especially track 7!

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My favorite track so far, by far. That is one smooth, yet whacked, delivery!

[sal]

Finally got through the discs. Thank you again, Noj, for doing this.

I think that both discs are a very strong representative of how hip hop sounded during its golden age, and why it used to be a special kind of music. This stuff comes from the underground (yes, even Ice Cube was underground in 1990!), far before the days of the "pop music" aka fake hip hop that we are bombarded with these days. All these cats....Eric Sermon, De La Soul, Boogie Down Productions, Kool G Rap....were innovators. Many people say that hip hop stopped evolving after the late 1980's. This could not be further from the truth.

The evolution of hip hop can be compared to a jazz musician. The 1980s were when the cat was young, fired up, and playing the shit out of his horn. But he didn't quite find his voice until the 1990s, and in the early to mid 1990s, made the most innovative and creative music of his career. True, his nineties music may not have been as radical or controversial as when he first surfaced in the 1980's, but nonetheless, his music is stronger. At the turn of the millennium, he sold out and became someone like Chris Botti.

Whether people like, or approve, of what is being said in the songs or not, hip hop is here to stay. As long as there are neighborhoods with violence, poverty and little hope for a future, kids will continue to rap about it. It has become an important form American music, even if it has been reduced to assembly line pop. Like jazz and rock & roll before it, its time in the "pop" limelight will come to an end, but it will always be listened to and enjoyed by future generations. And you can bet that a good amount of the music on Noj's discs will be the stuff that's still being listened to 50 years from now.

Plus, those beats are sick!!

[chuckyd4]

All three are long-time favorites of mine, especially track 7!

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My favorite track so far, by far. That is one smooth, yet whacked, delivery!

←

Hope I'm not stepping on any toes by jumping in here. But Noj was kind enough to send me the tracklist and I have a lot of the stuff, so I thought I could add my thoughts here and there.

Hope this isn't giving away too much, but there has actually been quite a bit of discussioin about the Track 7 group elsewhere on this board. This one comes from their earlier stuff, which IMO is absolutely critical 1990's music of any genre. Some people who only know them from the recent radio would probably be quite surprised and maybe impressed to hear that other stuff.

The main thought I had when seeing the tracklist was that - seeing how Noj is from California - it has a higher representation of Left Coast artists than your average "hip hop mix." Which is a cool thing, because between LA and the Bay Area, there have been loads of underappreciated artists within the last 15 years or so - a couple of big scenes that took a much different approach to the community decay that spawned the much more famous "gangsta" boom in the mid 90's.

Great selection, I hope it turns on a few more people to at least the creativity in the genre, even if they don't start listening to it full time.

Oh, and Jim - I have an mp3 of that Slick Rick/Doug E. Fresh track that my friend ripped off the original vinyl. If you're referring to "La Di Da Di."

One of my favorite "fun" Black Thought (from the Roots) verses goes:

"Bust it - La di da di, who likes to party/

Like Slick Rick the ruler I'm cooler than the ice brick/

Got soul like those afro picks - with the black fist

And leave a crowd drippin' like John the Baptist"

[Noj]

Thanks for your input, chuckyd4. I definitely agree about those cats from the dirty south, they're among the very best. They also have production which is far more sophisticated than most.

I'll give this thing a week or so for responses from the other participants, then I'll post the track lists and some comments for each song.

[Noj]

Finally got through the discs.  Thank you again, Noj, for doing this.

I think that both discs are a very strong representative of how hip hop sounded during its golden age, and why it used to be a special kind of music...and you can bet that a good amount of the music on Noj's discs will be the stuff that's still being listened to 50 years from now.

Plus, those beats are sick!!

←

Thanks Sal! Very strong compliments, I'm glad you liked the selection.

[John B]

All three are long-time favorites of mine, especially track 7!

←

Hope this isn't giving away too much, but there has actually been quite a bit of discussioin about the Track 7 group elsewhere on this board. This one comes from their earlier stuff, which IMO is absolutely critical 1990's music of any genre. Some people who only know them from the recent radio would probably be quite surprised and maybe impressed to hear that other stuff.

I still have no clue who this is. Is the rest of the album as good as this track?

[chuckyd4]

I don't want to mislead you, there's quite a bit more straight "hip hop" on the other tracks - i.e. just good rhymes over interesting beats. They don't always stretch out that much. But if you like the melding of influences on that track, it's worth checking out at least. On one song they even have a little hoe-down section which works way better than it sounds described. Very funky/thoughtful stuff, all done in a fantastic southern drawl. One of my favorite front-porch-drankin-a-beer albums.

Maybe somebody else can give a better description than I can.

[JSngry]

Oh, and Jim - I have an mp3 of that Slick Rick/Doug E. Fresh track that my friend ripped off the original vinyl.  If you're referring to "La Di Da Di."

←

I am indeed. I bought the 12-inch for "The Show", but I've kept if for the flipside. Pretty amazing shit.

[Noj]

It looks like all have commented who are going to do so, although a few such as impossible have joined late. I hope those who participated have found something enjoyable on these compilations. It's a far cry from the listening experience of jazz, but I actually got into jazz because years of listening to rap led me there. I found out names of jazz artists who were sampled. I'd always been partial to instrumental music, and discovered that jazz is the most rewarding instrumental music. Rap is the gateway music.

I tried to include many different types of rap and a wide variety of subject matter. I tried to include beats which I feel represent the best creativity rap has to offer. My taste in rap is likely more suburban than street, and maybe I like stuff that isn't true to the tastes of hardcore hip-hoppers. I've never been a part of the culture. I grew up a skateboarder, and skateboarders typically have odd tastes. When I was skateboarding, all skateboarders were somewhat outcasts, unaccepted, kicked out of everywhere we went. Therefore, we were never racist and always accepting of anyone else who rode well simply because it is more fun to ride with others who ride. I had skateboard friends of every color and creed, and picked up some of my rap taste from friends who were also DJs.

Disc One "The Bright Side"

1. "Nate McCavish Handbills For No Man" - Youngblood Brass Band - Center: Level: Roar

Marvelous new rap band with a live brass section and a tuba running the bass lines. Many rap albums have little interludes, and often they are my favorite part of the album.

2. "Joy" - Talib Kweli - Quality

Talib Kweli raps about the births of his two children. He comes across as a good man and father with a moral, decent perspective on life. Rap doesn't have to be about being a bad ass or talking shit. Violins and female vocals create an intense atmosphere for Talib's story. A perfect example of a listenable rap song exhibiting strong values. I know how Kweli feels.

3. "? Vs. Rahzel" - The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??!

Funky voices, the sound of a lighter, horns and upright bass, all accomplished with just a microphone. Rahzel can make incredible noises like that dude from Police Academy and Spaceballs. He's even more impressive live.

4. "Passing Me By" - The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

Multiple layers functioning together seamlessly. This is the creativity which was killed by the sampling laws. Music like this is too damned expensive to make anymore. The Pharcyde's rappers had unique voices and approaches, and they sing their own chorus here.

5. "Ms. Fat Booty" - Mos Def - Black On Both Sides

Interesting beat chops up Aretha's voice/band in an unpredictable manner which accentuates Mos' delivery.

6. "A Roller Skating Jam Named ''Saturdays''" - De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul is the greatest rap band of all time, imho. A rare disco song, a Doors cover, and funky scratches are collaged to form this danceable beat. Includes Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. What other rap band could make a track about roller skating cool?

7. "Strobelite Honey" - Black Sheep - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Hilarious rap about meeting women on dark club dance floors. Infectious beat from a source I've never been able to identify. All in good fun, but perhaps a bit chauvinist and insensitive.

8. "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" - The Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

I included this more for the huge variety of beats contained here than the lyrics. This led me to track down recordings by Gene Harris, The Crusaders, and The Isley Brothers, among others. The Beasties are clearly having a good time here, finding flows and trading juvenile, ornery raps. Rap is very often the very antithesis of political correctness. The production on this album would have been astronomically expensive had the sampling laws been in effect when it was made. Legitimately, an album like this will never happen again.

9. "Brown Skin Woman" - KRS-One - Return Of The Boom Bap

KRS-One goes to bat against misogyny and the use of the "N" word. Dancehall reggae influence. I think he fumbles some of the concept here, but KRS' heart is in the right place. Kid Capri's beat is a personal favorite.

10. "Everyone Has a Summer" - Lovage - Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By (Instrumental)

Dan The Automator and Kid Koala weave together a composition of vocal samples and savvy turntable manipulations. I included this to show the sort of thing DJ's are capable of which isn't found anywhere else in the music world. The range of chosen noises here is far-reaching and unpredictable.

11. "Simple Man" - Grouch - Making Perfect Sense

Grouch does a lot of his own production as well as raps. One of the things I love about rap is the odd sounds that get made into beats. When one buys an album of music performed with traditional instruments, the sounds can surprise but often not to the point that one doesn't know which instrument will be heard next. With rap, there's steel drums here, a weird yodel follows, then a sitar...all in various different combinations throughout a well-produced album. It's selectivity and editing.

12. "Master Your High" - Aceyalone - Accepted Eclectic

I've been around the person who took too much shrooms, the friend puking out the window of the car, the ecstasy freaks, and the bad drunk who picks fights with his friends. Some learn the hard way.

13. "Corner Story" - Del Tha Funky Homosapien - Future Development

Del is a rapper who often records spontaneous raps and releases them warts and all. I dig Del's honesty and even his awkwardness here. Ice Cube's cousin, he was 18 when he released his first album.

14. "Goodmorning Sunshine" - Quasimoto - The Unseen

Cryptic, ambiguous lyrics and vocal samples of a funky voice, combined with that sped up rap voice...isn't that weird? Madlib is both the producer and the rapper.

15. "Lesson 6: The Lecture" - Jurassic 5 - Jurassic 5 EP

Anyone recognize the sample from Star Wars? Cut Chemist is the DJ here.

16. "I Be Blowin'" - De La Soul - Buhloone Mind State

I'd much rather listen to this than the Lou Rawls cover it samples, one of the few times where I feel the sample surpassed the creativity of its source. No guesses on the horn player? Must be too obvious.

17. "Find You Out" - RJD2 - Your Face Or Your Kneecaps

RJD2 has taken the concept of sampling and ran with it farther than most. Adios!

Disc Two "The Dark Side"

1.  "Farmer's Market Of The Beast" - Omid - Beneath The Surface Instrumentals

I wanted to establish the dark theme of this comp and felt this beat is about as dark as they come. If anyone can find it (I've only got the instrumentals), listen to this song with the lyrics to hear some of the strangest raps that ever were recorded. Billy Go-o-o-at!

2.  "Children's Story" - Slick Rick - The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick

Easily one of the greatest rap songs ever, imo. The story doesn't exactly have a happy ending, which is why I considered this a "dark" track. It does have an honorable message, "straight and narrow or your soul gets cast."

3.  "Who's The Mack?" - Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

Some JB's and some Marvin, and a vocal sample from Digital Underground's Humpty Hump. This song had a hilarious video way back when. Cube's lyrics have the charisma that made him huge, and he was more a ghetto commentator than the gangster that he had professed to being on the NWA albums. He has a positive message here, despite the dark subject matter of drug addicted bums, prostitution, and womanizing.

4.  "Just To Get A Rep" - Gang Starr - Step In The Arena

Sad but true, some people value reputations more than human life. Very simple production, not much more than loop of some moog music and a repeatedly chopped in rap line. DJ Premier's scratches are crisp, and Guru's lyrics are never better than here.

5.  "Love's Gonna Getcha (Material Love)" - BDP - Criminal Minded

One of the first rap songs I ever liked.

6.  "Queens" - Pharoahe Monch - Internal Affairs

This song samples Maxwell, who is a current R&B singer. I don't think the Maxwell song was even a year old, which makes this an oddity. Monch is from Organized Konfusion, who had a hit in the early 90s with the song "Fudge Pudge."

7.  "Spottieottiedopaliscious" - Outkast - Aquemini

Those horns! Andre's rap is detached, impersonal, and remote, as if merely an observer to the violence that erupts at the end of his story. Big Boi's verse is slick and good-hearted, "one moment you frequent the booty clubs and the next four years you and somebody's daughter are raising your own young'un, now that's a beautiful thing."

8.  "It Ain't Hard To Tell" - Nas - Illmatic

He's got a cool voice and a great flow, though not much is said. Plus one gets to hear a mean loop from a Michael Jackson record and not hear Michael Jackson. A bit of chest-thumping, essentially shit-talk.

9.  "Tried By 12" - East Flatbush Projects 

"I sign my name in the book at your funeral." WTF? Is this guy some cold-blooded killer or what? Disturbing shit to me. Offensive shit. Anyone would rather be "tried by 12 than carried by 6," but if the motivation for the killing is financial rather than defensive there's no honor in it. Is the concept merely one of battling with raps, or is this professing the very motivation for killing that exists in gang warfare? There's a fine line between the shit talked by Nas in the previous song and something like this. I can see this guy being the murderer who killed "Donovan" in Pharoahe Monch's song. I can't play this, even though that's a heck of a loop. It might make an appropriate song for a violent movie.

10.  "Strange Ways" - Madvillain - Madvillainy

More from Madlib, this time with rapper MF Doom. Interesting take on different scenarios of violence in our world. I disagree with his politics, but it is notable that there would actually be some relevant political content and points worthy of discussion.

11.  "Falling" - Dudley Perkins - A Lil' Light

Another Madlib-produced project, Dudley is one abnormal cat. I thought the lyrics were very appropriate considering the last few tracks. "I see unnecessary death. I see lives just thrown away."

12.  "Sum Shit I Wrote" - Common Sense - Resurrection

Common just sort of free-associates and clowns around. More fun to me than the Nas track, however similar.

13.  "Ya'll Niggas Ain't Ready" - Def Squad - El Niño

Erick Sermon of EPMD fame, the first rapper here, has one of the most recognizable rap voices.

14.  "Coma" - Aesop Rock - Labor Days

Aesop's lyrics are so complicated they're tough to decipher, which makes them somewhat entertaining. Atypical percussion for a rap song and creepy samples.

15.  "The Manhatten Project" - Typical Cats - Typical Cats

Fascinating rap about graffiti, includes some of the rules and coded speak of graffiti artists. I'm a fan of graffiti artists who have become fine artists and create installations in galleries, such as Barry McGhee and Jeff Soto. A good friend of mine when I was growing up had several photo books of New York graffiti artists from various years, with hundreds of images of intricate, colorful pieces on walls and train cars. I used to mimic the styles all the time (on paper) when I was in junior high and high school. I included this one because the subject matter is more interesting than many rap songs.

16.  "Mr. Nigga" - Mos Def - Black On Both Sides

Back to something more melodic. Mos Def lays down a bunch of frustration over dealing with racism. I can appreciate most of what he says and empathize with his anger, but I disagree with some of the things he says. IMHO, Mos Def actually comes off a bit racist himself in this song. Lots of "they's" in there. It bothers me that Mos would group his own white fans in with the racists, saying they are still racist "while this song is in their car." I suppose it is merely the justified reaction of someone subjected to racial indignity after racial indignity at the hands of white people. It is sad to think that someone as level-headed and intelligent as Mos Def has never encountered a white person who he trusts won't call him the "N" word behind his back, or despite being outwardly kind behave toward him with "actions (which) reveal how their hearts really feel."

17.  "Green Power" - Quasimoto - The Unseen

"It all starts and finishes with green."

18.  "Marvel" - Ghostface Killah - Ironman

I had to include something from RZA, this is my edit from a Ghostface song with some particularly forgettable lyrics. Complex layers. No sound you're likely to hear anywhere else. Note the similarities between the female voice and the flute, and how the flute also sounds somewhat digital like some of the other sounds. RZA's beats have been consistently this unique throughout many Wu albums.

19.  "Murder of Soul" - DJ Krush - Krush

Krush is Japanese. I thought the chorus and the gloomy mood to be especially relevant for "The Dark Side."

20.  "Alphabet Aerobics (The Cut Chemist A-Z Remix)  - Blackalicious - A2G EP

Wrapping things up...I had a couple minutes left.

No guesses for the bonus disc?

Edited September 22, 2005 by Noj