I have to say, after back-to-back R.I.P. style OSM's, my main aim this week was simply to post songs by folks that were still alive. So while I was thinking about what to post, I saw George Clinton rocking out in the crowd during the Grammy Awards (you know, because my wife was watching it, not because I wanted to see teen-country-pop sensation Taylor Swift *swoon*), and since there likely isn't anyone still living that's been sampled more than George, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Seriously, ole Uncle George is an un-questioned legend (can you think of anyone else who could excite both L.A. OG's and patchouli-powered hippies with the mere mention of their name?) and he's long been revered by hip hop's beatmakers & MC's alike. I could have easily done this post using nothing but songs the sample Atomic Dog (I could actually do like 5 OSM's on it), but I decided to spread it around a bit. That said, any herohill/George Clinton post has to have some Rodney O Joe Cooley in the mix, and so we've got two Atomic Dog-sampling jams, This Is For The Homies from their debut album Me and Joe, and Why Must I Be Like That (sing it hoes!) from the awesomely bitter F___ New York.

So while that sample-usage might be on the obvious side, there's also plenty instances where most would have no idea the source, like Erick Sermon's Hittin' Switches, which samples a song from You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish, which I'd never heard of before. It's also awesome that a perfect slab of old school NY hardcore hip hop like Eric B. & Rakim's Lyrics of Fury samples a song like No Head, No Backstage Pass.

There's also the near-endless output from the bands/collectives that George has been involved in too, any of which could spawn their own army of posts - like Nothing Can Stop Us from Serious Lee Fine not only satisfies the George Clinton requirement due to it's sampling of Funkadelic's One Nation Under a Groove, but it should also please hill alumnus Mr. E as he put in a request for it a while ago. And since I brought up One Nation Under a Groove, we might as well post one of the more quintessential Clinton-inspired (and featuring!) tracks, Cube's Bop Gun. Enjoy.

MP3:: Rodney O Joe Cooley - This Is For The Homies

MP3:: Rodney O Joe Cooley - Why Must I Be Like That

MP3:: Erick Sermon - Hittin' Switches

MP3:: Eric B. & Rakim - Lyrics Of Fury

MP3:: Serious Lee Fine - Nothing Can Stop Us

MP3:: Ice Cube - Bop Gun (One Nation) f. George Clinton

VIDEO:: Erick Sermon- Hittin' Switches


VIDEO:: Serious Lee Fine - Nothing Can Stop Us

Labels: Eric B. and Rakim, George Clinton, Hip Hop, Ice Cube, Old School Mondays, Rodney O Joe Cooley

It's weeks like this one that demonstrate why I do OSM on Mondays. Like most working stiffs, Sunday night finds me trying to shake off the effects of the weekend (having kids now makes that more like shake off the crumbs from the weekend), and get prepared to drag my carcass into work the next morning. Hence, prepping a post on Sunday night isn't something I'm always looking forward too, and some Sundays when I have nothing immediately coming to mind, I don't feel like doing one at all. But then I think of some song I used to love in 1991, and bam, we're off to the races.

That was the case this week, as my OSM landscape was barren, so I was going back through last week's posts, and whilst re-reading my review for D-Sisive's great new album Jonestown, the answer became pretty obvious: Juice. If you read the review, the reasons are obvious, but I shall explain anyway (un-necessary explanations are how we roll). On Jonestown's Boom Baba Boom, D makes mention of Biggie smiling as he watches Bishop (Tupac) falling off the roof at the end of Juice, he then goes on to break down the whole reference - why it would make Big smile, etc. So that would be enough, as Juice should easily be in anyone's "top 5 hip hop movies" list, but D also uses the line "I got the juice now, so you catch the taste", which is a ref to a much-loved Robbie Alomar juice commercial that was on Canadian TV in the early 90's. If that doesn't beg for a Juice-related OSM, I don't know what would.

Seriously, if you have never seen this Omar Epps starring, Tupac scene-stealing (his multi-level fade alone was killer) 1992 film, I suggest you do so. It has easily one of the best hip hop soundtracks ever put out, which, I know, isn't saying too much as most of them were disappointments, but it also deserves credit for appearing to have some songs written expressly for the soundtrack. Even if it's just for the 4 songs below, this one is one of the best in my humble.

I think people sleep on Naughty By Nature, but Uptown Anthem is excellent, Treach at his barely-coherent, speed-flow best. If anyone is skeptical about the excellent of Ra or BDK, just check Juice (Know The Ledge) and Nuff' Respect to be set straight. And EPMD's It's Going Down was always a sludgey favorite of mine. I should also, somewhat sheepishly, mention that the new-jack swing style R&B jams (Is It Good To You & Don't Be Afraid) were also much-loved back in the day. Enjoy!

MP3:: Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem

MP3:: Eric B. & Rakim - Juice (Know The Ledge)

MP3:: Big Daddy Kane - Nuff' Respect

MP3:: EPMD - It's Going Down

Big Daddy Kane - Nuff' Respect

Labels: Big, EPMD, Eric B. and Rakim, Hip Hop, Old School Mondays, Tupac

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you up here in Canada. I know the whole "Thanksgiving in October" thing usually confuses Americans, but it's essentially the same deal. We may not have the usually mediocre Dallas and Detroit-based NFL games on our Thanksgiving (speaking of thanks, I'm tremendously thankful for the Saints 4-0 start), but we have Turkey and pumpkin pie, and that's really what counts.

So, being a holiday, I hadn't planned on preparing an OSM this week, but the whole notion of giving thanks made me think I should post some songs from a golden ager that I'm thankful for. So I figured we might as well start with the best: the God. Rakim Allah might just be the best to ever do it, so I'm sure I'm far from being the only one who his thankful for his contribution to hip hop. So enjoy some songs from Ra's early career, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

MP3:: Eric B. featuring Rakim - Eric B. Is President

MP3:: Eric B. And Rakim - I Ain't No Joke

MP3:: Eric B. & Rakim - Move The Crowd (Beatmix By The Democratic 3 Feat. DJ Slack)

MP3:: Eric B. & Rakim - As The Rhyme Goes On (Pumpin' The Turbo - Chad Jay In Effect Version)

MP3:: Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full

Labels: Eric B. and Rakim, Hip Hop, Old School Mondays, Rakim