If I Die Tonight

I have been disappointed by hip hop these past number of years. It was an art form I grew up on but lately it's become an art form that I am ashamed of. It's not made me proud and it subsequently lost me as a fan and consumer. However, recently I came across this artist by the name of Lecrae and my hope was rekindled. I am not a Christian and anything that includes the words Christian and music, I run from but this song touched me...deeply.

Lecrae has a spiritual tone to his music, it's uplifting AND entertaining which is supposed to be impossible to do in today's music scene, especially hip hop. Yet Lecrae has and is doing that very thing. This tune is called If I Die Tonight and it's off his 2014 release, Church Clothes Vol. 2 and it's not only powerful in it's message, it also shows Lecrae's talents as a wordsmith.

I can't deny that I am a fan and while his message may not strike me like he'd probably like, at least he has me listening and that's a damn good start. If you like this song then check out his cuts Sell Out and Lost My Way off the same album, they won't disappoint you. Enjoy.

The Grunt Pt. 1

Allow me to introduce to you one of the funkiest cuts ever recorded. It was so funky the production group The Bomb Squad got the foundation of two of their many hit songs for the iconic group Public Enemy from it. The list of artists that "borrowed" from this song doesn't stop with PE though. It's a long and varied one. The song is called The Grunt Pt. 1 and it was put together by The JB's which was James Brown's band from the 1970's to the early 80's. In that time they recorded some music that made it impossible for you or anyone you knew to sit still.

The Grunt starts off with a horn blast that is easily identifiable if you know Public Enemy's music. The groove then takes over and it's a funky one with a saxophone just wailing away over it. Every now and then the horn section will come in and contribute a few horn blasts. Then there's a break that is another easily recognizable Public Enemy sample. This cut is nonstop funky fun and it'll put a smile on your face.

This was the JB's just showing off and they showed out with this cut. Such a funky piece from start to finish, and the finish was abrupt because you just don't fade out the JB's baby. Enjoy!