Gaga Dolla
dp16:
Bill Simmons: Time for the first mailbag of the decade
Q: A couple of weeks ago at a frat party, I began to get with a pretty cute girl. As the night wore on, and the drinks started flowing, she took me back to her apartment. When I entered her room, the first thing I saw was a giant Sidney Crosby poster. Without saying another word to her, I left. My buddies have never stopped making fun of me since, but I still insist that it was the proudest moment of my life as a die-hard Flyers fan. Can you please give me some consolidation, or should I have just swallowed my pride? In my defense, I would not qualify her as “hot.” —Dave Z., Philly
SG: Yup, these are my readers.
- haha only sports fans. I’d high five this dude for that, even tho I would never have left.
reading…now. gotta love the mail bag.
The Just Blaze Collection
After learning that Baseline Studios, the birthplace of some of my favorite music from the past decade, was closing up shop, I pulled a 2006 interview I conducted for VIBE with Justin Smith AKA Just Blaze, the studio’s longtime steward and creative heartbeat, from my archives. We sat together in Room A of the studio and talked for roughly three hours about the nuts and bolts of his production process, the making of The Blueprint, the long delay and problems of Saigon’s still-unreleased album, and the frustration and disappointment over the dissolution of Roc-A-Fella. An abridged version is running right now on Sound of the City, which you can read here; I may post the entire 15,000 word beast later this week. (It’s kinda boring!)
As a companion I’ve compiled a series of playlists denoting different phases in Just’s career. They’re not sequenced or rebranded, just collected. This isn’t quite definitive, I’d say I’m 90-95% there. If something is missing, and you’ve got it, recommend or send along: sean[DOT]fennessey[AT]gmail[DOT]com. And enjoy.
The Roc-A-Fella (Part 1, Part 2)
The New York Hardcore (Part 1, Part 2)
Additionally, if you’re not interested in 200+ Just Blaze productions, I’ve pulled together a double-disc compilation of my favorites—there are just a few esoteric choices here. I’m not a believer in fooling around with taste when it comes to stuff like Jay’s “P.S.A.” and Dipset’s “I Really Mean It.” So no games, they’re here. Tracklist below.
State Property [Beanie Sigel & Freeway]: “Roc The Mic”
Jay-Z: “Oh My God”
Jay-Z: “Dear Summer”
Jay Electronica: “Exhibit C”
Cam’Ron feat. Juelz Santana: “Oh Boy”
Joe Budden: “Pump It Up”
Fat Joe: “Safe 2 Say (The Incredible)”
Usher feat. Jadakiss: “Throwback”
Kanye West feat. Lupe Fiasco: “Touch the Sky”
Freeway feat. Peedi Crakk: “Flipside”
Young Gunz: “Friday Night”
Beanie Sigel: “Get Down”
T.I.: “I’m Talkin’ To You”
Memphis Bleek feat. Freeway: “Just Blaze, Bleek and Free”
Jay-Z feat. Beanie Sigel: “Streets is Talking”
Fabolous feat. Swizz Beatz: “Return of the Hustle”
Jay-Z: “U Don’t Know”
The Game: “Church For Thugs”
Beanie Sigel feat. Grand Puba and Sadat X: “Bread & Butter”
Jay-Z: “Ignorant Shit”
Jay-Z: “Public Service Announcement (Interlude)”
Trina feat. Fabolous: “How We Do”
Lenny Kravitz feat. Jay-Z: “Storm (Remix)”
Shyne: “Diamonds and Mack 10s”
Jay-Z: “Soon You’ll Understand”
Jay-Z: “Allure (Remix)”
Jadakiss feat. Cross, Drag-On, Eve, Infa-Red, and The L.O.X.: “It’s Time I See You”
Memphis Bleek feat. Geda K: “M.A.R.C.Y.”
The Diplomats (Cam’Ron and Jim Jones): “I Really Mean It”
Jay-Z: “Meet The Parents”
Erick Sermon feat. Redman: “React”
If you want to build up your ipod with some classic Roc-a-fella dynasty material, this is the place to start. Almost every song in “The Personal Favorites” collection brings back some memories. Thanks Sean.
Looks like these links were all removed at the request of Just Blaze.
How to make a rap song:
