Keep the Conversation – Wiz Khalifa
To keep the conversation light, I tell the girl a comical line…
Off of one of Wiz’s earliest mixtapes, Show and Prove, “Keep the Conversation” is a favorite with it’s smooth use of sampling and the very original, unorthodox beats that Wiz often rapped over in his days of coming up. Wiz’s production team was just as fire as the rapper himself and delivered top-quality music that would set the course for a new direction in hip-hop music that began when Wiz emerged (from 2006 onward) and ushered in an era of “unorthodox” rappers such as, Kid Cudi, Curren$y, Charles Hamilton, J. Cole, Wale and many more.
Other notable smash-underground tracks by Wiz include: Moolah and the Guap, Homicide (Remix), Still Blazin’, Won’t Land (with a Lucini sample) and Stu (feat. Juicy J)
The Game – Common
It’s global warmin’,
the world is shifting
watchin’ Sweet Sixteen,
bitchin-ass rich kids!
The ever-classic Common is one of the rappers at the forefront of the “conscious hip-hop” movement or “intelligent hip-hop/rap” as I also call it. Music in this genre (and subsequently, in my playlist of the same name on my iPod) are focused more around the message of the lyrics, use more old-school style or soulful beats or are otherwise non-mainstream.
Common’s Finding Forever was a very iconic album for many reasons and some would say it was the album that jettisoned Common onto the national and international stage. It also signaled his induction into Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. music group. He collaborated on the album with British Pop/Hip-Hop songstress Lily Allen (Drivin’ Me Wild), Kanye West (Southside) R&B singer D’Angelo and the late legendary beat-maker, J Dilla (So Far to Go).
So Far to Go (feat. D’Angelo & J Dilla) – Common
LUMiNOUS Musings 