I'm spending New Years Eve alone, a choice this year. As always my thoughts and love are with people who don't get to make that choice, and can't see or touch their loved ones on any day they want. Be safe ya'll... kindness and compassion today and all days.
There's a lot of year end lists going around... much love and appreciation if you included Colored People's Time Machine or CopperWire's Earthbound on yours. Right now I wanted to reflect on the musicians that moved me the most in 2012. I'll have another post up tomorrow about the moments that defined 2012 for me personally.
Kendrick Lamar
This was unquestionably Kendrick's year. It took me a while to get into him, but when I did, I was blown away and completely addicted. It's a combination of the technical aspects of his flow, the emotion he puts into it, and the vulnerability and complexity of the stories he tells that made him one of my favorites this year. Check "Sing About Me / Dying Of Thirst" and "His Pain" to get some of what I'm talking about.
Frank Ocean
First of all, I think Frank Ocean's letter (originally intended to be the liner notes for his brilliant album channel ORANGE) was one of the most beautiful moments pop culture has seen in years. When I think of how they display black masculinity (especially in the world of mainstream Hip Hop), and even how pop culture displays homosexuality... before 2012 you never saw someone like Frank Ocean. By just being himself, and letting people in in such a public way, he disrupted the same old story we've heard for years, which was a very one-dimensional view of black masculinity that truly doesn't reflect anyone I know.
I think of the mainstream representations we see of black masculinity as something very dehumanizing and part of a larger problem that victimizes black men and women every single day. From the prison industrial complex to interpersonal violence in our own homes. When I imagine a generation growing up with more people like Frank Ocean in their headphones... that is black men that can be tender, vulnerable and still respected and loved amongst their peers... I get really excited.
And I haven't even talked about his music yet... let's just say I love the storytelling, his voice, and the unorthodox approach. His album channel ORANGE is a must-have. It's up for all those Grammy's right now for a reason. Shoutouts to Malay who I used to see singing (with people like Choklate and Rajnii) at tiny spots around Seattle over 10 years ago... I just found out a few days ago he was a co-writer and produced the whole album.
This Flying Lotus Video
I don't even have words... this video is like an entire generation... just watch it. Shoutouts to Kahlil Joseph.
Brother Ali
Watching Brother Ali's growth over the past few years has been crazy inspiring. He's easily one of my favorite emcees these days, the complexity of his rhymes, the emotion in each verse, and the content. To me he shines the most when it's personal, when he allows himself to be vulnerable he grabs your heart too. His Bite Marked Heart EP and the full-length album Mouring In America and Dreaming In Color (both produced by Seattle heavyweight Jake One) were 2 of my favorite projects, and "My Beloved" with Choklate and Tone Trezure was one of my favorite songs. What's even more impressive than his music though, has been watching the beautiful way he's represented humanity in these interviews over the course of the year. Check this one on Al Jazeera and this one with Cornel West.
Macklemore
You might of been under a rock if you didn't notice my brother Macklemore exploded in 2012. Seeing an independent artist headline a sold-out world tour and rack up 300,000 record sales in less than half a year with no record label, in a declining record industry, was inspirational for people everywhere.
It's personal for me. If you don't know the history... we started out together. Rewind to August 2001, we each dropped our first solo albums... CD-R's that neither one of us would sell you today. His was Open Your Eyes, mine was Sun To A Recycled Soul. When I say we started out together, I mean I did the graphic design for his album while he mixed songs for mine, and his Mom then put up $100 a piece on both of our albums to get them printed at the same time. In 2005, he was a part of Abyssinian Creole's Sexy Beast and we were a part of his The Language Of My World. The next year we launched Good Medicine: a four-person group made up of Khingz, Prometheus Brown, Macklemore and myself. We headlined a few shows every year from 2006-2008 and never released music as a group... (those shows were pretty classic tho!)
In 2008, when I was living in Vancouver, is when Macklemore checked himself into rehab, which was coincidentally just outside of Vancouver. (His song "Otherside" about this experience is still one of the most powerful pieces he's put out). I remember a conversation we had in that time period, that I always think about when I see where he's at now. He spoke about how when artists chase success, they always measure themselves up against somebody else, and in doing that, they never find happiness. No matter how far you go, there's always somebody a few steps further than you. He also said while we're all so busy trying to "get on", we forget there's another artist that just wants to put something out... and for every artist that just wants that, there's someone else that just wants to be able to express how their feeling... and for everyone one of them, there's another person that just wants to understand what their feeling.
I think this groundedness he had then, as well as being able to really define success on his own terms is why he is where he is now. I see it in his interviews today when he says "always come back to gratitude." For this reason Macklemore is an inspiration to me.
THEESatisfaction
2012 was also the year my sisters THEESatisfaction went global. "QueenS" was hailed by all Seattle press as the song of the year, and I agree. This video of them performing above in London is beautiful as well... get to know them, you'll love them.
Jean Grae
If you didn't know, Jean Grae has been one of my favorite emcees for the last few years. To my knowledge, she only dropped 2 songs in 2012... they were both major events, and 2 of my favorite songs this year. Also check "U&Me&EveryoneWeKnow" and if your not following her on Twitter, your missing out on one of the funniest and most inspirational people on that site.
André 3000
And if you didn't know André 3000 is one of my favorite emcees of all time. With no new songs in 2012, his cameo verses alone were major events, and this one for "Sixteen" is easily my favorite verse by anyone all year.
OCnotes
My brother OCnotes has been growing as an artist so much these last few years... he's been one of my favorite producers in Seattle for a minute, and seeing one of his DJ sets is more like... electronic jazz. I love his authenticity and imagine him to stay on the cutting edge for years to come.
Bambu
Bambu's been one of the most consistent emcees out for a while now. His album ...one rifle per family dropped this year, and I highly recommend it. It's classic for "Orosi", the first tribute in Hip Hop I ever heard for farm workers in Central Cali, and for "Upset The Setup" with another one of the most important emcees in 2012, Killer Mike.
Killer Mike
Killer Mike put out one of the best albums this year, and I think his song "Reagan" should be required listening for every history class in America.
Lupe Fiasco
I love what Lupe represents, especially in interviews, and I think his verses are pretty consistently amazing. I want him to have better choruses and production though. I still bumped this song pretty hard the first half of the year.
Here's to the future... melkam addis amet ya'll.
There's a lot of year end lists going around... much love and appreciation if you included Colored People's Time Machine or CopperWire's Earthbound on yours. Right now I wanted to reflect on the musicians that moved me the most in 2012. I'll have another post up tomorrow about the moments that defined 2012 for me personally.
Kendrick Lamar
This was unquestionably Kendrick's year. It took me a while to get into him, but when I did, I was blown away and completely addicted. It's a combination of the technical aspects of his flow, the emotion he puts into it, and the vulnerability and complexity of the stories he tells that made him one of my favorites this year. Check "Sing About Me / Dying Of Thirst" and "His Pain" to get some of what I'm talking about.
Frank Ocean
First of all, I think Frank Ocean's letter (originally intended to be the liner notes for his brilliant album channel ORANGE) was one of the most beautiful moments pop culture has seen in years. When I think of how they display black masculinity (especially in the world of mainstream Hip Hop), and even how pop culture displays homosexuality... before 2012 you never saw someone like Frank Ocean. By just being himself, and letting people in in such a public way, he disrupted the same old story we've heard for years, which was a very one-dimensional view of black masculinity that truly doesn't reflect anyone I know.
I think of the mainstream representations we see of black masculinity as something very dehumanizing and part of a larger problem that victimizes black men and women every single day. From the prison industrial complex to interpersonal violence in our own homes. When I imagine a generation growing up with more people like Frank Ocean in their headphones... that is black men that can be tender, vulnerable and still respected and loved amongst their peers... I get really excited.
And I haven't even talked about his music yet... let's just say I love the storytelling, his voice, and the unorthodox approach. His album channel ORANGE is a must-have. It's up for all those Grammy's right now for a reason. Shoutouts to Malay who I used to see singing (with people like Choklate and Rajnii) at tiny spots around Seattle over 10 years ago... I just found out a few days ago he was a co-writer and produced the whole album.
This Flying Lotus Video
I don't even have words... this video is like an entire generation... just watch it. Shoutouts to Kahlil Joseph.
Brother Ali
Watching Brother Ali's growth over the past few years has been crazy inspiring. He's easily one of my favorite emcees these days, the complexity of his rhymes, the emotion in each verse, and the content. To me he shines the most when it's personal, when he allows himself to be vulnerable he grabs your heart too. His Bite Marked Heart EP and the full-length album Mouring In America and Dreaming In Color (both produced by Seattle heavyweight Jake One) were 2 of my favorite projects, and "My Beloved" with Choklate and Tone Trezure was one of my favorite songs. What's even more impressive than his music though, has been watching the beautiful way he's represented humanity in these interviews over the course of the year. Check this one on Al Jazeera and this one with Cornel West.
Macklemore
You might of been under a rock if you didn't notice my brother Macklemore exploded in 2012. Seeing an independent artist headline a sold-out world tour and rack up 300,000 record sales in less than half a year with no record label, in a declining record industry, was inspirational for people everywhere.
It's personal for me. If you don't know the history... we started out together. Rewind to August 2001, we each dropped our first solo albums... CD-R's that neither one of us would sell you today. His was Open Your Eyes, mine was Sun To A Recycled Soul. When I say we started out together, I mean I did the graphic design for his album while he mixed songs for mine, and his Mom then put up $100 a piece on both of our albums to get them printed at the same time. In 2005, he was a part of Abyssinian Creole's Sexy Beast and we were a part of his The Language Of My World. The next year we launched Good Medicine: a four-person group made up of Khingz, Prometheus Brown, Macklemore and myself. We headlined a few shows every year from 2006-2008 and never released music as a group... (those shows were pretty classic tho!)
In 2008, when I was living in Vancouver, is when Macklemore checked himself into rehab, which was coincidentally just outside of Vancouver. (His song "Otherside" about this experience is still one of the most powerful pieces he's put out). I remember a conversation we had in that time period, that I always think about when I see where he's at now. He spoke about how when artists chase success, they always measure themselves up against somebody else, and in doing that, they never find happiness. No matter how far you go, there's always somebody a few steps further than you. He also said while we're all so busy trying to "get on", we forget there's another artist that just wants to put something out... and for every artist that just wants that, there's someone else that just wants to be able to express how their feeling... and for everyone one of them, there's another person that just wants to understand what their feeling.
I think this groundedness he had then, as well as being able to really define success on his own terms is why he is where he is now. I see it in his interviews today when he says "always come back to gratitude." For this reason Macklemore is an inspiration to me.
THEESatisfaction
2012 was also the year my sisters THEESatisfaction went global. "QueenS" was hailed by all Seattle press as the song of the year, and I agree. This video of them performing above in London is beautiful as well... get to know them, you'll love them.
Jean Grae
If you didn't know, Jean Grae has been one of my favorite emcees for the last few years. To my knowledge, she only dropped 2 songs in 2012... they were both major events, and 2 of my favorite songs this year. Also check "U&Me&EveryoneWeKnow" and if your not following her on Twitter, your missing out on one of the funniest and most inspirational people on that site.
André 3000
And if you didn't know André 3000 is one of my favorite emcees of all time. With no new songs in 2012, his cameo verses alone were major events, and this one for "Sixteen" is easily my favorite verse by anyone all year.
OCnotes
My brother OCnotes has been growing as an artist so much these last few years... he's been one of my favorite producers in Seattle for a minute, and seeing one of his DJ sets is more like... electronic jazz. I love his authenticity and imagine him to stay on the cutting edge for years to come.
Bambu
Bambu's been one of the most consistent emcees out for a while now. His album ...one rifle per family dropped this year, and I highly recommend it. It's classic for "Orosi", the first tribute in Hip Hop I ever heard for farm workers in Central Cali, and for "Upset The Setup" with another one of the most important emcees in 2012, Killer Mike.
Killer Mike
Killer Mike put out one of the best albums this year, and I think his song "Reagan" should be required listening for every history class in America.
Lupe Fiasco
I love what Lupe represents, especially in interviews, and I think his verses are pretty consistently amazing. I want him to have better choruses and production though. I still bumped this song pretty hard the first half of the year.
Here's to the future... melkam addis amet ya'll.
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