Last night a “cold” front moved through north Florida, leaving us with some fall-like weather this morning.  It was a brisk 55 degrees when I hit the pavement this morning, which is just about perfect running weather, if you ask me.

Today was a light 3 mile run before tomorrow’s 6 mile run.  I basically took it nice and easy, imagining this just to be the first half of a longer run.  My pace ended up being a 10:20 which is not bad, and I definitely still had a lot left in the tank by the time I was done.

That’s about all I have for you today.  Tomorrow is the big one, wish me luck!

Vital Statistics:

Workout: 3.1 Miles

Time: 32:14

Pace: 10:20

Weight:N/A

Playlist:

When the Levee Breaks – Led Zeppelin

Kashmir – Led Zeppelin

Preaching the End of the World – Chris Cornell

Negative Creep – Nirvana

In The End – Linkin Park

Final Frontier – MC Ren

Addicted – Saving Abel

Civil War - Guns N Roses

One thing I can definitely say about having a scheduled plan for my running is that it leaves no excuses for getting out of bed.

I am, and have always been, an early riser.  On weekdays, I am up at 5:15 every morning whether I’m working out or not.  Often, I have struggled to negotiate a few extra minutes of sleep,when I knew I should be up working out.  I have not had that problem this week.  In fact, I have been ready to go and on the road by 5:30 every morning.

So today, I deliberately planned to get a slightly later start.  Maybe even as late as 8:00 am to simulate a race start time.  The best I could muster is 6:30.

One of the worst things about living in Florida is that even at 6:30 in the morning, it was literally 79 degrees, with 84% humidity for my morning 5k.  After spending some time running in Portland last month, I now appreciate just how much of an impediment the Florida humidity is.  I am looking forward to cooler temperatures on Thanksgiving Day, the day of the half-marathon.

So, today’s run was pretty good.  I started off slower than Thursday so that I would not burn out at the turn.  I started to kick at about the 2.5 mile mark, and that caught up with me.  I ended up having to walk for 20 seconds when my heart rate got to 190.  The sad thing is that I was less than a quarter mile from the finish at the time.  I need to be able to work through that so I can finish strong at the race.

All things considered, though, the slightly faster but more controlled pace worked out very well for me.  I finished in 31:11, which is right at a 10 minute mile.  I’d be happy to keep that pace all the way up to the big run, but hope that with work I can shave a few more seconds off in the next two months.

Speaking of two months, it’s exactly two months to the big race.

So, without further adieu, today’s vital statistics:

One note about vital statistics: I want to weight myself consistently on the same scale, so on days when I do not have access to that scale, I will not list the daily weight.

Workout: 3.1 Miles

Time: 31:11

Pace: 10:00

Weight: N/A

Playlist:

Prelude – N.W.A.

Here Before You – Izzy Stradlin

Martians Got a Thing for Redneck Fellers – Larry The Cable Guy

Times They Change – Slaughter

The Real Slim Shady – Eminim

Old Brown Shoe – The Beatles

Right Now – Van Halen

El Scorcho – Weezer

Shot Caller – MC Ren

Red House – Jimmy Hendrix

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Lil Wayne, Ca$his, Lloyd Banks, Ludacris, Eminem, The Game, Tupac – Megamix (DJ Brax Mix)

More @  http://www.youtube.com/user/DjBraxTV

Lil Wayne, Cash Money, Young Money, Drake, Birdman, Always Strapped, Remix, Megamix, Shady, 50 Cent, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Ca$his, G-Unit, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Before I Self Destruct, Young Buck, The Game, Westcoast, Eastcoast, Ludacris, Money, Tupac, Death Row, Makaveli, 7 Day 2Pac, Tyga, Soulja Boy, Hurricane Chris, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, N.W.A., Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Jam Master Jay, DMX, Nas, Jay-Z, Roccafella, Beyonce, MIA, Cassie, Cassidy, Ciara, Missy Elliot, Notorious B.I.G., Suge Knight, T-Pain, Akon, Busta Rhymes, Arab Money, Ron Brownz, Kanye West, Rakim, KRS One, Classic, Legend, Hip Hop, Breakdance, Megamix, Remix, DJ Brax, Konvict Muzik, Dipset, Harlem, State Property

About two weeks ago I explained the rules of this series in the inaugural post on Notorious B.I.G.’s song “Big Poppa.” If you haven’t read it, I suggest you go back and catch up because this week we’re tackling a beast of a song: NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.” Unlike our last feature, “Straight Outta Compton” is a group effort featuring the lyrical talents of Mssrs. O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, MC Ren (né Lorenzo Jerald Patterson), and Eric Lynn Wright (a.k.a. Eazy-E) dropping verses first, second, and third respectively. Definitely not respectfully, though. Producer Andre Young, M.D. sets the group up with samples from Wilson Pickett and Funkadelic.

If gangsta rap could appropriately describe only one song, it’s this one. A battle cry for gang bangers, the raw emotion of the song is unparalleled by any of today’s mealy-mouthed rappers who care more about getting money than giving the police hell. In fact, no one really pays attention to NWA anymore since Dre fell off, Eazy died of AIDS, and Ice Cube starred in Are We There Yet?

The title track from their 1988 album, “Straight Outta Compton” was written in an era when white people other than Bill O’Reilly were scared by rap. Indeed, this song was the used by censorship advocates at the time as the prime example of a take-no-prisoners, unapologetic, in-your-face celebration of gang violence. Adding to the fear is the fact that the group’s name, N.W.A., stood for “niggaz with attitude(s).” The lyrics conjure up wilding fantasies that must have had at least a few people afraid of a coming race war, or at least street violence spilling over into suburban neighborhoods. (Today it is France worrying about such things.) That the Los Angeles riots occured several years later in response to police brutality demonstrates that “Straight Outta Compton” captures the Zeitgeist of poor urban areas in the late eighties.

The song starts with Dr. Dre saying, “You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.” The first bars of the song introduce hard-hitting breaking beats, symbol crashes, and a funk guitar reminiscent of 1970s blaxplotation soundtracks. Somewhere in the background there is a horn that repeats and a whining noise resembling a siren. The beat sounds like the street. It is not polished or complex, and it lacks the flourishes of Autotuners, synthesizers, or string arrangements that contemporary hip-hop producers rely on. Dre’s invitation to “witness the strength of street knowledge” brings us into N.W.A.’s world, Compton.

Ice Cube has the premier spot for what is arguably one of the best verses in rap. He chooses not to mince words:

Straight outta Compton, crazy mother [expletive deleted] named Ice Cube
From the gang called Niggaz with Attitudes
When I’m called off, I got a sawed off
Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled off
You too boy if ya [expletive deleted] with me
The police are gonna hafta come and get me

Ice Cube diagnoses himself as a psychopath, threatens the listener with violence from an illegally modified shotgun all in the first six lines. In fact, Ice Cube mentions three separate kinds of firearms–the aforementioned scatter gun, a GAT, and an AK-47. After he discusses the Kalashnikov there is an edit of gunfire, and Ice^3 raps, “Don’t make me act the mother [expletive deleted] fool.” He’s not afraid of reiterating his insanity, comparing his crime record to Charles Manson. Think about that for a second. Ice Cube discusses not money, women, clubs, but violence. Unapologeticly sociopathic, his verse is unmatched in the song. It set the gold standard for all forthcoming gangsta rap.

Ice Cube would have killed you in '88.

MC Ren takes over the track next, but his verse is the musical equivalent of Barbaro at the Preakness Stakes. Ren essentially recapitulates Ice Cube’s more powerful verse but lacks the intense delivery. He even mentions the AK again. Has Ren never heard of the Tech-9? Or is N.W.A. a front for Marixist Nicarauguin guerillas obtaining arms from the Soviet Union? Given the small possibility of that, the only interesting thing about MC Ren’s verse is that he mentions his fondness for carnal pleasures in addition to killing.

Eazy-E, given his fame at the time, bats clean-up. There has been much discussion of the fact that Ice Cube wrote about 50% of the album and helped Eazy-E substantially. This makes sense considering Ice Cube’s subsequent success after he left the group over royalty disputes, and the fact that N.W.A. never produced anything as good as “Straight Outta Compton.” The problem is that Eazy-E is just not very imposing. He has a nasal voice and a Lilliputian stature. It  actually sounds like Dre just turned up the pitch on Eazy’s mike. So when Eazy tells you he’s “dangerous,” you likely respond, “that’s cute, but isn’t it past your bedtime, young man?

The stand out part of his rap comes when he discusses racial profiling on the part of the police, a topic the song’s video explores further. Eazy describes the police’s incursion into Compton:

I see a mother [expletive deleted] cop I don’t dodge him
But I’m smart, lay low, creep a while
And when I see a punk pass, I smile
To me it’s kinda funny, the attitude showin a nigga drivin
but don’t know where the [expletive deleted] he’s going, just rollin
lookin for the one they call Eazy

The other cherry line from the verse is this one, “[Eazy-E is] is a brotha that’ll smother yo’ mother and make ya sister think I love her.” Fantastic. Only the brilliance of this line is betrayed by the fact that Eazy finishes his rap by rhyming “smother” and “mother” a second time.

Gangsta rap increased in popularity throughout the early nineties.After some high profile deaths (Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur), the incarceration of Suge Knight, the CEO of gangsta rap titan Death Row Records, and endless protests from the likes of Charlton Heston (see the “Cop Killer” controversy) the reign of the glorification of street violence seemed to come to an end. Rappers are still fascinated with weapons an illegal activity, but the raw anger and energy that was there is now gone. So T.I. may threaten a snitch, but you know he won’t really kill you. Rappers have bodyguards to do their dirty work now.

-Michael E. van Landingham

“Because we got the streets suckas … damn you ni–azzzz.” … 


That’s the howl that initiates, or jumps in, the listener. From there, rapper Mc Ren, formerly of N.W.A., laid the fucking wood. The WOOD. Shock of the Hour (which is out of print and starts at $25 on CD on Amazon, which is fucking ridiculous, everyone had this CD) is a rough-and-tumble gangsta joint through and through, and in retrospect it is quite hilarious.


You can’t listen to a few couplets without references to machine guns, hoes and bitches, the ‘N’ wizord (always), and, haha, scrapping. You wanna scrap foo? HUH? Bitch-ass trick; you know I wrote about this once befo’ … If it weren’t for the amazing production I’m not sure I’d have cared about this crass genre exercise.


It has most of the classic traits of the era. There’s bass, sirens, some scratchety-scratch-scribble, whatever. And, perhaps best of all, much of the record is totally, totally weak, just like so many solo excursions of the time were (I’ll probably appraise Bushwick Bill’s shit soon, come to think of it).


Oh, and there’s a guest rapper lineup of quick, lizard-like tongues (Dollar Bill/Da Konvicted Felon/Don Jaguar). Hmmm. Shock of the Hour lies somewhere between that awful RBX solo album and, say, a Spice 1 album. It’s not awkward and only glimpsing at glory — it packs four deadly tracks into its revolver — yet it definitely, definitely isn’t great.


Everything considered, four out of 11 songs ain’t bad if you think about how many full-lengthers coast on two or even one alpha singles (again, that RBX album; it made sense for about four minutes). Did I mention the sexism? I’ll just quote this verbatim: “Do you wanna fuck her? Everybody fucks her / The bitch is a hoe, yo I thought I’d let you know.” That’s an excerpt from one of the weaker tunes, of which there are several, as mentioned. “Mayday on the Frontline” is shockingly boring and out of date and was even in 9-to-the-3 (much like the preceding poetic device), aimless in execution and full of crazy hateful harangues against the white man. 


Which I love, don’t get me wrong, but Ren was the mang that would take it to that extra-mean level where he’s not just pissed off at whitie (which, again, is not only acceptable but encouraged); he’s looking to maybe, you know, cleanse whitie from the earth: “He’s been shot in the chest, yo, he’s a redneck, huh, throw him with the rest of the bodies we be buryin’, Two million ni–as got guns and carry ‘em. Shoot people first and ask questions later, just like a ni–a was a terminator.” 


Sweet! Would you believe me if I told you there’s a song with even crazier shit going on in it involving black-on-white violence? Drink it in, people. Rhymes like this made Shock of the Hour extra crazy, extra detached from giving any weight to that still, small voice that says, “Hey, should I encourage others to commit violent acts?” 


And, further confusing you, I’m going to drop another shit-bomb on you: That’s what’s awesome about this record, its inherent racism and violence.


I can’t think of anything more appealing than hearing someone talk about killing lots of white people, probably white people from the suburbs just like me. It gets me going. In fact, I’d almost go as far as to say that more — yes! — MORE violence would be just fine in place of some of the grosser raps about hoes (“Stomach full of nuts” and such) … 


Picking up where I left off, there is a distinctly crude flavor to the lyrics presented here that represent just how dark and, again, awesome, things were getting in rap at the time. You had to say some sick SHIT to survive (remember Brotha Lynch Hung? Shit, might have to write about that foo’).


It’s vaguely sad, the lengths some of these dudes went to deplore, but then again if you look at some of the death- and black-metal exploits of a few, isolated (as always) bands, you could make a case for ridiculous, disturbing behavior there, too. 


That’s why metal is awesome. It’s all a wash, so I just enjoy the shit. The cheap synth phrases are so prominent on album-highlight “Fuck What Ya Heard” I can’t stop going back just to hear them over and over again. They implore me to continue to dig this vile, wretched rap music. Us white folk can’t get enough of the stuff. I’m just waitin’ for the gangsta revival.

Ja, der zweite von rechts hat wirklich Eminem entdeckt.

N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton

Posted By Jr Kong

“Straight Outta Compton” is to be the title of a new movie project about N.W.A., the famous rapgroup that invented gangster rap according to many. The project will chronicle the rise and fall of the rap group, founded by Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and MC Ren. New Line Cinema will release the motion picture and is actively searching for a director along the lines of Curtis Hanson, who directed Eminem’s project 8 Mile. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube will help produce the film, along with Tomica Wright (Eazy-E’s widow) and Circle of Confusion Entertainment.

It seems as if Notorious B.I.G.’s biopic is opening up doors for other legendary Hip Hop acts to tell their stories by way of the silver screen.

Sources are reporting that there is a N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) biopic in the works that will highlight the rise and fall of N.W.A. The group were signed to Hip Hop’s bad boy, Suge Knight’s label, Death Row Records and included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and MC. Ren.

The movie is said to be produced by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Tomica Wright (Eazy-E’s widow). It will chronicle the creation and dismantling of the group, the impact the group had on Hip Hop, and the tragic death of Eazy-E to AIDS.

Read more here.

Although this blog focusses primarily upon out of print hip-hop recordings, re-issued albums and EPs and singles play a pretty big part over here. Although copious re-issues over the years have taken away the once-coveted status of a number of albums, I generally embrace these fresh pressings.

Firstly – and most importantly – it allows fans to legally and legitimately hear “elite” music they’ve craved over the years, not wanting to resort to mp3 downloads or ‘ownership’ of shoddy CD-Rs, nor to part with obscene amounts of money for ‘rare’ records. Secondly, re-issues often (though not always) come complete with remastered sound quality, lacking on the original pressing, and sometimes come with lots of goodies that are either previously unknown, or have featured on vinyl and/or cassette pressings only. Thirdly, it allows brilliant artists to get their shine once more. I truly believe that the constant re-emergence of golden era releases is a great thing for hip-hop, its reputation, artists, and fans.

This post highlights my 10 picks of what I consider to be the best re-issues out there, from those that simply re-introduced long sought-after albums, to those that come packed with bonuses and goodies for the longtime fans:

10) N.W.A. – Efil4zaggin (originals: 1990 & 1991 reissue: 2002)

This 2002 pressing of the landmark third N.W.A LP comes complete with the 1990 100 Miles & Runnin’ EP. This gold-certified stopgap EP eventually fell out of print, and although it has always been pretty easily available second hand, it was thus greatly overlooked by a lot of newcoming hip-hop fans over the years, until it was packaged together with Efil4zaggin, neatly contained on one disc.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD N.W.A. – 100 MILES & RUNNIN’ EP

9) Ice Cube – Amerikkka’z Most Wanted (originals: 1990, re-issue: 2003)

Again, Amerikkka’z Most Wanted is another album that picked up an EP for its later outings – as well as crisp, digitally remastered sound quality. In this case, the monumental Kill at Will EP is neatly tacked onto the end of Cube’s groundbreaking debut solo album.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ICE CUBE – KILL AT WILL EP

MC Ren – Kizz My Black Azz EP (original: 1992, re-issue: 2003)

Ren’s absolutely fantastic 1992 solo EP is included in this list moreso because the re-issue made it available once again, following years of oop status, rather than the fact that it comes with any notable bonus features (it doesn’t). There is a video for “Final Frontier” embedded onto the disc, though, which I guess was a pretty exciting inclusion in the pre-YouTube days.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MC REN – KIZZ MY BLACK AZZ EP

7) Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road to the Riches / Wanted: Dead or Alive (originals: 1989 & 1990, re-issue: 2001)

Now oop itself, this 2-disc set plugged an essential gap in those few bleak years in which both albums were out of print and going for silly money on eBay. Road to the Riches is now back in print (and worthy of a mention itself, thanks to its bonus cuts), and is thus back in vogue, whereas Wanted: Dead or Alive has once again been confined to the hip-hop graveyard.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD KOOL G RAP & DJ POLO – ROAD TO THE RICHES / WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

6) Boogie Down Productions – Criminal Minded (original: 1987, re-issue: various)

Though the classic album Criminal Minded has in fact been readily available over the years, regardless of whether or not it has been in print at any given time, it was an early 2000s pressing of the LP that caught my attention, as it featured instrumentals for all ten tracks, modestly and discreetly added onto the end of the main play. There also exists a ‘deluxe’ edition of Criminal Minded, released in 2008, which holds a load of bonus tracks not present on the original pressing.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS – CRIMINAL MINDED (ORIGINAL ONLY – NO INSTRUMENTALS)

The project will chronicle the rise and fall of the rap quartet, founded by Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and MC Ren, whose songs were so incendiary (i.e. “F— tha Police”) they were banned from radio playlists but still sold millions of albums.

Then came the inevitable fiery breakup, a grudge match between the former bandmates, and Eazy-E’s tragic death due to AIDS.

The film’s producers, which include Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Tomica Wright (Eazy-E’s widow), and Circle of Confusion Entertainment, are now actively searching for a director along the lines of Curtis Hanson (8 Mile).

This, I truly look forward to.

Produced by Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E’z widow, Tomica Wright, Straight Outta Compton, the NWA story, is coming to theater near you soon.

Via Hollywood Insider

-LaRoushe

N.W.A

Primeiramente queria pedir desculpas por ter ficado todo esse tempo sem postar. Estive muito ocupado, e muitos compromissos. Mas agora vou retomar o trabalho.

Straight Outta Compton é o nome do filme biográfico sobre o lendário grupo de rap do drama urbano sobre o lendário grupo de rap N.W.A (Niggaz With Attitude). O Filme será produzido pela produtora New Line Cinema.

O projeto narrará a ascenção e queda do coletivo composto por Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren e DJ Yella. O grupo se tornou conhecido pelas letras ácidas que fizeram com que eles fossem banidos das rádios e vendessem milhões de álbuns.

O Filme falará sobre todo o extenso do grupo N.W.A, ascenção e a queda, do grupo que se tornmou muito conhecido pelas letras pesadas, que contribuiu pro grupo ficar muito famoso, vender milhões de álbuns e serem banidos das rádios.

O grupo foi formado por Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Mc Ren e DJ Yella, onde os desentendimentos internos e a morte de Eazy-E, vítima da AIDS, fizeram com que o grupo se separasse.

Entre os produtores, estão Ice Cube, Dr. Dre e Tomica Wright (viúva de Eazy-E).

• Via: Central do Rap

Show your support and go purchase Ruthless Dirty Red’s latest singles “Cali’z Finest” and “Blessed”.

for those of you who dont know, Dirty Red was one of Eazy-E’s close friends and writters.  He is credited in writting songs such as “Luv For Them Gangsters” and “Any Last Words”   plus was featured in hits like “what would u do” and”Down To the Last Roach”

google and search : Ruthless Dirty Red and buy the latest singles to show your support.
Click below to purchase from Amazon.com

go to http://www.itunes.com and search Ruthless Dirty Red to buy the single

The Game is straight outta Compton for all you that do not know. He, along with myself are huge fans of N.W.A. If you don’t already know, Game practically idolizes the group, especially Eric Wright-Eazy-E. One of N.W.A.’s more notorious tracks was “Straight Outta Compton” featured on their 1989 album. Last year, Game decided that he wanted to continue the song, but by adding his own verse of coursem, in a very similar style. I found it pretty live. I decided that I’m going to post the old one just for those of you that don’t have it.

Oh the glory of gangsta rap! I remember my older brother used to pump NWA like no other, I always thought they were too harsh too raw. I can’t lie something stood out to me from the group besides Ice Cubes razor sharp lyrics. What stood out was the “gangsta” these gentlemen presented, never on east or west has a group radiated so much gangsta and that is why im posting “Straight Outta Compton”.