This week will have the 100th* song added to the playlist. In that time Phonte has appeared on 6% of the tracks and produced on 1 as well. Second most included was a tie between Pharoahe Monch and Laura Jane Grace (solo + Against Me! tracks) with 4%. That is 4 songs each for you math scholars out there. There are 4 Dillinger Four songs on the playlist as well, but it is a split between D4 originals and stellar Dave Hause covers.
*More math scholar content. Friday and whatnot #36 has the 100th track? But ZP, 3 songs a week times 36 blogs is 108 songs? Well my friend, I didn’t foresee the #BoycottRhymesayers thing happening 13 weeks into the blog. With the obvious choice to remove all of the rse&affiliated songs because of their misogyny, sexual assaults, coverups, and generally just being shit human beings, here we are.
IAMNOBODI feat. Phonte & BeMyFiasco “Let it Roll (Interlude)”
I love Phonte’s vegan lyrics about fresh almond milk smoothies and chia seeds. It goes well with the mention of his favorite healthy weed snacks “almonds and grapefruit” on the FOCUS… track.
Some more shining examples of Phonte’s lyrics that make his songs so appealing to me:
Morning people are the fucking Police!
You spit with Karen struggle,
I spit with Sheila E(ase)
Interior design, I’ve been doing reconnaissance,
Phonte
A prisoner that walk free on his own recognizance
Blackalicious “Release”
Tbh it is a 9 minute song. I’m super into the first 7ish minutes, but can’t say I’m a Lyrics Born fan, so I don’t always stick it out for part 3. No hating, just not a big fan. Anyway, 9 minutes is a long ask, but fire it up and see how it goes sometime.
Video below is Part 2, the Saul Williams part, and it should give you a good taste of the record. Saul Williams — the poet, rapper, actor, vegan, amazing human — was first introduced to me by Adam, I think. We were into that “List of Demands” song for sure, but repeatedly grew more impressed the more we heard and experienced from him.
Part I starts badass enough with the Gift of Gab and Zack de la Rocha verse, but thanks to the research, I learned it first starts with Dolly Parton’s “9-5” bassline*. As you might have guessed, Gab spills a barrage of lyrics with the intermingling of Zack de la Rocha’s distinctive voice echoing “Release!”
*I mentioned to Stacey learning this gave me more respect for the track, as opposed to the reaction hearing “Survival of the Fittest ” by Mobb Deep the first time. It’s the actual song that contains the lines “Worst come to worst, my peoples come first”, which was obviously co-opted by Dilated Peoples in their breakout hit by the same name. Not sure they even changed it?
Gang Starr “DWYCK”
From the blog title, hopefully you’ve guess our third track today. If not, oh man, it is a great one. Spoiler about lemonade’s popularity.. it still is popular. The song could have inspired any number of other great blog titles and or shirts, as Adam Mansbach proposed in a great twitter thread I’m unable to locate (fail).
Alternate Titles / Good Hip Hop Shirts
- Ah oui oui
- I say Muhammad Ali, you say Classius Clay
- I shape this, you tape this
- Do you have another?
- I’m infallible, not into failure
- Smooth B will never bite
I’m using the Mass Appeal release of this song, it made it on a few records over the years. Oh, not including the original video either, as I don’t need the 90s rap video aesthetic here.
