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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/Themselves-Rapping4Money.mp3]

Themselves – Rapping 4 Money (ft. Why, Odd Nosdam, and cLOUDDEAD)

from theFREEhoudini mixtape

Themselves are currently on tour and performing in Brooklyn this Friday.  I’ve never seen Doseone (or any of the Anticon crew) perform live. But I must say as an artist, Doseone is an unrestricted creative force. And the world of underground hiphop is/was too restricted for his drive, so he’s constantly pushing boundaries. “Rapping4Money” is enchanting, accessible, even with the intricate rhymes and rhythm patterns.  We still get the psychological complexities and ambiguities (which is also why I appreciate and enjoy works by Dose/Jel/and some of the anticon cats.)

When mics is hung in these times of crisis…

One of my favorite lines from Dose – “You can tell a lot about a man from the sound of his music…/Anyways, yours is hollow-sounding” -  and it’s by no means one of the best or most intriguing lines from Dose or even from that particular track “Good People Check” (“From underground to mainstream, pioneers to fireplace rap/This is the voice of our rage/Come see me, I’ll serve you, give you free music, and step!/It was nothing!/I did it just to save our rep!”)

&

Recession Rap Jams – In these times of economic crisis…

If you’re interested in hearing even more fresh, happening, avant-garde rap ish, here’s some new wayne + even more new wayne, along w/ T-Pain and Juelz co-starring.

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/DemarcoBustaRhymes-Hustlers.mp3]

Demarco f/ Busta Rhymes – Hustlers

Busta superimposed his own interpretation of Demarco’s new song “Hustlers”

You see I’m ready and determined and I’m willing and I’m able to get money regardless how the economy is unstable… – Busta Rhymes

Post-Arab Money Busta Rhymes has been bombarding us with a plethora of verses, freestyles, guest appearances.  Much to his credit though, it never appears as if he is over-imposing (at least, the excess this time is not as profound or as outrageous as it was in the very late 1990s and early 2000s, and some remarkable results came out of that period). Look here/here/here –I can easily point to a dozen live links of tracks he’s unleashed within the last month.

Here are two more- Brooklyn rappers adopting recent Dancehall hits (well, a classic in the case of Vybz Kartel’s “Don’t Run”) The other joint is Maino’s version of Busy Signal’s “Jail”, which is off this Bad Boy Riddim.

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/MainoBusySignal-NahGoToJailAgain.mp3]

Maino f/ Busy Signal – Nah Go To Jail Again

/

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/HuntVybzKartel-LastManStanding.mp3]

Hunt f/ Vybz Kartel – Last Man Standing

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pic by tatyana-k

[display_podcast]
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Well, I suggest you subscribe and check out the previous podcast, before we jump into this one.
All set? Alright, here it is-Recession Rap Podcast, a compilation of rap songs addressing the worldwide economic recession/depression, or more generally the everyday struggle and pain of financial pressure, the bread-n-butter hustle (or should that be food-n-gas?) that it comes it. Except for songs like Lil Wayne’s “Real Rap” which clearly is more about the post-Katrina nightmare that is now New Orleans and David Banner’s “Faith” which is about keeping faith and not collapsing or folding under pressure, nearly all of the raps here are directed at the economic suffering that is going on right now.

With that said, I’d also like to add that I did not necessarily/intentionally/exclusively look for a collection of rap voices of  depression or voices of the global gloom. In fact, some of the rap jams I have been posting here for the last few weeks are (on the contrary) very funny, and compassionate as well.  There’s a lot of struggle and darkness in the economic depression and it’s reflected in the music, but that’s not all it’s about.  For example, listen to Cam’ron’s “I Hate My Job”a song which is partly about a “everyday workingwoman,” whose job and workplace is toxic for her well-being ~financially, emotionally, and physically-“Being here 8 hours sure will get you nauseous...” On that same Cam’ron song listen to the chorus –“I put on my pants, put on shoes. / I pray to God, paid all my dues. / I’m trying to win, it seems like I was born to loose / All I can say…” It’s simple and very affecting, the virtue of getting up in the morning, putting your clothes on, one step at a time, and saying your prayer ~something struggling people do every morning, preparing themselves psychologically and spiritually for whatever the day brings, heartbreaks, knockdowns, and whatnot.

All the songs here are in that vein, impressive and amusing. It would have been impossible or just very lengthy if I had decided to cram all RRJs I gathered or posted, but I’m happy with this batch.  Download it, bump it in your car/ on your subway ride to work, play at home/ walk in the park, listen and enjoy.

Tracklist

Jahdan Blakkamoore Intro (Buzzrock Warrior coming soon on Dutty Artz)

Attitude f/ Jackie Chain – Money (off T.I.M. (Time Is Money) Warner Bros. Records 2009)

Gangsta Pill – Back Outside (off 4180: The Prescription mixtape, Grind Time 2009)

Cam’ron – I Hate My Job (from Crime Pays, Diplomat Records 2009)

Jadakiss f/ Barrington Levy – Hard Times (from The Last Kiss, Roc-A-Fella Records 2009)

G-Side f/ Shyft – Hit Da Block (from Starshipz & Rocketz, Slowmotion Soundz 2008)

Diata Sya – Saria (from Move It Chaleh! Akwaaba Music 2009)

Joell Ortiz – Bout My Money (off Free Agent, ???, 2009)

Kano – Paper (from 140 Grime Street, Bigger Picture Music 2008)

Rhymefest – Exodus 5.1(off El Che, J Records 2009)

Amanda Diva – Rebels (from Spandex, Rhymes, & Soul, DivaWorks Inc. 2009)

Young Jeezy – Circulate (off The Recession, Def Jam Records 2008)

Lil Wayne – Real Rap (off ???,??? 2009 )

David Banner – Faith (from The Greatest Story Ever Told, Universal Records 2009)

Willie Isz – In The Red (from Georgiavania, Lex Records 2009)

Good Enough!!

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/AmandaDiva-Rebels.mp3]

Amanda Diva – Rebels

This is from Diva‘s recent, excellent FreEP titled Spandex, Rhymes, & Soul, and the zShare link is still live.  I saw Diva perform a few months back, and she ripped it.  She’s also a brilliant poet/lyricist, and her wordplay and spirit on “Rebels” effectively conjures images of people tired of living in oppressive situations and marching up “to the Capitol, front lawns, and gardens” and rebelling against the political and social system.
I can actually picture her (in all her loveliness) standing on the steps of the Capitol screaming at the top of her lungs to other protesters “…I’m tired of them thinking I’m less than! Well, it’s time to stand up! Come on, get up! Gather ’round! —repeat after me.  We gon take this thing and take it over!”

Lookout for the Dutty Artz Recession Rap Jams Podcast, coming sooner than you think!

If you can’t get enough of Amanda Diva, like me -here she is in “ManWomanBoogie” from Q-Tip’s The Renaissance –

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWHDoP5uwh8[/youtube]

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/3Suns.mp3]

3Suns – Give It Up

Last Sunday while Gex was blessing me w/ lessons on the decks, we must have listened to this riddim (version here by 3Suns) about about a million times because it’s stuck in my head and I have been whistling it or parts of it for a few days.  So here it is, I hope it haunts you too.

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/WillieIsz-TheGrussle.mp3]
Willie Isz – The Grussle

Here’s some amazing heat from Willie Isz. Please don’t sleep on them, open your ears and expect greatness.  Goodie Mob was briefly reunited last year (at a Nelly concert–you can skip the part where Nelly shows off his kicks and performs a song dedicated to sneakers and grills, you’ll find the Goodie reunion at the last minute I think) so there’s still chance, but if that fails and falls apart, we still got Willie. Matt, this one’s for you too. “Grussle” is from the upcoming album Georgiavania and it drops April 21.  I have high hopes, plus two more recession jams at the bottom, London to Brooklyn– grime-hop.

courtesy of cocaine blunts

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/Kano-Paper.mp3]
Kano – Paper

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/DuoLive-WorkEthic.mp3]
Duo Live f/ Billionz & Pop Off – Work Ethic

props to Xclusives Zone

+

Recession Rap Jams, choppin’ thru the trap like a lumberjack in timbs

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When Cam’ron rapped from the perspective of the everyday workingwoman and from a felon applying for a job in delivery, we were all caught off guard, napping. But when Joell Ortiz approach a recession rap song from the angle of a UPS worker (or a petty crook or a block boy,) he doesn’t sound like a displaced rapper. In fact it sounds amusing and even a bit more real, if I can say that.

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/JoellOrtiz-BoutMyMoney.mp3]

Joell Ortiz – Bout My Money

Recession Rap Jams, on a grind mission..

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It must be a wonderful feeling to know that what you’re doing grew out of something that is directly connected to your past, and to know that what you’re doing is honoring your own history.  Diata Sya are descendants of the great warrior and founder of the Mali Empire Sundiata Keita, and they’ve been around since the early ’90s under various aliases, making music addressing modern social problems in Bamako, while drawing inspiration from the past and thoroughly devoted to restoring/recovering African culture through music and activism.
“Saria” is included in the Akwaaba Music compilation Move it Chaleh! It’s incredible.
The above picture is of MC Dree (on the left) and friend. MC Dree performed the first verse, and the lead vocal in the chorus.

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/DiataSya-Saria.mp3]
Diata Sya – Saria

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I’ve been coming across Recession Rap Jams faster than I can listen to them, or even post them.   Two bonus jams below, and the music is all over the place, from the south to the west to the motherfucking east © Filastine

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/PDukesJosephLowery-MakeMeAWay.mp3]
P. Dukes f/ Joseph Lowery – Make Me A Way

props to BLVD ST

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[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/MickeyFactz-Sensibility.mp3]
Mickey Factz – Sensibility

props to Nah Right

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After repeated listens to Starshipz and Rocketz, perhaps the most admirable thing (and a recurring theme throughout the album) is G-Side’s work ethic which is rooted in the idea that through hard work, constant grinding, focus and perseverance you can get over obstacles and discouragement.  If you’re worried about your job (assuming you still have a job), constantly struggling to make ends meet, especially as the US/global economy continue its rapid deterioration, and if like me, you’re into outer space Southern rap music, then this album is vitally yours.

[audio:http://nyc.duttyartz.com/mp3s/GSide-HitDaBlock.mp3]
G-Side – Hit Da Block (feat. Shyft)

In my last G-Side/Slowmotion Soundz post, I asked the question: Why is the duo’s name missing from the album cover?  CP from the Slo crystallizes things –

…G side’s name isn’t on the album cover for one reason. We do everything we can to eliminate individuality. Nobody or person is bigger than the slo. Starshipz and rocketz is a slo album. G side happens to be the specific performers on the record and block beataz just happens to be the production, but done for a singular cause. Its 7 or 8 people that actually make this company move and operate efficiently. We have admin department, management, audio/visual production, marketing department, IT department, legal counsel, and a goon/muscle dept for things that are beyond talking about. Hope that clarifies a little bit. All groups fall when 1 person thinks they can carry the weight. Respect.

Thank you, CP.

Recession Rap Jams, eyes on the prize, ears to the f**k!n’ streets.