Nine aka 9MM aka Nine Double M hit hard with underground classic Nine Livez. A year later he dropped his second album, Cloud 9. I’m a sucker for piano beats, and this one’s a certified neck snapper. After 1996, he wasn’t heard from again til the release of Quinine in 2009.
Another epic entry in da art of storytelling category. In “Streets of New York,” Kool G, in the words of Havoc, one of the many rappers influenced by him, “paints a picture clearer than a mirror.” One of the most visual rap songs ever. A powerful historic, literary, and musical document.
Kool G Rap: Streets of New York
Gil Scott-Heron’s music and writing always resonates with me, but especially now, as we face this bullshit with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and the progressive dismantling of the laws and regulations that protect Americans and American workers — rights that were bitterly fought and sacrificed for — his music hits home (where the hatred is) even more.
