ARM 18 Minutes of Funk - The Nat X Mixtape

Track Listing:

1 - Nat X / JB Intro
2 - I'm Black and I'm Proud - Brand Nubian
3 - Ain't Saying Nothing (Dub) - Divine Styler
4 - Funkin' Lesson - X Clan
5 - Swing Blue, Sweat Black - Laquan
6 - Heartbeat Props - Digital Underground
7 - For Women - Reflection Eternal

Brand Nu's '98 update of the JB '68 classic is worthy homage.  Tracks 3 through 6 are a nod to that brief period between '88 and '90 where "Pro Black" hip hop was as common as Common at an NBA All Star Game. Laquan vid below for a bonus.

DU speaks the truth: if you know of someone right here, right now that is making a difference in the world, give them their props.  Better yet, be ready to rock for the cause.  And Talib's storytelling ("For Women") is as vivid as a Toni Morison novel.  Word to the Mother.

No Place Like Home

Taking his show on the road, Magnetic, Godilla, GQ will tour the country with Cappadonna and Block Mcloud.  Next up this spring in Europe with the GZA.

Check out one the better covereages of regional Hip Hop out of the Easton, PA Express Times publication: Local rappers King Magnetic, Godilla and GQ weigh in on hip-hop in the Valley

Triple Play

Dope Hip Hop videos this decade are like remix 12"s from the 90s loaded with exclusive B sides. With the technology today, making a weak video is inexcusable.

De La's "First Serve" is eye candy and the other two vids embody that working man lunch pail rap aesthetic that was born with (incidentally) De La's "Stakes Is High."

Musically, these cats flip a BoogieMan real live 45 effectively:

Sounding like Jim Cramer's Mad Money show with a broke flow, Phonte about sums up the current career climate in the American job market: "So if you thinkin 'bout quittin you should probably wait / Cuz everybody gotta do a fuckin job that they hate"

ARM 18 Minutes of Funk - Infinity 'til

"The hip-hop legacy will always last / To know your future is to know your past" - Diamond D. Another ARM 18 Special Edition, very much dedicated to PS Chase the captain of our Ninety-Now Tewks 208 Crew.

ARM 18 Minutes of Funk - Infinity 'til