Mexicans gon’ love it like, it was for La Raza

Common – Reminding Me of Sef (The Roots remix)

Common is probably one of my favorite MC’s of all time. I can probably narrow down the list to ten and he’d be no lower than number five on that list. From the way he used to be the epitome of a style MC with lyrics that zig-zagged through metaphors–

‘I get charged like a nigga in position, with the stolen card of credit‘

to the way he made a transition to boho-ness make sense, Common is unfuckwithable. Before he made the best album of his career, Like Water For Chocolate, Com got ?uestlove and company to redo the 2nd to last track on 1997’s One Day It’ll All Make Sense, and since then, I’ve been pissed that The Roots haven’t kept on doing this for other artists. This song was the reason I ate at Giordano’s when I went to the Chi, isn’t that right Vlad?

oh yeah, Finding Forever leaked. No link. Here’s the grimiest, a relative term, song on the record, Common – Southside ft. Kanye West

Sunspot Jonz – Angels With Dirty Faces

If you claim to have a ’system’ in your car, play this song the next time you go anywhere. Way before I even knew about the grassroot heroes that are the Living Legends, I knew this song from my cousin’s suburban.

Jay Electronica – I Feel Good

Jay can do grimy, Jay can do introspective, Jay can do lyrcism, Jay can do love shit, and now Jay can do that summer cookout, feel-good (no pun) music? daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn (c) Smokey

Mos Def and Vinia Mojica – Get To Steppin’ (produced by Hi-Tek)

In the post-Donuts onslaught of beattape albums (see: DJ Babu, Alchemist, Evidence, etc.) Madlib tha Badkid keeps showing why he’s the toarchbearer of originality.