This album was the anthem & soundtrack to my college highlight reel with all my homies, the LEAGUE.
An absolute staple in my... journey, with such potent nostalgia good feels.
Dom became an MVP in music for me. he's actually had a greater impact on my perspective & approach to music than I would have initially thought, and the things I picked up were subtle yet potent lessons.
I even went to a Dom concert one year here in Atlanta, where I had him sign my glasses case haha! I probably still have it... somewhere.
And when I say the homies & I know every word to When I Come Around...!!! We Shout it from the roof tops, from the sunroofs, and in any venue when we're together. It almost brings me to tears of joy just thinking about it.
The project is not the first of Dom Kenndy's that I listened to, but it is the earliest available for me to log. I had been a fan for a while up to this release & beyond. Seriously, like all of it.
Future Street / Drug Sounds, 25th Hour, From Westside, With Love 1, The Original Dom Kennedy & the golden child — Yellow Album — which I hold to even an higher esteem, which says a lot. show more
Ab-Soul's "Longterm Mentality" resonated with the echos of my unraveling mind in the era that it found me.
"Gone Insane" had no business providing... me with a sense of jubilee... considering its undertones & lyrical context. All the same, the production & the flow just made it too much of a jam to not rock out to in a rebellious era.
"Loosen My Tie" is indeed a top favorite on this project. An infectious beat, a mantra of wanting to 'put the BS behind me', and more feel goods over difficult emotions expressed.
Little did I know how much these songs would carry me through several seasons of darkness in my life. show more
MOTM 1 — Cudi’s debut that broke through the mold for real, capturing an essence of emo in Hip-Hop, with infectious hums that... I couldn’t help but sing along to even long after the songs had ended.
This one released the year I was graduating high school, and the preceding tapes & singles from Kid Cudi had me amped for it. I knew when I heard Common on the intro for him, it was going to be something special. Spoken word that had truly captured the feeling & the journey we were all to embark upon while listening.
The isolating anthem “Solo Dolo”, as sad & lonely as it sounded, felt more empowering than it did any of the former. It oddly nurtured a sense of solace in my solitude.
“Soundtrack 2 My Life” had us all admitting to our issues in harmony lol
“Pursuit of Happiness” was & still is a release, a permission slip to hope, and to acknowledge that even though things aren’t always perfect, that I’ll find a way to be good through it all.
“Hyyerr” was on repeat for me long before it even made sense for it to be 😂 but the flow & vibe were just so on point, and reminiscent of Bone Thugs a bit, which was already good for me.
Lastly, “Man on the Moon” really was that culminating piece that cemented everything together for me. Really a proclamation of self identity, embracing my difference & otherness from those around me.
Just an all around defining body of work for me, and a reminder of why Kid Cudi was just put in another category that other Hip-Hop artists just really couldn’t reach in that era. show more
"Section.80" was a transcendent album to me. The sonic profile was dexterous & ethereal, yet felt reminiscent in its percussive highs & familiar... in that way to the Hip-Hop I already knew & grew to love.
The way the album opened with "F*ck Your Ethnicity" was so potent, and the visuals were incredibly palpable. The audible atmosphere of gathering around the camp fire truly pulled me in to the storytelling like few other intros have been capable of doing.
From the earthly setting of a camp ground to directly 30,000 feet in the air, the juxtaposition first grounded us within the frame of deeply rooted moral storytelling, only to follow with an immediate sense of levity & lyrical dexterity.
Kendrick vacillated between great wittiness & deep reflection on this project — a clear exploration of duality that, as a fellow Gemini, I continued to feel seen & emboldened by.
This is the era of Kendrick Lamar where I was able to first catch him on Tour. In 2012, he visited The Moon in Tallahassee, FL, where I was present, having already been a fan since his Kendrick Lamar EP.
I have a whole story about how Kendrick fanned the flame of my musical journey that night of his tour — when he personally handed me a signed pair of Beats headphones.
Feel free to read that whole story here:
a.welll.io/wf-blog-7 show more
The Massacre helped me as a youngin' express a tougher set of emotions & inspired a sense of grit. I knew nothing of... the severity of what 50 rapped about in my youth, but I was galvanized by it, greatly.
It released the Spring I finished middle school. "Position of Power", "A Baltimore Love Thing", & "I Don't Need 'Em", struck a fierce tone that just did exactly what it needed for me in those times. Yet, "God Gave Me Style" ended up being the one I've kept returning to quite frequently throughout the years. I mean don't get me wrong I loved it when it first dropped too, it just aged with me gracefully.
Looking back, It really highlighted this sense of duality for me. I could perceive it in 50... and I could also see it in myself. That track was really refreshing in the midst of everything else on that album, and felt like a cornerstone to balance the rest of the visceral energy that all my other favorite tracks on the project offered. show more
Lupe is one of the MVPs in my book. This album & the works he released for the world were so full of... depth, color & complexity, while also being something that meaningfully challenged my perspective.
This album has made me feel a great sense of wonder (Daydreamin'), has brought me to tears (He Say She Say), fueled my rebel nature (American Terrorist), and so much more.
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I had to add my own record! This one is special. It's been WAGMI from the jump for me, yet this one takes... the ideal far & beyond just the scope of web3. I made this a community affirmation for all 🤞🏾
Of course I know that the saying is impractical — but aren't all ideals meant to be? They serve as an unattainable north start that guides our actions, and encourages forward momentum, no matter how much progress we have made. It ensures that there's always better we can be doing to uplift one another.
Beyond that, this one has a more realistic meaning & intention. When I say "We're All Gonna MAKE IT" — the double entendre there is that I'm also referring to ART.
It is the process of creation within each of us that I am uplifting with this affirmation.
I'd say it all came together beautifully .
Featuring Chief Kareem of We.Society & Ebonee Davis
Produced by KP & yours truly
Engineered by Christian Ahmed & Ralph Cee
Cover Art photography by Shanfotografia show more
Do I need a reason to love Kanye's debut album? Of course not. It shaped Hip-Hop for years to come. It broke the... mold. It empowered me as a young kid with Hip-Hop aspirations that didn't fit the traditional gangsta persona. Kanye embodied so much of a tangible life experience through rap than I had heard up until that point. show more
