Happy One Year Anniversary...to me!!! AND Episode #26: Independent Hip Hop Vol. I

This day exactly one year ago Music Hound was born. It was (and remains) a labor of love. Although I have not been as prolific as I had hoped to be, I’m quite happy with the quality of the playlists I’ve crafted as well as the additional features such as The Cut of The Week. I hope I have introduced you to some new music/artists and perhaps reacquainted you with something that got lost along the way in the shuffle of life. Your positive feedback is what keeps me going, so PLEASE continue to check in often and offer your insights, questions, comments, and of course, requests. Thank you all for finding some sense of enjoyment here.

**Don’t forget to spread the word about this blog to friends and family and that all the podcasts are available for FREE on iTunes so you can take the mixes along with you.

With that said, what better place to commemorate where we’re going than to take a look back to see from where we have come. Since hip hop was the feature of the very first podcast, I thought it was appropriate to revisit that genre to mark Music Hound’s one year anniversary. Here is a mixtape that I made in 2003 that was in heavy rotation for quite some time and made its rounds to a good number of co-workers and friends. This music is commonly called “underground” hip hop, however I prefer to use the term independent given that it has a much more positive connotation and, since it has done wonders for rock n’ roll (“indie rock” has experienced an unprecedented explosion in popularity and sheer size the last 10 years) perhaps it can serve the hip hop community well, too.

Some of these artists continue to put out consistently solid material and remain favorites of mine to this day. Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, Brother Ali and MF Doom (AKA King Geedorah) have become stalwarts in the independent hip hop scene. In fact, Brother Ali is by far my favorite MC and you MUST see him live – he is flawless. J-Live, an NYC school teacher and Sage Francis, a former slam poet champion, are also perennial favorite wordsmiths of mine, although Sage’s recent foray into indie rock/hip hop fusion left me very disappointed. West Coasters Ugly Duckling have always been an extremely fun listen with incredible beats ever since I first heard them on the 1999 Funky Precedent compilation which had a huge impact on my musical wanderings. Portland natives Life Savas’ sampling of dancehall legend Tenor Saw’s “Fever” is so funky, it’s too bad they haven’t produced much since their 2003 debut. Gift of Gab from Blackalicious is probably one of the most talented rappers in the game and continues to release quality material as a solo artist, however nothing as special as his early work as Blackalicious with producer/DJ Chief Xcel.

Not a fan of hip hop? Give this a listen and then decide.

Track listing:
1) Daylight (4:25) – Aesop Rock
2) Blamegame (4:48) – Atmosphere
3) Shallow Days (4:21) – Blackalicious
4) Forest Whitaker (3:00) – Brother Ali
5) On This I Stand (4:59) – Eyedea & Abilities
6) Unlimited (3:27) – Soul Position
7) Don’t Get It Twisted (4:19) – Jigmastas feat Sadat X
8) Like This Anna (4:22) – J-Live
9) Anti-Matter (3:27) – King Geedorah feat Mr. Fantastic
10) Fever (5:24) – Life Savas
11) Dynomite (4:10) – Lone Catalysts feat J-Live
12) 360 Degrees (3:38) - Push Button Objects feat Del
13) Favorite Things (4:01) – Illogic feat Blueprint
14) La Revolucion (5:17) – Ugly Duckling
15) Runaways (6:08) – Sage Francis