Rindge Leaphart comments on DJ Gruff: Italian Hip Hop

Just a quick post on an artist that I came across back in 2009.  The artist goes by the name of DJ Gruff.  I happened to be in a record / cd store in Italy and asked a couple of the locals to recommend a good hip hop cd.  They looked at me and to my surprise asked if I wanted gangsta hip hop or real hip hop.  Given my old school roots I asked for the real thing.  They didn't miss a beat - pun intended - and pointed me in the direction of DJ Gruff.  I am very grateful to those two gents as the cd I picked up - UNO - is extremely good and DJ Gruff is extremely talented.  I don't speak Italian but you can hear several shout outs on the cd to old school artists like crazy legs (whom I once met by the way).

The beats on this cd are very mellow to say the least and the scratching by DJ Gruff is very impressive and tailored very well to match the instrumentals of the sampled records.  I miss the days of DJ's doing their thing on stage and actually scratching (records vs CD's).  I can't speak to Gruff's other releases, but this cd is very impressive - great music to kick back and relax to.

I am including several links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPKoS2GwuEw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3y2acCQf7A

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Gruff

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Rindge Leaphart thoughts on Les Nubians

French language Neo Soul is how the two sisters from France describe their music.  I would also add in a dash of Spoken word.  I read an article about the dynamic duo in the WSJ years ago and decided to pick up their CD.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised.   The CD is titled Les Nubians presents Echos.  It is a compilation of spoken word with really nice beats (similar to my previous post http://rindgeleaphart.blogspot.com/2012/04/rindge-leaphart-comments-on-abd-al.html). The spoken word was a mix of English and French.  The spoken word on this CD  has some very clever lyrics.  When you match the lyrics with the beats, this CD is a winner.  There are multiple artists who are presented on this CD and they all shine.  The track titled NYC is one of my favorites.  This is a really nice CD to sit back and listen to with your loved one.


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http://rindgeleaphart1.wordpress.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rindgeleaphart/

http://www.lesnubians.com/

http://www.lesnubians.com/bio
http://www.myspace.com/echosnubianvoyager

Rindge Leaphart and Global Music: Rindge Leaphart Comments on Xavier Naidoo

Rindge Leaphart and Global Music: Rindge Leaphart Comments on Xavier Naidoo: I picked up  Xavier Naidoo's CD titled Zwischenspiel/Alles für Den Herrn ( http://www.amazon.de/Zwischenspiel-Alles-f%C3%BCr-Den-Herrn/dp/...

Rindge Leaphart Comments on Xavier Naidoo

I picked up  Xavier Naidoo's CD titled Zwischenspiel/Alles für Den Herrn (http://www.amazon.de/Zwischenspiel-Alles-f%C3%BCr-Den-Herrn/dp/B00005YXHB) while in Germany and it is one of my most cherished CD's.  Xavier has a very soulful voice.  I've always been disappointed that his music did not make it across the Atlantic.  It could be that most of his music is in German, but even then it is still great music and his voice is very powerful.  The CD above is a 2 CD set and every track has great music combined with a soulful voice.  I haven't listened to other music from Xavier besides these CD's so I can't attest to his other recordings.  Some of the recording are English.  If you listen to these CD's with an open mind and you have an appreciation for soul music, I think you will be very impressed.  There are at least 1-2 tracks where he has a rapper perform with him that is also sonically pleasing.  He gets credit for having a phenomenal voice, but credit should also be given to whomever arranged the music.  Top notch production!

Does anyone else have any comments they can share about Xavier?

http://www.xavier.de/microsite/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Naidoo

http://rindgeleaphart.wordpress.com/

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Rindge Leaphart Review of Shad

I came across Shad's The Old Prince CD while in Canada.  It was somewhat difficult finding a CD.  I asked one of the workers at the store to recommend popular Canadian rappers and he kept referring me to US artists.  After a little persistence, I finally found a Canadian rapper (I think this was before Drake hit it big) - Shad.

I don't know how Shad is viewed in Canada.  I found his style and lyrics to be somewhat whimsical and not too serious, which at times is refreshing.   His music on the CD was not "hardcore" by any means, I would call them light and easy on the ears, if not overly appealing to my sonic tastes.  I can't say Shad is one my favorite finds from international rappers, but I enjoyed his CD, even if it is not on my "must listen to regularly list"

I have included a link to one my favorite songs off of his CD below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shad_%28rapper%29

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExOCc_bHj6U&feature=related

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Rindge Leaphart comments on Seth Gueko

Seth Gueko's Drive by en Caravane is another CD I picked up in Paris.  He seems to be listed as a hardcore rapper.  Given that I don't speak French, I can't comment on his lyrics or message.  His lyrical delivery seemed to come across as hardcore.  French is I believe a romance language and I have to tell you hardcore rap delivered in a romance language just doesn't seem to flow.  I have a Japanese CD and his hardcore delivery seemed to flow very well with the Japanese language.  By no means am I a linguist, but it just doesn't seem that the French language is suited for delivering hardcore rap.  Anybody have any thoughts on that less than insightful observation?  I have some old music by Mc Solaar - probably one of the first if not most recognized French rappers back in the day and his lyrical delivery and flow just seemed so much more natural and suited for the French language.  Anyway, just one man's observation.  Overall this cd by Seth didn't move me.  The music was not to my liking and the hardcore delivery just didn't resonate with me. As I finish this note, I remember that years ago I picked up another French rapper's cd and the same thing - he was trying to deliver hardcore lyrics in a language that does not seem to be suited to a romance language. 

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Gueko

http://www.sethgueko.net/

http://rindgeleaphart.wordpress.com/

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Rindge Leaphart Comments on Abd Al Malik

Update from a recent NYT article: NYT Article

I was in Paris several years ago and picked up the CD titled Gibraltar by Abd Al Malik.  This CD is entirely in French and I must admit I don't understand a word of it.  But, I must say that the music and lyrical delivery of Mr. Malik is quite nice.  The CD isn't so much of him rapping as I think he performing poetry, but at a fast pace.  You can sense a certain level of anger in his words, but also a lot of passion.  I gave the cd to a friend originally from France and he did say that Mr. Malik had much to say and some of it not quite nice.  Below are a couple of links.  I found the CD to be both sonically pleasing and really appreciated the flow of Malik.

Rindge Leaphart



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al_Malik_%28rapper%29

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6670069.stm

http://rindgeleaphart.wordpress.com/

Mark B and Blade from the UK - Rindge Leaphart Review

I came across the CD while in the UK back in 2000 or 2001.  I stopped into a music store and asked the sales guy to recommend a good rap CD.  He pointed me in the direction of Mark B and Blade.  What a great album..  Years later and this CD still excites me.  One of the things I like about the CD is that it reminds me of what hip hop in the US used to be.  Fat beats, great dj, with scratching, and tight lyrics.  The rapper told his story (or I assume it was his).  Minimal foul language and 12 tracks or so that were all tight.  This is a great CD that I rarely tire of.  Anybody else know of any good UK rappers that they would recommend?

Rindge Leaphart

http://tunedr.blogspot.com/2012/03/hip-hop-classics-mark-b-and-blade.html

Global Music

This is my first post and I will keep it short.  The purpose of this blog is to share some of my findings on global music that I have come across.  Hopefully others will benefit from the little I have to share and offer up some of the favorite sounds from around the world.

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