Review: Canibus - Melatonin Magik

There is no doubt that Canibus is razor sharp lyrically. But, his past albums have never really been anything special, or at least up to his expected potential. I decided to give this album a try, seeing that it really had no hype around it and I could really try to give an unbiased opinion.

Canibus comes out the gate spitting daggers, and does not stop until the last track. That much you can be sure of. He goes in hard on Eminem on the track "Air Strike (Pop Killer)", which includes samples on Em and Tim Westwood from a past interview when he was discussing a beef with Bis. Also on the hit list are FEMA, The Illuminati, Obama, D12, Def Jam, KRS-One, and Quincy Jones III, among others. He is also accompanied by Professor Griff, from Public Enemy fame, K-Solo, Blaq Poet, DZK, and a few others.

Production wise most tracks fall into the mediocre category, while there are a few that are better than mediocre, none of the tracks are anything 'great' or 'classic'. I think that idea works for this particular project though. Canibus, along with his guests all appear to be lyrically heavy, and this aspect is what grabs your attention throughout the experience. You don't have to wait very long to hear a few quotables. Based on that alone this album is worth a listen. Throughout the album 'Bis makes it clear that he is different from other rappers, and I would have to agree. If you want to hear some gritty, conscious, lyrical hip hop, then I would give this a try. It's by no means a classic, but a decent album.

6.8/10

this is why i listen to hip-hop.

fuck white people.

being lazy today

so just a you tube video...we have some big things in the works though here at lightweightheavy,so stay tuned.




my friend travis posted this on facebook yesterday, and i have listened to it about 10x. some good weekend shit. makes me wish i could blow one back. i have been looking for more material by Phyllis Dillon, and haven't had much luck.. if anyone has a link they can throw my way,drop me something in the comment section.

today,

i am by no means a cam'ron fan...but this is just how i feel today. no shots, norris.

Joell Ortiz - The Purple Tape Tribute

Joell Ortiz - The Purple Tape Tribute

Not quite sure where I copped this - Either Nah Right or TBE - Ether way, It's this dude, possibly the best rapper with a name that sounds like a baseball player's, going in on some choice cuts from one of my favorite albums of all time, Only Built For Cuban Linx. From the Bronx I wanna say, don't quote me on that. Dude probably can't hold down a whole album, but this set blows me away every time I hear it. The way he bites the rhyme patterns of the originals... It's more homage than tribute, I think, and really artfully done. Shit is dope.

BTW, the Nah Right link above will take you to a page that links to some downloads of him going over various old school beats from a new joint he has coming out called Covering The Classics, but the links are all dead. I D/Led what I could get, which is three tracks and a sampler. I believe you can D/L it whole if you look. I'll upload what I got and post it here, if anyone's interested.

Update: Full Collection

Covering the Classics

DOOMposter?

nah, that's just mos.. i figured i might as well as weigh in on this whole DOOM/not DOOM thing,since i am the resident metal-fingered stan around here. first - it is bullshit for doom to have someone don the mask and try and dupe his obsessively loyal fanbase.. second -while i don't buy the whole "doom is a character, and other actors can play that character" bit, i have learned not to give a fuck. i'm just not gonna go see a doom show. ever. he is a lazy fucker when it comes to this shit. third- i always suspected that in some sick way, doom thinks this is funny, and now i am convinced. sending mos def out to perform in the mask is the ultimate "i don't give a fuck about you" statement to his fans. i find this funny. fourth - to paraphrase a recent conversation i had on this subject.. "if some shit like this happened at some other show, people would riot"..can you imagine a wu-tang concert where half the members didn't show, and they did a shitty, short set? wait.. that was every wu show ! oh, and people did riot... i guess doom isn't afraid of his nerdy white boy fan base gettin live at his show. they probably wouldn't wanna scuff up their limited edition dunks ...

^oh and if you were wondering, i ain't trying to fuck my dunks up.

the people(original mix)

kanye once said in an interview that his production on finding forever was pretty much inspired by/a tribute to j dilla. i think this original version of common's "the people" is a pretty strong example of that.

Common"the people"(original version)

i know this is a music site,

but pitchers and catchers are reporting, so hanley has to make an appearance on here.

the stimulus package..

working on a post about "classic albums"..does this qualify? not quite, but it's damn good and much needed in today's scene.

freeway and jake one - "the stimulus package"

the craft..

Blackalicous - "the craft"LP

i just wanted to post this because i recently re-dicovered it..
blackalicious is chronically and unfairly slept on...download this shit..that first track is ridiculous, don't sleep on the last 2 minutes.

janelle monae X big boi

diggin this.. some good "getting ready for the day" shit.

Janelle Monae & Big Boi-"tightrope"

who flipped it better..

this post stems from a conversation i recently had, and i stumbled across the original in my itunes tonight, so i thought i would put it out there.. who flipped it better?

dilla -"stop!"




just blaze "throwback" (performed by usher)



the original - dionne warwick "your gonna need me"




i'll always be partial to the jay dee version, but i didn't realize the just blaze version existed until recently. (just haven't had the time to dig into usher's catalog)

Listen!

just saw this on nah and thought i would throw it up. given my state of constant anger lately, i can't deny the healing power of a song titled "shut the fuck up".P! goes in over diddy and company's "angels" remix..and some other beat that i can't quite put my finger on, but i know i've heard it before. needless to say, while listening to this, i definitely shut the fuck up.

Sean Price-"Shut the Fuck Up"

Lupe Fiasco - Lean (Unreleased)

New old Lupe, originally rumored to be from Lasers, it's actually a single, produced by The Buchanans, from his planned debut on Arista from 2001 that never saw the light of day. Get it while you can,because Lupe is not a fan of the leaks. This probably isn't enough to hold you over until 'Lasers' drops, but it will have to do for now. On a bright note, Lu supposedly delivered "Lasers" to the label, and it should be hitting the streets soon(and the web before that)


Lean

jaylib X j rocc

with dilla's birthday, as well as the anniversary of his death approaching, i figured it would be right to set L.W.H off with some dilla material.I stumbled upon this nice mix of madlib and dilla solo stuff, as well as their collective jaylib.mixed by j rocc, it's a pretty solid listen all the way through.stream only i'll update with a download link if i happen to find one.

UPDATE----
i thought about posting a ton of jay dee material for the week, but your favorite hip-hop blog is probably doing that already..and none is doing it bigger or better than the incomparable kevinnottingham.com who has some pretty serious amounts of dilla shit up on his site already, and much more to come throughout the week, including sample collections and compilations of jay dee's best stuff that he produced for the many artists he worked with over the course of his career.you don't have some of this stuff, so make sure you check it out because those links tend to get taken down pretty quick.
peace and enjoy the super bowl.