It's Monday...

So I didn't post yesterday. I'm sorry. I was lazy. But I spent most of Friday morning working on getting the radio up and running, so I hope ya'll appreciate that.

Before we get to the music, I've got an announcement to make. This has gone on long enough and to be honest, I'm just tired of it at this point. So I'm going to say for once and for all what everyone has been expecting me to say for months. Namely, I am Jeru Guru. For those of you who knew it all along, congratulations, your on par with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Now that we all know, let’s move on.

So one of the reasons I didn't post yesterday is I couldn't decide what to write about. I still don't know, so I'm just going to hit random on my itunes library and see what comes up.

"Give Peace A Chance" by John Lennon popped up, but I'm not in the mood to write a whole piece on John Lennon, lets just say that the world, not just the music world, would be a different place if he was never born. I'm sure I'll get to talk about him at a later date.

"This is such a Pity" by Weezer came up after I skipped through songs by Phish, Type O Negatice and The Game. "This is such a Pity" might be the best song off of Weezer's 2005 release Make Believe. Like a fine wine, a dirty cheese or a hit of acid from the 60's, Weezer really does getter better with age. The music is infused with their subtle brand of surf sound, hard rocking guitar riffs, indie cred, nerd rock and humor. Weezer, with the help of uber-music producer Rick Rubin, have created an album that is so strikingly fun that its hard to ignore. With tongue-in-cheek songs like "Pardon Me", "We Are All On Drugs" and "Beverly Hills" Weezer laughs off their past successes and clearly seemed more interested in enjoying their career in music than being bogged down on creating that perfect album. But what often happens when you don't watch the pot, it boils anyways. And for the band that once made a video with the Muppets, boiling water has never been so entertaining.
Recommended songs: This is such a Pity, We Are All On Drugs, Beverly Hills, The Other Way and Freak Me Out

The next song that came up on my random list is "Baby You're the One" by Guerilla Black and it gave me an idea. Instead of talking about album's I'm digging, I'm just going to give a short little recommendation of different hip/hop songs that I like.

So, starting with "Baby You're The One", which also features P Diddy protégé and Bad Boy producer Mario Winans. Guerilla Black's vocal style is reminiscent of the late Notorious B.I.G. and people have often said that Guerilla's popularity has come because people mistake him for Biggie Smalls, but either way, the track groves and like so many Hip Hop ballads, the lyrics shine through creating a powerful, emotional, danceable tune.

I've long been a fan of Twista, so when his track "Sunshine" came up next I knew that I had made the right choice of topics today. "Sunshine", which features Anthony Hamilton, is the third single off of Twista's 2004 album Kamikaze, and it charted worse than the other three singles that were released, which all became big hits. Twista, who got his nickname because he's got the fastest tongue in rap, blends R&B with slow Hip Hop beats and then speeds through his lyric sheets pausing slowly enough let you understand the words he wants you to. The delivery is masterful. On "Sunshine", Twista and Hamilton create a pretty little tune with funky beat and a sunny chorus. I'd be remiss if I also didn't mention my favorite Twista tune, "Hope", from the Coach Carter soundtrack. It's a beautiful, heartwarming tribute to everyone's favorite Hip Hop tradition, trying not to die before your time. "Hope" is a sweet, lyrical, and honest song about trying to make the world the type of place we all want it to be, Faith Evan's (Biggie's widow) voice on the chorus lends the belief that Hope is possible.

So the last song I'll talk about today is the Wyclef Jean track "Party to Damascus" which features Missy Elliot. Wyclef, who normally draws his sound from his background in Jazz, creates a song that is as infectious as it is rooted in Arabic music. This dance hit is propelled by both the interesting mix of Arabic music styles and Hip Hop beats and Missy's unique rapping style. The chorus is catchy and like all good Hip Hop, clamors to be sung along with.