The Vinyl Collective

This week we look back on the monumental sophomore album released by legendary hiphop group “A Tribe Called Quest”. 

We also touch on Simz getting in her feelings regarding her media perception and the debut mixtape from M1llionz.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:18) Little Simz's reactions to underrated talk/XXL list

(07:30) Lianne La Havas wins the Ivor Novello

(08:59) Spotlight Series #49: Billy Woods

(14:00) M1llionz’s “Provisional Licence”

(19:58) Injury Reserve’s

(21:28) J. Cole’s “Heaven’s EP”

(25:12) ACTQ Intro

(29:57) The Hip-hop landscape in 1991

(33:41) Any misses?

(37:15) General thoughts - why is it seen as such a classic?

(42:22) The Infamous Date Rape

(45:49) Excursions

(48:16) Check The Rhime

(52:38) Show Business

(55:05) Buggin’ Out

(59:45) What?

(01:01:53) Skypager

(01:03:25) Butter

(01:06:52) Verses from the Abstract

(01:11:08) Jazz (We’ve Got) / Tribe’s influence in the 90’s

(01:15:09) Other thoughts, modern day influences of ACTQ

(01:18:54) Ranking in discography

(01:23:21) Closing, Now and Then

Point and Kill!!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:17) Spotlight Series #48: Deyah

(06:47) The Melodic Blue

(09:47) Vice Lord Poetry

(11:44) Have Mercy/VMA performance

(14:36) Headie One announcing new mixtape

(15:32) 20 years of “The Blueprint”

(19:13) Little Simz Intro

(21:09) Surya Bonaly

(25:30) GREY Area

(29:04) Underrated???

(34:34) Inflo

(47:16) Low/High points

(01:03:00) Overarching album narrative/theme(s)

(01:10:32) Other highlights

(01:15:33) Listener question 1: Is it better than GREY Area?

(01:21:21) Listener question 2: Is SIMBI getting a GRAMMY nomination?

(01:23:04) Listener question 3: SIMBI the best rap album of 2021?

(01:26:01) Listener question 4: Is she shunned due to being a black woman?

(01:31:30) Where do Simbi and Inflo go from here?

(01:35:58) Closing, Now and Then

Oh boy...

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(04:30) Artist Spotlight #47: Destin Conrad

(07:19) New releases

(08:35) Long albums vs. short albums

(15:38) Leaked Donda tracks

(19:35) Mikes/CLB Intro

(23:04) Rollout; album cover art

(31:41) Album expectations and general thoughts

(43:13) Champagne Poetry

(49:37) Papi’s Home

(51:35) Girls love Girls

(55:16) Features

(57:12) Love All (ft. Jay-Z)

(59:41) Pipe Down, 7am in Bridle Path

(01:08:35) TSU

(01:16:27) Way 2 Sexy

(01:20:12) Yebba’s Heartbreak

(01:23:47) More general thoughts

(01:27:16) IMY2, Fucking Fans, N 2 Deep, You Only Live Twice

(01:28:54) Ranking in discography and in 2021

(01:38:59) Final thoughts

(01:43:35) Now and Then playlist

This week we’re joined by special guests “Abstract Mindstate” (consisting of male and female rappers Olskool Ice-Gre and EP Da Hellcat respectively) to discuss their return to hip-hop after a 16-year hiatus with their latest album “Dreams Still Inspire”, produced entirely by Kanye West.  We get into their time spent during their hiatus, how it was working with Kanye and some of the messages/themes displayed on their latest album.

Be sure to check out Abstract Mindstate on Instagram and their latest album Dreams Still Inspire!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:25) Artist Spotlight #46: Ray Vaughn

(04:47) Family Ties

(06:47) Donda

(10:34) AM Intro

(14:38) What Chicago was like during their come-up

(20:43) Why disband? Lessons learnt during the hiatus

(33:39) Adapting to working with Kanye, Wyoming sessions

(47:35) The purpose of the skits on “Dreams Still Inspire”

(54:18) Finding a way to relate to the younger audience

(01:02:32) Dreams Still Inspire artwork

(01:07:48) A Wise Tale

(01:13:04) I Know You

(01:16:06) Move Yo Body

(01:19:43) I Feel Good

(01:22:23) Social Media

(01:29:43) Elevation

(01:36:37) Expository Mode

(01:38:47) Thoughts on the current Chicago scene

(01:46:44) Closing, Now and Then playlist

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:43) Spotlight Series #45: Abstract Mindstate

(09:22) Kendrick Lamar announces his leave from TDE

(24:03) Anderson .Paak’s tattoo re. Posthumous releases

(27:50) M1llionz’s debut project

(30:33) Cleo Sol’s “Mother”

(41:07) Intro to Drake discussion

(48:19) Ranking of albums

This week we take a look at the sophomore album from the U.K.'s prodigal son Dave. We reflect on the success of his debut and how he has/has not succeeded it on his latest album.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:29) Spotlight Artist #44: Mariah The Scientist

(09:16) SL’s “Timezone” (ft. Tom Zanetti)

(13:10) Zacari’s “Rainy Day” (ft. Isaiah Rashad and Buddy)

(17:28) NAO’s “Wait”

(19:48) Pip Millett’s “Motion Sick”

(21:30) DONDA roll-out

(29:13) Intro to WAITT discussion

(34:58) Looking back on PSYCHODRAMA

(37:30) Has the WAAITT discussion dried up too fast?

(41:42) Expectations prior to the release of the album and how did Dave meet/not meet them?

(45:17) General thoughts on the album

(51:53) Clash (ft. Stormzy)

(56:00) In The Fire

(01:03:05) Overall production and replay value

(01:09:59) Heart Attack

(01:13:32) Skits

(01:17:27) Why doesn’t Dave’s light-hearted songs resonate with his fans?

(01:20:41) Verdansk

(01:25:10) Survivor’s Guilt

(01:30:11) Law of Attraction

(01:32:23) Three Rivers

(01:36:16) What we want Dave to unlock in his music

(01:43:07) Closing Remarks, Now and Then playlist

This week we take a look at the monumental collaboration between Hip-Hop behemoths Jay-Z and Kanye West and its importance despite its shortcomings.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:55) Spotlight Series #43: The Koreatown Oddity

(08:12) Isaiah Rashad vs. Fantano

(27:27) Injury Reserve new album

(29:30) Skepta’s All-In EP

(32:12) King’s Disease II

(38:37) Fredo’s Independence Day

(40:39) Possible Aaliyah posthumous album

(45:09) Intro to WTT discussion

(53:08) Did this collaboration have to happen?

(55:53) How WTT has aged over time

(01:02:54) No Church In The Wild

(01:08:12) N****s In Paris; WTT’s classic eligibility

(01:15:17) Songs that aged the worst; WTT’s production

(01:20:59) Deluxe songs you’d swap for main songs

(01:25:03) Samples as features

(01:29:35) Best treadmill song, best song for drives and most memorable verse

(01:3747) Murder to Excellence

(01:40:43) Why Tope said WTT aged like bread

(01:43:59) That’s My Bitch

(01:47:38) Should WTT 2 happen?

(01:29:37) Closing, Now and Then playlist

This week we dive into what made us start collecting vinyls and the story behind some of our purchases. We also go through the listener questions and announce a winner for our second vinyl giveaway!

This week we celebrate the 5-year anniversary of the long-anticipated debut project "Telefone" from Chicago rapper Fatimah Warner AKA "Noname". We talk about the mixtape's unique sound, the impact it had within the social climate of 2016 and how it allowed her to stand-out during the rise of the "New Chicago".

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:36) Reviewing the reviewers

(05:24) Spotlight Artist #41: serpentwithfeet

(09:12) James Blake

(15:10) Juls

Lila ike insert here

(17:15) Avelino

(21:39) Telefone discussion intro

(31:56) Cover art

(35:05) Freedom (Interlude)

(38:30) Bye Bye Baby

(47:12) Yesterday

(51:29) Casket Pretty

(54:54) Forever (ft. Ravyn Lenae and Joseph Chilliams)

(59:59) Shadow Man (ft. Saba, Smino, theMIND, Phoenix and Cam O’bi)

(01:08:12) Diddy Bop (ft. Cam O’bi and Raury) and Little Simz’ “101FM”

(01:12:56) Sunny Duet (ft. theMIND)

(01:14:08) Nina Simone influence

(01:16:04) All I Need (ft. Xavier Omar)

(01:18:49) Reality Check (ft. Eryn Allen Kane and Akenya)

(01:24:33) Final thoughts; Telefone’s place in 2016 how the project has aged over time

(01:29:54) Closing, Now and Then Playlist

This week we explore the dark and obscure world of Ghostwriting  - particularly why hip-hop fans are so pressed by it, how it affects our view of artists and their discographies and whether it is a trend that will continue to grow as Hip-Hop evolves. 

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(01:15) Biz Markey

(01:52) Tope’s Song of the Day

(02:48) Comparing project formats to sports, ENNY’s career thus far

(12:17) Under 25 EP

(15:10) Syd’s “Fast Car”

(18:42) Mahalia’s “Whenever You’re Ready”

(20:24) Spotlight Series #40: Sa-Roc

(27:40) Intro to Ghostwriting convo - what is ghostwriting?

(33:40) How the Drake/Meek beef popularised this conversation

(39:04) Why does it matter more in Hip-hop (compared to other genres)?

(45:00) Does ghostwriting allegations affect credibility?

(49:31) Why do some artists get away with it?

(56:43) Is having ghostwriters a sign of lacking talent?

(59:53) Should ghostwriters become artists in their own right?

(01:02:17) Is honesty the best policy?

(01:10:33) Can you still enjoy a ghostwritten album?

(01:15:40) Will ghostwriting become more prevalent?

(01:24:41) Artists selling lyrics for a song that doesn’t fit their image

(01:32:28) Closing, Now and Then playlist