D E C I P H E R M U S I C

Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of the passing of Tupac Amaru Shakur. Pac just might be my favorite rapper of all time. That’s not only based on his songs but the potency he had as an individual. If you follow me on Twitter (as you should) I probably flooded your timeline with Pac shit yesterday. That might be why I was late posting on the blog. This song in particular is extra special to me for a couple reasons.

I remember being in 5th grade and seeing in a magazine that I could get 12 CD’s for 1 penny. Of course the fine print said I had to make future purchases to complete my end of the deal but I was 11 years old and had no idea what credit was and could care less. 2 of those 12 CD’s were Pac’s All Eyez On Me double disc album. I wore track 9 out. That song was “Life Goes On”.

I recall being on a field trip with my 5th grade teacher and bumping this song from a cassette tape mix I made from dubbing this CD and her asking me what I was listening to. I handed over the Sony headphones and she started nodding her head and I thought that was the funniest thing. Looking back on it she probably thought the same thing of an 11 year old rapping word for word to Pac.

A more recent memory of this song is from hitting up the karaoke spot. I used to put this song in just to rap it. After people started passing away in my life it started meaning a lot more to me. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve shed tears to this song.

Pas was more than a rapper to me. I miss Pac not for what he did but for what he could have done if he had more time. Rest in peace, but life goes on.

Funny that I just mentioned this song in a post yesterday and someone uploads it today! This wasn’t an official release but a supporter leaked the joint and I saw JL posting it so I don’t think he minds so here it is! This was me and JL’s collaboration track on his mixtape “Guaranteed Raw” along with the homie C-Note. JL starts the hookless track with some raw shit as he always does. C-Note comes in second. This track was the first time I heard C-Note and his voice was mad distinctive to me so definitely thought he added something dope to the joint and then I played the role of anchor. The world renowned DJ Zo adds a few cuts to the end to tie everything together nicely. Listen to it in 480p HD cause the sound quality aint all that otherwise. Let me know what yall think!

I’m ill excited for Kanye’s new album if it sounds anything like this track he recently liberated from it. The original title of the album was supposed to be “Good Ass Job” but that got scrapped and most recently it holds the tentative title “Dark Twisted Fantasy”. He’s dropped a few gems already and they’re all top tier music to me including “Power” and “Monster”. This song, however, is my favorite by far. He doesn’t rely on an anthem/arena type sound on this one. He spills his guts on a laid back track that almost cries along with his lyrics. There’s mad quotables in this joint so keep your ears open. Kanye has really been spittin’ for the recent tracks I’ve heard. Keep it up ‘Ye!

My brother Mani leaves for Korea tomorrow and before he left he dropped off a little gift for us. This introspective track lends it’s lyrics to speaking about the importance of using our time wisely hence the title “Hourglass”. The VA homie C-Note hops on the joint as well. I had the pleasure of being on a track with C-Note on JL’s mixtape Guaranteed Raw on a track titled “Sick”. Cop that joint if you’re interested in hearing more. Fair travels big homie!

The official song is here! Showed yall the teaser earlier this week and with no further wait the song and video is here in it’s entirety. The original was good but I dare to say the remix is better. All their voices seem to blend well to make this song what it is. Jay might even think so himself because he gave it his official co-sign via his twitter. If you love the song, and you probably do, you can download it here. Muzo grinding baby!