The Christmas break has promised to live up to all my expectations: I love the fact that this time of year permits completely guilt free over-indulgence. I hope that the last few days have allowed you all a similar rest from the daily grind and that the remainder of your 2007 is fun-filled and relaxing… I know mine will be.

I’ve held off from any end of year list action until this point for a couple of reasons. First off, I wanted to make sure that I could include any last minute appearances in my selection of the best cuts of the year (I see you Lupe). Secondly, it’s taken a little while to get this list together simply because I haven’t listened to a massive amount of new music this year. Although I’ve stayed on top of all the major releases, 2007 has been characterised for me by a continuing trawl through the archives of hip hop and a newfound interest in sample sources, so much of my listening time has been dedicated to these pursuits. I don’t feel like 2007 has been a particularly great year for the genre, but there has certainly been enough going on to hold my interest and maintain a hope that 2008 will prove fruitful for us fans of that good ol’ rap.

The following is my selection of the ten best hip hop cuts (although an obsession with beats prevails…) released over the past twelve months. You’ll notice that what it reveals is that I am far from being the trendiest or up-to-date of bloggers, as pretty much all of my choices sound like they could have been recorded any time over the last decade or so, such is their indebtedness to the sound of days gone by. Although they may not be the most important or ground-breaking releases of the year, what binds these songs together is that they never fail to get my head nodding and that they will forever remind me of this particular twelve months in my life: it’s as simple as that.

Lupe Fiasco - ‘Paris, Tokyo’
taken from The Cool (Atlantic, 2007)

However much of an arsehole Lupe may have made of himself over the last year, there’s no resisting the charms of this laid back, summer-infused cut. Jeff’s already noted the irony of this sounding like an outtake from Midnight Marauders, and it’s a fitting description that emphasises the quality of this song. Given it’s recent release I was hesitant to include this in my top ten, but it’s been in such heavy rotation of late that I couldn’t resist.

Prince Ali - ‘Incistroduction’
taken from I Miss 1994 (-, 2007)

A cheeky one this, simply because I’m not sure if ‘Incistroduction’ really qualifies as a proper song given that it is only the intro to Prince Ali’s decent I Miss 1994 EP. Having said this, I’ve bumped this beat as hard as any other this year and as such it qualifies. The mellow guitar loop and big drums work wonders together, and the addition of sleighbells at the 0.19 mark and some tight scratching thereafter never fails to put a smile on my face. I don’t want to even think about how many times this track has had me reaching for the rewind button…

Nas - ‘Thief’s Theme (Midas Touch Remix)’
taken from The Remix Tape Volume 1 (-, 2007)

This is a remix of epic proportions from somebody that you may well have not caught wind of. The mysterious Midas Touch has built a library of YouTube remixes this year, but none of them bang as hard as his take on Nas’s ‘Thief’s Theme’. Great samples, crispy drums and chorus strings give this an air of the Premier without being entirely derivative, and it’s had my head nodding somewhat manically on more than a few occasions: my guess is that it will have yours doing the same.

Y Society - ‘This Is An Introduction’
taken from Travel At Your Own Pace (Tres, 2007)

I got a lot out of this release on Thes One’s Tres imprint when it leaked over the summer, and it’s a shame that it didn’t manage to gather much steam on the blog circuit. Loads of great tracks on Travel At Your Own Pace, but ‘This Is An Introduction’ is particularly good and was the first track that I connected with on the album. Love those piano samples…

Blu & Exile - ‘Dancing In The Rain’
taken from Below The Heavens (Sound In Color, 2007)

It took me a while to get around to Blu & Exile’s highly regarded debut LP, but since doing so it has become one of my clear favourites of the year. Any number of tracks could have made my top ten (’Soul Amazin’ (Steel Blazin’)’ deserves a special mention) but ‘Dancing In The Rain’ is the track that has endured for me as the cut that I return to again and again if there’s only time for a quick musical fix.

Raekwon - ‘Smith Bros.’ (-, 2007?)

Who knows if Only Built For Cuban Linx II is ever going to make it out on general release, but if ‘Smith Bros.’ is anything to go by it’s going to be sensational. Robbie dropped this little exclusive at the end of September and it’s been in heavy rotation ever since, and for me it eclipses anything else released by the Wu in 2007. As if Aftermath was ever going to get it together to release the LP…

[Note: Turns out this is from Rae's 2003 drop The Lex Diamond Story which completely passed me by. Still, it's a discovery for me this year so I'm gonna just let it stand, despite the fact that it really irritates me that this is a non-2007 track...]

Panacea - ‘Square 1′
taken from The Scenic Route (Glow In The Dark/Rawkus, 2007)

The Scenic Route was recently voted Hip Hop Connection’s number one choice of the year, and justifiably so given that the LP is one of the most beautiful and musically sophisticated hip hop drops of 2007. Again, loads of favourites on the album, but ‘Square 1′ wins it for me with its multiple layers, great rhymes and tight scratching. Exceptional stuff.

Talib Kweli - ‘Stay Around’
taken from Ear Drum (Warner, 2007)

Far and away my favourite Pete Rock production of the year and an outstanding song in its own right. I’ve already written about this song at length here, so I won’t bother rehashing what I’ve said already. Oh alright then, I will… The Chocolate Boy Wonder is the motherfucking man.

Kanye, KRS, Nas & Rakim - ‘Classic’ (Nike Inc., 2007)

Those crafty capitalists at Nike have got their marketing shit on lockdown. Get one of the greatest and most respected hip hop producers in the game, throw in three mic legends and a fresh new face to attract the teenagers and make sure they all mention Air Force 1s a number of times… it’s so astute that it’s almost a little sickening. Fantastic beat, great verses from Nas, Rakim and KRS One (ignore Kanye) and you’ve got one of the most satisfying cuts of ‘07.

Marco Polo - ‘Nostalgia’ ft. Masta Ace
taken from Port Authority (Soulspazm/Rawkus, 2007)

I may have overdone it a little when initially reviewing Marco Polo’s Port Authority LP as a whole, but ‘Nostalgia’ endures as a fantastic song that deserves all of the praise that has been heaped on it. Everything about this song felt right: great beat, instantly quotable rhymes and a video that perfectly captured the essence of NYC hip hop. It reminds me of so many moments over the last year that I can’t even keep track of them all, a testament to the impact that it has had on both my own life and those around me. I can categorically say that this is an instant classic for me, and I know this will be a song that I come back to for many, many years to come.

That’s it for 2007 folks. Enjoy your New Year’s frivolities and I’ll see you in 2008: I’m out.

Scanz - ‘Choose Your Hustle’ ft. Akrobatik
taken from Prelude To A Legacy (Rawkus, 2007)

Channel Live - ‘Hip Hop Nation’ (?, 2007)

Scanz has been doing the rounds on the blog scene of late, but I had the privilege to talk to the up and coming producer/MC who is currently based in Philly. Another member of the Rawkus 50, expect to see more of this guy in the very near future, no less so than on the upcoming Channel Live comeback album for which he has produced the majority of the beats. If you’re lucky enough to live in NYC, you may also have caught him at the Oh Word/Sit Down Stand Up night that went down at the beginning of the month. Here we talk about his recently released album Prelude To A Legacy, his song writing process and how it must feel to share a stage with KRS One at the tender age of 19.

From Da Bricks: I don’t want to dwell on the age thing too much, but given you’re only 19 it does surprise me that your music is co clearly routed in true school aesthetics. How did that come about?

Scanz: Basically I’ve been making music since I was 13 or 14. My music has also grown with my own musical tastes from what I listen to. For me it was different because I had to find all the older music because I wasn’t really around when it came out.

FDB: So when did you first start listening to hip hop?

S: I always listened to it since I can remember, but I guess it’s really through the internet that I got to hear things that I would never have heard on the radio. That’s how I got into the older albums. Then it was just through life man, meeting up with people with different tastes, different connections and it just expanded from there.

FDB: I really liked the beat you did with Channel Live recently. How did you hook up with those guys and KRS?

S: My man Aubrey. I met Aubrey through my man AB and we were just linking up. Hakim from Channel Live came out here one day and did a show in Philly and he stayed at my crib. We just started working, I showed him some beats and it went from there. He started coming back down and we started working on the album; it manifested like that.

FDB: As I understand it you’re doing about 80% of the beats on the upcoming Channel Live album is that right?

S: There’s a beat from Lord Jamar on there and one other from someone else but otherwise I think the rest are all mine.

FDB: Obviously it’s been a big break from the game for them. What have they been doing since the mid ’90s?

S: Hakim’s out in LA. They’ve been doing their own separate things, more managerial shit. I know Hak just got Carl Thomas and he did the A & R for that album. They have been making music though, there was an EP in 2000, but it’s been more on the low. Now he’s putting the album out he’s really trying to get it going.

FDB: I actually spoke to Barak Yalad recently, another person who has been put on the Rawkus 50. How does it feel for you to have been selected by the label in that way?

S: That was really a good thing man. Rawkus 50 has got the Rawkus imprint which is just classic. People have different outlooks on what it is now, but I see the Rawkus logo as something that represents hip hop. When I was coming up listening to Kweli, Mos, the Soundbombing joints and all of that, so it’s crazy for me to be a part of that. The other thing is that Rawkus have selected 50 dudes that the label has chosen as the future of hip hop, and that’s crazy.

FDB: I guess that relates to your album title as well, Prelude To A Legacy. Can you fill me in on the process for you in putting together that LP?

S: The intro for that album I made before I had even moved out to Philly. I made that when I was in Jersey and in fact you’ll hear me say that I’m 18 on that track. All the rest of the material is pretty recent. As soon as I got the word that I was signed to the Rawkus 50 I started on the album and made the rest of it from there.

FDB: Did you handle all of the production on the album?

S: The beats on the album are actually by me and another guy, Frank G from The Ish Productions. I knew him from back in Jersey and he did the intro track. That was one of the first cuts that I recorded with him, so we’ve had that in the vault for a little. I made a third of the beats from the album myself, Frank laid down another third and then the rest we made together.

FDB: So what equipment did you guys use?

S: I make my beats a lot of different ways depending on how I start the beat. I got a Korg Triton in my basement and I use Fruity Loops a lot. I sequence everything on Fruity Loops and then I’ll take everything out and do my mixing using Pro Tools.

FDB: Is the majority sample based?

S: No, it’s not all samples. I definitely love samples and use them a lot, but on the album some of it is completely original. When I do sample something I’ll make the sample really discrete and then I put a lot of original shit on there as well.

FDB: Apart from a few collaborations, you also did the majority of rhymes on the album. Which of the two skills appeals to you more?

S: I can’t even say. I can’t say it in general, but for me they go hand in hand. I’ve been doing both for the same amount of time and they’ve both evolved in the same kind of way. I can actually make beats for my rhymes and make rhymes for my beats, you know what I’m sayin’? [laughs]

FDB: So how does the composition process work for you?

S: Again, that changes all the time. Sometimes I’ll write to a different beat, like a classic beat, because I’ll just hear something and it will make me want to write. Then I’ll make a beat that goes with the vibe that I was feelin’ at that time. Sometimes it’ll be the total opposite: I’ll be making a beat and then I’ll just write to that beat because it makes me feel a certain way.

FDB: With the album now out and the Channel Live LP coming up, do you already have some projects for the future lined up?

S: I have a couple of projects that I’ve had in mind for a while which are now coming into materialisation. As far as production, I just did a track with my man Reef The Lost Cauze over here in Philly. I’m also putting together a mixtape or album that’s going to be more focussed on the production than on the MCing, I’m gonna have a lot of other people rap on my tracks. This one was more focussed on MCing, because I didn’t do all the beats: it was me as an MC.

FDB: I know you played at the recent Oh Word night in New York, are you doing lots of shows at the moment?

S: Yea, I’ve been doing a lot of shows. I played at the recent Dunk Exchange in Philly, and I got stuff coming up with the Rawkus 50 at The Knitting Factory in New York. I’ve been doing shows all over New York, Philly and Jersey, mostly around here.

FDB: You’ve shared the stage with some pretty big names.

S: Yea man, definitely. Mainly KRS. I did a couple of shows opening up for him, and I actually had the honour to spit with him in the cyhper. One time I was on stage with KRS One, Tru Masta from Wu Tang and Wise Intelligent… Grandmaster Caz was there as well. Legends on stage man, it was crazy.

FDB: It must feel great to be a part of that.

S: Yea, I mean I’m sitting there with these legends and people in the crowd are vibin’ to what I’m doing and that gives me a checkpoint to let me know I’m doing the right thing.

FDB: Definitely. I’m feelin’ what you’re doing man, I hope it all goes well for you.

S: I really appreciate it man, thank you.

Nine - ‘Whutcha Want?!’ (Portishead Remix)
taken from Whutcha Want Remixes (Profile, 1995)

A somewhat rambling ‘comeback’ post after a brief hiatus today, which is symbolic of my current state of mind during the hectic festive season. First off, an apology for the lack of activity here at FDB over the last week, which is not only due to various yuletide social engagements but also by a general lack of motivation brought on by the end of term: the sooner those kids get out my sight the better. Unfortunately this is indicative of things to come over the remainder of December, and although I have a few things already up my sleeve for the coming week (requisite end of year lists included), it looks like this month is going to be relatively slow. Hopefully you won’t be too troubled by this as you drift into slumber during the mid-afternoon lull on Christmas day after gorging on vast quantities of turkey and booze (I know I won’t be). Anyway, let’s get into some music.

Saturday just gone heralded one of my most anticipated events of the year in the shape of the first full length gig by Portishead in close to a decade. I have actually seen the group once before when they played a three song set during a fund raising gig after the tsunami, but needless to say the prospect of a whole hour and a half of performance meant my expectations were raised high. I don’t really know what the perception of the group is outside of the UK or if they have been fully recognised within hip hop circles, but for me they were one of the most exciting and innovative bands of the mid ’90s, fusing boom bap aesthetics into a new package that was dark, soulful and spine-tingling. Of course, to a degree they have become victims of their own success, as Dummy has become a staple of the coffee table along with other albums like Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue, but don’t let this fool you: both of their studio albums are full of substance and should appeal to the more discerning heads amongst you.

For a band that rarely play live their set was remarkably tight and perfectly paced, with a hefty dose of classic material supplemented by new songs that indicated the group’s direction with their upcoming LP (which sounded good). Unfortunately, the event was marred by one simple technical fault that is both puzzling and relatively unforgivable: Beth Gibbon’s microphone simply wasn’t loud enough. Given that her vocals are such a core element of the compositions, this was an issue that was immediately picked up on by the crowd, and the result was that rather than jubilant applause in between each song there were continual shouts calling for the volume to be raised. For whatever reason, this was never resolved, and it’s a shame that what should have been a triumphant return ultimately left me with a sense of vague disappointment that seemed to be shared by everyone else in attendance. That’s the breaks I guess…

Finally for today I’ve got a Portishead remix to offer you of Nine’s classic ‘Whutcha Want?!’. Geoff Barrow, the production mastermind behind the group, has in fact done quite a wide range of remix work over the years, including work for the Gravediggaz as well as a host of other artists from a variety of genres. This is one of the best for me, and no less because I managed to pick this 12” up for less than a pound during a charity shop dig when I was at university. The anthemic vibe of the original makes way for something much more sinister in the case of the remix, with Nine’s gritty vocals sitting well over the darker production. It’s an interesting spin on the cut that deserves your attention both on its own merits and for the fact that it is produced by someone who is at once for me removed and synonymous with hip hop: see what you think.

Check in later in the week for another installment in the FDB interview series as well as my top ten cuts of the year: I’m off to eat mince pies and drink beer. Man, I love Christmas.

ASD - ‘Komm Schon’ & ‘Sag Mir Wo Die Party Ist’
taken from Wer Hätte Das Gedacht (Capitol, 2003)

Ed’s note: FDB is pleased to welcome Mike from the wonderfully soulful This Is Tomorrow on board. Based in Luxembourg, the man otherwise known as DJ Blueprint puts a European spin on things with his first post. Make him feel welcome folks.

First of all I want to thank Dan for giving me the opportunity to write some stuff and present some of my all time favourite hip hop songs. This is my first post, and I got something special for all you heads out there…

ASD was a one-off project from two German MCs, Samy Deluxe and Afrob. Their only album called Wer Hätte Das Gedacht was released in 2003 and features production by J Dilla, Diamond D, Wajeed, D.R. Period and Mr. Man (previously of the Da Bush Babees). The Dilla produced ‘Komm Schon’ is a classic Detroit banger, featuring all the right ingredients from the electro sounds to the hand claps. The Diamond D produced ‘Sag Mir Wo Die Party Ist’ doesn’t sound like a Diamond D beat, but it is a monster. Just listen to this on your headphones at a high volume and you’ll know what I mean.

The album received mixed reviews, mainly because Samy Deluxe is a much better MC than Afrob, but we will let you be the judge. Whatever your reaction to these tracks, it’s intriguing to sample music from a European group who managed to get their hands on beats by big name American producers.

Kool G Rap - ‘Blowin’ Up In The World’
taken from 4, 5, 6 (Epic, 1995)

Bobby Caldwell - ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’
taken from Bobby Caldwell (Clouds, 1978)

I doubt that anyone would really contest that Kool G Rap sounded at his best over the frenetic production that can be found on his first three studio efforts alongside DJ Polo, as the beats were the perfect match for his aggressive and brutal style of rhyme. However, there are moments for me on his solo debut 4, 5, 6 that feel just as good, albeit in a slightly different vein. Although the album as a whole certainly lacks something, on paper it’s incredible: all star production line-up that includes Buckwild, T-Ray and the often overlooked Dr Butcher; a couple of nice guest spots in Nas and MF Grimm; and last but certainly not least, one of the greatest MCs in the history of the genre rippin’ it from front to back. What 4, 5, 6 demonstrates is that things don’t always turn out quite how you’d expect them to: ultimately the LP is less than the sum of its parts.

Despite a chorus hook of dubious quality (read: it sucks), one of my favourite joints from the album has got to be the Buckwild produced ‘Blowin’ Up In The World’. The beat manages to encapsulate not only what I love about hip hop from the era, with a melodic and spacious sample counter-balanced by an extremely heavy drum track, but also why Buckwild is held in such universally high regard: it’s a bona fide masterclass in boom bap aesthetics. Plenty of trademark touches litter the beat, and of particular note should be the opening four bars which are nothing short of perfection. The echoing loops of bars one and two are punctuated by the sleigh bells and thumping bass kicks of bar three, before quick-fire snare hits precede the drop into the main groove. It may be simple, but the effect is truly devastating.

Buckwild gets his fingers all dusty on a copy of Bobby Caldwell’s self-titled LP from 1978 for his sample fix. ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ was the clear hit from the album, catapulting it to double platinum sales figures in the US and gold in Japan (rather bizarrely, a country where Caldwell lays claim to legendary status). Although a little smooth, it is a great song, and it’s not hard to see why it’s been jacked a number of times over the years. The arrangement of the instrumental section following Caldwell’s vocals is superb, allowing the song to breathe and expand its scope. Buckwild opts for the four bars at the 3.37 mark to form the backbone of ‘Blowin’ Up In The World’, maintaining the rich and versatile texture of the break by way of a straight loop. With filters applied it sits beautifully over the slammin’ drums that accompany it, and for me the song ranks amongst the very best of his catalogue (and that’s saying something).

Kool G Rap also turns in one of the best vocal performances of the LP, charting his growth from “turkey without the stuffing” to the proud owner of “rappers hangin’ from off [his] two nuts like they was put there by members of the Ku Klux”. His ferocious delivery feels right at home over the Buckwild instrumental, and there’s a clear connection between the vibe of the beat and G Rap’s reminiscing over life back in the day that guarantees the song’s success. Ultimately, if you can forget about the generic chorus hook, ‘Blowin’ Up In The World’ is as good as anything else that 1995 had to offer. But then it is Kool G Rap and Buckwild: what else would you expect?