Album of the Week, 3/27

My cousin recently went and saw the new film "Lincoln Lawyer" and on the soundtrack was one of our favorite songs from growing up, "Moment of Truth" by Gang Starr. I went back and listened to the entire album (same title as the single) and was reminded of the unique style of one of my favorite MC's of all time. Here's the album:

Released in 1998, "Moment of Truth" was the fifth and penultimate album by Gang Starr, the Boston/New York based hip-hop duo of DJ Premier and Guru. Known for his hypnotizing monotone style, Guru died suddenly after a heart attack roughly a year ago. However, his music lives on, and is on its best display in this album.





Personal favorite tracks of mine are "You Know My Steez" and "Moment of Truth." Throughout the album, Guru proves to be a master story teller, and ruminates inside his tracks on the meaning of his existence.

As an aside, I want to point out a remix of the second track of the album "Work." Always one of my favorite tracks, on his remix album "Carry the Cross 2", hip-hop legend Nas intertwines "Work" with his track "Thief's Theme" to create "Thief's Work". Although there's no official video, here's the track:




Hope you enjoy this foray into the artistry of one of my favorite hip-hop artists of all time.

Album of the Week, 2/24

My album of the week is Bruce Hornsby and the Range's live album "Here Come the Noise Makers" from 2000.

 

 

My first concert going experience happened to be in the summer of 1994, when I went to see Bruce along with Bonnie Raitt in upstate New York. My parents had always been big fans of Bruce (and I think my dad secretly had a bit of a crush on Bonnie Raitt, but that's a whole different story....) so we went with my uncle, and I had the time of my life. Not just because I got to stay up until midnight on a school night, but also because the music was fantastic.

From this album, I love the opening piano intro, which then morphs into "The Great Divide" for the first track on the album. I couldn't get all of the tracks on a playlist here to share, but I managed to wrangle in a couple. "Long Tall Cool One" is a classical laid back track, and one of his biggest hits, "The Way it is" is also featured on this album. Bruce shows off his virtuoso piano skills throughout the record, and definitely keeps the listener on his toes. Hope you all enjoy!