better made: 2008 detroit hip-hop mix
not many things have gone well in the city of detroit in 2008. the automakers that both provide for and rob the city are laying off workers with assembly-line efficiency and panhandling for billions in our nation’s capital, while our disgraced former mayor is texting floozies from a jail cell. despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, the d has put out some very impressive hip-hop over the last 12 months. lyrically astute with swagger to match and riding the lineage of a rich musical history, the city of detroit may have had its best single year in hip-hop output to date. excellent albums, not only critically acclaimed but also boasting national (and international) distribution, have helped redefine the detroit hip-hop sound in the post-dilla, post-proof, post-em, and post-big 3 auto era. leading the way are albums from elzhi, black milk, invincible, guilty simpson, postmortem dilla, and buff 1, as well as de facto album-mixtapes from royce da 5’9”, danny brown, nametag, and big sean. going against the grain of today’s hip-pop popularity, in the d lyricism, songwriting, and gritty soulful beats take precedence over played-out dance routines, auto-tune, lazy bars, and t-wayne collabos.
on the production side, black milk just absolutely killed it this year. he is quickly becoming one of the best and most versatile producers in the game. going beyond the snare-addled soul and motown samples, in 2008 he moved towards a more expansive sound that is both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time, while simultaneously sharpening his lyrical skills. and damn, he is on his grind. beyond his fire sophomore album tronic, black milk put out the set up with fat ray, handled the vast majority of elzhi’s the preface, and also produced tracks for most of the city’s big names and up-and-comers. at the same time he secured more mainstream $ placements. as a testament to this creative output, over half of the tracks on this mix boast black milk production.
if any song dropped in 08’ defines the city and has the chance of truly standing the test of time, it’s ‘locusts’ by invincible and finale. i am confident that this track, in 100 years, will be a primary source in the history of detroit. the melancholy houseshoes beat haunts this five-minute cut and frames its lyrical brilliance, striking an emotional chord with anyone who has seen the city change in the last 5, 10, 20 years.
regardless…
to celebrate the bittersweet victory of detroit hip-hop in 08’ and the perseverance of the city despite all odds, i made this mix to showcase those behind this renaissance of beautiful decay and good ole’ fashioned blue collar work ethic accented by swishers, abandoned houses, faygos, arab gas stations, coneys, cars, gators, casinos, and ‘gan.
its disorienting to think that the worst is still to come for detroit economically, and to watch it all unfold slowly from afar. the silver lining is knowing that great artistic creativity is, and always will be, entrenched within the struggles of the city.
tracklist:
1. black milk - purple track 5 *
2. invincible- state of emergency (intro) *
3. guilty simpson - for the d (harmonic 313 remix)
4. elzhi feat. royce da 5’9” - motown 25 *
5. ppp feat. j dilla - shotgun (waajeed’s plinky remix)
6. danny brown - let’s go
7. black milk - hold it down *
8. nametag - stylin’ on ‘em *
9. royce da 5’9” - detroit, detroit
10. elzhi feat. black milk, guilty simpson, fatt father, danny brown, & fat ray - fire (remix) *
11. j. dilla - fuck the police
12. fat ray & black milk feat. phat kat & elzhi - get focus *
13 buff1 feat. black milk - never fall *
14. black milk - hell yeah *
15. big sean - dreams
16. danny brown - succeed
17. elzhi - talking in my sleep *
18. tree city feat. ivy - open your eyes *
19. baatin - marvelous *
20. invincible feat. finale, gwen mingo & ron scott) - locusts
21. black milk - purple track 9*
* produced by black milk
update… the source magazine just linked to this post.
