Although her fingers are no where near the size of Fats Waller’s bananas, she’s capable of hopping and jumping her way around his infamous “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” Her tempo isn’t as fast as his, but she demonstrates her ability to stride. This wonderful performance is taken from Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz. Nice chops, Keys!
Duke Ellington’s “Melancholia,” a piano-solo composition, got a lyrical treatment from Norah Jones. The live performance is extracted from her appearance on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz. Although Jones herself admitted that writing lyrics to the Duke’s composition is sacrilegious, she pulled it off well without killing it.
In addition to his virtuoso flow, flawless breath control, and idiosyncratic syncopation, Jay-Z has my admiration for his improvisational skill, which means he doesn’t write down his rhymes. Words just roll off his tongue as he feels the beat. Comparing to Jiggaman, I am not even a small time crook, but I know exactly what he meant on the second verse of “Moment of Clarity”:
I dumb down for my audience
To double my dollars
They criticize me for it
Yet they all yell “Holla”
If skills sold
Truth be told
I’d probably be
Lyric-ly
Talib Kweli
Truthfully
I wanna rhyme like Common Sense
(But I did five Mil)
I ain’t been rhyming like Common since
When your sense got that much in common
And you been hustling since
Your inception
Fuck perception
Go with what makes sense
Here is Mr. Dee’s “Di Hoc” from his Giao Thong album. Hope you can find something creative for your skit with this fun, encouraging tune. Would love to hear what you do with it.
Even my mama is feeling this joint!
In addition, I have uploaded “Trong Com” for you. Although the beat and the rhymes aren’t exciting, the tune featured your babes 5 Dong Ke holding down the vocals.
With her Billie Holiday’s sense of swing, Madeleine Peyroux gives “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” a playful rendition. Love the way Marian McPartland’s spare keys accommodate Peyroux’s rag-like guitar. They work so well together. The live performance is taken from Piano Jazz program.
Been pimping Young Jeezy’s The Inspiration in my ride lately. Love the little adlib in the begining of “You Know What It Is.” I am definitely feeling this part: “Everybody fucks wit’ you cause of what you do my nigga / What you say, what you speak on these motherfuckin’ beats nigga / Only thing I can motherfuckin’ tell you on some real G shit / Is to stay focused and let these niggaz know you still the… [realest nigga alive].”
A bowl of Bun Thang and a like-minded companion are all that I needed to get by the cold-ass winter night. Thank you for a simple taste of Ha Noi!
While in Panama, this guy was bitten by a mosquito that was host to Bot Fly eggs. The eggs subsequently hatched under his skin.
TTBlue is obsessed with Loi Cua Giong Song.
HmL is obsessed with “Lady Sings the Dead.”
Ms. Nguyen is obsessed with Bang Kieu, but drops some critical POV on Ha Tran’s Communication 06. Ha Tran’s obsessors ain’t gonna like reading that.
As for me, I am still obsessed with Thien Phuong’s Tro Ve Mai Nha Xua.
Truth be told, the only reason I would cop Ho Le Thu’s latest album, Buon Oi, Chao Mi, is for the CD booklet. So I could get my jerk on. She’s not a bad of a singer, more like a bitch of a singer. I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way. She’s just the type that would make your dream gone wild, especially with the new breast enhancement. She’s sexy and she knows it. Even her voice has that sultriness in it, but she still has many learning to do to transport it into her music. Her covers of old tunes aren’t awful. She just doesn’t quite understand the art of interpretation. Maybe she just needs a good producer like Duc Tri who could craft some catchy beats for her. Thuy Nga gives her nothing but a set of mechanical arrangements to go with her uninventive deliveries.
