Lamont's Lists

Lamont’s Lists May 2009 Keep Your Mouth Shut. And Other Etiquette Rules For New Jersey Transit Commuters The other day on my way home from work in Manhattan, a rather large guy squeezed in next to me as the fourth passenger in a four way seat (a flagrant violation of commuter etiquette). Sensing that he might be the chatty type, I quickly began fumbling around for some avoidance signals (started texting on my phone, pulled out my headphones, etc). Despite my efforts, he started yapping anyway (he opened with the old “how do you like that phone?” lead in as he eyed my latest smartphone). Much to my discomfort, he then proceeded to yammer all the way home, waxing poetic about a wide assortment of mundane topics. That painful ride got me to thinking about commuter train etiquette. New Jersey to Manhattan train commuters are some of the world’s most curmudgeonly and that is totally understandable. It’s a brutal existence, freezing in the winter, hellish in the summer, delayed year...

Lamont's Lists January 2009 The Top 10 Songs By The Notorious B.I.G. In recognition of the January 16, 2009 Release of “Notorious” I bring to you my “Top 10 Songs By the Notorious B.I.G.”. Truth be told, I should have done this a long time ago. As a massive Biggie fan, it’s something I’ve been meaning to do but never got around to. The hard part was narrowing his catalog down to my 10 favorites. I’ll let you decide if I’ve done it justice. Enjoy. Lamont 1. Hypnotize – The epitome of a timeless hip hop classic. That opening riff, backed by Biggie’s: “Aum, Aum… Hah, Sicker than your average…” first verse, never disappoints; electrifying parties and thrilling music lovers from Brooklyn to Bangladesh year after year. Choice punch lines and super-premium boasts flow like the Mississippi from end to end. My favorite: “Poppa been smooth since days of Underoos”. As good as it gets. 2. One More Chance (Remix) – Liquid smooth and deceptively intricate. Biggie gives a clinic on how to di...

Lamont's Lists December 2008   The Top 10 Hip Hop Albums Of 2008 I can't front. I had a hard time coming up with my Top 10 Albums for 2008. Maybe it's because I just don't listen to as many albums as I used to given the singles-driven world we live in, or maybe it's just that there weren't that many great albums out there to choose from. But anyway, here's my obligatory posting of the best of 2008. Enjoy. Lamont 1. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter I II - No surprise here. Weezy ran circles around the competition again in '08. C3 validated his ability to focus in on a full-length, coherent record and he delivered in spades. The rhymes are manic, breathless and upon repeated listenings , largely brilliant. The guest appearances, including a stunner from Jay-Z on "Mr. Carter" were uniformly excellent, as collaborators labored to keep up with Wayne's twisted musings. By summer, Wayne was dominating the streets, the clubs and pop radio like no rapper ...

Lamont’s Lists December 2008 The Recession Playlist I read an article recently in the New York Times that discussed how, during tough economic times, pop music tends to adjust itself accordingly. Ballads and bluesy numbers sell more during downturns as opposed to the up-tempo, party tracks that prosper during periods of growth. Think about Young Jeezy’s recent release “The Recession” or Kanye West’s “808’s & Heartbreak” and you’ll get the picture. With that in mind, I consulted my ipod to create a hip hop playlist that would be appropriate for our current meltdown. It turns out there is a lot to work with given rap’s love for a good rags to riches (or should I say ashy to classy) narrative. Below are the ten favorite songs that I came up with, along with a bunch more that seemed to fit the mood. I’m sure I missed quite a few great ones so please hit me back with the zingers that I forgot. And don’t worry, next month I will follow up with a list that will hopefully motivate us all t...

Lamont’s Lists November 2008 The Top 10 Reasons Why Hip Hop Is Dead So last month I wrote about how hip hop is “Alive And Well”, opining that, despite a few ominous signs, we really shouldn’t worry about rap music’s future as a cultural force. Well, truth be told, those ominous signs might be more troubling than I let on. Below I give to you “The Top 10 Reasons Why Hip Hop Is Dead”. Depressing? Maybe just a little bit. But look at the bight side, that leaves more time to finally check out other types of music. I hear that dude who sings on Kanye’s “Homecoming” record has his own group and I’ve been meaning to figure out why this Radiohead band is all the rage. As always, please enjoy responsibly. Apologies to anyone who’s offended or mildly annoyed. Your feedback is still welcome. Lamont “Where were you the day hip hop died? Is it too early to mourn? Is it too late to ride?” (Talib Kweli). 1. The Best MC’s are getting old – Ask the average hip hop fan to name the best rappers in the g...

Lamont's Lists - October 2008 The Top Ten Reasons Why Hip Hop Is Alive And Well Every time I look up these days, I hear some lame music critic or glass-half-empty old timer mouthing off about how hip hop is dead. Albums don’t sell anymore, the music all sounds the same, there’s no real emcees, yada, yada, yada, the yammering never stops. Fear not, I say. Rap music is just fine and it will endure throughout the 21st century. Sure, the days of platinum plaques may be over, and the industry will indeed have to dream up some new ways to make money and break new artists, but there is just too much access to too much good music for me to believe the art form will simply dry up and go away. To prove my point, I offer you below, the "Top 10 Reasons Why Hip Hop Is Alive And Well". Enjoy the list and I hope you sleep a little easier tonight knowing that the future of our beloved culture is secure. As always, comments and concerns are welcome (as long as you agree with me J…just kid...

Lamont’s Lists June 2008 The Top 10 Hip Hop Songs For The Barack Obama Campaign Playlist At the conclusion of Barack Obama’s speech on June 4th in Minneapolis, the night he clinched the Democratic party nomination for president, his organizers blasted Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” throughout the arena. It was a nice touch, a very powerful song, from a great American songwriter with boundless appeal among white, middle class voters. As a strategic choice that was a brilliant song to queue up, but I couldn’t help thinking: is this really the tune we need right now to fuel the 1st ever run by a black man for the white house? Absolutely not, we need a kick-ass hip hop track to get everyone appropriately fired up for this historic run. So, to make sure this does not happen again, I have compiled a playlist of the Top Hip Hop songs to support the Barack Obama general election campaign. Think back to that speech and imagine how great these tracks would have sounded. Feel free to hit me bac...

Lamont's Lists February 2008 The Top 10 Rap Love Songs 1. I Need Love - LL Cool J (Bigger And Deffer 1987) Yeah, I know, you saw this one coming. But come on, who doesn’t love “I Need Love”? None of LL Cool J’s lengthy collection of accolades and awards is as impressive as his invention of the rap ballad with this little ditty in 1987. That simple piano loop was cheesy but irresistible and I’m pretty sure everyone still remembers those opening lyrics. Come on, sing them with me...”When I’m alone in my room, sometimes I stare at the wall and in the back of my mind I hear my conscience call. Telling me I need a girl who's as sweet as a dove. For the 1st time in my life I see I need love.” Yep, good stuff. 2. You Got Me - The Roots (Things Fall Apart 1999) "You Got Me" represents a particularly harmonious blend of rugged and smooth. ?uestlove's meticulously layered production here is melodic and state of the art. But the groove is mightily enhanced by Black Thought...

Hello folks, below please find the latest installment of Lamont’s Lists, "The 10 Most Influential Rap Songs Ever”. These are the tunes that rap shall be forever indebted to… the ones that set the stage for hip hop to become as we know it today. Shout out to my man Dave Gugino for challenging me to compile this one. Please enjoy responsibly. And as always, feedback of all kind is much appreciated. Lamont The 10 Most Influential Rap Songs Ever 1. Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang (1979) Yes Hip Hop "scholars", we all realize that Rapper's Delight was not technically the 1st rap single, but given that it is almost universally considered to be the one that started it all, we should just pretend like it was. Without Sugarhill Gang and their rip off of Chic's disco smash "Good Times" it's arguable that rap music might not exist today. 2 Walk This Way - Run-DMC (1986) The 1st rock/rap collaboration was ground-breaking for many reasons, mos...

Lamont’s Lists #21 Written: August 28, 2002 The GOATS NOTE: THIS LIST IS NEARLY 4 YEARS OLD AND I HAVE SINCE REFINED MY THINKING. I FEEL COMPELLED TO DEVELOP AN UPDATE. STAY TUNED FOR A REVISED LIST THAT WILL CERTAINLY INCLUDE EMINEM AND NAS. IT WILL ALSO SEND JAY-Z WAAAY HIGHER ON THE LIST... The Top 10 Rappers of All time “Cause who is number 1, if not best then better? Here’s a hint: the 18th letter” 1. Rakim – Isn’t it a little bit amazing to think that if not for Hip Hop as a creative outlet, Rakim probably would never have been given a chance to share his gift for rhythm and poetry with the world? What makes him the best ever? Consider that he pioneered the slow, melodic, multi-layered, introspective delivery style that single handedly changed the way emcees approached the craft and showed us all that so much more was possible with this art form. Consider that he introduced the concept of allusion into hip hop: “so when you see me come up freeze, or you’ll be one of those seven ...