Dart Adams presents It's Almost Over....

Back @ 12:37 AM January 1st, 2007 I made my first post on Poisonous Paragraphs. While I had an idea of what I was going to do with this blog I had no damn idea it would become what it did. I wrote the following statement:


"The sole purpose of this blogsite for me to write about whatever the hell I want to at any time. When I write articles, I usually write about subjects that someone else has suggested for me to speak on...some I usually don't give a goddamn about.

I can write about any and all of the things that interest me in the fields of Hip Hop, film, sports, entertainment, etc. The best part is that I don't have to wait for the article to come out, get edited, censored or get printed....as soon as I post the joint and press PUBLISH. There it is for the world to see.

Just a warning for people that go on blogs and don't want to read anything....You're on the wrong damn page, fam. I WRITE...A LOT. Anyone who's had to block out time to read one of my long ass blogs can attest to that. Happy New Year to everybody. One."

Needless to say I did exactly what I wanted to do on this blog if not exactly with it. Poisonous Paragraphs was supposed to be my de facto writing resume, needless to say that the print medium all but died during the three year run of Poisonous Paragraphs so I had to come to grips with that fact and go on ahead doing my thing.

It's gotten the the point where I need to make it so I can be free to write on other projects or have the freedom to freelance. After three years of 5 posts a week this blog is so saturated with posts of varying subjects & types (not to mention pictures & images) that it's a chore to search it even for me and I remember damn near everyone of my own posts.

In any event, the final post on Poisonous Paragraphs will be made in 8 hours and I will move over to Bloggerhouse for good and leave the site up so people can read through it at their own leisure. I'll touch on everything else in my final post later on tonight.

One.

Dart Adams presents Who You Think I Am? (Revisited)

Way back in the days when the Wu Tang Clan first hit the scene they featured an emcee named Ghostface Killah. Ghost kept his visage covered with either a stocking or a ski mask during the crew's earliest videos and press pictures because he had a case pending and because he thought it added to his mystique as an emcee.

I thought it was a dope idea because you had nothing to judge him on other than his lyrics or the consistency of his bars/verses throughout his career rather than other perimeter shit. I also thought about the whole superhero/supervillain dynamic when you never get to see their faces and you have to take them who they claim to be and judge them solely on their actions.

In 1996, before Nas released his second album "It Was Written" he did an interview with The Source and he discussed how he wished he could just rhyme without all the other bullshit involved in the industry. He remarked about how ill he thought Ghostface Killah was because all he had to do was just lay down his verses and that was it.


Photo shoots and videos wouldn't be overpowered by his image because all that mattered was how he came off on that track he was on. Of course, once Tony Starks face was revealed to the world his career changed immediately. Now it was about expanding on his image, the wallabees, the bathrobes over the clothes and the golden eagle bracelet. Before no one knew what he looked like none of that ever came into play.


Nas' comments were overblown by the Hip Hop media and fans alike but I completely understood what he meant. What if Biggie was allowed to remain the grimy Brooklyn ex-drug dealer with the army jacket over the jeans and Timberlands rather than becoming the suited playa/Big Poppa/Frank White that Diddy turned him into?


What if Kimberly Jones never adopted Nelda (The Original Queen Bee)'s whole image and stayed herself? Would she have still gotten so much plastic surgery if she felt she was enough already? Think about Inga Marchand and how different her career would have been if we only focused on her bars and NOT her bras. Remember how girls responded to Method Man when they first saw him? Why do you think Def Jam made it such a point to sign him?

Think about the people you add to MySpace/Facebook/Twitter every day. Appearance and image matters. I personally focus on content rather than flashy shit in my every day life so I figured if I was going to commit to that philosophy in my writing and commentary then I couldn't be a hypocrite.

All you have to judge me on currently is my previous body of work and/or my current material if you want to add me on MySpace/Facebook/Twitter, etc. Once I finally end this whole anonymous charade watch how the entire game will change or how.

Epilogue: The time's going to come when I close this blog and everything changes. I'm not worried or even concerned because while things will change I'll welcome them. I'm not going to write any differently or be any different, though. The only thing that will change is that people will realize that I look a lot like that drawing of Luke Cage. If I couldn't stand your music or blog before I'll still hate you. If you're in the metro Boston area you'll be seeing me around soon.

One of my industry friends asked me recently if I wanted some free Beats By Dre headphones & I told him I wouldn't be caught dead rocking those overpriced ass headphones. I instead copped a couple pairs of Sony MDR-XD100's from Amazon. Ain't nothing gonna change but the year & the URL. Believe me on that.


One.

Dart Adams presents My Personal Favorite Top 100 Hip Hop Projects Of The 00's

This list is a continuation of my Top 50 Hip Hop LP's of the decade list that I submitted to my boy Jeff Weiss this past Summer including my honorable mentions from said list plus my favorites from the past few years (2005-2009) added in. These 100 selected projects represent many but nowhere near all of my favorite albums of the past decade as well as the ones I feel were the most influential. These albums all represent classic material to me.

A lot of you may be wondering where certain other albums are, to that I say look at the album covers displayed on my blog as well as my Top 50 favorite instrumental projects which should better or more accurately round out my personal favorite releases of the past decade. The 00's weren't the 90's but I'll be damned if anyone tell me that they were devoid of any influential or classic Hip Hop. Damn that! © Martin Lawrence

Without any further ado (and no alphabetical order or year of release for each selection because, let's face it, transcribing sucks balls & I'm not getting paid for this. LOL), here is my list. Any comments, praise, disappointment or grievances please feel free to voice them all in the comments sections. Enjoy (or don't):


M.O.P.-Warriorz
Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
J Dilla - Donuts
50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin’
Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
Slum Village - The Fantastic Vol. 2
Common - Like Water for Chocolate
Outkast - Stankonia
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Nas - Stillmatic
Jay-Z-The Blueprint
Wale - The Mixtape About Nothing
Kanye West - The College Dropout
The Game - The Documentary
Big L - The Big Picture
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Cage - Hell’s Winter
Kanye West - Late Registration
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Edan - Beauty and the Beat
Masta Ace - Disposable Arts
MF Doom - Operation: Doomsday
Little Brother - The Listening
El-P - Fantastic Damage
De La Soul - The Grind Date
Quasimoto - The Unseen
Masta Ace - A Long Hot Summer
Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens
Aesop Rock - Labor Days
Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
Sean Price - Monkey Bars
Nas - God’s Son
Elzhi - The Preface/Europass
DJ Muggs vs GZA - Grandmasters
Jaylib - Champion Sound
Binary Star - Masters of the Universe
Pete Rock - Petestrumentals
Jedi Mind Tricks - Violent by Design
Black Milk - Tronic
Scarface-The Fix
Non Phixion - The Future is Now
Jay Dee AKA J Dilla-Welcome 2 Detroit
Aesop Rock - Float
J-Live - The Best Part
Tanya Morgan-Moonlighting
Y Society - Travel At Your Own Pace
Invincible - Shapeshifters
Scaramanga - 7 Eyes, 7 Horns (Special Edition)
Godfather Don - Diabolique
Kano - Home Sweet Home
The U.N. - U.N. or U Out?
Dizzee Rascal-Showtime
Klashnekoff-The Sagas Of...
Little Brother-The Minstrel Show
CunninLynguists-A Piece Of Strange
El-P-I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
Blue Scholars-Bayani
Nicolay & Kay-Time: Line
Murs - 3:16 The 9th Edition
MF Mood-MM...Food
Emanon-The Waiting Room
Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
People Under the Stairs - OST
Jay-Z - The Black Album
Dead Prez - Lets Get Free
Q-Tip - The Renaissance
Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor
Johnson & Jonson (Blu & Mainframe)-Johnson & Jonson
Talib Kweli-Quality
Jean Grae-Jeanius
Viktor Vaughn (MF Doom)-Vaudeville Villain
9th Wonder & Buckshot-Chemistry
Atmosphere-When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold
Immortal Technique-Revolutionary Vol. 1
AZ-A.W.O.L.
Pete Rock-Petestrumentals
Slum Village-Detroit Deli
The Roots-Phrenology
Mos Def-The New Danger
Eminem-The Marshall Mathers LP
Ghostface Killah-Fishscale
Clipse & The Re-Up Gang-We Got It For Cheap
Joe Budden-Mood Music 2
Wu Tang Clan-The W
Black Milk-Popular Demand
Evidence-The Weatherman LP
Common-Be
Sean Price-Jesus Price Superstar
Pharoahe Monch-Desire
Quasimoto-The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas
Kanye West-Graduation
Finale-A Pipe Dream & A Promise
Diamond District-In The Ruff
Asamov-And Now...
Tanya Morgan-Brooklynati
Marco Polo-Port Authority
Lupe Fiasco-Fahrenheit 1: 15 Part II: Revenge Of The Nerds
Raekwon-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

One.

Dart Adams presents Dartflix: The Top 50 Films Of 2009 (The Last Dartflix Post Evar)

This is my final Top 50 films of the year list ever on Poisonous Paragraphs as well as the the final Dartflix post ever it looks like. With no further ado I present my Top 50 films of 2009 and 50 more honorable mentions since I won't be doing this again. Some films are excluded because they actually came out last year & were on my 2008 list (Gomorrah, Red Cliff, Ong Bak 2, etc.). Anyways, here goes:


9
(500) Days Of Summer
Adventureland
American Violet
A Serious Man
Away We Go
Avatar
Big Fan
Black Dynamite
The Brothers Bloom
Brothers
Capitalism: A Love Story
Children Of Invention
Dead Snow
Defiance
District 9
The Escapist
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fifty Dead Men Walking
Food, Inc.
Funny People
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
The Hangover
Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
The Informant!
Inglourious Basterds
Killshot
The Limits Of Control
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Moon
Medicine For Melancholy
Pandorum
Public Enemies
The Road
Sherlock Holmes
Sleep Dealer
Somers Town
Spread
Star Trek
State Of Play
Sunshine Cleaning
Taken
The Taking Of Pelham 123
Thirst
Tyson
Up In The Air
Watchmen
Where The Wild Things Are
Zombieland


50 Honorable Mentions:

Afterschool
Angels & Demons
The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call-New Orleans
B-13: Ultimatum
The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day
Bronson
Brothers At War
Carriers
The Class
Cold Souls
Collapse
Coraline
Crossing Over
Crows Zero 2
Dorian Gray
Duplicity
The Education Of Charlie Banks
Extract
Five Minutes Of Heaven
Gigantic
The Girlfriend Experience
Good Hair
Grace
The Great Buck Howard
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
In The Loop
The Invention Of Lying
It Might Get Loud
Law Abiding Citizen
Lemon Tree
Lymelife
Management
The Messenger
More Than A Game
The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh
Ninja Assassin
Observe And Report
Paper Heart
Shrink
Sin Nombre
The Soloist
Soul Power
The Stoning Of Soraya M.
Surveillance
The Time Traveler's Wife
Tokyo!
Uncertainty
Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans
Valhalla Rising
Visioneers



One.

Dart Adams presents The Top 50 Hip Hop Albums, EP's & Mixtapes Of 2009 (The Final Top 200)

This is a list of what I consider to be the Top 200 Hip Hop LP's, EP's & mixtapes from this year so far. Please keep in mind that in order for me to even narrow this list to 200 I had to exclude all instrumental albums with the exception of Exile's "Radio" (as it could've easily been Album Of The Year) otherwise it would've just been ridiculous and impossible to narrow to just 200 Hip Hop albums. This is the final time I do this, after three years I'm sure you all get the point I'm trying to make by now.

Also keep in mind that I've heard slightly less than 700 different projects this calendar year (my gmail account was bananas). I'm sure that my Bloggerhouse brethren Eric & Travis have quite a few projects in mind that I missed. That should give you all an idea as to just how deep 2009 was with quality material that you probably never even heard of.

In the comments section feel free to gripe, bitch and/or moan about Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Wale, Fabolous, Busta Rhymes or "insert wack rapper's name here" lackluster ass album not being in my top 200. Also feel free to add albums, EP's & mixtapes I missed (like Pill's). I head mad albums that are still in my rotation that missed this cut (Moka Only made so many albums I stopped him at one so "Summer Notations", "Carrots & Eggs" & Ron Contour's"Hot Dog" aren't on this list).

I'm sure listened to WAY more Hip Hop than you this year (and I probably suffered irreparable damage because of it). All you gotta do to check every Friday of 2009 (both the reviews & Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept) sections) on this blog for proof. Enjoy (or don't) my final Poisonous Paragraphs list:

5 O' Clock Shadowboxers- The Slow Twilight
Aarophat & Illastrate-Black Noise
Apathy-Wanna Snuggle?
Big Tone-The Art Of Ink
Blame One-Days Chasing Days

Braille & Symbolyc One-Cloudnineteen

Brother Ali-Us/The Truth Is Here EP

Che Grand-Everything's Good Ugly
Chief-Collabo Collection

D.Black-Ali'yah
Danny!-Where Is Danny?

Diamond District-In The Ruff

Diz Gibran-Soon You'll Understand
DJ Spinna-Sonic Smash
DOOM-Born Like This

Drake-So Far Gone
Elzhi-The Leftovers: The Unmixedtape

Exile-Radio
Fashawn-Boy Meets World

Finale-A Pipe Dream And A Promise
Freddie Gibbs-Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik
Illogic & Ill Poetic-Diabolical Fun
J Dilla- Jay Stay Paid

JR & Ph7 present The Standard
Keelay And Zaire-Ridin' High
Kev Brown presents Random Joints
MAGr-No News Is Good News
Marco Polo & Torae-Double Barrel

Moka Only-Lowdown Suite 2: The Box

M.O.P.-Foundation
Mos Def-The Ecstatic
Obie Trice & MoSS-Special Reserve
Oddisee-Mental Liberation
Pac Div-Church League Champs
Paten Locke-Super Ramen Rocketship
Raekwon-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

Rapper Big Pooh-The Delightful Bars (North American Pie & Candy Apple Version)
Reks-More Grey Hairs

Royce Da 5'9"-Street Hop

Sene & Blu Are...A Day Late & A Dollar Short
Slum Village-Villa Manifesto EP
Skyzoo-The Salvation
Slaughterhouse-S/T
Strong Arm Steady & Madlib-In Search Of Stoney Jackson
Tanya Morgan-Brooklynati

Thaione Davis-Still Hear

TiRon & DJ LowKey-Ketchup
Tiye Phoenix-Half Woman Half Amazin'
yU-Before Taxes

Next 150 (Honorable Mentions):

45-The Revenge Of Soul
50 Cent-Before I Self Destruct
6 Fingers-Who Has Lots Of Fingers?
Abstract Rude-Rejuvenation
Ace & Edo (Masta Ace & Ed O.G)-Arts & Entertainment/Extra Entertainment
A Disturbing New Trend-Year Of The Carnivore
Alchemist-Chemical Warfare
Ancient Tongue-Time Tells Tales
ARES-A Red Eye Smokin'
Atmosphere-Leak At Will
AZ-Legendary
Big Quarters-From The Home Of Brown Babies With White Mothers
Blackroc-S/T
Black Sunn-Godsound
Blaq Poet- The Blaqprint
Blue Scholars-OOF! EP
Blu-HerFavoriteColo(u)r
Boycott Blues-Irony
BP & Odds-The Medium
Brokn. English-The Drawing Board
Brown Bag All Stars-The Brown Tape
Buff1-It's A 1derful Life
BK-One with Benzilla-Radio Do Canibal

Camp Lo-Stone And Rob: Caught On Tape/Another Heist

Cesar Comanche-Die In Your Lap
Classified-Self Explanatory
The Clipse-Til The Casket Drops

Common Market-The Winter's End EP
Cook Classics-The New Classics
The Cool Kids & Don Cannon-Gone Fishing
Cormega-Born & Raised
Cradle Orchestra-Velvet Ballads
Crooked I-Mr. Pig Face Weapon Waist
Crown Nation-Slut Bag Edition

CunninLynguists-Strange Journey Volume Two

Currensy-This Is Not A Mixtape/The Jet Files
Deep Rooted-D.E.E.P.R.O.O.T.E.D.
De La Soul-Are You In?+ Nike Original Run
Def Jux All Stars-Def Jux Presents 4
Del Tha Funke Homosapien & Tame One-Parallel Uni-Verse
Dillon & Paten Locke-Studies In Hunger
DJ JS-1-Ground Original 2: No Sell Out
DJ MK presents Skandal-Hunger Pains
DJ Quik & Kurupt-BlaQkout
Donny Goines-The Breakfast Club
DOOM presents Unexpected Guests
Dumhi-Indian Summer EP
Dylan Thomas & Haz Solo-All Jokes Aside
Dynas-The Apartment
E-Flash (NBS)-Know The Ledge
Earatik Statik-The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Earth Crew-Grassroots: From The Ground Up
Educated Consumers-Hello Big Mama
Elucid-The Sub Bass Diet
Emilio Rojas-Recession Proof/The Natural
Eminem-Relapse
Eternia-Get Caught Up
Fabio Musta-Passport
Fatgums x Bambu-A Peaceful Riot
Felt (Slug & Murs)-Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez
Film Skool Rejekts-Midnight Movies
Fresh Daily-The Gorgeous Killer In: Crimes Of Passion
Georgia Anne Muldrow presents Ms. One & The Gang
Ghostface Killah-Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City
Grand Puba-RetroActive
The Grouch & Eligh-Say G&E!
Horseshoe G.A.N.G.-Gangsta MC
Ilyas-I-El: The Prelude
J. Cole-The Warm Up
J. Nolan-Resilience
J. Period & Q-Tip-The Abstract Best
J-Scrilla-Culture Of Honor
JC Poppe-Sleep Therapy
Jazz Liberatorz-Fruit Of The Past/Clin D' Oeil
Jern Eye-Vision
J.J. Brown-Connect The Dots

Joe Budden-Padded Room/Escape Route
K-Os-Yes!
Kam Moye-Splitting Image
Kenn Starr-It's Still Real
Kid Cudi-Man On The Moon: The End Of The Day

Kid Hum & Rock The Dub-Offshore Drilling
Kidz In The Hall-The Professional Leisure Tour
Krumbsnatcha-Hidden Scriptures
KRS One & Buckshot-Survival Skills
La Coka Nostra-A Brand You Can Trust
L.E.G.A.C.Y-Suicide Music
LMNO & Yann Kesz-Devilish Dandruff With Holy Shampoo
Marv Won-The Way Of The Won
MarQ Spekt X Lex Boogie-Guilty Party
Method Man & Redman-Blackout! 2
Mr. J. Medeiros & Boonie Mayfield-The Art Of Broken Glass EP/Friends Enemies Apples Apples
Mr. SOS-How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
Myka 9-1969
Naledge-Chicago Picasso
Nametag-Classic Cadence Vol. 2
Nico The Beast-Dinner Is Served Mixtape
Notes To Self-A Shot In The Dark
OC & AG-Oasis
Outasight-Further
People Under The Stairs-Carried Away
Poorly Drawn People-Motion, Not Emotion
Psuedo Slang-We'll Keep Looking

Print-Comic Books: Unlimited
Quelle-Blue Mondays
Qwel & Maker-So Be It
Rashid Hadee & Pugz Atomz-Stormy
Raydar Eliis & Quite Nyce-Champs Vs. The League

Red Giants-Chain Reaction EP
Reservoir Dogs-Reservoir Dogs Mixtape
Rhymefest & Scram Jones-The Manual
Ro Spit-The Oh Shit! Project
Rob Viktum f/Donwill & Friends-A'ight New Drink
Roc C & IMAKEMADBEATS-The Transcontinental

Saigon & Statik Selektah-All In A Day's Work

Sandpeople-Long Story Short EP
Sareem Poems-Black And Read All Over
Sean Price-Kimbo Price
Sene-Maltas & Music
Sha Stimuli-My Soul To Keep
Slakah The Beatchild-Soul Movement Vol. 1
Sleep-Hesitation Wounds
Sojourn-Sojournalism
Souls Of Mischief-Montezuma's Revenge
St. Mic-Honest Music
Statik Selektah-The Pre-Game EP
Stoupe The Enemy Of Mankind-Decalouge
Strange Fruit Project-Making Art Sound Kool
Substantial/Burns- Sacrifice
Superstar Quamallah-The Invisible Man
Tame One & Parallel Thought-Acid Tab Vocab
Termanology-Heaven Was A Mile Away/Hood Politics VI: Time Machine
Tha Connection-Love Royale
Toki Wright-A Different Mirror
U-N-I & Ro Blvd-A Love Supreme
Wale-Back To The Feature
William Cooper-Beware Of The Pale Horse
Wu Tang Clan-Wu Tang Chamber Music
X.O.-Monumental/Realmatic
yU presents The Charlie Ross Project

One

Peace On Earth, Goodwill To Men

I decided to make a Christmas related post that involves some of my favorite elements...animation and a post apocalyptic future where the world is inhabited entirely by animals (Rock & Rule). The original cartoon “Peace On Earth” was made in 1939 at the beginning of World War 2 and the Hanna Barbera remake "Good Will To Men" in 1955 was updated to include a new ending for mankind at the hands of the atomic bomb (which didn’t exist when the first version was created).

I first saw this cartoon on regular TV back in 1978 and it scared the shit out of me. I saw the second version in 1980 and thought that it was even scarier because it started out all cutesy and then turned grimy at the drop of a dime.

When I got older, I did a little research into the back stories of both cartoons and with age I became to appreciate how great both of the versions are. Here’s my version of a Christmas post. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad/Three Kings Day, Joyous Kwanzaa (Harambe!), Great Festivus, and a good Saturnalia to you all (I don’t know what Wiccans celebrate this time of year so happy _____. Both versions of the celebrated anti-war/Christmas cartoon are below:

Peace On Earth (1939)



Goodwill To Men (1955)


One.

Dart Adams presents Top 100 Instrumental & Sub Hip Hop LP's Of 2009

Here's my final list of the top 100 instrumental & remix LP's of 2009 according to me (there will be Dubstep). Please keep in mind that a fair amount of this music is completely foreign (ha!) to American Hip Hop heads (Thank you internet & friends from overseas).

Since the overwhelming majority of these artists or groups are unfamiliar to you I'll provide a few website links afterwards where you can become acquainted with most of them and their work. Enough words, God knows people don't wanna read all that shit before a long ass list (that's a bunch of words, ironically enough). Enjoy (or don't):

00Genesis-Monday Blues EP/Re: Re-Runs EP
2econd Class Citizen-A World Without
14KT- Nowalataz
2562-Unbalance
AEED-Synthesia EP
Amede & The Soundsmith-Flat 17 EP
Alex Goose-The Blueprint 3 Outtakes
Annu-Dream Runner EP/Def Vibrations
Apollo Brown-Make Do
The ARE-Iran
Aspect One-Vibe Ready
Astronote-The Remixes: Volume One
Ayiro & J.Bizness-Cali Fire Commission Vol. 1
Beat Dimensions Vol. 2 & Vol. 3
Blockhead-The Music Scene
Bullion-Young Heartache
Dam-Funk-Toeachizown (Vols. 1-5)
Dert-Talk Strange/CMYK EP
Devonwho-Waves/3P
Diego Bernal-For Corners
Dibiase-Up Your Joystick EP
DJ Khalil-Chinatown Wars Beat Tape
Dorian Concept-When Planets Explode
Dr. Who Dat?-Beyond 2morrow
The Clonious-Adroit Adventures EP/Between The Dots
Elaquent-In Colour Vol. 3
Exile-Radio*
Falside-Bugs In Ya' Teef
fLako-The First Space Shit On The Moon
Floyd Da Locsmif-Divine Dezignz 2: Soul, Etc.
Fulgeance-Smart Bangin' EP
Gaslamp Killer-My Troubled Mind EP
Has-Lo-You Can Live Thru Anything If Magic Made It
Haz Solo-June Bug
HBO..-Bionik
Hermut Lobby-Bassfudge Powercones
Hudson Mohawke-Polyfolk Dance EP/Butter
Illingsworth-Twitterverse Traveler
J.Bizness-Reason: Beats & Pieces
J Rawls-Hotel Beats Vol. 1
Jackhigh-Interplanetary Thoughts
James Pants-All The Hits
Jansport J-The 2 AM Tape
Julien Dyne-Pins & Digits
Kan Kick-Beautiful: Opus Of Love Deeper Than Flesh Vols. 1 & 2
KenLo-Craqnuques (Orange)/(Rose)
Keyz N Kratez-Live Mixing 101
Kid Hum-Fossil Fuel
King Midas Sound-Waiting For You
Knxweldge-3P
Koushik-Beep Tape/Out My Window Instrumentals
Luke Vibert-We Hear You
Lunice-Out Of Touch EP
Mary Anne Hobbs-Wild Angels
Martyn-Great Lengths
Michita-Three
Mike Slott-Lucky 9Teen
Mindesign-Light & Tunnel/mndsgn-3P
Mono/Poly & Illum Sphere-Producer No. 2 Part 3
Mr. Chop-For Pete's Sake
Nosaj Thing-Drift
Oddisee-Odd Summer EP/Odd Autumn EP
Oh No-Dr. No's Ethiopium
Paul White-The Strange Dreams Of Paul White/Sounds From The Skylight
Portformat-The Repeat Factor
Powell-Beatnicks Tape #2
Prefuse 73-Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian/Meditation Upon Meditations (The Japanese Diaries)
Rob Viktum-Snack Pack Vols. 1, 2, 2.5 & 3 & 4
Seoul Avenger-Switch 4 Lanes
Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins-Fascinating Fingers
Sid Roams-Monster Muzik
Silkie-City Limits Volume 1
Slumgullion-Disko..
Small Professor vs. Large Professor-Breakin' Atoms (Main Source Edition)/Resurrected The Remix/Slowbus
Stevo-Muffins/Another Space Odyssey
Suff Daddy-Hi Hat Club Vol. 2-Suff Draft
Suzi Analogue-3P
Swede:Art-ABC Alphabeat
Vanderslice-The Big Gold
Various-The Mu School
VohnBeatz-The New Kid On The Block
Willie Green-...Of Heroes And Villains

Check these sites out to get more information about many of the artists/projects listed above and the heads up about future releases:

http://www.moovmnt.com/
http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/
http://nobodydancenomore.blogspot.com/
http://www.brainfeedersite.com/
http://dublab.com/
http://smashcartel.com/
http://92bpm.com/
http://mastaplan.biz/
http://chromekids.blogspot.com/
http://www.freshselects.net/
http://www.rockthedub.com/
http://incubate.wordpress.com/
http://www.rappersiknow.com/
http://www.nodfactor.com/
http://thefindmag.com/

On both lists*

One.

Dart Adams presents the Top 50 Non Hip Hop Albums Of 2009 (R&B & Other Music)

Here is the top 50 list of R&B, Soul & other music for 2009. I had to separate this from the instrumental and producer based albums list due to the fact I heard so many and the different nature of the music I heard this year. It took me quite a while to compile a full list but here it is at long last. List any projects I may have missed in the comments section. Thank you:

AB & Daru-A Work In Progress
Alicia Keys-The Element Of Freedom
Amerie-In Love & War
Ayah-4:15
Bei Bei & Shawn Lee-Beauty & The Beats EP
Build An Ark-Love Volume 1
Carlitta Durand-Carlitta's Way
Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson-A Suite For Ma Dukes
Chester French-Love The Future
Chrisette Michelle-Epiphany
Daru & Rena-Luv 09 EP/Producer's Luv Tribute EP
The-Dream-Love Vs. Money
Elektrik Red-How To Be A Lady Vol. 1
El Michels Affair-Enter The 37th Chamber
Eric Roberson-Music Fan First
Georgia Anne Muldrow-Umsindo & Early
The Herbaliser Band-Session 2
J.Holiday-Round 2
Joss Stone-Colour Me Free!
Keri Hilson-In A Perfect World...
The Kickdrums-Just A Game
Kinny-Idle Forest Of Chit Chat
Ledisi-Turn Me Loose
Little Dragon-Machine Dreams
Mariah Carey-Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel
Maxwell-BLACKsummer's night
Mayer Hawthorne-A Strange Arrangement
Melanie Fiona-The Bridge
Muhsinah-The Oscillations: Triangle
Nadsroic & Hudson Mohawke-Room Mist EP
Novel presents Suspended Animation
Nicolay-City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez-Old Money
PPP-Abundance
Ragen Fykes-With Love/Ragen Fykes & Ohmega Watts (M64)-EP
Raheem DeVaughn-Art Of Noise
Reverie Sound Revue-S/T
Robin Thicke-Sex Therapy: The Session
Ryan Leslie-Ryan Leslie/Transition
Sa-Ra Creative Partners-Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love
Shafiq Husayn-Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka
Shawn Lee-Soul In The Hole
Shuanise-Voice Of Reason EP
Soil & "Pimp" Sessions-6
Suzi Analogue-World. Excerpts. 1-9
Zo!-Just Visiting Too EP

One.

Dart Adams presents The Unbearable Lightness Of Blogging: The Pursuit Of Happiness

The thing about blogging (or writing for that matter) is that when you are genuinely unhappy or less than enthused about your current situation it's extremely easy to tell. It will come out in your writing. I've posted for several different sites in the past (I Hook A Beat Up, Nerd With Swag, eMusic, etc.) but I used to post for a football related site called Armchair Linebacker that was a spinoff of the once popular blog Dumpin.net that I used to visit quite often back in the days. Raven Mack & Mike Dikk decided to do a football blog and asked me to contribute. I said hell yeah.

The season I was asked to contribute also happened to be the season that the Patriots were going 16-0. The NFL posts on Dumpin were essentially everyone hating the Patriots and me talking shit about how they were unbeatable. Keep that in mind. The site began during the '08 NFL Playoffs. I started writing full playoff round recaps (partly because I thought I'd be documenting yet another glorious championship season like I'd done previously with the '07 Red Sox & '08 Boston Celtics on Poisonous Paragraphs). As we all know, that didn't happen.


It's a little hard to have sympathy for a guy who went to two championship parades in 12 months that was denied the opportunity of going to his second championship parade in another 7 months, after all. I was pissed but the Patriots would just win it all the next year, right? Wrong. Forget that I was right that they'd go 11-5. Forget they missed the playoffs when they were supposed to win the Super Bowl. Forget that the best QB in the NFL was gone for the season in the opening game. I was hated because I criticized the hell out of my winning team in a season the Lions went 0-16 & the other writers favorite teams sucked donkey balls.

I was seen as a whiny asshole and a fairweather fan when in Boston we call that "honesty". If you look back at what I wrote that season, not only was I often spot on & correct but I made full explanations and tried to make my fellow bloggers on the site understand where I was coming from. They weren't having it and they first tried to replace me but that dude flaked so they actually removed me from the blog before my final post of the year went up. Dayum!

I was seething about being let go mostly because I was going to quit on my own terms because Armchair Linebacker ceased being any fun for me. I wrote about the Patriots because I legitimately love NFL football and my team. I have since 1978. I was a fan back when they were godawful and I'll die a Patriots fan. I'm from Boston. There is no fairweather in me (it's simply not allowed). Reading the other "woe is me, I'm in hell" posts about horrible teams & inept franchises was draining and not conducive to good writing. I should've been happy I was free of it but I was fuming.

Raven Mack, the founder of the site hit me up on Facebook (which no one does cuz I fuckin' hate Facebook like Lil' Wayne hates sobriety & condoms) and asked me to come back to Armchair Linebacker for this season. My stupid ass said yes. It was apparent that I was less than enthused with writing there and I faxed in each successive post. When the Patriots lost back to back games I dreaded writing anything over at Armchair Linebacker about it. I just ended up saying "fuck it" and quitting. My writing sucked while I was there and the situation obviously wasn't the best one to continue contributing to. I should've just cut my losses.


Writing on Poisonous Paragraphs & Bloggerhouse made me realize that life is too short to not do things you genuinely love or whatever you enjoy. With my writing, if I don't care or if I'm unhappy I'll just go through the motions and my writing will suffer for it. I totally understand why those guys at Armchair Linebacker were pissed off at me for lacking to show any passion when I wrote with so much on my other sites.

They were able to write with passion even thought their teams were losing and I was half assing while they were winning. If you're not feeling something then don't try to force yourself to do it, it ultimately won't work out. I finally quit Armchair Linebacker Sunday morning but they edited my final post that same afternoon. Rather than get mad & comment on it, I saw it & just laughed. This part of my life is called "happiness".

One.

The Beasts Of The East

The Boston Celtics easily dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-104 on Sunday night. The thing is that they didn't play but 40 minutes of the alloted 48 and Rajon Rondo often had defensive lapses and let Johnny Flynn get to the hole whenever he felt like it. Also, the Celtics were harassed by the young legs of Kevin Love, Ryan Hollins & Al Jefferson. They still managed to win their 12th game in their past 13.

Rajon Rondo led the charge and racked up 13 pts, 15 ast & 3 stl to finish at a jaw dropping +23 on the night. Paul Pierce scored 29 points and went 6 for 6 from deep. Ray Allen added 20 (3-6 3pt), Tony Allen contributed 15 pts, 6 reb & 3 ast from the bench while Kendrick "The Hulk" Perkins came up big yet again with 14 pts, 11 reb & 3 blk to anchor the middle. Kevin Garnett had a low key night with 10 pts, 8 reb & 2 blk.

The starters had to come back in & put the game away in the 4th quarter as the Timberwolves just would not die. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett knocked down big shots and the defense of Rajon Rondo and Hulk Perkins shut down the Minnesota offense. After coming out with zero energy, urgency or intensity at home versus the hapless Philadelphia 76ers (breaking their 11 game win streak) the previous Friday, they didn't want to have a second consecutive letdown.

The Celtics now sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 21-5 record going into a game versus the Indiana Pacers tomorrow night then the Orlando Magic on Christmas. The Celtics need to win both games to stay the class of the East with Orlando, Atlanta & Cleveland all vying for the top spot. The Celtics need to weather the next month until they get Big Baby Davis back then the next before Marquis Daniels returns. All that the Celtics are concerned with is staying healthy & sharp leading into the new year.

The Cavs are once again making moves to improve their chances in the East. Atlanta has been surprising. The Celtics want nothing more than to knock off the Orlando Magic in a national game to prove that they're still kings of the mountain. The key matchup will be Kendrick "The Hulk" Perkins vs. Dwight "Superman" Howard. Last game, Perkins fouled out so it opened up Howard to wreak havoc in the middle. We'll see how it all pans out soon enough. Ubuntu! © Boston Celtics

One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #109 AKA Only 13 Days Left

This week I'll be reviewing four new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: Build An Ark "Love Part 1", Lil Wayne "Rebirth", Strong Army Steady & Madlib "In Search Of Stoney Jackson" and Young Money "We Are Young Money". For those of you new to this blog, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my recently revised "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:

Opinions be damned. This particular project has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and should come with a Surgeon General's warning and/or a biohazard sticker. It should only be handled by hazmat teams or bomb/demolition squads. To quote Common & Canibus, this album is your worst nightmare squared.

Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.


Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

Poisonous Paragraphs, payola free Hip Hop blogging since 1.1.07! © Dart Adams

Even if I say nothing it's a beautiful usage of negative space © El-P


Best Joints: Love, This Prayer: For The Whole World, How Do We End All This Madness?, Celebrate, Sweet Thing, Fun's Theme, Sunflowers In My Garden, Love Is Everywhere, In The Park, World Music, World Peace Now, May It Be So and More Love*

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: This album reminds me of those records I'd find in my fathers collections that I'd just play from beginning to end back in the days. It's actual music, though. If you're not into listening to actual music outside of looking for samples then that's a damn shame because this is one of my favorite projects of the past year in that respect.

Build An Ark plays instrumental Soul, Jazz, Samba and mix it in with some nice vocals on a couple of tracks reminiscent of the 60's & 70's. I give it a mos def. Search it out if you actually appreciate music played by actual people with instruments.



Somewhat Tolerable Joints: American Star, Prom Queen, Ground Zero, Drop The World (Em's verse), Runnin’ (with just Shannel on it),

Hot Garbage: Da Da Da, Paradice, Get A Life, On Fire, Drop The World (Wayne & the beat), Runnin' (Wayne's verses), One Way Trip, Knockout (Nicki Minaj is a carbuncle on your penis the day Rosario Dawson says "Yes") and The Price Is Wrong


Dart's Take: You know those big budget Hollywood movies that feature a huge box office draw in the lead role but they continuously get pushed back & they end up with 5 or more writers and no trailer for more than a year? When they finally come close to release, get a film poster & the trailer ends up an exclusive on Apple it suddenly gets pushed back again just to drop and it turns out it sucks? Well, that's "Rebirth"

This album has no direction. Some songs have annoying ass AutoTune effects but some don't. The verses are underwhelming. With the exception of Eminem the guest appearances were pointless. Some of these tracks should've clearly been given to other people.

This album was pure torture to listen to and I'd rather tap dance while eating a bucket of KFC in blackface live on Fox News rockin' a top hat, tuxedo & tails with spats than listen to this album ever again. It started out as an attempt at a crossover album but you can tell that idea was rethought then later they decided to go along with the original plan again. What?

This project is a failure in every imaginable facet of record making. It's not even close to being good and I can't wait for Weezy stans to attempt to defend it. I give it the only rating it deserves, the wackness. Fuck outta here!



Best Joints: Best of Times, Cheeba Cheeba, Chittlins & Pepsi, Questions, Smile, New Love, Get Started, Pressure, True Champs, Needle In The Haystack, Ambassadors, Chants, Bark Like A Dog and Two Pistols

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: Take Strong Arm Steady. Add Madlib on the boards. Now add verses from Phonte, Planet Asia, Fashawn, Talib Kweli, Chace Infinite, Montage One, Evidence, Oh No, Roc C, Sick Jacken, Roscoe , Guilty Simpson, Mitchy Slick, etc. and that leaves you with an album that you need to hear & purchase this holiday season. Mos def. This album kept me from jamming a sharp object in my ears after I got the Lil' Wayne & Young Money double dose of pain this week.



Joints That Don't Totally Suck: Gooder, Every Girl In The World (So many things wrong with this song), Pass The Dutch, Play In My Band (meh), Fuck Da Bulls (meh) and Roger That (meh),

Hot Garbage: Ms. Parker, Wife Beater, New Shit, Bedrock, Girl I Got You (don't. flip. "Escapade". lazy. It's a sin), Steady Mobbin' (Gucci Mane features get you a bullet in your top half), She Is Gone, Streets Is Watchin' (Nicki Minaj's verse was a low point in American history) and Finale (5 minutes of torture for those with discriminating tastes)

Dart's Take: There are 10 people on the cover of this album, that's about 7 or 8 too many. This album is horrid. The Young Money roster is weaker than the New Jersey Nets' is. When the best person in your crew ghostwrites for the CEO who's also on his way to jail you know your team is doomed.

In a few years, we'll look back at this shit sandwich of an album and laugh. I'm way ahead of my time so I'll laugh right now. Wayne's album was the wackness...this is 3x worse because it's even more wack verses total. Listening to this album is like having a forced prostate exam by the Terminator (regardless of what gender you happen to be) while simultaneously being forced to watch "Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns"....


I need the Men In Black to pull out the neuralyzer and erase my memory of these two wack ass albums so I won't have daymares & night terrors then dispose of them for me.

MIB's: You know the drill by now. Or have you forgotten it? Stand still and look straight ahead *Activates neuralyzer*

Am I done? Fuck are they going? What did they leave with? *Scrolls up* Ooooh. I see now...


Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):



Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop:

Rhymefest-El Che

Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot, Son Of Chico Dusty
Pac Div-Grown Kid Syndrome
Blu-God Is Good
Drake- Thank Me Later
Alchemist & Oh No are Gangrene
Eternia & MoSS- At Last
B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
Statik Selektah & Termanology Are 1982
Lil' Fame & Termanology-Fizzyology
Baatin-Titus
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
Statik Selektah-The Hangover
Buff1 & Rhettmatic -Crown Royale
Apollo Brown & Boog Brown are UPS-Brown Study
Kidz In The Hall-Land Of Make Believe
DJ Muggs & Ill Bill- Kill Devil Hills
Jay Electronica x Mos Def x Curren$y-Center Edge Territory
Meth x Rae x Ghost-The Wu Massacre


Bloggerhouse is here. Dart Adams (Poisonous Paragraphs), Travis Glave (Wake Your Daughter Up), & Eric Coons (When They Reminisce) are the official lineup of Bloggerhouse. Content is king and we are the undisputed kings of content. In less than two weeks it'll be a wrap for Poisonous Paragraphs and I'll begin anew. Bloggerhouse is a mix of the past, present and future of Hip Hop blogging.

One.