This is more or less the way I've always explained the importance of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest with regard to my appreciation of rap & hip-hop in general. I listened to and enjoyed a decent amount of rap music prior to the emergence of Native Tongues, but it wasn't until "3 Ft." & "People's Travels" that…

This is more or less the way I've always explained the importance of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest with regard to my appreciation of rap & hip-hop in general. I listened to and enjoyed a decent amount of rap music prior to the emergence of Native Tongues, but it wasn't until "3 Ft." & "People's Travels" that…

I will adore both of these groups 'til my end. But I never thought I'd see the day where Beastie Boys would be considered more lyrically obtuse than De La Soul. "Conversational, easy-to-follow style" or not, De La Soul was/is way more lyrically cryptic than Beasties ever were. A large portion of my enjoyment of De…

I will adore both of these groups 'til my end. But I never thought I'd see the day where Beastie Boys would be considered more lyrically obtuse than De La Soul. "Conversational, easy-to-follow style" or not, De La Soul was/is way more lyrically cryptic than Beasties ever were. A large portion of my enjoyment of De…

Dude, you're ruling it so hard right now! Thanks for the heads up!

Dude, you're ruling it so hard right now! Thanks for the heads up!

And this is why Amazon kind of owns my mp3 purchasing situation. I downloaded about 6 albums last night that I've had my eye on for the past few weeks/months. They were all between $2.99-$4.99. I couldn't resist.

And this is why Amazon kind of owns my mp3 purchasing situation. I downloaded about 6 albums last night that I've had my eye on for the past few weeks/months. They were all between $2.99-$4.99. I couldn't resist.

I guess we could riff on how he's being crucified by the commentariat here but…whatever.

I guess we could riff on how he's being crucified by the commentariat here but…whatever.

You see that too, right?

You see that too, right?

From Frank Ocean's Twitter feed a couple of days ago: "stevie wonder just sang no church in the wild to me at this party. had to jot that down."

From Frank Ocean's Twitter feed a couple of days ago: "stevie wonder just sang no church in the wild to me at this party. had to jot that down."

So does he have a wolf or a Hulk inside of him? And is the Hulk as crazy for steak as the wolf would be? Something seems amiss if your inner wolf is turning into the Hulk. I'm confused.

So does he have a wolf or a Hulk inside of him? And is the Hulk as crazy for steak as the wolf would be? Something seems amiss if your inner wolf is turning into the Hulk. I'm confused.

"We killed a man, Drew. Shot him in the back - a mountain man, a cracker. It gives us somethin' to consider."

"We killed a man, Drew. Shot him in the back - a mountain man, a cracker. It gives us somethin' to consider."

There's a line in "We All Try" from Nostalgia, Ultra. where he sings "I believe that love isn't between man and woman but between love and love" which made me think that he was progressive for a new-school R&B cat, but I didn't assume the lyrics meant anything beyond that.

There's a line in "We All Try" from Nostalgia, Ultra. where he sings "I believe that love isn't between man and woman but between love and love" which made me think that he was progressive for a new-school R&B cat, but I didn't assume the lyrics meant anything beyond that.