Wednesday, January 23, 2013
A COUPLE COOL NEW VIDS (music videos)
At the beginning of 2011 I put up a post on this site titled "You Slippin Internet" in which I expressed my disappointment in the internet for not informing me that Dru Down had dropped a new album (Chronicles of a Pimp) until several weeks after its release.
Once again there is new Dru Down material out there that I am finding out about waaay later than is acceptable. This video came out over 2 months ago and I'm just now finding out about it now (thanks to reader Joseph for alerting me). Something tells me that I'm not the only one who has had this song fly under their radar considering it has exactly 656 views at the time this is being written.
Dru Down seriously needs to get a publicist/manager/guy who will share his new music on "social media."
This song is quality stuff though, with a beat that sounds like it was made 10 years ago (diss or complement? you decide!) and Dru Down rapping like Dru Down. Unfortunately, it seems this is going to be the only new music from him for quite some time, because apparently he is serving a 3 year prison sentence now after just getting out last Spring. That fucking sucks and I hope he gets out asap.
On a lighter note, can we talk about Dru Down's continuously impressive wardrobe? In this video he is rocking a black "street" outfit and a white "pimp" outfit, which includes a white fur kangol hat.
Kangol hats are always funny to me, especially after my friend a while back described to me how cool his garb was at a wedding he was invited to, including a kangol hat that he wore the whole night. The apex of the story was that he got to finger some girl in the passenger seat of his car while driving home; smoking a cigar with his left hand and driving with his knees. Me and my other friend refused to believe his story on the grounds that no man actively wearing a kangol hat has touched a vagina since 1999 and he got pretty upset. When you reach your mid-to-late twenties and are still single all you have left is bragging about your occasional sexual escapades to your friends in a serious relationship and when they take that away, what do you have left? Hmmm??!?!
Life can be very sad and confusing.
What an unlikely trio here: Droop-E, J. Stalin and some woman named Nite Jewel. I have no idea who Nite Jewel is, but according to Complex she is a "lo fi songstress," which sounds pretty hip to me.
It's not every day you encounter a rap video that is a period piece, so I am happy to see this video is set in San Francisco circa 1933. It tells the story of the historical repercussions the United States faced after abolishing the gold standard because of the Great Depression (joke).
Everyone is dressed to the nines in their vintage wardrobe and it is nice to see rappers dressed up nicely even if J. Stalin's outfit is too big for him, especially the hat. All is forgiven because Stalin drops the show-stealing line "I think her name was Malaysia, I met her in Malaysia"
E-40 probably looks the sharpest with his pinstripe suit. Very mature look!
Any lip synching of the lyrics is dropped in favor of everyone just sort of moving around in slow motion and it looks good. Do you think rappers will eventually abandon lip synching altogether in favor of just showing some cool visuals?
This song has a very chill vibe to it and assuming Droop-E produced it, he is continuing to impress by expanding his sound beyond neo-hyphy blappers for his Dad.
Is it OK for anyone besides Dru Down and Samuel L. Jackson to wear Kangol hats?
Where can I buy a "FREE DRU DOWN" tall tee?
Do you wish there were more period piece rap videos?
Does anything in life really matter at all?
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Thanks for making a post about this Thomas and hopefully generating a bit more interest in this video and Dru's music in general.
ReplyDeleteThis track is dope as fuck and I personally love the fact that Dru's wardrobe, beat selection and rapping style haven't really changed that much since about '96. He's really one of the only Bay artists still making music with that classic nineties Bay sound; how does he find these beats? Do producers make them especially for him? Anyway it's definitely a compliment because this shit is just so damn distinctive whereas a lot of Bay music coming out now is very East Coast/Southern influenced. Dru manages to sound purely West Coast without being nostalgic/wack [Hi Game].
A shocking element of this video is that Dru Down no longer appears to be rocking a jerry curl which is marginally disappointing....I suppose his oversized, diamond encrusted, gat-shaped belt buckle makes up for it slightly.
I've been trying to get in touch with Dru for a while but it's next to impossible....he's very strange; for example, the Facebook page listed at the end of this video doesn't actually exist!! I mean wtf? Who does that?
To end on a brighter note, I presume Dru Down will be featured heavily on the upcoming Regime double album so there IS some new material from him on the horizon...just not solo.
Additionally....no, Nothing in life really matters at all.
Did you try emailing the yahoo address at the end of the video? Might be worth a shot.
DeleteAlso I am really stoked to hear the Regime albums next month, I hope it features a lot of Dru Down and Ampichino.
Thomas where was this wedding in which your friend wore a Kangol hat? I have been to a wedding in the past three years (for people from Oakland) and there was a dude wearing a kangol hat. Couldn't forget something that important.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me you two were at the same wedding.
DeleteIt was in Sacramento, maybe two years ago.
DeleteThis was somewhere north of Oakland that was not Sacramento. Black dude in an all white tux with matching white Kangol hat. They are probably related, though.
DeleteIs it OK for anyone besides Dru Down and Samuel L. Jackson to wear Kangol hats? - Quentin Tarantino, but only whilst wearing A matching "Wu-Wear" Football Jersey.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I buy a "FREE DRU DOWN" tall tee? - (from the states .gov webpage): "Effective Immediately, ALL smoke shops in the San Francisco Bay Area shall be REQUIRED to carry "FREE DRU DOWN" (Dru Down inc.) %100 Cotton T-Shirts, sizes XXXL, XXXXL, and Extra XXXXL. Failure to comply with these new requirements will result in no less than three (3) Pimp Slaps from Dru Downs Left-Hand (backside)."
Do you wish there were more period piece rap videos?
Should this question even have to be asked?
Does anything in life really matter at all?
????????????
BRB lobbying my local congressman to pass this measure promptly.
Delete-Charles
ReplyDeleteI imagine Dru couldn't get a hold of activator in rita, probably cut it off. I'm sure it's mostly due to being in & out of jail all the time but Dru has a terrible online presence. I'm surprised he's verified on twitter when he has all of 5 tweets on there lol. Bootsy Collins apparently posted a reworking of the Baby Bubba video recently.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXjRSUOGjFc
I wonder if Dru had been free these last few years if he would have followed Lee Majors descent into unapologetic trap music. I saw this funny anecdote from my homie Gas One re: Dru's recent trouble with the law, & a cat.
http://www.siccness.net/vb/5865948-post8.html
Droop-E always seems to make really good slow beats for his own music & by the numbers post-hyphy stuff for his dad. I think he realizes the need for top notch production to carry his tracks because his rapping leaves a LOT to be desired. I wish Cousin Fik would get quality videos like this, or make an album as good as his debut No Gravity again.
There was a Krypto & Jacka video pretty similar to this called gyangsta.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ldBrEyTn9M
The story about Dru Down fighting a cat is amazing and a great example of why I'm glad the internet exists.
DeleteThat "Gyangsta" video is great and I had not seen it before. I'm disappointed in Jacka for not speaking in Spanglish like the rest of them.
Sounds like good shit. BTW Nite Jewel is a pretty decent singer, kind of slow hypnotic stuff, similar to Glass Candy/Desire/Chromatics who were all on Italians Do It Better, and are all best known for being contributors to the soundtrack of the film Drive with Ryan Gosling in it. All well worth checking out if your not in a rap mood x
ReplyDeleteAnybody notice Droop-E actually raps pretty well on that song? I was pretty surprised.
ReplyDeleteThomas, Andre Nickatina can pull off the Kangol too
ReplyDeleteVery good point!
DeleteThese are two of the best songs I've heard come out inna while, thanks for that...
ReplyDelete