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Today’s Shuffler: Koba

“…mad-as-hell Koba delivered one of the afternoon’s angriest and most on point performances which drew high praise from the crowd.” - Urb Magazine, April 2005

“Koba recited lyrics that earnestly expressed his grievances with the state of hip-hop.” - The Nation Magazine, March 16, 2005

Koba is an inventive, irreverent and unrepentantly radical hip-hop vocalist slash producer hailing from Brooklyn, NY. For five years he entertained eager audiences from coast to coast as part of the now disbanded Asian-American hip-hop group Kontrast, culminating with the release of their debut album Pencils (which Koba produced and wrote the bulk of). From soulful vocal harmonies giving expression to another world of possibility to a delivery as equally unrelenting as reality itself “from the West Bank to the South Side of Chicago,” Koba creates music with nothing less than the entire globe in his sights. The urgency of Koba’s rhymes are anchored by production inspired by an unimaginably diverse and international range of influences while staying concretely in tune with the pulse of the streets, assisted by Toronto-based co-producer Gamshooter of All Day Productions. The formidable DJ Boo, also of the Juggaknots and Quannum-recording artists ApSci, provides the backbone to Koba’s signature sweat-drenched live show.

Koba has rocked at venues and schools across the country like the future depends on it, sharing the stage with Talib Kweli, Slum Village, dead prez, Last Emperor, DJ Envy, Immortal Technique, Medusa, Vernon Reid, C Rayz Walz, The X-Ecutioners, Outernational and others at such venues as SOB’s, the Knitting Factory, the Wetlands, CBGB’s, NYU’s Skirball Center, the Lion’s Den, the Middle East and elsewhere. He currently is working on his debut solo album Culture War due in 2008. Against the drowning tide of petty materialism and misogyny Koba stands to be at the center of a cultural bridge to an entirely different future.

Check out Koba’s homepage at kobasounds.com.

See that? Move on to the shuffle…

Annie’s Song
John Denver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkGS263lGsQ
Okay, so this isn’t exactly the first song a rapper much less a politically radical one would normally concede being on their playlist but the nano shuffles and I oblige. And while this isn’t even my favorite John Denver cut, of course Rocky Mountain High being reserved that spot with near religious fervor (nor even his most fun as Country Roads Take Me Home is one of the best drunken singalongs ever), Annie’s Song is so strangely sincere that it’d turn the coldest mug warm, if only privately. Invoking naturalistic imagery as an expression of love to his wife, “you fill up my senses, like a night in the forest, like mountains in spring time…like a storm in the desert”, Denver captures the awe and affliction any crusty hippie, seasoned redneck or general lover of the natural world can immediately identify with, and in the least makes a more romantic appeal than R Kelly being reminded of his jeep. And let’s not forget the surprisingly defiant role John Denver played in the PMRC censorship hearings (ever the unlikely defender of Ice T and 2 Live Crew).

Don’t Do That
Saigon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDge3QGYYDI
I know, that’s more like it. Few emcees synthesize the uncompromising (and contradictory) intensity of gangsta rap, the creativity of a conceptual-minded songwriter and the political savvy of a Chuck D like Saigon does. And while this song doesn’t have the controversial edge of “Kiss the Babies” or the innovative approach of “Pop Quiz”, it does display a commercially viability, also courtesy of Just Blaze’s monstrous production, that gives us real hope of seeing Saigon in the TRL limelight. For those unfamiliar to him outside of his HBO Entourage appearances, Saigon is a rapper from Rockland County signed to Just Blaze’s Fort Knox label. At the age of 15 he was charged with two counts of attempted murder. While in prison he read the influential Vietnam era book “Bloods” by Wallace Terry, reexamined his life and coined himself Saigon after the Viet Cong, the “illest mufuckin’ warriors ever” in his own words. This is the rare and lovely sort of song that makes you want to punch someone in the face repeatedly for mostly the right reasons, minus the homophobia which is as usual and to say in the least irritatingly unwelcome. In a time when Nas seems increasingly right about hip-hop’s current state, Saigon is one of those imperfect but glowing diamonds in the rough.

Subterranean Homesick Alien
Radiohead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2iZyEK4ZQ
This is seriously one of my favorite songs ever and not even just as a stoner-headphone magnum opus (but yes to paraphrase Jon Stewart in Half-Baked…”have you ever listened to it, on weeeeed man?”). The allusion to Dylan, the atmospheric production soundscape derivative of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and the lyrical premise of being abducted by aliens that “show me the world as I’d love to see it” all fuse into a hauntingly beautiful anthem in opposition to the “uptight” orthodoxy of modern life that Radiohead deconstructs throughout OK Computer, their most conceptual and cohesive album. I spent a lot of nights widdling away my adolescent angst listening to this song under the stars…thank you Thom Yorke.

Ya Rayah
Rachid Taha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuPhCmmfKiE

It’s sad that Rai, a form of Algerian folk music, never really took foot in the United States outside of immigrant enclaves despite storming across the world under such luminaries as Cheb Khaled and Cheb Mami. This song is an especially beautiful effort from pop-rai fusionist Rachid Taha and was electrifyingly performed in his 1,2,3 Soleil! concert. “Ya Rayah” roughly translates to “the Emigrant” and Rachid ruefully laments the decision he and many of his Algerian compatriots made to emigrate to lands that were less than hospitable (rough translation):

How many overpopulated countries and empty lands have you seen?
How much time have you wasted?
How much have you yet to lose?
Oh emigrant in the country of others
Do you even know what’s going on?
Destiny and time follow their course but you ignore it
Why is your heart so sad?
And why are you staying there miserable?
Hardship will end and you no longer learn or build anything
The days don’t last, just as your youth and mine didn’t
Oh poor fellow who missed his chance just as I missed mine

Valerie
Amy Winehouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqSKVv6YO8g
I know, Amy frickin’ Winehouse. But hey this is shuffle, and rather than predictably rant on about how sudden pop celebrity and a hedonistic artistic spirit inevitably leads to a spiral of wanton self-destruction (save that for the assholes behind Behind the Music), I’m glad this song came up ‘cuz it’s by far her best effort and a display of undeniable talent. “Valerie” was originally created by the UK indie act The Zutons and was brilliantly reenvisioned by Winehouse in the live BBC Radio session linked above. An upbeat retro version also appears on super producer Mark Ronson’s album Version but I think the sheer rawness of this live performance best captures the narrative of this song. I really hope Amy cleans up and gets something to eat ‘cuz that’s not a voice that comes along everyday.

Morning of America
Blue Scholars
“On and on like the song goes, I wonder if we took the wrong road?” Word Geo. I’m not just saying this ‘cuz I know and perform with these cats (in fact I think artists who are friends hold each other to more rigorous examination in general) but Geologic is one of the sharpest writers in the game and Sabzi is head and shoulders above most producers, under and above ground. Hip-hop rarely sounds as richly layered and composed as it does throughout their latest release Bayani and I think it culminates with this track that has Geo pensively recalling and analyzing the cultural and political tumult that was the 1980’s. Kanye and Hi-Tek beware, Sabzi is so conscious of how powerful the arrangement is on this joint that he just lets that shit ride out toward the end like “mmhm”. Blue Scholars make Seattle and many others proud, present party included. Stand up!

Last 5 posts by shuffled

• Shuffled! Giles Li - August 7th, 2008
• Shuffled! Alexander Chee - July 31st, 2008
• Shuffled! Terry Park - July 24th, 2008
• Shuffled! Theresa Vu of Magnetic North - July 17th, 2008
• Shuffled! Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha - July 10th, 2008

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