Published Material

The 20 Best Action Bronson Verses Of 2012 (So Far)

Published Material

I had the pleasure of compiling my favorite rapper Action Bronson’s 20 best verses of the year so far for Complex affiliated site Pigeons & Planes. And I was psyched that Action himself supported the feature on Twitter and also hit me directly to thank my for my work. Check the intro below, and click the link to read/listen:

Flushing, Queens chef-turned-rapper Action Bronson is having a big year. Between releasing one of the most stellar rap projects of 2012 with producer Party Supplies, Blue Chips, and making numerous features on songs with everyone from Odd Future to RiFF RaFF, plus consistently tearing down stages across North America and overseas in Europe, he planted himself firmly on the rap map. Through his steady grind he landed his first record deal with Vice Records. It’s been a quick ascent, but it looks as though Action is already set to jump to the next plateau of hip-hop stardom, especially now that he’s got label-backing and is being managed by Paul Rosenberg, who also handles business for another prolific white rapper you may have heard of, Eminem.

To celebrate Bronson’s pending projects with The Alchemist (Rare Chandeliers), Harry Fraud (Saab Stories), and Party Supplies (Blue Chips 2), and look back at all the work he put in this year to get where he’s at now, we put together a list of The 20 Best Action Bronson Verses Of 2012 (So Far). They all pack a punch, and as expected, there’s a plethora of food, weed, and hooker references. Enjoy the Queens-to-table smorgasbord, and as always, our compliments to the chef.

The 20 Best Action Bronson Verses Of 2012 | Pigeons & Planes  

Check out my other P&P features HERE. Peace.

Fragrant World

Interviews, Published Material

I first heard Yeasayer a few years ago during the closing credits of an episode of Entourage. It was their song “Sunrise,” and it made me an instant fan. Three years and two albums later, I had the opportunity to interview one of their band members Anand Wilder. We talked about their new album Fragrant World, which is excellent, and also played a game of word association, where I asked him about Jay-Z, molly, crab cakes, and more. Check both links below, and listen to “Fingers Never Bleed,” the first track off Fragrant World (and one of my faves from the album), which is out today.

A Game Of Word Association With Yeasayer | Pigeons & Planes

Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder Breaks Down Their Album Fragrant World | Complex

Partners In Rhyme

My Dudes, Published Material

In conjunction with the release of my dude Matisyahu’s new album Spark Seeker, my editor at Complex asked me to write a story about our longtime friendship. I took it back to our early days growing up in White Plains and the first time we ever rapped together, through our college years and our earliest live performances, what happened when he became religious and started to blow up, how “WP” came about, and everything else leading up to where we both are now, including us becoming fathers. Check it out in the link below.

Matisyahu And Me: Partners In Rhyme | Complex

Cop Matis’ new album Spark Seeker HERE. One.

The 50 Best Pearl Jam Songs

Published Material

Okay, so I grew up a pretty big Pearl Jam fan, and was really into their first few albums. But at some point in the mid-90’s, I just became completely obsessed with hip-hop, and really stopped paying attention to much else for a few years. In that time, Pearl Jam kept putting out albums, and I missed a lot of them. I was on my heavy hip-hop shit, and if not that, was really diving in to old soul music.

By the early mid-2000s, The Shins and other indie acts got me back into folk and rock music, but I still wasn’t really checking for new Pearl Jam material. I listened to their old stuff that I loved, but I don’t know, I just never really checked out their new albums. So when it came time to put together this list of The 50 Best Pearl Jam Songs, which is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now, especially after I saw the PJ20 doc. So to get started, I called on a few of my closest buds, who are die-hard PJ fans, to help me sift my through their back catalog.

It was a fun process, too. I started by emailing my boys, saying basically that I was going to be writing this list, and wanted their input as to what they thought were the best Pearl Jam songs, and their help identifying some sleepers and rarities. The email thread was epic, and turned into multiple threads, with everyone sharing links and stories of live shows and experiences involving Pearl Jam. We all got super into it. I forced us all to dig deep with crazy questions and requests to put songs in different categories and shit like that, and it actually turned into a really special experience for all of us.

And of course, I did my own research too, listening to all their albums, combing through interviews, reading the Pearl Jam Twenty book, searching endlessly on YouTube, etc. And after about a month of mixed research with my boys and on my own, I started compiling and writing my list for Pigeons & Planes. Today, it was published, and I’m very proud of how it came out. I’m sure Pearl Jam purists may disagree at times with my selections and the placement of certain songs, but hey, that’s what shit like this is for! I’m no expert, never claimed to be. I’m just a fan like the rest of you. Enjoy.

The 50 Best Pearl Jam Songs | Pigeons & Planes

Shout to my boys Tommy Dee, Triple J, Duigs, Tony, and Coop for the endless support and historic Pearl Jam email threads. I dedicate this post to you my dudes. Thank you. And mad love to Pearl Jam. I discovered some seriously amazing songs I had never heard before putting this list together, and fell in love all over again with some old favorites. You guys fucking rock.

*BONUS*

One lucky Pearl Jam fan recently got to create their setlist for an actual live show. Read about it, and see the setlist, in the link below. Props to dude for setting it off with “Wash,” that’s my shit.

Pearl Jam Superfan Creates Band’s Setlist | Rolling Stone

Bananas Bronson

Events, Interviews, Published Material

I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it again. Action Bronson is my favorite rapper of all time. Yes, it’s a bold statement, but fuck it, that’s how I feel. I love this dude. He’s nice as hell on the mic, makes great songs, and I just think he’s fucking hilarious. Any interview I’ve seen him in or read is amazing. And I’m proud to say that I’ve interviewed him myself in the past, and he was mad cool, funny, and interesting to talk to. I’m not saying Bronson is the best rapper of all time. No, that would be really irresponsible. The Biggie, Jay-Z, or Nas debate still lives on. But he has slowly but surely become my personal favorite. Watch him above as he premieres a new song produced by The Alchemist in Toronto, shit is sick. And below, he raps over the ice cream truck jingle for a Pitchfork feature. This guy is off the hook…

I still have never seen him live, but Action Bronson is the one and only rapper out right now I would pay money to see. Hoping to catch him before the year is out. Holler.

*Bonus*

Here’s a couple interviews I did recently for Complex with some other prominent white hip-hop guys. First, my feature with my old buddy Peter Rosenberg discussing his favorite female rap songs. Also, a quick interview I did with up and coming rapper Machine Gun Kelly in response to him being banned from a recent NYC performance.

Peter Rosenberg’s 25 Favorite Female Rap Song | Complex

Machine Gun Kelly Responds To Highline Ballroom Ban | Complex

The Tanning Interview with Nigel Sylvester

Interviews, Published Material, Sports, Youth

For my latest interview with Steve Stoute’s site The Tanning of America, I had the opportunity to talk to BMX pro Nigel Sylvester. Check the intro, a video of him biking through NYC (he’s from Jamaica, Queens), and the link to the interview below…

African-American professional BMX bike rider Nigel Sylvester is one of the premiere sensations in his rapidly growing sport. A native of Jamaica, Queens, Nigel first got put on to the pro world of BMX at age 12 while watching the X Games on television. He immediately went outside, grabbed his bike, and tried to mimic every trick he had just seen. Since then, his number one passion in life has been riding BMX bikes and embodying the culture that goes along with it. After crafting his style on the streets of New York City, he was noticed by legendary BMX rider Dave Mirra, who gave him his first sponsorship. And now, he is sponsored by enormous brands like Nike 6.0 and Gatorade, and leading the sport of BMX to the next level through his exciting, hip-hop infused videos, filmed worldwide. The catch is that he doesn’t compete anymore. He’s a pro street rider, for real.

In this in-depth interview, Nigel talks about how he handled being called “whiteboy” as a young teenager due to his interest in BMX, his run-ins with the police in New York City parks, his experiences traveling the world as a pro, and his hands on involvement in the production of his BMX videos. Plus, he discusses interracial dating, his love of hip-hop music, how he felt seeing Pharrell ride a BMX bike in N.E.R.D.’s “Provider” music video, and what exactly being a professional BMX bike rider entails for him in 2012.

The Tanning Interview with Nigel Sylvester

Fly Females

Events, My Dudes, Published Material

This appeared on Egotripland yesterday as part of their new partnership with UpNorthTrips. Check it out, it came out pretty dope…

UpNorthTrips Presents The 10s | Honey Dips: 10 Classic Raps About Fly Females

March is National Women’s History Month, so to end it off, we thought we’d sneak in a fresh new edition of The 10s, dedicated to the flyest females ever immortalized on wax. Proppers to our big homies at ego trip for their brolic list of “69 Songs Dedicated To That Special Lady” (which you can find in their Book of Rap Lists), but we thought we’d narrow it down and update their list a bit for UpNorthTripspurposes. We included a handful of our favorites from their list, mixed with some post-’98 joints, all named after the the honeys they pay tribute to. From the girl who claims she’s a virgin, to the chick with the “ass so fat you can see it from the front,” we celebrate the baddest of the bad in this episode of The 10s.

1. Slick Rick — “Mona Lisa”
Album: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
Year: 1988
Description: She tells Rick, “I got courage, and I don’t like porridge/ I’ve never been to college, but I’ve got crazy knowledge/ over eighteen and my eyes are green/ I wear more gold than that man on A-Team/ trim, slim, and also light skinned/ best believe Mona’s a virgin.” A virgin??!?!
Breakdown: The Rulers sees Mona Lisa in the pizza shop, and decides to push up. But his friend cock-blocks him, shoving him in a cab abruptly to go see some more “mature women,” leaving Mona Lisa singing that familiar Dionne Warwick melody, “If you see me walkin’ down the street, and I start to cry, walk on by…”

2. A Tribe Called Quest — “Bonita Applebum”
Album: People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Year: 1990
Description: “Stunning newness” with “elaborate eyes” and the perfect figure, “38-24-37.”
Breakdown: Tip is glad to meet Bonita Applebum, who is certainly appealing to him on another level. He questions his feelings, saying, “Do I love you? Do I lust for you? Am I a sinner because I do the two?” Either or, or both, Tip wants to get put on. And he’s got “crazy prophylactics” if it comes to that. Let’s hope she likes rap songs, for his sake.

3. Eric B. and Rakim — “Mahogany”
Album: Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em
Year: 1990
Description: “Almost looked Korean, but European.”
Breakdown: Rakim is cooling before a performance with Eric B. at the Palladium, when he sees Mahogany, and tells her, “I wanna get to know you better.” They dip off to take a walk before the 1 a.m. show time, and it’s clear that his ability to get inside her head has her wide open. Then, seeing the God rap on stage only magnifies her desires, and quickly they murk off together after his set, back to his condo. Now tell us he ain’t finesse Mahogany.

4. EPMD — “Jane”
Album: Strictly Business
Year: 1988
Description: “She’s fly, haircut like Anita Baker.”
Breakdown: During the first episode of the “Jane” series, Erick and Parrish introduce us to Jane. As fly as they think she is, this is actually a bit of a diss record towards her. Parrish even refers to her as a “skeezer” in the intro banter. But it seems that she’s the one doing the dissing, as she claims in her bedside note the morning after a night of gettin’ buckwild, “You have to be better, bigger, stronger, and much faster.” But this is just the beginning. The saga continues.

5. Ghostface Killah — “Beauty Jackson”
Album: Fish Scale
Year: 2006
Description: “Her voice was a slow jam, full length white mink/ hella fine with a beauty mark on her right cheek.”
Breakdown: So, she’s standing at the bus stop, no lollipop. Ghostface introduces himself, “Sweetie call me Tony Starks, Ghost if ya like ta,” and he lights her bogie as he admires her attributes. It’s not long before the bus comes, and he has to rush to pass off his math to Ms. Jackson, and as he does he accidentally “dropped the chrome.” Not a good look, Starks. Then again, maybe she respects heat holders.

6. Mos Def — “Ms. Fat Booty”
Album: Black on Both Sides
Year: 1999
Description: “The type of girl giving out fake cell phone and name” with her “neck and wrist laced up, very little makeup” and an “ass so fat that you could see it from the front.” Mos reveals, “She was like Jayne Kennedy, word bond, to my mother man, she was that ill.”
Breakdown: Mos meets Charise, but at first she plays him when he asks her to dance. Soon after, he sees her again, and is properly introduced to her by his boy. Turns out she was playing hard to get, but was actually feeling him, and ends up asking him to dance. Say word. After “weeks of dating and late night conversation,” he finally “smashed it like an Idaho potato.” But months into their love affair, she suddenly disappears. It isn’t long before Mos discovers Sharice is actually a bi-sexual stripper. What?!?!?

7. The Lost Boyz — “Renee”
Album: Legal Drug Money
Year: 1995
Description: “Her gear was mad phat” and “she wants to be a lawyer, in other words shorty studies Law.”
Breakdown: Mr. Cheeks, intrigued by Renee’s dope wears, approaches her on the street as she’s heading towards the train. He cops them a couple hot dogs, and as she reaches into her bag for a subway token, she drops a pack of rolling papers. Wait, Renee smokes trees?!?! Keeper! They proceed to go back to her crib to twist up and get it in. Then tragically, weeks later, after Cheeks basically wifes her up, Renee is shot and killed. Damn, son. RIP.

8. Poor Righteous Teachers — “Shakiyla [JRH]”
Album: Pure Poverty
Year: 1991
Description: Shakiyla is “no hooker, no slut, no bitch, and she listens.” She’s “civilized, and despises the drugs you sell.” Simply put, she’s a “wise, black queen.”
Breakdown: No need to flaunt your wealth around Shakiyla, and try to bag her by sending her gifts. She’s not into that type of shit. Wake up. The Earth don’t give a fuck about materialism. She respects wisdom.

9. O.C. — “Stronjay”
Album: Jewelz
Year: 1997
Description: “Five foot six, body thick, hair silky/ she could make the hardest man melt and turn milky.” Also, “bugged out shit, one eye was hazel, one was blue.” In other words, “The bizomb.”
Breakdown: O.C. sees Stronjay shopping in the city, and says to himself, “This sugar be a dime.” He invites her to have a drink, and they end up in a Sushi bar, politicking over Saki. His G must’ve been correct, because she invites him back to her penthouse suite on Park Avenue, and she’s whippin’ the 500 Benz and all that. She wastes no time, slipping off her draws in the elevator, assisting O.C. in taking off his clothes upon entering her crib, and eventually engaging in a full-on skinz session equipped with Moet, strawberries, and whip cream. Hey love.

10. Aceyalone — “Makeba”
Album: All Balls Don’t Bounce
Year: 1995
Description: “Not a young girl anymore.”
Breakdown: Aceyalone runs into his old girl Makeba after a few years, and they catch up on what’s been going on in their time apart. It seems Makeba’s been traveling, and searching, and most likely leaving every man that she’s met along the way in a tizzy. And Aceyalone’s moved on to new women, and been doing his thing with the raps. They reminisce on their days of love making and smoking cheeba together, and recall how loyal they were to each other and how they wanted to get married and have mad kids. But it seems she’s all grown up now, and has changed quite a bit during their separation. Still, there seems to be a chance that the two will re-unite, and hopefully, if it happens, she won’t leave Acey lonely again.

words by @StanIpcus / mix by @UNITEDCRATES / graphics by @CNTRBND

The 20 Best Shins Songs

Events, Published Material

To celebrate The Shins’ new album, which was released today, I put together a list over at Pigeons & Planes of the 20 Best Shins Songs. It’s not so easy to rank your favorite band’s best songs, but I gave it a whirl, and I’m pretty proud of how it came out. Props to Confusion for hooking up the pics and artwork and audio streams. Check the intro and link to the feature below…

The Shins released their fourth album today, Port of Morrow—their first in five years—led by brilliant songwriter/musician/auteur James Mercer and supported by a 2.0 version of the band. Even with a new lineup, the album has everything we love about The Shins on it. The songs are gorgeous, with enough pop sensibility to sing along to and the right touch of indie appeal to keep music snobs happy.

To celebrate The Shins’ latest opus, we gathered our picks for the 20 Best Shins Songs in their discography. From the song that Natalie Portman insisted would “change your life” in Garden State, to a B-side off one of their early 7 inch record releases, to their awesome Squeeze cover, we considered them all. Find out the stories and meanings behind their most celebrated records (via quotes by James Mercer), what song off Port of Morrow cracked our Top 5, and of course, the melancholy masterpiece we crowned #1.

The 20 Best Shins Songs | Pigeons & Planes

This is probably the last of The Shins wave of posts here at Westcheddar, so I hope you enjoyed them. But hey, you never know, their may just be another one around the bend! Now go cop the album. Thanks for reading…

*Bonus*

The Shins Live on Letterman (Full Set)

Sermon Stories

Interviews, Published Material

I had the absolute pleasure of spending an evening at Erick Sermon’s home studio a couple weeks ago, talking with him about all his classic records for a Complex Magazine feature (check the pic of us above). We went through his whole catalog, from the early EPMD days all the way up to his involvement with Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. 2, and everything in between. Dude has so many bangers it’s not even funny. Between all the shit he did for Redman and Keith Murray, to his solo songs, to the tracks he did for Busta and LL Cool J and Jay-Z, to the endless EPMD hits, his name HAS TO be brought up in G.O.A.T. producer discussions. Read both parts below…

Erick Sermon Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records: 

Part 1  | Part 2

Thanks to Erick Sermon for a great interview! And shout to Complex for continuing to kill it in 2012. Nice to be down with winners. Cheah.

The Check-In with Jadakiss

Events, Interviews, My Dudes, Published Material

Harrison meets Yonkers as the Rosenthal brothers from ItsTheReal interview Jadakiss over NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando. This is a true Westcheddar connection…

Vodpod videos no longer available.

via MTV

More NBA All-Star Weekend The Check-In interviews with everyone from Dwight Howard to comedian Kevin Hart HERE. And for those missed it, peep my Westcheddar interview with the Rosenthals, and my Complex interview feature with Jadakiss. Ahaa!