Because if you don’t get it, you were never meant to.

(photo courtesy the Blackroc website, www.blackroc.com)

Hey guys. Extremely busy so again falling behind with the posts. But I DID go see KiD CuDi at the Kool Haus in Toronto on Saturday (BIG thanks and love to Angelique Knights of Flow 93.5 for helping us out, I owe you one!)  So, ya know, I clearly have some gushing to do.  Am I gonna rave, or rant? That part, well you’ll have to wait to see.  Be patient, bitches.

In the meantime, I’m doing it Quickies-style and giving some tidbits just to keep you mildly entertained for a bit.  I hope you like my offerings!  But no Quickie for this one, cuz frankly it deserves a bit of a mini-essay.

If you’ve been reading The R consistently enough, you’ll know that I’ve been listening to the Blakroc album for almost two weeks now.  Just in case you don’t know your hip hop (shame on you) or live under some kind of rock, or just prefer to spend your time deconstructing Adam Lambert’s boring, subpar performance on the AMA’s that brought all the secret homophobes outta the woodwork just long enough to get his GMA gig cancelled … Black Keys have just dropped their Blakroc album.  A proper fusion of rock and rap, done just the way it’s supposed to be done: all instruments and a collection of some of the best music-loving MC’s in hip hop.

Their video for the first single off of their self-titled album, “Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)” should be enough to satisfy your palate, for now.  Bringing together Mos Def and Jim Jones on a blues track??  Live shooting in the studio?  Split screen, a la Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing) video?  I’ve seen enough.  And there’s more on the album, if you’re into the MC cameo list more than the actual music -which is, by the way, some of the best rock I’ve heard since the 1970′s.  Rza (!!!) is on it, and so are Luda, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, ODB (argh!!!), Q-Tip referring to some chick as a “tenderoni” (loving, can’t breathe from sheer excitement), Billy Danze of M.O.P. and Nicole Wray (I am ready to pass out at this point).

Can we just take a moment to reflect on my fave on the list: Mos?  Mos is one of the most creative minds in hip hop I’ve ever seen.  Such talent, I love it.  Such a huge crush.

Please, please, if you do anything today, go search-engine the Blakroc album, at the very least I’m sure you can stream it from somewhere.  Try Hype Machine maybe?  (Link’s on my Blogroll).  Time at work well-wasted, and welcomingly so, I’m sure.

If you really want them, like crying tears of want, and can’t find them, I’ve got all the tracks.  You know what to do, lovers.

The R Word: Rave. What Limp BizKit THOUGHT they coulda pulled off, except they were fronted by a complete douchebag.  Oh yeah, and their music SUCKED.  Black Keys know their f*ckin rock n roll.

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