SOUNDTRACK: FAT JOE-Tiny Desk (Home) Concert #217 (June 1, 2021).
This Tiny Desk (Home) Concert opens with big chords from Eric Whatley’s bass and Simon Martinez’ guitar. Then some record scratching from DJ Ted Smooth and crashing cymbals from Rashid Williams.
Fat Joe walks into a shop and is handed a mic as the Eugene “Man-Man” Roberts plays a menacing melody on the keys. I like Fat Joe’s vocal style but “My Lifestyle” is just another story of bitches n’ hos.
A founding member of the D.I.T.C. (Diggin’ In the Crates) crew, Fat Joe Da Gangsta has managed to last nearly 30 years and multiple generations in the rap game without ever giving up his lease on the top of the charts.
He introduces DJ Ted Smooth and his protégé Angelica Vila and then the Terror Squad band.
That crew turns the rugged “My Lifestyle” into a visceral experience with layers of nuance added by Joe’s longtime DJ Ted Smooth.
“What’s Luv?” is a slow ballad. Angelica Villa sings and her refrain of “whats luv” sounds remarkably like a sample–her voice is really amazing.
On the 2002 smash “What’s Luv,” Angelica Vila takes the spotlight singing a hook originally performed by Ashanti.
It’s weird to see her dancing and grinding like it’s a music video, which I guess it is, but still. There’s some salsa infusions in the song.
“Lean Back” has a bad ass riff and a repeated chant of “lean back.” It’s really catchy.
Latino hip-hop legend Fat Joe muscled his way out of the streets of the South Bronx with his debut album, Represent, in 1993. He radiates a different energy in 2021, sauntering in his own uptown streetwear shop, fresh fitted in pink leather and a designer bucket hat, but he’s still got that old larger-than-life electricity.
And yet he still seems unreasonably angry–staring down the camera and shouting, “Tiny Desk don’t play with us like that, man.” [What could that possibly mean in this context?]
Up next is “Sunshine (The Light)”
an effervescent new springtime jam that was spawned by 22-year-old internet sensation Amorphous, who mashed up Luther Vandross’s debut single “Never Too Much” with Rihanna’s “Kiss It Better.” Joe, who has always had a solid ear for new talent and a prowess for pinning down a buoyant hit record, came in and gullied this sparkling jam, renewing a glow that’s been dim for this last year.
It’s a pretty song and Angelica’s voice sounds really great. I look forward to hearing more from her.
He shouts out to Luther and then goes on a little rant about being old and having everything ripped away and the coming back at 40. I don’t know he seems pretty successful to me.
“All The Way Up” ends the set sounding similar to “Lean Back” but with a jazzy sample. Throughout the song as he raps lines there’s a response. I thought they were samples, but it turns out that the DJ is his hype man too.
I tend to like rappers in this Tiny Desk Home Concert better than on record, but I really liked Fat Joe’s style. I’ll have to keep it limited to this though, I think.
[READ: May 20, 2021] Heist
I enjoyed this book so much I wanted to see what else Paul Tobin had written. Lo and behold, he is responsible for a favorite graphic novel Claudette. This story is a lot different and a lot darker, but it still has his sense of humor.
The book opens with a man fleeing from people trying to kill him. Glane Breld escapes and says he needs a drink…and a crew. He’s been out of prison for nine hours and he is ready for his next heist.
The people he wants are Celine Disse, master gunsmith, Gaville, master of disguise (she is crazy-she enjoys blowing things up and collecting famous peoples underwear).
Saving the best for last Eddy Lets. Why is he the best? Because the closest this planet ever had to a leader was Eddy’s mom Lera. Her assassination was Glane’s fault.
When Glane heads to his rendezvous he is met by a local street urchin named Brady. Brady latches on to Glane and Glane cant shake him. But the kid proves useful. Not only does he get Glane away from some assassins but he also gets Glane a splint for his brain–so his mind can’t be read.
Then Brady, believing he has a tourist with a lot of money, tells the history of planet Heist. Right up to the story about Glane himself (Brady does not realize the man is Glane).
Dignity Corporation owns all of the planets in the area but this one (Heist). Glane was hired by the Dignity Corporation to find incriminating evidence on Lera. This faked evidence was used by Dignity to bring down Lera which eventually led to her assassination. Soon after, Heist was taken over by Dignity Corp. (more…)
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SOUNDTRACK: hiatus
