In an era in which immediate Internet ascent and nebulous "buzz" are viewed by many as career apotheosis, Tanya Morgan represent the triumph of the slow, steady grind. Formed out of the amoebic stew of the Okayplayer message board world in the early years of the last decade, the team of Von Pea, Donwill, and Ilyas quickly became a favorite among those in corners of the Web who believed that hip-hop's been sliding downhill since Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" in 1996.

Due to their influences (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, the artists on Rawkus Records) and laidback bent, the Brooklyn- and Cincinnati-bred group was an unlikely candidate to be polarizing. But much of the last decade of hip-hop criticism and message board mongering has been spent drawing lines between those who viewed nostalgia as an inherent evil and those being dragged kicking and screaming into the new era.

Accordingly, Tanya Morgan's early work channeled the Native Tongues and the Lyricist Lounge set, and when they failed to create anything as strong as A Tribe Called Quest's "Low End Theory," a vocal minority immediately and wrongfully dismissed them. Conversely, their admirers championed them as torchbearers of a flame that they never asked to carry. But quietly and stealthily, they've evolved into one of the finest groups of their generation.

2009's "Brooklynati" was hailed as a minor classic in quarters as varied as their Okayplayer stomping grounds, XXL and the Onion's A.V. Club. Even Robert Christgau, the self-proclaimed dean of American rock critics, praised their "soul and smarts." But in 2010, the group seemed to take its biggest step forward, with Von Pea and Donwill releasing solo offerings that established them as legitimate solo artists in their own right.

Even if the name Pure Filth doesn't ring a bell, chances are that your bell's been rung by their obliterating sound systems over the last several years. Indeed, the booming sonic centrifuges provided by Sam Robson (a.k.a. Sam XL) have become the de facto gold standard at Los Angeles bass music parties, from the Low End Theory to the Bassface parties downtown, to the riotious campground Coachella after-parties. If it's not a Pure Filth system, you might as well be using clock radio speakers.

Beyond the hyperbole lies empirical truths.  Attend any one of the parties listed above, and you can''t ignore the crowds of young people sucked into the maelstrom of disemboweling bass. The sound systems created by Pure Filth are loud to the point of causing tinnitus, but they offer a bizarre ablution. Consider it purification via the suffocating kickdrum and heavy wobble.

Give Game credit. Over the last 12 months, he's released a great album. The problem is that you have to put it together yourself.

Released in union with longtime collaborator DJ Skee, "Purp & Patron" is the erstwhile Jayceon Taylor's third mixtape in the last nine months. Combined and scattered amid all the compulsive name-drops, '93 West Coast posturing and abhorrent Kardashian family drops, is something very good. Maybe not as excellent as his steroid-era classic, "The Documentary," or the jilted lunacy of "Doctor's Advocate," but rock solid nonetheless. Far from revolutionary, but a nice addition to a deceptively estimable catalog.

 
With Kanye West claiming the "government administer[s] AIDS," Jadakiss asking "why did Bush knock down the towers" and the omnipresent rumors linking Jay-Z into the illuminati, the hip-hop world has long loved a good conspiracy. So when urban video clearinghouse, World Star Hip Hop went down on Monday morning, the Internet hive burst into a conflagration of rumors, hearsay and jokes about quasi-video vixen Kat Stacks.

The most heavily advanced theory was that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security had shut down the popular website due to its heavy reliance on copyrighted material.  Within minutes and with no concrete evidence, various blogs, websites and Twitter feeds began reporting the rumor as fact. The line of logic followed that it was another sweep from the United States government, which had seized the URL and domains belonging to popular rap sites Rap Godfathers, Onsmash and Dajaz1 late last year. Since the closure, Onsmash has regrouped under the banner FreeOnSmash.

And then 50 Cent got involved. Taking to his Twitter to announce, "I don’t know why people underestimate me. I just shut down WorldStar. For future advertising contact thisis50.com suckers...I put WorldStar to bed, you don’t believe try me and I will shut your [site] down. Lol. I predict two more web sites will shut down this week. Take a guess who they are. I’m sick of the hate. I’m too strong." 

One of rap’s oldest truisms is that great albums are the results of one producer with one rapper. Whether it’s Guru and Premier, Rakim and Eric B. or Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, all but the most versatile rhymers usually bond best with a particular style and sound.

A decade and half deep into a storied career, Brooklyn’s Talib Kweli falls into this category. Collaborations with Kanye West, Just Blaze and Madlib have all yielded critical and commercial success, but his most poignant material always comes in concert with the Cincinnati-bred Hi-Tek. Whether it’s the 2000 classic “Train of Thought,” last year’s rock-solid comeback “Revolutions Per Minute,” or even the 2007 one-off “Time,” Hi-Tek’s elegiac beats not only adhere perfectly to Kweli’s adenoidal double-time flow, but their plaintive nature brings out his most poignant and introspective writing.

Cobbled together from a babel of veteran underground producers, “Gutter Rainbows” feels rote. There are high points — most notably, the post-traumatic stress romance, “Tator Tots,” and the Ski Beatz-produced soul workout, “Cold Rain.” Too often he relies on inflexible rhyme schemes and self-congratulatory similes (“I’m lying like Pinocchio…I’m a freedom fighter like Voltaire.”) One hook (“Friends and Family”) lazily repeats, “Nothing else matters more than friends and family.”

Accordingly, “Gutter Rainbows” too often feels like an unfulfilled promise — an excess of concrete and not enough vibrancy.

—Jeff Weiss

Talib Kweli
“Gutter Rainbows”
Javotti Media/3D
Two and a half stars (Out of four)

One of 2010’s most overlooked albums belonged to Lloyd Miller, whose collaboration with the British funk outfit Heliocentrics yielded a particularly fruitful and unorthodox union. Released by Strut Records, the combination paired the 72-year old musician and ethnomusicologist with a band fluent in the music he despises: funk, rock and hip-hop.

A jazz purist averse to anything opposed to euphony, Miller is old school in the most thorough way conceivable. Over the last several years, as his seraphic and exotic tunes have received a critical revival (thanks in no small part to Stones Throw), he’s achieved a reputation for whip-smart cantankerousness, critiquing the ills of pop culture with an acidic pen -- see this infamous e-mail exchange between Miller and Now-Again Records maestro Eothen “Egon” Alapatt.

There is time as scientists undertand it, a 24-hour cycle ruled by planetary orbits, the sun and moon, and the occasional smoke break. And then there is time for Snoop Dogg, a man who inhabits a galaxy in which the Gregorian calendar has no role, and whose Rolex wristwatch is permanently glued to 4:20.

Indeed, there was something inherently logical about the second installment of Calvin Broadus' #PuffPuffPassTuesdays dropping late Wednesday. Whereas Week 1  premiered "El Lay," another Snoop hometown ode, Week 2 tackles his "political" side.

As he claims on the intro to "Gangbang Rookie," "I ain't a member of the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. I represent the Gangster Party." This may explain why Bill O' Reilly has never come around on him.

Then again, it's been nearly 20 years since the pipe-cleaner-built and braided Broadus first repped the Long Beach Crips. And even though the decades have brought the family-friendly Uncle Snoop guise, gangsta rap will forever remain a safe pose for Snoop. So it goes when you are responsible for a million teenagers learning what the acronym "LBC" stands for. 

Right now, Snoop's the quintessential wily veteran. His lyrical content has been largely static for nearly a decade and a half, but he's got silver screen charisma, and when you have such a great ear for beats, you can always paper over your shortcomings. On "Gangbang Rookie," Snoop enlists the chameleonic gifts of Seattle producer Jake One, who has effortlessly straddled the mainstream and hip-hop worlds like few of his peers.

Last year's Rhymesayers-released "The Stimulus Package" (done in collaboration with Freeway) proved Jake One's ability to craft a coherent album-length statement, while his recent productions for T.I. and the Ghostface Killah have stood out as high points on their respective efforts. Through an innate musicality and gift for precise arrangements, Jake One wrings new life out of ostensibly played-out soul-based hip-hop. Thankfully, he understands that the slick piano rolls and elegiac brass riffs will never go out of style if done correctly.

Snoop keeps it on cruise-control, aware that all he needs to do is float atmospherically. No one will ever mistake this for his "Doggystyle" vintage, but he's been on a hot streak of late. See also "That Good," his collaboration with Wiz Khalifa that's racked up roughly 150,000 YouTube views in just three days. Both artists understand an essential truth about humanity, one that will afford them a commercial longevity that their more gifted peers will never see. After all, there will always be an unlimited supply of stoned college kids.

-- Jeff Weiss

Download: (via Nah Right)
MP3: Snoop Dogg ft. Pilot --"Gangbang Rookie"

 
Despite reports of flagging sales of Guitar Hero, DJ Hero and Theremin Hero (ostensibly), the video game industry continues its quest to re-create every conceivable experience for PC and smart phone users. Hence, the recent report that a video game based on the Grateful Dead will hit stores this summer.

According to Curious Sense, which has partnered with Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, "within seconds of entering the Grateful Dead Game, Dead Heads, and new fans alike, will be drawn into an experience that will adapt to the type of visitor they are. From the first click the player will enter into a universe of Grateful Dead music, sounds, and visuals. Games and activities will reside within several regions of the World, each designed according to a theme from Grateful Dead lore --  the Old West, Space, San Francisco, Giza.

"At every turn whimsy, surprises, pranks, and miracles may be presented... Dead Heads will dig the experience for the novel ways we’ll offer them to play with the music they love. Prospective fans will have a new port of entry into the Grateful Dead World."

Because we here at Pop & Hiss are connoisseurs of whimsy, surprise and miracles (but not pranks), we're offering a few suggestions to the game manufacturers (from a fan who doesn't miss Furthur shows and has purchased enough "Dick's Picks" to need bankruptcy protection.)

• Discover Who's Selling Bunk L.S.D.

Utilizing a series of Choose Your Own Adventure-like options and a careful reading of body language, you will be forced to guess which dreadlocked hippie is attempting to sell you plain sugar cubes and not the Bear's finest chemistry. Should you be able to get the right flavor of Orange Sunshine, you will be treated to an extremely trippy version of "He''s Gone."

The following records reflect a few of the worthwhile rap releases let loose over the last week. Be forewarned: Most, if not all of these songs contain foul langugage.

Fiend -- "Tennis Shoes & Tuxedos"

Best known to the masses as one of the No Limit mercenaries on "Make 'Em Say Uhh!," the New Orleans veteran born Ricky Jones has seen a serious resurgence over the last year. Fiend has cannily aligned himself with former labelmate Curren$y's J.E.T.S. crew. Displaying a newly found Barry White baritone, the so-called International Jones has made arguably the first great rap record of the New Year. With guest appearances from fellow crew members, Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T. and Smoke DZA, Fiend carves out his own space: Laid-back and lecherous smokers' music so smooth and soulful that it makes Rick Ross seem like Mystikal. Best of all, it's free -- meaning you'll have to pay for only one type of green. 

Via Jets Fool

ZIP: Fiend -- "Tennis Shoes & Tuxedos" (left click)

Snoop Dogg has always been more early adopter than inventor. The lanky Long Beach veteran certainly didn't invent gangsta rap, but he helped to perfect it, bringing a balance to the often overheated genre with his cool, crisp drawl and melodic flow.

When he noticed the balance of power shifting to the South, he became a No Limit soldier and collaborated with Master P, Mystikal and Silkk the Shocker. He joined the first batch of rappers using Auto-Tune, but used it for his own sleazy means to croon silk-robed come-ons about sexual eruptions. It's the same smooth calculation he still uses to stay relevant today, working with Wiz Khalifa, the prince of the next generation of stoner rappers, at a time when most of his peers are forced into early retirement.

Beyond an innate charisma that Obama might envy, Calvin Broadus' genius has always been to be a half-step ahead of the trends. He's capable of catching fads at the apex of their popularity, before they become played out.

Accordingly, after Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Fridays were the talk of every music blog all fall, the ever-savvy Snoop is launching his #PuffPuffPassTuesdays with the Scoop Deville-produced "El Lay." A significant portion of his marketing acumen comes from being able to write songs with broad appeal. Hence, a recent single, "New Year's Eve," which was released just in time for radio DJs looking for holiday material.

Unsurprisingly, Snoop's PR team notes that "El Lay" is released to coordinate with next month's NBA All-Star game, hosted in the city of Angels -- not to mention his 11th studio album, "Doggumentary Music," slated for a March release on Capitol. The latest cut is much very much aligned with Snoop's traditional aesthetic-- a permanently laid glide groove tailor-made for smooth drives in fast cars. Hook man Marty James croons about "rolling down the 405," while Snoop describes a typical day "rolling down Fairfax ... bust a left turn on Pico ... gotta see the Bishop, he got me some gator shoes/Gotta roll to Hollywood/I'm at the House of Blues." Rest assured, Snoop isn't slipping -- he makes a later stop at his dispensary to buy some kush.

There are some artists you want to challenge conventions and traditions, experiment and expand art forms. Snoop isn't one of them -- at least he's not right now. In 2011, "El Lay" is exactly what we should expect from the city's honorable stoned uncle: funk-riddled ride music that's impossible to deny within the 213, 818, 323 and 310 area codes.

-- Jeff Weiss

Download: (via 2 Dope Boyz)

MP3: Snoop Dogg ft. Marty James-"El Lay"

Little Dragon is one of those bands that inspires friends with whom you haven't spoken in six months to send you random text messages involving lavish approbation and a half-dozen exclamation marks.

Little Dragon formed as teenagers in Gothenburg, Sweden. Last year's "Machine Dream" fused '80s synth pop, late '90s R&B, '90s hip-hop and influences that alternately recall Blonde Redhead, Kraftwek, and Bjork.

But playing the connect-the-dots influences game does little justice to the quartet's originality. Eschewing guitars (save for Fredrik Wallin's funky bass lines), they craft something intensely modern, lively drums that mimic machines, synths that shimmer like a fata morgana, and a hip-hop intensity without sounding remotely rap-like.

Accordingly, they've been adopted by their chameleonic cognate Damon Albarn, who enlisted the band for a pair of tracks on last year's excellent "Plastic Beach." The collaborations led to Albarn's recruiting them to open for him on a recent tour of the United States.

In advance of Friday's show at the Natural History Museum's First Fridays series and Saturday's Echoplex performance, lead singer Yukimi Nagano spoke to Pop & Hiss about working with Albarn, their new record, and their love of the Pharcyde.

-- Jeff Weiss

Question: I imagine that the band isn't really the New Year's resolution type, but are there any goals that you hope to achieve this year?

Answer: Just to have a blast. Enjoy the shows we have booked up and release our third album without any trouble. Try to not fight and be happy. ... We have a lot of dreams, like it would be nice to be able to afford to bring dancers or like a private masseuse on the road one day, but it doesn't have to happen this year.

What was it like touring with the Gorillaz? Was it challenging for the band to fit into the scheme of the larger show at hand, did you have to change your approach to performance, or was it fairly natural?

It's always a challenge to be a opener, so we had to change our set around and think of something short but sweet. The stages and venues were so huge, which was another aspect that was different from what we were used to. After being on the road with the Gorillaz for a few weeks, everyone got to know each other and the vibe was good, and we always felt welcome and a part of the whole thing.

Last year, few producers could match the prolificacy of Terrace Martin. He released a collaborative EP with Frank Nitt, a full-length with Kurupt, and a Marvin Gaye-inspired record called, "Here, My Dear." And that was in addition to the dozens of beats he farmed out to other rappers.

But less than a week into 2011, the Locke High School graduate has also staked the new year as his own. His first salvo was "Melrose," a collaboration with venerable underground hero Murs that found the pair "taking a ride down Melrose Blvd," eating at food trucks, flirting with beautiful women, and hanging out with Barney, the Purple Dinosaur. Just a breezy afternoon with 6-foot-tall prehistoric beasts, shutterbug tourists and Lala's Chicken -- one that racked them up 13,000-plus YouTube views in less than 48 hours. 

Able to shift effortlessly between the former Fat Beats set and the MTV crowd, Martin has collaborated with Snoop Dogg since at least 2006's "The Blue Carpet Treatment." So it was only natural he enlisted the Long Beach legend for "Exersize," a track on next month's "Sex EP." The pair's natural chemistry reveals itself immediately, as Martin offers Snoop keyboards brighter than the Staples Center, plus auroral flute trills. The beat rolls like a Sunday afternoon Crenshaw Boulevard blunt cruise, and no one handles that terrain quite like Snoop, who kicks his effortless flow, complete with Morris Day and the Time and Rock the Vote references. To its credit, it would've worked in 1991, 2001, or right now.