#and ep 11 will be combined with the season compilations

[melsyells]

Daiharu Moments Episodes 1-5

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

[crowdvscritic]

round up // JULY 21

‘Tis the season to beat the heat at the always-cold theatres and next to fans set at turbo speed. While my movie watching slowed a bit with the launch of the Summer Olympics on July 23rd, I’ve still got plenty of popcorn-ready and artsy recommendations for you. A few themes in the new-to-me pop culture I’m recommending this month:

Casts oozing with embarrassing levels of talent (sometimes overqualified for the movies they’re in)

Pop culture that is responding or reinterpreting past pop culture

Stories that get weEeEeird

Keep on-a-scrollin’ to see which is which!

July Crowd-Pleasers

1. Double Feature – ‘90s Rom-Coms feat. Lots of Lies: Mystery Date (1991) + The Pallbearer (1996)

In Mystery Date (Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 6/10), Ethan Hawke and Teri Polo get set up on a blind date that gets so bizarre and crime-y I’m not sure how this didn’t come out in the ‘80s. In The Pallbearer (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10), David Schwimmer and Gwyneth Paltrow try to combine The Graduate with Four Weddings and a Funeral in a story about lost twentysomethings. If you don’t like rom-coms in which circumstances depend on lots of lies and misunderstandings, these won’t be your jam, but if you’re like me and don’t mind these somewhat-cliché devices, you’ll be hooked by likeable casts and plenty of rom and com.

2. The Tomorrow War (2021)

I thought of no fewer movies than this list while watching: Alien, Aliens, Angel Has Fallen, Cloverfield, Interstellar, Kong: Skull Island, Prometheus, A Quiet Place: Part II, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith, The Silence of the Lambs, The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and World War Z. And you know what? I like all those movies! (Okay, maybe I just have a healthy respect/fear of The Silence of the Lambs.) The Tomorrow War may not be original, but it borrows some of the best tropes and beats from the sci-fi and action genres, so much so I wish I could’ve seen Chris Pratt and Co. fight those gross monsters on a big screen. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6/10

3. Dream a Little Dream (1989)

My July pick for the Dumb Rom-Com I Nevertheless Enjoyed! I CANNOT explain the mechanics of this body switch comedy to you—nor can the back of the DVD case above—but, boy, what an ‘80s MOOD. I did not know I needed to see a choreographed dance routine starring Jason Robards and Corey Feldman, but I DID. All I know is some movies are made for me and that I’m now a card-carrying member of the Two Coreys fan club. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

4. Black Widow (2021)

The braids! The Pugh! Black Widow worked for me both as an exciting action adventure and as a respite from the Marvel adventures dependent on a long memory of the franchise. (Well, mostly—keep reading for a second MCU rec much more dependent on the gobs of previous releases.) Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

5. Liar Liar (1997)

Guys, Jim Carrey is hilarious. That’s it—that’s the review. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

6. Sob Rock by John Mayer (2021)

It’s very possible I’ve already listened to this record more than all other John Mayer records. It doesn’t surpass the capital-G Greatness of Continuum, but it’s a little bit of old school Mayer, a little bit ‘80s soft rock/pop, and I’ve had it on repeat most of the two weeks since it’s been out. Featuring the boppiest bop that ever bopped, at least one lyrical gem in every track, and an ad campaign focused on Walkmans, this record skirts the line between Crowd faves and Critic-worthy musicianship.

7. Double Feature – ‘00s Ben Affleck Political Thrillers: The Sum of All Fears (2002) + State of Play (2009)

In The Sum of All Fears (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), Ben Affleck is Jack Ryan caught up in yet another international incident. In State of Play (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10), he’s a hotshot Congressman caught up in a scandal. Both are full of plot twists and unexpected turns, and in both, Affleck is accompanied by actors you’re always happy to see, like Jason Bateman, James Cromwell, Russell Crowe, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis, Morgan Freeman, Philip Baker Hall, David Harbour, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Wright—yes, I swear all of those people are in just those two movies.

8. Loki (2021-)

Unlike Black Widow, you can’t go into Loki with no MCU experience. The show finds clever ways to nudge us with reminders (and did better at it than Falcon and the Winter Soldier), but be forewarned that at some point, you’re just going to have to let go and accept wherever this timeline-hopper is taking you. An ever-charismatic cast keeps us grounded (Owen Wilson, Jonathan Majors, and an alligator almost steal the show from Tom Hiddleston in some eps), but while Falcon lasted an episode or two too long, Loki could’ve used a few more to flesh out its complicated plot and develop its characters. Thankfully, the jokes matter almost as much as the sci-fi, so you can still have fun even if you have no idea what’s going on.

9. Double Feature – Bruce Willis: Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995) + The Whole Nine Yards (2000)

Before Bruce Willis began starring in many random direct-to-DVD movies I only ever hear about in my Redbox emails, he was a Movie Star smirking his way up the box office charts. In the third Die Hard (Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), he teams up with Samuel L. Jackson to decipher the riddles of a terrorist madman (Jeremy Irons), and it’s a thrill ride. In The Whole Nine Yards (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10), he’s hitman that screws up dentist Matthew Perry’s boring life in Canada, and—aside from one frustrating scene of let’s-objectify-women-style nudity—it’s hilarious.

10. This Is the End (2013)

On paper, this is not a movie for me. An irreverent stoner comedy about a bunch of bros partying it up before the end of the world? None of things are for Taylors. But with a little help of a TV edit to pare down the raunchy and crude bits, I laughed my way through and spent the next several days thinking through its exploration of what makes a good person. While little of the plot is accurate to Christian Gospel and theology, some of its big ideas are consistent enough with the themes of the book of Revelation I found myself thinking about it again in church this morning. (Would love to know if Seth Rogen ever expected that.) Plus, I love a good self-aware celebrity spoof—can’t tell you how many times I’ve just laughed remembering the line, “It’s me, Jonah Hill, from Moneyball”—and an homage to horror classics. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

July Critic Picks

1. Summer of Soul (…or, When the Television Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

Even director Questlove didn’t know about the Harlem Cultural Festival, but now he’s compiled the footage so we can all enjoy one of the coolest music fest lineups ever, including The 5th Dimension, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, and Stevie Wonder, who made my friend’s baby dance more than once in the womb. See it on the big screen for top-notch audio. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Robin Williams takes on the bureaucracy, disillusionment, and malaise of the Vietnam War with comedy. Williams was a one-of-a-kind talent, and here it’s on display at a level on par with Aladdin. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. Against the Rules Season 2 (2020-21)

Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball, adapted into a film starring Jonah Hill), is interested in how we talk about fairness. This season he looks at how coaches impact fairness in areas like college admissions, credit cards, and youth sports. 

4. Bugsy Malone (1976)

A gangster musical starring only children? It’s a little like someone just picked ideas out of a hat, but somehow it works. You can hear why in the Bugsy Malone episode Kyla and I released this month on SO IT’S A SHOW?, plus how this weird artifact of a film connects with Gilmore Girls.

5. The Queen (2006)

Before The Crown, Peter Morgan wrote The Queen, focusing on Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren) in the days following the death of Princess Diana. It’s a complex and compassionate drama, both for the Queen and for Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen, who has snuck up on me to become a favorite character actor). Maybe I’ve got a problem, but I’ll never tire of the analysis of this famous family. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

6. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)

This month at ZekeFilm, we took a closer look at Revisionist Westerns we’ve missed. I fell hard for Roy Bean, and I think you will, too, if for no other reason than you might like a story starring Jacqueline Bisset, Ava Gardner, John Huston, Paul Newman, and Anthony Perkins. Oh, and a bear! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 10/10

7. New Trailer Round Up

Naked Singularity (Aug. 6) – John Boyega in a crime thriller!

Queenpins (Aug. 10) – A crime comedy about extreme coupon-ing!

Dune (Oct. 1) – I’ve been cooler on the anticipation for this film, but this new look has me cautiously intrigued thanks to the Bardem + Bautista + Brolin + Chalamet + Ferguson + Isaac + Momoa + Zendaya of it all.

The Last Duel (Oct. 15) – Affleck! Damon! Driver!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Nov. 11) - I’m not sure why we need this, but I’m down for the Paul Rudd + Finn Wolfhard combo

King Richard (Nov. 19) - Will Smith as Venus and Serena’s father!

Encanto (Nov. 24) – Disney and Lin-Manuel Miranda making more magic together!

House of Gucci (Nov. 24) - Gaga! Pacino! Driver! 

Also in July…

Kyla and I took a look at the classic supernatural soap Dark Shadows and why Sookie might be obsessed with it on Gilmore Girls.

I revisited a so-bad-it’s-good masterpiece that’s a surrealist dream even Fellini couldn’t have cooked up. Yes, for ZekeFilm I wrote about the Vanilla Ice movie, Cool as Ice, which is now a part of my Blu-ray collection.

Photo credits: Against the Rules. All others IMDb.com.

[blackkudos]

Biz Markie

Marcel Theo Hall (born April 8, 1964), better known by his stage name Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, actor, comedian, television personality and spokesperson. He is best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in several countries. In 2008, "Just a Friend" made #100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time.

Markie has been called the "Clown Prince of Hip Hop."

Early life

Markie's career began on Long Island and he graduated from Patchogue Medford High School in 1982."Biz Markie Shows, Concerts, & Tickets 2020". EventBrite.com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

Career

1980s

Biz Markie was interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun In The Big Town. Markie released his debut album, Goin' Off, in 1988, which attracted a fair amount of attention, largely due to the lead single, "Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz". The album also featured the underground hit singles "Nobody Beats The Biz", "Vapors", and "Pickin' Boogers".

On October 10, 1989, Biz Markie's second studio album, The Biz Never Sleeps, was released on Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records, produced by Biz, his cousin Cool V and Paul C. The single "Just a Friend", in which he alternates between rap and singing, became Markie's most successful single, reaching #9 on the Billboard charts.

The song interpolates the 1968 song "You Got What I Need" by singer/songwriter Freddie Scott, whose basic chord and melody provided the base for the song's chorus. "Just A Friend" was ranked 81st on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2000, and later as number 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008.

The music video, directed by Lionel C. Martin, chronicles the rapper's woman problems.

1990s

Markie's third studio album I Need a Haircut was released on August 27, 1991, on Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records and was produced by Biz Markie and his cousin Cool V. Sales of the album were already low when Markie was served a lawsuit by Gilbert O'Sullivan, who claimed that the album's "Alone Again" featured an unauthorized sample from his hit "Alone Again (Naturally)". O'Sullivan's claim was upheld in a landmark ruling, Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., that altered the landscape of hip-hop, finding that all samples must be cleared with the original artist before being used. In accordance with the ruling, Warner Bros., the parent company of Cold Chillin', had to pull I Need a Haircut from circulation, and all companies had to clear samples with the samples' creators before releasing the records. This development reflected the increasing popularity of hip-hop and the financial stakes over which releases were set. Biz responded in 1993 with the mischievously titled All Samples Cleared!, but his career had been hurt by the publicity emanating from the lawsuit, and the record suffered accordingly. Additional bad news came when the video for the track 'Toilet Stool Rap' was labeled Worst Video of the Year on the Fromage show from Canada's MuchMusic.

For the remainder of the decade, Markie occasionally made television appearances, including guest appearances on In Living Color (including as contestant Damian "Foosball" Franklin in the recurring game show sketch "The Dirty Dozens" and as Marlon Cain in "Ed Bacon: Guidance Counselor") and in a 1996 freestyle rap commercial on MTV2. He also made numerous guest appearances with the Beastie Boys on Check Your Head (1992), Ill Communication (1994), Hello Nasty (1998), and their anthology The Sounds of Science (1999). He also rapped on the song "Schizo Jam", on Don Byron's 1998 release, Nu Blaxploitation (Blue Note/Capitol) and worked with Canibus on the first track on the Office Space soundtrack (1999). He also rapped on the track "So Fresh" alongside Slick Rick on Will Smith's 1999 album Willennium.

In 1996, Markie appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine.

In 1997, a sample of a Markie recording appeared in the Rolling Stones' song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" from their album Bridges to Babylon. His part was shortened on some radio versions. Biz also teamed up with Frankie Cutlass on his third single and music video titled "The Cypher Part 3" with some of Marley Marl's Juice Crew veterans.

In 1999, Markie appeared on Len's song "Beautiful Day" on their album You Can't Stop the Bum Rush, as well as on Alliance Ethnik's album Fat Comeback.

2000s

In 2002, Markie appeared in Men in Black II, with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, essentially playing an alien parody of himself, whose native language sounded exactly like beatboxing. Between 2002 and 2003 he appeared in episode 5 of the TV series Fastlane playing himself as a nightclub DJ. In 2003 he appeared in the international television series titled Kung Faux performing a series of voice over characters featured in a variety of episodes. In 2004, his song Vapors appeared on the soundtrack of Rockstar's popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which featured an old school hip hop radio station, Playback FM. In 2005, Biz detoured from his recording duties to appear on the first season of the television show Celebrity Fit Club which challenged celebrities to lose weight by a combination of diet and exercise. Biz Markie lost more weight than anybody else in the competition. That year, he was also in an episode of The Andy Milonakis Show.

Biz Markie was a cast member on Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out, seasons 1 and 3. Biz also does the beatboxing segment, Biz's Beat of the Day on the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba!.

Biz Markie began 2008 opening for Chris Rock's "No Apologies" tour. Biz Markie's act includes spinning records ranging from old school hip hop to Lynyrd Skynyrd and then performing "Just a Friend". Biz Markie's playlist includes the following: "Children's Story" by Slick Rick, "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Holiday" by Madonna, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow and "Robot Rock" by Daft Punk.

In December 2009, Biz Markie appeared in a RadioShack commercial, repeating the line: "Oh Snap! Guess what I saw!" from his song "Just A Friend". That same year saw his debut with Andy Milonakis in television commercials for the commercial Internet service Tune Up.

2010s

In 2010, Biz Markie appeared on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, providing commentary throughout the series. Biz Markie himself was not included on the list. On November 9, 2010, Biz appeared on The Aquabats! new EP, Radio Down! in the title track. On November 11, 2010, Biz sat in with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and performed "Just a Friend" with actor Jeff Goldblum.

In 2017, Markie appeared several times on the MTV2 game show Hip Hop Squares, a spin-off of the popular game show Hollywood Squares. That same year he made an appearance in the track "2012 (You Must Be Upgraded)" by The Flaming Lips, alongside Ke$ha.

In 2013 Markie toured with the Yo Gabba Gabba! live show. That year, his song, "Just a Friend" was featured in Saints Row IV, which included a Pop station 107.77 The Mix FM.

He appeared on the CN show Mad, as the Hip Hop Hobbit.

He voiced rapper Rhymez and his DJ, Tiny Timmy Scratch It, in the Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja episode "Hip Hopocalypse Now".

He guest starred in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Kenny the Cat", in the episode's title role. His voice acting work also includes the voice of Snorlock the Beatboxing Slug in an episode of Adventure Time.

In 2014, he appeared in the Syfy network movie Sharknado 2: The Second One. That same year, he threw a ceremonial first pitch for an Oakland Athletics baseball game.

In 2016, his song, "Just a Friend" was featured in the Netflix Series Love as an ending theme for episode 4. He also makes an appearance in a song titled "The Noisy Eater" off the album Wildflower by The Avalanches.

In 2016, he appeared on the Fox TV series Empire as himself, where he performed the song, "Just A Friend."

In 2017, he appeared in the season 3 finale of the ABC series Black-ish. He performed a personal version of the song, "Just a Friend", in which he added the names of the characters.

Discography

Studio albums

1988: Goin' Off

1989: The Biz Never Sleeps

1991: I Need a Haircut

1993: All Samples Cleared!

2003: Weekend Warrior

Compilations

1994: Biz's Baddest Beats

1996: Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks

1998: On the Turntable

2000: On the Turntable 2

2002: Greatest Hits

2006: Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz

2009: Ultimate Diabolical

2009: "Yo Gabba Gabba"

2010: The Aquabats Radio Down!

[therappundit]

October 2018 -*PlayLi$t of the Month*

Ooooo it is getting awfully spooky out there, folks...

Temperatures are (finally) plummeting, so for this month I have the perfect score for you. Tis the season for grimy rap music, and with new releases from the likes of Roc Marciano, Styles P,  Sheck Wes, and Westside Gunn, the chilly sound of autumn is officially in full swing here on the east coast. That being said, this month’s list also includes a diverse array of talent from Grand Rapids, New Orleans, St. Louis, Richmond, and beyond (plus an extra deep “honorable mentions” section, to further champion all of the great new tracks out there). So please enjoy some of my favorite songs from the month of October...

1. “Dolph Lundgren” - DJ Muggs & Roc Marciano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43R-lDAhhjg

(Another month, another dope Roc Marciano project. What stands out on KAOS is the chemistry between Roc and DJ Muggs. With this special MC + producer joint album, the two underground icons joined forces to create a street soundtrack that is at once both a throwback and a breath of fresh air. Roc’s persona on records is unparalleled, he packs a 70′s hustler’s soul in the body of a modern gangster. Place those bars over Muggs’ dark soul samples, and you have yourself one helluva album.)

2. “40 Acres” - Chester Watson

https://soundcloud.com/chesterwatson/40-acres

(On first listen, Chester Watson sounds like a clone of Earl Sweatshirt. The Miami-by-way-of-St. Louis MC certainly possesses a dark, monotone delivery that is eerily reminiscent of the vibes channeled by the former Odd Future standout, but rest assured, Chester is an artist more than capable of standing on his own two. If “40 Acres” doesn’t make you want to check out his new Project O album, then that’s your loss - this track is fantastic.)

3. “Vetements Socks” - Sheck Wes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvntmsHRNa0

(Truth be told, I had very little expectations for this MUDBOY project. I didn’t even appreciate the breakout hit “Mo Bamba”, but I really do appreciate Sheck Wes’ full length debut. I always say whatever your style is, do it well, and at least provide some form of perspective. For all of Sheck’s youthful inexperience, poetic shortcomings, and scattered focus, he has released a project that captures his energy, his taste in music, and that he is a raw, talented artist with a lot on his mind. “Vetements Socks” brings to mind one of the early hits of another young Harlemite, that being “Peso” by A$AP Rocky. While far from the classic New York-centric hip-hip sound, MUDBOY is an album that successfully paints pictures of where Sheck is in his life right now, and it feels like the NYC sidewalks that I stomp around on today.)

4. “Southside Sector” -  Big Kahuna OG feat. Fly Anakin

https://schemeteamallstars.bandcamp.com/track/southside-sector-prod-ohbliv-feat-fly-anakin

(Every Mutant Academy release I have heard is pretty dope. However, certain projects really do an excellent job showcasing one specific MCs potential as a uniquely talented rapper/writer, as opposed to just bars over beats. Big Kahuna OG’s new Weapon Ox tape is possibly the best album of his catalogue thus far, and I can’t recommend it enough.)

5. “CL Smooth” - Willie The Kid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWtr3bUFNE8

(Low key, Willie The Kid has been dropping dope music since he popped up on the scene again in 2017, after a hiatus. His Things Of That Nature tape is another one of his filler-free releases, and I find this “CL Smooth” shout-out especially, well, smooth.)

6. “'94 Ghost Shit” - The Alchemist feat. Conway & Westside Gunn

https://soundcloud.com/alan-the-chemist/the-alchemist-feat-conway-westside-gunn-94-ghost-shit

(Since hearing the IG teasers many months ago, Griselda fans have ben clamoring for the release of “94 Ghost Shit”. They/we finally got that wish granted when Uncle Al unleashed the Conway and Westside Gunn helmed banger on his site. Just a loosie, or a teaser for the trios long awaited Hall & Nash 2 project??? For now, we at least have this tough as nails joint to keep in rotation for the foreseeable future...or at least until WSG drops Hitler Wears Hermes 6 on Halloween!.)

7. “Boss” - Little Simz

https://soundcloud.com/littlesimz/b-o-s-s-1

(Is this the solo debut of a UK artist on the Pundit PlayLi$t!? I believe so! Little Simz has been on my radar for a while now, but with “Boss” she finally has what feels like a smash to me. The beat is a head nodder and Simz uses it to showcase why she is a fierce MC that deserves respect from her fans and peers alike.)

8. “Life In Crooklyn” - Planit Hank & DJ Evil Dee feat. Jeru The Damaja, Buckshot & AZ - Life in Crooklyn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=korr8p6lDhk

(A simple, but effective piece of NYC nostalgia that is knocked out the park by an elite line-up of legendary New York legends. Jeru, Buckshot and AZ are no doubt some of Brooklyn’s finest to ever pick up the m-i-c, and they each lend their magic to this one.)

9. “We Got Everything” - Styles P & Dave East

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTfMYCFhzi8

(Not a lot of hype went into the release of Beloved, Styles P and Dave East’s collaboration album, but nevertheless the project is solid from top to bottom. “We Got Everything” benefits from an ear-worm of a hook, and thumping production that suits both MCs.)

10. “Uproar” - Lil Wayne feat. Swizz Beatz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WYAX6onqbM

(No, The Carter V did not live up to its’ unfairly lofty expectations...but it’s still a good album, and an even better display of how well-rounded Lil Wayne can be as a MC. “Uproar” is far from the headiest track on C5, but it’s great example of classic Weezy swagger, on top of being a fun reboot of G. Dep’s “Special Delivery”...and any time I have the chance to s/o G. Dep on my monthly playlist, I’m going to jump on it!) 🙏

*Bonus - Honorable Mention [extended edition]*

“Take It All” - Fatima feat. Roc Marciano

https://fatima.bandcamp.com/track/take-it-all-feat-roc-marciano

“Fuck 12” - Quavo feat. Offset

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4IjBNBCnZo

“Rap Charlamagne (Say What I Want)” - Pardison Fontaine

https://soundcloud.com/pardi/rap-charlamagne-say-what-i-want

“Magic Tricks” - Lucky Seven feat. Conway

https://soundcloud.com/luckyseven30/magic-tricks-feat-conway?in=luckyseven30/sets/53creebadluck

“Preach” - Swizz Beatz feat. Jim Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRfP0S985D8

“Never Fight An African” - Styles P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5i6lv5wgKc

“Stoop Kids” - Mir Fontane feat. Fetty Wap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ik3iwCPm1E

“still water [flow water pt. 2]” - Cambank$

https://soundcloud.com/camgotthejuice/stillwater-flow-water_pt2-prod-2spvced

“The Suppliers” - 38 Spesh, Jai Black & Daniel Son

https://soundcloud.com/lil-eto/38-spesh-x-jai-black-x-daniel-son-the-suppliers

“Understood” - Mick Jenkins

https://soundcloud.com/mickjenkins/mick-jenkins-prod-kaytranada

“Hating” - J-Live

https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2018/10/j-live-hating-maga-lyric-video/

“Dotty X & The Sen” - Sadat X & El Da Sensei

https://vindig.bandcamp.com/track/dotty-x-the-sen

“Episode 11” - Mooch & Farma Beats feat. Maverick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vWEUr7yEMI

“IScream” - Bodega Bamz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5mmVrKaV0w

“Hot” - Flu & Rigz feat. Mav Montana & Eto

https://soundcloud.com/fludust/2-hot-feat-mav-montana-eto?in=fludust/sets/rigz-a-piece-of-the-action

“Black Mags 2” - The Cool Kids

http://2dopeboyz.com/2018/10/19/the-cool-kids-black-mags-2/

HAVE A HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEN  🎃🎃🎃

[ICYMI: Last month’s list below]

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/178500049856/september-2018-playli-t-of-the-month

[symmetrica]

My Favorite Music of 2016

At the end of another year, I’ve made another list of my favorite songs, albums, and cover songs of the year, as I usually do. 2016 was an interesting year for music... and by interesting I mean the worst year for new music since 2004, when I started keeping track. It’s not even close. As I predicted back in 2010, the Death of the Album hit hard this year, with quality albums decreasing by 75% or more from previous years. I only have 10 albums on my Best of 2016 list this year, rather than 30 to 50, like past years. Spotify, YouTube, MP3 players, smartphones, attention span, oversaturation of the market... they’ve all caused the Death of the Album. Hell, many of my peers can’t even identify albums by their favorite artists, much less which song goes on which album. They rarely if ever listen to music in the album format. But there are many reasons for the Death of the Album, and I don’t want to rehash them all here. Suffice it to say that, while albums were almost meaningless in 2016, artists of all genres are still regularly releasing amazing songs. Regardless, it was a weak year for songs too: I had just over 1,000 4- and 5-star rated songs in my iTunes from 2016, as opposed to over 1,400 each of the last few years. Luckily, the list was top-heavy, which resulted in a very enjoyable Top 100. Unlike past years, I won’t be commenting on the songs or listing genres, in order to save time -- I’m a busy person these days. But I’ve compiled playlists on Minilogs and YouTube that I will post so you can listen through the Top 100 songs if you’d like. Albums, EPs, and cover songs can easily be found on Spotify, YouTube, or other streaming services. Similar to past years, I combined my own tastes, my impression of what constitutes a “great song,” the tastes of music critics and peers, and my impression of the lasting value of the song in order to create this list. First up are the songs, followed by the lists for albums, EPs, and cover songs. I hope you enjoy the music!

Top 100 Songs

1) Twenty One Pilots - "Stressed Out" 2) Kendrick Lamar - "Untitled 2 (Live on Jimmy Fallon)" 3) The Avett Brothers - "Ain't No Man" 4) Sun Kil Moon & Jesu - "Needles Disney World" 5) Ramin Djawadi - "Light of the Seven" 6) DJ Shadow - "Nobody Speak (ft. Run the Jewels)" 7) Safia - "Counting Sheep" 8) Sinkane - "U'Huh" 9) Woods - "Can't See at All" 10) O Mer - "Overflown" 11) Twenty One Pilots - "Heathens" 12) The Avalanches - "Subways" 13) Rag'n'Bone Man - "Human" 14) Miner - "Lead Me to the Water" 15) Andrew Judah - "Nothing but Questions" 16) The Weeknd - "I Feel It Coming (ft. Daft Punk)" 17) Meeka Kates - "Empire (ft. Allen Ginsberg)" 18) Sun Kil Moon - "I Love Portugal" 19) My Darling Fury - "Satisfied" 20) Kutiman - "Shine Again (ft. Adam Scheflan)" 21) The Heavy - "Not the One" 22) Fairchild - "Start Again" 23) Papa - "Rain More" 24) Night Lights - "Childish" 25) Miike Snow - "Genghis Khan" 26) Mike Posner - "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" 27) Memoryy - "Out of the Dark" 28) Kent Odessa - "Palms Motel" 29) Miamigo - "Everyone I Know" 30) Safia - "Make Them Wheels Roll" 31) Bastille - "Blame" 32) Fitz and the Tantrums - "Get Right Back" 33) Fairchild - "Nom de Guerre" 34) Woods - "Sun City Creeps" 35) Ages and Ages - "As It Is" 36) Michael Nau - "Love Survive" 37) Hedge Fund - "Summer's Getting Shorter" 38) Hot Rumour - "Run to Me" 39) Andrew Judah - "Vain Confabulations" 40) Royal Canoe - "Walk Out on the Water" 41) The Avalanches - "Frankie Sinatra (ft. Danny Brown & Mf Doom)" 42) Sofi Tukker - "Hey Lion" 43) Kill J - "Propaganda" 44) Jidenna - "Chief Don't Run" 45) Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "First World Problem" 46) The Heavy - "Since You Been Gone" 47) Mating Ritual - "I Can't Dance" 48) Kaye - "Honey" 49) Wild Beasts - "Big Cat" 50) Phantogram - "You Don't Get Me High Anymore" 51) Tom Bem - "Consume, Be Silent, Die " 52) The Strumbellas - "Spirits" 53) Young Guns - "Bulletproof" 54) Billy Talent - "Rabbit Down the Hole" 55) My Heart the Brave - "Runner" 56) San Fermin - "Shiver (ft. Sam Amidon)" 57) Sofi Tukker - "Matadora" 58) Jagwar Ma - "Loose Ends" 59) Tennis - "Ladies Don't Play Guitar" 60) Sleigh Bells - "Rule Number One" 61) Imany - "Don't Be So Shy (Filatov & Karas Remix)" 62) Whilk and Misky - "I Want Your Lovin'" 63) Alicia Keys - "Holy War" 64) Wild Nothing - "Reichpop" 65) Con Brio - "Free and Brave" 66) Coasts - "Modern Love" 67) Roosevelt - "Belong" 68) Glass Animals - "Life Itself" 69) The Lumineers - "Ophelia" 70) EL VY - "Are These My Jets" 71) Farewell Teddy - "Huxley, Party of One" 72) Fairchild - "Neighbourhoods" 73) Elel - "When She Walks" 74) Mike Posner - "Jade" 75) Pet Shop Boys - "Happiness" 76) Adam Jensen - "Drugs" 77) Andrew Judah - "Blue" 78) POP ETC - "Bad Break" 79) Cullen Omori - "Cinnamon" 80) Kevin Morby - "I Have Been to the Mountain" 81) Norah Jones - "Carry On" 82) James Blake - "Timeless" 83) Chairlift - "Ch-Ching" 84) Animal Collective - "Gnip Gnop" 85) Coast Modern - "The Way It Was" 86) Blue October - "Coal Makes Diamonds" 87) Lady Gaga - "Perfect Illusion" 88) Tiger Army - "I Am the Moth" 89) July Talk - "Push + Pull" 90) Fairchild - "Relevance" 91) Bastille - "Fake It" 92) Kent - "Andromeda" 93) Alex Clare - "Gotta Get Up" 94) Jimmy Eat World - "Sure and Certain" 95) Thrice - "Blood on the Sand" 96) Kai Straw - "Don't Tread on Me" 97) Junior Prom - "You, Me, and Joe Strummer" 98) Two Door Cinema Club - "Are We Ready? (Wreck)" 99) Kongos - "Repeat After Me" 100) Paper Route - "Laugh About It"

Top 10 Albums

1. Woods - City Sun Eater in the River of Light 2. The Heavy - Hurt & the Merciless 3. Jagwar Ma - Every Now & Then 4. Ramin Djawadi - Game of Thrones: Season 6 5. Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered. 6. Coasts - Coasts 7. Umphrey's McGee - Zonkey 8. Dorothy - Rockisdead 9. Cullen Omori - New Misery 10. The Temper Trap - Thick as Thieves

Top 4 EPs

1. Sofi Tukker - Soft Animals 2. Andrew Judah - Metanoia Pt. IV 3. Andrew Judah - Metanoia Pt. V 4. Kill J - Quasi

Top 10 Cover Songs

1. Florence + the Machine - “Stand by Me (Ben E. King cover)” 2. The War on Drugs - “Touch of Grey (The Grateful Dead cover)” 3. Umphrey’s McGee - “National Loser Anthem (Radiohead, Beck & Phil Collins cover)” 4. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - “Shakedown Street (The Grateful Dead cover)” 5. Elel - “Let’s Dance (David Bowie cover)” 6. Umphrey’s McGee - “Come As Your Kids (Nirvana, MGMT & Dead or Alive cover)” 7. Blitzen Trapper - “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (Soggy Bottom Boys cover)” 8. Twenty One Pilots - “Cancer (My Chemical Romance cover)” 9. Say Lou Lou - “Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees cover)” 10. Unified Highway - “Losing My Religion (R.E.M. cover)”

[iowamusicshowcase]

A Whole Bunch of Boring Statistics on Favorites of 2016 and the Favorite Posts of the Year http://ift.tt/2CXRr4Y

Well, once again, for you big math nerds and fans of Top Ten, I have a whole bunch of list and statistics for our various websites. Here's the closest thing I have to a list of the top ten songs. These are the top ten posts about songs on the podcast episodes. THE MOST VIEWED POSTS ABOUT SONGS ON THE IOWA MUSIC SHOWCASE PODCASTS 10. Ep 50 - Song 3: "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by Head Candy (plus the video of their unreleased song, "Thunderbolt Raft") 9. Ep 45 - Song 1: "Arc Welded" by Bob Dorr and The Blue Band 8. Ep 45 - Song 2: "One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor" by Philbo King 7. Ep 43 - Song 1: "Tsunami" by Permasmile 6. Ep 42 - Song 9: "say it with me!" by JC//jp 5. Ep 52 - Song 2: "The Devil's Bar" by Aaron Earl Short 4. Ep 54 - Song 3: "Creepshow" by Space Burial 3. Ep 43 - Song 5: "Happy" by Far from Innocent 2. Ep 49 - Song 1: "Nets" by Clay Carnivore 1. Ep 44 - Song 1: "King Size Cigarette" by The Law Since I started putting all the posts from the actual Iowa Music Showcase website also on the Iowa Music Showcase Songs website, I combined the number from both to get the total number of views. THE MOST VIEWED POSTS FROM 2017 10. EPISODE 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits 9. EPISODE 52 - Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4: Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 8. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 7. EPISODE 56: Happy Hawkeye Holidays 2017, Part 1 of 3: Nestor 6. EPISODE 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. EPISODE 45: Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 4. EPISODE 50: Nepotism 3. EPISODE 47: Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9 - Return of the Iowa Jedi 2. EPISODE 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth be with You! 1. EPISODE 48: Iowa Classical Music Archive.org is a place where I keep our podcast stored, hopefully, for all time. If you used that link to download, then you took from this site! THE MOST VIEWED PODCAST ON ARCHIVE.ORG 10. EPISODE 50: Nepotism 9. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 8. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 7. EPISODE 53: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 2 of 4 - Monster Turtle of Big Blue Lake and Other Iowa Sea Creatures 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. EPISODE 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth be with You! 4. EPISODE 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 3. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 2. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 1. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live Last year, I didn't keep track of my SoundCloud listens. But this year I did! So here are the ten most popular podcasts on SoundCloud! THE MOST LISTENED TO PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON SOUNDCLOUD 10. EPISODE 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits 9. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 8. EPISODE 54: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 3 of 4 - The Van Meter Visitor and Other Iowa Dragons 7. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5, Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 4. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 3. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 2. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 1. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami I started putting up a video version on our podcast on our Facebook page. These are the most viewed from there. THE MOST VIEWED PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON FACEBOOK 10. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 9. EPISODE 50: Nepotism 8. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 7. EPISODE 56: Happy Hawkeye Holidays 2017, Part 1 of 3: Nestor 6. EPISODE 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits 5. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 4.��Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 3. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 2. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 1. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You Well, in case you don't know, we have a YouTube channel that we also put our podcast episodes up on. These are the most viewed from there. THE MOST VIEWED PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON YOUTUBE 10. EPISODE 54: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 3 of 4 - The Van Meter Visitor and Other Iowa Dragons 9. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 8. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 7. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 4. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 3. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 2. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 1. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music And lastly, we have a BandCamp site featuring all our podcast episodes. These are ten most listened to from this year. THE MOST LISTENED TO PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON BANDCAMP 10. EPISODE 51: Iowa Hip-Hop and Rap 2 (and 3 episodes of the Iowa Block Radio rap podcast) 9. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 8. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 7. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 4  Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music. 3. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 2. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 1. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock And now for the big math nerds out there, here's the general top ten list of podcasts for 2016. I did this by giving 1 point each 10th place, 2 points for each 9th place, etc. And the one with the most points is on top! TOP TEN PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 10. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 9. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 8. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 7. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 6. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 5. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 4. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 3. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 2. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 1. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock And here are the charts for various website posts.... TOP PLAYLIST POSTS FROM 2017 10. PLAYLISTS: Happy New Year's - Iowa Style 9. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 5 8. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 6 7. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 1 6. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Halloween Music (on Spotify and YouTube) 5. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Stock 2017 Spotify Playlist 4. PLAYLISTS: A Playlist for Street Heat and the Eclipse 3. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on YouTube 2 2. PLAYLISTS: Thanksgiving - Iowa Style 1. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on Bandcamp 1 TOP OTHER SOURCES POSTS FROM 2017 5. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 4. OTHER SOURCES; Iowa Music Showcase Live in Des Moines at Lefty's on Sat, Feb 4 3. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami 2. OTHER SOURCES: Band Bombshell's "Completely Covered" 1. OTHER SOURCES: An Iowa Noise Music Compilation Late this year, we added new podcast from Richard Sutton to our website, Your Own Private Iowa. These are the 5 most viewed posts with those podcasts. TOP YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA POSTS FROM 2017 10. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 9: Courtney Krause 9. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 4: Fertile 8. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 6: Jon Marko (Correa) 7. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 2: Nate Logsdon 6. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 3: Satchel Bruna 5. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 7: Foxholes 4. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 8: QuërVo 3. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 10: H.D. Harmsen 2. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 11: Patrick Tape Fleming 1. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 1: Ben Schrag TOP JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS POSTS FROM 2017 5. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Sounds of the Season with Soprano Chelsea Smith at Our Lady"s Immaculate Church in Ankeny, Iowa, on Dec 10, 2017 4. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Home for the Holidays with Max Wellman and Tina Findlay Haase at The Bridge in Johnston on December 20, 2015 3. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS - Soya Vista Jazz Orchestra With Gina Gedler at Noce on November 18, 2017 2. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Ankeny Community Chorus at The Prairie Ridge Church on November 17, 2017 1. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEO - DMACC Chorus Ensemble with Simon Estes on Dec 8, 2017 TOP POSTS FROM 2017 ABOUT COMPILATION ALBUMS 5. OTHER SOURCES: DMMC'S 2006 compilation album 4. OTHER SOURCES: Pants Off Mixtape Vol. 1 3. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 2. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami 1. OTHER SOURCES: An Iowa Noise Music Compilation TOP POSTS FROM 2017 USING YOUTUBE 10. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Sounds of the Season with Soprano Chelsea Smith at Our Lady's Immaculate Church in Ankeny, Iowa, on Dec 10, 2017 9. FESTER RAGE VIDEOS: A Testament of Youth (ATOY) at The Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines on August 31, 2007 8. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEO - DMACC Chorus Ensemble with Simon Estes on Dec 8, 2017 7. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 2 6. OTHER SOURCES: Lock N Load show and YouTube channel 5. PLAYLISTS - (Non-)Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 5 of 9: The Midwest Strikes Back 4. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Halloween Music (on Spotify and YouTube) 3. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on YouTube 2 2. PLAYLISTS: Valentine's Day - Iowa Style 1. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 1 TOP POSTS FROM 2017 USING BANDCAMP 5. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Holiday Music on Various Websites 4. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music BandCamp Playlist 1 3. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on Bandcamp 1 2. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 1. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami TOP POSTS FROM 2017 USING SPOTIFY 5. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Stock 2017 Spotify Playlist 4. PLAYLISTS: Valentine's Day - Iowa Style 3. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 6 2. PLAYLISTS: A Father's Day Playlist 1. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 5 Okay, math nerds, here's a countdown of the top ten posts (not involving an Iowa Music Showcase podcast episode) for 2017. It was determine the following way: 6th to 10th place got you nothing, 5th place got you 1 point, 4th place 2 points, etc. The ones with the most points won. TOP TEN POSTS (not involving an Iowa Music Showcase podcast episode) FOR 2017 10. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 1 9. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 5 8. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 1: Ben Schrag 7. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEO - DMACC Chorus Ensemble with Simon Estes on Dec 8, 2017 6. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 2 5. PLAYLISTS: Valentine's Day - Iowa Style 4. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on Bandcamp 1 3. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 2, OTHER SOURCES: An Iowa Noise Music Compilation 1. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami Well, that covers everything. Thanks to everyone who's been around for the three years. And welcome aboard to anyone just hopping on the Iowa Music Showcase train!

[blackkudos]

Biz Markie

Marcel Theo Hall (born April 8, 1964), better known by his stage name Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, actor, singer, reality television personality, grartist, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989. In 2008, "Just a Friend" made #100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time. Biz Markie currently lives in Howard County, Maryland, and has helped support County Executive Ken Ulman during his fundraisers.

Markie has been called "the Clown Prince of Hip Hop."

Early life

Markie's career began on Long Island, New York. He attended and graduated from Longwood High School in 1982.

Career

1980s

Before he got famous Biz Markie was interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun In The Big Town. Markie released his debut album, Goin' Off in 1988, which attracted a fair amount of attention, largely due to the lead single, "Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz". The album also featured the underground hit singles "Nobody Beats The Biz", "Vapors", and "Pickin' Boogers".

On October 10, 1989, Biz Markie's second studio album, The Biz Never Sleeps was released on Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records, produced by Biz, his cousin Cool V and Paul C. The single "Just a Friend", in which he alternates between rap and singing, became Markie's most successful single, reaching #9 on the Billboard charts.

The song interpolates the 1968 song "You Got What I Need" by singer/songwriter Freddie Scott, whose basic chord and melody provided the base for the song's chorus. "Just A Friend" was ranked 81st on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2000, and later as number 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008.

The music video, directed by Lionel C. Martin, chronicles the rapper's woman problems. At the climax of the video, Biz Markie's character stumbles upon a girl he was trying to date kissing another man she had previously referred to as "just a friend". It also includes a memorable scene of Biz singing the chorus dressed as Mozart in 18th-century clothing with a powdered wig in a candlelit room while playing the piano. This scene was likely inspired by the video for the 1986 hit "Rock Me Amadeus", which was in turn inspired by the 1984 film Amadeus.

1990s

Markie's third studio album I Need a Haircut was released on August 27, 1991, on Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records and was produced by Biz Markie and his cousin Cool V. Sales of the album were already low when Markie was served a lawsuit by Gilbert O'Sullivan, who claimed that the album's "Alone Again" featured an unauthorized sample from his hit "Alone Again (Naturally)". O'Sullivan's claim was upheld in a landmark ruling, Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., that altered the landscape of hip-hop, finding that all samples must be cleared with the original artist before being used. In accordance with the ruling, Warner Bros., the parent company of Cold Chillin', had to pull I Need a Haircut from circulation, and all companies had to clear samples with the samples' creators before releasing the records. This development reflected the increasing popularity of hip-hop and the financial stakes over which releases were set. Biz responded in 1993 with the mischievously titled All Samples Cleared!, but his career had been hurt by the publicity emanating from the lawsuit, and the record suffered accordingly. Additional bad news came when the video for the track 'Toilet Stool Rap' was labeled Worst Video of the Year on the Fromage show from Canada's MuchMusic.

For the remainder of the decade, Markie occasionally made television appearances, including guest appearances on In Living Color (including as contestant Damian "Foosball" Franklin in the recurring game show sketch "The Dirty Dozens" and as Marlon Cain in "Ed Bacon: Guidance Counselor") and in a 1996 freestyle rap commercial on MTV2. He also made numerous guest appearances with the Beastie Boys, Check Your Head (1992), Ill Communication (1994), Hello Nasty (1998), and their anthology The Sounds of Science (1999). He also rapped on the song "Schizo Jam", on Don Byron's 1998 release, Nu Blaxploitation (Blue Note/Capitol) and worked with Canibus on the first track on the Office Space soundtrack (1999). He also rapped on the track "So Fresh" alongside Slick Rick on Will Smith's 1999 album Willennium.

In 1996, Markie appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine.

In 1997, Markie appeared on the Rolling Stones' song "Anybody Seen My Baby?" on their album Bridges to Babylon. His part was shortened on some radio versions. Biz also teamed up with Frankie Cutlass on his third single and music video titled "The Cypher Part 3" with some of Marley Marl's Juice Crew veterans.

In 1999, Markie appeared on Len's song "Beautiful Day" on their album You Can't Stop the Bum Rush.

2000s

In 2002, Markie appeared as an alien in Men in Black II with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, essentially playing an alien parody of himself, whose native language sounded exactly like beatboxing. Between 2002 and 2003 he appeared in episode 5 of the TV series Fastlane playing himself as a nightclub DJ. In 2003 he appeared in the international television series titled Kung Faux performing a series of voice over characters featured in a variety of episodes. In 2004, his song Vapors appeared on the soundtrack of Rockstar's popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which featured an old school hip hop radio station, Playback FM. In 2005, Biz detoured from his recording duties to appear on the first season of the television show Celebrity Fit Club which challenged celebrities to lose weight by a combination of diet and exercise. Biz Markie lost more weight than anybody else in the competition. That year, he was also in an episode of The Andy Milonakis Show.

Biz Markie was a cast member on Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out, seasons 1 and 3. Biz also does the beatboxing segment, Biz's Beat of the Day on the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba!.

Biz Markie began 2008 opening for Chris Rock's "No Apologies" tour. Biz Markie's act includes spinning records ranging from old school hip hop to Lynyrd Skynyrd and then performing "Just a Friend". Biz Markie's playlist includes the following: "Children's Story" by Slick Rick, "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Holiday" by Madonna, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, "The Breaks" by Kurtis Blow and "Robot Rock" by Daft Punk.

In December 2009, Biz Markie appeared in a RadioShack commercial, repeating the line: "Oh Snap! Guess what I saw!" from his song "Just A Friend". That same year saw his debut with Andy Milonakis in television commercials for the commercial Internet service, Tune Up.

2010s

In 2010, Biz Markie appeared on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, providing commentary throughout the series. Biz Markie himself was not included on the list. On November 9, 2010, Biz appeared on The Aquabats! new EP, Radio Down! in the title track. On November 11, 2010, Biz sat in with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and performed "Just a Friend" with actor Jeff Goldblum.

In 2012, Markie appeared several times on MTV2's new game show Hip Hop Squares, a spin-off of the popular game show Hollywood Squares.

In 2012 Biz Markie made an appearance in the track "2012 (You Must Be Upgraded)" by Oklahoma band The Flaming Lips alongside Ke$ha.

In 2013 Markie toured with the Yo Gabba Gabba! live show.

In 2013, his song, "Just a Friend" was featured in Saints Row IV, which included a Pop station 107.77 The Mix FM.

He appeared in the CN show MAD, as the Hip Hop Hobbit.

He voiced rapper Rhymez and his DJ, Tiny Timmy Scratch It, on Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja episode "Hip Hopocalypse Now".

He guest starred in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Kenny the Cat," in the episode's title role. His voice acting work also includes the voice of Snorlock the Beatboxing Slug in an episode of Adventure Time.

In 2014, he appeared in the Syfy network movie Sharknado 2: The Second One as Vinnie the pizza shop owner.

Also in 2014, he threw a ceremonial first pitch for an Oakland Athletics baseball game.

In 2016, his song, "Just a Friend" was featured in the Netflix Series Love as an ending theme for episode 4. He also makes an appearance in a song titled "The Noisy Eater" off the critically acclaimed album Wildflower by The Avalanches.

Discography

Studio albums

1988: Goin' Off

1989: The Biz Never Sleeps

1991: I Need a Haircut

1993: All Samples Cleared!

2003: Weekend Warrior

Compilations

1994: Biz's Baddest Beats

1996: Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks

1998: On the Turntable

2000: On the Turntable 2

2002: Greatest Hits

2006: Make the Music with Your Mouth, Biz

2009: Ultimate Diabolical

2009: "Yo Gabba Gabba"

2010: The Aquabats Radio Down!

Wikipedia

[iowamusicshowcase]

A Whole Bunch of Boring Statistics on Favorites of 2016 and the Favorite Posts of the Year http://ift.tt/2CXRr4Y

Well, once again, for you big math nerds and fans of Top Ten, I have a whole bunch of list and statistics for our various websites. Here's the closest thing I have to a list of the top ten songs. These are the top ten posts about songs on the podcast episodes. THE MOST VIEWED POSTS ABOUT SONGS ON THE IOWA MUSIC SHOWCASE PODCASTS 10. Ep 50 - Song 3: "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by Head Candy (plus the video of their unreleased song, "Thunderbolt Raft") 9. Ep 45 - Song 1: "Arc Welded" by Bob Dorr and The Blue Band 8. Ep 45 - Song 2: "One Man's Ceiling is Another Man's Floor" by Philbo King 7. Ep 43 - Song 1: "Tsunami" by Permasmile 6. Ep 42 - Song 9: "say it with me!" by JC//jp 5. Ep 52 - Song 2: "The Devil's Bar" by Aaron Earl Short 4. Ep 54 - Song 3: "Creepshow" by Space Burial 3. Ep 43 - Song 5: "Happy" by Far from Innocent 2. Ep 49 - Song 1: "Nets" by Clay Carnivore 1. Ep 44 - Song 1: "King Size Cigarette" by The Law Since I started putting all the posts from the actual Iowa Music Showcase website also on the Iowa Music Showcase Songs website, I combined the number from both to get the total number of views. THE MOST VIEWED POSTS FROM 2017 10. EPISODE 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits 9. EPISODE 52 - Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4: Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 8. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 7. EPISODE 56: Happy Hawkeye Holidays 2017, Part 1 of 3: Nestor 6. EPISODE 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. EPISODE 45: Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 4. EPISODE 50: Nepotism 3. EPISODE 47: Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9 - Return of the Iowa Jedi 2. EPISODE 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth be with You! 1. EPISODE 48: Iowa Classical Music Archive.org is a place where I keep our podcast stored, hopefully, for all time. If you used that link to download, then you took from this site! THE MOST VIEWED PODCAST ON ARCHIVE.ORG 10. EPISODE 50: Nepotism 9. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 8. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 7. EPISODE 53: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 2 of 4 - Monster Turtle of Big Blue Lake and Other Iowa Sea Creatures 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. EPISODE 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth be with You! 4. EPISODE 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 3. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 2. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 1. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live Last year, I didn't keep track of my SoundCloud listens. But this year I did! So here are the ten most popular podcasts on SoundCloud! THE MOST LISTENED TO PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON SOUNDCLOUD 10. EPISODE 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits 9. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 8. EPISODE 54: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 3 of 4 - The Van Meter Visitor and Other Iowa Dragons 7. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5, Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 4. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 3. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 2. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 1. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami I started putting up a video version on our podcast on our Facebook page. These are the most viewed from there. THE MOST VIEWED PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON FACEBOOK 10. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 9. EPISODE 50: Nepotism 8. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 7. EPISODE 56: Happy Hawkeye Holidays 2017, Part 1 of 3: Nestor 6. EPISODE 55: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 4 of 4 - The Black Angels and Other Iowa Evil Spirits 5. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 4. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 3. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 2. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 1. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You Well, in case you don't know, we have a YouTube channel that we also put our podcast episodes up on. These are the most viewed from there. THE MOST VIEWED PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON YOUTUBE 10. EPISODE 54: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 3 of 4 - The Van Meter Visitor and Other Iowa Dragons 9. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 8. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 7. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 4. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 3. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 2. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock 1. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music And lastly, we have a BandCamp site featuring all our podcast episodes. These are ten most listened to from this year. THE MOST LISTENED TO PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 ON BANDCAMP 10. EPISODE 51: Iowa Hip-Hop and Rap 2 (and 3 episodes of the Iowa Block Radio rap podcast) 9. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 8. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 7. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 6. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 5. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 4  Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music. 3. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 2. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 1. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock And now for the big math nerds out there, here's the general top ten list of podcasts for 2016. I did this by giving 1 point each 10th place, 2 points for each 9th place, etc. And the one with the most points is on top! TOP TEN PODCAST EPISODES FROM 2017 10. Episode 52: Happy Hawkeye Halloween 2017, Part 1 of 4 - Killer Cows and Other Iowa Furry Monsters 9. Episode 47 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 6 of 9: Return of the Iowa Jedi 8. Episode 41: Favorites of 2016 7. Episode 48 - Iowa Classical Music 6. Episode 42: The Acts of Iowa Music Showcase Live 5. Episode 46 - Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 4 of 9: May the Fortieth Be With You 4. Episode 43: Guest Producer Trinity Neal of Music Tsunami 3. Episode 49: Iowa Rock Music 2. Episode 44: Iowa Indie and Alternative Music 1. Episode 45 - Iowa Blues and Blues Rock And here are the charts for various website posts.... TOP PLAYLIST POSTS FROM 2017 10. PLAYLISTS: Happy New Year's - Iowa Style 9. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 5 8. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 6 7. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 1 6. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Halloween Music (on Spotify and YouTube) 5. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Stock 2017 Spotify Playlist 4. PLAYLISTS: A Playlist for Street Heat and the Eclipse 3. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on YouTube 2 2. PLAYLISTS: Thanksgiving - Iowa Style 1. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on Bandcamp 1 TOP OTHER SOURCES POSTS FROM 2017 5. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 4. OTHER SOURCES; Iowa Music Showcase Live in Des Moines at Lefty's on Sat, Feb 4 3. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami 2. OTHER SOURCES: Band Bombshell's "Completely Covered" 1. OTHER SOURCES: An Iowa Noise Music Compilation Late this year, we added new podcast from Richard Sutton to our website, Your Own Private Iowa. These are the 5 most viewed posts with those podcasts. TOP YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA POSTS FROM 2017 10. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 9: Courtney Krause 9. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 4: Fertile 8. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 6: Jon Marko (Correa) 7. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 2: Nate Logsdon 6. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 3: Satchel Bruna 5. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 7: Foxholes 4. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 8: QuërVo 3. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 10: H.D. Harmsen 2. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 11: Patrick Tape Fleming 1. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 1: Ben Schrag TOP JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS POSTS FROM 2017 5. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Sounds of the Season with Soprano Chelsea Smith at Our Lady"s Immaculate Church in Ankeny, Iowa, on Dec 10, 2017 4. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Home for the Holidays with Max Wellman and Tina Findlay Haase at The Bridge in Johnston on December 20, 2015 3. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS - Soya Vista Jazz Orchestra With Gina Gedler at Noce on November 18, 2017 2. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Ankeny Community Chorus at The Prairie Ridge Church on November 17, 2017 1. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEO - DMACC Chorus Ensemble with Simon Estes on Dec 8, 2017 TOP POSTS FROM 2017 ABOUT COMPILATION ALBUMS 5. OTHER SOURCES: DMMC'S 2006 compilation album 4. OTHER SOURCES: Pants Off Mixtape Vol. 1 3. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 2. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami 1. OTHER SOURCES: An Iowa Noise Music Compilation TOP POSTS FROM 2017 USING YOUTUBE 10. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEOS: Sounds of the Season with Soprano Chelsea Smith at Our Lady's Immaculate Church in Ankeny, Iowa, on Dec 10, 2017 9. FESTER RAGE VIDEOS: A Testament of Youth (ATOY) at The Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines on August 31, 2007 8. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEO - DMACC Chorus Ensemble with Simon Estes on Dec 8, 2017 7. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 2 6. OTHER SOURCES: Lock N Load show and YouTube channel 5. PLAYLISTS - (Non-)Iowa Star Wars Music, Part 5 of 9: The Midwest Strikes Back 4. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Halloween Music (on Spotify and YouTube) 3. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on YouTube 2 2. PLAYLISTS: Valentine's Day - Iowa Style 1. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 1 TOP POSTS FROM 2017 USING BANDCAMP 5. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Holiday Music on Various Websites 4. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music BandCamp Playlist 1 3. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on Bandcamp 1 2. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 1. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami TOP POSTS FROM 2017 USING SPOTIFY 5. PLAYLISTS: Iowa Stock 2017 Spotify Playlist 4. PLAYLISTS: Valentine's Day - Iowa Style 3. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 6 2. PLAYLISTS: A Father's Day Playlist 1. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 5 Okay, math nerds, here's a countdown of the top ten posts (not involving an Iowa Music Showcase podcast episode) for 2017. It was determine the following way: 6th to 10th place got you nothing, 5th place got you 1 point, 4th place 2 points, etc. The ones with the most points won. TOP TEN POSTS (not involving an Iowa Music Showcase podcast episode) FOR 2017 10. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 1 9. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music Spotify Playlist 5 8. YOUR OWN PRIVATE IOWA - Episode 1: Ben Schrag 7. JAZZMAN JOE VIDEO - DMACC Chorus Ensemble with Simon Estes on Dec 8, 2017 6. PLAYLISTS: Random Iowa Music YouTube Playlist 2 5. PLAYLISTS: Valentine's Day - Iowa Style 4. PLAYLISTS: New Iowa Music on Bandcamp 1 3. OTHER SOURCES: The CarpeDM Compilation Albums 2, OTHER SOURCES: An Iowa Noise Music Compilation 1. OTHER SOURCES: Music Tsunami Well, that covers everything. Thanks to everyone who's been around for the three years. And welcome aboard to anyone just hopping on the Iowa Music Showcase train!