Ennio Morricone

Slimm Calhoun, “This Young G”

As you can probably hear, Slimm Calhoun is an OutKast protégé, famous for his guest spots with them. He did eventually release an album on their label, The Skinny, which is a decent record. If you really enjoy Stankonia-era OutKast (and you should!), this is a good listen.

Ennio Morricone, “The Mission”

Enjoy!

Noname, “Regal”

Always a treat for Noname to pop up! That flip when the verse starts is a delight, and her flow here is absolutely perfect. And those jazz/funk drums? Mmmm, just a banger all around.

Still on that train!

Merle Haggard, “Go Home”

Well, I certainly like to kick things off with a story about how a guy’s racist friends broke up his relationship. Just some real cheerful shit here!

The Coup, “Me And Jesus the Pimp In a ‘79 Grenada Last Night”

Oh, it’s gonna be like that? Let’s follow up that song with a kid whose relationships were totally warped by his mentorship from a pimp, who later beats his mother to death. Heartwarming!

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

The Roots, “Proceed”

While it wasn’t really their debut album, Do You Want More?!!!??! feels like it SHOULD be their debut album. Organix feels more like a practice run or a demo, a band trying to find its voice, and several of its songs appear on the next album in re-worked forms. Anyway, this is the first full song on Do You Want More, and it really sets the template for the album and indeed their first couple albums, with the jazzy groove of the band revolving around Scott Storch’s keyboards and ?uestlove’s drums. I think Black Thought is better on the subsequent albums, but he’s certainly good on this record. Basically, this is where to start with the Roots in exploring their early career.