One of the best Youtube comments about Lauryn Hill

I am a huge Lauryn Hill fan.

I consider her one of the best rappers/MCs of all time. Based on her live performance in DC in 2013, which I attended, I consider her one of the best performers of all time. I also based my opinion off of this video from Philadelphia in 2012, which shows it wasn't an one-off event, but an over-the-years kind of consistency. More on that in another post.



On another note, which is the purpose of this post, I saw a comment about Ms. Hill that I really wish I wrote myself. It has so much poetic quality to it:

She has the flow of a thug and the voice of an angel and she goes from one to the other with such ease...there will never be another like her.

The comment was left under the above video on Youtube.

Read about her December 2013 Washington D.C. performance here. 

Video: Talib Kweli: Industry Has Demonized Conscious Music

Is it still true?

My favorite verse on Lecrae's "Anomaly"

In high school

we tried to act all tough

I remember a couple times

I couldn't back that up

Like when I ran from them vatos, scuffing up my zapatos

Scared of losing my hide

I was so embarrassed inside

If I could go back in time

I would stand and say something like

I ain't never scared, 

never scared, never scared

I'm lying, I'm scared of these thoughts in my head

I'm scared of possibly pushing people right over the ledge

When I say I pledge allegiance to the struggle

Then, I turn around and buckle

Under stress and under pressure

Bible on my dresser that can teach my pain a lesson

But I rather not address it

Address that's in depression

I'm scared if I confess it

That you gon' look at me like I'm something less

And I'm such a mess

"Fear" by Lecrae, from the "Anomaly" album

My favorite Ceelo verse

Struggling's just a part of my day

Many obstacles been placed in my way

I know the only reason that I make it through

Is because I never stop believing in you

Some people wonder why we're here in the 1st place

They can't believe because they ain't never seen your face

But even when you pray, the next day you gotta try

Can it wait for nobody to come down out the sky

You've got to realize that the world's a test

You can only do your best and let him do the rest

You've got your life, you've got your health

So quit procrastinating and push it yourself

You've got to realize that the world's a test

You can only do your best and let him do the rest

You've got your life, you've got your health

So quit procrastinating

~Ceelo, From Outkast's "In Due Time" 1997

Lecrae's "Anomaly" remains just that despite contemporary influences

Albums exist in the idiom of their times.

Lecrae's new album, "Anomaly," is no different. It is very Outkast-ish on a few tracks, Ludacris-like on one song, Drake-ish on the hook of one song, parts of one song has a 2pac/West coast feel, and towards the end of the album it's gets pretty contemporary Christian; but to mention all of those is highly misleading. 

"Anomaly" remains very original even in those few--I stress the word "few"--times the beats, hooks, bridges (or whatever you call them) remind you of something off Aquemini or someone contemporary.  Lecrae's delivery sounds like his own for most of the time, except when he's interacting with a popular song, or at least using something modern to accomplish his own purposes. Overall, the album was more cohesive and polished than "Gravity." Still less theological than "Rebel" and not as raw. But it is a job well done. 

I'd give it an 8.5/10 at best, and reluctantly give it a 7.9/10 at worst. Reluctantly.