tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291825942011-11-28T00:10:43.481Z"You know those jams in the park? They produced the spark. Made me feel words how I read books in the dark. I always took it to heart, loved the art..."Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.comBlogger881100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-55436763082748388122008-02-18T21:38:00.002Z2008-02-18T21:42:59.683Z

Jackers! To the person or persons who jimmied my locks, blew out my windows, and straight-up ransacked my car on Springfield Avenue: Thank you for demonstrating excellent musical taste. Joke’s on you. Seriously – this isn’t an attempt to ironize myself out of the fact that my car got run while I was up the block speaking about brotherhood, community empowerment

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-65181967861257084122008-02-18T21:19:00.004Z2008-12-13T01:16:47.026Z

A CanineMind Exclusive In their Wu-fever, our hapless antagonists also missed my advance copy of One Be Lo’s The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. (Subterraneous Records). Lo’s latest might not have been worth a grand theft auto charge, but its second half was at least worth a listen while they were rooting through my shoeboxes. Lo initially broke through in 2000 as One Man Army, one half of the Michigan

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-26335924877854577692008-02-18T21:11:00.003Z2008-12-13T01:16:47.161Z

The policing of the art form has been so thorough and enduring that it’s become possible to see hip-hop as just that: an agent, or better, a target, that has a life over and above the individuals that practice it. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-59239275589769024042008-02-18T21:05:00.003Z2008-02-18T21:11:43.559Z

Not that I haven't seen some ridiculous, insane, and otherwise gravity-defying moves in NBA dunk contests past, but were Bertolt Brecht and Eugene Ionesco the creative consultants for this year's? Absurd doesn't begin to describe it.Gerald Green's "Birthday Cake Dunk"Dwight Howard's "Superman Dunk"Yul.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-28881601294230538762007-12-17T22:42:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:47.332Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerI guess since this is okayplayer, we all want to “keep it real,” “stay true to the essence,” and “battle the evil legions of Soulja Boy-ification,” etc. etc. But do we really want to be Dead Letter Perfect? Chicago’s own Soulstice says yes, emphatically and repeatedly; I – a devotee of hip-hop as a living language – beg to differ. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-2760715322150144472007-11-21T21:53:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:48.148Z

With all the helium-voiced alter egos, metal mask-wearing supervillians, and ghosts of underground legends teeming around Stones Throw Records, beatmaker-slash-rapper Oh No faces some stiff in-house competition for listeners’ attention. He’s managed to carve out his own niche, though, with a fun and fearless approach to the art and a knack for outside-the-box concept projects. Oh No followed-up

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-42703079423762715272007-11-01T00:31:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:48.313Z

Meta-roboto-literati, oh my!From the Autumn 2007 issue of Opticon 1826.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-23663462266206238832007-10-11T14:31:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:48.688Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerTypical.Ndegeocello that is, whatever that is.(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-20075410529609339932007-10-02T17:33:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:48.869Z

"Give a dog a boneLeave a dog aloneLet a dog roamAnd he'll find his way home."Well, I have. The past few months have been an absolute and uncharacteristic whirlwind. Stops in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany -- unshaven, with all of my possessions (sans a razor) in the green backpack I've been carrying around since high school -- kept me on my feet every moment my dissertation didn't

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-41993824813326972982007-10-02T00:09:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:50.593Z

After getting hit with Ta'raach's The Fevers and Black Milk's Popular Demand within the first two months of new year, I thought 2007 would be a great year for hip-hop. Boy, have I been disappointed. Since early February, a slew of hotly anticipated releases (by myself and/or others) have dropped and, in my opinion, few have matched the hype, or even approached vaguely close. The major offenders (

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-44194608978620165892007-10-02T00:06:00.000+01:002007-10-02T00:09:49.177+01:00

Answers by me, questions and editing of the answers by another.Q: How did you find this job?A: I had just been fired from a valet parking job at the local aquarium. As it turned out, causing vehicular damage is a turn-off for a lot of employers. Thankfully, my driving skills weren't a big problem for the Beach Control.Q: How old were you when you started?A: I was eighteen, fresh out of high

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-33366794182978177312007-10-01T23:59:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:50.816Z

Paul Turner passed on in June 2007 after fourteen seasons as Harvard University's field coach. I considered him a major father figure and counted him among my closest friends and trusted confidants. In what could only be an understatement: He'll be deeply missed. The following was prepared for a memorial booklet produced by The Friends of Harvard Track & Field, but written more to be spoken.(More

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-26401336501274703472007-10-01T23:55:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:50.957Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerI think I’m bleeding inside my chest.(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-5548711285337838052007-10-01T23:49:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:51.238Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerZarathustra: “Everything goeth, everything returneth; eternally rolleth the wheel of existence. Everything dieth, everything blossometh forth again; eternally runneth on the year of existence.”Collie Buddz: “Finally, the herb come around!”Zarathustra: “Yo, could we do something else?”(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-41315111082511399352007-06-26T11:16:00.001+01:002008-12-13T01:16:51.534Z

Photo copyright of T.M. WolfLate-spring/early-summer has been hectic for your favorite man of letters. 14,400 miles in the air in May between Mumbai, London, and Virginia? Excellent. Perusing the arcades of Paris in fine Benjaminian style? Magnifique. Linking up with some old friends? Great.Keeping pen to paper? The best. The nature of my writing has been changing quite a bit over the last few

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-39598240539659630442007-06-26T11:00:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:51.699Z

POPMATTERS -- Hip-hop, as any number of industry executives, gaudy videos, and endlessly self-referential rhymes will tell testify, is big business. And yet, even with its fabled rise “from ashy to classy” – leapfrogging from ghettos to rural hamlets and back again, from New York to Los Angeles, Atlanta to Houston, and all points in between – hip-hop has retained its status as Public Enemy #1:

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-28593006617110942982007-06-26T10:01:00.000+01:002007-06-26T23:33:48.669+01:00

Ah, the perils of inside jokes. They start out funny, but after a while, as more and more knowing glances, elliptical comments, and general jackassery pile-up, they generally collapse under their own weight into powerful, sociability-destroying black holes. I've been involved in my share:1. "50 CentGate" (Spring 2003): It's rare that you'll hear me say I "hate" anyone. Hate is a very strong word,

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-65814049349818948542007-06-26T10:00:00.001+01:002008-12-13T01:16:52.043Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comIn keeping with the obsessive-compulsive “cultural should” that jackhammers repeatedly in the back of my brain, I’ve accumulated a tidy stack of cultural objects I “really should” consume. Among the items in the aforementioned stack include: 1. Bartleby the Scrivener 2. The collected works of Stendahl 3. Madame Bovary 4. About 800 pages of Rem Koolhaas

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-65556118592344330692007-06-26T09:47:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:52.311Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comTo say that I had a love/hate relationship with college would be a gross understatement: I LURVED and *haaaaa-teeeeed* virtually every moment of it, sometimes simultaneously. But rarely during my two-year period of post-baccalaureate self-questioning, self-recrimination, self-satisfaction, and various other “self-”modified activities did I ever think I had

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-19557876216994987372007-04-29T10:51:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:53.101Z

Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention up until now, but I believe that Prague and Vienna are home to Western Europe's most violent statuary. Most statues I've seen usually involve a god playing a lyre or growing a beard, or an admiral fondling his piece-nez and leering sullenly. Prague and Vienna are filled almost entirely with statues of hulking brutes stabbing, maiming, clubbing,

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-26697408670378595622007-04-29T10:50:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:53.229Z

Detroit is still haunted by the ghost of the assembly-line worker, whose endless welding, pounding, and riveting fed a nation’s insatiable appetite for mass-produced tangles of steel and glass. Odd, then, that the former home of Ford’s legions has also produced a smallish clique of rapper-producers who have been steadily but quietly manufacturing boutique beats for the underground public. The

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-20135482075215131752007-04-29T10:40:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:53.370Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerBeHonest:Howmuchlawngercoodeyeritelikthisb4youdstopreedin’?iwuldimagineitculdbe “qte”or“charming”forlikealineor2butitgetsreallyannoyingreallyqwikly,likeeye’mcoveringupforalakof interestingcontentbyhyperstyl-eye-zingmywriting. Translation: When is Musiq going to stop stylizing and start singing? (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-61012608815938792062007-04-29T10:36:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:53.476Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer“No idea’s original / There’s nothing new under the sun / It’s never what you do / But how it’s done.” – NasEff the “anxiety of influence.” After a few spins of Ryan Shaw’s This Is Ryan Shaw, I’m more concerned about the boredom of influence. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-16420104234911902992007-04-29T10:02:00.000+01:002007-04-29T16:14:54.102+01:00

The first time I heard this song -- sitting in a two-door hatchback screeching on two wheels through Northern London -- I thought I heard a harmonica. I quickly dismissed that thought as some sort of hallucination brought on by far too much Nigerian cinema. Imagine my surprise when I found the video. Dude - is - playing - a - harmonica. Is that what's really hot in the streets? Maybe it should be.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-15440274435801112482007-04-01T12:02:00.000+01:002007-04-01T12:06:59.152+01:00

I've been a massive Buju Banton fan since my sophomore year of high school. It's a shame that his youthful homophobia continues to cast such a pall over his later career, because the man of 'Til Shiloh and Inna Heights is one of the most insightful, soulful, and, in my opinion, truly good (as in authentic and virtuous, not skilled... although he is that, too) artists in contemporary music. "Magic

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-7773665745396902642007-03-30T20:50:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:53.794Z

Sliding right in under the March deadline, I've got an update to tie my sporadic early spring posting together. In addition to my debut pieces for Stylus (RZA and Sean Price), I've got reviews of the Bar-Kays latest, as well as an older review of Planet Asia's The Sickness out the okayplayer vaults. Be on the look-out for a nice big Stylus piece on Detroit's art-hop, coming soon."I don't usually

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-53868641035659727362007-03-30T20:46:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:53.859Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerYou know that saying, “You can't teach old bands new tricks”? Turns out you CAN. It's just mad embarrassing. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-42522522881286267152007-03-30T20:41:00.000+01:002008-12-13T01:16:54.056Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayerThe history you know never happened: long before “Tell Me When to Go,” the Cali underground was primed to snatch the crown away from New York. It’s funny, in a sad way, because the future you expected never happened either: by now, Planet Asia should have hit us with at least one classic solo album. Instead we got The Last Stand EP and The Grand Opening. Now, we’

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-90256257337928392302007-03-07T16:33:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:54.562Z

Back with another STYLUS piece...Sean Price—formerly known as “Ruck,” one half of the on-again, off-again duo Heltah Skeltah—reintroduced himself to hip-hop audiences on 2005’s Monkey Barz as “The Brokest Rapper You Know.” Price used his first solo project to comment endlessly on his lack of success as a rapper…and a husband…and a father…and, well, as a human being in general. On Jesus Price

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-7614454849205045602007-03-03T23:31:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:54.748Z

Shout out to my okayplayer connects for putting me on to this vintage footage of Al Green performing "Tired of Being Alone." Simply magnetic, chill-inducing. This isn't musical theater... it's musical confession. It's been a while since a piece of music has caused me to smile spontaneously (0:50 - 0:53... wait for it, wait for it), let alone smile and shiver spontaneously. This did just that. I

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-18237990454969061872007-03-01T20:35:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:55.142Z

One piece of news I didn't want to share until it was confirmed (hence "building" in Feb's update -- or, one part of "building"... potentially more to come) was that I've recently begun contributing pieces to Stylus Magazine. Same T.M., new location (haven't abandoned okayplayer, just broadening my base).I hate to plug myself shamelessly, but, in certain respects, that what this blog is about (at

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-37427268507579910232007-02-23T17:31:00.002Z2008-12-13T01:16:55.377Z

Building. Enjoy some new items below.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-83877603565486955802007-02-23T17:31:00.001Z2008-12-13T01:16:55.712Z

Originally published in okayplayer's Best of 2006 featureThe gloriously textured swan-beat-tape from Detroit's Crown Prince, J Dilla. What it lacks in Dilla's swaggering, flow-heavy raps, Donuts makes up with its soaring vocal snatches and gracefully chopped samples. Dilla's (near-)last has emerged as the gateway to his less widely heralded but equally intriguing backlog – from Tribe to Slum,

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-91212282541030369152007-02-23T17:29:00.001Z2007-02-23T17:29:46.396Z

After noted lapsed Marxist Claire Fox dropped a bombshell of a post-dinner speech (reviling multiculturalism, the West, the Near East, the youth, academia... and, well, everyone in the room), I had the privilege of closing the evening. Never a good idea to let me get the last word:"Well, I'm now put in the odd position of speaking on behalf of the angst-ridden, multiculturalist youth of the world

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-52160784263034864192007-02-23T17:07:00.000Z2007-02-23T17:19:29.430Z

I haven't really felt G-Unit since Lloyd Banks' first album, and had even less time for Young "Gun-fi-rur" Buck, but his new single and video... tight. It looks like a hardcore version of OutKast's Rosa Parks, with particularly ill visuals on the third verse.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-86543103688030365612007-02-22T23:17:00.000Z2007-02-23T17:25:37.765Z

Wow. Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. You're kidding me, right?"Put me down."

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-88726657777378726772007-02-22T22:59:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:55.999Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer(NR) Shawn Lee vs. (1) T.M. Wolf – Final Round: Okayplayer Literalized Ping-Pong Metaphor Championships“We’re not trying to ‘get’ anyone here.”- Martin “Ruddy” MacDougall (1875 – 1942), Olympic Gold Medalist, tournament founder, confirmed alcoholic(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-79018641621412809002007-02-22T22:53:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:56.169Z

Debut work from a good friend and former teacher of mine, Eric Paras (PhD, Harvard '05) -- easily the most lucid, interesting, and vividly written study of Foucault I've encountered. I mean, in my wholly disinterested, unbiased, ethical journalistic opinion. (Buy it)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1298140076947356782007-01-28T22:31:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:56.604Z

(Thanks, Rafi)"I'm thinkin' / Deep in thoughts / Ya boy ain't even winkin'"And that about sums up January. Heavy coats for heavy times, and heavy conversations for heavy minds...Thankfully, I've got a few more items to lighten things up. First, a short video essay on genre conventions in hip-hop, chased down with two "different" reviews from my vaults, the second of which caused a *bit* of a stir

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-3673796042702888982007-01-28T22:26:00.000Z2007-02-01T09:57:57.476Z

Hip-hop is roundly criticized as a "violent" art form. As of late, rap lyrics have even been drawn into court proceedings as "proof" of the writer-in-question's murderous obsessions. Outsiders fail to realize, however, that -- inasmuch as some rappers talk about their violent "realities," using lyrics to explore their circumstances and/or brag about their exploits -- gun-talk and "murda-muzik"

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-92027125820337788462007-01-28T22:21:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:56.737Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer T.M. biographers (well, if there were such a thing) will note that I once referred to aesthetic theory as “the graveyard where all good philosophers go to die.” Okay, fine, my stance on aesthetics has softened a bit. Chalk it up to the experience of an affected provincial living in a world city – I felt like I had to choose between synthesizing Kant and

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-4205680555960640972007-01-28T22:12:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:56.875Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer I won't chop up the story. Click here for the piece in its entirety.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-72904002911556351702006-12-18T22:44:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:57.115Z

"Read T.M. Wolf's review of More Fish then try and say something funny style about Okayplayer's reviews section." - Dan p periodMuch love to the okayplayer staff for the front page love (Dec. 18), and much holiday love to everyone out there reading the December update. While haters were getting tied up in knots in The Lesson (I know how this blog game works, you don't think I'm actually going to

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-17079773337139331172006-12-18T22:26:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:57.474Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comThe only thing more classically “Ghost” (read: perpetually intriguing, frequently counterintuitive, and occasionally non-sensical) than Def Jam releasing the second Ghostface album of the year was the brilliant (read: ridiculous) decision to title the follow-up to early-2006’s coke-cooking, soul-sampling rhymefest Fishscale… I pull your terry-cloth robe not..

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-38024501990406065612006-12-18T22:20:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:57.610Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comLaffy Taffy Rots Your Teeth? So does death. Just ask Steve Biko – he’s rolling in his grave as we speak. (Read More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-59518531758063999442006-12-18T21:23:00.000Z2008-12-13T01:16:58.760Z

People often say to me:"Tom..." (if they knew me between the ages of 0 and 14)"T-Wolf" (if they knew me between 14 and 18)"T-Dub," or "T" (18 - 22)"T-Dash..." (22 - 23)"T.M...." (present day)... They say... "We know you like hip-hop. We know you like soul. But what else are you digging right now?" Here's what I tell them:Sizzla, Black Woman and Child (VP Records, 2002)Sizzla might be reggae's

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-21667350689986897512006-12-18T21:16:00.000Z2006-12-18T23:01:16.012Z

The video selection for this month is Raekwon's "Incarcerated Scarfaces" (circa 1995), off his classic debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx -- unarguably one of hip-hop's finest, most mind-bending journeys and a major template for all of today's considerably less intellectual coke rap. The song is vintage Rae -- full of his involuted, free-floating slang and razor-cut deliveries. The video is

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-56471960651271354012006-11-30T23:41:00.000Z2006-11-30T23:51:48.349Z

Photo copyright of T.M. Wolf, 2006.Much like the J.P. Morgan Building, November was a sublime month -- terrifying in its monstrous, steely presence, but all the more intriguing because of that. In addition to a short entry re: Ghostface's upcoming More Fish and an annoucement/party invite for the Roots' London dates, I've got an embedded version of one of my favorite hip-hop vids -- the Lost

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-29297311652733591112006-11-30T23:34:00.000Z2006-11-30T23:41:03.579Z

Rather than just posting up videos I find absurd, how about I post a video I like for a song I like even more?The Lost Boyz' "Renee" is a slice of blustery, down-jacket, mid-90s NYC hip-hop -- it remains one of the finest hip-hop love ballads of all time, and one of the songs that sealed my love for hip-hop. Discount the fact that Cheeks uses the phrase "smoke a blunt" 11 times in the song... his

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-37294414408433789202006-11-30T23:29:00.000Z2006-11-30T23:50:53.041Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comTo wake, to live --To live --perchance to create: ay, there's the rub,For Every Waking Moment what things may comeWhilst we shuffle along these charged surfaces,Must give us pause.- The Bard, ed. C. Quixote(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-75066397090395961902006-11-30T21:17:00.000Z2007-01-16T19:44:41.716Z

A CanineMind Exclusive“It’s not over, there’s another again.” Once Again, John Legend presents soulful recursion at its best… with no end in sight. Rarely did Legend’s debut, the platinum-selling Get Lifted, display the sort of raw vocal virtuosity associated with male soul greats. There’s something implacably aged in his vocals, a slightly ragged, geriatric quality that doesn’t always

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-41384612989457294242006-11-21T21:45:00.000Z2006-11-21T22:43:18.531Z

Okay, players...Hip-hop's greatest band and (FULL DISCLOSURE) the shadowy overbosses upon whom my fledgling writing career currently rests, the Grammy Award-winning, Philly-bred Roots, are currently out on the European leg of their Game Theory tour, and are set to hit London around the middle of December. They're playing two shows at Shepherd's Bush Empire, one on Dec. 11 and the other on Dec. 12

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-47196390021154254702006-11-14T22:49:00.000Z2006-11-14T23:20:10.374Z

Word around the Wally campfire is that hip-hop's e.e. cummings, Ghostface Killah, is dropping his second album of the year on Dec. 12, following up the early-2006 media darling Fishscale with a project titled (I pull your terry-cloth robe not)... More Fish. Let's forget for the moment that "fishscale" is coke, so calling it More Fish effectively literalizes the metaphor beyond comprehension (

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-63321029400260212302006-11-10T20:41:00.000Z2006-11-10T20:58:11.492Z

No matter how hard I try, I can't get away from the Royal Family, more specifically, the Queen. The Queen was amusing; the Queen coming over for lunch and unveiling yet another highly (and strangely) phallic monument to her greatness is highly, highly inconvenient. Worst of all is being forcibly evicted from the Queen's Windsor guest lodge, tossed out into the night to "see what it feels like to

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-32975426317941116202006-11-09T23:28:00.000Z2006-11-10T20:41:37.061Z

1. Open box of cereal. Eat contents with hands.2. Make sandwich. Eat off shirt cardboard.3. Heat up frozen pizza on space heater. Eat off desk.4. Open can of tuna. Gag. Throw out. Go hungry for remainder of day.5. Open jar of peanut butter. Dip in spoon. Eat. Notice oily cooling sensation beneath eyes.6. Offer personal favorite meal to homeless drifter. Be rejected.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-55312404367713196202006-11-09T23:15:00.000Z2006-11-10T20:41:23.536Z

It's difficult to explain how bizarre I find this video from New Orleans hood legend B.G. It is, for all intents and purposes, a low-fi version of Kanye's "Drive Slow" video -- and yet what it lacks in slickly simulacric, hyper-reflective car imagery it makes up for in the mind-bendingly self-referential final vignette, where B.G. raps while standing in front of a huge real-time video

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-84976892642218560992006-11-09T23:06:00.000Z2006-11-10T20:41:11.154Z

Originally published on okayplayer.comWomen have always occupied a fraught place in hip-hop, perhaps more so now than ever. If not subjected to borderline-ridiculous-if-not-for-its-readily- obvious-cultural-influence misogyny (spearheaded by Snoop’s ambitious cultural project of ensconcing the mystical “ho” as a viable Third Sex in the place of actual women) or extreme credibility bashing (NaS),

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-61855311400912539982006-11-09T23:01:00.000Z2006-11-10T20:40:49.132Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comFellow Exiles, Devoted Readers, and Habitual Haters,I’m more firmly convinced than ever that England is the place to be (until daylight savings time expires, at least): the pound is strong, the weather is unseasonably warm, the architecture is daring, and the graveyards are exceedingly creepy. Best yet, England is home to the path-breaking soul singer Omar,

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-5828080506466819372006-11-09T22:52:00.000Z2006-11-10T20:41:01.958Z

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.com I’ve got Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s latest, Colorblind, in my system. I’ve got a fat pack of construction paper. AND I just got my new 150-count Crayola Telescoping Crayon Tower. Your boy is going to WORK. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-82385373866396918992006-10-17T22:36:00.000+01:002006-10-18T08:56:13.741+01:00

In an attempt to beat-out Linus for the most sincere blog on the 'net, I'm back with a mid-October update. For all you greedy little ghosts, my full-length interview with -- and reflections on -- hip-hop legend Kool Keith. Also, a recently published review of the latest from one of my personal favorites, Method Man. And, if those weren't enough rocks to fill your pillow case, I've got a

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1517059051037253702006-10-17T22:29:00.000+01:002006-10-17T22:35:58.182+01:00

Photo copyright of T.M. Wolf, 2006.On a sweltering July afternoon, Okayplayer elbowed its way among the likes of MTV and URB to shoot the breeze with Kool Keith. The scene? An otherwise empty, frighteningly cold banquet room on the 18th floor of Manhattan’s Hotel Pennsylvania. The subject? His latest album (The Return of Dr. Octagon), realness, fiction, battling, and Fred Astaire. (Read the

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-74081444256289485902006-10-17T22:22:00.001+01:002006-10-17T22:28:44.175+01:00

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.com"Yoyo yo Me—, hold-up hold-up, yo, Meth, where my killa tape at, god?"No really, where my KILLA tape at?[Read the review, then check back in for the CanineMind Exclusive "Excursus on Listening to Method Man"]

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-14642695064434500962006-10-17T22:08:00.000+01:002007-01-16T19:42:01.238Z

A CanineMind ExclusiveIf 4:21 left me less than satisfied, I’m still no less convinced that Meth has been receiving unfair hate as of late. On top of resequencing and relistening to T2 and 4:21, listeners should consider the following stylistic points… Meth may be hip-hop’s most mis-appreciated MC. True, until Supreme Clientele transformed Ghostface into a Golden Child for the hip-hop literati

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-37793667951126113072006-09-30T23:25:00.000+01:002006-09-30T23:43:40.630+01:00

By my clock, it's still September, and that means it's still time to get my proper monthly update in. Sorry for the delays -- getting settled into London (and sitting in front of my computer) has been more difficult than I originally thought. As recompense, I've got three new reviews up. The Oh No review is the most recent in a series of "remix" reviews I've been writing (another, for Donell

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-80145729509222949402006-09-30T22:54:00.000+01:002006-09-30T22:59:52.558+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.com Oh NoWhat jittery beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Oxnard on an Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms?(Read the review... then come back and read the source)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-49017095650210404242006-09-30T22:48:00.000+01:002006-09-30T22:52:53.720+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.com*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*“Hey, everyone, seasoned pop/R&B vet and monotone enthusiast Kelis is here.” (Here we go again.)Venting in three, two, one…(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1159304928122765872006-09-26T22:03:00.000+01:002006-09-26T22:08:48.140+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comOkayplayer Community Theater Presents…“LISTENING TO FOUR ZONE’S MY TURN: A MONOLOGUE IN ONE ACT” OR “WHY THE BEST SONG ON AN ALBUM SHOULD NOT BE A HIDDEN TRACK”(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1156625825109610182006-08-26T21:53:00.000+01:002006-08-26T21:57:05.120+01:00

A short update to close out August: excerpts from a few business letters and reviews of Donell Jones' Journey of a Gemini, Mista Shakey's Done it Ma..., and the excellent Love Hustle Theater by Minneapolis hip-hop outfit Leroy Smokes.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1156525139543215742006-08-25T17:52:00.000+01:002006-08-25T17:59:46.293+01:00

I've been writing a lot of letters recently. Here are some of my favorites...To a blogger looking for more writers:"I'm not sure if any of the above demonstrates my intelligence, talent, or humor, as it's pretty hard to measure any of those qualities without a set of calipers and a racial agenda. Rest assured, however, that my head is significantly larger than that of the average human, and I

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1156524074528320302006-08-25T17:38:00.000+01:002006-08-30T02:56:51.750+01:00

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.com“Withthe*KICK*SNARE*KICK-SNARE*HI-HAT*” Maybewe’reovertrainedintheArtoftheOldBoomBap AndsometimesthespectrumbetweenaPreemobanger andthat“SNAPYAFINGERS!”(drawlifnecessary)seemslikeitoccupiesaspacebetweentwopointsthatareaboutthiscloseonaline.Inotherwords,hiphopcanseemverynarrow some tim

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1156523307102721902006-08-25T17:24:00.000+01:002006-08-25T17:31:32.773+01:00

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comI shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –I went straight,And that has made all the interest.- Robert Frost, Cappadonna, & C. Quixote(More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1156523056205114462006-08-25T17:17:00.001+01:002006-08-25T17:33:25.436+01:00

Originally reviewed for okayplayer.comWell, I’m at a loss for words. The English language, standard syntax, and okayplayer’s trademark typeface can’t do my Mista Shakey experience justice. It’s like… !!!!!!LOUDER! LOUDER!!!!!!!!!! TURN IT UP!!!!! EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!! 28-POINT FONT!!!!!!! I think I need to lie down. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1153879039166723092006-07-26T02:40:00.000+01:002006-07-26T03:02:53.010+01:00

July is near its close, and that means it's time for new content on CanineMind. In the future, I'll be posting content in "clusters" near the end of each month.Up this month are a few more items from my okayplayer backlog, as well as a review of Keziah Jones' perplexing "Black Orpheus" -- which can only be found here.Along the sidebar to your right, you'll notice a few new additions to the "

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1153877898915578762006-07-26T02:35:00.001+01:002006-07-26T03:05:54.883+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comExpatriate Americans… street racing… in Tokyo… against the Yakuza… with a soundtrack combining hip-hop, dancehall, metal, and reggaeton in English, Spanish, and Japanese. Oh, the Globalism! Cosmopolitanism! Hybridity! Liminality! Syncretism! Intertextuality! (and an extra French !) Rejoice, people of Japan! After years of being Othered, the soundtrack to The Fast and

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1153877666095618172006-07-26T02:28:00.000+01:002006-07-26T03:06:15.300+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.com“Hey! What’s up, world? This is Aceyalone, and this is dedicated to you, you worthless piece of shit.” To say Aceyalone has a complicated relationship with the world would be a massive understatement. Can’t accept his eclectic, eccentric worldview? Get over it. You’re in his conflicted, hectic, Magnificent City. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1153877227432648992006-07-26T02:19:00.000+01:002006-07-26T02:27:52.336+01:00

A CanineMind Exclusive (for all intents and purposes)How to say it? Keziah Jones’ Black Orpheus is [ ], [ ], and [ ]. Maybe hyphens would help: [ ]-[ ], [ ]-[ ]. It’s like… Well, I mean, listening to it is like [ ], [ ]-[ ]. “Kpafuca”? Having no clue what’s going on is one of the joys of life.

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1153876694565855792006-07-26T02:12:00.001+01:002006-07-26T03:07:16.740+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comBang 'Em and Domination have beef with 50 Cent. BEEF? BEEF. FIFTY? FIFTY.BEEF BEEF BEEF FIFTY FIFTY FIFTY BEEF FIFTY FIFTY BEEF. (And they have a new album, called God Giveth, God Taketh Away.) FIFTY! BEEF! (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1151337493357801742006-06-26T16:57:00.000+01:002006-06-26T16:58:13.356+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comGenre-benders work the angles. In a world of Cheshire cat grins and six-foot frowns, Van Hunt’s On the Jungle Floor is the crooked smile on the portrait of a man that transforms the mass- distributed into the Louvre-exhibited. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1151337044535647922006-06-26T16:45:00.000+01:002006-06-26T18:02:01.393+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comFirst Sign that KRS-One Owns His Own Personal Time-Machine That Will Either (a – indicating the less likely of two alternatives) Reverse The Ongoing Collapse of Hip-Hop into Lafftafftastic Crapulence Or (b – highly favored among experts from the National Department for Literary Theory and Quantum Physics) Alter the Space- Time Continuum and Plunge Us All Into a Mind-

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150034807829986772006-06-11T14:57:00.000+01:002006-06-11T19:17:03.546+01:00

Published in Student Essays: On the Purpose and Structure of a Harvard Education (Cambridge: Fellows of Harvard College, 2005) (Full PDFs)"The College should... encourage individual perspectives, ideas that have real lasting power specifically because they are one's own, not because they are Harvard's. Life is long and complicated, and we will all have to change to meet its challenges. Finished

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150034118560198762006-06-11T14:52:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:12:40.750+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.com"You're a stranger, strangers don't talk to strangers." If I followed Omni's own advice, I would've missed out on his third solo album, Ballyhoo. But you're talking to a man who once played rock-paper-scissors for three hours in an apartment full of unfamiliar, non-English speaking Chinese immigrants just for irony's sake. So naturally, I dove headfirst into this

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150033877710203152006-06-11T14:48:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:06:05.446+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comWith a single guest-shot on Illmatic, rapper AZ announced himself as a full-fledged rhymer with a relentless flow and a vision to match. For those taking roll, the old AZ is accounted for on his fifth solo disc, A*W*O*L. In fact, he never left. But something’s missing… (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150033600062906622006-06-11T14:43:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:06:22.013+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comOver the course of his stellar Ubiquity Records debut, The Find, Ohmega Watts searches for many things: the right person, the perfect sample, the way home. But what is the Oregon- based MC/producer's greatest find: a compelling balance between live and electronic production, with earnest lyrics to match. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150033113644620032006-06-11T14:36:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:07:24.203+01:00

A CanineMind ExclusiveOn Subject, the major label debut from Detroit soul crooner Dwele, the beautiful and the bland collide. There’s much in a name, with “subject” suggesting both something abstract (the concept of a song) and something unfinished (is there a master sitting in a studio somewhere with a post-it stuck on it saying 'real title here'?). Ultimately, for better and for worse, Dwele

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150032495933927952006-06-11T14:24:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:07:39.563+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comOn his latest album, Beauty and the Beat, Boston MC/producer Edan "uses pens like hallucinogens" to reconnect hip hop with the psychedelic rock 'n' roll of Jimi Hendrix. The result is a super-compact, simulated acid trip—34 minutes of space-age whirs, echoed vocals, and free association lyrics—all offered up with undeniable pace and energy. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150020865629205282006-06-11T11:14:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:08:09.523+01:00

A CanineMind ExclusiveOnly two hip-hop albums have ever been more hyped than Mike Jones’ new disc, Who is Mike Jones? The first is Wu-Tang Clan’s The W (2000), which, as the RZA explained in 1997, would “come back with a comet.” The other is Dr. Dre’s perpetually soon-to- be released Detox. In both of these cases, the hype was well- deserved: the Wu and Dre have vaults of classics and walls of

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150020788808538692006-06-11T11:12:00.000+01:002006-06-26T17:09:03.676+01:00

Reviewed for okayplayer.comComplacency, like sleep, is the cousin of death. As long as the endless beat of the 808 pacifies insiders, the world will need anti-musical alarm clocks like Bigg Jus’s latest, Poor People’s Day. Of course, like the alarm that pierces an early morning slumber, the sound of a man “annihilating everything before your very ears” isn’t always the most soothing. (More...)

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29182594.post-1150019658508991322006-06-11T10:47:00.000+01:002006-07-11T16:49:40.853+01:00

A FOUNDATIONAL CanineMind ExclusiveIn his Art of the Novel, Milan Kundera offers a grim picture of the contemporary cultural field: where once the writer could be seen as an isolated scribe amid an otherwise wordless, or perhaps even illiterate, population, he now must assume his place as merely one of an endlessly multiplying legion of writers. Everyone has something to say; everyone has a book

Tom Wolfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13560940486902152771noreply@blogger.com1