nelly makdessy - ishtak

when i started getting back into arabic music a few years ago, i was given a few cds and compilations by some mates of mine. this was one of the tracks that i liked on instant. due to the fact that i forgot how to read arabic i didn't know who it was or but i had a guess that the track was called ishta so i asked around and was given a answer.

it's a fast habibi-pop track but with some of the flavour of the late 80's/early 90's sound going on in the arabic world, fast pace and alot of the traditional instruments and all that schwag.

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jay-z - is that yo bitch? (feat. twista & missy elliott)

when i copped my vol. 3 cd back in 2000, this (and big pimpin) was the thing(s) i was playing on repeat all the time. big pimpin for it's abdel halim hafez sample but this one due to the fact it was a fast joint and it showed traits of the machinegun/quick tounge flow that jay used to rock on the pre-'dead presidents' joints. however jay's flow was nothing to the speedygonzalez that is twista, this was my introduction to this rapping wonder. i always thought the bone thugs was fast but after hearing twista it was a whole different level.

timbo's production on this was ahead of it's time with the fact that you can work this in any modern grime set and it wouldn't feel that out of place. i also think this was slated as a single but was shelved for the sake that jay gave it to his protoge memphis bleek for his album.

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bounty killer - sufferer

probably my favourite track using the diwali riddim, mostly because it's somewhat stripped down and focuses on the lenky's saz. good lyrics aswell

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