Getting Smooth With Bryan Xibalba

Frankly, I can't get enough of this song/video. Our friend Bryan is holding it down on bass, gravity bong, and Night Train in this.

Like most of you, I waste a good amount of my time awake fucking around on Twitter. One of the people I follow is Bryan Valdivia, bassist of up and coming metal/hc band Xibalba (who you should follow at @shadowboxinn). I noticed over the tenure of following him that this dude LOVED r+b and hip hop. Not just like, flavor of the week/shit hipsters think is cool/ironic hip hop and r+b, like shit that was huge when I was in middle school style stuff. Bryan's love for these jams is deep and legit as much his love for brutal shit is (this obvious due to his involvement in the almighty Xibalba). I'm not saying you can't love hard stuff and r+b, but Bryan is obviously on some next level shit as far as his feelings on hip hop and r+b go. So we decided to give him a space to drop knowledge on the world of hip hop and r+b. Without further ado, Bryan Valdivia...

It's finally happened. I have my own blog where I can post whatever I feel about music from back in the day and today. I remember one of my friends told me, "You should write your own blog where you post music videos and write about them." What he meant by that was, I always post videos on my Facebook and usually write a little story to go with it. It's usually always old R&B and Hip Hop tracks that I have story's about.
I play bass in Xibalba and at first listen you would think, "these guys only listen to slow and heavy shit". However, the reality is that we listen to the total opposite. Everyone in Xibalba listens to everything and I truly mean EVERYTHING. Our friend was complaining on tour how we are such a "hord"(that's how my foos say it) band and if people found out what we listen to they would think we're some pussies. On our first U.S. tour we were bumpin' Dr. Dre - Chronic 2001 (which I think is BETTER than the original Chronic), Sade (one of my favorite musical artists. Don't believe me? If you ever see me in person I'll show you my Sade tattoo), The Cranberries (Brian Ortiz, the guitarist in Xibalba has Dolores O'Riordan tattooed on his arm), The Fuguees, The Cure, Sublime, The Notorious B.I.G, Wu-Tang, Throwdown (Beyond Repair of course), Depeche Mode, The Stone Roses, Mariah Carey, The Smiths, Eminem (The Slim Shady L.P. is amazing)m, as well as the great Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Everyone in the band will agree that good music is good music, doesn't matter what kind it is. I was lucky to grow up in the early 90s but also very fortune to have an older brother and sister that were deep into R&B and Hip Hop in the 80s and early 90s (before this band from Aberdeen, Washington changed my life....NEVERMIND I'm getting sidetracked). R&B and Hip Hop have been the soundtrack of my life for as long as I can remember and it still is (my parents would bump: Vicente Fernandez, Juan Gabriel, & Ana Gabriel but that's for another blog). I tell everyone the first songs I can remember hearing when I was young was: Geto Boyz - My Mind Is Playin' Tricks On Me, MC Breed - No Future In Yo' Frontin', and Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love. R&B and Hip Hop was instilled in me at a young age because of my brother and sister and still to this day I thank them. I don't know if anyone is going to read this but if one person does and they enjoy it than I did my job.

SWV - Weak


I have such a weak (no pun intended) spot for girl groups from the 90s, and SWV is a classic girl group from the 90s. What's even funnier is that I was singing this song about a week ago and it's been stuck in my head since, so I guess it's perfect this is the first song I review. SWV had other hits but this is for sure the hit that people will probably remember from them but I also suggest you check out "Right Here/Human Nature" & "I'm So Into You". I haven't seen this video in a while but damn these girls are fine. The main singer, Coko, is mad fine. The singing on this track is on point. I love the part when they sing "cause my heart starts beatings triple time, with thoughts of loving you on my mind". That chorus is amazing. You can't help but groove to it and when it ends with "can't explain why your loving makes me weak", it gets me every time. I'm laughing as I'm watching this video because its typical 90s R&B girl group to dress up thug but be singing the soft songs, but I'm not complaining and they can for sure pull it off. They look like members of the Wu-Tang Clan. I'm a big hopeless romantic softy so I feel this song and it makes me smile because it reminds me of hearing this full blast in my sisters room when I was young. Man remember when girls used to be sucking lollipops? They need to bring that back. I don't see that anymore. I think that's sexy. When the third verse hits you can feel she is really feeling whoever she wrote this song about. Lucky man, in my book. I love how it ends because they go all out. "Something 'bout the way you do, the things you do ooh ooh, it..." LOVE that part and than it comes back to level. Its like she got excited just thinking about him and than realized she needs to calm it down a little bit. Such an amazing track. I suggest giving it a listen.

Helmet/House Of Pain "Just Another Victim


Damn, I remember this. My brother had this CD because I remember the cover. My brother has every Hip Hop cd known to man. I swear he has everything. Now I'm a fan of Helmet, but I'm not a fan of House of Pain at all. I mean "Jump Around" was coo when I was 5 but other than that they never really did it for me and probably never will. I will say this track is heavy and has such a catchy riff and even though I don't like House of Pain. Everlast comes hard on this track. "I built the House, I felt the Pain. You're victimized but got no one to blame." Now at the end of this song I found myself playing it again. Bands always do mash-ups and they usually are shitty but this one, I give it a thumbs up. I fucks with it.

Tower Of Power "So Very Hard To Go"


Ahh, a classic R&B group from the great city of Oakland. How can you not love this track? Just listen to those horns and sax. I hear horns and sax in music these days, but it doesn't feel right. This feels right. I love listening to soul oldies like this. There was a point where this is what I would listen to all the time because this music makes you feel something. It feels like music was so pure back then, and you can feel it just listening to it. Just listening to this puts a smile on my face even though if you pay attention to the lyrics, its not that happy of a song. I love when the back up singers come in with "so very hard to go.." Damn, that horn section is no joke. Such a great track.

The Weeknd - "Loft Music"


Now a lot of my foos have been listening to The Weeknd. They'd post videos and I didn't pay attention 'til all of those foos were posting videos on them, so I had to check it out. I forgot what song it was, but it was coo. This is second time I've heard of The Weeknd and I'll tell you this: I like it. I LOVE catchy shit and this is catchy as hell. Damn, the more I'm listening to this I actually really like it. Straight baby making music, but from what I can make out from this song this foo seems pissed. He also said "fuck faces", which right away reminds me of one of my favorite artists, Devin The Dude. The beat hits (I wonder who produced this track). The track lost me at the end when it seemed like he was just whining. I loved hearing the beat ride out, but I can't stand listening to the auto-tune bullshit.

Pete Rock and CL Smooth - "They Reminisce Over You"


Now this is my jam! The Soul Brother Pete Rock and CL Smooth in the classic "T.R.O.Y. - They Reminisce Over You." I miss the days of the duo of a dope producer and emcee like EPMD, GangStarr (R.I.P. Guru), Boogie Down Productions (R.I.P. Scott LaRock), and the legendary Eric B. & Rakim. I mean we got some really talented groups these days like Blu & Exile (if you haven't heard "Below The Havens," do yourself a favor and drop everything you're doing after you're done reading this and download that album. You can't get it on cd anymore cause its out of print. Lucky for me, I got a copy but download it and you'll thank me later). I love how the video starts showing old pictures of family members and straight to CL Smooth at the table with his moms and family. Damn, those drums and guitar at the start then the amazing sax comes in. I love it. If you're a hip hop fan, and you hear that sax part, right away you have to think of T.R.O.Y. The video sets the tone for the song. This song is for their homie Troy Dixon, who died around the time this record came out. Pete Rock gives him a shout out at the end of the song (Trouble T Roy). He was a dancer with Heavy D and the Boyz. There's some knowledge for ya. Damn, I love this track. I for sure remember my brother bumpin' this when it came out. Mecca and the Soul Brother is a classic hip hop album. I recommend that everyone cops it, it's a must have. When they put some of the shots in black and white it adds to the verse that CL is spittin'. You can feel what he is sayin'. CL puts a lot of himself in this song and I love when artist do that. What I love about hip hop is you can relate to it a lot. Most people think you can't, but they're listening to the wrong stuff. I love how CL delivers, "Listen, positive over negative for the women and master, Mother Queen's rising a chapter, Deja vu, tell you what I'm gonna do, When they reminisce over you, my God". You know what I else love about 90s hip hop? They had mad style. One of my favorite parts is in the second verse and how he says "My old man standing yelling 'Good God Almighty!" Love that part. Pete Rock laid down such a great beat and CL rides it perfect. These two had amazing chemistry and I'm glad they are working together again. They went years without talking to each other because they had differences when it came to music, but after Guru's death, they decided to get back together. I guess they didn't want what happened to Gangstarr to happen to them. That makes me happy. I mean listen to this CLASSIC track. It would be a great loss if they never made music together again. If you have never heard this song, I don't know what to tell you. You're truly missing out on one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time. Plain and simple. One of my favorite modern day Hip Hop groups that break- awhile ago, Little Brother, sampled this track on the last song off their record The Listening titled, "The Listening". There's another recommendation from me. That track alone speaks a lot about the bullshit in the Hip Hop game when it comes to groups, record labels, & even fans. Check that song out but after you peep this CLASSIC track.

Xibalba recently put out a full length called "Madre Mia Gracias Por Los Dias", which is available anywhere, and fucking kills. They are currently writing a follow up, but will probably be out on tour again real soon, fucking up this entire country. Support these dudes, and get ready for Bryan's next offering, because this dude LOVES music, and so do we.