Freestyle Friday (2/4)

Dear Dear Whoever readers, I apologize. There has been a dire lack of freestyles on the blog for a few weeks. Blame either my academic obligations or my incessant job search for graduation. Even so, we've got two freestyle verses this week for your listening pleasure. The first one is by Fabolous. As he prepares to drop a new mixtape, he released this freestyle to Kanye's 'Devil in a New Dress', and RIPPED it. Fab shows us here why he gets so much play: his wordplay. If only John Jackson could put that formula together for an ALBUM, there'd be little competition, as he'd be ACTUALLY killing them. Regardless, it's a nice verse. 'The SOUL Tape' is slated to drop this month. The second freestyle is by Jim Jones, and isn't completely a freestyle. After his near-death experience in a car crash last week, Jones quickly released a 'Crash' freestyle detailing the event. The video below is not only a trailer for the upcoming video for 'Crash', but an impromptu performance of his take on Kanye's 'Runaway' (so I'm guessing Ye's beats are the standard again?). Check out both freestyles and have a happy Friday people!

Cam'ron & Vado - Speaking in Tungs x I Don't Believe N*ggas

Cam'ron & Vado - Speaking in Tungs


Cam'ron - I Don't Believe Niggas (ft. Fabolous & Vado)

I may be from the Bronx, but I certainly am a fan of Harlem rappers (BX is gonna have a resurgence soon.. I can feel it!). Cam'ron and his newest protege Vado are up there on the list, though Cam has been doing it since the 90s. The thing that I like about Vado is that, unlike Juelz, it hasn't taken him 4 years and a label dispute to get his rhymes together. Vado drops a bunch of bars on both of these tracks, and compliments Cam perfectly. Even Fab drops a lyrical dime or two (why can't he do that on his own work?). Check out the Cam and Vado's odes to lying adversaries and great love-making...

Fabolous - There is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service

Fabolous – There Is No Competition (The Funeral Service)

Yeah, I'm late; sue me... Took a while for me to get through this one, but not for lack of quality. I just got an untagged version and had to figure out which track was which. Regardless, Fab had the blogosphere on its toes for about two months after we heard that 'There is No Competition 2: The Funeral Service' was being pushed back around Christmas. Then there were a bunch of supposed 'leaks' and a lot of industry BS, coming from DJ Drama's end. When it comes to any Fabolous mixtape, you have to be ready for punchlines, and this mixtape was no different. Fab went harder than I can honestly ever remember. Every song was like a flurry of lyrical jabs, hooks and uppercuts that combined to form a knockout punch. I'm not going to say it was the best tape I've ever heard, considering a lot of the content was repeated. Other than that, though, the tape was clean (minimal interference from the DJ is always a plus). Fab made his case for being one of the best out, even with the title being somewhat of a lie. Check the link, tracklist, #dopetracks, loosies and videos...

Tracklist:
1. The Wake
2. I’m Raw
3. Body Ya
4. Hard Feat. Kobe, Paul Cain & LA The Darkman
5. Oh Let’s Do It
6. Suicide 2 Feat. Paul Cain & Freck Billionaire
7. It’s Goin’ Down Feat. Freck Billionaire
8. Roger That Feat. Freck Billionaire
9. Love Come Down
10. Popular Demand Feat. Paul Cain
11. Mr. R.I.P
12. Body Bag Feat. Cam’ron & Vado
13. Beamer, Benz, or Bentley Feat. Lloyd Banks Juelz Santana
14. For The Money Feat. Nicki Minaj
15. Tonight Feat. Red Cafe
16. All The Way Turnt Up Feat. Trey Songz
17. Say Somethin’ Nigga
18. Funeral Service Music Feat. Kobe, Paul Cain, Red Cafe & Willie The Kid
19. Bring Death To Em’
20. Exhibit F

#dopetracks
I'm Raw
Body Ya
Love Come Down
Mr. R.I.P.
Exhibit F
It's Going Down
Funeral Service Music
Body Bag

Loosies:
Fabolous – Tonight f. Red Cafe
Fabolous – Body Bag f. Cam’ron & Vado
Fabolous – Body Ya
Fabolous – Turnt Up f. Trey Songz