Jumpy Xaphoon Jones instrumentals? Check. Chiddy spitting venom about his Guinness World Record-winning longest freestyle ever? Check. With the summer coming, there seems to be another wave of new music on the horizon, and Chiddy Bang is one of those acts that has been delivering the funk as of late. Their new project Peanut Butter & Swelly is off to a swell start, if I do say so myself. Like I said before, great production and dope lyricism are a simple combination, but make for excellent hip-hop. There's not much more you can say about it. Check out the first release from PB&S, and stay tuned. Summer is going to sound awesome...
I say it all the time in my tweets, and frequently on this blog, but it bears repeating: Novelty, quantity, exclusivity, and hype should never exceed quality, hype especially. These days, however, in our 'I want it now' / 'Did you hear that new' / 'World exclusive' media world, we tend to give credence and the benefit of the doubt to whatever is in front of our faces in that very moment. Whether it be Twitter, blog posts, news stories, that 'bad' joint you saw across the street, or those 'fresh' sneakers in the window display, people will always love the last supposedly hot thing they lay eyes on, regardless of how the quality pales in comparison to what they already know. It's not wrong. It's just human nature. Music, especially today, benefits from that phenomena, with the 'latest offering' getting all types of acclaim. This phenomena usually results in songs being bumped into the ground for 14 minutes and 59 seconds, before the next 'big thing' hits the Interwebs.
I suppose that's why I was so disappointed with your latest offering, J. Cole. Your habitual absence from the Twitterverse was interrupted by a flurry of hyped-up, happy-go-lucky tweets, usually reserved for bad mixtape DJs and shameless promotion. I'll admit, I fell victim to the hype, waiting impatiently for you to drop your new single. As fate would have it, you were on Obama-time with your release of 'Disgusting'... But also, as fate and my lately dead-on intuition would have it, 'Disgusting' was an apt title for one of the worst songs I've heard you put out.
Filled with punchlines and wordplay that Mack Maine would deem Rhodes Scholar-worthy, 'Disgusting' was more a reason for people to keep your name in their mouths. From 'disgusting' fecal matter lines to even more 'disgusting' sight gags of metaphors, the beat might have been the only thing that saved this track. Lines like "Yes, her ass clapping / so that's a round of applause" made me cringe. Really, Cole? You used more curses than thoughts and seemed more content to talk about ejaculation than anything note-worthy. Put simply, there was little if any replay-value, and after the 5th listen, the Recycle Bin had a new entry.
Cole, this was in stark contrast to the first time I heard you, on 'The Warm Up'. Today, still reeling in my disappointment, I cued up that tape and was blessed to hear a hunger and cleverness that was missing on 'Disgusting'. On the track 'Dollar and a Dream II', I was surprised to catch a metaphor that had missed me in over 2 years of bumping the tape:
Aye Sallie, I know I ain't been answering your calls / but shit, let me explain - It's because / times been hard... been runnin around trynna find a job / I hear my phone ringing in the morning, 9 o'clock / And it's you, can't even front I press ignore / I still got your letters laying in my dresser draw / You telling me about all the things you did for me / When I was broke, you sent me dough and that was big for me / See you was there every year when I needed you / And you were so quick to give, I had to be with you / Remember when I used to call you on your phone line / I knew it was official when my momma cosigned / But in no time, a nigga graduated / I hit the real world, baby girl, I'm sad to say it / But I was using you, you gave a nigga major stacks / And I know one day in my heart that I'm gonna pay you back.
Cole, I had NO IDEA that this verse was about college loans. NONE. I've never been so sad to say that a verse flew over my head than today, and it was all because of one word: Sallie. (Readers, if you don't get it, just keep reading/listening until you get the Sallie Mae metaphor) It was a mind-blower to say the least. That you went from 'nigga, rewind that!' verses like that to 'Disgusting' is a let-down. Yes, 'Disgusting' was a b-side and according to most sources won't make the album, but if this is a throwaway track, then what's the rest of the album going to sound like? I'm pretty concerned. I suppose only time will tell.
At the end of the day, I guess 'Disgusting' served its purpose: to get the naysayers about your constant album pushbacks off your back temporarily, but at what expense? Even now, looking at your Twitter page, it's obvious you won't be back on for a while. You were the one who said famously 'Get back to rapping, you niggas tweeting too much'. Having been a firm proponent of killing the hype in favor of an exceptional product, you took a hit in my eyes. Maybe I'm a harsh critic. Maybe Cole World will blow my mind as it should. Maybe it won't, and we'll be talking about another formerly underground rapper who failed to live up to expectations and hype. Few do. At the same time, we can always see it coming. We saw Drake's commercialization from a mile away, and if this is any indication of your future, let me be the first to say it was nice knowing you, Jermaine.
*sigh* I didn't ever want to write this letter. After 'Ordinary Love Sh*t: Part 2' I thought your knack for wifing up buxom beauties with more stars in their hearts than love was gone. Lo and behold, I woke up this morning to a profanity-laced back-and-forth between you and your estranged video model girlfriend Esther Baxter. Something about her cheating on you with while she was pregnant... Not more than a few minutes after that, 'Ordinary Love Sh*t: Part 3' started surfacing around the Interwebs, and I knew something was up.
SIDENOTE: Rappers, don't start jumping on the OFWGKTA bandwagon, using their instrumentals, just because the rest of the world is feeling them.
and the listener hears you at your finest: mad. You wax prophetic about past tiffs with Tahiry and how you said you would never doubt your gut feeling again when it came to women. From calling out Derrick Ward for the affair, 2nd and 3rd pregnancies, kids being involved, it was like an episode of Maury that had taken the drug known as Charlie Sheen. The song itself was piff (see last paragraph), yet there is something wrong with letting your laundry fly all over the place, especially when it's the same brand of drawers. #seewhatididthere
My beef, or rather my issue, is this Joey: why do you keep wifing hoes, and expecting less than hoe behavior? As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. In Tahiry's case, I suppose you got a pass, because no one knew who that broad was before she became your arm candy. In Esther's case, we've known about her for years! I was a sophomore in high school when I first remember drooling to Esther's bodacious curves in Petey Pablo's 'Freek-a-Leek' video. It's like Denny Green's famous tirade: (Esther is) who we thought (she was)!! You of all should know that, man. You've been a rapper long enough to know when a woman has little if any intention of being good to you.
That said, Joey, while this type of drama is very unsightly for your public image and overall fandom, as a hip-hop fan, I love it! This is what music is supposed to be about! Raw emotion! Unreserved honesty! No qualms! Forget about who's listening! Just say it! Don't let people ever doubt where your head and heart are at. That's when you turn into B.o.B. and start shooting out undirected diss tracks. One of your strengths as an artist is that you tell it how it is; the hairy, ugly, morbidly obese, clap-infested truth! That you had to endure another public break-up is sad, yes. No one really wants to put their ex on blast... Well, maybe you take solace in that. I suppose we can lament another one of your failed relationships while we laugh at the pure hilarity that is your interview on the Breakfast Club, who seemed just as in awe of your revelations as the rest of the world was...
Fresh Daily, out of Brooklyn, has been missing off the scene for over a year now, after his promising Tomorrow is Today mixtape. I suppose he's one of those rappers who works better when he takes little hiatuses from music to actually live life. No worries either way though. Dropping off the face of the earth and then coming back with heat like this is completely excuseable. 'Say Yes', laced with cacophonous, organ-y beat, is almost like a blueprint for making it. Fresh urges the listener to accept the change that life chucks in your direction, then to monkey punch that change when it tries to claw your eyes out. It's a nice way to start the spring, April showers and all. Keep a look out for Fresh Daily's The Quiet Life EP. Maybe I can delete my earlier tweets about there not being any new good music coming out...
If you want to talk about powerful music, then this might be one of the best tracks I've heard in a good minute. Emilio Rojas kind of missed me with his Life Without Shame EP, but with another EP set tro drop in June, and this being the first single, consider me excited again. 'Breaking Point' talks about how exactly Emilio got into the rap scene and why failure isn't an option for him. From trying to explain his profession to friends and family, to his own Latin brethren not accepting him, to the situation surrounding his birth, the drama pushed Emilio to his eventual 'Breaking Point'. This is what I like to call 'mood music'. Study to this. Struggle to this. Whatever you do, just feel it.
It seems like everyone's favorite album is Illmatic now. The past few years, I've seen so many _______ State of Mind tracks, it's sickening... And here's another. But it's eLZhi, though. The Slum Village member has always been one of the more underrated MCs out, despite his knack for falling off the radar for months on end. I suppose prodigious talent needs time to breathe, much like Nas. For his ELmatic LP, eLZhi decided to take on the gritty instrumental that makes you want to blow cess in front of a bodega wearing fronts, tan Timbs, and an army suit. He doesn't disappoint either, delivering a performance worthy of an even more underrated Detroit rap seal. He paints a picture few could claim not to visualize. Just listen. ELmatic drops May 10th...
As a senior in college, the number one question you get every day is 'What are your plans for graduation?" The first few times it's cool, getting to toot your own horn with a quick speech on whatever plan is currently brewing up in your mind. After around December, though, you almost want to walk around with a shirt that says 'When I know what I'm doing after graduation, I'll tell you." If there's one thing I can wholeheartedly say without reservation, it's that I will LOVE anything I'll be doing. The working world is full of people who hate their jobs, and simultaneously hate their lives. This track by Chuck L.I. is for those people who don't want to get caught in the 9-5 rut... the ones who'd rather work for a passion than a paycheck... the ones who'd trade in their cubicles and generic business attire for some jeans, a t-shirt and a clean slate... the ones who want space, not office space. Chuck definitely made a fan of me with this one. Check the track out, and keep looking for your passion that hopefully provides a paycheck...
As far as remakes of classic songs go, remixes to Biggie's '10 Crack Commandments' come a dime a dozen. That's no knock on anyone who tries, but simply a sign of the times. That said, if you're going to make a list to BIG's rulebook to the crack game, make sure you do it well. Such is the case with Reek DeVille, formerly known as Reek da Villain. His remake, entitled the '10 Mack Commandments' is about as exhaustive a list as possible when dealing with females in this life. In fact, I think more relationships would stay the course needed if men used their heads (not that one). Reek is preparing to drop his How to Be a Player EP with OnSMASH soon, and if this is the first track, consider my ears perked up. Check it out...
Huge props to Karen Civil for letting this one loose, even though I had to rip the audio myself so you guys could download it. Everyone (and by everyone, I mean the internets and Twitter) said that Drake killed his verse, and now we get a chance to hear it. The remix to Kanye's 'All of The Lights' is pifftastic, splendiforous, and a bunch of other made up words for awesome. The only weird part about this track is Sean's use of onomatopoeia. He has a unique flow that works sometimes, and other times seems out of place. No worries, though. Wayne and Drake do enough heavy lifting to counteract Sean's snafu. Check out the remix and have a happy Monday, people!!
EDIT: Apparently, 'Ye has a verse lined up for the remix as well. Be on the lookout for an 'official' version...
One reason that I respect and love Curren$y's music so much is because the man is the closest thing to a lab rat in hip-hop today. Shante' (I wonder how many jokes he's gotten about his name?) is set to release 4 albums in the past 2 years. That's more albums than most rappers can even dream of. Muscle Car Chronicles probably isn't going to be a concept album, though it seems like there will be a lot of car talk, as per the usual with a Spitta release. 'Soundbombin' sounds like a bomb of sound. Funk-a-mafied guitars, angry drums and an exceptional bass undertone lace the intro from Muscle Car Chronicles. Check the rhyme, people...
"Sophisticated street hip-hop." That's what the younger Thornton brother calls his unique style and content of rhyme. I can't say that I disagree. Pusha has a way with words that puts him in an echelon with some of the greats. He's not your typical coke rapper, dropping gems that apply to regular life, including those of honor, respect, hard work and knowing the place of one's relationships. If those not sophisticated, not much else is. Pusha T's revealed that 'Fear of God' is dropping on March 21st. 'Cook it Down' is a Boi-1da-produced his take on Drake and Bun B's 'Put it Down', and is a masterful effort. Check out a leak from what could be an epic mixtape...
I guess February and March are when every hip-hop artist on the planet plans on releasing all of their music. I'm not complaining though. Fresh off their release from their previous record contract, and news that they'd FINALLY be releasing 'When Fish Ride Bicycles' on Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound imprint, Chuck and Mikey let this loosie go. All you Cool Kids fans will be happy that it falls right in line with their trademark sound, complete with sub-woofer blowout-level bass and minimal snares. Of course the Midwest duo brings the lyrics, too, telling everyone to bundle up for what's looking like a cold (good cold) Cool Kids album. All in all, if you like the Cool Kids, you'll be bumping this all the way into the summer. Check Chuck and Mikey's latest offering...
For someone who doesn't classify himself as a 'rapper', Outasight does a really good job of rapping. Give the man a good beat, and he'll rip it 9 for 10. That's exactly what he does here over this Cook Classics-produced instrumental. 'It's Like That' is a jumpy riff-raff cut where Mr. Andrews thumbs his nose at his naysayers, the people who've left him by the wayside and his struggles to find balance between being an artist and an 'actual person'. Altogether it's a pretty endearing track to bump. Clearly Outasight does what he wants, and it's like that. Check the track out...
What happens when you mix two of the greats of drug raps with whom many consider the best rapper out right now? Molasses... Yes, that's right. The Chef, The Bawse and The Wallabee Champ do some heavy lifting on this midtempo, horn-laced riff, and it seems like each is trying to outdo the other. Can you really ask for much more on a hip-hop song? If this, and the previous leak 'Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang' are any indication of where the Chef's head is at, then the album should be beyond pifftastic. Can you feel the good music just building up? *sets alarms for March 8th*
There's something to be said about when a rapper makes what would be called a 'deep' track. Whereas most 'conscious rap' gets compartmentalized because it talks about the same things with the same condescending, 'I hate you n*ggas!' mentality, Lupe tends to not get boring. He finds new and innovative ways to bring light to the ills of the world, and it's most evident in the concepts of his tracks. Lupe called this one of the best tracks he's ever penned, with good reason. 'All Black Everything' is a song that speaks on its namesake, recounting the fallacies, inconsistencies and little tidbits of misconstrued logic that pervade our understanding of Black history. That it's hitting the interwebs in the middle of Black History Month is perfect timing, and Lupe seems to drop more historical gems per bar than most of this year's XXL Freshmen. Whether you love or hate Wasalu, you can't debate that the man's got a good head on his shoulders. Check the rhymes...
One of the things I notice about hip-hop is the lack of a connect between the older generation and the younger generation. While tweeners who've jumped into the game at the right time might be able to bridge that divide, 'old-heads' (who ironically, I've grown up with) have mostly kept to themselves. That said, a freestyle like this from Al-Quaeda Jada does wonders. Jada goes over N.E.R.D.'s 'God Bless us All,' waxing prophetic to an imaginary (or real... anybody know Jason's family?) little brother about the pitfals of not only the game, but life in general. I love hearing rappers drop gems, and Jadakiss is no different on this freestyle. Check the rhymes and make sure you're taking notes when Uncle Jada talks...
Pusha deemed this leak off 'Fear of God' a classic. Does that mean it is? Absolutely not. Does that keep it from being a #dopetrack? Far from it, friends. The younger Thornton brother linked up with Hit Boy for another (yes, another) ode to cocaine wishes and dirty white b*tches. One thing I'm worried about is whether T will eventually run out of content. I know the man is the hood equivalent of a Rhodes scholar and can paint a bajillion-color picture out of white (see what I did there? Maybe I should become a coke rapper too...), but at what point do we start asking for more? ... I'm not sure either, especially when the status quo is doing just fine and has me hitting rewind. Hopefully you feel the same way. Check this out and always have the 'Fear of God' in you... *takes wordplay hat off*
There's something that can be said about the idea of holding one's tongue. Sometimes it's for the best, with one's (possibly) hurtful observations being held from the right people. Other times, it's for the worst, keeping people in a lap of beautifully-veiled ignorance. In Lupe's case, it's been the latter for years. Lu's label situation has held a lot of great music back and kept him from saying a lot, hence the title of this next track off LASERS. Quite honestly, if these are the things that Lupe's held back, then imagine what the man's still got cooped up in his noggin. Check the next single and make sure you're not holding any words back today...
At this point in hip-hop, I'm happy to listen to any record whose title includes a different noun than 'swag'. That it's 'dope' on this new Kidz in the Hall cut doesn't do much more for me, yet such a nice track can do wonders for such a drab title. The Kidz are known more for Double-O's production than Naledge's mic skills, though it's the rapper that supersedes the producer here. Having heavyweights like Spitta and Mickey Halstead on the song doesn't hurt either, though after Curren$y raps, it's a bit of a letdown. Regardless, it's nice to hear from Kidz in the Hall. Been waiting on something new to jam to since 'Fresh Academy' and 'Out to Lunch'. Enjoy the loosie, people...
Another Tuesday, another Show Tufli track to whet your ears with. Since I started listening, the Harlem native is 2/2 in my ears. The beat for 'Don't Let Me Go' is heavily sampling Consequence's 'Disperse', yet the effect is nowhere near lost in this relaxing riff. As with the rest of Tufli's tracks, this one has a lot of introspection and fanciful wordplay. I really want to know where he's trying to go with this Tufli Tuesday initiative, because it's promising. Hearing another NYC rapper making moves is refreshing, and I'll be looking out next week again...
