Talib Kweli – Liberation
Rating - @@@@

Author’s Preface: I used to ride for Kweli like DMX did motorcycles and Boomer. I put him on nearly equal footing with Mos Def in Black Star, he got a pass regardless of histryingtoputoomanywordsintoabar and occasionally coming with questionable lines ("Your girl calls my name out like Clarence Carter, Clarence Carter, Clarence Carter"). I live and breathed “K.O.S. (Determination)”, it pretty much changed my life as an 18 year old. I greatly anticipated Train of Thought and it lived up to the hype, “Wont You Stay” off of Quality is my favorite hip-hop love song of all time. When The Beautiful Struggle came out I gave it @@@@ after one listen, with benefit of the doubt because I felt he just couldn’t come weak at all. In retrospect that album was trash and he’s been suspect with me ever since. The occasional hot verse won’t cut it when you used to bring it like he did, he set the bar too high for himself and expectations too high for fans. This is a precursor to the forthcoming full-length Eardrum (which is supposedly ill) and I’m listening with a completely open and unbiased mind.

>>>For the past few years Talib Kweli has been the unfaithful partner to heads who see him as one of the last hopes for authenticity in the mainstream. It’s been a heavy burden to bear as he wants to sell records and reach the minds of people in the same breath; damn near an uphill battle as he and his audience know that corporate interests don’t lie in being positive or progressive. This has made for a conflicted MC in Kweli, sporadically glorifying violence, weed, and women while not going so far that his shifting gears could be considered a radical 180 degree change. He’s gone from Rawkus to the limelight and understandably has to ride the line down the middle so as not to ostracize potential listeners; meanwhile diehard devotees are left confused as to his next move after his sloppy recent mediocrities. Liberation assumingly finds Talib attempting to show that he still has the left of center in mind, joining forces with backpacker delight Madlib on the boards.

The two make for a solid chemistry as Talib Kweli sounds at home with Madlib’s infinite versatility, the producer churning out all types of sounds, each different from the last. “The Show” opens the album and finds Kweli flexing his standard lyrical braggadocio over soulful horns. “Over The Counter” can be described as futuristic funk, with the political reflections and wisdom Talib has come to be revered for. “Funny Money” discusses promoters, shows, payola, and the politics involved with putting food on the table as he stresses “My kids can’t eat my love of hip-hop”. Guest star Consequence shows up and trades the perspectives of criminal and victim with Talib on the highly creative “Engine Runnin”. Conversely, BlackSmith’s Strong Arm Steady leaves a bit to be desired on “The Function”. As well, “This Happy Home” (the requisite family song) runs a bit too long, but these are miniscule flaws in the face of a concise package.

Kweli still forces a few corny lines every now and then (“Still I’m bringing sexy back like Timbaland and Timberlake”; “I’m the boss like I need Shareefa”), but all in all he’s focused and back in the zone on this project. He made a blog entry warning fans not to expect Eardrum to sound like this or vice-versa, but at least now we know he’s still capable of representing the past shining underground star that we knew and loved.<<<

The best set Funkmaster Flex has ever spun

This past Christmas night, super rockin Mr. Magic joined in as Flex killed it spinning nothing but old school classics. For anyone who hates or thinks Flex has sold out, this proves he knows what he's doing. He's excitedly rapping along to these songs, and in conversation he's reminiscing about legendary moments from hip-hop's past two plus decades.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/kxju4t

T.I. Has Better Hooks Than Your Favorite Rapper

I've stumbled upon the recent revelation that not only are his lyrics and flow superlative to most of the game, but his choruses really cant be faded by many. Whether it's something simple that makes a point, something structured more complex or he's singing the hook in tune with the music, he's taken this crucial aspect of songmaking to great heights. Evidence lies below

http://www.sendspace.com/file/qnbnwq

Revelations from the book Def Jam Inc.

1) http://youtube.com/watch?v=rFwJWgdfiyo
- That's director Brett Ratner's mom at 2:42 and 2:49

2) Slick Rick and Jam Master Jay almost got into a fight once, ditto for LL Cool J and Rakim

3) Slick Rick also let shots off in the office ceiling and exclaimed "Attention peasants!" when he felt the label wasnt paying him any mind

4) Nice and Smooth pulled guns on Lyor Cohen (thus their blacklisting from the industry) Lyor's response "Motherfucker, if you aint gonna use that gun, put it down."

5) Don Newkirk of "Gas Face" announcer fame was once heavily sweated by Russell Simmons and touted as the next big thing on the label.

6) LL came to Prince Paul to work on Mama Said Knock You Out. It never materialized.

7) Professor Griff called MC Serch a "Fucking Jew bastard" for making fun of him in the Gas Face video. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=HF4IQlsm7Ds)
A huge fight ensued and Griff was banned from entering the office.

8) Nate Dogg hit Gangsta Drester (One of the guests on Eazy E's Real Compton City G'z) in the head with a golf club. Dude blocked the swing, but still broke his arm in the process and got hit in the head anyway. Bleeding and a trip to the hospital ensued.

All in all it's a decent read (aside from a few typos and factual errors) covering the beginning with Rick Rubin and Russell all the way up until Hov took over the reins of presidency.

12 Albums you shouldnt have slept on in 2006
















This list is for anyone who believes Nas' album title holds any weight whatsoever. For the record I purchased Tanya, The Roots, Lupe, Rhymefest and Camp Lo.

The Top 11 things I want to see happen in 2007 (and their chances of happening)

It was previously a top 10, but recent developments have brought about a change.

11) Another old head drops a classic - De La did it with The Grind Date, Masta Ace arguably did it with Disposable Arts and A Long Hot Summer, Busta Rhymes, CL Smooth and Dres held it down this year. Might someone from the golden age still have a smoking album left in them? Slick Rick, KRS-One, Rakim, Kool G Rap, what's popping? Chance: 38%

10) Eminem goes back to being the best in the game - Black folks hate him because he's white, black women hate him because he called one of them a bitch when he was 15. This doesnt take away from him being the best one doing it in his day, yes I'd even put him over Hova the God besides the fact that Jay has the stronger and lengthier catalogue. Chance: 20% because he's probably too wealthy and problem laden to really care about smoking out his competition

9) Talib Kweli makes a believer out of me again - The Beautiful Struggle lost me completely and I havent been impressed with his guest appearances since. But I've heard a few heatrocks from him recently so he may be focused with the forthcoming Eardrum. Chance: 45% because I'm still skeptical

8) A new Joe Budden album that was worth the wait - He's been promising The Growth was coming out for 3 years now. With Def Jam seemingly forgetting about him altogether he may be ill-fated to go to that big independent in the sky known as Koch. If he does come out this next year, will he really be able to release the album he wants to put out free of commercial records the label made him do? Doubtful. Chance: 40% because he may not come out at all.

7) Little Brother gets mainstream success - I'll consider 100,000+ copies sold to be mainstream success for a group of their stature at this point. They deserve it, people know their name but ultimately it's up to the push that the label gives. Supposedly things are gearing up to be a good look, but Phonte said he wont be shocked they're left out in the cold again. Chance: 60% because I want to be optimistic about this.

6) Saigon & Just Blaze to be the 2007 hardcore Gang Starr - He's a household name thanks to Entourage, with production from arguably the best producer doing it at the moment. Plus scary black rage is always a good look for corporate marketing. Chance: 80%, leaving the other 20 to unforseen circumstances.

5) Kanye West tops Late Registration - He's already said Common's Finding Forever is next year's best album, but we all know he laces himself with production that's better than what he gives anyone else. He topped College Dropout and left us all thirsty for more. When asked to speak on it Ye replied "I'm working on it, and it's very scary to anybody not involved with it". Graduation could seriously establish him as a hip-hop legend. Chance: 60% because he's reportedly getting help from Sa-Ra who are very hit or miss with me.

4) T.I takes his rightful place at Hip-Hop's helm since Jay-Z doesnt care for it anymore. - I've been saying it for years, he's the Southern Jay-Z. He's authentic to the streets and the mainstream (appearing on a Justin Timberlake single means you're major), he's released 4 solid albums (the first 2 are considered classics), sold 500,000 his first week this time around and heightened his validity by bringing us his protege Young Dro. With massive braggadocio and the lyrics to back it up, the game is pretty much his after this next album. Everyone from Puff to Jigga to Phonte recognizes that he's the one. Chance: 85%

3) Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 to be better than Swift & Changeable (Ghost & Doom's album) as well as every Raekwon LP since the original - I may be asking for a lot but The Vatican 2 Mixtape was pure fire as was Rae's guest appearance on Busta's "Goldmine". An Aftermath LP pretty much means your production is amongst the best, let's just hope the Chef doesnt find a way to fumble. Chance: 40% because I'm a believer but I'm also using common sense.

2) We Got It 4 Cheap Volume 3 - I dont even have to worry about the quality, it's coming. Chance: 100%

The number one thing I want to see happen in 2007 (drumroll...)

1) Lupe Fiasco listens to Midnight Marauders - He made a blunder comparable to his hero Nas' worst. ?uestlove has tried to show him the light, hopefully the word will spread around the industry and rappers that he considers friends will have an intervention where he's forced to ingest this classic. I could place the album in his inbox, but who am I other than some kid on the internet with a blog claiming to know a thing or two? Chance: 29% because he seems stubborn and bullheaded. I wouldnt fault someone for creating http://smartenuplupe.com at this point.

Brief Thoughts on 2006's Fourth Quarter
For those not in the know, the fourth quarter of the year is when labels release their biggest albums in hopes of ending the year with a financial bang. It's no coincidence that your favorite acts tend to release projects from October to December. My ratings are on a 10 point scale.

Nas - Hip-Hop Is Dead - He's generally unfocused except when it comes to bigging up the old school. Otherwise he's all over the place, still talking thuggery, black militance and raunchy sex in the same verse. He's pretty contradictory saying Hip-Hop is Dead when some of his labelmates arent progressive enough to advance the culture. How can you say Hip-Hop is Dead and sign a contract to record for Def Jam? Arent they part of the machine? In any case Nas is like the abusive boyfriend who tells a woman he wont hit her again. "I swear I'll change" = "Nasty Nas is back this time" Listens: 2 Rating: 7.5

Snoop Dogg - Tha Blue Carpet Treatment - He's far too old to still be rapping about cripping, pimping and killing. But he makes good music, and "Think About It" is one of the best songs of the year. "Like This" and "Which One (of you bitches like me?)" are undeniable as well. Listens: 1.25 Rating: 8.5

Game - Doctor's Advocate - The gods from up above have blessed this kid with great beats every time out the gate. His entertainment value is strong as you're left guessing if he's truly crazy or just trying to get people to pay attention. His innumerable mentions of Dr. Dre seem stalkerish but the album is great. Listens: 2 Rating: 9.0

Jay-Z - Kingdom Come - We expected a monumental event, and while he fell short of that Jigga came through in the clutch. Almost every song had a concept and a topic, and his rhymes are still strong albeit the grownup route he's taken. A few songs (Trouble, Dig A Hole) sound too futuristic where we'd all prefer an album of vontage bangers like "Oh My God". There's no defending "Anything" so I wont try. Listens: 3 Rating: 8.5

Jim Jones - Hustler's P.O.M.E - If you dont understand street music or have a predisposal towards hating Dipset as a whole, of course you'll lie and convince yourself that this album sucks. The facts remain: Capo can make a good song and Max B's hooks are the perfect blend of comedy and sincerity. Led by strong production, captivating adlibs and a fantastic swagger, the movement moves on. Listens: 1.75 Rating: 8.0

Ghostface - More Fish - If you dont know by know, you never will (btw I cant wait for him to hijack the Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes classic). Ghost has dedicated his career to being as true to the art as he can, with great storytelling matched with creativity, humor and authenticity in his lyricism. Listens: 1 Rating: 8.5

Mos Def - True Magic - What happens when you're pissed off at the music industry and comfortable enough from movies to say "Fuck you"? An album of uninspired music that you dont promote, have artwork or even a cover for. Listens: 1.5 Rating: 6.0

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury - Four years and two stellar mixtapes between albums later, was it worth the weight (pun intended)? Yes. Pharrell and Chad cooked up all manners of futuristic gumbo for Malice and Pusha T to serve up their swaggerific, well-dressed, conflicted dope boy music. Whether it's classic is up to how it stands the test of time, but it's very strong overall. Listens: 2 Rating: 9.0

Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration - While I havent heard this album yet, he's made me a recent convert. He's proven that you dont need to rap your ass off to have a respectable place in hip-hop. Like Game and Jim Jones he does what he does over strong production and that's how he wins.

Hot 97 Rocafella Takeover

Winter 2001 Jigga brought his upstart bandits to Funkmaster Flex and history was made. Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek had careers, Freeway had only laid down the 1-900-Hustler verse at that point. The rest of State Property spit fire that evening and held down the label without Jay having to do anything other than cheer them on and confidently boast. You can hear the excitement in his voice.

Shout out to Desus for the link.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KQPKH5YW

The two reasons so many people hate southern hip-hop.


1) They cant relate to the environment – The south has its own slang, sound and culture that has expanded far beyond the roots of the south Bronx. If you haven’t stepped far outside of New York (based hip-hop) to understand what’s going on all over the country, you’re pretty much stuck with an unjust bias. At 14 as a staunch New York supporter (Tribe, Wu, Blahzay Blahzay, Smooth Da Hustler, Jeru, Gang Starr etc.) I wasn’t checking for Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik whatsoever, ditto for Atliens when that dropped. Going to school down south was one of the best things to happen to my musical tastes. At first I hated going to sleep every night with people right outside my window blasting various No Limit records, in little to no time I was introduced to artists like Devin the Dude, Fiend, Mystikal and Juvenile plus Aquemini got 5 mics my freshman year with a street single featuring Raekwon so I had to give it a try. It’s been on ever since and while I still don’t know as much as I’d like to about southern rap I’m always open to it.

What haters fail to realize is that in saying “Fuck the south” they’re pretty much denying one the right to tell his story. I don’t expect any southern artist to be the next KRS Shakespeare if they can make good songs. It’s not that hard to make a good song: standard verse + dope beat + good hook = good song. Newsflash for those not in the know – YOUNG JEEZY MAKES GOOD SONGS. On the crunk tip, Lil’ Jon had a legitimate movement down south prior to going mainstream, you’d have to spend time down there to understand what his music did to people in the clubs. We gave Nore a pass for “At the white boy club while I’m buyin’ the bar, they like ‘Hey now, you’re an all star!’ and another pass for “Put the bogie out in your face, now your face laced like ashtray face.” Why was that acceptable and why did we love his debut album? He had beats and hooks (and he was from New York) The Rich Boy “Throw Some D’s” record is incredible but people will hate it because he’s from down south. Young Dro raps his ass off better than any east coast newcomer this year, but people couldn’t hear past his accent and the “Shoulder Lean” hook to see that he was bringing it.

2) They don’t like the topic material coming from southern rappers – If you love The Clipse (Virginia is south btw) yet immediately shut out a southern artist for talking about drug dealing, you’re a hypocrite. I too agree that the cocaine/snow metaphor shouldn’t have been taken so far that a rapper went to building a full-fledged Snowman movement from the ground up, but Dr. Dre titled two albums with a slang term for marijuana and we all loved it. Jay-Z talks about spinning rims, Slick Rick wore big time jewelry and NWA killed people while disrespecting bitches. Why is it a problem when southern rap does this? Possibly because they’ve pretty much flooded the airwaves and made it hard for anyone to get shine. You cant be mad at their grind though, they establish a buzz where they are and let the majors come to them rather than the east coast approach where everyone has a demo or a Myspace music page. In 2006, so called hip-hop lovers cant distinguish a good southern record from a bad east coast record, nor a good southern artist from a garbage backpack east coast cat who raps about being true to the culture.

Outkast got universal love because they set a standard for upping their creative ante everytime out, Little Brother gets love because they stick to a formula of making more “real hip-hop”. But there’s a whole world to check for outside of cats who you feel obligated to respect. T.I. came out in 2001 with I’m Serious, the hipsters and bandwagon jumpers came aboard with Trap Muzik and after four albums in the game he still isn’t respected on the east. The Sqad Up series of mixtapes proved that Lil Wayne could rap with the best of them, yet people still sleep. Another reason the south is winning right now is the problem of infighting on the east coast, where everyone wants to be the king. In the south everyone either respects the king or doesn’t even concern themselves with jealousy over who’s on top.

Don’t get me wrong, some serious garbage has come about since the south has taken over (Yung Joc is trash, Ying Yang sound too much like degenerates for me to listen to, Franchize Boyz make candy music, and there’s a whole slew of generic acts not worth anything) All I’m saying is you’re hating a whole region for the wrong reasons. If you’re going to hate let it be because you understand the music and know that it isn’t suiting your tastes

50 Cent is a Pussy

I'm waiting on a remix featuring Game.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q1eQKjya0VQ

Otha Fish (In The Sea, That Is)


A collection of Ghostface's greatest.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1o9zec

The song responsible for today's southern drug dealing records.

Slap yourself twice if you've never heard this song or album and jumped on the T.I. bandwagon with Trap Muzik or even worse "What You Know About That". UGK was talking it and well respected by their peers, but this was THE anthem from 2001-2003 which made everyone else pretty much start rapping about the lifestyle. If you're unaware, the drug strip is called "the trap" because most dealers know that the only way out is through death or jail, but they brave the odds everyday regardless.

This was around 4 years before Young Jeezy had an album in stores.

Dope Boyz - http://www.sendspace.com/file/cw5bv3

You’re now about to witness the power of dickriding a legend.

When he isn’t playing the role of a deranged Blood, The Game always seems to find a way to sneak mentions of Dr. Dre past our ears. He did it on his debut The Documentary and we just thought he was overly ecstatic to be rapping. But now it’s as if Dre gave him the winning Powerball lottery numbers, took a bullet for him and holds an umbrella over his head on some Fonzworth Bentley tip. No one should owe anyone else this much love, but here’s an approximate count of references to the good doc on this new album The Doctor’s Advocate. I broke out the good old pen and tally marks, and listened as close as I could.

Chronic (Dre is responsible for the term being in everyone’s lexicon) – 23 mentions
(the good) Doc, (Dr.) Dre or D-R-E – 39 mentions
Aftermath – 11 mentions
Detox – 2 mentions
Fuck Tha Police – 1 mention
Gin & Juice – 2 mentions
Let Me Ride – 1 mention
Nothin But A G Thang – 1 mention

That's roughly 80 things he says related to Dr Dre, he also mentions Snoop, impalas and NWA members a bunch of times.

So Dre didn’t produce any of this album, but his ghost producers and biters did, what’s the difference? Some of this sounds like vintage Dre (“Lookin At You”, “The Shit”, “Strip Club”, “One Night”). He even goes as far as crying to Dre on the title track, which has to be the most awkward rap song in history.

He’s done this same routine now for two albums in a row, but he’s still moving units. I for one am hoping he’s in Dre’s will, otherwise there’s no legitimate reason for this jilted lover routine. Dre might need to take out an order of protection.

Side Notes:
1)He’s on the verge of receiving the 2006 annual Smarten Up Nas award, with lines like “(She like) Black Air Ones, bangin The Black Album track number one” – Track one was an intro

2)The Oprah/Hurricane Katrina/floating away on the roof of a Camry joke became funny after the third time hearing it, because you’re over the shock and have settled for how helplessly ignorant it is. The whole “Wouldn’t Get Far” track renders him completely insane though

3)“Compton” is probably my song of the year.

They Got A Right To Be Hostile Part 2

Continuing where I left off, discussing great acts who are getting the shaft from their recording homes.

Artist: The Roots
Label: Def Jam
Releasing Albums Since: 1994
Their Case: Whether or not you’ve heard an album from The Roots, you know one thing: Their live show has no peer. They switch up sounds with each new release, and have established a reputation for killing most of their competition with their production plus Black Thought is pretty nasty on the mic. The Roots have pretty much set the mold for ‘the good music isn’t promoted’ vs. ‘this is what people want to hear’ argument. Some idiotic executives just don’t believe that a Hip-Hop band can sell albums, thus they’re forced to tour at least 2/3 of every year. ?uestlove has said that they record albums so that they can perform new material and tour so that people know there’s a new LP in stores. The good thing is that in one night they take in more than a lot of peoples’ salaries, 200+ nights a year. So they aren’t hurting even though they can’t seem to get a break with good promotion.

Artist: Ghostface Killah
Label: Def Jam
Releasing Albums Since: 1996
His Case: Pretty Tony may be the greatest story of the last decade or the saddest. He’s come from the monstrous Wu-Tang unit into his own, quietly has the group’s best solo catalogue and never sells records in line with his talent. He’s a great storyteller with imagery plus comedy, battle raps, insane slang and boundless creativity are at his disposal. Ghost can make a good mainstream record, yet he sounds out of place when he goes too far to the right. On paper he has 2007’s album of the year, with Swift and Changeable being his upcoming collab with the equally amazing MF Doom. He could retire today a legend with gems like “Get up in that bitch face and tell her ‘Ghost said take your clothes off’” and rhyming over a Delfonics song without sampling it. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t get fed up and just hang it up soon, because no one wants to be rapping for nothing. Maybe his paper is straight through GZA’s bond analysis tips though.

Artist: Rhymefest
Label: J Records
Releasing Albums Since: 2006
His Case: He won a Grammy for co-writing Jesus Walks before his album came out, and Kanye is his pal. This should have been a surefire plan for marketing success, unfortunately J Records is tax write-off paradise with Alicia Keys being their only hitmaker at the moment. Blue Collar is a sleeper, no thanks to the somewhat lackluster single “Brand New”. Just Blaze and No I.D. gave him bangers, he makes great songs for the layman and still manages to have a good time with his music. But with hardly anyone knowing the album existed, he was pretty much doomed. He’s overcompensated by putting on a hell of a live show, but that still doesn’t make up for his label’s failures.

Artist: Little Brother
Label: Atlantic/ABB
Releasing Albums Since: 2003
Their Case: They went from internet wunderkinds with a classic debut in The Listening and horrid distribution at the hands of ABB, to the limelight and Atlantic Records wound up dropping the ball with The Minstrel Show. Supposedly BET said the group was too intelligent for their video to get played with a song about enjoying their careers; so like The Roots and Rhymefest, Little Brother has to amaze those who have slept by tearing it down on the stage. For a few weeks earlier this year Phonte was the talk of the town over at XXLmag.com, as he was taken to task for preaching to the choir about corporate interests responsible for programming what people wind up loving. Add to this a scorching DJ Drama mixtape and LB has a serious underground buzz, as they’ve dedicated themselves to bringing music with fierce lyricism and feeling back to the mainstream. Earlier this year a group of females asked me what was hot that I would recommend, I played Tanya Morgan’s Moonlighting (find it if you haven’t). and the immediate knee-jerk response was “They sound like Little Brother”. My point is at the very least people know the name, and hopefully with their upcoming effort Get Back Atlantic will do right so that more know the music.

P.S. Yes, 3 of the acts I talked about are on Def Jam. Dont blame Hov, he's not a businessman he's a business, man.

They Got A Right To Be Hostile Part 1

(Great Acts Who Have Legitimate Gripes With Their Record Labels)

Assuming you don’t live in a cave and in fact have the slightest inkling of what 2006’s Hip-Hop scene is like, you see what kind of music is getting the most push. Misogynistic, violent, oversexed materialism has pervaded our airwaves without an alternative. Some of it actually sounds good and can be excused for the sake of a guilty pleasure or a cheap thrill, but most of the music is garbage. You can argue that these topics have been prevalent since the days of 2 Live Crew, Too Short and NWA but positive messages also got more exposure back then. The fact remains that most listeners only bump what they’re programmed to check for, and most of the mainstream programming is low grade whether it’s musically, topically or both. There’s little to no heart left in the game, with 80% of acts ready to sell their soul for a chance to eat (Hello David Banner and Fat Joe). So what happens when the artist sticks to their guns or even worse makes “commercial” music with integrity and still doesn’t get a fair shake? Let’s examine a few who’ve given their blood, sweat and tears, and wouldn’t be in the wrong to drop a Frigidaire from the sky at this point.

(Note: I didn’t factor in Lupe Fiasco because a little while back I broke down his lack of marketability, strong music aside)

Artist: Joe Budden
Label: Def Jam
Releasing Albums Since: 2003
His Case: His self-titled debut was ambitious as they come, Just Blaze did the lead single which was a smash and it seemed like he was set. With a strong street single called “Focus” and a line in your commercial record that went “The game is bad player, aint it bad player?/Don’t worry Joey’ll bring it back player”, the world was his. I remember this VH1 special which Q-Tip narrated, that had a scene where he was on the phone with Kevin Liles. The bossman asked Joe “Are you ready for this Tuesday?” He replied something to the effect of “I’ve been ready for this Tuesday since I was 10 years old”. It was by no fault of his own that he flopped, Def Jam pretty much dropped the ball. The album was too street, too serious without many of the party records that the label was used to putting out. He’s murdered the mixtape scene, got the respect of many for exposing all of his demons on record, made G-Unit look like the buffoons that they became after blowing up, yet he still doesn’t have a release date set for his much anticipated sophomore release “The Growth”. When I met him a little over 3 years ago I said “Fuck what the numbers say, you’re the best new rapper of 2003” (yes I was referring to 50 who eclipsed the whole industry that year), and he said May 2004 his new album would be out. Party and bullshit just isn’t his lane and perhaps that is what’s holding him back. The only good I see in this is if he continues channeling his frustration through song, the fans will have plenty more to be amazed by as he’s officially become the streets’ favorite underdog.

Artist: The Clipse
Label: Jive
Releasing Albums Since: 2002
Their Case: They dare to boldly go where few have (Camron, T.I., Jay-Z and a short list of others) rapping lyric-driven witticisms about drug dealing. It’s hard to continually top yourself with fresh ways to say “I deal cocaine to make my living”, but Pusha T and Malice are hell bent on trying to make this art inexhaustible. Let me stop and tell a true story: A few years back a group of my college buddies who rap for fun were hanging out watching wrestling, Dwayne Johnson was coming down the aisle and his fans were going wild. One of the rapping viewers in the room immediately spouted out “I’m like the WWE, I keep people screaming for the rock” and it was a remarkable moment in time. What The Clipse do is that to the nth degree, using complicated rhyme structures, great flow, strong vocabulary and brilliant metaphors to describe pushing blow. Anyone worth their weight in Hip-Hop was utterly captivated this past year by We Got It For Cheap Volumes 1&2. For example:

Vicious with the verse, Im as genius as Rae/you niggas seein nothing on the Zenith like Rae/black hands, white keys, I seen this I’m Ray/got more white in the hood than the KKK/the grand wizard of that almighty blizzard/(then he said some line about his drugs coming scissored)

Their debut “Lord Willin” was critically and commercially successful, which should have made them an easy shoe-in to have a strong buzz for a follow up. Unfortunately, this is Hip-Hop we’re talking about and with them getting lost in a Jive merger, Neighborhood Push let it be known that them crackers didn’t play fair. Jive has pretty much abandoned Hip-Hop altogether in favor of pushing pop acts like Britney Spears and N’Sync. The label cockteased salivating fans, dangling the carrot known as “Hell Hath No Fury” for the longest, and while it’s finally set to drop this Tuesday most of their buzz has been squashed by one Shawn Carter’s return. The sad irony here is they rap all of the same ignorance that sells, and they do it over great beats yet people are moving units while coming weak with what the Thornton brothers have pretty much perfected.

Dear Puerto Ricans: Big Pun is not the G.O.A.T


I know Big Pun meant a lot to his people, but let’s be serious here. I didn’t think much of it when Fat Joe went on and on calling him the greatest rapper of all time, I let the bias slide because that was his mans and them. But Pitbull just wrote a review over at AllHipHop (my part-time unpaid stomping grounds) proclaiming Capital Punishment to be stronger than it is by leaps and bounds. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a classic but it isn’t terribly hard to make a great album: Flow well, put a decent amount of thought into the bars you write and don’t settle for beats you wouldn’t want to hear anyone else rock over (Ghost does it all the time, Hov had a knack for it up until Kingdom Come but I’ll digress.)

You’re not the greatest to ever do something because you died prematurely. Unfortunate things happen to talented people and they’re remembered for what they did while they were here. But there’s this unwritten rule that adds future potential at the time of death when we examine one’s greatness. My understanding is that “100%” (the joint with the salsa sample) made Puerto Ricans feel great to have their music represented in hip-hop, which elevated him in their eyes even more than the street audience did with Capital Punishment. I just remembered the “Boricua, Morena” chant from Still Not A Player. That still doesn’t make him the best rapper who’s ever spit a verse.

Yes he was lyrically proficient, yes he could flow (although rumors say he used to punch vocals - that’s to stop and come back), yes he had an array of topics and was witty. But what separated him from say Pharaoh Monch or a plethora of other great MCs? Pun was very talented but he departed this earth with a classic debut and a sophomore release that fell short of the mark.

I’d settle for calling him the greatest Puerto Rican to do it up until his time of death in 2000. After all who knows what Ray Benzino Jr. might be capable of in 15 years?

(I would make similar points using Brooklyn and B.I.G., but who really needs that kind of beef?)

15 years later, Dres hasnt lost a step

Trust me, you need this album. He still has great lyrics, flows and his beats are strong

(primarily done by Bean One - http://www.myspace.com/beanone76)

Be Careful (Cuidado) http://www.sendspace.com/file/a0gkc9

Shorty - http://www.sendspace.com/file/qujb34

Jay-Z has 103 classic songs to Nas' 64

Perhaps this will quiet down some of the incessant debate. I dont quite care whether you agree with my choices. I've always preferred Jay out of the two, but I gave Nas his credit where I felt it was due. I only included their solo albums, no soundtrack songs, guest appearances or anything that wasnt on an album of theirs.

Classic Nas Songs

Illmatic
------------
N.Y. State of Mind
Life's a Bitch
The World is Yours
Halftime
Memory Lane (Sittin' in Da Park)
One Love
Represent
It Ain't Hard to Tell

It Was Written
------------------
The Message
Street Dreams
I Gave You Power
Watch Dem Niggas
Take it in Blood
Nas is Coming
The Set Up
Black Girl Lost
Suspect
If I Ruled the World
Silent Murder

I Am
---------
N.Y. State of Mind Part II
Hate Me Now
Small World
Nas is Like
Undying Love

Nastradamus
----------------
Project Windows
Come Get Me
New World

Stillmatic
--------------
Stillmatic (The Intro)
Ether (Note: It's only a classic in the sense that it was the answer record and a few misguided souls think he actually won, so I included it)
Got Ur Self A..
Smokin'
You're Da Man
One Mic
2nd Childhood
Destroy & Rebuild
The Flyest
Rule
What Goes Around

The Lost Tapes
----------------
Doo Rags
U Gotta Love It
No Idea's Original
Blaze a 50
Everybody's Crazy
Purple
Drunk by Myself
Black Zombie
Poppa Was a Player
Fetus

God's Son
------------
Get Down
The Cross
Made You Look
I Can
Book of Rhymes
Revolutionary Warfare

Street's Disciple (Disc One)
---------------------------
Nazareth Savage
American Way
These are Our Heroes
Disciple
Just a Moment

Street's Disciple (Disc Two)
-----------------------------
Street's Disciple
War
Me & You (Dedicated to Destiny) (Note: He sings the whole song if I remember correct, but the beat banged)
Thief's Theme

Where Yall At (released earlier this year)

That's approximately 64


Classic Jay-Z songs

Reasonable Doubt
-------------------
Can't Knock the Hustle
Politics as Usual
Brooklyn's Finest
Dead Presidents II
Feelin' It
D'Evils
22 Two's
Can I Live
Ain't No Nigga
Friend or Foe
Coming of Age
Cashmere Thoughts
Bring it On (Note: A lot of people dont like this song and I dont have a clue why)
Regrets

In My Lifetime Vol. 1
------------------------
A Million and 1 Questions
Imaginary Player
Streets is Watching
Friend or Foe '98
Lucky Me
Who You Wit II
Face Off
Real Niggaz
Where I'm From

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
---------------------------
Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
Ride or Die
Nigga What, Nigga Who
Money, Cash, Hoes
A Week Ago
Coming of Age (Da Sequel)
Can I Get a...
Reservoir Dogs
It's Like That
It's Alright

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
Hova Song (Intro)
So Ghetto
Do it Again
Dope Man
It's Hot (Some Like it Hot)
Snoopy Track
Watch Me
Big Pimpin'
There's Been a Murder
Come and Get Me
Hova Song (Outro)

Dynasty Roc La Familia
------------------------
Intro
Change the Game
I Just Wanna Love U
Streets is Talking
This Can't Be Life
Stick 2 the Script
You, Me, Him and Her
Parking Lot Pimpin'
1-900-Hustler
Squeeze 1st
Where Have You Been

The Blueprint
-----------------
The Ruler's Back
Takeover
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Girls, Girls, Girls
Jigga That Nigga (Note: A lot of people dont like this song, but the crowd reaction when he performs it live says I cant be wrong)
U Don't Know
Hola' Hovito
Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)
Never Change
Song Cry
All I Need
Renagade
Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)
Breathe Easy (Lyrical Exercise)
Girls, Girls, Girls (Remix)

MTV Unplugged
--------------
People Talkin'

The Blueprint 2: (Disc One)
---------------------------
Hovi Baby
Excuse Me Miss
All Around the World
Fuck All Nite
The Bounce
I Did it My Way

The Blueprint 2: (Disc Two)
---------------------------
Diamond is Forever
Guns & Roses
Meet the Parents
Some People Hate
Blueprint 2
Nigga Please
A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier
Show You How
Bitches & Sisters
What They Gonna Do Part II

The Black Album (Note: I almost included "Moment of Clarity", but I didnt want to upset anyone)
-----------------
December 4th
What More Can I Say
Encore
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Threat
99 Problems
Public Service Announcement (Interlude)
Lucifer
Allure
My 1st Song

Kingdom Come
---------------(Note: I've played the album all of three times and it's still not out yet, but here are songs that I feel will stand the test of time)

The Prelude
Oh My God
Lost Ones
Do You Wanna Ride
Trouble
Dig A Hole

That's roughly 103.

The N (Hip-Hop Is Dead) could be classic all throughout and Nas' catalogue wont be up to par. There really isnt much left to debate, his fans can cop pleas and say Jay released more material therefore he should have more heat. To which I reply, with a 2 year headstart on Reasonable Doubt, why hasnt Nas been equally on his grind all of these years?

Is Lupe Fiasco just not cool enough for hip-hop?

Disclaimer: This blog entry is NOT dissing Lupe Fiasco, read that again if you have to. It’s just examining why he came out and flopped regardless of a huge buzz and good music to back it up.

Let’s face it: This world is dictated by what’s cool. Some of us are cool without trying hard, some of us dedicate our lives to it (“Son I just copped the limited edition 1988 James Worthy Dunks”), and those who aren’t cool secretly hope to make it there one day or live in some fantasy world where they are (the goth crowd for example, outcasts to society but cool in their own world.) Off the top of my head the only two hip-hop artists I can think of who don’t care whether they come off as cool or not are MC Paul Barman (a personal favourite of mine) and Sage Francis (who sucks). MF Doom doesn’t care about getting mainstream rotation but he cares about whether his audience thinks he’s cool, if you get my drift. El-P cares that his label puts out music that the backpackers consider cool. Pretty much anyone not trying to be cool probably won’t ever get any attention whatsoever.

Lupe Fiasco’s “Food & Liquor” seemingly had a heavy buzz due to “Kick Push”, but it came out and did dismal numbers. I bought the album, the beats bang and the lyrics are on point. Why did he flop? I’ll try to examine this without blaming the dreaded “lack of support from the label”

Here’s a formula I’ve worked out (hopefully the days of making “girl” records are out the door, so I won’t include that audience in the equation)

If the internet loves you (Tanya Morgan, MF Doom, Little Brother, Ghostface, Got it For Cheap Vol. 1 & 2) you’re lucky to have an audience of 50,000 tastemakers who might put other people on to what’s new and good. I’m one of those trusted 50,000.

If the hood loves you, there’s a shot at you going gold (Mobb Deep circa Loud, Wu-Tang circa ’93-97, M.O.P., Camron circa Rocafella, “Grindin” by The Clipse)

If white people love you, you’re on your way to multi-platinum – when I say white people I don’t mean backpacker white kids (who will pretty much go to any show and support that mythological “real shit”) I mean the MTV TRL audience. “Hey Ya” didn’t take Speakerboxxx/The Love Below to 5 million sold because Funkmaster Flex was dropping bombs on it.

The more of those fan bases you get to love your music, that’s how many more units you might move (Game sold 5 million with his debut, 50 Cent went diamond his first time out, Jay-Z is a glob al superstar)

Bringing all of that back to Lupe’s potential audience:
The internet – They love him, his mixtapes got heavy burn. He’s all the rage this year on hip-hop message boards looking for a good lyrical alternative to the trap, flossing, gun busting and hoe pimping.

The hood – Most of the hood is trapped in their ghetto world (shoutout to Janus) and isn’t trying to hear much outside of what they understand. Kanye has the world in the palm of his hand, but a cameo on “Touch The Sky” just wasn’t enough. The beat for “Kick Push” was undeniable, but the topic material is stories about skaters. If Jay-Z had that beat it would have been a monster. “Daydreamin” was way too left field for the ghetto, and while in a club last month “I Gotcha” came on and I had to remark how it was too lyrical for that setting. That’s a hat trick of isolating this audience. A bad ass woman recently sang “If your status aint hood, I aint checkin for you”, get with the program. I understand Lupe wants to educate and bring substance, but he needs to pull a Lauryn and add a figurative ‘motherfucker’ so the ignant niggas hear him.

White people – You kind of have to monkey it up for them to love you. Again I’m not talking about white kids who love Boot Camp Clik and the GZA. I mean the ones who loved “Big Pimpin” because the accompanying visual had Dame Dash pouring champagne on bikini clad hotties. The ones who dance like strippers when Ludacris’ “Money Maker” comes on (I witnessed this first hand). Hell, go on Youtube right now and search for any hip-hop song that’s considered hot right now. I 99.9% guarantee there’s this type of Caucasian that I’m explaining, on a homemade video making a shammockery of that song in the name of fun. You can’t have ‘wild and crazy white people fun’ to “Kick Push”, you just nod your head to the beat and feel it.

Skaters – They tend to be so self-absorbed and quasi-revolutionary that they don’t care enough to buy albums, even if there’s a song celebrating their culture.

In Sum: In 2006 if you’re not niggerish enough to reach the ghetto and white people don’t see the appeal (where’s your catchy hook and cool dance?), it’s looking slim for you. Punchlines that people have to think 10 seconds about? Look at where that got Ras Kass. Name dropping designer clothing that the average person hasn’t heard of won’t cut it unless you’re about to drop an album called Kingdom Come. Trying to enlighten people drove Mos Def & Talib Kweli away from being considered “conscious” and has damn near driven David Banner out of his mind. All in all I support Lupe Fiasco because he can rap, his production team is incredible and with his debut he made a sincere effort at reaching people’s minds. I just wonder what kind of market there is for him.

Four reasons I'm not concerned (and you shouldnt be) about Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 disappointing






There's no such thing as a weak Aftermath debut.

(Dre's compilation from like fall 97 doesnt count, neither does Eminem's debut because the Aftermath brand wasnt really popping until Chronic 2001.)