New Music: Game "Ricky"

I'm not a huge fan of Game choosing to beef with the entire industry, but this new track off Mr. Taylor's upcoming R.E.D Album is a straight classic. On an album fueled and dominated by show-stealing guest verses, Game takes it back to the Compton streets (i.e Boyz N The Hood) and provides us with some heat. Peep below for a listen.

Editor's Note: This is a very powerful song. If you're emotional, don't listen to this at work and start crying like a little baby. lol

Hidden Gem of the Week: The Death of Swag?

Well...David Banner's angry again.

Not sure if this is a hidden gem but Mr. Mississippi took on everyone from Lil B to Kreayshawn's protege V-Nasty with his recent track entitled "swag." The track aims to expose all the "unacceptable" things we allow in music (including V-Nasty's use of the N-Word) all in the name of swag.

I'll save my views on the song, but this is defiinitely a powerful message that should be spread to the masses. Enjoy

Watch the Throne And Stop the Hate!

The beginning of history

Unless you've been living under a rock unequipped with a set of Beats headphones, you've heard about hip-hop juggernauts Jay-Z & Kanye West's recent release of their highly anticipated "Watch the Throne" album. Easily one of the most monumental hip-hop releases since.....ummm...ever, "The Throne" has received critical praise, along with it's fair share of haters.  No surprise, but if your album has hit #1 in 23 different countries (without any physical copies for sale) not everyone's going to have something nice to say.


That's where I come in. A Jay-Z fan/Kanye Stan coming armed with my keyboard and a healthy dosage of internet thuggery to rescue my heroes from the stones being tossed at the throne. This is in no way an album review (I could probably write a whole essay on this piece of work), but more so my response to constant criticisms that are surfacing the net. I've also added my opinion on a couple of different topics related to the album in case anyone cares. Enjoy:

The albums good, but I expected more: My rebuttal to this would be, what exactly did you expect? As one of my favorite rappers Phonte would say "Dope Beats, Dope Rhymes...what more do ya'll want?" Ok fine, but it's Jay-Z & Kanye the albums supposed to be revolutionary! You're right..and it is. One of the greatest things about this album is outside of the lead single "Otis" & bonus track "The Joy" the sounds they experimented with are not traditional "hip-hop." You can tell they took their time with this project. The subtle shifts in sounds in between songs, Ye's beat spazz out at the end of "Lift Off", the little weird circus music that plays throughout the entire album, the list goes on and on. This is an ALBUM! Not a compilation of 16 dope songs, but a complete frickin project. This type of dedication is missing from hip-hop. Nowadays artists rush to release mixtapes, songs, etc to make sure they remain relevant. Luckily Jay/Kanye can afford the luxury of being rap royalty so they can take their time to provide us with greatness.

Why H.A.M. Why Otis? Were these really single material?: I understand I'm totally in the minority since I actually liked Otis & H.A.M. when they both dropped. I remember my homie @Pbbt asking me if I felt Watch the Throne was going to be worth purchasing once it was released. I told him I had no idea what type of sound Jay/Ye were going with based off the singles so I couldn't really comment. Little did I know my comment was part of the brilliance and mystique they were going for when releasing both these records. H.A.M was weird for Jay/Ye. Hard bass, fluttering percussion, and co-production by LEX LUGER!? Difficult to comprehend when it stood on it's own, H.A.M. actually makes a whole lot more sense and sounds 1000x better in the mix with the rest of the album. "Otis" on the other hand was vintage Roc-A-Fella. Looped Otis Redding sample courtesy of Mr. West, and witty arrogant punchlines over a soulful beat. Still not necessarily "single material", this song salivated everyone's appetite for "Watch the Throne" and gave Jay a platform to spit bars on the type of track he's comfortable rapping on (I'll get into this more a little later.)

Watch the Throne Sucks! All They're Talking About is Money: This may be the argument I hate the most. Two reasons:
1. Music is a form of entertainment: Artists should not be responsible to comment on social issues. It's an age old argument, but I consider music a form of escapism. I'd rather listen to someone boasting about how they're "Planking on a million dollars" than be reminded that my bank account consists of three dollars. I have different artists who fulfill different needs, which brings me to my next point.
2. JAY & KANYE ARE NOT CONSCIOUS MC's: They never have been nor will they ever be. Even when Kanye was putting out "conscious hip-hop" it was more so related to his story and how he came up. His stories of being the "token blackie" at the GAP, and all the people who doubted him seemed like he was trying to fit into the social MC realm, but he was really just telling his story. Jay on the other hand, told tales of the hood which was relevant to his upbringing. An artists is at their best when the music's authentic and they're not forcing themselves to be a character others want them to be. Jay's not the same guy anymore. He's no longer slinging rocks and shooting pistols in Brooklyn, he's approaching half a billionare status. Kanye's no longer that hated on kid from Chicago with a dream. He's heralded as one of the best artists in music, and has the success to show for it.Watch the Throne is just a new chapter in both of their stories. If Talib Kweli or Common were making rap records about riding in Maybachs during a recession then maybe we should be concerned.
  
Top Tracks: Hard to choose but my favorites on the album are "N***** in Parris", "Gotta Have It" and "Made in America." I'm completely in the minority but my favorite track (for the moment) is "Illest Mother****** Alive." I love Kanye's verse on here, and there's something about the Oprah-esque screams in the background and overall composition of the beat that's haunting and triumphant at the same time.

Who Wins the Throne..Jay-Z or Kanye?: Although i've only listened to the album twice (once in my apartment, once in my headphones..this is my process) I can easily say Ye takes the cake on this one. I'll even go a step further and say this is a Kanye album featuring Jay-Z. Jay sounds uncomfortable on most of the tracks and you can tell he's struggling to keep up with the crazy production Kanye selected from himself, Q-Tip, RZA, Swizz, Pharrell and others. I'll never forget the moment during the "Watch The Throne" documentary where Jay was doing his typical mumbling of his lyrics to "Why I Love you" and you could see the struggle on his face. He then looked at the camera and said "Words are difficult, the pocket is difficult." (The "pocket" is what is described by Jay-Z in his book "Decoded" as the hole in between production where a rapper inserts their flow) That was the theme of Jay's struggles on the album. These tracks are so damn complex they don't even have a pocket! Jay's used to Neptunes production and soulful tracks where he can find the breaks in production and pounce on them. My assumption would be that if Jay had his way we would have had 16 tracks like "Otis", which would have been dope but nothing close to groundbreaking. Kanye probably used his passion for music to sway Jay into experimenting with the majority of the sounds on the album including the dub-step track "Who Gon Stop Me." (I'm also pretty sure Kanye used the words "dog" "fam", and "(random sound) is the illest" to further push along his argument.) Let's not forget this album was supposed to drop as an EP in November, and was re-recorded three times with the majority of original material scrapped from the final product. Two great MC's pushed themselves to new heights, and the third time was a charm for Kanye. Creating a blend of sound-shifting records that exposed Kanye at his best, and Jay-Z as Jordan i.e 2001. Still an All-Star, but a skilled Wizard opposed to a champion.

I'll leave you with this. Regardless of your opinion we should all take a second to appreciate this moment in musical history. This is like Prince & Michael Jackson doing an album together, Curtis Mayfield and Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder & Ray Charles. This type of collaborative effort between two legends rarely happens with one song, let alone a whole album. At the end of the day it's a work of art...so sit back, relax, and all hail to the throne.

Ungh!

Hidden Gem of the Week: Cool is in Session

Fiend, Spitta, and friend

Waddup world. Haven't been able to dedicate as much time to this blog as i'd like to, so i'm going to try something new that'll encourage me to update a little more consistently.

Today marks day #1 of Larry Draper's "Hidden Gem of the Week." This will be a weekly segment where i'll post what I feel are "hidden gems" that the entire blogosphere and internet aren't babbling about, but I feel are dope and need to be spread to the masses. The goal is to give you something unique and special that you can enjoy while using your new-found knowledge to brag to your friends about how you "put them on." More than likely the "hidden gems" will be related to music, but movies, restaurants, clothing boutiques, etc. could be included..the sky is the limit.

This week I want to highlight a mixtape by hip-hop artist Fiend entitled "Cool is in Session." Some of you may remember Fiend from his No Limit days where he rambled off his "RANH RANH" ad-lib all over No Limit's bounce driven and bass heavy beats.

In the past couple of years Fiend has turned over a new leaf. Taking his horn driven New Orleans bounce sound and transitioning to a smooth laid-back sound reminiscent of his recent partner in crime Curren$y.

This is Fiend's fourth mixtape of the year and even amongst the heavy array of smoke clouds, its clear quality and quantity run abundant in the Jet Life family.

Peep below for a download link to his tape as well as a full track list to vibe to via DatPiff. My two favorite tracks are "Take a Pull" and "All Summer Long.

Enjoy

Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Provided by DatPiff.com

Lil B "Motivation"

I haven't blogged in a while, been crazy busy. I was listening to this song this morning and felt it was the perfect track to highlight my return. It also accomplishes another purpose which is to continue to prove to people that Lil B can ACTUALLY RAP! Peep below for the vid. Stay based my friends.

Kendrick Lamar HiiiPOWER Video

Haven't blogged in a while, but I came across this gem last night and had to share. Peep the new video for what seems to be Kendrick Lamar's lead single for #Section80 "HiiPOWER" Visuals are amazing, song is obviously dope, and what appears at 0:18 is just straight up creepy (seriously Google Lesane Parish Crooks). Word on the street is Lamar has been working very closely with Dr. Dre. Hopefully that means we won't have to wait until 2023 to hear #Section80

2011 West Coast Rap >

So about a week ago I was sitting back listening to Casey Veggies (please peep to the right of this story for the LD Jam of the week "Ridin Roun Town") and I was thinking to myself wow, the West is really killin it right now. We got Casey Veggies, Pac Div, Nipsey Hussle, Fashawn, Black Hippy, Dom Kennedy, the industry's wet dream Odd Future, and please don't forget the "Based God" Lil B (just to name a few). I remember a couple months ago me and my fellow hip hop enthusiast Harrington were having a convo about how the West was back, and that's when the movement was extremely premature (pause)

While listening to Casey in my apartment and cookin' at an abnormal pace, I thought about the convo I had with  my boy Harrington again. Was the West back, or is west coast rap better than it's ever been before? Contrary to popular belief it's the latter, and this is why.

 

In 1988, the hip-hop supergroup shown above NWA stormed onto the scene screamin "F*** the Police" and became one of the most feared and influential groups in hip-hop history. Their debut album "Straight Outta Compton" pushed the envelope, using some of the most profane and obscene language heard during that time period to articulate the story of the young black males struggle in the greater Los Angeles area.Ultimately Cube, Dre, Eazy E,MC Ren, and DJ Yella's aggressive vision was bucketed into an all new sub-genre of hip-hop music entitled "gangsta rap"

And the blueprint of West Coast rap music was created.

From that point forward any music that came out the west had a hint of "gangsta" in it. When Cube went solo "Death Certificate" still had the raw aggression he spit in his NWA days. Dre was still rappin about how "Bi**** aint S***", and even when Snoop mellowed the West's groove out on Doggystyle he still never hesitated to make it clear "He don't luh deeez hoezzzz".

And then, somewhere in between all the shoot-outs, drive-by's and mysoginistic tales, this guy arrived.

Never before had the west, or matter of fact any region of music seen a hybrid artist of Tupac's caliber. Tupac could tear at your heart strings and make you wanna party all in one track. He seamlessly weaved from "Dear Mama" to "I Get Around" all while sounding astoundingly authentic. The ladies loved him, the thugs rejoiced him, and even the biggest lyrical critic had to admit that some of his rhymes were downright poetic.

Tupac's soul embodies what West Coast rap is today. But outside of all this multi-dimensional talent living in one artist, it has spread throughout the coast from artist to artist.

Want to lay back, or ride out in your car to some chill tracks? Give Dom Kennedy or Casey Veggies a listen. Want to listen to some ignorant and hilarious tracks? Feel free to blast the Based God. Want some heartfelt gangsta tales? Bump that Nipsey Hussle. Want to rage against the machine and listen to some Slim Shadyish grotesque lyrics? Odd Future's your group.

23 years later we've even seen the second coming of N.W.A. Black Hippy embodies the rebellious spirit of N.W.A. Not so much from the "fight the power" perspective, but more so, what you should grow to expect from a rap group. Black Hippy tells a new tale. Four kids from Los Angeles, many who grew up surrounded by violence and crime, and how they rose above the nonsense opposed to partaking in it. It's a refreshing spin on rap music that for 20 odd years glorified mass murders and homicides. Ab-Soul is the hi-energy sometimes suicidal lyrical assassin, Schoolboy Q is the fun-loving pot smoking hot spitta, Jay Rock is the sole gang member of the group and embodies the vintage west coast sound, while Kendrick Lamar is the passionate leader telling a story the coast has never told before of a straight A student who rapped his way out the hood. (Peep their story below from MTV News "The New West")

MTV Shows

As corny as the metaphor is, the 2011 Westcoast embodies the Burger King sentiment "You can have it your way." Any type of music you're looking for, it lives on the left coast. Variety = Longevity, hence why whenever regions have been defined by a sub-genre of hip-hop (The South & Crunk, West Coast and Gangsta Rap, Miami and DJ Khaled anthems) the fun never lasts that long. The West has laid the foundation to continue to innovate and push the coasts musical landscape and sound for years to come, making this moment in music more exciting than ever. To put a twist on the Geto Boys song that we all know and love from the film "Office Space", the new West movement can be summed up with one quote "Damn It Feels Good You Don't Have to be a Gangsta."

A Picture's Worth 1,000 Words

 Congrats on your victory last night Faker Fans.

5 Reasons Rick Ross Could Be Hip-Hop's Greatest CEO

"I made a transition from the thieves to the biggest executive Def Jam's ever seen." (Magnificient 2009)

When I first heard Rick Ross utter these words I couldn't think of what drug in the world he wasn't on to make such a bold statement.

The biggest executive Def Jam had ever seen was obviously this guy

And Rick Ross obviously wasn't hangin with the thieves because he was this guy

But 2011 has proven different for the self-proclaimed "fat mutha****". Ross has got his C-O *cough* I mean CEO hat strong making some of the biggest signings of the year in rap music. Every move he's made is strategic, well-planned, and further proof that literally and figuratively he may be the "Biggest boss that we've seen thus far." Peep below for 5 reasons on why Ross may prove to be hip-hop's greatest CEO. #runh

1. Established His Brand: M-M-M-M-M-Maybach Music. Unless your deaf or never heard a Ross song you've heard this crafty signature at the beginning of most his tunes since it was originally introduced on the track "Maybach Music" ft. Jay-Z.  Ross is a branding monster. Who else would be able to survive a beef with 50 Cent (that he lost) and come out one of the biggest names in rap music. Establishing your brand is especially important when creating a musical dynasty. Fans have to fully understand and trust you as an artist before they can trust you as a co-signer of up & comer's. Unfortunately in hip-hop many people get this wrong. After a hit single, it seems any and everyone gets a label where they don't hesitate to put their aunties, cousins, brothers, best friends and baby mamas on...which brings me to my next point.

2. He didn't put his homeboys on: I have bolded and underlined this point because it is the NUMBER ONE mistake rappers make once they get a label. Loyalty is one thing, but putting your talentless friends at the forefront of your artist roster is going to make your talent assesment skills look sketchy. So yes, Gunplay does have a feature on Deeper Than Rap, and yes, Triple C's does have an album out (this may be your first time hearing this information) but these guys aren't the STARS of Maybach Music. Gunplay has slowly shifted to the back of the Maybach playing his role as label goon, more so than a credible rapper. Every group of people needs a goon, and who better for the position than a dude named Gunplay.

3. Did His Homework: When Ross began signing artists for Maybach, he did thorough research and sought after the most young, gifted, and talented artists he could find. It all started in 2010 when Ross declared on MTV Rapfix he wanted to sign Wiz Khalifa on the heels of his success with the "Kush & Orange Juice" mixtape. Although Wiz respectively declined we began to see the type of artists Ross was courting to build his empire. He was looking for MC's deeply rooted and respected within the hip-hop culture. Therefore, Ross signing struggling and heavily talented MC Wale to his Maybach imprint was a match made in heaven. Of all the rappers on his roster (outside of recently signed Stalley) Meek Mill, Pill, and Wale have all graced the  XXL Freshman cover. This award goes to the industry's most promising talent, and the bawse his proven that even with his signature frames covering his face...he's got his eyes on them.

4. Represented for the Regions: This point is actually the differentiator in what may make Ross Hip-Hop's greatest CEO. Ross has snagged artist that not only represent multiple locations on the map, but are Gods in their respective hometowns. Name a person in DC who doesn't love Wale. Name a person in Philly who doesn't rep hard for Meek Mill. Grabbing artist on your label that have that type of hometown loyalty allows your message to spread further, and more people to tune in to what your labels got going on. Even when Jay-Z was establishing the Roc, outside of Kanye a lot of his artists were located in the East (Beanie Sigel, Amil, Young Gunz.......Memphis Bleek.) Ross's artists interweave from interstate to interstate hailing from D.C all the way to Ohio. Multiple sounds will be experimented with, amazing collabos will be created, and hip-hop heads around the globe will tune in to see what Maybach's cooking up. (Speaking of cooking, there are also rumors swirling around the web that Ross has his eyes on signing Lil B to his label next. #swag)

5. Kept the Momentum Going (Can't Stop, Won't Stop): Ross is currently on the "I Am Music" tour with Lil Wayne and guess what he's using the opportunity to do. You guessed it...promote his labels compilation album. Ross has stated in interviews that he wants the album to be like the old Ruff Ryders joints that used to bang in the late 90's. I think his vision is right on point. Every artist he's signed is a true MC. They're not commercial, they're not pop, and all of them can spit. If done correctly this could be one of the most amazing group albums we've heard in hip- hop in a while, and if this is a sign of things to come..it won't disapoint.

To conclude, is Rick Ross the greatest CEO in the history of hip-hop? That remains to be seen. Kanye has also been doing his thing from a CEO standpoint so only time will tell. I'm excited to see how this all plays out. With Shady Records, GOOD Music, and Maybach all sporting multi-talented rosters, it seems hip-hop is transitioning back to the times of the label posse that we all loved in the late 90's. And i'll be honest...I ain't mad at it.

Editors Note: With Ross's signing of Stalley i'm looking forward to their collab album. "Wash the Throne (Chopped and Unshaved)" to drop soon. #fearthebeard

WTF Kobe

It is common knowledge that I am nothing close to a Kobe Bryant supporter, but even the most dedicated of his fans have to admit that this is just bizarre. Despite losing 5 games straight, Kobe decided to turn up the weirdo factor last week and provide a cameo in a Chinese Hip-Hop video. Peep below:

This is not the Black Mamba's first time doing something strange for a little piece of change before the NBA playoffs begin. Remember this last year?

Yea Kobe...for once I actually agree with you

Artist Spotlight: Kendrick Lamar

I've got to admit, since the XXL Freshman concert I attended last week i've kinda been on a Kendrick Lamar high. I've been listening to some form of his (O)verly (D)edicated mixtape daily, and even re-visited some old jams taking some time to download the Kendrick Lamar EP and see where the greatness all started. (Technically his career started at the age of 16 when he went by the name of K.Dot but I don't have the time or the hard-drive space to get all those tapes during that period lol)

Kendrick has come with straight HEAT as of late. Most recently, a track with him an Ab-Soul entitled "Rapper S***" off Ab-Soul's upcoming mixtape "Longterm Mentality." This is one of the greatest back & forth duo tracks i've heard since "The What" by Biggie and Method Man and/or anything involving Styles P and Jadakiss. Don't believe me? Please listen to the lyrical massacre that takes place below.

Ab-Soul & Kendrick Lamar - Rapper Shit (unreleased) prod. by Tommy Black by TopDawgENT

Also, Consequence recently came out with a heavily slept on tape "Movies on Demand 2" One of my favorite tracks on the tape entitled "Up Against The Wall" features brotha Lamar spitting one of my favorite verses that I've heard in 2011. The subject matter is also dope with Cons, Roc Marciano, and Kendrick going bar for bar exchanging tales about the ills of police brutality. I have deemed this my LD Jam of the Week so please take a moment to listen. Turn it up loud, but make sure the cops aint around

Up Against The Wall co-starring Roc Marciano & Kendrick Lamar by Consequence

XXL Freshman Concert Review

Yoo...waddup world. Haven't blogged in a while, but I took my talents to BB Kings for the 2011 XXL Freshman showcase and it was nothing short of amazing. The energy in the building was off the charts, and every artist spit with the hunger and passion that got them to the level they're at today. I've gone through and graded each artist's performance (Cause their Freshman and in school you get grades..how clever I know) and showcased some of the highlights of the night.

Peep Below:

YG: C+
I may have a bias since I don't know much of homies music outside of @ThePuddingLied's favorite song "Toot It & Boot It". My issue was that the moment YG stepped on stage I could tell he had a little too much to drink. His energy was on point, but misdirected at times due to the abundance of alcohol in his system. His pants sagged down to his kneecaps in true rapper fashion, and he spent the majority of his performance dancing on stage to songs that weren't his. If it weren't for him bringing the breathtaking Rosa Acosta on stage, this grade might have been even lower.

Lil Twist: B+
I've got to say I was extremely impressed by Lil Twist's performance. I had never really listened to his music before, but he was a lot better than I expected him to be. He came out with a lot of energy, killed his flow throughout the show, and engaged well with the crowd. YG's drunk danceathon may have cut into some of Lil Twist's time since his performance ended rather abruptly as he ended his night bringing out Birdman (#brrt) to wave at the crowd for a hot second.

Fred The Godson: A-
Fred The Godson is New York to the death, and I love it. The crowd went crazy as the fat man approached the stage. Dude has bars for days and his metaphor game can match any artist currently rapping today. (Bold statement but it's true). When Fred brought Vado out for "HeadBanger" I thought the building was about to explode. Vado had some technical difficulties with his microphone but he definitely performed with a chip on his shoulder. The Harlem MC who was robbed from making this years list spit fiyah hotta than Dylan, and is a no brainer for next year as long as he doesn't slow down. Needless to say between BX and Harlem, uptown New York was in the building and they represented well.

Meek Mill: C+
This is going to be my hating portion of the review. I don't think Meek Mill's bad, I don't think he sucks, I just think he's

He proved that in his performance. He continuously cut off the music so we could hear him freestyle, but his bars just weren't that impressive to me. No surprise performances? No Wale? No Ross? On the other side of things, everyone in the crowd who came to see Meek Mill seemed rather impressed. So bottom line i'll say; if you came to see Meek Mill you were satisfied, if you weren't familiar with him before you probably weren't motivated to listen to him in the future.

Diggy Simmons: A for effort
Unlike other artists who i've graded i'm using A for effort because as a performer Diggy did what he was supposed to do. He came out with energy, spit his lyrics ferociously, but the crowd was not having it, nor giving him any type of respect. I recall some guy behind me yelling out "Yo does he still have his braces on?' and bursting out into laughter. This is quite unfortunate since I feel like Diggy is extremely talented, especially for someone his age. Regardless, all was forgiven when he brought his pops Rev Run on stage for a father/son collabo that put the crowd into a frenzy. Run then ended the performance by sayin "This is my seed, I love my lil boy!" #cmonrev you not helping your son get respect like that!

Mac Miller: A
I've never really listened to Mac Miller but I know he's affiliated with the Taylor Gang. Therefore I knew that more than likely his subject matter would consist of Weed, Alcohol, and Partying...which it did and I was highly amused. More than anything I think what made Mac's performance dope is that he is a great performer and knows how to engage with the crowd. He began the night bringing a 13 yr old kid from the audience on stage. Mac engaged with him in hilarious fashion "How old are you? You listen to my music? You got a girlfriend?" Once the youngster responded "No", Mac proceeded to instruct every woman in the crowd to "Make sure they gave him som p***" tonight" He had the crowd in the palm of his hands from that point on.

Cyhi Da Prynce: A
I've always been a fan of Cyhi, but my admiration for his skills went to another level after his performance. Cyhi's a lyrical monster, but what people forget is that he's from Atlanta and he definitely brings that southern crunk energy to his performances. He repeatedly asked the crowd if they were ready for  "Good Fridays S***"," bringing out label buddies Big Sean and Pusha T to join him on "Looking for Trouble" and "So Apalled" respectively. One would believe that star power warrants enough effort to end his set, but Da Prynce had another trick up his sleeve bringing out a hip-hop violinist to join him on stage for a head-thrashing rendition of "Sideways" Bow to the prince.

Kendrick Lamar: A+ (Performance of the night)
So A+'s are the grades that don't really exist but teachers always give them to you if they really like you. Although Kendrick was one of the artists that I came to the concert I came to see, he really outdid himself with this performance. He started off the night ferociously spitting and performing "The Heart Pt. 2" off his (O)verly (D)edicated mixtape. (At this point I kinda felt bad for people who never listened to Kendrick Lamar before because they were probably scared lol) He then asked the crowd if he could tell them a little about where he was from bursting into his hometown anthem "Compton" and seamlessly transitioning into the self-proclaimed Negro-spritual "P&P" (Outside of me overhearing a caucasian gentleman behind me reciting the words "Story of my life n**** this performance went off without a hitch.) When I thought it couldn't get any better Lamar did a mini-tribute to Nate Dogg and performed the track "Look out for Detox" before moving into a bounce-heavy rendition of "Ignorance is Bliss" that had the entire audience rocking in unison. (This was easily my favorite part of his performance) Kendrick Lamar ended the night with the bass-heavy "Michael Jordan" and had the crowd jumping around as if they were at a Lil Jon concert in early 2000. Lamar provided one of those performances that you just can't get out of your head, I keep envisioning how passionately he performed, and how engaged the crowd was with him over the course of the night. Well done Westcoast..well done

Big K.R.I.T: A-
I've seen Krit perform about 3 times in the past 3 months so i'm not going to get too detailed. He's a great performer, but the crowd wasn't really engaging with him either. Krit fixed this by jumping into the crowd during his performance of "Country S***" The crowd didn't hesitate to give their "country cuzin" their all after that

Yelawolf: B+ 
Yelawolf's night began when he swiftly joined Big Krit for the "Hometown Hero Remix", and he didn't stop from there. Some of you who were in attendance are probably looking like B+ ? This guy must be out his mind. Don't get me wrong. Yelawolf is a dope performer and has an amazing flow, but at times his energy was a bit off to me. Maybe i'm trippin, but that's just how I saw it. My favorite part of the night however was when he snatched a woman's purse from the crowd and swung it around on stage yellin "Look what I got!" While performing he proceeded to pretend to give it back to her several times and snatched it back just as she reached from the crowd. Great crowd engagement, dope performer, but energy was a bit off at times.

Lil B: F- 
I don't know what happened but the "Based God" was the only XXL Freshman not to show up. After reading the news this morning, apparently it was due to a previous engagement. Not sure what that means since he was tweeting a good portion of the night, but him not showing up was was a slap in the face to XXL, hip-hop, and all his fans who came to support. I for one was ready to show off my cooking dance expertise. We weren't notified til the end of the night that Lil B wasn't going to show and the crowd began booing furiously. Say what you will about his skill, but his fan base is dedicated like no other. This was a disappointment but luckily the rest of the night was so awesome I couldn't even be mad. Still a fan, but due to Lil B not showing up, there was an act I was gonna allow him to do with my female counterpart that he can no longer go through with. #notbased

All in all, the show was amazing. It is beyond worth $15 and all of Ticketmaster's ridiculous fees. I'll be in attendance next year and i'm hoping to see guys like Stalley, Smoke DZA, Skyzoo, and Chip Tha Ripper *wink wink* XXL

Prodigy's Home!

 Anyone who knows me, knows i'm a huge Mobb Deep fan. (This is obviously clear from all the thuggery I regularly participate in)

But on a more serious note...

It gives me huge pleasure to announce the releasing of "Black Caesar" from prison. I'm ready for some new Mobb Deep music like...yesterday. As you can see..the celebration has already began in Queens.

Peep below for some classic Prodigy joints you can bump during what i'm claiming as #MobbMonday enjoy!

Hip Hop's Next Generation

There it is. After a year of speculation the list has finally been compiled for the newest generation of talent in the game.

If you don't recognize the faces here's the full list:
Meek Mill
Big K.R.I.T.
CyHi Da Prince
Lil Twist
Yelawolf
Fred the Godson
Mac Miller
YG
Lil B
Kendrick Lamar
Diggy Simmons. 

Since I was so inspired by this list, I decided to do a little "up and coming talent" section but flip it GMack style. This is XXL's fourth year doing this list, so I decided to one up them by taking 5 of the top talents they've recognized  in their freshman issues and provide my opinion on which established rappers I believe they have glaring similarities to.

Note: I left the Wiz Khalifa/Snoop Dogg comparison out of this, since this is something I've heard a million times and I wanted to provide a more unique list. Also, when I use the words Old Generation in no way am I saying these artists are old, outdated, or washed up. I'm referring to them this way to  draw the line between which artist is well-established and which is up and coming. In a couple of scenarios the "Old Generation" artist is dead so please don't take any of these comparisons with disrespect.

Peep Below: "Hip Hop's Next Generation"

Old Generation: Redman
New Generation: Curren$y  

First off, there's the obvious Cheech & Chong buddy scenario. Redman had Method Man, Curren$y has Wiz Khalifa. They make amazing music together, and are both the lesser appreciated of their respective duos. Then there's this little known fact: BOTH OF THESE GUYS CAN REALLY RAP! Unless something drastically changes I could see Curren$y's career having the same tales as Redmans. He'll be an under appreciated artist who fans only truly want to hear from if he's collaborating with his bosom buddy. Rap-wise Curren$y's not nearly as skilled as Redman was in his prime, but they are both the lyrical giants of their duos who will more than likely be slept on by non-avid rap fans who prefer their more commercially successful counterparts.

Old Generation: Prodigy (of Mobb Deep)
New Generation: Nipsey Hussle

Outside of looking freakishly similar, Prodigy & Nipsey Hussle have a lot of artistic similarities. When Nipsey first dropped everyone was extremely eager to compare him to Snoop. He's from LA, he has braids, he's he's Snoop! No stupid.
Snoop and Nipsey are actually polar opposites. Where Snoop has that laid-back vibe to his music that you can party or smoke to, Nipsey spits "pistol grip poetry" with an emotion and passion that Snoop never reached nor has tried to reach in his long running career.This is where his similarities to Prodgy directly correlate. You can FEEL both of these artists pain in their music. When Nipsey says "Emani aint gon see the streets", you want to fly out to LA to make sure she's stayin out of trouble. When Prodigy adamantly claims "You can never feel my pain n***", you quickly re-evaluate the severity of whatever situation you were previously complaining about about. Prodigy's music has always told tales of violence, lost loved ones, and his struggle overcoming being dealt a bad hand in life. Nipsey's music shares the same sentiments, and I believe he's a bit superior lyrically to Prodigy. I'm extremely excited to see where Nipsey's career goes from this point forward.

Old Generation: ODB
New Generation: Lil' B

God rest the dead, but ODB was a wild dude. He was manic, crazy, and more important than anything he was wildly entertaining. ODB was an electrifying character.He was one of the most unpredictable figures in the music industry, and never seemed to do much of anything that made sense. So how is he similar to Lil' B? If you've read the sentences above you've answered your own question. Lil' B has paraded the scene with  rhymes laced with obscenities, and public statements laced in outlandish claims (On his mixtape Evil Red Flame he claims he has made the "Best Mixtape Ever" at least 16 times) This is why we love Lil' B. We don't take him seriously, but we love his foolishness just like we loved ODB's. Besides, how can you not see the similarities between "The Based God" and someone who wanted to publicly change their rap name to "Big Baby Jesus?"

Old Generation: Cam'Ron
New Generation: Big Sean

I thought long & hard about who Big Sean reminded me of. A lot of people said Kanye because he's signed to his label, and his rhymes are laced with swagger. I couldn't agree with that since I think Sean's rhymes are 100% swagger, while Ye's (even when he was new) were 60% swag, and 40% substance. Then I thought Ludacris (I'm talking "Back to The First Time" Luda not "Battle of the Sexes" Luda). Luda was a metaphor king at the beginning of his career as well, but it still didn't seem like the right fit. Then I really thought about it, and Cam'ron was perfect. Big Sean & Cam'ron have this one glaring similarity that makes them outrageously similar. Both are phenomenal wordsmiths, but depending on a critics personal attitude toward them, you can view them as being "weak" or "corny". Both of them have one phrase or line that will haunt them forever, one line that will always be brought up when people try to dismiss them as gimmick swag artists. Cam'ron's phrase is "Rooty, Tootyrooty, tooty, fresh, and fruity, lions, tigers, bears, and a bunch of other nonsense that doesn't make up 1/3 of his catalog. Then you have Big Sean who's "Who....Her? Her?" adlib could be the death of him. I'll admit before I really started liking Big Sean I used this adlib as my main ammunition to justify why I thought he was whack.. But that's the point. With both these artists if you get caught with what's on the surface you'll miss the magic. And that's what makes them both great.

Old Generation: Tupac Shakur
New Generation: J. Cole

I already know I'm going to get the most flack for this comparison. What!? How are you gonna compare a dude with no album to one of the greatest rappers of all time! How dare you! Have you calmed down yet? Now listen.

I'm not gonna lie, I sort of stole this comparison from my dude @H_Barca . I had been thinking this for a while, but when a dude who I feel knows just about me as hip-hop (probably more) than I do confirmed my initial thought I had to run with it. When Cole came out everyone compared him to Nas. Easy comparison. Both great storytellers, both lyrical wordsmiths. But Cole's connection to Pac is deeper than his connection to Nas. Although Nas is a great storyteller, he isn't necessary the one you wanted to sit around the fireplace and have him tell it to you. Nas tells his stories in an extremely impersonal matter that almost removes himself from the scene of the crime.

Then there's Pac & Cole. When these guys tell a story, they DEMAND your attention. They spit every rhyme with passion, and tell stories with such descriptive details that you feel like you're experiencing it right there with them. You can't wait until the hook is over so you can hear the next verse and see how the story ends. These guys, live and breath their music and you can feel it with every bar. Notice I used the word feel, not hear. Those with a great hip-hop ear can hear Nas loud & clear, but any and everyone can feel Pac & J Cole's music in their soul.

Who's the NBA's Next Hero?

It all started here. Well technically, it started July 9 but this was the climax of arguably one of the biggest moves in sports history. NBA's Golden Boy LeBron James joined his future teammates Dwayne Wade & Chris Bosh on stage for their "coming out party" in Miami. Everyone witnessed the spectacle; the highfives, the handshakes, the daps, the cocky projections for the season, and an interpretation of every urban dance move known to man. This was the night we all dreaded, it was official. The NBA player who fans rooted for, loved, praised as the next Jordan, and even labeled "The Chosen One" had now officially turned to the darkside.

Lebron James had officially became one of the most hated figures in sports.

It was a sad day for basketball fans everywhere. If you weren't a Laker fan you more than likely hated Kobe Bryant. Jordans retired, and now even if you found yourself being a Dwayne Wade fan your opinion probably went sour when you saw him join forces with the King.

Then their was one player who had an opportunity to rise from Lebron's long lost shadow. A player who has consistently been top 5 in scoring, a player who has quietly went to the playoffs all 7 of his seasons in the NBA (including his Rookie season where he lost Rookie of the Year to James.) The crown was placed above his head, and all he had to do was rise to it. Carmelo Anthony was set to be the savior of the NBA.

And then the trade rumors happened.

Melo had fallen into the trap. Pleading desperately to be released from one of the best teams in the West, Melo demanded the spotlight, but not in a good way. He was acting like a crybaby, a pre-madonna, taking attention away from what could have seemingly been a breakthrough season for the Denver Nuggets. Soon after announcing during the All-Star game that he'd be suiting up for a Nuggets game on Tuesday with an opponents name that seemed to be escaping him Melo got his wish. He was traded to the New York Knicks.  He got the bright lights, he's living in the big city, but at what price? Being grouped in a category with a bunch of big name players who are more recognized for their griping off the court than their performance on it?

Take a look at the picture below:

Outside of Karl Malone, it's pretty difficult to put a finger on which one of these players made your blood boil. Jordan, Pat Ewing, Magic Johnson, these were all athletes who were amazing playing the game of basketball and you watched them every week hoping they would succeed. Even loud mouths like Charles Barkley were still lovable.

But that's what's missing from the game now. Respect, and the humility to realize that even if you're one of the best players in the game you don't have to act like an asshole.

If things don't change that's what we have to look forward to. A league bathed in arrogance, with a bunch of players who focus on self-fulfilling prophecies opposed to being the best player they can be and at least trying to please the fans who pay their salary.

Until Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, or Deron Williams learn how to showcase some charm what do we really have to look forward to? Another season of Basketball Wives?

So NBA I challenge you with one task, and one task only. Give us somebody to believe in and root for relenltessly. Give us a player who outside of their skills on the court we admire and respect. Give us someone who the next generation of wide-eyed ballplayers can look up to who we don't personally frown upon with shame.

Who's going to be the NBA's next hero?

Well Damn

IT'S OVER 30 DEGREES OUTSIDE, AND IT'S FRIDAY!

Let the weekend commence.

Happy Friday!

New Chris Brown: Real Hip Hop S****

Not sure how I feel about rappin "I wanna kill n****" and crump dancing simultaneously, but this joints kinda hot. Peep below:

Breezy ... Real Hip Hop Sh!t from Mechanical Dummy on Vimeo.

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	Stick to Singin' Bro
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Top 10 Mixtapes of 2010

As promised, I've gone into the cave and came out with my top 10 mixtapes of last year. For those of you that saw my list about the top albums I still think this was one of the best years in music since any given year in the mid 90's. Needless to say this was an extremely difficult task. I took a lot of things into account while making this list. I figured in lyricism, how well the tape was constructed, impact the tape had on that artists career, and even in some cases opinions of my friends. (Shocking I know) So without further adieu..here's my list of top tapes in 2010 (No particular order)

Big Krit "K.R.I.T Wuz Here" I actually found out about this tape via Twitter. I had never heard of Krit, but some of my followers from the South were praising him as the next Pimp C so I had to take a listen. This tape definitely doesn't disappoint. I think the dopest thing about Krit is that he's a hybrid of some of the dopest MC's to come out the south. You can hear the Pimp C in his slang, the Scarface in his pain, and the energy of David Banner in his voice from time to time. This largely self-produced effort is definitely worth checkin out.

Top Joints:
Hometown Hero
Children of the World
Now or Neva (Bonus Track)

 Big Sean "Finally Famous Vol. 3" A lot of my friends have been tellin me about Big Sean for a while now. I went back, researched his catalog and to be honest I wasn't really impressed. He definitely showed promise lyrically but I was disappointed with his ability to compose songs, and make a cohesive mixtape product. And to a great point my boy @Mr_SZS constantly makes, he had issues choosing a flow and sticking to it. This tape sold me on Big Sean on his abilities to be a front runner in the next class of hip-hop artists taking over the game. The moment I heard "Supa Dupa Lemonade" I was amazed at his lyrical capability and couldn't help but notice how many of today's artists had bitten off his self-proclaimed "Supa Dupa Flow" that is now rampant in the industy. (If I hear another lyric like "It's going down...basement" or "Hang it up....flatscreen", I'm going to cut my ears off...Van Gogh) Anywho..I digress. This is a great tape, and as long as Big Sean never says "Is that yo girl, who her her?" ever again he'll definitely be one of my favorite MC's in the years to come.

Top Joints:
Supa Dupa Lemonade
Final Hour
Hgh Rise

 Fabolous "There Is No Competition 2" It took a lot to sell me on this tape. I initially (and still kind of think) the production on this tape is weak. Therefore, in true Geoff fashion I tuned out the lyricism when I first listened. Simply off the love of this tape by my boys @FullCupLover , @Be_Schroeder and @Nucky_Hamson i've listened to this tape at least 7 times trying to see what the big deal was. After further analysis, i'm going to have to give Fabolous the award of having the strongest lyrical mixtape of 2010. For that reason, and that reason alone, I feel that provides a good enough reason to put him on my list.

Top Joints:
Exhibit F
The Wake
Im Raw

J. Cole "Friday Night Lights" What else is there to say about J. Cole? Dude is a beast. Friday Night Lights opens up strongly with "Too Deep for the Intro" and "Before I'm Gone" which truly set the stage for an emotional & lyrically captivating autobiographical masterpiece. I'm going to go on record and say this is definitely my favorite J. Cole tape from his catalog. If it weren't for another artist dropping a classic tape this year, it would have been my Mixtape of the Year.

Top Joints:
Too Deep for the Intro
Before I'm Gone
Love Me Not

 Nipsey Hussle "The Marathon" I'm proud to announce that the WESTCOAST IS BACK! Hussle, Pac Div, Dom Kennedy, and a plethora of other artists are setting up the groundwork for an exciting new movement of music coming out the West. The amazing thing about Nipsey is that you can feel his pain when he spits. A lot of people compare him to Snoop because of his looks and his affiliation with the LA gang banger lifestyle but he actually reminds me a lot of Prodigy from Mobb Deep. This tape is a Westcoast version of "So Far Gone" that will stay in heavy rotation once you give it a listen.

Top Joints:
Keys 2 The City
Blue Laces
Dreamin'

 Smoke DZA "George Kush Da Button" After hearing DZA all over songs with Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T, and others I decided I would give him a listen. I noticed he wasn't the strongest lyrically, but I knew his affiliation with Ski Beatz would at least allow me some nice chill beats to vibe out too. This tape was surprisingly amazing. Although DZA's not a wordsmith, he's actually not that bad lyrically and pretty much every track on here is a banger.

Top Joints:
Good Talk
We On
It Ain't My Fault

Wale "More About Nothing" After the disappointing sales & reception to his debut album "Attention Deficit", Wale burst back onto the scene with the follow-up to his critically acclaimed "Mixtape about Nothing." Wale shows a lot of growth on this tape. He has always been dope as a lyricist but his flow is getting nastier and nastier with each track he puts his vocals on. I'm excited to see that Wale has signed with Ross's Maybach Music and hope that more tracks like "Pandemonium" are on the horizon.

Top Joints:
The Breeze (Cool)
The Breakup Song
The Trip (Downtown)

Young Jeezy "Trap or Die 2" I fully typed my list, removed Vado's "Slime Flu" and added this joint on last minute. After further review I just couldn't say no to this tape (no Kobe). This reminds us why we first started liking Jeezy. He runs through some of the hardest hitting beats on this tape effortlessly, and provides us with the trap memoirs that we've all grown to love. Unfortunately this tape didn't springboard the launch of his highly anticipated Thug Motivation 103, but let's see what 2011 has in store for "Mr. 17.5"

Top Joints:
Trap or Die Reloaded
I'LL'IN
Hood Politics

 Young Chris "The Network 2" This is my infamous sleeper pick for 2011. Young Chris has always been a beast, but was always slept on due to his affiliation with the Young Gunz. This Don Cannon hosted effort showcases the Philly MC weaving through soulful samples, hard hitting beats, and outpouring of emotion as he talks about the infamous breakup of Roc-A-Fella records. Memphis Bleek even surprisingly provides a decent verse on this tape (What!? o_O) Yea I can't believe I said that myself. Regardless, give this tape a listen and you won't be disappointed.

Top Joints:
Never Left
Im Sorry
The Moon and Stars

 And my Mixtape of the Year issssss.....

 Wiz Khalifa "Kush and Orange Juice" No surprise here. Anyone who knows me, knows i'm a Wiz fanatic. I think he has the potential to be the second coming of Snoop Dogg and could have an amazing career if he sticks to making songs that resonate with his cult-like "Taylor Gang" audience. I went back and forth about selecting this tape or Cole's "Friday Night Lights" for weeks. I even thought about giving a co-mixtape of the year, but decided I would man up and make a decision. I went back and decided this is my No. 1 tape for two main reasons.
1. This tape is the "So Far Gone" of 2011. Not by sound or content, but impact. The same way "So Far Gone" skyrocketed Drake's career to another level, this tape did the exact same for Wiz. (On the day it was released "Kush and Orange Juice" was the #1 searched term on Google, "Wiz Khalifa" was also the third most searched person on Google in 2010..enough said)
2. I can say in all honesty that I like EVERY song on this tape. Yes, every song. Even the Reggae inspired "Still Blazin" (I hate Reggae music with a passion for those that don't know)
I'm hoping that Wiz stays true to his sound so his Atlantic Records debut "Rolling Papers" can be everything I imagined it would be. Stay tuned..Taylor Gang or Die

Top Joints:
Up (The best song of 2010 in my opinon)
Never Been
In The Cut

Honorable Mentions:

Vado "Slime Flu" Outside of causing a myriad of people to refer to themselves to as an oozy green substance infamous in Ghostbuster and Ninja Turtle Movies, Vado has made quite a name for himself in the music industry this year. The second coming of Juelz Santana, slashes through each song on this 14 track effort with ease. This tape didn't make my list due to the fact that there's not any real "stand out" tracks on the tape, nonetheless Vado's got a hell of a future ahead of him "You go slime it's yo time"

Top Joints:
Council Music
Speaking in Tungs
Wake Up

Mickey Factz "I'm Better Than You" Another sleeper pick. Ever since I heard Mickey for the first time in 2008 I thought he was destined to be one of the next big MC's in the game. Unfortunately, he had MAJOR issues picking beats. A lot of his songs sounded like some Theophilus London electo-pop but not nearly as dope. On this tape I think Mickey FINALLY gets it. The beats are bangin and unique to his flow. Unfortunately his window is closing as Drake, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, and several others have stolen the spotlight that he once had a chance to claim as his own.

Top Joints:
I'm Better Than You
Trinity
Legend

Tyga & Chris Brown "Fan of a Fan" This was definitely one of my favorite tapes this year, and it pained me not to put it on my list. For those that are music heads like me, this was an official comeback for my man Chris Brown (his BET MJ performance was just the icing on the cake.) Breezy weaves between rapping, singing, slow jams, and tunes about how he likes his woman's genitals groomed without missing a beat. This tape also birthed the hilarious "No Bull***" and the smash hit "Deuces". As long as CB stays out of Lambos with beautiful women, he's gonna have the R&B game on lock for a very long time.

Top Joints:
No Bull****
What They Want
Ain't Thinkin Bout You

And there it is. The decisions made here were tough, and i'm aware they're not free of scrutiny. Hopefully you'll give everything on here a listen and judge from there. Until next time...keep bumpin that good music and stay tuned to the blog for music updates throughout the year.

Update on Me

Usually I don't use this blog to speak about my personal life, but since i've promised a post a week..here it is.

This weeks been crazy, one of the busiest i've had in a while but I can't complain. Love my life, love all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me.

Here are some major updates from this week:

Monta Ellis & Kevin Love got snubbed from the All-Star team. Check out Monta's reaction below (As a Warriors and Monta fan I propose we enroll Monta in Toastmasters before the 2012 season to ensure this doesn't happen again)

Correction: Since this was posted David Stern has selected Kevin Love to take Yao Ming's spot on the Western All Star team. Leaving Monta the only remaining player to be snubbed. smh




Lil Wayne released a Green Bay Packers Anthem *crickets* (I'll save my thoughts on the track, but feel free to take a listen below)




Unfortunately for Weezy & Aaron Rodgers, Omar Epps appears focused and prepared to lead his team to another Superbowl W. #blackandyellow

In other news..I'm literally 4 mixtapes away from making my top 10 tapes of 2010 so look out for that. I'll post next week..pinky promise.

Looking forward to the weekend. I've been struggling all week not to do the following:

Diddy Sued For a Trillion Dollars

 In one of the most bizarre stories that has surfaced in recent memory a woman named Valerie Joyce Wilson is suing Sean "P. Diddy" Combs for some of the outlandish reasons known to man. Some of them include; Diddy being responsible for 9/11, lacking to pay child support worth $900 billion dollars, and my personal favorite Diddy stealing a Casino chip from her worth "well over 100 zillions of dollars." Peep the story below:

Hip Hop mogul P Diddy has been sued for a trillion USD by a New York woman who has accused him of date rape and 9/11. Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks, is seeking a restraining order against the star, real name Sean Combs, accusing him of a whole plethora of wrong doings, reported a website.

According to Turks, the 41-year-old, along with his ex-girlfriend Kim Porter and LAPD brutality victim Rodney King, is responsible for the collapse of the World Trade Center.

In the court documents, Turks claims that she dated Diddy, and that the two have a son together, Cornelius Wilson who is 23 years old. She alleges that she has been subjected to abuse from 2001, claiming, "Diddy went through Kim Porter and Rodney King and knocked down the WTC and then they all came and knocked my children down. Set me up to be on disability and disabled my baby (sic)."Valerie then goes on to say in her statement, which is riddled with spelling and punctuation errors,

"He date raped me 24 years ago and knocked me down (sic)." "Plus I won a lot of money at the casino in Mississippi and Sean P. Diddy Combs has my chip to my money. I heard he gave it to Gwen Allen to hold but she cannot cash it in. I want my chip please help me. it's well worth over 100 zillions of dollars, and my hospital keys (sic),"

Turk claimed in the court documents. Valerie is requesting USD 900 billion dollars in child support, and USD 100 billion dollars for "loss of income". The judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order, and set a date for a hearing for January 31.

This chick is clearly on her Fonzworth Bentley swag:

Read more at: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?section=Movies&Id=ENTEN20110168098&keyword=music&subcatg=MUSICINDIA&nid=82132&pfrom=home-Movies&cp

Is Lil B Actually Good?

Unless you've been under a rock for the past 5-6 months there's no way you haven't heard of the bay area artist Lil B aka the self-proclaimed "Based God." Outside of coming up with multiple reasons for why women are on his genitalia, Lil B has taken the Internet by storm. Over 100,000 followers on Twitter, YouTube videos that average at least 1/2 a million hits, and an infamous claim that he would give Kanye West the Kobe treatment if he didn't "give him his respect"

So how has Lil B come such an overnight sensation? How did he get invited to the coveted Coachella Music Festival? And an even better question how he is the SECOND most anticipated hip-hop act behind Kanye West. (No..I didn't just make that up, take a look for yourself)

The answer is simple...The Based God is a genius, and he has fooled you all.

Around 2006, a little-known bay-area group known as The Pack rode the momentum of E-40's "Tell me When To Go" & landed a huge hit with their ode to skateboard footwear called Vans. Remember this?

If you notice Lil B spits his verse right at the beginning of the song. He's actually rapping on beat, no references to "ho** on his d***", all summing up to a relatively forgettable verse. As a fan of The Pack for years, Lil B actually never stood out as the star of the group. I always felt that if anyone from the group would ever get the chance to blow it would be Lil Uno (pictured below)

 

Uno had the swag, charisma, and looks that it took to be a star. He also appeared to be label boss Too $hort's favorite, allowing Lil Uno more solo songs than his group counterparts. Naturally, the bay area music wave died down and those who weren't from the "Yay" dismissed The Pack as a one-hit wonder.

So how did the least talented member of a dying  group come back four years later and become one of the most talked about figures in hip-hop? He did it the American way...he captured our attention by acting as ignorant and crazy as humanly possible.

I can personally admit I was a victim. After watching the poorly shot video for "Su** My D*** Hoe" I fell off my couch in laughter. It was one of the most ridiculous things I'd ever seen. Within 30 seconds he had named off multiple reasons for why all the women wanted him including my favorite claim "Because he looks like Matlock." So then I sat in my house on a Saturday afternoon and saw that he had a new mixtape that dropped called "Evil Red Flame" The cover looked like a bootleg attempt at re-creating Juve's 400 Degreez album art (peep), so I knew I was in for a hilarious treat. I downloaded the mixtape and the first thing I heard was him spittin over John Legend's "Let Get Lifted Again"

I was shocked. I was expecting straight foolishness, and was welcomed with a smooth intro featuring one of my favorite songs off "Get Lifted." So I listened and listened some more, and the beats on the tape were actually bangin. He had captured me, I was a victim to the Based God.

Now let's be clear, Lil B doesn't offer much lyrically. Half the time he even struggles to rap on beat. But when focusing on serious topics such as the death of his close friends, being broke on the street, and feeling alone in the world, there's a pain behind his voice that can't be denied.

So to answer the question is Lil B actually good, for now the answer is No, he has a long way to go. But he is a master of branding, who has found a way to hold rap in the palm of his based hands by mastering ways to market himself on the Internet. With Lil B's ear for beats he actually has the potential to be a pretty good artist. And now that he's got our attention, let's see what he has to offer. His music makes us laugh, it makes us cry, and it has us all in each of our respective homes hittin the "Cookin dance". We love you Lil B, #thankyoubasedgod

Note: Peep "LD's Jam of the Week" to see when Lil B gets it right. Take a look below to see when Lil B gets it wrong.

Where Is Young Jeezy/The Rise of "Swag Rap" & "Emo Hop"

"I'm the realest n**** in it, you already know, got trapper of the year 4 times in a row. (What they give ya?) A lifetime supply of baking soda clientele, a rolly watch, two pots, and three scales" In 2005 these lyrics blasted through speakers from Atlanta all the way to the suburbs of California. Jeezy was on top of the world. He had just left Diddy's Bad Boy Empire departing from rap-group Boyz N Da Hood and joined forces with hip-hop juggernaut Jay-Z over at Def Jam. Jeezy followed his "classic" debut, with two strong solo efforts including "The Inspiration" and "The Recession" which yielded the hood's Barack Obama anthem "My President"

Fast forward to 2011. It's been three years since Jeezy's last album and outside of last years follow-up to the Trap or Die series we haven't heard much from the hoarse voiced trap hero. Even to focus on Trap or Die 2 for a moment, this was actually a very good mixtape. Hard beats, Cannon screaming his witty banter over several tracks, and Jeezy spittin his tales about the "trap or die" lifestyle that helped him rise as an overnight sensation.

So there remains the question. Why is Young Jeezy no longer relevant? Why did Trap or Die 2 not create enough buzz to launch Thug Motivation 103? Why has Thug Motivation 103 been pushed back more times than Ne-Yo's hairline?

It comes down to this. The face of hip-hop is changing. The industry of hip-hop is slowly moving away from rhymes about shoot outs, drug smuggling, and cocaine battlefields and moving to a more authentic place. The power of music has always been it's ability for the listener to identify with the experiences being presented in rhyme, and/or live a fantasy through the music that blares through their headphones. So does the American listener no longer want to be a drug kingpin? Do they actually want to listen to music more closely affiliated with their ACTUAL lifestyle? No way!!!!

Here's three observations I want to point out as to why Jeezy struggles to remain relevant in today's hip-hop scene. And more importantly the direction that I feel hip-hop is going in the future.

Observation 1: That Fat Mutha****

In 2005, the only people that would have said that Rick Ross would be on top of the music game in 2011 probably resided from a city with a (305) area code. But wait how did this happen? Ross was seemingly less skilled than Jeezy, their lines were both laced with cocaine metaphors, and Ross was EXPOSED as a cop. Well here's the difference. As Jeezy continued down his path of being a cocaine cowboy, Ross completely changed his brand. Dumping his nickname as the "bawse" (remember the drug kingpin reference I made earlier in this article) and changing his nickname to "Rozay" a play on words for the wine that has the same pronunciation. When Ross released Teflon Don and affiliated himself with Diddy, he had successfully steered away from the image of being a fake Scarface, and strongly associated himself with the fun-loving Champagne lifestyle.

 Observation 2: The Rise of Swag Rap

The three gentleman pictured above (Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, & Soulja Boy) encompass swag rap to it's fullest. Topics include and are  limited to lighting up illegal substances, wearing the flyest gear, and sleepin with everyone's girlfriend. In my opinion this is the second coming of the party music that was rampant in the hip-hop scene in the mid 80's before N.W.A & Public Enemy angrily took over. Although these artists are stronger lyrically than most of the music that popped throughout that time period, they both accomplish the exact same goal...their music makes people feel good.

Writers Note: Wiz Khalifa & Big Sean are two of my favorite artists. In no way was this paragraph a shot at them. Truth be told "swag rap" is my favorite type of music to listen to. 

Obervation 3: Autotune and "Emo Hop

Leave it to Kanye to start another trend in music. Back in 2008 after the lost of his mother, and probable fiancee 'Ye hopped on the autotune machine to croon out his pain. This gave birth to artists who may have never seen the light of day if it weren't for "808's and Heartbreaks"...Kid Cudi and Drake. Drake and especially Cudi have brought the Emo feeling to rap music. Authentic and honest hip-hop songs that expose the vulnerability of the artist, steering away from the macho bravado talk that has reigned supreme for so many years.

In conclusion, hip-hop is coming to a more authentic place than it has since it's creation, and that can be simply because the recession that spread rampant around 2009, has made us become a lot more honest with ourselves. Many people have had to come to grips with the fact that they aren't ballin, pushin a Maybach, cookin work on the stove, and in turn started steering to music that they could relate to. This is why Jeezy has struggled. He has refused to cater his rhymes to emotions and carefree swag jams. Which is fine, that's not his brand. But one day in order for TM 103 to ever be released he is going to have to come to the grips with the fact that the average listener no longer aspires to "Get their Benihana's on & work two pots"...frankly the average listener can barely even afford Benihanas.