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

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.

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."

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

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.

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.