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."