A regular episode, but this time Nice Rec picks the jams. This hasn’t happened… ever!
Jay-Z – Can I Live
Cool Calm Pete – Giddy
Doom – Absolutely
Jay Electronica – Victory is in my Clutches
Black Milk – Watch ‘Em
Q-Tip – Official
DJ Jazzy Jeff – The Definition f/ Kel Spencer
Lootpack – Hityawitdat
Method Man – The Afterparty f/ Ghostface
Sean Price – 1,2 Y’all
Capone N Noreaga – Live On Live Long
Mission Man – Chillin’ at the Papa
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An hour and some change dedicated to Tupac Amaru Shakur. Nice Rec gives the man his just due on this one. Come quick see…
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I was over my friend Keeb$ house today and he was telling me all about Eminem’s new song about college.
Eminem. Ha!
No, that song on the radio about college is by a young man named Asher Roth (click here for video). While I think “I Love College” is as cheesy as you can get-the Weezer sample, the stereotypical college references, not to mention the predictable crowd chant at the end, I never said I didn’t like cheesy. I nodded my head for a nice while to this song.
I am the champion, of the beer pong.
Allen Iver-son, Hakeem Olaju-won.
But does that make him a dope rapper?
In order to make a clear and concise judgment, one must listen to his other material. 2008′s Greenhouse Effect mixtape was a good start, especially with the head-nodder “Cannon” at the helm.
I think a good majority of the people knocking Asher right now are the same people that knocked Eminem when he debuted over a decade ago. Sure, the two do share the same vocal tones, but that is where the comparisons stop, Asher’s flow is much more simplified and the subject matter, although lighter, is totally different. After all, didn’t Eminem fail the ninth grade three times?
The question is: Will Asher be able to transcend the Eminem comparisons? I think he will. First and foremost, no matter what the rap community has to say on the matter, he has crossover appeal. People who would otherwise never listen to hip hop will listen to Asher because they identify with him. I can picture myself right now at a “douchey” top-40 bar in the southside and everyone yelling “Freshmen… freshmen… do something crazy!” at the top of their lungs.
Secondly, I look to the experiences of a rapper who faced a similar predicament when first starting out as a major label artist: this man is known as Shyne.
It was easy to take one listen to Shyne when he first came out and laugh. “Wait, this guy sounds exactly like Biggie, AND he is on Bad Boy?” A couple of lyrically murdered tracks and successful singles later, Shyne’s talent has shown through and nowadays the comparisons to Biggie are far and few between. For Guerilla Black however, that is a totally different story.
Asher has a whole song, “As I ‘Em” which addresses the comparisons. Apparently he spits his heart out on it. I, for one can’t wait.
Asleep in the Bread Aisle drops April 21st.
Tracklisting (check the illroots link below for some more previewable songs off the album):
01. Lark On My Go-Cart
02. Blunt Cruisin’
03. I Love College
04. Bad Day ft. Jazze Pha
05. Be By Myself ft. Cee-Lo
06. Sour Patch Kids
07. She Don’t Want A Man
08. As I Em ft. Chester French
09. His Dream ft. Miguel
10. Ladida
11. Leo The Lion
12. Fallin
13. Nothing You Can’t Do
Via Illroots
Freeway has been on his grizzly lately: he dropped 30 joints in 30 days just for the internet, he is working on a collabo LP with Jake-One called The Stimulus Package, slated to drop this summer, and then he has Philadelphia Freeway 2, the sequel to a very dope album.
PF2 is supposed to drop in May apparently, but on what label? I can’t see Def Jam/Rocafella putting this out.
Above is the cover art, below is the tracklisting. I am assuming guest appearances have been omitted.
1. Pay Attention
2. Finally Free
3. Gotz 2 Be Tha Bomb
4. Hands Up
5. Think About It
6. Crack Rap
7. Murda Muzic
8. Around The World
9. Streets Won’t Miss ‘em
10. It’s a Good Day
11. Keep Yo Hands Up
12. Philly Freezer
Via Nahright via The Rap Up
Big shout out to Casual Dan, who had this cover as a poster on his wall!
Aw shit, THIS is what I’m talking about! Cormega hasn’t dropped an album in AWHILE! Seven years to be exact. I haven’t heard anything off this album, it’s not slated to drop until the summer, but my interest is piqued. My one reservation is that Cormega is too bleak of a rapper to be dropping in the summer, when music is filled with happiness. I think he would be better suited to drop in November or December, when those dark tales of life in the Queensbridge Projects are at full hilt.
For a good episode of New York-ish gangster rap featuring Cormega’s “Fallen Soldiers” peep this episode.
Has it really been TEN years since Black on Both Sides dropped? The past decade has seen the man become known more for his acting than his rapping. After the debacle that was “True Magic” and the decent New Danger, here’s hoping that the man goes straight Q-Tip in ’08 with The Ecstatic. That would be the Tom Bombadil.
We already played Quiet Dog on an episode and I’m not too much of a fan of “Life in Marvelous Times,” but production from Madlib, Dilla, and Kanye is a recipe for success.
New Mos Def Album Set For Summer @ Allhiphop
It was disheartening when hip hop media outlets were reporting that he had gone M.I.A. amidst the cold war beef between former fellow Dipset members Juelz Santana and Jim Jones. These guys wouldn’t even with him as he went toe to toe with Curtis Jackson!
All that aside, the man with the pink chinchilla is back. Here goes an interview with Miss Info updating his whereabouts and status with Dipset:
His first street single is called “I Hate My Job:”
Dude seems to be doing pretty well for himself. He is even planning a sitcom, which is supposed to be like the Black version of “Curb Your Enthusiam:”
The Harlem MC is apparently a huge fan of David’s hit HBO series. Calling it his favorite show, he said, “I got a sitcom coming out but we don’t have a title exactly to it yet. It’s like black ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’”
Staying true to Curb’s unique brand of Jewish humor, Cam – who once had a DVD in the works called “Here’s Cam’ron (You Little Yentas)” – says that he wants to include Jewish people in the project. “Right now while I’m writing my show, it’s a lot of stuff that has to do with Jewish people,” he said. “So I called my lawyer, my man Andrew Bergman, and I’m like listen, would I be allowed to do this because I don’t wanna offend anybody.”
Dude is switching it up a little here. I wonder if this album will be more conceptual. Like, I Hate My Job being the reason for descent into a world where Crime Pays.
I guess we’ll soon find out…
Cam’Ron’s sixth studio album, Crime Pays, will be released in April through Asylum Records.
So, apparently Bun B. and Pimp C. had an album in the vault before Chad’s untimely passing. Their last album will be called UGK 4 Life and will be dropping in Spring of this year.
“The new UGK album 4 Life is the final studio album from my late great brother Chad Butler aka Pimp C and myself,” Bun said in a statement. “It is my sincere hope that it’s a fitting bookend to the legacy of UGK and to the life and times of Pimp C.”
I am not the biggest fan of these dudes, but I’ll be checking this one out.
Read the full story on Allhiphop.com
Previously: Episode 36 – A Pimp Named Chad (UGK tribute set courtesy DJ Nice Rec)
A trend in recent years has been for famous rappers enforcers to drop albums. These “rappers,” in the post-50 Cent era, must hope that their street cred will overshadow their lack of actual song-writing skills and lead to sales because every single one of them is garbage. Let’s take a look at the players: 50 Cent has Tony Yayo, Cam’Ron has Hell Rell, Lil’ Kim has Maino (?), and now Eminem has Trick Trick. Trick Trick must be a force to be reckoned with out in Detroit, because that serious place to do dirt, as evidenced when top 40 rapper Yung Berg recently made a trip to the Motor City.
The problem I have with Trick Trick is that he is not satisfied with just having high hopes for his album, only to have his five best friends buy it and then fade back into obscurity. No instead, he has used the release of his album to spit vitriol against the gay community:
“I’ma go on the record right now with this. Homosexuals are probably not gonna like this album,” Trick revealed to AllHipHop.com. “I don’t want your f**got money any goddamn way. I don’t like it [homosexuality]. Carry that s**t somewhere else.”
This man actually has songs that go on the offensive against known gays like Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres (see the self-titled song, Trick Trick). This is far beyond the childish “no homo” utterings of annoying Dipset fans. This is straight up unabashed homophobia!
The problem with hip hop, and music in general, is that being talented musically does not translate to actual intelligence, but many artists still use their art as a platform to convey their often ignorant views. Even rappers considered conscious have homophobic, misogynist and even racist views. Sure, we can say that these men are simply products of their environment and are simply one symptom of a larger problem, but at what point do we say enough is enough? At what point do we say that we are not satisfied with ignorance as the status quo?
As a fan of hip hop, I have rolled with the punches. Some of my favorite rappers are guilty of reciting some very ignorant lyrics. Does that make me homophobic/misogynist/racist? That’s all relative to a person’s individual opinion. I love rap music, but I wish that rappers would be responsible with their lyrics.
I guess, in maybe 40-50 years time, hip hop will be lumped in with the likes of shows such as Amos and Andy, products of a time long past, looked down upon but still admired in a way because they are a reminder of how the way things used to be.
“This ain’t rappin, this is Street-Hop
Now get up off your ass like your seat’s hot.” – Nas
Real quick, top rappers in the game right now: Royce da 5’9″, Blu, and T.I. All three of these dudes are true lyricists that know how to make songs. Hiphopsite.com reports that Royce will be dropping Street Hop in the first quarter of 2009. The album will be executive produced by DJ Premier. We played the first single “Shake This” on Episode 67 and it’s a cot damn banger. I really think this goes beyond anticipation. It’s more like, give me the album right now, before I hurt somebody!
I’ll admit, I was late to jump on the Royce bandwagon. I mean, I loved the Bad Meets Evil joints, and the singles with Premier are classics (“Boom,” “Friend,” etc. etc.) but I never thought much of his solo albums. Maybe he was spitting pretty hard on those albums, but the production was lacking if my memory serves me correctly. However, my new found obsession with Royce began when I first heard “Motown 25,” a collaboration with fellow Detroit MC, Elzhi (who can spit flames if didn’t know already). Ever since then, it seems like everything I hear from Royce is absolute FIRE!
It seems that Royce is always near some beef no matters what he does. Remember how he got kicked off Dr. Dre’s 2001 back in the day? Or his beef with Eminem and D12? Or most recently, what about the exchange of words between him and Joe Budden? By the way, Joe Budden doesn’t hold a candle to Royce. Have you ever heard Budden’s beat selection? His beats are terrible rock rap style bullshit!
Anyways, on paper, Street Hop sounds like it could already be a contender for album of 2009!
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