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The Cool Kids and the Lames

December 19, 2007 | Tags: Common, Jay Z, Lupe, NORE< Murs

I've been so busy doing what has amounted up to nothing it's ridiculous.
Two tears in a bucket...fuck it, life keeps moving so I follow suit. I was
thinking last time I posted a blog listing my CD's on my Zune after someone
(guilty names shall remain nameless) sent me an old CNN CD "NORE is that dude,"
No, of course not rapping, but seriously, he's a funny ass dude. So to begin my
end of year lists, I'm gonna go with one that doesn't go directly with this
year, I'm gonna do my top 5 artists/rappers (there's a difference, I'll get on
that later) I'd kick it with and need reality shows, and then the top 5 rappers
I'd hate to
hang around.

5. David Banner- Banner isn't one of the funniest dudes, he's just a
real ass dude. I never skip a David Banner interview. While I'm not the biggest
fan of his music, he always has some relevant shit to say off the mic. I've
never given him a chance on the mic, cuz "Like a Pimp" sort of scared me away,
but I may have to give his music a chance. If David Banner got a reality show
there's a slight chance it might seriously help change some shit.

4. Redman- The best crib on MTV cribs hands down. First of all, it was
originally his moms crib that he used to live in, he bought his moms a newer
nicer crib. Second of all...it's the shit. All the video games systems that
ever came out damn near all in the same spot. A box full of money just to order
pizza with. His cousin just chilling knocked the fuck out on the couch, that's
how we used to do!(without the box of money)The only problem with me chilling
at Red's crib is Redman, like Meka Soul (challenge!), can't fuck with me in
Madden.

3. Murs- Who says underground rappers can't have personality? I got the
chance to talk to Murs at "Paid Dues Festival", and while he is ducking catching
a beat down on XBOX live, he's still a cool cat. Murs is like the Vince Vaughn
of hip hop. In every Vince Vaughn movie Vince plays the guy's guy role. Mur's
music is like Wedding Crashers and all of Vince's other movies in audio format.
A Murs reality show would probably end up being just like Rob and Big, but like
Amanda, I just can't stop watching that shit.

2. E40-Game. What more can I say. I feel like if I sat down and talked
with Bill Gates, then when out and tried to get some money, then sat down with
E40, then went and tried to get some money, I'd get more money after hollering
at 40. I have no E40 CD's, but damn near every time I hear him he says some shit
I can relate to. Hidden amongst all his slang (which, is damn near half of all
hip hop slang)is some shit that anybody who didn't grow up in Laguna Beach can
relate too, and a lot of times learn from.

1. Noreaga- Nore is off the yelsabubs. I never skip a Nore interview
either. Nore said in the last interview I read, "I don't have to sell drugs to
be hood, I'm hood cuz I'm sitting my big ass nice house still drinking Kool-Aid"
Are you fucking kidding...I love Kool-Aid! I'd be sitting right there with him,
drinking 100 proof Mc flurry's, Kool-Aid, and watching bootleg cable with the
rest of the slime. The best thing on all the Nore CDs are the skits. Nore had me
telling everybody "Damn nigga, turn the heat off slavery". Fuck Flavor
of Love, they need to have Nore of Love, that shit would be hilarious, I can't
imagine how this cat would act with a house full of chicks throwing it at him.

Of course the late Pimp C would have made the list if he was still
with us. After him going off on all the bullshit in rap and some fake ass
pimp that called him fake, I would have loved to see a Pimp C reality show.A couple
of other people that almost made the list, Slug from Atmosphere, Evidence from
Dilated (he used to seem boring as hell until I seen the "Release Party")
Planet Asia,Talib Kweli, and ?uestlove.I really want to put Mos Def on the lists
, so just make a mental note of him being number 6.Now time for the
boring/oddball/weird muthafuckas who I'm just glad to hear on the mic, but could
care less about off it.

5. Joe Budden-Mood Music 3 is the shit. Rappers need to quit with all that
punch line shit, cuz none of them can hold a candle to the boy Joey. The thing is,
unless your a female off the mic Joe doesn't really seem that interesting. He's
a cool dude and lyrical he's far past nice, but off the mic he just doesn't seem
that interesting.

4. Nas-I don't know why they gave him and Kelis a reality show. Actually..
..since it still hasn't come on yet...it might be canceled. Nas is a dope emcee,
but seriously, I don't care for him off the mic. I'm not gonna argue dude is stupid
because he didn't finish middle school (What Up SY!), I think dude did a good job
self-educating himself, however, someone who can do a good job self-educating
themselves normally isn't the most entertaining muthafucka. Sorry.

3, Lupe Fiasco-I'd love to tell ya'll I read manga and all that other shit...
but sorry, I don't. I'm just a normal dude who drinks kool-aid, wears Pro-5's
instead of Pro-clubs, gets corn from the corn-man, and still buys boxers and socks
from the swap meet. You may see me on Xbox Live play Naruto, but don't expect
me to know dragon ball Z line for line, or loved Star Trek/Star Wars or any of
that other nerdy shit. I got love for the nerds (especially since it was one of them
that put me on to piracy by way of AOL private chat rooms WAAAY back when my
homies thought having a computer was stupid circa 1995)but I just can't deal with
them for that long.

2. Common-I love dudes music...but have any of you guys ever heard Common just talk
when it wasn't related to his music or the struggle? Let me stop cuz Common is
still to me the greatest rapper of all time (yea, I said it, look at the
catalog), and if I ever get the chance to sit and talk to him, I don't want you
guys bringing up a lot of the stuff I've said in real life and I was gonna say
here.

1. Jay-Z-For some one to be so cool on the mic, Jay seems really old and
boring off it. Have you ever heard a Jay-Z interview? He sounds older than people
say he really is. My girl said that in the superhead book, superslut said Jay
didn't even say anything when he grabbed her head and put it between his legs....
damn, not even a "Suck that dick bitch" or nothing. He's lucky I'm already taken and
if I wasn't I'm still tied to Jill Scott, cuz if I wasn't, I'd snatch Beyonce's
non-singing ass right from under his old ass arms. Have you seen "Backstage"? I
was like please get back to Redman, please go back to Beans...shit, I'd rather
listen to Bleek talk about he suprised Jay that he did that Garbage ass debut
album by his self.("The Understanding" was better)

Another dude that just barely missed this list was Black Thought, one of
the best lyricists of all time...boring as hell off the mic. I would have put
Canibus...but he's not a rapper..lol, I kid, I kid. I left all those cooning ass
artists, cuz that goes without saying.

I'm out, I'll try to be back 2morrow, or 2night, but if not, Love, Peace,
and Happiness, go get you some. If your on the west coast, Christmas day, out here
in Long Beach at 8PM, we got Murs, Self Scientific, Pigeon John, and 2mex at the
Vault 350. $17 to get in and a Christmas present for everybody who comes out to
the show. So for all you muthafuckas not getting nothing for Christmas (*raises
hand) come out and get some good music. I'll be there, holler at me. Peace.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Emo+Hip Hop...GTFOH

August 24, 2007 | Tags: Common, Atmosphere, EMo

First and foremost I don’t really think anybody got the purpose of that blog on Lil Wayne yesterday. While I do think dude has gotten lazy, I really don’t give two shits about him. Actually, the only reason I wrote that blog (which I damn near wrote in my sleep upside down while finishing a season game of “Madden 08) was to counter the blog I had written a little over midnight about the human body, and the fact it wasn’t designed to eat meat. ( Check that here) Dude is normally not important enough to me for me to write about, especially when there’s 400 other Lil Wayne blogs, but I had to do something for the kids who wouldn’t be able to understand (or just don’t care, I mean…this is a hip hop site, I can’t blame them for not wanting to see that here) for anything educational. While dude may be “the hottest rapper” out right now, our continuing coverage of “Lil Wayne News” is just prolonging the inevitable. But hey…it’s whatever. Back to good music…

“Hey yo man, how you doing? How you been? Just been making it cool to rap about love again,”
Slug “Give Me”

See, ever since Common went hippie (hippies are dope) on us post-Badu-pussy, everybody swears he’s the first rapper to rap about love often. Me personally, I don’t really like saying someone was the “first” to do anything, cuz at the age of 24, there will always be a 34 year old to come out the cut and say “What you talking about? So and so did that way back in the day. You youngins…” While I may not know who jumped the whole thing off, I know prior to Ms. Badu’s “adjustment” to Mr. Lynn, Slug of Atmosphere had been bringing the borderline-emo shit to the table. Speaking about love/relationships/sex on at least 2/3 of every album, Atmosphere makes music for that guy that tells his friends he had sex with two chicks yesterday, and then goes home and calls a chick to tell her he loves her, only to get played and feel stupid. (If you don’t recognize him, it’s probably you…you know you only talk to one girl...stop fronting) An, Atmosphere “love” song is far different from a Common “love” song. While Common makes the songs that will have your girl holding your hand and smiling, Atmosphere makes the songs that will have your girl wondering what the hell is going on in your head. The fact of the matter is, (or at least I believe) Atmosphere’s music deals more with the reality of relationships between the opposite sex, not the” powder puff make believe everybody will have someone to love them for eternity” type of love songs you hear on the radio. While Com may say in his song how he found that special lady and he wants to make her happy, Slug will talk about the chick he does everything for that makes him feel like shit. You’ll probably only get the situation from that first song once or twice in your life, but the situation from the second song will more than likely come more often. (Especially when you consider this) I’m not gonna debate which song is better, I believe the real questions is will there ever be balance between the two in the mainstream eyes?

Fuck no! That’s the only way I could answer that question. In all reality, comparing an Atmosphere love song to a Common love song is like comparing Ras Kass’ “Nature of the Threat” to Nas’ “I Know I Can”. One is simplistic, up-beat, and cheery, the other is dark, detailed, and sometimes, to some people, hard to accept as reality. While some may argue how REAL an Atmosphere love song isn’t (with the occasional drug references and mentions of suicide), or Ras’ “Nature of the Threat” (Where Ras gives a history lesson which can be roughly translated into “white people are evil”), they can’t argue that it’s pretty obvious neither were made with intentions of being in the “Top 4 at 4” on your local radio station. Besides, people are already complaining that every song doesn’t have to be serious, and I’ve heard people attempt to tell me Little Brother is boring, so if they don’t want to deal with the reality LB brings, they damn sure aren't ready for Atmosphere.

So I guess it’s the artists fault, right? That’s too bad, cuz in between “Super soaking dat hoe” every now and then I think it’d be pretty dope to hear some Atmosphere on the radio. (Not that I listen to the radio…thank god for my Zune)

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Live at the BBQ

July 16, 2007 | Tags: Hip Hop, Common, Dope, David Banner, UGK, E40, Collie...garbage

Yea I know, I know, the concert was Thursday…..oh well. I didn’t get home until late Friday, even then I wasn’t here mentally. Then I rested on the 7th day (Saturday), turned around and rested some more on Sunday. So know here I am, late Sunday blogging about a concert that went down last Thursday…

When I heard the show was at a park in Los Angeles, I thought “Wow, does Microsoft really wanna do that?” I don’t know about everywhere else, but out here, when I think of parks, I don’t think of people jogging and walking their dogs. The tickets advised that people take public transportation, So I checked the Metro trip planner. Once I seen that getting to this park took more than just taking train, I said fuck that, the car it is. Me and my girl arrived a little late, but still before the first act, which was Collie Buddz. I wasn’t really trying to see dude, but my girl peoples are from the Caribbean (ya dunt Know), so of course she wanted to hear that garbage. First thing I did is check out the scene. I gotta admit, the set up was nice. They had some basketball courts where cats were shooting it out, they had the stage in front of a huge grass area (so your not standing on cement like Rock the Bells last year), they had little tents selling barbecue and drinks (I could’ve swore Bun B said in the blog he took down the food was free…..oh well) they had brand new benches set up with cards, dominos, and checkers, then off in the cut way in the back they had an air conditioned tent with Xbox 360s, and Zunes with music from the artists performing. When Collie Buddz finally came on, we went over towards the stage area. There wasn’t a large crowd of people there, and there was even less people feeling dude. He had like one fan. Doubt me?.....

Well, I gotta admit, the first thing I thought when I seen dude on TV was “Is he for real?” I don’t know. Call me racists, call me biased….I have no problem with white emcees, I got hella love for Eminem, Slug from Atmosphere, El-P, and others…but white reggae artists…I just dun’t Kno…as they would say. So I decided to actually pay attention (unlike everyone else there) to see what’s really good. The Verdict: Fuck no. This dude is a straight poser. First of all, before his show, his DJ was talking saying something, then, when dude started to come out, all of a sudden the DJ got an accent. Then during the show Collie says “If you like real reggae music say ‘BUMBACLOT’!”……Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard this word before, either in “Belly” or any other Jamaicanxploitation flick out (“Shottas” anyone?), but when I asked a person from the islands what does it mean, they told me it was sort of like a curse word. Ok, so take that, go back and translation on something you understand “If you like that real hip hop shit, say FUCK!”….just doesn’t make sense. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but it didn’t add up. Add in the fact all of dudes music was about Weed or pussy, and dude is either a poser imitating what he has seen about Jamaica on TV, or just a white Jamaican dude partaking in a little bit of Caribbean cooning. Next act…E40.

Before E40 took the stage, we went to the booth with the Zune’s and 360s. I watched some cats attempt to play “Tony Hawk Project 8”. But they were seriously lacking in the skills department. As they finished and got up, I went to sit down, but a little kid and his older brother cut in front of me. Why these muthafuckas sat there on the game for like 20 mins? That’s why I hate being somewhere where they let you play video games for free, cuz people who don’t have shit make themselves at home on the sticks. It was bad enough that they took forever, the fact that they sucked made it even worse. When I finally got the controller in hand, some punk rock white kid took the sticks with me. So we free skated, then he said “hey, let’s play a game”….Ok. I knew it wasn’t gonna be too good for him, but I started trick attack, and began to absolutely embarrass him. 30 seconds into a 2 minute game he said “we’ll it looks like we already know who won this one,” If you thought his idea to play me was bad, then he started talking about other shit. Dude said he was a huge Beastie Boys fan…ok, cool, I thought they were dope too, but then, why did he try and tell me a white lady created rap? “Yea, isn’t it crazy that black people created punk rock, and an old white lady created rap?”….Yea, conversation over with. A couple million point combos, and back to the stage.

Ok, So I got a lot of respect for E40. Dude has created 33% percent of all slang used in hip hop today (another 33 percent comes from the 5 percenters, another 15% from the south, and the rest from Old School New York artists) I’ve liked some of his songs, but ever since he’s helped to push the whole “Hyphy movement”…I can’t fuck with him. Sorry, that’s some of the most coonaful shit ever. Dude came on stage with to dancers “shakin them dreads”…I tried to video tape that, but this is my first major outing with this camera (RIP my last one….it’s dearly missed) and my attempts at recording the predator having a seizure were unsuccessful. Next act….David Banner

In between acts we went to get something to eat. The barbecue sucked. It’s all good, I mean, it wasn’t that bad, it’s just it wasn’t all that good either. After whooping my girl’s ass in checkers it was back to the stage. David Banner was next. Whenever I hear David Banner talk, he always speaks on some real shit….whenever I hear his music I’m utterly disappointed. I’ve heard some tracks from him I like, but….I don’t know. It’s just seems odd to me someone can speak on shit that matters in all his interviews, then do music like “Like a Pimp”. I always check David Banner interviews, and I’d rather hear him speak before I hear Common speak any day, but music wise…not so much. Next act: UGK

See this is where I was slipping at. I went back and was fucking with this Yo-Yo the Zune people gave me, thrashing my girl in checkers again, and just straight up enjoying the day, and I came back late to see UGK. I don’t know if there set was that short, or I just came back that late, but I only caught like 3 songs from them. By the time I thought to record they were leaving. UGK is one of those acts that I like, but I don’t have any music from. I’m not gonna front, I’m not the biggest Pimp C fan, but together they are, and always have been a representation for some people in the south that weren’t getting heard. They come from a time where there was balance (well not really, cuz the south wasn’t fairly represented)…ok, there wasn’t complete balance, but there was a balance overall of street shit, club shit, deep shit, etc. etc. It’s not their fault that what they’ve been doing from the beginning has now become the majority, and every artist in the south is doing what they’ve been doing, and there is no long that balance between the different types of hip hop. So I actually wanted to see more of their set, so I could check out their music before I invest in it. (there is always the other way to “sample music”, but I just like the live show better)

So prior to Common coming on the stage, Mr Choc (the host of the concert) came out and said they were gonna give away some Zunes. I already have one, (and am extremely happy with it) but my girl has an IPOD which she can’t stand, (I’m not making this shit up) and she’s been dying to get a Zune since I got mine. So they were gonna get some people on the stage and ask some them some questions about hip hop, if they got them right, they would win a Zune. My girl begged me to get up there, but I didn’t feel like embarrassing myself. I got knowledge of hip hop, but I didn’t want to get up there and he ask me “What was De La Soul’s second music video?” and I sit there looking puzzled. However, when they got the original five up there, and had to kick someone 2 people off because they didn’t know Eazy E’s first single, and who rapped on “Ain’t No Nigga” with Jay Z, I was trying my hardest to get on the stage and win my girl her Zune. I’m always saying we got a dope hip hop scene out here and all that, but what happened next embarrassed me. Why did they get like 7 different people on the stage who couldn’t name all 10 members of the Wu Tang Clan? This shit was horrible. I heard Killah Preist was a member (No), the obvious mistake of naming Redman (no), dude in the crowd tried to say Meth’s little brother Shyheim was a member(no). Horrible….straight horrible…next act, Common.

Ok, so this is what I came to see. This is what I spent the whole $0.00 for. To see Common perform, and I was not disappointed. I’ve never seen Common perform his own set before. Talib Kweli brought him and Kanye out to kick freestyles at Audiotistic years ago, but I’ve never seen Common on his own. It was everything I was looking for. All new shit, classic shit, a freestyle (a real one, not the kind where the artists takes another artists beat and makes his own song, off the top of the dome, it may not have been more lyrical than anything on his album, but it was a REAL freestyle, and that’s REAL hip hop shit) tributes to other artists, and a jab at Bush (nothing is more hip hop right now then dissing Bush) Forget kicking a songs for the ladies, Common brought a lady on the stage, and rapped the song to her. He did “Come Close” and “The Light” yet he didn’t leave out songs like “The Corner” . He even did a rendition of “Testify” where he put his acting skills on display (say what you want about rappers who act, or how garbage you think “Smokin’ Aces” was, you gotta give dude his props for the scene where he told off Ari from “Entourage” for snitching on him) When dude left the stage, nobody really hollered “Encore”, I didn’t because I had gotten all I expected, and more. I got some videos from his performance, but you gotta excuse the quality (like the quality of all the other ones) I just started fucking with this camera. First is a video of him kicking a verse from “Black, Maybe” from Finding Forever, then the video of him freestyling.

Yea, so that’s my interpretation of “Live at the BBQ” shout out to the cat’s that came and said what up and recognized me from this shit right here (I’m a star….sike), and everybody else I’ll just have to catch you at the next show. I got another blog I’m supposed to put up later, but I promise nothing except to stay black and die. Outro I go.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Pre-Concert...

July 12, 2007 | Tags: Common, David Banner, UGK, Collie Budz, Strong Arm Steady, Microsoft Zune

So I’m steadily building up that friends list on MySpace. I had to make a separate one cuz I didn’t want anybody trying to send messages to my female cousins or my girl’s friends trying to holler at them or nothing. Anywayz, I was gonna bash T.I. for that last album and say how I’m not fucking with his music anymore, but one of my older brothers advised I listen to it again…..So I guess I’ll give it another shot. Not really much going on right now, E3 is this week for all the gamers out there (LB_Brillyance on PS3, hit me) but there’s not too much going on with that. I had been debating whether I’d go to this free concert put on by Microsoft Zune (yea!!) in L.A. tomorrow (or, well today) or not, I guess I’ll go. It’s gonna have Common, E40, UGK, David Banner, Collie Buddz and surprise guests. I respect all of those artists…with the exception of Collie Buddz (he just came out), but honestly I’m just going to see Common. You never know though, I’ve gone to concerts to see certain acts before and really enjoyed someone I figured I wouldn’t like, or someone I didn’t know, so we’ll see. I’ll do a blog about the show Friday or something with pictures and all that good stuff. Common is doing another free concert out here in L.A. on the 16th, you had to be one of the first 200 people to send some email with why you love Common’s music to go to that one. I sent an email, just hella late…we’ll see if I go to that show. Anyway, if you see me at the “Live at the Barbeque” show by Microsoft Zune, don’t be afraid to say what up, I promise I won’t smack you…maybe. Since this is a hella short blog, I leave ya’ll with excerpts for the Strong Arm Steady DVD. (Since they got the album sampler up in the mixtape section). This DVD is like 3 or 4 years old I believe, but these dudes have been going hard with the mixtapes, and they’re dropping “Deep Hearted” late August. I did a blog about them over at SOHH, and I’m gonna do one here like Monday, so be on the lookout for that.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

When's the next classic dropping?

June 05, 2007 | Tags: Little Brother, Hip Hop, Common, Dope, Kweli, Classic, Saigon

First and foremost, big thanks to everyone who sent me music keep sending it. I got a lot of stuff to go through, I’ll probably start going through it 2morrow since I already have my artists for the the this Friday, and probably next Friday also. I’ll be responding to everyone in emails. Now…..on to the blog.

Before I really get into this, I had to go looking for album release dates. Hiphopdx only has release dates for the next two months (probably because those are the only releases that are somewhat certain) I went to IGN, and there music section….wow. They had a section for release dates of Rap albums, and release dates for Hip Hop albums. The rap section had Guru’s “Jazzmatazz”, 50 Cent, Aesop Rock, and Fabolous. The Hip Hop section had Beastie Boys. Wow, these guys are really dedicated to music. Enough about them though, what’s the next classic album to drop? The topic of Hip Hop being dead is fading, more likely because of people being tired of having to think than the music, but there’s a lot of good shit dropping this year. Now, people can debate, but I think the LAST classic to come out was Brother Ali’s “The Undisputed Truth” like last month or the month prior. Before that, there was Lupe Fiasco’s “Food and Liquor”. So what’s next?

In the near future, we got Pharoahe Monch dropping June 26. Pharoahe is a wild card, because his last album, “Internal Affairs”, was dope. It was eventually pulled off the market because of an uncleared sample, but it can be found online for downloading…..or so I’ve been told. The question is where’s Monch been? That’s the thing; he could have been holed up in an apartment writing the best hip hop album ever! After all, if you listen to the lyrics he wrote for Diddy, (which you can really tell was Monch’s rhymes, it was so obvious cuz they were way too dope for Diddy, but give Diddy credit for being able to successfully jack Pharoahe’s flow) I’ve heard the album leaked, but I can’t speak on that.

Next the south has two big albums coming soon. First they have’s TI’s “TI VS T.I.P” dropping July 3rd, and then UGK is dropping “Underground Kingz” July 19th. While I’ve said that I used to be a fan of TI before (all the way up until King) I have to say I’m not big on dude at all anymore, and even when I was a fan of dude I wouldn’t declare any of his albums as classic, dope, but not classic. I think one of my strengths is my honesty, and I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never listened to a UGK album. I’ve liked damn near every Bun B guest appearance I’ve ever heard (he always does his thing, and he gives the artist he’s featured with exactly what they need for the track), but I’m not huge on Pimp C. The south hails UGK as royalty, and based on some old tracks I’ve heard of them, I believe that they have good reason, but at the end of the day I’m just not drawn to their music really.

Next up are two of my favorites, we got Kweli dropping July 24th, and Common dropping July 31st. That’s gonna be good. I think these albums both have strong a strong chance of being classics. I’ve liked every Kweli album, and I think Quality was classic. I don’t care what reviews it got, you can’t point out a flaw in that album, that album was classic. Common has dropped multiple classics, and with all the songs I’ve heard so far, he’s en route to another one. I can’t wait for this album; in fact, this is probably one of the things I’m anticipating the most all year, right next to Rock the Bells, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Madden 08 for PS3. It’s not gonna take too many more great albums for Common before I throw him up over Jay Z as greatest of all time (in my opinion). Truthfully, I think that with one more classic, he’ll be the greatest, and I predict “Finding Forever” to be that classic.

Now for all the albums with no definite dates. There’s a lot of buzz going around about Kanye’s album dropping later on this year. Now I haven’t REALLY defended him against Meka and other’s critiques, but I do think dude is better than they give him credit. He’s a decent rapper, and a great producer. Now that I’ve said that, he’s never dropped a classic album. Sorry. I really loved “College Dropout”, but it wasn’t classic. “Late Registration” was far from classic. I don’t think he has a classic in him. Not because of skill, but I just don’t think he’s gonna come with the content to have a classic. I think he’s liable to have a couple of crap songs, and that will keep him from classic status. His Chicago brethren Lupe is supposed to be dropping an album this year, but I know nothing cuz I’ve heard nothing at all about his album. I don’t think he’ll be dropping this year.

The last cat I spoke on (Lupe) was an Atlantic artist, so I’m gonna stick with the whole Atlantic artists thing. Next up, Little Brother’s, “Get Back”. I’m huge on Little Brother. I could think of a Little Brother song for damn near everything I do on a daily basis. I could think of a Little Brother song for all the major events of my life. My nephew, whose like 14, said Little Brother is boring. At first I couldn’t see how the hell he could say something like that, then, when I really thought about it, I realized, Little Brother makes grown folks music. Me being grown, I believe you can’t hate on Little Brother. Recently Little Brother went from the dopest trio, to the dopest duo, when the group producer 9th wonder left the group. A lot of LB fans got scared, some starting dissing 9th, some have even faded away from being LB fans. Me on the other hand, I’m not scared at all. Actually, I expect them to get better. If you look at another Southern artist, Phonte of LB’s favorite rapper, Lil Wayne, the loss of a constant producer can be a great thing. Lil Wayne started getting all this acclaim as being a real dope lyricist when Cash Money lost Mannie Fresh. While the south may have loved him for awhile, I didn’t start fucking with him until “The Carter 2”. I believe the change in production forced him to change his style. “Get Back” is Little Brother’s “Carter 2”, and while they’ve always been dope, I think with a more varied production sound, Little Brother is gonna get even better.

West coast alert, west coast alert! While everybody sits and prays that Dre drops “Detox” this year, I don’t give a shit. Yea, I said, I don’t give a shit. However, Dre will be helping with something I am anticipating, the Bishop Lamont album. For those that don’t know, Bishop Lamont is another Dre protégé. If you look at the history of Dre’s protégés, the future looks quite bright for Bishop. Add in the fact that dude is the most lyrical of ALL the Dre protégé’s, and that he actually puts a message in tracks sometimes (something Game and Snoop rarely ever do) and things look even better. Bishop dropped the “street album” (translation, mixtape) “Nigger Noize” (yea, he said it damn it, bust a grape) for free earlier this year (shout out to SOHH Eighty for pointing that out to me) and it’s dope. Take that mixtape, and add in the focus of a Dre on the album….damn. That’s all I can say. You may not know dude now, but trust me, you will. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bishop dropped a classic. The only problem Bishop faces is the possibility of his album not dropping this year, which is quite possible, considering Dre’s track record of postponing projects. I think he has a strong chance of actually coming out though considering he is a west coast artist, and Dre is probably trying to break a new one since Game departed the Aftermath family. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for Joell Ortiz, who while he has skills, he is another New York artist on Dre’s label, and if Rakim didn’t do anything there, what would make you believe Ortiz will?

The last album I’m gonna speak of is Saigon’s “Greatest Story Never Told”. I have a lot of anticipation for this album, not because of music I’ve heard off of it (because I haven’t heard any of it), but because of Saigon in general. I know dude can make good music, that’s not a question with most of the artist who come from a mixtape background. A lot of them can make good music; the problem is they fail to make the transition from mixtapes to albums. They’re normally too focused on making songs to sell records. Saigon on the other hand has said that he’s been doing other things, like the “Entourage” appearances so that he doesn’t have to focus on making money off record sales. Basically, translation “I’m not gonna sell my soul and make crappy music to make a few extra bucks, so I’m out trying to make money other ways, cuz I’m gonna make good music, and it might not sell millions of records,” Just recently Sai did a blog entitled Saigon Vs Atlantic records, and from what I’ve heard, he basically stated that he’s gonna make sure his fans get his music, no matter what Atlantic is talking about. What? He’s gonna make sure his fans get his music, you mean he didn’t say he’s gonna make sure he get’s that “gwop” cuz he’s a hustler and he has to get his? I believe we have an artist who actually gives a shit. Add in the fact that Saigon’s first single was “Pain In My Life” which certainly wasn’t aimed at getting it popping in the club, and that he has a Jay Z guest spot, (who’s had a Jay Z guest spot not on Roc-a-Fella or Def Jam? Lupe…..oh yeah, Sauce Money…. but he was damn near on the Roc) how can you not expect this album to be great?

A few other cat’s I didn’t speak on, Lil Wayne drops “The Carter 3” sometime this year, but I don’t think that’ll be classic. Good….maybe, classic….No. For my boy War of the J.U.I.C.E (Just Us Intent on Changing Everything) movement (yea, I know I said it A-Plus, movement), Joe Budden will be dropping “The Growth” December 32nd so be on the lookout for that. So when’s the next classic dropping? I’d say it’s gonna be Kweli, if not, Common. What’s gonna be the best album this year, that’s a harder question.

Keep sending me that good west coast underground/indie/unsigned music, ya’ll know the email, brillyancestar@yahoo.com. I’ll be responding soon.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Chi-Town Stand up

May 28, 2007 | Tags: Hip Hop, Common, Chicago, Good Music, Kanye, Lupe, Kidz in the Hall, Rhymefest

First and foremost let me say rest in peace to anyone lost in any war, fighting for something they believed in. My uncle James died fighting in Vietnam. We often forget the sacrifices people make for their family, community, and their country, so I figured I’d take the time out to remind people the purpose of Memorial Day, it’s more than just a reason for a 3 day weekend, and cooning in Miami.

So normally I don’t speak on topics everyone else is speaking on. I’m gonna make an exception. There’s a lot of talk going on this site about Kanye. Is he the new primo? Is he garbage? Will his album be dope? Me personally I think ‘Ye’s music is good (no pun intended). I’m gonna go a step further, while everyone complains about the south running things, due to their huge presence on TV and radio, I’d say quality wise; Chi-Town is definitely on top of the game.

“They ask me where hip hop is goin; it’s Chicagoan, poetry in motion like a picture now showin”
Common “Chi-city”

As I remember, Common represented for Chi-Town first in the hip hop world. A lot of people say Twista did with regional hit, but I’m out west, I’m sorry, I never heard of it. Nobody has been as consistent as the artist once known as Common Sense. As we anticipate “Finding Forever” most believe Common is one of the greatest emcees of all time (Me being one of them). But ask any Lakers fan and they’ll tell you, One man can’t do it all by themselves. After Common came, Chi-town gave us Twista, Crucial Conflict, Psycho Drama, and others that were ok at best, Stephen Garbonavich (garbage) at worst. Things would remain the same until Jay-z producer with “a Benz and a backpack” arrived.

While Common gave the heads great music from Chi-town, Kanye was Chicago’s first mainstream hip hop superstar, and he didn’t forget where he came from. When Kanye hit it big, he didn’t forget the people back home. He did the production on Common’s classic (yeah I said it) album “Be” and tried hard to help Bump J blow (too bad the highlight of his career was a video game soundtrack and a McDonalds’ commercial) Kanye continued to blow himself up with features and production everywhere, and his two dope albums “College Dropout” and “Late Registration” putting it down for Chi. He also helped bring out another artist who had been putting it down for the windy city…..Rhymefest.

Rhymefest had much to boast about before he dropped his album “Blue Collar” which was most definitely hella dope. You may not know it, but before ‘Fest dropped an album he was a dope battle rapper. Don’t believe me? Ask Eminem. Rhymefest got his major break when a big time dude from his city asked if he could “borrow” some of his lines for a song he wanted to do, “Jesus Walks”. ‘Fest agreed and went on to get a Grammy for the song he loaned his lines to. Kanye could’ve down played the whole incident, but he shouted Rhymefest out several times, and went on to do several tracks for Rhymefest’s album “Blue Collar” which is hella dope, if you don’t have that go pick it up.

One of the harder questions to answer last year in the hip hop world was “What’s better, Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor or Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor?” Some dude told me about Lupe Fiasco in the midst of me whooping his ass on NBA 2k7 online. I checked his mixtapes out, they were cool I guess. When Lupe’s album leaked however….I was blown away. I haven’t heard a debut CD that good since “Illmatic”. Food and Liquor quickly took over my IPOD (yea, I still had one of those garbage ass things then). When I heard dude (Lupe) say that wasn’t his CD, he was coming out with different music I was confused. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. He could come out with a CD that was better, or he could come out with some trash aimed more for the mainstream. I waited, and waited, and waited. When the album did drop, I didn’t know which one was better, but I knew they were both dope. Lupe Fiasco may have made his first TV appearance on a Kanye song, and got a Kanye beat for his album, but he didn’t get in the game off the strength of Kanye. He turned down signing to Def Jam, to keep a promise he made to one of his peoples back home. Lupe’s CD was executive produced by Jay Z, but he came in the game on his own, just like a young Nasir Jones did several years prior.

While Meka and William argue whether Kanye is the new Premo, I’d rather argue he’s the new Dr. Dre to Chicago, the gatekeeper. If an artist wishes to come out of Chicago, you have to get at least one Kanye beat, and a nod. Nevertheless, one group pushes on without the Kanye connection. When I heard Rawkus was coming back, I was extremely excited. Unlike El-P (whose new album “I’ll Sleep When Your Dead” is hella dope) I liked Rawkus (probably because I didn’t have to deal with them on the business side of things). I heard there first act was a group called Kidz in the Hall. The name alone sort of scared me away. One day, while going through the best hip hop album review section on the net (take a wild guess where) I ran into a review of Kidz in the Hall “School was my Hustle”. The reviewer said (if I remember correctly) that the emcee of the duo, Naledge, spoke on revolution way too often, there was good beats and good tracks overall. The reviewer gave the album a 3 ½ out of 5. Based on the review, I decided to go check the album out for myself. I’d give it a 4. Not only do Kidz in the Hall not have a Kanye connection, they come from the opposite end of the college spectrum. They’re not college dropouts, there Ivy League graduates. WOW. The music is definitely dope, and it promotes positivity, you can’t hate on that.

With Common, Kanye, Rhymefest, Lupe, and Kidz in the Hall, Chicago is bringing the best music to the rap game right now. They’re not involved in the “Hip Hop is Dead” argument, they’re not involved in the “The South Killed Hip Hop” argument, they just bring good music, and you can’t hate on that. Twista is ok, I’m not big on him, and I’m sure they’re other underground kat’s I didn’t mention, but I only speak on what I know, and I KNOW these dudes are dope. They may not sell millions of albums, but if skills sold truth be told, they’d probably, sell more albums than 5 Jay-zs. Well, probably not, but they’d move units.

P.S. Can the dude who works for L’Oreal or whatever it is stop emailing me? Seriously, it’s bad enough you’re an idiot; you emailing me from you work email could get you fired if I make that call, so stop it.

Go pick up Kidz in the Hall “School Is My Hustle” I’ve shouted these dudes out all over MySpace, I’m gonna continue to promote dope music.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

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