Joe Budden - Halfway House [click to listen]
Less than a year after his online release of Mood Muzik 3 [click to read], Joe Budden [click to read] releases his new digital-only album, Halfway House. While much of the buzz for the album is anchored on the searing down-the-line joint “Slaughterhouse” [click to listen] —which features Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Crooked I and adversary-turned-cohort Royce Da 5’9”—throughout the rest of Halfway House, Budden executes as he usually does best: solo. The New Jersey native’s stream-of-consciousness rhymes are on full-display here, especially effective on songs like the album-opening “On My Grind.” “Sidetracked” is an interesting conceptual gem on which a loose-minded Budden miscellaneously flips between topics before expanding on them, and “The Soul” sees him reminiscing about the good ole’ days of his youth. While the “emo rap” that Budden has trademarked is notably minimized here, his talent still shines through to make this a quality release.
Stat Quo - The South Got Somethin’ To Say [click to listen]
If there’s ever a story about a major label artist that didn’t get to maximize his potential, it’s Stat Quo. Signing to Shady/Aftermath in 2003, the Atlanta native was primed to be one of the more unique artists to be signed to Dr. Dre and Eminem during their collective rise as the kings of mainstream rap. Five years later, his much-hyped debut Statlanta still hasn’t seen the light of day, and he’s just now finalizing his release from the label. In an interview with HipHopDX [click to read], he promised to release “300-400” tracks he had completed with Dre, and 100-plus tracks he made with Em. The South Got Somethin’ To Say is the first of what Stat says will be a series of mixtapes he releases for the next year. Getting reacquainted with Stat’s southern twang and fluctuating flow was refreshing—especially on songs like “Act Up” and “What It Is”—seeing how those were his bread and butter. Unfortunately, Somethin To Say’s disappointments (i.e., lazy-sounding freestyles like his “Let The Beat Build” rendition) are just as abundant as its highlights, and that keeps it from being the mixtape it should be. But I’m not worried: he’s got about 500 songs left to release.
Russell Simmons & Barack Obama Yes We Can: The Mixtape (DJ Green Lantern) [click to listen]
Anyone who knows rap knows about the love/hate relationship that it has with politics. Sometimes, it can be a legitimate vehicle for change: see Public Enemy’s catalog of music. Other times, as seen earlier this year with the controversy surrounding Ludacris’ song “Politics As Usual,” it can also be a hindrance for people in office who’d like to send a message. Thankfully, Green Lantern [click to read] and Russell Simmons’ Yes We Can, a mixtape constructed around presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign slogan, is a flawless execution of the former. An all-star cast—everyone from superstars like Jay-Z and Styles P to indie staples like Joe Budden and Joell Ortiz show up here—spit quality verses that address election issues, shout out Barack and everything in between, while avoiding both offensiveness and corniness. What’s even more interesting is that the tape has a lot of talking segments as well, both from artists and from clips of Obama himself, help add even more substance to the tape; it’s almost a blatant but welcome statement of, “This is more than music.” Highlights include the two “Black President” remixes, Styles P and Cassidy’s “Make It Out,” and Ortiz’s “Dear Mr. Future President.” When presented with the challenge of making political rap that’s both dope and effective, Green Lantern and Russell Simmons replied, “Yes We Can.”
G. Malone - Fuck G. Malone (Dow Jones & Nik Bean) [click to listen]
G. Malone [click to read] came into rap under fellow west coast emcee The Game, and it seems like he’s taken a few cues from the former G-Unit member: after parting ways with Game’s Black Wall Street imprint, he’s working with Cash Money and Mack 10’s Hoo-Bangin Records, and he’s also starting his own web site, WhoIsGlassesMalone.com. While his business acumen and his superstar potential are yet to be seen, it’s clear that Glasses Malone has the talent to make quality music. His hoarse, hardnosed flow fuels tracks like the soul-sampling “ONE” and “Fuck G. Malone,” on which he playfully disses miscellaneous rappers he works with over cavernous synths. Guest spots here work well, also: Lil Wayne kills cameos on “Haterz” and “Where Itz At” in the name of his new signee, and even a rarely seen Cam’ron spits a hot 16 on the latter offering. With top-notch production and a solid team behind him, Glasses Malone is well on his way.
Rosco P. Coldchain - There Will Be Blood [click to listen]
One of several exclusive HipHopDX mixtape premiers in the past month, longtime Star Trak affiliate and Philadelphia street veteran Rosco P. Coldchain released what's being billed as his first mixtape, ever. Although Pharrell and company didn't jump in to push the effort to We Got It 4 Cheap status, 'Sco proves he really needs no help. "Screws Loose" shows just how pushed to the brink this emcee is, after being shelved for over five years. Complemented with "Death Follows Us" and "Ghetto 2 The Grave," this isn't a lighthearted effort in the least. The joint is murderous, dark and eerie. But with Havoc jumping in, and Raekwon classics recreated, it's right on point and time for the Halloween season.
Max B – Goon Musik 1.5 (Dame Grease & Big Mike) [click to listen]
Max B is one of the only artists out now that can have five mixtapes out simultaneously. This time Big Mike and Dame Grease cook up this platter of new Max B anthems. He's taking shots at Jimmy too. Everything from "Recession" to "Bigga Made Me Cum." That Byrdgang love has ceases to exist. "The Greatest" has Max B sippin' that Grand Cru (owwwwww) while he spits the sexcapades like only Biggavelli can. We "Run NY" with Dame Grease and French Montana the crew walks like, talks like money money money. Bigga doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon and with appearances from Tony Yayo, Meeno and company, you can't deny the wave.
Mick Boogie – The Honor Roll [click to listen]
Vh1 Hip-Hop Honors went incredibly well. This mixtape is a tribute to those who came before us with renditions of up and comers rappin old classics with a new school feel. Classics like "Hits From The Bong," "Children's Story," "O.P.P.," "Lick The Balls" are covered by Kidz In The Hall, Talib Kweli [click to read], Freeway, Joell Ortiz [click to read], Evidence & Alchemist and others, with production from 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, M-Phazes and nVME. This rounds up to be a good tribute to those who paved the way. Sometimes we have to look back at history and learn where we came from. It'll make you a better person. At times, kids growing up don't understand the culture, they just imitate it, so I hope this mixtape helps those who weren't up on things and makes them fans of some of the stuff we grew up with. Old heads and young heads always bump heads, and this is a good way to bring the two cultures together as the bridge to the generation gap. Good job Mick.
Black Milk – ELEC [click to download]
Black Milk [click to read] has been doing his thing for a minute. With an album coming, why not give them a prequel and showcase what the man has been doing in the past? It's time to catch up (for those who have been sleeping). The D is stacked with talent just waiting to burst and ELEC the definition of that statement. If "Give The Drummer Sum" [click to listen] doesn't have you snappin' your neck out of place, I'm not sure what will. "The Matrix" (another Tronic [click to read] single) has to be one of the best songs to come out this year. Pharoahe Monch, DJ Premier and Sean Price on one track can be an underground fans wet dream. You'll hear everything from CALTroit to Slum Village to GZA working with the devastating Milk sound.
Mick Boogie &
Terry Urban – Viva La Hova [click to listen]
It was only a matter of time until someone cooked this up, and Mick Boogie & Terry Urban were the ones to do it. It's a good formula because this might be the closest we'll get to hearing both artists throughout one cohesive effort. The production on here was definitely above par especially from The Kickdrums and Remot. Their renditions of the Coldplay originals were the best on the mixtape with "Back At My Place," "No Love Coming Home" and "Falling In The Shadows" serving as the standouts. But with every standout, there were also misses (see: "Never Changing" and "Science Is Ignorance"). As a Hip Hop fan, this idea is genius. To mesh two genres with artists who are respected in their respective fields takes a lot of creativity to pull off, as previously seen with The Grey Album and OJayZis. As a Coldplay fan, I'm not sure if every track (minus the aforementioned) pays homage to the group like it should. With more time, there could have been more combinations (ie. Kanye West + Jay-Z + Coldplay or song title combos that would have fit better) but we recognize the effort. Still, this sounds better than "Beach Chairs." This will go down as one of the best mixtapes of the year based on creativity alone. Think outside the box.
The Kickdrums – Things Dont Change
Hip Hop is headed in different directions in 2009. On one hand, we have everyone trying to bring it back to 1994 with that conventional lyricism, and we have those who are going futuristic by making Hip Hop a fusion of genres with elements from each. The Kickdrums fit into the latter of the two. While most might be a bit timid to listen to anything but that raw hardcore that made Hip Hop what it is, it's hard to recognize and respect what The Kickdrums bring to the table. If you haven't noticed already, Hip Hop has already incorporated the Electro/Techno feel into "hits" that have come out this year, but if you follow music as a whole, we're a bit late considering they've been doing this overseas for years already. Kanye West has been one of the frontrunners in successfully accomplishing the task of meshing Hip Hop with Electro/Techno (See: "Stronger"). This mixtape showcases that same style alongside new music from The Kickdrums themselves. "Love Is A Drug" and "What Goes Up" sound like singles and this mixtape is a vision of things to come. Be prepared (see: "Lollirock"). Don't act like we didn't warn you.
Grafh – The Oracle II
Grafh has been doing his thing a minute and The Oracle II
has been three years in the making. If you didn't know, Grafh is one of the rawest
cats out and has been ever since came into the scene, and with DJ Green Lantern
and 88-Keys [click to read], so you know it's not a disappointment. Like "Ohh" [click to listen] with Busta
Rhymes is a banger that was getting considerable amount of spins commercially,
and the remix with Jim Jones, Bun B, Jadakiss [click to read] and Prinz is that much better.
"Under the Table" is a head banger on some smooth shit. You should already know
what to expect with Grafh and this is no different. That "RAW" street Hip Hop
that reminds you of what it used to be…but it still is, while Grafh is still
here.
