Rolling 2006 Hip Hop Thread

I don't like The Heart Of Tha Streetz, Vol. 2 (I Am What I Am) as much as I did at first, but I still think it's better than Reality Check, which I only really really like 2 songs from ("Holla Back" and "Sets Go Up"). B.G. just got signed to Atlantic though and is supposed to drop another album in the fall executive produced by T.I., so that might be better.

I checked the freeway mixtape after you mentioned it to me the other day, its pretty great, short for a mixtape. He sounds good with southern dudes, the song with Jody Breeze is champ, with that cool high noon-style western movie guitar, and Freeway does this cool thing with his flow so it's even eighth notes. Its by-numbers coke-soldier stuff written out, but Free's voice has this urgency so it sounds pretty impressive and intense:

we move through traffic tote the 'matics bring the package round yo WAY thats why they call me mr. WEIGHT mr. yay-pusher no relation to pusha-t push a half a ki on the street my heat in the bushes FUCKA.

etc.

I can work the fashion, but that's the easy part, right.
I can flow for a second or two, until I start to bite*.
Yo, I've emptied some paint cans in my juvenile time.
My art is much closer to abstract than it is fine.
I could scratch a record, if I could just find the break.
It's the spinning on the head that kills me, for fuck's sake.

*bite as in copy from another, not as in suck (which as you can see, I do anyway)

oh and has anyone heard the new public enemy album? how fucked up is it that there's a new public enemy album?

Other albums I like this year...Do or Die, Vakill, Papa Reu, Keak.

i was going to make some boring ilm rap song threads but i guess you have to register now.

B.G. (didn't even put this one on yet)
Da Musicianz (I think I like "Bust It Wide Open," "Crazy Man," and "Girls I Know" and hate "Til Yo Back Git So" but maybe not)
Dem Franchize Boyz (played about half of this one)
E-40 (I liked a lot of this, but only played it once)
Ghostface Killah (I like the Stylistics sample in "Big Girl", which I swear exhibits more vocal personality than Ghostface tends to)
Juvenile (Track 3 through 5 seem pretty good, track 12 seems shitty, track 16 seems unintentionally ridiculous, the rest who the hell knows)
The Streets (his dullest album, but tracks 9 and 10 amused me so far)
Youngbloodz (I like "Presidential" and "Play the Position")
T.I. (I think I loaned my copy to my kid or something)

other hip-hop songs I like this year:

3-6 Maffia "Poppin' My Collar"
Field Mob featuring Ciara "So What"
Pitbull featuring Ying Yang Twins Elephant Man and George Kranz "Shake (Remix)"
Young Jeezy "Trap Star" (I think this is a single this year)
No Lay "Unorthodox Chick"
Remy Ma "Conceited (There's Something About Remy)"

My favorite hip-hop album of the year so far is probably *The Death of a Frequent Flyer* by a Chicago woman/Brother Ali collaborator on the Rhymesayers label named Palm One (for "The Nine," "Macaroni and Cheese," "Rap Star," and "Beat the Drum"), but even that one seems marginal, not to mention sort of undie goody-goody too. But so what.

Hip-hop album I am looking forward to, since I LOVED their other two: Field Mob. Assuming it's coming out. Does anybody know?

Otherwise, if anybody can convince me to give a flying fuck about any of this stuff more than I already do, by all means try to do so.

"Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture 1979-1982*
(Soul Jazz)

And that Jeff Chang book is pretty great too, by the way.

"Stay Fly" is great; so is "Poppin' My Collar". But after six months, I still haven't gotten through that fucking album. That's my big problem with hip-hop these days -- Trudging through those 20-song monstrosities is *work*, not fun, especially when, half the time, you have to dig under vocals and lyrics that just get in the way to find the potential future-of-pop beats underneath (not saying that's the case with those particular 3-6 songs, though.) I always figure that there will be a handful of songs I'll like a lot on the Juvenile album, or the Dem Franchize Boyz album, or the E-40 album, or the T.I. album, or the Cam'ron album, or (okay, I'm gonna be toally blasphemous now) the Ghostface album, but it takes me so long to dig through all the useless shit I just give up. (And right, that's partly *my* problem, but it's also a problem with the 20-song monstrosities.) (Mix "tapes" are better and worse because, sure, they often have a few songs that jump out and sound good, but often the songs have nothing to do with each other, and the rest usually sounds inconsequential. So does that means it's a good mixtape or a bad one?) (And all that said, I put Lil Wayne and Mannie Fresh in my top ten last year. I LIKE hip-hop now, just don't love it. Same goes with electronica -- I have nothing *against* the stuff. It's fine.)

-- xhuxk (xedd...), May 15th, 2006.

(Actually, more like 10 months, probably. When did 3-6's CD come out? (And, I mean, I've *played* the damn album; just haven't been able to give a shit listening to it. I always end up with "Why am I expending so much time and effort with this thing? I didn't used to have to do that with hip-hop. And sure, people selling drugs and killing each other {or whatever they're rapping about; what do 3-6 rap about again, once you get past the stuff about staying fly and popping collars?} is interesting, but not *that* interesting, for Crissakes. If I need that stuff, I'll just watch a DVD of *The Wire*.) (Ha ha, in this morning's Times, Kelefah mentioned a new Cam'ron song about irritable bowel syndrome, then asked "Sorry, you were saying you wanted rappers to rap about something different, for a change?" Funny. But hey, I can kinda *relate* to I.B.S., you know?)
-- xhuxk (xedd...), May 15th, 2006.

sweet james jones stories? I was just revisiting this and it's holding up real well ---- lots of sick beats "slow down","everytime" --- I love that part where he theorizes that prescription medications make you die young.

When I first came to ILM thinking about rap music this way (and timbaland neptunes et al) seemed like it was opening up a whole new world of appreciation to me; I'd never thought of Timbaland's beats as different chapters in an auteur's diary, and Tim F's posts on it made me think about music very differently. But what attracted me to rap in the first place was vocals and lyrics over beats, a) the way that monotone just sounds awesome whether it's Mase ripping a disco track or T.I. talking shit over Toomp beats and b) lyrics I connected with, like "Passing Me By" and "Juicy". So just looking for future-of-music beats is fun but if I limited my main appreciation of rap to that sort of thing I would feel so limited.

The new Suga Free is, as expected, kinda disappointing minus DJ Quik. There are a lot of faux-Quik beats on it though and its growing on me. The faux-Quik beats are like unfinished real Quik beats or something; they have a very similar feel but never quite come together, don't have that tenderlovingcare Quik brings to the table. He's still fun though, and funny, in a weird-tangential-rapping way, sort've like Devin the Dude except he's a pimp rapper so I suppose that's kept him from being totally embraced by folks Devin's done well with. Good thing he and Quik are cool again.

As far as rap albums, xhuxk I think this is why folks are confused by yr anti-ipod sentiments. But still no one says you have to listen to a whole rap album. I'd rather have more bounce for my buck.

BLUEPRINT 2 (first cd most of the time, second cd when i want to hear some how some way and u don't know remix. a girl was in my car the other day and she asked me what this was, then she said she liked "more hardcore rap." jeez sorry)

50 CENT - GUESS WHO'S BACK (no bad songs on this)

SCARFACE - LAST OF A DYING BREED

i think it was a j-love mixtape i was talking about there. just google pre-illmatic nas mixtape. everything on it is classic classic.

http://dl31cg.rapidshare.de/files/19348041/1472691744/Nas_-_Pre-Illmatic_Mixtape_1993_.rar

nas or serch or whoever owns that music, if anyone even does, be cool. ilx people, if it's not cool, erase it.

i've stopped checking for new stuff pretty much except the occasional. but i have like 20 years to listen back to. there's so much shit i've never heard. if not rap, what else am i going to listen to? it's the only music i hear in this city (other than country) and the only music i hear in my house (other than country) and the only music i've ever really felt deeply and invested myself in. i don't think any other music is worth caring about but it's not even something i have to consciously decide, it's just my default automatic thing now. thanks for announcing that two 40 year old music writers have stopped listening to it. what do they plan on listening to next?

"Deja vu" was very dope too but that aint come out until later on in '95 on a Clue tape

I've lovd rap since 1980 or '81. Still love a lot of it now.

>pretend hiphop is dead<

Hip-hop is very much alive; I never said or implied it wasn't.

>i assume chuck still gets down to critrock<

ha ha - yeah, critrock. you got it.

>if a cd has songs you dont like you SKIP them (& eventually love them) <

sure, you CAN skip them, once you've waded through them enough to figure out what they are. which means the good stuff better be REALLY REALLY GREAT, which it rarely is. It's easier to wade through 20 minutes of shit to find 20 minutes of good music than to wade through 59 minutes of shit to find that same 20 minutes of good music. There are too many CDs out there now by artists who don't feel the need to throw everything at me for me to waste too much time with the ones who do. (I'm not just talking hip-hop here -- I've yet to make it through the new Garth Brooks album, either. And I'll never care about Robert Pollard.) And hip-hoppers didn't always feel the need to surround their great moments with so many useless ones; there's nothing inherent in the genre that forces them to do that. Maybe a couple should have the guts to buck the stupid trend, and work up a little self-editing discipline. And nah, you're wrong, I *won't* wind up loving all the useless shit--not often, anyway.

Obv he's pretty shakey as a moral figure or whatever but I don't think he's amoral. Its a good album although conceptually it sounds way too much like he's pulling a young jeezy. He's still a great rapper with a magnetic voice, the way it sounds like he's fighting through his drawl every time he (literally) spits. His new album is good.

on the whole I think the Juvenile album is pretty boring and unrewarding but I love "Holla Back." I really can't remember anything particularly good on the Youngbloodz album.

How come nobody ever talks about how much fun that Pitbull "Shake" remix is?

because Pitbull was on the original too? and the version with Elephant Man isn't anything special?

I think maybe the problem here is that a lot of rap fans are bothered by the way rap is treated as just another strain of the postmodern pick-and-choose style of crit/ILMing, where folks see it as another color in their listening spectrum which is weird when it seems so central to the pop music narrative right now. As if rap is a genre is as much a part of the spectrum as a certain style of indie rock or microhouse when it has so much more cultural resonance in this country than either of those genres (not a dismissal of either).

I definitely like the "Shake" remix (on Pitbull's remix album, which is way better than his non-remix album, and on the Ying Yang Twins' most recent outtake album, which is way better than their previous "real" album) better than any non-remixed version I've heard. But the true star of the song is George "Din Da Da" Kranz.

more like the world ------

Seriously, though, I'd actually deign to say the cultural influence of country (at least in America) is perhaps even greater than that of hiphop. Don't underestimate the red states.

"kidnap the president's wife without a plan" might be my favourite rap boast ever

June

Ice Cube-Laugh Now, Cry Later June 6
Purple City-The Purple Album June 6
Busta Rhymes-The Big Bang June 13
Field Mob-Light Poles And Pine Trees June 13
Mr. Lif-Mo'Mega June 13
Raekwon-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II June 20
Obie Trice-Second Round's On Me June 20
JR Writer-History In The Making June 27
Pimp C-Pimpulation June 27
Lupe Fiasco-Food & Liquor June 27
Lloyd Banks-Rotten Album June 27

July

Hell Rell-Welcome To Hell July 11
J Dilla-The Shining July 11
Slim Thug-Still Platinum July 18
8Ball & MJG-Pure American Pimpin July 18
Freeway-Free At Last July 25

August

OutKast-Idlewild OST August 22
The Roots-Game Theory August 29
The Game-The Doctor's Advocate August 29

Summer

Ol' Dirty Bastard-A Son Unique
Pharrell Williams-In My Mind
Missy Elliot-Respect Me
Saigon-The Greatest Story Never Told
Project Pat-Crook By The Book
Masta Killa-The East Is In The House
The Fugees-Reconciliation
DJ Muggs & Inspectah Deck-The Rebel And The Assassin
Papoose-The Nacirema Dream
Ghostface & MF DOOM-Swift & Changeable
Clipse Hell-Hath No Fury
Mike Jones-The American Dream
Ludacris-Release Therapy
Young Buck-Bad Influence

Autumn?

Nas-NASDAQ Dow Jones
Pharoahe Monch-Desire
Kanye West-Graduation
Paul Wall-Get Money, Stay True
Sean Price-Jesus Price Superstar
Common-Finding Forever
Dr. Dre-Detox
Lil' Jon-Crunk Rock
Snoop Dogg-The Blue Carpet Treatment

I do kinda wish that it was all like the Just Blaze tracks though! Is that boring of me?

Chuck I want a new Field Mob album too! And I haven't even heard the much-feted Ciara collab-o yet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRg7PpKQLhw&search=field%20mob%20so%20what

But here is my favorie Field Mob video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-phGHkFU6c&search=field%20mob%20lonely

And here is an even better song called "So What":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzKMEqBoFys&search=anti%20nowhere%20league

backwudz is real dope, too bad they went w/ the novelty joint instead of picking from one of a dozen nicer tracks

I don't mean that it can't or shouldn't be an AO genre. I just mean that outside of the rappers I mentioned (and the so-called "underground," debatably), rap isn't known for its albums. Seriously--there are probably a couple dozen or so great rap "albums" (in the classic, rockist sense of album: a coherent, cohesive, unified statement) for all the thousands of incredible rap songs. It doesn't make it better/worse than rock (which itself is only thought of as an AO genre because of the 1970s, which is kind of lame).

Obv. there are exceptions on all sides. I don't mean, though, that rap is inherently song-oriented (although I think one could make a case), just that through the mechanisms of the industry and American culture for the last 30 or however many years, it has evolved into a largely song-oriented genre.

-- and what (an...) (webmail), May 28th, 2006 8:07 PM.

young buck & dj drama - case dismissed
balance - young & restless
trae & dougie d - year of the underdawgs
young joc & dj burn one - gorilla in da trunk 8
b.g. - heart of tha streetz vol 2
anthony hamilton - aint nobody worryin
styles p & supa mario - ghost in the machine
lil wayne & dj drama - dedication 2
bronze nazareth - the great migration
dem franchize boyz - on top of our game
dj chuck t - down south slangin blends
ras kass - revenge of the spit
ne-yo - in my own words
copywrite & dj 730 - hiphop disciples xvii
dj drama - welcome to the atl
louis logic & jj brown - misery loves comedy
the coup - pick a bigger weapon
bhi - the snap movement
aceyalone - magnificent city instrumentals

-- and what (an...) (webmail), May 28th, 2006 8:10 PM.

trilltown mafia - welcome to trilltown
lil boosie & silky slim - keep it gutta
nasty nardo - already famous
gilles peterson & jazzanova - kings of jazz
alchemist - the chemistry files
trae - restless

-- and what (an...) (webmail), May 28th, 2006 10:40 PM.

Yeah, and most rock albums are tedious, too.

I'm not any happier with the albums than you are, I just don't really expect them to be great--all I need is four or five great singles.

Yeah. My point (which has been made a million times before) is just that the "album" isn't some kind of ur-form of music that all genres need to partake in. I don't think rappers should be concerned with making great full albums.

OTOH, maybe I should judge them more harshly because they're trying to make cohesive &c albums...

Sorry if I'm not making any sense.

And although Frank is much wiser than me, I still think of albums as albums rather than EP fodder. I just like searching for hidden gold, I guess, rather than it being right there waiting for me on the altar.

Let me revise: I like albums. I like the album as a "statement," as a collection of songs, etc. I grew up listening to AO rock.

That being said, I recognize (as I'm sure everyone here does) that the album isn't and shouldn't be the be-all, end-all of music. Therefore, when I receive an album (like King) that comes across as bloated, overlong, incoherent, fragmented, it doesn't necessarily bother me, especially if there are--as on King--four or five absolutely killer, top-notch songs, or even eight or nine better-than-average songs. I don't feel the need to denigrate or dislike the CD because it isn't a great "album," nor do I think that hip-hop is worsening because its albums--judged as albums--are increasingly bad.

However, if an artist is presenting his or her work as an album--and T.I. is presenting King as an "album" rather than a "collection of songs" or whatever the alternative might be--I should probably be judging it based on whatever criteria I have for albums--coherence and so forth--and thusly judge it poor: too many bad songs, too many skits, too many guest appearances.

So, what I'm trying to say--the state of hip-hop: great. The state of the hip-hop album: shitty. But they aren't the same thing. AKA--I'm judging rap albums using a rock yardstick because I think the album is a rock thing, and yes, I understand I can judge them with a different yardstick but in the end I don't want to listen to an 80-minute album with 30 minutes of good tracks whether it's by T.I. or by Radiohead or whoever. So--that's to a large extent personal taste.

One last thing: the "rock paradigm" thing was sort of a dumb college-kid thing to say, I recognize that. But it's worth pointing out that in many ways T.I. is a different artist than, say, Yes--that T.I. is concerned more (at least from what I can tell, and obviously I'm jumping to conclusions) with creating specific, well-crafted songs, whereas Yes was concerned (and same caveats) more with creating specific, well-crafted albums. Obv. the role of singles and the Top 40 influences this--most if not all acts above a certain level on the "popularity" scale in the US (or at least, their labels) are probably more concerned with single/song creation than with "album" creation, b/c that's what gets play on MTV, etc. Note again that I'm jumping to conclusions all over the place and everything I say is probably refutable, but--I'm putting it out there anyway.

And FWIW--I have long albums, I've listened to them before, and bands I love make them. So I'm aware (and I'm sorry for not making this clear) that rock albums are and can be as boring as rap albums. Frankly, I don't think the "state of the rock album" is any better than the "state of the rap album." And I can't really say I care.

And it's Max, not Matt.

Most hip-hop Yes song: "Owner of a Lonely Heart," but that's obvious.

Cuban Linx: 1 hour, 13 minutes, 27 seconds. And, yes a classic. But still too many skits.

I have been cowed into submission.

It comes out of country. And soul. And Frank Sinatra. (And Matt, you may be the first person I've ever heard who suggested that bubblegum albums were especially tight and focused, not to mention a reaction to the White Album. Which doesn't mean they weren't. But I've sure never thought of, say, 1910 Fruitgum Company albums as part of any "rock paradigm.") (I've also never thought of indie albums as especially short, but maybe that's just 'cause, for me, 10 minutes of most indie rock feels like a couple eternities in purgatory.)

Fear of rockism is now officially worse than rockism. "This album has too many shitty tracks on it!" —"Rockist!"

i can sort of imagine nas paying that much for it and it turning out to be pretty mediocre.

No way! While I usually hate the skit tracks on rap albums, Cuban Linx' skits are gold! It's what all rap-skit-albums should aspire to.

But if the Be4tles had cut it down themselves, they might have cut out the good stuff and left the bad.

What if T.I. had cut it down to 45 minutes and gotten rid of most of the good and kept all the bad?

fuck outta here with this White Album and what genres make good albums bullshit.

-- ramon fernandez (ideaoforderatkeywes...)

the last hip hop album I really loved was 2005's "Lost" by Cool Calm Pete.

-- ramon fernandez (ideaoforderatkeywes...)

the last hip hop album I really loved was 2005's "Lost" by Cool Calm Pete.

-- ramon fernandez (ideaoforderatkeywes...)

http://www.soundvenue.com/upload/anmeldelse/2006-01/coolcalmpete_25012006_top.jpg

But Jin totally merked Professor Green at the Jump Off and everything!

I like "Blow His Head Off" and "C.R.A.C.K." (sort of).

(also as a T.dot resident i feel obliged to stump for the Kardinal track which is kind of hot by any standard?)

YOUNG MONEY CASH MONEY BITCH
I'm loaded out my motherfuckin mind, ha
shhhhh
that kush
bitch, i'm
MACK MAAAAAINE
unh
Mack Maine AK real nigga(s(h))
real wit the green, no pills, nigga
i bust a nigga tryna sell me some reggie
that's phonier than a fake grill, nigga
chill, nigga

roll that weed
let that burn
s that fire
wait cho turn

babygirl, let's get this shit straight,
jis like yo per(n)m

see, when we sexin like a man
i be
happy you came (u-ha)
but when we sexin like a man
i'm focused on mary jane

your man husslin
but i could tell
he just th(sta)ough(r)ted sellin
but i'm a vet-er-on
with this shit i'm in hellen
(yeah)

now come own, hellen
look, how you gon feed jo daughter, hellen?
when you know your man out (c)here with mo
seeds in his weed than they got in watermellon

but fuck all that
i'm in the coup, baby
with windows tinted
it's indo scented
when people pass by
they be like,
damn,
snoop dog in it?

and when i'm blowin i probly got izzle and tanna wit meh
i chief so much they thought i was from kansas city

i get a quarter pound
betchu i'm'a stash uh O
bitches, be like
boy u selfish
i be, li(ke/ght),
yeah, i no
jeuh

put that work on the table after it's baked up
let me get a razor blade, i give that heart a shape up

YOUNG MONEY CASH MONEY BITCH
I'm loaded out my motherfuckin mind, ha
shhhhh
that kush
bitch, i'm
MACK MAAAAAINE
unh
Mack Maine AK real nigga(s(h))
real wit the green, no pills, nigga
i bust a nigga tryna sell me some reggie
that's phonier than a fake grill, nigga
chill, nigga

roll that weed
let that burn
s that fire
wait cho turn

babygirl, let's get this shit straight,
jis like yo per(n)m

see, when we sexin like a man
i be
happy you came (u-ha)
but when we sexin like a man
i'm focused on mary jane

your man husslin
but i could tell
he just th(sta)ough(r)ted sellin
but i'm a vet-er-on
with this shit i'm in hellen
(yeah)

now come own, hellen
look, how you gon feed jo daughter, hellen?
when you know your man out (c)here with mo
seeds in his weed than they got in watermellon

but fuck all that
i'm in the coup, baby
with windows tinted
it's indo scented
when people pass by
they be like,
damn,
snoop dog in it?

and when i'm blowin i probly got izzle and tanna wit meh
i chief so much they thought i was from kansas city

i get a quarter pound
betchu i'm'a stash uh O
bitches, be like
boy u selfish
i be, li(ke/ght),
yeah, i no
jeuh

put that work on the table after it's baked up
let me get a razor blade, i give that heart a shape up

An apt deconstruction of the rampant sexual pathos of post 2pac hip-hop.

JULY

Yeah

In 1970 sumpn
my mah'ms and my pops met
shit was difffrint & i ain't even drop yet
years passed with the birth of a little starr
a product of the weed and the barr

predicted a bad seed by farr
now the kids run up
to see my carr

i could probly make it fly if i tried
blowin the la
o(n) the sky (t)'hem hives
an 'f die from the ride wit the nine on my side
let my tombstone read "i tried fulla pride"

i got a whole lotta dough d'get
i am a rolla (shit/chick)
cat(t/k)in, i control (t)he shi(p/ck)
a nigga flow light mind
udda stol the shit
(n) sold a few records before he noticedit
ma i can do this in my sleep
i skip through the beat
hand gripped on the heat

LISTEN

live f'da niggaz that pass
ball out
treat erryday like y'last

cuz bullets ain't got no names
just tarrgets
n leave brains
and stains on carrpets (ew)
the drama gon go down, regardless
these niggas ready f'da showdown, n harrtless

i murrda niggaz from na entro
switch, make the 6-fo ndough
now it's 2 thousand and 6
an i got a bran new house on the cliffs
that's why i walk around in my slips
with a bitch i only keep around f'hrr lips

"They criticized Too $hort cuz he rapped slow
Me for sellin blow and eazy e for bein hardcore,
Besides, critics didn't live it, they clueless
They followin yo lead when they bumpin your music."

xpost yeah that remix is sick

but one thing i like about king is that i've gone back after the initial listen-throughs (when all the obvious classics jumped out and kind of made it hard to appreciate the lesser pleasures) and found the album cuts. this is facilitated by ipod shuffle listening. so my repeat plays have shifted from "what you know" and "king back" and "get it" to "stand up guy" and "told you so" and "you know who." king is kind of an exception and in general i'm all for concision, but if you can make a solid 80-minute album, it's ok by me.

"Stand Up Guy" and "You Know Who" are definitely my favorites right now.

i just kinda slept on the back end of the album the first few times through. which is a danger of long discs, but remediable with a little shuffling.

i say i'm ridin in them big black denalis with big black rims
black polo thermals that cover my black limbs
stonewashed denim with the mismatch brim
two carrots each ear
and a wristmatch them
see chicks introduce me as they rich black friend
but ahon't breakem off
cuz i ain't they kitkat friend
see old folks ask me
how you get that benz?
uncle sam askin maine,
how you get those ends?
the irs hate it
bitches seem to love it
ain't no discussin it
i get this from husslin
casper wit the pen
see the young nigga ghost write
pop tart chr frame when i hit you with the toast right
i went from writing rhymes under dim porch lights
to blindin all color traffic with the bright porsche lights
but see i used to mess with crack addicts
wit the crack habits
now i'm in a whole nudda tax bracket
black bastards
you wouldn't understand how i got the track masters.
see me,
i'm a beast
i represent new orleans
from my town to the east
remember back in the day when we used to fuck that hoeatrice?
but now it's all good
i got bitches ova in Greece
who know how to cook without the grease
let's get it started
mac bitch you know i flow retarded.
it's like i spit sharp my tongue a razor blade
i got hoes competin for me like i'm flava flav
ya'll niggas wouldn't understand
tell yr peeps they undermanned

leave a nigga under sand
fuck it

ya'll niggas pitchin at me underhand.
i hit it so hard, jall niggas giddy/get it
see, i'm on varsity, yall niggas on bidded? what
let's get this shit straight, shit
me, i'm a beast.
i beast the mixtape.
and right now they sayin i'm good,
i'ma get great

i'm standin here with the red monkeys fallin off my ass
shit, alotta money been made/maimed/maine, no fallen/foreign cash
that's how it goin
i'll let it rain in the strip club
and then i leave out the strip club with the tip cup
i skeet in your girl mouth she catch the hiccups.
if you feel played, nigga, ax f'me
shit, nigga, don't say my name nigga that's blaspheme
i got niggas on hollygrove that'll blast f'me
i'm in a coup
y'bitch pumpin gas f'me
shit, that's how it is, i'm a pimp with a gangsta limp.
and it don't take a pimp t'orda sum steak and shrimp
i hp the room service

i'm in the foe seasons
that's um
summer spring winter fall
y'all niggaz gotta understand, i'm a dog
i'm not a german sheperd nigga
i'm a blue pit.
so understand, fuck the ol'
this the new shit
i'm ridn roun wit spitta up in that 6 4
i got a tall bitch she lookin like she 6 4
when she swing atchu like a man you better get lo
if you got 1 bitch i'm tellin you to get mo
cuz thein't no go
an yall niggaz need sum no doze
tryna stay up
so what the fuck is poppin? niggas know ya betta pay up
and right now i'm in the boot i'm feelin like tupac
runnin f'like 2 blocks
from bout two cops
what i got?
2 rocks
shit, all i really need is like 2 shots
i'll hitem in the head, now that's two cops dead
i was seen/over seas across the state lines, that's where a nigga fled
now i'm in hawaii uh maui an i'm chillin
or i might be in bolivia with a bitch named olivia
hopin she ain't got chlamydia
if she do, then like a man, olivia i'm gettin rid uh ya
bitch, i' m a beast,
i'm talkin straight off my heart
i'm talkin straight out my mind
y'fuckin around they tryna take slugs up out y'spine.
and me myself as far as money i'm doin fine.
young money, bitch, we fine,
get it white/right don't get it twisted
shit, uh, i could flow the whole beat if i wanted to

...

trina couldn't take me out of my home!

...

"my girl got a girlfriend"

*The Very Best of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince* (Jive/Legacy) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Lupe Fiasco *Touch the Sky Hosted By DJ E Nyce* (Mixunit.com)

(I just verified this. It's true.)

Also, ILM should be prepared for the fact that one song samples the NEW RADICALS. I am not even joking.

It's not Street Gospel but I think it's almost as good as New Testament.

The sample on the Nas song sounds waaaay familiar, but I can't place it. I'm not even sure whether I know it from the original or another rap song (I'm thinking the latter). Both of these are pretty hot.

It defenitiely is. What's the new AZ track?

If you'd like to send letters of support
then:

David M. Blake
0606343410

9500 Etiwanda Ave.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

if you send a book, it has to be sent directly from the bookstore in paperback..
...you personally cannot send it

Thanks From DJ Quik and Mad Science Recordings

Picture from the "Cali Iz Active" video shoot.

ihttp://myspace-252.vo.llnwd.net/00421/25/28/421088252_l.jpg

Back in 2005, Quik, real name David Marvin Blake, was sentenced to two years of supervised probation following charges from an incident in 2003 in which the super producer’s sister claimed he assault her. According to police reports, Quick pulled a gun on his sister during a family argument.

Last year Quik was ordered to spend 45 days in jail on weekends following his guilty plea, however, he never served any of his time, which led to Judge Keith Davis increasing Quik’s jail time last week to 150-consecutive days and ordered him to begin serving it immediately.

Secondly, deej, did I really read this right?
Also, ILM should be prepared for the fact that one song samples the NEW RADICALS. I am not even joking.
If so, I will buy it immediately. As in 5 minutes ago. (New Radicals one of my favorite albums of the past decade, for real.)

dk prob has a different perspective, I know he's a 'mega fan.

the true meaning is some shit i can see a lot of people not being that into unless they have a high tolerance for that kind of thing.

The instrumentals sound sort of generally mediocre--it feels like Shadow's still in 1997 or something (not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but I already own Endtroducing, not to mention the RJD2/Diplo/whoever albums that rip it off. So why do I need to hear him rip off himself again?)

Also, AZ is clearly the shit--possibly only second to Ghostface as far as still relevant NY vets. "Never Change" and several tracks from AWOL are tops.

"Run, motherfuckers, run
Duck motherfuckers, duck."

now pass the killa
t'the realest uh yo niggaz
t'the one who gon ride witcha
t'the one who gon die witcha

bow ya head
til ya get out wit that bree
lettem know you got his back if he get caught up by da feds
keep it gutta
take carra his kids and his mudda
throw bricks to his brudda
go run out that motherfucka
if you lovem
ya kissem an ya huggem
don't let nobody touchem
get that choppa start bussin
if they killem
we come n snatchin babies
choppin ya old ladies
cuz my dog goin crazy in that pen na
back then god took his lil brudda
becuz his sence nao
i ain't gon lie
deep inside i feel i aughta die
tryna be like u put 22s on a 745
my life is crushul
i' shootcha like a dice roll
they burn my tape and they burned my tape becuz i might sco
they hollin boosie got the juice na
say run the streets
holla boosie throw me sump'n
but look here boosie ain't sherr peace, nigga
an it's a worldwide struggle
an i respect it if ya hussu
butcha gotta stay outta trouble if ya wonna (bubba)
momma holllin come home
she know i'm doin wrong
she know when i'm smokin an leanin
she know when i got that chrome
but that's my momma
an i love my momma
an i bus heads if you touch my momma

also the single, "Do the Lasso" (with two D4L guys) is pretty great, he rhymes lasso with el paso and hassle and asshole

haha, you just sold me on it.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=43432310

GM

damn tye smoke in yr grill:
sheer
box razor a 3d fill
ill
now i play behind the GT wheel
still
i grind like i'm runnin outta time
now they on me and colored by the dime
slim, thick, fine
wit monica zign
gettin my dick washed
while my mortar recline
a quarter to walk in
yellow quarter a round

ytime is so shorter than mine
cuz i headline when its bread time

u'z a perpetrator
i hurt the hater
do somethin real dumb now
i hope its wurf it later
this aint rehearsed behavior
this is free and rry verse is paper.

GUARANt money na
this nigga got a real watch fulla gummie wrappaz
anybody that rock those is a dummy
i'm in a drop rose and its sunny!
witnesses deep as the potholes in the roll
arrogance since a snotnose and it shows
i aint haven it
i getcha hoes in yclothes

the rain aint over
i got foes thatll spose
my closet is the mol
swallow you uf oes
357 with the pinnochio nose
homie as i hop out the rose!
O'z!

-- and what (an...), June 8th, 2006.

How did I miss this the first time through? Lets hear it.

GODSON

West coast rappers Ras Kass and The Game squared off in a physical confrontation last night (Sept. 14) at a Los Angeles club.

Both of the internationally respected West coast rappers were in club Element, when Game confronted Ras Kass over the lyrics to the song "Caution," a song Ras Kass recorded over a year ago.

"Get a thousand tattoos and won't raise ya gun / so when you get merked I'ma raise ya son"

The lyrics to the song sparked the confrontation between the two men.

"The ni**a tried to jump me 30 to 2, yet I'm alive and chillin' my sweater is still white and all my jewelry intact," Ras Kass told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "Game is a 'Change of Heart,' stripping, fake-ass blood who sold some records riding Dr Dre's shirt tails. I guess he thought this would help him sell some more records. I was so unfazed by it all that I went up to his car afterwards and challenged him right there. Game is no match for me physically or lyrically."

Game told AllHipHop.com that he never had a problem with Ras Kass until the rapper dissed him on the track.

He also disputed Ras Kass' account of the confrontation.

"Aint nobody hit that dude but me, he's crazy talking about 30 people," Game told AllHipHop.com. "I never had beef and never met Ras Kass, unless it was a quick exhange saying hello. He talked about my son by name. You can say what you want about me, but what does my son got to do with it? I seen the n***a in the club. I walked up to him in the club and it was my mans birthday, so I didn't want to mess up his party. When the lights came on, at the end I asked him about the freestyle. He said it wasn't nothing, but he started in on that 'it's whatever I'm Ras Kass and punched him in the face before he could finish."

According to representatives for Ras Kass, he has no intentions on continuing the feud.

"He can sell records on his own dime," Ras Kass said alluding to Game's upcoming album The Doctor's Advocate.

"I don't benefit me to mess with these kinds of small cats," Game said, adding that he would not be responding to Ras Kass lyrically either.

"Ras Kass' career is over," Game said. "I ended it with that one punch last night."

so glad new jeezy is a toomp-produced trapstar sequel banger instead of some candy shop bullshit

http://www.streethop.com/forum/article168736.html

Other times when I've had to "match wits" with such morons its usually really really aggressive teenage black girls (absolutely THE FUCKING WORST people to be stuck on a bus with in SF) - and they seem to get confused when a nerdy-lookin white guy (ie, me) can a) understand what they're saying, b) talk back to them in like manner and c) doesn't show any signs of being scared of "crazy black people" (which is usually the first accusation out of their mouths - "oh, you don't wanna fuck with me, I'm BLACK!" yeah, so what?)

-- Shakey Mo Collier (audiobo...), June 24th, 2005.

Poor DMX.

-- max (maxrea...), September 26th, 2006. (later)"

so what tracks should i look for?

are you sure it wasn't "do your ears hang low"

Oh yeah, Kelefa wrote about it in the NY Times--

September 17, 2006 N.Y. Times
Playlist
Yo, Do Your Ears Hang Low?
By KELEFA SANNEH
Jibbs

It is one of the oldest tunes in the American repertory. In the 19th century it was a minstrel mainstay known, depending on the lyrics, as “Zip Coon” or “Turkey in the Straw.” More recently the same tune has been appropriated for a children’s song (“Do Your Ears Hang Low?”) and for the ice-cream-truck jingle that you may be hearing for a few more weeks. And now, thanks to the St. Louis rapper Jibbs, the old song provides the basis for a new hip-hop hit, “Chain Hang Low” (Geffen), which should still be playing on the radio long after the ice cream trucks have gone into hibernation. He raps — brays really — the verses and a chorus of children sings the refrain (“Do your chain hang low? Do it wobble to the flo’?/Do it shine in the light? Is it platinum? Is it gold?”). Perhaps without meaning to, Jibbs has updated one of the most popular melodies of the blackface era, reprising a song that has been stuck in American heads for a few centuries."

are you sure it wasn't "do your ears hang low"

-- deej.. (clublonel...), September 27th, 2006 10:19 AM.

wtf, deej, you haven't heard the Jibbs song that's all over radio/tv?

-- Alex in Baltimore (shipley.a...), September 27th, 2006 11:14 AM.

it was a (shitty) joke

This drops on October 31st. It's A.G. of DITC. (you know, Showbiz & A.G.) It's got production from Jay Dee (aka J. Dilla); Madlib; Jake One; Oh No; DJ Design; Tommy Tee; Cochese; Showbiz; Lord Finesse; Dabrye.

Of what I've heard of it so far, which is quite a few tracks - it's really great + fresh. Anyone else heard this or anticipating it?

who's that chick that paul wall did that recent video with?

http://pics.hollywoodrag.com/gallery3/images/brookegrill3_thumb.jpg

http://pics.hollywoodrag.com/gallery3/images/brookegrill1.jpg

i hate this!

why sample p.e.??? such a boring mess, kinda like every other shitty attempt at early 90s revival from the last couple years - no momentum, ugly beat, meaningless jay rhymes = trash

Anybody heard? First single "How the Hustlers Do It" is weeeeak. Some audio previews here:

http://www.coconuts.com/product.aspx?sku=202985130&loc=50231

fuck that

"Pimp this ride"

All three of them having fucking dreadful names, two of them are related to E40 if I read the press release properly, the lyrics are MIA level bad, and it's really really really great. It's like a Bay Area More Fire Crew or something (lol).

http://www.tanssiurheiluseurarolling.fi/sivut/kuvat/street/main.jpg

:-0

I am slow.

dont know shit about b slimm

-- and what (an...), October 24th, 2006 5:03 PM. (later)

wasn't that on the (actually pretty good) DTP comp last year w/ Lil Fate instead of Snoop? I guess Rich Boy's recycling it for his album since "Throw Them D's" is blowing up

s: comin home atlanta, fuck you pay me, h.n.i.c., one more gram (over "one more chance": "let me find out they lesbian/and been hittin' on my white girlfriend"), that's life

the rest of the guys in the "grind time" clique are about half as talented as killer.

Jeezy single is still good.

holy freud!

off the album Like Father, Like Son

the "Throw Some D's" video is pretty good, although I totally did not expect Rich Boy to look like Canibus

saw raekwon backed by a live band the other night (for free!)

considering that "What You Know" and "I Love It" are by the same producer and more or less identical, and I don't hear any similarity between those and "Stuntin'," can't say I'm totally following your train of thought still. i do like loud blaring beats, though, so anytime there are more of those on the radio I'm happy.

(xpost lol)

gah? what the hell??

"I am the truth", "sit 'em back slow" with MOP, "the format", "get high" , "animal" and "rise and fall" with Little Brother off the new AZ are the shit too.

The 6 or so songs i've heard from the new UGK are a return to their older sound and that Kweli + UGK "country cousins" joint is, against all odds, one of the best tracks of the year. Who'd a thunk that?

The 2 or 3 joints i've heard off the new Z-Ro, unfortunately, are a little gay. This is especially disappointing because "let the truth be told" was so good, because Trae absolutely kilt shit with "restless" and because this will probably be Z-Ro's last cd.

All the new Jay Z joints suck, especially that new "lost ones" joint which i think Dre did.

nah, the 7" is studio-recorded instrumentals. and also good!

also spending 12 hrs a day at work.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/10/23/irwinraskassgame260.jpg

"Compton" by Will.I.Am is raw and frontin' on Will.I.Am's beats is no longer acceptable....the Nas + Just Blaze joint goes on for way too long (8 minutes or some shit) and features that breezy from Floetry who gays it up...."the doctor's advocate" with Busta is emo-rap which makes Atmosphere sound like Bumpy Knuckles but Game is kinda endearing when he's being a bipolar wackjob on the verge of a breakdown....i dunno who did "lookin' at you" but it's dope as fuck and it really does sound like a Dre beat and he even sounds and flows like Dre but he sez "finished my 2nd cd without a Dr Dre beat"...."ole english" by Hi-Tek is probably my favorite joint outta all these as it's some butta laid back funk which sounds like some Tela or Devin type shit

I hear there are 2 Scott Storch beats on here tho..fuck that.

It's great. Probably my hip-hop album of the year, though admittedly that's not saying much this year. (Before this, I would've probably picked either Youngbloodz or *Crunk Hits 2*.) Could make my overall top ten. I even like the intro and outro, which remind me of the Last Poets or something. My fave track so far is probably "Fuego," based on "When I Hear Music" by Debbie Deb. But I also really like "Come See Me," "Jealouso," "Ay Chico," "Rock Bottom" with Bun B and Cubo, "Jungle Fever" with Wyclef of all people (which references jungle songs and movies from Guns N Roses to Spike Lee to you name it), "Dime Remix" (I *think* that's the real pretty one, though maybe not), "Bojangles Remix" with Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins, and "Born N Raised" with Trick Daddy and Rick Ross. (And I've only been playing it for a couple days, so I undoubtedly missed some.)

http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2005/10/19/francis_416.jpg

An open letter to MC Serch from Sage Francis regarding Serch's White Rapper show for VH1.

Dear MC Serch,

Pardon the length of this letter, but I took my time to make sure that your new asshole would be top of the line.

As a melanin-deficient emcee who began his hip-hop journey in the mid 80's, I've always been interested in what people's take are on white people in hip-hop. How do I fit in? What are my limitations? I've been lucky enough to see some people do it right and some people do it very wrong, and these are lessons that have carried over into many aspects of my life through the years. One golden rule in particular is this: exploiting anything incidental about oneself is pathetic and ultimately self-defeating.

Hip-hop is my lifelong craft and it has been an incredible learning tool for me, so I would be remiss to not contribute as much to this art form as I have received. All I can give is myself though, and if all I am composed of is standard hip-hop wisdom then all I would be doing is recycling other people through my music. Fortunately, I have my own particular perspective, style, technique, quirkiness and subject matter to channel through this medium. There is no success I've enjoyed that has been earned overnight, and I am grateful for that. I did it the hard way. And as overused as it is, there is a lot of merit in the term "keep it real" when it is said and heard by the right people. Let me keep it real for you right now.

One of the first white rap groups I was exposed to was 3rd Bass, via their "Steppin to the AM" video on Yo! MTV Raps. I am not ashamed to say that I was highly excited to see white rappers doing what it is I hoped to do one day. White rappers were a great rarity, which made me view them (and myself) as the underdog, so here I was cheering on a group who was giving me hope that my pursuit in the hip-hop game was not futile. In retrospect, that's a really silly way to think of things because white people are not the underdog by any means in this world. But hey, I was a 10 year old with a dream.

The last I heard of MC Serch is when I saw Non-Phixion perform at NYC's Rock Steady and one of the members said, "Fuck MC Serch!" Non-Phixion being one of the white groups who was first put out on Serch's label, I thought that was pretty interesting. The old 3rd Bass fan in me grimaced and decided to ignore the comment. I mean...gosh darnit...you helped kick open the door for all of us swell white folk!

Almost ten years later I received a few emails from a guy who was approached to be a contestant on MC Serch's "White Rapper" show for VH1, as he divulged a bunch of reasons why this program was complete bullshit. I told him if he had any respect for his career and his art that he would stay far away from that show and he did. I wish he had gone on the show so I could have had more fire to play with, but there's no need really. Let me just look at MC Serch's blog about "The White Rapper Experience":

"The premise is that we take ten white MC's and put them in the South Bronx and teach them about Hip Hop."

Later on in the blog we learn that...

"If you are a white rapper that performs in front of a white crowd then you are not a rapper at all. You are a guy who is simulating what it feels like to rock a crowd."

Using this logic I have deduced that if a white person is teaching you about Hip Hop then you are not being taught at all. You are merely SIMULATING a learning experience. Also, if you are black crowd that is watching a white rapper then you are not a crowd at all. You are a bunch of people who are simulating what it feels like to be a crowd. And we don't take kindly to posers in hip-hop, you got that?

What would be a REAL learning experience is if Ice-T came to your rich, private school and taught you how to "keep it real" by switching up who you really are. Then he could take you to the South Bronx while we all laugh at the way you try to hype up your classmates by doing exactly what you are told to do in front of Grand Master Caz and Melly Mel. Boom fire.

"Due to contracts that hold up my paper I cannot tell you anything more except that there is an interesting thing I have discovered. The White Rapper experience."

This contract must have been holding your paper since the late 80's. Very interesting.

"I met white rappers, and please do not be afraid for what I am about to tell you, but I have talked to and dealt with white rappers who have...ready...NEVER PERFROMED IN FRONT OF BLACK PEOPLE!!!!."

Woah. WOAH! OK, hold on though...really? Do they live in the freaky corn fields of Iowa? Where is this scary scary place where white kids live around other white kids and never get to travel outside of their comfort zone much? I can't take it. Is it...is it most parts of America? Jesus, If you promise me everything will be OK, then maybe I will watch your TV show. The only thing that reassures me right now is that period mark after the four exclamation points.

"Are white rappers not going to black people to seek their approval"

Well, according to Ice-T and his private prep-school teachings, being "yourself" is what Hip Hop is all about. So do these little white dipshits have to get approval from little black dip shits in order to get approval? Or is it older black dipshits they need approval from? Do older WHITE dipshits like yourself hold any credibility? If not, then I have no idea why I am listening to you at all. Moving on...

"HOW CAN WHITE RAPPER BE WHITE RAPPERS IF BLACK PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM RAP."

Was that a question? Well...why is the sky blue. Why is water wet. Why is a period mark following these long unanswered questions. If a white rapper cries in front of a black crowd and no one posts it on youtube, is he still emo? If it IS posted on youtube and a black person watches it...does that make him an official rapper? If your group was manufactured by someone who wanted to put two white rappers together and hopefully exploit the race situation...and then someone named Vanilla Ice comes around and gets exploited even BETTER than you...and you beat down a Vanilla Ice impostor in the video to a song that actually makes its way onto commercial charts...are you street? Are you hood? Are you an honorary black person if you co-opt enough black culture? How's that high top fade doing these days?

"Hip Hop culture is Black culture....period."

OK. Now what? So is rock and roll. So is jazz. Now what? Is this when we get into a discussion of culture and how it is an exclusive thing that separates groups of people forever and ever? If so, I'm sure glad it hasn't stayed exclusive. It has crossed over many boundaries because PEOPLE see value in it. Artists see the artistic value. Business types see the commercial value. Some people see no value in it at all, and they are the people we collectively hated back in the 80's. If all of these people remained stubborn in their ignorance and hatred of hip hop then maybe you could have developed a TV show called "Why Don't White People See the Value in Hip Hop as Genuine Art Form?" And then 20 years from then someone could have developed a corny reality TV show called "The White Rapper Experience." Maybe that show would be responsible for developing the first EMINEM! Instead, you'll have to settle for being the show that tried discovering (err...developing) the NEXT Eminem, as you tie them into a bunk recording contract.

"You can take the hood out of Hip Hop but you can't take the Hip Hop out the hood."

It's not out of the hood, but Hip Hop HAS been taken out of the hood. It's gone to a place called VH1. Remember VH1 from way back in the day? Yeah, that's the station that wouldn't touch a rap video (or any black person except for Tracy Chapman) with a 10 foot pole. NOW look...you have a job again! Amazing.

"A white rapper cannot be considered a white rapper until he rips in front of a crowd of black people."

Well, thankfully I started rapping during a time when a majority of people going to Hip-Hop shows were black. I'm officially a white rapper! Never thought I could be proud to say that, but you've helped me feel secure. Now...now I'm feeling so secure I think I can go one step ahead and claim that a white rapper who performs in front of an exclusively black crowd actually becomes a real rapper, not just a white one. And...ummm...if the black crowd throws their hands up in approval you then become an honorary BLACK rapper. Fuck yeah. man. (Note: shaving the name of your rap group into the back of your head does not win you any extra points.)

"I am not saying they all have to be black. You can have some spanish, some multi-racial kids mixed in there for flavor, I would even say Asain people."

Even Asians??? You're too generous. Are you sure, though? Even Asians count as a possible flavor?

"White people will usually applaud anyone who has the balls to step on stage."

Haha. Ahhh. Yes. Only white people do this. Ahhh man. Yes! So much to say here, but mainly I just have to tip my hat and say, "Sir...you are a fucking genius. Don't worry about that hit MC Hammer put out on you. The black crowd is totally there to save your pale ass."

Now that I think of it, you neglected to mention the Beastie Boys in your list of rappers who got approval from a black audience. As you know, they were the other white group who came up around the same time you did. In fact, you shared the same DJ as them for a while, Sam Sever. You pointed the Beasties out as fakers and tried to discredit them as if you guys were real...and they were fake (wasn't it the Beasties who just received hip hop honors last week on...*gasp*...VH1?) Were they too white for you, Serch? Did their fakeness take on any cooler effect when three black rappers covered songs from License to Ill as Rakim, Bambaata and Wu Tang bobbed their heads to the music? I guess anyone who was white and not down with you way back then was a fraud. I believe Upski has a good chapter about this type of "I'm the only cool whitey" complex in his Bomb the Suburbs book. Check it out.

"Some of this, well most of this as I am sure you know is toungue and cheek but lets be real."

OK, let's. The term is actually "tongue IN cheek" and maybe that's where you should keep yours from now on. Yes, it is very important to respect and understand the origins of one's craft. It is also very important to respect and understand people in general...until they give you a reason to do otherwise. I didn't want to help promote your TV show, which was the reason for your blog in the first place, but I can't stand by while people like you perpetuate massive falsehoods that do nothing but make Hip-Hop look like a 30 year old child. I respect it too much.

Sincerely,
Sage Francis

Well, it's hard to know what to say to that.

BO-RING

the new pitbull album is his best yet, i think. and the new game tracks are good, but it's weird: better than i expected 6 mos ago, and worse than i expected 2 weeks ago. plus i haven't heard someone this openly & lucidly crazy rap in a long time.

uh, so you're stuck in 2004, basically? I mean, I'm looking forward to hearing the Pitbull album (the Youngbloodz record was weak, though), but it really seems like you're clutching hard to a moment that's come and gone already, Lil Jon's "crunk ain't dead" chain (most defensive piece of jewelry ever made?) aside.

they were the three best hip-hop albums i heard! what, you want me to lie or something? i'll even agree that the youngbloodz album wasn't half as good as their previous one, too. but that just goes to show how lame the year seemed. (also, the pitbull album is not especially crunk! and i'm not so sure the youngbloodz is, either. their sound has always been somewhere on crunk's periphery) if hip-hop hasn't progressed beyond 2004, though, don't blame me. though i've never been one to believe music has to "progress" anyway, and there's nothing that says somebody shouldn't prefer 2004 sounds to 2006 sounds; that goes for all genres, not just this one. if you really want to know, plenty of my tastes are stuck in 1976 or 1980!(#4 '06 rap LP: maybe da muzicianz; haven't decided on it yet.)

overall I'm finding the album too grim and tough... who wants to hear Tony Butler's sweet deb riff weighed down by some guy pumping himself up for being gangsta?

actually, i got the idea the pitbull track that samples debbie deb was anti- gangsta, but maybe i heard it wrong. as for too grim and tough, there's probably some truth to that. but that goes with the genre these days, and maybe i'm cutting pitbull some slack for balancing the grim toughness with so much light-hearted latin bounce. (if anything, the "bojangles" remix, which frank loves, strikes me as more tough than much of the rest of the album. and pitbull seeems way less a tough guy than plenty of reggaeton, too. in his sound, anyway. i haven't actually dissected his words.)

plenty of my tastes are stuck in 1976 or 1980!

ACTUAL best hip-hop album of 2006: Big Apple Rappin': The Early Days Of Hip-Hop Culture In New York 1979-1982 (Soul Jazz) (But I'm pretty sure I already said that way upthread somewhere, too.)

i think E-40 is a big fat dud

p.s. nah right has the title track from nas's "hip hop is dead," and it's... good? i think? its the bass from "thief's theme." i need to listen to it more.

ts: "roll to every station/murder the dj" vs. "hang the dj hang the dj hang the dj"

haha well at this point the notion that your taste is simply an empirical judgement of the "best" is crazier than your never ending jones for crunk (which, granted, is probably as good as or better than most of the trends/subgenres that have dominated Southern rap for the past 2 years), so I'll just let it go.

this has definitely been an solid year for good-not-great rap albums that were just blips on the mainstream radar. I liked Field Mob, Ray Cash, Rhymefest, The Roots, Remy Ma, DJ Khaled, Shawnna, all stuff that's flawed or inconsistent in obvious ways but yielded at least a few keepers. haven't even begun to catch up on some of the more hyped/'important' albums or leaks of big 4th quarter stuff.

If I don't like "Bojangles" will I like the new Pitbull album? NB. Money Is Still a Major Issue is a favourite at my place.

Someone get Xhuck off TVT's mailing list!

TVT is awesome, btw (as are the Pitbull - whose new album way more reggaeton than crunk - and Crunk Hits 2 comps [haven't heard Youngbloodz, in no rush]). More labels should have their enthusiasm for freelancers.

x-post

speaking of TVT (xpost) what happened to the lil jon album? i really liked the single earlier this year (in spite of the blatant snap bandwagoneering)

I heard its a J Prince cash-in record, Z-Ro's been in jail.

There's one over the "paid in full" beat again (like "mo city don") but with that Spandau Ballet sample Nelly used on that single of his over the top of that. It sucks shit.

On the subject of Lil' Jon he produced what's probably the best single of the year so far : "blow the whistle"

well, like I said, my message wasn't really "get with the times, man!" because it's not like the last 2 years have yielded a whole lot of obviously superior mainstream hip hop (especially in terms of party/club rap), I'm definitely more tired of (sn/tr)ap music now than I ever was of crunk. but if you can't see anything funny or worth criticizing about repping Crunk Hits 2 and three albums by Lil Jon collaborators as the 4 best (not even favorite...BEST) hip hop albums this year has to offer (with the caveat that he hasn't heard the fucking "Chicken Noodle Soup" album), then I'm not going to hold your hand and explain it, and if you can see it but want to play xhuxk's advocate or pretend I'm simply advocating this year's worst trends as the only option because they're newer, then I'm not going to bother either.

lil jon needs to quit crunk rock and work with some b-more club producers considering how much hes been sampled by them. if hes into gogo i reckon hed be into bmore club too. its a perfect match IMO!

ehhh. his shouts are just a popular soundbyte for Baltimore club music, like DMX or Mystikal were a few years ago, I don't necessarily think Lil Jon's hand-on participation with the genre would be any good, he'd probably just fail miserably at branding it "the new crunk" the same way he did with Hyphy.

With you on this, my favorite Lil Jon tracks are ones where he's not trying to be Lil Jon

x-post: the Too Short track?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bCBGfx-c_7w

Callaloo, v.29:3

http://xxlmag.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/weezykiss.jpg

yeah, it occurred to me that I would've been better off just quoting the post I originally responded to with a gif of the aforementioned "crunk ain't dead" chain. sometimes I forget that treating ILM like anything other than a quipping contest is a fool's game, so I'm glad you're around to remind me by holding up scorecards.

some horrorcore & other shit i mixed together 4 halloween

so...what's the difference again?

I don't see how telling Chuck he's got lame and/or dated taste for liking TVT pop-rap is not part of the "quipping contest." It is definitely a "fool's game," though.