So I've wanted to incorporate this little mini section into the blog for awhile; Every day I'm somehow reminded of some old(er) hip hop that reminds me of an exact feeling I had at the time of it's release, whether that feeling be love, hate, depression, power, or anything and everything in between. Joe Budden (being the mood god himself) has always been highly touted as the one NOT to listen to when facing life's struggles, such as depression or a relationship (also, see Drake for "relationship issues 101"), because who knows, you could actually probably (not) risk committing suicide listening to such real and honest music.
Budden has been putting out music that tells his (often depressing) life story for his entire 13 year career, and by the looks of the tweets on his timeline, he takes pride in what he does. Who better than a player that knows his role in the game? Budden takes you places, into almost entirely different worlds with the press of a play button, and those places can lead you to end up in many, many different other places; an ex's house, on the floor of a bathroom, in a club throwing one's on a stripper, Joe's range has truly broadened, especially over the last 5 years or so.
On "Different Love" (off of his 2014 EP Some Love Lost, prelude to his 2015 solo LP All Love Lost) Budden was at his absolute most emotional. Budden got to talking about past relationships and his seemingly usual way of sabotaging them, along with problems of family and friends. Some of the biggest stand out lines from this emotional masterpiece include the following; "So I don't ever say what I can't do, if he can be happy with life then nigga I can too, while Jose wanna die, ain't tell nobody but eyeing his eyes feel I should probably identify, I said every day he lives with pain and wanna end it, something's wired wrong in your brain you gotta mend it, had a bad break up and let it expose dude, but if she was getting you high then she would get you low too."
Powerful. Some of the most meaningful lines I've heard in rap in a minute, and Joe's cadence tells it all throughout this track, because every line is not only heard, but felt. It just goes to show that your biggest enemies couldn't make you feel anywhere near as bad as you could yourself. Joe's battle with depression has been known throughout his entire career, and has been made known mostly through his music. We actually probably have Joe's music to thank that Joe is still here with us today; if Joe didn't have his raps and music to vent through, then would he still be here? That's some crazy food for thought for you right there. In case you haven't heard this amazing emotional journey of a song before, then you can check it out below.
Meek Mill and Wale make news again... and not in a good way (surprise!). Meek took to Instagram today to fire back at Wale for some comments he made in an interview with Power 105.1 about MMG and Meek, and Wale was not bashful speaking about the very much publicized (and meme'd) beef between Drake and Meek Mill. Here's what Wale had to say;
“I honestly feel like [Meek] brought a pencil to a gun fight," said Wale. "You can’t compete with somebody who has those types of relationship. I’m telling everyone who thought Meek lost just off the strength of losing, it doesn’t matter what he made, he could have made ‘Ether 3.0’, the opinions of the people would have been that of the kid from Toronto waxed him. Drake went to Apple and my man went to Funk Flex–and there’s nothing wrong with Flex–but we talking about Apple, breh.”
Interesting comments, they seem honest enough, especially considering all the flack Meek has gotten during the Drake beef drama (all the diamond, and now pencil emoji's fans/trolls have littered Meek's Instagram posts with), though Meek took these comments to heart and started spewing off of the dome (which is probably how he got himself into all of this so called "beef" in the first place). Meek's response to Wale's comments can be seen below;
"U not MMG NOMORE! This why u can't get my number you a hoe! ???? and u dead cracked right now @wale foh nuttttt! I wasn't even mad at you Fam u got some real issues with yaself and you jealous! Broke rapper! I don't speak on Mmg in interviews unless it's good! U a clown ... We don't wanna hear you nomore Fam! Go jump off a roof like u been tryna do chump! He not MMG IM MAKING THAT CALL ... He been tryna call me saying Rozay owe us money... He don't owe me shit and if he do I'll get it later .... Go that away!"
So... I guess you could say they're working it out. Naw... probably not. Wale's original interview with Power 105.1 can be seen below.
I know too many people that speak about their issues with no real human emotion. Too many times I've seen cases where people "cut you off" because of a minor disagreement, or a small fight that means nothing in the grand scheme of things. People grow up, they lose friends, they may no longer speak to family members because of a fight, and don't really care if they do or don't speak to people who have been in their lives for the entirety of it. What that says about these certain people is no matter, but I've always believed that the people in your life who truly mean something will always find a way to stay in it, and these people always hold relevance in your life.
The same exact thing can be said about music. It's amazing how people forget the power that music holds over one's life, it's a known fact that music changes people's perception of the world, and perception is everything. Allow me to say that again; perception is EVERYTHING! How you perceive something is how you see it, and if something allows you to change your perception on something you see, then that can mean an array of different things (though we won't get into that). Perception is how you see something that scares the living shit out of you, how you see someone you've loved your entire life, how you see your goals and your future, or it can be something as simple as what a song means to you.
This past Wednesday, Joe Budden's very much anticipated album All Love Lost leaked, and if you were a fan scrolling through one of your favorite hip hop blogs looking for new releases, you could have scrolled right by the album stream and thought nothing of it, but I've always taken a liking to Budden's music and his ability to rap (beats on ALL are crazy, though some people will argue that Budden talks about depression/past relationships too much). I pressed play on the "All Love Lost Intro" and was immediately sucked into the world of Joe Budden, but the song that truly made me feel was "Immortal."
On "Immortal", Budden talks of his past drug addiction and getting through it, and if you know about Joe Budden, you know he's abused drugs for almost his entire career. Things like pills (from what Budden mentions is many, many types of pills including Percocet, and he even mentions some heroin use at points in his career) are things Budden abused constantly. But there is a line that makes you think in the song, and though hearing the line itself doesn't hit the ear right, Budden sounds so sure in a line leading up to the hook; "you can't kill something that's ready to die." This line is heavy in it's own right, but that line is followed up by a steroid-like strength hook (probably the wrong expression to use in this case, but oh well); "they say I'm in my own way, own way, and that's fine, I'm just living my own way, own way, like I can't die, they can remove my heart, my soul, might take it's toll, the air I breathe and the ground below, but no way, no way, let 'em all try, that's how it feels to be immortal, immortal, that's how it feels to be immortal, immortal, and that's how it feels to be immortal."
There's too much I have to say about that particular song, but Budden's entire album (All Love Lost) is something that hits you "right in the feels" as the kids say these days. Now what does the rest of hip hop have to combat that with? Listen to this.
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
Hmm... I don't uhm... Fuck up some... commas? Excuse me for not being as hip as I'm supposed to be (and granted I don't listen to any Future on the regular, and for good reason), but how does one "fuck up some commas"? I'm curious, really, more than anything. What is the attraction to this? Fuck up some commas that most hip hop listeners do not have to "fuck up." "Trap niggas" is definitely a title that people wish to attain; right? It's so relatable to people to listen to "blow a bag" nowadays, huh? I believe people have forgotten what quality hip hop music sounds like (something that you're able to listen to timelessly, and able to relate to forever).
So... what do I think? I think the hottest rappers in the game right now should not be the hottest rappers in the game right now. Do you see yourself listening to Future's Dirty Sprite 2, 56 Nights, or even his Drake collaboration What A Time To Be Alive next year? How about 10 years from now? Do any of those projects still hold weight? The incredible flood of hip hop music that has taken over this millennium needs to stop, and now (and not just Future, a lot of one hit wonders are killing hip hop, that goes for Rae Sremmurd, Bobby Shmurda, Migos, and almost the entire sub genre of "trap music"). I find it amazing that "Slim Jesus" is one of the most talked about acts in hip hop right now. What meaning does music have if you don't see yourself listening to it in the future (no pun intended, though I believe he chose the wrong name)? Fix rap by putting out quality music, and not by putting out loads and loads of albums and mix tapes that will mean nothing in a year. Fix it by competing with the best, not because you want to make your money, but because you want to be BETTER than the best. If you're not rapping to become the best, then what are you doing it for? Those are my thoughts on the current state of hip hop.
I know this dude has been on the come up for a second, I know this guy has been featured on other blogs during his current come up, but I never knew this guy had a sound that was so addicting. As far as Michael Christmas goes, this is the first song of his I have heard, but if his newest album What A Weird Day is going to sound anything like this song, then you better believe I'm tuning in for it.
If you don't know about Michael Christmas, he has another album out by the name of Is This Art? that released in 2014 with no huge named features, so it seems he is looking to earn his own come up, a strategy that would earn my respect any day. His newest album What A Weird Day is set for release on October 23rd, and will feature some big names like Mac Miller, D.R.A.M., Logic, and more. His latest single I'm currently raving about (Shadows, produced by Logic's own producer 6ix) is available on iTunes via free download if you pre order the album. You can listen to "Shadows" below.
It's been 10 years since Paul Wall dropped his classic "Sittin Sideways" hit, and a lot has changed since then. Eminem dyed his hair black (then back to blonde again), Lil Wayne became a hot commodity in the later 2000s and early 2010s, and then Drake suddenly became the (not so official) face of what people thought of when people thought of Houston's hip hop scene. As much as that may or may not be true, Paul Wall took a few years off from the mainstream music scene, but stayed making music for die hard listeners. He made a point for his newest album Slab God to be a big release when it hit; do you think it's measured up to it's hype?
Paul starts off the album on a slow, chilled out note with "Swangin in the Rain". Some heavy bass, jazzy piano and quick high hats help this track set the tone for the rest of what's to come on the album; heavy hitting, slow moving (heavy "drank" and syrup inspired) bangers that make it easy to move to. Other stand out tracks of this nature are the Curren$y and Devin The Dude assisted "Crumble the Satellite", "Ridin Homie" featuring Houston's own Trae The Truth, and "R.I.P Act" featuring C. Stone. Paul featured a wide variety of rappers while staying true to his Houston roots.
Mr. Wall has never been one to NOT shine on these hoes, either. "Shine on Fo's" is a great example of Paul's shining and his ever so enviable glistening lifestyle. The grills, the girls, the syrup and the jewelry all come along with that Houston rapper lifestyle, and Paul makes it sound as good as it ever has on Slab God. You can also hear about Paul's "checklist" of fancy things on the song "Checklist" (who would have thought?).
Paul also pours his heart out into a couple of songs on Slab God. On "Steady Mobbin", Paul discusses a fallen comrade and you can tell by the start of the song which direction Paul is going to take the song in; "This for all the fallen soldiers in the game. Sip in peace. We gone ride for your memory. We steady mobbin." Paul also gives quite a chilling, yet thought provoking line on shootings and the people's perceptions of them; "I wonder if it was worth, whatever they were shooting fo', and to be honest if the cops would had did it we'd be protestin' and lootin' bro." Surely makes you think, doesn't it? "R.I.P Act" is also a nice, slow, soulful jam dedicated to a fallen comrade (or former girlfriend, it's hard to tell).
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
So overall, Paul Wall's album proves that he just might be the true "Slab God". Slab God bangs, has some great features that fit in well where they're asked, and makes you want to "swang" with some "Muddy Cups on Sunset" and "Shine On Fo's" (I thought I was pretty damn cool already, I might just have to move to Houston and check out the scene). Houston's rap scene remains somewhat underground (maybe not underground, but not so much commercial), but Paul's album proves that not only is Houston's hip hop scene timeless, but it proves that Paul Wall is another one of those rare rappers who's music can withstand the test of time.
Does anyone remember that Ja Rule actually existed? No? Well then this post might actually blow your mind. Ja Rule once was a successful rapper in the early 2000s (an era that I'm particularly fond of), and had a couple of really big hits with some star studded features (some big RnB singers Ja had featured on his albums were big names like Jennifer Lopez, R. Kelly, and Ashanti multiple times). Respect is due where it is earned, and it'd be wrong of me to shun Ja for some great memories Ja has created for me through his music.
(this one brings back fantastic memories, even though at the time being so young it's hard to believe now that it was Ja Rule that was making me jig)
I'm a huge Eminem fan (I believe I've stated before), so for me to even mention Ja's name is like summoning Voldemort, but I can't deny the fact that Ja had some soulful hits back in the day. It's unfortunate that Ja's career had to be shortened due to 50 Cent and Eminem's dismantling of him in the early 2000s (come on now, you know it's true, everyone on Shady AND on G Unit got involved), but when Ja made music and didn't get involved in beef with anybody, he always did pretty damn good for himself. Ja had 2 albums that topped the U.S. billboard 200 (Rule 3:36 in 2000 and Pain Is Love in 2001), he earned 4 Grammy nominations and even had six top 10 albums under his belt.
Is a Ja Rule comeback possible? Who knows, but what we do know is that Ja is keeping his name in headlines, even today. Earlier this year his beef with 50 Cent was reignited when the 2 started going back and forth on Twitter and Instagram over a comment Ja made when a fan asked a question about the feud on Twitter. Not only exciting beefs being reignited, but apparently in May of this year, Ja made his first known attempt at business and entrepreneurship by partnering with Billy McFarland, the CEO of Magnises, (a credit card service company) to become the "creative head and spokesman" of the company. Will it work out for Ja? Only time will tell, but until then, we can sit back and enjoy some of his biggest hits, some being the perfect blend of RnB soul singing and a strong hip hop voice.
(*I do not own these videos, or the rights to them*)
