If you've been online in the past 24 hours, you know that Cole and Kendrick both came out with songs... Now normally this would be just fucking slap you in the face awesome, but with Kendrick going over one of Cole's songs and Cole going over one of Kendrick's songs... now this raises some suspicion, especially on Cole's "Black Friday" song.
WHAT DID HE JUST END THAT SAYING?!?!
"When you and K. Dot shit dropping, bitch never, they can't handle 2 black niggas this clever, but this February bet shit get scary when I fuck around and drop"... FLATLINE. Of course it ends in the most trolling way possible, what else did you expect? But what does this mean? Does this kill every fans (and pretty much hip hop as a whole) hope for a Kendrick and Cole collaboration project to drop? I say absolutely not, and here's why; there are methods to the madness. There's no way Cole and Kendrick drop these 2 songs (over each other's beats mind you) on the same day and name them the same thing and not have it mean SOMETHING. But, it comes down to Cole's line... what's dropping in February? Keep your eyes peeled, and enjoy Kendrick's remix of Cole's "A Tale Of 2 Citiez" below as well.
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Rick Ross Says He's One Of The Biggest Ghostwriters In Rap
Oh the irony; Rick Ross came out in an interview with Time magazine recently and discussed his newest album Black Market (set for release on December 4th) and also said something else that definitely sparked some interest. Ross came out to say that he is "one of the biggest ghost writers in the rap game. Check out some quotes from his Time interview below.
How did your time in the headlines shape the direction of the album?
It most definitely made it a more personal record, it made it a more—I don’t want to use the word serious, but more a topic-driven record. I had a lot of time to just sit by myself, so I had a lot more things I wanted to address. That’s what I did on this LP. I spoke on different things. One of them goes by the name of “Ghostwriter.” I finally wrote a record telling the way it feels for me to be a ghostwriter, and not only a ghostwriter, but one of the biggest in the rap game. Because of my own personal success I’ve always been able to keep that in the shadows. On this record, I just felt it was so current. It was needed.
Ross then got asked about the Meek and Drake beef and what ghostwriting means in hip hop.
Ghostwriting was a big topic this year with the feud between Drake and Meek Mill. Do you think that having someone write rhymes for you is necessarily at odds with being an authentic artist?
It depends on really the point you’re looking at. If you’re a battle rapper on the block, the emcee battle challenger, not writing your rhymes could really hurt you. When you’re an artist where maybe the focus is really the talent and the different things you bring to the game, I believe it’s more understandable. Someone who may have another vision or just ideas that are priceless versus someone who’s like, “I’m basing my entire career off the words I’m finna tell you right now over this 30-second period.” I’m not speaking to anybody in particular, but let’s say for instance if you was DMX and had a ghostwriter, it’d maybe change the [perception] versus if you was will.i.am. I think that’s more about the music, the records.
I know I'm not the only one who thinks it's ironic that Ross is suddenly making a claim that he is "one of the biggest ghostwriters in rap" all of a sudden, but his claims do make the question inevitable; Does having a ghostwriter lower your value and authenticity as a rapper? I believe it does, although Ross does have a point that there is a difference when it comes to artistry, and then as a battle rapper (where you're supposed to "earn your keep" as an emcee who writes his own rhymes). It'll be interesting to see what Ross has to say on his "Ghost Writer" track on his upcoming album Black Market, set for release on December 4th.
How did your time in the headlines shape the direction of the album?
It most definitely made it a more personal record, it made it a more—I don’t want to use the word serious, but more a topic-driven record. I had a lot of time to just sit by myself, so I had a lot more things I wanted to address. That’s what I did on this LP. I spoke on different things. One of them goes by the name of “Ghostwriter.” I finally wrote a record telling the way it feels for me to be a ghostwriter, and not only a ghostwriter, but one of the biggest in the rap game. Because of my own personal success I’ve always been able to keep that in the shadows. On this record, I just felt it was so current. It was needed.
Ross then got asked about the Meek and Drake beef and what ghostwriting means in hip hop.
Ghostwriting was a big topic this year with the feud between Drake and Meek Mill. Do you think that having someone write rhymes for you is necessarily at odds with being an authentic artist?
It depends on really the point you’re looking at. If you’re a battle rapper on the block, the emcee battle challenger, not writing your rhymes could really hurt you. When you’re an artist where maybe the focus is really the talent and the different things you bring to the game, I believe it’s more understandable. Someone who may have another vision or just ideas that are priceless versus someone who’s like, “I’m basing my entire career off the words I’m finna tell you right now over this 30-second period.” I’m not speaking to anybody in particular, but let’s say for instance if you was DMX and had a ghostwriter, it’d maybe change the [perception] versus if you was will.i.am. I think that’s more about the music, the records.
I know I'm not the only one who thinks it's ironic that Ross is suddenly making a claim that he is "one of the biggest ghostwriters in rap" all of a sudden, but his claims do make the question inevitable; Does having a ghostwriter lower your value and authenticity as a rapper? I believe it does, although Ross does have a point that there is a difference when it comes to artistry, and then as a battle rapper (where you're supposed to "earn your keep" as an emcee who writes his own rhymes). It'll be interesting to see what Ross has to say on his "Ghost Writer" track on his upcoming album Black Market, set for release on December 4th.
Friday, November 20, 2015
3 Awesome Episodes Of Snoop's GGN YouTube Show
I know I'm a little late to the game with this one, but Snoop Dogg's popular YouTube series GGN is coming to late night television! Revolt picked up the show to appear every Wednesday night at 10:30 PM EST (the show apparently started on November 11th). Are you as excited as I am? Snoop brings his incredibly amiable personality (and also conversation fueled by mostly weed) to TV; this is actually a lot cooler than it sounds (if that's possible). So to celebrate, I've compiled 3 awesome episodes (although there are many, many more) of his GGN series on YouTube.
Interview with Seth Rogen
This is awesome; the biggest smoker rapper and the biggest smoker actor coming together to rejoice and smoke cross joints while laughing at Seth Rogen's amazingly famous cackle. Snoop and Seth discuss how Rogen got into acting, (including his friendship with James Franco) plus other interesting topics.
Interview with Michael Rappaport
This episode with fuck your head up; Michael Rapaport witnessed Snoop and Tupac meet! Snoop and Rapaport discuss the night that Snoop and Tupac met (also Snoop admits that Tupac was the one that got Snoop into smoking blunts, and they even had a freestyle battle against each other the night of the Poetic Justice wrap party). Legendary stories in this one for sure, the kind that you could listen to for days.
Interview with G-Unit
(*I do not own these videos or the rights to them*)
Absolute GEMS dropped in this interview. Snoop brings on 50 Cent and the rest of G-Unit to talk about what hip hop used to be, and compare it to what it is now. Who better to discuss these things than this group of people (more specifically Snoop and 50)? They hit the nail right on the head with this conversation, and 50 Cent sounds as intellectual a person he's ever sounded in this interview.
So there's a few dope conversations (because Snoop doesn't interview people, he's very good at conversing with people and making it seem like less of an interview) that should hopefully get you excited about what's to come on Snoop's cable edition of GGN. But what else could we expect? Probably more weed smoking and (hopefully) Stormy Fronts back on to give us such an awesome view of the weather. Only time will tell, my eyes will be open for the cable edition, and yours should be too!
Interview with Seth Rogen
This is awesome; the biggest smoker rapper and the biggest smoker actor coming together to rejoice and smoke cross joints while laughing at Seth Rogen's amazingly famous cackle. Snoop and Seth discuss how Rogen got into acting, (including his friendship with James Franco) plus other interesting topics.
Interview with Michael Rappaport
This episode with fuck your head up; Michael Rapaport witnessed Snoop and Tupac meet! Snoop and Rapaport discuss the night that Snoop and Tupac met (also Snoop admits that Tupac was the one that got Snoop into smoking blunts, and they even had a freestyle battle against each other the night of the Poetic Justice wrap party). Legendary stories in this one for sure, the kind that you could listen to for days.
Interview with G-Unit
(*I do not own these videos or the rights to them*)
Absolute GEMS dropped in this interview. Snoop brings on 50 Cent and the rest of G-Unit to talk about what hip hop used to be, and compare it to what it is now. Who better to discuss these things than this group of people (more specifically Snoop and 50)? They hit the nail right on the head with this conversation, and 50 Cent sounds as intellectual a person he's ever sounded in this interview.
So there's a few dope conversations (because Snoop doesn't interview people, he's very good at conversing with people and making it seem like less of an interview) that should hopefully get you excited about what's to come on Snoop's cable edition of GGN. But what else could we expect? Probably more weed smoking and (hopefully) Stormy Fronts back on to give us such an awesome view of the weather. Only time will tell, my eyes will be open for the cable edition, and yours should be too!
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Billboard Listed The 10 Greatest Rappers Of All Time
Recently Billboard listed the 10 greatest rappers of all time, and while I don't necessarily agree with their list (then again who agrees with anyone else's list anymore), I do respect the fact that they laid out these 10 rappers to go along with reasons why they believe these rappers belong on this list. Check out the list below.
10. Lil Wayne
9. Kendrick Lamar
8. Ghostface Killah
7. Lauryn Hill
6. Andre 3000
5. Nas
4. Rakim
3. Eminem
2. Jay Z
1. Notorious B.I.G
Seeing Lil Wayne being on this list is a surprise, though it's probably due to his incredible run from around 2009-2011. Every other rapper seems to properly hold a place on this list (whether it due to their lyrical abilities, their influence on today's hip hop, or another reason), but what do y'all think of the list? Let me know what you think of the list in the comment section below or on Google+.
10. Lil Wayne
9. Kendrick Lamar
8. Ghostface Killah
7. Lauryn Hill
6. Andre 3000
5. Nas
4. Rakim
3. Eminem
2. Jay Z
1. Notorious B.I.G
Seeing Lil Wayne being on this list is a surprise, though it's probably due to his incredible run from around 2009-2011. Every other rapper seems to properly hold a place on this list (whether it due to their lyrical abilities, their influence on today's hip hop, or another reason), but what do y'all think of the list? Let me know what you think of the list in the comment section below or on Google+.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Sorry For My Tardiness: Dom Kennedy
With hip hop there are so many different (most of the time) talented acts that it can be overwhelming at times to keep up with the newest and hottest. It's amazing how often I get introduced to a new (or sometimes not new at all) artist/rapper that I haven't ever heard before. I love when people bring these artists that I've been sleeping on to light for me, and I'd like to be the guy to bring these artists to light for others. Introducing my newest segment, "Sorry For My Tardiness".
And when it comes to Dom Kennedy, the statement "tardy to the party" would certainly make a lot of sense. Being a Los Angeles born and bred rapper, there is almost certainly a particular sound that Dom Kennedy should hold standard to, and he does just that. When you hear "After School", you'd think that you were driving right down Crenshaw Boulevard while it's packed full of cars.
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
Every Dom album sets a tone like you were living in South Central LA; cruising down the street in a candy painted 6-4, hittin' switches and drinking St. Ides 40 oz.'s living the life in 80-90 degree weather. Bass booming, speaker jumping music is Dom's forte, and it's pretty evident when you listen to projects of his like his albums II: From The Westside, With Love (2011), Get Home Safely (2013), and By Dom Kennedy (2015).
My personal favorites from Dom so far have to be "South Central Love", "Dominic", and "After School", which can all be found on Get Home Safely, but Dom also has a couple of sleepers on his newest By Dom Kennedy album which came out earlier this year ("Posted In The Club" is how the kids say, a "wavy banger").
So Dom Kennedy is definitely a dude who's music holds a lot of replay value. You can listen to it when you're partying with your friends, driving to work, or it even qualifies for that "just chillin' and doing laundry" music (I've said this before but I still believe this is a type of music that should be acknowledged). Dom embodies the Cali lifestyle perfectly, which is warm weather, "bad bitches", good drinks, and a good time. You can't listen to Dom's music and not feel like it's summertime, which is probably why Dom aims for summer releases with all of his music (it certainly makes sense). So if you need to take a load off, pop a cold brew and relax, Dom is the guy to add to your playlist.
And when it comes to Dom Kennedy, the statement "tardy to the party" would certainly make a lot of sense. Being a Los Angeles born and bred rapper, there is almost certainly a particular sound that Dom Kennedy should hold standard to, and he does just that. When you hear "After School", you'd think that you were driving right down Crenshaw Boulevard while it's packed full of cars.
Every Dom album sets a tone like you were living in South Central LA; cruising down the street in a candy painted 6-4, hittin' switches and drinking St. Ides 40 oz.'s living the life in 80-90 degree weather. Bass booming, speaker jumping music is Dom's forte, and it's pretty evident when you listen to projects of his like his albums II: From The Westside, With Love (2011), Get Home Safely (2013), and By Dom Kennedy (2015).
My personal favorites from Dom so far have to be "South Central Love", "Dominic", and "After School", which can all be found on Get Home Safely, but Dom also has a couple of sleepers on his newest By Dom Kennedy album which came out earlier this year ("Posted In The Club" is how the kids say, a "wavy banger").
So Dom Kennedy is definitely a dude who's music holds a lot of replay value. You can listen to it when you're partying with your friends, driving to work, or it even qualifies for that "just chillin' and doing laundry" music (I've said this before but I still believe this is a type of music that should be acknowledged). Dom embodies the Cali lifestyle perfectly, which is warm weather, "bad bitches", good drinks, and a good time. You can't listen to Dom's music and not feel like it's summertime, which is probably why Dom aims for summer releases with all of his music (it certainly makes sense). So if you need to take a load off, pop a cold brew and relax, Dom is the guy to add to your playlist.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
5 Best NBA Live Tracks
A great thing about hip hop is it's influence on the NBA, and vice versa. You can get on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and see your favorite NBA players posing and taking pictures with your favorite rappers any and every day. But when it comes to rap and basketball colliding at it's absolute finest, you can't do much better than some exclusive NBA Live tracks. This is one thing that you just don't see in gaming anymore, does anybody else remember when rappers used to write exclusive songs for NBA video games about playing ball and how awesome basketball is? No? Anyways, in case you don't remember, here's 5 tracks from the greatest video game franchise ever ("ever" meaning "of my childhood"), NBA Live.
Chingy - Right Thurr (NBA Live Remix)(NBA Live 2004)
WHO REMEMBERS CHINGY THOUGH?! NBA Live fans would not only remember Chingy, but they'd also remember that Chingy took his greatest hit and remade it into an exclusive NBA Live 2004 track with all new lyrics about basketball! The hook was legendary; "I'm bout to shake and bake ya right thurr (right thurr), from the 3 point line, I don't curr (don't curr), I'm bout to shake and bake ya right thurr (right thurr), cross over, make the whole crowd stir (crowd stir)". Chingy and his lyrics were made famous by the early 2000s trend of slurred words and accents, but if you were to ask me about how wrong his English were back in the day, I'd respond simply; "I don't curr."
Fabolous - It's In The Game (NBA Live 2003)
My absolute favorite NBA Live exclusive track goes to Fabolous. Is there a more cool rapper in the game, even to this day? 12 years later and the guy is still rocking the freshest NBA throwback jerseys (check his Instagram) and making them seem as in style as ever. Fabo set the tone for NBA Live 2003 with this perfect intro (which might also be my favorite NBA Live intro video ever). What better song to use for the NBA Live franchise when it was at it's peak? E-A Sports... IT'S IN THE GAME!
Nomb ft. Anthony Hamilton (NBA Live 2005)
Now I'm unsure if this track is actually an NBA Live exclusive, but given the impact this song had on my NBA Live experience (life), I could not care less. Being born in Carolina and taking pride in it growing up wanting to ball like Jordan, this song had special meaning. I mean, whose more known for basketball than those Chapel Hill boys? Nobody I tell ya! Favorite lyrics; brand new sweater, brand new leather, everything brand new no matter the weather, DVD play-a, CD change-a, spinnin through the kac', dudes kickin in the back, fresh white tee, pinky ring gold blow, fresh white sneaks, whole team gettin dough, who hot as this, the (?) is kit, I rock my wrist, the block is lit." When people ask you who came up with "it's lit"... you better tell 'em Nomb did it first!
Chamillionaire - Grind Time (NBA Live 2006)
Seems like more often than not, some of the bigger one hits wonders of this era ended up making their way onto an NBA Live soundtrack. Chamillionaire was known obviously for his ginormous 2005 hit "Ridin Dirty", but I suppose after that old Chamillionaire seemed to blend his way into the crowd of rappers that didn't last. Chamillionaire's short lived reign aside, "Grind Time" was certainly a jam you could use to pump yourself up on the court, or in the weight room.
Joell Ortiz - Mean Business (NBA Live 2005)
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
Okay, so probably another track that wasn't exactly made exclusively for an NBA Live soundtrack, but is still one of the harder tracks to make a soundtrack, and is definitely a funny throwback if you look at Joell Ortiz's career then and now. The then solo emcee was probably just looking to make a name for himself rising out of the underground scene around this era, what better way to get your name out there than have a song make an NBA Live soundtrack? There weren't many back then, that's for sure. I stumbled upon this gem playing NBA Live 2005 not long ago (yeah I still play it, judge me if you want) and couldn't help but marvel how Joell went from that, to Slaughterhouse. Crazy thought.
So there's a list of some NBA Live songs that were a part of my life growing up with the now struggling to sell NBA Live franchise (it's sad to see honestly, considering how they reigned over NBA 2K in the late 1990s/early 2000s). NBA Live for 90s kids is what NBA 2K is for kids today, though I believe people appreciated games more back then. We didn't appreciate it then, but looking back for NBA Live players, it was always amazing to see rappers and artists make exclusive tracks for these video games every year. NBA Live was rounded out every year with some sweet new dribble moves, new and updated dunks, Franchise modes, and most of all; some of the greatest video game soundtracks ever made. Don't sleep NBA 2K players, don't sleep!
Chingy - Right Thurr (NBA Live Remix)(NBA Live 2004)
WHO REMEMBERS CHINGY THOUGH?! NBA Live fans would not only remember Chingy, but they'd also remember that Chingy took his greatest hit and remade it into an exclusive NBA Live 2004 track with all new lyrics about basketball! The hook was legendary; "I'm bout to shake and bake ya right thurr (right thurr), from the 3 point line, I don't curr (don't curr), I'm bout to shake and bake ya right thurr (right thurr), cross over, make the whole crowd stir (crowd stir)". Chingy and his lyrics were made famous by the early 2000s trend of slurred words and accents, but if you were to ask me about how wrong his English were back in the day, I'd respond simply; "I don't curr."
Fabolous - It's In The Game (NBA Live 2003)
My absolute favorite NBA Live exclusive track goes to Fabolous. Is there a more cool rapper in the game, even to this day? 12 years later and the guy is still rocking the freshest NBA throwback jerseys (check his Instagram) and making them seem as in style as ever. Fabo set the tone for NBA Live 2003 with this perfect intro (which might also be my favorite NBA Live intro video ever). What better song to use for the NBA Live franchise when it was at it's peak? E-A Sports... IT'S IN THE GAME!
Nomb ft. Anthony Hamilton (NBA Live 2005)
Now I'm unsure if this track is actually an NBA Live exclusive, but given the impact this song had on my NBA Live experience (life), I could not care less. Being born in Carolina and taking pride in it growing up wanting to ball like Jordan, this song had special meaning. I mean, whose more known for basketball than those Chapel Hill boys? Nobody I tell ya! Favorite lyrics; brand new sweater, brand new leather, everything brand new no matter the weather, DVD play-a, CD change-a, spinnin through the kac', dudes kickin in the back, fresh white tee, pinky ring gold blow, fresh white sneaks, whole team gettin dough, who hot as this, the (?) is kit, I rock my wrist, the block is lit." When people ask you who came up with "it's lit"... you better tell 'em Nomb did it first!
Chamillionaire - Grind Time (NBA Live 2006)
Seems like more often than not, some of the bigger one hits wonders of this era ended up making their way onto an NBA Live soundtrack. Chamillionaire was known obviously for his ginormous 2005 hit "Ridin Dirty", but I suppose after that old Chamillionaire seemed to blend his way into the crowd of rappers that didn't last. Chamillionaire's short lived reign aside, "Grind Time" was certainly a jam you could use to pump yourself up on the court, or in the weight room.
Joell Ortiz - Mean Business (NBA Live 2005)
Okay, so probably another track that wasn't exactly made exclusively for an NBA Live soundtrack, but is still one of the harder tracks to make a soundtrack, and is definitely a funny throwback if you look at Joell Ortiz's career then and now. The then solo emcee was probably just looking to make a name for himself rising out of the underground scene around this era, what better way to get your name out there than have a song make an NBA Live soundtrack? There weren't many back then, that's for sure. I stumbled upon this gem playing NBA Live 2005 not long ago (yeah I still play it, judge me if you want) and couldn't help but marvel how Joell went from that, to Slaughterhouse. Crazy thought.
So there's a list of some NBA Live songs that were a part of my life growing up with the now struggling to sell NBA Live franchise (it's sad to see honestly, considering how they reigned over NBA 2K in the late 1990s/early 2000s). NBA Live for 90s kids is what NBA 2K is for kids today, though I believe people appreciated games more back then. We didn't appreciate it then, but looking back for NBA Live players, it was always amazing to see rappers and artists make exclusive tracks for these video games every year. NBA Live was rounded out every year with some sweet new dribble moves, new and updated dunks, Franchise modes, and most of all; some of the greatest video game soundtracks ever made. Don't sleep NBA 2K players, don't sleep!
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