Attention Hip Hop Unlimited Readers: A Message From Yours Truly

It's been a pretty crazy 2 years here at HHU, and it's even crazier to think that it's been that long. From album reviews to insane conspiracy theories, I like to think I'm not afraid to tackle any subject having to do with hip hop, or anything having to do with any one person or group of people involved in it. I love this here, it's what I do, and it's what I'm going to do, but sometimes to realize what needs to be done you have to take a step back and get some other things done before you can conquer the world of hip hop writing.

I can't thank my loyal readers enough for the support they've given me, through every crappy article and every decent one that I could only hope gets people conversing, you guys are my rock through everything, and know that I wouldn't be anything without you guys, literally. With every time you guys read or share something I've done, know that you've lifted me up in a very important way that not many other things I do can do for me anymore.

With all of this being said, I will be taking a short intermission from Hip Hop Unlimited, and will not be posting for an amount of time that I am unsure of at the moment. Life happens to all of us, and a couple of things have come up that I have to deal with. But not to worry, because life is just one big checklist of tackling obstacles, and this is just another obstacle that I'll conquer in time. And once time passes, I'll be back, because time waits for no man.

This is Geoffrey Guy signing out, but only for now. Don't get used to me being gone too quickly.

Born Sinner Dropped 3 Years Ago Today

"Imma drop the album same day as Kanye, just to show the boys the man now like Wanya."

Yep, that's right, Born Sinner, arguably the album that put J. Cole on America's (and probably the world's) radar as one of the most competitive emcee's out dropped 3 years ago today. When Cole announced that he'd be dropping Born Sinner the same day that elite hip hop artist Kanye West would be dropping his album Yeezus, he put the hip hop world on notice, because that kind of confidence was something hip hop was missing at the time (and though Cole is confident in his rhymes, you wouldn't get that cocky vibe just from listening to the man talk in every day conversation). Anyways, Born Sinner was a solid effort that got mixed reviews from critics after it's release, but we're not here to focus on that. Here, I'd like to focus on some highlights of the album that make it so great, and maybe even drop some jewels that you might not have known.

Villuminati


"It's way darker this time" was the perfect sentence to start off this album, and "Villuminati" was not only a perfect way to continue Cole's 'Ville influenced song series, but also the perfect song to start off the much darker Born Sinner album. On "Villuminati" Cole was coming for the game's throat, and though he didn't mention anyone in particular (in terms of dissing), he certainly showcased why he deserves to be at the top with his superior punchlines, flow, and conscience mind.

Let NaS Down

    
One of Born Sinner's most stand out tracks is the venting track "Let NaS Down", where Cole explains being let down by himself in making a song that didn't impress his idol, Nas. You can tell just by the way he talks in explaining the song in the interview above that Cole worshipped Nas as a young aspiring emcee, and he was devastated by Nas' critiquing of his first single off of his first major label debut, (Cole World: The Sideline Story) "Work Out". Cole would not give up because of this though, and went on to add "Let NaS Down" onto Born Sinner, and even eventually earned Nas' approval by getting the legendary emcee to feature on a remix of the song.


Also, here are some exclusive facts about the album that maybe you didn't know before, credit goes to @OnlyHipHopFacts on Twitter.

        

        

       










 
Happy Birthday Born Sinner!

To Buy Into The Memes, Or Not? (SchoolBoy Q's New Album Cover Says "Buy In")

Sigh. I'm not even sure what to say at this point. I think the memes have gotten the best of us, people. I mean using the crying face Jordan as a joke here and there, okay, but as a fucking album cover for your next project?  To define your next album by putting the picture above as your album cover?  It makes no sense to me.

If this is your first time seeing the above picture, then get used to seeing it, because this is the album cover for Schoolboy Q's forthcoming album Blank Face, which is due out on July 8th. Blank Face is preceded by it's first 2 singles, "Groovy Tony" and "THat Part" featuring Kanye West. I must say taking advantage of a meme that has taken over the entire internet can either be something that REALLYY hurts you, or REALLYY helps you, let's hope for Q's sake that it's the latter. Use the crying face Jordan for good Q, maybe something useful will come out of it. If only. Check out the music videos for Schoolboy's first 2 singles below.




                  (*I do not own these videos, or the rights to them*)

*Update*

Turns out Schoolboy Q was just trolling people with the announcement of the crying Jordan cover. You can see the real cover below.

  

Talib Kweli Talks About Meeting Kanye West For the First Time

Every now and then a legend will come through a leading podcast (seemingly more and more now as podcasts it seems are where the gems are hidden these days) and drop a few jewels that fans and fellow hip hop nerds have never heard before, and on The Drink Champs podcast, Talib Kweli came through and did just that.

Kweli stopped in to The Drink Champs podcast to talk about a few things, most notably first meeting Kanye West. "Kanye come through the door, I never seen this nigga, I never heard of this nigga. He said 'I'm here to meet Mos Def.' I said 'well guess what, he might not show up. But who are you?' He said 'Mos Def told me to meet him here, I got some beats.' I said 'play me the beats. I'm working on an album.'" And as you know, the rest is history. Check out the rest of the story in the interview below. It gets a tad annoying with N.O.R.E constantly interrupting Talib's story, but is mostly entertaining.


(*I do not own this video, or the rights to it*)
      

Overlooked Audio Of The Past Week(s)

Yes, it's about that time for another edition of "Overlooked Audio". As you know (or may not, given the fact that I have to cover some of it), there is SOOO MUCH great hip hop out there for you to listen to, so much so that not every release gets it's proper shine or attention. But that's why you have me; the towering beacon that so surely and swiftly seeks out the best (and obviously most overlooked) rap songs that the internet has to offer, and below, I'll be listing the most overlooked songs that have released in the past 2 weeks.

Asher Roth ft. Michael Christmas & Larry June - Laundry


It's weird that Asher Roth is normally quite the hip hop hermit, because whenever he does drop something it seems to fly much further under the radar than it should have. On this Chuck Inglish-produced cut Asher Roth enlists Boston emcee Michael Christmas and Larry June to compare the freshness of ones self to, you guessed it; laundry.

Bishop Nehru - Love What You Do


If you've been paying attention to Hip Hop Unlimited for the past month or so, you would have noticed that Bishop Nehru has found his way onto my radar of up and comers that deserve your attention. His new song "Love What You Do" comes shortly after the release of his new mixtape Magic:19, which came out approximately 2 days ago, June 3rd, Hip Hop DX reports, although Bishop's SoundCloud says the tape has been out for 2 months. Either way, Bishop shows his range as a heartfelt emcee on "Love What You Do", and Magic:19 is definitely worth a listen for fans who enjoy lyricism and some banging beats.

De La Soul Ft. Snoop Dogg - Pain


In case you haven't heard, De La Soul is eyeing a comeback with their newest album and the Anonymous Nobody... set for release August 26th, and has released the first single featuring the one and only Snoop D-O-Double G!  If you can't groove to this then there probably aren't many songs you can groove to; this song has "SOUL" written all over it, but not without the "De La" put in front of it.

Joey Purp - iiiDrops album

          (*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)

Another hot up and comer that has caught my eye the past month or so has been Chicago emcee Joey Purp. His iiiDrops album has been in constant rotation in the past week, and his clever lyricism and in your face cadence is definitely one to catch your attention. He starts off his banging iiiDrops album with some "MORNING SEX" (above), and (in case you didn't think it got any better than morning sex) the album only gets better from there. iiiDrops boasts features from Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins and more, and will keep you banging your heads with some hip-hop-to-the-core instrumentals.

Joey Bada$$ - Devastated


Another song that's been released the past 2 weeks that I absolutely cannot stop playing is Joey Bada$$' new single, "Devastated". There's no word whether "Devastated" will live on an upcoming Joey LP or EP, though the iTunes link is given in the description under the song on YouTube. "Devastated" is great not just because it's a great song with an amazingly wavy beat, but because it's so far outside of Joey's normal lane that you can only wonder what Joey has in store for his next project with this song. Will he be straying away from the 90's nostalgic rap that he became known for?  It seems like we might get to find out here in the near future.      

So there's a few dope songs, and even a couple of projects that you might have overlooked in the past couple of weeks that are definitely worth a listen or two. As long as the unlimited hip hop keeps coming, I'll keep talking about it, unlimitedly!