It's been a minute since we've heard from talented Stone Mountain, Georgia emcee Cyhi The Prynce, but tonight we got a nice refresher. Earlier tonight, Cyhi dropped a new banger featuring his G.O.O.D. Music boss Kanye West titled "Dat Side". We've been waiting on Cyhi's debut album, titled No Dope On Sundays for awhile now,and thoughthere's still no set release date for it, "Dat Side" is rumored to be featured on the project, along with a slew of other songs Cyhi has released in the past months ("Legend", "Movin' Around" featuring Schoolboy Q, and "Nu Africa"). Cyhi has tweeted out that the album has been turned in and that fans should be hearing it shortly.
So how many people have heard of the gawd (don't judge me, I'm on this saying now, I feel hip saying it) Cyhi The Prynce? Nobody? A lot of people? Well he is just so awesome sauce that you almost want to dip beats in him and let him flow like water. He's all natural baby. I know all of these food references are pretty corny but you get the picture. Anyways, if you haven't heard of Cyhi you're about to get a nice introduction. Cyhi The Prynce is the best emcee you've never given the light of day. Being signed to Kanye's GOOD Music label, it's pretty easy to get outshined by names like Kanye, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, and others to name, but if you're Cyhi the Prynce, you're going in the right direction for sure, and let me tell you why.
Cyhi The Prynce, born Cydel Young in Stone Mountain, Georgia, is a conscious rapping, thought provoking sleeper pick for one of the hottest up and comers in rap right now. If you haven't heard about him, he's certainly done good things with tracks on his mix tapes, such good things in fact that Kanye felt the need to sign him to his GOOD Music label, and he has featured on a multitude of GOOD Music artists' projects, such as Kanye's highly acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album and even made some appearances on GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer. I didn't know this until I did some research, but a funny story about Cyhi is that Beyoncé herself actually recommended Cyhi to Kanye to sign him to his label. That's quite a cosign and certainly puts pressure on Cyhi to be great, but if anyone can handle pressure (besides Logic, get it? Never mind) it's Cyhi.
Cyhi's solo projects have been practically albums, and his Ivy League mix tape series has proven to be some of his best work as an up and comer. Ivy League Club and Ivy League Kick Back are arguably Cyhi's best projects as a whole, with some exciting features like Big K.R.I.T, Big Sean, Chris Brown, Schoolboy Q, Yelawolf and more. His flow and lyricism is one of a kind, his clever bars are matched by very few in the game today, but his ability to make great songs of all kinds is what gets the people's attention the most. Check out his song "Bachelor" below.
Cyhi is certainly dope and he makes great music, but the most interesting thing about him is that he hasn't yet put out a debut album, and being under Kanye's GOOD Music label you'd expect him to get some creative control. Cyhi has a lot of fans that are dying for his next project, whether it be another mix tape or an album, though an album is what fans have been waiting for from him for quite some time. It's hard to think that people will get bored with him before he starts to really build a buzz (that is if he already hasn't), but his lack of putting out music as of late isn't helping the case. Check out Cyhi and his mix tapes if you get a chance, and you can find his latest release "Credit 'i' Deserve" below.
(*I do not own any of these songs, or the rights to them*)
It seems like whenever a girl is on the come up in rap, they're never taken seriously at first, if ever. Few chicks in rap today get the attention they deserve (at least because of their music). For whatever reason that may be, this particular femcee (yeah, that's a twist on the phrase "female emcee", do you like it? I read it somewhere and I'm using it from now on) could be the one to change that. Her name is Snow Tha Product, and if you don't know who she is, you're about to. I had been introduced to her briefly (one feature verse) before, but the Latina femcee definitely earned my attention.
So obviously if you tuned into the BET Awards, and you're like me, the only reason you really watched was because of the cyphers. Of course it's depressing knowing no cypher will measure up to the 2011 edition featuring the monstrous Shady 2.0 cypher, I watch every year just to see if anyone worthy of watching is participating. This year was certainly another disappointment, but there's always that 1 or couple of verses that you hear and you're left wondering: just how in the hell have I not heard of this artist before? Well, now knowing Logic is as underrated as it gets, the other verse that caught my attention was Snow's. This chick got on spitting ridiculous, keeping up with the best of the best, even had a point where she got off some Spanish bars! After I saw this I knew she was the real deal and like a drug, I needed to have more.
And I certainly wasn't disappointed in what I'd found. A datpiff.com search came up with 3 mix tapes, and like the thorough researcher I think I am, I checked out all 3. Her first effort, Run Up Or Shut Up, was the typical first mix tape you'd hear from an artist on the come up. Iffy production, an over saturation of party tracks, and talks of haters and "shwag" (another new word, but one I like to think I've created, it's pretty much the parody of "swag" and the realization of how dumb the word "swag" really is). Her second mix tape, Good Nights & Bad Mornings, was exactly the potential I believed Snow could reach put into musical form. She comes with a more aggressive style, better production, a better quality in music including more topics and subject matter, and her competitive and confident attitude takes full swing. It's safe to say Snow found her voice on this project. Her third mix tape, Good Nights & Bad Mornings 2: The Hangover, is certainly a continuation of the great music she made on the first edition of the series, the only difference being the addition of some big name features including Ty Dolla $ign, Dizzy Wright, Trae The Truth, Cyhi The Prynce and Riff Raff.
So looking into her music, I was certainly impressed (and I'll be downloading some key tracks from those mix tapes, I'll admit). I cant say I had expectations going in, but if I did Snow has far exceeded them. She definitely made an impression on me with her mix tapes, but an impression being made on me in terms of lyricism, flow, and proving that you're a good rapper is a completely different story. You can make good music without being the "kill you on your own track" type of rapper. To me, this sort of thing shows true ability and the aspect of competitiveness that takes a rapper farther than their abilities alone, and if there was one track I needed to hear to have Snow prove her abilities to me, this would be it.
Ummm... alright. Ms. Tha Product, is it? You have my full attention. Normally any one rapper (man or woman) being featured on a Crook song doesn't get my attention because, well, I know what Crooked I can do. He's Crooked I. What else need be said? No other verse I've ever heard on the same song as Crooked I having a verse has come even close lyrically, but if I had to pick one, this one certainly takes the cake.
So who is Snow Tha Product? If you asked me, I'd simply reply "the best female rapper you haven't heard of yet." The rest of the game has it's Nicki Minaj's, you have your Iggy Azalea's (and people will claim Iggy isn't hip-hop, though it's hard to argue at this point), you even have the proven greats like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Lil Kim, etc., but Snow is unlike anything you or I have heard before. To say it isn't hard for a female to come up in the music industry (especially rap) would be a straight up lie, but obviously for the ones that have made it, you give props to them because whether you like their music or not, they've earned that come up. Snow isn't quite there yet, the main reason being she has no studio album out yet, but I believe Snow is the next Nicki Minaj. No, scratch that. I believe Snow has potential to represent every woman in America with strength, dignity, and an unrivaled ability to spit with the best of them all, period. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Snow's cypher verse, spitting alongside Vic Mensa, Treach (Naughty By Nature), King Los and David Banner in the 2014 BET Awards below.
(*I do not own any of these videos, or the rights to them*)
We all have our guilty pleasures, and being a regular listener of hip hop, the ones that come around can take any shape or form; for me, my guilty pleasure of late definitely has to be this gosh dang Schoolboy Q song "Studio." The guilt in me comes because I'm not a big fan of Schoolboy Q's entire catalog at this point, or even the "Studio" song as a whole, but I cannot STAND to hear that beat and not lean, jig, boogie, insert dance name here, etc. Studio is a banger as I've said in the past, and there are very few beats that come around that can make just about ANY rapper or singer sound good when they record over them (hell, if I had a chance I might even throw some auto tune on and pour my heart out). So I decided to take a look at the approaches that different rappers and singers have taken over this particular beat; introducing, the complete collection of "Studio" remixes (so far). (*Disclaimer: I do not own any of these videos, songs, or the rights to any of them or the artists*)
Schoolboy Q - Studio (Remix) ft. Nas
This remix I actually did an entire article on awhile back. Why? Um... because Schoolboy Q "Studio" Remix ft. NAS that's why! Is there really anything else I have to say? Oh, well, besides the fact that Nas mentions not only leaving his label Def Jam, but he also hints at having a new album AND having a new single dropping soon! Mr. Jones, please define "soon" though, because this dropped just about a month ago and we've heard NOTHING so far. I guess real G's move in silence. We'll find out soon enough I suppose.
Cyhi Da Prynce - Studio (Remix)
Cyhi is still somehow considered one of the most underrated rappers in the game, and his "Studio" remix is more proof to that statement. Of course being signed to GOOD Music it's hard to argue that it isn't difficult to stand out, but Cyhi has been paving his own way into stardom with great mix tapes like his Ivy League series and most recently Black Hystori Project. This remix comes from a mix tape hosted by DJ S. Whit and DJ Base, which consisted of exclusive tracks from Coz, Bas, Bizzy Crook, and more.
Consequence - Studio (Remix)
If you don't know Consequence, it's probably because you don't watch "Love & Hip Hop New York" (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). Cons has built a decent reputation even before that point, but his favorite thing to do recently is jump on remixes, and it shows with this one. I'll admit though, on this remix he got my attention with these lines: "So there's a goldmine livin on my hard drive, unreleased masters that might just get you hard time, I got vocals from Pharrell, two tracks from 'Ye, demos from Dilla before he passed away." Being an unreleased music fiend I have 4 words for you Cons; PUT EM OUT ALREADY!
Chinx Drugz - Studio (The Yaymix)
Chinx Drugs takes a stab at the banging beat on the official "Yaymix". If you're new to Chinx Drugz like I am, he is a member of the French Montana led group Coke Boys, and not having heard much of him before, I must say he lays down a decent verse on this remix. I can't say I'm a fan of the Coke Boys (or anything French Montana), but if I could point out something about his verse that stood out to me, it's probably his quick flow.
Plies - Studio (P-mix)
Plies takes a different approach to the placement of his verse on his Studio "P-Mix", instead of opening up the song with his verse, he takes the normal guest verse route and goes after Schoolboy's first verse. Honestly I can't say I'm feeling Plies' remix of the song, mostly in part of barely being able to understand what he's saying in his verse. I haven't listened to enough of Plies to form an overall opinion, but based on this song I probably wouldn't want to go back and listen to more of his music.
Chris Brown ft. Trey Songz - Studio (Remix)
This is definitely a different twist to Schoolboy's hit song, this time Chris Brown and Trey Songz decide to jump on the beat, and Breezy even customizes and remakes the hook himself. I've really never listened to Chris Brown regularly, but this remix definitely does RnB fans justice, and obviously the beat is always going to be enough to make bass heads tremble. The artwork for the song is also really cool, the way they got both of their faces mixed together into one so perfectly is great, but it's also hard not to notice the "TRGA BRZY" label. Do the two RnB juggernauts plan to release some sort of collaborative project together soon? Only time will tell I suppose. Anyways, the 3 mixed together (although I personally didn't hear much of Trey Songz on the track) are a perfect blend, and a great tool to get your girl in that certain type of mooooood (*deep radio DJ voice*, I could definitely be a talk show/radio host given the right voice tools).
So that is a brief collection of "Studio" remixes made up until this point (if I've forgotten any other good ones let me know), which one is your favorite? If there is anyone else who you'd think could make this beat sound any better than it already does (which could be a very hard thing to do at this point) who would it be? Let me know your answers to these questions on Twitter or Google+.
