I'm Late, But Bas' "Too High To Riot" Is Too Dope

I know, I know exactly how you internet fiends get. "Are you serious you're just NOW listening to that?  I've been on that since the millisecond it came out!"  Okay, so I haven't exactly been up to date on the newest and most dope shit lately, but when I see dopeness, I'm most certainly going to point it out. One of J. Cole's Dreamville protégé's Bas has been on the come up for a minute, but it seems like Too High To Riot is his coming out party. I had heard the Queens, NY rapper on a couple of Cole loosie's from back around 2010-2011 (I believe), and I have to admit that I didn't exactly see what was going to appeal him to people, but of course Bas wasn't putting out music like the songs on Too High To Riot back then. It seems Bas has finally found his sound.

Now I'm not going to call this an album review since I hate doing them so much, I mean obviously I'm not the most up-to-the-minute like these other hip hop blogs (since when is doing an album review the day it came out a good idea?), but from now on when I hear a new album, I think I'm just going to point out the things I like about it. And seeing as Bas' Too High To Riot appeals to just about every sense, there is a lot to like about it.



So yeah, Cole is featured on the album, and most would think that this would be the high point of this album, but the great thing is that it's not (speaking of Cole's feature, Bas and Cole have a really fun back and forth on their collaboration off the album, "Night Job"). Bas has what the kids today would call, a "wavy sound" that could get anybody moving. You can party to these songs, or you can just kick back and do some laundry to it, and there's a huge in between. The bass lines in songs like "Methylone", "Housewives", and "Clouds Never Get Old" are perfect to bump in the whip, while Bas also shows his deeper, more reflective side in jams like "Live For", and then he goes and makes ridiculous interlude types of songs like "Miles And Miles" that could lift you up and float you away (even without the smoke, though I'm sure it's heavily influenced).

So all in all, stay awake on Bas. He has an incredible body of work just in Too High To Riot, an album that makes him one to watch moving forward. Being under J. Cole and his Dreamville label could be bad or good, it's too hard to tell so early seeing as Cole doesn't have much experience being the mentor type, though it seems if Bas is going to continue being as dope as he is, Cole will have no problem with letting Bas do his thing.         








              

4 Observations About Kendrick's "untitled unmastered"

Amazing the power Lebron James holds over music huh?  It's pretty crazy the influence and power he holds over most things, but this is especially significant considering the fact he just convinced Top Dawg's CEO to release the unreleased songs (one of which they said they didn't have the audio file for because it was apparently accidently deleted, yet it somehow ended up on the album) that Kendrick has been performing on late night television. And his wish was granted!  WTF?!?!  Yo Lebron, while you're at it, go ahead and ask Just Blaze for that Slaughterhouse album would you so kindly (I know it's a shot in the dark, but worth a shot)?  Kendrick's untitled unmastered. doesn't even sound like the title suggests, but it's easy to make a few more observations of the EP just based on TPAB, and based on the sound he was experiencing with. Here's 4 observations I made about Kendrick's new EP.

Socially Conscience Agenda


"The smell is disgusting, the heat is unbearable, preachers touchin' on boys, run for cover the paranoid, raper's and murderers hurdle alleys, valleys in high places turn into dust, famous screaming in agony, Atheists for suicide, planes falling out the sky, trains jumping off the tracks, mothers yelling 'he's alive'," etc. Kendrick has never been one to shy away from speaking on the real state of the world, and "Untitled 1" is another prime example of this, as is the entire rest of the EP (especially the beginning of "Untitled 4").

To Pimp A Butterfly themes


The re-occurring "pimp pimp! hooray!" theme that Kendrick shows throughout untitled unmastered. can easily be seen as a theme that was intended for To Pimp A Butterfly. Is there a reason for the chanting?  I have a theory that the chanting could be a satirical way for Kendrick to demonstrate how the "hood" sees pimps (the "hooray" being a celebration of how cool and "righteous" being a pimp in the hood actually is). It's a far fetched theory, but most theories are. Anyways, the funky bass lines (which help lead to the next observation) found throughout untitled unmastered. are reminiscent of "King Kunta", not to mention the ever so familiar instruments found in the beginning of "untitled 6" (sounds eerily similar to "For Sale?" off of To Pimp A Butterfly).

Funky Music + Live Instruments    


Obviously the recordings on untitled unmastered. sound much different than those that Kendrick performed on his live television performances (which is the only disappointing thing about this EP, you can't hear him spazz out HIT THE BANK AND WITHDRAW, HIT THE BANK AND WITHDRAW like he did on Colbert), but one thing that stays true is the great use of live instruments that Kendrick uses throughout the project, as opposed to your average hip hop instrumental. You can hear the live snare come in beautifully and right on cue in "untitled 3", as well as every other track (live drums add an extra special pop to the beats on untitled unmastered., as well as the live hi hat in "untitled 5").

Kendrick Can't Be Touched

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

It's understandable that people get tired of hearing this, I mean for God's sake at some point all you can do is sound like a broken record, but Kendrick might literally be the Chosen One. That was too much to say, let me be real about it. Kendrick is ACTUALLY pushing boundaries and breaking down walls that other artists so confidently (actually, the worst kind of cocky) claim they are (cough cough Kanye West). Kendrick has muted the already silent supposed "greatness" of Jay Electronica with subtle, yet potent jabs like "before you poke out your chest, loosen your bra, before you step out of line and dance with the star, I could never end a career if it never starts." Where's a shock-faced emoji when you need one?  I would love to hear Jay Elec's comment on that one. Regardless of the drama, Kendrick has done it again, and with an untitled and unmastered project, no less.          



    














   




         

Troy Ave Disses Joey Bada$$

Did you think Joey Bada$$ and Troy Ave's beef was over?  Think again.

Now in the past Joey and Troy have sent each other shots on Twitter and mentioned each other in interviews, and they even squashed the beef awhile back, but I suppose they are back at it again. Supposedly, last week Joey Bada$$ put out a track called "Ready" in which he sent a small jab at Troy Ave; "60k first week for the Badass/ 200k to this day I know you niggas mad/ With the 80/20 split my nigga do the math/ My nigga Kirk just outsold Troy Ave."

Now bar for bar I have to take Joey over Troy (I mean come on, is it close?), but what do y'all think? Do you see this turning into anything big, or interesting?  Check out Troy's Joey Bada$$ diss below.



   

The 17 Year Anniversary of The Slim Shady LP

That's right, it's been 17 long years since Eminem began terrorizing the minds of people all around the world with The Slim Shady LP. This album resulted in a lot of controversy, ranging from lawsuits with many, (from people in Eminem's life, including his infamous mother Debbie Mathers and childhood bully DeAngelo Bailey) to backlash over his shocking lyrics and wordplay. If there's one word to sum up Em's spectacular, roller coaster career (though I just gave you 3); the best word for it would be controversial. This is one of the reasons Eminem has always peaked my interest. A lot of material was made during the process of Eminem's long career, and leading up to the much anticipated release of his major label debut, Em promoted the hell out of it. Here's a few cool little known videos that were made leading up to The Slim Shady LP's release.

Eminem promotes The Slim Shady LP's release


Dre says at the 1:06 mark; "this is the result of a lot of acid." It's funny because ironically enough, during the making of The Slim Shady LP, Dre has said that they recorded most of Eminem's debut on Ecstasy. Eminem told Rolling Stone about Dre and his recording process in 1999, and Dre responded with: “He didn’t say that! It’s true, though. We get in there, get bugged out, stay in the studio for fuckin’ two days. Then you’re dead for three days. Then you wake up, pop the tape in, like, ‘Let me see what I’ve done.'”

Eminem Freestyles Words Given to Him, + Interview


Here's another cool interview that Em gave with MTV before the release of The Slim Shady LP, discussing growing up and why he raps, including the competitive aspect of it and doing it for the love. He even discussed coming up being compared to Vanilla Ice, and had some not so kind words for him.

Eminem discusses what he's been through, confusion over his lyrics, etc.

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

Here Eminem discusses some confusion over his lyrics in the song "Guilty Conscience", where a writer (Timothy White) was offended by some things Eminem said (surprise!). Eminem says in the interview; "First of all he doesn't know hip hop so he doesn't belong judging it. He doesn't even know about, so he shouldn't speak on it." Some cold words from Em (which isn't new), but something that has certainly benefitted Em's career has been his way of saying what's on his mind and his "just don't give a fuck" attitude, which seemingly hasn't changed. Anyways, this interview is for sure another interesting look at how it was around the time The Slim Shady LP was pissing off the world.

It seems Eminem will always have something to say that rubs somebody somewhere the wrong way, which ultimately, (if you think about it) is pretty funny. In America, the home of the brave and the land of the free, someone got mad because a rapper jokingly talked about rape for some shock value looks and reactions. Eminem has almost always been a secret comedian it seems; shedding light on the horrors of America (and probably the rest of the world) through comedy. But even after all of it, after all of the things he says, after all of the people he disses, he's still a top notch emcee who should be respected for his craft, and his respect towards hip hop.                   


  

        











 

Is 50 Cent "Getting Exposed"? (Also, A Message)

For such a long time (realistically, since about 2003), 50 Cent has been such an intimidating presence in hip hop. He's made some of the heaviest and hardest hitting hip hop songs to date, songs which detailed the life of growing up in the hood, selling drugs, and getting shot. 50 has made his lifestyle apparent even today, getting into constant feuds with just about everybody under the sun. For what reason this may be remains to be seen; does 50 constantly have a need to prove his masculinity to people?  Or does 50 just hate that many people?  A point could be made that 50 just likes to give his controversial (and somewhat disrespectful, at times) opinion whenever he sees fit, but another point could also be made that 50 tries as hard as he possibly can to stay in the limelight for as long as he can without making music. A few things have happened with 50 recently that have peaked my interest about the South Jamaica, Queens, New York rapper. Is 50 Cent a fraud?  You be the judge, but allow me to supply you with some facts of the recent situations 50 Cent has been getting into.

So in case you haven't heard, back in January 50 got into an Instagram beef (ha-ha to this, seeing as it's mostly the only way rappers express their problems and opinions nowadays) with Murda Inc. founder Irv Gotti over the rehashed feud they had back in the day that also ended up including Aftermath, some Shady Records Artists (including Eminem, Obie Trice, etc.) and the original member of the beef with 50, Murda Inc. rapper Ja Rule. Meek Mill had originally tagged Irv in an Instagram post, asking "Can you clarify that he told on y'all? We need answers!" Of course Gotti happily clarified with the post below.

It's understandably easy to take Irv's words above as "promo" for himself, a way to get some easy publicity, but when you see the first picture above of the "order for protection" put out by Curtis Jackson (50's real name), you start to wonder about 50. Why would he put on like that and claim so confidently to this day that he won the beef against Irv, Ja Rule and Murda Inc.? The real heads that were watching the beef go down and heard about the details on every diss track put out back and forth between Ja Rule and 50 (who also had Eminem, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, and the rest of G-Unit backing him up) would think that 50 put Ja to sleep and essentially ended the run of Murda Inc.'s success. But, it'd also be easy to misconstrue the assumption that 50 "won" his beef against Irv, Ja and Murda Inc. seeing as the above document gives off the assumption that 50 was actually, truly scared of Irv, Ja and Murda Inc., and feared for his life. Of course 50 then responded with an outrageously disrespectful Instagram post, saying to Irv, who's 82 year old dad was celebrating a birthday, to "Tell yo daddy I said hurry up and die punk. Let's get to it no more IG." Considering how left field 50 had to go to respond to Irv, this definitely gave off the assumption that what Irv was saying was true, and that 50 felt rattled, and beaten.



Recently, reclusive rapper Jay Electronica hosted a live session on Periscope in which he made headlines for dissing 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar. Jay had much to say about 50 Cent; "50 Cent, at once, he was a good rapper. Right now he got the potential to be a rapper, but he's on some sucker shit... and we will slap 50 Cent's eyeballs loose from his scalp." 50 (as usual, entertaining the bull, though it can be entertaining, somebody grab me some popcorn) responded on Instagram to a fan who asked him about Jay Electronica's comments. 50 Cent wrote in a response, "who is that? I don't even know a song from him LMAO". Because of this, Jay Elec released the song above and tweeted to 50 yesterday, "don't make me expose you as a coward." It will certainly be interesting to see how this 50 and Jay Elec beef will carry on, do you think Jay Elec can hold his own against 50?

Anyways, it's amazing to see that all of this hoopla can keep somebody in the limelight the way that it does 50 Cent (also others who seemingly cant help but offer their 2 cents on any and every situation, such as Kanye West, and the struggling to stay relevant Azalea Banks). It's a lost art to act mature in hip hop these days. It's a sad sight to see, especially when you know 50 Cent at one time was a great rapper who has put out classic albums, and was in the news because of how good his music was, and not because he was popping off on any and everybody who said something about him. It's not always the most entertaining on social media, but it says a lot about one's (rappers specifically) character when they can take all of the allegations, the flack, and the hate, and use it as fuel to inspire and create great music. Kendrick Lamar's message on his "Control" verse is slipping, but it still holds relevance to the ones who still like to actually rap, and competitively at that. Maybe some of these guys should take notes.  

         




           

    

            

Wiz Khalifa's "Khalifa" Album Review

It's crazy to think about 28 year old Wiz Khalifa being a veteran in rap; but with almost 20 different projects put out (hard to distinguish the difference between albums and mix tapes, though most would say he has 4 albums), there's no debating that Wiz Khalifa is a veteran in this here rap thing. He's experimented with his sound since 2006, being once known as the Prince Of The City, "Trap Wiz" on his 2014 mix tape 28 Grams, and asking How Fly is he really with frequent collaborator Curren$y, but this time it seemed Wiz wanted to combine all of his different styles and personas into one while staying true to the backpacking Wiz that became so huge in the late 2000s. So did Wiz give his fans what they wanted with Khalifa?



It's not hard to tell that the big single from this project was the hyped up Travi$ Scott feature "Bake Sale", and the fun and wavy vibe that this jam gives off is easy to find throughout Khalifa. "Cowboy" is an interesting twist on the typical Wiz song given it's decent storytelling vibe, but is also able to keep the party vibe going, while "Celebrate" brings Wiz back to his comfort zone with some clean shit talkin' over a smooth beat and a nice Rico Love feature.

Old Wiz was making a few worthy appearances on Khalifa as well, this is most evident from the almost inspirational banger "Elevated." The hook on "Elevated" creates the signature Wiz vibe with some spiritual background vocals that Wiz mastered back in his mix tape days, and he gives the same classic Wiz vibe with "City View" featuring singer Courtney Noelle. Seeing a Courtney Noelle feature for Wiz fans is certainly a nostalgia trip, reminiscent of "Bank Roll" off of Wiz's Star Power mix tape.


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

The features on Khalifa are none too showy; Wiz stuck to the Taylor Gang and that is no surprise. Every feature fits where it belongs, and each person plays their part perfectly. Courtney Noelle's singing made "City View", while Rico Love, J.R. Donato, Chevy Woods and Juicy J all added a vibe that only they could to each of their features. You can feel Wiz and Chevy Woods' chemistry for making bangers on "No Permission", Wiz's son Sebastian adds an almost tear jerking ending to "Zoney", and Juicy J stays doing Juicy J things on "iSay" (a weird beat to hear Juicy over, but an awesome song, nonetheless).        

Wiz came out to show and prove with Khalifa, it seems. The title is fitting, because this album is Wiz to the core. The feel good vibes live throughout almost every song on Khalifa, and it seems Wiz brought meaning back to not only what he was saying, but the overall sound in his music. Wiz is never going to be the most lyrical, but when it comes to creating a certain vibe in his songs, whether it be to turn up to, to chill to, or to even hear some real shit, Wiz creates the vibe with his genius way of song making. Khalifa is a veteran's way of staying true, and staying fun at the same time.        

     

      










          

4 Beats Of J. Dilla's Rappers Have Reused

It was 10 years ago yesterday that immortal producer J. Dilla passed away, and though he's been gone for 10 years (already), his spirit and his music will undoubtedly live on forever. Dilla is certainly one of the most influential hip hop producers of all time, so great and raved about that it's almost hard to argue that he was underground anymore (considering he's been shown respect by hip hop legends, including Dr. Dre, Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, and even rappers of today such as Kanye, Common, etc.). So on the anniversary of his death, we shall celebrate his life and influence on todays generation, with 4 beats of his that rappers have reused.

Wiz Khalifa - Name On A Cloud/Wussup


Dilla was the king of the vibe, and his beats always created an atmosphere which made you want to bob your head, rap your ass off, or even smoke a doobie (in the above rapper's case, the latter is probably the most believable). Wiz jumped on Dilla's "Runnin" instrumental originally used by the Pharcyde and put his own little twist on it. Knowing Wiz he wanted to create a vibe for his fans to burn one to, do you feel he did the beat justice?

Nas - The Season


It's dope as hell to hear Nas over a Dilla beat, if ANYBODY. The jazziest rapper over the jazziest beats, it only makes sense for this to have happened (we certainly need more Nas over Dilla). Nas (and known collaborator AZ) went over Dilla's "Gobstopper" instrumental and certainly did it justice with that dope Nas flow we've all grown to love, and lines like "Nas, a Dilla beat, a fly soliloquy." Two of the greatest.

Beedie The Beat Bully - Won't Do


It seems Beedie hasn't done much to make a name of himself in awhile, but back in 2011 he made some waves by going over Dilla's "Won't Do" beat. Beedie was part of a wave of rappers that were coming out of Pittsburgh in the late 2000s/early 2010s, but hasn't quite made the name that he'd like to for himself, unlike his other successful Pittsburgh alumni Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller.

Joey Bada$$ - Two Lips

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

Joey Bada$$ went over a classic Dilla instrumental, and for a good cause. The "Two Lips" instrumental was given to Joey Bada$$ by the J. Dilla Foundation to make a song over it, and sell along with some limited edition tee shirts. All proceeds went to purchasing music lessons and instruments for underprivileged kids.

Long Live JayDee, Dilla Dawg, James Yancey... long live J. Dilla!     




     



     








         






   

The Smoothest Voice In Hip Hop; Anderson .Paak

The newest and most refreshing voice that's taking over hip hop, even when not truly being defined by hip hop, is none other than Oxnard, California's own Anderson .Paak. He made noise by being an unknown feature on Dr. Dre's long awaited Compton album, and only got bigger after that with being a feature on Game's Documentary 2 album. But these features were just the warm ups that lead up to .Paak's 2nd studio album Malibu, which has seemingly cemented his very own funky sound and style into mainstream music.

It's hard to say that .Paak is one specific genre; when you hear him featured on Dr. Dre's "Animals", "For The Love Of Money", and "All In A Day's Work" off of Compton; The Soundtrack, you'd probably think that he adds the perfect soulful sound on some banging hip hop tracks with just his voice alone, but when you hear him on his own tracks like "Am I Wrong", "The Bird", or "Lite Weight", you wouldn't know whether to make love to your partner, or to get on the dance floor and show out!


(One of the best examples of the funky sound that .Paak demonstrates all throughout Malibu)

Dr. Dre brought .Paak into the music world perfectly with some heavyweight features on one of the most highly anticipated albums of the last century, and though .Paak just added his signature voice and sound to Dre's songs on Compton, he was finally given his chance to do his own thing with Malibu, and he did it perfectly, not to mention that he's able to feature with some of today's biggest rappers and create his own shine on a track without stealing that person's song. Anderson .Paak's music is a breath of fresh air throwback; this statement may not make sense, but how else can someone make such a classic genre of music sound so new and refreshing?  .Paak brings back the funk so hard, it's like he time traveled back to the 70's with today's instruments and musical equipment, recorded the songs, then came back and released them to the public. Yes .Paak is bringing his own signature sound, a sound that is good for dance, jazz, funk, and hip hop fans alike.

       
(I've been jamming this song so damn hard since it came out in the 2nd half of last year. *I do not own these songs, nor the rights to them*)























      

        

#TBT Whatever Happened To Kevin Rudolph?!

"Let it rock, let it rock, LET IT ROCK!!!" This was one of the JAMS of 2008 (yes 2008, it's been that long), and I just bugged out remembering that this song actually existed. Bugging out being a good and bad thing; good thing because Kevin Rudolf was admittedly a guilty pleasure artist back in the day who bended the genre with his heavy guitar influenced music which included some huge rap features, but bad because PEOPLE ACTUALLY LISTENED TO THIS BACK THEN!

Kevin Rudolph didn't have the longest tenure in music (and to be honest I'm unsure if he still makes music), but the time he spent on top was time that people enjoyed. I was just leaving middle school going into high school when "Let It Rock" dropped, and you couldn't pass a hang out spot without an iPod blaring some "Let It Rock", or having Mr. Rudolph "welcome you to the world"! Rudolph gave a crisp new rock feel to an already rising popular hip hop genre, and boasting this new blended genre were big names like Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and even Nas jumped on a song on Rudolph's 2008 (pretty sure it's his debut) album In The City.

But is it bad that people listened to this back then?  Obviously hindsight is 20/20, so if you listened to Rudolph back then, would you use the excuse that "everybody was listening to it"?  Does a "hip hop head" lose their credibility if they bump some Kevin Rudolph?  HELL no.  "Guilty pleasure music" shouldn't be a thing that exists, because if you liked listening to this music back then, then you don't have to explain shit.  So shut up, quit thinking so much about it, and sit back and bump you some (for my era) classic Kevin Rudolph, included are 2 of his biggest hits below.




(*I do not own either one of these songs/videos, or the rights to them*)


                  

What I Want From Kanye's "Waves"

If anyone knows how to draw attention to themselves, (rapper or not, although not all the attention is good attention) it's Kanye West. I don't care for the argument with Wiz Khalifa that was blown completely out of proportion, because although it is very entertaining to watch, I've taken more notice to how Kanye is promoting his slowly creeping up new album, Waves. Just a few days ago, Kanye put out an Instagram post of the supposed track list for Waves, and the internet was taken by storm. It's hard not to see it when it's all over my Twitter timeline of course, and normally I wouldn't care about a new Kanye album (send all the hate you desire, I don't care), but then I got to thinking about Kanye's old albums and what it'd be like to hear some more game changing tracks like the ones off of 808s & Heartbreaks, or some more haunting, orchestral sounds like the ones on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It seems Kanye is always one to try painstakingly hard to try to change the game; so much so that sometimes he forgets how to make a more to the point, simple (but certainly not simplistic) banger that people will want to play over and over again. Here's what I'd like to hear from Kanye's new album, taking into account what has already come out from Kanye since last year.

So since last year Kanye has released a barrage of loose tracks that live on no current project, and do not appear on the track list for his upcoming album Waves. Kanye collaborated with the great Paul McCartney on a couple of songs last year, including "FourFiveSeconds" which also featured Rihanna. Then came the song "All Day" a little bit later in 2015. These songs seemed like catchy enough songs to get radio play, but they didn't really bring more excitement towards the possibility of Kanye's album coming. Fans talking on the blogs and social media seemed to want the more ominous stuff that gave the MBDTF vibe, and it seemed like they got it when "Real Friends" and "No More Parties In L.A." featuring Kendrick dropped in the beginning of 2016.

https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/real-friends-no-more-parties-in-la-snipped
https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/nomorepartiesinla

Now these are the kind of songs I can vibe to. This is what Kanye should be doing all the time; his past experimenting with beats and song making strategies has gotten mixed reviews considering they range from College Dropout to Yeezus and everything in between, but with these new songs, Yeezy seems to be sticking to what works. Classic sampling, ominous tones and some subtle, yet powerful beats seem to be the perfect recipe for what Kanye is calling "the best album of all time." He was also quoted as saying on Twitter that "This is not album of the year. This is album of the life." Classic Kanye, but we'll see when that day comes 'Ye.

Kanye's never really impressed me lyrically, but he's always has that "it" factor with his music that makes you want to listen over and over again. The thing about Kanye is that he makes music with no expiration date, songs on every album of his still go to this day (especially my favorite Kanye album, 808s & Heartbreaks), and that's something that a very few can actually say (especially now). So what do I want from Kanye's new album?  I want some banging tracks. I want more songs like "Real Friends" and "No More Parties In L.A.". I want Kanye to bring this "God level rapping" that Travis Scott said lies on Waves. I want Kanye to stop fucking around with crazy sounds that mirror a screaming chimpanzee in the zoo, and stick to the classic samples that we hear on "Real Friends" and "No More Parties In L.A.". Dear Kanye; STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW. I'll end this with one of my favorite, most perfect Kanye songs ever. (*PS*; I also think Kanye pulls off auto tune perfectly and is the only person who should be allowed to use it, ever.*)


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


            



          








   








              

Rappers Michael Jackson Should Have Collaborated With

This may be a stretch, but to me it seems hip hop has become more soulful in the 2010s. While hip hop has it's flaws, its strengths are shining through stronger than ever because of its artists that refuse to compromise. Because of this, artists are making some of the most next level music of their careers, plus simply rapping over an instrumental doesn't always do the trick anymore; people want to hear melodies, and even some singing. Which is why I dedicated a post to this topic; Michael Jackson was indeed the King of Pop. If there ever was a master entertainer, and someone to have on your song just to say you HAVE THEM ON YOUR SONG, it would have probably been Michael Jackson. I mean, the guy's added soul to pretty much any song he's been a part of. There are only a few rappers who I feel I could honestly say deserve a Michael Jackson feature, so I decided to name a few here, and (tried to) include one of their more soulful jams, so you could try to picture what it'd sound like for these rappers to collaborate with MJ. Here we go!

J. Cole - Note To Self


In terms of soul, Cole showed the most on his latest album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. On songs like "Intro", "Apparently", and especially the outro "Note To Self", Cole showed not only a decent singing voice, but a soul that would make church goers look like sinners. Cole pours his heart out in some of these songs, and Michael Jackson would only cap off this souled out track with some angelic background vocals, or maybe even a solo (who knows, it's up to you to decide!).

Kendrick Lamar - Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst


It should come as no surprise that Kendrick made this list as a "could have been" Michael Jackson collaborator, his music drips soul and his latest album To Pimp A Butterfly is the greatest example of this statement. Michael could have thrown his two cents in on many Kendrick tracks; imagine him on "These Walls", "Kush & Corinthians" off of Section.80 instead of BJ The Chicago Kid (although BJ is amazing) or even the Good Kid Maad City extra "Now Or Never" featuring Mary J. Blige. But the ever-so-perfect collaboration would have to be Michael on Kendrick's "Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst" because come on; can't you just hear it?

50 Cent - 21 Questions


So this was a tough one, but I had to include 50 Cent simply because of the (little known) fact that Michael Jackson said that he wished to collaborate with 50 Cent before his passing (it's true, look it up). It's really so tough because all of 50's songs are so tough, most include a banging beat with some hard rapping, not something you'd normally hear Michael Jackson on, so 50's classic "21 Questions" seems to be the medium. Could you imagine Michael Jackson on the hook instead of Nate Dogg (R.I.P to the true hook king as well) though?  I guess you'd never know.

Nas - Bye Baby


Nas is practically the perfect rapper for a Michael Jackson collaboration, I mean could you think of anyone more deserving?  Nas is top 5 dead or alive (debatable, although I believe he is) and quite possibly owns the longest reign at the top, with a career spanning over 20 years. Nas has got the sound for MJ too; spanning from songs like "You Wouldn't Understand", "Reach Out", and "Cherry Wine featuring the late and great Amy Winehouse (R.I.P), and those are just on his last album, Life Is Good. Nas is perfect for a Michael Jackson feature not just because he makes soulful, heartfelt jams, but because he spits the truest and most realistic stories in his rhymes; Michael Jackson would cap off the feeling of a perfect collaboration.

The idea of Michael Jackson collaborating with a rapper might sound crazy to some, but it really shouldn't, especially in 2016. The range of collaborations we've seen over the years has really skyrocketed, even if you think about strictly award show/television show performances (Grammy's or talk shows). I mean Eminem collaborated with Elton John for a performance, wouldn't that put to rest any limitations you have on other possible collaborators?  Mixing genres is a beautiful thing not just because of the great music that can come out of it, but because it shows that different kinds of people can accept each other, no matter what their tastes may be. The power of music is infinite.     



       





                     
 




         

Throwback Thursday: Jay Z's "Backstage" Documentary

Rarely nowadays do you get such an in depth behind the scenes look at rappers, whether it be tour life, studio sessions, or just an off day in the life. J. Cole's "Road To Homecoming" documentary series was so fascinating to someone like me because I crave a behind the scenes look; I love knowing how the whole process works and what it looks like. Knowing how these rappers deal with tour life, or meeting recording deadlines, I just can't get enough of it. And if you have Netflix, you could get another seriously cool look at the tour life with "Backstage".

"Backstage" is a tour documentary based on Jay Z's 1999 "Hard Knock Life" tour, and it features some legendary guests. You get to see how hood and terrifying Beanie Siegel really is (I wonder why he never turned out to be big), You get to see Ja Rule in all his du rag rocking glory, you get to see the dynamic duo Method Man and Redman smoke themselves into a coma, and of course you get to see the DOG, DMX bring his weight lifting pit bull on tour and scare people.

This doc is great; it includes Beanie beating on people for fun (because again, Beanie is pretty terrifying), Dame Dash screaming at tour managers for not promoting Roc-A-Fella enough, and quite an amazing behind the scenes look at Jay Z and DMX going bar for bar in a freestyle session backstage. Yes this documentary has it all and if you haven't seen it or don't plan to see it than I have to ask; are you a hip hop fan at all?!  Check out a snippet of the doc below, and if you don't have Netflix, I'm sure you can catch the documentary online somewhere.


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








   

Is Mos Def Retiring?

A message from Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) on Kanye's website (kanyewest.com) clarifies that The Mighty Mos is putting the mic down after his next album. That's right, Mos Def is retiring, and the hip hop world is distraught with this news, as am I. The reason for his retirement, however, is confusing.

In the message that Yasiin released on kanyewest.com, Yasiin spoke of being detained in South Africa, as well as his ongoing problems with the government. He goes on to speak about his World Passport; "Anyone can do the research about the World Passport. It is not meant to deceive or derive any benefits from any nation state. I have made no false claims. I have not misrepresented myself... I am under unnecessary state supervision and scrutiny."

It seems due to this "unnecessary state supervision and scrutiny", Mos felt it would be a good time to hang it up and bring no further unwanted attention to himself or his family. Probably a good move, Mos, but we'll miss you. You can hear the message in full below.


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

5 Awesome GTA 5 Songs

So in case I've never told y'all, I play a lot of video games. When you're sitting and doing nothing, there's really nothing better to pass the time than to rock some NBA 2K, save Gotham City, or in this case, run around Los Santos terrorizing the city and making bunches of money driving really fast expensive cars and searching for alien spaceships parts (we don't all have the same interests). I've been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto 5 lately for some reason (I know I'm a tad late to the game, although I did end up buying it for previous and new gen consoles), and I'm just now realizing how many awesome songs Grand Theft Auto 5 has turned me on to. Here's 5 songs from GTA 5 that I never knew about until I started playing.

Life Of A Mack - 100s


I had never heard "Life Of A Mack" or of 100s before, but this beat is just too wavy not to jig to (and bump through the TV speakers sipping a little bit of some good liquor). 100s (also known as Kossisko) is a Berkeley, CA rapper who is known widely for his G-Funk style of rap, and boy is he keeping the West Coast style with his music. He released an EP in 2014 by the name of Ivry, and based on the sound of "Life Of A Mack", it might be worth a listen.

MC Eiht & Freddie Gibbs ft. Kokane - Welcome To Los Santos


I still find it amazing that Grand Theft Auto is such a big game that artists will make songs exclusively for the game itself, and MC Eiht, Freddie Gibbs and Kokane's "Welcome To Los Santos" is another perfect example of that. This song captures the feeling of riding around in the 6-4 with the bass thumpin' (not that I would know what that feels like, I'd love to though), and is one of many appearances that Freddie Gibbs makes on GTA 5's soundtrack.

Smokin' and Ridin' -BJ The Chicago Kid ft. Freddie Gibbs & Problem


Another Appearance from GTA 5 favorite Freddie Gibbs is on the hook king BJ The Chicago Kid's "Smokin' and Ridin'". There aren't many songs more smooth than this record, and BJ The Chicago Kid's angelic vocals grace this song and ride the hook like a wave (did you like that description? I wrote it myself).

Trouble ft. Gucci Mane - Everyday


This song is definitely a guilty pleasure; I've never been much of a Gucci Mane fan besides his song "Heavy" back in the day (came out around 2010 I believe), but this song has that sort of same hypnotizing beat that "Heavy" did (for me, at least). The beat is hard, the bass is heavy, and the melody screams Gucci Mane as soon as it comes on. Classic Gucci sound on this one! (Oh, and Trouble's not too bad either.)

Freddie Gibbs & Mike Dean - Sellin' Dope

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

But when it comes to hard (although Gucci is up there), it doesn't get much harder than Freddie Gibbs and Mike Dean's "Sellin' Dope." I mean this is straight up drug trafficking, speaker blaring, gun totin', gangsta music!  When I bump this I feel like I should be paranoid that the cops are coming (even though all I do is write and play video games, I got nothing to hide!).

So there's a few awesome GTA exclusives that you can only get with Grand Theft Auto 5 (although you can find them all online, obviously, they're not pulling anything like this dumb Apple Music and TIDAL war that's going on with exclusive music now). You have to love when artists can come together to put out music for a big cause like this; if this is the way to unite rappers of different coasts and areas of origin, then I say collaborate away! (I'm already excited about the idea of more collaborations for Grand Theft Auto 6)     

 


    



    












       


    

Kendrick Kills Another TV Performance (Fallon Interview + Performance)

If it isn't already safe to say that Kendrick Lamar is the King of Rap, or even the King of the New School, it's most definitely safe to say that when Kendrick is featured on some late night television, you better believe he's going to put on an unforgettable performance.

Kendrick was on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon last night discussing his latest (almost) record for Grammy nominations (11, whereas Michael Jackson had 12), and Jimmy Fallon saw this as a big deal whereas Kendrick was the usual humble person he is. "I did a little research, Michael Jackson holds the record with 12 nominations. You almost had the same amount of nominations as Michael Jackson for Thriller." Jimmy then asked, "what if you had 13?" Kendrick replied "I wouldn't want to go past that, though. I can't fathom being as great as Michael without putting out the work. 11 is perfect." As humble as always.

But, this is not the highlight of the show. Kendrick then puts on a show, and definitely one to see, as usual (I mean at this point it's almost a given, when Kendrick is on late night television, you can almost expect a game changing performance). You can peep both the performance and the interview with Jimmy below.


     

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