The Situation Room...

Crisis Management
written by Just K

Rap artists are often famous for reasons other than their music. Outside of prison sentences, I’ve always wondered how they dealt with these surprise situations. I’ve never been there, but as you know, I sure can speculate. So, this is Just K’s take on hip-hop crisis management.

Situation #1

PRPerson: Dwayne, we’ve –

Lil’ Wayne: Weezy F Baby.

PRPerson: Fine. Weezy, we’ve got –

Lil’ Wayne: Please say the baby.

PRPerson: (sigh) Weezy, baby, we’ve got a problem.

Lil’ Wayne: Gangsters don’t have problems. We got situations. We handle situations. What’s the situation?

PRPerson: Supposedly pictures have surfaced on the internet of you and Baby in a
mouth-to-mouth kiss.

Lil’ Wayne: Yeah.

PRPerson: Do you kiss Baby on the mouth?

Lil’ Wayne: Damn right I kiss my daddy. Yeah.

PRPerson: Ok. Alright. Wow. Ok. Fine. What are we gonna do about this situation?

Lil’ Wayne: What situation?

PRPerson: The pictures of you two kissing?

Lil’ Wayne: Gangsters kiss they daddy. Martians kiss they daddy, ya dig?

PRPerson: Ummm…not really, but whatever. Do you want to release a statement
about this? Do you want to scale back the number of interviews?

Lil’ Wayne: Naw. I don’t wanna do sh*t. I’m good.

PRPerson: Nothing?

Lil’ Wayne: Nothing.

PRPerson: Nothing?

Lil’ Wayne: (takes a sip from a white cup and gives PRPerson a blank stare)

PRPerson: Ok, nothing. One question. What does the ‘F’ in Weezy F Baby stand for?

Lil’ Wayne: F***ing

PRPerson: Wait. So you’re Weezy F***ing Baby?!

Lil’ Wayne: Yeah.

PRPerson: Wow. Glad they only got the kissing pictures.

Situation #2

PRPerson: William, we’ve got –

Rick Ross: BAWSE!

PRPerson: Come again?

Rick Ross: BAWSE!

PRPerson: Whatever. William, we have –

Rick Ross: RAWSE!

PRPerson: Man, f***. I’m trying to talk to you, man. Can you take off the sunglasses?

Rick Ross: (removes glasses) You looking at a boss now.

PRPerson: Yeah. Pictures surfaced of you as a cop. What’s going on, man?

Rick Ross: (pauses to contemplate) Ross wasn’t no cop.

PRPerson: Do you mean you or the real Rick Ross?

Rick Ross: I’m just saying, bruh. Ross wasn’t no cop.

PRPerson: You just said the same thing twice. What happened to knowing Noreaga?
The real Noreaga?

Rick Ross: I do. I used to slide him cigarettes while I was watching him in the pen.

PRPerson: You were a C.O?

Rick Ross: Ross wasn’t no cop, bruh.

PRPerson: What happened to selling coke and moving kilos and all that?

Rick Ross: I’m a boss. I did that. Run with me or run from me. RAWSE!

PRPerson: So you did both? You sold drugs and you were a C.O.

Rick Ross: I did what I had to do.

PRPerson: So what do you want to do?

Rick Ross: Ride in my Maybach.

PRPerson: I mean about the pictures!

Rick Ross: I wasn’t no cop.

PRPerson: (shakes his head, leaves the room)

Rick Ross: RAWSE!

Ladies Love...

I just want to bring to you guys something fresh. I call this the Spotlight. Each week, I'll pick an artist and find a video about that clearly needs to get discussed. It will be a nice change of pace. Enjoy.



Ok I have a few thoughts about this. Should you be allowed to call yourself the greatest of all time?

I've paid attention to Hip-Hop for as long as I can remember and I can only recall a handful of artists that have been given the title of the greatest of all time and LL has never been on the list. But not only did he call himself that, he coined the phrase G.O.A.T. Shouldn't others give you that title?

Also, this video was a subliminal going at Jay-Z. LL amongst others at Def Jam were not happy with the Carter administration. And when Hov called himself the GOAT on 50's remix, LL was prompted to give this speech. Which leads me to my next point...

I know folks get on video alot more nowadays, but i'm sick of the fake threats. Since that video, LL never said squat about anyone. This reminds me of when Cam said it was gonna be a hot summer then disappeared for 2 years. STOP IT! If you gonna go at someone, do it. Dont get us all hyped then back off.

You may not like 50 but he never, ever disappoints!

Good Intentions, Bad Business

Burning Bridges
written by gWiz

I always knew Dame was over the top, but I didn't know the full extent of it. We used to always laugh at his interviews when he would call himself Mr Fresh to Death or his story about only wearing his white on whites one time then switching to a fresh pair. All is funny, but after watching these videos that were recently released I understand why he is in the situation he is in right now.

Ok yea he had a point in the video someone from Roc-A-Fella should have notified about the meeting and been present, but was that really the way to go about it? This dude talked to everybody like they were the son that he did not care about. At one point he was yelling at Kevin Liles, who was the President of Def Jam at the time! So it is pretty obvious that this wasn't the first time. Dame burned alot of bridges and when him and Jay were no more he really had nothing. Now you see him just trying to catch a break and making crazy statement. I.E. "Jim Jones album is comparable to Reasonable Doubt". wrong.

Keep the jokes coming this monday....

Type rest of the post here

Social Networkin'

What are you doing now?
written by JusHH

By now, everyone is on Facebook (and if you’re not your Tweeting, Twitting or whatever that thing is called). And if you are on Facebook than you know what status updates are. We all have friends who update their status way too many times a day. So PTM did another investigation to let you guys know what your favorite rappers are doing on Facebook.

Lil Wayne is…

April 14, 9:59pm: Who is Yung Berg
April 20, 7:38am: At the lab working on cloning myself. I’ve done so many collaborations but I want to make a song featuring myself. That would be crazy!
April 22, 1:25am: Getting a tattoo on the bottom of my foot. I’m really running out of room here

Rick Ross is…

March 12, 10:03pm: Finishing up meeting with my speech coach. He says I need to sound more “street”
March 28, 8:50am: Just ate strawberry pancakes on my way to see my stylist. I’m going to try on something called a “doo-rag”. She says it will help my thug image.
April 1, 2:30pm: At Barnes and Nobles looking for any more biographies of real life gangsters. I need more material for my next album.

Kanye West is…

January 14, 12:41am: Autotuning
February 23, 1:00pm: Writing a royalty check to Michael J. Fox. Just about everything I’ve done style-wise over the past couple of months can be traced back to Back to the Future.
April 15, 10:14am: At my accountant’s office trying to get a tax write off for my ego. I think it’s big enough to be a dependent

TI is…

February 2, 11:00pm: Self-defense class. You all know why!
February 4, 10:00am: Reading a letter that I just got from Michael Vick. He keeps talking about soap…

Jay-Z is…

December 12, 7:50am: Attempting to write a rhyme in the 4th person. How crazy would that be. Chea!!!
February 28, 1:21am: Finally throwing out that Dame Dash voodoo doll that I bought last year…

Jadakiss is...

April 21, 11:04am: Calling everyone who was in the Ruff Ryders video and ask them to buy at least one album for your boy.
April 21, 4:17pm: Still trying to find DMX on Facebook

Maino is…

February 15, 7:55pm: Has enough haters, really wants some more fans right now

Lil’ Kim is…

April 12, 9:05am: wondered how Joan Rivers got such a dark tan but then realized I was looking at a picture of myself. Note to self: no more surgery
April 25, 6:34pm: Is really hoping that Dancing with the Stars can make people forget about how I was portrayed in Notorious.
April 25, 7:01pm: Don’t buy that stupid movie. They just mad cuz he loved me the most…

Yung Berg is…

January 2, 1:00am: Ouch
April 14, 9:45pm: Trying to get this comeback off to a good start. Just friended Lil’ Wayne… What up Weezy?

The other guys

I’m F’n With The White Boy
written by 4bars

In case you haven’t figured out the topic of this post, I’ll state it clearly: I’m f’n with Asher Roth AND Eminem. Truth is, both are very good rappers and they both have a solid grasp of what they’re trying to do. Obviously they’re in two COMPLETELY different places right now but the fact that they are both talented white rappers that sounds EXACTLY alike, coincidence? Maybe.

Fact is, the new Roth album is hot. I purchased it after downloading and I’m really pleased with his lyrical ability. The one concern I have is his maturity. I hope that he can evolve as a rapper once the novelty of being a young, brash, college kid wears off. His “father” however has a far different road.

Eminem is arguably the greatest rapper of all time, period. He’s evolved from a loud mouthed lunatic to an angry father and divorcee but his quality of music has never fallen off. He has been on hiatus for almost 5 years now, though, and while his first two singles have been good lyrically, I think the jury is still out on whether or not he’ll be the same Em that had the game going crazy. I will say this though, he’s always led off his albums with a cornball single with a crazy video so I’m not REALLY that worried, but he’s also taken a ton of time off, so we’ll see.

I really wanna find out from ya’ll whatchu think about these three questions:

1) Asher Roth and Eminem sounding EXACTLY alike, coincidence or something more?

2) Will Asher Roth develop as an artist or will he get stuck where he is?

3) Em’s album: as strong as his previous offerings or time off hurt permanently?

Without a doubt...

Do My Ladies Run This?
written by Just K

Hell yeah, they do. If women stopped to think about their influence on hip-hop music they would understand just how much power they hold. Who do you think was responsible for LL Cool J even being allowed to drop records after the 90s? I can promise you I didn’t have a post-90s LL joint, nor did any of my homeboys. However, I can say I recall “Imagine That” pumping out of some girl’s car long after the single left radio. On behalf of LL, thanks for holding his career down, ladies.

Don’t forget THE GIRL SONG. Yup. Every rapper is obligated to have at least one THE GIRL SONG per disc. Something indescribably raunchy that women inexplicably enjoy. Either that, or a song that completely overuses the words “baby” and “shawty.” I don’t know when Plies became a heartthrob, but women everywhere wanted to be his Bust it Baby. Ewwwwww. Fat Joe and J. Holiday, Jadakiss and Mariah Carey, Lil’ Wayne and Bobby Valentino, Fabolous and Tamia, 2 Pistols (?) and T-Pain, any rapper and any R&B singer. Hell, ya’ll gave Diddy two separate hits with “I Need a Girl.” You’re an audience that MCs go out of their way to cater, too.

And if it’s not THE GIRL SONG, it’s THE BE A FREAK song. Yes ma’am. Women managed to give the Ying Yang Twins a few hits. Luke made a whole career of that in the south. Back That Azz Up by Juvenile still gets it poppin’. Though I’m not certain, I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that the term Booty Shake Music has nothing to do with guys dancing. And speaking of guys dancing, there’s a reason THE BE A FREAK songs do so well. It’s because it brings you to the club. And we, the fellas, will pay good money just to hang out with ya’ll as you slide freely past the velvet rope.

So far, female support there are fewer THE GIRL SONG songs, less Booty Shake Music, THE BE A FREAK song, and no clubs.

We can’t forget music videos. Without video girls, MCs would either have to make really creative or really homoerotic videos.

As if all this weren’t enough, Debra Lee is the Chairman and CEO of BET, consequently making her the Chairman and CEO of “urban” music videos. President of Motown and Executive Vice President of Universal Records is Sylvia Rhone. Julie Greenwald is definitely President of Atlantic Records. I’m sure there are many other women in positions of importance and influence.

The point is, women have a great deal of power. Hip-hop caters to, makes songs for, neglects, and disrespects you. Wild, right? Women have managed to change hip-hop in interesting ways. If they wanted to, they could change it again. Ahem, only if they wanted to.

For my ladies...

Nyquil Mixtape of the Week – (noun) A group of five (5) songs that you are currently sleeping on. Either you’ve never heard them or forgot how much you really love them. Regardless, you need to brush the dust off your CD rack and play them or add them to your collection.


1. “Best I Ever Had” – Drake
Next. Up. To. Bat.


2. “Temptations” – 2Pac
This video was so ill. You have to be creative when the artist is in jail


3. “The Panties” – Mos Def
Dope jam off an underrated album

4. “Porn Star” – T.I.
Making one night stands sound romantic, one line at a time.


5. “Doin’ It” – LL Cool J
Just Because



Come back every week for a new mixtape!

Kid Cudi - Dat Kid From Cleveland (Mixtape)

Click continue reading for tracklist and link to download

Kid Cudi - Dat Kid From Clevland (Mixtape)

What would you do?

Stuck on the Shelf
written by JusHH

Imagine you are just getting out of school and after years of working hard, you are finally ready to get out into the workforce. You prepare your resume for hours – reviewing it with friends, checking online for different formats and making sure that you make that retail job look as professional as possible. Next is the search. You hit up website after website, newspaper after newspaper looking for a job opening in your field. You ask your colleagues if they know of anything and tap whatever contacts that you have. After several weeks of emailing your resume and making inquiries, you get some call backs. All excited you head to the mall to buy a brand new suit and get prepared for your interviews. The next few days are spent rehearsing your answers in front of the mirror. You want to make sure your body language is just right. The day of the interview comes and you are on point: had the right amount of sleep the night before, the right amount of coffee that day and you felt like a million bucks. The questions that were asked, matched the perfect answers that you had prepared. It couldn’t have gone any better, plus this was your dream job. All of those countless hours of hard work and commitment led to this point, to these words…

You’re hired.

Sitting on cloud nine, you call, text, tweet and facebook everyone that you know letting them know that you finally got put on. You finally made it. The feeling cannot be matched. All you can think about is your first day of work and being able to show your skills and get your career started. You already imagine how your new lifestyle will look like, what you will buy and how happy you will be knowing that you are finally comfortable. To handle any relocation or settling expenses, your job gives you a signing bonus to get you started. You’re not exactly rich but it’s more money than you’ve ever seen at one time in your life.

So you spend some. Not all of it, but just enough where you feel a little bit “flossy”. And now you’ve spent it, you know its just a matter of time before that check rolls in and you can buy that car or that house for your mom that you’ve been dying to buy. You can travel to all of those exotic locations that you’ve only seen on TV. Your supervisor gives you your first project and you get to work. With resources that you never even had before, you have even more passion and more drive than before. “All nighters” cannot even begin to describe your work ethic. Feeling like you will not only impress your boss and the company but the entire world, you put your final stamp on your first project. You run it over to your boss’ office and he says:

Hey this is great, we’ll put it out in 6 months and it will hit the ground running. In the meantime, here’s about 1/10 of your salary to hold you over until we launch your project. We can’t pay you your full amount until its out.

6 months turns into 8 months. 8 months turns into one year. During this time your boss keeps telling you that the company has other priorities and that the market isn’t as strong as it used to be so we can’t take the risk on a new project right now. One year turns into 18 months. Now your bills are piling up because you bought too much stuff thinking that you would start to get paid by now. You are so frustrated because you don’t know why things aren’t working out. The people around you keep asking when your project is coming out but you have no answers. You want to quit and find a new job but you don’t want to risk it. 18 months turns into whenever…

How would you feel if your job did that to you? What would you do?

No imagine you were a rapper.

To think that Papoose, Saigon, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz and so many others could sign major deals with top of the line companies and have their projects never see the light of day. Can you imagine the despair, anger and fear that goes into your mind not knowing if you will ever make it – after thinking that you’ve made it! We often joke or briefly brush over the idea of an artist’s album being pushed back, but there is a more human side to being on the shelf.

Just a thought.

Can't get enough of the Boss...

Irony
written by 4 Bars

Irony:

- incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result
- the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

Key words in the above definitions, to me, are “incongruity” and “opposite”. I know you’re thinking “Bars, I’m not stupid, I know what the f irony is…” but for my own sanity, I needed to clarify before I go in on Officer Rickey one last time.

Today I was talking with my barber about how good “Mafia Music” and “Maybach Music 2” are. He hadn’t heard either song but we had just watched Rickey’s new video featuring John Legend and all the Mafioso bs sent me over the edge.

Ross’ new album is entitled, ironically, “Deeper than Music”. This concerns me for obvious reasons, namely the fact that the persona of the “rapper” Rick Ross is actually no deeper than William Roberts, the rapper. William Roberts is not a drug dealer; in fact he was a corrections officer. Ricky Donnell Ross actually sold drugs, never rapped about it, and was actually setup and sentenced to life in prison. I find it ironic that not only has William Roberts created a character that is based on an ACTUAL person but he has proceeded to claim this character’s life as his own and continues to reflect this in his music.

Rappers embellish, ALL the time, but blatantly telling an untruth is completely different.

I think Rick Ross is actually a pretty good rapper. He will never be mentioned in the same breath as the greats but he certainly has the talent to have a successful career. I disagree with everything he stands for as an artist, however, and don’t appreciate his blatant dishonesty. I’m gonna give the album a good listen, but should we take him seriously if he continues to lie? That is actually the opposite of being “Trilla” or a Boss of any sort, ironically.

Stay in your...

Life in the _________ Lane
written by Just K

The most important thing about the hip-hop game is authenticity. You’ve got to do you. You’ve got to be yourself. Whatever you are, whatever you know, put it in a song and we’ll buy into it if it’s interesting enough. That’s how you create your own niche. That is how you make your own lane. See, this where it gets interesting. What happens when someone else is doing you before you get to it?

Vanilla Ice’s rap star faded into obscurity by like 1992. Eminem didn’t surface until 1998. Seriously, were there no white MCs that possessed skills greater than Vanilla Ice’s between the years 1993 and ’98? I’m sure there were. The public just wasn’t ready to see the white rapper lane filled for a while. And Eminem literally had to disappear for years before this Asher Roth guy popped up. And if you check the countless blog comments about him, you already know who he’s being compared to. Hell, you probably compare him to the other white guy, too.

Maybe the white guy lane was a little too easy. How about that rap group from the Midwest with the sing-songy rapid fire flows? No, I’m not talking about Bone Thugs N’ Harmony. Am I talking about Crucial Conflict? Possibly. What about Do or Die? Possibly. See, once Bone Thugs N’ Harmony blew up, it was curtains for both Chi-town groups before they even touched a microphone. When you look at rappers from the Chi, it seems as though most of them have the ability to rap quickly, so I doubt these groups just decided to jack Bone’s style. They were probably just doing them. Bone just did it first. The fast rapping group lane was already occupied. The end.

It happens all the time. When Kris Kross dropped, was there room for another kid act? How many years did it take for a Bow Wow to show up? Remember Angelous, the dude that sounded like Jay? Lmao. If so, you already know how things played out for him. If not, you already know how things played out for him. Ok, yeah he swaggerjacked Jay, but he was done from the time he left the womb with those vocal chords. Gucci Mane and Jeezy always had similar styles. Anyone want to bet Gucci has as many hits or as much longevity as Jeezy? Right. Best of luck to B.O.B. in advance because the kid’s got talent, but his first single sounds like a leftover from The Love Below. Remember how many people couldn’t stand Magoo because his voice is similar to Q-Tip? There are way too many examples to mention in this one post. Sad. It’s hard to make a lane for yourself when someone’s parked in it already.

Battle Anybody...

Nyquil Mixtape of the Week – (noun) A group of five (5) songs that you are currently sleeping on. Either you’ve never heard them or forgot how much you really love them. Regardless, you need to brush the dust off your CD rack and play them or add them to your collection.


1. "Mafia Music" (50 Cent Diss) - Rick Ross ft. The Game, Ja Rule & Fat Joe


2. “Freestyle” (Ma$e Diss) – Fabolous Ft. Paul Cain


3. “Second Round KO” (LL Cool J Diss) – Canibus


4. “Ether” (Jay-Z Diss) – Nas


5. “Takeover” (Prodigy & Nas Diss) – Jay-Z


Come back every week for a new mixtape!

Stylin' on you...

By now I’m sure you’ve seen the snuff heard round the world. But this video is as significant as it is hilarious. Because at the exact same time, this video represents everything good and bad about the current landscape that Hip-Hop is in.


First off, let’s rewind. Who outside of their inner circles knew who ENJ or Nycks were before their (in)famous battle took place. No one had a clue and in an instant, they were both mini-celebrities. YouTube allowed this video to be sent to hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of days and it was discussed everywhere. Without the internet, only those in attendance and the few people who would have thought to cop that one specific hood DVD would have seen it. Word of mouth would have taken it a short distance then it would have disappeared into obscurity. See that is the best part about the current landscape of Hip-Hop – accessibility. If you want to get your music out to the world, it has never been easier. If you wanted to be famous and get your 15 minutes, it can be accomplished in seconds.

Then… you have the fact that a Hip-Hop battle was known more for a guy getting punched than his punchlines. Once again rappers are being rewarded not for their skill but whether or not they are tough or live out their gangster lyrics. You have Nycks, who brought a gun to a rap battle (seriously though this is ridiculous). Then you have ENJ who punched a guy with a gun. Not sure who wins the “ super gangster” challenge here, but both were mediocre rappers at best so in many ways I should have never known about them. The truth is, somewhere at the same time, another battle with two guys probably put together a greater lyrical battle, but that’s not what got almost a million hits on the web. We get so caught up in all of the crap surrounding the music that we lose sight of the music itself.

Since that moment, neither ENJ nor Nycks has done anything worth noting but they had a chance to build on their relative fame.

Worst-case scenario, they will always be remembered for stylin’ too hard and then getting punched for it.

I guess its better to be remembered for something than to be never known at all…

Im the ish...

Who’s Hot?
written by 4bars

There are a lot of up and coming acts in hip-hop nowadays, which I’m really excited about. I personally can’t wait to cop albums from Kid Cudi, Wale, and Drake and if I get one more hot single I MIGHT go ahead and give the white boy in the bread aisle some of my hard earned money too, but I digress. I wanna talk about who’s the shit right now and I want some votes.

I figure with Mr. Harris going to the slammer he’s technically not in the conversation but he def gets honorable mention cause he’s done a whole lot pre-jailbird and he’s definitely gonna come out with some ish upon release. But here are my top candidates for the “hottest”:

Hov- Bottom line, he’s still a huge deal not only in hip-hop but music in general. His business sense and rhymes are still top notch and whatever he touches turns to gold, he’s still the G.O.A.T.

Wayne- Arguably the hottest rapper in the game right now, his talent is undeniable and his venture into the rock world will certainly prove to be, if nothing else, interesting.

Ye- The most innovative and creative artist in the game right now. Whether he’s rapping, singing, chanting, or producing, cannot deny that he’s as original and quality as it gets.

Em- The anticipation builds as his new album is set to be completed and I think absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder. He might not be the hottest but he sure is getting warm.

50- His “defeat” of Officer RICKEEYYYYY has yet to be solidified but his antics have always been if nothing else memorable, but his music has been suspect lately as fans simply demand more. Time will tell if he will or won’t ‘Self Destruct’.

My vote is for Ye, honestly, he’s just a bad mofo. The DJ Class track says it all but add on the fact that he’s putting out Cudi and I’m sold but I wanna hear from ya’ll.

8 Mile (Bonus)

This is the 8 Mile Bonus footage that I was talking about on Just K's post. It's not the best quality but it the only video that i could find. Em is that dude. Seriously one of my favorite Hip-Hop moments.

Im calling you out..

Makes My Cypher Complete
written by Just K

So I’m cruising the net, looking at some more internet home videos. Sadly, that’s where a lot of the news in the hip-hop world comes from. Anyway, I came across this video of Mos Def issuing a challenge to any rapper that would dare hold a microphone on the same stage as he. The dude wants a real life, superstar filled cipher. Wow. And you know what? It’s a damn good idea.

Before I even get into it, I’m very aware of how impossible this event is. We’re talking about established acts possibly losing core fans and record sales by risking everything in a huge battle. Also, we have to take egos into account. Some rappers would be either too cocky or too afraid to take part. Understandable. Even if they wanted to participate, sensible managers will try to talk them out of it. Scheduling - all sorts of painful. The financial aspect - absolutely ridiculous. We won’t even talk about a venue big enough to hold this event. You’d have to hold it on the moon or something and charge a boatload per ticket. Then there’s this problem and that problem and…whatever. Let the games begin!

First, I propose a list of 32 rappers – established talents in the mainstream and MCs that bubble below the surface in a single elimination battle royale. Personally, (give or take a couple MCs) this is the list I think would draw the most attention:

Phonte Lupe Fiasco GZA Nas

Kanye West Andre 3000 MF Doom Tech N9ne

Crooked I Ludacris Lil’ Wayne Mos Def

Joe Budden Method Man Jadakiss Common

Black Thought Beanie Sigel Eminem LL Cool J

Juelz Santana Busta Rhymes Pusha T Fabolous

Cassidy Chino XL Pharaoh Monch T.I.

Redman The Game Jay-Z 50 Cent

Rappers would be ranked based on their overall combined record sales. This would put fan favorites like Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, and Lil’ Wayne in the higher seeds and underdogs like Joe Budden, Phonte, Crooked I, and Pusha T near the bottom; 1 vs. 32, 2 vs. 31, so on and so forth. Battles consist of a 45-second round and a one-minute round. A coin flip determines who goes first. There would be a four-judge panel comprised of well-respected, impartial individuals (Sway, Mick Boogie, and Tigger are a few decent candidates). After each battle, judges would cast their votes, as would the live audience; the audience vote would be equivalent to a judge’s vote. If for some crazy reason there’s a tie – a 50/50 split on the judges and a 50/50 live audience vote – there’d be an extra 45-second round.

Ok. We’re looking at a two-day event. The first and second rounds would take place on day one. The three final rounds happen on day two. Obviously it would have to be aired either on HBO or PPV. Either way, the event definitely has the potential to really boost hip-hop. MCs that would otherwise go unnoticed by the masses would get serious exposure. Established acts would prove that they are still hip-hop purists no matter how many albums they’ve sold. Younger viewers would see that just because an artist did well on Billboard doesn’t mean he is necessarily the greatest MC. It’d be a wonderful, beautiful, spectacular event filled with parties, celebrities, hip-hop, and armed security. People everywhere would be glued to TVs. I can’t even imagine what the bets in Vegas would be like, much less the bets at the local barbershop, high school, or hood. So, who’s your money on?

... Time to wake up!

Nyquil Mixtape of the Week – (noun) A group of five (5) songs that you are currently sleeping on. Either you’ve never heard them or forgot how much you really love them. Regardless, you need to brush the dust off your CD rack and play them or add them to your collection.

1. “Move On” – Slaughterhouse
Please, please let this album get released



2. “In My Hood” – 50 Cent
Off the The Massacre. 50 started this album in with a banger.




3. “Music” – Erick Sermon
There’s good sampling, then there’s what E-Dub did with this joint.



4. “NY State of Mind II” – Nas
8 partners growing up…



5. “Splurge” – Nelly
Yep, its Nelly – Stop sleeping!!!



Come back every week for a new mixtape!

Video: Eminem - We Made You

EM sticking to the script...

I'm your #1 Fan

Hard(Core) Fans
written by JusHH

When you think about what happened to Ja Rule’s career, who do you give the credit to? 50 Cent, right? The truth is, 50 didn’t end Ja’s career. It wasn’t even the Federal case against Murder Inc. Nope, the downfall can be attributed to Ja losing his core fans when he switched up his music. What you have to understand that the most important asset that any rapper can have isn’t a major record deal, endorsement or even a hit record, it’s having a core fan base.

Before we continue, we have to differentiate between fans and core fans…

Fans will buy your singles and even your albums when you are hot. Core fans will buy your music just because you’re releasing it. Fans will go see you on your national tour at sold out arenas. Core fans will drive 120 miles to see you at a local club in a small town. Fans will download your music. Core fans will download your music – but only because they can’t physically wait to hear it and will still go to the store and cop it. Fans love you because everyone else does. Core fans love you, period. Fans are fickle. Core fans are loyal.

With “This is Why I’m Hot”, Mims sold more singles than any one single in Common’s career. However 5 years from now, if they both dropped albums, Common will without question sell more albums. Because all those people will have deleted that ringtone and would have forgotten all about Mims, but there are people who still replay that Resurrection album and recite lyrics to “The Corner”.

You see the reason why so many of these artists fail, even after having a hit record is that they haven’t established a core fan base. Today’s music industry is no longer concerned with artist development as they were 10-15 years ago. If you aren’t affecting the bottom line, then you are going on the shelf. The one thing you absolutely need to establish core fans is time. People need time to know you, to love you. One song simply won’t get it done.

Snoop Dogg is a wonderful example of how having core fans can keep you on top. When Dre left Death Row and 2Pac was murdered, it seemed like the end of the road for the S-N-Double O-P. To escape the cesspool that Death Row had become, Snoop signed with Master P’s No Limit Records. Now name one of the dope songs that came out during that time. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. The truth is, he made awful music during that time and completely fell out of any G.O.A.T. discussions. But every one of those albums, went platinum because the group of people who would never give up on Snoop still went to the store hoping to recapture that magic and if nothing else, to support the guy that gave them so many memories. Now that Snoop is back with Dre, on a better label and making great music again, it’s like he never lost a step.

Nas just went gold without a radio hit, The Roots can still sell out shows, Fat Joe can stay relevant, Scarface can always get on a feature all because of their hard(core) fans.

Your core fans won’t guarantee platinum sales or world tours but it will guarantee that you can still get a check from someone somewhere. You will be asked for an autograph and you will always, always receive that love.

When 50 kicked Game out of G-Unit, he wasn’t half the success story that Ja Rule was. A lot of people thought it was the end of the road for him. But it wasn’t. Game’s career actually got stronger once he left because in a short period of time, he established a strong foundation of core fans. I don’t even think 50 realized it at the time – some people became core fans of Game because they hated 50 so much. See your core can even protect you against the biggest bully in rap music.

… sorry I can’t say the same thing for Buck.

Run-DMC Inducted Into Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

The use of words...

Who you callin' a bitch?
written by 4bars

I’m listening to the new Slim Thug album, which isn’t bad but personally I’ve always been turned off by his lack of lyrical depth (the usual Houston trio of thug, drugs, and drank) but I digress. What really caught my ear was one of his songs, creatively entitled “My Bitch”. Now I’m not Oprah getting on all rappers for the use of the words “bitch” or “hoe” in reference to women (or “nigga” for that matter) but something about such a blatant use of the word towards a woman he’s not only doing a song about but also actually cares about and appreciates just doesn’t feel right.

I wanna start by quoting the great Phonte when he said “like ya’ll wasn’t callin' women hoes before Rapper’s Delight”, cause I’m not on some Al Sharpton shit, I’m just taken back sometimes by such brash titles for women in hip-hop. I also watched a video today by the one and only Plies (that’s a whole other “niggerdom” post) about a reality show he’s coming out with about what he calls a “Goonette” which, to him, is an honorable term. Oh did I forget to mention that the show is about a single mother of two who is a MIDGET STRIPPER!!! I think I’ve figured out why the female rap game is dead and might never recover: we honestly don’t think shit of our women; more importantly, though, they don’t think shit of themselves.

I’m not gonna sit here and say that the word “bitch” or “hoe” alone can do anything because as we know they’re just words but I think the comfort that has come in the words and the embrace that they’ve found in our culture is part of the cause for the devaluing and objectification of women in hip-hop.

We’ve talked about video “hoes” and queen “bitches” etc etc, but I wanna know what ya’ll think of the actual use of these words. I’m not gonna lie, I use the words and I jokingly sing “Bitches Ain’t Shit” from time to time, but I’m joking. I don’t ACTUALLY think or refer to women as bitches or hoes, not even when I’m talking about how crazy they are. Am I way off base or have we embraced the bad and turned it “good” as our culture so often does (“nigger” = not ok, “nigga” = ok)?

And what seemed like forever is a mighty long time...

The Dynasty
written by Just K

It’s really odd timing for the self-proclaimed best rapper alive to drop a rock album, especially when he is currently supposed to be prepping the Young Money album. And in a time when attention spans are shorter than a four-minute song, releasing a single that’s almost 5 minutes in length with 5 different artists (not to mention the need for a great deal of editing) is an interesting choice. There is a very noticeable void in rap and I believe that Weezy’s Young Money crew is poised to fill it. Wayne is currently the most popular rapper, possibly artist, performing right now and he’s got a roster full of talent. If he takes his fame, adds their abilities, and properly capitalizes on the wide-open door of opportunity, Young Money Records could end up being the next big dynasty. Whether he makes those moves or not remains to be seen, but think back a bit.

When was the last time a record label really dominated the airwaves for an extended period of time? What was the last hip-hop Dynasty?

The last I remember was Roc-a-fella Records at the beginning of the millennium. They had album after album of heat from 2000 to 2003. In that time span you had The Blueprint, The Truth and The Reason from Sigel, both State Property albums, Freeway’s debut, and then came the surprise signing of Cam’ron and The Diplomats. And believe it or not, somewhere in there Amil managed to drop a platinum album. Bleek dropped a couple decent joints and there were a whole lot of hit singles that came out of that Roc-a-fella crew. By the way, don’t forget Just Blaze and Kanye were in house producers at the time. Sick.

And before that, don’t forget the Ruff Ryders. X was killing EVERYTHING. Eve was the newest femcee on the block and she was the real deal; the Pitbull in a Skirt was nothing to play with. And The Lox were given the freedom to make the hood joints they wanted to. And Swizz Beatz was dishing out hits left and right.

And there was Def Jam in general. Jay-Z was Roc-a-fella/Def Jam. DMX was Ruff Ryders/Def Jam. Method and Red – Def Jam. Ja Rule and his arguably classic debut was Murda Inc/Def Jam. Foxy Brown and her unforgettable “I’m nice around mics like Pippen” line came out of Def Jam. LL Cool J and Onyx…you guessed it. Honorable mention goes to the sick Belly Soundtrack, which was released on Def Jam. Oh yeah, and the first mixtape to go platinum with The Professional. Damn.

Around that same time period you can throw in Cash Money and No Limit as well. The freaks still drop it like it’s hot for Back That Azz Up. Middle-aged white people still think Bling Bling is a hip new term. I still get hyped when Make Em Say Uhhhhh or Hot Boys & Hot Girls comes on (I’m the lightning in bad weather//I’m the n***a in the picture on your girlfriend’s dresser). These two labels foreshadowed the eventual vice grip southern rap music would have on hip-hop.

And now we have…a big gaping hole. I wonder if Young Money has it in them to fill it. They’ve got the star, the females (one MC, one singer), the south, the north, the way north (Drizzy) and a decent chance. Let’s see what they do with it.

In the beginning there were NY rappers...

Nyquil Mixtape of the Week – (noun) A group of five (5) songs that you are currently sleeping on. Either you’ve never heard them or forgot how much you really love them. Regardless, you need to brush the dust off your CD rack and play them or add them to your collection.

1. "NY State of Mind" - Nas


2. "Can't Knock The Hustle" - Jay-Z


3. "Release Yo' Delf" - Method Man


4. "Ebonics" - Big L


5. "357" - Cam'ron


*Bonus - Big L & Jay-Z- 7 Minute Freestyle


Come back every week for a new mixtape!