May Madness...

Sweet Sixteen
written by Just K

At first I refused to do it just off the strength of the bull$#!t@$$ setup. I’m looking at the Tupac Bracket and I’m completely bugging off the fact that Fat Joe, Raekwon, and Joe Budden are ranked lower than Flo Rida. SERIOUSLY?! I slide over to the Biggie Bracket only to see Lil Mama ranked higher than Foxy, Juelz, Cassidy, and Q-Tip. I love Lil Mama, don’t get me wrong, but ranking her higher than The Abstract is just painful to see. I won’t even get into the rest of these. Long story short, I tried to boycott the joint. For some odd reason I couldn’t throw the damn paper away, though. And so it sat there, taunting me, calling me, begging me to fill it out. I swear it started showing up in places that I didn’t even put it. It was waiting on my pillow before I went to sleep. It was sitting on top the Wii when I was ‘bout to put in Mario Kart to make my millionth attempt at mastering Rainbow Road. I dropped the soap once during a shower and it snuck up behind me. Couldn’t really ignore it after that.

So here it is: Just K’s Vibe Bracket.

First off, for the play-in game, I actually have Diddy taking out Jim Jones. I’m not sleeping on Jimmy Slim Jeans, but I don’t think Jimmy should sleep on whoever Diddy’s ghostwriter is. Sadly, Diddy’s taking an L to Jay-Z because I got Jay writing Diddy’s rhymes. I just don’t see Jay out-writing himself. Eh.

Out of the first round in the Biggie Bracket there’s no real surprise except maybe Lil Mama taking out Missy. The shocker out of Pac’s bracket is Killer Mike taking Big Boi out. I don’t know. Killer Mike just got this energy to him that’s prime for ripping rappers apart. And as much as I like Joe Budden, c’mon, man – it’s Esco. I feel bad for betraying Pimp C’s partner, but Devin over Bun B. I’m aware that Jeezy’s evolved beyond ad-libs, but I think Rick Ross is the better pure lyricist. Big Pun’s got a sick bracket. Red takes out Meth, Black Thought over Common, Busta takes Twista, and Crooked I eats Game alive.

The Sweet Sixteen

Jay squeaked by L-Boogie to make it. Fab, Lupe and Mos Def get there comfortably. Em Ghostface, and Killer Mike are in. Nas had to put in the work to get by Beans. Wayne will meet Face and Luda will meet T.I. (surprise, surprise) out of Pimp C’s bracket. 3Stacks will be seeing Black Thought and Crooked I will be bumping heads with Cube.

Elite 8

This is where it started getting real. Jay and Lupe make it in – yeah, I got Lupe taking out Mos Def. As difficult as it was, I had to pick Wayne over Face only because Wayne’s style is more built for competition than Face. Damn. That one hurt me. Hurt me bad. Luda over T.I. for the same reason as Wayne over Face. Surprise! Ghostface over Eminem to make it to the 8. Esco gets by Killer Mike. Crooked I over Cube (damn, the underdog is doing big things) and 3Stacks over Thought.

Final Four

Luda over Wayne was kind of a no-brainer for me. Nas vs. Ghost…hmmmm. Tough call. Crooked I against Andre 3000 was all sorts of difficult. If you’ve heard Crooked I go in, you already know. Jay vs. Lupe was my most difficult decision. Obviously Jay’s got a body of work and he still spits heat, but Lupe is unreal. He’s got that once in a lifetime lyrical ability. Decisions, decisions.

The Championship Match

Lupe, representing the Biggie Bracket took Luda (from Pimp C’s Bracket) out and Andre 3000 (Big Pun Bracket) took out Nas (Tupac Bracket).

Andre 3000 vs. Lupe Fiasco in the grand finale.

AND THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE IS: Lupe Fiasco ( ¬ highlight)

Surprised? Yeah, me too. What your bracket look like?

You my dude, but you kinda wrong on this one...

Its no secret... Joe Budden is one of my favorite rappers but...

He kinda stepped out of line and got put in his place. He had some reservations with the top emcees listed in Vibe magazine. He took aim at Melle Mel pretty much saying that he didn't deserve to be that high on the list because he hadn't done any music in quite a while.

However, all-time counts all of history not just who had an album in 2008. And if you want to count all-time hip-hop achievements, Joe Budden has done next to nothing. (Sorry but true) One major label release in a 6 year career isn't really saying much.

Melle really got at him and truthfully there's nothing anyone can say about what he's done for the game.

Joe should have just fell back. Damn.

Aint nothing like a Brooklyn girl...

Respect?
written by gWiz

So by know everybody has either heard, read, watch, or laughed about this. I have done all four, but I have to ask seriously. Most men reaction would have been to hit her back, at least shake her. Mr Hamilton didn't lay a finger on her in retaliation, whether it was she beat him up before or he just respects women. So, of course seeing him get punched was funnier than funny, but do we give him some sign of respect because of how he handled it? Just curious.

Happy Holiday... Here's some fly s**t

Back when MTV was still a progressive medium to view music, they always had these special interviews and moments.

This one is especially dope because you got a chance to see two incredible freestyle rappers go back and forth.

To me, there's nothing better than this... Hip-Hop in its purest form.

R.I.P. Proof

NEW: Drake "aLive" Mixtape {Ft. Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, T-Pain, Black Cotton & more...}

Download here Click continue reading for full tracklist

01. Drake "aLive" Mixtape Intro (TreyPeezy.com)
02. Drake - The Presentation
03. Drake - Swagger Like Us Freestyle
04. Drake - Congratulations LIVE
05. Drake - Girl Let Me
06. Drake - Unstoppable LIVE
07. Drake - Uptown LIVE
08. Drake - A Milli Freestyle
09. Drake - Overdose On Life
10. Drake ft. Colin Munroe - Cannon Ball
11. Drake with Cipha Sounds on Hot97 (Interlude 1)
12. Drake ft. Lil Wayne - Stunt Hard
13. Usher In The Building (Interlude)
14. Drake - Brand New LIVE
15. Drake - Take You Down Freestyle
16. Drake - Get Over It
17. Drake - Enjoy Ya Self
18. Drake ft. Trey Songz - Pop Rose'
19. Drake ft. Trey Songz - Successful LIVE
20. Drake ft. Trey Songz - Replacement Girl
21. Drake - Sooner Than Later LIVE
22. Drake ft. Treazon - Tonight
23. Drake - Ransom LIVE
24. Drake - Funkmaster Flex Freestyle
25. Drake with Cipha Sounds on Hot97 (Interlude 2)
26. Drake ft. Swizz Beatz - Best I Ever Had (Ted Smooth Remix)
27. Drake ft. Busta Rhymes - Best I Ever Had (Remix)
28. Drake - Best I Ever Had LIVE
29. Drake ft. Black Cotton & T-Pain - Every Girl (Remix)
30. Drake ft. Lil Wayne - Every Girl LIVE
31. Drake "aLive" Mixtape Outro (TreyPeezy.com)
32. Bonus Track - Black Cotton ft. Brian Carlos - Fly Like Me (Prod. by TreyPeezy Dot Com)
33. Bonus Track - Black Cotton - Back & Forth
34. Bonus Track - Black Cotton - We On
35. Bonus Track - Black Cotton ft. McKennie Love - Mafia Music
36. Bonus Track - Black Cotton - Ignorate Shit Freestyle

My Thoughts...

Just My Opinions
written by Just K

I’ll keep it very simple. Sometimes I don’t think the way a lot of hip-hop fans do.

1. To be top 5, you’ve got to have at least one classic album under your belt. With that said, as of now, Jadakiss cannot be considered top 5.

2. I’m amazed that people can’t have opinions anymore. Joe Budden simply stated that if he and Meth were to go at it bar for bar right now, Method Man would not come out victorious. Out of nowhere everyone starts calling Joey out of line. Budden believes he’s the best. Shouldn’t every MC?

3. Jay-Z’s not really that great of a live performer. He’s carried by his hits and that’s about it. He doesn’t really add anything. It’s kind of like watching a compilation of your favorite Jay-Z songs.

4. By the way, did anyone else notice that most of Jay-Z’s biggest hits don’t feature Jay-Z alone on the hooks?

5. There hasn’t been a buzz in the industry as big as Drake’s since right before 50 Cent’s debut album.

6. Eminem never would’ve been as popular as he is if he was black. It’s has nothing to do with skill, though. Eminem is definitely one of the most skilled MCs. It’s his subject matter. I’m pretty sure America wouldn’t have been as excited about a black guy saying the same kind of things Eminem does. Either that, or they wouldn’t have been as shocked.

7. The only thing separating Phonte’s ego from Kanye’s is album sales.

8. If you never want to release an album, sign to Aftermath. If you don’t want any promotion for your second album, sign to Roc-a-fella.

9. Older rappers (Ice Cube, Redman, Method Man, The Roots, etc.) should go independent. It’s not like the major labels are going to promote them properly anyway, but they’ll always have very loyal fanbases. Why not put the work in and get more money off the sales?

10. Some people think that Biggie’s overrated. I completely understand where they’re coming from, but I disagree. His style, delivery, and even the way his albums were put together have been mimicked so much; the impact he had on the game when he arrived is just – you had to be paying attention to hip-hop to really understand what he did to hip-hop. Don’t let the fact that Puffy overhyped Biggie (and Biggie’s millions of bandwagon fans that can’t even quote a few bars) take away from the fact that Big was really great.

11. When fast flowing is your niche, there’s no hope of you being considered a lyricist, which is a shame. A couple of those Bone dudes and Twista can actually spit.

12. Q-Tip is an ill producer. If you don’t know, do the research.

13. Pimp C was far from a lyricist. I’d even go so far as to say that his bars were average at best. However, there’s this feeling of sincerity and authenticity you hear when he raps (and the fact that he was solid on the beats) that made him so beloved.

14. In general, the flow of a southern MC is more ready for the mainstream than that of a cat from up north.

15. I can’t believe Cam’ron got a song called Cookies n’ Apple Juice. The hook alone is priceless.

It was all good... just a week ago.

Benzino could have been one of the most powerful men in Hip-Hop today. Instead...

He's a punchline. A cautionary tale. An Eminem victim.

Benzino was the co-founder of the Source magazine. Its been a while for some folks but that's like saying you co-wrote the Bible for Hip-Hop. Any information that was worth knowing was in that magazine. The 5 Mic scale was worth more than a platinum record at one point.

But then he got really greedy. He turned his magazine into his very own commercial and tried to push his own rap career through its pages. He used his influence to handle his petty rap beefs and it caught up to him.

Interscope is a beast! XXL just saw it first. Back in 2003 if you were on the wrong side of Em, Dre and 50... unless your name was Nelly or Jay-Z you had no shot of surviving. So between beefing with them and other questionable decsions (and by questionable I mean "black plague-iceberg to Titanic-like"), he managed to drive the whole magazine into the dirt. This led to his removal and subsequent exit from the game altogether.

I find it funny that the song is titled "back on my grizzy" because its two years old and this is the first time that i've ever heard of it. So it seems that "grizzy" didn't last too long. When youtube doesn't have anything on you in the last two years, you know its a wrap.

Sidenote: its kind of sad because you can tell that he really, really wants to be a rapper but its just never going to happen because he'll never get the respect... and he kinda looks like Jim Jones' 2nd cousin in this video.

Sometimes, you should just stay in your lane and keep it that way.

Fresh for your ears...

I know we all get bored with the same music so I give you this every week.
The gWiz Musik Show
Now in the new time slot Tuesday 6pm-7pm EST
download it now!!!
Download The gWiz Musik Show

They shootin!!!! .... Aaahhh, Made you look

Innocent Bystanders
Written by JusHH

Imagine you’re a young athlete in the early 90’s and you’re good enough to get drafted into the NBA. In fact, you’re good enough to win the slam dunk contest during All-Star weekend. You’re around 21 or 22 years old and chances are you are into Hip-Hop music. You probably heard Reasonable Doubt in 1996 and became a Jay-Z fan. During practice, before games or just in the house you probably had some Hov blasting. You may not have bought all of his albums but you were more than likely throwing up the Roc sign. Now picture that you’re listening to a song back in 2003 and you are in the middle of a classic Jay-Z verse and you hear…

It’s Hovie baby, Kobe maybe
Tracy McGrady
Matter fact, you’re a Harold Minor, JR Rider
Washed up on marijuana

What do you do? What do you say if you are either Harold or JR? Even if you didn’t discover it yourself, you know one of your friends would have told you about the rhyme. Can you still like Hov’s music? Seriously, how do you react when you’re the innocent bystander in a rapper’s lyrics? If there’s a beef that’s one thing, you expect it and you are probably not a fan either way. But if you are either one of those guys, could you still be as excited about any new Jay-Z album when you know he doesn’t really respect you?

Obviously when Kobe heard (of) the rhyme he got hyped because who doesn’t want to get bigged up in a song? But Kobe is from the east coast and was probably a Nas fan. Well, that was until he heard him say this…

From OJ to Kobe, let’s call him Toby…
You can’t do better than that?
The hotel clerk who adjusts the bathroom mat?

Nas pretty much dedicated his entire verse to bashing Kobe Bryant and dragging his name in the mud. Nas didn’t have a personal beef; he was just making a point about who our role models should be.

But damn, what if Kobe loved Illmatic? It can’t possibly sound the same any more. Was he excited to hear Hip-Hop is Dead album? I don’t know the rules and regulations on what you should do if you get caught with a stray, but I know something has to change. Can you separate the art from your personal situation and just appreciate the song? Or do you cut the artist off and never support or listen to him again?

Most recently, Nick Cannon got caught with a few strays on Eminem’s new album. If you recall, Eminem first started dissing Mariah Carey a few projects back and said some not so nice things about her. But now Nick Cannon is married to the aforementioned Carey and that didn’t make a bit of difference to Slim Shady. He blasted Eminem on his personal blog and is doing what every husband would do in defending the reputation of his main lady. But I’m sure Nick had a few of Eminem’s previous albums or at least a few songs in the iPod. So what should Nick do? Can he ever give Em a compliment about his lyrics? Does he have to start hating on songs that he knows are dope just because of what he said about Mariah?

Catching a stray must be tough to deal with; especially if it is from an artist that you are a fan of. It can really mess up your CD collection. I don’t know if there is a clear answer to this problem but the immortal words of Prodigy are looking quite appropriate right now…

Take these words home and think it through
Or the next rhyme I write, might be about you.

Mr. Mathers... I've missed you.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you've missed something until you get a taste of it again. Its a weird play on the cliche but until i heard Em's Relapse album, i forgot how long its been since I got to hear classic ish from one of my favorite artists. Em does things for me as a fan that no other rapper can do and it got me in that "fall in love with hip-hop" mood again. Hell its inspired about a month worth of posts... lol.

Take that, take that...

Name That Tune
Written by Just K

Reasonable Doubt

The Getback

The Marshall Mathers LP

Untitled

American Gangster

Aquemini

The Score

That’s a list of some of my favorite albums. Albums like these are few and far in between as of late and I blame Puff Daddy for that.

First of all, Puff Daddy’s a genius. How many others moguls can you think of that can get paid (both monetarily and through exposure) to put together a band and market that band on national television? This is the guy that introduced arguably the greatest MC of all time to the world. And if he’s not the arguably the greatest off the strength of pure skill, Biggie clearly had the greatest hype machine behind him. This is the dude that not only acknowledged that he had ghostwriters, but he actually used this fact to market his album.

And now the problem. Diddy is the dude that came up with the formula for CDs. Now no one makes cohesive projects anymore. Nope. Now people just throw together a collection of songs. As soon as that rnb singer come on, you already know it’s the girl song. When that 808 starts thumping – actually, forget the 808. As soon as the club song comes on, the rapper doesn’t even have to talk and you know it’s the club song. The beat says it all. When that typically mediocre beat comes on and there’s no hook to the song (or a depressingly pathetic excuse for a hook), you already know it’s the by-the-way, I-can-rap, let-me-prove-it song. Let’s not forget the slow, melancholy beat that automatically signals the introspective/autobiography song. It’s horribly predictable. Play the beat and you know what kind of song it is.

Where are all of the cohesive projects? On many classic albums, you can’t pick out the girl track or the club track or whatever. All you hear is good music. Good, quality music that usually carries a consistent theme. Puff was lucky in scoring Biggie, an MC that actually has the ability to pull off the formula well. Most MCs are not. Most MCs didn’t get that memo.

Rappers, I beg of you, just step in the studio and make a quality song. Then make a CD full of them. If it’s really that good, you’ll get play (or at least a cult following). ‘Cause if I’m listening to the radio, as soon as the beat drops, that’s usually when I put in a CD.

I'll show you how to do that son...

By now I'm sure you all know that the Roots are the new house band for Jimmy Fallon's late night show.

The best band in the land is a prime example of how to make it in this game without platinum sales. They mastered the concept of developing a core audience and making sure that they serve them day in and day out. They tour more than any other Hip-Hop act and they sell out all over the country.

They are the best at what they do and their ridiculous talent and critical acclaim set them up for one of the most financially secure positions of any rap group out. NBC's checks don't bounce. Word.

Pay homage.

Discography...

So with the release of his first album in 4 years coming up lets take a listen through his albums...

Album: Infinite Year: 1995 Song: 313


Album: The Slim Shady LP Year: 1999 Song: Guilty Conscience


Album: The Marshall Mathers LP Year: 2000 Song: The Way I Am


Album: The Eminem Show Year: 2002 Song: Cleaning Out My Closet


Album: Encore Year: 2004 Song: Mosh


Album: Relapse Year: 2009 Song: 3 AM

Young who? Oh he an opening act.

Not Another One…
written by JusHH

57.

According to one of my favorite sites, OHHLA.com, 57 rappers have used or currently use the prefix Lil’, Little or Young (including all of the ridiculous spellings of this word) in their rap names. Keep in mind this only counts rappers who have actually released a real album. So the seemingly endless amount of mixtape and myspace rappers aren’t even part of this tally.

So to you, the rapper who is thinking of what to call himself, why would you want to give yourself a name that at least 57 other people have?


I thought we passed this stage back in day during the plague of the “Word + Initial” (You know Easy-E, Busy-B… Smooth J lol) and the “group name + number of members in the group” (Treacherous Three, Furious Five, Funky Four Plus One More) combinations. We went a long time without having to deal with an assembly line of copycats until the last few years. But the Lil’s and Young’s are taking over and I don’t know why or how we got here.

If you are under 16 years of age or shorter than 5’ 7” when you begin your rap career then I can understand why you would go with one of those particular prefixes. It’s very relevant to who you are and its probably one of the first things that people notice about you.

But think about it; is either of these names conducive to an emcee that plans on having a long-term career in the game? If you are “young” you will eventually get older and if you are “lil’”, you will grow and your name will become an unnecessary oxymoron. Your name will become an ironic indicator of your downfall. Think I’m joking? Of the 57 names guess how many have had a relevant career that lasted 5 years or more…

6.

So for all you stat nerds out there, if you decide to call yourself Lil’ or Young, you have a 10.5% chance of seeing your career last longer than 5 years. (probably much, much worse if you factor in the nobodies who will never see the light of day) So I guess if you’re 15 years old when you drop, you won’t be around long enough for your name to be a contradiction. (Put that conundrum in your pipe and smoke it)

In a time where established artists have difficulty selling records, it is more important than ever to do what you can to separate yourself from the back. Record companies are looking for sure shots and if you seem just like everyone else, you don’t have a chance in hell. You have to be more original than to throw a Lil’ or Young in front of your name. No one will take you seriously and you will have a difficult time convincing people to buy your music.

So be as creative with your name as you plan to be with your rhymes. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. For an example of what not to do, let me direct you to the gentleman in the picture accompanying this post. He really should have read this post before choosing his name.

His name you ask?

Lil Young (I can’t make this stuff up)

Take a good look though… You’ll never see him again.

Let me tell you something....

Suggestions
written by 4 Bars

So I think I come up with some pretty good ideas from time to time, not necessarily original ones, but they’re usually improvements that can go a long way. I figured I’d give a few of my favorite artists suggestions that I think would help out a bit.

Scarface- As much as I love your music, I think your life is too good, at this point, to give us that shit that sends chills through listeners. No more albums, it’s just not worth it, you and Brett Favre. Could you make another good album? Probably, but it wouldn’t be what we’re used to. Don’t leave us totally, though, please keep helping out inferior MC’s and your homies by gracing their albums with verses, just to keep us with that Fix.

3 Stacks- Stop teasin us, dammit, come back and rap, shit…

Big Boi- I appreciate you still spittin, get your boy’s mind right man, we NEED that new Kast album, PRONTO!!

Wayne- I appreciate that you are proving to us that you are indeed a martian but make sure you don’t go to a galaxy where the rest of us can’t follow. Keep killin those guest spots too.

Ye- Keep bringing the heat as a rapper. I enjoyed 808s, personally, but you’re too good a rapper to keep that ish up. Also, make sure you don’t get on Wayne’s flight to the intergalactic, we want ya’ll to keep pushing the envelope, just make sure you don’t leave us earthlings too far behind, you actually do need an audience.

Hov- See Scarface’s advice, although you might have one more great album in you.

T.I.- in the illustrious words of Tron, “night night, keep ya butthole tight!!”

Em- Try not to kill TOO many people on this album. I mean, we definitely wanna see you murk a few people out of sheer rage but too many and you’re actually a terrorist. Scattered violent acts, ok, massacre, not ok, just a thought.

Mos Def- As much as we love you as a rapper (not so much a singer), I understand you got bills, so keep getting your movie makin on. BUT, be sure you don’t do TOO many more movies with Mike Epps and Donald Faison, that is if you wanna keep your status as a respected actor.

Talib Kweli- Find some way to get signed to GOOD Music, honestly, just look at your boy Common. Just like everybody else, you got bills, and since you can’t act, I don’t wanna see you starve, so gon ahead and pull a Gary Payton and join a GOOD team and get that ring, we won’t judge you, I promise.

Split personalities...

Real Talk
written by Just K

I’ve seen a lot of movies. I’ve lived in a rough neighborhood. I own a pencil and a notebook. I own a car. I can find a studio. If I wrote some lyrics with my pencil in my pad, hopped in my car, drove down to a studio, and rapped about the things I saw in the movies and in my neighborhood would that be wrong? Ok. What if I rapped it in a first person point of view? After all, who wants to hear a whole CD about “I saw?” Ok. What if the beats were crazy, the rhymes were on point and I dropped a classic album? Would you buy my album or would you be caught up in the fact that I didn’t technically live any of it? Should it really matter as long as it’s hot? Depends on who you ask, but realistically speaking, I actually hope most of it’s fabricated.

What fans fail to realize is that anyone that’s listened to rap, watched movies, lived in a bad neighborhood, and/or has access to a Google search engine has enough information to drop a CD about drugs, hoes, prison life, or anything. Malice of The Clipse/Re-Up Gang recently released a video stating that rappers (including himself, much to his fanbase’s chagrin) don’t live what they talk about. Rap is just another form of entertainment in which you can fabricate any lifestyle, good or bad. You can be a drug kingpin, a hitman, a dude that hops on planes that haven’t been invented yet, a ladies man, whatever. Why not take advantage of such freedom? Why not escape reality? When white America is the greatest consumer of hip-hop, it’s not like people are buying the music in hopes of relating to it. People buy music for the same reasons they read a novel or go to the movies. They want entertainment. If that entertainment happens to be reality, that’s a bonus. It’s the equivalent to seeing a movie that’s based on a true story, and even then some of the details are altered or simply invented for the sake of making things more exciting. Do we really want to argue over who is the “realest?”

If these MCs all live what they talk about, we ALL have a problem. First of all, they’d be snitching on themselves on a regular basis. It’s like having the authorities eavesdrop without even needing to bug the room. It gets funnier if/when the MCs go to court and say that nothing they said in their music is true. On top of that, we’re supporting big time drug dealers, homicidal maniacs, and admitted rapists just because they’re “nice.” If that isn’t enough, many consumers buy music from no-talent rappers who put little work into their craft based on the belief that these individuals are real.

In the end, if you’re being honest with yourself, your favorite MC didn’t kill anyone. He may have sold a little weed to support his love of buying Jordans. He may have even sold a few other drugs, but I doubt he spent a lot of time at some boating dock waiting for the next shipment of kilos to come in. Hey, at least his music’s entertaining. Besides, when you get a backlash like Malice did for telling the truth, who wants to keep it real anyway? Keys open doors, even if you never held the keys yourself

X Gonna Give it to ya....

One of the saddest stories in Hip-Hop and an example of how quickly thing can go bad?

The signs came early. X would miss shows or get arrested, yet the people closest to him never stepped in.

Could it be because the money was too good? I dunno. But you would think that someone who loved Earl would have kept him from continuing down his destructive past.

One of the worst things about hearing a guy do an interview from jail is hearing how they plan to never end up back in trouble... only to see them back in bracelets again.

X is one of those dudes that you are just hoping for at this point. You remember how great it was for him ten years ago. He was on top of the charts and was a force in Hip-Hop. He single-handedly ended the "shiny suit" era.

The irony is, one of the greatest things about X's art was his vulnerability and how his emotions came through his lyrics. But it was that same trait that turned into a terrible addiction and landed him in jail.

Whether good or bad, stage or chains... DMX is a captivating figure and we will always pay attention when he speaks.

Who Is...

J.COLE

The rap world is at a crossroads. In the face of shrinking budgets, music executives, resting on their laurels, search out the next YouTube sensation with a catchy hook and dance move in order to amass digital single sales. While many artists have tried to break through despite an industry melt down, few have been met with critical praise. And the applause for those that have has not been loud enough to sway the course of the current rap market. Looking to excel where his contemporaries have failed, North Carolina native J. Cole (born Jermaine Cole) brings promise of a new day in hip hop music.

Raised by his mother in North Carolina, J. Cole's hometown of Fayetteville would provide much of the sights and experiences that would come to shape his sound. Cole fell into rapping at the age of 12 when his cousin from Louisiana spent the summer in Fayetteville, showing him the basics of rhyming. He was instantly hooked. From there he delved deep into the music of hip hop luminaries including Tupac Shakur, Nas and Outkast, taking from them a love for telling stories with an unbridled rigor. Seizing every opportunity to write, at age 15 J. Cole found himself with composition notebooks full of rhymes but no beats of his own to lay them on. Determined to create original songs, he begged his mother for a beat machine so he could produce music solely for himself. She granted his wish and from there, a young Cole spent all his free time creating sounds and songs that would lay the foundation for what his style has evolved to today. read more here via MySpace



Download J.Cole Mixtape - The Come Up Mixtape Vol. 1

What? What? What?

I Really Can’t Help It
written by JusHH

Countless times on PTM I’ve made the claim that lyrics come first. I am from the old school where I put a premium on dope rhymes and rate my rappers based on their skills on the mic.

But I love Nore.

Correction, I’ve spent money on 4 different albums that Nore is apart of.

But I know without a shadow of a doubt that Nore can’t rap. He has no conception of flow and his lyrical dexterity can be compared to well, a 3 year old’s coloring book. Just K did a few joints about guilty pleasures and dag nabbit, Nore is definitely one of mine!

When CNN first dropped, my excuse was easy: Hey Capone is the rapper that I really paid attention to and Nore was the dude that brought the energy. Hell, PE made a Hall of Fame career off of that formula. Due to Capone’s incarceration, his appearance on the War Report was a bit scarce (he didn’t make his first appearance until track 4) which left Nore all by himself on a lot of tracks. With stunning rhymes like, “put the bogey out in your face/ now your face, laced like ash tray face”, what isn’t to love? But I still rocked heavy with him and that album.

Then Nore went solo; mainly because, well, Capone can’t seem to stay free. Nonetheless, Nore had to still eat on the run so he had to do what he had to do. So there went my only legitimate excuse to tolerate other classic lines like,

Ayo we light a candle
Run laps around the English Channel
Neptunes, we got a Cocker Spaniel

And…

All our whips got navigation
While your whips are just garbation

Yes, that last “word” was “garbation” and both of these lines are from the same song. You can’t make this stuff up.

Nore breaks every rule that I usually follow. There is no reason why I should like Nore or support his music but I do. I bought his second solo album and the next CNN project. He was by far the short bus verse on the classic DJ Clue joint, “Fantastic Four” but I can’t imagine that song without him.

He has an “it” factor that draws me. Perhaps it’s the honesty – Nore is who he is and has never tried to be anything more. He has never called himself a GOAT or talked about how his rhymes are better than the next man. Nore is just a dude who loves what he does and puts 100% into it. I am always entertained when he’s on the mic and in turn…

Nore turned me into a walking contradiction.

Thanks.

BAWWSSEEE.... LMAO

This came out a long time ago but its still hilarious!!!!

Suit and tie rap that's cleaner than a bar of soap

Who’s Phony, Who’s Fake?
written by 4 Bars

I was talking to my boy the other night and he’s a musical cynic. What I mean is that he avoids any artist that is popular because he believes that they are ultimately created, molded, and driven by the corporate machine that is “The Man”. Some call them “suits” or the record execs but I feel what he’s saying.

Much of the music that we hear today, in any genre, is pre-determined by heads of record labels to fit a mold or a form but I feel like hip-hop may suffer from it the most. There is a box that the “suits” seem to put hip-hop in. Either you’re a thug, a “baller”, a former dope boy, or the newest “box” seems to be the hipster. Now, I’m not necessarily gonna put the hipsters in with the rest of em just yet, mostly because I feel like guys like Kid Cudi and Charles Hamilton are just doin them, but I fear that it is the next “thing” for the hip-hop execs to overdo and play out.

We all know that Officer Ricky used to be a C.O. and Ice-T used to be a break dancer but how many of our favorite artists are as “real” as they say?

Artists like Kanye, Outkast, and Jay have long since established themselves as originals. But artists like The Game, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, and T.I. I feel like have lingering unanswered questions about them. How “gangsta” are any of these guys and how much of it simply bravado shown through their music? How many of them were drug “kingpins” and how many of them simply sold a little weed for a few months? I’m not judging these dudes or their past, I just wonder how much of what we see is them and how much has been “edited”. Art imitating life or vice versa?