New Music: DJ gWiz - The Red Light Special

DJ gWiz - The Red Light Special

New Music: DJ gWiz - Rhythm & Blues Vol. 1 (Mixtape)

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DJ gWiz - Rhythm & Blues Vol. 1

Slum Village’s Rock The Bells Tribute To Baatin

RIP Baatin.

4 Bars- F&%k Thaaaaaatt

So with all the sad goodbyes and all that other mushy ish on the PTM calendar this week, I’m officially sayin I ain’t down wit it and ya’ll gon get more 4 Bars (shit, I hope ya’ll want it though, haha). I’ve had a lot on my mind in regards to hip-hop, sans my usual soapbox antics, almost, haha. Enjoy.

1) 50 Cent, I’ve listened to both his mixtapes and I’m not gonna lie, a couple of the tracks make me wanna pick my gat back up and rob, blast, and murk niggas, but is he becoming a gimmick?

2) Trey Songz or Drake? Singer/Rapper, Rapper/Singer, do we throw T-Pain in there? The more I listen to Songz, the less I have been hatin. He’s really stepped up his game by doing a plethora of works over all kinds of stuff and he even went at Kellz, hard (pause). He put out a really hot mixtape himself, but I personally like it when he spits/sings over other people’s tracks. But my questions were first…

3) Eminem vs Mariah, wow, did anybody else completely miss that she was talking about Em in “Obsessed” before they saw the video? I just watched the video and the remix video (GUCCI!!) about 5 mins ago, after I heard Em go in on she and her “husband” (chuckle) and it all makes sense now, haha. Where will this go? Will he air her out past this “warning”? Is he bluffing about having tapes/pics?

4) Speaking of Gucci, this cat is in jail currently (so I heard) yet the more I hear from him, the more I wish he wasn’t a hood nigga (I’m using the N-word blatantly btw from now on, it’s applicable) because I think he’s talented and his flow is “Ridiculous”, even with the speech impediment and likely learning disability. That wasn’t so much a question as a prompt for comment…

5) Wale, OMG, yo, I REALLLYYYY want this cat to succeed. The more I listen to him, and not just his music, but his commentary, I feel like a) he could be in Slaughterhouse and b) he’s a really charismatic cat and COMPLETELY embodies the unique yet ignored nature of everything that is DC. Now don’t take that comment as a diss, I got this whole notion on the neglect of DC style, music, etc, by everyone outside of DC from a native of the area so this is how they feel about themselves. And I’m sorry for doing it, but does it not exactly replicate the neglect of DC politically as they still don’t get recognition as a state, it’s as if it doesn’t exist…

6) Oh almost forgot about this one. I posed this question to Wiz a few days ago (he didn’t respond) Rank these in order of best “rapper”: J. Cole, Wale, Drake.


PTM4L…

Just K...

Signing Off
written by Just K

The first hip-hop single I ever bought was Elevators by Outkast.

“True I got more fans than the average man but not enough loot to last me
to the end of the week, I live by the beat like you live check to check
If you don't move yo' feet then I don't eat, so we like neck to neck”

I was hooked. I loved hip-hop. What I loved so much about hip-hop - what made me write about this art form, this culture week after week was the ability to hop into another person’s psyche, for better or worse. And sometimes you realize that your situations and thoughts weren’t so far from you favorite rapper’s. To hear Dre and Big Boi rap about progress, but not achieving financial success was deep to me. It was the first time I realized that fame and cash don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. Coincidentally, this song dropped around the same time Hammer filed for bankruptcy.

I live for the stories. I live for the perspectives. C.R.E.A.M. resonated with every possible demographic, more so the demographic that didn’t have any, which was my family at the time. Now, I listen to Little Brother and feel like half the time they’re rapping the soundtrack to my life.

Listening to Pac was like listening to that dude who constantly had that internal struggle to do better, but kept falling back to his old ways. You could hear the intelligence. You could hear the brilliance. You could hear the rebellious nature and the rage inside of him. He reminded me of so many classmates. The ones that could answer a question that no one else in the class could, but he felt so targeted by the teachers that he refused to participate.

And Biggie’s stories were so vivid you would swear you were on the corner with him.

Even braggadocio battle raps put me into the mindset of someone who felt that they were absolutely unbeatable.

“I grab mics and push n****s to the left, so fast their hearts end up on the right side of their chests”

~ Canibus

Unreal.

Then the voices. The hunger in Freeway’s voice on What We Do, the recklessness you could hear from DMX in Stop Being Greedy, or the pain and hatred you could hear from Jay and Beans on Where Have You Been. How about the raw, unguided energy a young Busta Rhymes gave you? The voice of a weary storyteller that’s seen too much is delivered consistently by Scarface. The emotion in a voice just pulls me in.

The beats alone could never do it, but damn does it set the backdrop for magic. Do I still go bonkers for All About the Benjamins? Hell yeah! Remember the first time you heard that beat on Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See? Damn. Electric Relaxation and Bonita Applebum makes me want to get a massage while watching a romantic comedy. I swear I thought about stomping a dude out when Lil’ Jon came on one time, but I was rocking some fresh whites – no blood on the snow whites, son. I dare you to tell me you don’t get hyped when Just Blaze brings that heat with U Don’t Know. I double dare you to tell me a part of you doesn’t feel more aggressive when Thug Luv comes on.

The feelings, man. The feelings I hear in the music, the feelings I get from the music. It’s the feeling. The feelings I see hip-hop invoke. I rapped along to Triumph when I had nothing to cheer about. I spit the words to Victory after winning a track meet. Either way, somehow it felt like I won. Kids with nothing rapped about going from ashy to classy. Girls really think they’re the best when Drake raps. Folks had college flashbacks when Asher Roth dropped his single. I promise I wanted a boo thanks to Mary J. and Meth.

When it’s done right, hip-hop speaks to you. This was just my way of speaking back. Thanks for listening for a while. I guess I had a little something to say.

Thanks.

Let that tape rock till it pop... one last time

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.

The 5 Joints that Made Me

1. "I Used to Love H.E.R." - Common



2. "Survival of the Fittest" - Mobb Deep




3. "Around the Way Girl" - LL Cool J



4. "Keep Ya Head Up" - 2Pac



5. "It Ain't Hard to Tell" - Nas

Hope you enjoyed your fix this last time... Keep Hip-Hop bumpin!!!!

New Music: DJ gWiz - Pledge Your Allegiance (Mixtape)

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DJ gWiz - Pledge Your Allegiance (Mixtape)