June 10th...

Let The Anticipation Build, BIIIIITCH!!
written by 4bars

If you haven’t heard Tha Carter III yet, you should, its a very good album, in my opinion, and I’ve yet to listen to the full body of work as extensively as I’d like to before I give it my concrete judgment, so stay tuned, but go cop it on the 10th. But this isn’t about my opinion on the album as much as its about the anticipation that I didn’t realize existed for it.

Clearly, there are millions of hip hop heads around the globe who have been waiting for this album for 2-3 years now and finally, on June 10th we’ll get what we’ve been waitin so patiently (or not so patiently, Wiz) for. What I didn’t realize, however, is that main stream America is waitin on this joint pretty crazy too. I mean, yeah, Wayne got the “hottest rapper in the game” title last year before Yeezy took it over, so the MTVers, theoretically “know” who Wayne is, but I interact with these same MTVers on a daily basis and the ones that don’t play basketball really have no grasp of Lil’ Wayne or what he’s done (I mention basketball players as the exception cause all they f’n listen to is Wayne). Much the way Superstar can come on and people don’t know its Lupe, I’ve watched a crowd of people bump and grind to Lollipop while singing “BOTTLES IN THE CLUUUBBB…” and those same people will look at me as if I’m speaking German when I ask if they’ve heard the new Wayne.

I’m in a suburban Best Buy yesterday in Annapolis, MD, a mostly white, yet fairly diverse, rapidly growing, small city, buying the Little Brother “Getback” LP (finally, haha, I don’t have much disposable income) and I noticed about 10 of those tabs that they have the rappers names on with no discs in front and as I looked closer I noticed a sign alerting me that at 10am on Tuesday morning, Tha Carter III would be available. Wayne hasn’t put out an album in 3 years and this mf has grown to GTA anticipation status, haha, incredible. I also noticed that Dedication 2, a mixtape, was available for purchase. There were also less well known rappers’ mixtapes for sale too, but seeing Dedication 2 in Best Buy definitely caught me off guard, in a good way.

The week of June 10th, I will buy Tha Carter III, mostly cause it’ll be 9.99 that week, but also because it’s a very good album, I just hope I don’t have to f’n elbow or shove somebody out the way for steppin on my shoes, “I aint afraid to do 5 years in Rikers just to prove a point…” hahaha, enjoy the weekend ya’ll. (“and the beat goes BOOM…”)

"Give it up for my shorty..."

“I Reminisce about My Ghetto Princess Everyday…”
written by K. Billy

Love…it’s trials and it’s tribulations have been at the center of my life as of late. You may know what it feels like, but unless you’re in it, IN it, the true significance escapes you; the affect that a person, singular, can have on your psyche. Expressing this in normal conversation is difficult enough; The Lost Boys had their own way.

21 words said it all: “A ghetto love is the law that we live by/day by day I wonder why my shorty had to die…” It’s clear from those first bars, there was a quality about this song that brought it closer to you. Like Meth and Mary’s tribute to Marvin and Tammi on “You’re All I Need,” “Renee” makes an impact on the heart. Mr. Cheeks, an underrated writer, expertly weaves a visual tapestry with his words, making real for us the love he felt for his “ghetto princess.” You could almost be walking behind him, watching his fateful meeting with Renee taking place as he leaves John Jay College. The conversation begins and they connect over their differences in smoking techniques. Classic.

This song was made in the murky era of mid-1990’s hip-hop when the genre was making it’s transition ever more slowly into the more materialistic and superficial commercial product we see today. But, the boys from South Jamaica, Queens retain the lyricism of their predecessors and craft a joint that is at the same time real and surreal. I can only hope very few of you readers have experienced the loss of love, let alone the lost life of a love. Whether Mr. Cheeks is talking about himself or building a story from scratch, all I can think about is: “Ayo, I never been in love/but every time I’m burstin' in and out of state it’s shorty that I’m thinkin’ of…”
You’d be a little hard pressed to find a song recently that displays this kind of simple declaration of a man’s love for a woman. Similes and metaphors are nice, but sometimes, you just want someone to say it, no confusion, and no room for misinterpretation. Even if they forego the “Lupe Fiasco” approach, the content rarely gets more intimate than describing the different positions and places they’ve blessed. Again, cool, but not all the time. The album this song was featured on happened to be a good one, with “Jeeps, Lex Coupe, Bimaz and Benz” and “Music Makes Me High” being the other highlights on it, so “Renee” only helped to bolster its reputation. Still, it remains one song I can play if I need to remind myself how it feels to love a woman…

**A.M., this was for you. Thank you.

A look back...

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. "Scenario" – A Tribe Called Quest ft. Leaders of the New School
Best posse record ever.


2. "South Bronx" – BDP
Even though I'm from Queens, I can't deny how dope this song is.


3. "Planet Rock" – Afrika Bambatta & Soulsonic Force
Best. Break. Beat. Ever.


4. "King of Rock" – Run-DMC
No one goes platinum if these dudes with the Adidas didn't rock.


5. "Straight Outta Compton" – N.W.A
These dudes from LA changed the game forever.


Come back every week for a new mixtape!

MIA...

"My name is Posta Posta"
written by gWiz

Tell me you don't remember the original Freestyle Friday on 106 & Park with AJ and Free. The battles got real ugly, it is a whole different story now. There was some dudes that actually got deals from this show, did they last? HaHa well you know, but I remember being hype to see Posta Boy get at somebody. Posta was the dude from Harlem with the crazy swag and the semi Ma$e drag in his voice. He was the first one from Freestyle Friday to be put in the Hall of Fame. He dropped that "Jurassic Harlem" on a DJ Clue tape and then he disappeared. I thought he had some kind of potential and I was kind of tight I never really heard anything from him until this.

I read that dude had testicular cancer and I mean you can figure out the rest. That would set you back, I heard about a year ago he signed with Neyo's label Compound Records. Posta Boy where you at kid?
Posta Boy - Jurassic Harlem

opportunity...

Im looking for a writer or maybe writers to review albums that are coming out for PTM. if you are interested send me an email and I will give you more information on what exactly I am looking for. peace. wiz.

Recap...

SUMMER JAM '08
written by doesn't Matt R

"Dear summer, I know you gon' miss me, for we been together like Nike Airs and crisp tees." Say what you want about Memorial Day as the kickoff for everybody's favorite three months--I get it. Pools open, cookouts, and a three-day weekend. What's not to love? But for me, the true sign that Summer is finally ready to blast off, is a concert sponsored by Hot 97 (where Hip-Hop lives), at Giant's Stadium (where Hip-Hop goes for summer vacation). In the last eight years, I've been to Summer Jam seven times. The one I missed was Nas' faux-lynching of Jigga, in which he didn't even make it onto the stage to perform. Every other year I've been there to see some amazing things. I saw Hov put Prodigy up on the screen in his dance outfit. I witnessed Fat Joe take over the stage with one beat when Lean Back dropped. I saw the crowd go wild when DMX snuck out with a towel on his head during a Ruff Ryder set. I saw the crowd almost explode when Kanye brought out Jay-Z during the debut of the Diamonds are Forever Remix. I've seen NWA reunite, Eminem in his prime (before he became Hip-Hop's Weird Al), Game throw his G-Unit chain into the crowd, Fifty call out R Kelly as a child molester, etc. The list goes on. And so with an eagerness to see hip-hop history yet again, as well as finally getting my summer into full gear, I returned to the home of the New York football Giants for Summer Jam 2008. Here's a recap.

We stopped off at the Vince Lombardi rest stop for Burger King and inadvertently missed Ray J and Yung Berg. I was looking forward to hearing Sexy Can I and Sexy Lady. I guess I'll just have to settle for hearing them on the sexy radio.

We got there just in time to see Dream come on. I like Dream. No homo. He did a quick three song set of Shorty is the Sh*t, Falsetto, and Luv Ur Girl. I wished I was there with a girl and not my brother. Luv Ur Girl got cut off half way through and Dream just walked off stage without waiting for any applause. Bobby Konders and Jabba came on and spun some Reggae and Samba records. I would have rather heard the rest of Dream and at least been able to give him a round of applause.

Thankfully, the show proceeded on schedule. An artist would perform followed by a small DJ set and another HOT 97 personality would introduce the next act.

Surprisingly it was Alicia Keys. I thought they would have saved her for later in the show. She came out to Ghetto Story and went into Teenage Love Affair. Maino came out and did Hi Hater. Alicia then went into Like You'll Never See Me Again and Where Do We Go from Here. Out of nowhere she brought out Raekwon. He did a verse of something, I think it was Heart to Heart because he started off by chanting "Do that sh*t, do that sh*t" but he could have just been getting ready to flow. Method Man came running out and the crowd went nuts. The two of them performed CREAM. The beat for Ice Cream dropped and Ghostface Killah came out and did his verse. Alicia Keys asked for a favor and Meth performed Method Man, jumping off the stage and running around in normal Meth style. The three Wu-Tang-ers bounced and Alicia went into No One. She also got cut short. And she looked FLY.

D-Block came out next. First it was only Sheek and Style and a third, linebacker looking dude. It could have been Jay-Hood if I knew what he looked like, or maybe just a hype man. He didn't spit his own verses, so I'm guessing the latter. They were introduced to the Mighty D-Block beat. The intros to All About the Benjamins and Wild Out played but no verses followed. They went into Kiss Your A$$ Goodbye and Styles did a verse of I Get High and Gangster Gangster. Red Cafe came out and they went into the Paper Touchin' Remix. Fat Joe, Jadakiss, and Fabolous all followed for their verses. Jadakiss and Styles did We Gone Make It. They threatened to take it back to the old school. Nature came out for Banned From TV and NORE rushed the stage for his verse too. The party was in full swing so Swizz Beatz came out and did Blow Ya Mind, Where the Cash At, and Money in the Bank. Sheek finished up with Good Love. Kid Capri was DJ-ing and dropped the beat for Rock the Bells. LL Cool J came out and did that and Head Sprung. He also told everyone not to sleep on him this year. He also had very manicured eyebrows. But he's a legend, so I'm not saying nothing.

T-Pain came out to 2 Step and put on a dancing show with his two boys. He can move for a big dude. He went into his verse of Kiss Kiss. Shawty Lo came out and did They Know. DJ Khalid came out and they went into I'm So Hood. Rick Ross came strutting out on stage like the boss
he is, with no shirt on and a gold chain of his own head. Khalid introduced Ace and he did Bankroll. Rick Ross hung around and they did Boss. The crowd went crazy. Akon came out and did the remix hook of We Taking Over with Rick Ross and Fat Joe showing up. Akon and T-Pain finished up with Bartender. As he was walking off stage, T-Pain told the crowd, "In the words of George Bush, f*@# y'all n****s, I'm out." That got a big laugh.

One of the acts I was most excited to see came next. Weezy F. Baby. He came out to A Milli. Told the audience there was three things he had to get off his chest. "One. I believe in God, do you? Two. I ain't sh*t without you. Three. I ain't sh*t without you." Shawty Lo came out again and Weezy did the his verse from They Know Remix. Playaz Circle came out for Duffle Bag Boy. Wayne did Cash Money Millionaire, Fireman, and Leather So Soft. Then it got weird. Weezy sat down with his guitar and started strumming for a while. He stopped and said if he wasn't your favorite rapper, he was going to do something your favorite rapper couldn't do. Then he launched into what I thought was a freestyle because I didn't recognize it as any song I've heard before, about the joys of...how do I put this, the original free lunch? "When I lick my top lip, I still taste you." Clear enough? I actually think it was an unreleased track called Pu$$y Monster. He did it over a pretty whack beat box from his boy. It also involved him taking his jewelry off and humping the ground. The girls liked it. I would have rather heard something new off the Carter 3. When that ended he finally went into Lollipop, the original and then Kanye came out for his verse on the remix. Kanye was dressed like he was ready for the beach and he was holding a suitcase. Weezy ended with the chorus of Whitney Houston's And I Will Always Love You. Gym Class Heroes never showed up as advertised. The whole set was strange and disappointing for me.

After Weezy, there was an announcement that there will be a special surprise performance after Public Enemy, so stick around. Angie Martinez was supposed to introduce the next act but she never showed up. We didn't know who was next until the stage rotated and a person dressed as a robot walked across to a spaced out version of the Diamonds Are Forever beat. I was surprised that Kanye was going on now, because he was billed as the headliner.

Kanye set was a lot like the one he did for the Glow-in-the Dark tour. He had a full band, with an orchestra. While he ditched the story-line aspect, everything was very dramatic and most of the beats were slightly altered. After Diamonds Are Forever, 'Ye went into Champion, Get Em High (in a strange, soundboard-altered deep voice), and Jesus Walks. He stopped to give a patented Kanye speech about being thankful but also that he was the number one artist in the world and that he was going to do his show the way he wanted even if people looked at him like he was crazy for doing Jesus Walks. I didn't see anybody who matched that description. I don't think it's as controversial anymore as he likes to believe. Homecoming came on next. Kanye brought out Consequence and they did The Good The Bad and The Ugly. Can't Tell Me Nothing came on and then Jeezy came out for Put On. He was wearing a F*@# Bush shirt. The beat for Flashing Lights dropped and Kanye did a little freestyle to it, about being at Summer Jam and then went into the song. A girl onstage reenacted the scene from the video by stripping off her jacket into lingerie, grabbing a shovel and walking off stage. Kanye did Stronger and then revealed that he was going back into the studio to work on some new music. He spit a new verse that was fire. I wish I could have caught some more of the punch lines but it had a lot to do with the numbers 1 and 11 in the beginning of it. T-Pain came back out and they did Good Life. Fireworks went off. It could have been due to just seeing him a few weeks ago, but I was expecting less theatrics and more hip-hop from the headliner. But I got nothing but love for Yeezy.

During the DJ set, they played Apache and had everyone did the dance from the Fresh Prince. I got my Raphael de la Ghetto on, yessir. Also during the intro they shouted out that it was time to make a change against things like 9/11, Katrina, and the Sean Bell case. It was clear Public Enemy was next.

A nine-year-old girl came out and asked how everyone felt about the Sean Bell verdict. The crowd booed. Not her, the verdict. She said you didn't really expect a guilty verdict, did you? She called out the cops behind it and the Diallo case. She said we gotta fight the power ourselves and Obama's not gonna change a thing. It was interesting to hear from such a young girl. Everyone was chanting Fight the Power. Flav came out and the crowd went bananas. They went right into the classics: Bring the Noise, Shut 'Em Down, 911's A Joke, Can't Truss It. Chuck D's still got it. He had the DJ cut a record old school style. Flav did a verse of Can't Do Nuttin For Ya Man. He gave a message of unity and warned against the Prison-Industrial Complex. Don't Believe the Hype came on. Chuck D said the truth will set us free and called out all radio stations that "with power comes responsibility." Fight the Power came on. Flav dedicated the show to those who passed away and people locked up. He was wearing boots he stole from Rikers Island. Chuck D reminded us that nobody owns hip-hop. R.I.P. Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo. They finished with Welcome to the Terrordome and a call for PEACE. Good to see some consciousness on the scene.

The special guest turned out to be Jim Jones. Since Rihanna was billed but never performed, it seemed like he was a last minute replacement. I'm not sure what track he came out to, but he brought out Juelz Santana to perform Dipset. Jim went into Baby Girl and Luv Me No More. He finished up with his verse from the Walk It Out Remix and We Fly High.

And that was Summer Jam '08. Not the best I've ever seen, but definitely worth the trip. Especially after I got that fresh new promo poster for the Carter 3 on my way out. Plus I got to kick summer off correct. As Jigga put it in Dear Summer, "Listen here baby, I just believe it's the right thing to do."

-doesn't Matt R

Kanye West performing

Akeys

Weezy

Wait over?

(Im)Patiently Waiting
written by JusHH

After a year with somewhere around 35,454 featured verses and mixtape songs, Lil’ Wayne is finally set to drop his highly anticipated album, Tha Carter 3 (June 10th). Having been pushed back twice already, fans of the N.O. rapper would probably give their left nu-, err, hand to get a taste of this album. Whether or not you’re a fan, all eyes will be on Weezy F. Baby. This got me thinking… what were the most anticipated albums in Hip-Hop history over the last 15 years? I managed to get it down to five. Enjoy.

5. Kanye West – Graduation, 2007; 50 Cent – Curtis, 2007

During a time when leaks and downloading have made release dates a mere suggestion, it has been hard for artists to generate any kind of anticipation. However when two of biggest stars in rap decided to release their albums on the same day (September 11th of all dates), it was on. Fans drew their lines in the sand as they chose sides. Arguments were had in magazines, blogs and barbershops across the country over who would sell the most records during the first week. For the first time in years, people were actually excited about going to the store and buying an album. This “battle” got them the cover of Rolling Stone and an entire episode of 106 & Park. And the numbers didn’t lie – Kanye West and 50 Cent albums were number 1 and 2 respectively on the billboard charts and their combined first week sales nearly reached two million.

4. Jay-Z – The Black Album, 2003

Say it ain’t so Hov? Not since Michael Jordan in ’93 did someone’s retirement hit us so hard. After nearly a decade of classic hits, the greatest rapper alive was calling it quits and providing us with his swan song, The Black Album. People were in complete disbelief at first because never before did a rapper retire, you either died or fell off. But not Jay, the trendsetters’ trendsetter decided that he wanted to leave on top and leave his fans wanting more. With a farewell tour and movie to match, this album instantly became a collector’s item. You had to have the final installment; an mp3 file just wouldn’t cut it. This album was so impactful that when Jay released the a cappella version, DJ’s around the world made their own remix album. DJ Danger Mouse actually officially release “The Grey Album” when he meshed Hov’s lyrics with the tunes off the Beatles “White Album”. Eventhough, Jay-Z’s retirement lasted only three years, we all remember the feeling when we thought that we’ve heard the last from our favorite rhyme spitter.

3. 50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Trying, 2003

For those with a bad memory, Lil’ Wanye didn’t invent the mixtape album, 50 did and in 2003 he owned Hip-Hop. His mixtapes took the streets by storm. 50 showed his great songwriting skills as many people felt that his version of other people’s hits were better than the original. His uber-gangster persona captured the masses and add that to a highly publicized beef with Ja Rule and 50’s buzz reached an all-time high. When Dr. Dre and Eminem signed him you felt it was the final piece of the puzzle and we were in for something special. The moment was so huge that XXL put the three of them on its cover and the sales of that issue catapulted them over The Source to become the #1 Hip-Hop magazine. His lead single “In The Club” became the #1 one song on the planet and anticipation for his debut album reached a frenzy. MTV did an entire special leading up to the release of Get Rich or Die Tryin’. You knew it was going to do well but no one expected the response that the album got. It spent eight weeks on top of the Billboard charts and sold over 12 million albums worldwide. 50 literally had the world saying, G-G-G-G-UNIT!!!!

2. The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death, 1997

For close to three years, Hip-Hop’s residence had a “9” in its zip code. The music was dominated by palm trees, six-fours and cut-off khakis. Then in 1994, The Notorious B.I.G. was Ready To Die and ready to remind the world that New York was still alive and kicking. He tore up the industry with his gritty, unabashed Brooklyn raps. People were ready to give him the crown and G.O.A.T discussions began getting thrown around.

When 2Pac was murdered at the height of the infamous “East Coast/ West Coast Beef”, it was B.I.G. who was left standing when the smoke cleared and all eyes were on him. His first single “Hypnotize” was a hit and everyone couldn’t wait to get their hands on the double disc. Then on March 9th, we all learned that we lost another one. On a promotional tour in California, Biggie was killed outside his album release party. Hip-Hop cried together that day because we all knew what kind of talent we all lost. Life After Death became more than just a collection of music, it became a monument of sorts. It was a final opportunity for us to hear Biggie in his own words. The album was released on Tuesday March 25, 1997 and we all flocked to the stores to get a piece of history. Life After Death sold over 10 million albums worldwide and is held as one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time.

1. Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle, 1993

Before his eruption was sensual, before he dropped it like it was hot, even before he kicked down the buildings, Snoop was a tall skinny kid from Long Beach looking for a deal. Dr. Dre immediately falls in love with Snoop’s swagger and silky smooth delivery and immediately signs him to Death Row. We were introduced to Snoop on “Deep Cover” back in 1991 and we all realized what Dre saw in him. The following year, Dr. Dre loaded up on West Coast talent for his debut solo album and Hip-Hop classic, The Chronic. If Dre was a basketball coach, then Snoop was undoubtedly his Michael Jordan. With timeless performances on “Dre Day” and “Nuttin’ But a G Thang”, he was the biggest and brightest star in Hip-Hop. The announcement of Snoop’s solo album might as well been on the front page of the New York Times and with a title like Doggystyle, the buzz was reaching a fever pitch. When Doggystyle was finally released in November of 1993 it set all kinds of records. The 800,000+ first week sales made the album the fastest selling rap album at the time and the highest for any US artist’s debut. It was the first debut album in history to enter the Billboard charts at #1. For the time surrounding the release of this album, it was like nothing else existed. From coast-to-coast Hip-Hop held its breath in anticipation of this album and Snoop had us all toasting with our Styrofoam cups filled with that Gin & Juice.