The gWiz Musik Show (SPECIAL MJ TRIBUTE EDITION WORLDCASTRADIO.COM)

DJ GWIZ - THE GWIZ MUSIK SHOW (SPECIAL MJ TRIBUTE EDITION WORLDCASTRADIO.COM)

One last trip to the store...

Tuesday: I had my Doubts
Written by JusHH

September 13, 1996, Tupac Amaru Shakur died after being shot several times in Las Vegas. This isn’t news to anyone but it set the stage for one of my most memorable album purchases ever. Shortly after he was pronounced dead, rumors began to circulate that 2Pac was alive and in hiding. Stories turned into urban legends. So when it was announced that Death Row was releasing 2Pac’s final album under the alias Makaveli, everyone was brimming with curiosity and anticipation. With so much controversy at the time of his death, you just had no idea what to expect. That hype and Pac being one of my favorite rappers at the time, made me rush to the stores and cop that joint.

But this post is about the album I didn’t buy that day…

After I bought the 2Pac album, I called my boy on my mom’s cell. (This was 1996 so that cell phone was the size of a PSP lol) I was walking back to the dollar van to go home and I told him that I bought the Makaveli album. The rest of our conversation went as follows (Obviously paraphrasing. My memory isn’t that good):

“Yo, I saw that Jay-Z dude’s album there too. Did you hear anything about it?”
“Son, you crazy.”
“Huh?”
“There’s no way you should have left the store without it.”

After that strong recommendation, the following week I went back to the store and purchased the album with the fly gangster cover. Without question, Reasonable Doubt has one of the best covers I’ve ever seen. I grabbed that cassette tape and headed home.

At the time, I only heard “Ain’t no N***a” and parts of “Dead Presidents” so I didn’t really know too much about him. That all changed over the next 60-65 minutes. Hearing him go to work on “Can’t Knock the Hustle” set the tone for the rest of the album. I knew I was in for something classic. (“high stakes, I got more in ‘steak’ than Philly”). Then I thought I was going to pass out when I first heard “Brooklyn’s Finest”. I remember thinking, “yo did this dude just out rap Biggie?”

“Too much west coast d**k lickin’, and too many n***as on a mission. Doin’ they best Jay-Z rendition.”

When I read the title, 22 Two’s on the end of Side A on the tape, I had an idea what I was about to listen to and it still exceed expectations. I would rewind it over and over trying to count if he actually fit 22 two’s in that song. (Note: It actually took nearly ten years and dozens of conversations for me to finally confirm it)

If that wasn’t enough, when he began talking on “Friend or Foe”, I thought it was an intro. Boy was I wrong. Slowly I started picking up on the flow and by the time he said, “chances slimmer than that chick in Calvin Klein pants”, I felt like I just stumbled upon a Pacino movie.

Listening to that album that day was more than music, it was an experience. When the beat to “Regrets” faded out, I became a lifelong fan. He went from virtually unknown to one of my favorite rappers in on single evening. Now I wait like a kid on Christmas everytime I hear he’s about to release a new album.

And to think…

I had my doubts.

4 Bars- Underrated Flow

I’m riding in the car, recently, listening to two rappers whose verses I never thought I’d look forward to: Jay? Nope Em? No again. Ye? (sigh) no… Bow Wow and GUCCI!!

Below are the two verses I speak of where their flow is undeniable. But before you completely discredit me as a Hip-Hop head, I wanna say that if Gucci wasn’t a “trap star” and Bow Wow didn’t already think he was the “best looking, best singin muthaf#$a in the world, hol my drink bi#$h” (RIP Rick James and Mike Jackson).

If either of these guys decided to place some depth in their verses and talk about something other than birds, Benzes, and bitches, I think they would garner acclaim from people other than 16 yr old girls and 12-40 yr old southern hood cats (they like Gucci a lot in Maryland as well, weird).

Now don’t get me wrong, these two verses are not examples of them expanding their lyrical subject matter. Bow Wow is talking about stuntin and swag and Gucci is talking about getting to da money via the bird but I use these as examples of the potential that they, like a lot of other rappers, possess to be much better than they are. What can I say, I’m a hopeful optimist. Are you?



Bow Wow's verse is at 1:35

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Gucci's verse is at 1:18

Peace

Hip-Hop owes you alot...

The Ski Mask Way...

Why Not Rob?
Written by Just K

If I go to the club and hear “Get Money” one more time while my pockets are on E, I might have to rob me a rapper.

I don’t actually advocate robbing, stick-ups, or violence at all (though I do have a friend who responds to “violence is not the answer” with “you’re just asking the wrong question”). But I also don’t encourage flaunting your revenue and bragging on your material possessions during a damn recession. Why do I want to hear about the gold seats and IMAX screen in your 2011 Bentley when I’m struggling to put gas in my Corolla? Should I be excited when you flick open your futuristic thought-activated cell phone in your music video when I had to cut the internet service from my cell phone package? You’ve got Jacob Bernstein-designed Louis Vuitton glasses and my kid has to sit so close to the front of the classroom he’s actually sitting behind the teacher. Damn.

Is the recession depressing? Hell yeah it is. But it’s real. Money is low, funds are tight, and jobs are scarce. Rap advertises itself as the voice box of the people. There aren’t enough songs on the radio (I can’t currently think of any) that accurately depict the hard times that people are currently going through. I’m seeing the broke people everyday. I’m just not hearing about it. The people ain’t popping champagne. The people are popping cans of sardines. The clothes, the jewelry, the cars, the frivolous spending of money on “jumpoffs” – it’s still all over the music. The representation of what’s going on in the real world, not so much. I guess the recession only affects us normal folks.

Actually, that’s not true. The gigantic chains that we’re so used to seeing aren’t what they used to be. It’s been widely reported that your favorite rappers have can’t afford those iced out pieces any more. They’re still coldish, but not iced out. The diamonds have been blended and mixed with cubic-zirconia for all of the look at less of the price. Cubic-zirconia. Yeah, the same stuff your girlfriend made you swear not to get her if you ever proposed. That’s what it’s come to? I mean, what happened to old school perpetrating? You know, when rappers lived in a shoebox of an apartment but had a big ole chain. You’re telling me the chain’s fake too? Damn, homey.

They brag and boast while we struggle and strain. It almost makes you want to snatch a chain off a rapper, but don’t do it. It’s probably not worth the trouble.

Video: Pac Div - The Mayor

Show some more respect!

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.

"Turn My Swag On" - Soulja Boy
You don't have to like his music but he is not killing Hip-Hop so cut the crap.



"You Can Get it All" - Bow Wow
Yeah, yeah i know he used to be 13. But now he's grown and knows how to make a good record. Plus your sister probably wants to do him.



"Can't Believe it" - T-Pain
Even Mr. D.O.A. himself couldn't deny T-Pain's impact. He's an incredibly talented dude and right now, you need him to sell a record.



"Ego Remix" - Beyonce ft. Kanye West
Yes, i went with a feature because this dude is an incredible rapper. He's not just a good rapper for a guy who produces, he's one of the best. Period.



"Dancing on Me" - DJ Webstar ft. Jim Jones and Julez Santana
New York City is not dead. Never was and never will be. Thank you very much. This isn't a best or worst argument. Just don't act like NY turned into Kentucky.



Come back every week for a new mixtape!