Props Over Here

PropsOverHere Presents: The Best of 2011 Awards

2011-12-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

As I do every year around this time, I've returned to recap the year that was in rap music. Now usually this is where I talk about how terrible a year it's been for hip-hop, but this wasn't the case in 2011. As I've mentioned a few times over the course of the year, 2011 has been one of the best years this decade as far as the quality of new music. In honor of a great year in hip-hop, I've decided to switch from a countdown format to an award show-style post in which I'll recognize some of the year's best performances. So without further ado, here is PropsOverHere's 1st Annual Best of the Year Awards.

Rookie of the Year
The Nominees:
Meek Mill- The Philly native burst on the scene after signing with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group and hit big with bangers like "Work" and "I'm A Boss".
Action Bronson- When he wasn't being a gourmet chef, this MC earned some respect from hip-hop heads in 2011 with his Ghostface-eque delivery and wordplay.
Big Sean- Despite my negative review, Sean's debut album received much critical acclaim and was a bona fide commercial success.
Maffew Ragazino- This New York City lyricist came out of nowhere to deliver some great tracks in '11 including on of my favorites, the soulful "Decepts On The L Train".
And the winner is.... Action Bronson
This guy impressed me early in the year with the terrific The Program EP and continued to deliver lyrically on tracks with Ghostface, Asher Roth, and Ragazino among others. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him in the future.

Guest Verse of the Year (The Bun B Award)
The Nominees:
Nas on Mobb Deep's "Dog Shit"
Best Line: "Freedom is a virtue/Ni**as hangin way past/They're parole curfew/Blowin' on that purple/Know my street ties/Beef-wise/I let three fly/Over ya head/Welcome home P/Let's get this bread."
AZ on Wu-Tang Clan's "Legendary Weapons"
Best Line: "Breezed on the D's when they tailed on the pike/Around the same time I exhaled on the mic/The name AZ ring bells on sight."
Freddie Gibbs on Curren$y's "Scottie Pippens"
Best Line: "Stay runnin' the rock just like I play quarterback for the Eagles/Randall, Donovan, or Michael/'Fore I picked up this mic/I was hittin' licks with some lords and did dirt with plenty disciples."
Elzhi on Phonte's "Not Here Anymore"
Best Line: "See a little nervousness/And a frown/'Cause you know deep down you know you ain't nice just a little courteous/You just runnin' game/Ni**a, we the fuckin' tournament."
And the winner is...Freddie Gibbs on "Scottie Pippens"
No one can contest with Nas' imagery and lyrical poignance, but I had to give this one to Gibbs for his delivery and for the energy he brought to that track, which was the best on Spitta's Covert Coup mixtape.

Duet of the Year
The Nominees:
"Ghetto Dreams" by Common & Nas- The lead single from Common's The Dreamer, The Believer features two hip-hop heavyweights on top of their game. While Nas is one of the all-time masters of the guest verse, the best moments had to be Common rhyming about his ideal woman, "Butt naked in the kitchen flippin' pancakes/She ain't trippin' off the dough that her man makes."
"Otis"by Jay-Z & Kanye West- On one of the biggest songs of the year and another lead single, Jay and Kanye trade verses over an extra-choppy Otis Redding sample. Jay-Z begins the braggadocio with the opening line, "I invented swag" and, not to be outdone, Kanye raps about his "Otha, otha Benz" among other things.
"Martians Vs. Goblins" by Game & Tyler The Creator- The Game and Odd Future's Tyler The Creator team up for the sinister banger that also features Lil' Wayne, but only on the hook. As if he hasn't gotten enough shit this year, both artists attack LeBron James in their verses as Game raps about fucking his mom and Tyler advises his haters to "fall back like LeBron's hairline."
"Choices" by Asher Roth & Action Bronson- In what has to be the best rap song by two white kids in decades, Roth and Bronsolino both drop a killer verse over a funky instrumental. By far the best part was Asher Roth's flow in his first couple of bars that include clever lines such as "Under a submarine/Bare as the kitchen cupboard be/Californication/Agent Mulder/David Duchovney."
And the winner is..."Otis" by Jay-Z & Kanye West
This and "Ghetto Dreams" are dead even in my book but I gave the nod to Jay-Z and Kanye for the way their verses complimented each other making it more of a "duet" in the true sense of the word.

Mixtape of the Year
The Nominees:
Purp & Patron by Game- Game teamed up with DJ Skee for two mixtapes in anticipation of The R.E.D. Album, but Purp & Patron was the stronger of the two thanks to great production by Nottz and Dre as well as appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross.
Elmatic by Elzhi- With the help of the Detroit rock group Will Sessions, Elzhi masterfully re-created Nas' classic debut album, Illmatic.
Semester Abroad by Kidz In The Hall- Long before the release of Occasion, Naledge and Double O put out some album-quality material on this mixtape such as "So Amazn" and "Moments", two of my favorite songs this year.
Covert Coup by Curren$y- Curren$y and Alchemist provided hip hop fans with some solid listening material on 4/20. In addition to the aforementioned collaboration with Freddie Gibbs, "The Type" featuring Prodigy was another standout.
And the winner is...Elmatic by Elzhi
Where a lot of MCs would have jacked the beats from Illmatic and freestyled over them, Elzhi and Will Sessions actually re-crafted the timeless album and put their own unique spin on it. The way Elzhi remakes the songs to reflect his own life experiences is brilliant as is his lyricism and delivery throughout the tape.

Verse of the Year
The Nominees:
Elzhi on "It Ain't Hard to Tell"
Best Line: "Robberies of liquor stores/Tricks and whores/Reality sick as yours/So I blow trees stronger than Sycamores."
Game on "Mama Knows"
Best Line: "But that ain't stop me/Pretending I was Apollo from Rocky/Workin on my dip game/Now nobody wanna box me"
Nas on "Nasty"
Best Line: "Maserati/Bumpin Biggie the great legend/Blastin/I'm after the actress that played Faith Evans."
Kanye West on "The Joy"
Best Line: "This beat deserves Hennessy/A bad bitch/And a big of weed/The holy trinity."
And the winner is...Kanye West on 'The Joy"
Kanye's verses on the Pete Rock-produced bonus track on Watch The Throne were pure genius and some of the best rapping of his career. I actually went back and forth on which of Kanye's two verses on this track was actually the verse of the year because either could have won. He flows perfectly over Pete's slow, soulful instrumental and drops hilarious and well-thought-out bars throughout his verses.

Producer of the Year
The Nominees:
Big Jerm- I don't know much about Big Jerm but he did some stellar work on the boards this year for Wiz Khalifa and his Yinzer counterpart, Mac Miller. His beat for Wiz, Curren$y, and Big Sean's "O.T.T.R." was one of the best instrumentals this year.
Big K.R.I.T.- The rapper/producer made a splash this year in both areas but his beat-making stood out as he produced the hit "Country Shit (Remix)" with Bun B and Ludacris as well as T.I.'s new single "I'm Flexin'".
No I.D.- No I.D. had a hand in the two best-produced albums this year, Jay-Z and Kanye's Watch the Throne and Common's The Dreamer, The Believer which he produced in its entirety.
Double O- Double O's musical creativity was a major factor in all of the great music that Kidz In The Hall dropped in 2011 including a nominee for best mixtape and best album.
And the winner is...No I.D.
This one was sort of a no brainer. Between Hov and Kanye's "Primetime", the entire Common album, and the best moments from Big Sean's debut album, Chicago legend No I.D. had by far the greatest impact of any producer in 2011.

Beat of the Year
The Nominees:
"Ni**as in Paris" produced by Hit-Boy & Kanye West- Despite the simple, minimalist melody, this became the most popular beat of 2011 thanks to the banging percussion and heavy bassline, not to mention the hilarious "Blades of Glory" movie samples.
"Martians Vs. Goblins" produced by Brody Brown, Lamar Edwards, & Laranee Dopson- This might be the busiest instrumental of the year but Edwards and Dopson of 1500 Or Nothin and Brody Brown pull it off exceptionally well. The main attraction here is the heavy synth bass al a Dead Prez's "Bigger Than Hip-Hop" but listen closely and you can hear violins and choirs and a whole host of weird noises that help make this one of the best, most unique beats of the year.
"I'm A Boss" produced by Jahlil Beats- This Meek Mill anthem was right up there with "Ni**as In Paris" as far as the most freestyled-over beat of 2011. Jahlil Beats provides the track that combines what has become the signature MMG sound with what sounds sort of like the old NBA on NBC theme song.
"Ghetto Dreams" produced by No I.D.- In what was the standout moment for the producer of the year, No I.D. uses an off-tune piano sample, hard snare drums, and a horn section that would make Pete Rock blush. To top it off, the hook makes use of scratches of both Nas and Common, the track's two artists.
Honorable Mention: "Mama Knows" produced by Pharrell,"Tupac Back" produced by Mike Will, "Gotta Have It" produced by The Neptunes & Kanye West, "Anti Freeze" produced by Swiff D, "Player of the Century" produced by Double O, "Born In The Trap" produced by DJ Premier, "The Motto" produced by T-Minus.
And the winner is..."Ni**as in Paris" produced by Hit-Boy & Kanye West
It was close between this and "I'm A Boss" but you can't go anywhere these days without hearing the bass from "Ni**as in Paris" blasting out of someone's car window. I even heard the panel members of ESPN's "Around The Horn" singing this beat during a commercial break and most of those guys are 50 year old white men.

Album of the Year
The Nominees:
Watch The Throne by Jay-Z & Kanye West- The much anticipated collaboration between two hip hop giants lived up to and exceeded my expectations.
The R.E.D. Album by Game- Game's fourth album was hit or miss but had a number of terrific songs including "Mama Knows", "Ricky", and "Heavy Artillery" featuring Beanie Sigel and Rick Ross.
Occasion by Kidz In The Hall- Definitely one of the most fun albums of 2011, Occasion was chock-full of party anthems.
The Dreamer, The Believer by Common- The legendary Chi-town rapper-producer duo of Common and No I.D. reunited for what has to be Common's best album in at least ten years.
Honorable Mention: Take Care by Drake, Sideline Story by J. Cole, Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon, Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them by Blu & Exile.
And the winner is...Watch The Throne by Jay-Z & Kanye West
Even though all of these were very solid albums, none of them really stood a chance against Jay-Z and Kanye's epic masterpiece. Watch The Throne was brilliantly produced from start to finish and featured some of Jay and Kanye's finest work on the mic in years. This is not only the album of the year, but the best album in the PropsOverHere era.

Song of the Year
The Nominees:
"Ni**as in Paris" by Jay-Z & Kanye West- The second single off of the album of the year set the hip hop world on fire.
"Nasty" by Nas- Nas' newest single displayed his incredible flow and lyricism and proved that the wiley veteran is still on top of his game.
"I Do" by Young Jeezy, Jay-Z, & Andre 3000- In a track that's immediately reminiscent of Outkast's "International Player's Anthem", producer M16 flips the "Overnight Celebrity" sample with a Southern flavor that's fitting for Young Jeezy. As far as I know, this is the first time that rap legends Jay-Z and Andre 3000 have been on a track together which gives this one some bonus points even though their verses weren't particularly good.
"Ghetto Dreams" by Common & Nas- Two legends team up to rap about bitches over a nasty No I.D. instrumental.
Honorable Mention: "Mama Knows" by Game, "Pour It Up" by Kidz In The Hall, Bun B, & David Banner, "Enemies" by Saigon, "Dreams Money Can Buy" by Drake, "Otis" by Jay-Z & Kanye West, "O.T.T.R." by Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, & Big Sean, "Anti Freeze" by Pac Div.
And the winner is..."Ni**as in Paris" by Jay-Z & Kanye West
With respect to Nas and Common, who continue to get shafted, I can't justify calling anything else the song of the year. No song has been so widely accepted from the hood to the burbs maybe since "In Da Club" came out, and that shit went quadruple platinum.

Artist of the Year
The Nominees:
Curren$y- Spitta killed it in 2011 putting out a bunch of solid mixtapes including Covert Coup, Weekend At Burnies, and Verde Terrace, all of which are definitely worth a listen.
Kidz In The Hall- Starting with "So Amazn", Naledge and Double O put out a lot of great music this year including the terrific "Brain Candy" series and the full-length album, Occasion.
Game- Game had a prolific and successful year, dropping two great mixtapes with DJ Skee and one of the best albums of the year.
J. Cole- The up-and-comer and Roc Nation signee had a very solid debut release with The Sideline Story and his "Any Given Sunday" mixes included gems such as "How High" and "Unabomber".
And the winner is...Game
Though all of these candidates were deserving, Game was the rapper that put out more good hip hop music than anyone else this year. His Purp & Patron and Candy Corornas mixtapes were two of the best this year and the much anticipated The R.E.D. Album far exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations.

So there you have it. Congrats to the big winners and props to all the artists that helped make 2011 a great year for rap music. See you all next year.

Album Review: Kidz In The Hall-"Occasion"

2011-11-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

Kidz In The Hall are one of my favorite new groups in hip-hop but I wasn't enamored with either of their last two albums, The In Crowd and Land of Make Believe. Despite their underwhelming releases since signing with Duck Down, I'm excited to hear this album because Naledge and Double O have been on a roll recently with the "Brain Candy" series and this album's pair of infectious singles, "Break It Down" and "Pour It Up". Does Occasion meet my high expectations or will the Kidz let me down again?

1. Real Life

An upbeat intro with heavy bass kicks, 808's, and synths out the ass. Naledge provides his signature braggadocios raps to top it off. So far, so good.

2. Occasion

A very mainstream sounding party anthem of sorts. I could see this getting some spins on the radio but then again I haven't listened to the radio in years.

3. Break It Down

This was the first single off the album and with good reason. The brilliant use of the Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O Mine" sample and thumping bass line make this one of the best songs to drop this year.

4. That Good (Feat. Esthero)

Speaking of mainstream sounding, this could just as easily be a Maroon 5 track. In my opinion these kinds of songs were the downfall of those last two albums but that probably has more to do with my propensity for '94 boom bap than anything. Or maybe this is just really gay.

5. Make It Up Tonight (Feat. Sulaiman)

Another song about going out and getting fucked up which apparently is the theme of this album.

6. Crash Dummy (Feat. Killa Kyleon)

Double O really went all out on this album. It's not even that the beats are so great but they all have crazy bass and drums and like twelve different synths that come and go at different times.

7. Pour It Up (Feat. Bun B & David Banner)

I listened to this on repeat when it came out and I still can't get enough of it. The bouncy instrumental is incredible and Naledge compliments it with one of his best verses evar. David Banner and Bun B, who was conspicuously absent from both the Drake and J. Cole albums, make guest appearances.

8. She's Smokin

Double O slows it down as Naledge hollas at his shorty. Maybe it's because I just reviewed Take Care, but this actually sounds like a Kidz In The Hall version of one of those Drake songs but with a robot auto-tune effect instead of the muffled, singing-in-a-tunnel effect. You know what I'm talking about.

9. Player of the Century (Feat. Freddie Gibbs)

Another slow-paced track, this one inspired by old school South beats complete with a chopped-and-screwed chorus. This was fucking great.

10. Star (Feat. Tabi Bonney & One Chance)

More raps about drinking and bitches over blaring trumpets. Not terrible but not a standout by any means, especially with the number of songs on this album that sound like this. However, it should be noted that Naledge manages to drop Bill Cartwright and Mookie Blaylock references in the same verse. Props.

11. Won't Remember Tonight (Feat. Marsha Ambrosius & Anton Genius)

Double O provides more horns for another one that could easily get lost amongst all these other songs about partying.

12. Friends

Another pop song, this one with a bizarre chorus. As much as I like the Kidz In The Hall in general I just can't get on board with shit like this.

13. Walk On Air

Basically the same deal here. It's a shame because Naledge spits fire but I can't appreciate it because I don't like this kind of music.

14. I Swear (Feat. Vic Spencer)

This is more like it. Naledge kills it over what kind of sounds like a louder, noisier version of Drake's "Fear". And I'll fuck with anything that sounds anything like that song.

15. Pledge (Feat. Curren$y & Mikkey Halsted)

This one has been out for a while now but it's a good one. There were a few tracks on the Semester Abroad tape that I liked more but I guess they chose this one because its got Curren$y on it.

16. Here Now (Feat. Anton Genius)

This isn't bad, but as far as upbeat synth tracks about how they "made it" go, this is only like the fourth best one on this album.

Overall: Occasion definitely had its moments but it didn't live up to the quality of the first couple singles and some of the other music they've put out in the past year. As long as they make alternative, pop sounding shit there's just no chance that I'll be able to completely get into a Kidz In The Hall album. That said, throw this shit on at a pre-game and you're good to go. I guess that's the point.

Best Songs: "Pour It Up", "Break It Down", "I Swear"

Album Review: Drake- "Take Care"

2011-11-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

Since he gave us Thank Me Later last summer, Drake's fame and hype have only grown exponentially. Thanks to a bunch of collaborations with famous singers and "I'm On One", Drizzy has become a fixture of top 40 radio stations and one of the biggest artists in the game. Does his second album live up to the top billing or is it another commercial flop?

1. Over My Dead Body

Drake drops some choice bars on this piano-led intro in the same vein as "Fireworks", the Thank Me Later opener.

2. Shot For Me

Like any number of Drake's R&B songs but with finger snaps. I think even the grown and sexy would have to admit that this is pretty gay.

3. Headlines

I called this hot garbage when it came out but its beginning to grow on me. Come to think of it, I didn't really like "Over" the first time I heard it either.

4. Crew Love (feat. The Wknd)

This is just an uncomfortable clash of terrible music. Every artsy kid that's into this sort of thing should be smacked.

5. Take Care (feat. Rihanna)

I have to question this one being both the title track and the Rihanna feature. I think I could compose this beat if I sat at a piano for ten minutes. I have a feeling that this will kill it in the club regardless but the duo that gave us "What's My Name" leave some to be desired here.

6. Marvin's Room

I'm sure you've heard this before but it's Drake crooning about girls over a beat that's being played backwards or something.

7. Buried Alive Interlude

This was just odd. Drake must have stepped it up to adult drugs for this album.

8. Under Ground Kings

This is tough but I'm still waiting for Bun B's verse. Maybe he'll hop on the remix.

9. We'll Be Fine (feat. Birdman)

Speaking of Bun B, this sounds just like that one song they did on So Far Gone. Nevertheless this is one of the better songs thus far. In case you were wondering, Birdman doesn't even rap he just talks at the end. Bonus!

10. Make Me Proud (feat. Nicki Minaj)

A great club banger that's even better if you cut it off right before Nicki Minaj gets on it.

11. Lord Knows (feat. Rick Ross)

Drake enlists the help of the new, unlikely duo of Rick Ross and Just Blaze. This is a bit over-the-top and theatrical even by Just Blaze standards but i'll take it any day. The beat drops for Rozay's verse which I suppose had its moments.

12. Cameras/Good Ones Go Interlude

I don't know why they made this an interlude. As far as I'm concerned this is much better than the rest of Drake's slow jams on this album. To that point, the second part of this is another god awful R&B song.

13. Doing It Wrong

Maybe these R&B songs wouldn't be so terrible if they didn't all sound exactly the same? Seriously, I thought this was just a continuation of the last one.

14. The Real Her (feat. Lil Wayne & Andre 3000)

Pretty much the same deal here except Three Stacks lends the third verse and shows Drizzy and Wayne how it's done.

15. Look What You've Done

Its been about 30 minutes since the last rap song and I'm starting to fade in and out. From what I can tell this was a love song over some elevator music.

16. H.Y.F.R. (Hell Yeah Fuckin' Right) (feat. Lil Wayne)

I'm not a fan of synth beats like this but at least it's a departure from the pillowy soft R&B music.

17. Practice

Drizzy's take on Juvenile's classic "Back That Azz Up", one of my grade school favorites. Who would've known back in '99 that Lil Wayne would be the biggest rap star in the world and Juvenile would be...well fuck if I know what he's up to.

18. The Ride

Drake raps (well sort of) over a soulful beat and vocal sample that's reminscent of "Poppin' Tags" or something off of The Blueprint. However Jay-Z, who was on Drake's first record, does not make an appearence much to my dismay.

19. The Motto (feat. Lil Wayne)

This one took a few listens to get used to what with the crazy bassline and 808 drums but Drake and Weezy pull it off nicely. Possibly the most memorable song on the album.

20. Hate Sleeping Alone

Appropriately, here is the least memorable song on the album.

Overall: As expected, Drake's sophomore album was a mixed bag. For every good song there were two or three slow, mundane R&B songs where Drake whines about college chicks or bourgie chicks or what the fuck ever. Also, the assumed best song on the album ("Dreams Money Can Buy") wasn't even on the album. Weak.

Best Songs: "Over My Dead Body", "The Motto", "Lord Knows"

Album Review: J.Cole- "Cole World: The Sideline Story"

2011-09-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

J. Cole went from an anonymous light-skinted kid on NahRight to one of the most highly anticipated young artists in the game, because that's just how easy it is to become a famous rapper nowadays. He also signed with Jay-Z, who I suppose has some clout in the music industry. I actually think that Cole is a talented kid with a bright future, even if his style is so indistinguishable from his rapping peers (Lupe, Drake, Big Sean, etc.) that you would think Jay-Z created him in a laboratory. Anyway, as I said in the conclusion of my Big Sean review, bring on the J.Cole album!

1. Intro

The album starts with the piano playing and J. Cole states that he is "coming for what I'm owed", whatever that means

2. Dollar And A Dream III

Admittedly I've been sleeping on J. Cole's mixtapes and shit so I've never heard part one or two. The piano from the intro transitions into this song on which J. Cole spits inspired raps about his life. This may be boring musically but the content makes it work well as a more literal introduction, being that it is the first real song.

3. Can't Get Enough (Feat. Trey Songz)

The single with the Reggae flip and Trey Songz. This isn't normally the kinda shit I'm into but it might be the most tasteful Trey Songz feature of all time.

4. Lights Please

This song has to be at least a year old at this point, but it's probably his best-known song and it still knocks so I'm not mad at him putting it on the album.

5. Interlude

In the intro J. Cole says he's gonna tell the story of the day he got signed. The first part of the story, in which he gets pulled over by an undercover and thrown in jail, is told in this interlude.

6. Sideline Story

This album is getting points already for using the intro and interludes to supplement the album, which is rarely done anymore. This track flips the piano from the last interlude into a funkier version of Consequence's "Disperse", which is pretty great to begin with. I loved every second of this.

7. Mr. Nice Watch (Feat. Jay-Z)

This much-talked about Jay-Z feature appropriately sounds like a Timbaland track from the late 90's, not a good one either. J. Cole is clearly better at making deep, introspective songs than showy, braggadocios shit like this and Jay-Z recycles his laziest flows from Watch The Throne. In fairness, this is better than I'm making it sound, it just should be much better.

8. Cole World

This is kind of a banger but the beat is just a clusterfuck of weird noises and J. Cole doesn't sound quite right rapping over it.

9. In The Morning (Feat. Drake)

Another older one, from that Friday Night Lights tape. Again I can see why he or the studio or whoever wanted to throw this on here since it's a well-received Drake feature. They should've thrown "How High" on here too, just for good measure.

10. Lost Ones

A somber ode to aborted babies or some such. I wasn't totally following along to be honest. Whatever the case, this is one of the album's more boring moments thus far.

11. Nobody's Perfect (Feat. Missy Elliot)

When I heard this slow, Southern-sounding beat I thought this would make for a great Bun B feature, but shockingly this album doesn't have one. Instead, speaking of late 90's Timbaland, it's Missy Elliot on the hook.

12. Never Told

J. Cole sort of conversationally raps over a slow, stripped-down instrumental. Think something from 808s & Heartbreak meets any number of Drake songs that fit exactly what I described in that last sentence.

13. Rise And Shine

This one begins with an incredibly apt Jay-Z clip, where he says he's gonna sign the kid thats out there eating Apple Jacks and coming for his spot. Then the appropriately triumphant-sounding beat kicks in with a heavy bass and choir like something Weezy mistakenly passed on for Tha Carter IV.

14. God's Gift

Another skippable track. Sounds a lot like anything by the Cunninlynguists.

15. Breakdown

This starts off sounding like a Premo beat but ends up being more like everything else on here if not for the drums. Even without the choppy loop, this is still one of the best songs on here, as Cole compliments the jazzy instrumental with meaningful raps about staying strong through hard times.

16. Workout

This single was dumbed-down and disappointing but I guess it really isn't that bad. Musically there are no egregious synths or drums and the fake Roger Troutman is a good touch.

17. Nothing Lasts Forever

A piano-laced tribute to the one that got away that's very reminiscent of Ye's "Blame Game". Maybe not as good, but still.

18. Daddy's Little Girl

The album goes out with a whimper thanks to another Drake-esque song about teenaged girls that can take shots to the face.

Best Songs: "Lights Please", "Sideline Story", "Breakdown"

Comments: Yawn. I still think that J. Cole is a very good MC and this album confirms that if anything. That said, Cole World had a serious shortage of bangers and one too many piano-led, introspective songs that all sort of meshed together. "Blow Up", for instance, would have been a welcome addition to this album instead of one of the other re-hashed songs they used. Still, a solid debut release.

Backpacks On Packs On Packs: PropsOverHere's Rock The Bells Recap

2011-09-03T09:44:00.001-07:00

Normally I'm not into seeing concerts, but when I heard about the all-star cast of 90's rappers performing at Rock The Bells in New York City, I decided it would be worth it to make the trip. I was planning on documenting the events in real-time but I clearly overestimated mobile blogging technology. So instead, two and a half weeks later, here's a brief recap of what I saw in nine hot, exhausting hours at Governors Island.

Black Star
Rating: 4.5/5
Breakdown: Black Star was the first performance on the event's main stage and lived up to the top billing. After pleasing the huge crowd with "Astronomy (8th Light)" shit got real when "RE: DEFinition" dropped. My favorite moment had to be when they did "Children's Story" to the Slick Rick beat, because that's how lame I am. It can't be easy being the first big performer at a highly anticipated event like this but Black Star set the tone for the rest of day.

Black Moon
Rating: 4/5
Breakdown: Black Moon was also fucking great, doing Enta Da Stage with a live band and a guest appearance by Tek & Steele. After teaming up with Black Moon for "Black Smif-N-Wessun", the duo performed their own classic, "Bucktown", which might have actually been the fan favorite. I remember being impressed by Buckshot who still kills it live despite his advanced age.

Mobb Deep
Rating: 5/5
Breakdown: Havoc and P rocked the crowd with The Infamous plus just about every other Mobb Deep song you'd want to hear, including "Quiet Storm", "It's Mine", "G.O.D. Pt. III", and "Drop A Gem On 'Em", which they entered to. The one questionable moment came when 40 Glocc did his west side dedication that only served to piss of the partisan east coast crowd. Appropriately, "Shook Ones Pt. II" as the finale received the craziest fan reaction of the day.

Raekwon & Ghostface
Rating: 4.5/5
Recap: The only negative about the entire day was that Rae and Ghost were scheduled twenty minutes before Nas, so everyone had to choose between two can't-miss performances. I got nice and close to the stage for this because no one was trying to see Childish Gambino who was on before them. Luckily, the three songs I saw before heading over to the main stage were "Criminology", "Incarcerated Scarfaces", and "Ice Cream", all of which were as great as I could have imagined.

Nas
Rating: 5/5
Recap: All of the performances I saw at Rock The Bells were incredible, but this one was historic. "New York State of Mind" was as hype as expected, then AZ came out for his legendary verse on "Life's A Bitch" and the duo did "Mo Money, Mo Murder". Then Pete Rock came out for "The World Is Yours" and faced off in a DJ battle with Premier in what was one of the coolest moments of the day/my life. In addition to Illmatic, Nas did some of his earlier joints that probably hadn't been performed live in eons. He brought out MC Serch for "Back To The Grill" and Akinyele and Fatal for "Live At The Barbecue", both of which were insane.

Overall, Rock The Bells was incredible. Scheduling fuckups caused me to miss most of Liquid Swords and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, but what I did see was more than enough to make it a success. The venue was great, the atmosphere was awesome, and the performances couldn't have been better short of Biggie coming back and doing Ready To Die.

Album Review: Game- "The R.E.D. Album"

2011-08-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I forecasted on this site that The R.E.D. Album was going to be garbage. In the meantime, I've heard a few songs off of the album that strongly indicate otherwise. Is this the album I anticipated, full of R&B hooks about sipping Patron, or the new Documentary?

1. Dr. Dre Intro

Dr. Dre introduces Game and re-traces his gang affiliated bloodlines.

2. The City (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)

A dramatic entrance full of singers and choirs and loud percussion bangs like something from "Lion King". Game, in his angriest voice, raps about being the king and everything else while Lamar does the hook and "freestyles" after the beat stops. This goes on forever too.

3. Drug Test (Feat. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg)

I never thought I'd see the day when Dre monsters aren't even produced by Dr. Dre. The Game once rapped that he might "put out Detox myself", but DJ Khalil might actually be able to do that.

4. Martians Vs. Goblins (Feat. Lil Wayne & Tyler The Creator)

Besides this being a song titled "Martians Vs. Goblins", this is pretty sick. Tyler The Creator who I had kind of disregarded as just a wacky mofo, drops a memorable guest verse.

5. Red Nation (Feat. Lil Wayne)

Maybe it's because I'm partial to the "Zombie Nation" beat but I love this shit. Game spits some quality bars and even Weezy's chorus is great.

6. Dr. Dre 1

Another one of Dre's frightening interludes

7. Good Girls Go Bad (Feat. Drake)

I was expecting this to be pillowy soft, because of the title, but this is a banger. Cool & Dre continue to bless Game with some quality soulful shit and Drake drops a decent verse on here. It has to be said though that a healthy majority of The Game's bars are gossip queen status.

8. Ricky

I remember Papoose did a mixtape joint where he just rapped over the "Boys In The Hood" beat, which is sort of what I thought Game was gonna do here. Instead, the movie samples transition into a dramatic banger that makes perfect use of the horns from the "Boys In The Hood" song. Game completes the track with sincere and triumphant lyrics in easily his best, hungriest performance on this album.

9. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Game tells alibis in rap form in a way that's totally fucking brilliant. The beat compliments his stories perfectly too.

10. Heavy Artillery (Feat. Rick Ross & Beanie Sigel)

This is even gullier than it sounds. Cool & Dre kill it again plus Ricky and especially Beans' contributions were very welcome.

11. Paramedics (Feat. Young Jeezy)

On the other hand Young Jeezy's contribution, not so much. That said, it's not his fault this beat is just loud and busy and hard to listen to. The rest is just what you'd expect from a Game and Jeezy song, full of raps about hustling and "shitting Benjamins" and what not.

12. Speakers On Blast (Feat. Big Boi & E-40)

Game brings in two rap legends on this one. This is pretty cool, but it don't love this beat. A Big Boi/E-40 feature shouldn't sound like a Jay Rock throwaway.

13. Hello (Feat. Lloyd)

Holy shit, this shit is Charmin ultra soft. It's like Game's version of "Fancy" over some really awful R&B music.

14. All The Way Gone (Feat. Mario & Wale)

Not as bad as that last song, but still...just...terrible.

15. Pot Of Gold (Feat. Chris Brown)

Maybe it's the acoustic guitar or Chris Brown singing like Jason Mraz or some shit, but this has to be the whitest Game song of all time.

16. Dr. Dre 2

Dre's tales of the hood don't sound appropriate right after that string of sweet-ass R&B tracks.

17. All I Know (Feat. Lu Breeze)

Another pop song. Apparently I wasn't totally misguided in my concerns about this album. On a somewhat related note, has anyone seen this new Patron TV spot where the president of the company talks about their corporate social responsibility and shit? If this is, as I suspect, a means of distancing the brand from it's current image of rappers' cocktail of choice at strip clubs, well that's just hilarious.

18. Born In The Trap

As I tweeted when this song leaked, this Premo-produced heater actually does "save the R.E.D. Album". I may be the biggest Premier stan around, but this song is fucking great. Game seems to be inspired by the Premier collab because he drops one of the best flows of his career on this.

19. Mama Knows (Feat. Nelly Furtado)

Speaking of incredible flows, Game goes crazy over what sounds like a beat from that most recent Q-Tip album. Not even Nelly Furtado's incomprehensible chorus could ruin this for me.

20. California Dream

The Game raps about the birth of his daughter and at one point there's even a reenactment of the scene of the birth. I can't imagine why Game would have thought anyone would enjoy listening to this.

21. Dr. Dre Outro

Dr. Dre ends with a moralistic message about how being a good guy and raising a family is what's really "gangsta". I might have to disagree with him on that one.

Comments: This album was hot and cold, but good overall. I'd compare it to Ryan Howard, who normally either hits the shit out of the baseball or swings and misses completely. Like Howard, The Game's hits on this album make up for the shittier moments.

Best Songs: "Born In The Trap", "Heavy Artillery", "Ricky"

PropsOverHere Investigates: Are Rap "Beefs" a Thing of the Past?

2011-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, "beef" was the most popular thing going in rap, at times even more so than the music itself. Of course such rap feuds were not a new trend. Ever since the days of "The Bridge Is Over", rappers have been going at each other on and off record to air out their differences or maybe just as a ploy for attention. However, rap beef seemed to hit its peak some time between 2000-2008, thanks in part to the infamous Jay-Z and Nas diss tracks, and to the emergence of a new breed of contentious rappers like 50 Cent who sought out a different artist to beef with just about every waking day. At some point in time, rap music had basically become a giant web of beefs that had become so chaotic and tangled up that I doubt the rappers themselves could even keep track of everyone that they were beefing with and why. Then, all of the sudden, rap beefs were played out as spinning rims. Jay-Z signed Nas to Def Jam, The Game hit the booth and said "I don't hate Mobb Deep or M.O.P./ That was a phase/ I was caught up in the beef like a rat in a maze", Shady signed and made an album with Royce Da 5'9", and now I'm hearing that Jim Jones and Cam'Ron's Fly Boys album could be next. Not to mention, when was the last time a rapper got shot? Other than The Game's attention-whoring jabs at Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel's salty jabs at Jay-Z, rappers nowadays seem far more interested in deading their old beefs and moving on rather than seeking out new ones. While I would like to believe that this is because rappers realize how pointless and silly these feuds actually were, it probably has more to do with the fact that beefs are no longer able to drive album sales. Or maybe it's because today's rappers are too concerned with who they're wearing or which color Maybach is the prettiest to hate on each other. So did beef go out of style, or is it simply lying in wait until it makes its triumphant return?

Album Of The Day: Hi-Tek- "Hi-Teknology"

2011-08-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

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This was the first, and best, album by Reflection Eternal producer Hi-Tek. It features an elite guest list of MCs including Common, Mos Def, Cormega, Talib Kweli, Mood, and Buckshot over some of the Cincinnati native's finest work on the boards. One of the best albums of the Rawkus glory days.

Album Of The Day: Elzhi- "Witness My Growth"

2011-08-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

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This mixtape contains a bunch of unreleased Elzhi material that was recorded between 1997 and 2004, hence the title. The large majority of these songs were simply Detroit underground joints, produced by fellow Motown artists like Young R.J., Waajeed, Kareem Riggins, and the late, great Dilla. His local MC status (which really hasn't changed since, with the lone exception of his verse on The Minstrel Show) combined with his almost unrivaled rapping ability has to make him, in my estimation, the most underrated rapper ever.

Album Of The Day: 2Pac- "Thug Life"

2011-08-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

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It's almost impossible to believe that a 2Pac album could be underrated, but this one is. Technically it's not a 2Pac solo it's really a group effort between him, his cousin, and his homies, but Pac clearly carries this album. It features some of the more timeless 2Pac classics like "Bury Me A G" and, possibly my favorite Pac song evar, "Pour Out A Little Liquor". Even though All Eyez On Me and Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory get more hype having been released in his post-NY shooting, post-prison, Death Row era, but I'd put Thug Life second only to Me Against The World as far as 2pac albums go.

Album Of The Day: All City- "Metropolis Gold"

2011-08-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

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I don't know shit about All City, but they were somehow able to recruit the likes of DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Rockwilder, and others to produce this 1998 release. The Brooklyn duo disbanded after this album, but at least they left us with this underground gem.

Album Review: Royce Da 5'9"- "Success Is Certain"

2011-08-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Royce Da 5'9" has been sort of on a roll recently; joining Slaughterhouse, signing with Shady, and then dropping an album with Eminem that landed him some additional notoriety and radio airplay. I wasn't really able to get into Hell: The Sequel as was the case with all of Royce's solo albums to this point even though he is one of the best rappers around. Some of this may have to do with being on low-budget record labels, or maybe a shitty taste in beats that make his non Premo-produced material hard to listen to. Is this going to be the first Royce album that I like or just further affirmation that making a good album takes more than lyrical battle raps?

1. Legendary (Feat. Travis Barker)

A rock-inspired intro appropriately featuring Travis Barker, whose all over rap albums these days. Royce goes hard to match the energy of the track but his punch lines are very hit or miss.

2. Writer's Block (Feat. Eminem)

A high octane banger full of glitchy noises and choirs not unlike "H.A.M." but with Eminem on the hook. I assume that these are the two reasons why they made it a single.

3. Merry Go Round

The chorus on this is so incredibly corny it's a wonder that Royce Da 5'9" even let this be a part of his album. Unfortunately, it ruins a decent song otherwise with Royce reflecting on events that shaped his career path.

4. Where My Money

Royce raps about how he's going to rob hip-hop, or something, with a weak flow and lyrics that make little to no sense. Maybe being a poor, underground rapper has made him completely disillusioned with the music industry, or maybe he's just not very smart.

5. ER (Feat. Kid Vishis)

A concept track with Royce as a doctor operating on the rap game in the first verse then Kid Vishis rhyming as the game "revived" in the second. This might go back to him being a bitter underground rapper, but I don't know why Royce sounds so pissed off on every song. For the record, nothing takes the edge off of an angry verse quite like the word "Twitter".

6. On The Boulevard (Feat. Nottz & Adonis)

Nottz and Royce tell a story about the dangers of growing up in the ghetto through "Kenny", who aspired to be a track star but ends up selling crack. Or something like that.

7. I Ain't Coming Down

This one is more like it. I like this sample and Royce spits witty and occasionally heartfelt lyrics about his beefs and haters and all that good shit.

8. Security

Royce swaps his angry flow for a monotone delivery on this a dedication to Proof, like 4 years later. The first two verses about him and Proof were great but the amount of times he raps about making amends with Em and D12 on this album would make The Game blush.

9. Second Place

This isn't exactly a classic Premo record but it still thumps and it's still better than 98% of beats of out there. His tracks do tend to bring out the best in Royce, though at the end of the second verse he just starts giggling.

10. My Own Planet (Feat. Joe Budden)

I actually thought this was going to be a spoof record when I heard the synths kick in, but then I remembered what I said earlier about Royce's beat selection. Somehow this isn't totally awful, but Royce and Joe Budden just aren't meant to make shit like this.

11. I've Been Up I've Been Down

More emo babble from Royce over a Linkin Park beat to round out the album.

Comments: Royce is still without an album that I like, which I'm sure he cares a lot about. He is definitely a good rapper but he lacks the ability to pick beats and put songs together which results in mediocre albums such as this.

Best Songs: "Security", "Second Place"

Album Of The Day: 50 Cent- "Power Of The Dollar"

2011-08-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

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Before the money and the fame, 50 Cent was a no nonsense rapper from Queens with a Jay-Z flow, as exhibited on this unreleased album. Power Of The Dollar was recorded around 2000 when 50 was signed to Columbia Records, right before he famously caught nine shots and was subsequently dropped from the label. On this album, a young 50 Cent displays a creativity and hunger that is completely absent in his newer music, or really anything he's done since 2005. Between that and beats by Trackmasters, Ski, and others, I'd have to say i like this to anything else in Curtis' catalogue.

Album Of The Day: Murs- "Murray's Revenge"

2011-08-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

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I don't remember this album getting much critical acclaim and it probably went double cardboard, but it's another one of my personal favorites. Like it's predecessor, Murs 3:16, this album only goes ten songs deep, but each are crafted to near perfection thanks to Murs' charismatic storytelling and 9th Wonder's soulful production. A good example is the song "Dreamchaser", on which Murs weaves a precautionary tale about growing up in his neighborhood over a Willie Hutch sample flip that is one of my favorite instrumentals of all time. If you are into that kind of shit, I recommend both this and 3:16 to the fullest extent.

Album Of The Day: Outkast- "Aquemini"

2011-08-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

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Maybe it's because it is Outkast's third best album, or even fourth depending on who you ask, but I don't feel as though Aquemini ever gets the credit it deserves. In addition to the awesomely funky single "Rosa Parks", this album features classic cuts such as "Aquemini", "Da Art Of Storytellin Pt.1", and "Skew It On The Bar-B". Thanks to the musical creativity of Andre and Big Boi and the beat-making genius of Organized Noise and Mr. DJ, this entire album has a sound that is incredibly unique but tasteful at the same time. A classic in my book.

Album Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West- "Watch The Throne"

2011-08-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well it’s finally here. In an inevitable move, longtime label-mates and hip-hop icons Jay-Z and Kanye West have teamed up for what has to be the biggest album to drop in the history of Props Over Here. I’m particularly excited to hear this album, not for the obvious reason of two great artists collaborating, but because I have no fucking clue what this is going to be like. Everything about this album, let alone the music itself, has been kept under wraps to this point more so than any other album that I can remember. Not only that but, while I love their bodies of work, neither Jay-Z nor Kanye have made anything that I’ve really liked since 2008 (American Gangster and Graduation), so I generally don’t know what to expect from these guys in 2011. So the time has come, is this album the next Blueprint or the next, well, Blueprint 3?

1. No Church In The Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean)

The intro hits hard but I think Kanye was a little over-ambitious on this one. This would have been just fine without ten different synthesizers and Frank Ocean’s long, auto-tune chorus. I’d have to say the rapping was the highlight here, with Hov and Kanye both dropping a monster verse.

2. Lift Off (Feat. Beyonce)

I don’t even know what the fuck this is. I know that Jay-Z and especially Kanye are looking to expand their horizons and make different shit what with their global status, but come on. This is just gay.

3. Ni**as In Paris

It figures that the first track I can really get into is not a Kanye production. Hit-Boy brings a larger-than-life banger and Jay-Z and Yeezy bring some nasty, ballin’ slow raps to compliment it. The outro might have been a bit much.

4. Otis (Feat. Otis Redding)

You’ve heard this already so I’ll spare you a review. This shit really grew on me though; to the point where I may have to take back my tweet about Masta Killa’s “D.T.D.” being a better version of this. If Ghostface was on this though...

5. Gotta Have It

Another banger, this one with the help of Pharrell, though I thought it was RZA to be honest. It might just be my love of ignorant raps, but Kanye’s whole “racks on maybachs” thing was the most entertaining moment of this album so far. They’re even able to pull of the old Run DMC back-to-back rapping thing. I might have to revise my list of the top duos after this.

6. New Day

Speaking of The RZA, this actually was at least co-produced by him but sounds decidedly more like Dr. Dre. This one is very emotional and serious; Jay-Z and Ye read letters to their unborn children and what not. It’s sad that I’d rather hear Kanye rap about Maybachs than this, but true.

7. That’s My Bitch

Yeezy and Hov spit on-fire raps about pussy over what sounds like a gangsta Salt-N-Peppa track. I mean that in the best way possible, this is funky as shit.

8. Welcome to the Jungle

Not a Guns N’ Roses sample, but Jay-Z spits some pretty brilliant, introspective raps over a guitar sampling heater. Swizz Beatz, who did the track, can be heard saying, “Welcome to the jungle” and occasionally, "God damn it".

9. Who Gon Stop Me

This one samples dub step, or what the fuck ever, which I hate the idea of. I mean some of this was cool but call me out-of-touch, I just don’t think I can get into this.

10. Murder to Excellence

This one starts with a beat that was kind of overdone and full of instruments and a choir and shit then switches up to what sounds like a College Dropout-era Kanye banger. However, Jay-Z’s raps carry this track in my opinion, with respect to Ye who’s been holding his own on this album.

11. Made In America (Feat. Frank Ocean)

This one goes out to baby Jesus. This was just very awkward and contrived, but I did like Jay-Z’s bit of storytelling about cooking crack in his grandma’s kitchen.

12. Why I Love You (Feat. Mr. Hudson)

Jay-Z's rock ballad/"I'll be the the bigger man" diss record produced by Kanye and what I can only assume are a bunch of Italian DJs. Shots fired at Beanie Sigel, Dame Dash etc. I’m interested to hear the response to this.

13. Illest Motherfucker Alive

Kanye sings about how he needs a slow motion video and then raps about Russell Brand and fashion among other things. Jay-Z then compares himself and Kanye to The Beatles and over-emphasizes how much money he has. I guarantee they will sit front row at the Grammy’s if only because Jay said they will.

14. H.A.M.

The anthemic Lex Luger banger that’s been out since earlier this year. It’s not the best song of all time but it originated or at least popularized the term “ham” plus Mr. West references the legendary Eli Porter. Respect: earned.

15. Primetime

Jay-Z and Kanye both kill it over a great piano sample and hard-hitting drums on one of the best songs in a while. For what it’s worth, Russell Simmons is listed as a producer credit on this.

16. The Joy (Feat. Curtis Mayfield)

Pete Rock blesses big brother and little bro with an extra soulful flip of the old Curtis Mayfield sample which was also used on that Masta Killa album, though I might be the only person who finds that interesting. This was hip-hop as shit, a great way to end the album, or at least the fancy iTunes deluxe version.

Comments: This album was fucking crazy. Some of it was too out there musically for my liking, and some of these songs were totally questionable, but overall I like what they’ve done here. From the musical end, this album had so much variety and, even though I didn’t like every song, the production as a whole was excellent. Added to that, both Jay-Z and Kanye brought their A-game lyrically and displayed impressive chemistry on the mic. You can tell that they really went all out on this album and not even I can hate on that.

Best Songs: “Otis”, “Gotta Have It”, “Ni**as In Paris”, “Murder To Excellence”

PropsOverHere Presents: Before The Throne

2011-08-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

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With Jay-Z and Kanye West's highly anticipated project Watch The Throne just around the corner, I've dedicated this mixtape to some of their best collaborations to this point. One can only hope that the material on Watch The Throne is half this good. Tracklisting below.

1.Takeover
2. Lucifer
3. Brooklyn Go Hard
4. Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
5. Song Cry
6. Heart Of The City
7. This Can't Be Life (Feat. Beanie Sigel & Scarface)
8. Never Let Me Down
9. Jockin' Jay-Z
10. Never Change
11. Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
12. Encore

Album Of The Day: Mobb Deep- "Hell On Earth"

2011-08-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

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Mobb Deep's iconic The Infamous is appropriately hailed as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of the '90s. However, their follow up, Hell On Earth, receives no such praise for reasons that are beyond me. Released only about a year after The Infamous, this album still catches Havoc and P in their artistic prime and is one of the darkest, gulliest rap albums ever made. So if you thought that there was no debating The Infamous as Mobb Deep's best work, guess again.

Album Of The Day: Inspectah Deck- "Uncontrolled Substance"

2011-08-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

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Inspectah Deck is the one guy from the Wu that deserved the mid-90's RZA treatment but didn't get it. While GZA, Raekwon, Method Man, Ghostface, and ODB all dropped classic albums with RZA at the helm, Deck maintained his role as "one of the group" despite lyrical skills that rivaled any of the aforementioned. His solo debut, Uncontrolled Substance, didn't drop until 1999 and features only two RZA beats and, while I wouldn't put it next to Liquid Swords, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and so on, it's still a solid album. Despite the lack of in-his-prime RZA brilliance, the production is quality thanks to Wu-affiliated beat makers True Master, 4th Disciple, and Mathematics plus one track each from Pete Rock and Large Professor. Well-known as an incredible verse writer, Deck doesn't have the kind of range and subject matter that can effectively carry an entire album, which likely explains why his solo career was so low on the group's list of priorities. Nonetheless, on sheer lyrical skill and production alone, this album still ranks highly on the list of Wu-Tang solo efforts.

Album Of The Day: Joe Budden- "Mood Muzik 2"

2011-08-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

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Joe Budden is best known for "Pump It Up", the Just Blaze-produced jam of 2003. That single helped establish Budden as a well-known rapper, but made him seem like a dumbed-down mainstream artist, only capable of writing songs for the club. On this my favorite mixtape evar, Budden shows his true colors as a hungry, introspective lyricist that is nothing like the "Pump It Up" MC that Def Jam wanted him to be.

Album Of The Day: Da Youngstas- "No Mercy"

2011-08-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

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Da Youngstas were a Philly-based trio that made some quality hip-hop in the early '90s as teenagers. Not that I'm all too familiar with their catalogue, but this is my favorite album of theirs thanks to their energy on the mic and production by greats like Marley Marl and K-Def. Mad props.

PropsOverHere Presents: The Best Of The Game & DJ Skee

2011-08-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

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I have a strong feeling that Game's upcoming R.E.D. Album is going to suck ass, and I don't think I'm alone in this. For the last year, Jayceon has been trying too hard to make a radio smash, hence abortions like the Timbo-produced Gucci collab "Krazy"and the Pharrell-produced Chris Brown feature, "Pot of Gold". These failed attempts at a hit single have greatly lowered my expectations for this album, even though I've been satisfied with all of The Game's albums to date. Assuming I'm right, and the album is terrible, his mixtape material with DJ Skee over the last year or so serves as an acceptable consolation. Between The R.E.D. Room, Brake Lights, Purp & Patron, and Hood Morning: Candy Coronas (which just dropped today), there are more than an album's worth of great songs, to the point where it almost doesn't even matter anymore how bad the real album may be. With that in mind, I've taken the best songs from the Game/Skee tapes and assembled a sort of greatest hits collection for your enjoyment. Tracklisting below.

1. Drug Test (Feat. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg)
2. Soo Woo (Feat. Lil' Wayne)
3. Out Of Towner
4. The Kill
5. Gangs Of New York (Feat. Jim Jones & Jadakiss)
6. Taylor Made (Feat. Wiz Khalifa)
7. Slangin' Rocks
8. Uncle Otis
9. Grave Yard
10. Hahahahaha
11. Ashed To Ashes (Feat. Rick Ross)
12. Red (Feat. Redman)
13. The Ocean
14. Never Stop Hustlin' (Feat. Fabolous)
15. R.I.P. Story

Album Of The Day: Diverse "One A.M."

2011-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Download*

On One A.M., Diverse, who I admittedly know nothing about, displays virtuoso rapping skill and some substance to go along with it. The beats by the likes of Prefuse 73, Madlib, and RJD2 are very solid, making this one of the few new-ish underground albums with significant replay value, at least for me.

Album Of The Day: Juggaknots-"Clear Blue Skies"

2011-07-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

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The Juggaknots are a group headlined by Breezly Brewin, a great underground MC. This 2003 album is unquestionably their best work but apparently it never caught on because I hardly ever see it mentioned. If you were born in the late '80's/'90's, you might have heard the song "Trouble Man" since I think it was featured on one of those immensely popular Tony Hawk skateboarding video games. Everyone's got that one friend that just ran train in Tony Hawk. Anyway, download this album.

*Don't blame me if this download gives your computer a virus, I did not upload that shit.

Album Of The Day: Kidz In The Hall- "School Was My Hustle"

2011-07-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

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Today's album is Naledge and Double O's debut effort, School Was My Hustle. I had never heard of Kidz In The Hall until I read up on how Just Blaze threw the "Rumpshaker" horns on one of their songs and used it for Jay's then-new single "Show 'Em What You Got". Still having never heard any of their music, I checked this album on a hunch and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was totally fresh, pure hip-hop from front to back.

*Don't blame me if this download gives your computer a virus because I did not upload that shit.

Dream Albums Do Come True...Maybe

2011-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

According to VladTV, "50 is Patiently Waiting On Kanye for Joint Project", an idea that I pitched on this very site right around the time of the Graduation vs. Curtis album sales showdown. Since then, Fiddy's popularity as an artist has plummeted and his Sleek headphone venture was a flop, so he's turning to Kanye presumably because he's all out of ideas. Between label politics and Kanye's better judgment I kind of doubt that this album ever materializes, but if it does I hope that they at least consider the title He's The D-Bag, I'm The Rapper.

Album Of The Day: Lake & Cormega-"My Brother's Keeper"

2011-07-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

Download*

With not much happening in the rap world, I've decided to add a new feature to the site called "Album Of The Day" where everyday I'll give shine to a different, underrated album. The first is Lake and Cormega's My Brother's Keeper, a collection of street tales from two Queensbridge hustlers turned inmates turned rappers. From what I can piece together through various songs, Lake and Mega grew up together but had a falling out at some point, possibly when one or the other went to prison. Eventually they settled their differences and reunited to make this album, back in '06. Only about half of the songs on this are any good, but it still comes highly recommended for fans of East Coast street shit such as myself.

*Don't blame me if this download gives your computer a virus because I did not upload that shit.

PropsOverHere Presents: The Remixes (Pt. II)

2011-07-26T10:33:00.001-07:00

Download

It's been a while since I posted a download, so here's another one of my famous mixtapes with more remixes. Tracklist below.

1. A Tribe Called Quest - "Oh My God" (Remix)

2. AZ & Nas - "The Essence" (Remix)

3. G-Dep - "Special Delivery" (Remix)

4. The Firm - "Affirmative Action" (Remix)

5. Junior M.A.F.I.A. - "Player's Anthem" (Remix)

6. Lord Finesse - "Hip 2 Da Game" (Buckwild Remix)

7. Large Professor - "The Radar" (Marco Polo Remix)

8. Smif-N-Wessun - "Wrekonize" (Remix)

9. AZ - "Gimme Yours" (Remix)

10. Das Efx - "Jussumen" (Pete Rock Remix)

11. Artifacts - "The Ultimate" (Showbiz Remix)

12. M.O.P. - "Handle Ur Bizness" (Premo Remix)

13. Slum Village - "Players" (Pete Rock Remix)

14. Jay-Z - "In My Lifetime" (Big Jaz Remix)

Album Review: Jay Rock- "Follow Me Home"

2011-07-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

I profess that I don't know much about Jay Rock. I didn't even know that he was from Cali until I consulted Wikipedia just now. What I do know about him is that he dropped the Cool & Dre produced single/Weezy feature "All My Life" in 2008 a la Saigon, but I still bump that shit from time to time. The next leak from this album, "Hood Gone Love It", is almost as good and cracked my top 10 from the first half of the year. Does the rest of his debut album match the quality of the first two singles or does it all go downhill from there?

1. Intro

Jay Rock is interviewed about a drive-by and welcomes us to “Guttaville”.

2. Code Red

Sort of a continuation from the intro, this one is about how real shit gets in Watts, naturally over an imitation Dre beat. Jay even brings in a guy that sounds like Snoop Dogg to do the chorus.
3. Bout That

More tough guy gangsta raps, except this one is more of a mess musically than the last song. This sounds like a throwaway from a Game tape.

4. No Joke (Feat. Ab-Soul)

At this point its clear that Jay Rock isn’t gonna do anything that hasn’t been done before, based on all of the interchangeable verses about the hood so far. Not necessarily a bad thing, since that’s clearly what he’s best at. I like this track to the first two thanks to the chopped up piano sample though I could do without Ab-Soul on the hook.

5. Hood Gone Love It (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)

I talked about this track in my intro to this review and in that “Halftime” post but it bears repeating, this is great. I’m glad J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League gave this to Jay Rock now that Rick Ross only raps over different variations of the “I’m Not A Star” beat.

6. Westside (
feat. Chris Brown)

Considering this is a Breezy feature about banging hoes, I’m not mad at this. It’s not a very good song, but I hope it gets Jay Rock some airplay.

7. Elbows

Here’s another fake Dre track though this one, unlike the first, is well worse than the real thing. Jay Rock brings an extra raspy, aggressive flow that, combined with the Dre-like production, invokes a Restless-era Xzibit.

8. Boomerang

This is the least inspired moment of this album so far, which says a lot since there was already a Chris Brown, girl track.

9. All I Know Is

Some more unoriginal, West Coast gangsta rap but this time, instead of a guy that sounds sort of like Snoop, they got a guy that sounds sort of like Nate Dogg to do the hook. Rest in peace.

10. I'm Thuggin'

I know I said that Jay Rock’s lack of ingenuity wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at this point it’s almost embarrassing. I mean the hook on this is him repeating “Bitch, I’m Thuggin’”. Come on now.

11. Kill or Be Killed

Tech N9ne, who I’ve never been able to get into, lends a guest verse on a song about shooting people. For what it’s worth, Jay’s verse describing a dude getting rushed off to the hospital and shit might be his best lyricism so far.

12. Just Like Me (Feat. J.Black)

A somber track about the ugly side of ghetto living, basically the opposite of “Hood Gone Love It”.

13. Say Wassup (Feat. Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, & Schoolboy Q)

Jay Rock brings in the rest of “Black Hippy” for this the best song in some time. Even though the gangbang shit might be in Jay Rock’s element, the best songs on here are the ones that are the least gangsta sounding, but that might just be my personal preference.

14. They Be On It

Jay spits braggadocio raps about cars and bitches and whatnot. This is alright but I wouldn’t care if I never heard this again.

15. M.O.N.E.Y.

This is a lot like the last song that this guy J. Black sang on. I get the sense that every time Jay Rock feels like he has something really serious to rap about he calls up J. Black, finds a dark piano beat, and hits the booth.

16. Finest Hour (Feat. Rick Ross & BJ The Chicago Kid)

This J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League track sounds like some of the beats they’ve done for Rick Ross in the past, so it’s no surprise to find Rozay on here. I think if they handled all the production on this album it would be an entirely different story.

17. Life's A Gamble

Here’s another dark piano beat, probably the best yet. I think I’ve heard this one before and there was a video for it if I’m not mistaken. This is pretty chill but not really anything special.

18. All My Life (Feat. Lil' Wayne)

This song is still terrific but it’s old news. They might as well have put "California Soul" on here too. I mean if you haven’t heard this by now then definitely go do that.

Comments:

Eh. This album had its moments, but also had lots of filler, which I guess is to be expected since there were 18 songs on there. Like I said, with better production value I think Jay Rock could put out something much better, as evidenced by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Cool & Dre tracks.

Best Songs: "Hood Gone Love It", "All My Life"

Album Review: Wu-Tang Clan- "Legendary Weapons"

2011-07-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is the newest Wu-Tang compilation album with a who's who of guest appearances in the same vein as that Wu-Tang Chamber Music album that dropped a few years back. I've already heard a few of these songs, but I'm still interested to see how it is as a whole. Will this be the next great Wu-Tang release or a weak, 2011 version of Wu-Tang Collective?

1. Start The Show (Feat. Raekwon & RZA)

A great way to kick off the album. Street Radio lends his only beat on here that features a live guitar and bass that sounds pretty tight. I was never a fan of RZA the rapper but he and Rae come correct on this.

2. Laced Cheeba (Feat. Ghostface Killah, Sean Price, & Trife)

This beat has a heavy bassline and hard drums that give it a grimy feel that isn't all that different from the first track or every great Wu-Tang song ever, come to think of it. You can't go wrong with a lineup like Ghost, P, and Trife, either. Two for two so far.

3. Diesel Fluid (Feat. Method Man, Trife, & Cappadonna)

It's clear that the producers on this album (Fizzy Womack and some weed carriers according to Discogs), were shooting for this dark, dirty production style for this album. This one has a sick bass but is a little more boring than the first two. Nothing special lyrically on here either, especially from Cappadonna who hasn't dropped a good rap since "Independence Day".

4. The Black Diamonds (Feat. Ghostface, Roc Marciano, & Killa Sin)

This beat is aight, nothing special, but Ghostface, Roc Marci, and Killa Sin on the same shit? Sign me the fuck up!

5. Played By The Game (Interlude)

Nothing to review here.

6. Legendary Weapons (Feat. Ghostface, AZ, & M.O.P.)

This is fucking nails and I'm not just saying that because I'm a stan for just about everyone involved. This beat is one of the best yet, Ghostface and AZ kill it, and you can always count on M.O.P. to add some excitement to a song. Definitely worthy of the title track.

7. Never Feel This Pain (Feat. Inspectah Deck, U-God, & Tre Williams)

This isn't terrible, but it's pretty underwhelming compared to the rest of this which is appropriate since U-God and Tre Williams are on it. Even Deck, formerly a masterful verse writer, has basically lost his edge at this point.

8. Drunk Tongue (Feat. Killa Sin)

Every Wu-Tang album from here out should be produced by Fizzy Womack and executive produced by RZA. These are the dirtiest, most Wu-sounding collection of tracks I've heard in years and this in particular has some of that Asian music influence. This one is a Killa Sin solo which is cool to hear since he's a great MC who's always a part of a group or a guest rapper or something.

9. The Business (Interlude)

10. 225 Rounds (Feat. U-God, Cappadonna, Bronze Nazareth, & RZA)

I kinda like this beat and the intro is cool but I'm not a fan of any of these guys as rappers. At least they consolidated them all onto the same track rather than letting U-God or Cappadonna drag down some of the better shit.

11. Meteor Hammer (Feat. Ghostface Killah, Action Bronson, & Termanology)

This is one of the tracks I had heard previously, and it's definitely tight. They should scrap the Ghostface/DOOM project for one with Action Bronson since he's basically the white Ghostface and it's sick hearing them rhyme on the same track. Termanology lends the third verse and sounds very weak by comparison.

12. Live Through Death (Interlude)

13. Only The Rugged Survive (Feat. RZA)

Another grimy beat with live instrumentation to cap off the album, but this doesn't change my opinion on RZA as a rapper.

14. Outro

At least those interludes had beats and movie samples and shit...

Comments:

Nails from start to finish. I think had they replaced U-God and Cappadonna with GZA and Masta Killa, who were entirely absent from this album (maybe the hung it up), this could have been the best album this year. I sort of have the feeling that this is the kind of shit that sounds great on the first listen but lacks replay value. I guess I'll find out in the coming weeks. Still, I encourage you to check it out and cop it when it drops 7/26.

Best Songs: "Legendary Weapons", "Meteor Hammer", "Laced Cheeba"

PropsOverHere Presents: The Top 20 Rap Duos of All Time

2011-07-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

As Rob Base once famously said, "It takes two to make a thing go right". Not much would "go right" for him and DJ EZ Rock after that record, except maybe for "I wanna rock right now" royalty money, but the saying is still applicable to a number of other hip-hop duos. With that in mind, I've counted down my top 20 MC twosomes in the history of rap. Just to make it clear, these were my parameters for a "duo":

1. The group has to consist of two rappers only, unless the third member is a DJ or something that no one really knows about. This leaves out Gang Starr, Reflection Eternal, etc.

2. The duo has to either release at least one album under a joint, group name or release two or more albums otherwise. This leaves out Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and the like.

The list can now be found on this page. Of course, feel free to recklessly insult me on the rankings.

PropsOverHere Investigates: Are Wiz, Curren$y, & Big Sean Making An Album?

2011-07-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Why the fuck not? Wiz Khalifa has mysteriously leaked two tracks in as many days featuring Sean and Spitta that just happen to be produced by the same guy (Big Jerm). While I was never big on Wiz and I just recently pronounced Big Sean as a complete failure, I must admit that if these two songs are any indication, this album would be legit. Since there haven't been any rumblings about these guys teaming up I have my doubts, but I also doubt that they would record two great songs together just for the fuck of it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. If nothing else, it gave me an excuse to get back on my Photoshop game, get it "High And Rising"? Because they smoke pot!

Update:

Big Sean claims in a radio interview that he's "working on a secret project with two other guys that are killin' it in hip hop right now." Apparently it's gonna be a mixtape and not an album, but still should be tight.

Album Review: Gangrene & Roc Marciano- "Greneberg EP"

2011-07-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Last year, producer slash rappers Alchemist and Oh No put out an album under "Gangrene" called Gutter Water. Though I'm normally a big fan of Alchemist's production, this album wasn't for me, possibly due to Oh No's offbeat, Stones Throw influence, or maybe because of the lack of good rapping. Well they're back, this time with the help of one of my personal favorite MCs, Roc Marciano, whose U.N. material with Pete Rock I've raved about extensively on this site. So did Roc Marcy's addition make Gangrene worthwhile or was this EP just more of the same?

1. New Shit

This is the first of two tracks that don't feature Roc Marciano, which is sort of a bummer. The beat on here is precisely the "offbeat, Stones Throw" type of shit that I was talking about. I mean this is interesting musically and would be cool on an Oh No instrumental album, but it doesn't sound right with people rapping over it what with the loudness and people yelling in the background.

2. Papercuts

Here's something more to my liking, a smoothed out Alc beat with a tight baseline and guitar sample. Both Alchemist and Oh No kinda go in on this too, but the New York rap stan in me is begging for a Prodigy verse at the end there.

3. Sewer Gravy (Feat. Roc Marciano)

Roc Marcy makes his intro on the EP over a beat that sounds like something straight out of a blaxploitation movie, in a good way of course. I have to wonder why the fascination with pollution and waste and shit, but this is cool.

4. Hoard 90

This Alchemist track with an electric guitar, or something, is weaker than the last two. Roc Marciano kills it even though he delivers his rhymes so nonchalantly it sounds like he's freestyling this whole thing.

5. Jaws

Straight filth. This sounds like Oh No sampled the piano from a horror film which compliments Marciano's dark lyrics perfectly. As for Roc, he just about had me at "Eat a dick bitch, this is money/This ain't Kid Cudi/This is G shit gully."

6. Jet Luggage

Roc Marciano and Gangrene go in on what could be the best beat yet, and one of Alchemist's dirtier sounding productions in a while. Blaring horns and a piano make up the loop, which is pretty basic, but what makes it is the didgeridoo sound in the background. My only complaint would have to be Marciano's Brian Pumper reference, which comes just months after Naledge dropped one on "Moments". I think one per year is just fine.

7. Momma Told Me

Roc Marciano flows over his own, extra soulful beat full of horns and organs and such. Not that this isn't good, but I can't help but think that Alchemist could've done something a little more inventive with this.

Comments:

A very solid EP to say the least. Nothing on here blew me away, but other than the first track this shit was consistently good both musically and lyrically. Definitely worth a listen.

Best Songs: "Sewer Gravy", "Jet Luggage"

The 10 Most Referenced Ballers In Rap

2011-07-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Since both are cool and dominated by black people, rap music and basketball tend to have a lot of overlap; like Shaq-Fu, or the time Master P played in the summer league. So it comes as no surprise that NBA players are often referenced in rap lyrics, some more than others. Now that I've built a lot of suspense, here are the 10 players that are most commonly referenced in hip-hop.

10. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Best Lyric: "I got a razor sharper than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's barber"- Saigon

Why he's mentioned in rap: Kareem is one of the all-time great centers, but between his short shorts and ridiculous Rec-Specs, nothing about him screams "hip-hop". Maybe it's because he has a funny name.

9. Ron Artest

Best Lyric: "Your boy got more techs than Ron Artest"- Termanology

Why he's mentioned in rap: He reps Queensbridge and has even made some (awful) rap music himself. Also his bad boy attitude resonates with gangsta rappers like, uhhhh, Termanology.

8. Paul Pierce

Best Lyric: "They playin' the C's/But Paul Pierce throwin' up B's/That make the ref affiliated/Every time he hit a 3"- The Game

Why he's mentioned in rap: He's from Inglewood, famously got knifed outside of a night club, and apparently throws gang signs after making a basket.

7. Magic Johnson

Best Lyric: "One of the illest since Magic Johnson/No disrespect/But metaphors keep me out the projects"- Superb

Why he's mentioned in rap: Like his old sidekick Kareem, I assume this has to do with his status as one of the all-time greats, plus he was probably the childhood hero of many 90's era rappers.

6. Scottie Pippen

Best Lyric: "If we stay strong/We can get paper longer than Pippen's arms"- Jay-Z
Why he's mentioned in rap: There's nothing particularly hip-hop about Scottie Pippen either, who hails from Arkansas, the least hip-hop of all the continental United States. However, he was a great player on the most prominent team of the rap era, so I guess it makes sense in that regard.

5. Kobe Bryant
Best Lyric: "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste"- Shaq
Why he's mentioned in rap: Kobe is from a rich suburb of Philadelphia and made even worse rap music than his teammate, the aforementioned Artest. Still, he is admired by rappers for his superior ballin' skills, and possibly for raping white bitches.

4. Shaquille O'Neal
Best Lyric: "She ordered the kobe beef like Shaquille O'Neal"- Kanye West
Why he's mentioned in rap: This one is more of a no-brainer. Shaq actually made some pretty legit rap music back in the day, including collabs with Wu-Tang and Erick Sermon, who were still popular at the time. He reportedly could break dance too, that is before he outgrew every cardboard box ever manufactured.

3. Allen Iverson
Best Lyric: "Probably think I won't murder you, the way I smile/But I'ma take a lotta shots, AI style"- Jadakiss
Why he's mentioned in rap: Speaking of no-brainer, Allen Iverson is the embodiment of the fusion between rap and hoops. His shiny bling, do-rags, and tendency to roll with a posse are part of what brought hip-hop culture to the NBA, much to the disdain of white basketball fans everywhere.

2. LeBron James
Best Lyric: "Handlin' since a teen/Like LeBron or Sebastian/High school graduates"- Jay-Z
Why he's mentioned in rap: Hailed as "The Chosen One" as a fucking high schooler, Bron is one of the most talked about athletes of this generation, so it makes sense that he's #2 on this list. He's also known to "throw up the roc" in celebration of a great play and he may or may not acknowledge DJ Khaled when he sits front row at Heat games.

1. Michael Jordan
Best Lyric: "Freakin' n****s every way like MJ/I can't believe, today was a good day"- Ice Cube
Why he's mentioned in rap: Well this is no surprise, since Jordan is probably the best player ever and hit his prime right when hip-hop music was getting big. Not only does he top the list, but the number of times he's referenced in rap lyrics probably more than doubles anyone else. I'm sure this is Michael's proudest achievement.

It's Halftime

2011-07-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

The year has hit its midway point and with that in mind I’m back to rank some rap songs. Thanks to my impeccably organized iTunes library, I know there have been 132 rap songs from the first half of 2011 that I liked enough to add to my hard drive. Damn! Compare this to last year, albeit a tragic year for hip-hop, when I added 124 songs for the entire year. Compiling the top 10 songs was especially difficult but I think these had to be my personal favorites.

10. “Amuse Bouche”- Action Bronson

This song was my introduction to Action Bronson and sounds like a Ghostface song from the nineties. Though this ended up being his strongest effort (in my opinion), I was a big fan of The Program EP as a whole and will continue to check out his shit. He’s white.

9. “Scottie Pippens”- Curren$y Featuring Freddie Gibbs

Spitta and Alchemist’s Covert Coup mixtape wasn’t amazing, but was a treat on 4/20. There were a few gems on it, but this one had to be my overall favorite. This Alc beat has a killer bass guitar and a buncha crazy noises that fits Curren$y like a glove. Still, my favorite part had to be Freddie Gibbs coming on rapping like ’97 Big Daddy Kane about a “turkey bacon sandwich”.

8. “I Miss You”- Jadakiss

Jada spits reminiscent hood raps over a flipped “This Can’t Be Life” sample. This is a beautiful two and a half minutes of hip-hop. If that description didn’t convince you of as much, don’t visit this site again.

7. “So Amazn’”- Kidz In the Hall

I think I’m the only person who still listens to Kidz In The Hall, though I’m not sure why. These hipster-y twenty-something’s can actually make great hip-hop music, yet they get the least buzz out of all of them. The way Double O chops this sample up is wild and Naledge spits a memorable verse in this another two and a half minute song. I highly recommend downloading the entire Semester Abroad Mixtape also.

6. “The Hood Gone Love It”- Jay Rock Featuring Kendrick Lamar

Jay Rock’s second single off of “Follow Me Home” that’s in the vein of “All My Life”, his other good song. This is my favorite J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League beat in forever and Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar kinda kill it. I love the hook too, minus the part about watching someone “show his ass out in public”.

5. “Battle Cry”- Joell Ortiz

I like everything about this song. The Mohammed Ali intro, the beat that sounds like Just Blaze’s best work in years, and Joell’s on-fire rapping. This is just a great song. Produced by Audio Doctor by the way.

4. “Nasty”- Nas

I know I’m a stan, but this has to be the hottest Nas song since “Made You Look”. Nas kicks all sorts of crazy flows over Salaam Remi’s best beat since, well, “Made You Look”, that’s on some old school, Beastie Boys shit. Nas’ rapping is in top form, dropping one classic line after another in his hungriest, fastest delivery since forever. In particular, first few bars of the second verse, “Silent rage/pristine in my Venice shades/ I’m not in the winters of my life or the beginning stage/ I am the dragon/ Maserati/ Bumpin’ Biggie the great legend/Blastin’/I’m after the actress who played Faith Evans.” Holy shit. No one else raps like that.

3. “Anti Freeze”- Pac Div

I thought making the Nas song number one would have been a cop out on my part, so I’m giving credit to some new artists instead. I admittedly don’t know shit about Pac Div, other than accidentally streaming a song or two of theirs on Nah Right. That said, this shit is a banger and some of the verses are cool. Maybe times have dulled by tastes, but I’m beginning to embrace this ATL synth type of shit. I think we all should.

2. “Enemies”- Saigon

You know I had to show love to Saigon! No homo of course. Sai finally dropped that album I’ve been awaiting damn near since I started this blog, back before blogging was “in”. The album was solid and this was the standout to me. I really like this beat and Saigon rhymes about a fake friend that landed him in jail and made him kick a chick’s eye out, or something like that. But seriously, this is 2pac-esque.

1. "It Ain't Hard To Tell"- Elzhi

Speaking of a cop out, here’s a remake of an Illimatic song! I guess it’s unfair, rehashing one of the best songs evar, but Elzhi makes it his own in impressive fashion. From the opening lines, “Now let me start you from the genesis/ Far from where the finish is,” everything Elzhi spits is on point and on time. His rhyming on this may actually be the closest thing to the real ’94 Nas I’ve heard in a while. Go download the Elmatic Mixtape.

Here's Proof That Nas Is The Best Rapper Evar

2011-06-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is Nas circa 1991

And this is Nas as of a few days ago

Twenty years in the game and he hasn't lost a step. Say that about any other rapper but you can't and won't. I rest my case.

Album Review: Big Sean- "Finally Famous"

2011-06-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

I was first introduced to Big Sean in 2009 as Kanye's new artist who rapped like Asher Roth. He since had one of the best "Lemonade" freestyles and the song from the Derrick Rose commercial and some other pretty good shit. So is this guy really the next big thing or just another beta male mixtape rapper as I once assumed? Boiiiiii.

1. Intro

Big Sean sort of raps over the guy playing the piano at the Marriot. Not the worst intro I've ever heard.

2. I Do It

The aforementioned single from the D. Rose commercial that came out a while back. This beat is cool and Big Sean drops a clever line or two. My biggest gripe with this song is the fact that it's called "I Do It". Why does every new artist have to have a stupid ass catch phrase these days?

3. My Last (Feat. Chris Brown)

The radio single with Chris Breezy. This is actually pretty good for what it is in that I wouldn't listen to it on my own accord but it's one of the better song that gets heavy airplay.

4. Don't Tell Me You Love Me

This sounds like a Big Sean remake of a song that Kanye recorded for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but wasn't good enough to make the album. And that album kinda fucking sucked.

5. Wait For Me (Feat. Lupe Fiasco)

This is more like it. The bouncy paino beat with the chopped up vocal sample are much to my liking and seem to be right in Big Sean's wheelhouse. Lupe flows pretty nice over this as well, even if his guest verse wasn't particularly impactful. Still, a very solid song.

6. Marvin & Charrdonnay (Feat. Kanye West & Roscoe Dash)

Given the name of the song and the violin intro I was anticipating a soulful Kanye track ala "Late" from the Late Registration album. Or even "Overnight Celebrity". Instead this sounds like every other Roscoe Dash song, complete with the tone-deaf hook. Kanye's verse is awful and the song becomes a real mess towards the end if it wasn't one already. I bet this still gets extensive radio play like "No Hands" did.

7. Dance (Ass)

Oh shit, it's an MC Hammer sample! And 808 drums! And there's a Pootie Tang reference! No, but seriously, this is one of the worst songs I've ever heard.

8. Get It (DT)

Between the Casio keyboard beat and uninspired R&B hook I think I'd rather listen to that last song over this. I'm not doubting Big Sean's lyrical skill at this point, just his ability to tell a good idea from a very, very bad one.

9. Memories (Pt. II) (Feat. John Legend)

The sequel to a song I've never heard of featuring label-mate John Legend. Musically this isn't bad especially compared to some of this other garbage, but Big Sean's flow is getting really stale at this point. John Legend comes correct as always.

10. High (Feat. Wiz Khalifa & Chiddy Bang)

Sean, Wiz, and Chiddy Bang sort of half rap, half sing over something extra avant garde sounding. Wiz Khalifa's 30 seconds of rapping blows everyone out on this and I don't even like the guy.

11. Live This Life (Feat. The-Dream)

This might as well have been called "Chris Brown Song Pt. II". If it wasn't bad enough already, The-Dream takes the mic and melodizes that "these bitches look like Bobby Bonilla". Holy shit I hate this album.

12. So Much More

I feel as though Big Sean can never decide if he's rapping or singing. It's like he adopted his flow from Drake's hook on "Over" or maybe one of those songs Fat Joe did with R. Kelly. No I.D's production sort of saves this one even if the choir in the background is a bit much.

13. What Goes Around

Ok, this is a pretty good song. This beat, also by No I.D., and the catchy hook make this a seemingly radio-friendly song that I would actually like to hear on the radio...

14. Celebrity (Feat. Dwele)

...and here he goes again rapping about girls over something decidedly mainstream sounding. I think it's because the Asher Roth album only sold like 40,000 copies.

15. My House

Sean re-hashes the flows from "I Do It" and other songs on the album over pianos and organs and such. At least this is a rap song.

16. 100 Keys (Feat. Rick Ross & Pusha T)

At long last, it's the finale to this god-forsaken album. Speaking of Pusha T, I pray he doesn't go out like this.

Best Songs: "I Do It", "Wait For Me", "What Goes Around"

Comments: This has to be the worst album I've ever reviewed for this site, and that says quite a lot. In fairness, the singles weren't half bad, but everything else was just about impossible to listen to. I no longer have any respect for this kid as an artist. Bring on the J. Cole album!

PropsOverHere Presents Best of 2010: Top 25 Songs

2010-12-28T20:49:00.000-08:00

Since writing these year-end recaps was always my favorite part of this blog, I've come out of retirement to reflect on the hip-hop year that was. I didn't realize it until I began compiling these lists, but 2010 was a dreadful year for rap music, even compared to the past few. For what it's worth, here are 25 tracks from this past year that are at least worth checking out if you haven't already.

25. "My Time"-Freeway & Jake One

Free and Jake One made a great tandem in 2010, putting out a full-length album and a few other gems here and there. This song, off of the "Hip Hop Helps Haiti" mixtape was actually my favorite. The beat is great and Freeway compliments it with quite possibly the most intelligible raps of his career.

24. "I'm Ill"- Red Cafe Featuring Fabolous

Red Cafe, still the worst rap name evar, had a pretty big 2010 what with the Diddy co-sign. This is his biggest hit to date, and maybe his best work overall as far as I know. This shit hits hard plus I'm always down for a Fab guest verse.

23. "Start It Up"- Lloyd Banks Featuring Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Fabolous, & Ryan Leslie

Banks' "Hunger For More 2" was a predictably shitty sequel to a shitty album. Still, the singles were pretty damn good including this. Fab makes another guest appearance as does Kanye West, who seems to bring it lyrically on other peoples shit. However, I certainly could have done without Swizz Beatz's contribution.

22. "Good Friday"- Kanye West Featuring Common, Pusha T, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, & Charlie Wilson

This was one (maybe the first) of those weekly Kanye West releases that featured damn near everyone on his record label. "Good Friday" remains my favorite because I'm kind of a sucker for piano beats plus the drums knock and verses are solid across the board.

21. "As We Enter"-Nas & Damian Marley

I really could have put any number of Nas/Jr. Gong songs in this spot but I chose this one kind of by default since it was a single and probably the most memorable intro of the year. This one's pretty crazy musically not to mention the way Nas and Marley go back and forth old school style.

20. "Thank Me Now"-Drake

I was blunt cruising the first time I listened to this album and I remember thinking that this was the best song I'd ever heard. I would commence to play the shit out of it until it sort of became just another song. I still think this is Timbo's best work in years.

19. "Our Dreams"- Method Man, Ghostface Killah, & Raekwon

A collaborative album by my three favorite members of Wu was a major disappointment but this song was legit. The soulful beat suits these guys pretty well and the Michael Jackson sample is flipped to perfection.

18. "Still My Ni**a"- Killer Mike Featuring Game & Ludacris

I'm not sure if Killer Mike has been making music all this time and I haven't been checking for it (likely), but this was the first song of his I'd heard in years and I love it. This one has a message everyone can relate to and Game and Luda are two of my favorite mainstream rappers so getting them both on a track was pretty cool to me.

17. "With You"- Lil Wayne Featuring Drake

I'm not the biggest Lil Wayne fan but I can fucks with this grown and sexy shit. I think the chilled out beat is the highlight of the song but Wayne is pretty good on this and I like the hook/Drake's part.

16. "Ha Ha"- Fat Joe Featuring Young Jeezy

I had heard the "Ha Ha" flipped before on that Juggaknots album but I like how they used it on this. It made for one of the most memorable beats of the year as evidenced by all the people who freestyled over it.

15. "9 AM In Dallas"- Drake

I think I read somewhere that Drake wanted this to be the intro to his album but it never materialized. I think this made me like Drake more than ever because this song is great and would have been fucking perfect as an album intro. The beat is pretty cool and Drake definitely goes in on this. Plus he throws in a Willie Beamen reference which would have been enough for me.

14. "I'm Gone"- Fat Joe

This was the best Premo beat of the year even though this one's got 9th Wonder drums on it. Fat Joe, kinda surprisingly, does justice to this track with some of his best rapping in ages. I think it's cool that Fat Joe still reaches out to Premier after all these years and all the gay crossover songs he's done. Jay-Z and Nas should follow suit and maybe they will make the top 15 next year. Well Nas is on here but it's not technically his song.

13. "Get Busy"- Saigon

I fucking love this song. I think the first time I heard it I listened to it like 70 times in a row. If you've read this blog before you probably know I'm about as big of a Saigon stan as there is (even on the internets), not to mention that Mario is easily my favorite video game ever. Truly a perfect storm.

12. "Before I'm Gone"- J.Cole

Last year I called J. Cole a low budget Lupe Fiasco and, while he's still not my favorite MC, he's beginning to grow on me. I didn't listen to the entire "Friday Night Lights" tape but I liked what I heard off of it. This one was easily my favorite though and definitely one of the best songs of the year.

11. "Victory"- DJ Khaled Featuring Nas & John Legend

This has to be DJ Khaled's least obnoxious beat to date, right? Plus, this alone is evidence that Nas can still rap at a legendary level, unlike most (if not all) of his contemporaries. John Legend on the hook is always good too.

10. "The Show Goes On"- Lupe Fiasco

The real Lupe Fiasco! Who knows when this album is gonna drop but this was a good one. The sped up sample of that Modest Mouse song is something I would expect more from one of those frat kids/hipster rappers but I actually like it. Lupe is nice as always.

9. "The Park"- Ghostface Killah Featuring Black Thought

The new Ghostface is nothing special in my book but this track is fuckin filthy. The guitar and bongo beat hits harder than anything else I heard in 2010 and you're not gonna get a much better rapping duo than Ghost and Black Thought. It's pretty sweet to hear these guys rap about their roots in hip hop music and Tariq goes bananas on this.

8. "Call Me"- Joell Ortiz

Joell Ortiz may very well be the best rapper in the game right now. This wasn't even my favorite Ortiz song of the year, the "Lemonade" freestyle was, but that doesn't really count. This is a perfectly executed hip hop love story and probably would have been big were it released on a major. Maybe one day.

7. "Aston Martin Music" (Drake Version)- Rick Ross Featuring Drake & Chrisette Michele

This year's installment of "Maybach Music" failed to live up to the first two, but this song made up for that. I'm not sure why they asked Drake to do the hook when Chrisette Michele already did a hook but it works I guess. For those who don't know, I wrote "Drake Version" because on the album version he doesn't do a verse. The album version may well have been ranked this high anyway but Drake's verse is tight so this one's a little better.

6. "Unforgettable"- Drake Featuring Young Jeezy

Of all the chill, somber beats on this album, this one was my favorite and both Drake and Jeezy kill it. The Aaliyah sample was definitely a great touch too. I think I'll be listening to this one for years.

5. "Black and Yellow"- Wiz Khalifa

2010 was very kind to Wiz Khalifa. I first heard of Wiz a few years back when he made "Pittsburgh Sound" or whatever it was called. My first roommate in college was from Pittsburgh and was convinced that he was the shit as did every other yinzer I met. I wasn't convinced he would never be more than a niche mixtape rapper until this year when he blew the fuck up. Everywhere I go I hear this song or "Kush & OJ" or something else of his. Good for him.

4. "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley"- Lloyd Banks Featuring Juelz Santana

This was the catchiest tune of 2010 and was rhymed over more than "Ha Ha" and "Black and Yellow" combined. The original still reigns supreme though. More importantly, this song single-handedly made Lloyd Banks relevant again. Gggggg-Unit!

3. "Shutterbugg"- Big Boi

This one took a while to grow on me but I bump this shit all the time now. It's nice to see Big Boi still making hits and doing fresh, experimental shit. This song has something for everyone and it's great to bump in the whip, at parties, etc. Plus it's played in the intro to the past season of "Entourage" which gives it a bunch of cool points.

2. "Over"- Drake

The first time I heard this song and Drake's singing/talking on the hook I thought it was the worst shit ever. Once I gave it a chance though I found it to be one of the best singles in years, both musically and lyrically. This shit is a banger and Drake compliments it with a couple nice verses in what was really his first big rap song. I knew he'd be one of the biggest artists this decade!

1. "Power" (Remix)- Kanye West Featuring Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz

The original version is good but the remix is downright genius. Jay-Z actually raps well on this which will make even a terrible song worth listening to and Kanye steps his game up on this from the original. However, the tipping point was Swizz Beatz's "I Got The Power" part. Yeah that's right, fucking Swizz Beatz is responsible for the best song of the year. Deal with it. He must have shat himself when he came up with this idea. Fuck, I think I shat myself the first time I heard that part of the song. Just brilliant.

PropsOverHere Investigates: Did 50 Cent Bang Ashanti?

2009-12-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Every relevent rap beef dating back to Biggie and 2pac has involved one of the parties having sex with their opponents' significant other. I'm sure it would have happened with KRS and Marley Marl, way back in the 80's, had either of them had girlfriends. If you recall, 2pac fucked Biggie's baby momma Faith Evans, inspiring Pac to write the infamous lyric, "That's why I fucked yo bitch you fat mothafucker". In the second greatest beef in rap history, Jay-Z vs. Nas, Jay-Z banged Nas' ex-wife Carmen, or something, who also slept with Allen Iverson. Most recently there were those videos of 50 Cent taking Rick Ross' baby momma on a shopping spree and I think some sort of sex tape involving the two, which I never watched for obvious reasons.

This brings me to my main point about the 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule beef. That was easily more of a beef than Fiddy and Rawse, and was at a period in time when Fiddy was much more popular and hence probably fucked a lot more women. This begs the question, did 50 Cent fuck Ashanti? The time of the beef was roughly the same period of time Ja Rule was putting out those duets with Ashanti, which 50 even used as evidence that Ja Rule had become sort of a fag. Ignoring the issue of whether or not Ja Rule and Ashanti were in a real life relationship, is it out of the question that Fiddy hit that? Like Game once said "Anything's possible, if 50 fucked Vivica". Or something like that.

Basketball Movie All-Star Team

2009-09-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

If you look back in the archives in this site, you'll see that once upon a time I threw in a post every once in a while about basketball, (naturally) my other passion aside from hip-hop. In fact, my first post, the classic Fab 5 and Fab 5 comparison was likely the most perfect blend of hip hop and basketball culture in the history of blogging. Getting to the point, I not only have a passion for real basketball but also for some good, wholesome fictional basketball. I have basically seen every relevant basketball movie evar plus VHS classics like "Jordan's Playground" and those blooper tapes with Marv Albert and that other jackass. So, from my in-depth knowledge of the greatest players in the history of cinematic basketball, I give you the ultimate starting lineup.

PG- Sidney Deane, White Men Can't Jump

He only plays 2-on-2 in the movie so it's hard to assess Sydney as a point guard but with his playground-tested skills I'm sure he would do just fine if surrounded with enough talent. After all, this guy made Woody Harrelson look good.

SG- Jesus Shuttlesworth, He Got Game

Jesus may only be like 19 but his game is mature beyond his years. Every college coach in America is vying for Jesus' commitment and with good reason. He is athletic, has good size for a two guard, and his outside shot is Ray Allen status.

SF- Tom "Shep" Shepherd, Above The Rim

Shep may be old but holy fuck that guy is good. He hadn't played basketball (not with a ball at least) in years then he comes out and lights it the fuck up, in khakis no less. This is not to mention how he completely sons Kyle, a Georgetown commit, in one on one. He's tall, smooth (no homo), and has a disgusting mid-range game.

PF- Saleh, Air Up There

Raw, African 7-footers don't normally pan out but Saleh is actually pretty good. You wouldn't see Hasheem Thabeet, for example, pulling that fake right/through the legs move or whatever it was he did to win the game.

C- Neon Bordeaux, Blue Chips

Neon may have the highest potential of any movie player ever. He barely had any basketball experience and immediately dominated the best Division 1 competition. He not only owned the paint with his monster dunks and alley-oops, but showed the ability to lead the break every once in a while.

PropsOverHere Presents: The Best of the Millennium

2009-09-15T19:36:00.001-07:00

In this installment of my Best of the Millennium series, I'll be counting down the top 25 albums of the 2000's. I've already done songs and artists too and it's only September, so I'm gonna have to get kind of creative with these. Anyway, there haven't been many truly great albums this millennium, and most of them came in the earlier part of the decade, before the '90s influence wore off completely. Without further ado, here are the 25 best albums of the 2000's.

25. Cunninlynguists- Southernunderground

There were a number of albums I was debating for this 25th spot, but I ultimately chose the Cunninlynguists album because it was particularly fresh and creative. "Will Rap For Food" was also pretty entertaining, but I'm partial to this album because of that Masta Ace song and some other shit.

24. De La Soul- The Grind Date

This album was sort of spotty, but the five or so good songs on this are better than most albums. This is especially true when we're dealing with post-2000 albums. Features from Common, MF Doom, and the classic Ghostface collab "He Comes" are enough to put this in the top 25.

23. Supastition- The Deadline EP

As I mentioned in my description of Supa in the artists ranking, this is one of the under-appreciated albums of the new millennium. The solid production from the likes of M-Phazes and Illmind compliment Supastition's rapping ability and subject matter for what I would consider a perfectly executed underground album.

22. Masta Killa- No Said Date

I'm not sure why it took so long for Masta Killa to put an album out. He obviously wasn't on RZA's short list of priorities in the mid '90's, but even U-God had a few albums out before 2004. Regardless, this turned out to be one of the best Wu solo albums of this decade. I guess that an album eleven years coming should have a certain amount of focus and quality that other albums don't.

21. Scarface- The Fix

This album proved that Scarface, old as he was, could still make shit that people wanted to hear. "My Block" was the hit off this album, but the terrific Jay-Z ("Guess Who's Back") and Nas ("In Between Us") collabs stood out to me.

20. Ludacris- Word of Mouf

This was, in my opinion, the height of Ludacris' genius. I had to put "Roll Out" on repeat when it came out, way the fuck back when mp3 players only held like 12 and a half songs. I also remember the album cover being the background on my desktop for a while.

19. Cormega- The True Meaning

Just an incredibly solid album. Every song is good, and some of them like "The Come Up" and "The Legacy" are fucking great. Even "Love In Love Out", a diss track of sorts, was well produced and whatnot.

18. Hi-Tek- Hi-Teknology

There have been a shit load of producer albums since 2000, when this came out, but this still stands as one of the best. The Reflection Eternal tracks are great, there are sleepers like "Breakin' Bread", and Common's "The Sun God" stands as one of the classic, defining songs of the Rawkus Records era.

17. Murs- Murs 3:16

This brief, incredibly enjoyable album has some of 9th Wonder's best work, which matches perfectly with Murs' rapping. Murs' charisma and storytelling keeps your interest while 9th Wonder provides the soulful background.

16. Little Brother- The Minstrel Show

This album's lack of commercial success got Little Brother dropped from Atlantic and basically fucked up their career, but this shit is like crack to me. The songs individually are good, mostly because of 9th Wonder's work on the boards, but this is an album best listened to all the way through. The concept and hilarious skits string the album together and make it one of the best of the millennium.

15. Sean Price- Monkey Barz

Ruck was overshadowed in his own duo, Heltah Skeltah, but when he dropped this album under his own name, Sean P emerged as the new face of the Boot Camp Clik. I've mentioned how a lot of these albums had a comedic element to them, perhaps none more than this one. Sean Price's signature, ignorant raps actually made me laugh out loud a few times and his "brokest rapper you know" persona make for some additional entertainment value.

14. Cormega- The Realness

A lot of rappers stress being "real", but no one does it better and with more authenticity than Cormega. On his aptly titled debut, Mega brings some of the hardest, East Coast street shit this side of 2000.

13. Non Phixion- The Future Is Now

I'm not usually a proponent for white people rapping, but this is a pretty great album. Ill Bill, Goretex, and Sabac Red do their part on the mic, but the obvious highlight of this this album is the production, which is some of the millennium's best. Pete Rock's "If You Got Love" and Premier's "Rock Stars" are bangers and Large Professor contributes a few gems including the unbelievable "We Are The Future".

12. Clipse- Lord Willin'

The internets will probably put this somewhere in the top 5, but it only makes #12 on my list. This album did have some of the best singles in recent memory with "Grindin'", "Cot Damn", and "When The Last Time", but the rest of the album doesn't blow you away.

11. Ghostface Killah- The Pretty Toney Album

The graphic skits; the songs where he raps over soul tracks, vocals and all; the wallabee references. This was a Def Jam album but is still fucking classic classic Ghostface.

10. Jay-Z- The Black Album

Sure Jay-Z's retirement hoax had a hand in bolstering the popularity of this album, but most of the attention was deserved. This album had questionable moments and requisite club singles, but also boasted classics such as "99 Problems", "Allure", and "P.S.A.". It's starting to look clear that this is the last great Jay-Z album.

9. Kanye West- College Dropout

Like I mentioned in my last piece, this album was huge. What I didn't mention was, outside of the five (!) hit singles, there were only more good songs. "Spaceship", "Never Let Me Down", and "School Spirit", just to name a few, were better songs than most of the singles.

8. Nas- The Lost Tapes

I don't even know if this should be considered an album, since it was probably put together by some A&R or something. Whatever it is, it's better than most anything dropped in the 2000's. The Kanye ghost-produced "Poppa Was a Playa", "Purple", and "Fetus" stand out from a collection of what are not only some of Nas' best songs this millennium, but since Illmatic.

7. Masta Ace- Disposable Arts

In my opinion, this is the best of Masta Ace's story albums. The way the songs fit the storyline, not to mention how great they are, make this a masterpeice. Or mastapeice. See what I did there?

6. Reflection Eternal- Train of Thought

It's not often that there are albums that are are excellent both lyrically and musically but this is definitely one of them. Hi-Tek's smooth, boom bap production perfectly matches Talib Kweli's gritty, east coast delivery for what is the millennium's best producer/rapper duo.

5. The Game- The Documentary

This is like (cringe) this millennium's Illmatic; with some of the games best producers backing an up and coming rapper. Except instead of Nas' impeccable street poetry, this album is a collage of dead rapper, chuck taylors, and Chevy Impala references. Still, given the unheard of quality of production and Game's talents (riding the beat, maybe a good line or two), this album shits on most post-2000 releases.

4. 50 Cent- Get Rich or Die Tryin'

If The Documentary was this generation's Illmatic then this is this generation's Doggystyle, with Dr. Dre unleashing his new artist on the hip hop world and changing the game. Unlike the Game/Nas analogy, this album may have actually matched Doggystyle in terms of influence. It went diamond for fuck's sake. 50 Cent will never be confused for a great rapper, but his charisma and ability to write songs that people like made this album the most popular and one of the best of the new millennium.

3. Nas- Stillmatic

This album may be more notable for its impact than for the music itself. The feud with Jay-Z, the classic diss track "Ether", and then the release of this album made Nas relevant again and brought life to New York hip hop. This album has plenty of weak spots but also has some classics. "You're The Man" and "2nd Childhood" are two of the best Nas songs evar, and the "Intro" has to be one of the best album intros of all-time.

2. Ghostface Killah- Supreme Clientele

This is the pinnacle of Ghostface's career and his genius as a rapper. His lyricism on this album is just mind blowing shit and is a prime example of what makes him one of the best ever. Aside from Ghost, all of the beats knock, and of course there is the classic Wu-Tang posse appearence "Wu Banga 101" to cap off the album.

1. Jay-Z- The Blueprint

Before Jay-Z made albums for hipsters and Kanye West made a douche of himself at award shows, they created the modern day hip hop masterpiece. In '01 Jay-Z was on top of his game and Kanye, along with another up and comer, Just Blaze, backed him with incredible, groundbreaking production. The result was "The Blueprint"; an album with ubiquitous radio hits (Izzo (H.O.V.A.), "Girls, Girls, Girls"), street anthems ("The Takeover", "Heart of the City"), heartfelt tracks ("Song Cry", "Never Change"), and lyrical genius ("Renegade", "Breathe Easy"). In many ways, this album was truly a hip hop blueprint, one that's easily followed but is damn near impossible to match.

PropsOverHere Presents: The Best of the Millennium

2009-09-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

With the decade winding down, a lot of sites/blogs are compiling lists of the best hip hop of the 2000s. As you may recall, I already did this, further cementing my status as an internet pioneer. For this list, I will be counting down the top 25 new artists of this millennium. The qualifications for this list were that a) The artist released his/her debut album in the 2000s and b) Wasn't prominent in the '90s (for example, Percee P doesn't qualify).

25. Rick Ross

RAWSE! In 2006 this guy came out of nowhere with the LCD rap anthem "Hustlin'" and has stayed relevant ever since. With the help of J.U.S.T.I.C.E. league, Rick Ross has made some of the most listenable mainstream (not to mention southern) rap in the last decade, highlighted by the awesome "Maybach Music" series.

24. Blu

I held out on checking the Blu and Exile album because the album cover was so fruity, but that was a great album. Blu has since made a bunch of other collaborations, none of which I liked as much, but which showed his versatility as far as styles and subject matter. He is without a major label release, but has potential to make noise in the near future.

23. Kidz In The Hall

This group got lucky when Just Blaze used their beat for Jay-Z's big comeback flop "Show Me What You Got", giving them some much needed publicity. That was literally the only reason I downloaded the "School Was a Hustle" album, which actually turned out to be good. Next thing you know, they're signed with Duckdown, "Drivin' Down The Block" is on MTV, and "The Blackout" is on Madden 09. Naledge and Double-O's next album drops in 2010.

22. Jay Electronica

Perhaps no rapper has had as much hype and publicity with such little material to his name. Having a baby by Erykah Badu certainly has something to do with it, as does the cosign from one Justin Blaze. Jay Electronica is a talented rapper, and this sort of half rapper and half myth status makes him all the more intriguing.

21. Drake

I know, this guy just came out, but he is one of the most hyped newcomers this millennium (he got a bigger deal than 50 Cent), and has actually kind of lived up to it. His verse on "Forever" is great, his new song "Fear" is really good, and even "Best I Ever Had" started to grow on me a little. He's a good rapper, a good singer, and is big time even without an album. He could be the biggest artist of the '10s.

20. Black Milk

The Detroit producer/rapper is not the next J Dilla, but he is a definite talent who seems to improve with every song he puts out. He is becoming a go-to producer for underground artists and showed on his last album that he is more than a competent rapper.

19. One Be Lo

The better half of Binary Star, One Be Lo put out one of the lyrical masterpeices of this millennium with the "S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M." album. He has the raw rapping skills of legends, but is inhibited by beats from guys like Decompoze.

18. Supastition

Sort of the same deal here as with One Be Lo. Supastition is a hell of a rapper who has trouble getting decent beats because of whatever low budget label he's on. "The Deadline EP", which had beats by M-Phazes and Illmind, might be the most underrated peice of hip hop music in the 2000s.

17. Beanie Sigel

The Broad Street Bully was the best out of the Roc-A-Fella fam and proved it with the hood classic "The B. Coming". He even managed to put out a decent album just recently without Jay-Z's backing and dropped a great guest verse on "Cuban Linx 2".

16. Saigon

Saigon still hasn't managed to put out that fucking Just Blaze album, but he's done enough to earn a spot on the list. Think not? Listen to "The Belly of the Beast" mixtape and "The Moral of the Story" street album then talk shit.

15. Murs

Murs lacks the lyrical talent of most of the rappers listed behind him, but what he does have are those two great albums with 9th Wonder. "Murs 3:16", in his own words, "was genius", and the follow-up "Murray's Revenge", was criminally underrated.

14. Bishop Lamont

Like Saigon, Bishop can't manage to get a real album out there. He's on Aftermath, after all. Still, this guy shows enough talent and charisma to make it this high on the list. His "Ni**** Noize" and "Pope Mobile" mixtapes were gold and his newest Dre track "Hallelujah" is fucking amazing.

13. Little Brother

Little Brother made a name for themselves with "The Listening", but it's "The Minstrel Show", their devastating, commercial failure of an album, that stands out to me as their best work. It's rare that a song from that album comes on and I skip over it. The lyrics are sound, the beats are great, and the skits are funny and amusing and actually add to the album.

12. Elzhi

Speaking of "The Minstrel Show", #12 is the guy that murdered Little Brother on their own shit. Elzhi dropped the best verse on that album and on everything else he's ever been on. He even bested Royce 5'9" on "Glow", the best song of 2008. What he doesn't have is a defining solo album or even song, despite a Black Milk collab last year that fell short of expectations.

11. Joell Ortiz

Try getting on a track with Royce 5'9", Joe Budden, and Crooked I and out-doing all of them. Now do that for an entire album, and you have what Joell Ortiz did this year on Slaughterhouse. Joell has yet to make a big splash because he isn't marketable (at least that's what he'd like you to believe), but he is one of, if not the, best MCs in the game

10. Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco is one of the few rappers in the 2000s that brought a new, unique style and was able to gain mainstream popularity. The way he raps is distinct, and at times downright strange. In an era when many rappers were re-making children's songs, Lupe was flipping double-time flows, wordplay, and trippy imagery and still managed to keep listeners' interest. Not only did he offer a new style of rap, but he also had a hand in ushering in the hipster rap era.

9. Fabolous

Unlike Lupe Fiasco, Fabolous brought almost nothing new to the table. He is your cookie cutter, New York mixtape rapper who uses Ne-Yo hooks to earn some radio play. While not creative, Fab has been effective. "Breathe" is one of the landmark moments in hip hop this millennium, and he's had his share of radio hits to go along with some hood classics.

8. Cormega

Though Nas wrote to an incarcerated Mega on Illmatic's "One Love", he didn't make his own debut on the mic until 2000. His first two albums "The Realness" and "The True Meaning" are borderline classics, and being kicked out of The Firm may have been a good career move after all.

7. T.I.

This is the part of the list when the artists' popularity tends to eclipse his talent. T.I. isn't a great rapper, but what he is is immensely popular. Though he isn't an Elzhi or Ortiz in the lyrical arena, he isn't garbage on the mic either, as evidenced by having the best flow on posse cuts "We Takin' Over" and "Swagga Like Us". A (sort of) real MC with legions of fans just has to be this high on the list.

6. Royce Da 5'9"

The only rapper to challenge Ortiz on "Slaughterhouse", Royce has been the most prolific lyricist this millennium. He still lacks a classic album, but Premo collaborations "Hip Hop" and "Boom" are easily two of the best songs of the 2000s. Throw in the "Bar Exam" mixtapes and the Slaughterhouse project and it's easy to see why underground heads hail him as the best doing it.

5. Clipse

"Grindin'" was one of the most groundbreaking tracks of the 2000s (how the fuck did I miss that?). The crazy Neptunes production and VA cocaine raps prevalent in that song made their debut album "Lord Willin'" a defining album of the 2000s. Their second album didn't live up to the debut, but Clipse seemed primed for a comeback with "Til The Casket Drops".

4. The Game

This may be a controversial pick, but if you've read this site before you know I'm a bit of a Game stan. Still, looking at it objectively, there are arguments to be made for Game being one of the top new artists. First of all, he makes good hip hop music. He isn't the most inventive rapper but he's pretty good and he knows a good beat from a bad one. This has allowed him to make three very solid albums, including "The Documentary", which may well be the best album of the 2000s. Secondly, he is both popular and talented, which isn't as common as it should be.

3. 50 Cent

50 Cent makes it this high on the list simply for being enormous. "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" is considered by many the best rap album of the 2000s, and it was undeniably the most ubiquitous. Every other song on the radio was by 50 Cent or G-Unit. I doubt any rap song will eclipse "In Da Club" in popularity, or any rapper will put "the game in a chokehold" like 50 Cent did between 2003-2005 or so.

2. Ludacris

Ludacris made a name for himself in the beginning of the millennium of the with the vulgar "What's Your Fantasy", and he utilized that charisma and sense of humor to make quality mainstream hip hop. "Roll Out" and "Southern Hospitality" are two of the best singles of the 2000s. "Area Codes" and "Saturday" are two of the most hilarious and entertaining. He is not only talented but also prolific, dropping seven albums in the last decade, including last years stellar "Theater of the Mind".

1. Kanye West

This was a tough selection but I think it's got to be Kanye. It seems like all of the rappers on this list had a fatal flaw. Some haven't made a real impact on hip hop (Royce) or even made any noise (Joell, Saigon, etc.). Others aren't all that talented as rappers (T.I., 50). Kanye far from strikes a balance, but he may come the closest, and that's good enough to top the list. As far as impact, it's irrefutable. Although this isn't a producers list, it should be noted that Kanye's work on The Blueprint changed the game. Also, if you look at my Best Songs of the Millennium list, like half of it was produced by Ye. His emergence as a rapper, though, came when he dropped "Through The Wire". Those who didn't know of him as a producer were introduced to his soul beats and chipmunk vocal samples, and those who were were introduced to a talented and refreshingly clever rapper. From the immensely popular debut College Dropout to his third album Graduation and it's commercial pwnage of 50 Cent's Curtis, Kanye West has proven to be biggest and most widely accepted artist in hip hop. The high musical quality and entertaining lyricism of radio hits like "Jesus Walks", "Gold Digger", and "Touch the Sky", made them downright impossible to dislike. His last album, the controversial crossover 808's and Heartbreak may have alienated his more traditional fans, but he has shown on Clipse's "Kinda Like a Big Deal" and Jay's "Run This Town", that he can still rap when he wants to. Kanye is big, he's good, and he's #1.

Album Review: Raekwon- "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2"

2009-09-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

It's finally here and the years of fruitless rumors and speculation are officially over. Was "Cuban Linx 2" worth the wait, or another half-assed Wu solo album?

1. Return of the North Star (Feat. Papa Wu)

The album appropriately picks up where the last one ended. They even got the same dude from the original "North Star". You kind of have to wonder what he's been up to these last 15 years.

2. House of Flying Daggers (Feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, & Method Man)

I'm not a huge J Dilla fan like everyone else on the internets, but this is a heat rock. This probably has more of the classic, Wu-Tang sound then anything RZA, who invented that sound, has made in the last several years. Everyone goes in on this, too.

3. Sonny's Missing

I bet Pete Rock sold Rae this beat in like 2005 and just said fuck it and went and used it for that Royal Flush song. That or he just pulled a real jack move, but Pete seems like a stand-up guy so I sort of doubt that. For what it's worth, I think it fits this brief, story-telling track real well.

4. Pyrex Vision

This one uses the beat from O.C.'s "Jewelz". I approve. I mean that beat was fucking great and it's not like many people still listen to the Jewelz album anymore. Plus, it's just 55 seconds of Raekwon's most lazy cocaine raps, so its more of an interlude than a real song.

5. Cold Outside (Feat. Ghostface Killah & Suga Bang)

The majority of this song is this guy Suga Bang singing and sort of half singing half rapping and god damn is that shit annoying. It's not like the actual Rae and Ghost part is anything special anyway.

6. Black Mozart

This is grimy on some '94 Wu-Tang shit. I'm not sure what's up with the chorus, though. Or that part with RZA yelling about soldiers. I also have no idea who the second guy rapping is but he kinda killed it.

7. Gihad (Feat. Ghostface Killah)

This came out over a year ago, which is when I started becoming optimistic that this was a real album and not something Raekwon made up to piss off people on the internets. Even though it's old news, this song is pretty fuckin good. Ghostface's verse is just classic.

8. The New Wu (Feat. Ghostface Killah & Method Man)

The lead single. This is the closest thing we'll get to classic Wu-Tang in 2009. I don't know why they changed the "suuuu" from the original version, this one kind of sounds funny.

9. Penitentiary (Feat. Ghostface Killah)

This one has that sort of "Road to the Riches" piano vibe going. Ghostface breaks Raekwon out of jail in this their latest adventure.

10. Baggin' Crack

Another short one, this time with the most generic Erick Sermon beat evar. This is alright if not really nondescript.

11. Surgical Gloves

The beat from Alchemist is killer. I don't really know what the fuck Rae is rapping about, but it sounds cool. I swear that guy speaks another language.

12. Broken Safety (Feat. Jadakiss & Styles P.)

This sounds like a Raekwon feature on a D-Block song. Except for the Kung-Fu shit at the end there. Styles P.'s verse stood out if only for its shitty-ness.

13. Canal Street

Jacking beats from one of those new AZ albums, as opposed to "Jewelz", maybe not such a great idea. Not that this beat is bad, but Raekwon just doesn't sound right over dramatic, theatrical shit like this.

14. Ason Jones

The tribute to ODB, over another Dilla beat. This is nice for what it is, but that "I understood love when I kissed the n****" part was a little strange.

15. Have Mercy (Feat. Beanie Sigel)

This is real low-key but I like it. The Beans feature is perfect for this track, too.

16. 10 Bricks (Feat. Cappadonna & Ghostface Killah)

Damn, this album might just change my perception of J Dilla altogether. This is one of those choppy, Donuts-style beats that I don't usually like but it hits hard and has the Asian thing going too. If anyone could listen to this album and not conclude that Ghostface is the best in the Wu then I don't know what to say. He murders every track he's on.

17. Fat Lady Sings

Another in this series of brief, story tracks. I kind of like these, if only because they are short.

18. Catalina (Feat. Lyfe Jennings)

The way the Dre beat kicks in after the guy in the intro (same source as the "Rainy Dayz" intro) says "Don't disturb the doctor" is the sickest shit evar. Raekwon's raps on this are good to, but I wonder what "lenses on Chips Ahoy" means.

19. We Will Rob You (Feat. Slick Rick, GZA, & Masta Killa)

This one's kinda crazy. Raekwon and GZA rap about getting arrested (I think) for robbing a buncha people and Slick Rick does the chorus and "Heeeere we go" thing. The only thing I don't understand is Masta Killa's verse, which seems awkwardly tacked on there.

20. About Me

This Dre track is a little more boring than the last one. Busta Rhymes makes a guest appearance and even does that Lil Wayne thing where he mispronounces something and corrects it in rap form.

21. Mean Streets (Feat. Inspectah Deck & Ghostface Killah)

This beat was on the Tragedy Still Reportin' album. Underrated album. That's a lot of jacked beats at this point but it doesn't bother me so much. This has to be one of the weaker moments on this album. Inspectah Deck, once a master of the guest verse, is especially awful on this.

22. Kiss The Ring (Feat. Inspectah Deck & Masta Killa)

This is sort of low budget sounding compared to the rest of the album. It's not a terrible song, though.

23. Walk Wit Me

Scram Jones has some heat, but this beat isn't much. Raekwon raps about his girl who happens to be incredibly rich. I almost lol'd when he said "this broad had a horse". I'm not sure what the point of the song was though, as I've already admitted my inability to follow Raekwon after a while.

24. Badland (Feat. Ghostface Killah) (Bonus Track)

This is classic Ghost and Rae but the beat gets kind of repetitive and annoying after a little.

Best Songs: "House of Flying Daggers", "The New Wu", "Catalina"

Comments:

Just a really solid album. I think the fact that there are 24 songs on this distracts you from the fact that there are like 9-10 really good songs on here, which is way more than most albums have. Raekwon (and Ghost and RZA) will never make anything the calibre of "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx". I doubt any rapper will. However, this is about as good of an album as he could've made in 2009, and for that fact this is a worthy sequel.

Album Review: Jay-Z- "The Blueprint 3"

2009-09-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I wasn't gonna do this album review, at least not until the album dropped, when I saw that I could just stream it from Rhapsody. That commercial for Rhapsody where Jay recreates all of his album covers is fucking phenomenal. How would the album stack up?

1. What We Talkin' About

The much talked about intro that he kicked a cappella at a few shows. It's funny how I (and probably everyone else) assumed from those videos that this was some spoken word, Def-Poetry style intro, but thats actually how he raps nowadays.

2. Thank You

This beat would have been perfect for a Jay-Z song, say, around the time of the first Blueprint. Instead, he ruins it with this rambling sort of delivery he's adapted. I guess it could be worse.

3. D.O.A.

No need in reviewing this at this point. I've already heard this like a thousand times between my own free will and MTV forcing the music video down my throat like 20 times a day. I still kinda like it, though.

4. Run This Town (Feat. Kanye West & Rihanna)

Same goes for this one. Except for liking it of course.

5. Empire State of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys)

Nas was supposed to be on this, no? I bet he was and but Jay didn't want everyone fast forwarding over his verses on his own shit. Alicia Keys kind of sabotages this anyway.

6. Real As It Gets (Feat. Young Jeezy)

Sadly enough, I think this is my favorite, non-D.O.A. song yet. Jay-Z's rapping is the best I've heard so far. Or maybe it just sounds that way next to Young Jeezy verses. Regardless I'd fuck with this before any of this other nonsense.

7. On To The Next One

This is like "Swagga Like Us" fused with "Elevators" in the worst way possible (its Swizz Beatz, after all).

8. Off That (Feat. Drake)

This would be better suited for some R&B bitch. Not a legit R&B bitch either, like some low budget singer on Timbo's label or some shit. Drake might as well not even be on this either since he doesn't rap or sing. Jay-Z knows better than to get on a track with Drake anyway. Yeah, I said it.

9. A Star Is Born (Feat. J. Cole)

This beat sounds like something I could make with garage band and a keyboard. I probably wouldn't bother saving it either. Jay-Z raps about all the rappers that were popular these past 15 years or so, himself included. J. Cole, whom I know of because I have to sift through his shit on Nah Right to find something I'm interested in, kicks a guest verse. He sounds like a budget Lupe Fiasco to me, meaning that being Jay-Z's artist likely won't save him from obscurity.

10. Venus Vs. Mars

This could be the least inspired female track Jay-Z has ever done. That includes "I Know What Girls Like" or whatever. From Volume 1. He even drops a Bernie Madoff metaphor in there.

11. Already Home (Feat. Kid Cudi)

This beat isn't half-bad compared to the rest of the album. He actually addresses being called a camel on this. Lolz. If that wasn't enough, on the last verse he ends every line with "already", as if he were Juvenile or something. In all seriousness, this is aight.

12. Hate (Feat. Kanye West)

Auto-Tune, which Jay-Z famously killed 9 tracks ago makes a triumphant return here. I don't even know what the fuck this is. This would make sense on a Kanye album, but its way out of Jay-Z's element. As Game once pointed out, Jay-Z is mad old.

13. Reminder

This, on the other hand, is more in Jay-Z's element. Unfortunately, it sounds like one of the more regrettable moments from Blueprint 2 or maybe Volume 3. Jay-Z's rapping takes a step backward too. At one point he just lists a bunch of years, as though it proves some sort of point. I don't think we need a reminder of Jay-Z at this point as much as he thinks we do. Remember, this is the guy that shows up at random alt rock shows because he feels like it.

14. So Ambitious (Feat. Pharrell)

I guess this isn't the worst thing The Neptunes have done, but Pharrell's "singing" may be at its all-time, um, least bearable here. If you didn't know from listening to the rest of this album or just being aware of pop culture, Jay-Z is pretty affluent and successful. He's got an office!

15. Young Forever (Feat. Mr. Hudson)

The fuck? This is even extremely gay in an era where its commonplace for rappers to wear tight jeans and horn-rimmed glasses. This is on a fucking Blueprint album? I give up.

Best Songs: "D.O.A.", "Thank You", "Already Home"

Comments:

That was just awful. I forecasted this in my last post, but I'm not sure if I could have imagined how tragic it could be. Maybe the worst part of it, as I alluded to in my last song review, was that this album falls under the "Blueprint" title, one once synonymous with classic Jay-Z. Even though Blueprint 2 kinda sucked, it still had the "You Don't Know" remix. And fuckin' "Watcher 2". Jay-Z should have saved himself some criticism and called this what it was, "Kingdom Come 2".

I'm Back

2009-08-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

That's right, bitches. After an eight month or so hiatus from crying about rap, I'm giving this blog thing another shot because its August and I don't have shit else to do. There are also some pretty big moments in hip hop to look forward to.

-The Slaughterhouse album drops next week and I'm hoping, for their sake and for hip hop's, that it's at least worth the $9.99 on iTunes. I mean, they've already put out enough good shit that an album flop wouldn't render this project a complete failure, as if this were The Firm, but it would be nice to see these guys enjoy even moderate commercial success. Let's be real, the only reason this group came to be is because none of these guys could get a real record deal and their solo careers were going nowhere fast. Royce, Ortiz, Crooked I, and Budden probably met up to record the song "Slaughterhouse," saw all the daps they got in the comments section at Nah Right and realized that they had nothing better to do than to stay and record a buncha shit. As much as I'd like to see this do numbers like a major release, even one that sucks, like the new Loso, it just won't. Well, it was worth a shot.

-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 is finally coming out. They even released that Dilla track I've been hearing about for years and it's actually pretty good. I think that this album is going to be crack but people are still going to hate it on it like crazy. It should be expected for everyone to shit on this after all the hype and the delay and it being the sequel to the best album evar. Still, I'm not sure how this could be bad. Raekwon is not the MC he was 15 years ago to be sure, but you know all those Wu-Tang dudes still have lyrics. Plus, from looking at the rumored tracklisting (I know), the production should be nails. I say, worst case scenario, this album is Fishscale status, but if it is it will get feedback as if it were Lex Diamondz Story or whatever the fuck that was called. I guess this one's on Rae.

-Speaking of long awaited, highly anticipated albums, Rakim is finally putting out The 7th Seal. The single "Holy Are You" just hit the internet a few weeks ago and shit is fire. Even at 41, I'm convinced that Rakim can still go toe to toe with anyone lyrically. I have my doubts that the beats on this, given the albums presumably low budget, will match his rhyming ability, which could be this album's downfall. Maybe Premo could do him a favor and hit him off with a discount. Who else are these beats going to, the NYGz?

-Jay-Z just released the cover art for Blueprint 3. I'm sure you've all seen it, it's really gay, only surpassed in gayness perhaps by the lead single with Ye and Rihanna. I really liked American Gangster but this album has disaster written all over it. The fact is that Jay-Z just can't rap anymore. Either that or he's not trying, which can't be it because he still seems pretty confident that he's crafting the next lyrical masterpiece. I think he's just getting a bit delusional in his old age, like Prodigy or something. All these hip hop blogs have been making a big fuss about how Kanye bested Jay on his own shit, Eminem-style, but what they are missing is the sad truth that Kanye is just a better rapper than Jay-Z at this point, even though he basically stopped rapping like 3 years ago. As I mentioned in my review a while back, his rapping basically sucked on American Gangster, the difference is that album was just about selling drugs whereas now he's telling us about Beyonce and his outfits and whatnot.

-Lupe Fiasco's Lasers is coming out later this year. At least I thought so, I really haven't been keeping tabs on this. Upon further review, the first two Lupe albums were pretty good, and I had to put "Shining Down" on repeat about a month back. Is this going to be his last album or was his whole retirement thing some old bullshit?

-Lastly, Fif's new album Before I Self Destruct hits stores in September. 50 has yet to hit the jackpot with a radio hit since The Massacre ("I Get Money" was underrated), and can't seem to break the dry spell. Dr. Dre, who used to come up with ingenious ideas for a living, hasn't done anything noteworthy in forever, so at this point 50 is just treading water as far as staying relevant with his beefs and other shenanigans. I'm surprised he even cares about maintaining his popularity, what with his financial situation. It shows commitment on his part that he's still putting out albums at all. That, or he just fucking loves attention.

PropsOverHere Presents Best of 2008: Top 10 Albums

2008-12-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

I think this is the second straight year I've put Statik's album as my #10, but then again it sort of makes sense seeing as they are both kinda similar. If anything, I'd say that this years' album was worse because it didn't have AZ, Cormega, G. Rap, etc. It did have a great roster though and some decent production by Statik Selektah.

I was excited for the eMC album on the strength of Masta Ace's work in recent years which includes two great albums and a couple classic songs. However, Ace only played a moderate role in what was a disappointing album for me. There were a couple good tracks like "Traffic" with Little brother, but this album was sort of boring in general.

This was the first Heltah Skeltah album in a decade and I can't say that I was disappointed. There seemed to be a good stretch of songs kind of in the middle that were pretty low-budget musically but there was some really good shit on here. Even after a decade, Rock and Ruck are still one of, if not the, most entertaining duos on the mic.

After the classic Soul Survivor was followed by the lackluster sequel, I wasn't sure what to expect from this album which didn't carry the title, but was the same idea as the Soul Survivor series. Overall, this was a quality album although many of the songs were pretty old and the production fell short of what I've come to expect from Pete Rock.

Even though I'm not one of those guys who hates on mainstream rap and whatnot I've never been able to get into Ludacris's music. That was until this album came out, which was less Southern sounding than some of his other albums with beats by DJ Premier and 9th Wonder among others. Ludacris isn't a mind blowing lyricist but he is a funny and talented rapper, and I think with the right beats and concepts that he could make even better albums than this.

Black Milk has come a long way since his first couple albums, both in regards to his beats and rhymes. I really wasn't sold on him as a producer until this year, when he dropped this and did the beat for GZA's "7 Pounds" plus probably some other stuff. Also, I never took him to be much of a rapper until this dropped and he went toe to toe with Royce da 5'9" and a bunch of other veteran rappers. This album had two of the years best tracks but was pretty inconsistent, with only 4-5 legitimately good songs which is why I could only give it 3.5 props.

I gotta admit, I thought this was gonna suck ass. I mean Q-Tip kind of lost me when he tried to become a sex symbol and made that lousy Amplified album, and when I heard he was making another album at age 40 something I thought it would be terrible. Luckily, I was wrong. Tip's production wouldn't have sounded out of place on one of those Dilla helmed Tribe albums from the mid-90's, which in 2008 is a very good thing. Plus, his raps are still on some trippy, abstract shit. My only knock on this album is that it sometimes borders on gay and alternative when he ventures away from the boom bap sounding stuff.

Although there were some questionable moments on this album, there is too much to like to drop it much further down. Game isn't the greatest rapper but he is generally very good at picking beats for his albums. Even without Dr. Dre, his albums have very solid production, including this one. All three singles off of this have genuinely good beats which is hard to find in mainstream releases, let alone mainstream rap of this ilk (not the Kanye or Lupe brand). You've got to like Nas, Raekwon, Luda, Common, and Ice Cube guest rapping, too.

Termanology has some weaknesses as a rapper but its easy to overlook them when he's cosigned by some of the games best producers. The production credits for this reads like an all time best producers list with beats from Premo, Alchemist, Pete Rock, Easy Mo Bee, Havoc, and Nottz. Replace Term with a better rapper and you'd have a classic, but you won't see me complaining.

Before this album, I knew Jake One as the guy who did some of the best tracks on De La Soul's "The Grind Date" plus some G-Unit stuff. Point is, I knew the guy could make beats, but I was pretty blown away by his work on this his first album. Like most good producer-albums, this had an impressive roster of MCs including M.O.P., Freeway, Young Buck, Posdnous, Prodigy, MF Doom, and many more. While some of his beats are sort of lacking in rhythm (I'm not sure how else to say this, maybe he just straight loops stuff too much), they all have a raw, dirty quality which gives him sort of a signature sound. His work with drums and samples throughout the album is excellent and he is even able to craft some of these beats without samples which is perhaps even more impressive. Lyrically, this album has a lot to offer as well. I already told you about "Glow" with Royce and Ezhi, but I was also impressed with Freeway's rapping on this. Watch out for Free and Jake One in the future for sure. Between the authentic production and emceeing to complement it, no other 2008 album was this good.

PropsOverHere Presents Best of 2008: Top 25 Songs

2008-12-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

2008 was just aight in terms of hip hop but, like every year, it had its moments. Here are the 25 best moments according to me, so probably to you as well.

25. Reks- Say Goodnight

Reks' "Grey Hairs" got a little love from the backpacker, purist types but was sort of bland. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad album at all, but most of the beats were just ok and Reks doesn't offer anything special lyrically. This track, produced by DJ Premier, was the real standout to me.

24. Kidz in the Hall- Drivin' Down the Block

This borders between pure genius and something the Cool Kids would do for which reason I could only put this at #24. I mean an 808 beat with the chopped and screwed chorus in 2008 is normally a disaster but the ode to Masta Ace is clever and the the Outkast "ATLiens" part was entertaining as well. Great music video too.

23. Busta Rhymes- Arab Money

This is hardly up to standards musically (did you know Ron Browz produced "Ether"?), but otherwise this is just great. The concept and the auto-tuned Arabic chorus are pretty brilliant, but the dance is one of the greatest things to happen to hip hop since ever.

22. Prodigy- Veterans Memorial, Pt.2

I always liked these kind of Alchemist beats better than the synth-led ones he always does. Everyone knows Prodigy's lyrics are retarded nowadays, but I still enjoy a good amount of his music. The part about robbing a jewelry store with his dad was at least entertaining if not lyrically special.

21. Kidz in the Hall (Feat. Sean Price & Buckshot)- The Pledge

The Kidz take a break from their hipster (or whatever) style and do a more traditional cut with their new labelmates at Duck Down, Buckshot and Sean P. This is my favorite beat and overall song on the album, which I wasn't too big on.

20. Big Boi (Feat. Andre 3000 & Raekwon)- Royal Flush

This was the lead single for a new Big Boi album which I haven't heard much about since. This was dope to me because its like Outkast circa '95 or something but I'm not sure who told Big Boi it was a good idea to have a lead single with Raekwon on it.

19. Fat Joe- That White

This Premo beat took a few listens to warm up to, but overall this is a pretty good song. I acknowledge that Fat Joe is horrible but its hard to knock the D.I.T.C. shouts and rapping about crack.

18. Q-Tip- Believe

The smoothest cut on an album full of them. This is basically the beat for Large Professor's "For My People" with some Q-Tip-isms and D'Angelo, but jacking old, unreleased beats= a pretty good idea. Like Lupe Fiasco's "London, Tokyo" was a shelved World Renown song from the early '90's.

17. Pete Rock (Feat. Jim Jones & Max B.)- We Roll

Speaking of smooth cuts, this is butter. Jim Jones and Max B. are shitty but if that keeps you from enjoying this then I hate you.

16. Nas (Feat. Joell Ortiz)- Ghetto (Remix)

I made a post a while back about how good Joell's verse was on this. I'm not sure if it takes verse of the year anymore, but it kind of gave me a new perspective of him as an artist. Nas' verse is nice too, and the Green Lantern beat (who knew) is quality. I like how he incorporates the Rakim song in there.

15. Saigon (Feat. Red 5ive)- Believe It

January 1 will mark yet another year without the Saigon album I was promised. I guess if they just leak out one Saigon/Just Blaze track every year for like the next 15 years it wouldn't be so bad. Red 5ive is Just Blaze when he's using the autotune for heads who didnt already know.

14. Ludacris (Feat. Nas & Jay-Z)- I Do it for Hip Hop

I gotta admit I like the idea of this song more than the product itself, but its still good. Jay-Z's verse is beyond retarded though.

13. Termanology (Feat. Bun B)- How We Rock

Since "Watch How it Go Down" came out like 3 years ago and was on every last one of those Termanology mixtapes which preceded the album, I left it off and put this on here instead. This is far from Premo's best work but it still knocks. Bun B sounds surprisingly good over this beat too.

12. The Game (Feat. Lil Wayne)- My Life

This has to be Cool & Dre's best beat since "Hate it or Love it" right? I wasn't put off my Lil Wayne's autotune chorus, either. Not that I like Lil Wayne or the autotune, but I think it sounds pretty good, and at least he doesn't rap.

11. Jay-Z- Brooklyn We Go Hard

These are some of Jay-Z's best raps since The Blueprint 2. "I Jack, i rob, I sin", brilliant! It's too bad this is just for the movie soundtrack and not for Blueprint 3 since this is far superior to "Jockin' Jay-Z" though similar in ways.

10. Royce Da 5'9"- Shake This

Like Saigon and Just, that Royce and Premier album didn't come out this year, but at least we got one song. I like the "One Mic" dynamic on this where the strings come in and Royce gets all angry and loud.

Royce Da 5'9" - "Shake This" from Three/21 Films on Vimeo.

9. Jay Electronica- Exhibit A

I wrote about how I thought Just Blaze's final cut of this was kinda gay but the song the way I downloaded it the first time is great. I've never understood the hype behind this guy until I heard this song which has got all kinds of random references and such.

8. The Roots (Feat. Mos Def & Styles P)- Rising Down

I wasn't a huge fan of that last Roots album but this track is downright filth. There's some good rapping on this too, even some by Mos Def.

7. Black Milk (Feat. Sean Price & Pharoahe Monch)- The Matrix

I guess a track with one of the best beat-makers in the game, two of the best rappers evar, and scratches by Premo should be #1 caliber but this is still nice. Pharoahe and Ruck both have memorable verses and Black Milk is able to hold his own which is impressive in its own right.

6. T.I. (Feat. Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Lil Wayne)- Swagga Like Us

This was another one that I think I like the idea more than the song but its still the most defining rap song of the year. As far as Kanye's new style of beats with the hard drums and vocal samples this is my favorite yet, and this will be the swagger anthem for years and years.

5. Bishop Lamont- Grow Up

I didn't feel that this ever got enough love (though I did hear it a few times on satellite radio). Who knows if Bishop will ever put anything out on Aftermath but this shows how good a Dre/Bishop project could be. This is also one of the very few rap songs with a clear and true message which I appreciate. Some of the lines on this are downright hilarious too.

4. The Game (Feat. Common)- Angel

It took me a few listens to get used to this since its funky and busy for a Kanye beat but I couldn't get enough of this by the end of the summer. I also found it kind of funny how Common kicks the metaphorical rap about weed then Game comes on and just does his usual name-dropping, hip hop appreciation raps.

3. Nas- Hero

I took a good deal of heat for disliking the untitled Nas album, but at least it had this one truly epic song. Nas's rhymes and Polow da Don's production make this just fuckin inspirational.

2. Black Milk (Feat. Royce da 5'9")- Losing Out

Detroit's finest collab for this classic banger. This was kind of weird to me at first with the sped up vocal sample but the way Black and Royce compliment the beat with their verses is genius. Too quote someone from the always enlightening forums at ughh.com, this track is crackmuffins.

1. Jake One (Feat. Royce da 5'9" & Elzhi)- Glow

Speaking of Detroit, this track (along with "Motown 25", look it up) show where the real lyricists are at these days. First of all, Jake One comes with a banger with a great sample and bass line, but the highlight for me (which is unusual) is the rapping. both Royce and Elzhi just black out on this. The moment that sticks out to me are the first few bars of Elzhi's second verse "Create an illy scene/cause what I really mean/I make the whole city glow like the video from "Billie Jean"/Possess it/ I was destined to be fluorescent/ You less slick/I guess its just a finesse that you blessed with." It's not often in these days and times that rappers tear apart a track the way these two do here, which is why it is my choice for the best song of 2008.

PropsOverHere Presents: The Best of the Millennium

2008-11-11T19:10:00.000-08:00

Many (meaning a few people on the internet) point to the new millennium as the end of real hip hop. Even though rap isn't what it was in the '90's, a great amount of quality hip hop has come out in the 2000s, even if you don't want to admit it. Here are what I felt have been the top 25 songs of this millennium to this point.

25. Masta Ace- No Regrets

Masta Ace's "Disposable Arts" is one of a select few post-2000 releases I consider classic. From the reminiscent lyrics to the David Axelrod, "Next Episode" sample, this song is perfect to round off the album.

24. Slum Village Feat. Kanye West- Selfish

Kanye's presence and soulful production on this song gave SV some mainstream notoriety. It is one of the few songs for the ladies that I actually fuck with, and I gotta admit that I even like John Legends vocals on the chorus.

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23. G-Unit- Hate It or Love It (G-Unit Remix)

This was good the first time around, but when the whole crew got in on it it was a wrap. This also earns extra point for being a great song and also being extremely popular (although technically that was the original).

22. Marco Polo Feat. Masta Ace- Nostalgia

The top song of 2007 as selected by me. Masta Ace takes it back over Marco's perfect, laid back production.

21. Cunninlynguists Feat. Masta Ace- Seasons

This Masta Ace thing is one of the many weird patterns on this list but thats just how it came out. The concept and the beat on this are pretty fucking genius.

20. De La Soul Feat. MF Doom- Rock Co. Kane Flow

Jake One's beat on this is probably one of the most brilliant examples of production this millennium. De La and Doom drop some crazy, off the wall shit to top it off.

19. Jadakiss- We Gonna Make It

Here's another one that, at a time, was pretty popular. This remains both Alchemist's and Jada's master work as far as I'm concerned.

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18. Ghostface Killah- Shakey Dog

The horn blasts and Ghost's incomparable story telling kick of '06's Fishscale with a bang. It's too bad that energy was unmatched the rest of the album.

17. Scarface feat. Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel- Guess Who's Back?

This one is really more like a Roc-A-Fella song with Scarface on it, which in 2002 was a pretty god damn good idea. This is probably one of Kanye's best beats ever and Jay and Scarface make for a classic collabo.

16. Jay-Z- Allure

As much as it makes me cringe to say this, this is sort of like the new millennium "Dead Presidents". In my opinion, this is the best Pharrell beat ever, partly for how perfectly it matches the theme of the song. Plus, you can never go totally wrong with Jay-Z rapping about selling drugs and shit.

15. The Game- Dreams

To me, this is The Game's best song, but only for its musical value since his quality of rapping doesn't vary much from song to song. I've got a lot of Kanye beats on here, but you'll notice all of them date back at least like 4-5 years ago.

14. AZ- The Come Up

A dream collaboration, Premo and AZ. This was the best song of 2005 unless I'm leaving something out.

13. Fabolous- Breathe

This was the song Fabolous was born to make, a true street classic about how great he is and shooting people and whatnot. It could probably be argued that Just Blaze hasn't matched this quality since then also.

12. Jay-Z- Public Service Announcement

Unless, you count this, but I don't know which came first. Just Blaze flips the Black Moon beat to perfection and Jay-Z shuts it down. The defining moment of "The Black Album" for me.

11. Cormega Feat. Large Professor- The Come Up

This one is a little too brief considering how good it is, but it is the best song by by Cormega, who himself is basically a post-2000 artist. This hits hard even by Large Professor standards.

10. Mos Def- Brooklyn

The way the beat switches up on this is great because its like three Brooklyn anthems wrapped into one.

9. Mos Def- Mathematics

Another classic off of Black on Both Sides. The concept really sells this song, but Premo kills it on the beat and cuts.

8. M.O.P.- Ante Up

Before their wasted years at Roc-A-Fella and currently G-Unit, M.O.P. had this groundbreaker. If this song doesn't make you want to punch someone in the face, none will. That's really the best way to judge an M.O.P. song anyway, isn't it?

7. Royce Da 5'9"- Boom

So far, I'd have to say Royce's career is sort of a bust, given just how good he can be, but he did have a few shining moments. Most of them came with the help of DJ Premier, who blessed him on this.

6. Nas- 2nd Childhood

This is probably the most brilliant thing Nas or DJ Premier has done this millennium. The beat is so smooth and Nas' story telling is pure genius. See people, these are the kind of Nas songs that are "deep", not some racial, political propaganda nonsense.

5. Ghostface- Mighty Healthy

Every line Ghost spits on this is a quotable, even the intro is classic. And try to keep your head still listening to this.

4. Nas- You're Da Man

Two amazing verses over Large Professor's best beat since, what, "Halftime"? Just a classic song, best off of Stillmatic.

3. Nas- Thief's Theme

It was hard to decide between this and the last one, but "Thief's Theme" is just so badass it tough to go against it. It's incredible no one used this sample before 2005 or whatever, but Salaam Remi flipped it in the gulliest way possible as opposed to "Hip Hop is Dead" which is just plain gay.

2. Ghostface Killah- Apollo Kids

Given my preference for big time production, its improbable that my #2 song of this millennium was done by a no name (Hassan, for what its worth). Regardless, this is fucking epic, and Ghostface goes in as usual.

1. Jay-Z- Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)

What's better than Jay-Z talking down to some haters over the most over the top, wanton, genius Kanye beat ever. Nothing, at least not in this millennium.

Look out for a "Best of the Millennium" mix with some of these songs and some others I left off.

I Wonder What Else Just Blaze Has Ruined

2008-11-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Let me start this off by saying I have nothing against Just Blaze. He is one of, if not the best doing it right now, and not only that, he produces for a lot of great artists and gets real hip hop on the radio. However, I got an unreleased songs compilation this summer which had Ghostface's 'The Champ" in its original, uncleared sample version. Being a big fan of the original song, I was excited to hear it the way Just actually wanted it to be, only to find it considerably worse than the final cut. Then just the other day, I downloaded his new song with Jay Electronica "Exhibit A (Transformations)", and basically had it on repeat the whole day. Yesterday, I saw that the new, final version of the song had come out and was once again excited for how an already great song could have been improved upon. Then I listened to it and it was the same thing but with strings and synths and all sorts of superfluous noises. Just also changed those voice-over things (he does those himself, right? I don't even understand that...) to worse ones and added a minute long instrumental outro. This begs the question, how many of these songs exist? Did Game's "Remedy" have a fresh beat before it was scrapped for "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"? And please don't let me find that there's a version of "Live Ya Life" without Rihanna singing the Numa-Numa song.

The New Ludacris is Gonna be Crack

2008-10-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I went on here pronouncing the same thing about the new Black Milk album, Tronic. Well that dropped tuesday and is pretty damn good but shouldn't be classified as crack, so I'm gonna try it again with Ludacris' Theatre of the Mind. I'm not one of those underground heads who thinks Luda is wack because he raps about cars and nonsense, but I will say that I haven't been a fan of his work in general probably since "Roll Out", and that was like 5-6 years ago. His humorous verse on Game's album and a few decent singles peaked my interest a little bit, but today the tracklisting came out and I'm starting to think this may actually be good, like, really good. Anyway, here it is:

01. Call Up the Homies (Co-starring The Game & Willy NorthPole) (Produced By Clinton Sparks)

02. Do the Right Thing (Co-starring Common & Spike Lee) (Produced By 9th Wonder)

03. Everybody Hates Chris (Co-starring Chris Rock) (Produced By Don Cannon)

04. I Do It for Hip-Hop (Co-starring Nas & Jay-Z) (Produced By WYLDFYER)

05. Last of a Dying Breed (Co-starring Lil Wayne) (Produced By WYLDFYER)

06. Let’s Stay Together (Produced By DJ Paul & Juicy J)

07. MVP (Produced By DJ Premier)

08. One More Drink (Co-starring T-Pain) (Produced By Trackmasters)

09. Southern Gangsters (Co-starring Playaz Circle & Rick Ross) (Produced By STREETRUNNER)

10. Undisputed (Co-starring Floyd Mayweather Jr.) (Produced By Don Cannon)

11. What Them Girls Like (Co-starring Chris Brown & Sean Garrett) (Produced By Darkchild)

12. Wish You Would (Co-starring T.I.) (Produced By DJ Toomp)

13. Nasty Girl (Co-starring Plies & Swizz Beatz) (Produced By Swizz Beatz)

I'm sure there will plenty of wack shit on this as should be expected from anything released on Def Jam, but some of those tracks have mad potential. Here is one man's review of the album.

Rosh Hashana is Officially Hip Hop

2008-09-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

This tuesday is the Jewish new year as well as a huge day for some exciting hip hop releases. Off top, the new Termanology, Heltah Skeltah, Murs, People Under the Stairs, Large Professor, and Madlib will be hitting stores on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the only store around that sells CDs around my way is fucking Borders and my computer has a virus so I'm not sure when I'll get around to hearing these. Maybe I'll review them all on my new MacBook, which is apparently impervious to viruses, like Magic Johnson.

The New Black Milk Is Gonna be Crack

2008-09-18T13:56:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, rap is just boring as shit these days. I have gone back and forth on Black Milk as an artist. At first I thought he was gonna be the next Dilla, then I thought he was just boring, but he's been on a roll lately. His new album "Tronic" looks very promising, or at least better than his last album which basically sucked.

Below is a tracklisting and a video of him working on the first single, "Give The Drumma Sum".

1. Long Story Short ft. Dwele
2. Bounce
3. Give The Drummer Sum
4. Without U ft. Colin Munroe
5. Hold It Down
6. Losing Out ft. Royce da 5′9
7. Hell Yeah ft. Fat Ray
8. Overdose
9. Reppin For U ft. AB
10. The Matrix ft. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price, & Dj Premier
11. Try
12. Tronic Summer
13. Bond 4 Life ft. Melanie Rutherford
14. Elec (OUTRO)

My 100th Post

2008-09-06T16:02:00.001-07:00

Madden 09= More hip hop than Lil' Bow Wow.

Album Review: "L.A.X."- The Game

2008-08-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

While Game's legions of haters may not see past the negatives, I feel that they are outweighed by his positives, as he is perhaps the most talented and, dare I say, "realest" of all the young rappers with his degree of relavence and popularity. This his third album has featured some very good singles, but will it deliver overall? (This is the clean version by the way which I'm hoping won't screw up this review any.)

1. Intro (Feat. DMX)

DMX found time in between court dates to kick a prayer for the intro.

2. L.A.X. Files

The Game spends no time getting into the name dropping; this is even a bit much for a Game song. I guess this beat isn't totally awful, but the hook and the majority of Game's raps are. A poor start.

3. State Of Emergency (Feat. Ice Cube)

Much better. A gully Cali anthem, kind of like "Compton" from the last album, over a J.R. Rothem banger. Ice Cube only lends the chorus on this which is kind of a shame I guess.

4. Bulletproof Diaries (Feat. Raekwon)

This beat is all over the place but it's crazy. Raekwon's guest raps are pretty dissapointing but Game's last verse is just sick.

5. My Life (Feat. Lil' Wayne)

I'm sure you've all heard this plenty at this point. I, for one, really like it. I think Wayne is bearable on the hook, and while the verses are nothing special, the beat is Cool & Dre's best in some time.

6. Money

A synth-led ode to paper makin. If you're asking, yes it is as unoriginal as it sounds. It's also bad.

7. Cali Sunshine (Feat. Bilal)

This is actually a pretty good idea and I think this beat will grow on me. What is that a banjo?

8. Ya Heard (Feat. Ludacris)

I kind of wonder what Nottz was thinking when he made this beat. You kind of have to hear it, but its just a real mess. Ludacris' verse was actually the bright spot to me I found it pretty funny.

9. Hard Liquor (Interlude)

Game goes to a club playing that old track he did with Dre. Is this supposed to be funny?

10. House Of Pain

This is fuckin gangsta, the first DJ Toomp beat I've liked since "What You Know". Game kind of goes in on this track too. This album is really heavy on the California/Compton tracks which I guess is the point of it.

11. Gentleman's Affair (Feat. Ne-Yo)

The most questionable track yet. Ne-Yo sings the chrous about sex appeal and does a whole verse by himself. These are really not the kind of songs Game was meant to do.

12. Let Us Live (Feat. Chrisette Michelle)

This is the least obnoxious Storch beat I've heard but its just aight. I kind of like the last verse about his beefs and stuff but most of the lyrics on this are pretty bad. Too much singing on this track too.

13. Touchdown (Feat. Raheem DeVaughn)

I would say this is Game going Curtis on us but I guess this is classier than, for instance, "I Like The Way She Do It". I never thought I'd hear this much singing on a Game album.

14. Angel (Feat. Common)

You wouldn't know this was a Kanye track with what sounds like a Parliament sample or something. Game doing a "I Used To Love H.E.R." tribute thing on a track with Common=weak.

15. Never Can Say Goodbye (Feat. LaToya Williams)

The Game actually raps from the perspective of 2Pac, Biggie, and Eazy E. I guess this was the logical next step after referencing them in every other line. He kind of pulls off Biggie's flow which makes me wonder if he was going for that with each rapper.

16. Dope Boys (Feat. Travis Barker)

I've been playing this non stop since it leaked. Again, nothing great lyrically, but this is just a banger and the "Roc Boys" reference is pretty clever in my opinion.

17. Game's Pain (Feat. Keyshia Cole)

A tasteful and heartfelt tribute to hip hop. The last of the singles to appear on the album

18. Letter To The King (Feat. Nas)

A tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. over one of Hi-Tek's better beats in a while. I find it strange that Nas makes a track called "Louis Farrakhan" and now is spitting MLK tribute raps but maybe I'm looking too much into it.

19. Outro (Feat. DMX)

Another prayer thing.

Overall: The album of the year without question. This could have (and should have) been so much better if they would have just toned it down with the vocalists, but there is too much good stuff on here to overlook. Right now I'd have to say it's about as good as "Doctor's Advocate" though I think I'd need to hear the real, dirty version on a decent stereo first.

Best Tracks: ""Bulletproof Diaries", "House Of Pain", "Dope Boys", "My Life"

Album Review: "Pro Tools"- GZA

2008-08-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

The GZA has always been one of, if not the most lyrical of the Wu-Tang. Unfortunately, his flow and delivery, which was never exactly hype to begin with, just borders on borng nowadays, maybe best proven by that album with DJ Muggs on which he sounds half asleep the whole time. Overall, other than the unbelievably good Liquid Swords, I've never been a fan of solo work from the Genius but some of the stuff I've heard off of this has sounded promising. So will this be the next Wu Banga or another snoozefest?

1. Intromental

An instrumental intro (see what he did there) which I guess is the source of the sample for Common's "Hungry".

2. Pencil (Feat. Masta Killa & RZA)

This Mathetmatics beat kind of sounds like something RZA would do if he could still make beats. RZA kicks a super long verse on this which isn't all that bad but I can only bear that flow in small doses.

3. Alphabets

This flow wouldn't sound out of place on Liquid Swords and the verses are pretty good themselves. This beat by True Master (where has this guy been?) is pretty good but kind of monotonous after a while. The chorus is the alphabet in 5% language or some shit.

4. Groundbreaking (Feat. Justice Kareem)

I think Bronze Nazareth tends to get overrated by those Wu-affiliate stans who roam the internets but this is good stuff. He lets his son finish his lines in the second verse which was just an all around bad idea. GZA should have just written him something.

5. 7 Pounds

This is one of the best Black Milk beats I've ever heard, though I haven't checked the new Elzhi yet. These verses aren't as good as others on here but aren't terrible though I do wish that the GZA rhymed with a little bit more energy to match the beat.

6. 0% Finance

One of those GZA tracks where he throws in a million references to something like "Labels" and the one about animals. This time it was with car terms (manufacturers, parts etc.) and its pretty cool but this beat is the worst yet.

7. Short Race (Feat. Roc Marcy)

The use of Chinese music here is pretty questionable. I like the Roc Marcy guest verse, though after all these GZA verses he sounds pretty lightweight lyrically.

8. Interlude

A guy details his encounter of somebody with a Wu Tang W tattooed on his face.

9. Paper Plate

I didn't know the two had beef but GZA takes shots at 50 Cent for wearing minks and gators and selling less than Kanye and a bunch of other stuff. This beat is the first by RZA on this album and it is boring as expected.

10. Columbian Ties (Feat. True Master)

This beat isn't seeing the first one Bronze Nazareth did but its pretty solid. GZA kicks some extra grimey shit about wars and stuff.

11. Firehouse (Feat. Ka)

Ka, a scratchy voiced rapper who isn't very good handles all the rhyming on this. I'll take this as an interlude of sorts.

12. Path of Destruction

A song about a kid who became a criminal at a young age and was killed selling drugs later in life. At least something like that. Jay Waxx Garfield provides a good beat and GZA's storytelling is on point.

13. Cinema (Feat. Justice Kareem)

GZA raps about being in a haunted house or something over a sort of cheesy, theatrical sounding beat. He also raps in a whisper like he's trying not to wake someone in the next room which doesn't really add to the spooky effect it just makes it kind of more gay.

14. Intermision (Drive In Movie)

Some '80's R&B interrupted by the tune of one of those Kung Fu movies sampled in an earlier Wu-Tang record.

15. Life Is A Movie (Feat. RZA & Khan Acito from Outlines)

A surprisingly good RZA beat which actually recalls "Swordsmen" from Liquid Swords except worse, naturally. The only thing I can say I don't like about this is the chrous which sounds like its jacked from some '60's rock which I guess is what the RZA is into these days.

16. Elastic Audio (Bonus Live Performance)

This is from a show he did I guess but to be honest I'm not sure I'd care to hear this one in CD quality.

Overall:

I was really surprised by how good this was. The production was sound and the lyrics were very good which makes this one of the best albums of the year so far. However, the downfall of this album is that, and don't kill me for saying this, it's kind of boring. While GZA is a great MC, he is still dull as anything on the mic and aside from one or two bangers, these beats, while not bad, are fairly monotonous and repetetive.

Best Songs: "Pencil", "7 Pounds", "Life Is Like A Movie"

PropsOverHere Presents: The 15 Gulliest Rap Songs Of All Time

2008-08-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

After a few minutes of intense shuffling through my iTunes, I'm proud to present what, in my humble opinion, are fifteen of the gulliest peices of music ever created. Feel free to criticize my choices or if you're in the constructive mood, offer alternatives.

15. Big L- Lifestylez ov the Poor and Dangerous

Big L was probably one of the gulliest rappers ever at least in his earlier, D.I.T.C. days, but lacks that one specifically badass anthem. This is the closest thing to it, as it is in my estimation the gulliest song off of the album of the same title.

14. M.O.P.- Handle Your Bizness (DJ Premier Remix)

M.O.P. personifies rap gulliness, but I had to be fair and allow some other people on here. Every M.O.P. song (at least from that era) was on that crazy, violent jumpoff but this is just one of the grimiest beats they ever spit on, and Premier ever made.

13. Gravediggaz- Blood Brothers

The Gravediggaz were gully on a whole other level when they brought that scary "horrorcore" type shit. This was the best example of that.

12. Smoothe Da Huster & Trigger Da Gambler- Broken Language

I wasn't going to include this because its more notable for the way its structured (or however you'd put it) but those guys were fuckin gully and so is this classic D.R. Period beat.

11. Snoop Dogg (Feat. RBX, The Dogg Pound, & The D.O.C.)- Serial Killa

Classic, west coast gangsta rap over a mean Dre beat, just textbook gully.

10. Xzibit- Eyes May Shine

It's too bad he's made weird faces at hoopties for a living because at one time Xzibit was a gully rapper and a damn good one. His mindstate on that whole album was fuckin serious and this was the toughest track.

9. Beanie Sigel- What Your Life Like

Beans is known to be the muscle of the Roc-A-Fella fam (or what is left of it these days), but this song stands out far above the rest. The beat is just a movie score or something (a gully one nonetheless) but after listening to this its hard imagining anything scarier than being on this guys bad side.

What Your Life Like - Beanie Sigel

8. Big Pun, Inspectah Deck, & Prodigy- Tres Leches (Triboro Trilogy)

Three all-time gully rappers and the RZA on top of his game makes for a well-crafted, gully masterpeice. The use of the Rakim sample is also incredibly gully.

7. Raekwon- Incarcerated Scarfaces

The gulliest song off of one of the gulliest albums is just about all I have to say for this one.

6. M.O.P.- Ante Up

The hype beat and lyrics about mugging people make this the gulliest of M.O.P. songs.

5. Mobb Deep- G.O.D. Pt. III

This beat is easily one of the all-time gulliest and this was back when P and Havoc dropped those classic, hardcore rhymes. Listen to this song and tell me you don't want to punch someone in the face.

4. Notorious B.I.G. & Eminem- Dead Wrong

This beat is kinda gully but BIG's lyrics are just plain wrong. A lot of dead guys on this list, which makes sense I guess.

3. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg- Deep Cover

The first (right?) of many gully collabs between these two and the gulliest. That beat remains the gulliest of Dre's career after like 20 years.

Deep Cover - Dr. Dre/Snoop Doggy Dogg

2. Mobb Deep- Shook Ones Pt. II

By now everyone knows that Mobb Deep were really not all that tough, but musically and lyrically this is quintessentially gully.

1. N.W.A.- Straight Outta Compton

As a song, "Shook Ones" may be gullier than this, but just the fact that this song actually fucking scared people makes this the winner. That is also not to take away from the gully nature of the song, which had stood the test of time. A timeless, gully masterpeice. Enjoy!

Wait...Take That Back?

2008-07-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

I may have spoken too soon about that Game being album of the year after seeing another tracklist. I'm not the biggest fan of Termanology, but this production lineup is absurd.

1. Its Time (Produced by Easy Mo Bee)

2. Watch How It Go Down (Produced by DJ Premier)

3. Respect My Walk (Produced by Buckwild)

4. Hood Shit f/ Prodigy of Mobb Deep (Produced by The Alchemist)

5. Float (Produced by Nottz)

6. Please Don’t Go (Produced by Nottz)

7. How We Rock f/ Bun B of UGK (Produced by DJ Premier)

8. Drugs Crime & Gorillaz f/ Sheek Louch & Freeway (Produced by Nottz)

9. In The Streets f/Lil Fame of M.O.P. (produced by Hi-Tek)

10. So Amazing (Produced by DJ Premier)

11. Sorry I Lied (Produced by Large Professor)

12. We Killin Ourselves (Produced by Pete Rock)

13. The Chosen (Resurrecting The Game) (Produced by Havoc)

Whoa. Other than "Watch How It Go Down" those Premo tracks are nothing special, but it's hard not to be optimistic with those names involved.

Early Tracklisting for the Album of the Year

2008-07-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

According to Nahright/ OnSmash:

01. Intro (Feat. DMX)
02. LAX Files (Produced By ???)
03. State of Emergency (Feat. Ice Cube) (Produced By Jonathan “J.R.” Rothem)
04. Bulletproof Diaries (Feat. Raekwon) (Produced By Jelly Roll)
05. My Life (Feat. Lil Wayne) (Produced By Cool & Dre)
06. Money (Produced By ???)
07. Cali Sunshine (Feat. Bilal) (Produced By Nottz)
08. Ya Heard (Feat. Ludacris) (Produced By Nottz)
09. Hard Liquor (Interlude)
10. House Of Pain (Produced By DJ Toomp)
11. Gentleman’s Affair (Feat. Ne-Yo) (Produced By Jonathan “J.R.” Rothem)
12. Let Us Live (Feat. Chrisette Michelle) (Produced By Scott Storch)
13. Touchdown (Feat. Raheem DaVaughn) (Produced By Nottz)
14. Angel (Feat. Common) (Produced By Kanye West)
15. Never Can Say Goodbye (Feat. Latoiya Williams) (Produced By ???)
16. Dope Boys (Feat. Travis Barker) (Produced By 1500 or Nothin’)
17. Game’s Pain (Feat. Keyshia Cole) (Produced By Knobody)
18. Letter to the King (Feat. Nas) (Produced By Hi-Tek)
19. Outro (Feat. DMX)

Update: I made the corrections based on another tracklisting which is floating out there now. This one has Nas on it so I assume it's official or at least more so than the first. I assume where it says (Produced By ???), ??? is either Just Blaze or Timbaland.

Nas is Officially the Biggest Tease in Rap

2008-07-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

After last week's preachy and underwhelming release, I announced that I would never get excited over a Nas album again. And then this:

"I want to do an all-Dr. Dre album," he told MTV News. "A whole thing with Dre and a whole thing with Premier, and drop 'em on the same day. That's the real thing. All right, I said it. That's what I really wanna do.""I'm doing my
dream," he continued. "If you could, wouldn't you do it? What else would you do?
Every time I do something, it's, 'Oh, he's doing it because this and that.'
Since my first album, everybody has an explanation of why. What am I supposed to
be doing here? So I wanna drop the Dre album and the Premier album on the same
day. That's what I'm thinking."

So it looks like I have no choice to look foward to this, though I know I'll be let down when it's a double disc joint venture between Salaam Remi and Stargate featuring The Bravehearts.

Album Battlegrounds 2: Black Moon's "Enta Da Stage" vs. Smif-N-Wessun's "Dah Shinin'"

2008-07-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

The other day I was listening to Black Moon's classic debut album "Enta Da Stage" and thought about the debates I've seen (on the internets of course) over which Boot Camp Clik album is the best ever. When bumping it I thought it was crazy that anyone would pick another album, but today when I popped in "Dah Shinin,", I was reminded immediately by the first snare on "Timz N Hood Chek" why this topic is so debatable.

Both albums greatly benefit from the grimey basslines, hard hitting drums, and amazing samples provided by Da Beatminerz. While Buckshot's presence in Black Moon gives them a lyrical advantage, the tag team, "P.N.C." element is unique to Smif-N-Wessun.

So which one was better? Obviously I can't decide so I'm interested in what my highly opinionated readership has to say of the matter. I've provided a few tracks and then a poll in which you can make your preference known.

Black Moon "Buck 'Em Down"

Smif-N-Wessun "Shinin'"

Black Moon "I Gotcha Opin"

Smif-N Wessun "Stand Strong"

Black Moon "Who Got Da Props?"

Smif-N-Wessun "Bucktown"

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Notable New Hip Hop

2008-07-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Not much is going on in terms of albums recently except that Nas, but over the past couple days some interesting stuff has leaked out.

Download

First is this new Jadakiss track "Don't Start Nothin'". I don't know if this is a Roc-A-Fella single, but it would make sense seeing as its produced by Sean C. & LV who handled most of Jay's last album.

Download

This next song comes from the legendary Mad Scientist, Large Professor. This is "The Intro" of his upcoming solo Main Source. This would be his first real (not instrumental) album since 2001's "1st Class" which I still bump regularly.

Download

Lastly its my second favorite duo who will never put out an album, Bishop Lamont and Dr. Dre with "Grow Up". This is supposed to be the first single off The Reformation, but I doubt it.

Album Review: Nas- Untitled

2008-07-02T21:56:00.000-07:00

Nas is my favorite rapper easily. It is my stance that he has the most impressive catalogue in the history of rap between his solo joints, guest features, unreleased material, mixtape shit etc. However, his solo albums have been spotty pretty much since It Was Written, and I thought that his last album, the critically acclaimed Hip Hop Is Dead, was only mediocre. This album has generated some buzz because it was going to be called the N word but it wasn't until I heard "Hero" that I realized that this may be a good album and not just Nas' latest attempt to stay contreversial. Is it though?

1. Queens Get The Money

So this album is obviously going to be full of contreversial, racial statements and whatnot so I'm just hoping for some good beats and concepts not just slavery references and name drops of Civil Rights activists. I wonder if Jay Electronica would have put drums on this had he never met Erykah Badu.

2. You Can't Stop Us Now (Feat. Eban Thomas)

Salaam Remi is only one of many to use this sample, but its worse in this instance because The RZA flipped it just this year and in the same exact way. I guess this is Nas' theory of how "N words" have evolved through history. It's anyone's guess really, not that its all that important anyway.

3. Breathe

This is that smooth shit I love to hear Nas over. This sounds more like The Hitmen than the mid 90's Trackmasters but I'll take what I can get. There's really not much rapping on this track or the last one necessarily which is worth pointing out.

4. Make The World Go Round (Feat. Chris Brown & The Game)

This beat is better suited for Nas' wife then the man himself. Kind of like a Chris Brown track featuring Nas and The Game. Very wack.

5. Hero (Feat. Keri Hilson)

Just some great verses over an epic banger from Polow Da Don. One of the best tracks in years.

6. America

This is basically the story of Nas' career recently. This beat is so boring and ametuerish and the hook is so god damn annoying that the greatest verse evar could be spit over it and the outcome would still be wack.

7. Sly Fox

Rock inspired hip hop songs usually are skipped but the metal guitar kind of fits the revolutionary tone of the song. Not that the beat is anything special though. This one's about Fox, as in the news network and their political agenda.

8. Testify

This is honestly one of the most boring peices of music I've heard in some time.

9. N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)

This reminds me alot of the song Toomp did for Jay-Z on American Gangster in that the beat is technically good, but there are no drums to make it bang and maybe the sample isn't all that good for rappin over.

10. Louis Farrakhan

Nas compares himself to Louis Farrakhan as far as I can tell. Not a standout by any means.

11. Fried Chicken

It's kind of sad that the best producer on a Nas album is Mark Ronson but this beat is pretty good. Nas and Busta rap about how much they love fried chicken but I guess the message is that black people are unhealthy. Or maybe they just really love fried chicken.

12. Project Roach

Nas rhymes from the perspective of a roach over a another (pretty good) beat with no drums what the hell is that about.

13. Y'all My Ni***s

This beat is more interesting than most of the others but it still sorta sucks.

14. We're Not Alone

A certified snoozefest

15. Black President

Of all the songs from that Green Lantern mixtape this is probably the one I would have least preferred to make the album. It's not a terrible track but the beat is mediocre and the indie rock white guy on the chorus is nearing the AutoTune in the annoying fad department.

Overall:

This was just a huge letdown. I'm sure Nas is aware of the "wack beats" criticism he gets, yet, aside from Polow and Toomp who I guess are "hot" right now, he continues to reach out to the worst producers for the worst beats. I've stopped hoping for Premier and Large Professor, but least his last album had Kanye West and Dr. Dre, even if not on top of their games. He even left that heater from DJ Khalil ("What It Is" or "Esco Let's Go") off the album for no good reason. This is the last time I am getting excited for a Nas album.

Best Tracks: "Hero", "Breathe", "Fried Chicken"

Album Review: G-Unit- "Terminate On Sight"

2008-06-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Since the height of their popularity in 2003, G-Unit has gradually fallen off the radar. Surely some of this has to do with the public's preference for hip hop with no trace of musical value but 50 and the crew are also to blame as they have pretty much put out half-assed music since then, the singles from this album notwithstanding. This album isn't gonna do Weezy numbers, but will it at least deliver as an album?

1. Straight Outta Southside

Gully. A surprisingly tasteful remake of the original too. My bootleg replaces those horns in the beginning and on the "hook" with some synth but I heard the version with the horns on the radio saturday I wonder what the deal with that is.

2. Piano Man

Tony Yayo's verse which kicks this off is comically bad. This uses only a few notes of a piano sample and the rest is just a shitty synth beat which makes me believe that G-Unit made the song as an excuse to laugh at Tony Yayo later.

3. Close To Me

A track about the hoes not unlike the single except over a synth filled version of "Lollipop". Yikes.

4. Rider Pt. 2

50 Cent, whose most lasting quality was his ability to write memorable and catchy hooks, sings on the AutoTune about who knows what in what is the most irratating 35 seconds of rap I've listened to in a while. Fortunately (I guess) it's not exactly like it ruins a classic song, its pretty terrible.

5. Casualties Of War

Another annoying hook and synth beat though this one is more listenable than the rest. Lloyd Banks boasts that he "shits like a dinosaur". Tony Yayo of all people makes up for it with the powerful lyric "fist full of stones/fingers glowin like E.T.".

6. You So Tough

Calling out the fake gangstas I guess. 50 Cent goes after T.I. (kind of) at the end but save yourself the time its not very dramatic.

7. No Days Off

This is just aight which sounds great compared to the rest of this garbage. At least it has a guitar and not just noisy synths.

8. T.O.S.

Same deal with the last one in terms of song quality but this one sounds like a sped up sample of a busy signal.

9. I Like The Way She Do It

The synthy lead single about strippers or something.

10. Kitty Kat

What the fuck, is G-Unit even trying anymore? I swear to god they come up with these ridiculous songs just to make Tony Yayo sound stupid.

11. Party Ain't Over

This sounds like any one of those first couple tracks. In other words, this is awful.

12. Let It Go (Feat. Movado)

As if this album wasn't annoying enough this one's got some Raggae guy yelling about being "gahngsta".

13. Get Down

Swizz Beatz' career resurrection is all that's wrong with hip hop today.

14. I Don't Wanna Talk About It

The other day Tony Yayo was on Shade 45 with Whoo Kid talking about Young Buck and he was like "Game fucked up, he got a mohawk". I LOL'd.

15. Ready Or Not

This is the grimey sound that "Beg For Mercy" had and this album severely lacks. Maybe its the absence of Dr. Dre?

16. Money Make The World Go Round

This one's kind of grimey too but not as good as the last one.

Overall: Well that was awful. I can't say I didn't see it coming. As much as I liked "Beg For Mercy", the singles more or less indicated the direction this album would take which was a very bad thing. I mean as far as I know, the best producers on the last album (Dre, Hi-Tek, and Jake One) didn't contribute anything to this album.

Best Songs: "Straight Outta Southside"

PropsOverHere Presents: Classic Rock

2008-06-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

Download

From the god who brought you "T.R.O.Y." and "The World Is Yours", a collection of unheralded, Pete Rock produced joints.

Tracklisting:

1. Give It To Y'all- The U.N.
2. Nothin Lesser- The U.N.
3. Boston To Bucktown- Special Teamz w/ Buckshot & Sean Price
4. The Rap Game- Pete Rock w/ The Large Professor
5. Death Becomes You- Pete Rock & CL Smooth w/ The YG'z
6. Shout (Remix)- Onyx
7. Long Time Coming- The U.N.
8. Specialize- Pete Rock & CL Smooth
9. Greenbacks- Pete Rock
10. To My Advantage- Pete Rock w/ Nature
11. Beats & Rhymes- Grap Luva
12. Chunky- Ghostface Killah

Verse Of The Year?

2008-06-19T20:25:00.001-07:00

Having been listening to Nas and DJ Green Lantern's "N- Tape" mixtape on repeat for about a week now, I have concluded that, the best verse on the mixtape, and thus of the year so far goes to Joell Ortiz. This is not to say that Nas is whack or anything he drops gems all over the album, but Joell, an Aftermath outcast and Brooklyn native just went in on the "Ghetto Remix" which is just a gutta song all around. Here is a link to the track and the lyrics to Joell's verse.

Ghetto (Remix)

Planet earth

The land of the worst

Handle your turf

Canons'll burst and break the wrist of ameteur jerks

Damn it'll hurt to know your man in that hurst

I seen it ten times

They get a small article never the headline

Candles in the lobby next to empty gnac bottles

N*ggas talkin shit like when they see this mack nozzle but

Nothin ever happens

Even if it do, nothin ever happens

We don't talk cuz that ain't gutta if you yappin' in the ghetto

You can ask a n*gga mother what happened and get an echo

Where I'm from, it's so bad

Bunch of ignorant mahfuckas with no dads

Or he did but he didn't care cuz he nursin his dope hab

And when him and they moms argue we always throw jabs

So they grip a chrome mag and walk around like 'who want a toe tag?'

Fiendin' to leave a head see-through like a coat bag

If your life's slightly somethin like the one that Joell had then you (ghetto)

Group of p's (?)

Scoop G's

Duck D's and squeeze

Breeze in old hoopties

Bumpin new Ortiz

And the hoochies please G's by gettin on they knees and givin the part the scarecrow needs

I'm livin that life

The shit that I write is from my heart, my word

Open your pocket grab a sharpie homie, mark my words

If, anybody in the field with me and these bucks

I ain't only endin careers dog

I'm beatin' you up

I'm still ghetto

It's That Time Again: PropsOverHere's 5 Most Anticipated For '08

2008-06-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

Last year I actually had to do this twice because only the #5 album on my list actually dropped, but I have been building up my false hope since then in order to bring to you the albums I'm looking foward to this year.

5. DJ Revolution- King Of The Decks

DJ Revolution is a world renown DJ with a fairly unimpressive track record as a producer, given Ed O.G's "Revolution" (which is a nice track) is his finest work as far as I can tell. He is set to showcase his production skills with this producer album on Duck Down which is rumored to include Sean P, Crooked I, Bishop Lamont, Royce 5'9", and Planet Asia amongst a long list of nice MCs.

4. The Game- L.A.X.

Not only is The Game one of the most skilled mainstream rappers (if not the most), he has consistently gets some of the best production. I expect nothing else from this album after the Cool & Dre banger "Big Dreams" and probably one of the more meaningful and creative hip hop tribute songs "Game's Pain". Set for a July release date, this should be the shit for the summer.

3. Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

Here is where I start to set myself up for a letdown. That grimey "Jihad" track with Ghost has me hoping that the album is on its way but I probably thought the same thing when "State of Grace" leaked like three years ago.

2. Nas- [Untitled]

Who knows what this album will end up being called, but I have a good feeling that it's gonna be serious. Nas has gone over my head with this N word message but the tracks I've heard thus far are all quality especially the epic "Hero". Plus, the new mixtape lives up to all the hype. All the signs point toward the next great Nas album.

1. Saigon- The Greatest Story Never Told

This album will be my most anticipated until evey copy of the master is gone from the face of the earth. Most recently, Sai and Just left Atlantic and have full control over the destiny of the album and there are rumors circulating that he'll end up with Jay-Z at Live Nation. Whatever the case, I think (in the right hands) his new track "Better Belive It" with Justin on the AutoTune could blow and that the album may see the light of day in 2008.

The New Nas Single Cranks

2008-06-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Download "Hero"

Unreleased Ghostface

2008-05-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

Download: "Ghost Deini" (Original, Uncleared Sample Version)

We all know the Ghostface classic "Ghost Deini" off Supreme Clientele, but did you know that a better and gullier version of the song existed? I didn't until I downloaded acompilation of unreleased music (mostly due to sample clearence issues) made by Think Differently mainly for the original version of "The Champ" which was kinda weak. Anyhow, I was pretty blown away by this. Highly recommended.

Ahmad Jamal: The Grandfather of Hip Hop

2008-05-25T22:40:00.001-07:00

This is the first post I've made which could be considered informative and interesting, so fucking read it. To the best of my knowledge, the breaks and drums heard in early hip hop songs were sampled from James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic. But fuck early hip hop songs, right? The best hip hop in my opinion was made in the early/mid-nineties, and the guy responsible for many of that era's (and other era's) greatest beats was legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. Jamal's compositions have been sampled extensively by some of the games greatest producers.

Here is a catalogue of his sampled work to the most of my knowledge:

1. "Misdeameaner"

Hip Hop Uses: Gangstarr- "Soliloquy of Chaos" (DJ Premier)
Black Moon- "Black Smif N Wessun" (DJ Evil Dee)

2. "I Love Music"

Hip Hop Use: Nas-"The World Is Yours"(Pete Rock) (at 5:00)

3. "The World Is A Ghetto"

Hip Hop Use: Fat Joe-"Shit Is Real (Remix)"(DJ Premier)

4. "Awakening"

Hip Hop Use: Shadez of Brooklyn-"Change"(Mr. Walt)

5. "Swahililand"

Hip Hope Use: De La Soul-"Stakes Is High"(J Dilla)(at 7:30)

6. "Pastures"

Hip Hop Use: Jay-Z-"Feelin It"(Ski Beatz)(at 1:11)

7. "Dolphin Dance"

Hip Hop Uses: Deda-"Can't Wait"(Pete Rock)
Common-"Resurrection"(No I.D.)

8. "Theme Bahamas"

Hip Hop Use: Nas-"I Gave You Power"(DJ Premier)(Can't really here this one, but its in there)

9. "Poinciana"

Hip Hop Use: Binary Star- "New Hip Hop" (?, Decompoze maybe)

Album Review: "Operation Take Back Hip Hop"- Craig G and Marley Marl

2008-05-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is the second Marley Marl album in as many years that would have been good in the 80's, this time with freestyle legend Craig G on the mic. The album with KRS-One was pretty much garbage but its also been obvious for some time now that KRS has lost his marbles. In any event, Craig G and Marley are far too irrelevent to ever "take back hip hop," but will this at least appease the purist types on the internet?

1. Intro

I thought Craig G and Marley Marl were going to take back hip hop with some old school flava but apparently they've built a robot to do it for them.

2. Reintroduction

Wow this is just bad all around. The beat hurts my ears, the lyrics suck, and the hook is laughable.

3. Quality Work (Feat. Will Pack & Rakaa)

I swear this is exactly like the last song, all the way down to the shittyness. An extremely annoying beat (this one full of goofy, space-sound-effect noises) and rhymes about how rap sucks now (Craig actually says "monkey see, monkey do" on both).

4. Made The Change

This one uses the Biggie voice sample. Couldn't have seen that coming. This one has a fruity flute sample on it too. What the fuck happened to Marley Marl? Or should I say, who the fuck does he send to the record store to find samples for him?

5. Deep Down

This could pass for a song from the early 90's. Not a good one, but still.

6. We Gets It In (Feat. Talib Kweli)

Talib Kweli spits the same verse he's been spitting his whole career (you know, about the "institution" and shit). For what its worth this is maybe the best song eyt.

7. Just What I Need

This is the first beat that wasn't hard to listen to. Craig G raps about the state of hip hop again. Believe it or not, "Dey Know" > shitty tracks by old rappers about how hip hop sucks.

8. All Seasons

The beat is mostly pretty bad on this its just like the same note of an organ keyboard every four beats but I like the piano that kicks in there. This song is also about money and seasons or something but most importantly not about bad rap music which is a plus.

9. War Going On (Feat. Cormega)

For this one, I'm actually gonna predict the Prodigy voice sample. I can't prove I did that, but needless to say, I was right. Cool I know.

10. Skates

This beat is kinda chill but holy shit Craig G is bad.

11. Stay In Ya Lane (Feat. Sadat X)

Ah back to the whining about hip hop. This time, let's bring in Sadat X, because that guy sure can still rap.

12. Open Ya Eyes

This beat is alright I guess. The raggae inspired hook and Craig G yogurt references, not so much.

13. Regrets

This is just that same, over used, obnoxious horn sample over and over again. Craig G doesn't really even rap over it at all.

14. Not A Word

Pharoahe Monch would kill this shit.

15. Rock Dis (Feat. KRS-One)

KRS and Craig G trade rhymes. This would be pretty good for an interlude type thing. I'm just trying to find a silver lining at this point.

16. Don't Make Me Laugh

A failed attempt at an intimitating, gully sounding track.

17. The Day The Music Died/How About The Mic (Feat. Cold Heat)

This one I actually enjoyed and not just in a hypothetical scenerio way. The first song is about what it would be like if artists from other genres acted like hip hop artists, kind of like that one Ghostface song where cartoon characters are fucked up druggies and whatnot. The second is on that same, thug rappers can't rhyme premise, but the beat is good and Cold Ice is kinda nice. A good way to end an album, albeit such a bad one.

Overall:

Well that was just awful. The worst album I've reviewed on here by a long shot. In 17 songs it has one that I'd listen to again and about 13 that I'd kill myself if I heard it again. Neither of these guys, especially Marley, have anything to prove at this point and should just hang it up.

Best Songs: "The Day The Music Died/ How About The Mic"

Another Roots Post

2008-05-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Download: "The Grand Return" (Feat. Dice Raw & Wadud Ahmad)

Some heat rocks from the legendary crew. This would have been one of the best songs on the album had they put it on there but I guess since it all goes to iTunes anyway it doesn't really matter.

Album Review: "Rising Down"- The Roots

2008-04-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

This new Roots album is one that I've been anticipating for some time now and it just leaked onto the nets. Will this be the next great Roots album or just another lackluster post-2000 release?

1. The Pow Wow

An argument over the phone that I can't understand

2. Rising Down (Feat. Mos Def & Styles P)

The best song I've heard this year hands down. The beat is great and the rhymes are generally on point, especially Black Thought's. And what's more is that Mos Def actually raps on this and doesn't just do R&B crooning on the hook or whatever.

3. Get Busy (Feat. Dice Raw & DJ Jazzy Jeff)

This one's kind of experimental because it's got that kind of live, Root's sound with the drums but also a synth bassline thing. Can't argue with the results though because the track is definitely hard. Dice Raw comes through with the hip hop quoteable "I'm kinda like W.E.B. DuBoise/Meets Heavy D. & The Boys." Jazzy Jeff on the cuts...just another great track.

4. @15

A freestyle

5. 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)

The obligatory Roots song where Black Thought raps straight through the track with distorted sounding vocals except with the same sound as "Get Busy". A pretty good track but Black could probably tone down on the N word there.

6. Becoming Unwritten

Like the interludes on [insert Roots album here].

7. Criminal (Feat. Saigon & Truck North)

The weakest beat so far and the singing on the hook is a little annoying. Being the Saigon stan that I am I was happy to see him on this album I just wish there was a more exciting track for him to be on.

8. I Will Not Apologize (Feat. P.O.R.N & Dice Raw)

This is just alright like the last one. It sounds like Talib Kweli is on the chorus but doesn't rap on this which is sort of strange.

9. I Can't Help It (Feat. Malik B. & P.O.R.N.)

This one is more synthy sounding and thus more interesting. Maybe this is the natural progression of the Roots sound or something.

10. Singing Man (Feat. Truck North & P.O.R.N.)

This is just weird. The first really skippable track though.

11. Unwritten (Feat. Mercedez Martinez)

Another interlude, this one with rapping.

12. Lost Desire (Feat. Talib Kweli & Malik B.)

Maybe the worst of the synth beats but still a good track. The singing on the hook here is better than on the other songs and the guest spots are nice too.

13. The Show (Feat. Common)

Think of this as a blend between the new, electronic Roots and, say the Phrenology Roots. Still one of the best tracks since the beginning of the album.

14. Rising Up (Feat. Chrisett Michelle & Wale)

This song is kind of weird but I think I could get used to it. It's a nice switch up all the hard, synth beats and stuff. Def Jam is really pushing this Chrisett Michelle, huh?

15. Hidden Track

An old freestyle or something.

Overall:

This is a no brainer when you look at the lack of quality albums to drop this year. For a reference point, I like this to the Roots last two albums, at least on first listen.

Best Tracks: "Rising Down", "Get Busy", "75 Bars"

New Heat From Nas

2008-04-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

War Is Necessary

I'm back people, sorry for the layoff, I hope some people still visit this blog. Anyway Nas has had some stuff leak to the nets this week including "Be A N- too" which I think is gonna make the new album. This one, which is more to my liking, will be on the new GTA.

Back With More Dream Albums...

2008-03-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

Since my last series of photoshopped dream albms got such a positive response, I went back to the lab and made some more. Without further ado:

Crooked I- The Boss

Crooked I is the nicest lyricist on the West Coast, maybe ever (Ras Kass was probably better). Anyway, he signed with Death Row but never put out an official album there. He continues to drop mixtapes and those weekly freestyles but still no album. Hopefully one is in the near future. You know what this is based off of but here it is anyway:

The Fab Five- Fab Five Forever

This isn't technically a dream album since it was a shelved project years ago and could still happen. For those who don't know or can't tell by the pictures, the Fab Five was Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C. as one group. Here is Wu-Tang Forever for comparison:

Fabolous & Just Blaze- Optimus Rhyme

Fabolous deserves some hate for the R&B duets and Young Jeezy collabs and whatnot but he has undeniable talent. Based off of 2004's "Breath" produced by Just, the two are more than capable of making a classic street album together. The original album is Lord Finesse's Funky Technician:

Auditions For The Biggie Biopic

2008-03-10T16:05:00.001-07:00

For those who don't know, the part of Biggie was given to another fat rapper from Brooklyn called Gravy. I guess Anthony Anderson was busy. Anyhow, here are some clowns auditioning for the part:

Photoshop Dream Albums

2008-03-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

At first I was just gonna make a post about the rumored Nas and Jay-Z project, The Kings of Hip Hop, which would be monumental. I mean, who wouldn't want to be a part of that album? Anyway, I thought it would be cool if they went with that "nod to the old school" album cover theme like these:

So I made this:

For Comparison:

Phenomenal Right? Anyway, after making this, I thought about utilizing my incredible photoshop skills to make other dream albums of mine. Here are the rest:

50 Cent & Kanye West: He's The Dbag, I'm The Rapper

You backpackers may whine about this one but this album would have some serious shit plus it would sell at least one billion copies. Again for comparison:

Cormega, AZ, & DJ Premier are De La Street- The Rotten Apple

I don't think they've done a track all together before but in 2006 there was Cormega's "Dirty Game" and AZ's "The Format", two ridiculous tracks both produced by Premo. Plus their collab on the Statik Selektah album was great too. I'm sure they could come up with something better than De La Street but I tried to fuck up as little text as possible there. Based off De La Souls last release (not old school but a legendary crew anyway):

Bishop Lamont & Dr. Dre: California Minded

Unlike that last one, this one has a legit shot happening just as soon as Dre gets in the studio and gets to work. Never. Here's a snippet of a track called "I Dominate" which sounds like a monster. And of course, Criminal Minded:

Nas- "What It Is" Snippet Pt. II

2008-02-25T19:36:00.001-08:00

A while back I posted an awful new song by Nas called "What It Is." Well, it's resurfaced months later and, well, its good! DJ Khalil lays down the real beat for the track and plays it here at some kind of computer beatmaking convention.

Nas What it is first listen Dj Khalil
by Bounce2dis

Info On The New Roots Album

2008-02-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

It looks like I have something new to look foward to. Two days ago, Entertainment Weekly reviewed what they had heard of the new Roots, Rising Down. The album is set to drop April 29 with rumored guest appearences from Lupe Fiasco, Common, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Styles P, Wale, and more. Here is the first leaked track off the album, "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)"

Album Review: "NY's Finest"- Pete Rock

2008-02-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

Almost two months have come and go this year without a single worthwhile release, which will make this, set to drop next tuesday, the first. I have been anticipating this album because I'm big into the whole producer album thing and Pete Rock beats at least garauntee musical quality, though Soul Survivor II showed us all that they don't garauntee entertainment value. This suspense is too much!

1. Pete Intro

Just some clips of people saying shit

2. We Roll (Feat. Jim Jones & Max B.)

I posted this song on the blog four months ago and have bumped it ever since. In regards to Jim Jones, anyone could rhyme over this and I'd still enjoy to some degree. Other, newer producers just don't make them like this.

3. 'Till I Retire

This came out on the 12" with "We Roll" but I never checked it. It's eerie and spacey for a Pete Rock beat but still good. You could assume the subject based on the title, but its basically saying that he's still nice and will be until he retires. To be honest, all I was thinking about during his verses was who his new ghost writers are.

4. 914 (Feat. Styles P & Sheek Louch)

iTunes says that I added this 12/27/06. While I still really like the song, I have to believe that Pete has made enough tracks in the last year plus to fill an album with fresh material. Anyhow, Pete flips the "Ain't No Half Steppin'" horns, naturally in a more tasteful fashion than the other million producers who have done this in the past. Styles and Sheek do their thing reppin NY and whatnot.

5. Questions (Feat. Royal Flush)

Royal Flush (serious!) fields questions and answers in rap form (I'm sure this has been done before, right?). Anyhow, I expected this to be shit considering he probably hasn't made anything worth listening to in eleven years but it was hot. Another darker kind of beat, maybe Pete Rock's new style?

6. Best Believe (Feat. Redman)

Fuckin banger. I'm not even a big Redman fan but he jumps on the crazy horn beat and murders it. The only negative here is LD who handles the second verse. They couldn't get Redman to do two?

7. Ready Fe War (Feat. Chip Fu & Renee Neufville)

After a minute and a half intro about the word "bomboclot", my worst fears were confirmed, a Raggae track. Chip Fu, who used to rap, just does some Jamaican wailing shit like one of those Marley kids or something. Even Pete Rock raps in a Jamaican accent.

8. Don't Be Mad

The point of these albums is to have Pete Rock beats and good rappers over them, no? Well this is a Green Lantern beat with a Pete Rock solo. Not that its awful, but I'm sure the beat would have been better had the Soul Brotha himself handled it, and his rhymes are more difficult to digest in mass.

9. Bring Y'all Back (Feat. Little Brother)

The loop is like a tuba or something but it sounds pretty decent especially when the strongs kick in. Joe Scudda raps on this in addition to LB but they all fail to say anything of interest.

10. The Best Secret (Feat. The Lords of the Underground)

It's almost funny at this point when the guest rapper pops up. I don't think I've heard a post-'94 Lords track and I must say, they are really fucking bad nowadays. The secret is out I guess.

11. That's What I'm Talking About (Feat. Rell)

The less than amusing piano loop with the shaker hi-hat things isn't doing it for me. This Rell guy ruins it with all his fucking singing anyway.

12. The PJ's (Feat. Masta Killa & Raekwon)

Pete takes his recycling to a new level. I got this on that Nature Sounds compilation May, 2006. This track is still as great as it was then. It's like smooth, soulful, and grimey all at once. Can't go wrong with Rae and Masta Killa either.

13. Made Men (Feat. Tarrey Torae)

Not much to write about this. Just boring. Is Torrey Torae just Torae or somebody else completely?

14. Let's Go (Feat. Doo Wop)

A short, messy track. More interesting than the last couple at least.

15. Comprehend (Feat. Papoose)

I'm not sure what to even make of Papoose at this point but I can't say that I'm impressed with anything here. The serious piano beat doesn't suite Papoose very well. Or maybe Papoose just can't ride the beat one or the other.

Overall:

This one was all over the map. The first six songs were great but then the rest was mostly skippable. I want to say that I was dissapointed, but I'm taking for granted the songs that I've already heard which I like alot. Oh, and where was C.L. Smooth for this? They had to rustle up the fucking Lords of the Underground instead? Come on.

Best Tracks: "We Roll", "The PJ's", "Best Believe"

DITC Making a Comeback?

2008-02-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

The legendary Diggin' In The Crates crew has some big things planned for 2008. Among the rumored projects are a new Show & AG album, an AG and OC album, a Grand Puba (Of Brand Nubian) solo produced by Lord Finesse, and a DITC album. Here is a new track from AG and OC produced by Showbiz: 2 For the Money.

Underrated Producers

2008-01-31T15:31:00.000-08:00

While some producers are known worldwide for changing the game (Dre, RZA, etc.) and others praised by hip hop heads for banging out classics (Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor etc.), there are a few great 90's producers who still get no love. These guys lack the track record of the guys I mentioned, but were still crazy behind the boards.

Jaz-O

Best known for putting Jay-Z on to the game, The Jaz was not only a rapper but a telented beat maker. While DJ Premier gets the credit (as he should) for what is regarded as one of the best produced albums of all time, Group Home's Living Proof, Jaz-O produced "4 Give My Sins" which stacks up fairly well against some of Premo's best work. Premier also had Big Jaz contribute to M.O.P.'s Firing Squad, where it is arguable that he even outshined Premier (not
my opinion) by making the album's most recognizable beat, "World Famous," which was later used for Scarface's hit "My Block." Among his other accomplishments (and basically rounding off his catalaugue) was his work with Jay-Z, including "Ain't No Nigga" and the classic "In My Lifetime (Big Jaz Mix)".

The Vinyl Reanimators

The Vinyl Reanimators are a beat making trio of DJ Shame (pictured), Joe Mansfield, and Rhythm Nigga Joe. While their production credits are limited to a handful of songs, the one's I've heard are all great. "Too Complex" (one of the best beats evar) and "It's Your Life" are two standouts from L Da Headtoucha's Destined For Greatness, and Ed O.G.'s Acting, which will be re-released this year, is a gem produced entirely by the Reanimators. That being said, what they do best is remix classics. Some that I've heard are Kool G. Rap's "Fast Life," De La Soul's "The Bizness," and two (1 & 2) great remixes of Rakim's "Guess Who's Back?"

Album Review: EMC- The Show

2008-01-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

I made a post way back about EMC, a (sort of) new group with Masta Ace, Stricklin, Punchline, and Wordsworth. This album has been hyped up for a while now and it looks promising with 24 tracks, a good production lineup, and guest appearences from Sean Price and Little Brother. Plus, with Masta Ace running things this album should have a good idea or two. Does "The Show" deliver?

1. Who We Be

A very solid intro. All the rappers introduce themsleves which is convenient since I haven't really checked for any of these guys minus Ace before this album.

2. Airport (skit)

Like the past few Masta Ace album this is full of skits which follow a storyline, in this case, a show. In the first skit some Jewish show promoter keeps EMC waiting at the airport but he'll make it up to them.

3. Leak It Out

This beat is alright but would be better if this sample hadn't been used before (I couldn't tell you by who because I'm lazy but it's very familar). None of the rappers say anything especially interesting here.

4. The Check In (skit)

The Jew wasn't lying as he hooks them up with a hotel suite but then Masta Ace rolls off in his moms Denali.

5. Traffic (Feat. Little Brother)

A driving anthem or something (nothing new to Masta Ace) over the smoothest, and best, beat on the album so far. Phonte and Big Pooh contribute verses but Ace shines on this track.

6. Say Now

A bad take on one of those Just Blaze kind of beats where its just one note for like 8 beats. I'm not sure the purpose of this song but I'm starting to think that Ace should've just done another solo project instead.

7. Message (skit)

One of the guys not Masta Ace calls up his baby moms who doesn't pick up and he's had it up to here with that shit.

8. Don't Give Up On Us (Feat. ADI)

EMC pleads their girls not to leave them for cooler, more wealthy rappers. Naturally the most broing song yet.

9. Get Some (Feat. Sean Price)

Whoever made this beat should be slapped in the face. It starts off like a banger then the yelling and crashing sound effects just pile on until its just one great clusterfuck. What saves this song is Masta Ace's mention of beef and broccolis and Sean P's verse.

10. We Alright (Feat. Strickie Love)

The beat by Frequency (?) sounds alot like something Nicolay would do which would probably fit some Justus League rappers better but whatever. It's a nice and easy track which is conveniently placed after the chaos that was track 9.

11. Radio Station (skit)

EMC is asked by a radio host what EMC stands for, and something tells me that the next track has something to do with that.

12. EMC "What It Stand For"

This beat by the real Nicolay is just too repetitive and annoying for me to be able to enjoy this song very much. Ironically enough the group just says a bunch of three word phrases that could be abbreviates as EMC but I still have no clue as to what it actually stands for.

13. Angry Merch. Guy (skit)

Some guy selling merch(andise?) tells 'em why he madd.

14. Grudge

Ok this is pretty serious. The beat is a badass guitar riff and EMC raps about holding a grudge if you couldn't assume as much.

15. Make It Better

This is just not a good idea all around. The beat is fruity, the concept (making hip hop better) is weak, and the chorus sounds like something on Barney.

16. The Lobby (skit)

Masta Ace crashed the Jew's moms car and then (oh shit) Stricklin comes down rockin' the puma suit.

17. Winds Of Change

Things have changed since the members of EMC were kids, especially Masta Ace. This is kind of like that Cormega song "Back To The Future" except worse, but I'll take what I can get.

18. The Show (Feat. Ladybuy Mecca)

This plays out like a scene in a movie with Ace, Punch, Words, and Strick rapping about their preparation for the show. The uptempo beat matches the concept perfectly too. This would make a cool music video.

19. Back Stage (skit)

Some dude tries to get backstage to find his girlfriend Christy who I assume is getting railed by one of the guys.

20. Borrow U (Feat. Strickie Love)

The crew members want to chill with some honeys while they're in town. This sounds like a Little Brother song in one of their less creative moments.

21. Once More

I didn't pick up any specific topic on this but it is a good, normal track. The laid back piano beat is especially nice.

22. U Let Me Grow

As far as momma songs go this is pretty good.

23. Feel It (Feat. Money Ham)

EMC is gonna stay on the grind and all that shit. Kind of boring if anything.

24. Bonus

Bloopers from the skits over the "Winds Of Change" instrumental. Ace did the same thing on the last album.

Overall:

None of the post-2000 Masta Ace projects have had much energy or entertainment value because he isn't that kind of rapper, but Disposable Arts and A Long Hot Summer had creative genius to make up for it. This album unfortunately doesn't have that, so while the beats and rhymes themselves may be as good as those on A Long Hot Summer, the skits and storyline which helped make that a great album are watered down on this album. When compared more broadly to other underground rap albums though this is pretty good.

Best Songs:

"Who We Be", "Traffic", "Once More"