My homies over at YNotMyDream.net and REUPSpot.com just dropped a tape they have been working on for a while called After This, Shut Up! which features 45 tracks from some recognizable names on the net. Me, myself and I have a track featured on here called The High Road (Detour Remix), which I added a couple verses to Broken Bells song, The High Road. My guy, Anthony will attest to how many times I sang this song the night I recorded it. I’m surprised he featured it on the tape. Check out the track list below and Happy Friday to everyone. The first leak from my new project, Mike Murder drops Monday.
Rarely do I get to spend an entire week listening to new projects. This week has been real cool in that respect. Last night I downloaded my listen for tomorrow to round out the week. Today’s post comes from a band that I have featured on here before, The Slackers. They recently released a new album called The Great Rocksteady Swindle. My brother has been raving about this album for about a week so, I figured I would give it a few spins. Although ska is not really my favorite type of music, I enjoy The Slackers and have seen them live a couple times. I’m not gonna say too much because I’m only about half of the way through the album but it sounds really good. I will definitely give it a few listens. I suggest if you are not familair with The Slackers, check out a few of their albums and definitely catch them live.
I have a bit of depressing news this week after seeing some of the soundscan numbers. Little Brother’s FINAL album as a group moved less than 5K. Damn. I thought they had more of a stronghold than that. Maybe their numbers will go up in the next few weeks. Anyway, the usual suspects are up top. I wish I could give you all the numbers from soundscan every week but billboard requires a monthly fee and I don’t want to pay that just to see artists flop. Check the top.
I must say that it’s nice to see Cypress Hill make a “strong” return with 18K. Despite having a dope album, Devin The Dude moved just under 7K and Kurupt put out a project too. I was totally unaware of that. Anway, until next week………….
One of my most anticipated albums in the past few years is set to drop soon in the form of a Damian Marley and Nas collaboration called Distant Relatives. This album was supposed to drop last year and for whatever reason got pushed back but best believe that it is still coming. Nas and Damian just dropped their first video for the single, As We Enter which is one of my favorite songs in the last year or so. The production is sick of course and the two go back and forth, trading rhymes pretty dang well. I hope this project lives up to its potential because everything they have dropped so far is crazy. Check out the OFFICIAL video for As We Enter from Nas and Damian Marley.
Happy Hump Day. I’m still bumping that new, new the whole week. This time, it is the debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray from Atlanta rapper, producer, musician, B.o.B. I first heard B.oB. a few years ago when his single, Haterz Everywhere bubbled for a while. After being featured in some LRG campaigns and dropping various songs and mixtapes, his buzz was about as high as it could be for a debut album. Matched with the success of his single, Nothin’ On You, The Adventures of Bobby Ray became one of the biggest albums to drop in 2010. Now that I got that out of the way, time for some good old fashion hatin’. I can’t say I was expecting much after hearing Nothin’ On You, which just happens to be one of my least favorite songs EVER. I understand the purpose of the record and I guess it’s hard to really hate when all the females I know LOVE that shit. After talking with one of my guys, he encouraged me to check out the album and that it was pretty solid. So, I put in the album and that hate immediately started. I guess maybe I was expecting(craving) some hip hop shit from an artist that people keep comparing to Andre 3000(please stop making that comparison, one has nothing but classics, the other has two radio hits), but the album was pretty much straight pop music. There is just too much “lightness” on the album for my liking. Bet I Bust with T.I. is hands down the hardest and best song(in my opinion). The rest of the songs just felt like they would be featured on a Nickelodeon show. Even Lupe’s appearance on Past My Shades didn’t cause me to rewind the track. Maybe I was expecting something different from B.o.B. that simply isn’t him, as an artist. The album just feels really catered to the pop audience and has no edge to it whatsoever. Especially in a time when R&B singers have more edge than rappers, I was hoping that B.o.B. would bring something different. I think dude is definitely talented and maybe this is the lane he wants to be in but The Adventures of Bobby Ray will be getting NO burn from here on out in my tapedeck. PS, I am tired of rappers talking about being from another planet and living on spaceships and all that bullshit. If you recall, Outkast dropped ATLiens back in 1996 so, ya’ll are 14 years late and lack a classic debut album. Come back to earth and make some real shit. I’ll stop hating now, here is Bet I featuring T.I. I can’t way for King Uncaged.
Oh yea, Eminem is featured on the album too. Sorry I forgot to mention that.
All week=new projects. Yesterday was Devin The Dude’s new album, Suite 420 and today’s listen comes from the California emcee, Murs and North Carolina producer, 9th Wonder. Most people probably think I’m wetting my pants right now in anticipation of hearing some new 9th beats. I can assure you that I wasn’t that excited but more curious than anything. I skimmed through one of Murs and 9th’s old projects but it didn’t really strike me but I figured with my new, “willing” ear, this project might catch me differently. This might surprise most people but I was actually a little disappointed with the beats, moreso than what Murs brings to that table. I’ve never been a Murs fan so, I wasn’t expecting to be converted on this project but I was looking forward to some 9th classics. I got to say, it just didn’t happen for me. The production wasn’t bad but there weren’t joints I had to rewind and for me, that is what 9th is notorious for, neck snappers. I think Murs fans will definitely enjoy this effort so, I can appreciate what he stands for and what he brings to the table. You got to love his dreads too. Check out Asian Girls. 9th Wonder even catches a little reck on the mike. Pretty asburd song if you ask me. I wonder if asian women takes this as a compliment????
It’s been a while since I have shared any new music from my homie, Tona. He hit me last week with a new track called No More featuring Adam Bomb, produced by Rich Kid. Be on the lookout for more Tona soon. I know he has been working hard and staying busy so stay tuned.
Due to Guru’s passing last week, I put off writing about a few new releases for this week. April saw some pretty decent releases with Little Brother, Murs and 9th Wonder, B.O.B. and Devin The Dude. After bumping LeftBack for a few days, I put in Devin The Dude’s new album, Suite 420. It’s been a few years since I’ve heard some new Devin but the single, What I Be On, got me pretty excited for the whole album. What I Be On is another classic in Devin’s catalog of songs like Doobie Ashtray, Lacville 79 and What A Job. I checked out the EP a month or so ago and didn’t really realize that a full length was going to follow it up. After listening to the album a couple times, I was pretty impressed. It naturally has a weed themed, stoner feel to it but the production is pretty ill and Devin is always entertaining. Tracks like Where Ya At, We Get High and Still Coming are definitely rewindables. Devin’s rhymes are always fresh which keeps me listening. Some of the hooks are great but not unlistenable. I definitely think this will be one of the more slept-on albums of 2010. I definitely encourage people to check it out regardless of how big of a Devin fan you might be. He’s one of the most original cats out and has been consistent for quite some time. Here is the vide for What I Be On. I Get this joint stuck in my head at least once a week.
Happy Friday to all. TGIF. It’s been both a week of sadness and celebration. One of hip hop’s pioneers and legendary emcees, Guru, passed away this week. The whole hip hop community along with family and friends will mourn his passing for a long time but we also should be celebrating his life. He gave a whole community countless albums and records that will stand the test of time. RIP Guru. Today, I am listening to his third installment of the Jazzmatazz series, Streetsoul. This album features some of the most recognizable names from singers, rappers and producers including the late J Dilla, Erykah Badu, DJ Scratch, DJ Premier, Herbie Hancock and The Neptunes. I remember when I first picked this album up after falling in love with Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth. Although, I always preferred Guru of Premo beats, Streetsoul has some really nice tracks on it. I encourgage everyone to revisit Guru’s music in light of his passing. RIP Guru.
Sorry for the day-late update. The numbers from last week’s sale are in and the usual suspects are still sitting up top. New to the charts this week is the group, MGMT. Not sure if yall are familiar with them but they are on Kid Cudi’s album and had a song Electic Feel that was pretty big. Ursher, Monica, Sade and Luda are still “chillin” in the top spots. Check.
Murs and 9th Wonder hit the charts with their album, Fornever, moving just under 6,000. Wu-Massacre is getting closer to the 60K mark and Gucci Mane hit the charts moving 20K with a new “mixtape,” Burrprint 2 HD. Stayed tuned til next week for releases from Little Brother and Devin The Dude.
