April 2008 Archives

It's fair to say that Busta Rhymes is not seeking to make the same mistake twice. The joint he did with Linkin Park actually came out pretty good. Crossover airplay? Most definitely. And if every struggling rapper could put together a formula like this, things would be a lot better for music right about now.

But if it weren't for Hov, this probably wouldn't have happened. However, Busta is too much of an arrogant asshole to even admit this.

This was a good idea. But if it weren't for Nas and his (so-called) upcoming album, NYOIL would never have made this.

NYOIL- "The Difference Between N*ggers and Blacks"

As we continue on....

S.O.U.L Purpose said it wasn't over. And here's the video to prove it. Peep the explanation behind the record-- which is also known as The Cool Kids and Jay Electronica dis.

------> "Bandwagon Hipsters (does not equal) Hip-Hop"

First and foremost, I would like to say a thing or two about the injustice of the Sean Bell case, but what's the point?

There is none.

New York City is so loud, yet so quiet; the streets are filled with silent rage. Everyone is complaining, bitching, and moaning, but most of these people aint doing sh*t--- but what else is new? So keep all that whining to yourselves.

This is one of the only females in New York City hip-hop (and hip-hop period) who possess originality... and who really knows a thing or two about the art, from start to finish.

Amanda Diva- "Windows Over Harlem"

Last year, the four-man rap group R-Side hit the streets with their blazin' Fatman Scoop-co-signed debut mixtape, The Relapse, which, although hot, served as only a luke-warm offering for the things they had in store for the future. Fastforward to now, and Hoodlum, Young Ceez, Capital E, and Jamel Ca$htro--all pulling together from the ills of Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island-- are on the run eating once again, but this time with DJ Superstar Jay and 2X "Justo Best Mixtape Team" winner Wiz Hoffa (CEO) of Noizemob providing the co-sign.

Their latest offering, Co-Signed, is being led by the single "Rolling Out," and is now available on iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and all other music outlets. A video of "Rolling Out" is in the works and will be released soon.

Prodigy- "Dirty New Yorker"

In AC's "Trapped on the Island," you will see just what led that chick to lock Kanye up in the back of the trunk and do him in. Since Kanye's "Flashing Lights" was a cliff hanger, this is definitely a clever move.

AC featuring Trife da God "Trapped on the Island"

I'm kind of in a hurry, so I don't have time to really listen to the song over and over the way I would like to... but I do know one thing just from hearing it once: What happened to the snippet of the other joint that was floating around on the net?

And I'm going to leave it at that.

Damn. Time for another edition of Hip-Hop Quotables...

Just a little comedy for your Monday morning.

Kool Herc still fighting for that building, I see.

In the '70s, it was arson that had The Bronx burning to ashes and dust. Now? Constant threats of bloodshot-eyed, thirsty developers rubbing up their palms is what's keeping the city's only mainland borough on fire.

Investor Mark Karasick, who has YET to even buy the building himself, told Herc's camp that he'd step off if they handed over $14 million-- DOUBLE the building's $7 million worth. Preposterous. It should be a crime to be this greedy. I was under the impression that he had already purchased the building. But according to the Washington Post, as of last month, the proposed sale had been rejected by city officials, as "its financing was not viable because of rent restrictions on the building imposed by a state program that subsidizes landlords." However, the owners might possibly negotiate a deal that the city will accept, and the landlords and Karasick have been quiet on their plans for the near future.

I feel like I'm in the Sahara desert staring at an empty water bottle. With the exception of one day this week, NYC hip-hop news has been nada... zip, zilch. Nathan.

But an album I was once looking forward to-- Ballerina P's HNIC part deuce-- is on the way. April 22nd, to be exact. And below you can peep the promo video that provides some extra 4-1-1 for you-- the potential buyer. Check it out:

Notice in the video that the front of the theater says "Wu Tang Clan"... but inside the theater the only Wu member we see is RZA. And he's watching the stage. This couldâ€"or could notâ€"be a statement.

Wu Tang Clan featuring Erykah Badu- "The Heart Gently Weeps"

Jay-Z and Mary J Blige - "You're Welcome"

Just when I thought music was as dry and rusty as a copper brillo pad.

A lot of people would not have expected this out of Alicia, but if you look at a lot of her interviews and hear a lot of the things she's said, she has an old soul. So while I was kind of taken aback with this particular conversation she had with Blender Magazine, at the same time I'm really not. But a lot of people are surprised, and are calling her "an idiot" for making these kinds of remarks.

-------> “Gangsta rap was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. Gangsta rap didn’t exist.”

And here's a little surprising info for your Friday morning.

After all of the controversy and the popular opinion that "The Source" magazine had fallen off and that nobody reads it anymore -- myself included-- a study surfaced that proved the contrary-- at least as far as advertising goes. While the magazine HAS fallen off in terms of content and length AND cover features (especially when compared to the older issues from back in the '90s-- the late '90s to be more specific), the original Hip-Hop Bible ranked #8 among "all black oriented titles," according to targetmarketnews. "The Source" magazine appears to be lacking in the creative department, but they stepped their game up revenue-wise, as last month's advertising numbers rounded off to $1,967,464-- an 87% increase from March '07's $1,047,690. The rise in revenue appears to be the dominating factor for most of the magazines on the list.

"Warn the town the beast is loose... ahhh, ahhhhhh!"

Foxy will be released on April 18th," Foxy's manager and CEO of Black Hand Entertainment, Chazz Williams told SOHH. "[She's] is not getting out early. Foxy served her entire sentence [under] good time, that is, days deducted by the law, that every prisoner gets unless its procedurally taken [away] for breaking prison rules."

"Foxy served every day of her sentence under the most severe conditions at Riker’s Island. She has done her time under tremendous pressure to break her spirit. [Yet] she's in superior shape physically, spiritually, and emotionally."

So the ghetto poet and hood "political" spokesperson, Nas, finally spoke on his take of the Democratic race towards presidency. With an album title like N*gger, this is far overdue. Not that the government really has much to do with his music or anything. But most of us know Nas as the voice of the people who can't speak-- even though his articulation with speaking is sometimes not nearly as sharp as his rapping skills-- and he seems to share a skepticism that many Americans have now: trust. I can relate.

"This election year, I'm still not really sure where I sit with politicians," Nas told MTV. "I'm not really trustin' [them] still. But I think this election is the best thing we could ask for right now, coming out of [George W.] Bush. What better candidates could you ask for other than Hillary and Obama? So, you know, this presidential run, it makes more sense than it ever did before."

Props to Dan Green. Should've had this up sooner.

"Termanology puts the MC back in MC'ing, he's a breath of fresh air in this dirty game."
- Bun B

The above quote has come out of many a rapper's mouths--peaking on themselves, of course. And we can't count on our fingers just how many artists have claimed such an ability--especially with the emergence of the "hip-hop is dead" hysteria via the shockwaves of Nas' last album--but few have lived up to the hype.

Pack your sh*t and get the f*ck out, bitch. You already lost your battle to receive more child support money, and in return got even LESS Gs on those monthly checks. Now? Take some of that money and buy some boxes, cause it's time to move on out.

This 50 Vs. Fat Joe business has to be the biggest electronic beef EVER. Stupidity at it's best. I've never seen two feuding groups go hard on the 'net like this before.

You want to leave this e-thugging business alone so bad, but damn. This sh*t was kind of funny, but at the same time, so low. Fat Joe went and paid $10 to three dusty crackheads (or two crackheads and a dopefiend) to portray 50, Lloyd Banks and Yayo. They've got Old Man Fif holding up two quarters, and can be heard in the background laughing and pushing them on (at the end of the video as well). It was like a bunch of white men being entertained by three coons. Funny, but not funny.

Two new hot joints came through today.

Shout out to former fellow SOHH blogger Rizoh, who's successfully holding down Therapup.

I didn't think Busta could do it, but it sounds like he's pretty much matched the success of his last hit, "Touch It." It may not seem like it at the moment, but with enough radio spins it will all come together. Surely it will.

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's April Fool's post. If you didn't follow the links, then haha! Joke's on you! Many would like to think otherwise, but Raekwon's Cuban Linx II is probably coming May two-thousand never...

But moving along.

Some good news has finally arrived this morning for all of you Wu-Tang fans out there... me included.

2006 was the year that word began to spread about the follow-up to The Chef's 1995 hip-hop classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. And two years later, silence has since swarmed amongst all awaiting Wu-Tang fans who pretty much gave up on the empty promise that was deemed-- up until now-- broken. Before present time, the only hype left was the two-year-old Myspace blog posted on Raekwon's page which said that the album was "about 96% complete."