SOHH Left Coast

Roccett's Cali: Where the bangers raise the crime rate

2008-05-01T14:00:28Z

Uh oh, DJ Warrior just hit us up with another Cali Untouchable. Check out Roccett's "All I Know," featuring Akon, and a bit of the background info on it.

]]> About a month ago, Roccett said this in his HHNLive blog:

"I got too see and chop it up with my dude Akon at the Core retreat. Akon is family too me, I gave him a few copies of that Corporate America CD and chopped it with him for a few. We ended up going to the radio station on Sunday night with Radio Personality Juggie from New Orleans, shout out to Juggie and the other personality whose show we invaded. On air, Akon announced that he was trying to sign me and make me a part of the Konvict family and that I was one of his priorities for 2008. Roccett and Konvict music, sounds real interesting and like a big move, so stay tuned too see what happens."

Now, it's time for "All I Know," which features the Carson kid's potential new is-he-a-true-Konvict-or-not boss. Download it and let us know what you think. Better or worse than Glasses Malone's

The Game Hates Cops

2008-04-30T14:00:55Z

Hard body. That's what Jayceon spits on this "911 Is A Joke (Cop Killa)". A Huey P Newton reference and everything. Listen to the track and then watch his 8-minute diatribe on why he admires Hillary Clinton, or something.

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Game drops a whole lot of safe spin on this video, but it's always good to hear someone speak their mind...even if they really don't know what the eff they're talking about. Although, he does speak right on the judicial aspect of it. And can't front on the face paint though.

"911 Is A Joke (Cop Killa)" is much more poignant, mostly because Game is a rapper and not a pundit. Download it thanks to NahRight. How does it stack up to other anti-po-lice cuts?

R&B Gangster: Straight Outta Phoenix

2008-04-29T14:00:47Z

It worked for Ghostface (when he flipped Beyonce's summer jam), maybe it'll work for Willy Northpole. And as he's a Phoenix resident, maybe it'll help the Suns come back in that Spurs series.

]]> Check out Northpole's "Willymix" of Jordin Sparks big hit, "No Air." It's for free on dude's MySpace page. What's your favorite unofficial remix by a rapper over some R&B bananas?

Recent Yo! MTV Raps Teasers Got Us Thinkin' Tupac

2008-04-28T14:00:54Z

Classic show with legendary performances left and right, up and down. Peep one of our Left Coast legends in a rare and favorite clip of the show after the flip...

]]> The quality of the video is garbage. The show was low-budget. But no matter, the energy was straight fire! Often imitated but never duplicated Dre and Ed Lover held it down. Thinking about it gets up wishin' this show never endedâ€"and remembering a Tupac performance that's part of the iconic show's rap canon. Watch below for proof:

Hot Dollar New "I Luv Tha Streetz" Video

2008-04-25T14:00:04Z

Compton's very own Hot Dollar takes his "I Luv Tha Streetz" to a visual gangsta (gangsta) film noir level with this cinematic video. See if you can ride out the whole 7:08 minutes on the flipside...

]]> So, are ya feelin' it?

Also...
Cali cats can peep these upcoming tour dates in the area:

25 Apr 2008
The House Lounge (Video Shoot/DJ Ill Will Bday Bash)
Maywood, CA

2 May 2008
QC 20/20 Club
Montebello, CA

3 May 2008
Green Turtle Bar & Restaurant
Whittier, CA

5 May 2008
Club Tatou (Cinco De-Mayo Baller Extravanganza II)
Los Angeles, California

8 May 2008
Schurr High School
(If any kids from this high school read SOHH, contact us so we can see if you can review the show!)

Crooked I vs. NYC

2008-04-24T14:00:04Z

Sometimes I say "no Crooked I posts this week," and I almost make it, 'cause it's Thursday and I had no need to gush about some four bar metaphor that goes over most of your heads for the first three days of the week. But no one out here, strike that, no one in hip-hop is as prolific and bar-by-bar exciting as Crooked I is right now (at the recorded verse). He takes on New York on the flip...does he win?

]]> Download Scram Jones ft. Saigon, Nino Bless and Crooked I, "Third Degree"

Three NYC cats and LA's own Crook...who brings the most heat? I can't front on SaiGiddy's verse, but Dominick definitely gives him a run for his money.

And if that's not enough, download this collection of Crook cuts: HHW Mixtape, Vol 3

1-BOSSES FLY HIGH
2-BOYZ N THE HOOD
3-FORGIVE ME
4-ALL EYEZ ON ME
5-THEY KNOW
6-BEST RAPPER ALIVE
7-PUT U ON THE GAME
8-TAKEOVER
9-TIL' I COLLAPSE
10-ETHER
11-HIT EM' UP
12-LOVE ME NO MORE
13-MARY JANE
14-THANK GOD FOR THAT WHITE
15-BACK DOWN
16-BIG DREAMS FEAT. HORSESHOE GANG
17-LOLLIPOP
18-THE FINALE
19-SOUNDS LIKE MONEY FEAT. KONTROVERSY COMITTEE
20-FREEDOM PART 2 FEAT. FRED KNUXX
21-ELEVATE FEAT. RAS KASS & ODIUS
22-OUTRO

Keak da Sneak=Greatest Voice in Rap?

2008-04-23T14:00:29Z

No rapper's voice is comparing to dude's, right now or maybe ever. His raspy is bananas. Who can compete with him? Weezy? Only on his weirder I feel like dying days. Mr. Lif? He's an underground cat out of Boston that you cookie cutters will try and clown me for even mentioning. Watch the video for "That Go", featuring Prodigy and Alchemist and discuss amongst yourselves...

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I mean, homie does drop a Willie Nelson reference in his verse...

Pacific Division Gives URB the 411

2008-04-22T14:00:16Z

Our fam @ URB Magazine caught up with three nice MCs from the LA area who go by the collective name: Pacific Division. Check out what they have to say about the Left Coast, some interesting influences on their music and how they keep the flow breezy...

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New Game Ft. Keisha Cole

2008-04-21T14:00:05Z

The Game pays homage to his heroes on this smooth joint with Keisha Cole, callin' out some of his favorite rappers and sentimental moments in music history. Take a walk down memory lane with "Pain" on the flip...

]]> Download "Pain" here (don't hurt yaself)

And check out another Game/Keisha collabo: "Around The Way"

According to the map, Seattle is also on the West Coast

2008-04-18T14:00:57Z

Blue Scholars "Loyalty" Music Video from Zia Mohajerjasbi on Vimeo.

The Pacific Northwest is better known for its temperate rain storms and early-'90s ploy to steal shine from Dr. Dre (we see you Nirvana), but it's a major city like any other. Just because Ray Charles moved there to leave the South doesn't mean it's without the hard knock race and class fueled isms that run this country.

]]> Blue Scholars are the epicenter of Seattle hip-hop. Geologic is the emcee while Sabzi is the producer...and they hold true to that hip-hop patented 1:1 combination. No, you won't hear those forever-duplicated synths of the Yay Urea's recent history, nor the trunk-rattling bass that defines So Cal's rush hour freeways, but Geo and Sabzi represent their daily lives in the realest reality possible. They believe their business and when we're talking about rap, that has to mean something.

However, now, it's lowest common denominator time....does Seattle mean the West Coast?

B-Real Takes On Freestyle 101

2008-04-17T14:00:35Z

We are feelin' the freestyle love these days. That, and we just got home from the Jay-Z concert at the Hollywood Bowl, so we're also feelin' a little beat and a lot hyped on hip-hop. Plus, we rarely get to post about Carmen Electra's ex.

]]> First, B-Real ridse a reggae/ska beat to create a rhyme aimed straight for your eardrum. Second, he sits down interview styles to reminisce about the Radiotron club in Los Angeles, battle rappers and the importance (and potence) of the cipher. Which got thinkin' about another West Coast MC, Xzibit, who ciphas with Eminem in "8 Mile," so we threw that clip up, too.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2008-04-16T14:00:32Z

Well, color us speechless. This is what Snoop Dogg looked like at Monday night's Country Music Awards (what? you missed it?) Ya'll might not think Snoop would show up at a hoedown (actually, on second thought, maybe he would) but there was, paying homage to the late, great "Man In Black" in more ways than one...

]]> Snoop told People Magazine that, "I actually did a country song on my new album called 'My Medicine' that was inspired by Johnny Cash...[Country music] inspires me and it makes me feel so good hearing it, so I really wanted to come and be a part of this heritage."

He also apparently wasted no time getting his flirt on with country songstress LeAnn Rimes!

For those of you with short term memory loss, we posted "My Medicine" a while back and here it is again. Can you hear the similarities with Johnny Cash? Welcome to the Wild Wild West!

Alicia Keys Ain't Got Nothing On Afeni Shakur

2008-04-15T14:00:59Z

The late great Tupac Shakur was famously quoted as saying that he spent much of his time in the womb as his mother spent time in prison. As if he was born incarcerated. It's a striking metaphor for the black community and the struggles that are inherently thrust upon it through systematic racism and centuries of oppression. I've wondered out loud for years if the CIA was behind the assassination of Tupac Shakur in continued efforts to deny the black community a strong leader...so I'm not mad at Alicia Keys. And I doubt Afeni Shakur is, either.

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Thug Life Army hooked us up with the above audio, from a Memphis speech at the Dream Reborn Conference. Ms. Shakur actually stays far from the "conspiracy theories" that make white people uncomfortable to deliver clear cut message of empowerment. A former Black Panther Party member and a passionate speaker, Ms. Shakur was part of the NY Panther 21 that saw her imprisoned while pregnant with 'Pac. Listen to her speech and then watch the first recorded speech from Tupac (below):

Unrelated, but quite dope, Crooked I's "Banger On My Lap"....props to Aram for the track that'll appear on DJ Rhudeâ€™s We Got Now pt.4

We Ain't MTV But It's a Mixtape Monday

2008-04-14T14:00:08Z

So while I was gone, LA got all sorts of hot. It's officially sweltering in the city of angels and even my inbox is feeling it. Got two dollops of knowledge regarding mixtapes from DJ Warrior, DJ Envy and DJ Skee, plus the accompanying music.

]]> First up, CALI UNTOUCHABLE RADIO 17 "KLAK KLAK EDITION" from DJ Warrior, DJ Envy and those Strong Arm Steady dudes. Here's the first single, which probably got sprinkled across the internet as it sat in my mailbox for a few days, "We The Best." It's produced by the late great Disco D, a talented producer who left this realm a lot too soon.

Download DJ Warrior ft. Strong Arm Steady "We The Best" (prod by Disco D)

I know a lot less about the following mixtape, Stacee Adamz' Infiltratration Mixtape Volume 1, but anything with DJ Skee's name attached to it is worth a listen. There are some other bonkers West Coast acts on there too (Glasses Malone, Mack 10) and, of course, Stacee represents Pakoima, California. Download it here.

Enjoy.

You Cookie Cutters In A Video + Forgotten Goods

2008-04-11T14:00:21Z

Another Friday, another round-up of various goods that fell through the cracks throughout the week. I've been on vacation all week--doing this remotely from the future, sons and daughters--and promise to have some trilly hot ish in the coming days. Until then, send me your photos (craigthatclapp@gmail.com) and i'll get you in this Snoop video. I can see Hate Hate And More Hate's red hair on Snoop's body right now. Ew.

]]> The Game: Recording "Big Dreams" with Cool N Dre

Just Blaze talking about the other other Dre:

Crooked I interview that I can't embed

It'll get better next week. Until then, send me those photos.