What's Next Out The Berry?

Joell Ortiz recently visited DJ Green Latern and spit some lines that he wrote for the show straight out the BlackBerry. It's not quite a freestyle but he still spits some hot shit. Check it out below.

Diggy's 106 Appearance, You Awake?

So Diggy Simmons made his first appearance on 106 & Park last nite to talk about his new deal with Atlantic Records and also spit a lil' sumthin before leavin the show. Lil' Diggy is gonna be a problem. Check it out for yourself.

Hood Legends. Welcome Back

8Ball & MJG have returned with their first single "DJ Bring It Back" featuring Young Dro for their upcoming album Ten Toes Down which should be dropping in April. The video to me isn't all that great, but I gotta show luv to these guys cause they've given us some classics. At least in my eyes, u may have your own opinion on that. Grandmaster Flash makes an appearance in the video & there's a tribute to Jam Master Jay at the end, if that peaks your interest also. Check it out below.

Red Cafe & Fabolous. Eeeww, In A Good Way.

Red Cafe released the video for "I'm Ill" featuring Fabolous, a few days ago and the song is just that to me. Ill.Check it out and make your own decision on it.

Welcome To The Fresh Academy

The Kidz In The Hall have released a video for the track "Fresh Academy" feat. Chip Tha Ripper & Donnis. I like it, but you judge for yourself.

The Video To His Life?

Kid Cudi recently released the video for "Soundtrack 2 My Life" and it seems like this is the video to his life. Or at least maybe how it is now. There's no performance scenes, it's just all shots that it seems a friend of yours who carried around a camera would record and you make a video out of the clips. Which in itself makes a statement for a song called "Soundtrack 2 My Life". This is Cudi's then and now. Welcome to his world. Or at least how he tells us it was then and what you'd see now.

Snoop & The Love Of Hip Hop

So Snoop Dogg recently released his video for "I Wanna Rock (G-Mix)" featuring Jay-Z. I like the video. Jay doesn't appear in the video at all and Snoop only appears for a matter of what seems seconds. The video focuses on the youth of Cali, just kinda doing what we all do day to day when we hear or jam, song, whateva u wanna call it on our ipod, mp3 player, cd player or whateva. Everybody's guilty of performing a verse like they wrote it themselves and I think this video catches the spirit of that in all it's glory. The love of hip hop. Check it out below.

The NC Grind

Just to follow up on some of the NC artist I've been bringing you, check out a collab between MD & NC with the track "Incredible" below from Self Explanatory & Tru. Open Ya Ears! for this one.

Self Explanatory ft. Tru - Incredible

Download "Incredible" Here

Also my man Jones Andrews has finished up The Pre Preface  which can be downloaded below.
Here's the hype from Jones himself: "After months of waiting I finally finished my project “The PRE PreFace” which is a project that features original tracks, freestyles, as well as collabs dating back to as late as early 2009.  This project is a precursor to the “The Preface EP” that I plan drop in the upcoming months. On this mixtape I discuss everything from me growing up an only child, being broke, and also how I like to drink to deal with the everyday stresses of life. Shouts to all my family, friends, producers, blog sites and fans that held me down and still hold me down after all the push backs, delays etc."

And here's the link: Jones Andrews - The Pre Preface (Mixtape) 


 

Buzz-worthy? Meet K'Naan

K'Naan is a Somali-Canadian artist who has been creating some buzz world wide from himself. Biggest way he's done that is having his single "Waving Flag" mixed for the World Cup. I wasn't introduced to K'Naan until I heard him on Wale's "TV In The Radio" and after I heard him he had my attention. So today I introduce who ever may read this to K'Naan. See his official video for "Waving Flags"and hear him on Wale's "TV In The Radio" below. Your Welcome


K'NAAN "Waving Flag" album version from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Following Rev's Footsteps?

Congrats to Diggy Simmons, who has officially signed a contract with Atlantic Records. He's signed a deal and if I'm right he's only put out one piece of work and that's his The First Flight mixtape. I've heard a few tracks which were def solid. Guess a lot of the world heard it too. Will he have the same success and make as much of a mark on hip hop as his father did with Run DMC? We'll see. In today's industry, I think he can do. I got high hopes for Diggy when his time comes. You can click the link to download his mixtape and check out his made you look freestyle below.

Download The First Flight Mixtape

Diggy - Made you look Freestyle (Flow Stoopid) from Diggy Simmons on Vimeo.

Don't Give Up Our Dreams

Meth, Ghost, & Rae have just released the video for the single "Our Dreams" and it's exactly what you expect from the Wu members. A classic. Check out the video below. Hello Hip Hop.

Roc Nation Bringing Back The 90s?

When you ask anyone about the golden age of hip hop or when hip hop was at it's best, most if not all will say that is was sometime in the 90s or we'll jus say the 90s. A lot of people have been saying that history repeats itself and that the hip hop industry will make it's way back to those times in the 90s. When the songs had a message, the rappers were lyrical, and the beats not only made you dance but they made you feel good inside. Well, speaking of those times everyone remembers when Bad Boy, Cash Money, & Roc-a-fella were at the top of their game and their label names were synonyms with the word success. Or so we thought at that time. Either way these labels put out classics that everyone of the times loved. Well it's my personal belief that Roc Nation may just be the label to bring us back to that time. Even through their managed acts such as Melanie Fiona, The Ting Tings, and not to mention Wale. Wale alone has already put out what I feel is an underrated, under the radar album. It's loaded with dope tracks, that have messages, and that anyone can relate to, but the real question is have they listened. Lots of people have let a track or two touch their ears and liked what they've heard. Even those who heard the album liked what they heard. Will they become fans or do exactly what the album says, have attention deficit and drop the album soon as the next guy on TV drops a CD. However, I believe Wale will stick around to drop more classics til Wale and #1 album become "Wale's #1 album." Either way I can't wait for spring to ride wit my windows down and keep bumpin Attention Deficit. Up next for Roc Nation is J. Cole. If you've read any of my post before then you know the support I have for J. Cole. With The Warm Up mixtape still slowly making noise through the underground circuit and gettin into the mainstreamers ears, J. Cole is continually promoting himself through hip hop summits, club appearances, and even appearances on one man's tour.  That man heads Roc Nation. Jay-Z. With backing from Jay-Z, who stands as the god of hip hop right now, anything he says and anyone he backs won't go unnoticed. And when it comes to who Roc Nation supports in hip hop, they've only got 3 hip hop artists listed. Jay-Z, J. Cole, and Wale. Three guys who haven't forgotten the power of hip hop and the message that you can put out through hip hop music. Is Roc Nation the label to bring back the 90s.......I think so. It's just gonna take some time. You already kno Jay's name. In time you'll kno J. Cole and Wale just as well and we'll all feel like we're relivin the 90s in music. Just support and wait and see.

The Jay Debate on ESPN?

Skip Bales debated with Wale on ESPN's 1st & 10 about weather Jay-Z is the greatest rapper of all time. Skip believes that Jay is "overrated" and from what he says bases his statement on Jay's performances. Everybody has their own opinions about everyone and I really wish they could of have more time for this debate, cause I wanted to hear what else Skip had to say. Wale points out that Jay brought hip hop to Oprah. Well now he's brought it to ESPN. This debate will go on for the longest, but check out their debate for yourself below.

Gunz & Money? Deadly Combination?

 
Lil' Wayne was recently recorded on UStream shoutin out Cory Gunz saying that he'll be the newest member of the Young Money team. I've featured a video or mayb two before on Cory Gunz. Lyrically Cory Gunz is a serious problem and can rap circles around almost any rapper out today. However with this announcement will Young Money and Cory Gunz be a deadly combination for the industry and make young money THE hip hop label of the industry or a deadly combination by ruining Cory Gunz's career early or even completely changing the lyrical abilities of Cory now. If you've read my blog on Drake's new song below this one, then you kno how I feel about young money's formula for success. Drake's new release for his young money album seems dumbed down a bit and I'm wondering if Cory will follow in this same fate. Then again, mayb it's all apart of the plan to bring lyrical ability back to the forefront of hip hop. With Cory & Drake has the forefront of Young Money, if both artist are allowed to keep their own styles, Young Money could breath life back into the world of "real hip hop" in the mainstream. Wayne has great lyrical ability although I feel he doesn't use it much right now as much as he does for a few good punchlines right now. Cory & Drake have both proven their lyrical abilities which has earned both of them respect in the hip hop world. Could the change be coming or are the artist just about to conform? Only time will tell. See the UStream video of Wayne's announcement below.

"Over" Too Soon?

As some have called him, "The Golden Boy" Drake jus recently released his first track from his highly anticipated album Thank Me Later. In my own opinion, this track hasn't given us anything to thank him for yet. After his mixtape success of So Far Gone, Drake gave many hope that wat some consider the "essence of hip hop" or "real hip hop" was making a comeback for the mainstream. Young Money's done exactly what Wayne said they'd do and milked Drake's recent success by putting him on every hook it seems of their recent releases since he's been signed and he's been able to keep the songs relevant with his "hook" skills and Wayne's recent hype for the time. Now I guess Drake's time has come to stand on his own two and "Over" is his first step to establish himself in the mainstream as a solo artist. If you ask me, it's a bit of a weak and unstable step to me. I personally think the track has taken the Young Money route and dumbed down the lyrics some, make an alrite hook, and give it a beat you think people will wanna hear in a club. This hasn't been Drake's normal formula, but when he signed wit young money, I had a feelin it'd turn to this. It's kinda what young money does.... However, some say I'm being to harsh and jus being a critic, but everybody's a critic. You like what you like and I like what I like. To each's own. But I haven't given up all hope for Drake. The song says "it's far from over." Mayb this song is just Drake's way of expressing his new lifestyle that he's found in his new musical success. He's met many new faces, been to a lot of new places, and done a lot of shows all based of featuring himself on other records and performing hooks. Not to mention the performances he's done from his mixtape alone. Mayb the tracks jus a warning for the anticipated "Golden Boy" to say, yea this is the first step but I'm here to change the game. To that all I can say is I hope so. I'm not a fan of this particular track, but one track can't speak for an album. So I'll be waiting to see what happens along with all of you. Check the song out for yourself below and see how u feel.

"Drop The" Video

Lil' Wayne recently released his video for "Drop The World" ft. Eminem. I haven't been a fan of this song necessarily and I can't say the video drew me in anymore either. The video is kinda based on an anarchy type feel as Wayne & Em simply perform their verses. Nothing wrong with the concept but the video didn't bring me into the song. Video is still pretty well shot to me though. Check it out for yourself.

Everything's Not Love

I ran into this video from B.o.B. and after watching it, I had to post it. The story in this song to me is great even though the songs sumwhat short and the video concentrates on the story and isn't ur typical music video. B.o.B.'s to me is a great story teller and has recently been on the bubble I think in the industry. Guess we'll see where it goes. Check out the video for B.o.B.'s "Not Love" below.

Anutha Winner?

DJ Khaled jus released his video for "All I Do Is Win" featuring T-Pain, Ludacris, Rick Ross, & Snoop Dogg. The video has that black & white colors scheme that's become kinda classic in Hip Hop and there's a lot of "subtle?" promos in the video. See if you catch what I'm talkin about as you check out the video. As far as the song goes, it mat grow on me but for now I'll jus say it's normal ol' Khaled. He's stick to his formula. What do you think?