It’s been a long time since the group formerly known as the LOX have come together to record an album. Almost nine years after the release of “We Are The Streets” dropped, Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek get back together, along with some of their other D-Block affiliates to drop No Security. The album, being released through E1 Music, contains a hour of that gritty, New York street hop that is getting embraced once again by the masses in this new “Death of Autotunes” era. [click to continue…]
“I’ll tell you one thing. I am getting down over here. I mean, I’m sitting here playing this over and over again, spittin’ like I got just got a record deal on eBay. Who am I listening to? Mr. James Dewitt Yancey, Jay Dee, or simply J Dilla. Jay Stay Paid is a collaborative album that was spearheaded by none other than Mom Dukes Yancey and the great Pete Rock. The album is composed of early works pulled from a bunch of old floppy disk and Dilla D.A.T.s , as they liked to call them, and surprisingly a couple of tracks he worked on during his numerous hospital stays. [click to continue…]
West Coast legends DJ Quik and Kurupt have been two of the most underrated in the game for years. The pair decided to unite for a collaboration album, and with the release of Blaqout, they don’t disappoint. While these two have had hits and misses on recent solo efforts, the smooth, melodic beats and accompanying flow mix perfectly and deliver a pretty solid album from start to finish.
Blaqout starts out with some predictable sounds from the duo, as tracks like “Do You Know”, “Watcha Wan Do” , and “Fuck Ya’ll” are cookie cutter L.A 90’s hiphop. There are some songs on here that should’ve been left off the final cut, such as “9x’s Outta 10″, and “Jupiters Critic and the Mind of Mars”.
Thankfully, sleepers on the album down the playlist like “The Appeal” try to balance it out. Overall, fans of vintage Quik and Kurupt should enjoy this album, however first time listeners of the duo may keep on walking by Blaqout.
It’s not often a collaboration album is worth the wait to me, but after checking Marco Polo and Torae’s Double Barrel today, I was definitely pleased. After listening to the album from start to finish, I was brought back to hip hop that I fell in love with. Not the sounds that take over your radio now, full of cliche rhymes. Double Barrel is Hip Hop in it’s purest form, and if you aren’t used to that, your’e in for a treat.
The album begins with Torae spitting straight fire on the title track, Double Barrel. The production of Marco Polo on this track, like much of the album, is as impressive as the lyrics dropped on the gritty beats. Tracks like “Lifetime”, “Smoke”, and “Rah Rah” shine as unheralded gems, while “Coney Island” is the new anthem for the borough this year. Double Barrel thankfully isn’t oversaturated with a lot of guest spots, and the ones that do show up, like Masta Ace on “Hold Up” definitely add to the album’s value. For those true fans of real hip hop looking for something new to check for to start your summer, Double Barrel will exceed all expectations.
Alright ya’ll! The Starsky and Hutch of Hip Hop are back. Ten years in the making, BlackOut! 2 is the very much anticipated follow up debut to Red and Meth’s 1999 Chart Topping LP Blackout! . Now I know you all are on pins and needles, craving good music from two artists that have through the years never truly disappointed their fans. I am here to say that, yeah…its decent. It ISN’T Blackout!, but we must all take into consideration that BlackOut was just too fun to top.
Blackout 2! is probably not going to be defined as a classic, or win very many awards. But we are TRAPPED in an age, where YULE seems to be everyone’s favorite word and the only way to sell a CD nowadays is to make up a dance about something you do with your stinking leg. Red and Meth don’t fail to hit us with a bit of nostalgic TiCAL And Funk Doctor Spock while still managing to stay current, relevant, and most importantly, GOOD. Despite its length, there are a few tracks that made me reach out and press repeat.
Between a couple of tracks here and there, we are hit with skits. Now the skits remind us that we are dealing with comedians, as it has been years when there has been more than one on an album that made me giggle. If you’ve seen How High, then you know that this is true. You will chuckle, if not laugh.
After sliding past the intro rather easily, I ran smack dab into the second track I’m a Dope Nigga. A tad bit harder hitting than I was expecting, but none the less enjoyable. I’m a girl and I appreciate any song that I can blast from my po’ little Stratus and look relatively cool. I’m a nerd, it’s hard for me to LOOK cool although I am. Trust me, this song aided me, and I was thankful. Not much to be desired from the hook, and while the lyrics are mediocre, the combination of all the elements, worked for these two on this one.
Ayo! Just me calling attention to A-Yo, the third track. Now for a good hot minute I seriously thought that Nate Dawg was West Coast harmonizing, but Saukrates isn’t Nate, but sounds pretty damn close to him on this track. I like this one. Smooth and nostalgic (brass does that to me), this is your Strip cruising, cookout-esque track. I almost got up and did the bump with someone. Both rappers seemed to flow in and out of the production, neither MC trying to overpower it, which heightens the experience of it all.
City Light may JUST be my favorite track on this. This one pays homage to a legend by staying true to the very spirit of Pimp C. Sounds like something he would flow over. Bun B does what he does, SPIT. This whole track has Houston written on it, easily seeing as two of the MCs are Yankees. Chopped not Screwed but smooth
Mrs. International – Remind me of being at a basement party when you got these cats staring at you from across the room and then this song drops and it gives them just enough bravado (I refuse to say swag in 2009) to cross the room and spit lines they practiced in the mirror in the morning. Let’s go rappers that send that proverbial head nod to us female. Thanks.
Diz is for all my Smoker. First thing I noticed was the hook. The unity of the crowd lets you feel exactly how our happy cigarette smoking brothers and sisters feel about that sticky. Don’t be fooled by their relaxed demeanor or the production in the background. Smokers mean it. And Red and Meth have volunteered to be the 2009…well…they’ve always been one of the voices for the hash movements.
As always we have no problems with the chemistry of these two. Friends since they was knee high to grasshopper, there is no lack of how time and time again the spastic Red compliments the smooth grit of Method Man. Other than it being so long, (17 Tracks is almost tittering on ridiculous, so long that at one point, I contemplating dark evil things) this LP is very much Red and Meth. Nothing jumped out and surprised me, and I wasn’t reaching into my CD player to chuck this into moving traffic.
Buy The Album:
The Review:
With the release of his eighth studio album, Busta Rhymes latest, Back on my B.S, Busta returns after a three year hiatus, but some things never change. The rare ability to remain consistent with quality fresh content, as well as experiment working with new producers to stay ahead of the curve have [...]
The Review:
The third album released by Ciara reminds me of a Friday night full of promising date options with your significant other. You’ve been waiting patiently all week for this day, and you’re so happy it’s Friday. You think of so many different things you guys want to [...]
Camron – Crime Pays
Release Date – 5/12/09
Buy Here:
The Review:
The last time Killa Cam blessed us with an album, The Dipset was still a strong unit, the South was in the process of taking over mainstream rap, and Dr. Dre’s Detox had not dropped. Nearly three years later, Camron is back, with an improved offering for [...]
