Pilot Talk 2 just dropped but I'm just coming down off my high from the first set.
One of my favorites off of the OG Pilot Talk.
Also, look out for Trademark's upcoming Super Villain Issue 3: Reign Supreme (with production from Ski Beatz). It was supposed to drop this week so it should should be hitting the net any day now too.
Statik Selektah is probably my favorite "underground" producer of the moment and has been consistently doing his thing for a minute now, delivering gritty East Coast styled Hip-Hop production, lacing an array of artists, ranging from street cats like M.O.P. & Sean Price to backpack faves like Consequence & Wale. His albums haven't been chart toppers but he's managed to keep the torch burning for the Champion hoodie/Timbaland crowd as well as the Nag Champa/licorice chewstick heads and for that alone he gets props over here.
On the other hand, I've never been the biggest fan of Boston rapper, Termanology. He's a straight forward lyricist & while he's gotten better over the years (Last year's Time Machine: Hood Politics VI is underrated), I never really looked at him as anything other then an "underground" cat with alot of good relationships & better production.
On their first full collaboration album as the group, 1982, both Statik & Term deliver what their known for, beats that are heavy on the boom bap & rhymes that'll make you run it back like Darren Sproles. But on this joint, (featuring the Trill OG, Bun B & fellow Beantown crooner Masspike Miles) Term & Statik flip the script & do the unexpected...a song for the radio. Peep...
Every time Coodie & Chike get behind the lens, you know to expect something dope but these videos they've been making with L.E.P. are some of their most inspired work. Each new clip plays out like a movie, taking Moonie & Count's cinematic concepts to the next level visually. Synergy at it's finest.
I haven't talked about Chicago's L.E.P. Bogus Boys but they (along with Gary, Indiana's Freddie Gibbs) are making it known that the Mid-West is more then skinny jeans & V-necks. They got gangster shit too. I'll prolly do a thorough write up on their upcoming Gangsta Grillz sponsored mixtape, Don't Feed The Killaz Vol. 3, which drops Halloween night, but I'm saying it now, just judging by the couple of songs that have leaked, this mixtape is gonna open alot of eyes & ears to their movement.
Word is, L.E.P. & Creative Control have a couple more joints in the stash but this joint hit the 'net a few weeks back & I still can't stop watching it. I think it's that La Roux sample. Kills me every time.
Looks like the dam has finally cracked open cause "The Wave" is almost upon us. New music from Max B. from his long awaited forthcoming Amalgam Digital debut, Vigilante Season. This Dame Grease produced track is the official single for the project (due in stores March 29th) & it features Max rapping about his favorite muse, in typical Biggaveli fashion. While it doesn't exactly blow me away like some of their previouscollabos, it's been a while since we've heard anything fresh from the Boss Don, so for that alone, I'm thankful. Actually, after a couple of spins, this one kinda grew on me. Due to his current "situation", Max wasn't able to show up in his own video, but Harlem & the Gain Green Gang came out to hold him down in this vid, directed by Nicholas Heller.
March 29th, run out & grab that Vigilante Season & support the homie Max B.
Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 - March 15, 2011)
The greatest hook man in Hip-Hop history. Nate was one of the cornerstones of the early Death Row run & along with Dr. Dre, Snoop, Warren G & the rest of Death Row's roster, helped the label establish their own brand of gangster rap, the aptly titled "G-Funk". With his satin smooth delivery & humorously explicit lyricism, Nate Dogg influenced a slew of imitators (Yeah Butch Cassidy. YOU!) & was the blueprint for today's crop of featured crooners. There'd be no T-Pain, no Akon, or any of the dozens of cats who came on the scene in the years after if it wasn't for Nate making it cool to sing gangsta shit.
That whole Death Row movement was part of the soundtrack to my high school years & singing along to Nate Dogg's part on "Ain't No Fun" always throws me back to those days. Matter of fact, singing along with Nate Dogg on any song can't help but elicit a smile. It just feels good. His healthproblems in recent years have been well known but I always thought he'd eventually recover & hoped he was able to get back to doing what he does best. Just another example of why we shouldn't take anything for granted because nothing is promised to us.
R.I.P. Nate Dogg "Nobody does it better..."
BTW - Nate shares the same B'Day as me & my Moms. Leo's rule!
[01] Str8 West Coast Remix [02] Time’s Up [03] Like This [04] Here Comes Another Hit [05] Space Boogie [06] Can’t Deny It [07] Multiply [08] The Streets (Re-Twist) [09] Never Enough [10] What We Do [11] MLK [12] Gangsta Nation [13] The Set Up [14] Area Codes [15] Yo’ Sassy Ways [16] Thugs Get Lonely Too [17] Too Much [18] Where I Wanna Be [19] Warriors Part 2 [20] I Need A Bitch [21] Lay Low [22] A L’Ancienne [23] The Hardest Mutha Fuckaz [24] 100 Miles And Runnin [25] Shake That [26] Smokin Smokin Weed [27] Holiday [28] Can’t Be Faded [29] Ghetto Millionaire [30] What We Gonna Do [31] Connected [32] My Name Is [33] So Fly [34] Look In My Eyes [35] Xxplosive [36] Real Soon [37] Hey Y’all [38] Boss Life [39] Bitch Please II [40] Him Or Me [41] Real Pimp [42] 21 Questions [43] From Long Beach 2 Brick City [44] Bitches Ain’t Shit [45] Have A Party [46] Somebody Like Me [47] ‘Till I Collapse [48] Been A Long Time [49] Ooh Wee [50] Oh No [51] Black Mercedes [52] The Next Epsiode [53] Nobody Does It Better
Lil Wayne - "If I Die Today" (feat. Rick Ross) - Tha Carter IV (Cash Money/Universal)
As much as it borrows from Officer Ricky's track, "I'm Not A Star (Part Deux)" would be a more appropriate title for the second single off of Lil' Wayne's upcoming opus, Tha Carter IV. Upon first listen, this Polow The Don produced "banger" comes off as incredibly generic & unimaginative (even for a Polow The Don track) compared to the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental it's blatantly mimicking. But in today's climate, where every hit song either sounds like "B.M.F" or "Airplanes", Xerox style production is what the fans seem to want, so what do I know? I just write a crumby blog. Luckily, Wayne manages to overcome the lazy concept with his typically sharp (albeit subdued) wordplay. Ross, while not as driven as he was on "I'm Not A Star", still seems energized & the chemistry between the two MC's is what ultimately elevates this song from mixtape throwaway to album single. I don't think "6 Foot, 7 Foot" or "If I Die Today" are bad songs & for any other artist, they'd be impressive. But these are Lil' Wayne singles & in comparison to his past music, there's something missing. The energy is different. I'm all for sobriety, but I kinda miss the maniacal, syrup sipping Lil' Wayne that effortlessly devoured any instrumental placed in front of him. I wonder if he'll be able to recapture that spirit without the double Styrofoam cups.
50 Cent - "Recently (feat. Gucci Mane)" (Internet)
The latest batch of music to come from 50 Cent has been more hit then miss; & even though it's not as strong as his mixtape work prior to the release of Before I Self Destruct I'm liking the direction he's been going in. If these tracks are indicative of the sound Fif is going with on his next project, expect the same "aggressive content" of his last album but this go round tempered with a little more of a commercial sheen. As a fan of 50 from the 50 Cent Is the Future days, it sounds like 50 is finally back in the right space to make a return to form. Not that his last album wasn't good, but it lacked the hit records that set the foundation for his first 3 LP's. This latest song is an official collabo with Gucci 2 Times (That "Crime Wave (Remix)" was a patch job & shouldn't really count) & it actually sounds way better then you'd think. No word on who produced this but it sounds like a typical Brick Squad track & puts Gucci in an automatic comfort zone, spitting a verse that rises to the level of his best verse off of the recently released The Return Of Mr. Zone 6. It's 50 who surprises, showing he's still got that "country grammar". Nothing too deep or cerebral, it almost sounds like, dare I say it, 50 was having fun with this one. Curtis is on a roll, hopefully he can keep it up long enough to produce an album that'll get him back to the top of the charts.
Dr. Dre - "Chillin' (feat. Swizz Beatz)" - Detox (Aftermath)
Another in a string of reference tracks from the legendary Detox. I chalked up "I Need A Doctor" as a necessary sacrifice to the Pop Gods & even though I wasn't big on the video treatment for "Kush", I think it's a solid song that sonically picks up right where 2001 ended & that's the same vibe I get from "Chillin'". The beat (a rolling array of spry synths, hand claps & 808 bass drops) is exactly what you'd expect an modern West Coast club record to sound like & even as a reference, it's almost a perfect mix, the hallmark of a Dr. Dre track. On the rap tip, The D.R.E. sounds the best he's ever sounded as an MC, nimbly navigating around the track with a veterans ease. I wanna say Slim The Gangster ghostwrote these verses but regardless, whoever coached Dre on this track deserves a pat on the back. The fact this song leaked decreases the chance of it actually making the finished album but if this is the kind of music Dre is working with, the chances Detox will be able to live up to all the hype it's generated the past 10 years increase ever so slightly.
Max B. - "Blowin' My High" - Vigilante Season (Amalgam Digital)
Vigilante Season may be a little uneven in spots (Full album review on the way) but for die-hard Biggaveli stans (such as myself) it should be an auto purchase. With his lackadaisical flow, mumbled lyrics & off-beat singing, I can see how some just might not "get" Max B., but there are more then enough moments of waviness on his debut to warrant a listen from the uninitiated. As far as this song, I could do without the auto-tune, but it's still Max at his best, care free, extolling the virtues of life as a Gain Green boss over a brooding but bouncy backdrop provided by his favorite producer, Dame Grease. Dame produces all but three tracks on the album & Max over Grease beats is like PB & Jelly on rye, the perfect collaboration. Some other blogger said it best...
"...the production style that was at once cheap, sloppy and relaxed, but extremely melodic — its the beat-version of Max’s rap style."
Vigilante Season was set to drop March 29th but hit the net earlier this week. Support the 'Vel & cop that.
Kevin Cossom - "Ride (Remix)" - By Any Means (Mixtape)
Kevin Cossom is the flagship artist on Tmberland protege Danja's record label, N.A.R.S. (New Age Rock Stars) and while his latest project didn't necessarily blow me away, the remakes of Ciara's "Ride", Wiz's "Black & Yellow" & Ye's "Runaway" are as strong or stronger then some of the original songs on the tape. There are a couple new tracks produced by Danja that knock (most notably, "Work") but this remix stood out to me because....
A. I thought the original (Produced & written by Tricky Stewart & The-Dream) was one of the few bright spots on Ciara's last Frisbee album & this version nearly one ups it.
B. KC jacks Ginuwine's flow from "Tell Me Do U Wanna" & I'm a sucker for Timbaland beats & 90's R&B. Sue me.
Albums like Roc Marciano's Marcberg & A.G's Everything's Berri have been getting alot of pub on the internets the past year. Some have even gone as far as saying the hard laced rhymes & 70's Blaxploitation era inspired production might be the start of some sorta Rap Renaissance in New York. I'm not sure how real this Rap Renaissance is but both artists churned out two of the better albums to come out of New York in recent times & Queens rapper Action Bronson's debut album Dr. Lecter is in the same mold. Yeah, dude looks like the Irish Rick Ross & sounds like Ghostface Killah, & I went into Dr. Lecter looking for reasons to rip him apart; but dude can not only rap, he's pretty good at it too. The Ghostface similarities are still kinda flagrant, but like Big K.R.I.T. (Who gets plenty of shit for aping Pimp C's style) there's enough talent & personality here for Bronson to be able to overcome the comparisons & grow into a style solely his own. In the meantime, joints like "Barry Horowitz" will do nicely.
Killa Cam & V Twizzy flex their acting chops in this clip for "Girl's Cry" (araabMUZIK on the beat) off of the Gunz & Butta LP slated to hit stores April 19th. I keep telling cats, yall sleeping on Cam & Vado. This is that Come Home With Me/Diplomatic Immunity wave right here! Everything I've heard so far is fire & "Hey Muma" (which gets a preview at the end of this clip) & "We All Up In Here" are gonna have radio locked this spring. Watch.
Just a Thought: So that's Cam & Vado, Spitta & Alchemist's Covert Coup & Smoke DZA's THC all in the span of two days? I'm getting my headstash together right now, cause 4/20 is already sounding phenomenal.
If you take equal parts Kid Cudi & Drake, mixed with a healthy portion of Bay Area swagger & a pinch of Auto-Tune, you'd end up with Richmond, CA's "Hood Nerd", rapper/producer/songwriter, Erk Tha Jerk. A veteran on the Bay Area rap scene, Erk has been grinding it out on the independent level for the past 10 years, producing and penning verses for local artists like Too $hort & San Quinn, all the way building a loyal following with a melodic mix of Hip-Hop & R&B that's fresh & unforced. He scored his first hit single earlier this year with the raunchy radio smash, "Right Here", which became the most played song on Bay Area radio station, 106 KMEL & even made it's way on to Billboard Magazine's Hot 100.
A multi-talented artist, Erk manages to bare his soul and reveal his every day, every man struggle without being overly emo & off putting. Fatherhood, divorce & unfulfilled aspirations are typical topics, plus, as evidenced by this single, the guy knows how to make joints for the ladies as well. He may not look like your typical MC, but dude has his chops & the music is undeniable.
Erk Tha Jerk's debut album, Nerd's Eye View (Red Planet Music Group/SMC Recordings) is available on Amazon & iTunes right now but if you need more proof that dude has the goods, you can download his free pre-album EP, The Prelude right here and get familiar.
