Throwback Thursday: AZ - Mo Money, Mo

"Life'a a bitch and then you die! That's why we get high, cause' ya neva' know when you gana go!!!" Obviously this is the chorus for "Life's a Bitch" but you can't help to think about that song every time Nas and AZ are mentioned together. "Mo Money, Mo Murder (Homicide)" is my personal favorite of AZ's debut, Doe or Die (1995), and just another instance in which the two legendary emcees produce gold. Not to mention the sample is just flawless.

Download Mo Money, Mo Murder (Homicide)

Must Have Music: Hood Surgeon - Fast Money ft. King Tee (Prod. Dre)

I found this track back in my "Kazaa" days. Back when the only way to illegally download an album was to download each track, one by one. Pirating has come a long way. But anyways, "Fast Money" was a song that came up when I typed "Dr. Dre" into the search bar. Since then, I've cherished the Dre produced, King Tee featured gem and it is my pleasure to bring it to you. It's what I consider a 'rarity' since it's not really a popular single from that era and hardly ever gets play now a days. Still, the track exhibits that classic gangster rap vibe and demonstrates Dre's ability to produce countless masterpieces.

Download Fast Money

Rockie Fresh - Driving 88 (Mixtape)

This is the second mixtape that I've download from the Chicago based rapper, Rockie Fresh. Much like the prior post, the main reason I even looked into Rockie Fresh was because of a Phil Ade feature, which actually ended up making my 'best of' for that month. His first mixtape, The Other Side, was OK but definitely nothing that had real replay value for me (besides "Living" and a couple of other tracks). This time around, Rockie Fresh has definitely stepped up his game, but still not what I consider a force to be reckoned with. Both his lyrics and beat selection have improved, and he has kept his wise feature selection on Driving 88 by lending verses to Cassey Veggies, King Louie and Phil Ade. Yet still, his style just doesn't do it for me at times. His flow is the same from bar to bar, which allows the listener to tune out easily. His music is relaxing and calm enough to read or write a paper to. Although Rockie Fresh is far from something one would play to get his day going, he is still definitely a solid artist with possibilities of a profitable career in the music industry. Expect to hear some of Driving 88 on this months mix.

Download Driving 88 (Mixtape)

Random Singles: January '12

Just a few music videos from several random artist that I had never heard about before. Once again, it was mainly the features that led me to these guys.

Bryant Dope - Queens Kids

Green Street - Daydreams (Ft. Donwill of Tanya Morgan)

SmCity - Mr. IDGAF (Ft. Oddisee & Phil Ade)

Logic - Young Sinatra 3 (Video)

The homie Eric showed me this cat. Straight lyricism over a classic beat. The mp3 version won't be released until it hits 75k on youtube so go watch it!

Here's another one of his singles you might like off of Young Sinatra (Mixtape)

Can you tell me what rapper makes an appearance in the music video around the 2:24 mark?

A$AP Rocky - Wussup (Video)

"Pretty nigga is some shit' you neva' hear of, only thing bigga than my ego is my mirra' (UHH), Clothes get weirda'" <-- yup

This has to be the coolest music video I've seen in a while. Even though it's filled with a bunch of random odd scenes, the addictive video captures ASAP's sound flawlessly. Rocky's got next!

Also, this next video shows him working with Overdoz, one the few groups I discovered last year who are actually worth following. Both of these acts are bizzare and a breath of fresh air so you can imagin how excited I am too see what they came up with.

I love how these guys still drink 40's even though they're making solid money haha!

Name That Sample: Miles Davis - Blue in Green

Yet another slice to add to the blog in order to add some diversity. Lets be honest, not enough good hip hop comes out monthly too keep my readers entertained, so I'll just have to come up with other creative ways to keep you tuned in.

In this segment, I'll select an original song and have you try and figure out who has sampled it in a hip hop record. Normally I will chose songs that may be more obvious because of the song's popularity, but this time around I have chosen a song that not even I know the answer to (which actually gave me the inspiration for this type of blog). So if you know what hip hop record has sampled this tune, please put me out of my misery and tell me! The torture of not knowing is almost worse than the feeling of being water boarded by a government agent.

The song chosen this first time around is "Blue in Green" by Miles Davis. The section I believe is sampled begins around the 1:47 mark. Good Luck!

Download Blue in Green

Paid Dues 2012 Line Up

Damn this Paid Dues is going to bring me back to my Middle/High School days! Hieroglyphics? Living Legends? Dilated Peoples? Wu-Tang??? It's like if Murs had went back in time and stole my iPod out of my locker to pick out the artists for this year's line up. Not to mention one of hip hop's most significant artists of current day hip hop, Kendrick Lamar, is set to play at the independent festival. Can't wait to see who's the 'TBA'.

Heads up, I'm goin' stupid when DJ Quik plays "Pitch In Ona Party". And if he doesn't, I'm burning the place down.

Mac Miller - Jerry's Record Store

My initial thoughts on Mac Miller were, "Who is this weak ass white boy?". It wasn't until I heard some of the rappers/producers I respect work with the teen that I really gave the kid a chance. Since then, I've learned to really understand why so many people have respect for him. What I find so appealing about Mac Miller is his genuine nature. As weird as it sounds, the Pittsburgh native isn't a sell out. While Blue Slide Park is obviously filled with radio friendly material*, he still leaves room for that classic boom bap sound that hip hop heads love and spend countless hours riffling through mp3 and zip files to find (not to mention Miller's work has been party music from the get go, so its not as though he necessarily changed his style up once he hit the mainstream). Just listen to beat selection and lyric content on this track and tell me Miller put this track out in hopes that it would raise his salary. While "Jerry's Record Store" isn't one of my favorite Mac Miller joints, I decided to show the 2011 freshman some love on his latest release.

"Believe in god but don't believe religion" <-- Word

Download Jerry's Record Store

*Instead of hating on artist for putting out radio friendly singles, be happy for them that they've made it this far and that they've been given the opportunity to make a good living out of their undeniable talents. Jealousy is such an ugly trait.

Common vs Drake

Unless you've been living under rock for the last month, you know the beef that's been cooking up between Common and Drake. Incase you have been living under a rock; several weeks back, Common was asked if Drake had been his inspiration to his single "Sweet".

Common responded by stating that, "Some people have been saying that, but on that song, I'm just talking about whoever the cap fits. I'm talking about rappers out there that's soft and doing the same thing. So if the cap fits, then that's who it is". It's almost as though hip hop fans started this beef since they automatically pointed their fingers at Drake as the 'sweetest' rapper in the game. Common actually never even confirmed that Drake was his target. Regardless, Drake decided to fire back on "Stay Scheemin", one of the tracks off Rick Ross' last mixtape.

"Back when if a nigga reached it was for the weapon, now-a-days they reach just to sell they record" <-- Hypocrite

And then soon enough, Common jumped on the same track to retaliate.

"you ain't wettin' nobody nigga, you Canada Dry"

At first, rumors were brought up claiming that the beef was all over Serena Williams, but later cleared up. The truth is, Common simply wrote a track, similar to countless other tracks, where he declared himself an OG and labeled other anonymous rappers as bitches to make himself look even more masculine. It's the typical formula many rappers use to create a record. Not to say that Common doesn't feel Drake shares feeble qualities, but his initial intention wasn't to call him out. The only reason Common wen't on to label Drake as "that hoe ass nigga" was because of Drake's verse on "Stay Scheemin", which was obviously aimed at Common ("It bothers me when the gods get to actin like they broads").

My thoughts on the beef: First off, I dislike any rap beef unless it was over a decade ago and had the names Nas and Jay-Z in it. I feel 'beef' is just either a form for rappers to push their records, or just a way for one artist to put down another more successful artist, AKA Hatin'. In Common's case, both (if he had really intended to diss drake on "Sweet").

Regardless, when I first heard of the rapper conflict, my thoughts where, "Damn, two soft ass rappers starting beef??". I truly enjoy Common's work, but the truth is, he is similar to Drake in a few ways and his music is pretty much the opposite of the 'hardcore rap' he was claiming to miss and be part of. In fact, both Common and Drake's fans are largely female. Common makes music that is respectful and uplifting to women, while Drake reaches women through appealing to their insecurities and making 'hip pop' records that are the epitome of top 40 radio. They are both sell outs and I know what you're thinking, "how could you say that about one of your favorite rappers", but recall "Don't Charge Me For The Crime".

Obviously, Drake has been more successful at reaching stardom, which initially lead me to think Common was just 'hatin' on Drake for this reason. But, I later came to the conclusion that it was just the initial misunderstanding, brought upon by fans, that was blown up over the radio/internet media that set fire to the rivalry. What will happen next? Only time can tell, but my predictions are either Drake will leave it be and let the beef just roll over (since this beef has most likely done little to no damage to his fan base and there is no point in continuing on with the battle) or these two soft ass rappers will put out a track together, focused on how tough and masculine they are, to make it public that the beef has been squashed. Whatever, I'm over it...

Brother Ali & Jakeone - Writers Block (Prod. Jakeone)

Man is Brother Ali right about the music industry on this one... These two have always had chemistry when it comes to putting out classic hip hop records. Freeway had his turn with Jakeone's vintage beats, now it's Ali's time to put out an exclusively Jakeone produced album. Look out for Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color.

Download Writer's Block

Schoolboy Q - Blessed ft. Kendrick Lamar

Now that's an album cover

Its Q's turn on XXL's Freshmen list. Habit's and Contradictions hits the Internet realm on the 14th of this month... Support their indie label, Top Dawg Ent.

Download Blessed ft. Kendrick Lamar

Luke Christopher - Building Skies (Album)

So I'm sure you remember this dude from his Social Network video, which gained him his initial wave of fans. Mr. Christopher has made it his goal to get up off the ground in 2012 and has started off the year strong with this free Building Skies project, which dropped earlier this week. The (supposedly) Burroughs Graduate, has shown his lyrical abilities through genuine verses about everyday struggles and always remaining real to his friends/fans regardless of where fame takes him. The young emcee/producer is talented and is guaranteed bright future ahead of him.

Download Building Skies (Album)

Must Have Music: Oh No - I Can't Help Myself & The Ride & Every Section

Some more MHM from my early days of venturing into the underground hip hop realm. Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I listen to some of the music I had in my iPod back in the day, but this guy is definitely not one of those occasions. Oh No is not just the rapper, but the beat smith behind his music; much like his older brother Madlib. These 3 tracks are my favorite off of his first album, The Disrupt (2004), which was recommended to me by my old buddies from the Burbank Penny Lane (RIP). These tracks are not only examples of his production talents, but also his exceptional ability to reach different themes and concepts lyrically. Love addiction, corruption, and just straight Emceeing (respectively).

Download I Can't Help Myself, Every Section, & The Ride

Jean Grae - U&Me&EveryoneWeKnow

Jean Grae definitely sounds better on these slow jazzy/soulful beats. I'm not crazy about her "Jaw Gymnastics", but when it comes to her conscious stuff, I'm a fan.

Download U&Me&EveryoneWeKnow

A$AP Rocky - Pretty Flacko

So one of my New Year's resolutions was to do at least 5 posts a week (I know thats pretty bad but if you look at the last few months I was lucky if did 5 posts in the entire month). Luckily that "Pretty Matha Fucka" starts off 2012 with some ill ass ignorant shit to bump. If you haven't checked out LiveLoveA$AP, get on it.

Download Pretty Flacko