I think my favorite track on there is "Killa Cam." Omg that cutup vocal.

And of course "Down and Out" ... But I think "Get Down" is my jam on that record. It's just got exactly what I want out of a soul rap anthem. He sounds so confident on that track, and who wouldn't with such a euphoric sample and beat behind them?

and what about that "Harlem Streets" beat- what is that?? So good.

Classic. More Reasons is my favorite I think.. "You worthless kid / Cam don't deserve to live".

Man, I can't believe I forgot about this album. Haven't heard it in ages, but it's absolutely essential.

I don't know why Cam fell off the radar like he did. He's still putting out mixtapes and stuff, though nothing on Purple Haze's level. Too bad.

OMG. I am gutted right now. I just wrote the longest post about Dipset. Like super long. Maybe the longest post I've written in months. And when I hit "Post Quick Reply" the friggin' board error page came up and I lost the post. I'm beyond annoyed right now.

The short version was: "I love Dipset" - then I made you guys a long post about albums and songs I wanted to highlight in their discography. Ugh. Pissed.

Hard Knock Life is the reason I wrote that fool off. I FUCKING HATE THAT SONG

Fair enough, but for me it put Jay on a whole new level. It was just an excellent use of a well known sample. Yes, it was overplayed and is still over referenced, but it's still one of the best moments in hip-hop's crossover into popular music. Huge moment for Jay in his career too. Possibly even definitive. I get how the song might be irritating to some, but I've loved it since the day it came out. It was just so fucking fresh.

I feel the same way as Sev on this one. I loved it then. Still love it now.

I actually think it blows away pretty much the entirety of that album by comparison. That's a pretty boring album. None of it sounds as unique as the title track.

True, absolutely. It still took Jay a while to hit his stride as an "album artist," even though Reasonable Doubt was incredibly solid. The rest of Vol.2 just pales in comparison to that song. It was successful at achieving the kind of mainstream popularity that Jay wanted at that time, but that was at the expense of the album as a whole. Not a great record, for sure.

But the song is one of the best hip-hop singles of its era. Totally classic.

Hey NR, I'm not super familiar with Diplomats/Dipset. Sounds like you're a bigass fanboy (and I mean that in the most sincerely reverent way possible) so maybe you could recommend some flagship albums for me to check out. I'd appreciate that a bunch. Maybe like your top five Diplomat-related albums, including solo shit.

I'm pretty familiar with Cam and I fucking love AraabMuzik, but I'm not at all in on the Diplomats. In fact I'm surprisingly lacking in knowledge about the collective despite my massive interest in hip-hop.

Super looking forward for what you have to throw at me.

you are right. I wear my purple on my sleeve. Love Dipset. I basically wrote you this long post this mornign but it got deleted... so here we go.

Dipset is so weird. And I love them for it. They are for more interesting than say G-Unit. Because they're so unique. I mean... they consistently sample prog rock haha. So strange and awesome.

You already know Purple Haze which is my top pick for newcomers. But here's an odd hodgepodge I want you to look into...


The Diplomats - Diplomatic Immunity 2
The first album is technically better. But it's 2 discs, sprawling. And it is also while Cam is still at Roc-A-Fella. DI2 is where they cut off to Koch and go indie and the shit is full of personality. This is like new tracks but also tracks from their solo stuff so it's a great intro. That said, make sure you hear "Ground Zero" from the first DI album. It is probably my favorite group cut.

Dipset - More Than Music
This is where the crew is highlighted more via b-players like Hell Rell, JR Writer, etc. But it's so so fun. It's like a mixtape with lots of money behind it. They flip Marley Marl's "Symphony" and manage to not make it sound trite.

Cam'ron - Crime Pays
I slept on this at first and have kicked myself since. Araabmuzik's beats are incredible and Cam's ability to from human on "I Hate My Job" to out-there on a skit where he spends 2 mins threatening to shit in a girl's car really highlight how nuts these guys are.

Jim Jones - Hustler's POME
This is Jim's best album I think. It spawned the hit "We Fly High" which is a Dipset calling card. It's crazy to remember that at a time FUCKING DIPSET was everywhere. Mainstream radio, movie trailers, etc - cuz of this song. But there's way better tracks here. "Reppin Time" is dope. And "Emotionless" is ironically the most emotional track he's ever done. Insane.

Jim Jones - Harlem's American Gangster
On the flip I want you to hear this not because it's good, but because of the audacity. I love this album but it's legit a mixtape that Koch decided to remaster and release. The mixing sucks at times. But I love the concept. Jim - who is no great lyricist - decides to make a whole diss/response album to Jay's American Gangster? THE BALLS! It is so appalling that I applaud it. For all its missteps, I probably listened to it as much as Jay's album that year.

... the first Diplomatic Immunity is technically "the best" thing they've done as a group - but I tried to outline a handful of the more interesting entries in their discography.

And again, I am really an obsesso. i mean... I even have A Dipset Xmas on CD. For real.

I don't think I have DI.

I've heard that terrible Cam mixtape by messiah (or whoever) called King of Ohio, and that has "I hate my Job" on it. But while the lyrics are great, the constant shout outs "messiah-iah-iah" are intolerable. Not "GANGSTA GRIZZILL" bad, but still annoying.

(I'm assuming King of Ohio is a mixtape because of the reasons stated above, but Spotify lists it among Cam's albums. They list Draught and Dedication among Wayne's "albums" though, so whatever.

I'll get on this shit man. Honestly I'm more interested in the Roc-A-Fella stuff, because I love Roc-A-Fella. Purple Haze was released on Roc-A-Fella and Diplomat Records. The quality is higher, I think. But I'll dig into what you're suggesting for sure.

King Of Ohio is NOT an album. No.

Purple Haze was on Roc... but his contract was crumbling. It shows. He detached himself there. It is the one Roc album that sounds like latter day Dipset more than Roc-era Dipset.

But DI is fantastic, no doubt. Just saying, they got way weirder and discovered their sound/personality around the time that Purple Haze dropped and Cam left Roc.

Surprise! New Kendrick EP is out

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/un..../id1089846273

untitled unmastered.:
01 untitled 01 | 08.19.2014.
02 untitled 02 | 06.23.2014.
03 untitled 03 | 05.28.2013.
04 untitled 04 | 08.14.2014.
05 untitled 05 | 09.21.2014.
06 untitled 06 | 06.30.2014.
07 untitled 07 | 2014 - 2016
08 untitled 08 | 09.06.2014.

Whoa. This project is amazing.

It's a collection of 8 unmastered leftovers, but it still kills every other rapper today just because it's Kendrick. It's more fun and less serious than his albums (there are some legit funny moments here) so I can see NR enjoying this more than TPAB.

it's on Spotify. Will be listening!!

Dammit! You guys beat me to it. I was gonna break this thing, y'all!

Anyway, WOO! NEW KENDRICK!!!

Production wise, music wise, and conceptually, it's got nada on TLOP (still such an electrifyingly amazing album), but in terms of RAP, Louder's on point: this is the best rap record of the year.

How about that bass in Untitled 04? Up the stairs and down the stairs man. He'll yeah. I'm having more fun with this than with TPAB too, but at the same time, I'm pretty comfortable with TPAB now, and I can pretty much throw on it on at any time.

So happy we have Kendrick around. We need someone to unite us while Louder's on this anti-Yeezy trip ;) Kenrick is officially my second favorite hip-hop artist in the world right now.

gonna listen to new Kendrick

I'm finally asked to talk about Dipset, and Kendrick drops a new album to distract us all. Haha.

Apparently yall can thank LeBron for that new Kendrick

Until LeBron plays for the Rockets I will thank him for NOTHING!!!!!!!!!

unnamed unmastered, PERIOD:

unnamed = no slave name

unmastered = free from masters and chains

http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...ered-interview

Wow..... Kendrick did it again.

Lol yeah I'm sorry dude. Wish we got your long post about them.

Haha yall wish!

Having listened to the EP, I find myself drawn to a couple of tunes, and irked by a couple of tunes, and left feeling "meh" about a couple. To me that is a good thing, as it gives me something to buiild on. I "hated" nothing right off the bat.

Thought it was "untitled unmastered."

Anyway, bought that Bitch on iTunes and jammed it all day. It's being described as an "album" by a lot of the sources I've seen. It certainly feels like more than an EP.

Sonically it feels right in line with TPAB, except a little tighter. Untitled 07 sounds like a fucking Velvet Underground demo, but other than that it's not really full of any surprises in terms of musicality or production, but it's bad as hell, most definitely.

What better way to follow up TPAB, which was quite possibly the most anticipated hip-hop record of the modern era, and was 3 years in the making, than to drop an "untitled" album on everyone almost exactly one year later with no warning whatsoever? I mean, that's fucking classy yo.

I'd still like to hear him rhyme over some novel instrumentation soon. Maybe let got of the whole live jam thing, because it's a pretty restrictive sound in hip-hop. I'd love for more out there producers like Ye and FlyLo to produce his next big studio joint. I really prefer good kid to TOAB, and I miss K rapping over hard ass beats and synths.

Still, this made my day (which was otherwise a total shitstorm) way easier to take. Listened to it I don't know how many times. Barely had time for the new Big Ups (which is dope as hell.)

So why do I dig on Lil Uzi Vert so much? Philly is goin hard.....

All My Chains
https://youtu.be/5gk_sGgZtGs

To my ears and mind these rappers I have been listening to over the past few months that you guys have turned me on to have the energy and wanton disregard for "genre" and "musical rules" that I associate with the best of the punk and underground rock music I grew up with. To hear 2Chains go off on a beat that is just 4 piano notes, heavy drop bass, and handclaps.... That shit seems like what Hip Hop was originally.

Oh yes it is "untitled" not unnamed, my bad. Oh well, Punch pretty much confirmed what I said so it still stands.

...

http://www.complex.com/music/2016/03...led-unmastered

That's awesome! I could swear I heard Prince's voice on the alb. for a second, but I expect not. Prince, though... What a dope ass motherfucker to use as inspiration in hip-hop.

Oh yeah that new 2 Chainz came out today! Funny, I thought (from Kanye's post about it that I read about on pitchfork) that it was going to be a fucking Kanye-related project, but I glanced at the liner notes online and didn't see a single reference to him and he's not on any of the tracks.

I have some love for 2chainz though. And I'm always hoping in the back of my mind that Wayne will "come back" (back to the land of things that don't suck and music that is interesting), so I will probably check the album out, but I'm a bit baffled by its premise.

2Chainz with Wayne tats in a Mos Def tribute pose? With no Wayne on the album? Just as a featured artist on some of the tracks? By the cover you'd think it was like Madvillainy or something... a half and half kind of thing. But instead it seems to be a 2chainz album that's ⅓ lil Wayne and 0% Kanye. I ... Don't get it.

Glad you're enjoying some of this shit Rob. I'm not sure what all you've been checking out. What else are you jamming these days?

Ok, Wayne actually sounds pretty energized on Collegrove. I'll say that much after a cursory preview.

But who the hell told Wayne to go all auto-tone all the time? I swear, there's more robo shit in the snippets I just heard than in all the Kanye records from the past eight years! What's he thinking? It sounds really bad. It sounded bad on his 808's cameo, and it still sounds bad. It just doesn't flow well or fit with the sound of his voice. That ragged, searing, "I've narrowly avoided killing myself countless times and I will continue to almost kill myself because THUG LIFE" thing is what Weezy's always been about. He's not a transcendent post-genre rapper. He's a dirty south pothead rapper. He needs to take the autotune out. It works for Kanye, who uses it pretty sparingly, and to awesome effect, but 2 Chainz sounds far better that Wayne on this record from what I've heard so far.

Just spilling thought juices right now.

Yo, NR! I picked up Diplomatic Immunity (the first one) and Ima pump that shot right now. Then I'll get into the indie stuff later. Thanks bro.