i've been listening to the Azealia Banks album nonstop the past few days. wasn't even expeting it to be so good, but damn. the production is mostly by unknown internet producers and they all killed it. there are some crazy experimental songs there which remind me of Yeezus, Azealia's flow is smooth as hell and all the hooks are on point.

--

also, i'm begging you (seriously.. BEGGING) to listen to this new T-Pain song: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KaIwNbN4AVA

one of the best songs that came out this year.

WOW.

speaking of Azealia, she just ethered Eminem after he rapped about "punching Lana Del Rey right in the face" on his new verse: http://pitchfork.com/news/57397-emin...like-ray-rice/

i'm glad she said what we all want to.

well Honest is more diverse musically, Monster is all the ATL sound but i think that sound works best for Future anyway. plus nothing on Honest is as emotionally captivating as Hardly, My Savages, Codeine Crazy and Throw Away.

Kanye West's new album not called "The New Testament" (which would have been cool) or the Rising (which would have been Bruce Springsteen), but... Apparently.... PARIS (which is neither this nor that, and doesn't say much about the sound of the LP, or the direction.

^that looks like the tracklist that Kanye said was not real.

also GFK is the hardest rapper out there man. So in Nov we got the new Wu album, in Dec he's dropping a new solo LP recorded w/ a live band that's another concept album about him being a superhero, and then in Feb he's dropping an album on Lex Recs w/ Badbadnotgood which I can only imagine will be amazing - Ghostface w/ a jazz trio, whut??!!

The first single from the BBNG collab is pretty fucking stellar. It's minimal, but I really like it

so no one wants to hear the T-Pain song huh.. alright.

Well, nobody told me Kanye ever said anything was or wasn't real, so I don't know shit about this project. Nobody's talking about it in the fuckin café.

Anyway, whatever. If he's planning on releasing it any time this year he better start sharing some fucking information that IS BLOODY "REAL."

What the fuck!! Wu's been blabbing about a better tomorrow since like Feb or March! Kanye needs to care a LITTLE bit more about sales and shit, because of his opening week sales figures keep declining, eventually he'll stop selling shit altogether... Then he'll go into NEGATIVE sales figures, and WE'LL be selling albums to HIM! And that would just be really really absurd.

His ass needs to leak some cover art or drop a fucking title at least, or no amount of critical acclaim will save his ass.

shockingly, AZ is listed to be featured on almost every track on that upcoming Ghost album.

I'm not one for hyperbole but honestly, that song is incredible. Some great lyrics on there.

y'all weren't kidding, that T-Pain track is powerful.

Why the surprise that a T-pain joint is so good?

01. The Battlefield (Feat. Kool G Rap, AZ & Tre Williams)
02. Love Don’t Live Here No More (Feat. Kandace Springs)
03. Here I Go Again (Feat. AZ & Rell)
04. Loyalty (Feat. Kool G Rap & Nems)
05. It’s a Thin Line Between Love and Hate (Feat. The Revelations)
06. The Dog’s of War (Feat. Shawn Wigs & Kool G Rap)
07. Emergency Procedure (Feat. Pharoahe Monch)
08. Double Cross (Feat. AZ)
09. Bamboo’s Lament (Feat. Kandace Springs)
10. Pieces of the Puzzle (Feat. AZ)
11. Homicide (Feat. Nems & Shawn Wigs)
12. Blood in the Streets (Feat. AZ)
13. Call My Name
14. I Love You For All Seasons (Feat. The Revelations)

So good!

that's what i was thinking after reading that shit.

didn't notice how off kitler the beat was until i read the comments. but we all know most people don't have any polyrhythmic groove in their bones.

fantastic track!!!

This is the thing, RZA has shown MORE than enough times he knows what he's doing. You don't think he'd do a beat like that and realise it isn't your typical beat and as you say off kilter? Fuck 'em. It's rap fans like that that hold rap down and keep it in its cliches.

Eminem's CXVPHER ad for Vevo is really really pathetic. It starts with King Crooked, who honestly puts everyone else, including Em, to absolute shame.... followed by a couple of surprisingly sincere verse by Joe Budden, and everything just goes to hell from there.

Eminem takes up the entire second half of the goddamn video, and his freestyle is childish and stupid. Especially when he announces "this is a freestyle" or says "I just made that up!" after delivering a line (this happens twice, and is almost painful to watch).

Oh yeah, and he says stuff about hitting Lana Del Ray. *shock and awe*

What?! Nuh-UHH!

This is clearly another epic. From the way it's set up, it looks like the (really atypical and exciting guest appearances) are probably set up to play specific roles in the story of the album. My guess is that each guest rapper repeats the same role. Can't be 100% sure, but that's how it seems to me.

Also- I can't place it but that cover art reminds me of something. All of it, from the actual artistic style, to the font, layout & overall design. I can't put my finger on it, but I almost want to say it's reminiscent of a graphic novel TPB cover for something like Alien or Predator; maybe the cover of a sci-fi novel.

Hmmm... It'll come to me.

Mobb Deep - Free Agents: The Murda Mixtape - 2003 - Land Speed Records
When Loud Records dissolved in 2002, Mobb Deep found themselves without a home for the first time in nearly a decade. To some degree, this period of influx might explain why they'd drop a glorified mixtape rather than an album proper. Indeed Free Agents' own aimlessness might be a reflection of the group at the time. And yet perhaps being shaken from the comfort of a longtime label also lit a fire under Havoc and Prodigy as well. While this double album has a bit of trouble figuring out just what the heck it is (new songs? Remixes of old ones? Freestyles? A collection of guest shots and rarities?) it also somehow makes for a compelling collection that is both a good starting point for newcomers to post-90's Mobb Deep, but also a pretty great compilation for long time fans. The first disc kicks off with a clip of Ice T being interviewed about violence in hip hop lyrics with the apt-title "This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive." It's actually a really cool way to start things up, although the momentum is slowed a bit by the unorthodox beat of "Solidified." Although this is an early misstep, it's not an indication of what's to follow. Gears are immediately switched with an update on the classic "Survival Of The Fittest." Of course it's not as good as the original, but it's nice to hear Mobb make a conscious effort to go back to their early glory days. Though "too much of the same" slow beats and shit-talking might be a complaint you could make about Free Agents, much of it is done in top form. The first disc closes out with a handful of freestyles that would have been much better if they weren't done so over previous Mobb Deep instrumentals. There's just no way you can hear Prodigy rapping over "Shook Ones Pt. II"'s beat without being letdown by a freestyle instead of the original lyrics. The second disc is supposed to be a bonus disc, and basically it's a compilation of songs that Mobb Deep's members have done with other rappers - The Alchemist, Big Noyd, Infamous Mobb, Cormega and their usual group of regulars. Although it's a mish-mash of material from various artists, it actually holds together just as well as the first disc does, sounding completely cohesive. I suppose that definitive sound is something that Mobb Deep has perfected. Not to mention that much of the production comes from Alchemist who has always worked well with them. While you might be tempted to pass off this one seeing as it's promoted as a mixtape, was a one-off release on an indie label and has some misleadingly plain album art, any fan of Mobb Deep would be missing out by not owning this one.



Mobb Deep - Amerikaz Nightmare - 2004 - Jive
After a brief stint on the indies, Mobb Deep found a new major label home at Jive. Unfortunately the Jive of 2004 wasn't exactly sure of how to handle such a hop hop act. Remember that much of mainstream hip hop at the time was being dominated by 50 Cent and other larger-than-life personalities. It feels like instead of picking up a fully developed act like Mobb Deep and getting out of their way, the label thought it would be a good idea to encourage the group to aim for more radio play. Sure this formula was working great for Britney and the rest of Jive's roster, but Mobb was never meant for mainstream consumption. This disconnect becomes apparent simply by looking at the tracklisting, and collaborations between Mobb Deep and Lil Jon or Nate Dogg are just as odd as you think. But what's really shocking about all this is that none of it is bad music. There's definitely a lean towards making this a club album, but at the same time a group like this can only compromise so much. They are naturally dark and morbid. The titular opener kicks it off on the right note with its slow creepy guitars and steady tribal beat. Havoc is in top form as a producer here and his tracks gel perfectly with The Alchemist's. Key single "Got It Twisted" samples Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science," and turns an upbeat and silly 80's classic into something ridiculously creepy. After a strong opening third the record hits a bit of plateau of just good songs before picking up for its closing third. "Throw Your Hands (In The Air)" is another odd match-up with Kanye West producing, but somehow he's able to get a fitting performance out of the group who generally doesn't seem as comfortable over such an upbeat track. A remix of "Got It Twisted" featuring Twista is tacked on and feels unnecessary, but on the whole this is a surprisingly solid album that works even when it really shouldn't at all.


A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes And Life - 1996 - Jive
Midnight Marauders was a tough album to follow. But then again the same could have been said about The Low End Theory. And part of what made Tribe so compelling was their ability to make consistently excellent records that managed to sound like Tribe, yet never sound like just more of the same old. In the time that passed since Midnight Marauders, Q-Tip also managed to help helm a couple of the most important records of 90's New York hip hop: Nas' Illmatic and Mobb Deep's The Infamous. He then went on to found a new production team, The Ummah with fellow Quester Ali Shaheed Muhammad and J. Dilla (then still known as Jay Dee). This trio created an awesome and instantly recognizable sound that would begin with Beats, Rhymes & Life. The cover art is apt, as this record seems to end a trilogy that started with Low End's heavy use of jazz samples, continued into Midnight's blending of jazz and the more street level hip hop that Q-Tip would end up crafting for Nas and Mobb Deep and finally going off the deep end into some strange amalgamation of kitchen-sinkery found here. This is a record that is proud of its past (see: the reiteration of "Check The Rhyme" found in "1nce Again") but also looks excitedly to the future. Another change in sound comes in the shape of Consequence, who was not an official member of the group but features heavily throughout the album. All of this change may sound scary, but it's not. It's great stuff. It's also an album full of various themes and messages. Starting with a strong declaration of why Tribe deserves their lyrical props ("Phony Rappers"), moving through themes of anti-violence in the wake of the 90's East Coast vs. West Coast drama ("Separate/Together," "Keep It Moving") to the tribulations of being in the rap world ("The Pressure," "Stressed Out"), this is a sprawling, emotional and exceptionally fun record that really stands on its own with the Tribe discography as a totally unique experience.


De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate - 1993 - Tommy Boy
While De La Soul Is Dead attempted to kill off the entire image of the group's first album, Buhloone Mindstate further goes off the deep end without hitting you over the head. Instead you've got the image of a group dealing with gaining a rep but having to fear failure - "it might blow up, but it won't go pop." Once again Prince Paul is brought in to create the sonic backdrop, and now friends from both the hip hop (Shorty No Mass, Dres) and jazz (Maceo Parker) worlds will help fill in the cracks. The live instrumentation that gets weaved into the samples is a great fit, and also helps make everything feel like a cohesive album even without the narratives found in the first two records. Note how "I Be Blowin'," an early instrumental track featuring Parker's fine horn playing is later referenced in the full on (and brilliant) soul-searching song "I Am I Be." Or how about "Ego Trippin' (Part Two)," which nods to Ultramagnetic MC's original song, and is basically built out of cut-n-paste lyrics from a bunch of other classic hip hop songs but also attacks the gangsta rap that was so popular at the time? Later, Paul pulls together an incredible rearrangement of Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It," for "Breakadawn." It's a shame that Buhloone Mindstate seems somehow less adored than other albums in De La's catalog. This is an album that is just as emotional as anything on De La Soul Is Dead, yet manages to trump that album in focus and sincerity.