Mini-Updates

I am currently watchin the Cav's Magic game 6 (not enyoing its path by the way), but I saw a couple things that I thought you guys should know. So, just a short post about some things here and there.

1. Direct from Wale's twitter: "BACK TO THE FEATURE .... will be...here NO later then JUNE 13th"

- I don't know about ya'll, but it better be the greatest mixtape I have ever heard haha

2. Direct From Cudi's Twitter: "the video for "sky might fall" will be a mini movie, it will be epic. shootin it in a couple weeks along with "make her say""

3. Direct From Wiz Khalifa: "Smokin, chillin wit my broseph @currensy_spitta This mixtape is gonna b incredible"

-Earlier: "@MistahFAB Im headed down the N.O to knock out this tape wit Currensy this weekend, but Next week shld b great! Im wit it for sure cuzzy"

- if you see where I'm going, I'm tryin to say that they are almost finished with their How Fly Mixtape. They said its gonna be out by the end of may, so they got one day. I'm extremely excited to see what these guys have got for us. From what it sounds like, they are both pumped too.


Another theme you could notice from this post: Twitter is GREAT for updates, info, and just keeping up with your favorite artists. I've found that a lot of the new age rappers love tweeting, so its pretty sweet. So, if you think its still stupid, your loss.

3AM - Travis Barker Remix

Okay, if the video of Travis Barker covering Soulja Boy got big, then this video deserves to get 5 times bigger. This remix is absolutely sick. In my opinion way better than the original, with the guitar and the live drums. Being a drummer and a fan of Blink, I have worshiped Travis for a while. He has unbelievable talent, and I am so glad to see that he is back to work after that terrible plane crash. He is currently working on a mixtape of his own, and if you remember way back, worked with Wale for Attention: Deficit. Travis is back in full force. Also, If you look at the bass drum, you will see it is completely wrapped in the Rogue Status pattern with all the guns that Rob Dyrdek always wears haha





BONUS: Bubba Sparxx - Back in the Mud (Travis Barker Remix)

Wale Tour Video Pt. 1

Here is a sample video of Wale's tour. If you listen closely to Tre of UCB, he says "In July you will hear music saved." Thats right. He's talkin about Wale's album Attention: Deficit. Also, which city does Wale say is the best? Oh yea CHICAGO baby.

T.I. just asks "Remember Me"

Yesterday, the day finally came for TIP to start his 366 day prison sentence. According to TMZ, Harris decided he might as well get it over with and turned him self hours earlier than his 12 pm deadline. While he was going away, the final version of a song "Remember Me" off of the rerelease of Paper Trail: Case Closed has been put out. The rerelease date has yet to be set, but is in the near future

DOWLOAD: T.I. Remember Me Feat. Mary J. Blige


UPDATE: Clifford Harris and girlfriend Tameka "Tiny" Cottle got married before Harris turned himself in. The two have been a couple since 2001 and have 2 kids together. Rumors of the event have been floating around all week, but an unnamed source finally revealed that it was true. The service was a small private service covered up as a family vacation to escape from the media.

Relapsing Back To Bad Habits

When I think about the first time I put on a hip-hop record, I think back to middle school. I've racked my brain trying to remember how or when I was turned on to Marshall Mathers, a.k.a, Eminem, but I find a blank spot there. What I do remember is being captivated by his "The Real Slim Shady" music video and the overall way he carried himself. A skinny, white blond kid who said whatever he wanted to and had no remorse. Em was one of the first MCs to blatantly attack celebrities in his songs, and through MTV's promotion of his music videos, his message and Slim Shady persona became public. When the Marshall Mathers LP dropped, I somehow convinced my parents to buy me the clean copy of it. If they had ever heard what I was listening to, my life might be a bit different. Anyway, I was amazed at what I heard. A combination of the shock value and Em's unique, technical flow kept me listening to that CD over and over again. Eventually, I had every CD Em put out, from Infinite to The Eminem Show. You could play any song on any of those CDs and I would spit every word right along with Eminem. The last time I heard that version of Eminem was on "Rabbit Run" off of the 8 Mile soundtrack. From that point on, Em kind of lost his ability to be the great MC he once was. "Encore" was one of the most disappointing CDs I have ever listened to, with Em's lame attempt at being funny coming off as annoying, like I was listening to a 8 year old laughing at his own immature fart jokes. It's weird because on the Slim Shady LP, besides a few songs, Em is genuinely hilarious. It wasn't forced, it was just Em talking about accidentally giving an entire bag of shrooms to a girl at a party and being molested by a fat girl. The humor on "Encore" was just so forced, and I never understood why Em went that route. So now, after a long hiatus, Eminem is back with "Relapse." And unfortunately, it does not stray far from his weak performance on "Encore."

I'm not here to give a full review of "Relapse." I just want to talk about what has gone wrong, in my opinion, with Eminem. "Relapse" seems almost just as forced as "Encore" was, but this time it's more than just bad humor attempts. It's like Em sat down, looked at what he had rapped about on his previous albums, and just tried to replicate that old formula. "We Made You" is a carbon copy of "The Real Slim Shady," and "Without Me" except that this time it isn't as clever or as funny. I feel like Em just asked someone, "What celebs are most relevant right now?" and then wrote a song about them. Em once again writes a song about how messed up his mom was on "My Mom," where at the beginning of the song he jokingly states, "I know you are tired of hearing about my mom." Yes Em, we really are. He pushes the envelope way to far on "Insane." No one wants to hear you rap about getting raped Em. Can you bump that song in your car? No. At a party? No. "Bagpipes From Baghdad," is another poor attempt at Em trying to be funny, calling out Mariah Carey and telling us listeners that he wants another shot at her. Sometimes I feel like when I am listening to Eminem, mostly recently, it is like I am listening to a grown man who hasn't fully matured yet and who, frankly, is just extremely annoying. The entire middle of CD, to me, is skippable. That's 9 tracks that I don't have any interest in listening to. Em still has that excellent flow, but most of the time he ruins by putting a strange and annoying accent on his voice, rapping about rape, kidnapping, or just plain nonsense. Maybe he did the same thing on his earlier CDs, but it was creative, funny, and just all together better. Maybe I just don't want to listen to those subjects in my music anymore.

Finally, the CD picks up towards the end, where Em digs deep and raps about his pill addiction and the hardships he experiences during his time away from the game. That is ultimately what I hoped to get from Em on this CD. I don't mind the jokes and the extreme subjects, but it takes the entire CD to finally get some seriousness from Slim Shady. "Beautiful," is my favorite song on the album. It showcases Em evoking thoughts of Biggie with the way his rhyme pattern and intricate look into his struggles. Unfortunately, "Deja Vu," and "Underground," are the only other really excellent tracks on the album. I hate to say it, but Em, it might be time to finally retire.

Eminem Short Film: Back to High School

Em may have faltered a little on his latest album, but maybe he should give acting another go. Maybe a comedy this time, cause I thought this short for the MTV awards was pretty funny.

Eminem, Where Are You? from 2dopeboyz.com on Vimeo.

MTV Movie awards May 31 @ 9ET

Sorry For My Absence

I want to thank Tony for holding down the blog this past week. Between job hunting and LeBron James making miracle shots, I have had a busy week since I returned to the Cleve. I have not found the time to sit down and write a blog entry, but that will change starting tomorrow and next week.

Tomorrow or Monday look out for my opinion on Eminem's new CD "Relapse." My first taste of hip-hop came from Em, so I could not wait for Relapse to drop. I was extremely disappointed, and I'll let you guys know why.

Also, if you guys remember my man Wes Blaze, a Cleveland native and a friend of mine who is a gifted, yet undiscovered rapper, then you will be happy to hear my next sentence. I was with Wes last night (we were hugging and screaming like little girls for about 10 minutes after LeBron hit that 3) and we are going to put together an interview, a kind of "Get to know Wes Blaze" format. He has an album scheduled to drop very soon, within the next month, so I want everyone in Cleveland and elsewhere to get to know my boy Wes. So be on the lookout for Rear View Shaking's first official interview.

Again, thanks to Tony for keeping up the blog...and Charles Hamilton deserved to get punched haha. Go Cavs!

Charles Hamilton gets Jacked!

I know Jordan is not a fan of Hamilton, and I am not too fond of him either. This certainly isn't helpin his cause... hahaha. I wish I coulda seen Rhymefest's reaction when he watched this video.



TM

New Wale Songs

Who knows when Back to the Feature is coming out (see Jordan's post earlier), but at least Wale is finally responding to his fans by givin them two songs today via his Twitter. The first is called "Hot Shyt" feat. Peedi Crack, Black Thought, Young Chris, and TUface and its pretty sick. The second is called "Magic" and is unfinished, but we'll take what we can get at this point. Enjoy


Hot Shyt Feat. Peedi Crack, Black Thought, Young Chris and TUface

Magic - Wale

Technical Difficulties.

Also, I just wanted to apologize for the last couple entries not having pictures or clickable links. For some reason they haven't been working on blogspot, but I'll try to get that worked out ASAP. Until then, bear with us and thanks for reading!

News Brief

There have been a few things that have caught my eye in the past week or so. Therefore, I feel like it is my responsibility to relay these headlines to you, in case you missed them.

!. Recent headlines dealing with my dude Clifford Harris may have caught your eye, when headlines stated that T.I. would only be spending around two months in prison, despite previous reports of his prison sentence of one year and one day. However, according to an article from MTV an official has clarified that this is untrue. Whoever heard the two months sentence idea got it mixed up with his home confinement sentence, which has nothing to do with his actual prison sentence. According to the MTV article, T.I. will still be serving his one year and one day sentence with the possibility of up to a 15% (or 55 day) good conduct credit that could reduce his actual stay in jail. AFTER he serves his time, the 300 home confinement credit is given to the time allotted for him to spend in his home. This is what actually was reduced to about 2 months. His time to spend in his home. NOT in prison. TIP is also set to film two more videos before he gets locked up.

2. The artwork and track list for J. Dilla's upcoming album were released a week or two ago. I meant to get it up earlier, but I things came up. The album executiveproduced by Ma Dukes is set to be released on June 2nd and will contain 28 tracks. Features include Black Though, Blu, DOOM, Raekwon, and Mobb Deep. Go here to check out the entire track list: http://nahright.com/news/2009/05/12/j-dilla-jay-stay-paid-cover-track-list/

3. This news is my favorite. According to XXL Magazine, Young Chris's debut album Now or Never will be produced by Jay-Z and Mark Ronson. The album is set to be released sometime early next year, but a single "Suga Suga" will drop sometime soon. The main reason that I'm excited he is hooking up with Ronson, besides the fact that he's an amazing producer, is Ronson's connection with Wale. The article also says that Young Chris is set to have a mixtape with the Ambassador for the Capitol called The Odd Couple. They also mention a tape called The Network that will have features from Wale, J. Cole, and possible Drake. I get shivers just hearing lineups like those. For the full article go to: http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=46783

Also This is a Young Chris and Wale song that I hadn't heard before. It was on XXL:
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=23307


TM

Dark Side of the Soul is a Blank Disc?

Danger Mouse is at it again. The man that makes up half of Gnarls Barkley and the man that created the Grey Album, a mash of of Jay-Z's Black Album and The Beatles White Album, is set to release his latest creation Dark Night of the Soul. Or is he? When Danger previously tried putting out the Grey Album, he got in a huge dispute with EMI over copyright and a bunch of other legal issues. Now Sparkle Horse and Danger have created their latest CD, yet they once again ran into the same wall that is EMI. If the Grammy nominated producer wanted to release his newest works, he would almost certainly get sued by EMI, who has worked with clients like Snoop Dogg, MIMS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Lennon and Ice Cube to name very few. So what is Danger to do? Lay down, and be forced into submission? Ya right. Danger came back with a very clever (and legal) fuck you to EMI by preparing the "Album" to be sold as a rewritable CD-R along with exclusive artwork. That way, the consumers can go home, find the leaked album online, download it and rip it onto their CD-R. The CD-R will come with either a Poster for $10.00 or a limited edition book filled with over 100 exclusive photos and artwork for the project for $50. The cd is set to include artists James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils. You can pre-order the album at http://www.dnots-store.com/ or listen to a full stream of it at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104129585



TM

Hungry For Mixtapes

No matter how dope your lyrics are, how big your chain is, or how good your live show may be, an artist is nothing without his or her fans. Especially an artist who depends on Internet buzz and underground love as he gets set to drop his debut album this summer. Yes Wale, I am speaking about you. Recently, Wale has begun to alienate his fan base by continuing to push back his highly anticipated fifth mixtape, “Back To The Feature.” With an original release date April 29, the epic mixtape that is rumored to feature all the members of Slaughterhouse, Talib Kweli, J. Cole, Curren$y and many others, was then pushed back to May 7. Wale even held a concert/release party at Poisson Rouge in New York City to celebrate the tape. Yet, May 7 rolled around and there was no mixtape to be found. People who attended the concert said that Wale never mentioned the tape at all. Now Wale is one of my favorite artists and, in my opinion, the best of the up and comers of 2009. But myself, along with thousands of other fans who have been waiting for this mnixtape for quite some time now, feel very slighted. When the original release date for the mixtape was given to us, it was by Wale in a video telling the crowd at a sneaker singing he attended that the tape was coming April 29. A few weeks later we found Wale telling us in an interview that the tape was being pushed back to May 7. It was disappointing, but at least Wale was letting his fans know what was going on. Wale’s manager’s website, The Elitaste, created fliers promoting the release of the mixtape in New York on May 7. Ever since May 7, us fans have heard nothing from Wale or Elitaste. No explanation for why the tape never came out after all the promotion that was done nor an update as to when the next, probably unreal, release date would be. The only news the public heard was a short message on Elitaste’s Twitter saying that the tape would “be out soon.” Thank you so much for that insight. It is almost like Wale and his management team don’t realize that there are thousands of fans wondering where the mixtape is and sitting around waiting for some new Wale to drop. Buzz is so important when you are a young artist, and Wale is squalling his right now. The frustration I feel over the lack of information about this new mixtape is going to turn me off of Wale, the tape will come out when it does and it will be amazing. But I cannot speak for other, more casual fans who may be checking out Wale for the first time. Wale’s last mixtape dropped in 2008, and in this internet era where Lil’ Wayne can drop 8 songs a day and Curren$y, fresh off releasing his debut album in April, can already have another mixtape ready for the end of May, it baffles me as to why this mixtape is taking so long to come out. The people are hungry Wale. You had better feed them quick before some of them go elsewhere for food.

Asher Roth + The Roots

Asher Roth performing "Be By Myself" on Fallon. He didn't' have Cee-Lo with him, but Black Thought and The Roots were there to back him up. I dont know about ya'll, but it sounds a little slow to me..

New K'Naan "T.I.A." Video

Check out K'Naan's new video for his single "T.I.A." Its pretty sweet.

K'NAAN "T.I.A" music video directed by: NABIL from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Joe Budden vs. Method Man

My good friend Colin Marshall starts off the week with his analysis of a highly controversial claim that Mr. Joe Budden made this weekend on his now famous online television-station, JoeBuddentTV. Colin and I go back to middle school, with Colin really becoming a hip-hop head much earlier than I did. He introduced me to the Wu-Tang Clan, and I kind of took off from there. Anyway, enjoy it, it's a good, in-depth look at two of the best MCs to do it in hip-hop.

Earlier this week, rapper Joe Budden released a video on his website (joebuddentv.com – if you’ve never checked it out, do so, it’s the funniest shit in Hip Hop right now) where he went off on a current Vibe Magazine, bracket-style online tournament to see who is the best rapper ever. Budden took issue with the seeding of the bracket which had placed him at 31. Now obviously, as a real rapper Budden thinks he is the best and he should, and he was displeased with his seeding – but his biggest problem was with who was seeded ahead of him and other rappers of his caliber. Names like Webbie and Nelly were placed higher than top tier MC’s such as Talib Kweli and Black Thought, so obviously the list is bullshit. Anyway, in the video, Budden (who is with his friend and fellow MC Joell Ortiz; who didn’t even make the list which is blasphemy) talks about how he is better than most of the names on the list, which he is. Had Budden left his remarks at that it wouldn’t have caught my attention, but at the end he claims that he is a better rapper than Wu-Tang’s own Method Man – and that’s what caught my ear. Method Man has earned his spot in Hip Hop and I was surprised that Budden called him out… Sort of. I spent a good several hours after watching the video (because I have nothing better to do with my time) thinking about who was a better MC between the two and my inner-debate was only exacerbated by Budden arguing with his fans on Twitter about the same subject. Like most “who’s the best” hip hop debates this one doesn’t have a simple answer but I did eventually come to my conclusion. The Vibe bracket in question asks: Who is the best “MC” ever? Now MCing is an art form and there are several aspects of it rappers must master before they can be considered the best or in this case better than another MC. Both Meth and Budden are official MCs, and I’m a big fan of both. Budden is probably one of my personal top five MCs of the moment, but in a "best ever" argument, is he better than Meth?

Now Joe Budden is currently one of the Elite MC’s in the game. After making a name for himself with pop anthems like “Pump It Up” and “Fire” Budden returned to the underground and released the Mood Muzik mixtape series which saw him grow in leaps and bounds as a lyricist. In February he released his second album, Padded Room which was extremely complex and a far cry from his first album, the self-titled Joe Budden, in terms of depth and skill. Line-for-line Budden is a better MC than Method Man. The complexity of his rhymes and wittiness of his punchlines are also superior to Meth’s. Budden covers more diverse and introspective topics and could probably beat Meth in a rap battle.

Method Man is basically a living legend in Hip Hop to people in the know. He entered the game with a bang, first appearing on the undisputed classic; Wu-Tang Clan’s debut 36 Chambers in 1993. Since then Meth has gone on to a list of accomplishments including three platinum albums (one with partner Redman) and a Grammy for best rap song for his duet with Mary J. Blige, “You’re All I Need.” Meth’s last album, 2006’s 4:21… The Day After Tomorrow was an unbelievable album and highly underrated. Skill-wise Meth is only slightly below Budden in terms of pure lyrics and word-play, but he’s been consistently at the top of his game since he appeared on the scene – so going on 17 years. Contrast that with Budden who’s only been around since 2001 and a great a MC since around 2003. Meth is far superior to Budden in terms of charisma and delivery which is a very important aspect of MCing. Also his live show (which I’ve been to) is something to be witnessed. Meth could get a crowd of middle-aged, suburban republicans on their feet and vibing along with him. Finally Meth possesses the best flow in Hip Hop, hands down. Hell Meth could rhyme nonsense over a mediocre beat and make it sound nice.

In conclusion I prefer Budden, but if you take non-biased look at the argument, Method Man’s duration, influence, accomplishments and intangibles place him ahead of Joe Budden. Sorry Mouse.

Happy Mother's Day

Today, May 10th is Mothers Day. Almost everybody has been influenced by their moms in one way or another. Many of artists have expressed this in their music, whether they are talkin about their deceased mothers or if they are just showing their appreciation for all that they have done. Here are a few tracks that show this.

Mother's Day - Jae Millz <---This one was just released a few days ago

One Last Kiss - MIMS featuring Solar Mesh

Hey Mama - Kanye West

10 Songs I'm Listening To

Here is a quick post about 10 of the songs I listen to most right now:
(In no particular order)

1. Drake - Best I Ever Had
2. Wale - Word Play Feat. Curren$y and Tre of UCB
3. Black Thought - Reality Check (Produced by J. Dilla)
4. Wes Blaze - Get at me
5. Asher Roth - Lion's Roar Feat. Busta Rhymes
6. MIMS - Move (if you wanna)
7. Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Common, Lady Gaga - I Poke Her Face
8. Elzhi - Deep
9. Mos Def - Quiet Dog
10. Move - CunninLynguists

Featured Artist: Elzhi

The rap game was in a huge slump just a few years ago, and still sorta is with songs like "Boom Boom Pow" and "I'm the Shit" still gettin loads of radio time. However, the upcoming wave of new look artists have brought originality and lyricism back into the picture. Artists like Wale, Drake, and Kid Cudi (to name a few) have given us hope that hip-hop is returning to its golden form. I have been lovin the past year or so, because everywhere I turn there is another talented artist that is introduced into my ever growing library of songs.

This time, an artist by the name of Elzhi was brought to my attention by Wes Blaze's (See our article about him) rommate...sometimes....Colin Marshall. When he came and visited good ol' Mizzou, he integrated some of his music into my library, and I greatly thank him for it. Elzhi comes out of Detroit and actually isn't new to the game, as he was a part of Slum Village while J Dilla was still around. He joined Baatin and T3 to be come a fulltime member in 2001 and worked with them on 3 of the albums. In 2004 he created the label, Libido Sounds, with Nick Speed in order to put out a mixtape of unreleased solo work, that included some collaborations with Dilla. Since then many have awaited his first solo album. He appeased his audience on August 12, 2008 when he released The Preface. This is the album that I recieved from Colin, and let me tell you, I have been very impressed. The more I listen to this guy, the better he sounds, and the more ridiculous verses I hear. I especially like "Colors" "Motown 25" and "D.E.M.O.N.S." even though almost all the songs are dope. I really need to put down some of his verses for you to truely see how talented this dude is.

This one is off of colors:
Now there's something that's dead from
Fighting over bread crumbs
Feet and head numb
It's a murder
We call it redrum
Got them boys in blue with blackjacks
Locking the new youth
That sell purples through Blackberrys
With the Bluetooth
Saw this gold digging redbone I knew
Posing in BlackTail
Another black girl lost
Inside a world of blackmail
And white collar crime
Done on the sneak tip
Different from blue collar workers
Catching the pink slip

and this one is from "D.E.M.O.N.S."
If I broke the word down in acronyms, while usin part logic
A demon could mean - destroyin every man off narcotics
Drug epidemics, measure obsession needles
Got dealers earnin money overnight
Deceitful elections, monitor our nations
While devil's effected, music out now on your stations
Dirty, explicit, material, oozin negativity
Distortin, eardrums mentally, overwhelmin nonsense
Dysfuctional, educational, malfuctions, oppressed negroes
Death, equals murder, oxygen's neglected
Drama, extreme mayhem, ownin a necklace
Diabetes enter many obese niggaz
So, dreams eventually match, ordinary nightmares
Department, eviction, management office notices
Dreadful, evolved missiles operatin nuclear
Why is this new to you?
^---If you didn't notice before the title of the song is an acronym. If you closely take a look at each sentence of this verse, you will notice why it is so filthy. He actually made almost every line an acronym of Demon, while consistently making conscious arguments of what evils we face in today's world. This is one of the most original and refreshing ways to spit I have ever seen, and it really gets me excited about him.

There is another song that he released as a single called "Deep" that is in my top 10 favorite songs right now. He goes so hard on the Black Milk produced track. (Black Milk also produced almost all of The Preface). Make sure you check that song out if nothing else. Moving on. According to a Nas forum, where some guy did an interview with him, Elzhi is set to release Elmatic a tribute mixtape to honor Nas, which should be excellent. He is aiming to have that out to the public around December. Also, look for him to come out with his sophomore album The Feed sometime within the next year. Finally, this very busy guy is currently working with Royce Da 5'9" on some collaboration. Yes, the same Royce that is in Slaughterhouse. In short terms, Elzhi is doin it real big right now, and everybody needs to get their hands some of his music as soon as possible. He is quickly becomin' of my favorite dudes on the scene right now.

TM

Lupe and Bobby Ray Collab. Coming Soon

They bout to do some "raw ass shit"
"People expect it to be a certain thing, you know, a certain way, and that's when I like to go completely to the left."

Am I An Official Blogger?

So I woke up this morning, checked my e-mail, and found a message waiting for me from a group who call themselves Grey Granite. Inside of their message they showed me some love for Rear View Shaking and gave me a song to put up on the blog. I feel like I am moving up in the blogosphere..a group saw my blog, liked it, and sent me a song? It seemed too good to be true. So I checked them out on their website, which you can find at http://www.greygranitemusic.com.
The group, made up of Grey Granite on vocals and J. Brookinz who produces, bring an extremely unique style of music to the table. It's a little bit of techno, a little bit of rock, and a little bit of hip-hop. Not usually something I would post up on the blog but, they showed me love so I will show them some. They also remix a few rock songs (stuff from the Kaiser Chiefs and The Killers to name a few) and lay down a verse on it. The track they sent me is called "Girls Start Moving," originally done by the Kaiser Chiefs with a Grey Granite spin. Hit up the website for more songs and judge for yourself. I personally really like "Grey Granite Amplifies The Killers," which you can find at the bottom of the page. "The Wolf," and "Keep On Shining," also go hard. I like when they remix the rock songs and rap over them....not feeling the techno vibe so much though.

You can download "Girls Start Moving," here:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/59678267ad355a71

Wale Interview after U.C. Riverside show

A07 x Wale from A07 on Vimeo.

B.O.B. Sighting

It has been a while since B.O.B., excuse me, Bobby Ray has been on the hip-hop scene. He dropped a few really good mixtapes in 08 but then disappeared for a while, only to emerge a bit weirder and playing a different type of music. Putting together his own band, Ray can be found playing guitar and singing like a rock star. Although Bobby Ray is still involved in the hip-hop scene (he was recently featured on Willy Northpole's excellent "Hood Dreamin'"), Ray has me a bit worried. There is no doubt he is talented in more genres than just hip-hop but, the kid can really spit and I was excited for his debut album, whenever the hell that is supposed to come out. If he is taking his music in a different direction, than fine, but I truly hop hip-hop is his main goal and that his CD is completely different than what I hoped it would be. Here are two videos that my buddy Max Sgro took during B.O.B.'s recent visit to Connecticut College (I know, who goes to that school right?) and you can really see the style change I am talking about in the second video. "Generation Lost" sounds amazing with live instruments though, stick to that Bobby! Thanks Sgro.

Kicks of the Day

While I am not to keen towards these shoes, I know they are getting a ton of hype. This pink and black colorway of the Nike Air Yeezy's that Kanye designed himself came out on May 3rd and were priced at $215. They are already sold out, but they already are up on eBay, so if you want em that bad, you can go pay $500-600 on there. Kanye West definitely has an interesting opinion of what is fashion. Maybe one day, I'll actually agree with him about it.

Artist Spotlight: J. Cole

I know I have said a lot of artists are "my shit." Wale is my shit, I have been following the dude for two years. Drake is my shit, I have been bumping him ever since "So Far Gone" dropped. Blu is my shit, when my boy Colin played me "Below The Heavens" for the first time I was in awe. Curren$y is my shit, Asher Roth is my shit, I could go on and on but you understand me. Everybody has their artist that they lay claim to. You discovered him before any of your friends did, and although probably thousands of people heard him before you did, that is your artist. That is like Wale to me. But I may have found someone that rivals, if not beats, the excitement and amazement that I felt when I first heard Wale. You know, that "Wait a minute, what did he say?" feeling. Lyrics that make you press pause on the Ipod and rewind the track so you can fully understand what the MC just said. Well, ladies and gentleman, I bring you J.Cole. Surfing around nahright, and Onsmash, all the regular hip-hop blogs, I had heard of this kid, but never really bothered to look in to him. With Asher and Curren$y putting out new music and Big Sean dropping a mixtape a few weeks ago, I had enough music to listen to at the time. The I read on Wale's Twitter that J. Cole was going to be on his highly anticipated mixtape, "Back To The Feature." So I was like, ok, this kid has to be decent if Wale is working with him. Then I read that J. Cole was the first signee to the brand new label, Roc Nation, started and managed by Jay-Z. So I thought to myself, Jay-Z, one of the greatest rappers of all time, started his own label, and this is the first kid he signed? Like, the very first? The face of his label? He has go to be dope. So I checked him out, downloading his first mixtape, The Come Up, and then recently bumping the sampler to his upcoming mixtape, The Warm Up. I was blown away. On laid back, piano he beats, he sounds like Blu. On sped up beats he reminds me of a hungry Kanye West mixed with a little bit of Jay-Z. From Fayetteville, NC, J. Cole is absolutely dope. I may be a little late to this kid, but he has less than 1,000 followers on Twitter so, I can't be that late right? He can rap about the struggle, he can rap about girls, he can rap about money, he can rap about life. He spits about anything and does it seamlessly. 10 minutes ago I was sitting in my bed with my headphones on, listening to The Warm Up Sampler. A song came on where Cole raps over the "93 Til Infinity" beat by Souls Of Mischief, a classic hip-hop song. Not only does Cole destroy the beat...he says this:

"Far from a thug but I'll drop em/Far from a scrub but I'll mock them/Watch em/Better leave them alone like Stockton"

Now if you don't understand the brilliance of this line, let me help you. Most people, even if you don't like basketball, know the Utah Jazz combo of Karl Malone and John Stockton. So Cole says, "Leave them alone like Stockton" which equals, "Leave the Malone like Stockton." So sick. I have never heard this line used in any hip-hop song before. It just blew my mind, so I got out my laptop and started blogging. Check out his video below, called "A Dollar and a Dream II" and get hip to J. Cole because the kid is going to be huge.



Now

Countdown to Relapse

After once again stirring up the rap game, along with Bill O'Reilly, by releasing "Crack A Bottle" and "We Made You," Eminem released yet another single last week entitled "3 AM"(See previous entry). With three singles already out off his upcoming album , you'd think he would let those ride until the album came out right? Think again. He plans on releasing two more songs before it hits stores, which makes me wonder how many songs are actually going to be on Relapse? Does he have a large amount of tracks or is he just releasing half the album before it even comes out? I geuss we'll have to wait and see. Here is the schedule for the next two songs:

May 5th: "Old Time's Sake" Feat. Dr. Dre

May 12th: "Beautiful"

May 19th: Relapse is released

Also, the above picture is the coverart for the album...looks tight