Eminem....Are you back?

I have to comment on Tony's post about the new Eminem track, "The Warning" where he goes so so so so so hard at Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. I came home last night, checked out Nah Right, and saw that Slim Shady himself had put out a diss track against, of all people, Mariah Carey. As Tony said, this whole thing started when Em made a pretty pathetic song calling out Nick Cannon and Carey on Relpase. I remember asking myself at the time, why would Em go back to a relationship he had about four years ago? Does he have beef with Nick Cannon? I thought it was a feeble attempt to push himself back in to the spotlight with some dumb song about two people who one might call D-List celebrities. But it has turned out to be the best thing in the world. I do not like Relapse. Aside from a few tracks, I really felt like Em had lost his touch. From trying to be way to vulgar to just not being able to put rhymes together like he used to, I felt Em was clinging on to an old formula that was not working anymore. But my God, he destroys this track. No, let me get this right, he absolutely devours this track. I put this on last night, and my jaw dropped. Instead of another childish attempt by Em to randomly diss someone, he goes back to his Marshall Mathers LP days and KILLS Carey and Cannon. No weird accent on his voice, no dumb fart jokes in his rhymes. This is the old Eminem that I loved, and the Eminem that I hoped would show up on Relapse. If Relapse 2 is anything like this track, I will take back my previous statement that Eminem is done. It may have been just one song, but Em still has it.

Wale Freestyle on BET

Here is an interview with Wale, where we get some info about Chillin', his labels and signings, and other randoms. Also, at the end Wale lays down some sick bars for us, and without the help of a blackberry...

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

TM

Eminem: The Warning

Eminem started it on "Bagpipes from Baghdad," Nick Cannon and Mariah made it an ordeal with blogs and the song "Obsessed," and now Em has come back with one simple message: Nick and Mariah do NOT want Slim to get into it. On "The Warning" Em makes it clear that he has plenty of dirt on Mariah to make "Bagpipes" look like a joke on the back of a Laffy Taffy. He says that the track is meant to end this feud before it really gets ugly. "Fuck it now I'm about to draw the line," he spits. "And for you to cross it, that's a mountain that I doubt you want to climb." I respected Cannon for stepping up and making a stand for his woman, but who is he kidding. Eminem is not somebody you really want to mess with, and this track was made to show that. I almost want Nick to try a comeback, just so I can hear some more Eminem I actually enjoy.


DOWNLOAD: Eminem- The Warning

Pac Div Freestyle

Ever since I downloaded their mixtape, Church League Champions, I have been all about Pac Div. This video right here should help you understand why. In the studio with up and coming producer DJ Khalil (he produced the first single, "The One," off of Slaughterhouse's upcoming album), the men from the Left Coast go in over a nasty beat. Who do it better than these three gentleman? CHURCH LEAGUE CHAMPS!

Pac Div + DJ Khalil = DOOM from DJ KHALIL on Vimeo.

New from Slaughterhouse and Friends

For all of you Slaughterhouse fiends out there (Colin), here are some recent songs if you missed 'em. Some are solo or features from the members and some are as a group.

Royce Da 5'9" - Gun Harmonizing

Slaughterhouse - Warriors

Royce Da 5'9" - 8-11

Crooked I - 8-11 Pt. 2

P.W.T. Ft. Crooked I - Displacement

Novel Ft. Joell Ortiz & Papoose - So Much More

Slaugherhouse - The One

Verse of the Day is BACK

One of the features I like about our blog is the verse of the day, a verse selected to show off an artist's prowess in lyricism. However, we haven't put one up in quite a while, so here is a nice verse from J. Cole off of The Warm Up. (If you still haven't gotten that, do so now)

From the track "Grown Simba"

"Pardon the Interruption
A proper introduction is necessary when your shit is lengendary, man
Greedy brothers wouldn't let me in the cafeterian
Cuz they ain't believe/suddenly they presbetarian
The hoes is librarians/they lookin me up
She got a jones like marion/she lickin me up
Then we cut, look how she say my name
I got her moanin j. cole/ they used to say jermaine
Inever change, im like a corpse in a coffin, 6 feet/shits deep
I was low, just a dollar and some hope/fix me
Cuz I was broke plus the weed that I would smoke would make me worser
Lord please let my problems disappear like Ron Mercer
I'm a star, converses/ conversin with them girls with the curves like cursive
They open like curtains cuz my shit is unheard of like curses on the radio
Same bitches used to play me though/now they yellin where you goin?"

Hard to top that....

Everything, Everyday, Everywhere - Fabolous Ft. Keri Hilson, Ryan Leslie

This track is a banger and Keri Hilson does her thing



Loso's Way in stores today

The Great Hangover Tour

Last Friday I was fortunate enough to grab a ticket to attend The Great Hangover Tour at the House Of Blues in downtown Cleveland. Headlining and making his homecoming debut was Kid Cudi, and he brought Asher Roth, B.o.B. and 88 Keys along for the ride. Running just a little over four hours, the show was one giant party. Each performer brought his own unique energy to the stage, and Cudi rocked the home crowd. Here are a few video clips from the show, you can really feel how into it the crowd was. What you don't see are the 16 year old drunk girls stumbling around and screaming, "BECKKYYYYY I"M OVER HEEEREEEE!" But that's a whole other story.

Kid Cudi's Intro+Down And Out




Kid Cudi-Day N' Nite



Asher Roth-Sour Patch Kids



Bobby Ray aka B.o.B.-Mr. Bobby

I Was Gone For A Minute But Now I'm Back...

So yes, it has been a while since I have posted, and I apologize. But my absence has paid off because I was searching the internet for good music to bring to you, taking video at the recent Great Hangover Tour that graced Cleveland with its presence, and working so I could make some money to buy a sweet shirt to show all of you. Shouts to Tony once again for keeping the blog up to date with some good links. But I'm back, with two mixtapes that you need to get your hands on.




Pac Div- I usually don't really fuck with a lot of dudes from the West Coast, their style is just very different, but lately I have been warming up to it. I am already a huge fan of Blu, and U-N-I definitely grew on me. But Pac Div, or Pacific Division, is just straight dope. Their new mixtape, Church League Champions, is excellent, with each of the three members spitting fire in each of their verses. Their beat selection reminds me a little bit of the Cool Kidz and U-N-I, but their style is definitely different. The second track, We The Champs, is one of the coolest songs I have ever heard. They also love basketball, and throw in a lot of basketball references in their music, which I love. Definitely download Church League Champions, you will not be disappointed.



Young Chris- One half of Young Gunnerz has been making a lot of noise ever since he went solo, and that would be Young Chris. Here he gives us his newest mixtape, The Network, hosted by Don Cannon. A few tracks on here have been floating around the internet for a while, but the original material is dope. A lot of people say Young Chris bit Jay style wise, but I could really care less. He sounds different and brings his own style to the table. Download The Network, and let these mixtapes hold you over for a while.

"Change" on Fallon

Daniel Merriweather and Wale perform the UK smash hit "Change" with the Roots backin them up on Jimmy Fallon late night. Fallon talks to Wale a little bit about his album and finds out Merriweather is actually Australian and not British haha.

Slaughterhouse - "The One"

New Slaughterhouse called "The One" off of their album coming out August 11th. You aren't gonna want to skip this one. The end of this summer is going to be HUGE for hip-hop...

B.O.B vs. Bobby Ray: A Quick Review

Okay, I know what you are thinking when you read that title. This mixtape came out a few weeks ago already, right? However, because he is such a prominent figure in the new class, and because we did post the link for the mixtape, I still think it is important to get out my opinion of this tape out onto the blog. I also plan on doing a review of the J.Cole mixtape as well.

Let me start off by saying that B.o.B. has had somewhat of a roller coaster when it comes to mine and Jordan's opinion of him. When we first downloaded his mixtapes before, we both saw he had a lot of talent. Jordan really like him, and I thought he was pretty solid. However, after those mixtapes, Bobby Ray somewhat disappeared from the game. He maybe had a song here and there, but for about 6 months, we really didn't hear a lot from him. This had both Jordan and I worried about what he was doing. Then about 2 months ago, it surfaced that he was working on this new mixtape. I heard what the concept was about and got really excited. I already knew he could spit, and that he could play piano and guitar well, so I was really anticipating hearing how this tape would sound. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

B.O.B.
Mr. Bobby got it started with a live freestyle titled "Patron & Swag." In the freestyle, he spits about how the content and lyricism of current rap is in terrible shape, a prominent theme within the up and coming class of rappers. B.o.B. is an artist who focuses on lyricism and it is definitely much appreciated. Throughout the rest of the B.o.B. portion of mixtape, he is joined by quite a few well known geusts. "One" has a great beat and rocks the sample perfectly. On this song B.o.B. is joined by Big Kuntry, another dude on Grand Hustle, and Mac Boney. There are no lyrics that make you pause and rewind the song on this track, but all three artists put in a decent verse that fit well together for the song. On "Change Gonna Come" we see him team up with fellow XXLers Charles Hamilton and Asher Roth. I personally love this song. I think its got a great message about the moves forward this country is making, and I think this is one of Asher's best verses that he's put out. I'd say hes got the best one out of the three on this song. The only fault in this song: Hamilton. I just can't get into that dude. On "Do You Have the Stamina" B.o.B. uses a live Kanye sample for the chorus of the song. Now I usually think the quality of live songs sound pretty bad, but this one actually works. The song discusses the stresses and difficulties of being a part of the game. B.o.B. handles the track very nicely staying well versed with nice rhymes as he explains how he keeps his composure while staying true to himself.
On "I am the Man" he shows a bit of his cocky side alongside. OJ da Juiceman and Bun B. The song is pretty average for a couple reasons. It could have been pretty boring if it was just OJ on the track. His verse has very little substance and just sounds overall not very well put together. He makes it worse by putting his annoying "aye, aye, aye" in the background of the verse. He also stopped very abruptly making his portion of the song pretty undesirable to listen to. However, Bun B stepped in to fix things by going hard on this track like he usually does. Bun used some pretty solid lines to bring this song back to an average rating.
Moving along we find the song "Voltage" featuring Mickey Factz and Playboy Tre. All three go in on this track and make it pretty fun and uptempo with a bouncy kind of flow. Finally, we got to "Im Dat N***a"(as a white kid from Munster, not very comfortable with that word haha) which features fellow Grand Hustler T.I.P. At the end of this song, the two both are confident that they each had the better verse over the other, and ask guys like me to "blog about it." So here's what I think. To be completely honest, i find it hard to locate the margin between the quality of these two verses. They are both very solid and pretty similar by basically saying that they are the hottest in the game right now and the scene wouldn't be the same without them. However I am gonna have to give the slight edge to B.o.B. because of his Brian Nichols reference. (For those who don't know he's the guy that broke out of jail and murder his judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's Deputy, and a Federal Agent). "they show me straight to the judge/just like Brian Nichols I ain't spittin' nothin but slugs." For that line I give B.o.B. the win.

BOBBY RAY
Alright, now we arrive at the second half of the mixtape that focuses on Bobby Ray, who is still part rapper, but also add the element of singing and shows his versatility with the instrumentals.

He jumps off by launching us into "Satellite," a fitting name as the synthesizer and other sound effects give us a very spacey feel. This is the first song that we get to hear his vocals which really fit well on the chorus. The song is extremely different from something you'd normally expect from a rapper, but that's exactly why he is not only a rapper, but a true artist. This song was very refreshing and got me excited for the remainder of the tape.
Mr. Ray continues with "Wonderland," a song set up by a very lively drum kit. The juiced up tempo goes nicely with Bobby Ray rhyming about the high stakes and high rewards of taking chances to go for what you really want to do.
The tape is even more diversified when we hear "Mr. Bobby," a very relaxed raggae track that's really easy on the ears.
"Camera" is an interesting track that discusses the path of a girl who is built up to believe that she has a legitimate chance at using her beauty to get her through life. However, the song quickly shows that women often lose sight of their morals end up being degraded and disrespected by themselves and others.
"No Man's Land" is one of my favorite songs on the whole tape. The beat is made up of a great twangy guitar riff with tambourine and clapping in the back. Somehow a beat that sounds like it could be played at a barn dance works perfectly for the song.

So there it is...a quick (sort of, it turned out longer than I thought) review of the B.o.B. vs. Bobby Ray mixtape. Most of the other songs I missed are good too, so don't just skip them because I didnt' talk about them. The only song I really have a problem with is "Trippin'" Its not really bad, its just a little weird for me. But who knows, maybe I should take shrooms and listen to it.

So quickly:
FAVORITE SONGS: "One," "Change Gonna Come," "Voltage," "Satellite," No Man's Land"
LEAST Favorite (But still not garbage): "Fly Like Me," "Trippin'"

To close this thing out, I would just like to say that this mixtape has shot B.o.B. way up in the ranks of the new rapper class. I really have even more respect for him after hearing this collection of music and I cannot wait until his album drops.

Rating: 4.5/5


DOWNLOAD: B.o.B. Vs. Bobby Ray Mixtape

The Sound Of Somethin Different Artwork

Here is the artwork for Wes Blaze's debut mixtape, The Sound Of Somethin Different. Wes told me he hopes to have it out by next week, and as soon as it drops, it will be available for download right here. Get ready Cleveland Heights....good music from our own backyard is coming.

Good Beats Make Good Music

I've always found it amusing that whenever a good, respected producer puts together a track for an artist who has lyrical talent but doesn't let it show 100% of the time, that the artist always steps his or her game up and delivers an on point verse. Then the next track you hear from them is garbage and you shake your head because you know the talent that MC possesses. Here is an example of this exact situation as I bring you a track off of the highly anticipated CD from producer The Alchemist, who currently belongs to Eminem as his personal DJ. Entitled "I Know Your Name," the track features Lil' Wayne and Travis from Gym Class Heroes going in over an amazing beat from The Alchemist. There are times when I really like how Wayne flows over the beat, and he fits this track perfectly, while Travis actually shows up lyrically. Anyway, Chemical Warfare drops tomorrow, so please get your hands on it just because the beats will all be top notch. Here is the link to the posting about the song from NahRight.

The Alchemist feat. Travis McCoy & Lil' Wayne-I Know Your Name

Kid Cudi Freestyle on Tim Westwood

This freestyle is pretty sick, check it out..Kid Cudi's album out August 25th!!

Download: Kid Cudi- Tim Westwood Freestyle

2nd Single off Attention: Deficit!!

Alright here is the second single off of Attention: Deficit, which is coming out end of August I believe. Its called "Pretty Girls." I am pretty sure Wale said he was droppin his album the same day as Cudi, which is August 25th on his Twitter, but I'm not Positive.


DOWNLOAD: Wale - Pretty Girls

Atmosphere - Leak at Will (EP)

Atmosphere gives a 4th of July Independence Day gift by releasing this free EP.

Tracklist:

1. C'Mon
2. They Always Know
3. The Ropes
4. White Noise
5. Feel Good Hit of the Summer (Pt. 2)
6. Mother's Day
7. Millie Fell of the Fire Escape

Download: Atmosphere - Leak at Will EP

Shouts to OnSmash for the download

TM

Reflection Eternal is "Back Again"

Here at Rear View Shaking, we pride ourselves in choosing nothing but the highest quality hip-hop in the most current and timely manner. When it comes to quality, there are few that are higher than Talib Kweli. He is a lyricist in its truest form, and when he hooks up with good friend and beat maker Hi Tek, they combine to form Reflection Eternal, one of the best tandems out there. After some time since their last recordings together, they are here once again. Prepping for their new album, they released the single "Back Again" along with the video. Trust me guys this ones a banger. The video is pretty tight too.

Talib Kweli + Hi Tek-Reflection Eternal -Back Again-Vid Premiere

via yearoftheblacksmith.com

The song is available for purchase on itunes now

TM