First Quarter Hip-Hop Awards

We are a little over a quarter of the way through 2009 and already there has been an influx of hip-hop music flooding the internet and record stores. I have decided to pass out awards for my favorite mixtapes and albums so far in 2009. Let's begin.

Best Mixtape: Drake-So Far Gone
How this kid did not grace the cover of XXL's Freshmen of 2009 issue is beyond me. Ace Hood was on there but not Drake? Really? Anyway, Drake is one of the most unique artists to step into the hip-hop game. The Toronto native mixes deft wordplay with smooth vocals, and whether he is crooning to the thousands of women that will soon be in love with him or spitting some hard shit for the fellas, Drake remains one of the most talented artists I have ever heard. So Far Gone finds him bodying Lil' Wayne on a few tracks and singing right along with guests such as Omarion and Lloyd. Now in the studio working with Jay-Z and Jus Blaze, his debut album is sure to be one to remember.

Runners Up: Big Sean-UKnowBigSean, J.Period-J. Period Presents The (Abstract) Best, The Kickdrums-Smash The System

Best Album: Joe Budden-Padded Room
I think Joe Budden shocked a lot of people with how lyrically sick and deep his 2009 album, "Padded Room," was. From speaking about a girl that torments him every day and night to taking a serious look at his life, Jumpoff really goes in and lyrically is miles ahead of the majority of MCs spitting right now. Now the whole word cannot wait for the SlaughterHouse album coming this summer, as Joey has compiled four of the illest MCs into one group.

Runners up: K'naan-Troubadour, Curren$y-This Ain't No Mixtape, Saigon-All In A Day's Work

Most Slept On (Tie): MIMS-Guilt, Cunninlyguists-Strange Journey Vol. 1, Curren$y-This Ain't No Mixtape
I think MIMS definitely wins here just because of his mainstream appeal. People do not really know about Curren$y or Cunninlyguists yet because they are still very underground, even though they have both been around for years. But MIMS put out a quality album in "Guilt," and while every track may not be unbelievable, and his is definitely not the best lyricist, the CD has a lot of really good tracks on it. MIMS talks about how much his mother means to him and how he feels guilty about being a fake on his first CD, realness we don't see from mainstream rappers ever these days. Curren$y's new CD is a gem, and although he does talking about smoking weed a ton (because he does it a lot) he is another guy spitting about real life. And if you do not have "Strange Journey Vol. 1" then you are missing out on a collection of amazing beats and dope lyrics. Don't sleep on these CDs!

Most Disappointing: Asher Roth-Asleep In The Bread Aisle
Now, this award does not mean it was a bad CD. In fact, I like Asleep in the Bread Aisle. But it could have been so much better. Musically, the CD is amazing. As I stated before in my review, Oren Yoel's production on Asher's debut is top notch. But lyrically, Asher does not consistently bring it, and if he was spitting like he was on his mixtape, "Asleep In The Bread Aisle," may be one of the best hip-hop debuts to come out. Knowing the lyrical talent of Asher, his performance on his freshman CD is quite underwhelming.
Runner Up: Common-Universal Mind Control

These awards are based on music I downloaded and have listened to, if there are CDs I have missed (like Jadakiss' "Last Kiss") then please let me know!

Little 5 Weekend

Okay, after a slight absence from the blog, I'm back and will try to post some things more often. I have been slackin a bit, I know. Only a few hours ago, I returned from a trip to Little 500, the greatest college party weekend in the entire world. How does a bike race turn into such a huge deal? I have no idea. What I do know is that, at any point in time when I was there, I could turn in 4 different directions and I would be garaunteed to see either a beer bong, a 40 oz. beer, outdoor beer pong, or large packs of women everywhere I looked. I know this has nothing to do with music, so I'll get into it.

One of the main attractions that is now a huge part of Little 5 is the music that comes throughout the week. Unfortunately I have not gotten to attend any of the concerts yet, but I will tell you what I have heard. Last year, DMX was the talk of the town. After getting out of the cell, DMX appeared at little 5. Almost as soon as he got on stage, he started passing around a bottle of alcohol to the crowd, and after 1 song got shut down and taken off stage...Way to be X. This year there were a variety of hip-hop artists in Bloomington. The first being my boy Wale. Unfortunately it was at a 21+ bar/club, so my buddy couldn't go, but did manage to steal me a poster! From what I heard, he got a good response, which is always good to hear. The artist drew the biggest crowd of them all: Chris Bridges aka Ludacris. I was supposed to see him, because the place where I stayed was right across the street from the concert, but I ended up missing it. Regardless, everybody I talked to said the show was amazing. He played some of his new stuff in addition to some of his older stuff including "Whats your Fantasy?" He also brought up fellow DTP crew member Shawnna on stage to spit some on her own and to perform "Gettin' Some." (If you want to see a clip of his performance check out this clip: Ludacris Little 500. The other artists that graced IU with their presence were Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy. I didn't really talk to anybody that went to Jeezy, but I did run across some Soulja gay concert goers. It made me happy when EVERY SINGLE person that saw him, just went on a rant about how shitty his performance was. Apparently he would stop his songs and try to have a conversation in the middle of the appx. 5 songs that he did. I had three words for them: "Told you so." Anyways, its good to hear that people saw what a joke he is in person. Maybe that's what it will take for people to realize the truth about Soulja Boy.

Now that I'm done telling you about my weekend, let me show you a couple songs that I think are worth givin a listen:


Eminem - 3 A.M.
-Another song released of his upcoming album Relapse. Its not bad, but I wish he'd stop using this voice. Its kinda starting to annoy me

Royce Da 5'9" feat. Kid Vishis - Hottest in the Hood Freestyle
- The first song released off of Royce's Bar Exam 3....by now you should know how sick Royce is, so check him out goin over a nasty Slaughterhouse beat.

Tech N9ne feat. Krayzie Bone and K-Bean - Midwest Choppers
-pretty ridiculous flow in this song...Sickology 101 comes out April 28th...actually pretty pumped

Raekwon feat. The Game - Flash Back Memories
- real smooth track

Kanye West, Common, John Legend & Malik Yusef - Magic Man
- So glad Kanye is back to rappin and off that autotune bs

Crooked I - Slaughterhouse is a Big Deal
-Will this dude ever make a bad track?

Chubb Rock feat. Wordsmith - Another Party Joint
-The more I listen to Wordsmith, the more I like him


Alright, so those are some of the songs that I have been checkin out in the past week or so, check em out, lemme know what you think of my picks. Until next time...PEACE

TM

What I'm Listening To

I thought I would just give you guys a look into what has been on heavy rotation on my Ipod these days. If you are lacking any of these CDs or mixtapes I would highly recommend downloading or purchasing them. Got to get the hip-hop collection right for the summer! Ok, here is what Mr. Zirm has been listening to lately.

Drake-So Far Gone
Asher Roth-Asleep In The Bread Aisle
Curren$y-This Ain't No Mixtape, Fast Times At Ridgemont Fly
CunninLynguists-Strange Journey Vol. 1
Joe Budden-Padded Room
Knaan-Troubadour
MIMS-Guilt
Royce Da '5 9"-Bar Exam 2
Saigon-All In A Day's Work
U-N-I- A Love Supreme


And yes I do stroll around campus with my gigantic headphones, bobbing my head. And yes people do stare at me. Being white and loving hip-hop is a struggle! Haha. Alright back to watching the Indians game/NBA playoffs/grilling hot dogs.

Asleep In The Bread Aisle-Review

The long awaited debut from college dropout turned rapper Asher Paul Roth is here. Teaming up with relatively unknown producer Oren Yoel (and for one track Don Cannon), Roth tries to cater his CD to all audiences, not just those who love hip-hop. After "I Love College," became the anthem of frat boys around the country, MTV noticed Roth, getting him to perform at the annual MTV Spring Break and plastering his face and music all over their station. Sometimes this kind of exposure, especially on MTV (a channel that rarely promotes good music), can get to an artist's head, and they sacrifice lyrics and quality to promote themselves and sell records. Hate him or love him, one thing you cannot deny about Asher Roth is that he stays true to himself, in his interviews and through his lyrics. With the self proclaimed "Boss of Miami" Rick Ross,someone who has painted an untrue image of himself to sell records, dropping his CD today, Asher Roth is a breath of fresh air in hip-hop. Now, on to my review of "Asleep In The Bread Aisle."

Overall Grade: 3.5 out of 5 (I have changed my intial rating of 3.9....this CD is not strong enough lyrically to deserve a 4.)

The hookup with producer Oren Yoel proved to payoff big time for Asher Roth, for besides maybe "She Don't Wanna A Man," there is not a single beat on this CD that I did not love, and it saves Asher on certain tracks, especially when he doesn't come as hard as he should lyrically. From the banging drums on "Lark On My Go Kart" to the extremely smooth and soulful sounds of the piano and bass guitar on "His Dream," Yoel is able to match his production with the topic of Asher's lyrics, and the two blend together almost seamlessly. I also loved how Yoel was able to cater his beats to the style of the guest that was appearing on the track. On "Be By Myself" featuring Cee-Lo, Yoel crafts a beat that sounds exactly like a song you would hear off of a Gnarls Barkley album, allowing Cee-Lo to fit right in on the chorus instead of sounding out of his element like certain guest artists can. On "Lion's Roar," featuring Busta Rhymes, Yoel speeds up the rhythm to allow Busta to keep his unique and quick spitting style, while Asher flows right along with him. Listening to each beat, you can tell Yoel paid a lot of attention to detail on each track, and you have to love that from a producer. Don Cannon also comes through with one of the dopest beats on the CD on "La Di Da," on the only track he produced after working with Asher on his freshman mixtape, "The Greenhouse Effect."
Unfortunately, there are some definite flops on the album to keep Asher from garnering a 4 or 5 out of 5. "Blunt Cruisin'," and "She Don't Wanna Man," both are pretty weak tracks and don't seem to fit in with the rest of the CD. "I Love College" has become extremely played out to the point where I skip it every time I put my Ipod on. "Be By Myself," is a great song musically, and I love Cee-Lo on it, but Asher comes pretty weak with the lyrics. For as good as he can be on certain tracks, Asher leaves me with an empty feeling, like he could have come so much harder on one of the extremely dope beats that fill his CD. Overall, the production and guest spots are all on point, and while Asher struggles lyrically on certain songs, he kills it on others, enough to make "Asleep In The Bread Aisle" an excellent purchase for all fans of hip-hop. Here is a more in depth look at some tracks you had better listen to, and to some tracks that should not have made the CD.

Tracks That Bang:
"Lark On My Go Kart"-Leaked early as the second song off of the album, Asher takes us on a lyrical ride, talking about everything from Mario Kart to the Wii Fit. One of his favorite lyrical tactics, alliteration, is at full force here. The strong pattern of drums makes it hard not to bob your head to this one.

"La Di Da"-Personally my favorite track on the album, producer Don Cannon does not fail to impress with a mixture of live drums and a hot guitar riff. Asher absolutely kills the second verse as he spits about the struggles of an up and coming rapper and what he does when he just can't take what's going on around him. Apparently, all you have to do is sing "la di da" and everything will be cool.

"As I Em"-Using Chester French on the chorus, Asher addresses the non-stop (and ridiculous I might add) comparisons to Eminem. Over a soulful, guitar filled beat, Asher spits "If you have no further questions and can't think of other thoughts/I'd like to introduce you to Asher Paul Roth." Their styles are so different to begin with I don't understand how this comparison has become so rampant, but Asher's CD is a far cry from anything Em has ever put out.

"His Dream"-Asher gets deep on another gem from Yoel, speaking about the struggles of a father who cannot pursue his dreams out of love and respect for his family. Whether or not Ash is speaking from his experiences, I don't know, but it is a insightful track into the fears of growing up and having a family...do you put your dreams on hold to provide for your children? Real deep, I know.

These are just my favorite tracks, "Sour Patch Kids," "Lion's Roar," "Bad Day," and "Falling" are all great songs as well.

Tracks To Skip:

"Blunt Cruisin'"-This track should be labeled as a skit for the lack of lyrics on this track. Asher ruins a sick beat by weakly talking about rolling a blunt and driving around in a car. Lyrically there is nothing there, and the track twice turns into skit with cops busting the boxed out car. We bought the CD to hear you rap Ash.

"I Love College"-Was a fun song for a while, now it is just overplayed. High schoolers are blasting this song like they are in college...that's when you know it is time to retire this song. Even Asher himself says he does not want to be known for this frat boy anthem.

"She Don't Wanna Man"-Not sure what Asher was thinking with this track. Using Keri Hilson turns this track into a pop song, with Asher telling us he is the shit at least 3 times. While it is catchy, it is an extremely simple song with terrible lyrics to boot. You can do better than this Asher.

T.I. set to rerelease Paper Trail

With the day that Clifford Harris goes to jail inching closer, southern rapper T.I. , is spending most of his remaining time with his family. However, in an interview as part of his show on MTV, Harris told Sway that he also plans to rerelease his latest album Paper Trail. Harris has a number of recordings, including features by The Dream and Ciara, and is still continuing to record, before he is put away. Though the date has not been set yet, T.I. has said that there will be 5 additional tracks put onto the album. According to MTV, the Atlanta native also has another Kanye West track that he has yet to use, because it was cut to make room for Jay-Z on "Swagga Like Us." T.I. looks to add to his enormous success with the first release of the album. I'll let you know when I find out the exact release date.

TM

Sneaks of the Day

This is a pair of Nike Air Force 1 Playstation 2 10th anniversary edition. This pair of kicks is currently on Ebay goin for over $1,000 large.

Some Fire On A Sunday Afternoon

I have a present for everyone on this wonderful Sunday morning. My man Wes Blaze called me Friday night and said he was hitting the booth on Saturday, and that the song was going to be, and I quote, "that crack." Well ladies and gentlemen, the song is crack. The song is crack, ecstasy, heroin, and shrooms all rolled up into one. Imitating the efforts of Saigon (Saigon recorded his latest project, "All In A Day's Work" in 24 hours), Wes got into the booth Saturday and had the track for me around 5 a.m. last night. The song is called "Get At Me" and on it we find Wes at his lyrical best. The download link is at the bottom of the page. All I can say is, please download the track and comment so Wes can hear what you guys think. Wes is extremely talented, and I have no doubt in my mind if this track was put on Hip Hop DX, it would garner a 5 out of 5 rating. Much love to Wes for the shout outs on the track, like I told him yesterday, this song made my night. This song is the definition of an eargasm. Big things are coming this summer from my man Wes Blaze. So without further ado, I bring you the premiere of "Get At Me," produced entirely by Wes Blaze. Cleveland in the building!

My favorite line of the song:
"Encore they want more that's what they tellin me
Got em listening to every word like a spelling bee
Yea I made the beat too if you graded me
So I deserve a fuckin' double A like the battery."

Fire. That's all I have to say. Fire.



Audio-"Get At Me" By Wes Blaze

http://www.zshare.net/audio/588820574382ee8f/