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August 31st, 2010Uncategorized
Nicki Minaj’s “Love” brings all the male child to the pace After rick Ross jumped on her chart-topping hit, John Jay Sean provides a more gentle touch on his remix, seducing his girl with nothing more than his voice.
The cash Money-Young Money cohorts have also collaborated on “2012 ,” the first single from Jay’s new album. A video for that is scheduled to first appearance this Sunday.
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August 4th, 2010Uncategorized
Rick Sir John Ross and Jay-Z flicker more Illumaniti argumentation with their Inkredibles-produced coaction “Free Mason” from Teflon Don, but John John Jay is quick to distance himself from the secret society, rapping, “I said I was amazing, not that I’m a mason” and “I’m on my third six, but a the Tempter I’m not.”
The Bawse tagged along Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 tour and got him to record his poetry while on the route “Me and John Jay on the same record, of course we lyrically murdered it,” he told Rap-Up.com, “But the content and certain things we both computer address is gonna make this record one to remember for many years to come.”
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August 1st, 2009Uncategorized
1. STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
It takes too long for Game to start actually rapping, but his passion is contagious enough. Of course, having one of Dr. Dre's best compositions playing underneath you can help matters tremendously.
2. JACKIN' FOR BEATS (FEAT FABOLOUS)
I found myself more impressed with Fabo than with The Game, especially after Fabo references Dick Gregory in his second verse. (For the record, I actually don't hate Fabolous behind the mic. I just wish he would pick harder beats to spit to, but he aims to get all of his songs on the radio, so concessions must be made.) The beats that were jacked just sound lackluster when removed from their original context, though.
3. 1 NIGHT STAND (FEAT E-40)
I'm not familiar with the original, Game-less version of this track (if one actually exists: the creators of this tape do go out of their way to announce that this is a "remix", though), but while this isn't the type of beat I would expect to hear E-40 on, the song itself isn't bad. It's not rocket science, but it's decent enough.
4. DON'T MAKE ME KLAP
I hated hated hated Busta Rhymes when he released his garbage “Make It Clap” single, so you can imagine how I feel about Game jacking this particular beat.
5. 100 BARS AND RUNNIN'
The first of many hip hop marathons run by The Game, this one over a slightly altered instrumental from Jay-Z's “(Always Be My) Sunshine”. Truthfully, it's more impressive that Jayceon was able to string together one hundred bars without repeating entire sentences, than it is that the song exists in the first place.
6. INTERVIEW (PT 1)
Blah blah blah stupid skit blah.
7. .40 CAL
I actually really like this freestyle over Snoop Dogg, C-Murder, and Magic's “Down 4 My N----z” beat: to me, this sounds better that the original song, thanks especially to the references to The Last Dragon at the end. There's a version of this freestyle that doesn't use bullshit sound effects over crucial lyrics, though (and yes, I realize I just used the term “crucial lyrics” while referring to a Game song): you should try to find that one on the Interweb, but it goes by a few different titles, so good luck.
8. .44 MAG
The beat for Baby's/Birdman's “What Happened To That Boy” (produced by The Neptunes) has been described as “sinister” and “creepy”, and I can accept those descriptions. Game sounds decent over this, so of course he would never actually utilize an original Neptunes beat of his own for his actual albums. (My theory is that Pharrell and Chad are priced out of his league, even though those two haven't have a huge hit in, what, five years?)
9. INTERVIEW (PT 2)
Actual real-life journalists should be offended by the bullshit “reporter” that is conducting the bullshit “interview”.
10. WHO SHOT ME?
Game's wholesale theft of the Notorious B.I.G.'s “Who Shot Ya?” takes too long to get started, mostly because the gimmick involved (Game's allegedly rapping on a pay phone while locked up) needs to be introduced, lest folks get confused by the fact that Game was just sitting down for an “interview” one track prior. Because of this, his vocals are in a lower register than usual, making it really easy to ignore the lyrics and just listen to the classic beat.
11. STREET ANTHEM (FEAT CAM'RON & JUELZ SANTANA)
As a rule, I'm not a fan of Dip Set, or the Diplomats, or whatever the fuck you want to call them today. I used to think that Killa Cam was alright (I ran out to buy his Confessions of Fire the day it dropped, I'll admit), but he isn't very good on here. Juelz Santana and Jim Jones (who doesn't actually appear on the track but warrants a mention, since he is Dip Set and all) don't impress me at all, though, and Jimmy's tendency to constantly ad-lib behind his lyrics always makes him sound like he's his own hypeman, which just makes him come off as insecure. Anyway, the bastardizing of Scarface's first lines from the Geto Boys classic “My Mind's Playin' Tricks On Me” should earn all of the rappers involved a fucking beatdown in front of their respective children.
12. INTERVIEW (PT. 3)
Wow, Game was overconfident and cocky right from the start. It is interesting that he basically states on here that he doesn't care about the artists firing shots at his labelmates: shouldn't that have been Curtis Jackson's first clue that the G-Unit partnership might not work?
13. CAN'T UNDERSTAND
If I were Raekwon, and I found out that my beat for the classic “Ice Cream” was reappropriated by some no-name (at the time) rapper called The Game, who proceeded to do a really shitty job with it, I would have some words with him, with the aid of a baseball bat. But I'm not Raekwon, so it makes complete sense that Rae would eventually make a guest appearance on Game's L.A.X. I guess cooler heads prevailed. That, or the Chef has never actually heard this track.
14. SHERM STICK
Can you imagine how much shittier Curtis Jackson's Get Rich or Die Tryin' would have sounded if his collaboration with Lil' Kim, “Magic Stick”, actually made the album as promised, instead of being used for Kim's album? God, that song was embarrassing. As is this shit.
15. HOW U WANT THAT (FEAT LOON)
Kelis appears on the hook, but for some reason, didn't warrant a credit on the mixtape. Loon's original song, if I recall, didn't do that well on the radio anyway (maybe I'm just not in the right part of the country), so I found it strange that Game was willing attach himself to such a suck-ass song.
16. OUTRO
This is just the deejay sending shout-outs to all of his friends. Nothing to see here.
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July 27th, 2009Uncategorized
1. INTRO
This is a pretty good intro, on the level of some of Shawn Carter's album prefaces, but any and all references to Avril Lavigne in a rap song should be verboten.
2. #1
I honestly can't remember anything about this song, and I just heard it.
3. PUMP IT UP
As I wrote in the past, producer Just Blaze first gave this beat to Jay-Z for The Black Album, and Shawn declined, so it ended up going to the first runner-up. Joey tries his best to turn this track into a radio-friendly jam, but it just never took off around my way (although it was a minor hit elsewhere), even though he deliberately dumbed his lyrics down for mass appeal. However, because of that dumbing-down, I didn't really like this song, either. I suppose there is no winning here.
4. PUSHA MAN
The contrived hook almost ruins a perfectly serviceable song, even though the White Boy instrumental is very dull to listen to. Sigh...
5. U AIN'T GOTTA GO HOME (FEAT DJ CLUE)
This song sounds like a fucking mess, and the fact that DJ Clue appears makes it that much worse. Pass.
6. WALK WITH ME
I first heard this song after beating Def Jam: Fight For NY, and I remember thinking that it sounded good over the closing credits. Taken out of that context, this shit is still really good. Joey describes his paranoia in a pretty effective manner, and the instrumental is perfect for walking with your thoughts in a downpour. You may want to take an umbrella, though. Hey, it's your health.
7. SHE WANNA KNOW (FEAT LIL' MO)
The fuck is this shit?
8. SURVIVOR
My God, I was fucking bored to death. I suppose it doesn't really help that I was also bitten by the undead mailman while listening to Joe Budden. Hopefully my zombie self can finish the write-up before my mind deterioracsfcnsdklcfnkcvneneivn
9. FIRE (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
A Just Blaze-created pseudo-club banger that, to my knowledge, never banged in any clubs around my way, but is still way better than “Pump It Up”. I was pretty surprised to hear this song pop up in a house party scene in Lindsay Lohan's Mean Girls, but I'm sure Def Jam payed a pretty penny for that product placement. There's a remix that features fellow Jersey resident Redman spitting a lark of a hook: the re-do is completely useless, since apparently Reggie couldn't find the time to actually write a verse. Stick with this version instead. Oh, and Busta Rhymes is on here, too.
10. MA MA MA (FEAT 112)
Meh.
11. CALM DOWN
I hated the hook, but lyrically, this song is fascinating. The beat sounds a tad bit too energetic for anyone to actually calm down, though.
12. FOCUS
Over an unorthodox White Boy beat, Joey spits random shit, but sounds good doing so. Everything about this track screams “album track”; it's one of those gems that you tend to find only after letting the disc play from the beginning. (And yes, I'm aware that a small part of this song appeared at the end of the “Pump It Up” video and made its debut appearance on mixtapes. I still stand by my statement.)
13. GIVE ME REASON
This Just Blaze beat is godawful for Joey, since it forces him to spit in an insipid fashion in order to match it. Groan...
14.STAND UP N---A
Although Joey didn't actually spell out the word “n---a” in the traditional manner, that is still clearly the word he wanted to associate with, so that's why I edited the title. The one long verse is really good, and the beat accompanies it pretty well, since it reminds me of a 1980s cop buddy flick, but the coda at the end is fucking terrible.
15. 10 MINS
Usually I believe that there is no reason for a song ten minutes in length to ever appear on any rapper's proper album (mixtape remixes, no matter how boring and unnecessary, are exempt from this rule): the Wu-Tang Clan has nine members, and they never made a song that was ten minutes long. “10 Mins” does not change my mind. Joey's rhymes are actually decent (and the fact that he wastes the first minute of the song by chatting and otherwise not rapping is a plus for my attention span), but the beat is not engaging enough to captivate any audience for any length of time, although to producer Lofey's credit, the instrumental at least tries to engage, switching itself up frequently.
The following are considered to be Joe Budden bonus tracks.
16. REAL LIFE IN RAP
Joey takes the popular route of calling out studio gangsters (rappers who in no way have ever come close to living the life they rhyme about) and spins it in a pretty funny way. The beat straddles the fine line between decent and corny, but with the topic at hand, it works regardless. The hook is predictably awful, but this is still a hip hop album we're talking about.
17. PORNO STAR
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this vapid track was forced onto Joey by the label, in an effort to reach as wide of an audience as possible. This is a terrible way to end an album. Even a pretentious outro shouting out God (for making this all possible!), your mother, your weed carrying crew, and random rappers who you may admire but still had nothing to do with the creation of the album, would have been more appealing than this shit.
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July 26th, 2009Uncategorized
1. FREE
I appreciate the fact that Freeway avoided including a rap album intro, opting to start Philadelphia Freeway off with an actual song. Sadly, I was pretty bored with this option. Not that an intro would have ever been preferable, mind you.
2. WHAT WE DO (FEAT JAY-Z & BEANIE SIGEL)
Beardy completely dominates this Roc-A-Fella posse cut, outshining both his boss and his contemporary, as it should be, since it is a Freeway song, after all. Shawn's reference to Freeway's beard also made me laugh out loud. This is actually the best Roc-A-Fella posse cut to come out of the camp, and its accompanying The Wire-inspired clip (with a few of the actual actors from the show) only adds to the proceedings. I'd bet that Memphis Bleek cries himself to sleep every night, wondering why Shawn didn't let him jump on (read: ruin) this track.
3. ALL MY LIFE (FEAT NATE DOGG)
Overall, I liked this track, but some of Beardy's lines are funny for all of the wrong reasons. Otherwise, not bad.
4. FLIPSIDE (FEAT PEEDI CRAKK)
I first heard this Just Blaze banger while playing Def Jam: Fight For NY. The beat pretty much rocks, and it also proves that Justin creates better beats for everyone who isn't named Jay-Z. That said, the clean edit is the one which appears in the game, and this song is decidedly not clean. Then again, most of the songs I review are decidedly not clean, so there you go.
5. ON MY OWN (FEAT NELLY)
I'm not a fan of Nelly as a rapper. He has a couple of okay songs (both of which are produced by The Neptunes), and his videos contain some decent imagery much of the time (I can think of one scene in particular in the clip for some recent Nelly track featuring Ciara and Jermaine Dupri), but for the most part, I couldn't care less. Thankfully, he only appears on the hook, doing his sing-songy shimmy-shimmy-cocoa-puff thing, and the song itself is not ruined because of it. This actually isn't bad.
6. WE GET AROUND (FEAT SNOOP DOGG)
This isn't bad, either, although a collaboration between Free and Snoop doesn't exactly feel like the natural order of things. The hook is all sorts of awful, though: I suppose some of you may consider that a small price to pay to hear Calvin Broadus sound entirely comfortable over a Just Blaze beat, but that's on you two.
7. DON'T CROSS THE LINE (FEAT FAITH EVANS)
Meh.
8. LIFE (FEAT BEANIE SIGEL)
I just listened to this track, and I can't remember a thing about it, save for the fact that Sigel does, in fact, make an appearance.
9. FULL EFFECT (FEAT YOUNG GUNZ)
I really liked this track. Justin's beat goes a long way toward making the Roc-A-Fella seat fillers sound good, and Beardy comes across as a thoroughly engaging emcee. Which is all you can ask for, really.
10. TURN OUT THE LIGHT (FREEWEST) (FEAT KANYE WEST)
Kanye West's beat sounds similar to the stuff that he gave to every other Roc-A-Fella artist that wasn't named Jay-Z. Which is to say, it's alright, but it's not real.
11. VICTIM OF THE GHETTO (FEAT RELL)
Decent, but nothing special.
12. YOU DON'T KNOW (IN THE GHETTO) (FEAT OMILLIO SPARKS)
Two songs in a row with the word “ghetto” in the title? That's usually not a good sign, and Beardy doesn't say or do anything to persuade me otherwise.
13. ALRIGHT (FEAT ALLEN ANTHONY)
Justin Blaze creates a beat that sounds like one of those 1980s songs I tried to avoid (because I'm a New Wave guy, through and through), but, honestly, I liked this shit a lot. Its sound brings back a pleasant form of nostalgia, and both Free's lyrics and Allen Anthony's singing mesh well with the music. Good show.
14. HEAR THE SONG
There wasn't anything objectionable about this song, but the only comment that I can make without re-listening and re-forgetting the song itself is this: what is with Freeway's obsession with selecting Kanye West instrumentals that sound like leftovers from The Blueprint? Free sounds great over the harder stuff, so filling Philadelphia Freeway with mostly soulful beats has officially mystified me.
The following tracks are considered Philadelphia Freeway's bonus songs.
15. YOU GOT ME (FEAT MARIAH CAREY & JAY-Z)
Raise your hand if you feel thatMariah CareyMrs. Nick Cannon has been irrelevant since that “Heartbreaker” song she did with Hova. Okay, put them down: you're wrong, anyway. Mariah had a pretty good minor comeback with both versions of “We Belong Together”. Oh, this song? It sucks balls. Why do you ask?
16. LINE 'EM UP (FEAT YOUNG CHRIS)
Wasn't bad at all, until Young Inexperienced Chris spit his guest verse, which brought my IQ down by a couple hundred points. Now I'm not even sure I can dress myself, let alone finish a rev
