Benz and a Backpack

This week in sports, Nyjer Morgan of the Washington Nationals gets the inaugural “Tell Em Why You Mad” award (shouts to Killa & Bill O’Reilly). This season, Morgan is racking up a discipline rap sheet longer than Manute Bol (R.I.P.). On August 21st, Morgan threw a baseball into the stands at Philadelphia’s Citizen’s Bank Park. There is NOT good footage of this incident that would really support the statement that he threw it at a fan, but the MLB doled out a seven-game suspension anyway. Unfair? Probably. Morgan appealed the suspension shortly after receiving it. Last Saturday, Morgan ran over Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson, who did not even have the ball at home plate. Building up a reputation at this point? Absolutely. On Tuesday against the Marlins, Morgan ran over catcher Brett Hayes in the 10th inning. A pattern of aggression is, at this point, completely supported. Then on Wednesday, Morgan got hit by a pitch from Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad in the fourth inning, and Morgan responded by stealing second AND third base.

It gets even better. In the sixth inning, Volstad threw behind Morgan. Morgan paused momentarily while looking towards the third base dugout, then he BOLTED towards the mound. Watch this clip- Morgan manages to get his elbow protector off while running towards the mound. He gets one good left cross in before first baseman Gaby Sanchez decks him to the ground. Nyjer Morgan, if you read this, I am not passing judgment, but its hard to watch these events pile up and not want to say…”YOU MAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!”

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Here is the video for the first single off the up coming U.N. dropping in late August. This has been the hottest club banger in New York so far this summer.

Previously: XXL Making Up For Excluding Vado From Freshmen Roster?

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Dipset’s Freekey Zekey has laid claim to being responsible for reuniting Dipset.

“I done grabbed up Killa, snatched up Juelz, called Jim, we all sat down and I said enough of the bullshit; what’s happening?” said Zekey in an interview with radio personality Mr. Peter Parker (part 1 // part 2).

“We got big money, big business, big opportunities right now and I’m not stopping until everybody sit down right here and put everything out on the table,” continued Zekey. “I [was] sitting there and letting them know it was way bigger than this, what are [they] arguing over, nobody took a dirty Subway sandwich and smacked somebody’s mom’s with it…I can never give up on my family. It’s 2010, time to get it in. Dipset wins again…”

The reunion has already borne fruit, as the first track from the reunited crew, “Salute,” has leaked:

The Diplomats – Salute [prod. Araab Muzik]

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Download: The Diplomats – Salute [prod. Araab Muzik]

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Recently in an interview with True Stories Radio, Jae Millz was quoted while criticizing XXL for not including Vado on their Freshmen 2010 roster, making the argument that Vado is more well-known then most of the people on the list.

Here’s the video:

A few days ago Vado was on DJ Green Latern’s OnDaSpot radio show, and after spittin’ some bars OnDaSpot Jadakiss and DJ Green Latern both compliment him on his rhyming ability and say he is one of the better rappers they have heard in a long time. Then someone mentions the XXL Freshmen and how Vado was not included in the list. At the very end of the video you can hear Cam’ron say… Read the rest of this entry →

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This past Tuesday marked 13 years since the last breath of the man we have come to celebrate as one of the hip-hop’s greatest of all times. I don’t think I’ve ever not heard a person mention his name when prompted for their “top 5, dead or alive”. And if they didn’t choose to drop his name, chances are they are giant. fucking. liars. Or seriously deranged. Seriously.

There has never been a hip-hop artist who appealed to more people across the boards, whether hip-hop heads or haters, as The Late Great. We all know certain individuals who absolutely loathe the genre, yet somehow have come to possess the knowledge of multiple verses off of Ready to Die. And then, there’s all of the post-hardcore bands that have covered his songs, despite the fact that post-hardcore and hip-hop don’t usually play nice together. In the recent years of contemporary hip-hop, there has been an influx of mixtapes over his joints and songs that pay hommage to his legacy by dropping his lyrics (sometimes, but not always, flipped). But given what day of the week it is, let’s take a look at throwbacks by artists who have further immortalized Mr. Christopher George Latore Wallace through sampling. And there’s a surprise gem or two after the jump, so you’re welcome in advance!

Miilkbone: Where’z Da’ Party At? (1995)
Samples from “Party and Bullshit” start around 0:50.

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Originoo Gunn Clappaz feat. M.S., The Representativz & Bad Vybes: Elite Fleet (1996)
Samples from “Flava in Ya Ear” start around 0:30.

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Lil’ Shawn: Dom Perignon (1995)
Samples from “Party and Bullshit” start around 0:50.

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SWV feat. Puff Daddy: Someone (1997)
Samples from “Ten Crack Commandments” start around 0:05.

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Lil’ Kim feat. Puff Daddy: No Time (1996)
Samples from “Gettin’ Money (Remix)” start around 0:30.
Kim also drops the line “How preposterous is that?” around 2:20. Reference to “The Wickedest” freestyle?

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Cam’ron: Sports, Drugs and Entertainment (2000)
Samples from “Things Done Changed” start around 1:15.

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We’ve seen a couple collaborations between Snoop and CuDi of late, the most recent of which (“I Do My Thing”) was produced by none other than Dr. Dre. All old school Snoop (and tree) lovers take notice: there’s a new toker in town.

CuDi’s making waves not only in the music world but also in the realm of television. He plays the bottle-popping, easy-going Domingo on HBO’s newest hit series How To Make It In America. CuDi’s character is peripheral (so far), but the show itself taps into hip hop culture in a big way: the two main characters were raised on hip hop in New York City, and now in their late 20′s and with little direction in life they team up to start a denim line called Crisp.

Hit the skip for new CuDi X Snoop, plus a full Mixtape Monday stuffed with goodies from all over the industry (including the very first single off Drake’s upcoming official album AND the first four episodes of How To Make It In America!).

Kid CuDi ft. Snoop Dogg – I Do My Thing [prod. Dr. Dre] [prod. Watts & Ringo]

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Little Brother – Curtain Call

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Drake – Over [prod. Boi-1da]

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I’m not trying to slack off just because it’s my birthday. In fact, I’m going to take this opportunity to select a few joints that may not be the most enduring hip-hop artifacts, and may just completely suck in all reality. I guess some you could say some of these are guilty pleasures. I still have a few mix CDs from the days of dial-up and Napster. (Remember how the songs would just stop downloading completely when dial-up disconnected you, so most of your cd’s would have songs that would end prematurely?).. I break these CDs out once in awhile, and I’ve realized they never seem to fail at putting me in what I’ll kindly refer to as “party mode”. I apologize if they don’t have the same effect on you, but in that case I guess maybe you weren’t a fan of mainstream hip-pop or a middle school student in 2k! Check it out regardless, cuz you might still get some laughs out of it.

Here are some songs that (I thought?) really went hard in my middle school daze… The videos aren’t particularly visually stimulating; every one of them is very typical of the era, with the super saturated color and high shots of mad heads jumping around.. I hardly remembered some of these videos until compiling these joints for this week’s Throwback Thursday.

M.O.P. featuring Busta Rhymes, Teflon, and Remy Martin: Ante Up (Remix) (2000)
Not gonna feel guilty yet…

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11 years ago today hip-hop lost Lamont Coleman a.k.a. Big L.

For all the attention that is (rightfully) paid to the legacies of Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac, a lot of fallen soldiers tend to be forgotten. Last week Pun and Dilla got their due, today is Big L’s day. Purely and unarguably one of the dopest lyricists to ever grace the mic, L is a certified legend in Harlem. However, never too popular on the radio and without that trademark release or verse, it’s understandable that L has slipped through the cracks for many.

Actually, fuck that, it’s completely not ok. Big L was one of the nicest to ever do it, and has a pretty unbelievable hip-hop story to go with it. As a fellow uptown resident who spent much of my youth stomping around the same blocks L did (see mural above), I consider it my duty to put on all those not yet put on. Hit the skip for a brief but dope musical history of the rapper your favorite rapper stole all his punchlines from.
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While some of these joints are kind of weak and just awkward in comparison to the artists’ later, more developed releases, the potential the young rappers display is undeniable. For the most part. This week’s selection includes very early appearances by some of our favorite names in hip-hop.

Organized Konfusion featuring O.C.: “Fudge Pudge”
Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po’s debut album, and this is the only track with a guest appearance!

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Mood featuring Talib Kweli: “Peace Infinity”
This album, Doom, was the beginning of Hi-Tek’s career. This is how he was introduced to Talib Kweli. Pre-Black Star and pre-Reflection Eternal!

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2009 was, for both hip-hop and myself, a damn good year. I spent the first half of the year in Barbados, a land of sunshine, fat asses, $1.50 Guinness and something awesome called daggering, which I strongly urge everyone to try. I then came home to my native NY, promptly turned 21, and spent the second half of the year stumbling in and out of bars and clubs. Oh, and also listening to some of the best hip-hop music to come out in a long time.

I shudder sometimes when I think of 08. That was a year that seemed to be dominated by trend-following and pigeonholing. Everyone wanted an auto-tuned hit or that one Weezy feature that could get you a couple spins, and it seemed like every rapper was being forced under the label of “blog-rap,” “club-rap,” “mixtape-rap” or the dreaded “washed-up-pushing-40-completely-unoriginal-why-are-you-still-rapping-rap.” Needless to say, 09 offered up something much more refreshing.

Dudes like Kid Cudi blurred genre lines and got love from Soundscan and Hot97. Love him or hate him, Drake came through with something fresh and offers the potential to usher in a new generation of rap superstars. J. Cole and Jay Electronica emerged as budding messiahs for the more lyrically-inclined. And wouldn’t you know it, 90s superheroes like Raekwon and Red & Meth reemerged to put out dope shit that had old-heads and skinny-jeaned youngsters rockin’ in harmony. Even Eminem got his shit together in 09!

All this has me pretty geeked about 2010 and the new decade, but before I get ahead of myself, I’ll throw my favorite joints of 09 into the ring. Apologies in advance to B.o.B., The Cool Kids, Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa, Emilio Rojas, Fashawn, Freddie Gibbs, Willie the Kid, Young Chris and others who I bumped throughout the year but didn’t quite make the cut. I’m expecting big things from y’all in the new year.

Without further ado, hit the jump for my top 10 songs of 2009.

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