Benz and a Backpack

Wiz dropped his highly anticipated mix tape Taylor Allderdice. Obviously haven’t had a chance to give it a listen just yet, but I caught a few tweets from the Listening Session that went down a couple weeks ago. One blogger (@LowKeyUhtn), called it a mix between Cabin Fever and Kush & OJ; tough to to say what that means, but I’m going to take it as a positive. It’s no secret that the rapper has been struggling lately. I was convinced the dude fell off completely. Rolling Papers was less then stellar, he’s dating a whore, and now he’s writing bubble gum rap for the radio. Alas, a few of his recent singles and features have offered listeners a beacon of hope. He’s also had some trouble pushing his albums in the past, so he’s really counting on this one to build some steam for the upcoming O.N.I.F.C. 

So give it a listen, share your thoughts below, I’m interested to hear y’all take on this as well.

For now just hit the skip for the link and check back later for my full take and I’ll upload it so you can stream it as soon as possible. Chuuuccch. Read the rest of this entry →

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It’s hard to get excited for award shows nowadays. They are usually long and boring affairs that allow musicians, actors and creatives alike to fill their shelves with trophies like a little league baseball player and further validate what they charge for their time. While my friends and I weren’t exactly “hyped” to catch the VMA’s last night, we we left our friends cozy Murray Hill apartment surprised and satisfied.

Between making trashy yet engaging reality TV shows and some music-related content on the side, MTV’s greatest talent is the creation of cultural moments, and the VMA’s have become the prized asset in their production. Their pinnacle award show has broken new artists, appropriately tributed legends and showcased the best in made-for-TV performances. The archives are full of personal favorites, but in case you missed the show last night, here are some of the moments we will celebrate for weeks, months and possibly years from now:

The Performances:

Jay-Z and Kanye West perform “Otis” with a live performance inspired by Spike Jonze’s direction for the video.

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BenzAndABackpack and Coast2CoastMixtapes present the good homie CR The Beast’s latest work, a remix album of Araab Muzik’s recent LP Electronic Dream. CR is well-known as one of New England’s top live DJs, but he has also garnered recognition for his interesting concept mixtapes. This go round, CR took music from the Top 40 (Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, Kreayshawn) and mixed them with his fellow Rhode Island-native Araab Muzik’s spacey Electronic Dream instrumentals. The combination is pretty cool.

Stream a few of the songs below, then hit the skip for the full tracklist and download.

Araab Muzik – Electronic Dream LP (Remixed by CR The Beast) by BenzAndABackpack5

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Today’s a big day. To celebrate the release of Monumental (Duck Down Records), Pete Rock & Smif N Wessun leaked another single off the album, “(I’m A) Stand Up Guy,” featuring none other than Black Rob. Stream the song below, read the KevNott review of Monumental here, and order the album now! Hit the skip for more on Curren$y’s Weekend At Burnie’s, Big Sean’s Finally Famous, and Wu Tang’s Legendary Weapons.

Pete Rock and Smif N Wessun “(I’m a) Stand Up Guy” feat. Black Rob by duckdown

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“50 told me: go ahead, switch the style up and if they hate then let ‘em hate and watch the money pile up. The good life.”

The much rumored about Cabin Fever mixtape (download here) from Wiz Khalifa is a far cry from his earlier work; the lyrics are dumbed down, the hooks much more simple, and the beats are Gucci meets Rick Ross – I’m just waiting for someone to come over them and say “burr.” Take for example track five out of the nine song tape: Taylor Gang, featuring Chevy Woods – a recurring figure in many of Wiz’s past works – loops “Taylor. Gang. Taylor. Gang.” six times per hook, three hooks in all.

See also track three, GangBang, featuring Big Sean, where the intro is exemplary of the few themes that run throughout the tape: he lights something up, breathes in a hit, “This one look like that one, that one match this one, fuck it. Money. Money. Money, and I got money, hos, money and hos. I got money and hos.” And if track four, Erryday, doesn’t sound like a Rick Ross joint then I’ll shoot my sub-woofers right now.

Add to that the incorporation of other popular hip-pop tropes such as auto-tune, more lyrics about money-making, and weed-songs and you have an insubstantial nine-song medley that you can play the whole way through without much noticing a track change (they all sound the same).

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These were the free releases that stayed in our collective rotation the longest. 2010 was kind to many artists for wholly different reasons: Apollo’s knocking on the proverbial door, DZA’s got his foot in it, Freddie’s got the door halfway open, Cole’s got it open all the way, Das Racist is opening several doors at once, and Wiz is about to tear the door of its facken hinges. Enough with the door metaphors, hit the skip already!

Honorable Mention: Nipsey Hussle – The Marathon

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In case you haven’t been keeping up, here is the full compilation, with a track list and D/L after the jump. The artwork has all been from celebrated hip-hop photographer Mike Schreiber, who recently dropped a collection of his favorite hip-hop pictures called True Hip-Hop (available via Amazon.com). Each of his pictures captures some fundamental element of hip-hop: Biz’s playfulness, Nas’ cerebral disposition, Mos’ introverted artistry, Meth’s larger-than-life persona. The release of Mike’s anthology in 2010 is just one of the reasons it was such a wonderful year for hip-hop. Here’s to an even better 2011!

Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 5]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 4]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 3]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 2]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 1]
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Fifth and final installment, from The Roots through yU (of Diamond District). It includes several emcee/producer combinations: Ruste Juxx & MP, Dat X & the Chocolate Boy Wonder, Mos & Ski, Sky & Ill, Trek Life & Oddisee, Waka Flocka & Lex Luger. Plus: Sean Price and Tyler The Creator at their finest, respectively.

Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 4]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 3]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 2]
Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 1]
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Curren$y through Earl Sweatshirt, including newcomers Das Racist and Doss The Artist as well as seasoned vocalists Dwele and Marc Anthony.

Previously: Dizzy’s Best Singles Of 2010 [Part 1]
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On his most recent Ecko Unltd. Mixtape, CR The Beast prominently featured a song each from Wiz Khalifa (“In The Cut”) and Curren$y (“Roasted”). This time around, CR decided to decided to dedicate a whole tape to their music, most likely because their creative processes so closely match his own. Among other things, getting toasty is a must. That way you can open your mind and achieve a form of Higher Learning. In addition to Wiz and Spitta, the tape features Ski Beatz, Young Roddy, Trademark, Smoke DZA, Big K.R.I.T., and much more. Tracklist and download link after the jump!
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After packing out a sold out show at the Best Buy theater in Times Square, Amos Barshad of Vulture writes:

If the insanely young demographic on hand Saturday night is any indication, Khalifa has already paved his road to the mainstream. We haven’t seen this many high-school kids in one place since we were actually in high school, and back then not as many of them were into mixtape rappers. Seriously, who knew suburban teen girls actively seek out rap blogs and download mixtapes these days? Yes, the chart success of his single “Black and Yellow” has something to do with it, but still there’s no official upcoming album, and Wiz has already managed to lock in the youth vote — these kids weren’t only at the Wiz Khalifa show, they were psyched to be at the Wiz Khalifa show.

Written back in August ’09, Seanermc’s original biopic of the budding rapper is like stepping into a blog-powered time machine.

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Up-and-coming producer Falside has joined forces with DJBooth.net to bring listeners his highly-anticipated seasonal beat tape, Fall, Stand the F*ck Up.The tape features 9 previously unreleased and untouched instrumentals by the Providence, Rhode Island native, ranging from aged boom bap for the seasoned veterans, to experimental electronica and dubstep for the more progressive audience. Also included on the project is The Creative Capital Beatsmith’s remix of Wiz Khalifa‘s Booth-approved single, “Say Yeah.”

Today, Falside is also making his new video “Drugs” Directed by Nicolas Heller (Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys) public. Here are the visuals, then hit the skip to download Fall, Stand The F*ck Up!

Drugs (Falside)
from Nicolas Heller on
Vimeo.

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