Tag Archives: Jay Z

The BET Hip Hop Awards Is Already the Show of the Year

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Look, I ain’t advocating violence, but it’s about damn time something happened. It’s been boring as hell recently. I ain’t been writing shit but half-reviews of albums, bringing up shit from damn near 10 years ago just to complain about why an artist today ain’t never really gonna be shit, and I even recently scrapped an article that was basically just gonna be a reaction piece to some old ass dude who felt it necessary to write a review of an album he knew he was gonna hate but he still chose to take the time to listen to only to rip it apart for the most trivial of shit. When the frequent and tired rants of Lupe Fiasco damn near become the subject of 600 words from me, it means shit is dead. So yeah, I’m happy that something finally happened that’s worth discussing. I’m of course talking about the shooting at the BET Hip Hop Awards.

We don’t know much yet. We got a couple twitter statuses, and a short report from HipHopDX, but it seems that the boiling beef between Rick Ross and Young Jeezy finally reared its ugly head at an awards show that used to be awesome for the freestyle cyphers but after seeing this year’s lineup I give zero fucks about anybody except for RZA and maybe DMX (he could rip it, you never know). I was beginning to wonder how many more “fuck boys” would have to be uttered before Jeezy finally handled his business, and after I stopped counting at around 8 it’s nice to see that some shit finally came from this.

The history ain’t much. Rick Ross called Jeezy a fuck boy, Jeezy said Rick was disrespecting BMF, Rozay called Jeezy a fuck boy, then Jeezy made a better album while “We push nothing back but tops” Maybach Music delayed God Forgives, I Don’t for half a year. There were some more “fuck boys” in there but the point is, two artists who are easily a dream collaboration for me instead decided to hate each other, which is surprisingly since it’s usually the New York artists who can’t work together which is why NY is losing right now while the South is (was) winning.

Again, make no mistake, this shit ain’t good. Sure it’s entertaining for those of us who weren’t there, or have to deal with the repercussions. I read that the gunman was arrested and I never like hearing about people getting arrested so that ain’t cool. The chance for Fox News to decide to all of a sudden pay attention to hip hop again just so they can inevitably publish an article claiming rap is responsible for violence even though violence has been occurring in society for millions of years ain’t cool. The comments section of any news site that does cover this incident won’t be cool. But what is cool is that beef in hip hop is finally back. Call me ignorant, but as I sit here in the comfort of my apartment in a semi-safe neighborhood with the new Gibbs tape on repeat, I’m laughing at the fuckery going on in the hip hop world, as we’re finally seeing more than just subliminal bars and half denials of shit talking. After 50 Cent made it cool to diss everyone for no reason at all, and Jay-Z made it cool to never drop names or admit to calling out anyone ever (“tell them ordinary Joe’s Budden button up”, come on) it’s kinda refreshing to know that all beefs don’t result in bitchassness like bottles being thrown and “fuck _____ and anybody who love ‘em” tweets. Ignorance is bliss, and I’m in hip hop paradise right now.

It’s Gonna Be a Short (Cruel) Summer

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Most anticipated album of the year? Yeah probably. Aside from the follow up to Rick Ross’ best effort yet, the G.O.O.D. Music label’s debut compilation album has been much discussed ever since it was initially announced (as are most Kanye projects) and so now that the dust has settled and the album is out the critiques begin. In a year that’s seen multiple disappointments, from the aforementioned Rozay album (not saying it’s bad, cause it’s dope, but it’s too long with about 3-4 tracks of filler that should have been cut), to the D12….I mean Slaughterhouse album, and now with the destruction of The Weeknd’s best song for a rerelease which is apparently a reworking of his masterful trilogy, the only thing to fall back on (aside from still hoping for the Cousin Bang and Killa Season 2 movies) is Cruel Summer.

So is the album any good? I mean yeah, it’s good. The real question is, what were you expecting? It’s always best to go into any Kanye project with zero expectations. Since his debut, the man has not exactly followed protocol or adhered to standards, he’s set his own. This is the same artist who dropped a classic, I mean for real a CLASSIC, in 2004, and then followed it up the next year with a completely different sound. Oh but Late Registration was still fire right? Sure, but why stick with that formula when you can change it up again for Graduation? And of course, following what some still call his best album he went completely past left field and into the parking lot for 808s and Heartbreak. So even expecting a sound similar to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or Watch the Throne for this album will only cause confusion and disappointment.

First off, this is not a Kanye album. This is a compilation of different artists and sounds put together by the musical genius himself, so it’s incredibly diverse and as usual, very different from whatever else is out there. I’m not one for song-by-song reviews but basically if you’re looking for an album full of “Mercy” and “Clique” it won’t happen. The bangers were released already, that’s why they’re singles, while something like “Sin City” or the beautiful “The One” are album cuts. “New God Flow” is the song of the year, with the added Ghostface verse pushing it over the top, and as hilarious as it was, removing Kanye’s call-and-response to himself was the right move. The rest you gotta check for yourself, but make sure you go in with an open mind and remember that this is the same man responsible for completely changing his style multiple times, and creating 5 classic albums in the process.

In all honesty this has been a weak year for hip hop. I personally didn’t like the second MMG effort although following a lot of great reviews I think I may have skimmed through it rather than really listened to it. I covered the Slaughterhouse mess already and I should have known that Rick Ross couldn’t follow up a truly flawless album with anything less than a semi-disappointment. And nobody wants to hear Nas in 2012 other than unemployed college students and 35 year old auto mechanics so save that Life is Good shit for someone who can tolerate 70 minutes of “back in the day I wore British Knights”. With nothing on the horizon for the end of the year aside from what could be the return of the classic rap soundtrack and an album from the most consistent member of the Wu-Tang, this G.O.O.D. Music disc might be all we got to take us into 2013, and like most Kanye albums it’s probably a good thing we have so much time to digest it as it usually takes a minute to really get everything he’s doing on an album. Genius don’t take one spin to realize.

Oh and speaking of genius, there’s no way that Ghost and Rae essentially spitting back to back on Cruel Summer is a coincidence, that’s gotta just be more of the brilliance of the greatest artist of our time.

The “Pump It Up” Remix Bullshit

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As I alluded to in last week’s post, I want to revisit something that happened almost 10 years ago to perhaps examine why a certain artist’s career panned out the way it did. I recently wrote about Slaughterhouse and how each of the member’s individual careers took a swan dive before it ever really lifted off. While three of the artists can almost entirely blame their struggles on label bullshit, the founding MC behind the four headed monster has more of an interesting backstory regarding his rise and subsequent fall in the music industry.

I first heard of Joe Budden when “Focus” dropped. At the time I was listening to a lot of street rappers, a still fairly unknown 50 Cent, Saigon, and the new crossover hit maker, Fabolous. Upon hearing this “Joe Buddens” guy it was clear he had talent, but like so many others at the time he felt like just another street artist trying to come up in the mixtape circuit. By the time his album dropped, hip hop had already embraced 50 Cent and G-Unit as the biggest rappers in the game and that summer was oversaturated with literally every song off of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ as 50 had made an album filled with singles. I, like many others, had heard “Pump It Up” but just didn’t really care enough to check out Budden’s album. Then a friend of mine randomly purchased the Scarface compilation that Def Jam had thrown together to coincide with a special release of the DVD (I still to this day am convinced that including “Dipset Anthem” was purely a way to promote their upcoming record as it had zero connection to the movie or any other songs on the album, but whatever). After hearing “Pusha Man”, my friend bought the self titled Joe Budden album and then proceeded to constantly tell me how incredible it was. Having only heard “Focus”, “Pump It Up” and at this point probably “Fire” I was really confused about how this super lyrical rap fan who liked Talib Kweli was praising this radio rapper Joe Budden. So I checked out the album and I too was surprised at how much songs like “Calm Down” and “10 Minutes” were nothing like the club hits that everyone was hearing from the Def Jam rookie. My quick assumption at why the album basically flopped was because people like me and my boy were the rare breed who liked both lyrical as well as mainstream rap so we could enjoy the diversity on the record while most average fans at the time wanted another 50 Cent record and couldn’t be bothered with five minute songs filled with such heart and emotion. As I look back now though I think there’s more to why Joe Budden went from a heavily promoted upcoming artist on the Def Jam roster to another reject who fell all the way the fuck off and was forced underground by the industry, and it all happened because of the “Pump It Up” remix.

The story is quite simple. Jay-Z had rejected the “Pump It Up” beat and so Joe Budden got it and made it into a hit. Jay, in turn, laced a verse over the beat anyway, and in doing so made a little comment about “let me get that beat, imma give it right back”. Joe, being the emotional being that he is, clearly took offense to this because he then released his own remix of the song where he dissed Jay-Z. Long story short, you don’t come at the king and expect to live. Jay-Z was the hottest rapper in the game at the time and so in the public eye, this seemingly one-hit-wonder trying to start beef with Jay only made him look like a chump and turned him into a joke. I mean really, “Pump It Up” was not lyrical, so when Jay takes the track, does a lyrical exercise on it and then you say “hey wait, I’m lyrical too”, it’s kind of too late. My question is, did Jay really even diss Joe though?

See, Jay been sneak dissing forever. Whether all his little references and comments about other rappers in songs are always disses is pure speculation. Did he diss Clipse on Blueprint 3? Who knows, but a lot of people thought he did. Now on this remix he did mention stealing the beat, but nowhere else in the verse did he diss Joe, matter fact all his shit talking on the track was followed up with him saying he wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. So Jay could have easily just been having fun, maybe thinking about how he was supposed to have the beat in the first place and clowning around by saying he was taking the beat but would give it right back. But Joe reacted. And the first rule of Twitter…..uh….I mean hip hop, is don’t react. Joe dug his own grave by turning a possibly innocent comment into a full on war. Instead of embracing that the god MC blessed his track with vocals and trying to convert that into more notoriety, Budden instead caught feelings and tried to take on the biggest artist in the game. The rest is history. Joe went underground, built up a solid following from those fans who appreciated true lyrical hip hop and actual emotion on record. But the damage was done as soon as Joe attempted to overthrow the leader of rap.

There’s a good chance Joe Budden would have gotten dropped from Def Jam anyway. As I said, the album wasn’t exactly filled with “Pump It Up” material and the buzz was never that strong to begin with, but releasing that diss track sealed his fate regarding his position in the industry. He went from a hit maker to that guy who got sour over Jay-Z freestyling on his song to a one hit wonder in rap’s history. It’s a damn shame considering his talent but given his output over the last decade I really can’t complain. The money might not be there as it could have been, but I’ll take the Mood Muzik mixtapes any day over more tracks like “Porno Star”. Sometimes it’s good to fall off, cause when you regain your footing you’re in a better place.

Life is Good…but is the Music?

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Nas is one of those rappers who constantly gets listed with the greats, and rightfully so. Between Illmatic and It Was Written he easily has two of the best rap albums of all time in his catalog. So when almost four years to the day after his Untitled album was released we finally got another offering from God’s Son there was an obvious hype, fueled by leaked tracks such as “Nasty” and “The Don”. It didn’t hurt that songs featuring Mary J. Blige and Rick Ross also had leaked, providing some hope for a quality release after weeks of laughing over the saddest album cover since Cole World. Knowing that this album would reflect the recent divorce between Nas and that ugly bitch the Neptunes used to waste beats on made me a little apprehensive about the whole project but I’m not one to let assumptions dictate opinions, so I checked the album and was halfway impressed.

See, the first 6 tracks are fire, plain and simple. “A Queens Story” is easily one of the most powerful and epic songs in Nas’ entire discography. “Accident Murderers” is another gem, complete with Rick Ross providing a solid guest appearance as he always does. And “Locomotive” was that classic NY sound we’ve come to expect and appreciate from an artist who still thinks it’s 1994 and Timberland boots and hoodies are the style. But to be honest, the rest of the album kind of dragged. Aside from “The Black Bond” (a bonus track at that), the remaining 12 songs were average at best. “Back When” was good but it actually felt a little too short, it needed another verse, and the less said about Oochie Wally Pt. 2 a.k.a. “Summer on Smash” a.k.a. Please Let Me Get A Mainstream Hit, the better. Naw fuck that, I need to address that. How the fuck are you 45 years old, supposedly this super lyrical rapper, and you rhyming about sundresses on girls and bottle popping? “Is it Black Girl Lost or Shorty Owe You For Ice”?

Enough about the album itself, here’s my real reason for writing this, what is up with Nas fans trying so hard to convince everyone (including themselves probably) that he’s still relevant and making good music? I get it, being a fan of a rapper who was once on top of the game and seeing him fall off, resurrect his career through a beef with a more legendary rapper, then fall off again has got to suck. Musically Nas hasn’t done shit worth mentioning since 2001 aside from a couple guest appearances, some Kanye production, and “Black Republican” which is only epic because it was the Jay/Nas collab we’d spent 10 years waiting for. From a double album disaster to trying to stay in the media with “controversial” album titles, Nas has been struggling for over a decade. “Made You Look” was the last true commercial success Nas experienced and since Nas was so clever in pointing out how “Eminem murdered you on your own shit”, well, Ludacris murdered you on your own shit. Yet his fans still go above and beyond to defend his music and act like he is in the same arena as his former rival, former boss, and the current part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets.

I’m all about listening to what you like, ignoring what you don’t, and not spending time bitching about other peoples’ opinions. The biggest problem with hip hop isn’t the music it’s the fans. Only in hip hop does disagreeing with someone mean you don’t know shit about rap. So right now, saying that I don’t particularly like the new Nas album means that 1) I’m a hater, and 2) I don’t know anything about good hip hop. Meanwhile, Nas fans are calling this “an instant classic”, “as good as Illmatic”, and whatever other crazy attention seeking comments they can think of just to try to prove that in 2012 anyone under the age of 25 gives a shit what Nas has to say. Were people doing this a few years ago when Rakim dropped an album that went quadruple tin? Has anyone done this with KRS-One’s last 59 records? What is it about Nas that makes his fans so desperate to convince people he’s still somebody to care about? Is it the obvious loss to Jay-Z? Look, think what you want, diss tracks or whatever, but Nas lost. Just like Canibus lost. Your diss track means nothing when the other artist goes on to be way more successful than you, and honestly, when Nas become an employee of Jay-Z, that’s when the battle really was settled.

So what is it with Nas fans? Why is there so much defense of this record, so much acclamation for an album that isn’t even a week old yet, so much insistence that this album is so great when it’s a lot of the same old boring Nas 90s-era rhymes mixed with a little bit of struggle and depression over his divorce? If you like it that’s fine, I have no problem with that. I like Flocka’s newest album, I’m sure many would disagree (but for the record if you didn’t listen to it you can’t say shit, I at least listened to Life is Good from start to finish before forming an opinion). But to tell anyone who doesn’t like this Nas record that they are wrong, or don’t know good hip hop, or are writing off one of the greatest of all time, or whatever other angry comments Esco supporters are making, comes off as desperate and pathetic. Like this man has fallen so far that his fans have to go above and beyond just to convince people he’s still making good music. Enjoy the album, say you enjoy the album, but save the extreme defenses of it, Nas has suffered enough that he doesn’t need his fans bringing him down more.

Watch the Throne…See the Progression

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Recently an article penned by fellow RepPittsburghHipHop writer Rami Bensasi discussed the underwhelming album from two of rap’s greatest artists ever, Watch the Throne. While I respect the effort and opinions laid forth in the article, I couldn’t help but disagree with just about all of it. Rami is an incredible writer and I see where he’s coming from, but I have an entirely different view of not only what Jay and Kanye have done for hip hop, but what they continue to do to make rap one of the most influential and amazing cultures we have today.

To start, it’s 2012. What that means is that the messages of rap’s early days are dated and the culture itself has progressed to a point far beyond the street corners and cardboard boxes laid out for breakdancers. Graffiti is a recognized art form and turntables have been replaced by dual iPod stations and laptop playlists. The internet is the new record store and the mp3 tweet has replaced standing on the corner handing out a mixtape. It’s only natural that the music has changed to reflect that. What’s also changed is the structure of hip hop in the business sense. No longer must an artist perform endlessly while handing his demo to everyone he sees, hoping to secure a record contract for maybe one album which may or may not get shelved depending on what the label feels like doing that quarter. Now artists have the ability to form their own labels, create their own distribution, and get their music directly to the people. Labels are still instrumental in converting an indie startup to a cultural phenom, but the majority of big name artists today got their start pushing their own product in their own lane.

Jay and Kanye made an album full of million dollar lyrics and lavish lifestyles. Yup, that’s right. Because in 2012, unlike in 1992, having a gold chain doesn’t mean a goddamn thing, but having multiple companies and private jets does. This SHOULD be celebrated. Russell Simmons isn’t operating out of a small office anymore, he has a multi-level building with penthouse suites and is sought out for his valued opinion on various social issues. Hip hop has gone from an underground art form to the face of pop music, and in the process it found a way to make a whole lot of money. That’s literally thousands of jobs for a group of people who once struggled to get off the streets and into a McDonalds. Again, this should be admired, and should be what everyone strives for.

Did Watch the Throne produce a couple of hit radio singles? Absolutely. And that’s what any successful artist knows is crucial in staying relevant and maintaining any type of push and success. Wale dropped a great album and sold like 5 copies. Then he followed up by signing to Maybach Music, dropping a couple hot singles, and then an album which has been revered by critics. Contrast that with Jay Electronica, who’s easily one of the most conscious and positive rappers out there, who can’t get a release date because Jay-Z says his album, while amazing, doesn’t have a single. Just look at Slaughterhouse to see what not having a single gets you; three dead weight singles and their album gets pushed back with the promise of a mixtape prior to the album just to try to generate some type of hype for lyrical hip hop that no one wants to hear.

It isn’t Jay and Kanye’s responsibility to do anything other than what they want to do, which is clearly to make great music. I’m honestly sick of people claiming rappers have a responsibility to their fans to make positive rap, they don’t. They make the music, we listen to it. That’s as far as it goes. If they rap positive and we buy it, good. If they wanna be ignorant and we buy it too, good. Either way it’s money. Rap has always been about expressing yourself and Jay and Kanye have done that in the way that they want to. If that means ripping the roof off a super expensive car and driving it around recklessly with white women then that’s awesome. Trust me, if Das EFX could have done that they would have, but in 1992 the best they could do is gather up everyone in the hood and film them rapping in the sewer.

It’s amazing how far rap has come since its inception, and to continue to strike down its accomplishments by complaining it has no substance anymore is to ignore the powerful influence it has and the income it has produced for those involved. A thousand dollar check meant something at one point to an up and coming rapper, now it’s a million dollar check. That says a lot about how far rap has come. And just like in 1989 rappers were flaunting their gold chains and new cars, rappers today are flaunting their multiple watches, cars, boats, and companies. It’s a culture of not only knowledge but celebration of success and progression, it always has been, and the fact that two of its most successful artists can make an entire album filled with genre-bending music boasting about their worldwide ventures just shows how far rap has come in a few short decades, and how rather than yearn for a return to a past time of struggling rappers getting fucked by their labels that we should instead focus on great it is today to be a part of rap. Hip Hop doesn’t need saving because it’s stronger than it’s ever been, all it needs is more recognition for its continued accomplishments and respect for its top players.

The Real Issue With The Nicki/Hot 97 Nonsense

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Now that the dust has settled and everyone has weighed in on the Nicki Minaj/Hot 97 situation, I wanted to take the time to look at a very important aspect of this whole drama that no one has spoken too much about. We know it was the wrong place/wrong time to say what Rosenberg said, we also know that Nicki is delusional in thinking it had anything to do with gender or that album sales were all at relevant in discussing the situation. As Flex said, both sides were at fault. But we learned something from this that needs to be looked at and reflected upon so hopefully we can work towards fixing it in the future. People need to stop buggin’ out at other peoples’ opinions.

I know, it’s some elitist asshole shit to complain in an opinion column about people being mad at opinions, but Rosenberg said some shit after the fact about how in today’s world you can’t give an opinion without taking all types of shit for it. There’s something really wrong with that.

We’re in an age where everyone and anyone can make their opinion on something a public statement. Whether five people or 5,000 people see or hear that opinion is a matter of relevancy but the point is everyone is a critic. What used to be discussions of hip hop in small circles have become worldwide debate rooms with hundreds of different opinions being thrown into the mix. This has resulted in never-ending debates (Jay-Z vs. Nas) and pointless complaints from underground fans that mainstream rap is garbage (here’s a hint: just bump what you like and ignore what you don’t). With anyone who owns a smartphone having the ability to weigh in on any discussion, it has become a lot easier to tell somebody they are wrong for what they believe and calling them every name in the book just because they don’t like Jay Elecsmritorifcirica (yeah whatever where’s his album at anyways?) Not only is this unhealthy but it’s childish and doesn’t contribute to a good debate about rap.

Where it gets scary is that these artists get so offended whenever you say their music is wack and it turns into some bullshit like not performing when you signed a contract saying you would perform. Let’s just keep it all the way 100, “Starships” sucks. In all honesty I still think it’s a Katy Perry song whenever I hear it and I can’t tell the difference between it and any random Katy Perry song, so yeah, it sucks. Is it not “real hip hop”? That’s a whole other discussion. What matters is that song sucks and that new album sucks, and Nicki caught feelings when those truths were brought to her attention. What’s worse is how people flipped the fuck out at someone calling something crap, whether or not it is in your opinion, Rosenberg’s opinion is his own and he has every right to feel the way he does. These attacks on peoples’ opinions are the real problem here, not some Barbie bitch feeling disrespected.

In 2012 when everyone has the ability to give their opinion, we gotta understand that everyone isn’t gonna agree on everything, ever. So while you may feel a different way than someone else about a song or an album or an artist, there’s no need to attack them just because they don’t agree with you. I like Flocka, many people don’t, but I’m not demanding they like Flocka. A lot of people like Kendrick Lamar, I don’t, and I don’t expect anyone to demand I do like Kendrick Lamar. Just let people have their own opinions and tastes and don’t crucify them for it, and if you’re an artist don’t get mad when someone doesn’t like your music, no song is for everyone, just be happy you do have fans and that your albums do drop, I mean shit you could be Jay Electronayamacha.

It’s 2012, The Black Album >>> Illmatic

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Hip hop is approaching a 40 year life span. What some thought would die early has gone on to get bigger and more diverse than anyone ever expected. And in those almost 40 years the general consensus among numerous rap fans has been that Illmatic is one of if not the greatest album in the genre’s history. At ten songs in 39 minutes, all practically flawless it’s an easy selection for the highest honor and anyone over the age of 25 has to remember playing it endlessly back in the days of tims and hoodies. But just because it’s always been the best album does that mean it always will be? Or has another release come along in recent years that at this point should surpass Illmatic and grab the title for best rap album of all time? The answer is yes and it’s The Black Album.

Back in 2003 one of the most well known and perhaps the best MC we’ll ever see in our lifetime announced his retirement. His swan song was an album with no guest features but with a powerhouse production team and the perfect sequencing of tracks. Lyrically Jay had never been better and his confidence in releasing the best material possible before retiring made the record only that much better. From the opening song about his childhood to the shoutouts at the end of “My First Song” (a joint which saw him return to his fast flow roots) every minute of the album was on point. It had its highlights, like “Encore”, “What More Can I Say” and the Timbaland banger “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” but every single song was solid, a rare feat especially in today’s rap world.

Perception and timing is everything, which is why Illmatic was so monumental as it was released at a time when the West Coast was still dominating the charts. It made New York rap relevant again (Wu-Tang might have a little more responsibility for that but whatever) and it fully encompassed the time in which it was released. The Black Album was a retirement record, and so part of the greatness of it was the knowledge that this would be the last time we would ever hear a Jay-Z album and what we got was perfection. It was sad and epic at the same time.

So why is The Black Album better? Well for starters it better reflects hip hop as a whole than Illmatic. When Nas dropped his debut the genre was still in its infancy and was trying to find its identity. Nas truly represented rap on that album in the rawest form possible with street tales and observations along with just flat out rap skills. But The Black Album was more diverse in its topics, in its production, in its representation of what hip hop has come to be over the years. You had the Rick Rubin rock-influenced song, a tribute to the old days of Def Jam. You had the song for females which has become a staple in every rapper’s repertoire. You had the club banger from Timbo, the pure skills raps of “What More Can I Say” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and especially “Public Service Announcement”. But you also had the reflective tracks like “Lucifer” and “Moment of Clarity”. And in all of its diverseness The Black Album was still very cohesive and flowed together flawlessly. Again, a perfectly sequenced album.

Not to take anything away from Illmatic but we can’t keep hanging on to the same perception that the almost 20 year old album from Nas is still the best thing rap has ever blessed our ears with. Sure it’s a great record but by today’s standards it’s really one-dimensional whereas The Black Album offers a wide variety of music, all put together properly with lyrical gems sprinkled all over. Putting a track like “Encore” at the beginning of a retirement album might seem wrong but for some reason it worked brilliantly, again attesting to the masterful sequencing on what is now most definitely the greatest rap album of all time.

This “Classic” Shit Really Needs To Be Deaded

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So once again we have a case of dickridin ass mafuckas who can’t wait to crown something a “classic” when it hasn’t even had time to circulate throughout the internet and be digested. I download this “Glory” joint, listen to it once, throw on an episode of The Wire and before I even have the chance to be pissed that the episode is over and now I gotta spend another hour of my life watching some shit I’ve already seen 4 times there’s mafuckas claiming to have just heard the greatest song in the history of music. How the fuck does something become a “classic” when the clock ain’t even made a full rotation?

This epidemic has been plaguing the community since they gave yall Twitter, a place where yall can say any dumb ass thought that comes to your mind at any time. And just like you always see that hyper active clown typing “first” in the comments section on every YouTube video and blog post, everyone wanna be the first to comment on some new shit. And when it’s Jay, or any other big name artist (Kanye, Drake) they always gotta make sure they were the first one to call some shit “classic”. The mixing board is still fucking hot and these cats are talking gem status. Are yall fucking serious?

I remember this shit happening when Take Care leaked. I was pissed that I still had a struggleberry and couldn’t download the shit since I was out and about and I saw people tweeting that the album was a classic, less than an hour after it leaked, meaning they couldn’t have possibly even heard the whole record yet but were already calling it a classic. How in the fuck is something a classic if you haven’t even heard the whole shit let alone been able to digest it, reflect, and go back a few times to see what the replay value is?

The new Roots album dropped and I had to play that shit like 10 times before even realizing how dope it was start to finish cause it was so fucking weird. For a minute I thought about calling that shit another classic, but 2 months later I realized I had played it the fuck out and was done with it. Classic? Yeah maybe in a few years if I can keep going back to it, but certainly not now. The LAST Roots album is a classic, How I Got Over, that shit been out over a year and still got no skippable tracks. Loso’s Way is a classic, been out 2 years, no skippable tracks. But even TM103 ain’t a classic yet cause it hasn’t even been out for a month, and “instant classic” is an oxyfuckingmoronic term so dead that shit too.

A true classic needs time to cook, to marinate, to fucking being taken in and reflected upon. Thriller is a classic cause 20+ years that shit still goes just as hard (pause) as it did back then. Same with The Chronic and Doggystyle, but this overuse of the term “classic” has devalued it so much that I can’t even trust a single mafucka to give an honest opinion anymore since everything is either a “classic” or “pure fucking trash garbage bullshit” the second its heard. Is “Glory” a good song? Fuck yeah it is, and it’s always nice to hear a new Jay track, especially of this subject matter, but tell me in a year if you’re still bumping it on the regular, then I can accept that it’s a classic, until then just chill all the way the fuck out with that word.


Review: “Watch the Throne” Jay-Z and Kanye West

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The kingdom is in peril. Confidence has been shaken: “Tears on the mausoleum floor/Blood stains the coliseum doors,” raps Jay-Z on the opening couplets of “Watch the Throne,” his new collaboration with Kanye West. “Lies on the lips of a priest/Thanksgiving disguised as a feast.”

That’s a lot of drama for so early, like starting a movie in the middle of a chase scene, especially when contrasted with vocalist Frank Ocean, whose gentle, emotional tenor wonders on the nature of faith and unsound hierarchies. “No church in the wild,” he sings, and with it the listener enters a bejeweled realm, one filled with musings on the spoils of riches and the chaos that accompanies it. This tension between worshiping the spirit and celebrating the bounty drives “Watch the Throne.”

The long-gestating project, released exclusively on iTunes Monday morning at 12:01 a.m., combines the strengths of two of the most acclaimed rappers of the last two decades, Jay-Z and West, who have worked together often but never on a collaborative full-length album, and couples them with some of today’s most respected producers, including the RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, DJ Premier, the Neptunes, the Jugganauts, Swizz Beats and Q-Tip.

The result is a cocksure, fiery, smart, if problematic, collaboration that showcases the pair’s distinct lyrical skills, their way around a metaphor and an ability to execute both a grand narrative and the details that turn it into truth. Musically, the production is captivating — especially West and RZA’s odd, syrupy beat on “New Day” — even if a relative lack of structural variety within the songs makes the record feel a little longer than it actually is.

Thematically, the throne of the title contains multitudes, based on the context of the lyrics surrounding it. The record questions faith while clinging to heritage and family, places this moment in an historical context, wonders on the mystery, power and confusion of the gilded life — while rolling around in amulets.

The album’s highlight, and an instant classic, is “Made in America,” a solid, slow-paced Frank Ocean-teamed jam about the American dream that reveals the main difference between West and Jay-Z: humility. Above a weirdly magnetic synthetic beat and dots of pretty piano clusters crafted by producer Sak Pace of the Jugganauts, Ocean begins by gently listing a string of saints — “sweet king Martin, sweet queen Coretta, sweet king Malcolm … sweet baby Jesus” among them, and West offers a verse that starts off humble, but by the end he’s bragging about his power and slamming his critics — while Ocean sings “We made it in America.”

In contrast, Jay offers a tender, descriptive recollection of his family life: “I pledge allegiance to my Grandma/For that banana pudding, our piece of Americana” From there he commits to building a family, not to shoving fistfuls of money in doubters’ faces. Jay’s perspective tethers West throughout the album, even if both constantly describe their good fortune in ways that would furrow Mother Teresa’s brow.

On “… in Paris,” we follow the pair as they invade the couture capital, and then justify their arrival: “Hidden behind all these big rocks,” raps Jay-Z, “I’m shocked too/I’m supposed to be locked up too/If you escaped what I’ve escaped/You’d be in Paris getting … up too.”

Over the course of the album, West and Hova name-check with cultural equanimity, shouting out both Too Short and Larry Gagosian, bragging on their Rothkos and Basquiats, offering a nod “to the leader of the Jackson 5,” to Dale Earnhardt, Plato and Malcolm X. Interwoven are brand-name endorsements of Hermes, Audemars Piguet, Margiela and Gucci.

It’s an impressive list of acquisitions, but would it have hurt them to toss off the names of a few worthy charities with as much enthusiasm, perhaps highlighting the power they have to spread their fortune? It must be a drag having to carry such a heavy wallet.

“Your life’s cursed, well mine’s an obscenity,” says West on “The Joy,” the last of the bonus tracks on the deluxe version. After walking through the showers of gold-leaf verbal confetti that’s rained down on the listeners over the last hour, it’s hard to find much sympathy for his plight, even if we respect the talent and hard work that got him to where he is.

But ego can be blinding.

“Who gon’ stop me?” they both rhyme on a song of the same name, and you can hear the famous last words of countless kings and despots as they accrue power. America was made after revolutionaries said “no” to the throne, and history tells us that if an assassin doesn’t get you, something else will. Henry VIII, recall, died of gluttony and gout. But on “Watch the Throne,” the two kings prove much more nimble and disciplined, displaying a confidence that suggests they’re not going anywhere.

- Review by Randall Roberts, LA Times (click here for original post)


History Has Been Made

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It all started with Napster. The ability to download music for free over the internet completely changed the recording industry and after a few years of Kazaa and Limewire we’ve finally settled on sites like MegaUpload and RapidShare to take care of our musical needs. It had become standard that 1-2 weeks before an album was officially released that it would leak online, with some using that as a way to determine if they wanted to buy it or not, while others just enjoyed the ability to get music for free.

 

Then on August 8th everything changed.

 

As of 11:59pm on Sunday August 7th there was still no sign of Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch the Throne album anywhere on the internet. Regardless of the fact that at 12:01 it was readily available (and I ain’t talking about on iTunes) this was still the first time that a major label release did not leak before it officially dropped. Forget watching the throne, it’s time to watch the record labels. This historical moment will no doubt be noticed by all the companies who for years have been beating themselves up over how to prevent their product from hitting the streets early. The solution may have been found, and to think it came from two rappin’ ass rappers, a move that could change the record industry forever.

Clearly the plan of exclusively releasing the album to iTunes before retailers could stock physical supplies was the key. I wouldn’t be surprised if future album sales are all done this way, with iTunes and Amazon getting exclusive rights and then retail stores having to wait for the CDs to arrive. It’s pure genius, you can’t leak something that doesn’t exist physically. I read that tracks weren’t even e-mailed, they were handed over on hard drives. Shit I wouldn’t be surprised if someone hand delivered the songs to Apple. And it worked, no leaks. The end of the record store may be rapidly approaching.

We have to look at this as a good thing, for multiple reasons. First, it’s progression. Granted I’m the last person to be happy about no longer being able to guarantee that at least a week before something drops it’ll be up in my speakers but you had to know it was only a matter of time before someone somewhere figured out how to beat the leak. And it’s not like this is preventing the access to free music, we just gotta wait a little bit longer now. Secondly, out of all the genres of music (although hip hop is probably the biggest victim of leaks) it was two rappers who made the best business decision in the music business since we entered the digital age. They changed the game for everyone. Who would have expected that about 20 years ago when hip hop still had close to zero respect in the general music culture?

Whether you like or hate the album, either because you know you’re supposed to like or hate it to fit into whatever group of people you align yourself with, you can’t deny the fact that these two artists did something no one has even been able to do before, prevent their album from leaking early. While the content itself will be picked apart and debated for months to come, history has already been made as Jay-Z and Kanye took on the internets and won and they got to release their album the way they wanted to and when they wanted to. Clap for them.