Cool Breeze-Whatcha Really Know About The Dirty South?

A few posts back, I posted a GRIMEY mixtape song by Acrite called “Get Em Up”. I’m almost positive that you don’t know who he is so look in the January archives to find the video link. But there was another song on the mixtape where he jacked Cool Breeze’s “Watch for the Hook”. The lyrics, CRAZY, but it made me think about Cool Breeze and how he had one of my favorite Highway CD’s of all time. See, I’m a guy that likes to see the land and get into the landscape and enjoy the sites and stop in on places I might not see any other time. I’m talking about places like Americus Georgia, Dothan Alabama, and Bradshaw Maryland. But anyway, I refuse to get on the highway without this CD because it’s just one of those albums that you just ride to.

Cool Breeze, Cool Cutta or Freddy Calhoun if you wanna go deep with it,is 1st generation Dungeon Family, (See the Archives for Aug 2, 2009) and an MC that is awkward in the sense that he doesn’t fit the mold of what most think a southern artist is. The first thing is that he didn’t curse on the album which is a rarity in Hip Hop. Maybe I had an edited version, but it was still hard as hell. There was dope slanging, car jackin’, plenty of slanguage and references that only people who are from ATL or who have been there for a while would understand and appreciate; However, the themes were universal because the dude is dope. The second thing is, my man is nice; he doesn't fall into the sometimes hypocritical view that is given of the South. You know how it goes, it rocks the club and everybody has a good time but at the same time “it’s garbage” conversation. Cool Breeze came from a camp of real rhymers and it shows.

His album, “East Point’s Greatest Hits” hit home for me because I lived in East Point for a while after I moved to Atlanta before moving to Jersey. East Point is technically a suburb of Atlanta but not really. Depending on where you’re at in the city, you may be across the street from the Atlanta or College Park city limits – both of which I once lived. From beginning to end, it hits hard. From the funky, funky, funky intro to the end, my man doesn’t just give you the average southern song that the industry feeds us; he gives classic ATL hustler/grown man talk with tight rhymes. This is the cat that actually coined the phrase “The Dirty South” on the Goodie Mob song “Dirty South” from the “Soul Food” album. My favorite song on the album besides “Watch for the Hook” and “Butter” would have to be “Hit Man” feat E.J. the Witchdoctor. The Organized Noize Production is superb like always. Yeah, It’s an old album but it’s definitely one that deserves at the very least a look on You Tube and a search on Amazon or I Tunes. Of course I’ve got a video, but do me a favor and TELL SOMEBODY about the site and follow me on Twitter at @TheMarcusObrien and friend me and like the page on Facebook.

See the archives below this article and comment by signing into Gmail or use “Anonymous”.

Say It Ain't So Kim!

I just want to believe that Lil' Kim is telling the truth about these "Black Friday" mixtape sales. I like Lil' Kim and she seems to be down to earth and respectable outside of this extremely strange issue that she has with Nicki Minaj that some people are calling an obsession. While listening to Power 105 New York, on air personality Charlamagne Tha God made the obsessive reference by saying that "when Nicki Minaj said 'which bitch you know made a million off a mixtape' that she decided to do that". He went on to talk about running with the "Pink Friday" theme and turning it into "Black Friday" which was entertaining as it flowed with his ribbing of Kim and could used to demonstrate obsessive behavior. The obsession theory could be thrown out there as one of those ridiculous conspiracy theories like the every successful entertainer is part of the Illuminati, or "there are 27 diamonds on his watch which is the date that an Egyptian ruler died so that means that he is claiming to be the ruler of a new dynasty" but there have been some instances that play into the banter. To Lil' Kim's defense, what she did makes sense in the spirit of Hip Hop Battles. Kim took the idea to rebuttal and refute.

Now that I've shed some of my thoughts, (and they are simply my thoughts) the point of this all is that Lil' Kim claimed to sell over 100,000 copies of the mixtape for $9.99 on Pay Pal in a little more than 24 hours. The price makes a difference because that is where the Nicki Minaj million dollar mixtape bitch reference enters the arena. The simple math of 100,000 x 10 = $1,000,000 gives fuel to the "obsession" fire because a parallel to Nicki is created with that. The disbelief of this feat takes a front row seat at the arena when a reported Pay Pal representative stated that one million dollars worth of transactions would trigger an audit by Pay Pal and shut down her site, and also that the site had only been visited only around 24,000 times. With that math every person who clicked in the site would have to purchase 4.16 albums. The representative did not specifically deny or back up Lil' Kim's claims, but if that information is accurate, it would be tough to believe that things happened the way her camp claims.

I have no personal stake in any of this, but it's Hip Hop, and I live for Hip Hop talk barbershop style and "this isht smells funkay". Yes, I meant Funkay with the ay cause that means a little more than funky. As I stated in previous articles about this, I don't understand why so much effort was put into this battle by Kim in the first place. But more than that, almost a year later with no significant progress, I don't know why she's still pursuing it. This would be the time to put out an album on her own accord while people are watching her and give her die hard fans something. To be real about it, "Romans Revenge" was a massacre. Kim's reply was solid and respectable, but not strong enough in my opinion. Right then is when she should have either let it be or maintained an onslaught all of the way until now; not sit back and then months later "here comes the mixtape". That's whack! She should have been killing her every Friday until "Black Friday" to put some pressure on. Nicki had no pressure and that's why no one has heard much from her about Kim since "Roman's Revenge. Again, I love Kim but, this is not a good move for a veteran and I hope that these numbers weren't skewed as the reports have been and that she just puts out some dope music.

As always, TELL SOMEBODY! Sign in with your Gmail account or leave a comment under "anonymous". Follow me on Twitter at @TheMarcusObrien

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Imjussayin

Imjussayin

A quick thought for the moment. Do you remember when people were hungry, you know starving? When everything wasn't so effortless? Every beat didn't take "about 5 minutes" to make and people did write rhymes. A time when you could hear in someone's voice that they meant what they said and it wasn't just cool to say, or people had their own style and it wasn't cool to completely sound like the next one because "that's the way the industry is movin' now"? What about when edgy was cool and it was alright to just spit and spit hard; not tough guy hard but be a beast without a dozen pauses in the rhyme like "Ah, Yeah, and other time wasting tactics. (See 6 ft. 7 by Wayne to see how to thoroughly GO IN). What about when cat's held the microphone like it meant something. You know, get in a stance like it was all out warfare instead of wobbling back and forth, and bouncing on one foot like a toddler about to piss on themselves. I quit downing people for what they do to make it in life; however, these are a few things that I'm tired of now. Right now is just a boring time in Hip Hop and it gives me too much of an opportunity to notice some of the ridiculous antics that go on. If this offends anyone I don't necessarily apologize, but it is a wake up call that I'm not the only one who feels this way so do something fly to prove us wrong. PEACE
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Lyrical Combat (Hip Hop)

Send something fly and I'll post it!

Mixtape Massacre

I remember sometime between ’92 and ’93 my homeboy and DJ went to Pittsburgh to visit family for a couple of weeks, and came back with this crazy tape of these cats on some serious hood shit with this song called “Trapped in Homewood”. Apparently, they were Bloods from the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, which is just a small part of the equation. Besides them banging on wax, they jacked the “Dwyck” beat from Nice and Smooth and Gangstarr, slowed it down, put some drums on it, and sampled what I think was Tupac saying trapped for the hook with gunshots and other crazy stuff in the background. We rocked that tape to death until it mysteriously came up missing like most of the underground tapes we had.

They definitely had us in the pocket with that which is the power of the mix tape-keeping in contact with the streets. I don’t mean the streets as in every mix tape is pure gangster, but artist have the ability to relax on the industry water down and do some of the things that got them into the industry, or get noticed by the industry. The perfect example of that is 50 Cent. Some people hate him now and are sick of hearing him and some people love him like when he first came out. In the past couple of years, some of his videos and singles haven’t been my favorites, but his mix tapes stay in heavy rotation in the streets and I suppose provide decent money in between albums. French Montana was killing ‘em with the Coke Waves. It’s too bad Max B isn’t here right now to enjoy the success of it, I hope things work out for him though. The Affiliates got Atlanta poppin’ on the national mix tape seen but before that, DJ Jelly of the Oomp Camp held it down. In the Chicago you got the Drama Ward, CWall, and others that drop stuff that usually keep up their regional presence.

I just like the grit and hunger when artists are letting it out on wax for the absolute love of the music and to be appreciated by fans that don’t have Sound Scan numbers and radio play on their minds although radio has played a significant role in promoting the mix tape movement in the past few years. Prominent DJ’s like Whoo Kid, DJ Drama, K Slay, and Green Lantern not only sponsor volumes of mix tapes, but also have slots on major radio stations that keep us interested with exclusive songs, remixes and collaborations with artists that may never get a chance to work together under a label circumstance. Green Lantern put out “Pablo Doe” with Styles P, Uncle Murda, and Noreaga which is still one of my favorites. I remember riding through Newark and almost breaking my neck I was nodding so hard. It’s tidbits like those that keep my Hip Hop battery charged. We just need to make sure that the mix tape scene doesn’t get as diluted as the industry is due to the record execs attempting to cash in on what we make hot, and advise on what’s hot after the fact that they didn’t want to touch it in the beginning. That’s the same way they took over and altered Hip Hop in the first place, which has its pros and cons, but that’s another topic. I say support your favorite artists and Dj’s and pick up those mix tapes and help make some noise outside of the industry and keep things moving. And somebody please put me down on sown on some West Coast siht. As always, TELL SOMEBODY!

"Get Em Up" Actrite

I'm wildin' out this week. This is one of the illest songs that almost no one has heard. It’s on a super underground mixtape that I ran across a while back. This cat has a delivery that makes every line tie together so that it’s not just scattered thoughts being put together, it’s a conversation. He probably sat down and wrote this and knew what he wanted. It’s classic Hip Hop without the watered down hooks and lyrics. I think the cat’s name is Act Rite.

“Get your hands up sky high, like a liquor store robbery,
I’m retarded, bad with the flow, curled up and slobbery,
Decrepit in this b----, you know fu---- up in the frontal lobe, and I’m in frontin’ mode, keep flows tucked and stowed away, from spineless, snake-in-the-grass a—hole bastards like yourself, break in your room and steal the weed of your shelf,
Just to piss you off, now have a f------ up day, I don’t give a s--- what you got to say, I’m like furious an your Trey, ‘Put the mic down son’, and stay away from Dough Boy,
He got that s--- to make Cam’Ron and Jus Blaze say Oh Boy, You don’t wanna go boy,
I’ll shoot your dog wit B.B. guns and point it at your boy, see he runs, he aint that hard-
He B---- like that B---- but he only got two legs, I go to parties with white boys cause they keep them two kegs, for 22 personas and I quit f------ wit coronas, they kinda like chicks who only show tits in swimming pools and saunas,
I just want little something more fulfilling,
I’m a outfielder with no glove, I don’t catch feelings
And I aint Superman either b---- I don’t catch buildings,
Don’t dance either like Lionel Rich on ceilings,
Certain dealings and mishaps keep me leery of jibber dudes,
Niccas got 13 songs and 15 interludes, while I’m making bigger moves than Tsunami’s in Asia,
Wash out whack dudes like Tsunami’s in Asia,
I don’t think you heard me dog I’m tragic like Tsunami’s in Asia, For as many times as I said it I should have got paid son,
but NOPE, certain things that I do make me raise the,
Topic of devastation,
Cause that’s the only way to explain the,
Total lack of respect and disregard of your being,
I don’t give a f--- about you and that’s what you’re not seeing,
You’re far from original and definitely not g’ing,
We can ask your girl, your moms, your pops, and they will all be agreeing,
That you should quit early before I take drastic measures,
Mess up your life just for pleasure, I’m in to harmful endeavors,
I’m Off The Wall like Mike Jack, Jack Me like Janet Dammit,
Ain’t no button to push, no one knows of your panic,
Get ‘Em Up! -Actrite “Get ‘Em Up”

Street Cred

About a year ago, I wrote an article about the new blood of Hip Hop with Drake being the focus. I stated then that in the beginning, I was unsure of where he was coming from, but had changed my mind. My stance has not changed as this cat has been consistent; So much, that on Christmas I tweeted that I was on a 24 hour Tequila diet in reference to “Money to Blow” which, in my opinion, Baby should have never been allowed in the vicinity of the studio when that was being recorded. Sorry, I’m a fan of the classic Baby and Manny Fresh combination. Those two used to compete to be the most outlandish with the overindulgence which made for great entertainment. Who speaks of stepping out with a pair of dinosaur boots with a matching coat? The answer is no one but those two which is off subject, but has a remote place in this article as I am speaking about the Cash Money Camp. I lost the "How U Luv That" CD twice and bought it three times just to listen to those cats.

Before my digression, I was speaking of how the guy has the knack of saying fly shit which is what you do when you are an MC. Now we all know as one has success and rides their wave of success and “does them” there is always sideline chatter to the contrary. I am one to speak my opinion which is just that, my opinion and I do not discourage anyone from discussing their opinion unless their only purpose is to pour salt. Just like others, when I heard Drake was on the Nick TV show, in my head I thought “now what is this guy about”, and unfairly and unnecessarily doubting his street sense, as if it is going to make a difference if it would qualify him to make good music. As silly as it sounds, that is a real topic of criticism about a guy that admits that he knew he couldn’t come with a hard core image and doesn’t reference the tough guy-isms in his songs that people tend to believe is real lyricism because it wouldn’t work. I could hear less of the singing but women buy albums so hum away, I guess. Again, the guy just says fly shit and he’s good at it. Of course there’s braggadocio in the rhymes, but that is Hip Hop. Not to say that I don’t appreciate my fair share of tough guy antics, because there’s nothing like a round of “Lay it Down” by Eightball and MJG or “Dump” by 50 and Jadakiss in the morning; but the You Tube rap battles with guys describing how there bullets will do a ridiculous amount of damage to “ya mans and them” doesn’t assist me in my decision on who is actually the best as much as it decides who should move to Hollywood to be a screenplay writer.

There have been interviews where there were references to Drake being corny or Will Smith-ish, or not being from the streets. Don’t misunderstand me, I get it but, I personally don’t understand what being heavy in the streets has to do with the music you make if that life is not your subject matter. Hip Hop does reflect the realities of ghetto life, but there are countless factors that will decide if that will make it to the music. People decide not to incriminate themselves and others and choose not to tell those stories, and some chose to do so. Some choose to leave the past in the past, and some decide to tell the story to steer others away from the life. Many MC’s have the story to tell, but have a gift to rhyme about being the best on the mic and some are just not street. There are extremely hood people that make little mention of their real street status as well as people that didn’t live in the hood but have strong hood ties. There is a common misconception that you HAVE to be from the “hood” to spit rhymes. Yes, it started in the hood, but the realistic qualities within the music and culture has allowed it to grow. In that growth, it was received by some that are more fortunate than others and they have had their turn to share their realities. I really don’t give a damn where your upbringings are from as long as the artist stays in their lane, that shit is dope, and your message isn’t false. Drake’s reality is that he made money, had a lot of time to think of good shit to say and it worked for him. The “he ain’t hood” gibberish is an overrated topic of discussion because again, it doesn’t determine if it’s dope or not. It is a device of hate that should be locked away without a key to release it. This isn’t a pro Drake session, he just happens to be a good example of one that has been a victim if player-hate-ish acts committed by some who may well be otherwise player rule abiding individuals, so we can consider this a pro “let people do them” session. Follow me on Twiiter or Facebook using the links above and remember TELL SOMEBODY!

M.O.P. feat. Styles P - Bang Time

I've been in the mood to stay a far away from the radio as possible for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, NY radio is still on last fall's music rotation, and I've gone through all of the independant artists that follow me on Twitter (Keep it pushing!). I was in the mood for some "rah rah, rowdy, beast music". I wanted something the was almost absent of melody and absolutely unrefined, and who would be best to give it to me... M.O.P! Hell, I feel like hopping on a train with some Private Stock, earphones and a backpack right now. I might just shoot over to Coney Island for no reason. M.O.P is one of the last groups to give that uncut, non watered down Hip Hop that's now tailor made to touch the sensitive side of a man. Being a man, I don't particularly want to hear everyone's vulnerable points, relationship woes, and love interests. Sometimes, I just want raw Hip Hop. So, thank M.O.P. for me bringing this to you.

LL Got Murked

In the “Blood In The Water” post about Nicki Minaj vs. Lil’ Kim, I stated that I would get back you on this topic. Well, here it is. Did L.L. Cool J really defeat Cannibus in their 1998 battle? I am an old school L.L. fan. I’m talking about hooking the cable up to the back of the radio so I could tune in WGCI in Chicago and recording “Dear Yvette” on a cassette tape because besides “The Show”, it was my favorite song. I’m talking about drinking 40oz’s at my homeboy’s house and acting out the “I’m Bad” video.

I remember the day like it was yesterday. Chris Luva Luva (Ludacris) and Poon Daddy were on the air at (then) Hot 97 ATL and they played the Cannibus song. I had seen the video already and I knew there was a problem. This cat was hungry like four fat pregnant chicks having cravings, but I was still thinking to myself”how do you decide to battle L.L.?” But, when it came on the radio, it felt like the spotlight was on and he was ready for the show. That’s when I knew that he KILLED this cat. I thought that it was over with and that one of my Hip Hop idols had gone down in flames.

Let me sidetrack myself for a moment and philosophize for a moment. What we can’t do is base a decision on previous accomplishments, likings, and emotion. That’s where I bamboozled, hoodwinked, and sideswiped myself in regard to this battle. Even when it was obvious that Uncle L was not going to make too many songs for the original B-boy crowd, I rode the wave. In my early teens, when I first got serious about girls and one girl in particular, I rocked with “Around the way girl” because it was L.L. Cool J. What we have to do is just be in tune and real with ourselves.

Let’s get back to the story. I was speaking of L going down in flames but, it didn’t quite happen that way. Maybe a week or two later Luva Luva and Poon Daddy were back on the air with L.L.’s response. They made me wait through about two sets of commercials before they really got to it but, what are you gonna do? What they did was set it up as a battle, played the songs back to back and had people call in and vote. I’ll never forget Poon Daddy saying “You can’t go against no legend” and that’s al that I needed to change my mind about my idol. At that very moment, I believe that I was persuade to believe that L.L. was going to crush this little guy and remain undefeated in a battle. The song played, and in my heart I knew it wasn’t strong enough, but I ran with it for years until I saw an episode of “Beef” and they were interviewing Kool Moe Dee about his battle with L.L.. Kool Moe Dee basically said that more than potency, it was the intensity that got him over. When listening to the interviews of others through the years, the decision was based on legend status rather than how hard did he come. That’s when I decided to be real about the situation, (and this answers the question in the beginning of this) and said HELL NAW (yes, I said Naw) L.L. didn’t win. Cannibus WENT IN on this cat relentlessly! The references to the fan base and taking the Mic off of his arm is classic!

Did L go out without being a formidable competitor? No. Did he win? Absolutely not, and that battle didn’t hurt lessen his prestige because many won’t admit that he lost but here is the opportunity to set yourself free and say Can-I-Bus busted that ass. The video clip and archives are below, like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, and don't forget to TELL SOMEBODY!

Drop The Bomb Em!

Drop The Bomb Em!

Let’s just get to it. Whenever there’s a white guy that’s a MC, the comment “he straight for a white dude” is usually the first comment. I get it, sort of. In the beginning, most white people were not messing with Hip Hop, or even found it the least bit tolerable. They hated the graffiti art, had no idea what the DJ was doing, and mocked the dress and movements. You’ve seen it when they contort their faces and arms and pose like a B-Boy with cerebral damage. But with the Beastie Boys (One of the dopest groups PERIOD), white people had an entry to Hip Hop with something and someone that they could somewhat relate to. Since that introduction, many fans of Hip Hop are white so it’s only natural that generations later there are white MC’s and to me it doesn’t matter if your black, white, brown, or turquoise, dope is dope.

 What leads me to this is me and my homeboy were discussing how Eminem is probably the best MC (Not just rapper) that there is but will never get full credit because he’s white. We went into how his sales were probably increased because he’s white, and that may be true, however it comes with the territory. Because he’s white there is a resonance with Caucasians that goes deeper than music. This is the same connection that Latino and Black listeners have an inner understanding of the music an MC of their own race. This all came about because my homeboy and I were having a conversation about Emenim and how he is about the best MC (Not just rapper) that there is. I don’t care what color, nice is nice.

 The facts are that (A) He’s white (B) He breathes Hip Hop (C) He has been with black people majority of his life. Then the conversation moved into our normal frank nature that the sensitive individuals may find completely offensive. My boy said that in his eyes, he doesn’t see Em as a white dude he sees him as a quote “N Bomb”. Yes, he said “N Bomb”. We are cut from a different cloth from most so, sometimes our thoughts are deemed to be outlandish. With that being said, my homeboy said that he’s waiting for Em to drop the N Bomb on wax. I said that he will never do it and can’t do it because black people aren’t ready for that, but it wouldn’t bother me in the least. You may ask why and that is because I don’t feel that it would be in a malicious nature and I think he knows, understands, and has been a PART of black culture. In some people’s eyes that is not a pass, but I’m not easily offended. Mel Gibson didn’t piss me off and neither did George Jefferson calling people honkeys. So, the question is posed. Can Emenim drop the N Bomb? Post your comments below and TELL SOMEBODY!

Death Certificate

     Ice Cube’s “Death Certificate” was and still is one of my favorite albums. It was Ice Cube without NWA, being mentored and produced by the Chuck D and the Bomb Squad, on some everyday street isht with a positive message to it. Cube married rowdy, gangster street mentality, with Islamic ideals, common sense, and righteousness. He found a way to take one side of the album to play towards the streets who wanted to hear the gangsterism, but with that, he put it in the air that “As you listen to this, pay attention to what is being said and decide if this is what you want for your life”. The other side directly addressed the issues and plainly stated what positive changes needed to made in the Black and Hispanic communities. The two were named the “Life” and “Death” sides, a concept that was genius and allowed him to give different points of views with without being considered contradictory with songs like “Dead Homies”, Steady Mobbin’”, "A Bird In The Hand", and “Givinupthenappydugout”.


    Now let’s get to the meat of this discussion, “My Summer Vacation”. The song is FAR from “Are We There Yet?” It basically tells a story about some cats from LA spreading their love for making money by bringing dirt cheap Cocaine to St. Louis and while setting up shop, running into a few problems and converting the locals to Bloods and Crips to make the process a bit simpler. The song hit home for me because I was in St. Louis often with friends and family and had a few experiences with the gangs; some cool, some not so much. What I didn’t know until I got older is that was the real reason why every time I went to Northwest Plaza, Saints, and rode through U-City the blue and red flags were so prevalent. Ice Cube was not only giving us an oral history lesson, he was spittin’.

    It all brings back good memories of good music and good times in one of my favorite towns. Of course I have the video below, so check that out, follow me on Facebook and on Twitter @TheMarcusObrien and TELL SOMEBODY. The link to the archives are below.

Dishonorable Hip Hop Honors

Although Tony Draper of Suave House Records was snubbed when the Pioneers of Southern Hip Hop were honored last year, nearly all of the inductees to the VH1 Hip Hop Honors have been deserving that I can remember. But for the last two or three years, I've been wondering how can one of the greatest Hip Hop duos of all time has consistently been left off of the guest list. Who had one of the coldest samples of "More Bounce to the Ounce", rocked the ill fisherman caps, brought us Redman, K-Solo, Das Efx, Keith Murray, Illegal, and had one of the livest DJ's in DJ Scratch. That team would be Eric Sermon and Parrish Smith, Eric and Parrish Making Dollars or EPMD for short.

I remember when they first came out, I took the bus to the mall with my walkman and bought the "Strictly Business" cassette and rocked it the whole way home. I must've played "You Gots to Chill" a million times that night. That album went gold which was big back then. On all of their albums they maintained the "Business" themes - Strictly Business, Business as Usual, Back to Business, which was fitting since they penned their own rhymes and handled a bulk of the production. Even during a break up of the Brentwood, Long Island duo, they maintained the "Business" theme.

What VH1 should do is handle their business and give proper respects to one of the all time great Hip Hop duos. How in the hell do you honor Def Jam and only have one verse of "Crossover". People need to know that after Run DMC, there was a tag team that held it down and made a way for some of the dopest MC's that the '90's saw. Eric Sermon even helped Shaq with his first album. So, I'm thinking that until this is done, VH1 is on some bull$#!* and I'm not rockin' with them until they have sobered up from the wack juice that they have been sipping honor EPMD. I would advise all Hip Hop heads to do as I do and write them and let's see what happens. As always, TELL SOMEBODY and follow me on Twitter at @TheMarcusObrien.

2010 Are You Ready?

   Alright, so it's the end of 2011 and so much music has and news has come, passed, been forgotten, and driven through the wringer that it's nearly impossible for me to maintain any sort of chronological history or all of the events of this year so I'll just touch on a few in short order.
 
 Fat Joe came with it on a SOLID album that had one of my favorite songs of the year "No Problemz". T.I unfortunately went back to jail but put together a good package to hold us over until he comes back. Also in regard to T.I, he smashed that verse on "Fancy" didn't he?.

WAIT, STOP THE PARTY! Swizz Beatz showed this year why he is "The Monster" by making the hit songs and remixes this year. He produced song's like "Roman's Revenge" for Emenim and Nicki Minaj which by the way was simply animalistic and made "the issue" between Nicki Minaj and Lil' Kim official. You tell me your thoughts on the results of that. While speaking of Monsters, Nicki along with Kanye, Jay Z and Rick Ross transformed into beasts for one of the biggest songs of the year in "Monster". "First things first I'll eat your brain"! Who says that?! Oh yeah the video is below.

While mentioning Kanye, although I would have not liked for him to have apologized to Lucifer himself (George W. Bush) because the prick was unappreciative of the sentiment and as always too arrogant to even want to get Ye's name right, I understood where it was coming from. Also, I would like for Taylor Swift fans and non-fans to quit bitching and tell the girl to do what is proper and cut that man a check for new found popularity. Lastly, I would like to say that this cat has again fouind a way to create great music and be the biggest asshole ever to critics without spelling it out in ABC fashion, hense "Monster"

In other Def Jam stories, again the label whose foundation is Hip Hop lacks promotion of Hip Hop. While Rick Ross had the hottest summer seen by a Def Jam artist since Jay Z which BLAZING hot singles like "BMF" and "MC Hammer" the numbers didn't add up to the expectations. Gold is not the worst but Hip Hop was spoiled with Platinum plus for a few years. Big Boi, Redman and Ghostface who all put forth great works but promotion that is less than what Def Jam is known for doing for their premier Hip Hop Artists. With that being said, that WU Massacre was on fire, you know, grown people's rap. Ludacris made sure that he kept himself and Atlanta noticed by doing what he does best and rhyming.

Luda had some help from Gucci Mane and Waka Flaka who have made a foundation for themselves amist so many negative sentiments from individuals in the Hip Hop commuity. Some who may not have embraced their efforts in the beginning, have embraced their realistic ideals, loyalty to each other, and honesty. It's almost like Soulja Boy who "swagged" his way into another infamous year whether for the good or bad.

In Young Money news outside of Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne came home, got right to work and hit the streets with 6"7 which was much needed for him to get back into the swing and for me as I can't listen to anymore Drake songs. Before I'm labled as a hater, let me state that I like the rapper Drake. I just need new material because there has been an oversaturation of the market that I need a brake from right now.

The biggest comeback of the year is obviously Emenim who came back larger than King Kong. Everything that he's touched this year has been spotless and that's good for him. Good to see the asshole back in the race.

Mentions go to 50 and Jadakiss for "Dump", Yelawolf for being just that awkward in perception and that nice on the mic, Joel Ortiz for being that asshole rapper that I miss in Hip Hop, Ice Cube and Rev Run and the gang for bridging the gap on the BET Hip Hop Awards, Lloyd Banks for staying down and shining in a way that I didn't notice before, Dipset for bringing it back together, Bun B for holding up after a great loss and putting in great work w/ Talib Kweli, Talib Kweli and Hi Tek for Another album, Jay Electronica for providing verbal chess matches, The Cool Kids for staying off the beaten path and funky, Cali Swagg District for getting sexy ass grown women up out of their seats and wiggling perfectly, B.O.B for doing exactly what he wants to do and making it work, Dr. Dre for finally moving his finger toward the album release button after another 10 years, and Skillz for another Year End Rap Up which I know is coming, but haven't heard yet. Like I said, I can't remember everything so there may be an update but until then, TELL SOMEBODY and follow me on Twitter at TheMarcusObrien.

Apollo Kid

I have to take the time to put a little light on a MC with enough character to pass around the room twice and still have enough to give plenty of color to the album. He's a member of the Wu who rocked the Wally's, ill robes and a 6 inch high gold eagle arm bracelet. Call him Tony Starks or Ghostface but either way, you'll get the same ill flow and swagger. Who else would do a video eating an ice cream cone? We all know him from the Wu Tang Clan, but I'm thinking about some of the solo efforts he's put forth. I have to say that "Shakey Dog" on the Fishscale album is not only one of my favorite songs on the album, but one of my favorites period. The song is about a robbery set up that didn't go as well as expected. This cat is one of the best story tellers that there is in Hip Hop. Years ago my homeboy and I started calling Ghostface "The Great Describer" because we would listen to him and notice how he could give you a verse and a half simply giving you the set up for the story which includes describing everything and everyone in the room down to the shoelace, and that's what made "Shakey Dog" on Fishscale so hot. By the end of the song, I had to know what happened with the Spanish cat and Ghostface. There's not too many MC's that can keep people's attention with a story anymore, but this guy really does paint pictures with words and has hilarious lines to keep the listener entertained.

He's been on record as saying that he likes beats with soulful samples. What I would like to see is an album with production from the RZA, 9th Wonder, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Alchemist, Pete Rock, NO I.D., and see if there could be some type of clearance for a Jay Dee tack in there. I have no idea how much case that would take, but I'm sure that the end result would be BANANNAS! The Apollo Kids album is out now and I hope people support it cause it's good isht. Check out the link to "Shakey Dog" and as always TELL SOMEBODY!

HUNGRY!

Right now, I'm feeling that Joel Ortiz is just one of the illest cats around. Who could have taken arguably the spring and summer's hottest song, Beamer, Benz, or Bentley and stripped it down to the gutter with Nissan, Honda Chevy and make it fly. He spoke on hustler practices and techniques that only people have done it for real would know. Shots out to the Mickey D's Fish and Cheese! If you don't catch on to what I'm talking about listen again, and if you still don't get it, you never will. All year he's killed every remix he's been on and rapping like this is last year living and starving. I miss rappers who sound like their still trying to get it and haven't falling into the "I'm been living in the lap of luxury for years before rappin'" mode. Sometimes it's just refreshing to hear a blue collar rapper. With a new album out, and fire in the streets, much success to Brooklyn's Joel Ortiz. As always, TELL SOMEBODY!

Qualo Feat Psychodrama & Turtle Banxx - Gunshots, Warfare... Revelations

Now We Have A Battle

So, it seems as if the feud may have now become a real battle. After a summer full of accusations of shots on wax and verbal passes in interviews, we now have at least one direct hit fired by Lil Kim and one by Nicki Minaj. This has finally gotten interesting because this seemingly unnecessary squabble finally makes it to wax. If you ask why I say “seemingly unnecessary”, that would be because I truly don’t understand Kim’s animosity toward the newcomer for not paying enough homage to the queen. Everyone born before 1987 is probably aware of whom the Queen Bee is and what impact she made on Hip Hop in terms of female lyricists, style, and sexuality. After Salt-n-Pepa, she took over as being the sexy woman in charge of her destiny but what she added was a passion for high end fashion and downright raunchy topics that we couldn’t get enough of and that is what she is recognized for. I’ve provided a short essay on Lil’ Kim’s pedigree, to illustrate why I don’t understand her beef. Everyone knows who she is and anyone after that is automatically draw comparisons to her so; it is my position that there is no need to require so much praise. Nicki did a photo shoot that was very Lil’ Kim like. Hell, let’s just throw it out there, it had Queen Bee written all over it but it’s obvious that she was giving Kim a nod or maybe I missed something. Sometimes imitation is the greatest form of flattery hence - Biggie Smalls, Foxy Brown, Queen Bee. I don’t see any possible way that she and her people set up a shoot like that and didn’t know that it would draw a comparison or have Kim in mind when doing it. It’s almost like sampling a beat, it was hot so let me rock to it.
With all of the logic and history aside, let’s get down to the battle. Nicki officially fired first with Roman’s Revenge featuring Emenim which was monstrous. The production by Swizz Beatz was huge with lyrics that matched. There were a couple of lines that set the tone for the song and battle. The first was in character talking to herself saying “Nicki she just mad cause you took the spot, Word, that b—ch mad cause I took the spot? Well b—ch if you ain’t sh---in’ then get off the pot”…. and “so f-ck I look like getting back to a has-been, yeah I said it, has-been, hang it up, flat screen. These are pretty ballsy words for a new comer to speak to a veteran, but I’m not sure if tenure really means as much as people make it but I’ll get to that later. With Kim keeping the feud alive this summer and not having put any music out, it seemed as if this was going to be an absolute slaughter. That would not necessarily be the case.
Kim has come back with “Black Friday” which was released on Nicki’s self-claimed “Pink Friday”. I first heard it on Hot 97 New York and I was less than enthusiastic about the response. I felt that if Kim thought that she was sending subliminal messages in various songs, there should have been a tremendous amount of aggression shown because at that point, she had her back on the ropes. If you think of her verses on “Hello Good Morning” with Dirty Money or “Monster” with Kanye West where it’s been said they were meant for the Queen, those were two SERIOUS verses before “Roman’s Revenge” and the interview with Angie Martinez where Nicki compared the battle to “having to beat your children”. Kim’s words seemed to come of nonchalantly instead of fire which I believe that situation calls for. It seemed a bit lackluster but I wanted to hear it again so that I can be fair about things so I found the whole song on the internet. Apparently Hot 97 didn’t play the whole song and yes, it did get better. As the song went on, Queen Kim found her groove that was reminiscent to the old Kim and she took jabs at the youngster about things like being a Lil’ Kim clone and the name Minaj getting her a job. Invalid points like plastic surgery and gaining fame from sexuality were made by Kim but it was still a respectable comeback.
This is where I will go back to not letting tenure cloud my vision on a Hip Hop battles. During the Cannibus vs. LL Cool J, I was so stuck on LL being a legend and one of my favorites of all time that I wouldn’t admit that this was the one time in his career where he had decisively been defeated even though I knew deep down it was true. Alright, that was a bit dramatic and sensitive, but on real isht, Cannibus did rip LL a new one and at this point, round one or three depending on how you look at it victory goes to the challenger. Do I feel that it’s over? No. Do I think that it was total domination? No, but the Queen will have to come a bit stronger to win this one and I’m waiting to see if she will pull it off. As always fell free to comment, and TELL SOMEONE!

Blood in the Water

I was listening to Hot 97 New York the other morning and tuned in during a HEATED discussion about who the best Female MC is and Cipha Sounds stated that he felt it was Nicki Minaj which I feel is a fair statement, not because she’s new because that doesn’t mean much to me. The fact is she kills verses. I’m not talking about the popularity contest that happens in Hip Hop (which she is winning by the way), I’m speaking of lyrics and style.

Of course, this statement of opinion caused a whirlwind of hurt feelings and heated lashes to the tune of “she’s garbage”, she ain’t better than Lil’ Kim” and even a “her verses ain’t better than Eve’s “Love is blind” which made no sense since they were two completely different songs. I always hear these remarks and wonder, “what am I listening to that others are not”, and “why is the comparison to Lil Kim and not MC Lyte, Missy, Eve, or any other female M.C.”? It may be because she has a bit of the Lil’ Kim persona by being sexy and fashionable or it could be that Lil’ Kim is the only female that went so far out of the way to make an issue of what Nicki is doing. Kim is the Queen Bee hands down and most of us love her and respect her so she will always have that status so there was no need to go on her campaign. Her campaigning has finally led to a direct fire storm thrown in her direction from Nicki on her new song “Roman’s Revenge” with Eminem and it’s not looking so good for the queen.

Let’s just be real about the situation, “Hardcore” was and is still that joint, but after that there hasn’t had the consistency to truly hold a crown but because she claimed it and we love her, we ride with. I have no problem with that although I feel that Missy has been the most consistent with putting out dope isht pound for pound. But since that album, there hasn’t been an overwhelming amount of substance to hold the crown. Since the discussion is being regurgitated time and time again I will have to agree with Cipha Sounds. I’ll go so far to say the crown is being snatched off of her head. This verse may have been blatant but an argument can be made that Nicki has been killing this lady all summer long. There is not one Lil’ Kim verse that can match up to what she did on “Monster”. Cipha stated that he was Lil’ Kim’s DJ at one time and that she is his friend, but Nicki “bodied her” on this new song with Em and I am inclined to agree. People we have to get past what things were and what you are in tune with and simply give a high five when there is good shit going on.

I have yet to get a real answer on why Nicki is so whack other than “she is trying to be like Kim” or “her ass is fake”. I say print out the lyrics and read them one after another and then listen to the emphasis on words, character, style, and passion and if you feel that Lil’ Kim is still better; I’ll catch you when you leave the 12 step program. I’m about Hip Hop and I get technical at times, and this is a Technical Knock-out. What Kim has to do is make some hot music FAST because she can’t afford to let this tarnish her image. But for now, the heat is definitely on. Let’s see how the competition holds up. As always, feel free to voice your opinion and TELL SOMEBODY!

New Life

Lately, I've been feeling really good about the state of Hip Hop. Although there have been some posers, some extremely whack people attempting to make us believe that they are dope, and styles have changed. In the past couple of months, I'm elated to see that "The great dumb down" has been put to the side for the moment and allowed some good stuff to get through the barrier. Raekwon, Drake and Rick Ross have solid albums out, Nicki Minaj is strangling every track that breathes, Joel Ortiz is using other people's beats as a punching bag, Kanye West, Game, and TI are back and Fat Joe has the best work I've heard from him in years. I remember I saw an interview with Joe and he spoke about being successful in the industry and he talked about making the radio hits to stay relevant. It is true, but resulted in certain songs that I didn't particularly care for. With this album, some serious, serious, heat. This is what needs to played on the radio in my opinion. Please don't ever believe that every time I turn on the radio I want to hear some cat singing a duet or pouring his heart outm I've got Al B Sure cd's and XM Satellite for that. I suppose that since sales are down that people are formulating a new plan making the music that we've been missing for the past few years. Hopefully this is a pattern that will continue for a while. Feel free to comment and tell someone to tell someone.

Identity Crisis?

In Hip Hop, MC's have always portrayed and beefed up personnas, created monickers and alter egos, and compared themselves to a person that they admire. Ghostface, out of admiration and respect for Slick Rick broke out the crazy merch, Wallabee's and ego for milleniums. In the case of Rick Ross, I'm completely unsure of his motivation. When he first came out, I was turned off by the song "Hustling" because of the references to knowing "the real Noreaga". The whole song was over the top, but I figured that maybe he is painting the picture of someone in that position. At the time, there was a reported 1 million paid to drug kingpen Freeway Ricky Ross by the rapper Rick Ross for the use of the name. Totally respectful and honorable if you ask me. The ironic thing is that Freeway Ricky is now suing rapper Rick for the use of his name and likeness. I've stated previously that I didn't care for his music much before, but in the past two years or so, he has stepped his game up tremendously and I actually like the guy's music. I just want to know if my man his having an identity crisis. The references to thinking he's Scarface, Al Pacino, and more recently drug Kingpen Big Meech of BMF fame and Ex leader of the Gangster Deciples Nation Larry Hoover (which by the way is my jam) are entertaining and hilarious, but make me curious again. Is this all for entertainment purposes or is he for real about portraying himself as some type of street kingpen. After unecessarily hiding the fact that he was a Correctional 0fficer, this is getting to be a bit strange. I love my fair share of drug music because of the life experiences of my peers, and I understand the references to these street heroes that the street deciples look up to because hearing those names in the music that you listen to is the ultimate motivation. Again, I just want to know if his motivation is to tell the story poetically, or is it a true identity crisis. As always, you're feed back is welcome and tell somebody.