"#1234" by Lupe Fiasco [Lamborghini Angels/ ITAL (Roses)/ Audobon Ballroom]

Lupe Fiasco - #1234 from Alex Nazari on Vimeo.

"It's called being fiscally responsible/
Don't let these lying images up in hip-hop here conquer you/
The TV's not your father fool, that video not your mama/
Try yo best to be a man and the worst to be a monster/"

This video's almost 13 minutes, and features 3 full songs from Lupe Fiasco's "Food & Liquor Pt. 2". But if you like music that expresses social awareness and the demand for change, this project's for you. It does get a little hard to sit through when "ITAL (Roses)" comes on because it's mainly one frame of the kid watching TV. But if you dissect what happens in this video, it has a pretty deep message to it. I seen this as a way of showing the progression of the effects of oversaturated hip-hop music. First it shows kaleidoscopic images of fried chicken, a hot bitch, blunts and various material items that are glorified strongly through mainstream music. I perceive it to proceed into the effects that this form of hip-hop may have on the little black kid, who just accepts everything he's been fed and becomes what he's been exposed to. For the third song I was thinking maybe they were showing the different groups of people who have contrasting opinions on what's being displayed to the youth. But that's just my quick interpretation which could be completely inaccurate from the message that was intended to be shared. Seems like it could mean something deeper than I'm capable of analyzing at this hour of the night lol. Check it out and form your own opinion!

"Rap Vs Real" by Saigon

"You make it rain, you be throwing them stacks? (that's rap)/
But when your daughter choose to work in that field (that's real)/
Niggas gassin' you to ride with your strap (that's rap)/
You should listen to who tellin you 'chill' (that's real)/"

This is one of the most eye-opening tracks from Bread n Circuses II, and also one of my favourites. Saigon keeps it G as always and spits the truth over a hard beat. I really like how he made contrasts of every line throughout the song. The shit he says is sort of a reminder to anybody out there thinkin' the rap game's all flashy cars and horny women. Here's the track along with some recently released visuals. Check it.

"Work Everyday" by Brother Ali

"People stressin', here's the question/
How they get people drinkin' tea in a recession/
It's deception, how absurd is this/
How are so many poor people conservative?/"

One of the best 2012 albums, in my opinion, was Brother Ali's "Mourning in America, Dreaming in Colour". He touched on a few subjects that seem pretty important for the time, but he did it with flawless rhyme n rhythm. This is one of the more mellow tracks from the album which Brother Ali released a video for today. It has a cool montage of different work related scenes and presents a somewhat blue collared point of view.

"Turnip the Beet" by Asher Roth

"Don't back down or back out, we back now/
Manny Pacquiao, knock the pretty swag out/
It's the last bout, don't ask how, without doubt/
The crowd shout wow, we'll make KRS proud/"

Yea yea, I know. We already shared this song with you a while ago. But if a video of Asher Roth roaming around a busy city in a swagalicious tiger hat doesn't entertain you, y'all need to lighten up lol. I guess today's theme on our blog so far could be described with the chorus of this song. Boom-bap, original rap. Asher kills this track, and seems like he was having a hell of a time making this video. Check it.

"Grenade Launcher" by Madchild ft. Prevail & Slaine

"These young punks, they think they're so smart/
I might be old but I'm the sickest fuckin' old fart/
I'm so much better, you could blame it on the age difference/
You got your party clothes on, I'm wearing beige slippers/"

The law of averages says they win again. As mentioned in an earlier post, Madchild's crept his way up to the top of our playlist. The 2nd track from his latest album, "Dopesick" finally has a visual. I love this song (aside from Prevail's verse), and it's sick hearing Slaine hook up with the Battle Axe frontman. Looks like they all had fun in this video, and even some fresh barber care. Enjoy this raw shit!

"Wanted" & "Dungeon Dragon" by Mad Child

"Most rap performers are just transformers/
pretend to be crazy, I pretend to be normal/
when listening to Mad they get immediately struck/
then immediately after realize he's really fucked"

So neither of these songs are brand new joints. They're both roughly a year old but I've really been bumping Mad Child alot lately after years of not paying too much attention to him. He's awesome and the people I mention him to don't even know anything about him and he's a big Canadian name. I just wanted to make sure to feature him on the blog with some of this sick shit before he makes any more crazy new stuff. He's kind of lost his marbles a little bit but he's hilarious. He can also get dark and serious too and he always brings a huge vocabulary. I just wanted to show two sides of him so you get the first track to understand the dude on a real level and the second track to just see that crazy emcee shit with a jokes video. ROW ROW!
 

"Trust me I'm a Hi-Fi, Sci-Fi project/

but I'm a white boy so I drive by projects/

I'm a king call me Maharabi/

but I'm a kamikaze in a trench coat sittin in your lobby"

"Against the Current" by Chali 2na ft. Ming-Xia

"The way son represent it? Unprecedented/
Put it to ya temple like it was a gun pressed against it/
Comin' fresh, I sent it with an impressive sentence/
And those who've witnessed have an invested interest/"

 

Man, I can't believe I missed this! Chali 2na is an absolute beast on the mic, and one of the most respectable. As in this song/video, he always manages to bring something fresh to the table. This is some straight-up hip hop. Sick beat, crazy lyricism and a smooth chorus. This song's from the 1st of his series of 5 EPs, entitled "Against the Current". I don't know much about the series, but apparently it's accompanied by a book-of-art. With all of the artwork done by the 2na himself, the book depicts the evolution of his career through oil painting. True art over here folks! I'm gonna be looking forward to coppin' it all. But for now, imma just have to hammer this track into my head. Check it.

"My Life" (Video) by Slaughterhouse

So Brenton already posted this song on the blog ages ago when it first came out so I won't post lyrics again or nothing but I saw the video today and I thought it was pretty sick so I decided to share it. The beginning is pretty funny and reminds me of how random and goofy Eminem used to be back when making a music video for "Without Me." There's some really cool scenes in this just putting a comparison between what these guys used to be doing and what they're doing now. Normally I don't like rappers flashing their success but these guys deserve it and I been waiting for them to get to this point. It's so sick seeing how much they have become buds and can be goofy with eachother, havin fun with their success but still keep it real. I do have to say Cee Lo Green's outfit looks kinda gay in my opinion lmao but all in all this was a sick video.

"Straight, No Chaser" by Reks ft. Slaine

"Take you away from the days of flavourless flows from fuckin' fakers/

Faggot foes, face the fact, Reks and Stat, It's a wrap/

I swe-ar, I sta-re, At the mirror, May it remain ra-re/

Daniel's son, in the lion's lair/"

Never really heard of Reks until now, but this song is pretty dope. I'm a fan of Slaine and I found it while searching for tracks by him. But this Statik Selektah beat is fuckin cool and they both killed it. They both got some sick rhymes and I really like Reks' flow. This song is from Reks' album with the same title, which came out this past April. Anyways, check this shit out!

"For Granted" by Grewsum

"I can take you on a ride without a wild gimmick/

My life's interesting enough itself, that's why I live it/

The crazy thoughts in my head, there is really no explaining/

It's just like there's a horror movie in there constantly playing/"

This is what I love about hip-hop. You think you know about all of the best emcees, and continuously get surprised by other new artists that you discover. I've heard of GrewSum before through the Funk Volume DFUOB contest, and Jokerr's diss track to him, but I never really took the time to listen to his shit. So the other day I found this video, and I really liked what I heard. He explains the struggles he faces as an artist and the lack of results he receives for the work he puts in. Kills the lyrics, spits a dope chorus and has a mellow, yet bold feel to the beat. Open ya Earz!

New Mixtape: "Psalm 82:v6" by Crooked I

It's been a while since we've received a solo product from the West Coast beast, Crooked I. But luckily, today he dropped his new mixtape, "Psalm 82:v6". It features a plethora of different artists including Slaughterhouse, Twista, Ras Kass, Kurupt, Horseshoe Gang and plenty more. I haven't really had time to sit down and analyze each song, but the majority that I heard didn't disappoint at all. If you're a Crooked I fan, or a fan of crazy multi-syllable rhymes and a precise flow... this shit's for you!

"Psalm 82:v6" by Crooked I

[Although I'd love to stream the mixtape straight from the blog, DatPiff's embed links aren't working properly at this time and constantly display an OJ da Juiceman mixtape instead of the intended choice. I'd rather save you the trouble of having to listen to that guys music and just share a link that leads directly to where you need to be. Enjoy!]

"Happy Father's Day" by Yelawolf

"To the brick laying, dirt digging, burger flippin in a fuckin kitchen'/
Just to get that cheque on friday so you can bring back home what was missin'/
Every day be my kids day, end of the month is rent day/
And if you don't get back to work on time they tax you for that month's rate"/

So Brenton calls me a goof sometimes for liking Yelawolf cuz he definitely does
not. He thinks his voice and rapping style is weird and annoying. But I know since I showed him a little bit that despite his dislike for him, Brenton can recognize Yelawolf is real to himself and working hard for what he wants. Anyways, tommorrow is father's day and after I featured Tech N9ne's "Mama Nem" for mother's day I figured I should find a track about dads. While I was searching my facebook updated saying Yelawolf released this new track just this evening. I really liked the beat and thought it was some real shit. I've actually been noticing Yelawolf can sing not too bad either. Haha check it out. Happy Father's Day!

"Honors Bio" by e-dubble

"We lose our minds for a minute, get em back, then repeat, fightin' off emotions cuz we think they make us weak/

Chemically imbalanced ain't a challenge it's a treat, so I'm mixing up the medicine and chopping fuckin beats/

I've been bailing up the HAYY, now I'm looking for a HOEE, not derogatory, got some garden seeds I gotta sow/
Green thumbs so I'm rolling with some PETA chicks, soybean dreams, get the vegans some more Pita chips, ech/"

So this past week was one of the dryest weeks in hip-hop that I've had in a while. Didn't hear one new song I liked that would be worthwhile to share on here. But finally I found one little gem that I thought was sick. I featured e-dubble on the blog before and I didn't know anything about him really, and that hasn't changed. I still don't know shit about this guy besides the fact he's grinding and pumping out real music. This song is a little different than the usual hip-hop track but that's why I liked it. Right at the start the beat reminded me of Disney's Tarzan but the beat is really diverse and changes up alot. He also gets a little melodic with his flow for the first little bit but he changes that up too and keeps bringing sick lyrics. All in all I thought this was a great piece of music. Check it out!

KOTD Battle: Canibus Vs. Dizaster

We've been idle for over a week now, but we're finally back. At least for this video lol. Haven't been posting much lately because we've been focusing on newer tracks, but we haven't found many recent songs worthy of a spot on our blog. As you may have already heard, Canibus proved to the world that his name really should be, as Eminem would say, Canibitch. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this highly anticipated KOTD battle between Dizaster and Canibus. Open ya Earz!

"Walking On Air" by Rittz

"I'm rapping and they got the nerve to call me ugly, I'm offended, I'm a pimp and I could probably fuck your girlfriend now dawg/

Poke her like a cow prod, poke her standing up inside the bathroom got her grippin on the towel rod, mouth wide/

Do it for the money shot, what the fuck is up with guys, writing comments below my pictures and shit/

On Facebook, need to leave that to the bitches and chicks and see that while you busy dissin me I been gettin rich/"

So I featured Rittz on the blog before but since then I downloaded his cd White Jesus: Revival and the shit was actually fire. Every song is crazy and I love all the elements. There’s lots of rock inspiration and the beats are crazy, Rittz is a monster lyricist and his flow is unstoppable.  A lot of the songs are also some serious, emotional stuff from the guy and he doesn’t give a fuck about no bullshit. This cd was just a free mixtape download but these tracks, not to mention the high quality videos he’s been putting out are showing me the guy really put some time into this project just to build buzz. I’m hoping in the near future Rittz starts popping up all over cuz he’s extremely under rated and deserves it.  This song is one of my favourites and I was stoked to see he made another music video for this one. They call him Rittz bitch, check it out!

"Sawed Off Shotgun" by Redman

"How do that feel? My crew is on/
Comfortable on the mic, My house shoes is on/
Take cover, yo bitch? let the ape fuck her/
I gotta tape of her, and dogg, you can't love her/"

Over the past year or two, Redman's been weirding me the fuck out. He's been doing a lot of music with a more commercial feel in the beats, and not as great of lyrics as I'm used to hearing from the Funk Doc. This track right here is nothing spectacular, but I thought the collaboration with live musicians was dope as hell. Redman's got more of that Funk Doc flava in this track as well, so it's good to see he hasn't completely sold out. He looks funny as hell for the introduction too haha. Open ya Earz!

"The Maestro" (Tech N9ne/Strange Music Diss) by The Jokerr

"Then I'll spit it up faster but it isn't really gonna make sense, (Gyeah)/
Cuz the fans can't even understand what he sayin' anyways ??????? if they did but they laugh when a nigga say shit like/
Dark and wicked, (Gyeah), artistic kid, (Gyeah), pickin up frogs and crickets, then he goes back to the line header (Gyeah!)/
It's called completion, it's all cohesive, it's basic music theory bitch and it ain't that hard to teach!"

Haha so I was waiting for this for a while after Jokerr kept dropping hints at wanting to fuck with Strange. I'm a big fan of Jokerr and he's the one guy I've always thought who could take Tech head on and come out the winner. This song explains some of what Jokerr experienced while being introduced to members of Strange Music but the real sick part is the third verse. He fuckin kills Tech making a mockery of how he raps and how he can basically do all that shit too but even more intelligently. I fricken loved how he said Gyeah! in between most of his bars, that is a jokes shot at Tech. Don't get me wrong I am a huge fan of Tech but Jokerr points out a lot of good shit in this song. Even at the end when he's just talking I agreed with a lot of what he said. Check it out!

"True Colours" by Jon Connor

"We could change the world but then you say I'm in no position/
Sometime you just need an ear but ain't nobody there to listen/
So I can't just hold this pencil and be like I don't know them niggas/
That's like rationalizing with the killer cuz he ain't know his victims/"

So Brenton always makes fun of me for being a fan of Phil Collins, particularly for liking his version of True Colours. So when I saw the title of this song I thought it'd be funny if it was sampled but fortunately it wasn't. I only found out about this guy from Brenton posting him on the blog but the guy is pretty dope and I personally loved this song. I really love the feel of the beat and the chorus, kinda broke me up in way. Jon Connor always talks about some really deep shit and the topics in this song are no exception. The video is pretty intense to watch too. Check it out.

"To All My Haters" by Young Buck

"See I could either go to Hell or go to jail today/

They say you wanna go to Heaven, but you never pray/
They say I had a jumpshot, now I'm sellin' yay/
And shorty wanna ride in my drop seven tre/"

Is it just me, or did Young Buck get a hell of a lot better since his departure from G-Unit? This track is sick! Not sure if this is an original song or not, but the beat is fire with a catchy hook. Not to mention the sick verses Buck was spittin. I liked the first verse, he was killin' the rhymes more than he usually does. Anyways check this out. Open ya Earz!

"Hate" by Prozak

"Mother Earth is ready to shake us off from the fault lines/

We gotta look into ourselves, see where the fault lies/

We gotta try to stick together in these dark times/

Ancient revelations come to light inside these dark rhymes/"

 

 

Brenton and I have had alot of mixed feelings about Prozak's recent music. However, I haven't been finding anything worth posting on here for days but this was something that finally caught my eye. His delivery in the verses didn't impress me a ton but I really liked the message he tried to convey through his video, especially the comparisons created through the character playing the piano transforming in the background. A comment on the youtube page for this video spelled it out in a way I thought was sick. "Religious supremacy, racism, terrorism, set trippin..... all forms of hatred." I also thought the beat was fricken cool and had me actually bobbing around and feeling evil just like the piano player is doing. Check it out!