The Vision Is Blurry

As posted last week, Freddie Mac delivers his first offering, ‘Drinks Up’ from his upcoming mixtape Far From Average. Below, Mac gives a little insight into the track:

Finally, the first single from Far From Average is available for your listening pleasure. As stated before, ‘Drinks Up’ was produced by Cooarri LLC and mixed at IC Ent. I think this single portrays this generation we are living in. The trials we engage in, the obstacles we face, and the challenges that occur on a daily basis are all a part of life, but music is that one thing that lets us LIVE, care-free, for those three minutes. For those three minutes that you give me, I tried to not take them for granted, and give you something that would take you away from all the troubles you’re facing at the moment, and let you live like it’s the best time of your life. For those three minutes and twenty nine seconds. With ‘Drinks Up,’ I hope I am able to do that.

Listen to ‘Drinks Up’ here.

While fans await the release of Born Sinner, the follow up his 2011 gold selling debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story, J. Cole released a 5 track EP titled Truly Yours.

“I appreciate you giving me the time I needed to grow, experiment, and find the direction for my 2nd album. And I have,” he wrote in the letter. “Along the way I’ve recorded at least 4 albums worth of material, lots of it being unfinished demo versions waiting to be polished up, some of them are great songs and important stories that just won’t make the album (either they don’t fit Sonically, don’t fit Theme, or there’s just not enough space).”

J. Cole is calling Born Sinner ‘his best work yet’ and he said that the album’s single will be released shortly. But getting back to Truly Yours, this seems a little dark from previous offerings. “Can I Holla At Ya” shows J. Cole rhyming over Lauryn Hill’s “To Zion” beat as he addresses three people from his past. “Crunch Time” which is my favorite of the five tracks shows Cole painting a tale of struggling to make it in this world as he states that ‘the only worse than death is a regret filled coffin’.”Rise Above”, Cole talks raps about two women: One is a single mother whose baby father cheating and she’s about to settle things in her way. The other is a teacher who decidedly turns to drinking and partying as a means of dealing with the negatives of her job. “Tears For ODB” tackles parental drug use and the obstacles of trying to make it in this cruel world. Before Nas flipped this track, Cole tackled “Stay (2009)” and speaks on court dates, loyalty from your significant other and getting out on your own to see the world.

This EP was a nice listen in my book as J. Cole still shows that despite push backs, he can deliver solid music. Other music fans give him a hard time because he’s not as commercial as his counterparts but it’s great to hear music that honest and true to your soul.

“don’t call it a mixtape. it’s not. it’s not a preview of the album either. woke up today and wanted to share these” - J. Cole

Joe Budden is one that isn’t afraid to hide his emotions. Whether it’s mixtapes, twitter rants, or LAHHNY, he will express himself with no hesitation. On his latest album release, No Love Lost, this is no different. After releasing the November 2012 mixtape, A Loose Quarter, fans wondered how the album would pan out.

NNL debut single was the Lil Wayne and Tank featured “She Don’t Put It Down” where Joey and Weezy talk about how they are still sexing their ex because she puts it down how they like it. The Remix of this track features Twista and Fabolous, in addition to Tank. The uptempo, party type song are few and they occur at the beginning of the album. Joe celebrates the life that he enjoys living on “Top Of The World”. I really didn’t care for the Wiz Khalifa and French Montana assisted “N.B.A. (Never Broke Again)”, but I’m sure that will get a few spins in the club.

When the Emanny featured “You And I” comes on, that’s when the mood of the album changes. Here, Joe talks about finding love and the chances that we take with it:

We’re both broken pieces, both been hurt and shit
Both took a chance on each other and it was worth the risk
She low maintenance but she deserves a grip
Give her the best of me cause she endured the worst of it
She been through so much, still she carry on
So if she comes with baggage it’s a carry-on

Joell Ortiz and Crooked I talk about their bones in the closet along with Joey on “Skeletons”. Crooked I and Joey both dig deep inside their closets:

“It started as a kid at my school desk
Aced every quiz but I wanted to pass the cool test
Ain’t nothing cool about school shopping at the thrift store
And living in an abandoned station wagon cause you was piss poor
So I started stealing all of the clothes that the other kids wore
That’s when the skeletons moved into my mind on the sixth floor” – Crooked I

“We could talk about pain 24/7 dog, that’s my department
Intercity blues cruise and I’m blasting that Marvin
Skeletons ain’t in my closet, that’s my apartment
And they like to hide behind thousand dollar fabrics and garments
It’s all bleak to me
Tell my Pop I ain’t bothered when he don’t speak to me, I love you but it’s weak to me
On one hand life is short and there’s no excuse to do it
But you was missing half my life dog, I’m kind of used to it” – Joe Budden

The SLV (Joe and Emanny) track “Tell Him Something” sounds a little bit more polished now that it’s being featured on NLL. Joe is creeping with a woman that already has a man and he’s telling her that she needs to let her dude know what’s going on between them:

“Can say we never kissed, those were just pecks
Tell him put your phone down, that was just a text
Or, tell him you cherish our bond on the weekly
Or how you jump in my arms when you see me
Tell him I threw on the charm it was easy
It’s to the point now where your mom wanna meet me”

Production on NNL fit Joe’s formula for beat selection. Cardiak, T-Minus, Frequency, 8Bars and DarkKnight all make solid production contributions to the album. If you’ve heard Joe’s music before, then you are used to how things flow on the album. If you’re a new listener, be prepared to be taken on a wave of emotions.

What story is my audio theatre gon tell
I know my debut will ship, but is it gon sell?
I guess it’s in God’s hand’s

From my point of view, it seems as if things are hard for Fayetteville native, J.Cole. He has a gold debut album but it seems as if hip hop fans aren’t giving him his props. Whenever I’m at work, my co-worker @MatthewOf410 always discuss how underrated Cole is. The Come Up? The Warm Up? Friday Night Lights? All great pieces of work.

His debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story was met with mixed reviews, but he still sold a decent number of copies. Now folks are wondering if he can do it again? His second album Born Sinner is slated for a January 2013 release. ‘Miss America’ isn’t the lead single that you would think it would be. He’s sharing his petty thoughts over this beat and while it’s a nice song, I don’t think radio will respond to positive to it.

I was reading his interview in the new issue of RESPECT. magazine where among things, he discusses the downside to fame as well as wanting to be ‘the biggest nigga in the game’. I want to see him win because his music is dope and he doesn’t rap about boring topics. But these fickle rap fans would rather want to love Sosa

Nas made a special tour stop in Baltimore for his Life Is Good Tour. This was my first time seeing Nas in concert so I knew that I would be in for a special performance.

First up, we had a performance from SoulBlock. Never heard of him before then and probably won’t hear of him ever again.

He was rambling on about how he was opening for Nas and I really couldn’t make out what he was trying to rhyme. He had an Asian dude as his hype man and then these two young ladies came out there dancing towards the end. Yeah…

Next up, Jhené Aiko came to the stage to perform.

Jhené, who came on the scene being billed as the ‘cousin’ of former B2K member Lil Fizz’s. She reappeared in 2011 with her mixtape, Sailing Soul(s). She has just the center stage presence since that’s where she stood during her whole performance. She performed mostly songs from Sailing Soul(s) such as ‘you vs. them’, ‘Higher’ and the fan favorite ‘Stranger’.

My only issue with Jhené is that her voice was too soft. If she’s going to make a household name for herself, that voice needs to be more commanding.

God’s Son hit the stage to a rousing ovation and held the audience attention for over an hour. The young lady whose photo I have at the top of the post got a shout out from Nas. He ran through a slew of hits from the beginning (“NY State Of Mind”, “The World Is Yours” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)”) to the current faves (“The Don”, “Daughters” and “Cherry Wine”).

Nas has a lot of songs under his belt so at a point during his performance, he would do the hook or let the beat play. (i.e. his verse from ‘We Major’). I would have enjoyed to hear some rarities from him (“Star Wars” next time.)

The audience gave him much love and energy during the performance and that’s how you know that you’re a legend in hip hop. I was highly pleased with my first viewing of Nas in concert and I am sure that when the Life Is Good tour stops in your town, you won’t be disappointed.

“Rappers want to be actors
So they play the Jesse James Character” – Wyclef ‘Cowboys’

Over the Summer, there was a video floating around YouTube and various blog sites showing Game assaulting fellow Cali rapper 40 Glocc. I’m sure folks have seen it, criticized, laughed at the video and the foolishness that occurred. Now according to TMZ, 40 Glocc has filed a lawsuit against Game stating that ‘he was leaving a party, when he was jumped by Game and Game’s 15-man entourage for no reason.’ 40 also claims that Game pulled a gun on him and threatened to shoot him if he fought back. What’s also interesting is that TMZ lists 40′s government name as Lawrence White but 40′s Wikipedia has it as Tory Gassway.

Another interesting development of the lawsuit was that 40 feels as if Game ‘tarnished his thug reputation by portraying him as a coward on the YouTube video.’

This is the same guy that ran up on Lil Wayne and Piles with a crew of dudes trying to catch wreck.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of rappers copping pleas when shit gets real. If you recall Remy Ma’s trial where she when on to say that “Remy Ma is not even close to who I really am. I’m not a thug,” she said. “I’m not a threat or a menace to society, and I still have so much to offer.” But yet she was on M.O.P. “Ante Up (Remix)” rapping ‘I catch you backstage, give me the keys to the Escalade’. I mean don’t rap about that life if you aren’t about it.

It’s just funny to me that these rappers talk this tough talk on records then when those tables get turned, they sprint to the courthouse to press those charges and file lawsuits.

Give me a break.

Over the Labor Day weekend, Defakto (Richmond, VA) and Nerd Ferg (Bronx, NY) linked up in the Bronx holed up in Nerd’s crib to record. What came as a result those days is the album, Quarantine: The Three Day Project, 17 tracks that shows what the two rappers can do with the given time allowed.

The album starts off with Defakto and Nerd explaining why it took them so long for them work on a project together on “Six Years Late”. The Jimmy Dukes Boi track had my head nodding soon as the beat came on.

But fuck checking charts or on Reverb Nation, I’m trying to change the hearts of this disturbed nation. I made clean music the world took for granted, now anything goes gotdamn it.

What I enjoyed mostly about this album is that both artists has a strong love for hip-hop and it shows in their music. “What We Do” is just plain sick and it’s not fair what they did to the track. On “Hi”, the two MC’s take aim at fans that are quick to rush judgment on the music that’s released today. Which is true in that sense and the appreciation for the album seems to fade after awhile. Storytelling is also a great factor for hip hop as drug addiction and children are discussed on “The Story Of The Moral” and real life troubles are documented on “Soar, Losers”. The fake ones are targeted on “Anti”, where the two MC’s unleash their anger on those that deserve it. Those looking for fun, the Arlene Marie featured “Pizza Party” and the Lee Treble produced “Dancing Shoes” would satisfy those needs. Relationships (or lack thereof) are addressed on “Lurkers” and “Don’t Friend Zone Me”.

Production on this project is very solid. While the majority of the track are produced by Jimmy Dukes Boi, there are other solid contributions from Major (“Rev It Up” and “Anti”), IndustryRejectz (“Magnum Cum Laude”) and A. Sheppard (“Soar, Losers).

Whether this is your first time hearing these two or you’ve heard previous releases from them, you’re in for a treat. The work on this album is excellent and if you’re a fan of hip hop, you will be proud.

So the homie @eclectik hit me last week and asked me to rank my Top 20 Hip Hop Groups of the 80′s and 90′s. When I thought about it, I realized that a task like this couldn’t be done so quickly. So after much thought, research and track reflection, I present my list below. I know there are some prominent groups left off and I’ll do a follow up on those that I left off. Enjoy.

20. Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 4
Originality: 4 Influence: 4
Catalog: 3
This Mount Vernon, NY duo made waves with their 1991 EP All Souled Out and 1992’s full length debut, Mecca and the Soul Brother. Their music is soul and jazz influenced which stood out from most hip-hop albums during that period. “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” is the stapled as a defining moment in early 90’s hip-hop.

19. Goodie Mob
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 4
Originality: 4 Influence: 4
Catalog: 3
I remember watching Rap City years and seeing Goodie Mob’s “Cell Therapy” and thinking how different it was from East/West Coast hip-hop at that time. Along with Outkast, they were the forerunners in putting Atlanta on the hip-hop scene.

18. Mobb Deep
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 4
Originality: 4 Influence: 4
Catalog: 4
The Queens, NY duo made waves in the New York hip-hop scene during the 90’s. Fans can’t deny the impact that they left with their music. “Shook Ones Pt. 2” will be an anthem to any hip-hop fan.

17. The L.O.X.
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 5
Originality: 4 Influence: 5
Catalog: 3
The L.O.X. made themselves a household name in 1997 when they appeared on Puff Daddy’s “All About the Benjamins (Remix)” and also penned the heartfelt “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa” in memory of deceased rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Their debut album Money, Power, Respect went platinum as well as their follow up album We Are the Streets.

16. Hot Boys
Lyrics: 3 Longevity: 4
Originality: 4 Influence: 4
Catalog: 4
Back when Cash Money was beginning to gain national exposure, Juvenile, B.G., Lil’ Wayne and Turk made up the Hot Boys and released their first effort, Get It How U Live back in 1997. Their follow up, Guerilla Warfare dropped two years later and went platinum.

15. Naughty By Nature
Lyrics: 3 Longevity: 4
Originality: 4 Influence: 4
Catalog: 4
Growing up in the 90’s, Naughty By Nature provided the soundtrack to my youth with a quite a few jams. “O.P.P.” will get dance floors going once that Jackson 5 sample drops and “Hip Hop Hooray” will have arms waving like crazy.

14. Eightball & M.J.G.
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 5
Originality: 4 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
I can think of a few Southern groups that made an impact on the rap game in the 90’s and Eightball & M.J.G. will be mentioned in that conversation. Their 1993 album Comin’ Out Hard went gold as well as 1995’s On Top Of The World and 1999’s In Our Lifetime Vol. 1. The Memphis duo is still making music today.

13. Fugees
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 3
Originality: 4 Influence: 5
Catalog: 3
The Fugees had all the means of being great. Yes, Blunted on Reality didn’t get the masses going but they struck gold, pardon me, multi-platinum on their follow up The Score. Internal issues within the group killed the momentum and left fans wishing that the group would put the pettiness aside give it one more run.

12. U.G.K.
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 4 Influence: 5
Catalog: 4
The Underground Kingz rode dirty through the 90’s in the South. They didn’t catch national fame until linking up with Jay-Z on “Big Pimpin” but any hip-hop artist in the South will name UGK as one of their biggest influences.

11. Bone Thugs -N- Harmony
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 5
Originality: 4 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
The Cleveland based hip-hop group made waves in 1994 with the release of their multi-platinum EP Creepin’ on ah Come Up. Bone also made an impact in the with the debut album E. 1999 Eternal which sold more than six million copies as well as 1997’s Art of War which sold four million copies. The group continued to make music years down the road with various side projects and guest appearances.

10. EPMD
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 5
Originality: 4 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith made plenty of dollars in the late 80’s and 90’s with a slew of classic albums. The duo scored their biggest hit single with 1992’s “Crossover”. The group broke up in 1993 but reunited in four years later. They are still together performing at festivals around the world.

9. De La Soul
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 4
Catalog: 5
This Long Island, NY trio gained success in the late 80’s and 90’s starting with 1989’s 3 Feet and Rising. The group continued to find success on other projects that followed. De La Soul is still together and performs at sold out shows around the world.

8. Boogie Down Productions
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 4
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
BDP only released five albums as a group between the years of 1987-1992 but to ignore their contributions to hip-hop would be absurd. Three of the albums went gold (88’s By Any Means Necessary, 89’s Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop and 90’s Edutainment) therefore cementing their legacy in the genre.

7. Public Enemy
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
Public Enemy’s legacy in hip hop is a very strong one that is unmatched by other groups. They are hip hop’s most controversial group but they have found success despite of it. The group has gone the independent route since 1999 and still performs to sold out crowds.

6. N.W.A.
Lyrics: 4 Longevity: 4
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 3
This hip hop group out of Compton, California spearheaded the gangsta rap movement out West. The group’s only two studio albums 1988’s Straight Outta Compton and 1991’s Niggaz4Life and 1990’s EP 100 Miles and Runnin’ went platinum or better which set the standard for other acts to follow.

5. A Tribe Called Quest
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
ATCQ’s music is simply great. All five of their albums have gone either gold or platinum and the group had a documentary that showcases their history and rise through hip hop.

4. Run-D.M.C.
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
The Forefathers of Hip Hop has had an amazing career spanning twenty years with most of their albums going gold or platinum. After Jam Master Jay’s murder in 2002, the group permanently disbanded but has recently reunited to perform at festivals.

3. The Roots
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
The hip hop band from Philly has been together since 1987 and released their first studio album Organix back in 1993. They have since released a total of ten studio albums and other side projects. Also their live show is untouched.

2. Wu Tang Clan
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
From the slums of Shaolin, the Wu Tang Clan had a nice run in the 90’s. 1993’s Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers went platinum and the follow up, 1997’s Wu-Tang Forever went four times platinum. Even after Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s death in 2002, the group is still recording together, tour and doing side projects.

1. Outkast
Lyrics: 5 Longevity: 5
Originality: 5 Influence: 5
Catalog: 5
And the duo from Atlanta rounds out the Top 20 at #1. Andre 3000 and Big Boi has kept hip hop fans happy with their album releases over the years beginning with 1994’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik which did go platinum. They are still together as a group but solo projects from both artists are on the way.