Hold it Down - Buckshot & 9th Wonder f/ Talib Kweli

Real Hip Hop. 9th wonder cooks up another banger while Buckshot and Kweli drop gems.
Go buy the album "The Formula" on the 29th April

Akon's Con Job

The website Smoking Gun has revealed that AKon is not quite the "konvict" he makes out to be.
Very interesting read click here

My letter to Ms Alicia Keys

to view the blender article click here

Dear Alicia


Firstly I would like to say I admire you greatly for your bravery in attempting to tackle the negative misconceptions placed upon rap artists and to even suggest that they may be more to Tupac and Biggie's story then the media wants us to know(if an interviewer of a magazine labeled The Notorious B.I.G as a "gangsta rapper" I may have reacted in the same way you did by saying that he was assassinated).
My advice to you however would be to think very carefully about who you say these kind of things to. It looks to me like Blender Magazine have tried to take various comments you made and make you look a little crazy for saying them. I think if you want to be fairly reported on you need to talk to people such as hip hop activist Davey D or Cedric Muhammad as your story will be fully told and not misquoted or taken out of context in any way.
Cedric Muhammad wrote many intriquing articles entitled "hip hop cointelpro" to further investigate claims that hip hop is being monitored by government agencies and even in some cases infiltrated with intent on damaging the image and messages of rap artists and to try and connect hip hop labels to crime and drug activity.
He talks about how Sean Puffy Combs and The Notorious B.I.G. were being followed by the F.B.I. in the weeks leading up to Biggie's death. How Rap-A-Lot records president James Prince was under invsetigation along with rapper Scarface. How the Wu-Tang Clan were the victims of slanderous attempts to connect them with organzied crime in Staten Island. If you have not read any of these I would suggest you do they can be found on davey d's website www.daveyd.com

I would also advise you to think seriously about how this may affect your career and ultimately your livehood if you want to talk about these things. You will be reported on fradulently by the media and made to look like you don't know what you are talking about or that you are just plain crazy (note how when describing your trip to Egypt they said you went there"in a maneuver reminiscent of Dave Chappelle", they tried to make Chapelle look crazy for going to Africa watch out!)

If you haven't already talk to artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez & Immortal Technique and see what they have to say about all of this.

You have alot of influence and that is something that can be a double edge sword. You will come under intense scrutiny and attempts to discredit what you are saying will be frequent. False stories may be printed about you to try and turn the opinions of your fanbase against you. Be weary of all of this

May I wish you success in your attempt of your quest to become more conscious and political in your music just know that they will try and destroy you because of it.

Diggin in the crates: Old hip hop is so much better

Cappadonna - The Pillage (1997)

One of the most slept on classics in the Wu catalogue. Cappadonna "sling raps like crack on the street" and if you ever doubted his ability on the mic this album should leave no doubt as to his skills. Every track on this album is worth a listen and with help from his Wu brethren on tracks like "Super Ninjaz" with U-God (who delivers one of his best verses ever) & Method Man, "Oh Donna" which sees him and Ghostface sling darts back and forth & "Dart Throwin" featuring Raekwon & Tical once more where Cappadonna preaches "I opened up my rap Bible then the light came over the children". And of course not forgettin the incredible "Run" which still sounds as hot as it did when it came out. Donna crafts a grimy album his unique rap style suits the beats perfectly and he drops gems throughout nothing more you could really ask for.

Snoop Dogg - The Last Meal (2000)

Oh my days listening to this last night brought back some memories. Snoop D O Double G was officially back on the map with this one. So many bangers "Hennesy & Budah", "True Lies", "Go Away", "Stacey Adams" all oozing that vintage Snoop flava that only he can bring. Like most Snoop albums (cluttered with maybe one two many tracks) it has skippable moments but they are kept to a minimum on this release (unlike Blue Carpet Treatment damn that was some forgettable shit) and Snoop's swagger carries him through any moments of lack luster lyricism that may occur. And when Snoop finally does decide to call it a day and put the mic down tracks like "Y'all gone miss me" are gonna be gettin heavy spins in my player for the simple fact that there will only ever be one Snoop Dogg.

Sticky Fingaz - Black Trash:The Autobiography of Kirk Jones (2003)

Back in the day I wanted a copy of this album so bad it was ridiculous. For whatever reason (probably money) I didn't get to listen to it till a few years after but boy was it worth the wait. This album is probably the greatest rap concept album of all time. During this album Sticky talks to God, raps as if he were the almighty dollar, explains that his dogs are like his guns, imagines he was white while also finding time to get personal on tracks like "Baby Brother" & "Sister I'm sorry" all in one album.
One of the highlights of the album "The State VS Kirk Jones" sees Rah Digga as the judge and Cannabis and Redman cross examining witness' on the stand (one of whom is Superb) the result pure entertainment. If you're a fan of story telling and great wit and sense of humor then this is the album for you. Don't be an idiot like me and not buy it beacause of money issues beg borrow steal download whatever you have to do to get a copy of this album DO IT NOW. Then when you got the cheddar go and buy it I still plan to.

Cam'ron - Confessions of Fire (1998)


Yo do not be put off by the album cover Cam'ron was on top form when he dropped this creating some of his best work still to this day. "357" is still the best Cam track ever and tracks like "Glory" and "Death" sill hit hard and show killa Cam at his peak on the mic. I forgot how dope this guy was at one time the only let down is this album does have alot of filler but when the shit is fire it is off the chain. Like the song "D Rugs" where Cam talks of drugs as if it were a person. And for any haters that claim he can't spit the last track on the album is dedicated to them personally with the brilliant "Who's Nice" where he drops gems like "Im to the point like Stoudamire" and "Now we eat at houlihans's /seen Ed Lover and Doctor Dre /we told them niggas Who the Man". Harlem world at it's finest

SmokingGun.com exposes Chuck Philips' bullshit

Recently the website smoking gun exposed how fradulent Chuck Philip's recent article about the shooting of Tupac at the Quad Recording studio in 1994 really was.

click here to read article

at least someone is still doing their job as a journalist

The Death of the Rap Superstar

If you are what you say you are a Superstar you have no fear - Lupe Fiasco

The other night I sat back and watched the legendary "Up in Smoke Tour" featuring the all star line up of Ice Cube, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre accompanied by artists like Mc Ren, Xzibit, D12, Nate Dogg, Kurupt & Devin the Dude among others. Apart from the fact that while watching it I had a great feeling of nostalgia (im 23 now so when i first bought this in 2000 i was 15 years old!) I also thought to myself will we ever see rap stars of this magnitude ever again? My answer is no and this is why

Run DMC, Public Enemy, KRS-One, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Slick Rick, Eric B & Rakim, A Tribe called Quest, De la Soul, N.W.A, Ice T, Geto Boys, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, 50 Cent...etc

All of the above are rap superstars and artists that for better or worse changed the game of hip hop and music in general. Some did it with just one album (Nas' Illmatic) others did it without any mainstream radio or TV exposure (Ice T) and others did it by becoming immortalized legends due to their early passing (Tupac & Biggie) but all are definately superstars in their own right and I can honestly say that other then 50 Cent & T.I. no rappers today have even come close to reaching this type of legendary status.
If you were to make a list of the current rap stars today the list may look something like this:

Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Fabolous, Yung Joc, The Game, Gucci Mane, Ludacris, Kayne West, 50 Cent, T.I.... dammit i just lost the will to live

now other then maybe Luda, Kanye, 50 & T.I. none of these rappers today seem to have any superstar qualities to them. The underground is just the same (if not worse) I'm sorry but rappers like Brother Ali, Slug, Sha Stimuli, Copywrite & R.A. The Rugged man are stuck trying to make hip hop from a certain era (early 90's) and not doing a very good job of it. Im not saying these rappers are whack they just bore me. I'd rather listen to Jay-Z's American Gangster then Brother Ali's The Truth any day of the week but that's just me. That's why I will still listen to music from artists like Jay-Z and Snoop and even 50 Cent to some exent because they are SUPERSTARS. There are reasons why they became larger then life and personas you could either love or hate, they have an appeal that goes beyond being a great rapper or a great artist they have CHARACTER which is what alot of these rappers today lack.

Rappers like Joe Budden & Cassidy have mic skills that are underniable but yet lack the qualities that made rappers like Big Daddy Kane & KRS so appealing to begin with.

Lupe Fiasco is another one. While no one can doubt the dude has talent what does he really say in his raps that makes you want to change the whole way you was living and switch ya stlye up. When I first got into rap it was rappers like Redman, Method Man, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac & Biggie that made my say FUCK IT THIS IS MY SHIT!! I need this in my life this shit speaks to me so personally and makes me feel passionately about it.

Maybe it's the general state that hip hop is in that allows it to keep certain rappers from even being heard the same way they were (Dead Prez could have been as big as Public Enemy had they come out at a different time) that stops us from seeing any real rappers we can truly relate to at the forefront.

I mean since when was conscious hip hop Lupe & Kanye? Im sorry but their shit is very watered down and made for every day people which is all well and good but it's not going to make you change your attitude toward anything or open your mind up to some next shit like say a Brand Nubian record would. The lack of balance and diversity in subject matter in mainstream hip hop has led to this chaos where rappers who aren't even that conscious get labeled that just because they are not rapping about bitches, guns and money. When NWA and Ice T came with their brand of rap it was different & unique plus they were being censored out the arse but now you've got Young Jeezy slinging packs on the radio and it's okay? Gangsta rap ain't even that no more it's become commercial. But less than 15 years ago they were trying to ban it. I guess they realised they was more money to be made by secretly supporting it and making it florish while pertraying it as bad music to the public(which let's face it did more harm then good) then actually trying to fight against it even C Delores Tucker knew that.

When Eminem dropped The Marshall Mathers album every and I mean every hip hop head under the sun was fucking amped. Before Stan became annoying and before The Real Slim Shady had being played to death I remember the hysteria that gripped me and my friends at school when we the heard that shit. And even though Eminem was selling millions of records it was still raw hip hop and it still spoke to us a way that the stuff out now doesn't. (Somehow I don't think people are talking about Graduation quite the same way as when The Chronic 2001 dropped but heh maybe that's just me)

What we have now I'm afraid are overrated rappers, broke disgruntled has beens and dudes that really should just quit rapping because if you haven't broken through and you've been rapping for 15 years you really need to put it to rest (UPS is hiring!!)

So please may we have a standing ovation for the last rap superstars of our generation and hope to god that we may have some future rap superstars out there in the world somewhwere that just haven't been heard yet.

Luckily I know a few personally so Im good

Peace out y'all another rant about the game done and dusted im gonna watch Wrestlemania