Phinally Phamous

One of the best singles last year was off of Kay Slay's major label "mixtape" shit - it was called "Who gives a ... where you from" and it was a transformers-sampling 3-6 track that featured scrawny MC Lil Wyte. Well his album Phinally Phamous came out late last year and I didn't get a chance to talk about it on here but Sean Downes gave an in-depth overview at guvt names. My favorite track though is "Look Like You" which is all druggy come-down paranoia ("this is not some powder the effects are completely different/ you are not a coward if you pop one and get scared of the shit") and the part where he goes double-time shows how ridiculously talented this cat is. The beats are great of course, dark double-time hypnotized minds production with bouncing marimbas and high-pitched screeching over the top etc.

You can also check out the video for the single "I Sho Will" (which you should have heard by now anyway) by going here.

Buy Phinally Phamous.

Oh yeah and for all you punks who kept emailing us about the Snoop remix, it's been re-upped.

New Kano

#8 on the Many Shrimp 2004 MC poll has a new single out, and it sounds like an attempt to do the Lil Jon guitar thing. I like it. It's about getting mad at bouncers when you go to the club. Here's the video - sidenote: more white girls in it than in American rap videos. Significance?
Kano - Typical Me

(Edit: Reaction from the grime kids seems pretty negative, which I understand; this isn't really "grime"-y at all. I still dig it OK. Not as good as Ps and Qs or Girls and Boys, natch.)

Oh yeah, you should also check out the mp3 blog i'm doing w/ some folks from stylus it's called Club Lonely. And don't forget to check back here on Monday for our new site+updates.

Updates

We're taking a minute to get our shit together, if you're wondering why we've been posting less frequently. Check back Monday, we're doing some renovations and shit.

Rap Videos And Shit

So yeah the folks over at Roomservice do this promotion bullshit for rapstars and stuff. They are trying to take advantage of this blog shit and use it as a tool to make rappers cool and stuff. Well we get this email about some videos they are hosting and asking us to post about so here you go, get your fucking internet on you fucking nerds.

Brooke Valentine f/ Big Boi and Lil Jon - "Girlfight"
If you haven't figured it out this is a song about girls fighting, oh and there is a lil jon beat. Some of that "crunk & b" bullshit that motherfuckers be talking about with that flat chested woman and her one two steps. Shit is kind of soft but you get some what's and some big boi so whatever.
Windows low high
RealAudio low high

K-OS - Love Song
some soft shit about love and stuff
Windows high med low
RealAudio high med low

K-OS - B-Boy Stance
TRUE HIPHOP! fucking b-boys and lyrics like elevate/ motivate/ congregate/ activate/ masturbate. Whatever, the beat is cool but its some generic b-boy video type shit. I like b-boys but please make some cooler songs/videos.
Windows high med low
RealAudio high med low

K-OS - Crabbuckit
Crabs, soulclaps, guys carring acoustic guitars and shit sorry but I didn't really give enough of a fuck to pay too much attention to this video. Actually this video seemed like some boarderline BEP shit and I got scared.
Windows med
Real Audio med

K-OS really isn't that bad and I do like some of his stuff but I just don't get that excited over his music. He's another artist that is good enough to not be totally shitty. Like if it was 1996 I'd probably buy his records but these days his ass gets passed up. You scion ass motherfuckers will probably like this shit though, but I can't really fuck with it.

I'm So Happy For Saafir

Pretty much everyone has heard about how fucking great Boxcar Sessions is but unfortunatly for Saafir's career he was never able to break out of the underground with that record. Even when he followed that up with more mainstream tuned album he was not able to make the jump to rapstardom. Surprisingly people just didn't give a fuck about learning Triganometry. Fucking shit even after appearing in Wrists of Fury the masses still were not open to Saafir's lyrical swordsmanship. So then in early 2000 Saafir got the swift idea that if he just named his album the Hit List then people would just pretend that it was good. Saafir was wrong.

In late 2000 Saafir finally got wise and being the saucee nomad that he is he decided to make the move to Atlanta, his best career decision ever. It was quite a step up from poisoning small children in a group home in San Mateo but he made it. In Atlanta Saafir released I'm Serious which laid a new foundation for his future as a rapstar. Although the album didn't blow up Saafir did get some attention which was good because he was able to use that momentum to release his next album, Trap Muzik. This is one of Saafir's best works to date. The album title itself is very symbolic as it represents the trap that the infamous Hiero vs Hobo battle put him in. Hobo Junction was never able to break free from the grips of Wake Up show highlights. This album represents the frustration that comes with forever being sucked into the blackhole that is Casual's shadow. Trap Muzik was able to fulfill the dreams that Tha Crib just was not able too. Now if only ChinoXL was able to overcome that struggle then maybe Predator Vs Aliens would have been a bit more successful.

So here we are in 2005 and we are now seeing the fruits of Saafir's battle to stardom. He has finally made it. He is now on MTV, doing songs with Jay-Z's voice, working with top notch producers, pulling Lil Flip's card, making guest appearences and appearing on numerous mixtapes all to prove that he has finally surpassed jay'z reasonable doubt status in the minds of indie rap loving nerds. Saafir has proven that he truly is the king of the south. Within the first week following the release of "Urban Legend" the album ranked #7 on the Billboard’s Top 200 and #1 on the Billboard’s Top 20 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. I can't even imagine just how proud Saafir's mother must be. Oh if the whoridas could see him now.

There has been one tragic casualty in this fight for stardom and it's unfortunate but sometimes things just have to be sacrificed for success. No matter how much we pray we will never see Saafir's nosering ever again. Who knew that a damn nosering could hold a rapper down so hard. Saafir has learned his lesson and that is that with the demise of a nosering comes the birth of limitless stardom.

Drop it like it's hot remix feat. Jay-Z

The new beat is no dancefloor banger but its got Jay-Z (so much for retirement etc.) and Snoop and Pharell, and the beat is kind of eerie and toned down, like the original on codeine or something that you would play to get a snake to climb out of a basket. Jay does this hot snoopspeak-style shit that sounds like a corny idea on paper but its pretty fucking nice.

Snoop, Pharell and Jay-Z - Drop it Like It's Hot (Remix)

Now make sure you head over to HoustonSoReal and cop that Diplo remix of "Still Tippin," it's pretty grimey.

Damge Control Archive

yeah here's some more rap music from houston.

CLICK HERE

On The Go: A bit of diggin' documentation.

Hopefully some of you idiots remember the wonderful little hip-hop publication called "On The Go" magazine put together by Philly graf artist legend ESPO and the bol Ray Hayes. This mag was on some DIY, "real hip-hop" shit and was as funny as it was relevant. Legendary Philly DJ Cosmo Baker was a contributing writer for the magazine, penning articles that explored the art of diggin' at a level that hadn't previously been documented. Around the same time, another Philly bol Soulman was doing a similar thing at another solid hip-hop publication Rap Pages. Now, for better or worse, the Philly bols Cosmo Baker and Soulman were two of the first writers to really commit digging secrets and knowledge to print. I say "for better or for worse" because previously, the art of digging was strictly a tradition that was either passed on orally through mentoring (to this day, I don't know any digger that isn't greatly indebted to a mentor who "taught [him] all [he] knows") or was an art that was learned through exposure and "paying dues." Some digging purists might find that this documentation that folks like Cosmo and Soulman were conducting watered-down and even white-washed the art a bit. These purists might read this documentation as the incipient moment of the demise of diggin' as first and foremost an oral tradition and that Cosmo and Soulman paved the way for sites like The Breaks/The Sample FAQ and Soulstrut-- sites that have clearly helped change how the diggin' game currently functions. And, let's be honest, we might not want to admit it, but it'd be rather ridiculous to argue that the internet hasn't drastically changed the diggin' game (just ask David Axelrod). But, frankly, I don't subscribe to this purist critical reading of the work that Cosmo and Soulman did. I think the work that they did was very valuable and each of them were forward thinking enough to realize that yes, perhaps writing about something like diggin' might change the game a bit, but, got damn it, who says the game is meant to be static and stagnant anyway?

Cosmo was kind enough to post scans of most of his and his postdecessor's (one Ben Velez) work in the "On The Go" column aptly titled "Diggin' in the Crates" on his website. So click right here (or any picture below) to holler at some of his writings. And, when you're done with that, go over to Soulman's World of beats and then read his shit and learn yourself somefin' you know nothing about.








-e

Name droppings

Allhiphop.com

As a bonus to our readers, AllHipHop decided to compose an unofficial tally of the numerous namedrops on The Documentary.
Dr. Dre 35
50-Cent 17
G-Unit 10
Notorious B.I.G. 8
Eminem 8
Tupac 7
Compton 7
Eazy-E 5
Young Buck 4
Nate Dogg 4
Lloyd Banks 4
Snoop Dogg 4
Mary J. Blige 4
Mase 4
Jay-Z 3
Eve 3
Michael Jackson 3
Jam Master Jay 3
Martin Luther King, Jr 3
Nas 3
Left Eye 3
Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs 3
Aaliyah 3
Whitney Houston 2
Kanye West 2
Mya 2
Tony Yayo 2
Busta Rhymes 2
Just Blaze 2
Rakim 2
Shaq 2
Ms. Shakur 2
Ms. Wallace 1
Kool G Rap 1
Vivica A. Fox 1
Ronald Reagan 1
Huey Newton 1
Public Enemy 1
Flavor Flav 1
Whoo Kid 1
DJ Clue 1
Compton’s Most Wanted 1
Marvin Gaye 1
Vanessa Williams 1
Serena Williams 1
R. Kelly 1
Black Rob 1
N.W.A. 1
Loon 1
Ashanti 1
Tyra Banks 1
Master P 1
Alonzo Mourning 1
Havoc 1
Prodigy 1
Timbaland 1
Bobby Brown 1
Ed Lover 1
Monie Love 1
Shyne 1
Beyonce 1
Ice Cube 1
Xzibit 1
Mariah Carey 1
Suge Knight 1
Chris Rock 1
Souljah Slim 1
Randy Moss 1
Kevin Lowe 1
LeBron James 1
Yao Ming 1
Usher 1
Guerilla Black 1
Jimmy Iovine 1

Kanye's gayest quotes

"I’m rappin’ now. Anybody who ain’t respecting me as an artist right
now, mine as well just bash their heads into the wall just for being
stupid. I say, just kill yourself ‘cuz if not, it’s gonna kill you for
how much you about to hear me." (okayplayer.com, 2003)

"God could send a message in the form of a goat." (XXL, Oct 2004)

"It's the best hotel I ever stayed in. That shit was crazy. You just lay out on the beach, but what was dope about it was they'd bring you popsicles and stuff." (Rolling Stone, Dec 2004)

Peep these and others at Ban Kanye West from the Grammys, the new Internet home of the Operation: Slap a Dropout Movement. And while you're there, sign the fucking petition already. That is, if you haven't already.

Hyphy is the new crunk!1!1!!!!

yo! Listen to what I'm rappin' at ya! If you are down with the def hip hop flavas, you should definitely check out the funky fresh fly article from newsweek on the latest out of the yay area! It's "phat"! After you check out those "props," make sure you "peep" the shrimp! We're the bomb!

ESG - Ocean Of Funk

1993 ESG released this album. It was before Screw was really known outside of Houston and before ESG had really developed his own nasal style. ESG's style sounds heavily influenced by UGK and the Geto Boys which only makes sense since those groups pretty much ran shit. You can tell how popular westcoast music was in the Texas because there is a gang of g-funk synth running throughout the album. Shit after '92 everyone wanted to make The Chronic part 2. But yeah whatever the album is mostly slow beats with some whiney synth riding the bass. My favorite track off the album would have to be The South. It's about ESG coming straight from the south bucking it up with a blunt in his mouth. I could do without the fool singing during the hook but whatever I can deal with it. ESG picks up the pace on the rapping and sounds more like his newer shit. blah whatever the fuck, just download some shit.

The South
Swangin' and Bangin' (screwed)
Flippin

you can buy the album at BeatBoxRecords

MC Poll Results

Ok so this is what our reader poll bullshit looks like

Rappers:
1) Ghostface


2) MF Doom


3) T.I.


4) Nas


5) Kanye West


6) Cam’ron


7) Bun B


8) Kano


9) Jadakiss


10) Dizzee Rascal


Producers
1) Lil Jon


2) 9th Wonder


3) Madlib


4) Kanye West


5) Just Blaze and Jazze Pha tied for 5th


so the way this worked was that each nomination got points according to each readers list, number 1 was 10 points, number 2 was 9 points and so on. Those points were totalled, then ranked, and now you have this list of shit. Doom was actually number one on a number of the lists, but ghostface beat him out by being on more lists and usually being ranked on the high end of the lists. I'm surprised 9th wonder got so fucking high on this shit. I didn't know people really liked his music. I could at least predict all these bullshit kanye votes but 9th wonder? Some rappers that almost made the top ten lists were Murs, Chamillionaire, Young Buck and M.I.A.

oh and those of you that submitted producer lists that were longer than 5 people, those extra 5 weren't counted because you people are fucking stupid and can't read.

Now as for who the fuck won that 12" or whatever the fuck David is giving away, yeah I don't know what in the fuck is going down with that bullshit so you'll have to wait until that sissy posts about it.

The Kanyegate site is live

I know a lot of you were getting tired of reading about Kanyegate here, so you'll be glad to here that I've now dedicated an entire blog to nothing but Kanyegate. I'm hoping this is going to be that next step that takes our movement into the big time. A link to the petition is prominently featured on each page, which should hopefully draw more traffic to it, and I think I've got some pretty cool features already and I plan on adding more each day leading up to the actual awards. I'd like for everybody who's reading this to help me out by spreading the word about the new site, whether it's by linking to it from your blog or emailing it to your friends and familiy. Also, I'd appreciate it if you left any feedback you might have either here, there or in my email. Thanks.

how you doin lil mama lemme whisper in your ear

Write the radio friendly version of the Ying Yang Twins "Whisper in Your Ear."

David Banner, Three Six Mafia, and 8ball & MJG

I got this link off the screwshop messageboard, boys are going hard on the cut

Gangsta Walk

I don't know how many folks that read this shit know about gangsta walking but the general consensus is that it started in Memphis and its like a mosh pit. What would usually go down is you'd have this mob of people walking in a circle bouncing, throwing bows, and screaming the lyrics to a song. A lot of times fights would break out when some cutesy boy decided it was wise to go the other way and drop bows on the wrong motherfucker. This is pretty much what brought about the whole tear the club up shit that triple six is known for. If you watch the Dirty States of America DVD they show footage of kids gangsta walking as far back as like 91. There are still clubs in shit towns that have signs up that say "no gangsta walking."

The Game - The Documentary: Album Review

The Game, The Documentary (Aftermath, 2005)
I think we all know what I'm about to say, and as much as I hate to say it, I will anyway because it's true: This new Game album = Not all that. It's cool for what it is and I'd imagine that it's way better than that Lloyd Banks' album, which I'll never hear. But, as far as commercial-sounding rap shit is concerned (not really my thing anyway), it's nowhere near seeing that Cam'ron album from a month ago. And it's not for a lack of trying either: Everybody and their fucking grandmother contributed to this album in one way or another. I think what it comes down to is that The Game is just not that compelling of an MC.

Continue reading "The Game - The Documentary: Album Review"

Bullet Proof's Back

The artwork for this cover must have cost a fortune.

Back in my teenage years I was really into scratch music (turntablism) and one of my favorite crews were the Bullet Proof Space Travelers. They seemed to be ignored by all the fucking shit rags who were big upping the whole turntablism movement. It was all about the skratch piklz, x-men and the beatjunkies. Not to take anything away from those groups but Bulletproof were pushing this shit hard. There was some friction between them and the Piklz because bulletproof felt the piklz were getting props for things they were doing first. Unfortunatly Bulletproof seems to be plauged by the same issues that have kept Freestyle Fellowship from blowing up. They just never had the organization to do anything big as a collective. Quest has had some success with his group, Live Human. Sacred Hoop has also made some noise as far as underground groups go but compared to the success of other crews that came up at the same time Bulletproof just never got the notoriety they were looking for. But who gives a fuck cause these dudes keep rocking shit.

Back in mid-late 90's Z-trip use to dj on this dude's radio show on Magic 107 out of Buckeye Arizona. I made it a point to get my ass home on saturday nights by midnight so I could record the shows. I'd be half drunk dubbing the first half of the show which was DJ Fashen's half and then from 1-2am Ztrip would go on and I'd flip the tape record his set. Some nights I'd pass out during fashen's set and only get the beginning of Z-trips because I was asleep. In the morning I'd put the tapes in my headphones and it would be like christmas I never knew what the fuck I would hear.

One morning my dad sent me to the junkyard to pull some parts so I grabbed the tape and rolled out. Fashen's set was cute shit but then Z-trip's set starts earlier than usual. He comes on talking about how his friend is in town he's going to let his friend dj. The guys starts dropping some symphony shit and scratching over it. This crazy bass gets mixed in and the man is just flipping it hard as fuck. I'm rolling down I-17 just rewinding the fuck out of the tape on some OH SHIT type status. After hearing that I flipped the tape to hear the rest; that's when I found out I fucking fell asleep and never recorded shit on that side. I was pissed as fuck. I'm thinking who the fuck is this dude, I rewind the tape back to where ztrip was talking and as it turns out his friend is fucking DJ Quest.

I have since lost that tape, I think it fell out of my mom's 4runner because that's the last place I played it. I'm wish I still had it but oh well there ain't shit I can do about it. Anyways the reason I'm writing this shit is because at a recent rap music show my girlfriend and I ran into Quest and he gave her his new 12". It's called Bulletproof's back and it's hot shit. Quest produced it and he's got Eddie K rapping over it. I love the loud pounding drums on this shit. Eddie K comes on some with frisco shit sounding raw as hell. The other song, Getto Stash, isn't as aggressive. The beat just consist of some ticking and some bouncing bass with Eddie K sticking to rapping about getting gnarly with his drinks.

Bulletproof's Back
Getto Stash

"If you weren't spinning freestyle in the 80's you ain't shit" - DJ Quest

Beer And Rap Is For The Kids!

So yeah my own blog (beer and rap) mostly consist of stupid stories about shit and me bitching. Well for scribble jam this past year I made a paper version of this shit to give to friends. I liked making it so I decided to make another one but this time I got some other people contributing shit. One being David and another being The Avenger, who happens to be a bay area internet legend and let me tell you, his dim sum eatery guide is not to be fucked with, bird call.

anyways this little magazine has stuff that isn't on the website, can you say EXCLUSIVE, some of the stuff covered in this little shit rag are a Joey Beats interview, bay area dim sum restaurant guide, why talib kweli's album sucks, A list of rappers that suck but people don't know they suck, hiphop dance is fucking stupid, graffiti writers are gossiping bitches and other "articles." It's so fucking positive and uplifting!

This magazine is premium quality shit and comes printed on the cheapest paper kinko's had to offer. I'm going to be leaving these things at local record stores and stuff but if you would like a copy you can paypal or mail me $2.00 and I'll throw one in the mail for you. If you want even more shit then send me $4.00 and you'll get a mixtape with it. It's a mix I made that I've titled "Hard Az Fuck" and most of the songs are about beating people up. It comes on a cassette too, fuck a cd-r. Read shitty articles and hear me trainwreck at the same time!

If you would like to purchase the $2.00 option just click FUCK, for some reason the magazine only button for this won't fucking work so just email me instead for poormans version or just suck it up and click the $4 button you poor bastard.

for the $4.00 megamix click this:

you better fucking buy one so I can become the next Benzino.

Whut It Dew

Well what in the fuck, I just wrote up a bunch of shit about this mixtape and then my fucking piece of shit computer decides that it would be cute to restart by its goddamnself so yeah now you get the even more half ass version of this post.

This mixtape dropped a while back but for some reason people haven't been talking about as much as they should have. Now I don't know if Texans know about Keak Da Sneak's song What It Do because it didn't show up on here but it should have. Anyways Rapid Rick got Chamillionaire to host this mix. Cham does a couple freestyles but as expected they are mostly about dissing Mike Jones. As for the mix itself Rapid Rick has got a champed out tracklist. The mix consists of mostly texas artists with most the big names from Houston and a handful of tracks from some other southern artists. He has a dope remix of Mr. Magic's "I Smoke I Drank" but with Slim Thug and Killa Kyleon rapping over it. Then he follows that with a Texas blend of Young Buck's "Shorty Wanna Ride" which goes into "Don't Fake" with Trae, Bun B and Devin. Then that track goes into a Slim Thug freestyle which he follows with a No Problem remix with Lil Scrappy and motherfucking Dj Quick! Fuck dude just keeps coming at your with shit. I recommend the fuck out of this mix.

There are a gang of highlights on this mixtape, he has got some cutesy freestyles from folks that most haven't heard of like Ankaman, Young Slugga, Fade Dogg, Dok Holiday, Rob Tha Rhino and Chalie Boy. Oh yeah Rapid Rick also drops a remix of Ain't Heard That. It's done by Chops of the Mountain Brothers and its way better than that bullshit the Neptunes came up with it.

peep the mp3's:

Whut It Dew Intro
I Smoke I Drink (Tx version)
Got Karo - Nac, Paul Wall
Ain't Heard That ( Chops Remix)
Chingo Bling & Fade Dogg - Tamale Freestyle
Big Tuck & Chamillionaire - What's Up What's Up

If you'd like to cop this mix I suggest you hit up MixtapeUSA, I got my copy from themixunit but those fools have yet to send me my complete order. I got southern smoke 15 along with this and its on backorder. I fucking ordered my shit 2 months ago so yea I suggest you go elsewhere. Oh yeah there is a single cd version and a dual disc version. The dual disc includes a screwed and chopped version that was done by O.G. Ron C. Oh and if you want a Whut It Dew t-shirt then hit up Top Dollar Clothing.