Picture of the Day: The back cover of Kingpen Slim's Triple Beam Dreams mixtape

HA! I wonder how the cats that popped him feel. Anyway, aside from the provocative if not hilarious back cover, Kingpen Slim is pretty nice. Nice enough for you to check out his Triple Beam Dreams mixtape. Shot out to D.C.!

Video: Stalley feat. Wale & Anthony Flammia - Home To You

One of my favorites off of Stalley's "Savage Journey to the American Dream" mixtape.


Not a big fan of Wale's verse on this track but this vibe fits Stalley's style well in my opinion.

Childish Gambino - Arrangement

One of my favorites off his Royalty mixtape along with Black Faces.



"Bank account looking like when little kids break shyt [oooooooooh]"

My girl 5'2", even her growth stunted"

"On Worldstar and I ain't have to have a ni99a moment" A couple more of my favorites off the mixtape below.

Unnecessary



One Up



Shoulda Known



They Don't Like Me

Video: Stalley - Party Heart

Why Tity Boi aka 2 Chainz is not in this video is the question that needs to be answered. This is definitely one of my favorites off Rick Ross's "Rich Forever" mixtape and it's now on Stalley's "Savage Journey to the American Dream" mixtape. Stalley's been mentioned here before and maybe after I listen to his latest mixtape I'll have something else to post about him. We'll see.

Video: Stalley feat. Rick Ross - Lincoln Way Nights Remix

I like Stalley. Not sure why he hasn't gotten more spotlight since he signed with Maybach Music but hopefully he can continue to make more joints like this. His "Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music)" mixtape is definitely worth a listen. It's probably not what you'll expect though.

Wake and Drake: Give Ya (feat. Trey Songz)

Another joint from Aubrey. Off his "Comeback Season" Mixtape...



I used to blow a couple thousand at the shake jont/And now it cost a couple thousand for a Drake jont

Even though my ex is f-cking one of my rappers friends/I don't want to seem like I am always attackin' them

Previously mischievous behavior was the leader of me/You could say I was fresh to some conceited degree/Steppin' out the house tryna figure out where cameras from Cheaters would be/But now I need a culprit, I am talkin' beach condo adult shyt/I am talking all day shopping sprees in the mall with friends that I ball wit/here meet Trey's girl, go and get you some faaaaall shyt/

The TIs at Def Jam/Universal must listen to NPR

Am I the only person who has noticed that within the last two weeks, there have been a crapload of Freeway and Young Chris songs hitting the InterWeb/streets (fyi - the InterWeb is the new bootleggah, minus the exchange of cash for goods)?

Anywho, my man Sei put me on (I PUT ONNNN) to this NPR review of the Carter 3 (an album I kinda went on a lil while back). In said review, the author (Robert Christgau) suggest that the Carter 3's sales (a milli a milli a milli, in the first week) were due to "a daring marketing strategy that doubled as a cocky musical challenge" and that "In the two-and-a-half years between major-label releases, Lil Wayne whetted his fans' appetites by giving away more songs than anyone can count."

The key there is that he gave the shyt away. So now I'm seeing artists like Mickey Factz, Freeway, Young Chris, and others with songs poppin up all over the InterWeb. Mickey is definitely giving his songs away in the form of a mixtape series called "The Leak". I'm not so sure about Freezer and Young Chris leaking everything that's hit the name from them on purpose, but this stuff isn't hitting the nets by chance either. And while I think Mickey's leaked songs are a pretty brilliant mixtape concept, it doesn't have me itching to hear an entire album, just "Good Money". Not that Mickey's songs are wack (because they aren't), but because I'm not into being inundated with free songs off the InterWeb because there's far more noise than there is music. And that's what I think the problem is with technology and music nowadays. The market is flooded with crap.

But back to my original point...

My guess is that the TIPPORDS (read: TIs) at Def Jam/Universal saw the success of the Carter 3 and thought similarly to what Christgau seems to have thought. That is... "Wayne put out a bunch of free shyt and then he sold a million in the first week because fans started itching for more." Then the TIs started thinking it could work for everyone else. Not too shrewd, not to stupid either though. Why wouldn't it be worth a shot for other investments artists?

Leaking songs to the net prior to an album's release is nothing new. Lots of artists have leaked a mixtape (or two) to create a buzz for their albums. But Lil Wayne took the shyt to a stupid-azz level. I repeat, a stupid-azz level. There were so many songs and mixtapes hitting the net/streets between the Carter 3 and his release prior to that, that I got tired of hearing it. No bull. I will give him credit in that he obviously had a serious work ethic that most of these artists don't seem to have. But I can't be convinced that the leakage of 6 or 10 or 20 songs (or ten mixtapes) by any other artist in a relatively short period of time means anything either, unless all of (or a majority) of those songs are completely and undeniably DOPE. Not that Wayne's were dope across the board, but there were so many released that you couldn't help but liking some of them if for nothing else than his slick wordplay.

But my point in this post is that maybe (just maybe) the higher-ups at these record labels are going to start pulling a Lil Wayne and releasing a bunch of their artists' records in the form of mixtapes, interWeb leaks, or some other form of "free promotion" in an effort to create a buzz similar to that of the Carter 3. I'm all for free music (of course) but I personally think it's a crock of shyt that all those songs were the sole reason that people wanted to buy the Carter 3. I think that it was a combination of lots of factors like media hype, Lil Wayne's level of lyricism, his features, his run-ins with the law, and the free ish he unleashed on the hip-hop audience. But I do agree with Christgau in that Lil Wayne "redefined" the mixtape scene.

I wonder if this is going to pan out well for Chris and Free considering studio time is not free and I am sure Def Jam is going to want their advance money recouped. Rappers might want to start investing more in themselves (ie - their product) by purchasing top-notch home studios (that is, if they own a home or momma/roommate wil let them) and providing their favorite producers with Food and Liquor (and weed probably) in order to keep the costs low on all this music they are gonna give away free on the InterWeb. It is a Recession, isn't it?!?!

Nas and Wale are bringing the noise...In a good way

In the last week or so, Wale and Nas have both dropped mixtape CLASSICS!

Read it again...CLASSICS!

They're both in playlist format on your right, but I just wanted to dedicate a post to the ONLY two albums I'm listening to right now. Well not albums, but MIXTAPES!

NaS & DJ Green Lantern - The Nigger Tape



Check out the following tracks: "Cops Keep Firing", "Hero", "Black President", "Association", "Legendary", "Ghetto Remix", "Esco Let's Go", "N.I.G.G.E.R.", and "Nas Timeline".

Wale - Mixtape About Nothing

Check out the following tracks: "Rising Up", "Crazy", "Vacation from Ourselves", "Remake of a Remake", "Grown Up", "Manipulation", "Artistic Integrity", "Cliche Remix", and "Chicago Falcon Remix".

Yes, I am aware that the Carter III leaked. And YES, I listened to it. But NO, it's not in my rotation and other than Dr. Carter, Mr. Carter, and Mrs. Officer, it probably won't be even close to any of my playlists either. Not to shyt on a good (but not great or classic) CD by Lil Strapped and Bent Over but his album isn't even close to being as dope as NaS mixtape and isn't anywhere near as original and "hungry" as Wale's mixtape.

Put down that formula-driven commercial rap and pick up a mixtape people! Actually, pick up TWO mixtapes!

More Music

Usher - Love You Gently



This shyt right here! This shyt RIGHT HERE! The boy did his thing on this joint.



Common (ft. Skateboard P) - Universal Mind Control



Somebody told Common to "go head switch the style up/if nikkahs hate then let em hate, just watch the money pile up". This is a different look for Common but I actually like it since it shows some of his versatility. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what he's actually talking about though. Let me listen again....



Plies (ft. Jamie Foxx and The Dream) - Please Excuse My Hands



I don't really understand why Plies has been making so many "love" songs for the ladies but I guess that's his niche now. That might be the best business model for him though considering conscious gangsta rap (ie - "100 Years") does not sell as well as LL Cool J style rap. Ya'll know what I mean. I like Plies as a more gangster-ish rapper. His voice sounds a bit too country over these soft beats for me, but I guess these particular tracks aren't targeted at me anyway sooooo....



Mickey Factz - Good Money



I have been hearing a lot on the InterWeb about Mickey and his "The Leak" mixtape. The premise is that he leaks a track a day. I downloaded The Leak Volume 1 but I never listened and he's already got 3 tracks released for the second volume. I only listened to this track because of the 9th Wonder production and this shyt is kinda FIRE. Now I think I'm going to go back and listen to that mixtape.



Bloodraw (ft. Jeezy and Rick Ross) - Chevy Boyz



Bloodraw is a member of Jeezy's CTE crew and I might be the only person north of Atlanta that actually likes this dude. But I couldn't care less. I enjoy this guy's music even though he talks about the same stuff Jeezy talks about but in a wierd voice. But I also like Jeezy so go figure. As for Bloodraw...Is he a great lyricist? No. Is his flow on-point? Not really. Does he have anything that sets him apart from other trap-rappers? No. Yet-and-still, I have effed with Mr. Florida since his Gangsta Grillz mixtape, "Indictment Papers". Hopefully Blood steps his lyricism up a bit but keeps it gutter. In the meantime, I'm adding Chevy Boyz to my "Rider Music" playlist.



The Fixxers - Worldwide AM



I liked them the first time I heard them on "Can You Work With That" and they keep my attention on this one. The production is really what I love about this song (I assume it's DJ Quik).