Thoughts on the Rap Nominations for the Grammy's

Best Rap Song

“Niggas In Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West: This is a great nomination for this award. A popular song but not so pop that it doesn't feel like a hip-hop/rap song.

“Daughters” – Nas: Deep down, I really hope this song wins because of the topics Nas addresses but it's not going to happen.

“Lotus Flower Bomb” – Wale: Dope song and one of my top 3 off of this list. I'm rooting for Wale because of his DMV ties and the fact that even though he's signed to Fat Ricky he hasn't completely tried to emulate or poach the down south rap swag like other artists from up north (see: Fat Joe, Diddy)

“Mercy” – Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz: This would be a landslide to win in my mind if there wasn't that horrible part of the song where Kanye changes the beat during his verse. I may be more opposed to/disgusted with that part than most people but it takes away from the overall quality and flow of the song. I'd bet though, that this has a really really good chance of winning.

“The Motto” – Drake ft. Lil Wayne: My favorite song out of all of these listed here because the joint just bumps. I'm imagining that this will finish in the top 3.

“Young, Wild & Free” – Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars: This is a pop song, it should not be listed under the Best Rap category just because it has rap artists on it.

Who do I think will win? Well, I'm rooting for Wale and I think that "Lotus Flower Bomb", "Mercy", and "The Motto" should be the 3 finalists. But in the end I think it's going to be between "Niggas in Paris" and "Mercy". Either way, Ye Tuda gonna win.

Best Rap Album

Take Care – Drake: I don't think this is Drake's best work but I understand why it's on the list. I don't think this album should win though.

Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 – Lupe Fiasco: I haven't listened to this album all the way through yet but I'm guessing Lupe does some of his usual addressing of social issues and "the industry is some bowlshat" banter on here so I'm not mad that he's nominated at all. Lupe drops a lot of dimes but nobody really listens.

Life Is Good – Nas: My personal opinion of this album is that it's really good but has been prematurely exalted to classic status by Nas stans due to Nas's history of not-all-that releases and their dying urge to call something Nas has done within the last decade a classic.

Undun – The Roots: I haven't listened and although I like The Roots I still think it's BEEN time for that Black Thought solo project.

God Forgives, I Don’t – Rick Ross: Really? This (like Drake) is not Ross's best work as an album (see "Trilla" and "Deeper Than Rap"). "Deeper than Rap" set the bar for me as far as Ross albums go and this one isn't close to being as good as that. Another Curtis beef or Jeezy beef and Ross might be able to make a truly classic album. Until then, I guess he gonna churn out that post-poverty but I still need my streetcred dope boy shyt.

Based On A T.R.U. Story – 2 Chainz: Clearly, this is the "it's still a popularity contest" entry. 2 Chainz raps but he is by no means the best at it. he makes catchy songs and is quite entertaining. If this is a popularity contest and not a contest about the best album, 2 Chainz should win. If this is about the best ALBUM, he shouldn't even be on this list. No disrespect to him because he has his lane and he's doing his thing but this album is not an award-winner in my opinion.

Whose gonna win? This is either going to go to Aubrey (Drake) Graham or to 2 Chainz. I know, I know, it sounded just as crazy as I was typing it as it did when you just read it.

Best Rap Performance

First off, I'm confused by the title of this award. When we say performance what do we mean? Performance on stage? If so, when and where? Performance in a video? Ok, I can see that sort of. I just don't get how you judge the best rap performance. It's not like all these folks showed up at the same time like a cheerleading competition and performed. Anyway, that's just my little axe to grind with the title of the award.

“HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)” -Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne: I ain't never seen this performed but I kinda like the song.

“Niggas In Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West: Here's your winner. They performed the song in Paris with Mary Kate and/or Ashley backstage. How can they NOT win the award?

“Daughters” – Nas: Video was cool. I like the song. Not sure how this is gonna be judged as a performance though.

“Mercy” – Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz: If we're counting the video as a performance, I think this should be in the top 3 for winning this award. That video was simplistically dope.

“I Do” – Young Jeezy ft. Jay-Z & André 3000: Mehhhhhh. This song was sooooo over-rated because of that Andre verse.

Kay-Z should boycott the Grammy's next year if they don't win this category.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

“Wild Ones” – Flo Rida ft. Sia: I've never heard this song but I will admit that I like "I Cry" by Flo-Rida.

“No Church In The Wild” – Jay-Z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean & The-Dream: Since when did Terius Nash get added to the list of artists associated with this song? I guess he must have ghost-wrote that hook for Frank Ocean. Oh yeah quick question, what happens when you put Frank Ocean, Kanye, and The Dream all in a darkly-lit studio by themselves? Yeah, I don't want to know either. But I would love to hear the song that came out of it, lol.

“Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” – John Legend ft. Ludacris: This song was pretty avergae to me.

“Cherry Wine” – Nas ft. Amy Winehouse: This song is HANDS-DOWN the best collaboration even though Amy is dead. Then again, maybe Nas will lose points because Amy is dead. Who knows. Either way, this is the best song listed out of all these categories and should have been up there for Best Rap Song. Definitely one of my favorite tracks of the past year.

“Talk That Talk” – Rihanna ft. Jay-Z: This was a solid radio track but Rihanna is better seen than heard in my opinion (even though I like the Diamonds joint). This joint ain't gonna win.

Nas, go get your award SON!

What If this was the Track Listing for Rick Ross's Upcoming Album, Deeper Than Rap?

Based off what I have heard thus far if this was the tracklisting for Deeper Than Rap...
...as opposed to this...EYE would already be calling this album a classic.

If you've heard those songs you might not agree that it would be a classic, but you can't deny that it would be a solid album. And I don't think it's arguable that Ross has started to come into his own lyrically (read: stepped his game the you-know-what up). If you disagree with either, you're probably just a hater.

I jacked the pic above from a video DallasPenn shot and hit the nets vis-á-vis NahRight.com (at least that's where I first saw the footage). I assume that is just the list of tracks the BAWSE played at the listening session but if this album were an EP with just those tracks the joint would be FI-YER!

"In the south we call him Curly...He's not straight!"

Examining Rick Ross-isms: Yacht Club

Yacht Club is my first or second favorite track off of Deeper Than Rap (it's a close battle between this song and Valley of Death). The vibe of this song is sooooo laid back and smooth that I can't help but turn it up loud and imagine myself on South Beach when I hear it. Maybe I need to start imagining myself on a yacht?

Yacht Club - Rick Ross (feat. Magazeen)

Pu--ies don't get pu--y: I didn't really pay this line much attention the first time I heard the song because Ross says a lot of recklessly crass stuff in general and I've come to ignore a lot of it. But my buddy Lance mentioned in his twitter feed that he hates that Ross says it throughout the album and now I'm reminded of Lance's tweet every time I hear Ross say it. THANKS A LOT RIPROCK!

I'm not bigger than Biggie, b*tch I'm bigger than you: How can you not love Ross's unintentional use of the much sought-after but not often achieved quadruple-entendre (there's no way he's lyrically talented enough to have though of this one)?

1. Physically he's not bigger than Biggie
2. Musically he's not bigger than Biggie
3. He's probably musically bigger than whomever he's addressing here (God only knows who though)
4. He's probably physically bigger than ALMOST EVERYBODY except for Biggie so does it really matter who he's talking to?

The fat Tommy Lee I made out with like eight broads: I might dare go out on a limb and call that a classic Rick Ross line. Not because it's classic in the broader spectrum of dope bars that have been spit but because it's hilarious when you think about Ross comparing his sexual exploits to Tommy Lee. There's now way Ross can even come close to Tommy Lee's Ron Jeremy-ish exploits.

She no speaky no engli-maybe Fat Joe can teach her: That was kinda slick. It made me chuckle anyways. I remember reading on someone's blog (maybe it was Bol's)recently about how for all this coke/Noriega/Escobar talk Rick Ross probably can't speak a lick of spanish and here Ross goes giving away his secretsof foreign communication. Cook Coke CRACK!

Janet was in control, because the hoe left: Another one of those out-of-nowhere lines like the one about Puffy and Total. I don't understand what the point of this is other than a quick word play on Janet Jackson and her album entitled Control. I also don't get the connection as far as how she was in control because she "left". "Left" what? Who? Ross, I'm going to need you to study Jigga a little bit more than you obviously have in preparation for writing this album and start making more solid connections to your quips.

My d*ck a big stretch: I think I understand what he was trying to say but I just wish he would have said this another way.

Told her to kiss your a$$ after you bought the b*tch breasts: A tip to all you trickin' fools out here. Don't play yourself.

I'm into frying fish with a slight lime twist: I thought he was into friggin' crabMEATS? Make up your mind already! I guess he's a seafood connoisseur. And wouldn't it be lemon rather than lime when we're dealing with seafood? Ross probably puts ketchup on his scallops I bet. He so hood!

Roll with a Navy SEAL: Here he goes again just throwing things out there that don't really make sense but rhyme. But it is kinda funny to think of a seal in the context of Rick Ross's stature. Hehe. Navy SEAL though? I think NAUGHT!

Still sippin' champagne, or is it merlot: Who confuses champagne with merlot? Let me help you out Ross: "Stay sippin crushed grapes, let's call it pinot/I call it fine wine, some call it vino/". I'm available to ghost-write for all under-educated rappers for as little as $100/bar. Holla at ya boy!

And in case you're like me and you're wondering what Greedy Geniu$ clothing is, here ya go. I'm sure Curly is going to act like I'm a bama since I didn't already know what Greedy Geniu$ clothing was but I don't care. You know you are! ADMIT IT CURLY!

Previously:

· Mafia Music
· Maybach Music 2
· Magnificent

Examining Rick Ross-isms: Mafia Music

If you've been following Rick Ross since the whole 50 Cent vs. Rick Ross beef started then this will entertain you. Otherwise, it probably won't, lol. I'm going to go through Ross's album track-by-track (each with its own post) and ponder the crazy things Ross says.

Before I start I want to give the disclaimer that I really enjoy "Deeper Than Rap" and up to this point I think it's the best album to drop this year. But I can't go without pointing out some of the ridiculous stuff this guy says. Without further adieu I present (BAWSE!)...

Mafia Music - Rick Ross

Having a job pouring tar "up on" a roof: I would imagine this builds character and the tough work would provide most of us with an impetus to do *something* else. Perhaps rap. Or sell drugs. Or become a C.O.

Making so much paper that you've got women taking photos naked: I cannot relate to this type of talk. I probably won't ever be able to. However, I'd guess that most guys that read this will have taken a pic or two of a naked female without so much more than a trip to Friday's, some smooth talk, and 3.2 sprays of some celebrity-endorsed cologne. Fellas, keep it real! You know I'm accurate here (not that I have done that type of shenanigans).

Being turned on by rumors so much so, that you masturbate "at the top" and "hoes so excited" they "catch every drop": What exactly is the top in this context? The top of rumor circles, rap in general, his house? Nevertheless I find this shockingly believable because if Ross has enough paper to make women take photos naked (how much money would you require from Rick Ross to take a naked pic for him, hmmmmmm?) then what's the difference between that and having enough money for them to catch every drop (eeeeewww)? You'd think that if a woman was going to watch this guy rub one out from the "top" then she's already given way to the fact that his money is relentless in its sexiness and she would hence be turned on enough to go ahead and pull a Superhead and catch those falling drops (I cringed writing that). Pardon my crassness on everything prior to this sentence.

Giving a chick to the block after you eff one time: I thought guys usually let the block smash at the same time they did, not pass a chick off. I'm sure Ross has ran his share of trains so I would have expected something a little more over-the-top instead of this. But dealing with women like Tia (the block could be 50 Cent in her case) and "Brooke", nothing is taboo.

Dropping another album for your dogs so you can buy 10 Maybachs for them to ride in: This is actually one of my favorite lines in this song. Ross is probably just dumb enough and self-absorbed enough to do this. But I like the point he's indirectly (and perhaps unintentionally) making about loyalty to his friends (aside from the obvious gloating about frivolous spending). If I could have, I would have had all my boys go to college with me, build a business together, and eat crab meats while wearing the "delicates of fabrics". That's BAWSE ish.

Having a Farrakhan aura: Do I even need to comment on this? So you want to be creepy but still manage to pilfer $1,000,000+ from the Black community with no accountability whatsoever and then try another march a decade later in hopes of pulling the same stunt? Ross clearly has some serious intestinal fortitude to pull this line out. And pausing on the pork was obviously something Ross didn't start until recently.

Question: Is killing people when you're bored > Effing people's lives up for fun?

Giving a girl 100 stacks, breaking up, and letting her keep it: You d@mn fool! This is similar to Ross wanting to buy Maybachs for his boys but much more lame. I can only relate to this in terms of pancakes (yes, pancakes!). If (over the duration of a relationship) I cook a chick 100 pancakes and we break up, I'll be pissed because of all that work I put in. But 100 stacks of money means I will be at her door waiting for her to come home to get my ish back. "I knew it wouldn't work, I just like to give". Ain't that some bullshyt!

Eating crabmeats! This one is so much my favorite that I may just buy eatingcrabmeats.com AND crabmeats.com. Seriously, "crabMEATS"!!! That is classic! Besides that, only people from Maryland (my home state, no shots) and Rick Ross think that crab meats are high-society eating. Next thing you know he'll be be talking about eating venison like that's special. I can see this fool now: "I got so much bread these hoes wanna eat/Venison tastes good, but still ain't crabmeats!"

Next Up - Maybach Music 2...

My First Full Album Purchase off iTunes

I'm going to admit that my first full album purchase (ie - not a single song) was Rick Ross's "Deeper Than Rap" album. And I got the deluxe version, lol.

It was about 6 months ago that I really started thinking about just how sweet it would be to have all of my music on my computer (well actually on an external drive connected to my computer) and the ultimate possibility of having an iPod with every song I have ever purchased or downloaded in my pocket whenever I feel like it. I've got about 90Gbs of music on my external drive and that could fit onto a classic iPod pretty easily. And the prospect of that makes me smile much more than it makes me nervous.

Some people I've spoken to seem to think that it's dangerous to have all your music in "one place". But what they're missing is that all the music isn't necessarily in a single location (in this case, the iPod). It's more of a distributed model with the iPod being one single device through which you can access the music. And with that said I'll give my plan for my musical archive...

The first thing I did was take all the CDs that I own and ripped them to my computer. That took me about a month to do (I had a crapload of CDs) on a when-I-had-the-time basis. From there I realized I was eventually going to run out of space on my hard drive (and relatively soon at that) so I invested some money in a portable 200Gb external hard drive. In hindsight this probably wasn't that smart of a move as I could have gotten a media server and not have to have the worry of carrying the external drive with me everywhere I take my labtop. Or I could have searched for a router with a USB port and turned the external hard drive into a psuedo-network attached drive (essentially achieving what a media server would but it's more of a hack than a proper media server implementation). The router I have doesn't have a USB port but it probably wouldn't be too difficult to find one with a USB port.

So next I'm going to buy a 1Tb media server (ie - 1000 or 1012 Gbs, depending on how nerdy you want to be), connect that to my network at home, and make my music library accessible from anywhere on the planet that I have my labtop. This will allow me to have access to my music at work, at home, or anywhere else with an internet connection. Not to mention I'll still have the option of saving everything on my iPod and I can take that instead of my labtop whenever it's more convenient to just have an iPod. The only issue that this "plan" presents is that it's subject to the speed of my internet connection and ultimately the reliability of my internet service provider. And that might just might turn out to be the downfall of this plan. But until then I've got hopes that I'll have a music archive set up that is optimized for my lifestyle and for accessibility.

Examining Rick Ross-isms: Magnificent

Magnificent was the second song I heard from Deeper Than Rap and I remember immediately thinking: "Ross got one right here!" Overall, this is probably the best song on the album when you take production, lyrics, and listenability (yep, I said it) into consideration. John Legend does what he normally does on the hook (i.e. - laces it) and Ross holds it down lyrically. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album.

Magnificent - Rick Ross (feat. John Legend)

She the one that I adore so I try to enter raw: Slow your roll, pimpin'! Rap It Up!

Ain't nothing free, I'm charging to breathe air: This is one of those out-of-nowhere lines that Ross has a tendency to drop where the line is so outlandish that you believe nobody would say it and actually mean it, except for??? Another example of this is: "I never phone ahead all she do is hear the pipes".

Ain't nothing on my back but the delicate(s) of fabrics: This line cracks me up every time I hear it. Me and my buddy Laf (aka Curly) laugh uncontrollably at this line and that crab meats line. This begs the question of whether or not these guys actually listen to what they say before releasing these tracks. Or maybe they just don't care and I'm too much of a nerd to let this particular usage slide. I think being high has a lot to do with lines like this and you know Ross is always talking about the smell of kush and lean on his breathe (like that's sexy or something). Aside from the obvious mis-step in usage of the term delicate, I think it's funny that big husky azz Ross is talking all big and bad but wants to be draped in the softest fabrics as if he's not going to sweat completely through that ish on the walk from his car to his front door.

It's time to rape the game, like Puffy did Total: WHAT?!?! Is this meant to be taken literally, figuratively? This is a very GAME-esque move right here. That is, out-of-the-blue dropping a random controversial line about another popular artist. And Total hasn't been relevant for eons now. What does The Bawse know that we don't? If you answered "absolutely nothing", I'd bet you're right.


Previously:

· Mafia Music
· Maybach Music 2

50 Cent is about to LOSE!

Winning a battle is great, but winning the war is the real victory.

Curtis/Curly is going to have a problem on his hands once this Rick Ross album hits stores next week. Jada too, on Billboard at least.

From top-to-bottom Deeper Than Rap is easily the best album this year when it comes to production. Lyrically Ross can't touch Jada but he's holding his own and improved his lyricism to the point where I would say he's now universally respectable MC. He's not on the level of Jada or NaS or Jay-Z but he's holding his weight (no pun intended) on these tracks. He even (in my opinion) out-raps NaS on "Usual Suspects".

I've listened to 70% of these tracks already and enjoyed each one except the track with Foxxy ("Murder Mami"). And everything on the album that I haven't heard is either good or dope.

I'm probably going to do a full album review after I listen to the album a few more times but off the first listen this album is pretty close to getting my vote for the dopest joint so far this year. Sorry Jada.

Dear Rick Ross, where is this song?

Ryan Leslie x Rick Ross "Maybachs & Diamonds" In-Studio from Ryan Leslie on Vimeo.

They worked on this sometime in 2009. How this song was not on either Deeper Than Rap or Teflon Don, I don't know. But if there's any way this can be on Officer Ross's next album, it should be.

Video: Cigar Music - Rick Ross (feat. Masspike Miles)

One of my favorite joints off of Deeper Than Rap even though it was listed as a Bonus track. Seems like Ro$$ is getting his vacation-video-making on because he's shot a video in Columbia and now one in the Caribbean for tracks off this album. Not a bad gig. Then again, he's probably gotta pay for all the no-talent goons that travel with him so I bet it's expensive. Speaking of goons, I laugh every time I see that Gunplay guy in the background of these clips.

Is it just me or do both Officer Ricky AND Masspike Miles need to start hitting the gym? Masspike Miles looks like Eddie House with a fitted and Ross looks like a land-locked whale at one point in this video with his shirt off and the tattoos blending in with his complexion (wtf). And Masspike seems like he's trying too hard to make it look like he's singing something super soulful. The lyrics ain't that deep homie. You sound like the dude singin' on Plies "Ms. Pretty P---y". Not to mention his voice (before I saw the video) made me think he was as skinny as me and he's a bit on the corpulent side. Anywho, tighten up those tig ole bitties fellas and the videos would be a lot more bearable for the ladies. Then again, ladies do you even care?

Nevertheless, I really do enjoy this song and I am glad he made a video for it. We'll see how long Ross's buzz lasts though.

I'm officially a blogger now....

Check out the email I received from Blogger below (I'm so siced!)...

************
Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.

The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.

The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

Affected URLs:

http://mcarroll4716.blogspot.com/2009/01/hip-hop-beef-update-officer-ross-vs-50.html
http://mcarroll4716.blogspot.com/2009/01/hip-hop-beef-update-officer-ross-vs-50.html
************
The link mentioned above has been removed from my blog (I wonder how much will get removed if they do a retroactive search through this bad boy). I assume this removal is because I posted Rick Ross's song, "Mafia Music" (where he takes a shot at 50 Cent and laces the beat quite nicely) or Magnificent without (gulp) Rick's permission (lol). Make that Def Jam's permission. Oh well! This must suck for Rick Ross's promotional effort for his upcoming album, Deeper Than Rap. It's people like moi that put this guys music on the InterWeb and help him with some e-promotion and lookie here, the good ole powers-that-be snatch it right down off the kid's blog. It sure is hard out here for a correctional officer.

Or maybe it's the video I posted of 50's rebuttal Officer Ricky. Cuuuurtis has some bread so I could see him using his millions to get them to shut down one of my posts. I'm just THAT important. Sheesh!

Back to my original theory/thought...Who would have thought I'd earn my blogger stripes off of a friggin' RICK ROSS song (of all people/artists)?!?!?!

And you know I'm going to be checking http://www.chillingeffects.org/ regularly until I see something about this blog up there.

Congratulations are in order...

"I'd like to propose a toast! I said TOAST MOTHERF&CK*RS!" - Kanye West

A Short Case-Study on the Pros & Cons of Leaked Music: Teflon Don

I'm gonna confine this post to the issue of album leaks (both on-purpose and not) and how that can have an impact on the reaction from fans on the true release date of an album.


By the way, am I the only person that realizes that the Teflon Don name came from John Gotti and not Big Meech, Larry Hoover, or MC Hammer? None of which were truly teflon-anything because they all got caught-up by the laws. Anyway...

Case Study: Rick Ross - Teflon Don

For a while now, Rick Ross (or Ricky Rozay) has been promoting his "Teflon Don" album release via Twitter, email blasts, and he even dropped a mixtape of free music (Albert Anastasia EP) for fans to devour in hopes it would create excitement for the Teflon Don release (I'm still curious as to why he called it Albert Anastasia).

What ended up happening (which seems to be inevitably be the case nowadays) is that Ross's album leaked. As I write this post (6 days before the album's official release date) I've already heard friends talking on Twitter about the album and how they've heard most of it already. That leads me to the topic of this post: What are the pros and cons of an artist leaking songs (or having them leaked illegally) that will be on their official album when it's released?

The Pros:

• If the music is good, people will get excited for the album. Most times people assume that leaked music will be on the album (at the very lease in the form of a bonus track). I'd argue that nowadays that's not so much of a guarantee but it still holds true in most cases. In Rick Ross's case, I'm sure he leaked the John Legend feature track "Sweet Life" in hopes it would have the same impact as the John Legend track off of "Deeper Than Rap" (Magnificent) and he could then put it on Teflon Don. Unfortunately for him, it didn't. In fact, it came across as a formulaic attempt to recreate what is an arguably better track, Magnificent.


• If an artist is thinking about conceptually going in a certain direction on their album, leaking a few songs can allow them to get feedback from the masses. In my opinion a true "artist" wouldn't care about what fans think of their album's concept (see Gods'Illa) but rather, just make what they want and release it. But in the highly-commercialized music industry of today, the "InterWeb-focus" group is probably a valuable tool. In Rozay's case, I am not sure if he really had a concept in mind to begin with. It seems to me like his plan was to get some great production (which Ross is pretty frickin' good at), some big names as featured artists (Jay-Z, Kanye, Diddy), and continue his raps about drugs, weed, women, and all his other vices mixed nicely with hyperbole and exaggeration.


• If the music is well-received (and can garner radio spins) you can always put it on your album. In the case of Rick Ross, I doubt he was going to put Blowin Money Fast on Teflon Don until the response to it was overwhelmingly positive. Same with MC Hammer. But Blowin Money Fast had the InterWeb, streets, and eventually radio going nuts so it only made sense to put it on the album. MC Hammer had a similar but less strong buzz also.

The Cons

• Lack of album cohesion. Nowadays it's pretty hard to keep a hip-hop album from leaking before it's release date. So it was an afterthought for me that his album would leak. I'm actually surprised it took so long to leak (or maybe it wasn't truly complete until very recently). But once I heard the album and reviewed the tracklist, I realized I'd already heard all but 3 songs. BUT, I hadn't heard them within the context and flow of the album and that makes a big difference in *some* cases. Perfect example is the song Maybach Music 3, which was leaked about a week ago and it seemed like people really enjoyed it. I felt it was over-produced and didn't live up to the reviews I was hearing. Fast-forward to me listening to the full album and I like the song more within the flow of the album. Go figure. It's still not better than Aston Martin Music.


• Fans will feel jipped. I hinted at this in the last point but if fans have (in the case of Teflon Don) already heard leaked versions of 6/11 album cuts and 2 of the remaining 5 were on a free mixtape, then that means there's really only THREE new songs on your album. The appetite of InterWeb users for new music is insatiable and because of this, an artist has to tread the line between over-saturation and quality music leaks and also tread the line between leaking quality music and giving away all your album's good content. So much of Teflon Don was leaked or given away by Ross that the other 3 songs remaining should have been EPIC. I'd argue that 1 is dope (I'm Not a Star), 1 is a contrived party track that Diddy convinced him to do, and the other is the obligatory "I talked all this bullshyt on the album about drugs, guns, women, and money so now let me say something that resonates a bit more with people's hearts" track. So 1 out of 3 are dope, 2 out of 3 are at least listenable. And that's not a bad thing at all. But I'll bet that fans complain about having heard most of the album already.


• Setting the bar high with free music is dangerous! If you give away quality merchandise for free over-and-over and then say "On date X, Imma start charging", how do you think people will react? That's one question that I could do an entirely separate post about. When your free music is good, what happens the next time you give away free music and it doesn't meet the listener's expectations? They start drifting. And in the case of many hip-hop "fans", they start hating. Setting the bar high with free music and not being consistent with the release of solid music can turn a fan-base fickle. And a hip-hop fan base is nothing else if it not fickle. Ross put out a solid EP, Albert Anastasia. It's a really good street record. But if he does another mixtape after Albert Anastasia, it'll have to be as good or better. Otherwise, it's going to be a failure in many people's eyes and it'll "devalue" his "brand" just a bit (shot out to LeBron). The same applies to album releases but those are paid for (theoretically, lol) so people should be able to demand a certain level of quality.

I say all this to say that the InterWeb is a great place to find, listen to, and review/comment on music. For the listener, there's no real risk. But for the artist, it's gotta be a tough position to be in. Create a buzz, maintain the buzz by giving music away, drop an album with some familiar music that's good mixed with new music that's as good or better than what's been leaked. I can't imagine what these artists are going through, but I can sit back and enjoy the music.

Album Review: Who the hell is 88 Keys?

No, that's not the album title. That's actually "The Death of Adam". But everybody I mention the name 88 Keys to asks me who the hell this guy is. Well, the short e-answer is here.

The somewhat circuitous answer may result after reading my review of The Death of Adam. Check it out...

I mentioned a day ago on Facebook that all fellas should listen to this album. The reason is because (as 88 Keys says) "[T]he entire album is about the power of the punani". And that's precisely correct. From beginning-to-end the album is about the power of the p-u...I-see-you. Based on this you might expect the typical hyper-sexual rapper's tales of sexual prowess, womanizing, pimpin', and an all-out desire to "get his". While there's some of that on the album, there's also evidecne on the album of the vulnerable, conflicted, confused, and frustrated sides of the male psyche as we interact with women. 88 does a good job of examining some of the potential trials and tribulations male/female relationships and dating (and relations) in addition to talking about the power of you know what.

From the onset the album flows very cohesively as story of Adam and everything "punani" (and/or woman) related that he goes through that eventually ends in his "death". In its entirety, the album is a solid and cohesive piece of work that reminded me a little of how American Gangster flowed in the way that the album's songs were arranged to make a point and/or tell a story. The Death of Adam probably has an even better flow in my opinion because of the narrator throughout that helps guide you through what's going on in a non-abrupt and disjointed way. Her soundbytes don't sound like awkwardly-placed skits but flow right along with the pace of the album turning her commentary into complementary narration that helps you wonder what's going to happen next as you follow Adam.

Musically, the album is a mash-up of a lot of different sounds but in a good way. It has a NERD meets Kanye meets soul-hop feel to it throughout the album. I'm not well-versed in instruments, musical production, or musical arrangements so I won't even try to give a solid review of the album from that perspective. But in general terms, it's an album you can listen to from beginning-to-end and skip maybe 3 times. That's not bad. But just like Kanye's CD, don't be fooled into thinking that this is a typical hip-hop album because it is not. It's more than that. And just like I am starting to realize Kanye's album is, this album is in a sense... Bigger than hip-hop.

My favorite song on the album is probably "Close Call" which I'll admit features one of my favorite rappers (Phonte of Little Brother). So if I had to recommend one song to listen to it would be that one followed by "Handcuff 'Em" and "Viagara (Stay Up)". The rest of the songs are probably better within the flow of the album rather than as individual tracks though some of them can still stand solidly on their own.

For what the star-rating is worth I'll give this album a 3.5/5 stars. I want to give it 4 but something's not letting me. It's a solid album and I'd recommend buying it.

Here's the track-by-track analysis...

Morning Wood...Fellas, you already know what this is about. You'll hear a lot of people say that the best sex is "morning sex" and "Adam" starts this album off by letting you know just how great his day will be if "she" takes care of his morning wood. The beat might throw a lot of the fellas off as a little too bubbly but if you listen to what he's saying you'll probably agree with me that you can relate. "Rolling over in my bed...I feel something's going on with my love down below/I hope she's not putting on her clothes cuz I don't want her to go...I don't wanna sound rude but I need head before she heads home/So now I'm thinking of a plan....Can I turn this thing around/Can I get her to go down to my love down below/I hope she's not putting on her clothes cuz I don't want her to go...We had a lot of fun but now I gotta run...It's time to say goodbye to my love down below/I hope she's putting on her clothes cuz it's time to go."

Nice Guys Finish Last...Here's where the Kanye-Tuda sound comes into play on the production. I was feeling this production the first time I heard the track so much that I had to go back a couple times just to pay more attention to what he was saying rather than the beat. This track is all about how being a nice guy can give you false hope and eventually land you in the dreaded "friend zone". A friend recently told me though that "nice guys finish last but finish best". Hmmmnnnn, whatever the fock that means!!! LOL

The Friends Zone (feat. Shitake Monkey)...Here's where the NERD-esque sound comes into play. If this album didn't flow as well as it does I would (almost) never listen to a track like this. But you may feel like you are going to miss a part of the story if you skip this song. My favorite line from this song is "my vision is doubled by the Viagara I popped, thinkin' bout your bubble girl". At this point Adam is getting tired of having conversation that's casual to her, but a little deeper for him because he's hoping to get some after listening to 3 hours of her opening up to him. All the listening turns out to be for naught though and Adam is pretty upset about it at the end, LOL.

Handcuff 'Em...This track might be my favorite beat on the album. I heard this sample before on a Little Brother mixtape and I was a bit shocked to hear it again on this album. Shocked in a good way though. At this point Adam is all about Adam so he's a bit more straightforward with his intentions. You know...Nice guy meets girl...gets put in friend zone...gets frustrated and gives up...meets new girl...drops nice guy routine...gets lucky. There was only one problem with Adam though...

Viagara (Stay Up feat. Kanye West)...That problem being, Adam can't "stay up". I'm pretty sure this track is old as dirt but it still rocks. Kanye does his thing..."What she got is so niagara/make a young nikkah straight need viagara/make a old nikkah give keys to jaguar/just to keep from all the tease and laughter/her telling her homegirls that he couldn't stay up...every time that she bang-bang he skeet skeet/and he so bullheaded, tried to 3-peat/try imagining something passionate, between you Cassie and Kim Kardashian/maybe that'll work when you get to hit that azz again/or you can grab a red bull and sip that twice...you said f*ck that dog I'm gon' tape it/and came for you barely even got the tape in/" LOL. I'm sure some of the ladies will be shaking their heads at this one.

There's Pleasure In It...More of a skit than a song. Nice beat though.

(Aww Man) Round 2?...This is where Adam loses that confidence he found back during Handcuff 'Em. "I'm headed to sleepsville, he's headed to smallsville...we just finished round one we shouldn't head into another session". Ladies, I'm sure you'll get a laugh out of this one too. I'd call this the segue that is the turning point in the album in terms of Adam's karma. After this it starts going downhill.

Dirty Peaches (feat J'Davey)...Musically, this is one of those smooth joints you want to listen/vibe to when you're in a good mood or just relaxing in general. Like I said earlier in this post, some of the songs have a soul-hop feel to them. I'm not gonna lie though, I'm still trying to figure out the "dirty peaches" metaphor.

Close Call (feat Phonte)...Before I talk about this track I just want to go on record and ask anyone who can, to provide me with an answer to the following equation/question...

??? > Phonte

If you know of the group Little Brother and have listened to their music or just kept up with Phonte in general, please help me out because I am having trouble deciding whether that's an answerable question or not. Let me proceed...Like I mentioned above, "Close Call" is probably my favorite track off the album. Phonte starts off rapping about how he makes the bad decision of having sex without a condom (yes fellas, that's not a good look) and getting false confidence that the girl was on the patch. From there it turns into the trap that most men fear..."so she switched from the patch and started taking the pill...one night she put my hand on her stomach and said baby we gon' be a family once I pop this kid/I said bullshyt, let me back it up/And explain to you exactly what yo options is/Option 1 take this nikkah to the Hoover/Or option 2 f*ck on I never knew ya'/I know it sounds crazy and it seems prideful/but I couldn't shake the feeling that I been lied to...left the pills on the dresser right by my copy of Getback/I poured 'em in my hand, then put one in my mouth/Sure enough all this time she been poppin' Tic Tacs".

The Burning Bush (feat Redman)...The title says it all. The song has a fun beat. It's one of those beats I'd love to hear live but overall the song doesn't really do it for me.

Ho' Is Short For Honey (feat Kid Cudi)...I've been hearing a bit about this Kid Cudi guy vis-&aagrave;-vis Kanye (including the song on his CD with Cudi) and Consequence but I've yet to really hear this guy rap. From what I understand his style is rap/sing. But that's not really saying much considering R. Kelly is kinda sing/rap and so is T Pain and so is Akon. And TIP (whatever you liiiiiiiike), 50 Cent (lol) are kinda rap/sing if you would like to stretch it that way, LOL. Anyway, Cudi doesn't obliterate the song with his presence which is all I was really hoping for. This song definitely feels/sounds like the song the Roots did with Cody Chestnut (The Seed 2.0) which was great for how seriously Cody wanted to put his seed in some chick's "bush for life". While this song succeeds musically like "The Seed" it does not succeed overall. I just can't get with the flow on this one. SKIP!

No I SAID I LIKED YOU...Instrumental interlude. You'll like it though.

M.I.L.F. (feat. Bilal)...Regardless of how he felt back during the "Close Call", Adam's gonna be a daddy. Bilal's distinct and soulful voice complements another one of those smooth soulful beats a la "Dirty Peachers". Bilal sings about having a child that looks just like him and a drama-bringin' baby's mother. "Thought I was macking....played the game too long". Yep.

Another Victim...Another victim of the "punani". Moral of the story: Chasing azz instead of love might just make you a victim of your own selfishness. You might love the game but the game doesn't always love you back, pimpin'!

If it was difficult to follow my half-review-half-story throughout this post I suggest you do yourself the favor of checking out 88 Keys on myspace or copping the album (it's worth it).