A good little primer to set up the Compton rapper’s Red Album release today. If you’re unfamiliar with Game’s music or are one of the stubbron heads who still don’t rate him as a rapper, check it out. Best ear for beats around or just a beneficiary of circumstance? Shouts to Dirt Dog for the artwork. Download link and tracklist after the jump.
- CC
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If Dre was the sound of G-Funk and Snoop was voice, then Nate Dogg was surely the harmony. Tying together lush production and smooth vocals with his rich, raspy melodies, Nate brought a defining quality to the music. Raised as a gospel singer in East Long Beach, he crashed onto the regional scene with his work on Mista Grimm’s “Indo Smoke” and Dr. Dre’s “Lil’ Ghetto Boy,” but it was his appearance alongside Warren G on “Regulate” that pushed him into the national spotlight. When Death Row Records collapsed under it’s own misdeeds, he took his talents from coast to coast, never failing to impress as the go to guy for that Californian vibe whilst giving career defining hits to the likes of Ludacris, Fabolous and 50 Cent. Many have tried to imitate him and some have even tried to snatch the crown as the king of the rap hook, but to no avail. They can come closer than close. Original they never could be.
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Role reversal, ’97 shit. 50 Cent V Consequence V NORE V Punchline, from the Shades of Hip-hop DVD.
— Snoop Bloggy Blogg
Rap Beef has been the go to move for struggling (Benzino) and successful (50 Cent) artists the last 10 years , and we as rap artists have become either turned off by it or indifferent, and you don’t have to go any further than to look at the sales for “BISD”. The reason why we’ve become apathetic towards it could be because a lot of it realize on empty threats that are never carried out, too many beefs to keep up with, or just the lack of creativity done when releasing a new battle rap. Whatever the case may be, the era of people running to their nearest mix tape spots to hear the Jadakiss/Sigel, Nas/Jay disses are long gone.
However, that wasn’t the case in 1996. When a Chicago MC by the name of Common Sense drew the ire of the legendary (But on his last legs, at the time) Ice Cube, and his Westside Connection gang with his song “I Used to love H.E.R.” We all know the story of what happened, as WSC released jabs on wax and interviews towards the Chicago breed MC. And Common came back with a vengeance and made one of the most image damaging records ever. However, the version most people heard or recognize as the “original ether” on record, is NOT the original record released by Common Sense. Prior to the “Street Version” where Common references their single dissing him “Smacking niggas in the Slaughterhouse” and Mack 10′s label “Hoo Banging, you aint’ banging shit but the table”, there was this one that was not quite as “Hard hitting” as the one most are used to listening to, however, when analyzed further, may actually better than the edited version. Either way, this song represents the end of a era, when diss records actually made rap exciting.
While most of these lame ass blogs were rushing their “best of…” lists in the final months of 2009, I kept mine on ice. You know, just in case Detox 2 was to secure a prosperous December 31st release date or something. But now that the 00s are a distant memory of crunk, emo and rappers not wanting to be rappers, it’s the perfect time to take a hindsight look over the best 5 releases of the decade.
Please note: the opinions herein do not represent a consensus from Steady Bloggin’. Nay, it’s just me bluffing my way through 10 years of hip-hop history and pretending to know things through a delicate mixture of disjointed hyperbole, speculative thought and advanced cliche. Enjoy!
Another one from Fredro Starr who has been giving some very entertaining tales about some of the craziest things he’s seen since becoming a rapper. This is a part 1 of his newest one discussing the details of the Onyx/50 Cent beef. Good shit.
The “international version” of 50 Cent’s new album leaked this afternoon. A month early. Sucks for 50 and whoever leaked it, but its pretty cool for us. Curtis promised a grimier album, and delivers… kinda. The first half of this is really good, suprisingly so, but the last 7 or so songs are either terrible single attempts or terrible singy bullshit lovey songs. You would think that a seasoned rap industry bully like 50 would know that his fans will buy his albums no matter what and he doesn’t need to do songs with R Kelly and Ne-Yo anymore, but there they are. Bad. At least we get a good 10 songs worth of drugs, guns and violence.
The relative lack of guests is a nice surprise, with Eminem “renegading” (Man, such a tired term) 50 on “Psycho”. Tony Yayo would have sounded right at home on tracks like “So Disrespectful” and “Death To My Enemies”, but Interscope kinda fucked that up. The production doesn’t get too exciting, but “Death To My Enemies” and “Crimewave” are a nice change of pace from the sterile Dre-ish plodding that 50 usually works with. Young Buck, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z all catch disses in varying degrees of harshness and Fif does some nice things lyrically and flow-wise, but he is still 50 Cent…
Hopefully the leak will result in internet outrage over the bullshit at the end of the album and 50 will leave the crap off of the final product. Probably not. Here are some of the solid gold jams off of this thing:
Didn’t Rae used to hate 50?
