Let’s be specific (peace Funkmaster Flex), the other day I dropped my 10 most underrated rappers of 2011, so it only made sense to drop my best rapper too. This isn’t an all-time list, it’s current and I could only award this to a rapper who is, well current. Andre 3000, you might be on another level and universally accepted as the greatest rapper living and who am I to disagree? You are, but these once every few years cameos on these bullshit R&B tracks ain’t cutting it.

It ain’t Jay, shame on you for even thinking that. It isn’t his apprentice Mr. Electronica, who by the way he should be dropping his once-a-year track in December to continue giving your iTunes blue balls. His lack of new material and a Saigon(ish) career pattern is not helping matters. I can you assure you it’s nobody who would rock a smedium t-shirt. Nobody that you would consider a hipster or vegan. It isn’t a new radical skater. It isn’t lazy self-absorbed artists who continues to produce lo-fi albums for your listening displeasure.

Who does it leave then? Nas, maybe, but we all know he lost a step or two over the years. Could it be Jada? Sure, Jadakiss is like the New York Jets, he looks great on paper but when it comes down to business he can’t close and I’m still waiting on that great album from him. So the argument could come down to Pusha and the man who I awarded it to. Pusha is just getting better with age, but when you see who is #1 it’s hard to dispute facts.

Maybe 2012 will be different but there isn’t a rapper IMO who has deliverer quality time and time again than this man. I hate the word swag, so I will just say this man’s style is just too damn cool. It sounds effortless like the way DOOM spits, but it’s extremely layered with witty lyricism and tons of rewind material   If the Dos Equis guy was a rapper he’d be this one. –Philaflava

Click to see who is the best rapper of 2011.

Some bonus mp3s courtesy of the great people of Philaflava.

Download Zip File 1

Will Vill – Not a Game ft. Roc Marciano
Wu-Tang Clan – The Black Diamonds (Ghostface, Roc Marciano & Killa Sin)
Random Axe – Chewbacca ft. Roc Marciano
Meyhem Lauren – Crossroads ft. Roc Marciano
Ray West – Move Back ft. Roc Marciano & A.G.
Roc Marciano – Scarface (3:33 Remix)
Sick Team – Lyrical Assassins ft. Roc Marciano
Beneficence – Monetary Policy ft. Roc Marciano
The Planets – Sound Clash ft. Roc Marciano
Arch Druids – Scorched Earth Policy ft. Roc Marciano & Planet Asia
Sean Price – How the Gods Chill (Remix) ft. Roc Marciano & Meyhem Lauren
A.G. – Marcberri

Download Zip File 2

Sketch – Chain Smoking Remix Feat. Roc Marciano and Reef
Roc Marciano – The Prophecy Oxidation Remix
Roc Marciano- Snow Remix Feat. Sean P
Roc Marciano- Slugs Thru Ya Papaya Feat. Killah Priest
Roc Marciano – Scarface
Roc Marciano- My Persona
Roc Marciano- MVG
Pollyn- Cold Sweat Feat. Roc Marciano
MMG – Helpless Dreamer Feat. Roc Marciano, XO and Tranquill
J- Love- Tricks of the Street Feat. G Rap, Cormega and Roc Marciano
Blaq Poet- Bushmaster Remix Feat. Roc Marciano and Wais P

Nothing we haven’t heard before but its good to be reminded why this lazy, stubborn, sometimes extremely idiotic rapper was once the greatest we had in the 90′s.  It’s also a good testament to anyone who ever thought Jay-Z was a better rapper. Definitely a cool compilation for the weekend. Enjoy! –Philaflava

01. Queens Day feat. Run DMC & Prodigy
02. Can’t Fade Me feat. Cassidy & Quan
03. In Between Us feat. Scarface
04. Calm Down feat. Noreaga & Tragedy Khadafi
05. Verbal Intercourse feat. Raekwon
06. Fast Life (Buckwild Remix) feat. Kool G Rap
07. Live at The Barbeque feat. Main Source
08. Success feat. Jay-Z
09. Stay Chiseled feat. Large Professor
10. John Blaze feat. Big Pun, Jadakiss, Raekwon & Fat Joe
11. Eye For An Eye feat. Mobb Deep & Raekwon
12. Music for Life feat. J Dilla, Common, Busta Rhymes & Marsha Of Floetry
13. Rough Around The Edges feat. Busta Rhymes
14. How Ya Livin’ feat. AZ
15. Heartbeat feat. Nneka
16. Wake Up Show Anthem ’94 feat. Pharoahe Monch, Prince Paul, Ras Kass, Dred Scott, Shyheim, Chino XL & Saafir
17. Road to Zion feat. Damian Marley
18. Bring It To You Hardest feat. Slick Rick

Disc 2
01. Fast Life feat. Kool G Rap
02. Rich And Black feat. Raekwon
03. The Essence feat. AZ
04. Grand Finale ft. Method Man, DMX & Ja Rule
05. Dog Shit ft. Mobb Deep
06. Holla Back ft. Kool G Rap, AZ & Tito
07. I Do It For Hip Hop feat. Jay-Z & Ludacris
08. It’s Mine feat. Mobb Deep & Jadakiss
09. Letter to the King feat. Game
10. Analyze This (No Love Lost) feat. Jay-Z & Lord Tariq
11. Classic feat. Kanye West, Rakim & KRS One
12. Finer Things feat. Jon B
13. Don’t Stop, Keep Goin feat. Daz & Kurupt
14. Why (Remix) feat. Styles P, Jadakiss, Common & Anthony Hamilton
15. Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It (Remix) feat. Ice Cube & Scarface
16. Usual Suspects feat. Rick Ross
17. Give It Up Fast feat. Mobb Deep
18. Help Somebody (Remix) feat. Maxwell

Disc 3
01. Mo Money, Mo Murder (Homicide) ft. AZ
02. Win or Lose feat. Mobb Deep, Jadakiss & Jay-Z
03. The Saints feat. Killah Priest
04. We Major feat. Kanye West
05. Yacht Music feat. Scarface, Willie The Kid & Marsha Ambrosius
06. Must Be Nice (Remix) feat. Lyfe Jennings
07. What If feat. Jadakiss
08. U.S.A. (Aiight Then) (Original version) feat. Mobb Deep
09. Desperados II feat. The Firm & Canibus
10. Streets Of NY feat. Alicia Keys & Rakim
11. Back To The Grill feat MC Serch & Chubb Rock
12. Let My Niggas Live feat. Wu-Tang Clan
13. Some of ‘Em feat. Devin The Dude & Xzibit
14. Level 7 feat. Nashawn
15. Ice King feat. Res
16. One Plus One feat. Large Professor
17. Freedom Jazz Dance (Remix) feat. Miles Davis
18. Thank God I Found You (Remix) feat. Joe & Mariah Carey

Disc 4
01. Who U Rep With feat. 50 Cent & The Bravehearts
02. Gun 4 Gun feat. Killah Priest
03. Governmentalist feat. Joss Stone
04. Get To Know Me feat. Joe
05. Don’t Get Carried Away feat. Busta Rhymes
06. Be Ez feat. Capone-N-Noreaga
07. Show Discipline feat. Jadakiss
08. The Ultimate High feat. Nature
09. With Me feat. Capone-N-Noreaga
10. Why You Hate The Game feat. Game
11. Gimme Your’s feat. AZ
12. Let ‘Em Hang feat. Lake
13. Good Life feat. Nate Dogg
14. Topless feat. Eminem & Dr. Dre
15. Popular Thug feat. Kelis
16. Hot Boyz feat. Eve, Q-Tip, Lil Mo & Missy Elliot
17. Sincerity feat. DMX & Mary J. Blige

Download Vol. 1-4

The greatest rap band and the greatest rapper of (92-94) combine like a pair AJ True Blue‘s and jeans. Link contains ALL of The Roots and Nas tracks from the show. Enjoy! –Philaflava

Download the show here

The sequel to 2009′s Memory Man Presents Raekwon – Cuban Revolution, this remix project reinvents Nas’ 1999 album with golden era-style production. All of the original guest appearances remain intact, with the exception of Puff Daddy’s chorus vocals on Hate Me Now which are performed here by MC Paul Barman. Cover art by Lazy Eye Graphics.

These kinds of remix projects are very common these days, and the majority of them are poor. But Memory Man is way better at this than most others, his work bearing obvious marks of craftsmanship and obsessive attention to details. His last effort, Cuban Revolution, ended up superior to some of the ‘official’ Raekwon mixtapes released that year. So considering Memory Man’s skills and the fact that ‘I Am’ ihas a lot that could be improved on, I have high expectations.

Remember Space Jam?  Yes, you do.   And before I go any further, yes, this is an article on Steady Bloggin about Space Jam.  Because it was an instant classic to the 9 year old me, and the 24 year old me wants to tell you about it.

Well it’s the 15 year anniversary of Space Jam, and Austin Kent over at The Good Point (who, interestingly, I went to University with – shouts to Sam Joynt who I roomed with in third year and also writes for GP) decided it’d be pretty cool to celebrate the occasion by recasting The Monstars in 2011.  I agree.

So educated reader, who might already know where this is going, basketball and rap music have gone hand-in-hand for the better half of two decades now.  And for someone like me, that’s awesome since basketball and rap have long been interests number 1 and 1A, in no particular order.  Naturally, including hip hop in films about basketball made sense, whether culturally within the movie itself, or accompanied by way of the soundtrack.  For instance, White Man Can’t Jump had Cypress Hill and Queen Latifah, Hoop Dreams had Ice Cube, Above the Rim with Tupac, He Got Game had an entire soundtrack crafted by Public Enemy, and even a masterpiece like The 6^th Man had Doug E. Fresh on a Stevie Wonder remix.  But the cream of the crop, my friends, was The Monstars’ anthem known better as Hit’Em High.

Stealing the idea from Austin (it’s hip hop, we steal shit right?) and applying it to what Wikipedia suggests is “generally regarded as the greatest rap collaboration of all-time” (seriously, it says that), I thought it’d be thumbs up to figure out who could represent The Mean Team in the studio in 2011.

The decisions on the replacements, although none are necessarily perfect, I tried to justify with the original MC in mind, while still putting together a collaboration that would sound cohesive upon a final mix.  Moreover, everyone included had to fit into the Monstar mold, meaning they had to have the ability to sound and appear villainous.  So no Drake.

The jump off comes with B-Real, the nasally voice that you would never mistake for belonging to anyone else.  In 2011, Danny Brown takes the lead off position for his own unique sound.  As soon as you hear Danny Brown’s voice, he’s got your attention, and that’s exactly how we lift off.

Truthfully, there’s no real reason for Coolio to be on this track.  He was never a villainous type dude, and no one thought he was bad back in the Fantastic Voyage days.  Really, he had a couple successful songs in the years leading up to the release of Space Jam, and was most likely included for that reason.  Combining that with A) he was a pretty plain rapper, so there aren’t any replacement options that stand out, and B) I don’t want to do anyone injustice by comparing them to Coolio, I’ve decided to use the second spot as a freebie.  Freddie Gibbs, come on down.  Freddie’s real grimey on everything I’ve heard from him, so he’d sound nice on here.

There was only one rapper I envisioned to replace Method Man, and it’s probably the exact one that Method Man would select if he could.  The obvious choice is Redman, and it’s not even close.  He can bring the same charisma and presence to the track that Johnny Blaze brought on the original, and after so many years side-by-side with Meth, Redman makes the most sense on the third verse.

I always thought LL Cool J didn’t really fit on this track, although admittedly I’m not his biggest fan, it always felt like he was on there to appeal to someone.  Not exactly sure who, but he was a bit past his prime on the song.  It’s possible he was on there for extra commercial appeal.  Considering that, I propose Nas take the role of LL.  Nasir has the name and the following that would help the song do well commercially, while still fitting into the overall concept of the song.  True, Nas isn’t as villainous as he once was in the Nasty Nas era, but neither was LL at this point in his career, and we all know Nas can still bring it when he wants to.

Finishing off the original track is Busta Rhymes, whose delivery brings energy and charisma unmatched by just about everyone else in the game.  Who else is capable of filling in to close out the track?  Any one rapper probably wouldn’t be able to do it on the same level as Busta.  M.O.P. however, could.  Billy Danze and Lil’ Fame yelling all over the track for the whole last verse?  Dope.  I would have them do the chorus too.  And I don’t think it needs mentioning that they certainly slide into the bad guy role flawlessly.

Lastly, for the beat I’d go with Marco Polo.  I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed, he has a great ear for samples, drums that hit hard, and is more capable of coming up with that evil sound needed for the joint than anyone I can think of.

So there you have it, friends.  Hit’Em High 2011 featuring Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, Redman, Nas, and MOP, produced by Marco Polo. Someone make this happen.

Think you can come up with a good list for Hit’Em High 2011? Let us know in the comment section.

Our friend Vaporized has been cooking up some marvelous shit over at the TROY forum on Philaflava, putting some Group Home instrumentals to really good use. Observe:

DOWNLOAD: Nas – Shootouts vs Group Home – Up Against The Wall instrumental [Getaway Car Mix]

DOWNLOAD: Cocoa Brovaz – Super Brooklyn vs Group Home – Living Proof instrumental

As utterly derided as he was for his Escobar personna during the late 90s, this is still one of my favorite non-album joints by Nas. The clean version received a wide release on the Men in Black soundtrack, but check the dirty flip from the 12″.

Nas – Escobar ’97

— Snoop Bloggy Blogg