Ready For

So finally coming up next month is the debut from Hip-hop's Young Money Darling, Drake. He has peppered the airwaves with singles over the past 18 months and had a "critically acclaimed" mixtape (yawn) now it's time to see if he can put it together for an actual studio album. Sales are going to be incredibally easy to come by i think just because of the machine and hype behind him since Weezy F.

Treacherous, Devastating, Supreme

(Youtube version is not here. Just kidding, yes it is.)

Album review- B.O.B. - The Adventures of Bobby Ray

Okay, so it's been quite a road to travel for B.O.B. . A couple of years ago he had a surprise smash with "Haters Everywhere" - a generic Southern rap song that didn't paint an accurate picture of what B.O.B. could actually do and was one of the featured artists on last year's XXL Freshmen 10. Being signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle records while the main artist was in jail didn't help his status as

Should Kid Cudi get a refund?

I was talking with a friend and he asked me if Kid Cudi should ask for a refund. I was confused as hell because the comment was from left field it seemed. He then proceeded to remind me that according to Proffessor Griff (the DJ from Public Enemy) had also implicated Kid Cudi in his documentary about how the Illuminati had taken over hip-hop (because apparently they don't give a fuck about

"Home Taping" Hurr Durr

I'm not a musician. I have some sympathy for the artist - seemingly more than most hip-hop bloggers today - but I generally leave them to fight their own battles. Illegal downloading killing your career? Well, maybe if you'd pressed up your album I would've supported, but you didn't care so I don't.

There is however, one point I feel compelled to make, just because I see so many people get it wrong in online discussions. It's frustrating, damn it.

We've all seen it. The usual "mp3s are killing music!" versus "artists need to adapt!" debates, and someone ironically posts the old "HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC" logo (which did have a pretty awesome image, I must admit). Laugh at how paranoid and foolish the music was for thinking taping stuff off the radio, or making cassette copies of albums, would topple the music industry. I mean, they probably did lose some revenue, but don't look at that. The joke is how senseless they were being.

But here's where the comparison really becomes invalid:

1) This is a lesser point, but I'll throw it out there anyway. Home taping still required blank tapes. It was substantially cheaper than buying a proper cassette album Sam Goody's, but there was still a discouraging expense involved that isn't there in sharing mp3s. This is marginal (but still a factor) if we're talking me hooking a friend up with a tape of an album. But it's huge when you compare the cost of uploading one mp3 to a site like Zshare for free and having hundreds - or even theoretically potentially billions - download it verses the cost of buying a blank tape for every one of those people.

2) But more importantly, that the internet is killing the distribution gatekeepers... which for the most part, I'll happily concede, is a good thing. What that means, however, is that the labels, the stores, etc. no longer have any say in what music you get. In olden days, if no music store in your area stocked the album you wanted, you were SOL (shit outta luck). And I'm not just talking about, "damn, my local Sam Goody's doesn't carry Esham's first EP!" What they didn't stock were album dubs. You couldn't say, hey let me pass on that $10 album and get the $1 dub of it instead. But now on the internet, it's just as easy (if not easier) to download something free and illegal as it is to get it legally.

3) A dubbed cassette tape, with a generic Maxwell or whatever logo and the title of the album written in ballpoint pen seriously lacked the luster of a proper album, with the track-listing printed nicely on the tape, and of course the fold-out cover art and liner notes. But an mp3 from Amazon or Itunes has no advantage of an mp3 you snagged off of Soulseek or some random blog. In fact, with issues like DRM, the illegal copy might just be better.

So, anyway, my point isn't to make a grandstand against internet piracy or anything like that. It just irks me when people make the "home taping" point without any realization or acknowledgment of how off-base a comparison it is. And even if you want to pull a "well, that's just, like, your opinion, man," on me, I think a look at the Soundscan numbers after the rise of home taping versus the after the rise of Napster will show an incredibly vast distinction in declining sales.

So, go ahead. Continue to download everything you like. I don't care. Just don't throw that cassette and crossbones logo into any more message board debates as if you'd just intellectually crushed the opposition.

Shadez of Brooklyn

It's a shame that a crew like Shadez of Brooklyn, who sounded so ill and had such break-out success with their debut single - I think I could safely use the word "beloved" in relation to their hit, "Change" - only managed to put out three 12" singles before disappearing. Well, in 2010, Chopped Herring Records has finally rectified that situation with the release of their Pandemonium EP.

To be clear, this isn't new material by the group reunited; this EP consists of 5 previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1996 and '97 (which means they actually predate Shadez' second and third singles). And like their previous singles, all the tracks here are produced by Da Beatminerz, so don't expect any disappointments. Only one of the tracks, "Everyday Livin'," has ever been heard in any capacity before - it was included on an Evil Dee mixtape. But, like the other songs, this is the first time it's being released in a full un-edited/blended capacity.

Really, if you're familiar with the Shadez of Brooklyn's previous output (and you really ought to be), all I need to tell you is that this is every bit as good as their past singles. Production-wise and lyrically, any one of these songs would have fit perfectly on their previous 12"s. The voices, the flows, the way the MCs play off each other going back and forth over hot beats with killer piano loops and fresh cuts from crazy comic book records... it's all here. In fact, the opening track, "Now a Dayz," seems to be a sequel to their original B-side, "Survival Wars;" with a hook that goes, "Now a days/ You've got to live in a certain way/ Watch what you say/ Here comes the gun spray/ East to west, South Shore to North Shore/ We told you before/ This is the time of survival wars." And "Pandemonium" is presumably the song they named their record label (Pandemonium Wreckords) after, so it's nice to finally get to hear it.

And in addition to those five unreleased joints, they also threw "Change" on here as a bonus. I can't imagine many people who'd buy this wouldn't already have "Change" on vinyl, but just in case, here it is.

As you can see in my scan, this comes in a nice sticker cover, and it's limited to 300 copies. It's still available (mine just landed today) as of this writing directly from the label's website: choppedherringrecords.com. The limited releases don't get much more essential than this one.

Remembering the Gifted

Following the recent loss of one of hip-hop's most esteemed MCs, Guru, we're celebrating his work over at DWG with a series of reviews of classic Gangstarr 12"'s. Mine just went up now. I picked a more recent one than you might expect, but hopefully you'll find it a fitting choice.