Wednesday, December 30, 2009
DJ Premier To Release Nike Air Force 1 Sneaker
by Slava Kuperstein
Acclaimed Hip Hop producer DJ Premier is diversifying his portfolio to include his very own shoe.
The DJ Premier Nike Air Force 1 Low comes in a black, dark green, dark blue colorway. The words "DJ Premier" will be inscribed on across the back heel of the shoes, in addition to being written on the laces and lacelocks. The shoe also features a graphic of a Technique 1200 turntable.
The shoe comes as part of the same series as the DJ AM Dunk Hi, a shoe that the late turntablist had been working on with Nike before his untimely death. The shoe is red, black and light grey, and says "DJ AM" on the tongue of the sneaker.
According to reports, the DJ Premier's shoe hits stores in limited runs on January 9th.
hiphopdx.com
Acclaimed Hip Hop producer DJ Premier is diversifying his portfolio to include his very own shoe.
The DJ Premier Nike Air Force 1 Low comes in a black, dark green, dark blue colorway. The words "DJ Premier" will be inscribed on across the back heel of the shoes, in addition to being written on the laces and lacelocks. The shoe also features a graphic of a Technique 1200 turntable.
The shoe comes as part of the same series as the DJ AM Dunk Hi, a shoe that the late turntablist had been working on with Nike before his untimely death. The shoe is red, black and light grey, and says "DJ AM" on the tongue of the sneaker.
According to reports, the DJ Premier's shoe hits stores in limited runs on January 9th.
hiphopdx.com
Benzino Disses Royce Da 5'9"
Benzino is no stranger to beef. Years ago, he made headlines by having a war of words with various artists including Eminem and 50 Cent.
On a track that features Raekwon, the former owner of The Source throws a few shots at longtime Eminem comrade Royce Da 5'9". The video, released on YouTube is below.
"I got a percentage of the team, you're a bench warmer," Benzino says on the cut. "How you in the hood without showing your face/ These motherfuckers run the town, I'm controlling the state."
After Rae's verse, Benzino actually makes it more personal.
After claiming he'd "Slaughter the innocent," he goes on to mention Royce by name.
"Run 'em down, hit 'em up in some traffic/ Slap his bitch in the mouth, break up his glasses/ Stupid looking nigga, really nobody's heard of you/ Better watch your moth, Royce. Niggas will murder you."
This may be a response to "No Coming Back from That, " a track released by Royce as a taste of what can be expected on his next project, Bar Exam 3.
As mentioned, the track "Break to Build" features Raekwon on the second verse. However, it is unclear if Raekwon is actually a participant in the disses. Though some speculation has been brought up due to the fact that Raekwon had his own feud with Slaughterhouse's Joe Budden earlier in the year.
After hearing the diss, Royce replied by saying Bar Exam 3 will be full of "drama" via Twitter. Additionally, Raekwon also took to Twitter stating, "For the record, I wanna say I take no part in nobodys diss song, I just sent them a verse that's it! That's between them brothers keep me outta it!"
by Andres Tardio
hiphopdx.com
On a track that features Raekwon, the former owner of The Source throws a few shots at longtime Eminem comrade Royce Da 5'9". The video, released on YouTube is below.
"I got a percentage of the team, you're a bench warmer," Benzino says on the cut. "How you in the hood without showing your face/ These motherfuckers run the town, I'm controlling the state."
After Rae's verse, Benzino actually makes it more personal.
After claiming he'd "Slaughter the innocent," he goes on to mention Royce by name.
"Run 'em down, hit 'em up in some traffic/ Slap his bitch in the mouth, break up his glasses/ Stupid looking nigga, really nobody's heard of you/ Better watch your moth, Royce. Niggas will murder you."
This may be a response to "No Coming Back from That, " a track released by Royce as a taste of what can be expected on his next project, Bar Exam 3.
As mentioned, the track "Break to Build" features Raekwon on the second verse. However, it is unclear if Raekwon is actually a participant in the disses. Though some speculation has been brought up due to the fact that Raekwon had his own feud with Slaughterhouse's Joe Budden earlier in the year.
After hearing the diss, Royce replied by saying Bar Exam 3 will be full of "drama" via Twitter. Additionally, Raekwon also took to Twitter stating, "For the record, I wanna say I take no part in nobodys diss song, I just sent them a verse that's it! That's between them brothers keep me outta it!"
by Andres Tardio
hiphopdx.com
Block Starz Music Releases Second Album In Coastal Series
by Quinton Hatfield
Block Starz Music will continue their underground-respected compilation series. One year later after releasing the West Coast Block Starz album, now Block Starz will be unveiling East Coast Block Starz tomorrow (December 29, 2009)
The album will spotlight rising underground talents from New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other major northeast markets. Production from The Alchemist, Clinton Sparks is included, as well as appearances from Fabolous, Red Cafe, Wiz Khalifa and Raheem DeVaughn. Artists on the rise Tone Trump, Superstar LT, and Shonie are also prominently featured.
"East Coast Block Starz was designed as a soundtrack for people on the go and reflects the ebbs and flows of everyday life on the grind -- legitimate or otherwise," said label CEO Bayer Mack. :We wanted to produce a compilation that captured the diversity, energy, and attitude of the mid-Atlantic/northeast urban experience and we're very pleased with the results."
East Coast Block Starz releases tomorrow.
hiphopdx.com
Block Starz Music will continue their underground-respected compilation series. One year later after releasing the West Coast Block Starz album, now Block Starz will be unveiling East Coast Block Starz tomorrow (December 29, 2009)
The album will spotlight rising underground talents from New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other major northeast markets. Production from The Alchemist, Clinton Sparks is included, as well as appearances from Fabolous, Red Cafe, Wiz Khalifa and Raheem DeVaughn. Artists on the rise Tone Trump, Superstar LT, and Shonie are also prominently featured.
"East Coast Block Starz was designed as a soundtrack for people on the go and reflects the ebbs and flows of everyday life on the grind -- legitimate or otherwise," said label CEO Bayer Mack. :We wanted to produce a compilation that captured the diversity, energy, and attitude of the mid-Atlantic/northeast urban experience and we're very pleased with the results."
East Coast Block Starz releases tomorrow.
hiphopdx.com
Reflection Eternal Set To Drop Mixtape On New Year's Eve, Readies New Album
by Krysten Hughes
Hip Hop duo Reflection Eternal, composed of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, are teaming up with producer Statik Selektah for an official Reflection Eternal mixtape. Slated to drop on New Year’s Eve, the project will include new songs from the album as well as unreleased material and classic tracks.
Reflection Eternal is also preparing for the release of their second studio album, Revolutions Per Minute. The first two singles off the unreleased album are "Back Again" which includes a video, and "Just Begun" featuring J. Electronica, J. Cole and Mos Def. The project was originally slated to be completed and released before the close of 2008.
The 2000 release of Train Of Thought, Reflection Eternal's first project, had two hit singles ranked in the top five of Billboard U.S. Rap charts. "Move Somethin" peaked at number one and "The Blast" peaked at number two spot.
Revolutions Per Minute is expected to drop in February 2010.
hiphopdx.com
Hip Hop duo Reflection Eternal, composed of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, are teaming up with producer Statik Selektah for an official Reflection Eternal mixtape. Slated to drop on New Year’s Eve, the project will include new songs from the album as well as unreleased material and classic tracks.
Reflection Eternal is also preparing for the release of their second studio album, Revolutions Per Minute. The first two singles off the unreleased album are "Back Again" which includes a video, and "Just Begun" featuring J. Electronica, J. Cole and Mos Def. The project was originally slated to be completed and released before the close of 2008.
The 2000 release of Train Of Thought, Reflection Eternal's first project, had two hit singles ranked in the top five of Billboard U.S. Rap charts. "Move Somethin" peaked at number one and "The Blast" peaked at number two spot.
Revolutions Per Minute is expected to drop in February 2010.
hiphopdx.com
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Beat Cartel Presents: Destination Hip Hop
Beat Cartel Presents: Destination Hip Hop
Download album here:
http://www.zshare.net/download/67551302a65fd634/
Download album here:
http://www.zshare.net/download/67551302a65fd634/
Statik Selektah Unveils 100 Proof Tracklisting
Statik Selektah is known for including lots of respected emcees on his albums. Having previously released Spell My Name Right and Stick To The Script in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the Boston-born producer/deejay announced the personnel for 100 Proof (The Hangover) album, due February 2, 2010.
1. Inside A Change (Intro)
2. So Close, So Far (feat. Bun B, Wale & Colin Munroe)
3. Critically Acclaimed (feat. Lil Fame, Saigon & Sean Price)
4. Night People (feat. Freeway, Red Cafe & Masspike Miles)
5. Follow We (feat. Smif-N-Wessun)
6. Do It 2 Death (feat. Lil Fame, Havoc & Kool G Rap)
7. Come Around (feat. Termanology & Royce Da 5'9")
8. Drunken Nights (feat. Reks, Joe Scudda & J.F.K.)
9. Life Is Short (feat. Consequence)
10. The Thrill Is Gone (feat. Styles P & Talib Kweli)
11. Get Out (feat. Skyzoo, Rapper Pooh, Torae & Lee Wilson)
12. Laughin (feat. Souls Of Mischief)
13. The Coast (feat. Evidence, Fashawn & Kali)
14. 100 Proof (Interlude) (feat. J.F.K.)
15. Fake Love (Yes Men) (feat. Reks, Kali, Termanology & Good Brotha)
16. Eighty-Two (feat. Termanology)
17. Walking Away (feat. Kali & Novel)
hiphopdx.com
1. Inside A Change (Intro)
2. So Close, So Far (feat. Bun B, Wale & Colin Munroe)
3. Critically Acclaimed (feat. Lil Fame, Saigon & Sean Price)
4. Night People (feat. Freeway, Red Cafe & Masspike Miles)
5. Follow We (feat. Smif-N-Wessun)
6. Do It 2 Death (feat. Lil Fame, Havoc & Kool G Rap)
7. Come Around (feat. Termanology & Royce Da 5'9")
8. Drunken Nights (feat. Reks, Joe Scudda & J.F.K.)
9. Life Is Short (feat. Consequence)
10. The Thrill Is Gone (feat. Styles P & Talib Kweli)
11. Get Out (feat. Skyzoo, Rapper Pooh, Torae & Lee Wilson)
12. Laughin (feat. Souls Of Mischief)
13. The Coast (feat. Evidence, Fashawn & Kali)
14. 100 Proof (Interlude) (feat. J.F.K.)
15. Fake Love (Yes Men) (feat. Reks, Kali, Termanology & Good Brotha)
16. Eighty-Two (feat. Termanology)
17. Walking Away (feat. Kali & Novel)
hiphopdx.com
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
by Paul W Arnold
AZ wants the world to know that the back-to-back releases this past June of Legendary and G.O.D. (Gold Oil And Diamonds) were not intended to be viewed as part of the formal Visualiza discography.
“Them wasn’t albums; them was mixtapes,” AZ clarified to HipHopDX last Friday (December 18th). “I do wanna state that too, ‘cause everybody thought that [Legendary] was a album. I wouldn’t do no album without promoting – radio or something. No, no way.”
Both efforts emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere via two California-based labels, Real Talk and Siccness, the products of one-off deals that AZ himself admits lacked his full and complete commitment to their construction.
“If you listen to it, it’s freestyles,” said Sosa of the rhymes heard on the at best adequate releases. “They’re not even songs; they’re not complete songs… I just picked a few beats and [did] a 16 to [‘em].”
Unfortunately, efforts like these tend to clutter an artist’s catalog and confuse fans as to which releases are intended to be viewed as proper albums and which are not.
“People always complain [that] you gotta keep your name out there and your presence up [though],” AZ retorted in response to the above statement. “And I think that’s basically what I was trying to do to connect what I did last to what I’m getting ready to do, and just keep the notoriety ‘cause it’s so [many] fuckin’ artists out there, so much shit going on and everybody – It’s just like a free-for-all right now.”
Thankfully for fans of clever multisyllabic rhyming over classic ‘90s Hip Hop tracks, AZ is about to elbow his way to the top of that currently overcrowded field of artists in the way longtime supporters of The Visualiza have been dreaming of for 14 years by releasing Doe Or Die 2.
Hot on the heels of Raekwon’s critically-acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, AZ is attempting to do in 2010 what Rae successfully pulled off in 2009 and release a sequel as stellar as its original. But in his discussion with DX, AZ made it clear that he isn’t biting Rae’s blueprint to career resurrection, as while he praised Rae’s part dos and its ability to connect two different generations of Hip Hop listeners, AZ also noted that he is as well-deserving an artist of following-up his own standout 1995 debut.
“It influenced me to an extent,” he respectfully conceded of the affect OB4CL2 had on the creation of DOD2, “but the part two’s and three’s been going on since [The] Blueprint to [now with] Tha Carter. There’s been so many [part] two’s, three’s and sequels, even from Illmatic to Stillmatic… I’m a sword-thrower myself, so I played a part in me [being] able to do a part two. So that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m just trying to connect the past with the future, and etch my name in stone in this Hip Hop game too.”
In the same summer of 1995 that spawned Rae’s classic purple tape, after having arguably stolen the show a year prior on friend Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch,” and riding high on the success of his own single “Sugar Hill,” The Visualiza was on equal footing as The Chef as one of the top five rotten apple rhymers, in the same company as The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. Even a year later, in the months following the release of Reasonable Doubt, the name AZ was more known to the masses than Jay-Z. But it seems that fate would allow for only one of the two smooth-rhyming Brooklynites on the mic in the mid-‘90s to rise to the level of superstar spitter from Brooklyn in the wake of Biggie’s passing, as in the dozen or so years since, AZ has slid to the ranks of notable ‘90s emcees with legacies dwarfed by the large-looming shadow of Hov.
“It been a lot of slack on my side, just from a lot of shit, from political to business,” AZ admitted of the missteps in response to misfortunes that have led to his current career standing. “It’s just been a lot of slack and I’ve been pushed to the back in a sense just ‘cause my business ethics wasn’t in tune. Me being an artist I always was on point, but it’s different when you come into this game just having the talent. It’s a business, that’s why it say music business. So, I feel like I’m there now. And I feel like I can connect the past to the future and then take off from there.”
The future will hopefully be more generous to AZ than the past proved to be. Back in ’95, just two months after Raekwon’s purple tape unequivocally changed the game, The Visualiza’s defining debut comparatively flew under the radar save for its gold-certified single “Sugar Hill,” going unacknowledged by many at the time as being a classic full-length in its own right.
anye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
12.22.09 | by Paul W Arnold
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
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AZ wants the world to know that the back-to-back releases this past June of Legendary and G.O.D. (Gold Oil And Diamonds) were not intended to be viewed as part of the formal Visualiza discography.
“Them wasn’t albums; them was mixtapes,” AZ clarified to HipHopDX last Friday (December 18th). “I do wanna state that too, ‘cause everybody thought that [Legendary] was a album. I wouldn’t do no album without promoting – radio or something. No, no way.”
Both efforts emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere via two California-based labels, Real Talk and Siccness, the products of one-off deals that AZ himself admits lacked his full and complete commitment to their construction.
“If you listen to it, it’s freestyles,” said Sosa of the rhymes heard on the at best adequate releases. “They’re not even songs; they’re not complete songs… I just picked a few beats and [did] a 16 to [‘em].”
Unfortunately, efforts like these tend to clutter an artist’s catalog and confuse fans as to which releases are intended to be viewed as proper albums and which are not.
“People always complain [that] you gotta keep your name out there and your presence up [though],” AZ retorted in response to the above statement. “And I think that’s basically what I was trying to do to connect what I did last to what I’m getting ready to do, and just keep the notoriety ‘cause it’s so [many] fuckin’ artists out there, so much shit going on and everybody – It’s just like a free-for-all right now.”
Thankfully for fans of clever multisyllabic rhyming over classic ‘90s Hip Hop tracks, AZ is about to elbow his way to the top of that currently overcrowded field of artists in the way longtime supporters of The Visualiza have been dreaming of for 14 years by releasing Doe Or Die 2.
Hot on the heels of Raekwon’s critically-acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, AZ is attempting to do in 2010 what Rae successfully pulled off in 2009 and release a sequel as stellar as its original. But in his discussion with DX, AZ made it clear that he isn’t biting Rae’s blueprint to career resurrection, as while he praised Rae’s part dos and its ability to connect two different generations of Hip Hop listeners, AZ also noted that he is as well-deserving an artist of following-up his own standout 1995 debut.
“It influenced me to an extent,” he respectfully conceded of the affect OB4CL2 had on the creation of DOD2, “but the part two’s and three’s been going on since [The] Blueprint to [now with] Tha Carter. There’s been so many [part] two’s, three’s and sequels, even from Illmatic to Stillmatic… I’m a sword-thrower myself, so I played a part in me [being] able to do a part two. So that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m just trying to connect the past with the future, and etch my name in stone in this Hip Hop game too.”
In the same summer of 1995 that spawned Rae’s classic purple tape, after having arguably stolen the show a year prior on friend Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch,” and riding high on the success of his own single “Sugar Hill,” The Visualiza was on equal footing as The Chef as one of the top five rotten apple rhymers, in the same company as The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. Even a year later, in the months following the release of Reasonable Doubt, the name AZ was more known to the masses than Jay-Z. But it seems that fate would allow for only one of the two smooth-rhyming Brooklynites on the mic in the mid-‘90s to rise to the level of superstar spitter from Brooklyn in the wake of Biggie’s passing, as in the dozen or so years since, AZ has slid to the ranks of notable ‘90s emcees with legacies dwarfed by the large-looming shadow of Hov.
“It been a lot of slack on my side, just from a lot of shit, from political to business,” AZ admitted of the missteps in response to misfortunes that have led to his current career standing. “It’s just been a lot of slack and I’ve been pushed to the back in a sense just ‘cause my business ethics wasn’t in tune. Me being an artist I always was on point, but it’s different when you come into this game just having the talent. It’s a business, that’s why it say music business. So, I feel like I’m there now. And I feel like I can connect the past to the future and then take off from there.”
The future will hopefully be more generous to AZ than the past proved to be. Back in ’95, just two months after Raekwon’s purple tape unequivocally changed the game, The Visualiza’s defining debut comparatively flew under the radar save for its gold-certified single “Sugar Hill,” going unacknowledged by many at the time as being a classic full-length in its own right.
“I can’t be mad,” said Sosa of his then underappreciated debut. “I still went gold, but it was under the radar for the notoriety that – I was a co-defendant to one of the so-called kings of New York. As far as saying Nas was the King of New York lyricism-wise, I’m his co-defendant so I should be known for what I brought to the table. ‘Cause not anybody could be his co-defendant at the end of the day, so I feel like I put my work in. And [so] it kinda went under the radar, but I built my own fanbase and I’m still able to be here and learn some business through the whole process, so it was cool.”
“But here’s the funny shit,” he continued. “I was taking Rap serious but I wasn’t taking it that serious as so many of New York’s so-called artists [as they] came in the game. This was their life, their whole vision. It wasn’t my whole life, my whole vision. I was doing it, but other things was going on in my life. When this came into my life it was a blessing at the same time, so I was like on-the-job training. You gotta understand, this is my first album…everything is from scratch. I had no intentions of being on Illmatic, that wasn’t my goal, it just happened. I had no intentions of doing Doe Or Die, these things fell in my lap. So I just played the cards that I was dealt.”
Longtime followers are surely wondering if fourteen years later AZ will be dealing from the same stylistic deck used for his debut. So how much of DOD2 will be a continuation of the themes and direction of DOD1?
“Well I’ma throw the same energy [behind it],” he replied when asked. “Nothing's gonna be like a mirror reflection of it, but it’s gonna show me in the present day time…and how I feel, ‘cause I feel like it’s doe or die right now. The game is so different and you have to be strong to survive even this long. So I take my hats off to the Rae’s, to the whole Wu, to…ya know just Mobb Deep, just a Jay-Z. Hov came from that era. [They’re] still doing it [while] a lot of people fell to the waste side. You need to have the hunger to wanna do this, to still be able to compete.”
AZ will be competing with his contemporaries by going back to the future and lessening his laidback playa delivery of recent years to revisit his onetime signature multisyllabic-style that spawned a slew of emulators in the mid-‘90s, maybe most notably of which being Eminem on his pre-Slim Shady 1996 independent debut, Infinite.
“No doubt, guaranteed,” replied AZ when asked if he’ll be taking it back to his multi origins on DOD2. “That’s guranteed. [But you know] some people say [that rhyme style is] outdated to an extent, because a lot of people want you to dumb-down your music. But, if you doing it for a set audience, and you got your hardcore audience…I gotta give ‘em what they want.”
AZ promised to DX that the wicked wordplay he displayed on the superb lyrical exercise B-side to “Sugar Hill” will definitely make its way to his new album.
“Oh guaranteed, me and Pete in the studio now,” AZ replied when asked if a “Rather Unique Pt. 2” might be in the works for DOD2. “Guaranteed, [me and] Pete Rock, we in the studio now. I’ma do more than one joint [with Pete].”
anye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
12.22.09 | by Paul W Arnold
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
Share
This Page
*
Twitter
*
Share on Facebook
*
MySpace
*
AZ wants the world to know that the back-to-back releases this past June of Legendary and G.O.D. (Gold Oil And Diamonds) were not intended to be viewed as part of the formal Visualiza discography.
“Them wasn’t albums; them was mixtapes,” AZ clarified to HipHopDX last Friday (December 18th). “I do wanna state that too, ‘cause everybody thought that [Legendary] was a album. I wouldn’t do no album without promoting – radio or something. No, no way.”
Both efforts emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere via two California-based labels, Real Talk and Siccness, the products of one-off deals that AZ himself admits lacked his full and complete commitment to their construction.
“If you listen to it, it’s freestyles,” said Sosa of the rhymes heard on the at best adequate releases. “They’re not even songs; they’re not complete songs… I just picked a few beats and [did] a 16 to [‘em].”
Unfortunately, efforts like these tend to clutter an artist’s catalog and confuse fans as to which releases are intended to be viewed as proper albums and which are not.
“People always complain [that] you gotta keep your name out there and your presence up [though],” AZ retorted in response to the above statement. “And I think that’s basically what I was trying to do to connect what I did last to what I’m getting ready to do, and just keep the notoriety ‘cause it’s so [many] fuckin’ artists out there, so much shit going on and everybody – It’s just like a free-for-all right now.”
Thankfully for fans of clever multisyllabic rhyming over classic ‘90s Hip Hop tracks, AZ is about to elbow his way to the top of that currently overcrowded field of artists in the way longtime supporters of The Visualiza have been dreaming of for 14 years by releasing Doe Or Die 2.
Hot on the heels of Raekwon’s critically-acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, AZ is attempting to do in 2010 what Rae successfully pulled off in 2009 and release a sequel as stellar as its original. But in his discussion with DX, AZ made it clear that he isn’t biting Rae’s blueprint to career resurrection, as while he praised Rae’s part dos and its ability to connect two different generations of Hip Hop listeners, AZ also noted that he is as well-deserving an artist of following-up his own standout 1995 debut.
“It influenced me to an extent,” he respectfully conceded of the affect OB4CL2 had on the creation of DOD2, “but the part two’s and three’s been going on since [The] Blueprint to [now with] Tha Carter. There’s been so many [part] two’s, three’s and sequels, even from Illmatic to Stillmatic… I’m a sword-thrower myself, so I played a part in me [being] able to do a part two. So that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m just trying to connect the past with the future, and etch my name in stone in this Hip Hop game too.”
In the same summer of 1995 that spawned Rae’s classic purple tape, after having arguably stolen the show a year prior on friend Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch,” and riding high on the success of his own single “Sugar Hill,” The Visualiza was on equal footing as The Chef as one of the top five rotten apple rhymers, in the same company as The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. Even a year later, in the months following the release of Reasonable Doubt, the name AZ was more known to the masses than Jay-Z. But it seems that fate would allow for only one of the two smooth-rhyming Brooklynites on the mic in the mid-‘90s to rise to the level of superstar spitter from Brooklyn in the wake of Biggie’s passing, as in the dozen or so years since, AZ has slid to the ranks of notable ‘90s emcees with legacies dwarfed by the large-looming shadow of Hov.
“It been a lot of slack on my side, just from a lot of shit, from political to business,” AZ admitted of the missteps in response to misfortunes that have led to his current career standing. “It’s just been a lot of slack and I’ve been pushed to the back in a sense just ‘cause my business ethics wasn’t in tune. Me being an artist I always was on point, but it’s different when you come into this game just having the talent. It’s a business, that’s why it say music business. So, I feel like I’m there now. And I feel like I can connect the past to the future and then take off from there.”
The future will hopefully be more generous to AZ than the past proved to be. Back in ’95, just two months after Raekwon’s purple tape unequivocally changed the game, The Visualiza’s defining debut comparatively flew under the radar save for its gold-certified single “Sugar Hill,” going unacknowledged by many at the time as being a classic full-length in its own right.
“I can’t be mad,” said Sosa of his then underappreciated debut. “I still went gold, but it was under the radar for the notoriety that – I was a co-defendant to one of the so-called kings of New York. As far as saying Nas was the King of New York lyricism-wise, I’m his co-defendant so I should be known for what I brought to the table. ‘Cause not anybody could be his co-defendant at the end of the day, so I feel like I put my work in. And [so] it kinda went under the radar, but I built my own fanbase and I’m still able to be here and learn some business through the whole process, so it was cool.”
“But here’s the funny shit,” he continued. “I was taking Rap serious but I wasn’t taking it that serious as so many of New York’s so-called artists [as they] came in the game. This was their life, their whole vision. It wasn’t my whole life, my whole vision. I was doing it, but other things was going on in my life. When this came into my life it was a blessing at the same time, so I was like on-the-job training. You gotta understand, this is my first album…everything is from scratch. I had no intentions of being on Illmatic, that wasn’t my goal, it just happened. I had no intentions of doing Doe Or Die, these things fell in my lap. So I just played the cards that I was dealt.”
Longtime followers are surely wondering if fourteen years later AZ will be dealing from the same stylistic deck used for his debut. So how much of DOD2 will be a continuation of the themes and direction of DOD1?
“Well I’ma throw the same energy [behind it],” he replied when asked. “Nothing's gonna be like a mirror reflection of it, but it’s gonna show me in the present day time…and how I feel, ‘cause I feel like it’s doe or die right now. The game is so different and you have to be strong to survive even this long. So I take my hats off to the Rae’s, to the whole Wu, to…ya know just Mobb Deep, just a Jay-Z. Hov came from that era. [They’re] still doing it [while] a lot of people fell to the waste side. You need to have the hunger to wanna do this, to still be able to compete.”
AZ will be competing with his contemporaries by going back to the future and lessening his laidback playa delivery of recent years to revisit his onetime signature multisyllabic-style that spawned a slew of emulators in the mid-‘90s, maybe most notably of which being Eminem on his pre-Slim Shady 1996 independent debut, Infinite.
“No doubt, guaranteed,” replied AZ when asked if he’ll be taking it back to his multi origins on DOD2. “That’s guranteed. [But you know] some people say [that rhyme style is] outdated to an extent, because a lot of people want you to dumb-down your music. But, if you doing it for a set audience, and you got your hardcore audience…I gotta give ‘em what they want.”
AZ promised to DX that the wicked wordplay he displayed on the superb lyrical exercise B-side to “Sugar Hill” will definitely make its way to his new album.
“Oh guaranteed, me and Pete in the studio now,” AZ replied when asked if a “Rather Unique Pt. 2” might be in the works for DOD2. “Guaranteed, [me and] Pete Rock, we in the studio now. I’ma do more than one joint [with Pete].”
Having crafted the light jazz-tinged “Rather Unique” and the smooth, piano-tickled “Gimme Yours” (which sported some memorable off-kilter singing from Nas on the song’s hook), news of Pete Rock’s participation in the creation of DOD2 will be welcome news to any AZ fan. Additionally welcomed was AZ’s confirmation to DX that the remaining trackmasters behind the original Doe Or Die are currently being recruited for the sequel.
“Buckwild’s on board,” he revealed. “I spoke to L.E.S., I spoke to D/R [Period], I spoke to them, they all there. At the same time, I wanna bring newcomers to the table.”
Maybe surprising to some, one of the new sonic architects on board for the East New York native’s re-up will be Atlanta’s own DJ Toomp.
“I’m gonna get some joints from him,” AZ revealed of his plans to work with T.I.’s sonic supplier. “I spoke to him. I’m trying to reach out to Dr. Dre. I’m trying to make this epic too, like just bring everything to a full circle. So I’m gonna [reach back] into the past, but I’m also gonna bring it to the future.”
“I even need a joint from Kanye,” he further revealed, “I gotta knock on his door. I’m gonna knock on his door real soon.”
The collaborator Hip Hop heads are most interested to know if AZ will be knocking on the door of anytime soon is the sole big-name guest emcee from the original Doe Or Die, for a possible sequel to the crime-rhyme classic “Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide.”
“I got a record so gangsta for homie,” said Sosa of his plans to reunite on wax with Nas. “I know he’s going through it [dealing with personal issues right now], but this is my message to the homie, c’mon and let’s keep it going, what don’t kill us makes us stronger. We don’t speak as much [as we used to], but I’m a stand-up dude and we from that stand-up era, so he know what it is. Tell him c’mon out of the cage and get with his boy. That’s my word to him. [Unfortunately] I gotta speak via interview to reach him.”
Classic collaborations on cuts from one another’s albums, from the aforementioned “Life’s A Bitch” to “How Ya Livin’” to “The Flyest” to “The Esscence” previously displayed a seamlessly smooth chemistry between the two. Unfortunately for their fans, the duo have not officially worked together in the over five years since “Serious,” which was inexplicably cut from Nas’ ’04 double-disc Street’s Disciple.
Whether or not Nas is receptive to AZ’s message and gets back with his boy, AZ is already proving that he is more than capable of holding down 100% of the mic duties on Doe Or Die 2. No further proof of his still-sharp lyrical sword is needed beyond “I’m Ill" The recently leaked joint is surprisingly – given its rugged ‘90s-esque energy and impressive display of shit-talking lyricism – just a warm-up cut that likely won’t make it to the final tracklisting for DOD2.
“That’s not the official jump off [for Doe Or Die 2],” AZ revealed to DX. “I just put that out ‘cause I just wanted to [get] the awareness up that it’s coming. It’s just something that I leaked out. It’s something that I got off my chest. It wasn’t nothing… It’s just something I’m just teasing ‘em with right now.”
AZ is aiming for a May/June 2010 release of DOD2, but the official street date will depend on the distribution situation for the highly-anticipated album. The former EMI, Virgin, Motown and Koch Records artist, who has also negotiated several side deals with various independent distributors in recent years for unreleased and rare collections via his own Quiet Money Recordings, is determined to find the right home for the sequel to his classic debut.
“I got a few things on the table right now,” he revealed. “But my options are still open, just because I feel like it should be. I been in so many situations from majors to independents. I’m a free agent right now, it feels good. And I kinda always been a free agent kinda sorta ‘cause I always do my one-off [deals] anyway. I always was smart in the business. I own all my publishing. I own all my masters.”
The savvy entrepreneur is expanding his marketing approach to finally include a bigger Internet presence via the New Year’s Day launching of HeyAZ.com, which will be The Visualiza’s version of ThisIs50.com and that will allow for fans to interact with the legendary lyricist.
The site is named for AZ’s summer ’97 single featuring then sensations SWV that proved to be ill-timed as Mariah Carey’s single that summer, “Honey,” boasted the same “Hey DJ” sample used for “Hey AZ” and subsequently suppressed what would have likely been AZ’s second hit following “Sugar Hill” if not for the inadvertent competition between the two similar-sounding songs.
That kind of unpredictable misfortune has befallen AZ at different times throughout his 15 years in the Rap game. But the Visualiza is still “destined to live the dream” as he famously noted on his career-launching verse from “Life’s A Bitch,” and is undeterred in his mission to succeed as he explained, “For those that think it’s a sprint [in this business], it’s really a marathon. We’ll see who really wins at the end.”
hiphopdx.com
AZ wants the world to know that the back-to-back releases this past June of Legendary and G.O.D. (Gold Oil And Diamonds) were not intended to be viewed as part of the formal Visualiza discography.
“Them wasn’t albums; them was mixtapes,” AZ clarified to HipHopDX last Friday (December 18th). “I do wanna state that too, ‘cause everybody thought that [Legendary] was a album. I wouldn’t do no album without promoting – radio or something. No, no way.”
Both efforts emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere via two California-based labels, Real Talk and Siccness, the products of one-off deals that AZ himself admits lacked his full and complete commitment to their construction.
“If you listen to it, it’s freestyles,” said Sosa of the rhymes heard on the at best adequate releases. “They’re not even songs; they’re not complete songs… I just picked a few beats and [did] a 16 to [‘em].”
Unfortunately, efforts like these tend to clutter an artist’s catalog and confuse fans as to which releases are intended to be viewed as proper albums and which are not.
“People always complain [that] you gotta keep your name out there and your presence up [though],” AZ retorted in response to the above statement. “And I think that’s basically what I was trying to do to connect what I did last to what I’m getting ready to do, and just keep the notoriety ‘cause it’s so [many] fuckin’ artists out there, so much shit going on and everybody – It’s just like a free-for-all right now.”
Thankfully for fans of clever multisyllabic rhyming over classic ‘90s Hip Hop tracks, AZ is about to elbow his way to the top of that currently overcrowded field of artists in the way longtime supporters of The Visualiza have been dreaming of for 14 years by releasing Doe Or Die 2.
Hot on the heels of Raekwon’s critically-acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, AZ is attempting to do in 2010 what Rae successfully pulled off in 2009 and release a sequel as stellar as its original. But in his discussion with DX, AZ made it clear that he isn’t biting Rae’s blueprint to career resurrection, as while he praised Rae’s part dos and its ability to connect two different generations of Hip Hop listeners, AZ also noted that he is as well-deserving an artist of following-up his own standout 1995 debut.
“It influenced me to an extent,” he respectfully conceded of the affect OB4CL2 had on the creation of DOD2, “but the part two’s and three’s been going on since [The] Blueprint to [now with] Tha Carter. There’s been so many [part] two’s, three’s and sequels, even from Illmatic to Stillmatic… I’m a sword-thrower myself, so I played a part in me [being] able to do a part two. So that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m just trying to connect the past with the future, and etch my name in stone in this Hip Hop game too.”
In the same summer of 1995 that spawned Rae’s classic purple tape, after having arguably stolen the show a year prior on friend Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch,” and riding high on the success of his own single “Sugar Hill,” The Visualiza was on equal footing as The Chef as one of the top five rotten apple rhymers, in the same company as The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. Even a year later, in the months following the release of Reasonable Doubt, the name AZ was more known to the masses than Jay-Z. But it seems that fate would allow for only one of the two smooth-rhyming Brooklynites on the mic in the mid-‘90s to rise to the level of superstar spitter from Brooklyn in the wake of Biggie’s passing, as in the dozen or so years since, AZ has slid to the ranks of notable ‘90s emcees with legacies dwarfed by the large-looming shadow of Hov.
“It been a lot of slack on my side, just from a lot of shit, from political to business,” AZ admitted of the missteps in response to misfortunes that have led to his current career standing. “It’s just been a lot of slack and I’ve been pushed to the back in a sense just ‘cause my business ethics wasn’t in tune. Me being an artist I always was on point, but it’s different when you come into this game just having the talent. It’s a business, that’s why it say music business. So, I feel like I’m there now. And I feel like I can connect the past to the future and then take off from there.”
The future will hopefully be more generous to AZ than the past proved to be. Back in ’95, just two months after Raekwon’s purple tape unequivocally changed the game, The Visualiza’s defining debut comparatively flew under the radar save for its gold-certified single “Sugar Hill,” going unacknowledged by many at the time as being a classic full-length in its own right.
anye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
12.22.09 | by Paul W Arnold
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
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AZ wants the world to know that the back-to-back releases this past June of Legendary and G.O.D. (Gold Oil And Diamonds) were not intended to be viewed as part of the formal Visualiza discography.
“Them wasn’t albums; them was mixtapes,” AZ clarified to HipHopDX last Friday (December 18th). “I do wanna state that too, ‘cause everybody thought that [Legendary] was a album. I wouldn’t do no album without promoting – radio or something. No, no way.”
Both efforts emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere via two California-based labels, Real Talk and Siccness, the products of one-off deals that AZ himself admits lacked his full and complete commitment to their construction.
“If you listen to it, it’s freestyles,” said Sosa of the rhymes heard on the at best adequate releases. “They’re not even songs; they’re not complete songs… I just picked a few beats and [did] a 16 to [‘em].”
Unfortunately, efforts like these tend to clutter an artist’s catalog and confuse fans as to which releases are intended to be viewed as proper albums and which are not.
“People always complain [that] you gotta keep your name out there and your presence up [though],” AZ retorted in response to the above statement. “And I think that’s basically what I was trying to do to connect what I did last to what I’m getting ready to do, and just keep the notoriety ‘cause it’s so [many] fuckin’ artists out there, so much shit going on and everybody – It’s just like a free-for-all right now.”
Thankfully for fans of clever multisyllabic rhyming over classic ‘90s Hip Hop tracks, AZ is about to elbow his way to the top of that currently overcrowded field of artists in the way longtime supporters of The Visualiza have been dreaming of for 14 years by releasing Doe Or Die 2.
Hot on the heels of Raekwon’s critically-acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, AZ is attempting to do in 2010 what Rae successfully pulled off in 2009 and release a sequel as stellar as its original. But in his discussion with DX, AZ made it clear that he isn’t biting Rae’s blueprint to career resurrection, as while he praised Rae’s part dos and its ability to connect two different generations of Hip Hop listeners, AZ also noted that he is as well-deserving an artist of following-up his own standout 1995 debut.
“It influenced me to an extent,” he respectfully conceded of the affect OB4CL2 had on the creation of DOD2, “but the part two’s and three’s been going on since [The] Blueprint to [now with] Tha Carter. There’s been so many [part] two’s, three’s and sequels, even from Illmatic to Stillmatic… I’m a sword-thrower myself, so I played a part in me [being] able to do a part two. So that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m just trying to connect the past with the future, and etch my name in stone in this Hip Hop game too.”
In the same summer of 1995 that spawned Rae’s classic purple tape, after having arguably stolen the show a year prior on friend Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch,” and riding high on the success of his own single “Sugar Hill,” The Visualiza was on equal footing as The Chef as one of the top five rotten apple rhymers, in the same company as The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. Even a year later, in the months following the release of Reasonable Doubt, the name AZ was more known to the masses than Jay-Z. But it seems that fate would allow for only one of the two smooth-rhyming Brooklynites on the mic in the mid-‘90s to rise to the level of superstar spitter from Brooklyn in the wake of Biggie’s passing, as in the dozen or so years since, AZ has slid to the ranks of notable ‘90s emcees with legacies dwarfed by the large-looming shadow of Hov.
“It been a lot of slack on my side, just from a lot of shit, from political to business,” AZ admitted of the missteps in response to misfortunes that have led to his current career standing. “It’s just been a lot of slack and I’ve been pushed to the back in a sense just ‘cause my business ethics wasn’t in tune. Me being an artist I always was on point, but it’s different when you come into this game just having the talent. It’s a business, that’s why it say music business. So, I feel like I’m there now. And I feel like I can connect the past to the future and then take off from there.”
The future will hopefully be more generous to AZ than the past proved to be. Back in ’95, just two months after Raekwon’s purple tape unequivocally changed the game, The Visualiza’s defining debut comparatively flew under the radar save for its gold-certified single “Sugar Hill,” going unacknowledged by many at the time as being a classic full-length in its own right.
“I can’t be mad,” said Sosa of his then underappreciated debut. “I still went gold, but it was under the radar for the notoriety that – I was a co-defendant to one of the so-called kings of New York. As far as saying Nas was the King of New York lyricism-wise, I’m his co-defendant so I should be known for what I brought to the table. ‘Cause not anybody could be his co-defendant at the end of the day, so I feel like I put my work in. And [so] it kinda went under the radar, but I built my own fanbase and I’m still able to be here and learn some business through the whole process, so it was cool.”
“But here’s the funny shit,” he continued. “I was taking Rap serious but I wasn’t taking it that serious as so many of New York’s so-called artists [as they] came in the game. This was their life, their whole vision. It wasn’t my whole life, my whole vision. I was doing it, but other things was going on in my life. When this came into my life it was a blessing at the same time, so I was like on-the-job training. You gotta understand, this is my first album…everything is from scratch. I had no intentions of being on Illmatic, that wasn’t my goal, it just happened. I had no intentions of doing Doe Or Die, these things fell in my lap. So I just played the cards that I was dealt.”
Longtime followers are surely wondering if fourteen years later AZ will be dealing from the same stylistic deck used for his debut. So how much of DOD2 will be a continuation of the themes and direction of DOD1?
“Well I’ma throw the same energy [behind it],” he replied when asked. “Nothing's gonna be like a mirror reflection of it, but it’s gonna show me in the present day time…and how I feel, ‘cause I feel like it’s doe or die right now. The game is so different and you have to be strong to survive even this long. So I take my hats off to the Rae’s, to the whole Wu, to…ya know just Mobb Deep, just a Jay-Z. Hov came from that era. [They’re] still doing it [while] a lot of people fell to the waste side. You need to have the hunger to wanna do this, to still be able to compete.”
AZ will be competing with his contemporaries by going back to the future and lessening his laidback playa delivery of recent years to revisit his onetime signature multisyllabic-style that spawned a slew of emulators in the mid-‘90s, maybe most notably of which being Eminem on his pre-Slim Shady 1996 independent debut, Infinite.
“No doubt, guaranteed,” replied AZ when asked if he’ll be taking it back to his multi origins on DOD2. “That’s guranteed. [But you know] some people say [that rhyme style is] outdated to an extent, because a lot of people want you to dumb-down your music. But, if you doing it for a set audience, and you got your hardcore audience…I gotta give ‘em what they want.”
AZ promised to DX that the wicked wordplay he displayed on the superb lyrical exercise B-side to “Sugar Hill” will definitely make its way to his new album.
“Oh guaranteed, me and Pete in the studio now,” AZ replied when asked if a “Rather Unique Pt. 2” might be in the works for DOD2. “Guaranteed, [me and] Pete Rock, we in the studio now. I’ma do more than one joint [with Pete].”
anye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
12.22.09 | by Paul W Arnold
AZ Wants Dr. Dre, Kanye West And Nas For Doe Or Die 2
Share
This Page
*
*
Share on Facebook
*
MySpace
*
AZ wants the world to know that the back-to-back releases this past June of Legendary and G.O.D. (Gold Oil And Diamonds) were not intended to be viewed as part of the formal Visualiza discography.
“Them wasn’t albums; them was mixtapes,” AZ clarified to HipHopDX last Friday (December 18th). “I do wanna state that too, ‘cause everybody thought that [Legendary] was a album. I wouldn’t do no album without promoting – radio or something. No, no way.”
Both efforts emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere via two California-based labels, Real Talk and Siccness, the products of one-off deals that AZ himself admits lacked his full and complete commitment to their construction.
“If you listen to it, it’s freestyles,” said Sosa of the rhymes heard on the at best adequate releases. “They’re not even songs; they’re not complete songs… I just picked a few beats and [did] a 16 to [‘em].”
Unfortunately, efforts like these tend to clutter an artist’s catalog and confuse fans as to which releases are intended to be viewed as proper albums and which are not.
“People always complain [that] you gotta keep your name out there and your presence up [though],” AZ retorted in response to the above statement. “And I think that’s basically what I was trying to do to connect what I did last to what I’m getting ready to do, and just keep the notoriety ‘cause it’s so [many] fuckin’ artists out there, so much shit going on and everybody – It’s just like a free-for-all right now.”
Thankfully for fans of clever multisyllabic rhyming over classic ‘90s Hip Hop tracks, AZ is about to elbow his way to the top of that currently overcrowded field of artists in the way longtime supporters of The Visualiza have been dreaming of for 14 years by releasing Doe Or Die 2.
Hot on the heels of Raekwon’s critically-acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II, AZ is attempting to do in 2010 what Rae successfully pulled off in 2009 and release a sequel as stellar as its original. But in his discussion with DX, AZ made it clear that he isn’t biting Rae’s blueprint to career resurrection, as while he praised Rae’s part dos and its ability to connect two different generations of Hip Hop listeners, AZ also noted that he is as well-deserving an artist of following-up his own standout 1995 debut.
“It influenced me to an extent,” he respectfully conceded of the affect OB4CL2 had on the creation of DOD2, “but the part two’s and three’s been going on since [The] Blueprint to [now with] Tha Carter. There’s been so many [part] two’s, three’s and sequels, even from Illmatic to Stillmatic… I’m a sword-thrower myself, so I played a part in me [being] able to do a part two. So that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m just trying to connect the past with the future, and etch my name in stone in this Hip Hop game too.”
In the same summer of 1995 that spawned Rae’s classic purple tape, after having arguably stolen the show a year prior on friend Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch,” and riding high on the success of his own single “Sugar Hill,” The Visualiza was on equal footing as The Chef as one of the top five rotten apple rhymers, in the same company as The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. Even a year later, in the months following the release of Reasonable Doubt, the name AZ was more known to the masses than Jay-Z. But it seems that fate would allow for only one of the two smooth-rhyming Brooklynites on the mic in the mid-‘90s to rise to the level of superstar spitter from Brooklyn in the wake of Biggie’s passing, as in the dozen or so years since, AZ has slid to the ranks of notable ‘90s emcees with legacies dwarfed by the large-looming shadow of Hov.
“It been a lot of slack on my side, just from a lot of shit, from political to business,” AZ admitted of the missteps in response to misfortunes that have led to his current career standing. “It’s just been a lot of slack and I’ve been pushed to the back in a sense just ‘cause my business ethics wasn’t in tune. Me being an artist I always was on point, but it’s different when you come into this game just having the talent. It’s a business, that’s why it say music business. So, I feel like I’m there now. And I feel like I can connect the past to the future and then take off from there.”
The future will hopefully be more generous to AZ than the past proved to be. Back in ’95, just two months after Raekwon’s purple tape unequivocally changed the game, The Visualiza’s defining debut comparatively flew under the radar save for its gold-certified single “Sugar Hill,” going unacknowledged by many at the time as being a classic full-length in its own right.
“I can’t be mad,” said Sosa of his then underappreciated debut. “I still went gold, but it was under the radar for the notoriety that – I was a co-defendant to one of the so-called kings of New York. As far as saying Nas was the King of New York lyricism-wise, I’m his co-defendant so I should be known for what I brought to the table. ‘Cause not anybody could be his co-defendant at the end of the day, so I feel like I put my work in. And [so] it kinda went under the radar, but I built my own fanbase and I’m still able to be here and learn some business through the whole process, so it was cool.”
“But here’s the funny shit,” he continued. “I was taking Rap serious but I wasn’t taking it that serious as so many of New York’s so-called artists [as they] came in the game. This was their life, their whole vision. It wasn’t my whole life, my whole vision. I was doing it, but other things was going on in my life. When this came into my life it was a blessing at the same time, so I was like on-the-job training. You gotta understand, this is my first album…everything is from scratch. I had no intentions of being on Illmatic, that wasn’t my goal, it just happened. I had no intentions of doing Doe Or Die, these things fell in my lap. So I just played the cards that I was dealt.”
Longtime followers are surely wondering if fourteen years later AZ will be dealing from the same stylistic deck used for his debut. So how much of DOD2 will be a continuation of the themes and direction of DOD1?
“Well I’ma throw the same energy [behind it],” he replied when asked. “Nothing's gonna be like a mirror reflection of it, but it’s gonna show me in the present day time…and how I feel, ‘cause I feel like it’s doe or die right now. The game is so different and you have to be strong to survive even this long. So I take my hats off to the Rae’s, to the whole Wu, to…ya know just Mobb Deep, just a Jay-Z. Hov came from that era. [They’re] still doing it [while] a lot of people fell to the waste side. You need to have the hunger to wanna do this, to still be able to compete.”
AZ will be competing with his contemporaries by going back to the future and lessening his laidback playa delivery of recent years to revisit his onetime signature multisyllabic-style that spawned a slew of emulators in the mid-‘90s, maybe most notably of which being Eminem on his pre-Slim Shady 1996 independent debut, Infinite.
“No doubt, guaranteed,” replied AZ when asked if he’ll be taking it back to his multi origins on DOD2. “That’s guranteed. [But you know] some people say [that rhyme style is] outdated to an extent, because a lot of people want you to dumb-down your music. But, if you doing it for a set audience, and you got your hardcore audience…I gotta give ‘em what they want.”
AZ promised to DX that the wicked wordplay he displayed on the superb lyrical exercise B-side to “Sugar Hill” will definitely make its way to his new album.
“Oh guaranteed, me and Pete in the studio now,” AZ replied when asked if a “Rather Unique Pt. 2” might be in the works for DOD2. “Guaranteed, [me and] Pete Rock, we in the studio now. I’ma do more than one joint [with Pete].”
Having crafted the light jazz-tinged “Rather Unique” and the smooth, piano-tickled “Gimme Yours” (which sported some memorable off-kilter singing from Nas on the song’s hook), news of Pete Rock’s participation in the creation of DOD2 will be welcome news to any AZ fan. Additionally welcomed was AZ’s confirmation to DX that the remaining trackmasters behind the original Doe Or Die are currently being recruited for the sequel.
“Buckwild’s on board,” he revealed. “I spoke to L.E.S., I spoke to D/R [Period], I spoke to them, they all there. At the same time, I wanna bring newcomers to the table.”
Maybe surprising to some, one of the new sonic architects on board for the East New York native’s re-up will be Atlanta’s own DJ Toomp.
“I’m gonna get some joints from him,” AZ revealed of his plans to work with T.I.’s sonic supplier. “I spoke to him. I’m trying to reach out to Dr. Dre. I’m trying to make this epic too, like just bring everything to a full circle. So I’m gonna [reach back] into the past, but I’m also gonna bring it to the future.”
“I even need a joint from Kanye,” he further revealed, “I gotta knock on his door. I’m gonna knock on his door real soon.”
The collaborator Hip Hop heads are most interested to know if AZ will be knocking on the door of anytime soon is the sole big-name guest emcee from the original Doe Or Die, for a possible sequel to the crime-rhyme classic “Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide.”
“I got a record so gangsta for homie,” said Sosa of his plans to reunite on wax with Nas. “I know he’s going through it [dealing with personal issues right now], but this is my message to the homie, c’mon and let’s keep it going, what don’t kill us makes us stronger. We don’t speak as much [as we used to], but I’m a stand-up dude and we from that stand-up era, so he know what it is. Tell him c’mon out of the cage and get with his boy. That’s my word to him. [Unfortunately] I gotta speak via interview to reach him.”
Classic collaborations on cuts from one another’s albums, from the aforementioned “Life’s A Bitch” to “How Ya Livin’” to “The Flyest” to “The Esscence” previously displayed a seamlessly smooth chemistry between the two. Unfortunately for their fans, the duo have not officially worked together in the over five years since “Serious,” which was inexplicably cut from Nas’ ’04 double-disc Street’s Disciple.
Whether or not Nas is receptive to AZ’s message and gets back with his boy, AZ is already proving that he is more than capable of holding down 100% of the mic duties on Doe Or Die 2. No further proof of his still-sharp lyrical sword is needed beyond “I’m Ill" The recently leaked joint is surprisingly – given its rugged ‘90s-esque energy and impressive display of shit-talking lyricism – just a warm-up cut that likely won’t make it to the final tracklisting for DOD2.
“That’s not the official jump off [for Doe Or Die 2],” AZ revealed to DX. “I just put that out ‘cause I just wanted to [get] the awareness up that it’s coming. It’s just something that I leaked out. It’s something that I got off my chest. It wasn’t nothing… It’s just something I’m just teasing ‘em with right now.”
AZ is aiming for a May/June 2010 release of DOD2, but the official street date will depend on the distribution situation for the highly-anticipated album. The former EMI, Virgin, Motown and Koch Records artist, who has also negotiated several side deals with various independent distributors in recent years for unreleased and rare collections via his own Quiet Money Recordings, is determined to find the right home for the sequel to his classic debut.
“I got a few things on the table right now,” he revealed. “But my options are still open, just because I feel like it should be. I been in so many situations from majors to independents. I’m a free agent right now, it feels good. And I kinda always been a free agent kinda sorta ‘cause I always do my one-off [deals] anyway. I always was smart in the business. I own all my publishing. I own all my masters.”
The savvy entrepreneur is expanding his marketing approach to finally include a bigger Internet presence via the New Year’s Day launching of HeyAZ.com, which will be The Visualiza’s version of ThisIs50.com and that will allow for fans to interact with the legendary lyricist.
The site is named for AZ’s summer ’97 single featuring then sensations SWV that proved to be ill-timed as Mariah Carey’s single that summer, “Honey,” boasted the same “Hey DJ” sample used for “Hey AZ” and subsequently suppressed what would have likely been AZ’s second hit following “Sugar Hill” if not for the inadvertent competition between the two similar-sounding songs.
That kind of unpredictable misfortune has befallen AZ at different times throughout his 15 years in the Rap game. But the Visualiza is still “destined to live the dream” as he famously noted on his career-launching verse from “Life’s A Bitch,” and is undeterred in his mission to succeed as he explained, “For those that think it’s a sprint [in this business], it’s really a marathon. We’ll see who really wins at the end.”
hiphopdx.com
Smif N Wessun & Pete Rock Album Confirmed For 2010
by Jake Paine
In their annual holiday card, Duck Down Records made some important announcements. The label, founded by Dru Ha and Black Moon's Buckshot will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2010. In honor of that, the thriving indie announced some of it's releases for the benchmark year.
After last week's confirmation of a Ruste Juxx & Marco Polo album The eXXecution, the label is also planning releases from Kidz In The Hall (The Land Of Make Believe), General Steele (Amerikkka's Nightmare Part 2) and Sean Price (Mic Tyson). With all but the last planned to be released in February and March, the Manhattan-based label did reveal that they will be both releasing Random Axe (Guilty Simpson, Sean Price and Black Milk's group), as well as rumored collaborative LP between Smif N Wessun and iconic Hip Hop producer and remixer Pete Rock.
In April, Steele told DX, "We’re excited about doing the project, this our fifth album. We thought about it, we were like ‘Alright, we can do it two ways: we can have Da Beatminerz do the album, or we can have Pete Rock do the album.’ We thought about, ‘Well, since Beatminerz is going to be doing the next Black Moon album, then we probably just need to do something a little different.”
He elaborated, “We couldn’t think of anyone else. There are a lot of producers that I respect, but it had to make sense. We didn’t want to reach for the stars, so to speak, and it seemed like we were trying to step out of being Smif-n-Wessun. Everybody knows we’re the grimy duo from Brooklyn, we all know that. We’re smoking, Timberland cats, but we also party, we’re also family, we’ve also got children, we’ve also got ladies."
A title and specific date has yet to be released.
hiphopdx.com
Nas’ "Legendary" To Be Considered For Academy Award
by Danielle Harling
Nas’ song “Legendary” from Tyson, the Mike Tyson documentary, could possibly be up for an Academy Award next year.
According to Vibe.com, early next year the Academy will begin to screen about 63 songs for the category of Best Original Song. Nominees for the category will not be revealed until February 2, 2010.
Nas' "Legendary" will be up against a number of worthy contenders including “Colorblind” (Invictus), "Cinema Italiano" (Nine), “Almost There” (The Princess And The Frog), and over 50 other songs.
Nas has yet to comment on the possibility of receiving an Academy Award nomination.
Released earlier this year, Tyson is a documentary that takes a deep look into the life of former undisputed heavy weight champion of the world boxer Mike Tyson. The film has received rave reviews and even won the Regard Knockout Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
hiphopdx.com
Nas’ song “Legendary” from Tyson, the Mike Tyson documentary, could possibly be up for an Academy Award next year.
According to Vibe.com, early next year the Academy will begin to screen about 63 songs for the category of Best Original Song. Nominees for the category will not be revealed until February 2, 2010.
Nas' "Legendary" will be up against a number of worthy contenders including “Colorblind” (Invictus), "Cinema Italiano" (Nine), “Almost There” (The Princess And The Frog), and over 50 other songs.
Nas has yet to comment on the possibility of receiving an Academy Award nomination.
Released earlier this year, Tyson is a documentary that takes a deep look into the life of former undisputed heavy weight champion of the world boxer Mike Tyson. The film has received rave reviews and even won the Regard Knockout Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
hiphopdx.com
T.I. Released From Prison, Heading To Halfway House
By Roman Wolfe
Atlanta rapper T.I. was officially been released from a low-security federal prison in Forrest City, Arkansas today (December 22).
The rapper, born Clifford Harris Jr., is expected to report to Dismas Charities Atlanta West correctional center tonight, where he will spend three months.
T.I. was sentenced to 366 days in prison after an October 2007 incident, in which federal agents caught him attempting to purchase three machine guns and two silencers.
The rapper, who faced up to 10 years, had given almost $21,000 in cash to a bodyguard who had illegally purchased as many as 25 guns on behalf of the Atlanta rapper just before the BET Awards.
As a convicted felon, T.I. is prohibited from purchasing or carrying a firearm.
In March of 2009, he pleaded guilty to several federal weapons violations and was sentenced to serve a year in prison, as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.
He was fined $100,000 and ordered to completed 1,000 hours of community service prior to his jail time, which was documented on the MTV reality show, T.I.: The Road to Redemption.
After he has finished his stay at Dismas Charities Atlanta West, the rapper must complete 500 hours of community service, in addition to another 23 days of house arrest.
T.I. is expected to work during the three months he is confined to the halfway house, according to reports.
allhiphop.com
Bone Thug's Give Fans Free Music For Christmas; Talk New Album
By Nolan Strong
Cleveland rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony will give their fans a Christmas this year with the release of the FixTape Vol 3: Special Delivery.
The mixtape was slated to be released today (December 22), but the group delayed the album to ensure fans received the highest quality of material from the group.
The FixTape Vol 3: Special Delivery will now be released on December 25th as a present to the group’s longtime fan base.
"We decided to release this project on the day that our fan family are celebrating a day of giving special deliveries to their loved ones, Dec 25,2009,” Layzie Bone told AllHipHop.com. “Initially we planned to release it on Dec 22,2009 (and we still are going to give them one song) but we want to give them our total gift on a much more meaningful day to them."
Various members of the group will reveal more details about the mixtape on their website BTNHBoard.com and during a live Ustream event later today.
Group member Flesh-n-Bone expressed enthusiasm about the direction of Bone’s mixtape and album, Uni5: The World’s Enemy.
Last week, the group released snippets of the album, which has a planned release date in March.
“It feels good to be back as a full family and team with my brothers after all the years apart from one another,” Flesh-n-Bone told AllHipHop.com. “We have been working at a steady and focused pace. One day at a time, one fan at a time we are working hard to truly give the world a special delivery on March 2, 2010. Stay ready so you won't have to get ready."
allhiphop.com
Cleveland rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony will give their fans a Christmas this year with the release of the FixTape Vol 3: Special Delivery.
The mixtape was slated to be released today (December 22), but the group delayed the album to ensure fans received the highest quality of material from the group.
The FixTape Vol 3: Special Delivery will now be released on December 25th as a present to the group’s longtime fan base.
"We decided to release this project on the day that our fan family are celebrating a day of giving special deliveries to their loved ones, Dec 25,2009,” Layzie Bone told AllHipHop.com. “Initially we planned to release it on Dec 22,2009 (and we still are going to give them one song) but we want to give them our total gift on a much more meaningful day to them."
Various members of the group will reveal more details about the mixtape on their website BTNHBoard.com and during a live Ustream event later today.
Group member Flesh-n-Bone expressed enthusiasm about the direction of Bone’s mixtape and album, Uni5: The World’s Enemy.
Last week, the group released snippets of the album, which has a planned release date in March.
“It feels good to be back as a full family and team with my brothers after all the years apart from one another,” Flesh-n-Bone told AllHipHop.com. “We have been working at a steady and focused pace. One day at a time, one fan at a time we are working hard to truly give the world a special delivery on March 2, 2010. Stay ready so you won't have to get ready."
allhiphop.com
Beanie Sigel In Car Accident
By Houston Williams
Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel was injured in a car accident last night, reps say.
Representatives for Sigel maintain a large tractor trailer truck ran his vehicle off the road. Sigel was not the driver of the car and sustained injuries.
The full breadth of those injuries is unknown, as is the exact location of the accident.
AllHipHop.com will continue to offer developments on Beanie Sigel's status.
AllHipHop.com
Buckshot To Judge Hip Hop Karaoke Championship In NY
By Roman Wolfe
Veteran rapper Buckshot of Duck Down Records will be one of the judges during the 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship in New York this January, AllHipHop.com has confirmed.
Buckshot will judge 12 of Hip Hop Karaoke’s best practitioners battling for cash in front of a celebrity panel of judges.
Two regional championships were held over the past month. Only the highest scoring competitors advanced to the championship event, which takes place at Irving Plaza on January 29th.
"I'm excited to be given the privilege to judge the 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship,” Buckshot told AllHipHop.com. “There is nothing harder in the business than getting up on that stage and performing to the masses. It takes awareness, confidence, clarity and, most importantly, breath control. These challengers are also faced with the obstacle of making the crowd believers. I'm anxious to see what songs each contestant will select to perform and if he/she will own that selection."
After three rounds, one person will be crowned Hip Hop Karaoke Champion and claim the grand prize of $1,000 cash.
Judges in the past have included Prince Paul, Video Music Box’s Ralph McDaniels and Dres of Black Sheep, while legends like Pete Rock, Jeru The Damaja, Rhymefest and Big Daddy Kane have attended the event.
allhiphop.com
Veteran rapper Buckshot of Duck Down Records will be one of the judges during the 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship in New York this January, AllHipHop.com has confirmed.
Buckshot will judge 12 of Hip Hop Karaoke’s best practitioners battling for cash in front of a celebrity panel of judges.
Two regional championships were held over the past month. Only the highest scoring competitors advanced to the championship event, which takes place at Irving Plaza on January 29th.
"I'm excited to be given the privilege to judge the 2010 Hip Hop Karaoke Championship,” Buckshot told AllHipHop.com. “There is nothing harder in the business than getting up on that stage and performing to the masses. It takes awareness, confidence, clarity and, most importantly, breath control. These challengers are also faced with the obstacle of making the crowd believers. I'm anxious to see what songs each contestant will select to perform and if he/she will own that selection."
After three rounds, one person will be crowned Hip Hop Karaoke Champion and claim the grand prize of $1,000 cash.
Judges in the past have included Prince Paul, Video Music Box’s Ralph McDaniels and Dres of Black Sheep, while legends like Pete Rock, Jeru The Damaja, Rhymefest and Big Daddy Kane have attended the event.
allhiphop.com
Busta Rhymes and Akon Contribute to Bury Unclaimed Deceased Detroit Residents
By Chris Richburg
Busta Rhymes may be known for his lively stage persona, but the Flipmode Squad leader has put his energy towards a different cause by supporting former Universal/Motown Records music executive Shanti Das’ efforts to bury unclaimed deceased residents of Detroit.
Rhymes, along with R&B hitmaker Akon, were among the artists who helped Das raise more than $20,000 for May We Rest in Peace, a recently launched initiative designed to aid those who cannot afford to properly lay their loved ones to rest.
To date, the nonprofit organization has been able to cover 20 burials in Detroit in its first two months of existence.
May We Rest in Peace resulted from Das’ desire to help the city of Detroit after reading a CNN Money story about the location’s struggle to handle it’s growing number of unclaimed bodies.
The story, which came out in October, highlighted Detroit’s economic hardship as it noted the increasing number of unclaimed bodies piling up in the city’s morgue freezer, some of whom have been dead for up to five years.
Realizing the financial challenge for loved ones as well as her own experience of paying to bury deceased family members, Das launched May We Rest in October.
While she is not from Detroit, the music executive found a common thread with which to create her organization.
“What if it was my mother, father, or loved one lying there in the morgue and I couldn’t afford to properly lay them to rest?” Das explained. “There were just a lot of things that hit home for me, and I just wanted to immediately take action.”
Within weeks of starting May We Rest, Das provided burials for six of Detroit’s unclaimed deceased amid raising $6,000 via early support from family, friends and loved ones as well as donors such as Rhymes, Akon and the Kid Rock Foundation in the name of Detroit Clothing Company.
The support of the entertainers and the community has impacted the number of unburied bodies in Detroit, which is now down to 50.
allhiphop.com
Busta Rhymes may be known for his lively stage persona, but the Flipmode Squad leader has put his energy towards a different cause by supporting former Universal/Motown Records music executive Shanti Das’ efforts to bury unclaimed deceased residents of Detroit.
Rhymes, along with R&B hitmaker Akon, were among the artists who helped Das raise more than $20,000 for May We Rest in Peace, a recently launched initiative designed to aid those who cannot afford to properly lay their loved ones to rest.
To date, the nonprofit organization has been able to cover 20 burials in Detroit in its first two months of existence.
May We Rest in Peace resulted from Das’ desire to help the city of Detroit after reading a CNN Money story about the location’s struggle to handle it’s growing number of unclaimed bodies.
The story, which came out in October, highlighted Detroit’s economic hardship as it noted the increasing number of unclaimed bodies piling up in the city’s morgue freezer, some of whom have been dead for up to five years.
Realizing the financial challenge for loved ones as well as her own experience of paying to bury deceased family members, Das launched May We Rest in October.
While she is not from Detroit, the music executive found a common thread with which to create her organization.
“What if it was my mother, father, or loved one lying there in the morgue and I couldn’t afford to properly lay them to rest?” Das explained. “There were just a lot of things that hit home for me, and I just wanted to immediately take action.”
Within weeks of starting May We Rest, Das provided burials for six of Detroit’s unclaimed deceased amid raising $6,000 via early support from family, friends and loved ones as well as donors such as Rhymes, Akon and the Kid Rock Foundation in the name of Detroit Clothing Company.
The support of the entertainers and the community has impacted the number of unburied bodies in Detroit, which is now down to 50.
allhiphop.com
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Eminem Crowned Biggest-Selling Artist In Past 10 Years, Sold Over 32 Mil Albums
Written by Rosario Harper
Grammy-winning rapper Eminem has sold more than 32 million albums over the past ten years making him the biggest-selling artist of the decade.
Click here to find out more!
According to a Nielsen Soundscan report, Eminem has dominated album sales for the past decade despite only releasing three solo albums.
Em sold more than 32.2 million albums in the 2000s, edging out the Beatles to claim the title of top-selling artist. The Beatles ended up with the decade's best-selling album (they sold nearly 11.5 million copies of 2000's greatest-hits comp 1,) besting the likes of 'NSYNC's No Strings Attached (11.1 million copies sold) and Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, (10.5 million). Eminem was the only artist to place two albums on the list; his The Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem Show records landed at #4 and 5, selling 10.2 million and 9.8 million copies, respectively. Interestingly, of the top 10 albums of the decade, the most recently released is Usher's Confessions, which came out in 2004. (MTV)
Reports earlier this fall showed Em out-selling rappers Jay-Z and Nelly.
1. Eminem, 31,127,000. First charted: 1999. Eminem, 36, is the top male artist and the top rap artist so far in this decade. His 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP is his best-seller. It has sold 10,178,000 copies. 7. Nelly, 21,206,000. First charted: 2000. Nelly, 34, is the #1 new artist to emerge in this decade, edging out Linkin Park. He's also the #1 African American artist, edging out Jay-Z, and the #2 rap artist. Nelly's 2000 debut, Country Grammar, is his best-selling album. It has sold 8,454,000 copies. 10. Jay-Z, 19,379,000. First charted: 1996. Jay-Z, 39, is the #3 rap artist of the decade. 2003's The Black Album is his best-selling album of this decade. It has sold 3,338,000 copies. Jay-Z was the #152 album-selling act of the '90s. (Yahoo News)
His marketing strategy behind the 2009 comeback album Relapse was previously released to the media.
While Eminem hasn't relied exclusively on Twitter to get the word out, the effort has produced some impressive results. According to Compete, Eminem.com reached 113,868 unique visitors during April, while the most popular of his tweets -- which linked to TheRelapse.com on May 7 -- reached at least 41,704 people within just one week, according to an analysis of data provided to AdAge by Tweetreach. And data provided by Native Digital, the start-up behind music-buzz tracker We Are Hunted, suggest that Eminem was the most-talked-about artist on Twitter last week, the week before the album's release. (Ad Age)
Despite his decade success, the rapper had his first-week sales record broken by Scottish singer Susan Boyle last week.
Scottish singer Susan Boyle, known for appearing on "Britain's Got Talent" reality show, has debuted atop the charts at I Dreamed a Dream secured the number one spot this week. The international star's debut has sold 700,800 after one week in stores. Eminem's Relapse scanned 608,000 units in the week ending May 24. (Sales Wrap)
sohh.com
Grammy-winning rapper Eminem has sold more than 32 million albums over the past ten years making him the biggest-selling artist of the decade.
Click here to find out more!
According to a Nielsen Soundscan report, Eminem has dominated album sales for the past decade despite only releasing three solo albums.
Em sold more than 32.2 million albums in the 2000s, edging out the Beatles to claim the title of top-selling artist. The Beatles ended up with the decade's best-selling album (they sold nearly 11.5 million copies of 2000's greatest-hits comp 1,) besting the likes of 'NSYNC's No Strings Attached (11.1 million copies sold) and Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, (10.5 million). Eminem was the only artist to place two albums on the list; his The Marshall Mathers LP and Eminem Show records landed at #4 and 5, selling 10.2 million and 9.8 million copies, respectively. Interestingly, of the top 10 albums of the decade, the most recently released is Usher's Confessions, which came out in 2004. (MTV)
Reports earlier this fall showed Em out-selling rappers Jay-Z and Nelly.
1. Eminem, 31,127,000. First charted: 1999. Eminem, 36, is the top male artist and the top rap artist so far in this decade. His 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP is his best-seller. It has sold 10,178,000 copies. 7. Nelly, 21,206,000. First charted: 2000. Nelly, 34, is the #1 new artist to emerge in this decade, edging out Linkin Park. He's also the #1 African American artist, edging out Jay-Z, and the #2 rap artist. Nelly's 2000 debut, Country Grammar, is his best-selling album. It has sold 8,454,000 copies. 10. Jay-Z, 19,379,000. First charted: 1996. Jay-Z, 39, is the #3 rap artist of the decade. 2003's The Black Album is his best-selling album of this decade. It has sold 3,338,000 copies. Jay-Z was the #152 album-selling act of the '90s. (Yahoo News)
His marketing strategy behind the 2009 comeback album Relapse was previously released to the media.
While Eminem hasn't relied exclusively on Twitter to get the word out, the effort has produced some impressive results. According to Compete, Eminem.com reached 113,868 unique visitors during April, while the most popular of his tweets -- which linked to TheRelapse.com on May 7 -- reached at least 41,704 people within just one week, according to an analysis of data provided to AdAge by Tweetreach. And data provided by Native Digital, the start-up behind music-buzz tracker We Are Hunted, suggest that Eminem was the most-talked-about artist on Twitter last week, the week before the album's release. (Ad Age)
Despite his decade success, the rapper had his first-week sales record broken by Scottish singer Susan Boyle last week.
Scottish singer Susan Boyle, known for appearing on "Britain's Got Talent" reality show, has debuted atop the charts at I Dreamed a Dream secured the number one spot this week. The international star's debut has sold 700,800 after one week in stores. Eminem's Relapse scanned 608,000 units in the week ending May 24. (Sales Wrap)
sohh.com
Obie Trice On Upcoming "Special Reserve" LP, "This Is The Music That Signed Me To Eminem's Label"
Written by Cyrus Langhorne
With the upcoming release of his Special Reserve album, Obie Trice reached out to SOHH to clarify speculation on his first post-Shady Records solo project being a replacement for his rumored Bottom's Up.
Click here to find out more!
According to Obie, his album consists of pre-recorded material and will not replace his upcoming third studio album.
"Me and my man [MoSS] from Toronto, h*ll of a producer, we're putting the music out there that we did back in the day and just putting it out there, it's some old-school, new-school hip-hop sh*t," Obie told SOHH. "When Bottom's Up comes out, then we'll talk about that Shady sh*t. This is some of the music that signed me to Eminem's label." (SOHH)
Producer MoSS also told SOHH the project has material from over ten years ago.
"All of the songs were done between 1997 and 2000," MoSS added. "This is an album that we were getting ready right before Shady called Obie." (SOHH)
Initial speculation said the album would consist of newly recorded songs.
Ever since leaving Shady slash Aftermath, Obie Trice has been hard at work on his next effort "Special Reserve." The new album is a collaboration effort between Obie and rising producer and DJ Premier associate MoSS, who signed to Premo's "Works Of Mart" production company. Set to hit stores around December 15th, we aren't sure if is just a taste of Obie's music before he drops his "Bottoms Up" album or if it's a total replacement for it. (Rap Basement)
The album will consist of 11 songs which includes one bonus record.
Special Reserve: Welcome. Got Hungry. You've Been Slain. On & On. I Am. 4 Stories. Roughnecks featuring Deuce Wonder. Cool Cat. What You Want. Jack My D*ck. Dope, Jobs, Homeless. (Special Reserve)
Special Reserve is slated to drop Tuesday, December 15th.
Check out MoSS speaking on the album below;
sohh.com
Common Preps Album W/ Kanye West, "Ye & I Know We Want To Do Some Pure Hip-Hop"
Written by Rosario Harper
Grammy-winning rapper Common recently spoke on his upcoming Believer album which will feature production from Kanye West.
Click here to find out more!
The Chicago-based emcee sees the LP coming out as soon as summer 2010.
"I'm actually working with No I.D. and Twilite Tone and Kanye West. Man, we're looking forward to making some powerful music," Common explained in an interview. "I feel really excited, man. [Me and No I.D.] did some preliminary pre-production type stuff, and it just felt so good to be working with him. It felt like, 'Man, life is really, really good.' It's full circle. You meet up with the person who's partially responsible for beginning your career, and you're like, 'Man, this is really cool -- that we meet at this place in our lives and our creative journeys and we really are enthused to work with each other.' [Me and Kanye] know that we want to do some raw hip-hop. That's exactly the direction and feel we want, so that's the basis of it. 'Ye and I definitely know we want to do some pure hip-hop. I'm looking for an early summer release." (Entertainment Weekly)
The rapper-turned-actor's ninth LP will provide fans with a return to his raw hip-hop roots.
"For Believer, it was creating raw music, raw hip-hop," he said in an interview. "I just wanted to create good hip-hop music. When I create albums, they develop as I go along, 'cause I have different thoughts and visions. And then as you create the music, it takes its own personality and spirit to it. But the beginning of it is raw hip-hop, it's just soulful...Twilite Tone and No I.D., they produced my first three albums and they were the first producers I worked with. And Kanye is an extension of them. Kanye always says No I.D. is his mentor. That's how I met Kanye, through No I.D. So for me to have these three working on my album is going home again. But I'm always gonna offer something new and fresh." (MTV)
The upcoming project will also mark his reunion with West, the producer responsible for 2005's Be and 2007's Finding Forever.
Be, a much tighter album that was produced primarily by Kanye West, followed in May 2005, netting four Grammy nominations. West remained on board for both Finding Forever (2007) and the lighter Universal Mind Control (2008), though The Neptunes dominated the latter. (All Music)
Common previously spoke with SOHH about not retiring despite having nearly two decades of music to his name.
"God willing, you'll get albums nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen," he laughingly promised last fall. "I feel like a jazz musician in many ways and I wanna keep creating music. I feel like I want to be doing shows when I'm sixty something." (SOHH)
A release date for The Believer has not yet been confirmed.
Look at a recent Common interview below:
sohh.com
Grammy-winning rapper Common recently spoke on his upcoming Believer album which will feature production from Kanye West.
Click here to find out more!
The Chicago-based emcee sees the LP coming out as soon as summer 2010.
"I'm actually working with No I.D. and Twilite Tone and Kanye West. Man, we're looking forward to making some powerful music," Common explained in an interview. "I feel really excited, man. [Me and No I.D.] did some preliminary pre-production type stuff, and it just felt so good to be working with him. It felt like, 'Man, life is really, really good.' It's full circle. You meet up with the person who's partially responsible for beginning your career, and you're like, 'Man, this is really cool -- that we meet at this place in our lives and our creative journeys and we really are enthused to work with each other.' [Me and Kanye] know that we want to do some raw hip-hop. That's exactly the direction and feel we want, so that's the basis of it. 'Ye and I definitely know we want to do some pure hip-hop. I'm looking for an early summer release." (Entertainment Weekly)
The rapper-turned-actor's ninth LP will provide fans with a return to his raw hip-hop roots.
"For Believer, it was creating raw music, raw hip-hop," he said in an interview. "I just wanted to create good hip-hop music. When I create albums, they develop as I go along, 'cause I have different thoughts and visions. And then as you create the music, it takes its own personality and spirit to it. But the beginning of it is raw hip-hop, it's just soulful...Twilite Tone and No I.D., they produced my first three albums and they were the first producers I worked with. And Kanye is an extension of them. Kanye always says No I.D. is his mentor. That's how I met Kanye, through No I.D. So for me to have these three working on my album is going home again. But I'm always gonna offer something new and fresh." (MTV)
The upcoming project will also mark his reunion with West, the producer responsible for 2005's Be and 2007's Finding Forever.
Be, a much tighter album that was produced primarily by Kanye West, followed in May 2005, netting four Grammy nominations. West remained on board for both Finding Forever (2007) and the lighter Universal Mind Control (2008), though The Neptunes dominated the latter. (All Music)
Common previously spoke with SOHH about not retiring despite having nearly two decades of music to his name.
"God willing, you'll get albums nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen," he laughingly promised last fall. "I feel like a jazz musician in many ways and I wanna keep creating music. I feel like I want to be doing shows when I'm sixty something." (SOHH)
A release date for The Believer has not yet been confirmed.
Look at a recent Common interview below:
sohh.com
Jay-Z, 50 Cent & Nas To Reportedly Collaborate On "Empire State Of Mind" Remix
Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Former rap rivals Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Nas are all reportedly set to appear on an upcoming "Empire State Of Mind" remix.
Click here to find out more!
While an exact source has not been identified, reports suggest the collaboration will be documented.
Despite 50 Cent calling Jay-Z Beyonce's husband and more recently jabbing that he thinks he's Jesus, rumor has it that the two may actually be working together behind the scenes. A source who recently found himself eavesdropping on a conversation at a certain New York Giant's office, recently told BET.com that Hov may be unifying the big apple by featuring Fif and Nas on the "Empire State of Mind" remix. Word is the entire recording as well as conversations between the NY juggernauts will be documented. In addition to continually jabbing Jay, Fif has had issues with Nas for a while. Former friends, the Queens MCs became at odds after Fif called Nas out on The Massacre's "Piggy Bank." Word has already been spreading that Nas, who was reportedly slated to appear on the original track, is on deck for the remix. (BET)
Beanie Sigel has suggested Jay recruited Nas for an "Empire" diss record going at him and 50 Cent.
I'm nice at chess too," Sigel told radio personality DJ On & On. "They say he got a record supposed to come out, the remix to the New York sh*t, he's poppin' shots at me, poppin' shots at 50 but he pulled Nas on the record hoping that a n*gga will respond to it and come at Nas and Nas is gonna come right back, he ain't gonna hold no punches, he's gonna come right back. He should come right back but look at the moves. I see that. I'm not worried about Nas, I did that already. I did that already. In defense of him I did that already. I was there when dude was in the studio on the couch scratching his head under pressure." (Jump The Turn Style)
50, as of late, has been talking down upon Jay's business habits with former Roc-A-Fella artists like Beans and Freeway.
"I think he completely has his best interests in mind," 50 said about Hov. "When you commit to working with other artists -- I have to be passionate about it. Of course, you want to make money, so you only commit to the things that you're excited about, that you feel you have the chemistry with or has something there, but after you get past that point, it should be something that you actually want to see win. I tried to collaborate with him on the Freeway project. What I did was Freeway went out and found his publishing deal, and we started the album, and Jay did 'Big Spender' and I did 'Take You to the Top,' and when it came time to put the record out, he didn't want to shoot his video, so I'm like, 'Why am I going to shoot mine? I'm not shooting it. It's on your label.' He has a king complex, he thinks he's f*cking Jesus, you know what I mean? This J-Hova sh*t." (Rolling Stone)
Fabolous recently spoke on his former Def Jam labelmate and boss getting into a public dispute with Beans.
"I haven't," Fab said about a rumored Nas and Jay-Z diss song. "I heard a message or something on the Internet but I haven't...Nah, not really [I would not do a diss] because that's not my beef. I don't have a problem with Beanie, actually, you know what I'm saying, I'm cool with Beanie too. The same circle Jay was, Beanie was there too. So we all had, [well], I'm not as close, close to Beanie as I am with Jay, but I wouldn't. That's not my beef. Their thing is a little more personal, I mean. Everybody knows Jay and Beans, at one point, were hand and hand. Like, that's not my beef, I wouldn't even jump in there." (Jenny Boom Boom TV)
No further details have been released as of now.
sohh.com
Former rap rivals Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Nas are all reportedly set to appear on an upcoming "Empire State Of Mind" remix.
Click here to find out more!
While an exact source has not been identified, reports suggest the collaboration will be documented.
Despite 50 Cent calling Jay-Z Beyonce's husband and more recently jabbing that he thinks he's Jesus, rumor has it that the two may actually be working together behind the scenes. A source who recently found himself eavesdropping on a conversation at a certain New York Giant's office, recently told BET.com that Hov may be unifying the big apple by featuring Fif and Nas on the "Empire State of Mind" remix. Word is the entire recording as well as conversations between the NY juggernauts will be documented. In addition to continually jabbing Jay, Fif has had issues with Nas for a while. Former friends, the Queens MCs became at odds after Fif called Nas out on The Massacre's "Piggy Bank." Word has already been spreading that Nas, who was reportedly slated to appear on the original track, is on deck for the remix. (BET)
Beanie Sigel has suggested Jay recruited Nas for an "Empire" diss record going at him and 50 Cent.
I'm nice at chess too," Sigel told radio personality DJ On & On. "They say he got a record supposed to come out, the remix to the New York sh*t, he's poppin' shots at me, poppin' shots at 50 but he pulled Nas on the record hoping that a n*gga will respond to it and come at Nas and Nas is gonna come right back, he ain't gonna hold no punches, he's gonna come right back. He should come right back but look at the moves. I see that. I'm not worried about Nas, I did that already. I did that already. In defense of him I did that already. I was there when dude was in the studio on the couch scratching his head under pressure." (Jump The Turn Style)
50, as of late, has been talking down upon Jay's business habits with former Roc-A-Fella artists like Beans and Freeway.
"I think he completely has his best interests in mind," 50 said about Hov. "When you commit to working with other artists -- I have to be passionate about it. Of course, you want to make money, so you only commit to the things that you're excited about, that you feel you have the chemistry with or has something there, but after you get past that point, it should be something that you actually want to see win. I tried to collaborate with him on the Freeway project. What I did was Freeway went out and found his publishing deal, and we started the album, and Jay did 'Big Spender' and I did 'Take You to the Top,' and when it came time to put the record out, he didn't want to shoot his video, so I'm like, 'Why am I going to shoot mine? I'm not shooting it. It's on your label.' He has a king complex, he thinks he's f*cking Jesus, you know what I mean? This J-Hova sh*t." (Rolling Stone)
Fabolous recently spoke on his former Def Jam labelmate and boss getting into a public dispute with Beans.
"I haven't," Fab said about a rumored Nas and Jay-Z diss song. "I heard a message or something on the Internet but I haven't...Nah, not really [I would not do a diss] because that's not my beef. I don't have a problem with Beanie, actually, you know what I'm saying, I'm cool with Beanie too. The same circle Jay was, Beanie was there too. So we all had, [well], I'm not as close, close to Beanie as I am with Jay, but I wouldn't. That's not my beef. Their thing is a little more personal, I mean. Everybody knows Jay and Beans, at one point, were hand and hand. Like, that's not my beef, I wouldn't even jump in there." (Jenny Boom Boom TV)
No further details have been released as of now.
sohh.com
Rakim On Comeback Album Delay, "I Usually Take A Long Time"
Written by Cyrus Langhorne
In light of Rakim's The Seventh Seal recently hitting stores after a long delay, SOHH hit up the rap veteran to find out why it took over a decade for his third solo project.
Click here to find out more!
According to Rakim, the delay was in part due to taking on the role of an artist and CEO.
"It's hard to tell because when I came back from Cali, after the Dre situation, I tried to keep working, I just wanted to keep busy," Rakim told SOHH. "I got a little studio in the crib so I stay working. But once I sort of zeroed in on the topic, The Seventh Seal topic, it was probably three years. At the same time, it wasn't just working on the album, I was trying to get my business and everything together. I got my own label, I got the album coming out on my label so you know, trying to wear two hats. An artist and CEO, I usually take a long time with my albums anyway, but, this here took extra time trying to get the business situated." (SOHH)
Rakim's long-awaited solo project also features rap heavyweights Busta Rhymes and Jadakiss.
After months, if not years of Internet speculation and rumor, the man many call The God MC's management and label officially confirm that Rakim Allah will release his long awaited new album The Seventh Seal on November 17, 2009. Guest artists include Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Maino, Tracey Horton, IQ, Styles P and others, including Destiny Griffin, Rakim's daughter. The artist's Ra Records shares the imprint in a joint venture with Tuscan Villa and SMC Recordings and is distributed through Fontana/Universal Music Group. (Press Release)
The rapper's new album debuted on the charts last month.
Rap veteran Rakim's 7th Seal landed onto the charts this week opening at No. 61. With seven days to his name, Rakim's comeback album has sold 11,700 copies. (Sales Wrap)
The renowned emcee previously spoke on his overall reaction to the project's quality.
"The Seventh Seal is my own revelation -- my way of taking the best of what hip-hop has to offer, what we as a culture and a community have to offer, putting my stamp on it and leading us forward while constantly respecting what we've already accomplished," he said in a statement. "When you've been blessed with a career like mine, you develop a deep relationship with the music, and that love is recognized by the true heads that share it with you. You'll see us keep building as we break through each Seal -- showing the best of what I can do in many forms, bringing the energy and having fun, but first I'm laying that foundation and giving my longtime fans the conscious fire they expect." (Statement)
Check out Rakim's SOHH interview below:
sohh.com
In light of Rakim's The Seventh Seal recently hitting stores after a long delay, SOHH hit up the rap veteran to find out why it took over a decade for his third solo project.
Click here to find out more!
According to Rakim, the delay was in part due to taking on the role of an artist and CEO.
"It's hard to tell because when I came back from Cali, after the Dre situation, I tried to keep working, I just wanted to keep busy," Rakim told SOHH. "I got a little studio in the crib so I stay working. But once I sort of zeroed in on the topic, The Seventh Seal topic, it was probably three years. At the same time, it wasn't just working on the album, I was trying to get my business and everything together. I got my own label, I got the album coming out on my label so you know, trying to wear two hats. An artist and CEO, I usually take a long time with my albums anyway, but, this here took extra time trying to get the business situated." (SOHH)
Rakim's long-awaited solo project also features rap heavyweights Busta Rhymes and Jadakiss.
After months, if not years of Internet speculation and rumor, the man many call The God MC's management and label officially confirm that Rakim Allah will release his long awaited new album The Seventh Seal on November 17, 2009. Guest artists include Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Maino, Tracey Horton, IQ, Styles P and others, including Destiny Griffin, Rakim's daughter. The artist's Ra Records shares the imprint in a joint venture with Tuscan Villa and SMC Recordings and is distributed through Fontana/Universal Music Group. (Press Release)
The rapper's new album debuted on the charts last month.
Rap veteran Rakim's 7th Seal landed onto the charts this week opening at No. 61. With seven days to his name, Rakim's comeback album has sold 11,700 copies. (Sales Wrap)
The renowned emcee previously spoke on his overall reaction to the project's quality.
"The Seventh Seal is my own revelation -- my way of taking the best of what hip-hop has to offer, what we as a culture and a community have to offer, putting my stamp on it and leading us forward while constantly respecting what we've already accomplished," he said in a statement. "When you've been blessed with a career like mine, you develop a deep relationship with the music, and that love is recognized by the true heads that share it with you. You'll see us keep building as we break through each Seal -- showing the best of what I can do in many forms, bringing the energy and having fun, but first I'm laying that foundation and giving my longtime fans the conscious fire they expect." (Statement)
Check out Rakim's SOHH interview below:
sohh.com
Sheek Louch Confirms The Next L.O.X. Album To Be On Bad Boy
by Allen Jacobs
Since the resolution of famed 2005 on-air war of words between Diddy and former proteges The L.O.X., there have been reunion discussions. As previous Bad Boy artists such as Craig Mack and Ma$e had returned for remixes and fruitless new recording contracts, Sheek Louch recently told On-Air Idiots that they return to their first home.
After Jadakiss revealed in October that Diddy had offered a one-album deal, Sheek said the group was signing, with hopes of a "top of year" 2010 album. "I would love for it to come then, we're working actually with Puff, with Sean Combs. We working out that. Puff Daddy, we working that out. We working that out and hopefully it goes down."
Through Bad Boy's new distribution deal with Interscope, the reunion would also allow The L.O.X. to fulfill contract obligations with the label that released their 2000 sophomore album. The Ruff Ryders and D-Block imprints are also slated to be involved.
hiphopdx.com
R.A. The Rugged Man Talks Latest Release, "Smithhaven Mall"
by Jake Paine
Since the early '90s, R.A. The Rugged Man (f/k/a Crustified Dibbs) has been recording dense Rap lyricism paired with top-notch production. Whereas the Long Island emcee's first release, Die Rugged Man, Die was all new material, October's Legendary Classics Volume 1 officially released material dating back as far as 15 years. In a conversation this week with HipHopDX, R.A. explained, "Even the people who have heard the songs, have never heard [them] sound this good." He continued, "They always had shitty bootlegs. The sound is muffled - the high's are shitty, the bass [isn't low enough]. The old songs on [Legendary Classics Volume 1] never had the opporunity to be properly mastered. Some of the songs sounded good, like ['Uncommon Valor'] with Jedi Mind Tricks and ['Cunt Renaissance' with Notorious B.I.G.]. But the old songs don't sound good - they sound beautiful. I'm like really fuckin' proud of this shit."
With unproductive deals with both Jive and Rawkus Records, R.A. is even impressed by some of the Nature Sounds release's contents. "There have been songs that have been lost for 10 years, like ['Who's Dat Guy'] with Havoc. That reel has been lost; we made that song when [Mobb Deep] was recording Hell On Earth. That's vintage Havoc. He made that beat in that era. That reel has been missing for 10 years and we found it outta the blue." He also pointed to his work with another respected Queens producer, Ayatollah on "Windows Of The World, recorded around 1999. "I didn't even know this song existed, then somebody sent me a fuckin' MP3 of it."
DX asked the Harlem-based R.A. about one audio relic in particular, "Smithhaven Mall," an older song included on the collection. "That's the local mall, out there on Long Island. When I was on Chuck D's [Air America On The Real With Chuck D] radio show, he got a kick out of [me naming that song] that. That was an in-joke for Long Island heads." The song plays into the rapper's interest in horror culture with some very confessional rhymes from the time-period. "[In the song], I ran around the mall with a pistol. And when the cops get there, I went out like a bitch - and put the gun down. A lot of people love that song as a favorite, but the funny part is, it was at a really bad part of my life when I wrote it. I was really going through some shit in my head, and was really negative and unhappy. You can kinda hear it in the record. I still love doing negative shit, but that was a self-hating record. The first line is 'This ugly motherfucker in the mirror (this fuckin mirror) Punch a hole through this mirror (what am I supposed to do?) This faggot in the mirror (can't deal with this breathin shit) I hate this breathin shit (life is fucked up).' What I was sayin', that was true. I felt that way about myself when I wrote it. When people say it's one of their favorite records, it's not one of mine, because I hated that time. [Laughs]"
Legendary Classics Volume 1 also contains new music, such as "Posse Cut" with one of R.A.'s influences, Kool G. Rap. "Brand new. No one ever heard it," said a confident emcee, before adding, "Sometimes I don't even like listening to my own shit, but that album...we put it on the car the other day, I'm just very proud of these songs."
Having dealt with marketing and promotion challenges in the early '90s, R.A. touched on the contrasts of those strategies versus today's. "It's better now. It's way better, because any God-damned person on the planet can connect to you and contact you. If there's money out there for you, they'll find you. Back in the fuckin' day, maybe somebody would contact your label. Maybe the person at the label would contact your manager. Maybe your manager lets you know. You don't know where that money is before it gets to you." For Legendary Classics Volume 1, R.A. promoted the project through video blogs that led to a wide media response, as well as vehicles like Twitter and MySpace. Looking back to his Jive days, he said, "You'd have to go to all these events and parties and hope someone was there that you needed to meet. This new shit, everybody has access to everybody. This is free promotion for the world."
During the interview, R.A. The Rugged Man was asked about a rumored collaborative project between fellow Long Island veterans Freddie Foxxx and Prince Paul. Although he said that details and confirmation were premature, the rapper who worked with Mobb Deep, Jedi Mind Tricks and Smut Peddlers groups in past said there was merit to the rumors. What R.A. was willing to speak about, was a new studio album planned for March. "It's just more lyrical than I've ever been. My flows are better than they've ever been. It's the best music I've done yet. I'm just pretending that all the wack, garbage Rap doesn't exist and Hip Hop is still Hip Hop. And I'm advancing Hip Hop [by making this music]."
hiphopdx.com
Since the early '90s, R.A. The Rugged Man (f/k/a Crustified Dibbs) has been recording dense Rap lyricism paired with top-notch production. Whereas the Long Island emcee's first release, Die Rugged Man, Die was all new material, October's Legendary Classics Volume 1 officially released material dating back as far as 15 years. In a conversation this week with HipHopDX, R.A. explained, "Even the people who have heard the songs, have never heard [them] sound this good." He continued, "They always had shitty bootlegs. The sound is muffled - the high's are shitty, the bass [isn't low enough]. The old songs on [Legendary Classics Volume 1] never had the opporunity to be properly mastered. Some of the songs sounded good, like ['Uncommon Valor'] with Jedi Mind Tricks and ['Cunt Renaissance' with Notorious B.I.G.]. But the old songs don't sound good - they sound beautiful. I'm like really fuckin' proud of this shit."
With unproductive deals with both Jive and Rawkus Records, R.A. is even impressed by some of the Nature Sounds release's contents. "There have been songs that have been lost for 10 years, like ['Who's Dat Guy'] with Havoc. That reel has been lost; we made that song when [Mobb Deep] was recording Hell On Earth. That's vintage Havoc. He made that beat in that era. That reel has been missing for 10 years and we found it outta the blue." He also pointed to his work with another respected Queens producer, Ayatollah on "Windows Of The World, recorded around 1999. "I didn't even know this song existed, then somebody sent me a fuckin' MP3 of it."
DX asked the Harlem-based R.A. about one audio relic in particular, "Smithhaven Mall," an older song included on the collection. "That's the local mall, out there on Long Island. When I was on Chuck D's [Air America On The Real With Chuck D] radio show, he got a kick out of [me naming that song] that. That was an in-joke for Long Island heads." The song plays into the rapper's interest in horror culture with some very confessional rhymes from the time-period. "[In the song], I ran around the mall with a pistol. And when the cops get there, I went out like a bitch - and put the gun down. A lot of people love that song as a favorite, but the funny part is, it was at a really bad part of my life when I wrote it. I was really going through some shit in my head, and was really negative and unhappy. You can kinda hear it in the record. I still love doing negative shit, but that was a self-hating record. The first line is 'This ugly motherfucker in the mirror (this fuckin mirror) Punch a hole through this mirror (what am I supposed to do?) This faggot in the mirror (can't deal with this breathin shit) I hate this breathin shit (life is fucked up).' What I was sayin', that was true. I felt that way about myself when I wrote it. When people say it's one of their favorite records, it's not one of mine, because I hated that time. [Laughs]"
Legendary Classics Volume 1 also contains new music, such as "Posse Cut" with one of R.A.'s influences, Kool G. Rap. "Brand new. No one ever heard it," said a confident emcee, before adding, "Sometimes I don't even like listening to my own shit, but that album...we put it on the car the other day, I'm just very proud of these songs."
Having dealt with marketing and promotion challenges in the early '90s, R.A. touched on the contrasts of those strategies versus today's. "It's better now. It's way better, because any God-damned person on the planet can connect to you and contact you. If there's money out there for you, they'll find you. Back in the fuckin' day, maybe somebody would contact your label. Maybe the person at the label would contact your manager. Maybe your manager lets you know. You don't know where that money is before it gets to you." For Legendary Classics Volume 1, R.A. promoted the project through video blogs that led to a wide media response, as well as vehicles like Twitter and MySpace. Looking back to his Jive days, he said, "You'd have to go to all these events and parties and hope someone was there that you needed to meet. This new shit, everybody has access to everybody. This is free promotion for the world."
During the interview, R.A. The Rugged Man was asked about a rumored collaborative project between fellow Long Island veterans Freddie Foxxx and Prince Paul. Although he said that details and confirmation were premature, the rapper who worked with Mobb Deep, Jedi Mind Tricks and Smut Peddlers groups in past said there was merit to the rumors. What R.A. was willing to speak about, was a new studio album planned for March. "It's just more lyrical than I've ever been. My flows are better than they've ever been. It's the best music I've done yet. I'm just pretending that all the wack, garbage Rap doesn't exist and Hip Hop is still Hip Hop. And I'm advancing Hip Hop [by making this music]."
hiphopdx.com
Tupac Shakur Gets The Okay From The Vatican
by Danielle Harling
According to AllHipHop.com, Tupac’s “Changes” has been chosen as one of 12 songs that were recently submitted to MySpace Music from The Vatican for a special playlist.
“This playlist is a perfect mix of classical, world and contemporary music,” said an explanation included with The Vatican’s playlist. “The genres are very different from each other, but all these artists share the aim to reach the heart of good minded people.”
The Vatican’s list was submitted by Father Giulio Neroni, artistic director for St. Paul’s Multimedia, a church publisher.
Other artists to be included on The Vatican’s music list include Dame Shirley Bassey, Mozart, Muse, and more.
Tupac’s “Changes” was released in 1998 and was included on Shakur’s Greatest Hits album.
hiphopdx.com
According to AllHipHop.com, Tupac’s “Changes” has been chosen as one of 12 songs that were recently submitted to MySpace Music from The Vatican for a special playlist.
“This playlist is a perfect mix of classical, world and contemporary music,” said an explanation included with The Vatican’s playlist. “The genres are very different from each other, but all these artists share the aim to reach the heart of good minded people.”
The Vatican’s list was submitted by Father Giulio Neroni, artistic director for St. Paul’s Multimedia, a church publisher.
Other artists to be included on The Vatican’s music list include Dame Shirley Bassey, Mozart, Muse, and more.
Tupac’s “Changes” was released in 1998 and was included on Shakur’s Greatest Hits album.
hiphopdx.com
Drake, Mos Def And More Receive Grammy Nominations
by Danielle Harling
Drake, Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Eminem are just a few of the Hip Hop artists who scored Grammy nominations yesterday (December 2).
For Best Rap Album, the following artists were nominated: Common (Universal Mind Control), Eminem (Relapse), Flo Rida (R.O.O.T.S.), Mos Def (The Ecstatic), and Q-Tip (The Renaissance).
Notable Grammy newcomer’s include Drake and Kid Cudi who were both nominated for their first ever Grammy. Both artists received nominations for Best Rap Solo Performance and Kid Cudi also received nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group.
Highly anticipated ‘09 albums including Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and Wale’s Attention Deficit were left without nominations because of their release dates and the Grammy deadline.
The 52nd annual Grammy Awards will air on January 31, 2010. See below for a complete list of Hip Hop nominations:
Best Rap Album
Common – Universal Mind Control
Eminem – Relapse
Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Q-Tip – The Renaissance
Best Rap Solo Performance
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Eminem – “Beautiful”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
Mos Def – “Casa Bey”
Best Rap Song
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead And Gone”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
Beastie Boys & Nas – “Too Many Rappers”
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent – “Crack A Bottle”
Fabolous & Jay-Z – “Money Goes, Honey Stay”
Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common – “Make Her Say”
Kanye West & Young Jeezy – “Amazing”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Beyoncé & Kanye West – “Ego”
Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
The Lonely Island & T-Pain – “I’m On A Boat”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead And Gone”
hiphopdx.com
Drake, Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Eminem are just a few of the Hip Hop artists who scored Grammy nominations yesterday (December 2).
For Best Rap Album, the following artists were nominated: Common (Universal Mind Control), Eminem (Relapse), Flo Rida (R.O.O.T.S.), Mos Def (The Ecstatic), and Q-Tip (The Renaissance).
Notable Grammy newcomer’s include Drake and Kid Cudi who were both nominated for their first ever Grammy. Both artists received nominations for Best Rap Solo Performance and Kid Cudi also received nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group.
Highly anticipated ‘09 albums including Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and Wale’s Attention Deficit were left without nominations because of their release dates and the Grammy deadline.
The 52nd annual Grammy Awards will air on January 31, 2010. See below for a complete list of Hip Hop nominations:
Best Rap Album
Common – Universal Mind Control
Eminem – Relapse
Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S.
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Q-Tip – The Renaissance
Best Rap Solo Performance
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Eminem – “Beautiful”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
Mos Def – “Casa Bey”
Best Rap Song
Drake – “Best I Ever Had”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Nite”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead And Gone”
Jay-Z – “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group
Beastie Boys & Nas – “Too Many Rappers”
Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent – “Crack A Bottle”
Fabolous & Jay-Z – “Money Goes, Honey Stay”
Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common – “Make Her Say”
Kanye West & Young Jeezy – “Amazing”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
Beyoncé & Kanye West – “Ego”
Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo – “Knock You Down”
Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West – “Run This Town”
The Lonely Island & T-Pain – “I’m On A Boat”
T.I. & Justin Timberlake – “Dead And Gone”
hiphopdx.com
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