Method Man has updated the cover art for his forthcoming "The Meth Lab" album.
Method Man has released the cover art for his The Meth Lab mixtape, which he said on twitter that he’d be releasing in March.
Method Man also said that he’ll be releasing his Crystal Mef album in August.
In January 2013, the Wu-Tang Clan member provided an update on the then-titled Crystal Meth, which he has discussed as far back as 2008. During an interview with Montreality, he said he had not started recording the project but that he's "going at my own pace" and needs "to get my ass off the couch."
"I'ma start work soon,” he said at the time. "I can't put a
number on it. I'm doing it at my own pace, which is slow as shit. I
need to get my ass off the couch. I been on that couch, heavy. I write a
verse now and then because I don't know if there's any real
listeners... You've gotta have a real listener in order to appreciate
what you're doing. I don't want someone to say, 'I like the beat.' I
hate that shit. Or, 'I like the hook.' There's so much more to it than
that. I hate that and the motherfuckers who run up on me every day
thinking that I'm just a pothead or some shit. There's so many more
levels to my character than just smoking fucking weed."
Method Man's tweet about his forthcoming projects is as follows:
UPDATE: Method Man is set to release his The Meth Lab album August 21 on Hanz On Music/Tommy Boy Entertainment, according to a press release.
The collection was recorded in Staten Island, New York and is slated to feature Redman, Raekwon, Hanz On, Streetlife and Inspectah Deck, among others.
The album’s 17 songs were produced by Ron Browz, Allah Mathematics, J57 and 4th Disciple, among others.
The Meth Lab is scheduled to be
available in multiple formats, including Deluxe Digipak, Standard Jewel
Case, a Limited Collectable 2xLP and Gatefold Packaging with Crystal
Blue Virgin Vinyl. Direct to fan bundles are also slated to be available
via Bandcamp.
The Roots are slated to be inducted on October 26 alongside other Philadelphia music luminaries.
The Roots are one of Philadelphia's
greatest collectives and now the group is slated to be inducted into
the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame.
According to The Boombox, On October 26, the band from the City of Brotherly Love will be inducted alongside Billie Holiday, Ray Benson,
glam band Cinderella, disco group The Tramps, Broadway performer Andrea
McArdle and radio personality Harvey Holiday. After the ceremony, a
gala will be held at Fillmore Philadelphia.
The announcement of their induction comes in coordination with the Grammy award-winning group's 8th annual Roots Picnic, which took place Saturday (May 30) in-front of a sold out audience at Festival Pier in Philadelphia.
The Roots have released 11 studio albums beginning with Organix in 1993. They've also been the official band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014 and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since 2014. They released their most recent album...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin last year.
The Hip
Hop School of Arts at the University of Southern California offers kids
the opportunity to learn and be a part of Hip Hop culture.
Hip Hop culture has been making its transition from the streets to the classroom at a steady incline in recent years.
Some colleges offer classes on Hip Hop and its origin/impact and others have even offered coursework on specific individuals, like Kanye West.
No university however has dedicated an entire school to Hip Hop culture and its representation as an art form, until now.
The Hip Hop School of Arts at the University of Southern California
becomes the first of its kind in the world and offers prospective
students of all ages the opportunity to learn about Hip Hop's history
and experience it in numerous art forms.
A recently released video by USC's school of communications displays all that the school has to offer and how it came to be.
"In the '90s we started to dialog about how come we don't have a
school? How can we have a center where we can come and practice and call
it our own?" says Julio Rivas, founder of the Hip Hop School of Arts.
"[How come we don't have] a center that can facilitate the elements and
people can come in and learn about the culture from how it started, how
it's gone through the years and where it's going?"
The school offers classes in b-boying, b-girling, emceeing, DJing and
more. Its focus is also to get kids off the streets and into an
environment where they can express their urban creativity.
Watch the full video previewing the program below: Hip Hop School of Arts from USC Impact on Vimeo.
GZA claims "most rappers’ imaginations are sterile."
Wu-Tang rapper GZA recently penned an article via Medium's music site, Cuepoint.
Within the piece, which is titled "The Lost Art of Lyricism", GZA states that although there are great lyricists in Hip Hop today, lyricism within mainstream Hip Hop "is gone."
"There are some artists out there that
think they’re great storytellers, but they’re not," he writes.
"Nowadays, there are certain things I don’t hear anymore from rappers: I
haven’t heard the word 'MC' in so long; I haven’t heard the word
'lyrical.'"
GZA categorized Nas, Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel and Biggie as artists who rhymed about a message through their music.
The Shaolin-native goes on to say that he thinks "most rappers’ imaginations are sterile."
Throughout the piece, GZA sprinkles in a few lyrics of his own, including some from his 2002 album, Legend of the Liquid Sword.
"If you hear people talking about the Golden Era of
rap, they’re usually talking about the early-Wu Tang Clan era," he
writes. "When I was in Wu-Tang,
and even before that, it’s always been about being lyrical — who can
craft the wittiest, the most intellectual, the smartest and the
cleverest rhymes. It’s always been that for us as emcees from Day One.
It’s the same for me now. It’s all about the story."
In a lawsuit filed against Ross earlier this week,
50 Cent claimed that it was the Maybach Music Group founder that leaked
a sex tape featuring Leviston and another man, and not him. He added
that he merely shared the tape once it was released.
According to Ross’ lawyer, 50 Cent’s claims that the Miami, Florida musician leaked the sex tape are both “frivolous” and “futile.”
“The New York City lawsuit was filed against Curtis Jackson five
years ago. Mr. Roberts was neither named as a defendant nor legally
joined by Mr. Jackson in that suit,” Donaldson wrote in a statement
obtained by HipHopWired.com.
“If and/or when Mr. Jackson properly serves Mr. Roberts, we will
aggressively address and defend against these frivolous and futile
claims.”
Donaldson again took aim at 50 Cent in his statement, stating that
the rapper was attempting to save “his descending entertainment career”
with his lawsuit against Ross.
“The recent lawsuit filed by Curtis Jackson against Mr. William
Roberts is clearly another attempt to draw attention to his descending
entertainment career and one of several desperate, last minute attempts
he’s made to avoid and deflect legal and financial responsibility for
his own actions related to the pending New York City civil trial in
which he’s a defendant,” the lawyer wrote.
The academic school year is coming to a close for students across the country, but Freddie Gibbs is thinking ahead.
Gibbs has just launched a new campaign via GoFundMe
to raise money for underprivileged kids in his hometown of Gary,
Indiana. He's set his goal at $3,000 on the site and plans to donate
what he receives to the School Supply Giveaway of Gary (SSGA).
"Growing up in Gary there was little opportunity for a kid like me to
make something of myself," Gibbs wrote via GoFundMe. "Not having the
basic supplies that every other kid in any other city had left a lot of
us with little motivation to do well in school and turned a lot of us to
darker paths. By helping these students acquire the basic supplies
every student needs and deserves you will be maximizing their chances at
a brighter future." Gangsta Gibbs also uploaded a brief visual to coincide with his charitable campaign.
At press time, Gibbs has received $2,200 of his $3,000 goal.
Havoc and Prodigy’s “Survival of the Fittest (ESPN Remix)” has been playing on the network during the NBA playoffs.
Mobb Deep has released its Survival of the Fittest EP.
Havoc and Prodigy’s
new project features six songs, including the “Survival of the Fittest
(ESPN Remix),” which has been playing on ESPN during the NBA playoffs.
Other songs on the collection include “Hide Away” and “Whats Going On.”
The original version of “Survival of the Fittest” was featured on the Queens, New York rap duo’s seminal 1995 album, The Infamous.
The Survival of the Fittest EP cover art, tracklist and stream are as follows:
