Atlanta-based emcee/producerYamin Semali of rap duo.. Clan Destined presents his self-produced new single "What I'm Living For". He calls it "a little chill joint..
Before I introduce the harder work." Clan Destined's..
Third LP Self Titled, received 5 out of 5 stars onCreativeLoafing.com (read the reviewhere)
Read more
Of exceptional punchlines. However, there seemed..
To also be something a bit more serious in the air,
As several of our top lines are concerned with..
Topics more weighty than how many synonyms for..
A kilo you can fit into one bar. While Pusha T talks money,
Saigon tells us about animal flatulence (no, really!), and Rockie Fresh shouts out Ed Norton, Black Spade and Joe Budden provide a glimpse of other, more bleak sides of life.
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It’s obvious that Oktayne takes his craft seriously..
And strives for lyrical greatness. After years of preparing..
His musical career, he released his first project,
Self-Explanations in 2008. That project displayed..
His abilities and talent, but he knew that he had more work to do.
He has had notable successes and even having..
A rumor about being on Interscope Records with little to no buzz.
Oktayne strives to project realism in his music. He wants to maintain his own identity, while giving the world a taste of his life through his body of work.
He is inspired by his environment, and is determined to just be HIMSELF. To keep things up and moving, He dropped two songs from his album..
Feature Presentation and offers a third as a free download. Whoever joins his mailing list on reverbnation.com will get the download.
The album Feature Presentation features movie scores from The Invasion, G-Funk, Kajmir Royale and Sledgren.
Oktayne is starring in the movie with co-stars like Bre, Sosa Da Champ, Kareless MF’ah and Kajmir Royale. You can get your tickets for this movie for a very fair price.
New mixtape from Bad Boy / Shakedown's RED CAFE "Hells Kitchen" with features from Diddy, J Cole, 2 Chainz, French Montana & more! Follow on twitter @RedCafe
Trenton, New Jersey emcee Honors English presents..
The AUKS-animated music video for "Second Chances"
The newest single from his forthcoming album..
State Of The Art, dropping February 22 on Dry Rain Entertainment.
Dry Rain is the production company of Needlz,
The Grammy-winning producer behind tracks for G-Unit,
Ruff Ryders, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, Bruno Mars and more. Needlz produces every track on Art which is also slated to feature an appearance by Lupe Fiasco.
And Ricky's little one, but plenty of other childhood-related..
Events also happened. Childhood favorites of many 70's..
And 80's babies received their props this week, as..
Fred The Godson shouted out the Fat Boys..
And Southern staple Young Dro name-dropped Pee-wee Herman. On a more serious note, Cassidy pondered the ultimate philosophical quandry,
And the rapper formerly known as Mos Def compared life in the hood to a slasher movie.
5. "What came first, the weed plant or the seed of weed?/Put a Magnum on when you smash a jawn or get Eazy-E" - Cassidy, 'You So Phony' We at RG have had great affection for Cassidy since the beginning of his career. While his albums have often been underwhelming, his freestyles and mixtape songs can be amazing. So it is with 'You So Phony,' and this excerpt in particular is notable for its sudden shift in tone, from a chicken-or-egg query -- humorously changed to a far more relevant piece of nature -- to a safe-sex PSA (former NWA member Eric "Eazy-E" Wright died of complications from AIDS in 1995), with no transition between the ideas. Somehow, The Hustler makes it work, mostly by the sheer conviction in his voice. The fact that it's an ODB-style non sequitur barely registers and when it does, the line suddenly becomes even more amusing.
4. "I'm so Fat Boy fresh/With that rap, boy -- they know that boy best" - Fred The Godson, 'Set It Off' Fred is getting to be somewhat of a line of the week regular, having taken the crown two weeks ago. But this nod to the hefty rapper's progenitors in the big-man-rapping game brings us a smile and a sudden urge to re-watch Dis-orderlies.
3. "Up the coast is where I be, burn a tree in Germany/Thirty inch rider y'all, on them Pee-wee Herman feet" - Young Dro, 'Boomin'' We've long been fans of Atlanta's Young Dro, mostly for his ability to talk endlessly about the colors of his different cars. Writer Tom Breihan notably cataloged the hues in Dro's garage over the course of one of his mixtapes -- the list went "whirlwind, sour apple, Jolly Rancher, Patron, Tropicana, Mars bar, tofu, your lipstick, high-tide ocean, Papa Smurf, Patron again, bell pepper, the nose on Rudolf, Tropicana again, cocaine, Superman, vanilla, and Ric Flair hair." Sadly, the rapper seems to be past the car-color phase of his career, but his new mixtape We Outchea is still great. These lines paint a fairly standard picture of a rapper living the high life, except for the absurd (and perfect) detail of his car's wheels being as big as the ones on Pee-wee Herman's famous bike.
The mighty Mos -- er, Yasiin, as he recently renamed himself -- is making somewhat of a comeback after an unpredictable past few years. First there were several stellar new Black Star songs, and now this. A pointed freestyle over the monster hit 'N***as in Paris', Yasiin's take on it emphasizes the struggling classes, to whom $50,000, a dollar figure that Jay-Z dismisses as barely worth taking note of in the original song, is "more than my annual salary". This couplet takes Jay's (via Biggie Smalls) "Michael" puns ("Tyson, Jackson, Jordan, Game 6," goes the second half in the original) and cleverly points out the craziness and violence visited on the minds and bodies of those stuck in forgotten, crumbling neighborhoods by making horror-movie-level violence the only option on the table.
1. "Your Grandpa died a n***a failure, then he died of liver failure/Deep down he was a good man, goddamn I can't deliver failure" - Jay-Z, Glory In several parts of Jay-Z's ecstatic and touching ode to his and Beyonce's newborn daughter, he suddenly turns serious and melancholy in a way that proves an extremely effective balance to the song's general mood. A quick reference to his friend Aaliyah's fatal plane provides one such moment, and so does this section. Much of Jay's best work has been reckoning with his relationship, or lack thereof, to his father, Adnes Reeves. Reeves was Hov's early idol but left when the rapper was 12 on an ill-fated quest to avenge the murder of his brother. After years of being out of touch, the two briefly reconciled around 2003, shortly before Reeves' death. Jay's incredible diptych of abandoned-father duets with Beanie Sigel, 'Where Have You Been' and 'Still Got Love For You,' are career highlights for both artists, and the too-late father and child reunion has been a recurring image in Hov's later work. Here, the use of it brings a full sense of his newborn daughter's family legacy, and the pun on "deliver" serves to pick up the mood before it gets too melancholy.
The revenge-on-teachers rap subgenre has quite a distinguished history. Our favorite is Freeway's "Hear The Song", where he calls out an old teacher by name on a record that ended up selling over half a million copies -- good luck with those future students, Ms. Lee! For Ross, calling someone out on driving a cheap car is the ultimate insult. He loves expensive cars so much that he named his record label after the (now sadly defunct) Maybach, and called his duo with Diddy the "Bugatti Boys" after another seven-figure car.
While Drake's performance on this song overall was just on this side of acceptable, these lines contain the only real points scored in his war against Common. Their feud began seemingly out of nowhere, with Common dropping lines clearly aimed at Drake on a song that just happened to be from a soon-to-be-released album. Here, Drizzy calls Common out for starting the feud as a PR stunt to sell records.
3. "Don't play dumb, I'm the one that acknowledged it/Son of a bitch, I imagine what your father is"- [Common, 'Stay Schemin' (Drake Diss)](http://rapgenius.com/Common-stay-schemin-drake-diss-lyrics) While other lines on this pretty great but too short reply track got more attention (in particular the song-closing Canada Dry joke), to those who know anything about Drake, this line stands out as particularly devastating. The star raps a lot about his beloved mother and his often-absent father. He has admitted in song that to say he's like his father is the one thing he can't stand to hear. So for Common to get at both those sacred cows in ten words is a feat of (sadly unacknowledged, for the most part) genius.
2. "I know, you're lazy/It's easier to pick a partner less crazy/Much less work, less purpose, less of A to Z/Cause I'm an alpha, bet it's hard to stay with me" - [Jean Grae, 'U&Me&EveryoneWeKnow'](http://rapgenius.com/Jean-grae-u-me-everyoneweknow-lyrics)
This single from your favorite rapper's favorite Twitter user's upcoming album Cake or Death does something extremely rare in rap, but something that the genre turns out to be great for. It paints a mature, grown-up picture of a person coming to terms with the end of a relationship, with all the regrets, anger, self-blaming, resignation, and hope that implies. In all of that, Jean still finds time for some amazing wordplay. See, for example, the string of rap-world puns at the beginning of the song, and here, where the "A to Z" formulation leads naturally to punning on her "alpha" personality, as the words "alpha, bet" take on a second meaning as "alphabet".
Jean-Michel Basquiat has recently become hip-hop's favorite artist, with name-drops by Jay-Z, Kanye, Rick Ross, and more. He even, despite being long-dead, has his own sneaker line, courtesy of producer Swizz Beatz. Crooked takes it back to the beginning and reminds us that, before art stardom, Basquiat was part of the influential graffiti collective called SAMO, who garnered attention in the 1980's for writing mysterious, poetic phrases all over New York City.
Ross is both our big winner AND our big loser this week, as the Bawse finds a new way to make us cringe, pronouncing "carnival" as "car-ni-VOO" in order to fit the rhyme scheme. It's worth hearing once (and ONLY once), just for the involuntary scream of agony you will inevitably let out.
No Cliches.. But It's The Thunder From Down Under..
Mr. Whiplash touching base with HHO in the Twenty Twelve..
With His Newly Released Track "Gangsta Enough".
Unleashing his lyrical prowess on the States.
Fiery but calculated in his flow, Whiplash..
Methodically attacks each and every track..
Much like a veteran boxer punishes a novice opponent in the ring. Effortless delivery mixed with relentless lyricism is a combination that scores a knockout every time.
Years of nomadic living have given Whiplash a plethora of experience and content for his music. Eking out a living and sleeping everywhere from fields..
To campgrounds to couches to beaches and even on the roof of a café, Whiplash knows what it’s like to come from nothing.
Kevin Nottingham: 2011 brought us a lot of great hip hop. So much that it was almost impossible to do a Top 10 list. If you look at are lists below, you’ll notice we have just as many honorable mentions, making these more or less a Top 20 list! For me though, the Top 5 were easy… it was their placement in the Top 5 that was difficult. CunninLynguists‘ album when I first heard it back in March was an instant classic. I knew instantly it was going to be on the top of my list. But when Yonasdropped his album, The Proven Theory, and I literally listened to it every single day in 2011, it had to get my top spot. The whole album is just catchy and worth of back to back listens. The Roots‘ are an obvious top choice for me. Thought not quite as good as How I Got Over the previous year, undunwas up to par. One album that may surprise you on my list is Watch The Throne. I talked so much shit about that album and was so disappointed in it when it dropped. Then one day in October I woke up and heard it for what it was. Then when I saw The Throne live in November, it was all over. I love the record now. As for the rest of my list, I gotta give props to Ski Beatz for having a great fucking year. Though I didn’t care for the Locksmith album as much, both his album with Murs (who is one of my favorite emcees) and his 24 Hr Karate School album were top notch. Can’t wait for Part 3!
Justin Ivey: The best album of the year could really be a three-way tie for me. I went back and forth between L.A.B.O.R, Oneirology and iSLAND before finally settling on One Be Lo’s long awaited LP. The Binary Star member returned with a vengeance as he released his best album sinceS.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.G-Side almost landed both of their 2011 projects on my list, but their second effort of the year was a lock for my top 3. Kno was behind the boards of two of the year’s best with he,Deacon The Villain & Natti’s new CunninLynguists LP as well as MarQ Spekt’sMacheteVision.Thes One & Double K kept it fun while unveiling some of their most original production yet onHighlighter. The Doppelgangaz impressed me with their original style on Lone Sharks whileLocksmith dropped some lyrical fireworks with the help of Ski Beatz. Despite a few beats that missed the mark, Kendrick Lamar’s rhymes were able to make up for any shortcomings on his debut Section 80. Dilated Peoples member Evidence showed us The Weatherman was no fluke withCats & Dogs while Killer Mike crafted his most cohesive work to date on PL3DGE. It was really difficult leaving The Roots and Atmosphere off the top 10, but I just couldn’t put them ahead of any of those albums. 2011 was simply a great year for Hip Hop.
Arasia Magnetic: There is a lot that goes into any good album; solid lyrics, production landscapes that bring said lyrics to life, a cohesive vibe, an entertaining yet emotionally evoking aspect that captures moments in time that keep me coming back amongst other things. And 2011 had quite a few albums that did all that and more. It was damn near impossible to list them in order however I knew Nemo Achida would take my number one spot just based on how well put together his project was (and my iTunes informing me that it had well over a thousand spins). Also rounding out the top five was Pharoahe Monch, One Be Lo, CunninLynguists and Apathy, all which released dope albums respectively. Check out the rest below.
Thomas: This has been a good year for Hip Hop as some new faces and vets have released solid albums. Pharoahe Monch dropped a worthwhile album after long hiatus. Newcomers Has-Lo andRasheed Chappell dropped critically acclaimed albums. I’m still baffled by the negative receptionWatch The Throne received. The album was more than high end product placement rap. “New Day,” “Excellent Murder,” “Primetime,” and others showed that. The Roots also dropped another classic album that has high replay value because of its story. yU crafted another album many people will be talking about for years to come. The rhymes (“Blind” and “Fast Money”) were intelligent, introspective, and the production complemented him. Danny Brown continues to impress and Saigon finally released his album after years of talking about it. And the most impressive aspect of The Greatest Story Never Told is that it doesn’t sound dated. But ultimately, my album of the year is Phonte’sCharity Starts At Home. Charity… connects with me on so many levels whether it’s Te’ describing the plight of the common man on “The Good Fight” or discussing his rocky relationship with his brother on, “Who Loves You More.” Te’ was able to tackle these topics and more with his one of a kind wit, charm, and flare. He flawlessly blended the “rapping Te’, four-and-half-mic honoree” and “…singing Te’, first-time Grammy nominee.” And what married man hasn’t had that TYPE of conversation/thought at the end of “Eternally?” Only Te’ would do that.
Kevin
Yonas – The Proven Theory
CunninLynguists – Oneirology
The Roots – undun
J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story
Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch the Throne
yU – The Earn
Murs & Ski Beatz – Love & Rockets Vol.1 : The Transformation
Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R.
Action Bronson – Dr. Lecter
Ski Beatz – 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2
Honorable Mentions
Evidence – Cats & Dogs
Hassaan Mackey & Apollo Brown – Daily Bread
J-Live – S.P.T.A.
Rapper Big Pooh – Dirty Pretty Things
Random Axe – Random Axe
Rashad & Confidence – The Elements of Surprise
Rasheed Chappell – Future Before Nostalgia
Roc C – Stoned Genius
Talib Kweli – Gutter Rainbows
Torae – For The Record
Justin
One Be Lo – L.A.BO.R.
CunninLynguists – Oneirology
G-Side – iSLAND
People Under The Stairs – Highlighter
Locksmith – Embedded
The Doppelgangaz – Lone Sharks
MarQ Spekt & Kno – MacheteVision
Evidence – Cats & Dogs
Kendrick Lamar – Section 80
Killer Mike – PL3DGE
Honorable Mentions
The Roots – undun
Atmosphere – The Family Sign
G-Side – The One…Cohesive
Phonte – Charity Starts At Home
Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R.
Reef The Lost Cauze & Snowgoons – Your Favorite MC
Strange Fruit Project – A Dreamer’s Journey
Rasheed Chappell – Future Before Nostalgia
DTMD – Makin’ Dollas
YelaWolf – Radioactive
Arasia
Nemo Achida – Nemotional
Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R.
One Be Lo - L.A.B.O.R.
CunninLynguists – Oneirology
Apathy – Honkey Kong
Ab-Soul – Long Term Mentality
Kendrick Lamar – Section 80
G-Side – The One…Cohesive
Phonte – Charity Starts At Home
Rasheed Chappell – Future Before Nostalgia
Honorable Mentions
yU – The Earn
DTMD – Makin’ Dollas
Co$$ – Before I Awoke
Evidence – Cats & Dogs
Rapper Big Pooh – Dirty Pretty Things
Common – The Dreamer/The Believer
Blu & Exile – Give Me Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them
Action Bronson & Statik Selektah – Well-Done
Mistah F.A.B. – I Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebook
Clipse rapper Pusha T has dropped off a drug-inspired..
Visual for 'What Dreams Are Made Of,' one of..
The darker songs from his 2011 EP, 'Fear of God II: Let Us Pray,'
Which features the G.O.O.D. rapper amidst a mountain..
Of coke lines, scales, straws, cash and bubbly, and even a live python.
The Jason Goldwatch-directed video was shot back..
In November, but premiered on Thursday (Jan. 5), thanks to Red Bull.
"[The clip] is arrogant, it's a bit brash, it's about excess, fast living and articulating a lifestyle, a lifestyle that we know very well," Pusha revealed, while on set.
They say everything is bigger and better in Texas.
So there is no doubt on why Texas Holdem is one of the biggest poker games.
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker.
The game consists of two cards being dealt face down..
To each player and then five community cards..
Being placed face-up by the dealer a series of three ("the flop")..
Then two additional single cards ("the turn" and "the river" or "fourth and fifth street" respectively), with players having the option to check, bet, raise or fold after each deal.
They say everything is bigger and better in Texas.
So there is no doubt on why Texas Holdem is one of the biggest poker games.
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker.
The game consists of two cards being dealt face down..
To each player and then five community cards..
Being placed face-up by the dealer a series of three ("the flop")..
Then two additional single cards ("the turn" and "the river" or "fourth and fifth street" respectively), with players having the option to check, bet, raise or fold after each deal.
Karanastic, AKA the self proclaimed "Internets Best Rapper.
The reason that I’m called that is because it’s true.
My songs contain fast flows, offensive subject matter and clever non-radio rhymes.
All my music is free to stream and download.
Vegetarians must beware though, I serve it raw.
I originate from the East Coast. A small town outside of Providence, RI..
Is where I called home for the first chapter of my life. Once I was 19 I packed up my stuff and moved to National City, California before eventually settling to North County San Diego.
Why did I move away from the East? It’s cold as hell and winter sucks. Why did I move from National City? Someone robbed my house and the meth addicts on my steps were annoying.
Rap has been a passion ever since I first heard the album No Way Out by Puff Daddy & The Family. Admit it, that Victory joint is still off the chain.
One thing I never understood a few years back was when Skillz..
Actually considered not going through with his yearly “Rap Up.”
The series is single-highhandedly one of the doper aspects of Hip-Hop and on the first day of 2012.
The Virginia MC blessed us with his take the year that just passed.
An actual breakdown of the song isn’t necessarily needed seeing as how the blueprint is already well known.
That said, Skill does his thing and jogs through 2011 and all of its important/controversial people, places and things.
No stone is left unturned as topics include Oprah forming her own network, the scandal at Penn State and even Gucci Mane’s face gets addressed.
In layman’s terms, the record is worth a listen and doubly worth the nostalgia. Skillz better never stop doing this recap.
It’s Hip-Hop’s and no other style of music can say they have something as unique to call their own. The “Rap Up” is damn near just an important part of the New Year’s festivities as is getting drunk.. almost.
Raekwon rings in the new year with a new mixtape "Unexpected Victory" ft. Mobb Deep, Capone N Noreaga, Styles P & production from 9th wonder & more. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
New mixtape from FABOLOUS the 3rd installment of the "There Is No Competition Series." Hosted by DJ Drama. The mixtape has features from Meek Mill, Trey Songz, Jadakiss, Styles P, Red Cafe & more.
HipHop.Org's Staff sends our deepest condolences to Mario Hamilton's family & friends.
Our thoughts and prayers will remain with you through this time of great grief and sadness.
Here is yet another unnecessary act of violence and another young life lost.
When will it cease and desist. I personally lost my cousin, he was 20 at the time of his passing.
The feeling of having a friend or family member taken from you is indescribable and yet it could be avoided so easily.
When did individuals in our society choose to pick up a gun instead of talk out our differences in opinions. It's a crying shame that shit like this happens.
God bless the family ofg Mario Hamilton and may he rest in peace. He is in God's hands now. --- Pax L. Bowling
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the case call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477 or contact Det. Quinn at 404-245-8039.
After almost fifteen years writing for The Source, XXL, URB, Vibe, and five years as editor-in-chief at RIME,
James Dunn has seen more press kits than you've seen packed lunches,
and sent more emails than you've sent instant messages.
Since taking his editorial experience across the desk in 2005 as head of L.A.-based Dunn Deal PR,
he has logged more industry contacts than you've logged into Facebook,
and planned more publicity campaigns than you've planned trips to the barbershop. We love urban culture. We respect it. We understand it.
We know how to represent it. Every day we pitch material to editors, bloggers, writers, radio music directors, deejays and content reviewers across the world.
Print publications, from newsstand favorites to regional alt-weeklies to college newspapers. Web magazines, from urban mainstays to political e-zines to hundreds of music blogs.
Radio stations, from hundreds of college music directors to thousands of college and commercial deejays whose email inboxes receive singles from Dunn Deal every week.
Video outlets, from cable giants to burgeoning online hubs. Today we're a four-person team, and urban music is our foundation, not our limitation.
We've worked fine art projects from The RZA as well as Rick Allen of Def Leppard and Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction. We've represented Bootsy Collins' online bass guitar school The Funk University, featuring professors Meshell N'Degeocello, Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, Larry Graham and more.
We've represented the world's first Toy Art Gallery. We're spreading New Orleans producer DJ Quickie Mart's artist-sanctioned dubstep remixes of tracks from Freddie Gibbs, Shyvonne and more across the net.
And this is all in addition to urban clients like Murs (currently on Dame Dash's new DD172/BluRoc imprint), Alpha Pup subsidiary Hellfyre Club, Planet Asia and many more whose new songs, albums and videos we send to thousands of contacts worldwide.
So what do you have? An album or a mixtape? A single or a video? An art line or a novel? $50,000 or $500?Tell us what you got, tell us what you want, and we'll tell you what we can do for you.
HipHop.Org and Partners would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Kristina Curry.
Ms. Curry is a very multifaceted versatile individual, whom we consider a great addition to our team.
Mscurry414 "Kristina " a promoter, writer, poetic a create all around chick from Milwaukee raised in Dallas.
Dope is an understatement that describes her aura but it just seems to fit.
There is nothing that she won't do or can do, whatever is asked of her she puts forth all effort to the Max.
She does this not to become famous but successful and help those who want to be in the limelight. There aren't any right words to tell you who she is. Want proof just keep watching out for yourself.