certified gangsta

Bring out yr dead.

2009-01-27T23:09:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts round here. I have moved operations over to the Tumblr. It was a difficult decision. I'm not sure I'm using Tumblr correctly. I don't exactly understand what re-blogging entails and it feels like an echo chamber when I sign onto the dashboard. I certainly don't know enough ex-Gawker employees to be there. But until Blogger comes up with a way to embed mp3s, that's where I'll be.

Too Much Love

2006-12-02T18:05:00.000-05:00

Dear The Game,

Could you please make "Too Much" the next single?
There's probably some law of good taste against releasing two Scott Storch tracks in a row, but c'mon man. That line you have about letting it bump as if you had him tied up in the trunk is a sly enough acknowledgement of his obnoxious tendencies for me.
I mean "Let's Ride (Strip Club)" is aight, I guess, but this one is really going to help flesh out those first week drop offs. Besides, Just Blaze Public Enemy rips are just so October, so "Remedy" is kind of out of the question. It does wreck though.
And let's be real, Nate Dogg could probably use the royalty checks.

Sincerely,
Matt

P.S. Have you ever google image searched yourself? No Gideon Yago.
There are a surprising number of pictures of you sitting on tires out there.

Nukin' and Buckin' and Ready to Fight

2006-12-07T10:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Idolator for pointing out that Crime Mob has had some issues to deal with in the ramp-up to Hated On Mostly.
Also thanks to Idolator, who gives daps to Dicobelle on this one, for giving us the Haddaway sampling "What Is Love."
Get ready for a lot of people who didn't realize that they were terribly unfunny in 1997 to start making like Ferrell and Kattan all over again.
Also, while doing some research for the above, this was stumbled upon. Yes, it's 18-month-old news and probably just from a one-off, ill-conceived press release and nothing at all to get excited about, but I'm all excited.

And that should be a perfect warning.

2006-12-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

Let's say someday soon you find yourself walking around with a bittorrented version of the new LCD Soundsystem full-length burning a whole in your hard drive.
Maybe you are not expecting much. Maybe you have not been thinking about James Murphy lately. Maybe you get through the first three songs and are not underwhelmed--because that's not the right word--but just a little unsure of where things go from here.
And then track four cues and it's the static pulse noise from the best fifth of the Nike/iTunes thing.
"Oh motherfucking snap," is something you might think to yourself as you realize that said movement is now a full-formed song named "Someone Great."

Oh, indeed.

2007-01-24T22:43:00.000-05:00

Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyo.
Preach it Noz.

Apologies for this being slept on, but there is a new 9 to 5 that involves the Internet, and, well, we all know that joke.
Promises to be back posting somewhat regularly.

Blood Meridian: The Musical

2007-01-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

"Yeah, that's why I went and put it on YouTube. I wasn't shooting for TV. I know there's a whole world on the internet; I don't need TV."
Lonnie Rott, via a hit on the hip, reminded of this yesterday. As if this beast needs to be reminded of.

Also, fully aware of the Breihan swagger jack here, but it needs to be said: THIS GUY IS FUCKING BRILLIANT!

Now, what are you waiting for? Go my son, YouTube that feeling.

Blood Thirsty Babe

2007-09-18T15:26:00.000-04:00

Forgive me for taking, like, two whole fiscal quarters to get 10 tracks past "Umbrella" on Good Girl Gone Bad, but holy A-symmetrical haircut, bros and ladies!

When did Riri get to recording over cleaned-up TV on the Radio demos?

"Question Existing" (Z-Share)

I know Def Jam and Interscope aren't really talking right now but someone needs to look up the Sitek Bros. on the Universal Music Group list-serv and make it happen.

Soon We'll Understand

2007-09-20T01:37:00.000-04:00

According to Eskay, YN and probably some other dudes who go by a couple one-two initials, the Big Homey is officially going to attempt a comeback from the comeback.

Let's hope its loose associations with American Gangster will give Hov license to rhyme about subjects other than grocery shopping at Dean & Deluca or whatever. Let's hope when they say first single with Pharrell they really mean first single secretly only produced by Chad in his Hell Hath No Fury hyperbaric chamber. Let's hope that S Dot heeds Billups' advice.

Sheeeeit, while we're at it, let's hope this sparks a delirious breakout of new Billups posts. The dude lives at the corner of Internet and Fucking Brilliant.

The Yeas Have It

2007-10-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, when listening to the new Yeasayer album, I'm thinking: "OK, we get it. This is a little too much."

Other times I'm like: "Shit yeah! Every song needs a chorus of kids and falsetto zombies on backing vocals on the outro! Is that a clarinet!?!? Turn the handclaps up, we are jamming! More solo please!"

Yeasayer - "2080"

Between this, "Strawberry Jam" and the Celebration album, I am going to have to grow my hair out and start trading tapes.

I Got Pataki at Me

2007-11-08T22:35:00.000-05:00

As of yesterday, there is a new mixtape in the world from noted cult leader/recluse/raider of answering machines Cam'ron.

The intro to this tape is more than six and a half minutes of Cameron Giles explaining the last six months of Cameron Giles' life. It is worth the price of admission.

Apparently he and Jimmy won't be making music anymore. That's only sort of a bummer. I just hope we still get a Back Like Cooked Crack Vol. 4: The Crack Cracks Crack.

"I've never seen such foolishness, buffoonery, hogwash and a bigger gaffe ever ran in my life." (c) King Joffe Joe

PS. Anyone else more than a little hesitant to give the Dipset your email address? Me too.

PPS. Four minutes of Cam rapping over "Don't Stop Believing?" Yes please. What a world we live in.

Hear The Song

2007-11-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hey! Dudes who spend all of their time worrying that rap "isn't saying anything," and, who get convoluted-the-hell-out to remedy this, please check out the first track on the new Freeway album.

It is called "This Can't Be Real." Note how Free deftly flips the title's disbelief so that it refers to both his current Roc-La-Billionaire status and the general fucked-upness of life in North Philly.

They Reminisce Over You

2007-11-27T21:50:00.000-05:00

I know the dudes are on the payroll of Puma or Fred Perry or whatever, but this is a very nice essay with some very pretty pictures and one hell of a trip in the Wayback Machine via the YouTube collage. The Moldy Peaches! Radio 4!?

Whoever thought these would be the dudes from Class of '01 most likely to get all Industrial Light & Magic on us?

Chad Butler

2007-12-04T15:46:00.000-05:00

More later, but for now I'm just going to stay being bummed on this.

The Undisputed Underground Queen

2007-12-12T14:16:00.001-05:00

Gangsta Boo is back with the Hypnotize Minds camp? DJ Paul and Juicy J are doing beats for her? Don't they have their own album/dropped ball reality cash in to worry about? Didn't she find Jesus?

I'm like whateva man, because this is a hell of a song.

While on the topic of Lady Boo, you should roll on over to the House of Noz and pick up the extra-enlightening Doc Jam remix of "Sippin and Spinnin."

Luckily, the King of All Internet Raps doesn't dead his links after a few months. That means Happy Holidays to you.

Fly Your Flag

2007-12-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

Presented here, in somewhat super-scientifical order (Big ups iTunes play count function!), are the 27 Certified tracks of the year of our Lord two-thousand and seven.

1. M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"

2. LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"
3. R. Kelly ft. T-Pain and T.I. - "I'm A Flirt (Remix)"

4. Tip Harris - "Tell 'Em I Said That"
5. UGK ft. Outkast - "Int'l Players Anthem"

6. El-P - "Tasmanian Pain Coaster"
7. Animal Collective - "For Reverend Green"
8. Jay-Z - "Blue Magic"

9. Black Lips - "Katrina"
10. The Jesuses - "Let it Loose"
11. DJ Khaled ft. Akon, T.I., Ricky Rawwws, Fat Joe, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Lil Kim, Robert Sylvester Kelly, T-Pain - "We Takin' Over" and "We Takin' Over Remix (a.k.a. A Whole Lot of Us Took Over)"

12. Prodigy - "Bang On 'Em"
13. Project Pat - "Ready For Whateva"
14. Lil D'Wayne Carter - "Upgrade"
15. Dizzee Rascal ft. UGK - "Where da G's?"
16. Radiohead - "All I Need"
17. Rihanna - "Question Existing"
18. Spoon - "The Underdog"

19. Arcade Fire - "No Cars Go"
20. !!! - "Must Be the Moon"

21. Vampire Weekend - "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance"
22. Klaxons - "It's Not Over Yet"

23. Kanye West ft. Young Jeezy - "Can't Tell Me Nothin (Remix)"
24. Okkervil River - "Savannah Smiles"
25. Juelz Santana - "The Second Coming"

26. Liars - "Freak Out"

27. Menonema - "Muscle n' Flo"

Some albums that I listened to a bunch will probably appear in a similar post tomorrow, and -- later still -- a bunch of videos I watched on GooTube.

Back Like Zab

2008-01-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

Add us up, dumb fuck: the sum of all your fears.

Good Grief

2008-01-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

Not that I had confused Bernard Freeman with someone who was going to do a year of magical thinking or anything, but this is, ahem, fantastic news.

Word to Eskay and, of course, R.I.P. Chad.

Take Your Charge

2008-02-20T16:54:00.007-05:00

Three questions raised by B.G.'s new Gangsta Grillz mix tape:

1. Hey, Cliff, you're not really going to keep up this whole "there is T.I. and then there is T.I.P." thing, are you?

2. How did it take someone this long to rap some raps over "The Final Countdown"?

3. Where you been, Jeezy? Glad to have you back.

Take Your Charge cont.

2008-02-21T12:47:00.005-05:00

Three more questions raised by B.G.'s new Gangsta Grillz mix tape:

1. Does DJ Drama's voice just have a natural echo effect on it at this point?

2. Like, if he orders at Starbucks, does it sound something like this: "Let me get that tall cinnamon dolce latte-ottayottayottay..."?

3. How stoked are you for the Hot Boys reunion?

New Skin

2008-03-29T00:50:00.007-04:00

I have started a thought stream on Tumblr.

You can check it here.

The purpose of a Tumblr is a work in progress but, hell, it really vibes with posting frequently... and things as frivolous as Descendents covers on the piano.

Brave new world.

Endorsement opportunities

2008-04-28T19:43:00.008-04:00

This Santogold album, when one finally stops putting it off for fear of dashed expectations, is approximately 12-15 times better than anticipated. It also contains a song titled, "Shove It." It features Spank Rock doing his best Rich Boy impression and a chorus, chanted ad nauseum, of, "we think you're a joke, shove your hope where it don't shine."

Sly political commentary? Blatant attempt at that Clinton donor guap? Just some shit that sounds vaguely contrarian enough for the post-M.I.A. image?

Loose fit

2008-05-01T11:13:00.007-04:00

After repeated listens, the new Rich Boy mixtape is officially an unexpected gem. It is straight up heartening to see a dude with promise come back from a half-misfire of a debut by playing totally to his strengths. With summer approaching we could all use a fresh batch of drawled out car talk over in-house down south production.

That said, it's still hard getting used to snarl-mouthed rappers rapping raps about Ecstasy.

Dude? Robert Miles? The circa 1997 Euro-club takeover of rap is unstoppable. Probably not a bad thing.

To complicate the mix even further, "Rollin Rollin" was a Jackie Chain joint before Rich Boy got his hands on it. He actually makes references to catching back rubs in the VIP in the original. Apologies for showing up five months late to the party Jackie.

Here's hoping "Go" supplants "Scarface" as default hip hop movie reference, if only for a few months.

If the film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Had Been Made in 2008...

2008-06-25T21:51:00.004-04:00

Spicoli would have blown his reward money hiring Lil Wayne and T-Pain, together known as T-Wayne to the thinking man, to play his birthday party.

Word to Diamond Dave.

1990

2008-06-11T17:55:00.006-04:00

It's real. A routine trip south of 14th Street to see what new colors the standard Uni-Qlo t-shirt is popping off in for the summer proved it.

The graduating class of 2008's neon-dipped color scheme is right in line with the year in which most it was born.

Expect Lil Mama to rip 32 bars over the following slice of YouTube nostalgia on her next mixtape.

Quotables

2008-05-16T18:02:00.004-04:00

The world weariness in Jayceon's voice is getting fairly epic. Maybe he just stepped to the booth after a 4 a.m. karaoke slumber party on this one, but I hope that hoarseness is here to stay. Too bad that voice and an always welcome Keyshia appearance are wasted on a track that rocks its audience gently to sleep.

The endless run down and reverence for Luke, Kane, Jay, Cube, et. al. was old on the last album. There are better places than lead singles to waste time worrying about who is getting enough votes for entry into the canon. Like, maybe, here. Game, you are not a Nah Right commenter. You are a sometimes more than serviceable major label rapper with a decent following and production budget. Live in the now, man.

Also, it would appear that Raekwon has taken to the Baron Davis/Rick Ross-inspired beard trend. Check the 2:40 mark. This is cause for celebration.