Early Tracklisting for the Album of the Year

According to Nahright/ OnSmash:

01. Intro (Feat. DMX)
02. LAX Files (Produced By ???)
03. State of Emergency (Feat. Ice Cube) (Produced By Jonathan “J.R.” Rothem)
04. Bulletproof Diaries (Feat. Raekwon) (Produced By Jelly Roll)
05. My Life (Feat. Lil Wayne) (Produced By Cool & Dre)
06. Money (Produced By ???)
07. Cali Sunshine (Feat. Bilal) (Produced By Nottz)
08. Ya Heard (Feat. Ludacris) (Produced By Nottz)
09. Hard Liquor (Interlude)
10. House Of Pain (Produced By DJ Toomp)
11. Gentleman’s Affair (Feat. Ne-Yo) (Produced By Jonathan “J.R.” Rothem)
12. Let Us Live (Feat. Chrisette Michelle) (Produced By Scott Storch)
13. Touchdown (Feat. Raheem DaVaughn) (Produced By Nottz)
14. Angel (Feat. Common) (Produced By Kanye West)
15. Never Can Say Goodbye (Feat. Latoiya Williams) (Produced By ???)
16. Dope Boys (Feat. Travis Barker) (Produced By 1500 or Nothin’)
17. Game’s Pain (Feat. Keyshia Cole) (Produced By Knobody)
18. Letter to the King (Feat. Nas) (Produced By Hi-Tek)
19. Outro (Feat. DMX)

Update: I made the corrections based on another tracklisting which is floating out there now. This one has Nas on it so I assume it's official or at least more so than the first. I assume where it says (Produced By ???), ??? is either Just Blaze or Timbaland.

Nas is Officially the Biggest Tease in Rap

After last week's preachy and underwhelming release, I announced that I would never get excited over a Nas album again. And then this:

"I want to do an all-Dr. Dre album," he told MTV News. "A whole thing with Dre and a whole thing with Premier, and drop 'em on the same day. That's the real thing. All right, I said it. That's what I really wanna do.""I'm doing my
dream," he continued. "If you could, wouldn't you do it? What else would you do?
Every time I do something, it's, 'Oh, he's doing it because this and that.'
Since my first album, everybody has an explanation of why. What am I supposed to
be doing here? So I wanna drop the Dre album and the Premier album on the same
day. That's what I'm thinking."

So it looks like I have no choice to look foward to this, though I know I'll be let down when it's a double disc joint venture between Salaam Remi and Stargate featuring The Bravehearts.

Album Battlegrounds 2: Black Moon's "Enta Da Stage" vs. Smif-N-Wessun's "Dah Shinin'"

The other day I was listening to Black Moon's classic debut album "Enta Da Stage" and thought about the debates I've seen (on the internets of course) over which Boot Camp Clik album is the best ever. When bumping it I thought it was crazy that anyone would pick another album, but today when I popped in "Dah Shinin,", I was reminded immediately by the first snare on "Timz N Hood Chek" why this topic is so debatable.

Both albums greatly benefit from the grimey basslines, hard hitting drums, and amazing samples provided by Da Beatminerz. While Buckshot's presence in Black Moon gives them a lyrical advantage, the tag team, "P.N.C." element is unique to Smif-N-Wessun.

So which one was better? Obviously I can't decide so I'm interested in what my highly opinionated readership has to say of the matter. I've provided a few tracks and then a poll in which you can make your preference known.

Black Moon "Buck 'Em Down"


Smif-N-Wessun "Shinin'"


Black Moon "I Gotcha Opin"


Smif-N Wessun "Stand Strong"


Black Moon "Who Got Da Props?"


Smif-N-Wessun "Bucktown"

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Notable New Hip Hop

Not much is going on in terms of albums recently except that Nas, but over the past couple days some interesting stuff has leaked out.

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First is this new Jadakiss track "Don't Start Nothin'". I don't know if this is a Roc-A-Fella single, but it would make sense seeing as its produced by Sean C. & LV who handled most of Jay's last album.

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This next song comes from the legendary Mad Scientist, Large Professor. This is "The Intro" of his upcoming solo Main Source. This would be his first real (not instrumental) album since 2001's "1st Class" which I still bump regularly.

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Lastly its my second favorite duo who will never put out an album, Bishop Lamont and Dr. Dre with "Grow Up". This is supposed to be the first single off The Reformation, but I doubt it.

Album Review: Nas- Untitled

Nas is my favorite rapper easily. It is my stance that he has the most impressive catalogue in the history of rap between his solo joints, guest features, unreleased material, mixtape shit etc. However, his solo albums have been spotty pretty much since It Was Written, and I thought that his last album, the critically acclaimed Hip Hop Is Dead, was only mediocre. This album has generated some buzz because it was going to be called the N word but it wasn't until I heard "Hero" that I realized that this may be a good album and not just Nas' latest attempt to stay contreversial. Is it though?

1. Queens Get The Money

So this album is obviously going to be full of contreversial, racial statements and whatnot so I'm just hoping for some good beats and concepts not just slavery references and name drops of Civil Rights activists. I wonder if Jay Electronica would have put drums on this had he never met Erykah Badu.

2. You Can't Stop Us Now (Feat. Eban Thomas)

Salaam Remi is only one of many to use this sample, but its worse in this instance because The RZA flipped it just this year and in the same exact way. I guess this is Nas' theory of how "N words" have evolved through history. It's anyone's guess really, not that its all that important anyway.

3. Breathe

This is that smooth shit I love to hear Nas over. This sounds more like The Hitmen than the mid 90's Trackmasters but I'll take what I can get. There's really not much rapping on this track or the last one necessarily which is worth pointing out.

4. Make The World Go Round (Feat. Chris Brown & The Game)

This beat is better suited for Nas' wife then the man himself. Kind of like a Chris Brown track featuring Nas and The Game. Very wack.

5. Hero (Feat. Keri Hilson)

Just some great verses over an epic banger from Polow Da Don. One of the best tracks in years.

6. America

This is basically the story of Nas' career recently. This beat is so boring and ametuerish and the hook is so god damn annoying that the greatest verse evar could be spit over it and the outcome would still be wack.

7. Sly Fox

Rock inspired hip hop songs usually are skipped but the metal guitar kind of fits the revolutionary tone of the song. Not that the beat is anything special though. This one's about Fox, as in the news network and their political agenda.

8. Testify

This is honestly one of the most boring peices of music I've heard in some time.

9. N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)

This reminds me alot of the song Toomp did for Jay-Z on American Gangster in that the beat is technically good, but there are no drums to make it bang and maybe the sample isn't all that good for rappin over.

10. Louis Farrakhan

Nas compares himself to Louis Farrakhan as far as I can tell. Not a standout by any means.

11. Fried Chicken

It's kind of sad that the best producer on a Nas album is Mark Ronson but this beat is pretty good. Nas and Busta rap about how much they love fried chicken but I guess the message is that black people are unhealthy. Or maybe they just really love fried chicken.

12. Project Roach

Nas rhymes from the perspective of a roach over a another (pretty good) beat with no drums what the hell is that about.

13. Y'all My Ni***s

This beat is more interesting than most of the others but it still sorta sucks.

14. We're Not Alone

A certified snoozefest

15. Black President

Of all the songs from that Green Lantern mixtape this is probably the one I would have least preferred to make the album. It's not a terrible track but the beat is mediocre and the indie rock white guy on the chorus is nearing the AutoTune in the annoying fad department.

Overall:

This was just a huge letdown. I'm sure Nas is aware of the "wack beats" criticism he gets, yet, aside from Polow and Toomp who I guess are "hot" right now, he continues to reach out to the worst producers for the worst beats. I've stopped hoping for Premier and Large Professor, but least his last album had Kanye West and Dr. Dre, even if not on top of their games. He even left that heater from DJ Khalil ("What It Is" or "Esco Let's Go") off the album for no good reason. This is the last time I am getting excited for a Nas album.

Best Tracks: "Hero", "Breathe", "Fried Chicken"

Album Review: G-Unit- "Terminate On Sight"

Since the height of their popularity in 2003, G-Unit has gradually fallen off the radar. Surely some of this has to do with the public's preference for hip hop with no trace of musical value but 50 and the crew are also to blame as they have pretty much put out half-assed music since then, the singles from this album notwithstanding. This album isn't gonna do Weezy numbers, but will it at least deliver as an album?

1. Straight Outta Southside

Gully. A surprisingly tasteful remake of the original too. My bootleg replaces those horns in the beginning and on the "hook" with some synth but I heard the version with the horns on the radio saturday I wonder what the deal with that is.

2. Piano Man

Tony Yayo's verse which kicks this off is comically bad. This uses only a few notes of a piano sample and the rest is just a shitty synth beat which makes me believe that G-Unit made the song as an excuse to laugh at Tony Yayo later.

3. Close To Me

A track about the hoes not unlike the single except over a synth filled version of "Lollipop". Yikes.

4. Rider Pt. 2

50 Cent, whose most lasting quality was his ability to write memorable and catchy hooks, sings on the AutoTune about who knows what in what is the most irratating 35 seconds of rap I've listened to in a while. Fortunately (I guess) it's not exactly like it ruins a classic song, its pretty terrible.

5. Casualties Of War

Another annoying hook and synth beat though this one is more listenable than the rest. Lloyd Banks boasts that he "shits like a dinosaur". Tony Yayo of all people makes up for it with the powerful lyric "fist full of stones/fingers glowin like E.T.".

6. You So Tough

Calling out the fake gangstas I guess. 50 Cent goes after T.I. (kind of) at the end but save yourself the time its not very dramatic.

7. No Days Off

This is just aight which sounds great compared to the rest of this garbage. At least it has a guitar and not just noisy synths.

8. T.O.S.

Same deal with the last one in terms of song quality but this one sounds like a sped up sample of a busy signal.

9. I Like The Way She Do It

The synthy lead single about strippers or something.

10. Kitty Kat

What the fuck, is G-Unit even trying anymore? I swear to god they come up with these ridiculous songs just to make Tony Yayo sound stupid.

11. Party Ain't Over

This sounds like any one of those first couple tracks. In other words, this is awful.

12. Let It Go (Feat. Movado)

As if this album wasn't annoying enough this one's got some Raggae guy yelling about being "gahngsta".

13. Get Down

Swizz Beatz' career resurrection is all that's wrong with hip hop today.

14. I Don't Wanna Talk About It

The other day Tony Yayo was on Shade 45 with Whoo Kid talking about Young Buck and he was like "Game fucked up, he got a mohawk". I LOL'd.

15. Ready Or Not

This is the grimey sound that "Beg For Mercy" had and this album severely lacks. Maybe its the absence of Dr. Dre?

16. Money Make The World Go Round

This one's kind of grimey too but not as good as the last one.

Overall: Well that was awful. I can't say I didn't see it coming. As much as I liked "Beg For Mercy", the singles more or less indicated the direction this album would take which was a very bad thing. I mean as far as I know, the best producers on the last album (Dre, Hi-Tek, and Jake One) didn't contribute anything to this album.

Best Songs: "Straight Outta Southside"

PropsOverHere Presents: Classic Rock

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From the god who brought you "T.R.O.Y." and "The World Is Yours", a collection of unheralded, Pete Rock produced joints.

Tracklisting:

1. Give It To Y'all- The U.N.
2. Nothin Lesser- The U.N.
3. Boston To Bucktown- Special Teamz w/ Buckshot & Sean Price
4. The Rap Game- Pete Rock w/ The Large Professor
5. Death Becomes You- Pete Rock & CL Smooth w/ The YG'z
6. Shout (Remix)- Onyx
7. Long Time Coming- The U.N.
8. Specialize- Pete Rock & CL Smooth
9. Greenbacks- Pete Rock
10. To My Advantage- Pete Rock w/ Nature
11. Beats & Rhymes- Grap Luva
12. Chunky- Ghostface Killah

Verse Of The Year?

Having been listening to Nas and DJ Green Lantern's "N- Tape" mixtape on repeat for about a week now, I have concluded that, the best verse on the mixtape, and thus of the year so far goes to Joell Ortiz. This is not to say that Nas is whack or anything he drops gems all over the album, but Joell, an Aftermath outcast and Brooklyn native just went in on the "Ghetto Remix" which is just a gutta song all around. Here is a link to the track and the lyrics to Joell's verse.

Ghetto (Remix)

Planet earth

The land of the worst

Handle your turf

Canons'll burst and break the wrist of ameteur jerks

Damn it'll hurt to know your man in that hurst

I seen it ten times

They get a small article never the headline

Candles in the lobby next to empty gnac bottles

N*ggas talkin shit like when they see this mack nozzle but

Nothin ever happens

Even if it do, nothin ever happens

We don't talk cuz that ain't gutta if you yappin' in the ghetto

You can ask a n*gga mother what happened and get an echo

Where I'm from, it's so bad

Bunch of ignorant mahfuckas with no dads

Or he did but he didn't care cuz he nursin his dope hab

And when him and they moms argue we always throw jabs

So they grip a chrome mag and walk around like 'who want a toe tag?'

Fiendin' to leave a head see-through like a coat bag

If your life's slightly somethin like the one that Joell had then you (ghetto)

Group of p's (?)

Scoop G's

Duck D's and squeeze

Breeze in old hoopties

Bumpin new Ortiz

And the hoochies please G's by gettin on they knees and givin the part the scarecrow needs

I'm livin that life

The shit that I write is from my heart, my word

Open your pocket grab a sharpie homie, mark my words

If, anybody in the field with me and these bucks

I ain't only endin careers dog

I'm beatin' you up

I'm still ghetto

It's That Time Again: PropsOverHere's 5 Most Anticipated For '08

Last year I actually had to do this twice because only the #5 album on my list actually dropped, but I have been building up my false hope since then in order to bring to you the albums I'm looking foward to this year.

5. DJ Revolution- King Of The Decks

DJ Revolution is a world renown DJ with a fairly unimpressive track record as a producer, given Ed O.G's "Revolution" (which is a nice track) is his finest work as far as I can tell. He is set to showcase his production skills with this producer album on Duck Down which is rumored to include Sean P, Crooked I, Bishop Lamont, Royce 5'9", and Planet Asia amongst a long list of nice MCs.

4. The Game- L.A.X.

Not only is The Game one of the most skilled mainstream rappers (if not the most), he has consistently gets some of the best production. I expect nothing else from this album after the Cool & Dre banger "Big Dreams" and probably one of the more meaningful and creative hip hop tribute songs "Game's Pain". Set for a July release date, this should be the shit for the summer.

3. Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

Here is where I start to set myself up for a letdown. That grimey "Jihad" track with Ghost has me hoping that the album is on its way but I probably thought the same thing when "State of Grace" leaked like three years ago.

2. Nas- [Untitled]

Who knows what this album will end up being called, but I have a good feeling that it's gonna be serious. Nas has gone over my head with this N word message but the tracks I've heard thus far are all quality especially the epic "Hero". Plus, the new mixtape lives up to all the hype. All the signs point toward the next great Nas album.

1. Saigon- The Greatest Story Never Told

This album will be my most anticipated until evey copy of the master is gone from the face of the earth. Most recently, Sai and Just left Atlantic and have full control over the destiny of the album and there are rumors circulating that he'll end up with Jay-Z at Live Nation. Whatever the case, I think (in the right hands) his new track "Better Belive It" with Justin on the AutoTune could blow and that the album may see the light of day in 2008.

The New Nas Single Cranks

Download "Hero"