Album Of The Day: Juggaknots-"Clear Blue Skies"

Download*

The Juggaknots are a group headlined by Breezly Brewin, a great underground MC. This 2003 album is unquestionably their best work but apparently it never caught on because I hardly ever see it mentioned. If you were born in the late '80's/'90's, you might have heard the song "Trouble Man" since I think it was featured on one of those immensely popular Tony Hawk skateboarding video games. Everyone's got that one friend that just ran train in Tony Hawk. Anyway, download this album.

*Don't blame me if this download gives your computer a virus, I did not upload that shit.

Album Of The Day: Kidz In The Hall- "School Was My Hustle"

Download*

Today's album is Naledge and Double O's debut effort, School Was My Hustle. I had never heard of Kidz In The Hall until I read up on how Just Blaze threw the "Rumpshaker" horns on one of their songs and used it for Jay's then-new single "Show 'Em What You Got". Still having never heard any of their music, I checked this album on a hunch and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was totally fresh, pure hip-hop from front to back.

*Don't blame me if this download gives your computer a virus because I did not upload that shit.

Dream Albums Do Come True...Maybe

According to VladTV, "50 is Patiently Waiting On Kanye for Joint Project", an idea that I pitched on this very site right around the time of the Graduation vs. Curtis album sales showdown. Since then, Fiddy's popularity as an artist has plummeted and his Sleek headphone venture was a flop, so he's turning to Kanye presumably because he's all out of ideas. Between label politics and Kanye's better judgment I kind of doubt that this album ever materializes, but if it does I hope that they at least consider the title He's The D-Bag, I'm The Rapper.

Album Of The Day: Lake & Cormega-"My Brother's Keeper"

Download*

With not much happening in the rap world, I've decided to add a new feature to the site called "Album Of The Day" where everyday I'll give shine to a different, underrated album. The first is Lake and Cormega's My Brother's Keeper, a collection of street tales from two Queensbridge hustlers turned inmates turned rappers. From what I can piece together through various songs, Lake and Mega grew up together but had a falling out at some point, possibly when one or the other went to prison. Eventually they settled their differences and reunited to make this album, back in '06. Only about half of the songs on this are any good, but it still comes highly recommended for fans of East Coast street shit such as myself.

*Don't blame me if this download gives your computer a virus because I did not upload that shit.

PropsOverHere Presents: The Remixes (Pt. II)

Download

It's been a while since I posted a download, so here's another one of my famous mixtapes with more remixes. Tracklist below.

1. A Tribe Called Quest - "Oh My God" (Remix)

2. AZ & Nas - "The Essence" (Remix)

3. G-Dep - "Special Delivery" (Remix)

4. The Firm - "Affirmative Action" (Remix)

5. Junior M.A.F.I.A. - "Player's Anthem" (Remix)

6. Lord Finesse - "Hip 2 Da Game" (Buckwild Remix)

7. Large Professor - "The Radar" (Marco Polo Remix)

8. Smif-N-Wessun - "Wrekonize" (Remix)

9. AZ - "Gimme Yours" (Remix)

10. Das Efx - "Jussumen" (Pete Rock Remix)

11. Artifacts - "The Ultimate" (Showbiz Remix)

12. M.O.P. - "Handle Ur Bizness" (Premo Remix)

13. Slum Village - "Players" (Pete Rock Remix)

14. Jay-Z - "In My Lifetime" (Big Jaz Remix)

Album Review: Jay Rock- "Follow Me Home"

I profess that I don't know much about Jay Rock. I didn't even know that he was from Cali until I consulted Wikipedia just now. What I do know about him is that he dropped the Cool & Dre produced single/Weezy feature "All My Life" in 2008 a la Saigon, but I still bump that shit from time to time. The next leak from this album, "Hood Gone Love It", is almost as good and cracked my top 10 from the first half of the year. Does the rest of his debut album match the quality of the first two singles or does it all go downhill from there?

1. Intro

Jay Rock is interviewed about a drive-by and welcomes us to “Guttaville”.

2. Code Red

Sort of a continuation from the intro, this one is about how real shit gets in Watts, naturally over an imitation Dre beat. Jay even brings in a guy that sounds like Snoop Dogg to do the chorus.

3. Bout That

More tough guy gangsta raps, except this one is more of a mess musically than the last song. This sounds like a throwaway from a Game tape.

4. No Joke (Feat. Ab-Soul)

At this point its clear that Jay Rock isn’t gonna do anything that hasn’t been done before, based on all of the interchangeable verses about the hood so far. Not necessarily a bad thing, since that’s clearly what he’s best at. I like this track to the first two thanks to the chopped up piano sample though I could do without Ab-Soul on the hook.

5. Hood Gone Love It (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)

I talked about this track in my intro to this review and in that “Halftime” post but it bears repeating, this is great. I’m glad J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League gave this to Jay Rock now that Rick Ross only raps over different variations of the “I’m Not A Star” beat.

6. Westside (

feat. Chris Brown)

Considering this is a Breezy feature about banging hoes, I’m not mad at this. It’s not a very good song, but I hope it gets Jay Rock some airplay.

7. Elbows

Here’s another fake Dre track though this one, unlike the first, is well worse than the real thing. Jay Rock brings an extra raspy, aggressive flow that, combined with the Dre-like production, invokes a Restless-era Xzibit.

8. Boomerang

This is the least inspired moment of this album so far, which says a lot since there was already a Chris Brown, girl track.

9. All I Know Is

Some more unoriginal, West Coast gangsta rap but this time, instead of a guy that sounds sort of like Snoop, they got a guy that sounds sort of like Nate Dogg to do the hook. Rest in peace.

10. I'm Thuggin'

I know I said that Jay Rock’s lack of ingenuity wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at this point it’s almost embarrassing. I mean the hook on this is him repeating “Bitch, I’m Thuggin’”. Come on now.

11. Kill or Be Killed

Tech N9ne, who I’ve never been able to get into, lends a guest verse on a song about shooting people. For what it’s worth, Jay’s verse describing a dude getting rushed off to the hospital and shit might be his best lyricism so far.

12. Just Like Me (Feat. J.Black)

A somber track about the ugly side of ghetto living, basically the opposite of “Hood Gone Love It”.

13. Say Wassup (Feat. Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, & Schoolboy Q)

Jay Rock brings in the rest of “Black Hippy” for this the best song in some time. Even though the gangbang shit might be in Jay Rock’s element, the best songs on here are the ones that are the least gangsta sounding, but that might just be my personal preference.

14. They Be On It

Jay spits braggadocio raps about cars and bitches and whatnot. This is alright but I wouldn’t care if I never heard this again.

15. M.O.N.E.Y.

This is a lot like the last song that this guy J. Black sang on. I get the sense that every time Jay Rock feels like he has something really serious to rap about he calls up J. Black, finds a dark piano beat, and hits the booth.

16. Finest Hour (Feat. Rick Ross & BJ The Chicago Kid)

This J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League track sounds like some of the beats they’ve done for Rick Ross in the past, so it’s no surprise to find Rozay on here. I think if they handled all the production on this album it would be an entirely different story.

17. Life's A Gamble

Here’s another dark piano beat, probably the best yet. I think I’ve heard this one before and there was a video for it if I’m not mistaken. This is pretty chill but not really anything special.

18. All My Life (Feat. Lil' Wayne)

This song is still terrific but it’s old news. They might as well have put "California Soul" on here too. I mean if you haven’t heard this by now then definitely go do that.

Comments:

Eh. This album had its moments, but also had lots of filler, which I guess is to be expected since there were 18 songs on there. Like I said, with better production value I think Jay Rock could put out something much better, as evidenced by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Cool & Dre tracks.

Best Songs: "Hood Gone Love It", "All My Life"

1.

Album Review: Wu-Tang Clan- "Legendary Weapons"

This is the newest Wu-Tang compilation album with a who's who of guest appearances in the same vein as that Wu-Tang Chamber Music album that dropped a few years back. I've already heard a few of these songs, but I'm still interested to see how it is as a whole. Will this be the next great Wu-Tang release or a weak, 2011 version of Wu-Tang Collective?

1. Start The Show (Feat. Raekwon & RZA)

A great way to kick off the album. Street Radio lends his only beat on here that features a live guitar and bass that sounds pretty tight. I was never a fan of RZA the rapper but he and Rae come correct on this.

2. Laced Cheeba (Feat. Ghostface Killah, Sean Price, & Trife)

This beat has a heavy bassline and hard drums that give it a grimy feel that isn't all that different from the first track or every great Wu-Tang song ever, come to think of it. You can't go wrong with a lineup like Ghost, P, and Trife, either. Two for two so far.

3. Diesel Fluid (Feat. Method Man, Trife, & Cappadonna)

It's clear that the producers on this album (Fizzy Womack and some weed carriers according to Discogs), were shooting for this dark, dirty production style for this album. This one has a sick bass but is a little more boring than the first two. Nothing special lyrically on here either, especially from Cappadonna who hasn't dropped a good rap since "Independence Day".

4. The Black Diamonds (Feat. Ghostface, Roc Marciano, & Killa Sin)

This beat is aight, nothing special, but Ghostface, Roc Marci, and Killa Sin on the same shit? Sign me the fuck up!

5. Played By The Game (Interlude)

Nothing to review here.

6. Legendary Weapons (Feat. Ghostface, AZ, & M.O.P.)

This is fucking nails and I'm not just saying that because I'm a stan for just about everyone involved. This beat is one of the best yet, Ghostface and AZ kill it, and you can always count on M.O.P. to add some excitement to a song. Definitely worthy of the title track.

7. Never Feel This Pain (Feat. Inspectah Deck, U-God, & Tre Williams)

This isn't terrible, but it's pretty underwhelming compared to the rest of this which is appropriate since U-God and Tre Williams are on it. Even Deck, formerly a masterful verse writer, has basically lost his edge at this point.

8. Drunk Tongue (Feat. Killa Sin)

Every Wu-Tang album from here out should be produced by Fizzy Womack and executive produced by RZA. These are the dirtiest, most Wu-sounding collection of tracks I've heard in years and this in particular has some of that Asian music influence. This one is a Killa Sin solo which is cool to hear since he's a great MC who's always a part of a group or a guest rapper or something.

9. The Business (Interlude)

10. 225 Rounds (Feat. U-God, Cappadonna, Bronze Nazareth, & RZA)

I kinda like this beat and the intro is cool but I'm not a fan of any of these guys as rappers. At least they consolidated them all onto the same track rather than letting U-God or Cappadonna drag down some of the better shit.

11. Meteor Hammer (Feat. Ghostface Killah, Action Bronson, & Termanology)

This is one of the tracks I had heard previously, and it's definitely tight. They should scrap the Ghostface/DOOM project for one with Action Bronson since he's basically the white Ghostface and it's sick hearing them rhyme on the same track. Termanology lends the third verse and sounds very weak by comparison.

12. Live Through Death (Interlude)

13. Only The Rugged Survive (Feat. RZA)

Another grimy beat with live instrumentation to cap off the album, but this doesn't change my opinion on RZA as a rapper.

14. Outro

At least those interludes had beats and movie samples and shit...

Comments:

Nails from start to finish. I think had they replaced U-God and Cappadonna with GZA and Masta Killa, who were entirely absent from this album (maybe the hung it up), this could have been the best album this year. I sort of have the feeling that this is the kind of shit that sounds great on the first listen but lacks replay value. I guess I'll find out in the coming weeks. Still, I encourage you to check it out and cop it when it drops 7/26.

Best Songs: "Legendary Weapons", "Meteor Hammer", "Laced Cheeba"

PropsOverHere Presents: The Top 20 Rap Duos of All Time

As Rob Base once famously said, "It takes two to make a thing go right". Not much would "go right" for him and DJ EZ Rock after that record, except maybe for "I wanna rock right now" royalty money, but the saying is still applicable to a number of other hip-hop duos. With that in mind, I've counted down my top 20 MC twosomes in the history of rap. Just to make it clear, these were my parameters for a "duo":

1. The group has to consist of two rappers only, unless the third member is a DJ or something that no one really knows about. This leaves out Gang Starr, Reflection Eternal, etc.

2. The duo has to either release at least one album under a joint, group name or release two or more albums otherwise. This leaves out Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and the like.

The list can now be found on this page. Of course, feel free to recklessly insult me on the rankings.

PropsOverHere Investigates: Are Wiz, Curren$y, & Big Sean Making An Album?

Why the fuck not? Wiz Khalifa has mysteriously leaked two tracks in as many days featuring Sean and Spitta that just happen to be produced by the same guy (Big Jerm). While I was never big on Wiz and I just recently pronounced Big Sean as a complete failure, I must admit that if these two songs are any indication, this album would be legit. Since there haven't been any rumblings about these guys teaming up I have my doubts, but I also doubt that they would record two great songs together just for the fuck of it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. If nothing else, it gave me an excuse to get back on my Photoshop game, get it "High And Rising"? Because they smoke pot!

Update:

Big Sean claims in a radio interview that he's "working on a secret project with two other guys that are killin' it in hip hop right now." Apparently it's gonna be a mixtape and not an album, but still should be tight.

Album Review: Gangrene & Roc Marciano- "Greneberg EP"

Last year, producer slash rappers Alchemist and Oh No put out an album under "Gangrene" called Gutter Water. Though I'm normally a big fan of Alchemist's production, this album wasn't for me, possibly due to Oh No's offbeat, Stones Throw influence, or maybe because of the lack of good rapping. Well they're back, this time with the help of one of my personal favorite MCs, Roc Marciano, whose U.N. material with Pete Rock I've raved about extensively on this site. So did Roc Marcy's addition make Gangrene worthwhile or was this EP just more of the same?

1. New Shit

This is the first of two tracks that don't feature Roc Marciano, which is sort of a bummer. The beat on here is precisely the "offbeat, Stones Throw" type of shit that I was talking about. I mean this is interesting musically and would be cool on an Oh No instrumental album, but it doesn't sound right with people rapping over it what with the loudness and people yelling in the background.

2. Papercuts

Here's something more to my liking, a smoothed out Alc beat with a tight baseline and guitar sample. Both Alchemist and Oh No kinda go in on this too, but the New York rap stan in me is begging for a Prodigy verse at the end there.

3. Sewer Gravy (Feat. Roc Marciano)

Roc Marcy makes his intro on the EP over a beat that sounds like something straight out of a blaxploitation movie, in a good way of course. I have to wonder why the fascination with pollution and waste and shit, but this is cool.

4. Hoard 90

This Alchemist track with an electric guitar, or something, is weaker than the last two. Roc Marciano kills it even though he delivers his rhymes so nonchalantly it sounds like he's freestyling this whole thing.

5. Jaws

Straight filth. This sounds like Oh No sampled the piano from a horror film which compliments Marciano's dark lyrics perfectly. As for Roc, he just about had me at "Eat a dick bitch, this is money/This ain't Kid Cudi/This is G shit gully."

6. Jet Luggage

Roc Marciano and Gangrene go in on what could be the best beat yet, and one of Alchemist's dirtier sounding productions in a while. Blaring horns and a piano make up the loop, which is pretty basic, but what makes it is the didgeridoo sound in the background. My only complaint would have to be Marciano's Brian Pumper reference, which comes just months after Naledge dropped one on "Moments". I think one per year is just fine.

7. Momma Told Me

Roc Marciano flows over his own, extra soulful beat full of horns and organs and such. Not that this isn't good, but I can't help but think that Alchemist could've done something a little more inventive with this.

Comments:

A very solid EP to say the least. Nothing on here blew me away, but other than the first track this shit was consistently good both musically and lyrically. Definitely worth a listen.

Best Songs: "Sewer Gravy", "Jet Luggage"

The 10 Most Referenced Ballers In Rap

Since both were originated in the streets and subsequently dominated by black people, rap music and basketball tend to have a lot of overlap; like the Shaq-Fu album, or the time Master P hooped in the summer league. So it comes as no surprise that NBA players are often referenced in rap lyrics, some more than others. With that in mind, here are the ten basketball players that are most commonly referenced in hip-hop.

10. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Best Lyric: "I got a razor sharper than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's barber"- Saigon

Why he's mentioned in rap: Kareem is one of the all-time great centers, but between his short shorts and ridiculous Rec-Specs, nothing about him screams "hip-hop". Maybe it's because he has a funny name.

9. Ron Artest

Best Lyric: "Your boy got more techs than Ron Artest"- Termanology

Why he's mentioned in rap: He reps Queensbridge and has even made some (awful) rap music himself. Also his bad boy attitude resonates with gangsta rappers like, uh, Termanology.

8. Paul Pierce

Best Lyric: "They playin' the C's/But Paul Pierce throwin' up B's/That make the ref affiliated/Every time he hit a 3"- The Game

Why he's mentioned in rap: He's from Inglewood, famously got knifed outside of a night club, and apparently throws gang signs after making a basket.

7. Magic Johnson

Best Lyric: "One of the illest since Magic Johnson/No disrespect/But metaphors keep me out the projects"- Superb

Why he's mentioned in rap: Like his old sidekick Kareem, I assume this has to do with his status as one of the all-time greats, plus he was probably the childhood hero of many 90's era rappers.

6. Scottie Pippen

Best Lyric: "If we stay strong/We can get paper longer than Pippen's arms"- Jay-Z

Why he's mentioned in rap: There's nothing particularly hip-hop about Scottie Pippen either, who hails from Arkansas, the least hip-hop of all the continental United States. However, he was a great player on the most prominent team of the rap era, so I guess it makes sense in that regard.

5. Kobe Bryant

Best Lyric: "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste"- Shaq

Why he's mentioned in rap: Kobe is from a rich suburb of Philadelphia and made even worse rap music than his teammate, the aforementioned Artest. Still, he is admired by rappers for his superior skills on the court, and possibly for raping white bitches.

4. Shaquille O'Neal

Best Lyric: "She ordered the kobe beef like Shaquille O'Neal"- Kanye West

Why he's mentioned in rap: This one is more of a no-brainer. Shaq actually made some pretty legit rap music back in the day, including collabs with Wu-Tang and Erick Sermon, who were still relevant at the time. He reportedly could break dance too, that is before he outgrew every cardboard box ever manufactured.

3. Allen Iverson

Best Lyric: "Probably think I won't murder you, the way I smile/But I'ma take a lotta shots, AI style"- Jadakiss

Why he's mentioned in rap: Speaking of no-brainer, Allen Iverson is the embodiment of the fusion between rap and hoops. His shiny bling, doo rags, and tendency to roll with a posse are part of what brought hip-hop culture to the NBA, much to the disdain of white basketball fans everywhere.

2. LeBron James

Best Lyric: "Handlin' since a teen/Like LeBron or Sebastian/High school graduates"- Jay-Z

Why he's mentioned in rap: Hailed as "The Chosen One" as a fucking high schooler, Bron is one of the most talked about athletes of this generation, so it makes sense that he's #2 on this list. He's also known to "throw up the roc" in celebration of a great play and he may or may not acknowledge DJ Khaled when he sits front row at Heat games.

1. Michael Jordan

Best Lyric: "Freakin' n****s every way like MJ/I can't believe, today was a good day"- Ice Cube

Why he's mentioned in rap: Well this is no surprise, since Jordan is probably the best player ever and hit his prime right when hip-hop music was getting big. Not only does he top the list, but the number of times he's referenced in rap lyrics probably more than doubles anyone else. I'm sure this is Michael's proudest achievement.

It's Halftime

The year has hit its midway point and with that in mind I’m back to rank some rap songs. Thanks to my impeccably organized iTunes library, I know there have been 132 rap songs from the first half of 2011 that I liked enough to add to my hard drive. Damn! Compare this to last year, albeit a tragic year for hip-hop, when I added 124 songs for the entire year. Compiling the top 10 songs was especially difficult but I think these had to be my personal favorites.

10. “Amuse Bouche”- Action Bronson

This song was my introduction to Action Bronson and sounds like a Ghostface song from the nineties. Though this ended up being his strongest effort (in my opinion), I was a big fan of The Program EP as a whole and will continue to check out his shit. He’s white.

9. “Scottie Pippens”- Curren$y Featuring Freddie Gibbs

Spitta and Alchemist’s Covert Coup mixtape wasn’t amazing, but was a treat on 4/20. There were a few gems on it, but this one had to be my overall favorite. This Alc beat has a killer bass guitar and a buncha crazy noises that fits Curren$y like a glove. Still, my favorite part had to be Freddie Gibbs coming on rapping like ’97 Big Daddy Kane about a “turkey bacon sandwich”.

8. “I Miss You”- Jadakiss

Jada spits reminiscent hood raps over a flipped “This Can’t Be Life” sample. This is a beautiful two and a half minutes of hip-hop. If that description didn’t convince you of as much, don’t visit this site again.

7. “So Amazn’”- Kidz In the Hall

I think I’m the only person who still listens to Kidz In The Hall, though I’m not sure why. These hipster-y twenty-something’s can actually make great hip-hop music, yet they get the least buzz out of all of them. The way Double O chops this sample up is wild and Naledge spits a memorable verse in this another two and a half minute song. I highly recommend downloading the entire Semester Abroad Mixtape also.

6. “The Hood Gone Love It”- Jay Rock Featuring Kendrick Lamar

Jay Rock’s second single off of “Follow Me Home” that’s in the vein of “All My Life”, his other good song. This is my favorite J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League beat in forever and Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar kinda kill it. I love the hook too, minus the part about watching someone “show his ass out in public”.

5. “Battle Cry”- Joell Ortiz

I like everything about this song. The Mohammed Ali intro, the beat that sounds like Just Blaze’s best work in years, and Joell’s on-fire rapping. This is just a great song. Produced by Audio Doctor by the way.

4. “Nasty”- Nas

I know I’m a stan, but this has to be the hottest Nas song since “Made You Look”. Nas kicks all sorts of crazy flows over Salaam Remi’s best beat since, well, “Made You Look”, that’s on some old school, Beastie Boys shit. Nas’ rapping is in top form, dropping one classic line after another in his hungriest, fastest delivery since forever. In particular, first few bars of the second verse, “Silent rage/pristine in my Venice shades/ I’m not in the winters of my life or the beginning stage/ I am the dragon/ Maserati/ Bumpin’ Biggie the great legend/Blastin’/I’m after the actress who played Faith Evans.” Holy shit. No one else raps like that.

3. “Anti Freeze”- Pac Div

I thought making the Nas song number one would have been a cop out on my part, so I’m giving credit to some new artists instead. I admittedly don’t know shit about Pac Div, other than accidentally streaming a song or two of theirs on Nah Right. That said, this shit is a banger and some of the verses are cool. Maybe times have dulled by tastes, but I’m beginning to embrace this ATL synth type of shit. I think we all should.

2. “Enemies”- Saigon

You know I had to show love to Saigon! No homo of course. Sai finally dropped that album I’ve been awaiting damn near since I started this blog, back before blogging was “in”. The album was solid and this was the standout to me. I really like this beat and Saigon rhymes about a fake friend that landed him in jail and made him kick a chick’s eye out, or something like that. But seriously, this is 2pac-esque.

1. "It Ain't Hard To Tell"- Elzhi

Speaking of a cop out, here’s a remake of an Illimatic song! I guess it’s unfair, rehashing one of the best songs evar, but Elzhi makes it his own in impressive fashion. From the opening lines, “Now let me start you from the genesis/ Far from where the finish is,” everything Elzhi spits is on point and on time. His rhyming on this may actually be the closest thing to the real ’94 Nas I’ve heard in a while. Go download the Elmatic Mixtape.