You have to tip your hat to the people at Apple. They’re always seeking out new ways on how to get your money business. In the battle to ween the 23-40 age demographic off buying physical music for the album artwork, they’re teaming up with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and the Universal Music Group to start packing digital booklets and music videos with every album you download from iTunes.

The labels and Apple are working towards a September launch date for the project codenamed “Cocktail”, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple is looking to attract larger purchases by creating a new type of interactive album material, including photos, lyric sheets and liner notes that allow users to click through to items that they find most interesting. Consumers do purchase large amounts of digital music, but they are buying individual songs rather than higher-margin full albums.

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Last time I had a “Raging Phoenix,” I was out 300 bucks and needed an IV of penicillin. Read the rest of this entry »

If asked to describe this song in one word: GULLY.

What? There ain’t no more to it.

Download — JR&PH7 Feat. Guilty Simpson & Black Milk – “Top Rank”

I hate to be so graphic but anytime you see Statik’s name, he usually has the meanest features on a track. Read the rest of this entry »

New music from LA’s own Co$$. Read the rest of this entry »

The Nice & Curvy, Stephanie Caicedo

‘Saddlesore P’: Pharrell’s Cowboy Hats [Street Level]

How’d That Band Get Their Name? [Don Chavez]

Chris Tucker Owes California Millions in Back Taxes [Gyant Unplugged]

Blue M&Ms Linked To Reducing Spine Injury [CNN]

Congress Officially Declares the President An American Citizen [Animal]

Saigon Performs “Pain In My Life” Live In Boston [Nah Right]

Police Taser Deaf, Disabled Man and Call Him Crazy [Black Voices]

Do The Israelis Have A Beef With Obama? [Time]

NPR’s Best Songs of 2009 (So Far) Playlist [Coed]

Jack Jay-Z’s All-Black Look [CtotheJL]

Sacha Baron Cohen Threatened With Lawsuit by Fake Terrorist, Bodily Harm by Real Terrorists [Vulture]

Women Try’s To Burn Man Balls Off [Freddyo]

Jeff George Is Not Dead Yet [With Leather]

Support The Team. Buy A TSS Shirt [TSS]

Normal looking retro J’s right?

Au contraire, mon frère, at least not when Nike & Jordan Brand are milking the memories have memories & milestones to work with. Read the rest of this entry »

Words by Jesse H.

Ladies, gentlemen of the TSS faithful. I come before you today with some awful, haunting news.

I know we were all comforted by brother Carter’s repeated affirmations that Auto-Tune was dead. We watched tensely as it flirted with a comeback on its deathbed, seeing it gasp a few last robotic breaths, before finally passing to a much-deserved afterlife in the inner circles of pop music Hades.

Well, as I’m sure you can all guess by the somber tone of this post- I have evidence that Auto-Tune is indeed alive and well, hiding and rehabilitating itself, waiting for Hip-Hop trends to again dumb themselves down to levels where the pitch-perfecting software seems repeatedly like a good idea. Read the rest of this entry »

Words by Jesse H.

I’ve been helping a retiring professor move out of his office these past few weeks and it’s been quite an experience. Read the rest of this entry »

The homie Scott passing along this footage from The Paxtons release performance @ the WORK Release Party live @ Atmos NYC last week. Watch as they perform “Smoke,” “American Boy” remix, “Ocean Drive” & “Still Waiting.” Below the break, Chris & Dave perform alongside RaTheMC & AP, doing the “Just Tonight” jammie.

Nice shirts too guys. Read the rest of this entry »

…but this young lady might make me more interested in the pursuits of Bluegrass and Country Western. Read the rest of this entry »

The PRGz smoker’s song gets the viral video treatment. Read the rest of this entry »

Similar to the famed NASCAR event and his EP of the same name, The Kid Daytona has been setting goals for himself and crossing the victory laps with the ease of a checkered flag wave. Accomplishing what would take most newcomers an eternity to complete, the Bronx bomber has released two projects (including the 4 Cig certified Come Fly With Me) and a host of guest verses to pad his discography in just under a year.

But despite the posh parables of his music, The Kid Daytona’s mindstate takes it deeper than rap when it comes to life away from the microphone. TC caught TKD on the ground long enough to reminisce about his upbringing as an orphan, rookie rhyme mistakes and promising future. Get lifted with one of the leading candidates for ’09 Rookie of the Year.

TSS: So your style…it feels like you mastered the whole cashmere thoughts, Big Willie, rapping in the booth with mink slippers on angle. Is that something you worked hard to patent?

The Kid Daytona: (Laughs) I wouldn’t say it was something I tried to patent, it came natural more than anything. I guess just coming from Uptown, being in a borough — everybody got an ego, you gotta come across as the illest dude ever! (Laughs) You kinda get that coming up in the battle scene with dudes like Jae Millz…J.R. Writer…the list goes on. Basically some Uptown shit (Laughs).

TSS: So would you consider what you have going on swagger?

The Kid Daytona: I guess swagger is a word used to describe somebody that’s confident and not necessarily conceited and I definitely would say I’m a confident person and have utmost belief in myself. And I would just say my style is original because nobody else is Daytona. So the stories and style I across with just comes along with being Daytona. I don’t try to be anyone else.

TSS: So you got Daytona 500 and Come Fly With Me. What’s with the infatuation with aviation?

The Kid Daytona: (Laughs!!!) Well I’m not this mad scientist who just sits in a lab and comes up with all these ill ideas. It seems like that but it was like the stars lined up the right way. That was one of my favorite movies growing up: [Michael Jordan's] Come Fly With Me. I used to study the tape and try and mimic him and watch all his stories of being overlooked. Read the rest of this entry »

Jigga called it, Fab initiated it, and now we’re getting more of Anti-Tune Weezy. Read the rest of this entry »

You already know what it izzle. The Big Snoop Dogg is readying his 10th (yes tenth!) solo album Malice In Wonderland for MTV Records and is giving you exactly what you demand from the O.G.

That dirty dirty.

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Download — Snoop Dogg – “Fuck Yeaaah”

And as an additional bonus, if you’re of age and miles away from your place of employment, check out the web version of the song. Just imagine some of your favorite Cooler chicks doing all those little things your wife won’t do. Read the rest of this entry »