Though members of his Cash Money posse have left him behind for better and worse, even Lil Wayne’s rise to international superstardom hasn’t deterred Juvenile’s self belief. As evidenced by his newly titled LP, Cocky & Confiident Juvenile still considers himself on of Hip-Hop’s leading men. All swagger aside those who dig in to this album shouldn’t expect any innovation: it’s the same old Juvenile, also for better and worse. Read the rest of this entry »

If you were holding your breath in anticipation (or, like me, looking for redemption after the lukewarm EOTS), exhale since it appears Friend of the People is on pause. Reading comments @ LupE.N.D. made me remember that Lupester was/is still a heavy fan favorite, so I understand the frustration. There’s been a gap between released material since his last album and, for better or worse, Lupe has avoided dropping unfiltered track after track. In a way, I commend him for exhibiting a little quality control in an age where artist are usually passing out mp3s like party flyers. But in 2009, fans are used to hearing & receiving a little more productivity out of their favorite artists. To moi, if we’re talking “quality,” I surely hope this next tape and the upcoming album are a notch or so above his Thanksgiving offering. If that means taking a little more time to execute, so be it.

So yeah…no stocking stuffers for his fans for now. However, there are other things to consider, since the guy is training to climb a mountain or something of that nature. I guess he does need a little time to focus on that.

LupE.N.D. via Y2K

Just in time for the full onslaught of winter weather, the previously mentioned duck boots from Pomé started hitting retailers this week. They’ll definitely save your sneakers from facing an early death due to inclement weather. They’re a stylish alternative from the staple brown colors. Coming in several colors with multicolor laces, fashion is in effect but function is there too with full grain leather uppers and padded collars. In fact, that navy pair is keeps calling me man © Pookie.

In need? Check for them @ online retailers DrJay’s and Probus.

I generally get a kick out of these tapes as they’re rideable and provide a good counterweight to offset the side-eye I receive when I play Boosie in the whip. The NMC and Big Mike gather together Juelz’s R&B features, snip and shape it into a nice mixtape for everyone’s enjoyment. Read the rest of this entry »

^ Nice promo shot to grab your attention. Even nicer, mellow track produced by J. Glaze and featuring a couple of guys I favor, particularly Donny & Pinks. In fact, I’d like to now petition that Donny should be considered next time any New York heavyweight makes a remix or is looking for a collaborator. Read the rest of this entry »

Blasian Beauty Lyss Foxx

Pepsi Drops Super Bowl Ads [CNN]

Number Of Hand Jobs Skyrocketing Due To Handheld Gadget Ads [Gizmodo]

GQ’s 10 Essentials: Paul Smith [GQ]

There’s A Shlong On Your Purse [Yep Yep]

I Am Nokio From Dru Hill: How Do I Look? [The Life Files]

Teams Don’t Really Win One For The Dead Guy [KSK]

8 Year Old Sent Home for Drawing Cross [Rant Rave]

Has The Word “Bitch” Lost Its Bite? [Jezebel] Read the rest of this entry »

When word came out that Amazon had inadvertently shipped out a handful of Wayne’s Rebirth album the net was dumbfounded.  How could they make such a boneheaded mistake?  Unfortunately, they’ll more than likely be the scapegoat for this when it’s all said and done.  But the brunt of this mishap falls squarely on the shoulders of Universal Music Group; guilty of pushing Rebirth back so many times that I didn’t even think they were actually close to a finished product.  Which apparently wasn’t the case:

The release date change – the sixth time Rebirth was pushed to a new date – was made earlier this month by Universal Motown, the distributing label for Cash Money, and its distributor Universal Music Group Distribution. Universal Motown and UMGD recalled the album, but roughly one million units were manufactured and about one-third were shipped to accounts when the decision was made to pull Rebirth from the schedule, sources say. – Billboard

I was always under the impression, that these delays were about stringing along a cash cow until he lost interest in his passion project getting samples cleared and reworking/re-doing/replacing songs to make the album better.  Now I see the labels just wait for enough mainstream buzz and radio spins to maximize sales.  In a time when nothing is guaranteed sales wise, at some point you have to cut your losses.  As far as timing goes, a Dec. 21st release would have been a perfect.  Potential buyers will be out finishing their holiday shopping.  So, the potential for sales is even greater than an early February release (which also sees a sales bump due the Grammys).

Rebirth could have also been doubled up with We Are Young Money, to boost sales for that album which despite Drake & Nicki Minaj’s appearances, isn’t highly anticipated nor expected to light Soundscan on fire.  It would have increased both albums (We Are Young Money more than Rebirth) chances of going platinum and given his Young Money imprint more exposure.

Now, in efforts of retaining that potential big sales day they were hoping for, the Young Money camp has announced that the leaked version will not be the Rebirth released in 2010.

If Wayne can drum up a completely new “rock” LP in under two months, it speaks highly of his work ethic but what does that say for the record’s quality? We shall see. The current Rebirth will now be judged in the court of public opinion and most likely become a frisbee collector’s item.

But wait, there’s always more. TMZ reports Wayne & Co. were stopped at the Texas border with Miss Mary Jane playing a key role in the incident.

Universal, your work is now cut out for you and outlined in magic marker with smiley faces. Good luck.

Stray Shots

The ILLZ – The Pursuit LP

Mac Miller – The High Life Mixtape

Snoop_Dogg_-_Ego_Trippin

Miami Beat Wave Presents: The Launch

Sade-Love Deluxe

MeLo-X – Mustafa’s Renaissance: MR 1.5

Chaundon-Carnage

Kanye_West_Cant_Tell_Me_Nothing__The_Official_Mixtape_(Mixed_By_Plain_Pat)

Notorious_B.I.G_and_Big_L-Live_from_Amsterdam-(VLS)

Short Dawg – Southern Flame Spitta Vol. 3

The_Diplomats-Built_this_City-BW-Im_Ready-VLS

VA-DJ_Delz-Souths_Most_Wanted_Vol._6-(Bootleg)

VA-DJ Delz-Souths Most Wanted Vol. 6

Cartune Netwerk & Muzik Fene Present 3 The Tennakey Way (Hosted by All $tar)

Cartune Netwerk Presents USDA – Black Friday (Hosted by Boo Rossini)

Stray Shots

While the original featured Jada, Rakim is joined by some of NY’s finest for this iTunes bonus from the God MC’s The Seventh Seal. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the album dropped, Wale’s verses over other people’s tracks sound, well…free. And amusing. His flow sounds relaxed, he’s namedropping (no Game) and poking fun. Another Twitter track from the homie, using Jay’s “Thank You” as his prop this time around. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you forget about Category F5? The impact was fairly strong but its shelf life passed through like a tropical storm. No matter, Twista is here to jog your memory with the umpteenth video for his natural disaster.

“Yeahhh, find a good girl and put everything in her name because she has good credit!”

Still moving forward with his agenda, Freeway releases the first video from The Stimulus Package, his collabo album with frequent partner in crime Jake One. Directed by Rik Cordero, “Know What I Mean” finds free back on the block, explaining the do’s and don’ts to his own crew, which happens to be made up from cameo appearances from Jakk Frost, Statik Selektah, Hollewood Playboi & Clemmye. Because one of the rules is don’t pay for extras when you’ve got friends, family and weed carriers. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s face it. Rappers don’t make it easy for us at times. It’s not easy to pull up to the Sizzler with “Baby By Me” or “Whatever You Like” blaring from the speakers. In fact it’s downright difficult, especially with the holidays fast approaching.  Some rappers understand that more than others and made a few songs that could serve as the soundtrack for your next night on the town*.  Mix these in with a few songs off the radio & banter from your local radio personality and you’ll be good to go.

Windy city jokesters, Dude n Nem, have made to ultimate tribute to the value meal date.  If you didn’t know any better, you’d think these two were dead serious based on the tone of the song.  But the goofy eye wear they rock tells you all you need to know about this harlequin act.  To their credit though, the house that Ronald McDonald built sure has upgraded their interior to the point that you’d almost think you were in a coffee shop or Applebee’s.  Too bad you can’t say the same thing about the food.  Because taking a girl there will only ensure your date being cut short when the stomach rumblings begin.

Download — Dude n Nem – “McDonalds Song”

Sudanese Hip-Hop “superstar” (& Gucci Mane’s blood relative) Bangs has apparently been making waves across the internet with this video.  I must have been under the proverbial rock the past month or so, but what are you gonna do?  Like I mentioned earlier, you can’t really fault him for this because he’s probably only seen videos of tricking on girls.  So one can only assume that taking a girl to the movies in Sudan is like going to Ruth Chris’ over here.  Regardless of the fact, I think  we can all agree that despite his sincerity this video is hilarious.  From his accent, to spraying on perfume after hopping out the shower and the green screen.  Go ahead and laugh.  But remember he’s only trying to imitate what he’s seen over here.

Download — Bangs - “Take U To Da Movies”

*Soundtrack will guarantee second date

Spiffy little 80′s funk number from Big Snoop Dogg for the iTunes bonus track for Malice N Wonderland. It feels more so like a leftover from Ego Trippin’, but it’s still cooler than a fan nonetheless. Evoking visions of Morris Day & The Time, I could just throw on a bathrobe and start doing “The Walk” with the track on repeat. Read the rest of this entry »

About a week ago, I found myself driving around with some time to spare and figured it was as good as time as any to go and grab a few of the albums that dropped this year worthy of the monetary support. Problem is, I was centrally located…from the neighboring Best Buys in my area. Do I drive 15 miles north or hit the freeway for a 20 minute trip southeast? The thought of inadvertently paying a gas tariff just to buy a couple of CDs was rather taxing (pun intended) to say the least. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a long, winding road for Melanie in ’09 from her early buzz to actually seeing her album release.  For her perseverance, she was able to meet The Wizard Of Poetry and he granted her one request. Read the rest of this entry »