It took me awhile to open up to the movement Wiz Khalifa created for himself. Turns out I made the right decision because dude has one strongest buzzes of any new artist in the industry. And, from what I see, he’s doing it all through his own grassroots movement. The amount and quality of music he’s releasing, the constant touring (more on that later) and the thousands of co-signs I’ve heard from fans and friends alike finally made me change my tune.

By the time Deal Or No Deal dropped I was already a fan and “This Plane” was definitely a personal favorite. Young Wiz drops a visual for the aforementioned track which is mainly random clips of his progression from Pittsburgh upstart to a highly touted newcomer. While we’re at it, a video for “Friendly” with Spitta would be a good look too.

Just in case his camp is open for constructive criticism, you know?

Speaking of touring, be sure to catch Wiz on his “Deal Or No Deal” campaign kicking off today actually. Accompanying the tatted MC will be Yelawolf (second leg only), U-God and DJ/MC Jasmine Solano.

Febraury 12th Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan
February 13th Ches-A-Rena Pittsburgh, PA
February 14th Grog Shop Cleveland, Ohio
February 19th Legends of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana
February 20th Ohio University Athens, Ohio
February 21st Sky Bar Night Club Bowling Green, Ohio
February 23rd Blind Pig Ann Arbor, Michigan
February 24th Skully’s Columbus, Ohio
February 25th The Madison Theater Covington, Kentucky
February 26th Abbey Pub Chicago, Illinois
February 27th Sunset Hall Ft. Wayne, IN
February 28th The Annex Madison, Wisconsin
March 2nd Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
March 5th The Aggie Theater Fort Collins, Colorado
March 6th Marquis Theater Denver, Colorado
March 7th The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, Colorado
March 9th The Waiting Room Omaha, Nebraska
March 10th 23rd St. Roadhouse Lawrence, KS
March 11th Old Rock House St. Louis, Missouri
March 12th Club Premier Louisville, KY
March 13th The Robin Hood Kent, OH
March 26th The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York City, New York
March 28th 9:30 Club Washington, DC
March 30th The Middle East Cambridge, Massachusetts
March 31st Toad’s Place New Haven, Connecticut
April 3rd Jerky’s Live Music Hall Providence, Rhode Island
May 2nd Bamboozle (Meadowlands Sports Complex) East Rutherford, New Jersey

Pencil me in for the March 28 stop.

After literally years of wondering when Citizen Cope was going to put a plug in the acoustic sets and record some new material, I was pleasantly surprised to finally stumble upon a fresh single from this nappy-haired vessel of vehemence this morning. From his upcoming Rainwater LP, “Healing Hands” finds Clarence Greenwood delivering yet another sonically-soaked session of subtle instrumentation and heart-drenched dialogue that’s sure appease longstanding fans like myself that copped this now-renown artist’s first album from a one-dollar bargain bin in 2002.

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Download — Citizen Cope – “Healing Hands”

The Rainwater LP is available now on Amazon.

I swear this video has been out for a minute, but it must have been the BTS or something.  Following the lyrics  like it was the letter of law, Joell & Novel bring this tale of teenage love to life.  Not that it was needed due to Joell’s DVD flow, the attention to detail in this clip is greatly appreciated.

Stuff like this gives me Rap City withdrawl…

“Think like I’m Avon, shoot like I’m Wee-Bey, Both like I’m Marlo…”

Willie swipes “I’m So Appalled” and rocks with an on-beat, off-beat flow full of color. Off the The Cure mixtape with DJ Woogie. Read the rest of this entry »

Undeterred by haters, Pittsburgh’s Boaz is back in 2010 with mixtape Selling A Dream. The lead track “What You Know About,” shows that, if Boaz has dismissed past negative criticism in these parts, he may have taken a few of the words to heart. This track indicates a step up from Boaz in terms of professional song creation, with a big assist from Statik Selektah’s production. A strong bass line drives the song and Boaz performs particularly well flowing between verse and choruses, meeting rap heads expectations as to where words should be. The result? Infectious head boppin’ and chorus rhyming. Read the rest of this entry »

Jhana Anjalita

Raptors DeMar DeRozan Incorporating MJ Tribute Into Dunk Contest [Broken Cool]

Celebrate Black History Month With…Heineken? [Miss Theda]

Amanda Bynes Dumped By KiD CuDi For Tweeting Too Much [Dr. Jay's]

After Even More Turmoil, Can the “Hot Mess” At MySpace Be Saved? [All Things Digital]

The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time [Billboard]

Man Tries To Buy Crack With Credit Card [Crunk & Disorderly] Read the rest of this entry »

The R&B world couldn’t be any more blessed stepping into 20X. First Sade makes her militant return and now That Girl Mystic; the Sunshine state’s golden songbird is playing guest star to Trackstar’s Still Dreamin’ 6. Reverence to the late Teddy P., good vibes and a subtle mood is only a sliver of what you’ll find presented this go around. Read the rest of this entry »

Wheelchair Jimmy becomes mechanical & recharged for the minute-long version of his Sprite commercial which will air during the NBA’s ASG weekend. Watching this makes it all the more clearer that Skee has a point about this high-yellow dude. No, he had several points actually. But it’s all looking in the rearview and wise words that the next in line might consider.

Anyways, extra behind the scenes footage from the commercial can be found below.

To all you Jules Winnfield types, here’s your chance to show the world you’re the baddest, lowdown mofo in your Apple store with a cover for your iPhone that speaks almost louder than Samuel L. Jackson. Read the rest of this entry »

My mind’s tellin’ me no, but my feet are saying it’s time to break bread.

Since I’ve already (unwillingly) gotten my Valentine’s day shopping out of the way, it’s time to figure out if I should pursue these or not. SXSW is fast approaching and I still need to get my airfare situated.  But there’s something about grey sneakers that make me say to hell with matching.

Set for a Feb. 20th quickstrike release, interested parties can begin to make preparations.

[Via]

I already said rules were meant to be broken. And for LB, they will be. It’s rare that I’ll be posting an album cover and tracklisting but watching Phonte & Pooh record what’s supposed to be their last studio album is kind of bittersweet. It reminds of when my big cousin Heavy got finally got married. I was happy for him, but it meant the end of an era because I learned all my game from watching him. I wanted him to live life as a player and a hustler forever so I could run around justifying to myself that I could do the same forever too. Alas, the same passage of time and growth that took Heavy to the alter is now leading North Carolina’s leading duo on to whatever musical paths they choose to take individually.

As the momentum behind LeftBack continues to swell, Little Brother is proud to unveil the official artwork and the track listing for the album. Fans will be excited to learn that LeftBack features 13 tracks of unadulterated hip-hop, while the album artwork finds Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh standing tall amidst the ghosts of albums past, press coverage and other memories accumulated throughout Little Brother’s celebrated career. “We wanted the fans to have that moment of nostalgia when looking at this artwork” says Rapper Big Pooh. “You are able to take a quick journey from the beginning of our careers to the end as Little Brother by glancing at the artwork.”

Little Brother – LeftBack Offical Track Listing

1. Curtain Call (Prod. By Khrysis)
2. Table For Two Feat. Jozeemo & Yahzarah (Prod. By Khrysis)
3. Tigallo For Dolo (Prod. By Khrysis)
4. Revenge Feat. Truck North & Median (Prod. By Khrysis)
5. So Cold Feat. Chaundon (Prod. By King Karnov)
6. Second Chances Feat. Bilal & Darien Brockington (Prod. By Denaun Porter)
7. Go Off Go On (Prod. By Khrysis)
8. What We Are Feat. Quiana (Prod. By Young R.J.)
9. After The Party Feat. Carlitta Durand (S1 and Caleb’s Who Shot JR Ewing Remix) (Prod. By S1 and Caleb)
10. Two Step Blues Feat. Darien Brockington (Zo’s Purple Suit With The Matching Gators Remix) (Prod. By Zo!)
11. Get Enough Pt. 2 Feat. Khrysis (Prod. By Khrysis)
12. Before The Night Is Over (Prod. By J.Bizness)
13. 24 Feat. Torae (Prod. By Khrysis)

The cover is fresh with the images of previous covers worked in there and the Raising Hell hazed look. The guest appearances look HOJ heavy; thumbs up. Album drops on 4.20 so I guess you smokers have a choice to make LOL.

Me? I already know where my cash is going.

The assist: Mi Gemini hermana Michelle @ Audible Treats

When you’re a professional athlete, there are particular plays that can rustle your ego and ultimately allow you to lose focus. Pitchers slide downhill after giving up a homer and, naturally, taking a hard hit in the NFL can take more than the wind out of you. But when you get boomed on like Amare Stoudemire does to Portland’s Dante Cunningham right here, your pride takes a “L,” along with the scoreboard.

But not so fast. He who dunks last, gets the poster. Read the rest of this entry »

As if the car rental clip wasn’t funny enough, Playboy Tre made it back home off the road to update with another “Look At This Shit” video. But it’s on a sad note, as his house was broken into while he was away. But dear Lord if this man ain’t one of the funniest dudes walking and breathing.

Fuckin’ dead @ “What kind of nigga leaves speakers?…Niggas like alcohol, niggas like weed, niggas like bitches and niggas looove speakers!” and “…three platypuses.”

On the real, hold your head Tre, check Craigslist and we all hope you get your goods back.

Spotted @ Ozone

And probably his mouth as well. After yesterday’s revelation that the guitar hero was swashbuckling with a swastika, it was inevitable that everything John Mayer-related was to go up in flames. Rappers let him have it, and you can imagine he deflated the dreams of many Black woman’s “white boy crush.” Read the rest of this entry »

These two are back at the rap attack again. From taking NYC by storm with their live performances to scoring interviews from the house that 50 built, it’s safe to say that G.I. Gibbs and P. Double-L can do no wrong at this point. Read the rest of this entry »