– Guru’s passing put a damper on 4:20 and perhaps added incentive for countless fans to “Take Two And Pass” with his spirit in mind.  Tins caught up with Big Boi, Burn One, Freddie Gibbs & Curren$y & let them reflect on their favorite marijuana memories.

– Joe Scudda gave us the skinny behind Not Your Average Joe & J. Cole was the latest to be featured in Yours Truly & ours 3:16 series.

– A tale of two reviews: Rocky Rivera’s eponymous debut showed promise, while Little Brother’s swan song Leftback left fans let down.

– Tracy Morgan’s antics inspired us & in turn our antics inspired SNL, thus completing the circle of life.

– From the blacktop to the hardwood, we’ve got you covered:  LeBron’s putting player’s aspirations in body bags & Jim Jones is plotting his own dynasty.

– And you can see Jimmy & Co. defend their “Stanley Cup for Harlem” simply entering our giveaway for tickets to Converse’s Band Of Ballers Celebrity Basketball Event.

You can call it “Attack of the N’s.” N*E*R*D x Neptunes x Nelly Furtado = Nothing. Pharrell, Chad and possibly Shay doing what they do best to gear up for the summer. Give you sounds to see, or envision what you’ll be doing when the sun is out. Read the rest of this entry »

Curren$y hit the city the other night and we all had a great time, hanging out to watch him perform. More than music, it was a mix of comedic stage routine, highlighted by complete interaction between artist and crowd in the intimate setting provided by PhatKaps. Having seen Spitta live @ least six or seven times over the past year or so, I can honestly say that his stage show never gets old because it’s predicated off the crowd. No matter what, he always finds a way to engage them, bringing them aboard as his Jets’ co-pilots wherever he’s performing. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems Detroit makes the news more and more frequently these days. Chris Hansen — the Motor City native who carved his infamy with Dateline‘s “To Catch A Predator” series — recently reminded the world that not everyone in the Motor City is putting back brews with Kid Rock. Now my main man from Maryland hit me up, hootin’ and hollerin’ about how I needed to turn on National Geographic (or “Nat Geo” as he so trendily put it) because there was a show on, about cops dealing with the grimiest of grime, called Detroit Gang Squads.

Nothing too surprising there. But what did stand out to me was the show’s use of a music video from Joy Rd.’s native son Deezy. As in damn near every D-Boy’s favorite rapper, K-Doe AKA K-Deezy AKA the man who officially turned Joy Rd. into simply “Exit 9.”

This specific street anthem finds Deezy spitting some sixteens alongside a recycled version of the line that made him hood famous. But regardless, I applaud National Geographic — the cable television channel that brought you “The Dog Whisperer” — for playing a music video that drew zero interest outside of YouTube and the local late-night rap rundown.

Download — K-Deezy – “In My Hood”

Download — Jesse James Feat. K-Deezy & T-Woody – “I’m From Joy Rd”

Seriously.

You bust your hump to continuously carry your team which should have been renamed “Lukewarm” long ago and in a matter of a seconds, it all goes down the drain. This time you pour in 34 points to go along with eight assists all the while you knew your body was going into overdrive. Read the rest of this entry »

Crystal

Vanessa Hudgens as Spider-Girl? [Film Drunk]

Steelers Draft Pick Kissed His Twin [With Leather]

Game Explains DJ Skee Over DJ Drama [HHNM]

Pandora and Facebook Get Social Music Right [Digital Noise]

Supra Summer Injection Collection [Culture Shoq] Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve literally been watching this all day. It has made its rounds from site, to site, to site, spreading pandemonium amongst the public. All this time, I keep rewinding, starting from different segments; taking timeouts to see if the comedic value will decrease with more views. Read the rest of this entry »

Killer & HipHopNonStop take everybody on a trip to Adamsville for a behind the scenes look @ the shoot for “Grandma’s House.” Mike says the video will be “less bullshit jewelry and fake video girls, and more real stories,” making it sound promising. The song itself is poignant poetry, delivering a statement akin to when Nas translated the desired destiny of a drug dealer’s on the chorus of “Street Dreams.” On the track, there were multiple levels of the game conveyed, ones often omitted when other rappers try to tell the story of the corner. Where Nas said, “this is all a drug dealer wants,” Mike reminds hustlers of the headaches that come with that rise to the top.

Hopefully, this video furthers the narrative. Read the rest of this entry »

The Fillmore homie DaVinci drops off his second visual off The Day The Turf Stood Still. Sampling MJ’s original rodent rhapsody, DaVinci’s “Ben” is a metaphor for the dead presidents that we all wake up and chase on a daily basis, which perhaps gives a whole new meaning to the term “the rat race.” Read the rest of this entry »

When M.I.A. took a maternity leave from music, many seemed to forget about her and she’s sounding an alarm to let everyone know she’s back. Over the past few weeks, she’s began a surge to reclaim her spot, tossing a few Motlov’s in Lady Gaga’s direction for jacking her style and now releasing “Born Free.” Back with a bang, the track is punk around the edges with a lyrics that bring the noise. While it takes a spin or two to get with it, it’s good to hear a small riot to shake things up a bit in popular music. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the Internet taking down the archetypal levies that kept aspiring rappers from getting heard, females haven’t gained much traction. On top of that, the few females who do break through fill the same sexpot roles vacated by their predecessors. Meanwhile, their male counterparts have been afforded the luxury to branch out (if they have the cojones) stylistically. Unfazed by these seemingly rigid guidelines, Bay Area femcee Rocky Rivera aims to succeed on her own terms. Read the rest of this entry »

Want to learn about astronomy? Letting Big K.R.I.T. be your teacher might not be a bad idea. Scoping out the game with his telescopic lens, the Mississippi mudhound digs in his bag of tricks and pulls out an ace that’s smoother than a skipping stone. The type of soundtrack for your slow ride down a country background, burning…um…rubber. Read the rest of this entry »

While young Bobby Ray got Tip on one track for his Adventures…, this one had to get the snip-snip because Coldplay hates all rappers not named Jay-Z and Kanye. Stick it at the end of the album as you pre-order it, bump it, love it–whatever. The man child has the #1 single in the country. Like the song’s co-star once said, “Big ‘tings poppin.’” Read the rest of this entry »

Written by K. Barrett

MGMT’s Congratulations was a huge disappointment. There, I said it. Somebody had to.

It lacked anthemic classics, it shed the infectious melodies, it was disjointed and, all in all, pretty dull. It just wasn’t what it was supposed to be. And New York Magazine used these shortcomings to toe-tag the group’s tenure as indie’s Hip-Hop ambassadors.

Despite making the ludicrous claim that working with rock and indie acts was a groundbreaking move for Kanye, a recent posting by the magazine does an adept job of picking 10 groups that could get their Jesus pieces very soon, thus inhabiting the hole MGMT left when they vacated the building. Those young pups listed were Best Coast, Surfer Blood, Local Natives, the Morning Benders, Joanna Newsom, Dirty Projectors, Neon Indian, Yeasayer, The xx and Vampire Weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Stacey,

A few quick things I’d like to communicate whilst I have your attention and these goons are busy ogling at your new cover.

1. I will find you and marry you. This is not a request. Merely information I thought you may need in order to start getting ready. Yes, I know you’re married. You must not have heard J.Cole’s “Dreams.” Crazy things happen because of love, lady. Long and short of it, you will be wife #1 and Alicia Keys will have to play second fiddle (giggidy, giggidy) for a while. Read the rest of this entry »