I guess…when you’re living in the South…sometimes you just wake up and convince yourself that you “gon be free” by any means necessary. Throughout the rungs in Sean Falyon’s ladder to the top, he’s faced adversity but he chooses to run through the storm instead of standing in the ran. Even it means losing his breath after 30 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »

Francesca Frigo

7-Year-Old P-Nut and Other Child Rappers Rhyme Better Than You [Urlesque]

Was Mayweather’s Rant Racist or Shrewd? [The BVX]

Bobby Hundreds Talks The Hundreds New York [Complex]

Miley Cyrus Goes For The Hooker Look [DJ Mick] Read the rest of this entry »

As far as controversy is concerned, rappers only take a backseat to politicians. Whether manufactured, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, injustice or sheer ignorance, the two have appeared tailor-made for one another. Usually, this controversy presents itself in the form of legal trouble. Pac seemingly lived it, DMX can’t seem to escape it and a laundry list of others are still experiencing it.

T.I., however, seems to have an uncanny knack to predict it. Read the rest of this entry »

So you already learned that Nicki Minaj is bionic and aspirational as they come. So what did that grand revelation mean for the future of her music? Well, check it out. As in her new, spritzy jingle produced and featuring the head Black Eyed Pea. In just under cuatro minutos, she manages to incorporate every single trite Pop practice from Auto-Tune to a quirky delivery to a bubbly bridge. Just makes you wanna giggle, doesn’t it? Read the rest of this entry »

There’s six million ways to die but Lil Scrap Scrap made it six million and *two with new single/mixtape/video setup. Once you haterz get a glance of the Scrapster’s chain, wardrobe and block status, you’re sure to kill yo’selves. Ditto for any self-respecting movie director. Read the rest of this entry »

Rated: TVDope. The Sitcom LP. An all encompassing Hip-Hop journey through the ills of the game while incorporating metaphorical televisionary elements; hosted by Real T@lk & Authentik Made. Closed Captioned. In Stereo. © All rights reserved. Runtime: 70 minutes. Original air date: 09/06/10. Read the rest of this entry »

While LeBron bolted for South Beach this summer, another all-star team was forming in LBJ’s former region: the Rust Belt (and Austin, TX) super squad of Freddie Gibbs, Chuck Inglish, Chip Tha Ripper, Bun B and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. Uniting with director Dickford Dollas, the six finally produce visuals to Gibbs’ concluding track off his Str8 Killa EP, “Oil Money.” Read the rest of this entry »

Chris & Dave, collectively known as The Paxtons, told me they had progressed much since we released Work with them in internet ages ago. Truthfully, I knew Work didn’t get the full attention it deserved nor was it as polished as it could have been. But for two upstarts, I was proud to be affiliated with the project because it painted their identity & influences in full color Read the rest of this entry »

There’s nothing better than the start of a new NFL season. Everyone’s in first place, hope springs eternal for fans the world over & it just brings a certain electricity to the air. Combined with college football, the weekends now have purpose and don’t require much planning on the entertainment front. While waiting for things to officially kick off, the Crew got together and brainstormed a few things that we thought warranted a closer look throughout the season. It’s definitely not an be-all, end-all list, but we definitely feel like they could have some impact on the league this year.

1. The Albert Haynesworth/Mike Shanahan Dynamic

We’re not Redskins fans. Yet and still, we feel somewhat sorry for their fans because this Haynesworth fellow pulled the football version of the Louisiana Purchase when he took $100M in 2009. In return, he’s given them essentially nothing except for more failed conditioning tests than sacks. He’s been everything but innocent this entire summer and, the way things are sounding, they’re going to get a lot worse before better.

2. “QB Or Not QB: That Is The Question”

So which rookie quarterback is going to be the next Peyton Manning? Or maybe the next Leinhart? With many college superstars entering the league this year, it looks like most of them will be riding the pine. This year’s class includes names like Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Jimmy Claussen, but number one draft pick Sam Braford seems to be the only one getting significant playing time under center. Unfortunately, most of that time he’ll be getting to know the league’s top tier defensive ends – on his back. While the other rooks wait to get promoted, we”ll be figuring out all the names of the new NCAA quarterbacks.

3. How Many QB’s Ndamukong Suh Will Decapitate By Season’s End

Can anyone remember the last time a defensive lineman had people this excited to watch football, let alone the Lions. Detroit likely won’t contend for the NFC Championship this season, but Ndamukong Suh will definitely be worth the price of admission. After seeing him tear Jake Delhomme’s head clean off his shoulders, best believe Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre are praying their offensive lines remain healthy. The over/under for Suh? Six. He’s definitely going to get Cutler though.

4. The Batman & Robin Show aka T.O. Joins The Cincinnati Bengals

Over the past five years, the Bengals have clawed their way from the depths of the leagues bottom feeders into a respectable franchise. Their success is due in large part to a couple of draft picks actually panning out and becoming the Midwest equivalent of the Oakland Raiders, rolling the dice and becoming a safe haven for talented, but troubled cast-offs. After Antonio Bryant didn’t work out, they decided to bring Terrell Owens on board with the blessing of both Chad Ochocinco & Carson Palmer. Now fighting for both ratings and catches, it’ll be interesting how friendly the dynamic duo will still be by season’s end, especially with Owens on field production directly affecting his bank account.

For all those patiently waiting for Free Agent & the YOAWA mixtape, your due diligence will be rewarded on Friday when Joell drops off his Farewell Summer EP. Yep, two tapes in limbo and he’s dropping a completely separate EP. I remember back when The Brick: Bodega Chronicles came out, all I wanted him to do was chop up those verses with a hook and at least pretend like he wanted to make a dent in the mainstream realm. Fast forward a few years &  I’m content to accept a string of coherent bars regardless of the song’s structure. The more, the better.

At this point, I don’t even question the timeliness & actions of rappers, as long as whatever they put out has some redeeming quality I’ll gladly pay my $free.99 and keep it moving. And I must say that Joell given me my money’s worth with “Battle Cry” alone. Four and a half minutes of him dropping gems over a dynamic array of strings, organs & drums from The Audible Doctor is the equivalent of a lyrical adrenaline shot.

Joell Ortiz – “Battle Cry” | Download

For those of us who, unfortunately, have sold our souls to slave away in retail fashion, it can be agreed that every in-store soundtrack causes bleeding from the ears. Hearing even 30-seconds worth of bloated, sterile electro-pop triggers violent flashbacks of messy customer service episodes and boring shrink lectures by general managers.

But do not fear, former associates—you can finally forgive Les Wexner for driving your love of synthy pop music into the deepest depths of the dirtiest bargain bin. Brooklyn duo Holy Ghost! has your solution with their track “Static On The Wire.”

Stripped-down drums and bongo introduce the track while slinky synth and a very sexy guitar solo keep the song going. And if that weren’t enough to lodge the track into your skull, H.G.’s velvety chorus coolly slithers along with, “I hear your voice in fragments darling, turning down/static on the wire/if you’re still gone.”

While the verdict is still out whether you’ll hear this track in your local Express anytime soon, Holy Ghost!’s Static On The Wire EP is out now for those craving more.

Holy Ghost! – “Static On the Wire”

No need to wait around and let XXL tell you who you should look out for. Generation Next is out to give the young, gifted & talented a sturdy platform to shine bright for the world to see. Up first, you know him to be more visual than your average artist, The Illz breaks down his In Between Video Series (download here) and proves he’s got more energy than a lil’ bit on his live show. Read the rest of this entry »

It can’t be said enough that the Southernplayalistic duo from the Peach State made that list because we’re unsure if we’ll ever see another album from Stacks and Sir Lucious Left Foot. It had not a damn thing to do with talent. The archives tell the entire story of how we feel about ‘Kast, both individually and collectively. Read the rest of this entry »

Yeah, this is ass right here. Like pure plumber’s crack. Buck burst upon the scene eager to put his prints on the murder weapons 50 was firing off and this is how we’re rewarded after allowing you to linger around amidst all the sniffing and sobbing? Get sprayed in the park with a garden hose? Angie Stone is the only one we’ll tolerate crooning about the weather. Buck, we need you in a shootout. Read the rest of this entry »

Ahhh, these are going to be welcomed by many but ignored by most. First released in ’91, the true school ACG Escapes are coming back, complete with the speckled soles and done in classic khaki (listed as Twine here) with blue accents. Available for pre-order @ Crooked Tongues and set to hit retailers in October. Read the rest of this entry »