I have no clue who this J.Y. guy is. Apparently, I should. His project, The Hiring Process has gotten a considerable amount of play on my iPod in the midst of a dense summer full of big time releases. It doesn’t hurt that the album has a who’s who of Hip-Hop’s fire spitters jumping in to help out. Read the rest of this entry »

And another one from NSW’s 1LOVE campaign, this one featuring young Gunz as viewers’ tour guide through the Bronx.

Nike Sportswear’s “1LOVE,” an ongoing Nike Sportswear experience created to celebrate the AF1 and hoops culture throughout NYC’s five boroughs. This short features Bronx native rapper Corey Gunz. Read the rest of this entry »

I have no clue who Oba Rowland is, but he could have sounded like Eli Porter reading a phone book in pig latin and I’d still listen to this song thanks to the ridiculous verses from Cory Gunz and Chip Tha Ripper. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cory Gunz Fan Club meeting is about to commence. All present say “I”.

David D.: I!

Looks like everyone is here.

I’ve called this meeting for us to watch another display of otherworldly lyrical fire from Young Money’s newest signee and, more importantly, Nick Cannon’s favorite rapper. Cory Gunz stopped by MTV2′s Sucker Free this weekend to talk about his new deal, Wayne yadda yadda blah blah holy Lord he kicks a ridonkulous 16 at the end! Read the rest of this entry »

As President of the TSS Cory Gunz Fan Club (Population: one), I have to say that this is a good day. It’s been confirmed that Cory is now a member of Young Money. Of course, this doesn’t automatically spell success, but I’m more inclined to hope believe that he’s going to be more Drake and Nicki Minaj than Jae Millz. He is, after all, the same guy that obliterated the “A Millie” beat. His rapid-fire flow is perfect for the Southern demographic that YM already has in a vice grip. It’s time to dust off the old “Team Cory” memorabilia and renew hope for one of the most talented rappers I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. Read the rest of this entry »

Professors have to walk a fine line when it comes to giving praise to their students. Not enough positive reinforcement and the student becomes resentful, frustrated that the work is not being recognized. Too much and the student can get cocky, feeling like they’ressomehow owed special treatment and no longer needs to prove themselves. So maybe it was a bad idea to bestow so much worship on the 2009 freshman class. As soon as their images graced the cover of XXL, they were each anointed saviors to the rap game in his own way. For the most part, the music has been stellar. But overall, the attitudes; the “respect-me-or-else” mentality has been the Achilles’ heel to most of the rookie camp. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t get it. Why is Cory Gunz not a household name? I know I ask this question every time one of his songs or videos hits the site. But Lord have mercy on everything holy if I had to put money on anyone when it comes to just bars, every twelve bucks to my name would go towards Cory. Watch him sit back and casually let off some monstrous verses. Read the rest of this entry »

Call me stubborn. Call me hard headed (your mom already does…hit me!).

But I’m still rooting for Cory Gunz. He’s like the Tracy Mcgrady of the game right now; raw talent but not getting on track. We may never see an album from him, but his flow will still go down as great. Read the rest of this entry »

Peter’s son drops another mixtape, which David swears will be the one to send him into the upper echelon. Read the rest of this entry »

Watch this video and appreciate the greatness. Read the rest of this entry »

The XXL Class of 2009 is a little bit past the six month mark of its Freshman year. These 10 MCs may go down as one of the most important crop of newcomers to hit the scene in a while as the industry is watching closely to see which of the 10 different approaches to starting a career can set the blueprint for success in the struggling music business.

Professor D. is here to dole out midterm grades for each MC to see how he has taken advantage of the magazine cover and positioned himself as the big man on campus.

Top of the Class

B.o.B./Bobby Ray

There’s a lot of good to go around here. It seemed as though T.I. was handing the Grand Hustle baton over to Mr. Ray at every stop on his way to the slammer. Eminem has also been singing Ray’s praises every chance he gets. Add in a feature segment on The Carson Daly show as well as “I’ll Be In The Sky” getting play during MTV shows and we have someone fit to be a big deal for the rest of the year. If only we could get a release date on that album…

Grade: A-

KiD CuDi

“Day N’ Nite” is a bona-fide hit, people. CuDi has seemingly leapfrogged the whole G.O.O.D. roster to become Yeezy’s favorite new artist. He has an endless array of hit capabilities and The Kid is also slowly making Read the rest of this entry »

Now this…this is more like it. A year ago, I wrote an open letter to Cory Gunz to figure out some of the odd choices he’d been making recently. But this video seems to right a few wrongs. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a year and I still miss The Wire and all its characters. We said our final goodbyes in 2008 but recent endless viewings of the DVD box set had me feeling sentimental and inspired. It’s the “Who would play me in a movie?” game further realized and repurposed, i.e. which rappers would play characters on The Wire? So, without further adieu…

Charles Hamilton as Duquan “Dukie” Weems — These two have more of an uncanny physical resemblance than Blu and Bubbles. Besides their connection as look-alikes and being coincidentally homeless at different points in life, both are bright, yet can’t seem to get the formula quite right to move on to a higher level of success. Coincidentally, and both lived in the streets.

Nas as Avon Barksdale — Okay, so maybe Nas isn’t really a hustler or a gangster. But he is an older figure who has seen more dominant days, finding his way in an environment that may/may not be suited to his tastes any longer. Oh, and he evolved as the opposite of…

Jay-Z as Stringer Bell — The intelligent hustler. Does/did anyone so knee deep in their respective field have a more savvy business sense than these two?

Andre 3000 as Lester Freamon — These wise vets are intensely cerebral while having a creative outlet that helps them make money while expressing themselves. Both have also expressed discontent or disinterest with the state of their environments. Read the rest of this entry »

There Is Only One Picture Of Cory Gunz…and we intend to use it.

Let me start by saying I’m one of your biggest fans. I’ve probably written more articles about you in my time with TSS than I have any other artist. I’ve listened to you since the first Apprentice series and maintained the belief you can flip syllables like no other rapper in the game right now. It boggles my mind almost every time you spit a verse. The rapid fire delivery is crazy. Your breath control and ability to spit a whole verse without once inhaling is always a spectacle. I truly believe that you are on the short list of top MCs right now.

But I’ve been here before. Read the rest of this entry »

This is hard to watch. Read the rest of this entry »