There’s nothing above and beyond about this video for DJ Kay Slay’s double-time assembly of “60 Second Assassins.” But, for whatever reason, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the bare-bones Rhyme Or Die visual. Read the rest of this entry »

True to form, DJ Kay Slay brought three New York rhymers together to flex a little skill on “Wanna Be Right,” the most recent release from his upcoming tape Strength Of A Gesture. J.R. Writer, Reek Da Villian and Jae Millz all sharpened their respective pens, ready to take part in the time-honored tradition of posse cuts. Read the rest of this entry »

Slay never sleeps, always managing to connect with young talent. On “Put That…,” the DJ brings along a gang of hungry savages, ready to rip mics for track three on Slay’s The Soul Controller. Read the rest of this entry »

Like a DH in baseball or a center in a league full of combo-guards, certain rappers will always have a role. Well aware there will always be an audience for quick-tongued MCs, DJ Kay Slay brought out the fastest guns this side of the Mississippi for “60 Second Assassins,” a track that’s exactly what you think it is and hails from The Drama King’s possible last album, Rhyme Or Die. Read the rest of this entry »

Time has a not-so-funny way of passing us by. As we, TSS Crew strive to give you our earnest and admittedly, unquestionable opinions on the albums of the day, sometimes even a couple projects slip through our impenetrable reviewing hands. Take a SXSW here and a couple trips to New York there, the missed calls begin to pile up. So as we enter the quarter of our Hip-Hop fiscal year, here’s our chance to blow secondhand smoke on some of 2010′s offerings. Read the rest of this entry »

The term “New West” has been floating around now for about six or seven years. At this point, though, the movement that was originally supposed to separate the youngbloods (or Crips) from their elders has turned into an oxymoron of sorts. While frontrunners like Crooked I and Bishop Lamont have moved on for better or worse, Uncle Snoopy has the hottest record in the past six months. Read the rest of this entry »

Slay’s More Than A DJ album is shaping up pretty f’n nice right now. First “See The Light” and now this? Who knows how the completed project will sound as a whole because I’m sure there’s bound to be an inevitable Papoose appearance that might bring down the overall listening experience. But this makes two nice ones to add to my current playlist. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s probably 120+ years of age combined on this track and they still manage to make it sound as fresh as ever. AZ, Rae & Starks team up for “See The Light” off Kay Slay’s upcoming More Than Just A DJ. Read the rest of this entry »

The DMV’s bully DDot linked up with the Drama King to drop Block Stars Part 2. With it being Kay Slay, he was able to snag a couple of exclusives from the likes of Beanie Sigel, 50 Cent, Cam’ron, Sheek, Busta Rhymes, Papoose, Pete Rock and more. Read the rest of this entry »

Last time you got the Trickin’ Fiddy. This round it’s the Murda Murda Curtis. Read the rest of this entry »

The good thing about a holiday weekend? You get to bypass Monday, which is good because Mondays have been tragically slow the past few months, at least for music & materials. Hit the break for one that’s been anticipated. Read the rest of this entry »

After I heard about it, it took a minute to find this bad boy (no pun). As far as I know, its origins come from around ’99 on old Kay Slay tape. Just a reminder that from the house that Puff built, Black Rob was one of the best.

Black Rob – “I Dare You” Remix

Doesn’t exactly look like the face of a 40 year old man does it? If he’s not careful, he could find himself and one of his daughter’s classmates in an American Beauty moment.

But let’s get straight to the nitty gritty and what really matters. This isn’t about Todd Smith’s pectorals, his movie guap or even his BOTOX® secrets. As a pioneer in this thing we call Hip-Hop, LL’s catalog is rivaled only by his ability to blend in with the transcending generations while his direct peers struggle to keep up with the latest slang. But with every decade LL survives, the next one offers even more formidable obstacles.

It’s not a matter of “if” LL can still spit. He’s proven himself worthy so many times, he’s exempt from the compulsory tests veteran rappers have to endure to gain a long-lost fan that abandoned ship. The question at hand is “how.” How strong will he return? How good will the songs be? How will he appear relevant without looking…well…corny? It’s no secret that he’s still contractually bound to Def Jam so Exit 13 is coming whether we like it or not. But will it be an admirable effort or is he just going through the motions?

One malefactor that works against the former statement is that LL’s formula for record-making has become all too predictable. Although he remains one of the few MCs that Read the rest of this entry »