Believe it or not, during an exclusive interview with MTV, an oddly-braided Shyne Po surprisingly went into detail about how he’d just gotten off the phone with his former mentor Diddy. More odd than the phone call, though, is how they apparently plan on deading their beef Read the rest of this entry »

Rosie B

Jay-Z Says ‘No Truth’ To Beyonce Pregnancy Rumors [Billboard]

The 25 Most Pause-Worthy Sports Names Of All Time [Complex]

Is the ‘Baracka Flocka Flames’ Spoof Video Offensive? [The BVX]

Willow & Jaden Smith Channel Their Inner Riley & Huey Freeman [GOT] Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently L.A. Reid is out at Def Jam. And the harbinger of doom himself, Shyne, is here to tell us why.

Shoot up the club, Urban Daily:

You’re talking about Lucian Grainge who replaced Doug Morris?
Yeah, and I know LA Reid ain’t gonna be there no more. I don’t know what’s happening over there. It all depends on who takes over and his commitment to hip-hop music. I think that’s why…. It’s really tricky. I don’t like to judge nobody or throw anyone under the bus, but I don’t think there was a strong commitment to hip-hop from LA Reid. I was on my way out the door a few times and he begged me to stay. Now that he’s leaving, that’s definitely the door opening for me to spin off myself, you dig. I don’t know the direction they’re going in. I don’t know if they’re gonna put another guy in there that don’t care about hip-hop music. You understand? We need people like Russell [Simmons] and Lyor [Cohen] and Jimmy Iovine, people that bled and got their hands dirty and were in the trenches. We need the Eisenhowers that are gonna be there on the warfield with us to keep this going, and L.A. Reid wasn’t that. I’m interested to see who they’re gonna put in there. If anything, I might do everything through Cash Money or somebody else, but it’s a real question mark with Def Jam right now.

Last week, a letter Nas had written to Def Jam made its way on to the internet where he was talking about how they only gave him $200,000 budget for the album and he wasn’t having that. Was it a similar situation with you?
Yeah yeah yeah! You know, I wrote a letter too! I got a blog on MTV, I’m surprised they haven’t posted that up yet. It was called “Def Jam Is Dying.” I feel the same way. I’m all with what Nas is saying. Absolutely! He’s 1000% right! In the letter I wrote, it says “Def Jam is dying thanks a billion L.A. Reid. Middle finger to you too.” You know, because he don’t care about us, man.

It’s crazy that you’re telling me this, I said that he don’t understand that Nas and Ghostface are modern day prophets. When he was perming his hair and getting pedicures and manicures, Jimmy Iovine and Russell were putting in work. R&B dudes used to run it, and then this hip-hop thing came along and hi-jacked pop culture, and I don’t think L.A.’s one of those dudes that likes that.

At the end of the day, it’s about great music and great people making music. Nas is really a hero. What he did for hip-hop is indisputable, and L.A. Reid don’t get that! This is not about Def Jam the brand, it’s about the Nas brand! It’s about the music he makes. You need a machine behind you that believes in that. These dudes aren’t doing that. You got executives out there that get an act that sells a few million, and now they think they’re geniuses. Then you get a person like Nas, who is a legend and has a legacy, and you got a machine that doesn’t know how to preserve this legacy.

In my letter, I talk about how unless you give LA Reid a song with Ne-Yo on it, or one of his R&B singers, you’re outta luck! That’s not hip-hop!

Hate to say, “I told you so,” but the writing was on the wall. It’s just a fantastic dose of crazy that Shyne is questioning the decision-making over at Def Jam when his contract is on the top of the list of bad moves the label has made. That’s like Isiah Thomas having disclaimers against the Knicks’ front office back when he was a coach.

Make sure you go cop those new Rihanna and Ne-Yo albums dropping later this year.

Two quick confessions:

1) I haven’t listened to more than 20 combined seconds of any new Shyne material since his release. Any person who serves their time and attempt to reacclimate themselves in society in a positive manner is fine by me. But no one, and I mean no one, is supporting the quality of this guy’s music. Read the rest of this entry »

Kanyeezy has the entire ‘Net in the palm of his hands. He joins Twitter, visits their offices (as well as Facebook, XXL and most recently, Rolling Stone) and everybody takes notice. No one man should have all that power but he wasn’t the only one to make a headline last week. Read the rest of this entry »

Due to Hip-Hop journalism’s questionable past when it comes to ethics, people tend to jump to conclusions like “[insert label here] must have paid you guys off to get that review/feature”. It’s a knee-jerk reaction from disgruntled commenters that even we at TSS have to endure sometimes. I think it’s an easy way out and cheap trick to blame things you don’t agree with on bribery or industry politricks, and I know that a credible, honorable magazine like XXL would never stoop to anything like that. So, I’m going to chalk up their recent endorsements of Shyne as pure retardation. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the best post-jail Shyne song yet. Which is kind of like saying getting sodomized by a #2 pencil is much less painful than having your anus gorged by a sulfuric acid-drenched chainsaw. The similarity lies in the fact that both the sodomy and the song will leave you with a long-standing look of discomfort and possible rectal leakage. Read the rest of this entry »

When I said “every turn,” I meant it.

Even if that turn sends my ears into post-traumatic stress fits and rage blackouts. This is kind of like Super Size Me where the guy ate McDonald’s for a month to prove a point and his insides decided to commit suicide. My brain is slowly committing hari kari.

It seems as though Shyne stumbled upon Ja Rule’s coloring rhyme book and sent some shots 50 Cent’s way. Read the rest of this entry »

Desirae Dallas

STDs Rampant Among Old People [Asylum]

Ben & Jerry’s Announce Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream [Paste]

Before There Were Twihards: A History of Superfans [Uproxx]

The Re-Education Of Jamal Barrow [Nah Right]

So You Forgot to File Taxes: Options Other Than Suicide [Cracked]

Saudi Billionaire Throws Money On Women [Double Viking] Read the rest of this entry »

Hey L.A. Reid! You know how else we know Shyne is garbage? Since when does Curtis Jackson shy away from a beef? That’s like Def Jam supporting their artists to the best of their ability. Never gonna happen. Read the rest of this entry »

Here at TSS, we get a lot of music submissions. We go over them all with a fine-toothed comb. As is customary in this line of work, a lot of the things we get are mediocre to bad. Generally, we pass over these songs to give shine to the material one or a few of us genuinely enjoys. We don’t go around bashing submissions. That’s not our style.

If these songs would have come to us from any other artist, I would have listened, said “wow, that’s really bad,” and keep moving. However, these tracks aren’t from any artist. These songs are from someone who has just been signed to a (reported) million-dollar contract. I touched on this before, but L.A. Reid signing Shyne is a slap in the face to Hip-Hop for a few reasons:

1. Shyne is terrible.

2. Rockwell Knuckles, Donny Goines, The Kid Daytona and Playboy Tre are all unsigned despite actually putting out material and being, you know, good.

3. Shyne was signed seemingly for the fact that he’s been in jail for the last eight years, which is problematic in its own right. It’s not like you’ll see L.A. Reid or anyone else champing at the bit to sign some kid fresh off of a four-year bid at an accredited university or anything like that.

4. $1 Million?! Somebody tell L.A. that it’s not 1998 anymore and labels are trying to be frugal with their money.

5. Did I mention that Shyne is not that good of a rapper, at least not in his post-prison form?

Bonus Reason: Didn’t Def Jam also ruin a seemingly easy lay-up called Wu-Massacre not too long ago by stupidly trying to rush Meth, Rae and Ghost into a project? This is the same project that only had the three members of the group actually show up on a couple of tracks together? Right. L.A. Reid might have finally lost it.

Po’s newest efforts show him spitting over Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” Alicia’s “Unthinkable” and Drake’s “Over” as part of what we shall now call “Shyne Poops On The Hits.”

To paraphrase Aziz Ansari, these songs aren’t my cup of tea.

That’s because I don’t like thin slices of monkey dong in my tea.

I wasn’t even a big fan of Shyne before he went to the clink, but this is just atrocious as he’s come out sounding like Napolean Dynamite and Eli Porter’s love child.

Besides dropping audible Down Syndrome, Shyne also calls himself the next thing since BIG died and disses 50 Cent. Hey, 1999 called and said it wants its subject matter back.

When L.A. bought Shyne, he also bought my unending attention every time a new Shyne track drops. I will not dismiss his brand of at-best mediocrity. In fact, I will be there at every turn finding new ways to explain to our readers just how much his new “music” will make you question why God created sound. Be prepared. This may be a grueling process for all parties involved.

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Download – Shyne – “Rude Boy” Freestyle

You can stop now if you want

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Download – Shyne – Unthinkable Remix

Wow, you must really hate yourself

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Download – Shyne – “Over” Freestyle

Don’t kill yourself. You have so much to live for. I apologize for what you just witnessed.

The music industry wants you to believe that we, the Internetters, are the reason they’re losing money. Feel bad for them if you want. But remember this is the same industry that just flushed millions of dollars down a caca-filled porcelain MC named Shyne. Read the rest of this entry »

Shyne makes his long-awaited return to audio after being buried alive. And if you were waiting on greatness well…perhaps he has to shake the cobwebs off. Or maybe it’s Khaled’s presence that’s tarnishing the experience. I was hoping for a triumphant return, not this lethargic offering – from the delivery to the beat surrounding it – from all the parties involved. Read the rest of this entry »

So, hearing the words “The State Vs. Dwayne Carter” aren’t that odd as Wayne has caught a laundry list of cases the past couple of years. Yet, the Martian is due in court today for DNA testing. Not for paternity, but to establish his connection to a gun case in NY. Read the rest of this entry »

Dream Parker, The Naughty Angel.

‘Horrorcore’ Singer Syko Sam Suspected In Virginia Killings [CNN]

Nothing Sexy About Falling Out Of A Truck [Don Chavez]

What’s Inside A Cup Of Coffee? [Wired] Read the rest of this entry »