I thought things were supposed to move slower on the West Coast. With formerly new school artists like Pac Div and Nipsey Hussle approaching 5 years in the national consciousness, and Kendrick Lamar and the Odd Future collective currently enjoying their time in the spotlight, the next next generation of Westside wunderkind are at the on-deck circle and moving towards the batter’s box at an alarming rate. Read the rest of this entry »

MCing is becoming more fashionable as of late and Skyzoo That Dude makes sure he steps into the booth with the Nike Air Foamposites every time he wants to spaz on the track. Modeling his steez after Anfernee in his prime, the slept-on flavor of N*E*R*D’s “God Bless Us All” gets makeshifted into a tongue-twisting lecture for the second entry in The Penny Freestyle Series (“Otis” was the first). Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Black Jesus,

Thank you for allowing Fam-Lay to bring forth new material on a somewhat consistent basis. Read the rest of this entry »

Fam-Lay and Chad Hugo appear at about the same frequency so it makes total sense they show up together for “Beach Cruiser.” The track sounds like a relic from the time when Star Trek had production credits on any and everything relevant Read the rest of this entry »

I have good news and some outlandish news. The good news in N.O.R.E. decided to go back to school. The outlandish news he chose to go on the weekend. Since there’s no classes to attend, that only means he was there for the party. And the free beer. And the weed. And the girls. Read the rest of this entry »

They shot this video over a year ago and today is your lucky day if you’ve been holding your breath since then. Jayceon, Justin and Pharrell are on boats, waverunners and every other ocean acessory to get the point across. The R.E.D. Album will drop this year, even if every artist in the industry has to make the slight appearance to give the project the needed push. Read the rest of this entry »

An arduous grind, numerous mixtape releases, a BET cypher and G.O.O.D. Music over everything is what lead Sean Anderson to this point where he can kick his feet up and enjoy the fruits of his labor with his debut studio effort, Finally Famous: The Album. Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh music from Noreaga as he reunites with The Neptunes for his upcoming S.U.P.E.R.T.H.U.G. solo effort. Not much to see here but Weezy makes the most out the production while Melvin Flynt keeps pace. Now, did anyone else catch the weekend Twitter update where Nore said CNN was essentially no longer working together? Read the rest of this entry »

From what has been publicized this year, Young Money’s next “build-a-superstar” project appears to be Lil’ Twist. Given Baby, Slim and Weezy’s prior successes, maybe they know something the masses are currently unfamiliar with. It is Tyga, however, who seems like the logical choice for such backing. Admittedly, his Black Thoughts 2 mixtape was anticipated on my personal radar. Read the rest of this entry »

The Bible preaches that man should fear God in everything they do. Not to say that G.O.O.D. Music’s hottest ticket, Pusha T thinks he’s the creator of all things, but he definitely wants to instill that same type of omnipresence into his peers in this thing called rap. Sans the subliminal sacrilegious anecdotes, it’s a kind of advantage every artist should strive for in their approach and angles. Read the rest of this entry »

Tha D-O Double G had a successful run with his weekly weed smoker series and to keep his Doggumentary album in everybody’s mouth, he recruits the Westside’s go-to-pointman, DJ Skee to put the pieces together to make it LP.  If Snoop’s involved, you know it’s an A-list affair. Presented by big money like Adidas Basketball and Colt 45 Blast, Snoop takes it back to the traditional approach of the mixtape when they weren’t so formal. Read the rest of this entry »

It was the beginning of 2009 when TC and I had a side bet going as to whether or not Tyga would be part of a legitimate Top 40 hit within the next 365. Going against my better judgment, I stuck with the tatted Compton kid who dropped the not-so-hotness that was “Coconut Juice,” based on the bars of heat he was spitting on his Outraged & Underage mixtape. TC, of course, bet against him. Read the rest of this entry »

Around this time last year, the Clipse were firmly established in having their cult following support and promote what ever direction their drug trade influenced penances took them. Even so, the glamourous commercial realm still eluded most of the brothers from Virginia’s efforts. If a day could alter the course of a career for an eternity, imagine what a full 365 days can bring. Pusha T especially, saw a rap rebirth if there ever was one, Read the rest of this entry »

“Yeah, I admit, I’ve done some dumb shit/disappointed everybody, I know/try not to hold that against me though.”

It’s cliché to start the second T.I. post in a month with a hilariously understated verse, but clichés be damned if this track isn’t dripping in irony. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite what Arthur from work says, All City Chess Club aren’t just a bunch of dorks who decided to do a woodwind version of Lupe’s lead single. No, this mentally-stimulated group happens to consist of a few rappers you might have heard of, named Asher, Sonic, Lupe, Chuck & Mikey, Blu, Diggy, Bobby Ray, Dosage and a few others who missed this particular match. Read the rest of this entry »