DEADLY DUETS

You would think with it being summer and all I would have more time to work on this blog, but it is the opposite, but Imma still give you what I got. So last weeks poll is over with the numbers coming in at an overwhelming 2 VOTES (wow I'm great) with one vote being mine. Another dead heat, with my vote going to the Wu-Tang Clan and the other going to The Roc. Ya'll know the rules concerning a tie here: my blog, my pick wins. So congratulations to Meth, Ghost, Rae, Rza, Gza, ODB, Deck, Masta Killa, and U-God you win the meaningless award of best family cut on my site. Please don't wait by your mailboxes for any sort of proclamation, for you will be sadly disappointed. For any doubters, "Triumph" was the shit.

Since we just observed what would have been the 37th birthday of the iconic Tupac Amaru Shakur this past week, and that man has released more albums dead than he did alive, I thought a perfect poll subject would be to wonder what is the best posthumous duet. Since I believe that Natalie Cole and Nat "King" Cole's unforgettable duet of...well..."Unforgettable" is possible the greatest of all time, I am declaring it ineligible for this poll. It's also don't a representative of this hip-hop culture. I think Ms. Cole would have a fit if Lil Kim moaned in the background of her father's vocals during any attempt at a hip-hop remake of his music. I hope I get a better turnout this time, because I really like this poll topic. I really didn't know who to vote for, so I would really like to see who people think the winner is. Same format as always, I rank 'em, you listen and vote.

5.) Big Pun ft. Donell Jones - "It's So Hard"

4.) Bob Marley ft. Lauryn Hill - "Turn Your Lights Down Low"

3.) 2Pac ft. Nas & Anthony Hamilton - "Thugz Mansion"

2.) Erick Sermon ft. Marvin Gaye - "Music"

1.) The Notorious B.I.G. ft. Eminem - "Dead Wrong"

NO LOVE?

Yesterday was Father's Day (happy belated Father's Day everyone by the way), and it got me thinking...where is the Father's anthem in hip-hop and/or R&B? Not every child in this culture was raised fatherless, so how come the daddies get no love? On Mother's Day there are a million positive songs about mothers to choose from. You got 2Pac's "Dear Momma", Boyz II Men's "A Song For Mama", R. Kelly's "Sadie", and so on. If someone chooses to write a song about their pops, its usually negative like the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", L.L. Cool J's "Father", and Shaq O'Neal's "Biological Didn't Bother." The only positive one that instantly pops into my mind is Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father." Come on now, there had to be at least one good daddy for all these musicians. If any one who happens to stumble across this blog and reads this, hit me in the Chat Box and let me know if you know of any positive songs about fathers. I really am curious because I am a father, and I need to know if I need to start grooming my daughter to be a musician so she can make a happy song about me.

THE MOLE

Well, can anyone really say that they are surprised. R. Kelly was acquitted of all child pornography charges yesterday. The evidence that created reasonable doubt...a mole that may or may not have been present in the damning video. How much did those lawyers cost...I mean damn!!! Fuck Cochran and Shapiro...there was a video and they still couldn't get him. It should only be a matter of days before LowKey debuts a song from the self-proclaimed "Pied Piper" of R&B which should proclaim how justice took place, how R. loves Jesus, his family, and his fans, how all the haters can get the dillz, new album in stores whenever, and how he wants to freak your moms in your linen closet while lines up his 40 year old, illiterate hairline. I digress. Anyway, congrats to you Mr. Kelly. Can't wait for Fiesta part 72, your confession song on the next album, and a "Best of Both Chesters" album with Michael Jackson. Let me get your lawyers' number...I just got a traffic ticket.

Jay-Z ft. R. Kelly - "Guilty Until Proven Innocent"

CLAIM YOUR SET

Ahh...another week, another poll. Meth and Mary had a close race with L.L. and BIIM, each garnering a vote apiece (god I love my fans). Since this is my blog, I make the rules, so Meth and Mary are champions again. This week the poll will center around the same collaboration subject, but this time it is the family collaboration. My definition of "family" is people under the same umbrella, or same team. Everybody has a crew nowadays whether it be the Game's Black Wall Street family, or Lil' Wayne's Young Money team. But outside of their leader do these crews have any prominence? Can anyone name me 5 songs by 5 different people in Black Wall Street? Who else is in Young Jeezy's USDA besides Jeezy? I'm talking about crews doing major things where each member can hold its own on the mic. So this week we are doing the best family cut of all time, remix or not. The crews I have selected are, or have been, crews to be reckoned with: Roc-a-Fella, Ruff Ryders, Wu-Tang Clan, G-Unit, and Terror Squad. Once again, I ranked the songs in the order I believe they are in, and placed a poll to the right for you readers (or in my case "reader"...thanks Mom) to vote on. Voting is done on Monday, so be sure to vote carefully because this means absolutely...NOTHING!

5.) Terror Squad - "Lean Back"

4.) G-Unit - "Hate It or Love It (Remix)"

3.) Roc-A-Fella All-Stars - "Champions"

2.) Ruff Ryders - "Ruff Ryders Anthem (Remix)"

1.) Wu-Tang Clan - "Triumph"

SUPER TUESDAY

June 10 is finally here, and I'm shocked. I thought I would wake up to mass rioting, babies crying, and zoo animals running wild, but it was pretty quiet. As you all know Lil' Wayne's highly anticipated Tha Carter III officially dropped today along with two other high profile albums (N.E.R.D.'s Seeing Sounds and Plies' Definition of Real). In my world Plies doesn't exist, so it was just Weezy and N.E.R.D. I wanted to see how high these two would make it up my list to the right of the top albums of 2008 so far, so I waited till midnight and listened to them both on iTunes secretly hoping there was more to them than what got leaked. The leak was it for both of them, not much more. So I ranked them both #9 and #10 respectively, they could be bumped of the list totally by the time the Game, Nas, and Busta all drop in July. N.E.R.D. I'm not so shocked in their underachievement because none of their albums have impressed me thus far, but Weezy...damn man your ad says "best rapper alive!" Still no classic for you, can't wait to hear Tha Carter IV homie.

The suprise of the day came from an album, I honestly didn't know was coming out. I had some tracks from it, but I just thought maybe it was a mixtape. It's Little Brother's And Justus For All. They always seem to impress me with their refreshing simplicity, just like A Tribe Called Quest used to. Phonte and Pooh might have the most consistent chemistry for any group out there, they are just themselves on a record. They debuted at #3 on my charts. So if you all get bored with "Lollipop", "Everybody Nose", and whatever it is that Plies does, check out Little Brother. I'll even hit you with a taste.

Little Brother ft. Supastition & Rhymefest - "Do It To Death"

POOF: MC BRAINS

I decided to start a new element of my blog I will call "Poof." It's dedicated to rappers who seemed like they had potential (whether it be a guilty pleasure of mine or not) but just fell off the musical map, disappeared...poof! The first artist I will highlight in this section is Motown Artist MC Brains.

Many hip-hop historians believe that it was Bone Thugs N Harmony that put the city of Cleveland, Ohio on the hip-hop map. Those historians need to check their facts and rewind back to 1992 when an unknown rapper named MC Brains (born James De Shannon) hit the scene with the infectious song "Oochie Coochie" He was discovered by Michael Bivens of New Edition and Bell, Biv, Devoe fame. Bivens had just released a string of hits with Boyz II Men, ABC (Another Bad Creation), and BBD (Bell Biv Devoe)...you know "the East Coast Family." It was only right that he drop another hit with his new protege from Cleveland. "Oochie Coochie" was the first single off of Brain's only album "Lover's Lane" and it went to number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and as high as number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song's sex driven lyrics fit in fine with the booty and hoochie heavy hits "Do Me" and "Poison" Bivens help create with Bell, Biv, Devoe. Riding high off of the success of "Oochie Coochie", MC Brains released 2 more singles off of his debut album ("Brainstorming" & "Everybody's Talking About MC Brains"). Sadly to say, contrary to the title of his third single, everybody was not talking about MC Brains, at least not outside of Cleveland, and those two singles flopped leaving MC Brains excommunicated from "the East Coast Family" and never to be heard from again.

Why did I pick MC Brains, I don't know, I was listening to an old mixtape and "Oochie Coochie" popped up between TLC's "What About Your Friends" and Del The Funkee Homosapian's "Mistabobdobelina." What old head did not groove to "Oochie Coochie" while watching Jordan win that second championship against the Blazers. Classic lines like "Oochie coochie la la la/I am the Brains and I'm up to par/Quit actin' brand new I know you fruity/Cause when you're walkin' you're shakin' that booty." What!?!?!?!? Hova what? Weezy who? This man was the truth. You can't forget his list of freaks at the end: "Lisa, Kim, Angela, Monique/Dem are some freaks with some big physiques/Pam, Deshaun, Theresa, and Judy/Dem are the girls with the ghetto booty." I think a tear just dropped from my eye from the beauty of this poetry. One last fact, this man had Boyz II Men singing back-up on a few songs on his album...yes I said it...Boyz II Men BACKED UP MC Brains vocally. Their vocals fell secondary to this MC's lyrical wizardry, who else can say they had that without signing some zeros on a check. To get you all reacquainted with MC Brains, I left 4 four of his tracks that were favorites of mine. Take a listen and tell me what you think. If you like it, go cop the album (if you can find it, lord knows I've tried) its not too late to make this man platinum.

MC Brains - "Oochie Coochie"

MC Brains ft. Boyz II Men - "Brainstorming"

MC Brains - "Everybody's Talking About MC Brains"

MC Brains ft. Boyz II Men - "Boys To Men (The Sequel)"

"YOUR SITE SUCKS!"

Thanks, I love the feedback, but to be honest, I expected that response a lot earlier in my blog career. Let me just put one thing out there, I'm not doing this like every other blogger out there is. I have respect for the culture. I'm not wasting my time trying to be the first blogger to debut a wack ass track on their site. Does anyone really give a shit about a new Maino track or a D12 mixtape? Fuck exclusives, leave that shit to the mixtape dj's. I thought blogging was a way to release a piece of your mind for the whole world to see. That's all I am trying to do, show my perspective on hip hop and to create exploratory discussions to all that care to read. So I guess what I am trying to say is if you want that new Gucci Mane diss towards Danity Kane, there are millions of other sites out there that can get that for you, but I ain't the one homey.

DEFENDING THE TITLE

I never got a chance to speak on the results of the "hip-hop/R&B collabo" poll, so I will now. I wasn't shocked at the winner, I voted for Meth and Mary myself. I was shocked that The Roots and Erykah didn't get one vote. Wow! That shit won a Grammy, man, a Grammy! Well for this post I decided to let Meth & Mary defend their belts in round two. Can they split ears like Kimbo, or get knocked out by some young bucks like the Spurs, only time, and votes will tell. I am going to list Meth & Mary along with 4 other songs down low, and you all vote to the right, I'll see ya'll in six days with the results.

5.) Mariah Carey ft. Bone Thugs N Harmony - "Breakdown"

4.) L.L. Cool J. ft. Boyz II Men - "Hey Lover"

3.) Salt N Pepa ft. En Vogue - "Whattaman"

2.) Busta Rhymes ft. Janet Jackson - "What's It Gonna Be"

1.) "The Champs" Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige - "You're All I Need (Razor Sharp Remix)"

WHO'S KILLIN' IT? PART ONE

The eminent death of hip hop has been a long and on-going argument over the past few years. Is commercialization killing this culture? Maybe its the Dirty South's onslaught on the game that is weakening the structure? It has to be a complete lack of creativity among all hip-hop artists...right? All those points can be argued until you are blue in the face, but the thing I believe to be the culprit is hip hop itself that is killing hip hop. There I put it out there. What I mean is low sales happen because people drop 12 mixtapes and purposely leak half their albums before the actual album drops. Where is the consumer's motivation to purchase an album that he or she already has most of, and once the album is released some blogger will give you the rest. Imagine what 50, Kanye, and Jay would have sold if they could have sealed their albums. Anticipation is sometimes the best marketing tool. Are you gonna ask the girl that you fuck after school on the way to your real girlfriends house to prom? No, why pay for the cow when you get the milk for free. Its sad, but many of the artists of this culture are prostituting themselves (yes even you 50). Look at any other genre of music, they all have no problem putting up big sales. You think that new Garth Brooks is gonna leak? Is Coldplay gonna put out a mixtape a month before the release of their album, probably not because they don't have to. As long as you have fans you will always sell as long as you make music for your fans. I do admit that it would be funny to drive through the suburbs and see a cat selling bootleg Carrie Underwood CDs in front of a tanning salon. I think Lil Wayne is about to find this out, he might sell well, but not to his full potential. He showed to much of of his strategy before the big game. Its like giving Belichick your play book before he has a chance to videotape your plays before the SuperBowl. I'll holla.

Common - "I Used to Love H.E.R."

AFTERTHOUGHTS OF THE LEAK

Well since my last post, there has been a significant leak of Lil Wayne's highly anticipated album "Tha Carter 3." After hearing the leaked tracks, all in all, I would have to say that I am torn. I am very impressed by the beat selection, a lot of "Southern" rappers wouldn't dare to deviate from the "plan" and rapper over beats that don't make you snap yo' fingaz or do tha dance. "Dr. Carter" was really well done, I think Black Sheep sampled the same beat Swizz Beatz did on their "A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing" album. On the same note, I think that his experimentation on this album my be his downfall. He wasn't himself, he wasn't Weezy F. Baby, I can't put my finger on it. It seems like he tried to create a classic, but you can't make a classic happen, they just happen. I never thought I'd say this, but where the hell is Mannie Fresh. It seems like Wayne is trying to impress the purist of this culture by not pigeon holing himself to the stereotypes of what a Southern rapper is supposed to sound like, but by doing that I think he lost some of his world renown swag and my end up alienating some of his life long fans. Some people still need the bounce Weezy. In no way am I trying to shit on this album, like I said I am impressed with what I hear so far, but it sounds empty. Wayne has definitely proven that he is an artist and a student of the game, but he shouldn't have to change his style to appease the naysayers like myself. So on "Tha Carter 4" throw some of that "wobbely wobbely" in there for old time sake, and go with what you know.

Lil' Wayne - "Tha Block Is Hot"