Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Dear Rappers: Six Foot Seven Foot Eight Foot Done!


Dear Rappers,

Let me start this off with, I feel where you are coming from. When a hot beat drops, you're just dying to jump on it. You hear your own ideas for the track. You imagine your flow over the beat. I get it. But as a blogger, I'd appreciate a little bit of originality. Think about this for a moment if you will, popular song comes out. The beat is hot. You think about using it. And while you're thinking, a million other rappers are ALSO thinking about using it too. At which point, you should move on to your next idea. But many of ya'll don't.

What's wack though, not only do some of ya'll jack beats to popular tracks, you switch up your flow to match the original. Oh. Okay. You do impersonations now too? That's cool. My thing is, if you wanna rock over a beat, try to use one that not everyone is using. If it's a popular single, chances are EVERYONE has already thought the same thing you are thinking: "Freestyle over the beat and blast it to the blogs. It's gonna be a movie!"

Wrong.

I know what you're probably saying: "my shit goes harder and I killed this beat more than anyone else." Oh. Okay. Yeah, that's cool and may very well be the case but when everyone is using the same beat, your shit gets lost in the sauce. I really can't say this enough.

Oh and another quick point, stop calling said tracks "freestyles" when in fact you've written down your verse. That's also lame.


But this is all old news though, because many of ya'll have heard me rant on this subject before. My current frustration comes from the new Lil Wayne track, 6 Foot 7 Foot. Much like Lil Wayne's hit, A Milli,  a lot of you are jumping all over this joint. I'll be honest, that beat goes hard. It's fresh. I dig it. But there are a few fails involved with this latest "freestyle frenzy"; besides the obvious EVERY ONE AND THEIR MOM IS DOING IT. The fail comes in the title of the track. For the record, it's 6 Foot 7 Foot (6'7'). I thought that was obvious considering it's in the chorus. But it's that tricky symbol that are fucking up a lot of you rap cats, your managers and your PR team too. Even the original artwork for the track was wrong, so I guess I can't fault you. Or I can.

Via @OCSupreme "Like I said, the world will die in the corner wearing a fucking dunce cap."
FYI: "The symbol for feet is a single apostrophe ('). The symbol for inches is a set of 2 apostrophes (")." Not sure what grade you learn that but you can always google for a refresher.

However, no matter how many times it's been stated, folks continue to use 6'7" in their artwork and the title of the track. Shit, even XM radio fucked it up (see pic above). I mean, if you're going to continue to flood the Internets with your "freestyle" at least get the title right. But go ahead and please continue with your 6 foot 7 inches freestyle. And then wonder why your career comes up short.

I'm just saying.

I'm sure, somewhere one (or more) of ya'll are shaking your head and mumbling, "this n-gga think he's somebody. What a hater." But that's a conversation for another day.

Peace,

ThroatChopU

PS: Remember, real G's move in silent like Lasagna (if you like to mispronounce things, that is).

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Download ... Asher Roth x Nottz "Rawth" EP


A fresh project from Asher Roth and Nottz, check out the Rawth EP. Shouts to PotholesInMyBlog for the link. At eight tracks, this project is definitely dope. Enjoy.


Download: Rawth

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What I'm Watching ... PHZ-Sicks "Inside The Laws of PHZ-Sicks"



The Laws of PHZ-Sicks drops January 5th.

www.phz-sicks.bandcamp.com
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Check It ... Word Life, The Rapture & Dow Jonez "Run For Cover" Feat. Money Stax (Prod. M Slago)


I caught this track from M Slago off the upcoming Rampage EP. As the email stated, this is not a group but four of Dallas' "Hip-Hop elite getting together to make some dope music." The crew includes, Word Life, The Rapture, and Dow Jonez with M Slago on production. "Run For Cover" is the first track off the EP dropping February 1, 2011 and features Money Stax. This joint is dope. Enjoy.



Run For Cover(feat. Money Stax).mp3

twitter.com/TheCoOp420
twitter.com/Wordliife
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Meeting of the Minds: Top Releases of 2010, Personal Five (Part 2)


There were a lot of fresh releases this year, and yesterday Egypto and I gave you what we believe are some of the top releases this year. Those were the ones we agreed on. These are our personal five. Egypto gives you Janelle Monae, Big Boi and others. I give you Eternia & MoSS and Donwill and others. There were a lot of fresh releases this year and our list is just a snapshot of what we believe are the top joints. Check out our individual five after the jump. Enjoy.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Meeting of the Minds: Top Releases of 2010 (Part 1)


For those who are unaware, me and Q here at The Mad Bloggers are fans of surprises, and always hitting you with great analysis as well as musical surprises. Well, this day is no different, as Q and I team up to offer up a collaborative writing effort on the best things to our ears to hit us in 2010. Here's how we worked it out, ground-rules wise: each of us got to pick five releases individually, then we agreed on five. After that, we also each picked five different ones as honorable mentions, so we could cover the musical gamut with some of our favorite releases this year. This is part one of three. Read more after the jump.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

What EMS Is Watching ... A Tribute to Nina Simone: Kelly Price, Marsha Ambrosius, Jill Scott, Ledisi - "Four Women"



I didn't actually get a chance to watch the Black Girls Rock award ceremony, however, there was buzz all over the internets about this performance. I meant to post this earlier, but better later than never. Aunt Sarah, Safronia, Sweet Thing and Peaches definitely rocked this. Enjoy.

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What I'm Watching ... SonReal "Clap For Me"



I'm definitely becoming a fan of SonReal. Dude is dope. Check his newest video, "Clap for Me." Filmed and edited by Dane Collison, with additional filming by Byron Wilson and Aaron Hoffman. Enjoy. Chea!

www.twitter.com/therealsonreal

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Download ... The Iomega Years


Nasa over at Uncommon dropped this project yesterday. There was no way I was reading my email or posting yesterday. I have to take a day off. Ha! So, I'm posting it up today. Check the back story and the bandcamp link below.
The Iomega Years is an album that was truly 10 years in the making because it collects an entire decade of lost beats from Nasa. All previously unreleased and unheard, The Iomega Years collects one beat from each year of the first decade of beat making from Nasa (1999-2009).

Nasa recently moved on from saving all his beats on an Iomega Zip Drive after 10 plus years of reliable service. Nasa's Iomega heard every kick and every snare and saved every sample played, this album is dedicated to the device that is now seeing it's semi-retirement. You can hear Nasa's rough around the edges beginnings on the MPC 2000xl all the way through the progressive sound that he's known for today. It's like watching a time lapse photograph, as you witness his style evolve in a way that no other producer has ever let you see.

The project is accompanied by snippets of historical events that happened in the years that each beat was made so that you are transported back to the time, place and mindset of Nasa at that very moment!

Sit back, get comfotable and take this trip with with Nasa, you'll have a lot of "I remember where I was when" moments on this journey and hear an artist grow at the same time.


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Download ... Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys Present: Free Shabazz


Check the Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys Present: Free Shabazz. It's a pretty fresh project featuring a gang of cool production and dope artists. Enjoy.
  1. Antiquarian (prod: J57 /cuts: DJ Emoh Betta)
  2. The Bullshit (prod: Jinesis) – P.So
  3. Shouts to Common (prod: Reality) – Homeboy Sandman
  4. Probability Bandits (prod: Falside) – Noah23
  5. Don’t Stop (prod: Khrysis) - Chaundon
  6. Cold Sores (prod: Dynamo414 /cuts: DJ Emoh Betta) - Ceschi
  7. Herb Lunchauer – Soul Khan
  8. Datura Stramonium - Kalae Allday & YC the Cynic
  9. The Colors (prod: Maticulous /cuts: DJ Brace) – Audible Doctor
  10. Give up the Ghost (prod: Time Crisis /cuts: DJ Emoh Betta) – Time Crisis
  11. Guns N Roses (prod: Introspective Minds /cuts: Rain) – Moe Pope
  12. Devil’s Bandit (prod: Falside) - Slaine
  13. Destroy (prod: Jaz Infinite) - C-Rayz Walz
  14. Make ‘Em Move (prod: Jinesis) – Fresh Daily
  15. Eagle Eye (prod: Karniege) - Karniege
  16. Kidnap Your Boyfriend (prod: Aaron Cormack) – George Watsky
  17. Mr. Brown (prod: 2 Hungry Bros) – YC the Cynic
  18. Sgt. Salty (prod: Hannibal King) - Sene
  19. 3 Magic W’s (prod: Factor) – LMNO & Awol One
  20. All Alone (prod: Jinesis) - Quesfire
  21. City Life (prod: Zee Imports) – Kooley High
Download: Free Shabazz

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Check It ... Lauryn Hill at Toad's Place (Pics and Vids)



Soon as I found out that Lauryn Hill was coming through to perform around my area, I had to be on it for several reasons. I didn't know what to expect from the show and from Ms. Hill but was down to see for myself. Having to wait 3 hours for her to get on stage from what supposed to be a 9pm show start and dropping $50 on a ticket, I wasn't feeling too good about what I thought was to come. After hours of waiting in a packed spot, antsy, agitated, cramped, her band members started filling the stage. I figured then she had to show up and that she was late. Her DJ even had stated earlier in the night that she was running late due to a fire in a hotel or something. Don't take my word for it because it was hard to hear when he gave the explanation.

Finally, after about another half hour of her band setting up she was spotted. Crowd went bananas. Song after song she performed her hits with minimal stops and maximum energy. It was hard to hear some of her singing and therefore hard to figure out what songs she was performing, but overall it was a decent show. But, I think that's enough about me trying to describe it with my words. Check out the videos by clicking READ MORE to view them and see for yourself. Enjoy.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Download ... @CarlittaDurand "Nostalgic Nights"


Carlitta Durand can sing. And on Christmas Eve she delivers Nostalgic Nights, a mellow EP that may require you to grab a few glasses of wine, dim the lights and chill out by the fire place. Throw this joint on after the kids have gone to bed and relax. Or throw it on now. Enjoy.


  Nostalgic Nights by ThroatChopU

Download: Nostalgic Nights

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