Kendrick Lamar's Progression

Kendrick Lamar has come a long way since his days as K Dot when he was just another typical Compton rapper. He has always had some buzz in the underground because the West Coast had been longing for a successor to carry the torch of great MC's from Cali that include DJ Quik, Ice-T, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg. Previous artists though to be torchbearers were The Game, Crooked I, Nipsey Hussle, not YG, and even Kendrick's label mate and big brother Jay Rock. Well Kendrick was officially bestowed the crown as the new Prince of the West Coast during a concert when Dr. Dre, Snoop, and Game (idk what qualifies him to crown anyone) passed the torch to the young 24 year old shortly after releasing his critically acclaimed Section 80. But how did he get to that point? Has he always been a prodigy or did he make some transformation to become the most respected MC in the game right now that both the underground and mainstream love. This post will cover mainly his career from his past four solo projects starting with the Kendrick Lamar EP up to his October 2012 release of Good Kid Maad City.

I was interested to see what Kendrick spit about and how he sounded before the self titled EP so i peeped a couple tracks like I Ain't No Joke off his No Sleep Till NYC which was a collaborative mixtape done with Jay Rock. he was just bragging but goddam did he have some flow. This was released in 2007 i think meaning that he was only 19 or 20 when it was made. Another thing noticeable was how much different his voice was. Obviously he didn't like how his voice sounded so thank god he went with his natural voice later because it was sounded like he smoked a pack right before he went into the booth. On a side note i could see why Jay Rock was getting hyped up as the next big thing at the time. The motherfucker was spitting crazy and he might have just convinced me to go back and check his stuff out. Also look at how Kendrick is dressed lol. I know he was still a kid at the time but it's cool to see ho much he has grown in the last several years stylistically both in fashion and as an artist. He has other tapes before that but i don't got the time to be going through all of them so at least that track gave me a basis as to where he was. And check out his C4 mixtape as that was the one that first generated some buzz for himself.

After dropping that C4 project there was pressure for Kendrick to deliver on another solo project of his own but this time over some original beats. On the last day of 2009 he released a free ep titled the Kendrick Lamar EP but don't get fooled, the project is 15 tracks long totaling just over 1 hour so it wasn't normal ep length but he was sending a message that it wasn't a mixtape either. Usually when someone releases a mixtape it is a collection of tracks not good enough to make an album or just a bunch of songs with no direction but Kendrick let us know that he put forth the thought and effort and wanted it to be treated as a proper project rather than just a bunch of throwaways. First thing you notice is that his voice has changed completely from what it was on No Sleep Til NYC. Kendrick is using his natural voice which is 1000 times better than the tough talk he was putting out previously. Another thing noticeable on the project was that he didn't sound like anyone else in the game. The closest comparison i could make was maybe Lupe Fiasco circa his first two albums and Farenheit days because they were the anti gangsters yet still had hood credibility. I came across Kendrick around the end of 2010 or early 2011 but even a year later the project sounded fresh. There wasn't anyone else rapping over the beats he was spitting over and he was the complete opposite of what you would think a Compton MC would sound like. He wasn't a pimp and slick talker like DJ Quik and he wasn't a thug like NWA. But you can tell that he was influenced by all the legends that came from the city before him. You can hear the Tupac influence in him as well because of his penchant for writing stories and being a descriptive storyteller despite being so young. Example of storytelling were in I Wanna Be Heard, She Needs Me, and Uncle Bobby. In I Wanna Be Heard he said the said the thing that best exemplifies his style as a rapper, "as a kid i wanted to rap like Jay-Z, until i realized Jay wasn't me." It was like a spiritual conversion for Kendrick when it made sense that being the gimmick gangsta rapper would maybe give him success for a little while but being yourself is always original and has more sustainability if you have the skills to back it up. The flow was crazy in this too with my favorite flow wise was Vanity Slaves, which was also my favorite track subject wise. The funny thing was that we heard the talent he possessed but he still left us wanting more. It's like he had a damn good debut but we couldn't wait to see what he had in store for us on his next project. This project was an introduction to the new Kendrick Lamar after shedding the K Dot name and would be the foundation for his style of MCing on future projects.

9 months later Kendrick dropped his next project Overly Dedicated with emphasis on the first two letters, OD. Kendrick was saying the same way a junkie is addicted to drugs, he is addicted to the mic. All he wants to do is make music and is a possible foreshadow because that could end up breaking him but it's a risk he is willing to take. I like how the first track started with a snippet from artist Dash Snow who died of an overdose showing Kendrick is treating this as an album. He is developing a theme for the entire project and that intro and first track set the table for the rest of the project. I really think that OD is about his relationship with music and he is using the girlfriend theme as a metaphor. It again show progression from the Kendrick Lamar EP because on that he was just spitting without any purpose other than to show his skill and introduce himself to the masses. Since he got a significant buzz off of that he wanted to show us how serious he is about the music thing and examples to point to are Growing Apart (To Get Closer, shout out to Jhene Aiko),  P&P, Opposites Attract (Tomorrow Without Her), Barbed Wire, and Cut You Off (To Grow Closer). But don't take my word for it because i am usually terrible at deciphering concepts of albums and whatever, that's just my interpretation. Anyways the importance of it shows his growth as an artist because it is much harder to revolve a whole project around a single concept and make everything flow together nicely. The only thing i didn't like was he could have done without Michael Jordan (Schoolboy looking hella skinny in the video). He just doesn't sound right on those kind of tracks. That's more of a Schoolboy track which is why he sounded WAY more natural on it than Kendrick did. Anyways you couldn't really be mad at one kinda bad track on a project. His hook game was pretty weak too but he had time to improve on that because at the time he was just a spitter and not so much a hit maker. Overly Dedicated was the mixtape/EP/project/album whatever you wanna call it that pushed Kendrick that much closer to stardom. After that he made the XXL Freshmen list in 2011 and later that year he would release his first album for sale.

By this time there was much anticipation for kendrick's next album. He had just dropped a critically acclaimed project, he made the cover of XXL and each of his label mates dropped above average projects in their own right so it was up to Kendrick to keep the ball rolling and he did not disappoint. As a matter of fact he elevated himself as the face of Black Hippy with the release of Section 80. OD saw Kendrick step into the concept realm and on Section 80 he put lyricism, storytelling, subject matter, and a concept all into one. I did not catch the concept for the longest time because i'm retarded but he was speaking on issues that people of his generation grew up with. He spoke on race relations, drug dependence, women insecurities, and girls turning into lesbians just to name a few. Women's issues was a central theme on the album and the reason why people like Kendrick get praised for it and someone like Drake gets lambasted is because the subject matter. Drake talks about how girls are insecure and how he notices their beauty or whatever which is what girls wanna hear. Kendrick on the other hand is talking about REAL shit. Like how girls are pimped out from a young age which sends their life into a downward spiral they can't get out of. You know, stuff no one wants to hear but it actually happens. I loved ADHD because substance abuse is a huge problem in our country so how do we fix it? We give kids amphetamines at a young age if they display too much energy aka being a kid doing kid shit. And then we wonder why these kids who have been on amphetamines their whole lives eventually turn to other drugs. Obviously i'm generalizing here but when we GIVE drugs to our kids why are we expecting anything else. Another thing is that i said Kendrick doesn't do too well on tracks like The Spiteful Chant which is more suited to someone like Schoolboy Q who was on the track but goddam, Kendrick's flow was so crazy and he was talking how he doesn't need a Dre cosign to make it big. That's some powerful words and although he is talented as hell, i don't know if he would have been as big if Dre didn't hop on The Recipe but that's for another day. Then Ab Soul's Outro to close the album out was brilliant. If you didn't know who Ab Soul was at the time you knew who he was for sure after that. If anything those are the two guys most similar to each other on Black Hippy and every time they get together something good happens. Kendrick's verse in that sums up the album too btw so make sure you pay attention to that. Like i said this album pegged Kendrick as the one to watch. It ended up at the top of so many best album of the year lists by years end and ensured that his debut studio album would be the most anticipated in a very long time. He had a ton of pressure on his shoulders anointing him not only the new leader of the West Coast but he was the next savior of hip hop which is like calling someone the next Jordan, it never ends up good.

First off nice homage to Nas and Biggie with the album cover. Both of their debuts, which are on the short list of the greatest hip hop albums ever, have baby pictures of themselves so Kendrick is 1) paying homage and 2) saying his debut is going to up there with them. Right now the album is not up there in terms of greatness but who know maybe in time it will be. I'm sure many of you have already heard Good Kid Maad City by now so i'm not going to break it down like i have been doing with the other three projects. In short it is another concept album detailing him trying to bang Sherane one night in Compton. The cool thing about this is that he is able to put his whole life into one album and fit it into the story. He has mentioned in interviews that he has been writing his debut album his whole life and it showed. Kendrick comes through strong again with the subject matter talking about peer pressure, growing up poor, and life in Compton to name a few. Love the fact that he showed love to E-40 on Money Trees and goddam at Jay Rock's verse. I could get into this way more but the album is so dense and had so much going on that this could go for days and i'm sure everything that could have been said about the album has been said already. I like the fact he didn't have to sacrifice any artistic integrity to make singles either. His two radio hits off the album were Swimming Pools and Poetic Justice and they fit into the story perfectly. Nothing felt out of place and the only thing i could say was that the skits were too much. I know the skits are there to further the story but c'mon man ain't nobody got time for that.

Just amazing how Kendrick progressed from project to project and he kept getting better with each one. We saw GKMC that Kendrick can make a splash on the radio while staying true to his artistic roots which is extremely rare nowadays and the last person i can think to do that was Lupe on his first two albums. Don't be expecting another album real soon though because he has said he is waiting for the right time to start writing again for his next album so in the meantime just watch for him to be on features and promoting his Black Hippy brothers while he is in the lab. I'm not even that big of a Kendrick Lamar fan and that little nerdy goody two shoes kid from Compton amazes me with what he is spitting. We got a true talent on our hands but don't think he is the only dude out there killing it. My man Big Krit just dropped another great tape, Kendrick's Black Hippy brothers constantly push each other to top one another. Schoolboy Q has said numerous times that he isn't releasing his album until he feel it is better than GKMC. Who else we got out right now...Joey Bada$$ and not the rest of Pro Era, Chance The Rapper is making noise and i think he'll have a breakout year and his style could land him on the radio before you know it, Starlito stays true to the underground and is spitting some of the best stuff out no one knows about, Fat Trel is making Chief Keef look like the amateur that he is by doing Sosa's style but instead of sucking he is raw. Man there are too many to name. So when you hear someone say hip hop is wack or whatever, you can always fall back on Kendrick as an example as to why it's not and then mind fuck them by dropping knowledge on all the cats doing their thing and paying their dues underground.


DJ Quik


Big Krit

Kid Cudi- Indicud

Kid Cudi is coming out with his new album Indicud slated for an April 23 release date but pieces fell into the right place and i came across a leaked version pushing the official release date a week earlier to April 16. I didn't even know it was coming out so soon. I just assumed he would release it over the summer but what do i know. It will be interesting to see how far Cudi has come since his A Kid Named Cudi and Man On The Moon days especially since his previous album was a rock album so i don't know what to expect on this one seeing as i don't follow the homie's career like that. He has had a daughter and quit smoking weed since he dropped his debut studio effort so hopefully he isn't depressed anymore. And Cudi also left the Good Music label, apparently on good terms, so it won't be released under Kanye's label. And i just read something where Cudi said it would be like his version of 2001 by Dre which he has said was the album that introduced him to weed but who the hell knows what that means the project will sound like since Cudi seems like the type of dude to something like that then it sounds nothing like 2001. Anyways without further ado here we go...

Ratings right here:
0- never playing this shit again or just hitting the next button
1- if it comes on i'll let it play
2- i go out of my way to play this

p.s i usually link the songs but since it's a leak, the links to youtube will get taken down soon so you just gotta take my word for it in the meantime.

1) The Resurrection Of Scott Mescudi
All we got going on here is some noises so he is making us listen to the album to figure out what this means. When I hear this intro i'm thinking back to that scene in Lord Of The Rings where the orcs are getting dug out of the earth and lava and all that shit is flying around. The aggressiveness of the beat is making me expect it to be a rock album but that wouldn't really make sense since it's not a resurrection so i'm going to use my common sense and project the album to be the return of Kid Cudi the lyricist but over rock beats. We'll see if the prediction ends up being true. I'll give the intro a pass

2) Unfuckwittable
I fuck with the beat but the track as a whole to me is unfuckwittable. Production sounds like it would have fit perfectly onto Man On The Moon 2 but Cudi just don't sound as depressed. Also there's been no lyrical progression since his first album. He is still spitting about how people are fake which is the basis of the whole song. Seriously every line is a synonym for that thought. And the hook is trash but he sounds so good over it i'm probably going to end up catching myself singing it in the shower the next couple of days. C'mon man we all know (or at least think) you a better lyricist then this. 1 the beat goes hard

3) Just What I Am feat King Chip aka Chip Tha Ripper
As i said before on that Man On The Moon Review i fuck with Chip Tha Ripper so i had high expectations for his verse. That being said he put a smile on my face which is exactly what i expected. He isn't going to reinvent the wheel or anything like that but he'll always throw some cartoonish visuals in there. Now most people leave the weed anthem song for the end of the album but Cudi decided to get it over with quick. That being said his hook game is trash. I know, Cudi knows, we all know he sounds good singing a hook or whatever but goddamm that doesn't mean you can just be getting lazy with it on EVERY SINGLE TRACK. I can tolerate that stuff on Alive but when you're on your fourth solo album which doesn't include a mixtape plus working with resources known as G.O.O.D. music you gotta come up with some better hooks. Its like he's letting his daughter write his hooks for him. That being said i could have kinda forgiven him if he came through with a dope verse but he didn't. He sounds more depressed now that his shrink put him on meds than he was doing illegal shit. Then he said "that man ain't wearing these leather pants." Smh. 0 not even Chip could save it

4) Young Lady feat Father John Misty
Anyone else think its not appropriate for a priest to jump on a track named "Young Lady" but whatever. This shit is mad creepy. It's making Cudi seem like a perverted stalker who's going to be getting a restraining order by the time you finish reading this sentence. He is doing one of those women uplifting songs but again, he comes off as that creepy old dude i couldn't imagine any girl bumping this plus the beat doesn't match the lyrics at all. He sounds like he went into Drake's vault and stole one of his songs. I thought there was a GOOD Music vs. YMCMB beef and now they're sharing song ideas. But Cudi isn't with Kanye no more so that explains why he could mingle with anyone he chooses, i just didn't know he fucked with Drake musically like that. 0 i feel like a pedophile after listening to this

5) King Wizard
Here is his hater anthem track. I fucking hate when artists feel the need to address their haters on every album. It's annoying. It's repetitive. It's unoriginal. Whose hate is any different than anyone else's. "Haters" come with the career. You don't want haters then don't get into music. You rich as hell Cudi and still have a career, why address the haters. This just make them hate you more. 0

6) Immortal
This is my favorite track so far. From the beats to the 2 verses to yes even the hook my head was bobbing and i was hitting them melodic notes. I looked at the track listing to see who is making the beats and i dam near fell out of my chair seeing Cudi as the producer on all but 2 of the tracks. I didn't know he gets busy behind the boards like that but then again it's not like the beats are complex or anything so that should've tipped me off. Anyways the first line of the song "spent the last month feeling bad for myself" then i said to myself here we go again. But nope Cudi actually is feeling good about himself. I don't know what it is and he doesn't know either but thank god it's some positive shit talking about how everything is starting to become clear for him and it's bringing him out of depression. Even though the hook is lazy again it's cool on this one because it sounds like he was going for an anthem sound and when you have an anthem you don't want to be over complicating things so i'm cool with the lazy hook here. 2

7) Solo Dolo pt II feat Kendrick Lamar
So this is a sequel to Solo Dolo off of his first album and it sounds nothing like the first one. For starters the production is way more upbeat which i was feeling and he has a feature on it so he isn't doing it solo this time. Maybe it means he isn't as much of a loner anymore. The feature on it is Kendrick Lamar and he has shown an ability in the past to renegade tracks he is on so Cudi needed to step his game up for this one and his flow was real tight on it. I never heard Cudi rap like this before so if anyone got any other songs where he does let me know. Well i guess he is back on drugs. I thought he was off it but old habits take him back. Who knows i'm confused as hell. Although he did his thing i do prefer Cudi with that singing shit that he normally does because i feel like that just fits him better. If he were to stick to rapping like how he did on this track i think he would just get lost in the shuffle. That being said Kendrick came in with the first hook on the album to have some oomph behind which no doubt K Dot wrote then he came in with his verse. He didn't kill it or nothing because i'm sure he didn't wanna embarrass Cudi so he stepped off the gas. Kendrick didn't bring any quotables so what can you do. 1

8) Girls feat Too Short
Goddammit Cudi your hook game is so trash. Even though it gets stuck in your head it ain't the good kind of stuck in your head. It's not "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin To Fuck Wit," it's more of a "I'm On A Mexican Radio, oohwoahoh" (shout out to Wall Of Voodoo). He needs to spend more than 30 seconds writing his hooks because that shit is actually getting worse as time goes on. That being said i have no idea how he and Oakland legend Too Short got in the studio together. It's not like people been screaming for these guys to collaborate or Cudi was making music anything close to resembling Too Short. Maybe Cudi is trying to expand his repertoire and show versatility idk, the shit just sounds weird. Cudi just doesn't portray a pimp in any way whether it be a slick talker or a straight shooter like Short Dawg. His first verse he sounds like he's at a brothel looking to choose an escort. Well whatever his second verse came in and was gone before you knew it and for sure won't be on anyone's "favorite 16" list in the near or distant future. And Too Short came in and did what Too Short does. If you under 18 you're aren't going to like his verse. If you're a Cudi fan who never heard of Too Short you probably won't like it. If you're a mother who cares about her kids you won't like it. If you a YG or Tyga fan, you'll be like "Oh so that's how it's done." Even though it's mad creepy having Too Short still rap about that shit he a legend so he can do what he wants. Imagine your uncle coming with you and you're 20 years old and he's trying to mack on girls at a college party. Kinda weird but again it's Too Short. He's the black Hugh Hefner. 0 Cudi sounds mad awkward on this and Too Short has literally thousands of verses that are the same

9) New York City Rage Fest
Seems to be an interlude but it says rage fest so i'm assuming the album will get more uptempo now. pass on the score

10) Red Eye feat Haim
First thing you guys gotta know is that this should be a Haim (rhymes with dime) song feat Cudi because only thing Cudi does is his OOHWHOOOAA thing that he does at the end of the track. I had idea who Haim is so according to their wikipedia page they are a band made up of the three Haim sisters, who knew? Props to Cudi for giving a band not too many people heard about a chance to shine and shit i might even check them out down the line so Cudi did his job. Idk who wrote the song but if it was Haim, i could see why Cudi likes them. 1

11) Mad Solar
I'm conflicted with this one right here because i'm digging the track but i feel like i've heard this a bunch of times from Cudi before. Nevertheless i'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it seems like he is getting happier. The hook game moved up to the featherweight division for this track but that's still a far way away from the heavyweights. 1

12) Beez feat RZA
Leave it to The Ruler Zig Zag Allah to have the best verse on the album so far. It was actually cool with Cudi handling the production on this one and it shows the respect Rza has for Cudi to jump on the album. When he said "i don't write songs grasshopper, i write sceneries" i just said goddam Bobby Digital. His philosophies in making music haven't changed at all. And I like Cudi's ode to Mind Playin Tricks On Me in the hook which he said was the song to inspire Day N Nite. Then Rza comes in with a second verse and comes in with another classic Rza verse. If you like his style you're going to like the track, if you don't then you won't like the track. It's vintage Rza. I don't know what cudi is doing. It's not like Rza is Haim, the man is and has been established in the game for 20 years so it's not like he needs a push. It weird that after the interlude 2 out of the 3 songs don't even have a Cudi line on it so i'm not sure if the rest of the album is just going to be him lacing beats while other guys rip it so wtf. 2 when the second best song doesn't involve the album's artist that can't be a good thing

13) Brothers feat King Chip and ASAP Rocky
Another Chip Tha Ripper sighting and even though he ended every line with either "you" or "niggas" i fucked with it. Chip is a smart motherfucker. He's listed on three different tracks on this album meaning if he only gets 1 verse per track that's 3 verses for him to showcase what he can do. 48 bars to prove yourself and so far after two verses he is setting himself up for something big. Being on this album is setting Chip up to have a big year and his appearance on Indicud is going to be his coming out party. Now i'm not the biggest fan of ASAP but i was digging his verse. He had about three different flows in one verse but wasn't saying anything until about a quarter of the way in. It's like the first couple lines were lay ups, he was just trying to get his feet wet then later on he started hitting threes and shit. I don't know why he just didn't start ripping it from the start but i guess he needs to warm up. Cudi came in and laid down his best verse of the album. Now if you guys couldn't figure it out the song was about your real homies who are with you from the start. Before you got famous, stuck with you during the fame, and will be there for you after the fame. That shit resonates with everyone and i bump this track. I think that's the first time that i like two consecutive tracks on the album. Oh and the hook is trash again btw. 2

14) Burn Baby Burn
Idk what's gotten in to Cudi but his last several tracks have been very good. I thought he was off drugs well that shit was wrong. He was saying all the times in recent years he told us he quit he was actually just trying to see what it's like too live sober. Now after a while he has gone back to using it but he isn't as depressed as before so he found a way to keep it under control it seems. I'm not one to comment on parenting but the dude does have a daughter but again, he could be the greatest dad in the world and i don't know. 2, that's 3 in a row and 4 out of 5 that i'm digging

15) Lord Of The Sad And Lonely
Ok based off the title i'm not going to like this shit. However it wasn't really what i was expecting. On Cudi's previous albums he was the one giving a voice to the loners of the world but now he is embracing. He accepts the fact that he is who he is and figures you can't hide from who you are. Cudi is still acting as the voice for these people but he is saying "look i made it being this way and you can too" so this is his inspirational joint to that demographic of his fans. I ain't mad at the track but at the same time i can't really relate to it. 1 

16) Cold Blooded
This is what i'm talking about. Cudi is hungry and he is spitting. He just venting frustrations at the people who dont realize his talents *cough Kanye cough* and saying fuck you for sleeping on me. I don't know how he and Kanye are still on good terms after he pretty much called him an idiot for not realizing what Cudi brings to the table and letting him flounder and not get the shine he deserves from the label. I'm digging the beat too even though it's not my forte. 2

17) Afterwards (Bring Yo Friend) feat Michael Bolton and King Chip
I don't know what was worse, having michael bolton on the track or making it 9 minutes long. Why is michael bolton on here, why did Cudi reach out to him? The only reason i can think that this is 9 minutes long is because he is intending this to be played at raves or something where all the people are just going to be screaming "BRING YO FRIENDS." If you're curious the title of the song also are the lyrics to the song. That's 9 minutes of my life i could have spent listening to Krit's new project. 0 waste of time, the beats switches halfway through were Cudi says "just bounce, no hands" for 5 minutes.

18) The Flight Of The Man And The Moon
After opening the album with an instrumental Cudi decides to close it with one as well. I have no idea what the symbolism was.

Final Grade: C-

I hate to compare this album to Man On The Moon I but it wasn't as enjoyable for me. This was an up and down album for me with mostly downs and only one stretch of good tracks that came consecutively and those tracks were the only reason he didn't get a grade in the D range from me. He is evolving as a person and as a producer but lyrically, i don't see it. I feel like he is actually getting worse so idk what is going on with him. We'll see what his move away from GOOD Music does to his career. In the meantime i'll give this shit another couple listens to see if i missed something but if it doesn't change me then what can i say.


Chance The Rapper- Nana

Producer-MC Combinations

What would hip hop be without the relationship between the MC and the producer. Since back in the day MC's responsibilities were to hype a crowd while the DJ gets them to move. Nowadays the DJ, although still around, has evolved into the producer. A great hip hop record needs both components. A dope lyricist needs dope beats and vice versa. It just isn't the same if you're hearing an acapella rap or hearing trash words over dope beats. So without further ado I give you the best Producer-MC combinations we have. Now i'm talking about producers who are synonymous with artists. Like you can't say the name of one without the other so that's why for example the pairing of Just Blaze and Jay-Z aren't on here. When you think of Hov you don't automatically think of Just Blaze because the man can ride any beat and make it sound good. I also didn't want to rank them because it is too damn hard since all these duos were looking to perfect their own sound so it doesn't make any sense to me to compare guys when they aren't in the same lane or whathaveyou. And one last point is that i'm using one producer and one MC duos so you won't be seeing Clipse and the Neptunes or De La Soul and Prince Paul on here. Here we go.

Honorable Mentions:

Waka Flocka Flame and Lex Luger- Obviously not as prolific as others but these two are the ones responsible for bringing trap rap to the forefront. Yeah Gucci and Jeezy were crossover artists before but Luger's hard hitting beats combined with Flocka's over the top enthusiasm pushed it over the top giving old people another reason to hate our generation. All i can say to the old people is that you guys raised us. They just mad they dont Go Hard N Da Paint.


The Foreign Exchange- The reason Phonte and Nicolay aren't on here is because they don't make hip hop music so call it r&b discrimination but if it was any genre then trust me, their three albums speak for themselves and would have been up there on the list. I still don't know if they ever met.

Blu and Exile- These two teamed up for Blu's classic debut Below The Heavens and goddam do these two fit together perfectly. The only reason they aren't on the list is because they haven't put in the same amount of consistently great work as the ones that made it. I know they released another album last year which i need to check out but if they can put another project or two out that is at least on par with Below The Heavens then i'm going to have to make room somewhere. 

The List

Gang Starr
Dj Premier and Guru, RIP. When you got one of the most legendary producers ever to lay down a beat the MC just has to be average for shit to be poppin. Luckily for our ears, Guru was as nice on the mic as they came. Although Preemo eventually moved on to do side projects and things outside of Gang Starr he will always be remembered as the iconic producer of the duo and same goes to the late great Guru.

Pete Rock and CL Smooth
If there is one man synonymous with the soul, jazz and horn sampling it is mister Pete Rock. If there is one song that perfectly captures these elements it is the legendary cut They Reminisce Over You, no Lupe did not make the beat. The track would not be the same with any rapper over it. You get the feeling that CL Smooth had to be rapping what he was rapping about, the death of their close friend T-Roy of Heavy D and The Boyz, to bring out the production's full emotion. The fact it is considered their greatest track is a testament to the record. I prefer their second and final album The Main Ingredient with cuts like Take You There, In The House, I Get Physical, Caramel, and every song on the album start to finish. It's a shame they couldn't do more projects because in my opinion they are the best "jazz rap" duo/group of all time.

Mobb Deep
When New York was having their national renaissance in the mid 90s these two kids from Queensbridge (Havoc at least) were among the driving forces. Havoc produced some of the most gritty, filthy, gotta take a shower after listening to them beats you ever heard while Prodigy talked that tough talk that only someone who lived that life could have spoken. Honestly these two could have made the list based just on one song off of one classic album The Infamous and that's what i did because i'll be straight up, i haven't listened to anything else of theirs but that album hits so damn hard i don't need to. Is it just me or was Prodigy the oldest looking 21 year old ever?

Atmosphere
Right here we got the biggest underground duo for sure in history and maybe the biggest underground act of all time i gotta look that one up. Do you know how hard it is just to live in Minnesota with their cold ass winters, the only teams they have to root for are the Twins, Timberwolves, and Vikings which means they actually have to watch hockey. That is just living there so making it big from Minnesota I'm assuming is like 8000 times harder. The only Minnesotanites I know to make it big is the one and only Prince and Atmosphere, so props to Slug and Ant. The number one component a successful duo in any walk of life whether it be music, sports, at the workplace or with a significant other is chemistry. Without it shit is going to fall apart. That is why Ant and Slug have been able to not only stay together but consistently put out great material. You can put their discographies up in a line and be hard pressed to find one of them that is not top quality. Their work over the years rivals anyone, underground or mainstream because they know how to work together. Ant's aggressive beats just mesh with the angst in Slug's voice making it seem odd for the two to be working with anyone else. As much as i liked Slug on Felt 2 it just didn't sound right with Grouch behind the boards (no disrespect intended at all) and not Ant. Leave it two white boys to get it done.


Kanye and Himself
I think Kanye would approve of this.

Common and No ID
I know i needa step my game up because i'll be honest and admit the only project of these two i have gave a thorough Slim Samurai inspection to was Resurrection. Now I know i may be sounding like a hypocrite since i left Blu and Exile in the honorable mentions categories but i'm giving Common and No ID the benefit of the doubt because they are legends of the game and have four very good albums with the other three being Can I Borrow a Dollar?, One Day It'll All Make Sense and The Dreamer/The Believer. So tackling at least ODIAMS will be on my to do list but getting back to Resurrection boy was that some fire. Obviously Common is never going to be the one to get a party hyped but you can just sit in your room or walk to school on a nice sunny day with the ipod in and listen to the poet give you diabetes with the candy he is giving your ears. Then No ID is pushing all the right buttons behind the boards making every drum, snare, and sample fit perfectly track after track. The first two tracks are as good of a 1-2 punch to lead off any album i have ever heard and the rest of the project did not disappoint at all. Glad to hear they will be working together again on Com's next album. Peep the full album here if you want.

Zion I
Amplive and Zumbi have to be the most underrated duo of the last 15 years and maybe even of all time. They refuse to sell out and for that not only kept a loyal fanbase and artistic integrity but that allows them to drop quality projects over the years. Aesop Rock and Talib Kweli recognize the talent and have jumped onto tracks with them showing that they do actually get love outside of the Bay Area. Honestly if these guys were from LA or New York they would have nationwide love. They had one of the best underground releases ever in Mind Over Matter and countless tracks like this, that, and this shit right herrrr. And my man Amplive can get busy on those beats.

Snoop and Dre
I really don't need to say anything about these two. When you think of west coast hip hop and g funk you think of 1 2 3 and to the 4. While Dre's beats defined g funk, Snoop's laid back weed induced voice spoke for the genre. And goddammit who cares if Dre can't write his own rhymes to save his life, he sounds better than 90% of guys who have tried. That being said when talking about g funk we have to give respect to Nate Dogg, RIP, because as we all know "it must be a single if Nate Dogg singing on it," and to the D.O.C because without his pen game whos to say any of it would have popped off. What other credentials could we list for these two. How about 2 and a half classic albums with The Chronic, Doggystyle, and 2001. These spawned the classics Ain't No Fun, Gin and Juice, Let Me Ride, and The Next Episode. These guys have proven that they don't have to do anything together for the rest of their careers and they'll still be legends.

Eric B and Rakim
When your name is the God MC all the producer really has to do is not get in the way. Now i'm not knocking Eric B's production because hip hop was still in their Jurassic period and trying to figure shit out but it is safe to say that Rakim carried the weight. Eric B got chances to show his DJ skills on Paid In Full but let's be honest...if you had a choice between hearing Eric B cutting records or Rakim spitting acapella there's going to be a unanimous decision. But looking at it through a historical perspective, Eric B did what he was supposed to and that is let the MC get the shine. And i also feel wrong in knocking Eric B a little too much because i am not a student of that era in hip hop so i couldn't tell you if the production was superior, inferior, or on par with everything else but regardless Rakim was the star of the duo. Usually OG's in any field, not just music, are over rated in terms of skill because they were the first to do something. That is not the case with Rakim. You could drop him off in any era of hip hop, the mid 90s, mid 2000s, or now Rakim would destroy anyone lyrically. People nowadays are still trying to figure out how to rhyme like he was back in 88. Long story short Rakim is the standard for dope lyricists until someone takes it from him. Oh and I almost forgot to link you guys this, this, that, and even a little bit your favorite rappers' line.

J Dilla and Anyone
Dilla is the exception to my rule that making the list consists of one producer and one MC. Well technically it's not an exception it's a trick question because Dilla actually was a great combination with anyone he worked with. Erykah Badu and Dilla, how about J and Common or even Jay Dee and Madlib. The man was so great at what he did that no matter who he worked with the music that was produced was amazing. He got his influence from Q-Tip and Pete Rock, he then influenced Q-Tip, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, and pretty much every single producer who has picked up an MPC, he was that good. RIP Dilla. Words can't even express J Dilla's music so if you haven't checked him out before do yourself a favor and type J Dilla into youtube and just sit and listen. It will be one of the happiest things you'll ever do.

RZA and The Wu Tang Clan
The brains behind the operation known as the Wu Tang Clan knew his boys better than anyone. I'm not even going to speak on 36 Chambers because the album speaks for itself but i'll speak on the first wave of Wu solo releases. Again like J Dilla, pick any combination of Ghostface and RZA, Method Man and RZA, RZA and GZA, ODB and RZA, RZA and Raekwon, RZA and Bobby Digital these are all deadly combinations. The great thing about Ruler Zig Zag Allah was his adaptability. One of the things people loved about 36 Chambers was that each member brought their own style to the table. So when it came time for solo releases RZA created a sound for each member individually. ODB's album was bouncing off the wall, Raekwon brought you into the world of a gangsta, Gza's album gave us insight into the mind of an intellect and so on and so forth. Method Man became a star after his release and Ghostface's album was the first of an illustrious career in which many would argue as the premier swordsman of the Clan. These 5 albums are all considered classics in the hip hop community and the one thing they have in common is RZA behind the boards laying down the foundation.


There's my list and i probably left some of your guys's favorites off of it but that's life. I wanna give a shout out to UGK and EPMD because they deserve to be on the list except i have yet to give them a good listen so i didn't want to speak on them without really knowing much about them. Also thank you to whoever has been reading this thing. It's always a good thing to know work is being read by others and so far so good. I haven't gotten hate yet so i must be doing something right. If i suck at this make sure you guys tell me because i don't want to keep putting out shit and not knowing it. Anyways thank you again since the blog started it's gotten 430 views so i really hope it's not two people reading it 200 times each but if it is i got love for you two.


EPMD- You Gots To Chill


UGK- Pocket Full Of Stones pt 2 

Rapper/MLB Counterparts

With baseball season getting underway this past week i think it's a perfect time to drop another rapper-athlete comparison. I did one for the NBA a little while back which you can check here if you haven't already. There's way too many baseball players so it was hard limiting them to a select few. Also I used all different rappers so no repeats from the last article since there are so many damn rappers out too. Well whatever and here you go.

 









Bryce Harper/Schoolboy Q

I was actually surprised how much in common these guys's career are. They both had big years last year with Schoolboy releasing Habit & Contradictions to positive reviews and Bryce making the all star team at the age of 19 and concluding the year with a playoff berth and winning Rookie of the Year. They were both part of teams that ended the year on top seeing as Black Hippy had three very good/top notch releases and the Nationals finishing with the best record in the Majors last year. The talent of both teams are noteworthy too. In addition to Harper the Nationals have Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, and Ian Desmond filling out the roster. In addition to Quincy Black Hippy boasts Ab Soul, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Rock but you guys already know that. Both Q and Harper are set to have big years this year as well. Schoolboy's Oxymoron is set to be released later this year and already has a single out while Bryce is more comfortable in his second year in the majors and proceeded to smash 2 home runs on Opening Day. They both have their signature catchphrases with "Clown Question Bro" and "YAWK YAWK YAWK" that have people repeating them daily. Harper and Schoolboy are ready to break out this year and just need to clear that last hurdle in order to ascend into superstar mode.

Pablo Sandoval/Action Bronson

These guys are proving fat men still should not be messed with. With everyone being health conscious nowadays it is refreshing to see guys pushing 3 bills and still killing it. Rapping has long been accepting of fat people like Heavy D rip, Big Pun rip, Fat Joe rip to your career, and one of the all time greats Biggie rip. Bronsolinio has taken the fat man torch and is proving time and time again he is not someone to be fucked with on the mic. He dropped a project several months ago with legendary producer Alchemist to rave reviews and looks to be dropping another project with one of the hottest producers in the game right now in Harry Fraud. All his work the last couple of years led him to landing on the cover of XXL for their annual cover even though it was about a year late but at least he is getting his recognition. He has a loyal cult of fans which surely will get bigger because of the cover. I have yet to hear any criticisms of Bronson other than that he sounds like Ghostface Killah but shit he can't really do anything about how his voice sounds and listening to him more you can actually see the difference between the two stylistically. A hidden talent he has is that he is a chef so that explains why the man is hefty but it's all good, he is giving big kids everywhere a role model. Then we got my man and probably the most lovable fat man in baseball right now, the reigning World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval. Like Bronson, Pablo was loved by those that knew about him but it wasn't until his breakout post season that he finally got national love. Yeah he had been named to two all star teams but both times people questioned his selection and hated on him. He had to go deep 3 times on Game 1 to show that he is for real. Looking back in the history of the sport fans have always had soft spots for round guys like Babe Ruth, John Kruk, and former MVP Mo Vaughn and if you were good and fat, that combination makes you a legend. Pablo was a cult favorite and you can spot his fans wearing panda hats paying homage to the Kung Fu Panda and it looks like that cult will continue to grow as his popularity and waistline progresses. Criticism he has other than his weight is that he is a free swinger but that is who he is. Whose to say if he lays off pitches that he would actually be better. Part of his appeal is his ability to hit home runs off of fastballs thrown eye level so fuck it i hope he keeps swinging at curveballs that bounce before they reach the plate. He has a hidden talent too which is that he is a natural lefty making him ambidextrous so there's that. And people don't realize he is actually a versatile athlete. He came up through the minor league system as a catcher and hasn't spent a lot of time at third base which he is far from horrible at despite what people think and even has moonlighted at 1st. He is also elusive because the man can dodge a sexual assault case like only an athlete can. Action Bronson and Pablo are two fat guys not exactly at the top of their professions but are extremely solid and are much better options than the majority of their peers. The only criticisms people have for them is something they can't change and is also what makes them what they are so fuck a hater.


Brian Wilson/Kool Keith

Here we have two guys completely in their own world and have made their fame off of that left of centered-ness. As a matter of fact these might be the only two guys that understand each other since their brains operate on different wave lengths than the rest of us. Brian Wilson operates in his own world filled with The Machine, beards, and sailor outfits, spandex tuxedos, and painted nails. Meanwhile Kool Keith's world consists of Dr. Octagon (an alien gynecologist that time travels), Dr. Doom (a serial killer that killed Dr. Octagon), and Black Elvis so the two have created their own worlds in which they are the only members of. Kool Keith made his name first as a member of the legendary Ultramagnetic MC's before branching off into his solo career and many personas that he is best known for today. And before Wilson developed into the guy that he is, he was just another typical frat boy looking baseball player who was a major part in bringing the first world series to the city of San Francisco after over 50 years. I just like how these two completely march to  the beat of their own drums and absolutely have no cares in the world about what anyone says because quite frankly not only are they a lot better at their profession than most of their peers but that weirdness about them separated them from the pack. They owe much of their popularity and success to their actions that are so left field in the back row of the bleachers beyond the left field fence. They can never be duplicated and if someone does try to copy it we will spot that from a mile away.


Alex Rodriguez/Joe Budden

At first I only had two reasons to compare A-Rod and Mr. T Shirt and Buttons, TYBG, which were the amount of criticisms they have taken over their respective careers and for their ability to bag hot females like this, that, and her for A-Rod while Joe Budden has his claim to fame with this, that, and her. They both are also some emotionally delicate guys for two successful grown men and have both never been known to take to critics well despite them being rich as hell. Another thing they have is both were individual talents who were making moves on their own but people rather just paid attention to other people. A-Rod at the height of his steroid using was smashing 50 homers a year and won the 2003 MVP for the last place Texas Rangers and it wasn't until he was traded to the Yankees that he was finally part of a super team where he did not have to put a whole squad on his back night in and night out and pressure was alleviated. He was able to win the 2007 MVP and was part of the 2009 World Series which was the only postseason that he did not make a fool out of himself. Joe Budden on the other hand made some noise in 2003 while on Def Jam with his single Pump It Up but after that his career kind of stalled. He was respected for his lyrical ability but again he was overlooked because why would anyone want to listen to him. It wasn't until he teamed up with Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9, and Crooked I to form Slaughterhouse, who were eventually signed to Shady records, that Budden was relevant again and that super team of 4 lyricists were dudes no one wanted to mess with. And come to think of it i don't recall anyone calling out Slaughterhouse as a whole so if anyone has please let me know. We got two guys who proved themselves individually but it wasn't until they joined super teams that their talents were magnified, more so Budden than A-Rod, and found their greatest successes on and off the job once becoming part of those teams.


Derek Jeter/Jay-Z

Jeter and Jiggaman became household names around the same time and since then they have co-reigned as kings of New York with Jigga ruling the streets and Jeter reigning supreme over the sports fanatics. While Jay has been a Brooklynite his whole life, Jeter was born in New Jersey but grew up in Kalamazoo (skip to 13 secs) but in all honestly the man is as New York as it gets. Jeter is not afraid of the big stage, raises his play as the stakes get higher, and also gets with the hottest women out there. Jay is up there in terms of being a straight up New Yorker. He grew up in Brooklyn selling crack, made it out through rapping (and his style is lyrical, dense, and paints pictures aka New York), married Beyonce, and bought the Nets and proceeded to move them to Brooklyn on some gangsta shit. The resumes speak for themselves with Jeter having 5 world series to his name including the 2000 series MVP and Jay has had every single one of his albums, both solo and collaborative, go platinum which is ridiculous for a hip hop artist seeing as most fans just pirate the shit. That's over 14 albums and most went multi-platinum. Those are some mind boggling numbers in todays music society. Well the two guys have earned themselves a lifetime pass of passes so they can pretty much do anything they want as long as it isn't anything too stupid and they will still be loved in New York no matter what.



 Jason Heyward/J. Cole

              Next up are two guys who were supposed to come in and be saviors of baseball and hip hop and their debuts left a lot to be desired. Jason Heyward burst onto the scene as a 20 year old back in 2010, smashing a home run in his first at bat setting the stage for a runner up finish for Rookie of the Year. His 2011 and 2012 season however fell short of the lofty expectations he set from his rookie year. He struggled to make the necessary counters to the pitchers making adjustments on him. For someone who probably never experienced failure in his athletic life before that was something hard for him to deal with so hopefully he does what he has to because according to reports he was looking good swinging the bat in spring training. Not only is he a threat at the plate but he has speed to which he used to steal over 20 bags last year so he is a power/speed threat offensively and in the field he uses that athleticism to his advantage in making some real nice plays defensively to go with his cannon of an arm. Heyward isn't off to a great start this year only hiting .143 so far but it's the first week so there shouldn't be too much worry plus the kid is only 23. In the rap game we have J. Cole who has been pegged as a savior of hip hop after releasing his mixtapes The Come Up and The Warm Up then his other tape Friday Night Lights exposed him to more fans and there was more buzz for his debut studio. Jay-Z finally allowed him to release Cole World which was nice but didn't exactly set the world on fire. It was cool but still left your ears hungry after listening to it. He did nothing to reinvent the wheel and his main problem is lack of topics. I never realized it but the homie Big Ghost brought up a great point in saying that he has made the same song about his come up and how hard it's been for him that he gets repetitive and boring. Although it's true to a point i still fuck with Jermaine because i do see the talent he possesses plus i really like his first two projects. Like Heyward, J. Cole has other other tools people don't realize which is being a producer. His most notable joint he made was Highpower for Kendrick Lamar and there have been talks of the two doing a collaboration album which i am sure Cole would handle most of the productions. On all his projects he produced the majority of tracks and when i say majority i'm talking like 85-90% of the motherfuckers so respect there because as you guys know i've always said i hold people that can spit and make beats WELL (i.e not Soulja Boy) in a little higher regard than other artists. Well his album Born Sinner is due later in the year and got 2013 off to a good start with his ep Truly Yours which i haven't checked yet but has gotten mostly positive reviews. Hopefully Heyward and J. Cole can bottle up their potential because they have a chance to do some major damage in their fields.

Josh Hamilton/2Chainz

totally hetero

Josh Hamilton and the artist formerly known as Tity Boi finally reached staying power very late in their careers. Hamilton was a prodigy coming out of high school, getting drafted 1st overall in 1999 but as we all know had his career put on hold due to drug problems. He re-emerged in 2007 with Cincinnati and who knows the kind of numbers he would have put up if he didn't fall victim to vices. But we saw how natural of an athlete he was because the next year he was traded to the Rangers and set the baseball world on fire. He was the star of All Star weekend at Yankee Stadium and was the driving force behind the Rangers's run back to relevancy. Hamilton finally reached the pinnacle individually by winning the 2010 American League MVP which payed dividends later when he became a free agent at the end of 2012 and proceeded to sign a $125 million contract. Although his public image has taken some hits recently the fact that he was able to pick himself up from the grips of addiction to put the natural talent he has to work is remarkable. 2chainz on the other hand didn't have the same personal demons Hamilton had but he was finally able to reach the top of the rap charts at the age of 35 after grinding so long. Mr. Chainz was actually good at basketball which allowed him to attend Alabama State University on scholarship at which he graduated at the top of his class although i'm not sure because i don't remember where i heard that but if it's true big respect. Somewhere along the way Mr. Chainz knew he wasn't going to the NBA so he started dealing drugs and rapping, you know...typical hood shit. But anyways he first got major notoriety as one half of Playaz Circle and their hit Duffle Bag Boy with Lil Wayne. He slid right back into irrelevancy as a solo artist known as Tity Boi and it was a real wonder why he couldn't break through with a name like that. Idk if he had a spiritual conversion or something but he changed his name to 2Chainz and released the T.R.U. Religion mixtape which really got his name buzzing. I never bothered to check out his Tity Boi stuff so i couldn't tell you if he changed his subject matter or the reason as to why he got popular but he did and suddenly was jumping on every hot track out there. He parlayed that success into anticipation for his debut Based On A T.R.U. Story which did well numbers wise. Mr Chainz did well for himself and is a personification of the phrase Better Late Than Never. Here we saw two guys reach the top later than most but grinded it out and that paid off for them at the end.

Mike Trout/Get Rich or Die Tryin 50 Cent

I didn't wanna use Kendrick as Mike Trout's comparison because i used him in the NBA/Rappers list so the last rapper i could think of to make the kind of impact Trout made was when 50 Cent first burst onto the scene with his Shady/Aftermath debut Get Rich or Die Tryin. 50 paid his dues in the mixtape game, the minor leagues if you will, and when he got his chance to show what he could do to America he knocked it out of the park. Hits like In Da Club, 21 Questions, Wanksta, If I Can't, Many Men, and Patiently Waiting showed us Curtis Jackson's versatility in the booth. Although he wasn't the greatest rapper he was to the point, had good storytelling abilities, and made great/catchy hooks that didn't leave a bitch scent, and he made it cool again for thugs to sing their hooks again. Yeah it helps having Dr. Dre and Eminem as your mentors but they can only do so much and 50 was able to take his knowledge and turn himself into a businessman getting himself a Vitamin Water deal, a movie, a video game, and a clothing line. Some boss shit for a newbie to the industry. Mike Trout came along in 2012 and like 50 a decade before proceeded to take his profession by storm. Trout burst onto the scene as the number 1 Minor League baseball player and did not disappoint. He was the unanimous winner for Rookie of the Year and it took Miguel Cabrera winning the first triple crown in nearly 50 years to deservedly win the award over the boy wonder. Trout rivaled 50s versatility by showing he can hit for power, average, fly around the bases, and make spectacular plays in the outfield. And like 50, Trout benefits from playing on a stacked team but then again as the leadoff hitter, Trout is the one to make the offense go. We'll see how he progresses as his career goes on but if he could follow 50's professional handlings and translate it to baseball he will do just fine for himself.


Scott Rolen/Pusha-T

Aye this one is probably the most questionable seeing as how different the two are with Pusha being a coke dealer and I'm not sure Scott Rolen has ever seen cocaine but let me explain. Both these guys have been mad underrated for the longest time but if you bring their name up who is going to say anything bad about them. Scott Rolen was the best defensive 3rd baseman of his generation and if Pusha was not the best coke rapper of his, you better say his brother No Malice. Rolen came up with Philadelphia and won Rookie of the Year with them and in the process became a fan favorite. Eventually he was traded to St. Louis which is where he enjoyed the prime of his career to make up 1/3 of one of the great offensive trios in the last decade with Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds. Rolen's play at the plate and at the hot corner was a key factor in getting St. Louis a ring in 06 but after that slid into irrelevancy after getting traded to Toronto. After getting traded to Cincinnati, Rolen became a factor again helping leading the Reds to division titles in 2010 and 2012 while collecting yet another gold glove. He isn't on a team this year and his career is probably over. Pusha-T on the other hand looks to be having a career revival which all i can say is about time. He came up with his brother, then known as Malice, to form Clipse and with production from the Neptunes they were able to put out two great albums in Lord Willin and Hell Hath No Fury. Standouts from the album you may remember are Grindin and Mr. Me Too. Well, label problems got in the way of Clipse being able to put together the kind of music they would have liked and eventually split. Pusha ended up signing to GOOD Music and has been featured on the label's projects and has two mixtapes to show for his work, Fear of God and Wrath of Cain. His album is due out later this year and hopefully, but most likely not, Pusha can get the recognition he most assuredly deserves. YHHUUCCCK


Lil Wayne/Josh Beckett

Man look how far these guys fell. It was about 5 years ago that these two were on top of the baseball and rap world. Weezy was in his Best Rapper Alive mode while Beckett just came off of his second world series title and had a dominant postseason which he was named the ALCS MVP. Everything Wayne touched was turning into gold. Every feature he jumped on, every beat he decided to freestyle on, it seemed like he could do no wrong. He dropped The Carter 3 to critical acclaim and this was after his run of mixtapes to solidify his status as the best rapper alive. Then after The Carter 3, Weezy took not giving a fuck to hall of fame proportions. He dropped the worst rock album in history, dropped subpar albums in The Carter 4 and the two I Am Not A Human Beings, and took a shit on our ears with Dedication 4. He is currently running the most clownish label in the game right now with YMCMB and is spending more time skating and promoting his Trukfit clothing which looks like it will be sold at JC Pennys or Kohls. Dam the mighty have fallen. But he isn't alone. Josh Beckett was hyped coming up, like Wayne, through the Florida Marlins farm system but his problem was staying healthy. However when he was healthy he pitched with the best of them. At the age of 23 he walked in to Yankee Stadium and shut out the Yankees to win the Marlins a World Series and himself a World Series MVP. Beckett then was traded to the Red Sox where his injury concerns continued but still did well while healthy. However in 2011 he started to take a Lil Wayne like approach in not giving a shit. He was the ringleader of the beer and chicken scandal (which i am not sure why that is a big deal) and decided to play a round of golf on a day he was told not to pitch a game he had a lat muscle injury. But he is still getting paid, like Wayne, with the Dodgers and I'm looking forward to him getting fatter, douchier, and missing half his starts. Wayne and Beckett really don't give a fuck anymore but they still get their checks so jokes on us.

There you go with that. It will be interesting to see if these comparisons still will hold true by the end of the year so maybe i gotta revisit it but in the meantime let me know if you liked it, hated it, or suggest better comparisons. peace


The White Stripes- Black Math


Pusha T- Trust You feat Kevin Gates

Best Of The Wackness pt 1

OKAY

A lot of these guys right here catch a lot of flac for sucking, being soft, and making terrible music. That's true 95% of the time but every once in a while your shit don't stink and it's the perfect combination. This right here is a little teaser, or part 1. I was originally going to do the wack dudes' best project but that would take a crazy amount of time to listen to all them projects so in the meantime i'll list some of their best tracks. Only criteria is that it has to be their track, so for example if i were to have Roscoe Dash on the list (which I don't) then No Hands wouldn't be the choice since its a Waka cut. Here we go


Drake
I can't really say much about the man that hasn't already been said good or bad. He is a polarizing dude and really shouldn't be. He is the Tim Tebow of rap. He can't really do what he is supposed to (rap vs Tim Tebow who can't quarterback). He is better suited off to doing r&b (tebow is better suited switching positions or playing in Canada) and staying in that lane. That being said he has a couple gems. I fuck with Successful for reasons i stated here and i mess with Find Your Love. I still don't know why i like that song but it's stuck in my head, HEY HEY HEY.


Wale
Despite what people say about hip hop's premier go go rapper, the dude can spit. It may not be everyone's cup of tea and he tries to come off too hard sometimes to prove himself to his MMG brothers but i like it when he is on his wordplay thing. As you guys can tell i like sports and one of the reasons i like Wale is he be dropping many sports references, maybe not so much anymore. He may not be fucked with muscially by Cudi and Kanye but i still bump your shit Wale, well the old shit...fuck your new stuff.


Asher Roth
Now Asher really only gets hated on because of I Love College aka Mac Miller's inspiration and that terrible pile of dog shit that he called Asleep In The Bread Aisle. A lot of people gave up on him and don't realize he is still making music but he decided to make music he wanted to instead of trying to get radio play. All i can say is that that is a good move for him and a lot of peole don't realize he has a nicer flow than 80% of cats in the game right now. I fuck with Common Knowledge, In The Kitchen, and Fuck The Money (looks like B.O.B is a hypocrite) among others.


Wiz Khalifa
Another dude that gets a lot of shit for selling out but shit what can you do. He was bound for it. Stoner rappers have two directions they could go. The Spitta route, which is keep doing what you're doing and build a loyal fanbase or go the Wiz route, which is to switch your style up to cater to the radio and make hella money sacrificing the artistic integrity you got. But what can i say i was a fanboy at one time and with fucked with his tapes heavy. In The Cut, The Thrill, B.A.R, and Never Been were in the rotation. Bonus features he was on i fucked with were Super High and Retrosuperfuture which were both Notorious P.I.G tracks. I'm actually surprised Wiz ain't on more hooks but whatever.



Tyga
If you guys read this then you know i'm like the rest of the functioning members of society and can't stand this odd pre cum baby. So it was real hard for me to dig through his archives to find a track i could dig. It was more like finding a track i could tolerate the most actually. Get Her Tho i fuck with because of D-Lo so i gotta find something else or else its a copout. And it was tough because he got the mad ignorant beat with DJ Mustard so i was trying to find one that he was actually spitting. But after a while it was looking like it would take a couple days to find one so i just said fuck it and chose Rack City.


J. Cole
Jermaine gets a lot of shit from the people that been following for a while because his subject matter been about the same exact thing then his debut album was too awkward. I read this somewhere but i forgot where that said it came off awkward because he tried to make half the album for his day 1 fans and the other half for the radio making it not seem right at all, i concur with that statement. He shoulda took the Kendrick route in crafting the album. That being said i fuck with Carolina On My Mind and Lights Please. 


Mac Miller
Well at least Mac sticks to his demographic. He knows white college kids listen to his stuff and caters his music to them. I haven't check out Macadelic yet which if i remember he was actually working with legit artists like Talib so once i get around to it i'll see if my opinion on him changed. but until then he is forever known as Asher Roth's prodigy and disciple for cuts like this, that, and even thee. I just hope he doesn't try to sing hooks anymore.


Chris Brown
Fuck him and his music. There's always the Women's Boxing Association.

Big Sean
I don't like any one of this cunt's music. His most tolerable things i've heard him on were the cuts he did with Spitta and Wiz: O.T.T.R and the one he did with Mike Posner. And Posner had the better verse, go figure.  Can't stand the stupid hashtag flow and the BOI BOI BOI.

Lil B
Ahh the Basedgod. Founding member of the Pack, co-founder of Pink Dolphin, and paving the way for artists to be weird again. A lot of his spoken word shit has terrible flow yes but look past that and get to the message and you will be rewarded with gems like RIP To The Rap Game, Exhibit Based, The Age of Information, Death Of Rap ("I ain't drake I ain't come in the game rich"), Hoes On My Dick, and Where The Game Began. TYBG and remember to stay positive.


Nicki Minaj
Another one of these polarizing figures. But she really isn't too polarizing on second thought. If you think about the two sides of people that talk about her are either people that love her for her radio hits or hip hop heads who say she has no talent. But let's not get it twisted this girl who does not have one real bone in her body does have talent otherwise she wouldn't be able to consistently be on top of the charts. Then if you knock her rapping credentials she can always fall back on that Monster verse. But then she was talking how she better then nearly all male rappers in the game lyrically and i was like hold up bitch. just because you spit one great verse does not put you at the top. Brady Anderson had a 50 homer year back in 1996 and everyone will proceed to stop reading this and say to themselves...who the fuck is brady anderson? So she needs to contain her ego and put out material to back up her claim. Until then i fuck with this one and that one but not really.


Told you that this was just a preview for later so i'll be sure to drop part 2 in the future. I don't have a date or nothing for it so it's just going to be when i have time to dissect the projects and what not know what i'm saying. And speaking of future...


Future- Same Damn Time


AYE AYE AYE