Aside from Mickey Factz, I can't really think of too many rappers who have dared to sample the music of N*E*R*D for their own productions.
So it's refreshing to hear Brooklyn's own "Lessondary Nose" (no matter how mediocre 3/4 of the rappers are) over a loop of the bridge in N*E*R*D's song Everyone Nose, the lead single from their new album Seeing Sounds.
Von Pea rhymes first and easily outshines them all, and although I can normally appreciate efforts from Che, he and the other two emcees fall flat on this track, which features much of the original version's drum n' bass percussion, a reason they may have had trouble with the beat. Von wasn't fazed though.
Here's some video footage of them performing the track:
The next song is by FKi, which apparently stands for Fly Kids Inc. They're signed to Mickey's label GFC, and they do a nice job with N*E*R*D's Spaz track. Nothing special, but still very nice. Whoever they are.
I still have love for The Clipse despite the obvious strains between them and The Neptunes, who are the reason for their very existence and fan base.
"Fast Life" is the first single from their Re-Up Gang album, and there is reportedly zero Neptunes involvement. If this lead single is any indication of where the album goes musically, I probably won't buy it.
This is a basic Scott Storch beat, and not very hot if you ask me. It sounds and feels like Scott probably sold this track for well under his market value (because he was trying to get his money back up to pay his back taxes while on the run, evading authorities).
It also sounds like one of those "jiggy" beats from the late 90s that were once so popular, complete with heavy a grand opening of synths and strings that eventually gives way to a mediocre melody.
Pusha and Malice trade rhymes bragging of wealth, women, cars and selling drugs, which, of course, unlike rap, is the primary source behind all of the aforementioned.
But as is usually the case with these two -- especially Pusha -- no matter what the song's subject matter may be, it always eventually comes back to a cocaine reference of some sort. And Pusha immediately shows that this song is no exception:
Whatchu wanna do with me? King of the powder flow, untouchable If you don't believe, then homey, you sniff me. The scent's still trapped in my clothes And I just came from over the stove.
Malice prefers the self grandiose approach on this track, but still makes it known that his lifestyle is a result of drug dealing:
My presence is an event. The party don't start until they let us in. That's right, ladies and gents, Coke money to rap money, give it a rinse. Next comes the spin cycle, The rims on my Benz get more spins than Michael.
Overall it's a decent effort but by eschewing the Neptunes in favor of other, less talented producers alienates a lot of their fans, who may not really be eager to hear Pusha and Malice rhyme over amateur production.
That's a far cry from the cocaine dealing kingpin that Ross has successfully marketed himself as, even going so far as making such hyperbolic boasts of being friendly with Pablo Escobar.
Trick backed up his claim with one single snapshot photo (top photo to the left) of who he claims is a young, beardless Ross, who is seen in the photo wearing what appears to be a brown uniform consistent with those who work in law enforcement.
Now to the normal person, working as a corrections officer is a good, steady, if not some times violent, job. You get health benefits, a decent salary, you pay your taxes and life goes on. In this day and age of people losing their jobs left and right, working as a corrections officer might even seem kind of inviting.
But in the hyper-unrealistic world of rap, it is a strike against one's masculinity and overall humanity to be labeled as a former corrections department employee, which basically puts you along side the very folks who sentenced the inmates you preside over.
It also makes you a snitch -- guilty for associating with people who enforce the laws of the land.
And in rap, snitching is an absolute no-no, even if you technically didn't do any snitching or testifying at all.
(On a side note, going by the above rules, isn't Trick Daddy also a snitch for providing private information like this? Isn't he snitching on Ross? I digress...)
So of course Ross had to defend his honor and responded the only way rappers know how to respond to certain claims -- on YouTube. Ross also added that it is his face in the photo but that it was superimposed onto the body of somebody wearing a corrections uniform.
Personally, not only do I think it is Ross in the photo, but I also think he was probably working that job as a way to support himself while he was looking for a record deal. To me there's no shame in that, but that doesn't sell records.
So Ross grew a heavy beard, got a bunch of tattoos, practiced his menacing posturing in the mirror at home, and made up the improbable but typical story of moving kilos of cocaine before (although he still raps about it like he continues to sell drugs) he was able to sell "legal dope" and move units in album sales. Amazingly, this ploy has a 99.9% success rate, as long as you're a rapper.
If you ask me the top photo looks way more like Akinyele than Ross, but I can't deny the resemblance.
Tim couldn't hold back his excitement about the project:
"I'mma make it a classic too. You better believe it. It'll be a monster! I always say this: You get a first single from me, I'mma get you up to gold."
"We wanna go to the world," he added. "The world is 'Big Pimpin'.' 'Big Pimpin' ' is an international hit, so we wanna do 10 of those. Meaning, some of the songs gonna sound like M.I.A. would rap on some of the beats. You gonna be like, 'Whoa!' But it's Jay on 'em. That means it reaches everywhere. I'mma have songs with bagpipes. The music is gonna be so worldwide, he'll be able to tour the rest of his life, maybe, off just this one album. The Jay-Z album is gonna be phenomenal. You know why? We don't care. We're doing great music just to do it. We doing it for our fans who love us to say we ain't quit. I'm doing it 'cause that's my homeboy."
Given the track record of their collaborations, especially on Jay's masterful Vol. 3 album, this could be a great album.
But I have some reservations about the finished product considering the international pop feel of Tim's recent music. Jay already lost some of his fans with his "mature" approach to his Kingdom Come album. And since we already know Tim deliberately targets a pop audience when creating music, it will be interesting to see what the results are.
Long gone are the days of beats like "Big Pimpin," the "Snoopy Track," and probably even "Dirt Off My Shoulders". They have been replaced by down-tempo collabos with R&B and rock stars, which attract millions in sales, but if Jay is targeting his core fans (i.e. the streets) Tim is gonna have to come with something a bit harder. Pause.
I'm sure I'll like the album and appreciate it musically but we'll have to wait and see how the streets accept it. I thought Jay would have learned from his Beach Chair days from Kingdom Come, so we'll see what happens.
The Neptunes should have done this for Jay years ago but after hearing the American Gangster album I think the once-incredible chemistry they shared is long gone. Hopefully Jay and Tim still have theirs.
I won't front too hard, though, because Tim's song "Laff At Em" was real tough and Jay's verse was crazy.
OK, so that's not necessarily breaking news since we all know how the good reverend cheated on his wife and fathered a child out of wedlock -- thus going against his vow before God to uphold his marriage throughout the good and the bad.
But now it is being reported that Jackson used the N word during that same interview where he said he'd like to cut BarackObama's nuts off.
Jackson used the N word and talked about cutting Obama's nuts off well after he issued the following statement about NaS wanting to name is album "N*gger":
“The title using the N-word is morally offensive and socially distasteful. NaS has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it.”
He also told the following to the Associated Press around the same time:
"I am against the use of the N-word by anyone and I think we must be consistent. We must not use the word."
But every dark cloud has a silver lining. Jesse has done so much irreparable damage to himself that Obama would be a fool to involve him in the presidential campaign in any way, shape or form, so at least we can expect a Jesse-free campaign in the coming months leading to the election.
Even Al Sharpton couldn't help but to scold Jesse:
"I have said, and many of those in other groups, NAACP and others, that we've all used it in the past and we've got to stop it as we challenge this nation," Sharpton added on CBS News' The Early Show this morning. "You can't challenge others without challenging ourselves. So this is disheartening, and I still hold Reverend Jackson in high esteem. But I certainly do not at all condone the use of the word."
As a result Jesse issued an apology that fell on deaf ears and blind eyes:
"I am deeply saddened and distressed by the pain and sorrow that I have caused as a result of my hurtful words. I apologize again to Senator BarackObama, Michelle Obama, their children as well as to the American public," Jackson said in a written statement. "There really is no justification for my comments and I hope that the Obama family and the American public will forgive me. I also pray that we, as a nation, can move on to address the real issues that affect the American people."
We don't believe you, you need more people. And Bill O'Reilly is obviously not one of them.
Just as I was saying how Mickey is the future he comes along and drops two very dope songs in his weekly series of songs, along with his requisite explanation about the tracks:
"For week #30, I wanted to do the 2 for 1 sale. So I jumped in the studio with Tanya Morgan and made some shit! Some real Hip Hop shit. Gotta respect it."
The first joint with TM is crazy. I wasn't really sure about how I felt about songs with Mickey collaborating, but this song really works well. It's just on some braggadocio type of rhyming:
"This time I bring it back to the essence, And still move forward, never trapped in the present. But it's still a gift that Factz is presenting. Untie the bow and then capture the lesson."
Von and Donwill contribute some nice rhymes but Mickey outshines them both -- even though he has the middle verse -- as he should since it's his song.
The second track features Mickey conceptually at his best, referencing the increasing pressure youth have growing up, including one verse from the perspective of a black kid and another from that of a white kid. It showcases Mickey's songwriting ability as well as his ability to adapt to any type of track; in this instance, an R&B song originally performed by Star Trak artist Robin Thicke where the music and hook vocals come from.
I'll admit, it takes a lot for a rapper to impress me.
Especially if I have never heard of him or her before. My ear is specially trained to dismiss rappers like that on first listen, no questions asked.
So imagine my state of mind when, a few years ago, I was surfing the Web trying to find new music and stumbled upon a rapper with an unusual, almost silly-sounding name who was rhyming over breaks from N*E*R*D 's first album.
Of course I was intrigued right off the bat on the strength of the Neptunes, so I downloaded it immediately and was introduced to a confident, more-than-able rapper who had the knack to rap about more than just a handful of already played-out topics while incorporating the requisite witty wordplay and clever metaphors that Hiphop music seems to be well void of.
He is also from the Bronx, and Bronx rappers can never lose with me. Pause.
The rapper I'm talking about is Mickey Factz, a 23 year old wordsmith with a relentless work ethic that helped propelled him on his way to stardom.
At this past weekend's Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, where the above photo was taken, he was greeted like a bonafide star from those in attendance. The night before at the festival's opening reception, he was also given the same treatment from the crowd, who's members could be seen whispering "is that him?" before ultimately going up to the man to pay their respects.
The crazy thing about Mickey is that he continues to show growth in his lyrics and music, which includes (but is not limited to) songs recorded and released since January of this year.
Because of his style of clothing and choice of what type of music he can some times use, he has been thrown under the "hipster rap" umbrella, but a closer listen clearly separates Mickey from that bunch.
From "Breakout," a track from In Search of the Nerd, Mickey's mixtape composed of rhymes over N*E*R*D breaks that sparked my interest in the first place:
"Yeah my name is Factz New jacks is liquor addicts I'm messing with sweet bard And y'all just snicker at it Rewind the last line Mick's a hood star. No candy involved, You just missed a good bar/Mr. Goodbar."
Now when I heard that last line, I was convinced. But I figured that's all the music I was going to ever hear from him.
So imagine my surprise when less than a year later Mickey dropped Flashback Vol. 1: Back to the Future, another stellar mixtape . This one featured Mickey rhyming over beats of Hiphop past that defined a certain era, such as IncarceratedScarfaces and BBD's Poison.
"Live at the barbecue Your rhyme skills are horrible I'll put them on the grill And fry them into particles. Rappers are liars, it's comical. Fronting like they're driving through, But couldn't get a ride at a carnival. Why would I honor you? Factz is sonning you. I'm so live I'll daughter you. Guys, I'm warning you. My style is phenomenal, But I don't acknowledge you. N*ggas don't feel you, they fondle you. How could you stand there and be Acting real like you're packing steel? You'se a daffodil that uses Massengil."
Mickey then followed that up with a quick release of Heaven's Fallout, a high quality mixtape made up of mostly electro-style beats, and Mickey didn't miss a beat. Especially on conceptual songs like "Breathe Another Day":
"As I open my eyes I gotta thank God that I'm still alive. I can still breathe, I can still rhyme. I ain't wake up in a jail but I shine/shyne. Don't got a job, no 9 to 5 Live off the things I say from my mind. And I'm grateful that I ain't die Cuz I ain't ready to tell God hi. Nah, I'm not a low-life rapper I breathe for the people, I don't got asthma. Float like Casper. In the winter you can see it in the snow, It'll blow right past ya. Feel the chill in the air? Poetry in motion, feel what you hear. Breathe through your ears, inhale my sound. If this is your first time I'mma tell yall how."
But even with those quality releases under his belt, Mickey showed no signs of easing up and released song after song, week after week, for what is now being marketed as 2 volumes of "The Leak," his weekly series of songs. Over The Prodigy's instrumental for "Smack My Bitch Up" -- a wild electronic beat -- Mickey blacks out like Forest Whitaker's neck:
"OK, stand back, I’m concentrating It’s about to get complicated. Yall know I ain’t crime related. But yall bout to get annihilated. Some of yall need potty training. Straight bitch, yall ovulating. Got you bloody, better watch it buddy. They say time is money, no time to waste it. Are you sick of me? Go get your team. I got a cold heart like Mr. Freeze. Got cats all quiet like Mr. Bean. You ain’t do dirt, you’re Mr. Clean. Oh! So you grip the beam? You don’t spit clips You’re a gymnast on the fitness team. I’ll blow you cowards to smithereens. It’s a wrap when I grab the guillotine. Spazzin on you, I’mma leave patches on you Like you tryin to quit nicotine. I’m far from a rat but I get the cheese Never caught in a trap, I’m quick to weave. I belong on the track like your chicken’s weave. I’m calling you wack, you’re boring in fact. I yawn when you rap, I be in my dreams. And it’s time to attack, better hit your knees. Some of yall cats need therapy. I smack you up for a penalty. Yall say yall sick? I’m the remedy. You are not the guy, you ain’t never seen Somebody out they mind with no memory. If you want that life then keep telling me You live a life of crime with no felonies. You just put your life in jeopardy And guess who’s Alex Trebek? There’s no questions I’m the answer – unless You feel you can pass my test Sorry, but I’m giving rappers an F. Yeah, I’ll damage your flesh No I’m not Aretha, mad disrespect. Rappers are chicks and guess who’s the pimp."
Aside from Mickey Factz, I can't really think of too many rappers who have dared to sample the music of N*E*R*D for their own productions.
