Reks is decent but I predicted a while ago that Skyzoo was the truth and would enjoy much success in the music industry.
Sky has been making more and more guest appearances across the board in preparation for the release of his as yet untitled upcoming album.
The bidding wars among the majors will commence once Sky drops that album.
By the way, like I said, Reks's is decent but his album, "Grey Hairs," released last month, is very good. So good, in fact, that the Boston emcee is reportedly about to release "More Grey Hairs" soon.
Just when I was beginning accept the fact that no real, quality Hiphop music would surface in the month of August, here comes an new and unexpected Mos Def song to save us all from a sub par past 30 days.
His new song, called "The Glow," is a chill yet slightly uptempo boom bap banger, complemented with shrill strings and plus piano, and it rocks!
Why can't we have more Hiphop music that sounds like this?
It's just one long verse, but the beat is so inspiring and and Mos sounds so good, so natural on the track.
Scared of what?
Me and Mines ain't scared of much.
We get it down, push high
Keep the standards up.
Hand-to-hand on the mic,
Call it pass the dutch.
Ghetto people
Put your eras, hands and cameras up.
Flash Gordon:
Code name for my dogs that's passed forward.
I make you put the disc on play and repeat
I got the crowd sweating like a pig waving the heat.
And I stay on beat,
And I stay on grind.
From the black spades here
To the project hallways,
Black Star team Kweli Green and Dante.
Code name: All Day
Operation: All Good.
Balance throughout all times
Current status: All Grind.
Clearer than a chalk line
Traced around a cold body.
First text with no copy,
I don't rhyme like nobody.
Rockin' for the dope bodies
Waking up in nowhere.
Trying to get some place
Forward motion unsafe.
This is for the warrior,
This is for the renegade,
This is for the battle cry,
Early morning serenade.
This is for the ghetto block
Where darkness don't never fade.
Where police on the grind
To make the masses separate.
Depression and circumstance
Will make a family separate.
Black beauty in the dance,
Come together, separate.
Hopefully the release of this song is an indication that he has a new album on the way after the debacle with his last album, which was actually very good.
Here is Mos Def at his best, rhyming in the hallway with Kanye. Kanye's rhymes are nice but he keeps on stuttering while Mos's rhymes are just as smooth and fluid as can be.
And here is Mos rhyming in Vegas earlier this month.
I tried to ignore this guy but I see day after day he gets more and more co-signs from credible figures in the Hiphop world.
But when I try to give the suburban Pennsylvania rapper an honest listen, all I can hear is an imitation Eminem.
And, as has been the case with all white rappers, when one dies down as Eminem has, the powers that be always find themselves a new one to promote as the next big sensation in rap.
Now, I'm not trying to say this guy Asher Roth is talentless, because his lyrics and rhymes are definitely clever and witty and punny and all that. BUT, I can name about 50 rappers from the hood who are all black with better rapping skills than Asher Roth. Why are those guys not getting any pres or being signed like Asher is or being embraced by big name rappers like Mos Def and Beanie Sigel and DJ Drama etc?
Yes, that was a rhetorical question.
This is far from a racist rant because, as cliche as it may sound, some of my favorite rappers are of the non-black variety. But this dude has to go!
It's just amazing to me how an original art form and culture founded and developed by black and brown folks can be infested with with racism and racist ideologies.
This guy sounds exactly like Eminem, from the nasally vocal inflections to the themes of his songs, and he's even gone on the record as saying he thinks Eminem is the best rapper of all time. But don't we already have an Eminem? Do we really need another one?
In some ways I guess this is similar to all the Jay-Z stans who do nothing but imitate Jay's flow, but still to me that seems different.
For one, Jay is and has been reigning on top of the rap world since he dropped Hard Knock Life in 1998. Eminem may have had the crown for a brief moment, but in the long run it's belonged to Jay for the past ten summers. So I understand all the fake Jays trying to sound like him.
But Eminem hasn't been hitting for at least the past five years. So why is it that this guy Asher Roth is trying to sound just like him? Can't he create his own lane? Why should we, the listeners, give this dude a listen when the real thing is already in existence, and has existed since Eminem dropped "My Name Is"?
Here's some video footage of both Asher Roth showcasing his rapping ability along side established rappers who appear to be co-signing the rapper's efforts.
In one of the most head-scratching moves during this wild election campaign season, reggaton pioneer Daddy Yankee on Monday formally endorsed Senator John McCain for President of the United States.
Interestingly enough The Washington Post is implying that Daddy Yankee only endorsed McCain out of spite for the Obama camp, who apparently turned down Yankee's initial attempt at endorsing their candidate because of the singer's questionable lyrics that can some times promote a promiscuous lifestyle and drug use.
Which is all the more reason why Democrats should be attacking McCain about accepting Daddy Yankee's endorsement -- the same way we all know that the Republicans would be killing Barack Obama had he accepted the endorsement.
Going by the current political standards set in place, John McCain's values and integrity should be questioned for his willing association with a recording artist who has made a lucrative living out of exploiting violence, sex and drugs in his music.
Obama would have faced the same type of scrutiny had he not rejected an attempt at an endorsement from Ludacris.
Never mind the fact that Daddy Yankee, a native PuertoRican, can't cast a ballot in the election because he is from a U.S. territory and not a state.
Video footage of the awkward endorsement follows below.
DMX got denied bail by Miami Judge Lawrence Schwartz, who was not very impressed with DMX's reaction. Ouch.
This man was on top of the world 11 short years ago and is still the only person to have ever released two albums to debut at #1 during the same year. Just say no.
News outlets are reporting that the son of Dr. Dre, arguably the greatest rap producer of all time, was found dead in his home this past Saturday.
Andre Young, Jr. was 20 years old.
The spitting image of his father, Andre Jr. had reportedly arrived home at 5:30 a.m. from a night out partying and was discovered by his mother later that day. She found him unresponsive and called 911, who pronounced him dead on the scene.
The cause of death is pending an autopsy but this situation sounds eerily similar to that of Houston's DJ Screw and Port Arthur, Texas rapper Pimp C, who were both found to have overdosed from ingesting a mixture of cough syrup, cognac and Jolly Ranchers candy, otherwise known as sizzyrup.
The potent concoction was celebrated in Three 6 Mafia's hit song called "Sippin' on Some Syrup," released in 2000. Ironically the song featured Pimp C.
Prior to that the lethal elixir was not well known outside of the Texas and southern regions but has since been embraced as a means for relaxation despite the obvious side effects that can cause an overdose and lead to death. Popular rapper Lil' Wayne is rarely seen without his Styrofoam cup of syrup, for example.
If the autopsy does indicate an overdose of any substance, it will be interesting to see whether Dre actually releases his upcoming album, "Detox," considering all the innuendo that album's title will arouse.
The latest rapper to adopt the "Yung" moniker and achieve success in rap was this past weekend beaten up in a night club and robbed of his gaudy chain that was styled after the Transformers logo.
Chicago rapper Yung berg was in Detroit gearing up for his headlining appearance at a local radio station's concert which was scheduled for the following day.
But as part of his contract he was to make an appearance at a local nightclub, which just happened to be co-owned by none other than Detroit rapper Trick Trick, who is notorious for participating in felonious activities.
The word is that as soon as Berg stepped in the spot a bunch of dudes pounced on him, leaving Berg with bruises galore. But when the dust settled and Berg found himself with a lighter neck and wrists (aka no jewels...), it is debatable which was bruised more -- his face or his ego.
Regardless, Berg had to take a major loss and cancel his performance for the following day because he didn't want to be seen in public with a bruised face. Kind of like Q-Tip while filming the Hot Sex video, except Tip just put on a mask and kept it moving.
Apparently Berg had made some disparaging remarks about Detroit and dudes in the D don't react favorably when you talk slick about their home town.
When I first heard about this I was hoping that some dark skinned girls ran up on him because of some other disparaging remarks Berg made in the past...
As you can see above, someone is already taking credit for the robbery by posing with that Transformers chain on.
And now Berg finds himself in a dicey predicament -- does he go to the police and report the crime (thus making him a snitch, an unforgivable crime in rap), or does he just take it as a loss?
My bet is on the latter, but I'm hoping he does the former so that he meets his end in the music industry sooner rather than later.
