The relationship between Bay area native Lil’ B (aka the Based God) and rapper Soulja Boy is one that is well-documented and one that is seemingly mutually beneficial. The two hip-hop artists write and produce complementary styles of popular rap; that is to say, a brand that caters to many and finds much adverseness with some. What’s clear about the two artists, however, is that they exhibit a work ethic that is uncommon of many in the current state of the rap game. The rousing success of Lil B, of course, being the stand-out example of this phenomena; with his massive influence on social networking behemoth Twitter and consistent releases of self-produced and directed freestyle videos on YouTube. Both artists, (though perhaps not of the tastes of many purveyors of today’s hip-hop and EOLA’s readership), the ethic and, somewhat ironically, the artists’ uniqueness in their strategies demonstrate why they worthy of discussion (at least in my eyes). Peep their recent collaboration “Swag OD” here:
Never one to lose the momentum of hype prior to the release of his new records, Chi-town’s rap megastar Kanye West has dropped two new joints to satiate the public’s hunger for his curious as-of-now titled project Dark Twisted Fantasy. The aptly titled “Monster” features a star-studded feature heavy line-up including Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and, oddly enough, indie crooners Bon Iver (according to the band’s leading man Justin Vernon, the two had collaborated heavily during three recording sessions in Hawaii). As for the remix of “Runaway Love,” the combination of artists featured on the track is the result of none other than West’s new internet obsession, Twitter. The track features teen sensation Justin Bieber on the hook with Wu Tang associate Raekwon holding it down with a verse.
The young G.O.O.D. Music backed Detroit-based rapper Big Sean presents the third installment of his Finally Famous mixtape series; a precursor to the release of his debut album of the same moniker (slated to drop in September).
Following his Ode To Illmatic mixtape (which paid homage to New York rapper Nas), the young emcee Fashawn teams up with DJ Skee for the third installment of his Grizzly City series. The 18-track tape features guests such as Lil’ Wayne and even current Lakers small forward, Ron Artest.
The D.C.-based emcee Wale, whom released his major label debut album Attention:Deficit just last year, returns with a follow-up to his 2008 Seinfeld-themed mixtape in-hand, the More About Nothing mixtape. Aside from maintaining the first’s overall vibe (with samples from the show and decently produced instrumentals), the tape moves the rapper a bit forward with the times by incorporating features from Wiz Khalifa and Waka Flocka Flame. Overall, another somewhat solid offering, though it’s nothing we haven’t already heard from him.
More About Nothing Cover Art & Tracklisting:
01 The Problem
02 The MC
03 The Soup
04 The Breeze (Cool) [ft. Wiz Khalifa & Tré of UCB]
05 The Friends N Strangers [ft. Tré of UCB]
06 The Number Won (Competition)
07 The Eyes of the Tiger
08 The War [ft. Daniel Merriweather]
09 The Break Up Song
10 The Work (Workin)
11 The Black N Gold [ft. Sam Sparro]
12 The Manipulation Pt. 2
13 KD Interlude
14 The Posse Cut (Who Don’t) [ft. Fat Trel & Black Cobain]
15 Waka Flocka Flame [ft. Wale & Roscoe Dash]: “The Guilty Pleasure (No Hands)”
16 The Trip (Downtown)
17 The Ambitious Girl
18 The Motivation (Be Right) [ft. Dre from Cool & Dre]
19 The Cloud [ft. Tiara Thomas]
20 The Power [ft. Avery Storm]
21 The Get Away (Fly Away) [ft. Northeast Groovers]
Two more solo joints from one-half of the Chicago-based hip-hop duo The Cool Kids, Mikey Rocks for your listening pleasure. Though I can’t say I enjoyed the Gone Fishing mixtape, Tacklebox was a decent offering that redeemed the previous work’s mediocrity. What I will admit is that I dig these new solo joints a lot more than his work in The Cool Kids as of recent.
Another taste of Bun B’s newest upcoming record, Trill O.G., has been released. Produced by Boi-1da with the Degrassi rapper, Drake on the hook. A decent offering, though this collaboration was definitely my least anticipated.
Trill O.G. Album Art and Tracklisting:
Church
Trillionaire
Just Like That feat. Young Jeezy
Put It Down feat. Drake
Right Now feat. Pimp C, 2Pac & Trey Songz
Countin’ Money All Day feat. Gucci Mane & Yo Gotti
Ridin’ Slow feat. Slim Thug
Speak Easy feat. Twista & Cedric the Entertainer
Lights, Camera, Action
I Get Down For Mine
No Competition feat. Raekwon (Produced by DJ Khalil)
The latest drop from ‘No Snitchin’ Killa Cam and fellow Dipset member Vado entitled “We All Up In Here” features another production by araabMUZIK. Like the Diplomats “Salute” jump-off, the track pops off in a big way and further shows the Harlem emcee back on his grind.
Our backing of Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa has not been inconspicuous over here at EastofLA. It goes without saying that dope music merits apt coverage and that’s what’s been resultant of the Taylor Gang don’s grind over the past few years. With an unprecedented fan base in the hip-hop community and widespread influence on the internet, it shouldn’t come as a shock that Khalifa has topped MTV News‘ ‘Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010′, surpassing over 19 other emcees in the voting process. Khalifa tallied almost twice as many votes as the follow-up Cash Money artist Nicki Minaj, with J. Cole, Travis Porter and Diggy Simmons rounding out the rest of the top five finalist round-up.
It’s hard to imagine this pairing hasn’t happened before but fortune has shined upon us all and we have the audio of the first time ever live performance featuring drummer/producer ?uestlove & DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Recorded at The Roots Picnic is an outdoor festival in Philadelphia the hometown of The Roots, on June 05 of this year. The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff spins classic Hip Hop while Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson plays some funky drum patterns with Mad Skillz holding it down on the mic.
There’s no tracklisting but you’ll pick up on the classics.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & Questlove - Live @ The Roots Picnic (5 June 2010)
Soulja Boy & Lil’ B - Swag OD (Music Video)
The relationship between Bay area native Lil’ B (aka the Based God) and rapper Soulja Boy is one that is well-documented and one that is seemingly mutually beneficial. The two hip-hop artists write and produce complementary styles of popular rap; that is to say, a brand that caters to many and finds much adverseness with some. What’s clear about the two artists, however, is that they exhibit a work ethic that is uncommon of many in the current state of the rap game. The rousing success of Lil B, of course, being the stand-out example of this phenomena; with his massive influence on social networking behemoth Twitter and consistent releases of self-produced and directed freestyle videos on YouTube. Both artists, (though perhaps not of the tastes of many purveyors of today’s hip-hop and EOLA’s readership), the ethic and, somewhat ironically, the artists’ uniqueness in their strategies demonstrate why they worthy of discussion (at least in my eyes). Peep their recent collaboration “Swag OD” here:
