NEW PROJECT: DRAG - CITY FAIR 85 - EPISODE ONE

CITY FAIR 85 is FINALLY HERE! With production from Mark Shotta, Bigg Tone Beats, Street Scott, DJ Bahler and DRAG this project has 14 tracks and 2 bonus tracks.  More info on the project soon.

                      DOWNLOAD HERE 

WATCH THE THRONE

Man I kinda remember when the talks started circulating that Jay and Ye were making a CD together. It seemed to happen pretty fast from inception to completion. Then the revealed marketing plan made retailers very upset and perked the interests of other music industry. I understand the retailers who feel like they are getting slighted by the deal but you have to look at it this way. EVERYTHING IS DIGITAL NOW! I understand that the digital copy being available on a separate day interrupts sales but there are lots of ppl that still want physical copies so Best Buy/Target/Wal-Mart chill out! Evolve and move on. Jay and Kanye avoided the album being leaked probably the first high profile rap album not to be leaked in about 10 years.

No Church In The Wild --- Frank Ocean delivers a killer hook and perfect opening for the CD. Jay-Z paints a vivid picture of chaos and death then the Dream auto tunes it up for a great bridge and Seal does some wild background vocals chanting. Kanye talks about misadventures with women, love and lust. (Great)

Lift Off --- I hated this song at first. It was too much Beyonce not enough Ye & HOV. Then it grew on me. Just knowing all the elements that make that song is pretty impressive. Q-Tip/The Neptunes/Beyonce. 5 4 3 2 we need fuel. (Production Quality makes this Great)

Niggas In Paris --- This has got to be a single. The energy on the record is just crazy! Jay kills it and Ye goes crazy. "You gotta crawl before you balllll." And the sampling of Jay saying "Ball so hard" within the song itself as the line is actually in his verse. That takes care and attention. If you make music you know that's a added little sparkle that you notice and say to yourself that was a genius moment. (Ultra Great)

Otis --- I still say the version where Funk Master Flex premiered on his show is the best. But Otis is a great song that keeps the energy moving and the bravado as well. Cataloging their achievements in their verses Jay and Ye have a lot of fun on this and it shows in the video as well. Plus, nobody has ever used that Otis Redding sample in that way before. (Great)

Gotta Have It --- Neptunes and others on the beat (that SYNTH is CRAZZZY) Jay and Ye's word play on this is just immaculate. The back and forth rapping is incredible. It's short and sweet. "Planking on a Million"!!!! (Awesome)

New Day ---- RZA on the production flipping a sample that he has flipped a thousand times but this one seems the most important. Ye spits real verses about if he had a child, the things he would shield the kid away from. He touches on losing his Mother, the "George Bush Hates Black People," thing and a little Amber Rose. Jay expresses to his unborn child values and morals and apologizes in advance for the life that the child would be born into. Very deep song. (Great)

That's My Bitch --- This sounds like an OutKast song. Laroux and Connie from Sneaky Sound System on the background vox!!!!! Which is awesome. The break beat in the song is so driving and energetic. Jay questions America's icons. "Why all the pretty Icon's always all White?" He throws in Halle Berry, Selma Hayek and Penelope Cruz for a discussion of beautiful woman. (Excellent)

Welcome To The Jungle --- SWIZZ on the beat! More Social commentary. Jay and Ye go back and forth trading bars about how things are messed up and how people cope. "Where the fuck is the press? Where the Fuck is the Pres? Either they know or don't care I'm fucking depressed." DEEP!! Jay kills this! (REAL SHIT)

Who Gon Stop Me --- More social commentary mixed with bravado. Beat is CRAZY RIDICULOUS. "This is something like the Holocaust, millions of our ppl lost." Then the beat changes and Jay goes nuts! (Incredible)

Murder To Excellence --- Great Song! MORE SOCIAL COMMENTARY! This song details the countless deaths that occur in America. More so black on black crime. Kanye makes a numerical stat that states more ppl died in Chicago than US soldiers in Iraq. The crazy thing is if White people were dying/killing each other at the rate that black ppl do everything would change within a matter of 2 to 3 years. This is actually two songs Murder and Excellence. On Excellence the 2 display the greatness that can come from the people that make it out of these situations and go on to make great success. (Beyond Great)

Made In America --- This reminds me of a beat that I would make and nobody would rap to and look and me crazy. And the crazy thing is Ye has a few lines that basically say he rapped over his beats that people were supposed to buy. Thus making hits to his music that other people were supposed to have. Frank Ocean doesn't do it for me on this one. The "Sweet Baby Jesus" part is too funny! I don't know how he did this without cracking up. This might sound audibly like a misstep on the album be its a guaranteed hit and probably we be a single. Although Frank's runs (when he is singing none words) are pretty good. (HIT)

Why I Love You --- I thought Mr. Hudson was a sample. That's what I'm saying though to the attention to detail they put in this album. It really is a musical masterpiece. This is basically Jay addressing everyone that has taken shots at him from the old ROC days. Ye and Jay trade a few bars on this one too. (Put together Well)

Illest MF'er Alive --- SYNTH IS CRAZY! Kanye goes in on this. This one is all about balling out of control. Bragging on accomplishments. Nothing wrong with that! "The ROC is in the building you shoulda stayed in the house." "This is what the ending of Scarface should feel like." I agree I never liked Scarface. It was too bullshit for me. Them Indian ppl would been chopped Tony's ass up in that bathroom and the movie woulda been over. Plus the movie was too damn long and the first 40 minutes of the movie was like a documentary on immigrants. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Plus he got shot the fuck to pieces . No Thanks! (DOPE)

H.A.M. --- This was the first indication that these two were putting out a collaborative effort. Bottom line Ye shouldn't rap fast. Jay kills this. Ye says some stuff but Jay kills it. But! The extras that Ye adds at the end are amazing. The choir!! Oh man. Just great. (Museum Quality)

Primetime --- If No I.D. isn't in your top ten for producers you suck! This is currently my favorite beat on the album. This is just a crazy. I wasn't that excited with this song at first, but it grew on me. It just has that rap from the essence feel to it. (Classic)

The Joy --- Pete Rock kills the beat. This actually sounds like something from Kanye's second album. Jay talks about growing up in Brooklyn and Ye is talking about h ow some black ppl name their kids and other black related things such as Egyptians and what have you. (Boom Bap)

To me this is definitely ALBUM OF THE YEAR. I don't even remember what else came out this year rap wise. It has as much bravado as it does social commentary. I love that no one else is rapping on the album only these two. Great! This album is about Black excellence, opulence, greatness, sorrow, over coming the odds, loss and gain. Some people love it, some people don't. Some people plain just don't get it. To me it seems like some people just don't want to like this album for whatever crazy reason they can think up. It's the only album I have been playing for a week! And that is saying a lot coming from me. And the art work is by Givenchy. High quality, high class. The bar has been raised.

I Invented Swag

DRAG

Jay - Z x Kanye West - OTIS

I mean damn. Half of thee appeal though is because the sample is so familiar. Try A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding. You've heard it a million times I swear. Jay kills it with "I invented swag." For me the song could truthfully end there. This song is full of quotables! Watch the Throne! Aug 1st - 5th. It'll be epic. Currently the live version with Funk Master Flex screaming wild and talking reckless is my favorite version. People keep saying that Kanye is going to mess the album up. You've got to be kidding! This is the new Biggie and Jay-Z. This is Brooklyn's Finest thee album. Kanye is the outrageous to Jay's wit and insight. It's the perfect balance. If you don;t get it....you never will!

Here It Here

In Flex We Trust

DRAG

Kanye West Beat Tape from 2001

Some ppl are making a lot of this tape saying that it is poorly mixed. Maybe, maybe not. but you gotta think that in 2001 he was just getting his feet in the door and prob had so many people and projects to work on that he didn't have time to give the whole beat and proper mix. Really all you need is the vibe of the track and if you think its dope he would prob go in and tweak it later. Really at some point what would be the point in fully polishing a beat that somebody might not pick? Esp when he prob had so much going on at the time. Additionally when an artist picks a beat (and if they have half a brain) they track it out anyway soooooooo things would get touched up there too. Listen and enjoy.

LINK The Dropout DRAG

Black Mamba Mini Movie

Kobe Bryant stars in this Nike Commercial directed by the awesome action movie director Robert Rodriguez. Bruce Willis, Kanye West and Danny Trejo star in this mini movie.

The Boss

DRAG

The "This Guy Is Trippin'" Award Goes Too --- Araab Musik

Check the Interview



Dipset's 3rd string (that's right I said it) producer Araab Musik is apparently known for his impressive (yet uninspiring) movements on the MPC (midi production center). He basically does it like a drummer doing a solo but only he uses the sampling machine.

He is now claiming that Kanye "stole" his style during the VMA's when he used the MPC during his performance???!!! Que? This claim has me and a lot of other ppl baffled. Kanye was not merely banging on the MPC making garage band sounds. He performed his song on his MPC that HE created it with.

That's like saying Travis Barker stole ?uestlove's style because he is a drummer with a unique hairstyle. Or saying Brittney Spear's stole Madonna's style because she sold sexuality.

GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT BULLSHIT!

Homeboy is tired of cashing them Dipset checks and wants some other paper. I hear you but this is the wrong kind of attention and its based off of foolishness. Plus the VMA's was all the way in the Summer...why did it take this long for dude to speak up??? Cause somebody is gassing homeboy up. Too bad his beats are wack maybe he coulda made a come up.

"He was there, but he had just left."

DRAG

Kanye West - Power

Even though this is the same length as a Snuggie commercial it's still FRESH! Kanye's first "video" off his new album currently untitled, features him in the role of an Emperor to a lush, war ridden, wealthy, sex driven empire. Sold more as a moving painting than an actual music video, the images are stunning and the tools used to create this piece were executed grandly. I especially like the way Kanye's Horus Chain swings side to side during the composition. This reminds me of Ghost Busters 2 when the ghost dude would come out of the painting! Yeah it's only 90 seconds but its a DOPE 90 seconds.

I Ain't 'Fraid of No Ghost...

DRAG

Drake - Thank Me Later

Ok I was gonna wait til the homies album was actually released on the 15th but I might not care to write about it then. Young ADG steps to the plate to deliver his first official major label CD. Thank Me Later (Kanye had a book entitled Thank You and You're Welcome..which is a little more arrogant and balla...but) starts off with FireWorks ft. Alicia Keys. On this Alicia sounds like a sample the way she just cuts off as the hook ends. The 3rd verse to this song is the best part. "40" who produces the majority of the tracks on the album has a very minimalistic approach to beats. Lots of the production sounds incomplete in a way, but that's his style I guess. The next song Karaoke is pretty bad so I skip it. I hate the beat lyrics ahhhh skip skip skippity do da. The Resistance is the shit! Drake chanting that people promised that he would "never change," is the reality that he brings to his music that I enjoy. I skip "Over" at this point. The Kanye West produced "Show Me A Good Time," is ahhh good time. And the mixing of him saying "Ah Yeah" on the hook is hilarious! "Up All Night" ft. Nicki Minaj is cool. The beat is dope, produced by Boi-1da but Nicki's verse is hot and cold. "I look like yes, and you look like no," is kinda weak but then she states "which bitch you know made a million off a mixtape?" Now that's a statement. "Fancy" should def be a single. It's a good song with a great vibe, and Swizz is my dude. "Shut It Down" ft. The Drama Queen, I mean The Dream should be Shut DOWN!!!! Horrible, bad bad bad. Dream's annoying voice mixing with Drake's annoying voice is a terrible idea. "Unforgettable" ft. Young Jeezy features a dope Aaliyah sample. The hook is kinda weird though and hard to distinguish. "Light Up" ft. Jay-Z is ill. Drake's verse is ill and reflects the early 90's coming up and Jay-Z sheds light and gives advice to the young boy. Even though HOV tried to slip in a triple entendre??? C'mon son. Hour, Owls and Owww??? Nawh. "Miss Me" ft. DeWayne Carter is cool, Wayne doesn't really talk about anything on his verse but then again...he never really does. But it almost seemed like this song should have a point or main theme..It's called Miss Me right!! "Cece's Interlude" is garbage trash. "Find Your Love" is a great song to me. The hyponotic chants of "Hey, Hey, Hey" though very What's Happening-ish, and the bold statements he made make the song a hit. "Thank Me Now" is a great closer. Doesn't sound like a Timbaland beat at all, but it works.

Overall, I give this CD a 7 out of 10. Too much singing brings this down for me. Don't get me wrong his singing is cool, but when you are doing boy band duets with The Dream lines must be drawn. This is no So Far Gone, and Drake still lacks a bite or aggressiveness to make me think that he is anything but an emo heartbroken rapper. He is like the rap version of Kid Cudi. Drake has his lane and drives in it well. A few bumps in the road that may get smoothed out eventually or just may get deeper. It's funny that the same thing that I like about him is thing that I dislike aswell. His ability to draw for his life and put his emotions and feelings on the line is admirable but gets dull after a few runs and turns into a one trick Royal Mountie Pony.

New Yeezy -- POWER ft. DWELE

Please don't sit there and tell me that this beat isn't stupid! Kanye is back with "POWER" featuring Dwele even though I'd rather hear Tony Williams on this because his voice has more soul and is a little more powerful, but its still banging nonetheless.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

All G.O.O.D.

DRAG

Show U how to Stunt!

Ye just super stunted out on em real quick.

This is the way we ball!

DRAG

Best Rap CD's of 2008

Honestly I don't remember too many CD's of '08. I don't know if there just weren't alot of CD's or if they just weren't any good.

Young Jeezy's 3rd Album "The Recession." was probably the best rap album to me. Jeezy who has always been criticized for his lack of lyrically dexterity came out swinging on the entire CD. It was graceful, it was intense, and it was real. He maintained his "everyman" image. He still is a brand for the streets and still goes hard.

Lil Wayne's album " The Carter III" boasted big name producers and guest stars. But you know what...I miss Manny Fresh. It's crazy that I can listen to the Carter I and II and honestly say that those are better than The Carter III. While this album moved plenty of units and solidified Wanye as a rap superstar it did nothing for the fans that were riding with him since day one. The feature verses that he did throughout the last 2 years were better than the majority of the content on this album. But hey "long hair don't care."

The homie Chuck Taylor goes hard for his Coast! On The Game's 3rd album "LAX." He makes you feel the Cali love. From song to song he gives you the rundown of California life. This CD makes you wanna get a drop top lowrider and ride around blasting the CD. The Game once again proves that he doesn't need Dr. Dre or other writers to make a banging album.

T.I.'s post arrest CD "Paper Trail," is kinda amazing. In the sense that everybody heard a majority of the album months before it came out and it still did great on the charts. T.I's still KING.

Nas's CD "Untitled," was supposed to be called "Nigger." But to the delight of many older persons, the CD's name was changed to "Untitled." Honestly most of the hype around the album for me is that it was going to be called "Nigger," but when that fell through so did the anticipation for me. It was an ok album but nothing to mind altering, or earth shattering happened during me listening. But the odd thing is the mixtape Nas released with DJ Green Lantern "The Nigger Mixtape." Was way better than the album.

Ok so it's not technically a RAP album, but there are rappers on it and Ye is a producer and to be honest its on of the best albums and one of the most creative efforts of the year. Kanye's 4th album "808's & Heartbreak" explores Kanye's singy-er side. The production is great and the melodies are classic. He took flack for this album when he said it was going to be all Auto-Tune (that T-Pain), but really you don't notice it. Its a classic, he went there and he did it right!

Music Makes The World Go Round

DRAG

Tigers

Tell me Ye's jacket isn't the illest piece of outerwear ever!

It's Cold in the Chi

DRAG

Swagga Like DRAG - Diddy Style

Yup..if you gonna do it you might as well dumb out and do it. "Swagga Like Drag," but with Diddy's take on it.

K-Swiss???? Nawh

DRAG

Really??

Why is it that when other rappers endorse up and coming rappers people are supposed to care. OK so I bite...Kanye has this dude Kid Cudi on his site. I'm like hmmmm maybe this dude is dope.....nope...wrong....I spend 20 minutes downloading dudes mixtape and every song sounds the same...not in a Rick Ross kinda way, but in an ultra weird... I'm kinda rapping, missing some bars, singing, creepy kinda way. Then...then this dude Izza Kizza (what the hell is going on with the names???) This dude is on Timbaland's label. Raps like he has schizophrenia...I'm like fella calm down, I don't know what the hell your talking about. And whats up with these new "trendy" artists they all sound like crap. I guess they are the answer to the Jeezy's and the Fabolous' but in there own little "different" world. It's like these dudes are so different the music is lost. I honestly don't get these guys. I'd rather listen to Jeezy or Fab at least I know where they are coming from. But still its like they all either sound like Kanye or Lupe but don't quite execute it right. Think outside the box, but stay inside building please.

I'm Confused

DRAG

Top Ten My Friend

MTV recently put out their view as the Top Ten Best Rappers (currently). Even reading the descriptions and all the nice words they wrote to explain why they chose who they did, it still seems like a lame list. Snoop, really??? There is no possible way Snoop should be on this list. If Snoop is then Busta should be. The Big Bang was way hotter than Ego Trippin'. And The Game could have easily made the list instead of Snoop. I'm not hating on Snoop, I like him, I do, but top ten....NAWH! 50 cent...50 CENT!!! Huh!!! For what reason beyond they needed another rapper from the East Coast besides Jay-Z in the Top Ten? If they are going for the most money, Ok i get it. But "Curtis" was wack...not super wack but pretty lame. Fifty isn't better then Fabolous and I dont even like Fabolous' albums. Joe Budden is sicker then 50.

This one is blasphemous...RICK ROSS....excuse me...RICK ROSS is #4!!!! Who are these people and why are they allowed to make decisions to do anything? I'd take Rich Boy over Ross...Slim Thug over Ross. Rick Ross says the same things on every song the same way everytime. I only like 3 songs on his album. "The Boss," b/c of the beat. "Luxury Tax," b/c of everybody else. And "Maybach Music," b/c of Jay-z. The rest of the list I can pretty much agree with. Lupe should be higher. So they are tellin me Rick Ross is better than Lupe?? Or maybe I'm reading this list wrong. T.I. is better than Jeezy all day. Jay-z still kills. 3 stacks goes hard when he does go. Kanye is just so creative. Lil Wanye is amusing to say the least. I'd give him #3 that's a good spot. I would have liked to see Common on the list. He had two classic albums back to back. The Game should have been on the list as well with 2 classic albums, dropping the second one under his own roof proved he was better then just a 50 cent hook and Dre beat.

The other list they had is a honorable mention list, which is even more horrible. Shawty Lo?? His name sounds like a term for gay men. Plies?? I just don't get it. Soulja Boy?? I like the kid, but hottest rapper honorable mention...don't know about that. Prodigy...really...P Mobb hasn't been hot since Murda Musick 10 years ago.

And why is MTV putting out a list anyway they don't even play music anymore. Just stick to the "America's Next Top Model" and "The Hills" marathon's. Leave the voting to the citizens. We are the people and MTV is Florida recounting, messing up the numbers.

Stupid Human Tricks

DRAG