The Mixtape Blog

2006-11-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

Since you sat through the last one....lol...I had to share a gem. Jae Millz courtesy of Sada Pop TV.

Are You Fucking Kidding Me!?

2006-11-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Concealed Weapons.....I mean, Concealed Batons..

2006-11-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Snoop Dogg, in his booking photograph taken by the Orange County Sheriff's Department on November 6, 2006.

Oh, Hip-Hop...how we've lost our way. What happened to guns? Is that shit passe now?

According to BET.com..."Snoop Dogg turned himself in yesterday on one felony count of possession of a deadly weapon stemming from a Sept. 27 incident at John Wayne International Airport in Santa Ana, Calif. As previously reported, the 35-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was arrested while preparing to board a flight to San Francisco after a collapsible baton was found in his luggage. Santa Ana authorities officially filed the charge last Thursday issued a warrant for his arrest. After posting $150,000 bail, he was released, but still faces up to three years in prison if convicted. In a statement, Snoop’s spokesperson said that he “welcomes an expedited trial which will reveal that these charges are completely unwarranted.”

Ok, so here's the kicker. With every dumb action, by a dumb mufucka (I love you Snoop...but yes, you're a dumb mufucka for this one), there is an equal or greater dumb explanation. That's just Dumb Nigga's Law...every dumb nigga knows it.

So supposedly, Mr. Dogg was boarding a plane to San Francisco to shoot a film and was carrying the baton with him as a prop. First off...since when did Snoop run the prop department? Lol...exactly. Secondly, according to IMDB.com the only project Snoop currently has in production is "Coach Snoop" - which is the story of Snoop signing on to coach his son's youth football team, so ugh, WHAT THE FUCK IS THE BATON for? (And yes, I will be watching "Coach Snoop" just to see where the fuck that baton pops up, that alone will be the most entertaining moment of that movie.)

Dumb niggas...

Anyway, this is the "Mixtape Blog" not "Profiles in Nignorance" although I feel like I should definately do a blog like that (and don't yall start using 'Nignorance' now, I created that shit). So more on topic...DJs Whoo Kid, Drama and Skee will be collabing with Snoop D-O-Double-Gizzle on a new mixtape, which is named after the rapper's forthcoming album.

The collaboration is gonna be the first in a series of "Mixtape Monopoly" collaborations that will team Whoo Kid, Drama and Skee, who described the Blue Carpet project as "incredible!"

"With a legend like Snoop putting together the biggest DJs from each region, the combination alone makes history, and the mixtape backs it up with 24 bangers," DJ Skee told AllHipHop.com.

Tha Blue Carpet Treatment mixtape will feature several exclusive, never-before-heard freestyles and a capellas from Snoop, as well as appearances from Young Jeezy, Nate Dogg, Flava Flav, Ice Cube, B. Real, Xzibit, Swizz Beats, Lil Wayne, Kurupt, E-40, R. Kelly, Timbaland and Big Daddy Kane.

In addition to the cameos and exclusives, the mixtape will include preview of tracks from Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, the album. Let's just hope for a freestyle mentioning Snoop's favorite concealed weapon, his trusty baton....Dumb niggas!

Hi Haters....I'm Back Off Hiatus.

2006-08-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

The steady grind of the last 3 months has prevented your boy from touching this blog like I said I would. But nevertheless my dudes, I am back on my bullshit. Mixtape Reviews, YouTube Freestyle Clips, and Random Thoughts are on the way. Additionally, hit me with ideas of shit I should jabber about. Oh and look out for Mixtape DJ Profiles, the first will be a review of Big Mike's catalogue and contribution to the game. Till then uno...

Mixtapes Are Yesterday's News...

2006-05-31T14:24:00.000-07:00

Now that I've got your attention...I was just sitting here thinking about a quick convo I had with Mona Scott (Violator Management) in April. When I mentioned that a lot of people are saying the mixtape scene is getting saturated and asked her what was gonna to take it's place in the market place she looked at me like I had two heads, and said the mixtape scene aint going nowhere, and that it was still the way to go for new artists. But looking at some of the "hottest" mixtape rappers in recent years how many have experienced true success after coming up on the mixtape circuit, post-50 Cent?

This moves me to the next topic. What is considered success on the mixtape circuit these days? Is it getting a major label deal, is it getting the respect of people in your hood, is it developing a buzz, is it getting to rub shoulders with established artists, is it having people know your name, having mixtape djs use you as a host of a mixtape? What's success?

Some may consider recent upstart Papoose a success. He's gone from being an unknown to being all over mixtapes, songs with established artists, a music video appearance (Touch It), becoming affiliated with Busta Rhymes and Flipmode, to being smack dab in the middle of a bidding war.

Some may say Fab is the ultimate mixtape artist success story, a main staple on Clue tapes in the early '00s he went on to release 3 albums, have numerous chart topping singles and as much people credit Jay for his fashion leadership, Fab ushered in the throwback era.

But here's the kicker, Fab has no deal right now. He had a decent appearance on Black Buddafly's joint earlier this year, and an appearance on Bleu Davinci's joint - but ughh Bleu aint got a deal neither. Dude is back to square one again, doing Clue mixtapes, which don't come out anywhere near as often now that MTV is signing his checks. Is Papoose destined for the same? A quick 15 minutes and then back to basics?

There's no question that the mixtape route is viable, otherwise having a Mixtape Blog would be a waste of time....lol. But from the mixtapes where do these artists go? Thats the question Gravy, Saigon, Stack Bundles, etc. got to answer.

Sohh.com Weekly Mixtape Report..

2006-05-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

This week, Sohh.com critiques new mixtapes by DJ Drama and Lil Wayne, Tapemasters Inc., Envy and Rick Ross, Whoo Kid and Lloyd Banks, DJ Clue, and another Rick Ross collabo this time with Mick Boogie. Click here to see for yourself.

I know I promised a Big Mike/J R Writer mixtape review. I'm sorry shit's been hectic. Gimme the week to get my shit together and I'll have a review for yall soon. Stay up.

Sohh.com Weekly Mixtape Report..

2006-05-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week, Sohh.com critiques new mixtapes by Superstar Jay, DJ Smallz, Big Mike and JR Writer, DJ Haze and Marc B, and of course the DJ Kay Slay and Green Lantern that we already dissected for yall. Click here to see for yourself.

I'ma have a review of that Big Mike and JR Writer tape for yall by the end of the week - and I promised to give Dipset a fair "shake"...lol..that song was horrible. Sorry, I couldn't help it. Lol.

W.T.F. is a Papoose?

2006-05-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

According to dictionary.com, the word Papoose is a noun which means "a Native American infant or very young child." Lol, it's official - niggas is running out of MC names...lol. Either way, dude's buzz is crazy right now, at least in NY and to dudes who listen to mixtapes - more specifically Kay Slay's mixtapes, so I figured I'd share a little Papoose with some of yall less familiar mixtape novices out there.

The clip below is aptly titled "What The Fuck Is A Papoose"...courtesy of Smack DVD via youtube.com. Thing with Papoose is, you either love his flow or hate it. It's choppy and repetitious but his delivery is original and content is sick. Either way, I'm just the messenger, you're the judge.

Oh yeah...if you notice that the visual sometimes goes out of synch with the audio...that aint my fault...

Mixtape Review: DJ Kay Slay and Green Lantern - On My New York Shit

2006-05-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

So this "New York Is Back" movement is in full swing, right in time for summer. Hopefully this is part one in a series of mixtapes to come through out the summer, I guess we'll see.

This mixtape, a DJ Kay Slay and Green Lantern production is the hands down leader for the Best Mixtape Collaboration Award that will be given out at the next Justo awards. Packed with exclusives, Kay Slay and Green bring the heat. Stand out tracks include "Rough Around The Edges" by Busta feat. Nas (maybe it's just me, but between this track, "New York Shit", "Touch It", and "I Love My Bitch", this upcoming Busta album is shaping up to be a guaranteed banger), "The Way We Get Down" by Wyclef, Styles P and Fat Joe, and "Five Deadly Venoms" by Ghostface, Raekwon, Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane, and Lord Tariq (this should actually be called 4.5 Deadly Venoms, but let me not go hard on Lord Tariq).

Weaker moments include "My House" by Lloyd Banks feat. 50, "In New York" by Prinz, and "Fuck Around" by Hell Rell. Each of these tracks are actually surprisingly lackluster. Banks comes off lazy, and the co opting of the Jungle Brothers' classic hook from "I'll House You" is not only awkward, but out of place, and it almost seems as if it was desecrated by G-Unit even attempting to use it. Prinz...well let's be honest, he's the quinteseential one dimensional mixtape rapper - he'll never be commercially viable ands this song explains why. His content is predictable, his flow and cadence is regular at best and never changes..ever, and his attempts at being witty seem forced - you can't be a gunner and funny....cause being a gunner, just isn't funny. Hell Rell usually brings that Dip Set swagger, but he also came off lazy on this track. Perhaps the money's getting to him. The hunger he had when he used to freestyle over the phone from jail, or even when he first came out the bing...is gone.

Overall, the mixtape is a heater. Definately a good start to the summer mixtape season. Like I said above, hopefully more installments are to come. But for future installments, I'll need to see more diverse artists as well as bigger names such as Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, etc. But this mixtape still gets a solid rating...

4/5

Straighten It Out...

2006-05-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have been talking about the recent failed attempt to evict Hip-Hop radio station Hot 97 from it's Greenwich Village digs in Manhattan. When I was recently in New York, I even saw 2 page spread in the Newsday which is also available online about Hot 97 being in turmoil and having over 50 different violent incidents and various shootings in recent years.

Of course everyone knows about, or should know about the shootout between Capone-n-Noreaga's people and Junior Mafia which ultimately sent Lil Kim to jail. But few know about the rapper involved in the recent shooting incident which caused Hot 97's landlord to wanna kick them out. Funny enough the rapper involved was barely even getting spins on the station. The rapper's name is Gravy, and the story about what happened is just ridiculous...it seems, dude got shot in the ass, and then did an interview with Funkmaster Flex with the bullet lodged in his ass cheeck - mind you he never said anything about being shot to Flex on or off the air, and even freestyled. After the interview and freestyle, dude was limping around Hot 97 studios when a cop found him and asked him what happened. He said...he tripped and fell..lol. Here's the full story. And not to be a dick...but that pic above is Gravy in the ambulance...I don't know about yall, but tripping and falling never looked so painful...lol.

Anyway, below was my first introduction to Gravy. As you watch it, you'll see how ironic it is. It was on a 'Smack DVD' back in mid 2005. I guess Gravy's the one who needs to "straighten it out" now...at least till his ass heals up..lol

Sohh.com Weekly Mixtape Report..

2006-05-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

They don't go into detail on mixtapes like your boy. But since they cover a couple at a time, I figured it's worth putting up. This week, Sohh.com critiques new mixtapes by Beyondrest, DJ Hitz and .40 Cal, A. Pinks, DJ Keyz and Maino, and DJ Chuck T. Click here to see for yourself.

Is it just me, or has Sohh.com never given a truly bad review of a mixtape? I don't mean slight criticism, but really leaning into a DJ or artist for some wack shit. Lol, I'll have to give yall an example later this week. Stay tuned...

Mixtape Review: DJ E.Nyce & Lupe Fiasco - Touch The Sky

2006-05-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Ok enough YouTube for a second. Let's get back to biz, rather let me stop being lazy. This hopefully will be the first of many mixtape reviews..

DJ E.Nyce & Lupe Fiasco - Touch The Sky

First off, like any dude who raps I tend to be skeptical when MCs are labeled, "King", "Prince", "Next", "The One", etc. without seeing some sort of track record. Like album sales, bds spins, etc. But for some reason since hearing "Kick Push" and his feature on "Touch The Sky" after which this mixtape is named, Lupe has seemed like the real deal. This mixtape collaboration with DJ E. Nyce confirms it.

Highlights are many on this well put together mixtape. The "Switch Science Experiment" stands out as an almost olympic lyrical display, switching his flow every couple bars and pointing it out almost like a player/coach, quietly saying "switch" before he does it. Songs like "Spray Paint" featuring Ghostface and Mike Shinoda and "The Pen and The Needlz" produced by Needlz show his ability to craft not only stories, but engaging ones.

Throwbacks like "Conflict Diamonds" and of course "Touch The Sky" are on here which is a good look. It helps to have these tracks as reference points to which you can compare his progression. But the songs towards the end of the tape which feature less Lupe than the FNF roster ("Jedi Mind Tricks", "MC Fly") could have been cut.

Low points, were DJ E. Nyce's muffled ad libs. They were both unnecessary and extra. I'm guessing he didn't want people just stealing the tracks, but listen, noone wants to hear you E. Nyce, shut up and mix the damn mixtape. Lupe's interludes got a bit tired towards the end as well. His incessant, "know what'm talking bout"'s quickly grows on your nerves by about the 20th one.

Overall, Lupe used a great selection of beats to show that he isn't just a "backpack" Hip-Hop MC but can rip over commercial shit.....well. He still got his skateboard shit on, (peep the Gorillaz track) and he did his lyrical/story thing as well. Lupe is definately the real deal.

Rating 4.5/5

"Why You Believe Everything Everybody Say?"

2006-05-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Yo..I promised yall ignorance right? Well here it is in all it's splendor. I know this is turning into a youtube lovefest, and more scarily I know this is my second post about them Dip Set boys, but shit these niggas may just be the funniest niggas in Hip-Hop. The shit about them is they seem to take themselves seriously, which makes these morons that much funnier. Lol..Either way, for my dudes, if you ever get caught slipping by a female, I'm guessing the quick fix is to ask, "Why You Believe Everything Everybody Say?"...lol

How We Do Vol 3 Part 3..

2006-05-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

DJ SWB aka The Silver Screen DJ does it again, and again, and I guess...again since this is part 3 of Volume 3...lol..and I just heard he's currently on Volume 5. Either way, check this asian dude out his shit is for real.

Corey Gunz..

2006-05-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Outside of New York and niggaz who mess with mixtapes this may be a new name. But for those in the know, Gunz is being touted as the second coming of Jigga...I don't know if I agree but the dude is a beast. Either way...decide for yourself...

Camron's Most Ridiculous Outfits

2006-05-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

Wow. I saw SOHH.com's recently list of Cam's Most Ridiculous Outfits and that's all I could say. As a former "Cam Fan" (I'm mad anything associated with Dip Set sounds so damn campy) it's been a hard ride seeing him go from S.D.E. to Killa Season. But egh, I can't say I'm amazed tho. It seems every rapper nowadays is on they getting money shit. More about that later.

Till then enjoy the list, and for my former "Cam Fans" here's a blast from the past from when he used to rhyme...well.

I'm Here Now..

2006-05-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of years I've made a few weak attempts at blogging. Each has either consisted of my blogging a lot the day I create the blog and totally forgetting about it the next day, or not really having the time but thinking the idea of blogging was a good idea and straight lifting whole articles...lol...Either way, as a fan of my man The Hitman's Blog I've come to realize there is a much better way to go about this whole blogging thing.

Either way, I'll try to stay committed to this shit at least for the summer. And hopefully someone finds it interesting. I'd tell you what I'll likely write about, but I'm sure you'll figure it out.

PS...If I link something, go there...that's why I linked it...