VIDEO: Affion Crockett as Drake "Freestyle Spoof"

You may need to see the original to fully understand this, but its funny regardless

Thanks Ang

REVIEW: Raekwon "Only Built For Cuban Linx 2"

My homie Sumit
was blessed wih the opportunity to hear the complete copy of Raekwon's "Only Built For Cuban Linx 2" and has a pretty good review of it.


A few hours ago, I had the pleasure of being the only blogger/journalist/anyone who has had a chance to listen to the much anticipated “Only Built For Cuban Linx 2″. Every since speaking with Raekwon the last time he was in town, I’ve been very excited to hear this project and honestly, it doesn’t disappoint.Below are just some of my thoughts. At this stage, I don’t have titles for the tracks but do have most of the features and production credits. Hope you enjoy it

The album starts with a skit. The beat is soulful, very smooth. A voice that begins to speak. Its Papa Wu and he’s speaking to the rapper.

“Yo Rae, that you baby, heard all these things about you … we went through so many trials and tribulation, watch the people that cheat you”. Not only is Papa Wu dropping knowledge, but he reminds the listener just how far the rapper from Staten has come.Already from the sound of the track and the opening skit, it sets up a mature album without the raw, gritty sound we are familiar with on Only Built For Cuban Linx. Rae has gone through so much and hes taken it in his stride.

Track 1

Starts off with the classic Shaolin fighting sounds. I think to myself, this is a RZA beat. As the upbeat track is in full flow, I’m still thinking this is a RZA beat. I’m completely wrong, its actually a J-Dilla beat. Already bopping my head, Rae fires some dope rhymes and some swagger “I’ve always been an ill dude”. Ghostface then rolls through and adds some style. Method Man is also featured on this joint. This is the album version, but the single version which will drop next week will have GZA on the hook. Its called “Flying Daggers”

Track 2

Pete Rock produces this next street and grimey track. Its a street tale and its vintage Raekwon.He’s looking to make that paper. One line he raps “I haven’t got my money yet”

The third track on the album features Erick Sermon. It has good chemistry. This is followed by what I’m guessing will be called “Its cold outside”. It has the hook from Rainy Days “Its cold outside” but essentially the track is about Raekwon and everything he’s faced from his street life, his music right through to the present. It also features Ghostface.

Track 6 on the album is produced by the legendary RZA with a rich sounding record. “That black Mozart shit right here”, that’s a lyric that sums up the track.

This is followed by a skit with Raekwon flossing. “yo where them Levi’s at”. He picks out some Gucci.

Then the album goes into some vintage Raekwon and Ghostface. The chemistry is still there, they compliment each other very well. It has an old school feel to it. This is followed by Criminology 2.

Check Out his complete review here

Jay-Z Interview w/ Tim Westwood (preview)

Jay-Z speaks to Tim Westwood and speaks on the new single (freestyles a verse) as well as speaks on the Chris Brown/BET rumor and calls The Game a groupie. Tim Westwood will unleash the full interview on his show Saturday night 25th July 9pm. Shouts to Westwood for the link!


Download Here

Check the full interview on Saturday, 4pm est via live stream Here

VIDEO: KiD CuDi ft. Kanye West & Common "Make Her Say"

Via NahRight

BLUPRINT 3 PROMO INFO

JUST GOT WORD: NEW Jay-Z single coming this Friday called Run This Town with Kanye and Rihanna!

* Sept 10 - Run This Town webcast from Rocawear 10 year anniversary party in NY

* Sept 11 - Blueprint 3 album release & NYC concert assoc. w/NYC Fireman's charity.

* Sept 13 - MTV Awards performance

* Sept 14 - Jay Leno's primetime NBC series premiere performance(first musical guest ever)

Seacrest, Letterman, and more appearances to come...

Via jay-zjournal

Jay-Z unveils latest "Blueprint" for success

By Mariel Concepcion

NEW YORK (Billboard) - At just about any given moment of any given day -- including this sunlit June Friday afternoon -- Jay-Z is a busy man.

Sitting on a swivel chair at his Roc the Mic studios in downtown Manhattan with a glass of Santa Margherita white wine in hand, he tackles interview after interview with Japanese reporters, pausing only to use the restroom or ask his assistant to get him a refill or an order of food from his sports club, 40/40.

But while he handles his international duties, his Roc Nation team -- seven people, including his assistant, longtime publicist and engineers -- make sure his empire runs smoothly. His employees are scattered around the room, some perched on stools or couches, others standing or sitting on the floor, some with laptops before them. His assistant is booking flights, hotels and car service for the BET Awards, which is taking place that weekend; his publicist whispers on the phone about another magazine story.

Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter and raised in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects, is the first to admit he could not have achieved half of his successes on his own. But it's his overarching big-business vision and talent that have positioned him as one of the most well-known and influential artists of his time.

PAYING THE PREMIUM

Following in the footsteps of Madonna and U2, the 39-year-old rapper last year signed a 10-year, $150 million (91.8 million pounds) deal with the concert promotion giant Live Nation that includes touring, publishing and recording.

In May, Jay-Z parted ways with Def Jam, his longtime label home, at the cost of $5 million, but gained control of his future master recordings. In June, he signed a deal with Atlantic to distribute his upcoming, 11th studio album, "The Blueprint 3"; a month later, he signed a deal with Sony for all future Roc Nation releases.

"I still owed an album to Def Jam, but I wanted to have it back for a number of reasons, the most important being that it wasn't consistent with the type of business I planned for me or where I was positioning myself. Everything in my life I had taken charge of, but yet I was still an artist signed to a label. It seemed a little archaic in my plans," he says. "I've always prided myself on being a principled person. It was more so the principle than the amount of money. It was about owning my own masters and owning my own companies, but you have to pay for the privilege, and that comes at a premium."

Full Story Here....
Pic via NahRight

BSA: Blogger Service Announcement

Hey guys whats up? This is just a break from regular content to make a few announcements.

1st and foremost I want to thank everyone who reads the blogs. 2. As you guys can see this isnt going to be a daily blog. its just a place where I can compile lots of things that i find interesting during the week. Mostly music related, however it could be sports, politics, technology, fashion, whatever. It will be updated on a weekly basis as a sort of week-in-review. If your looking for daily updates on you need to be following me on twitter. I tweet my thoughts on everything there and post links throughout the day to all sorts of articles, videos, audio, and anything else I come across.

In addition to that I will be doing reviews, opinion pieces, interviews, and whatever else i decided to include here. I'll also have others post work here as well. Working on a couple of different pieces now so look out for those in the near future. Again, thanks for visiting.

Until Next Time