Erykan Badu "Honey"

Erykah Badu is one word, Amazing. This song and video is great its so Hip-Hop and creative she is one of the most underrated artist in the game. I will give you 5 bucks if you can name every classic album cover in the video. Enjoy my good people. Long Live Hip-Hop.

Great Players Don't Make Great Executives (Coach)

Who ever coined the phrase that great players don’t make great coaches couldn’t have been more accurate. Just take a look at Isaiah Thomas, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Not to mention arguably the greatest ball player ever in Michael Jordan. Once MJ retired after wining his 6th NBA championship with the Bulls, Jordan got bored and decided that it might be a good idea to become an executive for the Washington Wizard. And we all know how that paned out, need I say Kwame Brown? He couldn’t dominate a game playing aginist 6th graders, but that’s another story. The phrase great players don’t make great executives can also be applied to rappers as well.

As the President of Def Jam Jay-Z has made plenty of wrong decisions (if he made decisions at all). Jay dropped the ball on a number of projects that deserved the proper recognition and promotion. Sure Rhianna, Ne-Yo and Jeezy all became household names once Jay’s tenure started but that about all he can brag about. One of Jay-Z’s initial moves when he became President of Def Jam was signing The Roots. The Roots did drop an album (One of their best) but Def Jam failed to properly promote “Game Theory”. I seen more advertisement for their previous albums than this one, and they are supposedly on a better label, and they are not the only acts to suffer. Method Man, Redman and Ghostface all had banging albums but the powerful engine known as Def Jam just gave out on them. Not to place Jay as the lone scapegoat, but he is the President if I am not mistaken, and as the President he is responsible for what goes on at the label. Joe Budden who was the most talented artist on the label was put on the shelf for four years. What Happen to Megan Rochelle? I love this song


Even as the HNIC at his own label Roc-A-Fella he can’t manage his artist. Freeway album was off the charts and he did not sel as well as he should. Tru Life has been on the Roc for almost 4 years and we still haven’t an album from him. Peddi Crack is taking shot at Jay-Z. Honestly, Roc-A-Fella is the music industry version of the New York Knicks, plenty of talent on the roster but everybody is mad at someone from something, dysfunctional would be the word to best describe both teams. Jay’s last shot (like MJ’s jumper over Russell) should have been “The Black Album”, taking the job as the President at Def Jam didn’t do a lot for his legacy besides raising questions about his work ethic as President. Def Jam use to be “The Label”, now Def Jam is a modern day version or the New York Knicks and Charlotte Bobcats.

For the record, Jay is my favorite rapper, so no I am not hating I'm just saying that he is not the greatest executive in the world.

Hip-Hop's Top 5 Rappers

About a week ago I was thinking to myself, who are my top 5 favorite rappers. Like every six months my list seems to change, not to mention I have a total of five lists. Every now and then I get caught up listening to a artist and I start to ponder how can I place him/her in my top 5. This debate with myself arrived When Lupe Fiasco came into the game and I had knock someone off because, he is just that dope, then in 2007 Andre 3000 went crazy and started making his way into my top five. Here is the list(s)

Note This List is subject to change.

Top 5 Dead or Alive
The Notorious Big
2Pac
Jay-Z
Nas
Scarface

I had a difficult time not putting Rakim on this list, because in his prime no one could really fuck with him. But as I looked into my collection I couldn’t find one weak Scarface album so I had to give Face Rakim’s spot. The rest of the list, I guess you can say is pretty obvious.

Top 5 Alive
Jay-Z
Nas
Eminem
Scarface
Lupe Fiasco

Before Lupe came along, I probably would have inserted Beanie Sigel on this list, but somehow while Beans was in prison he just lost it. Don’t get me wrong. Sigel is probably one of the better in the game but Lupe is from another planet, he is so far left but he is so right at the same time Lupe Fiasco is the best story teller of all time, sorry Slick Rick. Did you notice there was no Wayne on this list. THAT’S BECAUSE HE DOESN’T DESERVE TO BE ON THIS LIST.

Top 5 Alive Minus Jay-Z and Nas

Eminem
Scarface
Lupe Fiasco
Andre 3000
Phonte
*Honorable Mention: AZ

Okay. Last year my list would have went the first 2, Jadakiss, Joe Buddens and Sigel.

Not to take anything away from Kiss or Buddens but they have been surpassed by the nen wave of talent. Jada has lost his swag, and you have to search high and low to find new Joe Buddens Material (although I know that it’s not his fault). Andre 3000 is hands down the baddest rapper in the game. Every track or remix he has been on has been absolutely crazy. The way he is spitting now is reminding all us why we fell in love with Dre in the first place. He needs to put out a solo album when he is just spitting, the world might be a better place. And if you haven’t heard Phonte then you playing yo self.

Top 5 Punch Line Rappers

Phonte
Fabolous
Jadakiss
Cassidy
Lil Wayne

This is the only list Wayne should be on. I know some of you maybe be shocked by Fab being on this list, but Fab on those mixtapes is killing them.

Top 5 Rappers The Main Stream Media Doesn’t Know About

Murs
Wale
RhymeFest
Phonte
Aasim

Top 5 Female Rappers
?
?
?
?
?

Ok so there you have it. Don’t kill me, if you have a problem with provide your own list.

Consequence "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly"

Consequence is one of the most underrated rappers in Hip-Hop. Most of you all probably don't know that he was featured on over half the records on ATCQ's "Beats, Rhymes and Life" LP. This is his third single of his debut CD "Don't Quit Your Day Job" featuring Kanye West. Enjoy.

Female Rappers....Where are you?

There once was a time when female rappers actually had a place in Hip-Hop. Now my recollection of Hip-Hop doesn’t go all the way back to the days of Roxxane Shante, but I do remember MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, Moonie Love, YO-YO, and even Oakland 357 (you know I had to throw them in there) who were all in the zenith of their respective careers when I was growing up. Back in the day women had a voice in Hip-Hop and but now the so called female rappers in Hip-Hop are opprobrium, and more importantly nowhere to be found find .It’s a crying shame because female rappers use to be relevant, now they are dropped from all conversation concerning Hip-Hop. Those female rappers from back in the day use to iconoclast society told them not to do which is what made them so special. It isn’t that they are lost in the shuffle, its just no longer a market for the female rapper unless the subject matter involves sex.


None of the females rapper that I have previously mention sold sex the way Lil Kim, Foxy and Trina have done (I can name more but that would be pointless). Long gone are the days when women did not have to depend on a man to break them into the industry, most of the women that do rapper are assisted by some other male rapper. What happen to the independent female rappers? There is not a female in the rapper in the game that can command the respect that Queen Latifah did when she came out with “U.N.I.T.Y.” and that is what we need to hear today. In the wake of the whole Don Imus fiasco we need to hear a female rapper stand up for the empowerment of the female gender as a whole. (Get ya shit together Lauryn). I pine for the day when the resurrection of the female emcee will arise. Until then I guess I will just reminisce…..

The Following videos are some of my favorite records from the female emcee.

MC Lyte Cha Cha Cha


Oakland 357- Juicy


Queen Latifah-Just another day



Monie Love-Monie In the middle



Salt-N-Pepa

Is Big really the greatest?

Today in my IPod I was entertained by arguably the greatest rapper of all time, then I started to ponder just how great (or not great) Big was. Can we really consider Big “the greatest rapper of all time”? Before everyone comes at my neck claiming that I don’t know what I am talking about, please continue to read my note, and allow me to explain my theory. To be crowned the “greatest” rapper of all times means that your lyrical skills are far more superior then those that have come before you (Rakim, 2Pac, Ice Cube, KRS-One, LL to name a few). To be the greatest also means the artist’s has a number of quality albums listed on his/her respected resume, and that audience grows with the artist’s lyrical content (i.e., Jay-Z). But after much deliberation with myself and taking opinions from others, I’m finding it more difficult to claim Big as the greatest of all time.

For the record, I personally think that The Notorious Big is one of the greatest emcees to ever grace the microphone. His music was transcending, his delievery was second to none and he has two of Hip-Hop’s greatest albums. “Ready To Die” till this day is just as refreshing since the first time I heard (“Everyday Struggle”, and “Unbelievable” are my joints.”). But the greatest?????? Think about it for a second. As great as he was he only has 2 albums to his name. No, that’s not his fault, but I don’t believe that 2 albums will give you the title as the greatest. Some of the great emcees that has been looked over such as KRS-One and Rakim have at least 5 albums in their catalog, and they are both highly respected till this day. Not to mention that no one has ever questioned the content of their lyrics because both artist embodies what it means to be a rapper in the culture of Hip-Hop, both kept it street while educating the listener at the same time.(I am just using those two as an example).

What is the biggest knock on Weezy, Young Jeezy, TI, and The Clipse? They only talk about drugs. Again granted Big was taken from us way to early, both albums were about his involvement with drugs. We can’t hold double standards for certain artists, the same way we critique the Jeezys of the worlds, we have to do the same for Biggie, its only fair especially in today’s world because we have suddenly become more critical of rappers today thanks to some dumb ass man name Imus. Quite frankly The Notorious Big’s subject matter was very limited. The exploitation of drugs in rappers rhymes has suddenly become repetitive and Biggie plays apart in that. When Big did step outside the box (“Me and My Bitch”, “Dreams of Fucking a R&B Chick”) that is when he really showcased his talent to the fullest extent.

Who knows where The Notorious Big’s talent could have taken him. The fact of the matter is that we will never know because he is no longer with us. I am not discrediting what The Notorious Big has brought to the game, but I’m just not sure if I should continue to label him as the greatest of all time. Who knows what could have happen to Big L’s career, or even 2Pac (that man is a beast fuck what everyone else says just listen to “Me Against The World”) But he is definitely one of the greatest., he will continue to stay in my top 5 of all time, but the greatest…..I can’t call it. Its debatable! Its just my opinion Please don’t shoot me.

Jill Scott Is the Truth

No this is not Hip-Hop realted but I love this woman.