Metal Lungies

Recently ML had a chance to speak to Phat Kat. Undeniably one of Detroit’s top MC’s talked about his new album the ‘Carte Blanche’. The album which features Phat Kat working with a who’s who of Detroit’s beatmakers from Young RJ to J. Dilla. Kat talked about how he got 5 Dilla beats for the album, as well as his enjoyment of hockey & the Washington Redskins. It doesn’t need to be said that Phat Kat is ML approved. Read on..

Metal Lungies: What’s going on man?

Phat Kat: What’s up bro?

ML: Not much. How about yourself?

PK: I’m good man.

ML: You’re on tour right now, right, with Slum Village? How’s that going?

PK: Oh man, it’s going great. Man, we are actually back in Detroit right now. We had a show in Detroit. A Detroit show. It was crazy.

ML: That was last night. How did that go?

PK: Oh my goodness man. It exceeded my expectations man. Detroit really came out.

ML: What was the highlight of the night for you?

PK: Just seeing all those people man. It was filled up from the front to the door man. I was impressed, man, with the turnout.

ML: All right. All right. I want to ask you how you have changed from your early days doing 1st Down to today?

PK: I mean I really haven’t changed as far as being Phat Kat. I’ve changed as far as knowing and understanding the ins and outs of the music industry. Then you know I was a kid when I came out. So I’m grown now.

ML: Yeah.

PK: But you know I mean lyrically man you know I grew. The only thing that is consistent is change. You know over the years man I just grew.

ML: Has your approach changed to the way you make your music? Have you gotten more serious? Are you more relaxed with it?

PK: Yeah, I’m more relaxed when I’m going through the process of creating. So yeah, I could say I am more relaxed. I’m just more in tune myself when it comes to the whole process of creating music.

ML: I was wondering what was the first track that you and Dilla did for 1st Down? What was the first track you ever recorded?

PK: The first track we ever recorded was a song called ‘Main Ingredient’. It was crazy man. We recorded that. We recorded ‘Front Street’ and then we recorded “A Day Wit’ the Homies’.

ML: What’s the difference between ‘The Undeniable LP’ and this new album ‘Carte Blanche’?

PK: The difference is the first album ‘The Undeniable’ was a pretty good effort but it wasn’t a ‘Carte Blanche’. I mean, the ‘Carte Blanche’ and ‘The Undeniable’ are two totally different entities because the ‘Carte Blanche’, the whole meaning signifies what I did on my album. I had total control and total say-so over the beat selection, who I wanted on the album. The whole creative process of making this album I had total control over. That was something that I didn’t have on the last album. People will be able to see the difference when they listen to the ‘Carte Blanche’ and go back and listen to ‘The Undeniable’.

ML: Is that what ‘My Old Label’ is referring to with the control that you didn’t have with the previous album?

PK: Yeah, that sums it all up right there.

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If you haven’t peeped this yet, you should be gettin’ it, while the gettin’ is good. It should go without saying as to why this particular mixtape, put together by The Empire, is more worthy of attention than any of the other Wayne mixtapes that have flooded the market recently — shit, it’s right there in the title. The main purpose of any mixtape is typically to build up anticipation for, and give people a quick glimpse of, an upcoming album. Simply put, there aren’t many albums more anticipated than Wayne’s Tha Carter 3, and there’s no better way to give fans a glimpse of that album than by providing some rough cuts made during the ongoing recording process.

Tha Carter 3 Sessions was discussed by Wayne last week on MTV.com, and though he doesn’t drop any track names, he mentioned that a song produced by Kanye West that’s “out there” is something that he wants to save for the album, and everything else “probably wouldn’t have made” the album. The Kanye track in question would appear to be “Did It Before”, the first song on this mixtape, which has Wayne spitting a sex rap (about women — no homo, for y’all insecure folk) and rhyming every bar with the track’s title, coming off as equally impressive and lazy, humorous and grating. One of the roughest of the rough cuts on here, it’s not all that surprising that Wayne’s planning on keeping this one — with a little fine-tuning, to both the beat and the lyrics, it could be a standout track on the actual album.

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Lethal touched upon this in the process of hitting y’all off with that new Gangsta Grillz, but I thought I’d reiterate that former Wu-Tang affiliate and current AMG signee La The Darkman’s ’98 debut Heist Of The Century is severely underrated. Considering that most Wu-related albums that weren’t released by the Clan’s original nine members (ten, if you want to count Cappadonna) were put out by groups, like Killarmy and Sunz Of Man, it definitely speaks highly of La that the Wu was willing to market him as a solo artist.

Those that know about La don’t need any further explanation; but for those that don’t, drawing attention to an album’s more well-known contributors tends to help stir up interest. On that note, Heist Of The Century was produced mainly by Carlos “Six July” Broady, who has worked extensively with Ghostface and Royce The 5’9″, with additional beats from RZA (on the graphic “Polluted Wisdom”), DJ Muggs (on the title track, which features the equally-underrated Killa Sin), and Havoc from Mobb Deep (who also raps on “Figaro Chain”). Clan members U-God, Masta Killa, Ghostface and Raekwon also appear. The lead single, “Spring Water” featuring Raekwon, had a nice summertime vibe to it with its (rather blatant) sampling of Maze and Frankie Beverly’s “Joy and Pain”, but it was really unrepresentative of the overall sound of Heist Of The Century, which was much darker in comparison.

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The mixtape drops continue folks. I’ll be honest I was expecting something crazy from DJ Drama, but I think he is holding all the jewels for Gangsta Grillz: The Album (see: “Art Of Storytelling Pt. 4” ). There are some nice cuts from Jeezy, TI, Jada, and ML favorite Young Buck clears the air about G-Unit, by pretty much saying everything is good in his camp from Yayo to 50. Plus it’s good to see former Wu-Tang affiliate LA The Darkman making music (who made one of the most underrated wu-related albums ever back in 98). It looks like LA got put on because he is the older brother of Willie The Kid who is on DJ Drama/Don Cannon/ Sense’s Aphilliates Music Group.

Download link here.

Tracklisting:

1. Streets Been Waitin
2. Willie The Kid – Cockin Them Thangs (Prod. By Don Cannon)
3. Young Jeezy- Black Bandana
4. Boosie & 3deep- Watch My Shoes
5. Gucci Mane- My Kitchen
6. Willie The Kid- Fully Loaded
7. Young Buck- Playin Wit Me
8. Dj Drama Feat Young Jeezy, Willie The Kid, Jim Jones, Rick Ross, Young Buck & T.I. – Takin Pictures
9. Gangsta Grillz The Movie
10. Dj Doo Wop- 2 Of America’s Most Wanted
11. Plies- Rob Yo P** Ass
12. Jadakiss, Rick Ross, Sheek- Down South
13. Willie The Kid & La The Darkman – Makin Money
14. Playa Circle & Lil Wayne- Duffle Bag Boys
15. Dj Khaled Feat Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, Plies- I’m So Hood
16. Gucci Mane- Zone 6
17. Lil Keke & Baby- I’m A G
18. Big Kuntry & T.I.- That’s Right
19. Lil Boosie, Foxx, Big Head- Leave The Tags On
20. La The Darkman- Keep On Talkin
21. Dj Drama Feat Young Jeezy Usda- Show You What It Is
22. Willie The Kid & La The Darkman – Gorilla Pimp
23. Remo The Rapstar- I Bang

When I first posted Kobe Trade Scenarios #1 and #2, it was mostly in jest. I say “mostly” because, although I wrote the majority of those posts under the influence of deception and betrayal, by the time “KTS1” actually made it to ML’s front page, Kobe had rescinded his trade demand just moments later (it’s like he was intentionally trying to spite me), and I thereafter made multiple changes what I was planning to post as “KTS2” to reflect that fact — I probably wouldn’t have even posted the 2nd one if I hadn’t finished writing it beforehand (I don’t like to let things go to waste). Little did I know that the 2 teams I had Kobe being traded to in my scenarios, New York and Chicago, are the 2 teams that he wants to be traded to in the midst of his thousandth trade demand since the Lakers’ elimination from the playoffs. [Here’s something to think about — what’s happened more often in the past few weeks? Kobe Bryant demanding a trade or Lil’ Wayne dropping a mixtape?]

In a post on his official website (which speaks to a much greater magnitude then a questionable newspaper report or Kobe running his mouth on the radio), Kobe says that he and Lakers’ owner Dr. Jerry Buss have “two different visions” for the Lakers’ future. I’d say that, as opposed to Kobe’s “fantasy land” vision, Dr. Buss’ vision is more reality-based, considering that teams who lose/get rid of a franchise player like Shaquille O’Neal aren’t exactly competing for championships the next day. It happened to the Orlando Magic when Shaq bounced from there in ’96 (Orlando hasn’t moved past the 1st round of the playoffs since), it’s happening to the Lakers now, and, sorry to break this to any Miami Heat fans reading this, but once Shaq retires, I doubt that y’all will really be making the extra effort to coordinate your outfits so damn well.

As the “resident Laker fan” to many close friends, I’m sick of defending Kobe. Every reason he gives to try to justify his actions of late just smell more and more bullshittier. I especially enjoy the whole “Dr. Buss lied to me”-angle. Now, I’ve got nothing but love for Jerry Buss — his pockets-got-the-mumps bank account has helped together some great rosters in the past. But, honestly, the guy comes off as a kind of sleazy — he’s 74 years old kicking it with Hugh Hefner, with fuck-buddies in their 20s (one of whom was riding shotgun during Dr. Buss’ recent DUI arrest). With his the face of his franchise on the verge of singing elsewhere, he told Kobe what Kobe wanted to hear — something along the lines of “We’ll build a contender again soon.” Dr. Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million, and that’s a probably a fraction of his net worth nowadays — I’m sorry, but you don’t get that rich by telling people the truth. If Kobe expects sympathy for taking the bait and falling for Dr. Buss’ sweet-talkin’ ways, then maybe a college education would’ve done him some good.

Kobe also wants to talk about the mistakes the Lakers have made in free agency, yet tries to front like he wasn’t with Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson, dialing up Vladimir Radmanovic at 9 a.m. in Serbia (as someone with relatives in Serbia, I know that Kobe was up at midnight to make that phone call), trying to get him to sign with the team — Vladimir did sign, and his first season was pretty much a disaster. It’s as if one minute Kobe is deep in the thick of things, discussing potential moves with the Lakers’ front office, and then the next minute, he’s on the outside looking in, acting like decisions are made without his input. With this sort of inconsistency of his part, it’s no surprise that Kobe’s changed his mind every other day about wanting to be a Laker.

If there’s anything that disappoints me about this whole ordeal, other than the obvious fact that my favorite NBA team appears on the verge of trading one of the game’s best players in recent memory, it’s the total lack of intrigue. When Shaq and Allen Iverson made their trade demands, there were lots of teams that could’ve been possible destinations for each. Meanwhile, in Kobe’s case, it looks like it’s down to only the Knicks and the Bulls. I’m not buying the hype about the Suns — I just can’t see the Lakers trading Kobe to a team in the Western Conference, let alone a team in their same division.

But, if there is one thing intriguing going on here, it would have to be this website, that claims to have video of Kobe speaking “openly” (i.e. curse words) about his frustration with the Lakers, and claims further that a “private party” offered $100,000 to have this video destroyed.

The video will soon be sold on this site for $1.99, for anyone out there who is still not sick of Kobe. At this point, I couldn’t blame you if you were.

I’ve ranted about ESPN’s (lack of) dedication to being a true sports network before. Last night I saw something straight out of the Spiderman – MLB chronicles of cross promotion gone wrong as I was trying to fall asleep. They have a spot airing that is a cross-promotion of Baseball Tonight & the new Fantastic Four movie.

A description of the ad:

ESPN has teamed with the film on a promotion for its Baseball Tonight series. The commercial has anchor Karl Ravech and analyst John Kruk playing in the ESPN studio with Silver Surfer and Thing action figures. Later, the Thing is playing with bobblehead of Ravech and Kruk, knocking off the head of Kruk’s bobblehead.

I couldn’t sleep knowing grown men like Ravech & Kruk play with action figures of comic book characters. I understand cross-promotion, but Baseball Tonight & Fantastic Four have nothing in common. What’s next Stephen A. Smith dressed as a pirate on the set of NBA Shootaround for the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie?? I’m just glad that they didn’t have Peter Gammons make a joke of himself.
Oh where art thou classic “This Is Sportcenter” ads? (YouTube!)

I think I’ll watch one of my favs to help me fall asleep at work today:

You already know we love our Washington post readings. Today they ran a profile of Suge Knight, it is filled with gems. First he is sticking up for Britney Spears; now Suge is making a reality show ( this has to be on HBO or Showtime for maximum enjoyment), but one of the baffling things is that he’s shifting focus of his music business to an R&B? Looks like Petey Pablo’s Death Row official album discography will be as extensive as Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes aka a big fat goose egg. The whole story is a good read, especially if you don’t know your Suge Knight biography. My favorite parts were when asked about his affiliation with the Bloods Suge says:

  “Am I a Blood? I’ve got blood in my veins.”

 

If I’m ever questioned about being a crip member (highly likely) I will simply go “Am I a Crip? I have a crippled leg”. Towards the end there is an anecdote about Suge not helping his own nephew get into a Las Vegas nightclub, while taking the posse of his Nephew’s girls in. Classic.

WaPo will have an interview with Suge at noon on Monday, check it.

Along with a demand for a trade, a demand for a prescription for some bipolar meds needs to be made. So it looks like Kobe wants a trade in the end after all that back and forth talk, I just heard on Sportscenter (I swear I couldn’t find the remote!) Ric Bucher saying Kobe wants it to be done before draft. To either Phoenix, New York, or Chicago which would still fit in with Buhizzle’s Trade Scenarios #1 & #2. But Phoenix, how the hell would that work? for Shawn Marion+some scraps that make about 3mil? I say it doesn’t matter, no way the Lakers commit western conference suicide by trading to a rival.

And I’m praying that murmurs about Kobe for Gilbert Arenas are just a sick joke. DC loves Gil too much (even though he is going to opt out), plus considering Odom & Jamison are interchangeable, Kobe + Caron Butler didn’t work the first time around, and I highly doubt it would 2nd time around.

If Kobe goes anywhere, my personal guess it will be to the Knicks. Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, Mo Taylor, Shandon Anderson, Jerome Williams come off the books for a grand total of $60 f-n million!! That kinda helps.

Got this in the ol’ e-mail box, we posted the original, now check the blend of International Players Anthem.

Bonus: Grew Up A Screw Up video blend..