DJ Muggs is sorely underrated. This mixtape is a prelude to his new project with Planet Asia, Pain Language. Muggs’ beats are incredible; they range from sinister to funky to soulful to exotic. Planet Asia brings a classic West Coast flow and seals the deal. It seems like the West is dropping some of the most solid music these days. Can’t wait for the album.
Miss Info may be posting scans (slightly out of order) faster than Rick Ross can write a parking ticket, but Metal Lungies will have a full review of Faith Evans’ tell-all memoir soon. It’s taking longer than expected because the last book I read was Harry Potter. Every titillating gossipy detail will be revealed, from Faith’s late-night escapades to Biggie’s favorite kind of pie. And the beef, oh yes the beef.
Remember Jae Hood (aka J-Hood/Jay Hood, they never really could decide)? He was that guy who was signed to D-Block and appeared on just about every mixtape that came out for a couple of years. He eventually got frustrated that his album hadn’t come out and left D-Block. In doing so, he made sure to disrespect the guys that gave him everything he had with an obnoxious little video of him dragging his D-Block chain on the sidewalk. 50 Cent, who at the time was riding the beef train at full steam, brought Jae on stage at a concert along with Remy Ma who had recently split with Fat Joe. Jae’s loudmouth, attention-whore tactics resulted in his being ostracized from the hip-hop community and nobody’s heard from him since despite repeated apologies. And I’m pretty sure all he got from 50 was a crate of Tony Yayo CDs.
But was Jae Hood justified in his frustration? Were Jadakiss, Sheek Louch and Styles P holding him back? Here’s an advance copy of his album. You decide.
On second thought, I’ll save you some time. This album is really bad and not just because it’s unfinished. Jae couldn’t write a hook if his life depended on it, his punchlines are lame, his guntalk is tired and the beats are awful. But this begs the question, why all the fuss about some rapper who was friendly with the LOX a long time ago?
Back when mixtapes (the screaming DJ kind) were still relevant, Jae Hood was a regular and had some of the best freestyles around. I was always checking for him and hoping he would put together a killer album. This is one of the only Big Mike mixtapes I’ve kept through the years and has Jae working a tight, aggressive flow, showing definite potential. Bums me out that he fell off so hard.
Since ML is for the Kids, like ODB, I thought I’d put you on Smart Shorties. Even though Kidz Bop is rocking with Mr. Where-Killers-Get-Hung, I think Smart Shorties is a little more hip hop. They just dropped their 1st release called Hip HopMultiplication. Half of the artists they cover are most likely one hit wonders, but that doesn’t mean a Jibbs inspired song can’t help you do well on multiplication of 9s. Notice the omission of Sean Kingston though, clearly he has chosen his side in the for-kids remake showdown. You guys should be proud of me that I didn’t get any drug counting references in. Anyway, I’m off to count those keys 3s.
Hip Hop Multiplication Tracklisting (Preview some on their Myspace):
01 Always the Same [“I Wanna Love You” by Akon]
02 Me and 2s [“Me and U” by Cassie]
03 Crank Them 3s [“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy]
04 Throw Some 4s on It [“Throw Some D’s” by Rich Boy]
05 This Is Why I’m Smart [“This Is Why I’m Hot” by Mims]
06 Math Facts [“Bartender” by T-Pain]
07 Ballin’ [“We Fly High” by Jim Jones]
08 I Know You Know It [“I Know You See It” by Yung Joc]
09 The 9s Trick [“Chain Hang Low” by Jibbs]
10 Work It Out [“Walk It Out” by Unk]
11 Double Double [“Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown]
12 Tell Me What You Know [“Tell Me When to Go” by E-40]
13 Clear It Out [“Chicken Noodle Soup” by Webstar]
Over the last few weeks I’ve been working a lot on a radio show that me and my buddy are putting on. Consequently, my valued ML time has been cut short. I figured I would share some of the efforts that I’ve been putting into the show. Basically, we will do four sets this month and each one is focusing on a different genre that has been crucial to the development of hip-hop (funk, soul, jazz, and electronica). Each show will intertwine one of the four genres with hip-hop and will hopefully give the listener some indication of the fundamental connections between the forms of music.
Anyway…here are some of the highlights from the first two shows. Im gonna get the mp3s for the guest spot that we had, or you can just cop an iTunes link at www.ckut.ca (go to archives and find montreal sessions).
STS meets up with the Re-Up Gang at the recent NYC show. Nothing amazing, but some tiny bits of clipse performing live and the highlight of Pusha talking and feeling fine after the show!
DJ01 put you on to Alchemist’s blog yesterday. Seems like every producer has a blog these days. I’ve decided to put ’em all in one place for your reading convenience.
