Metal Lungies

Many of us can (and will) bicker over what might be gained and/or lost by Nas’s upcoming controversially-titled album (so much for December, ay, Def Jam?), but few can argue with the statement he made on “Where Are They Now?”, possibly the stand-out track from his ’06 publicity stunt album Hip Hop Is Dead. There is no pension plan in hip-hop. If you’re lucky enough to get some fame, invest in it wisely. Those early ’90s accolades aren’t worth much more than a spot at Dan Majerle’s Super Bowl party. (Who’d have thought Thunder Dan to be the “block party” type?)

Large Professor’s name was nowhere to be found on “Where Are They Now?”. In a sense, it may not have been out of place on the song — outside of the occasional instrumental LP, production credit and DJ gig, Large Pro doesn’t pop up too often nowadays. And, his claims to fame stem from that same late ’80s/early ’90s golden era of hip-hop that the majority of artists mentioned in “Where Are They Now?” got their names from. If you were to ask Soulja Boy about Large Pro, he’d probably take a break from applying white-out to a pair of black sunglasses to suggest that he drop “Crank Dat Large Pro”.

But, Extra P’s contributions to hip-hop are simply too timeless to warrant him being remembered by future generations based on a name-drop. (“Played out like Kwame and them fucking polka-dots”? Never that!) Large Pro was, and always will be, an integral part of Queens’ never-ending legacy. He was the Main Source back when the Main Source was the Main Source. He let an unknown teenage MC get on record and talk about snuffing Jesus (and, to think, a T-shirt with one word on it had folks up in arms!). Many hip-hop producers (not that I’ve talked to any of ’em) will tell you that they’ve learned something from DJ Premier, but how many could tell you that they taught him something? Actually, scratch that… how many could truthfully tell you that they taught him something?

Well, there’s at least one in Large Professor. Granted, Wikipedia isn’t always the most trustworthy of sources, but there’s a direct quote from Extra P saying so — and, like they say, you can always trust a man with glasses.

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Four twenty is here again, breath easy my friends.  On this holiest of holy days, we pay respect to the fine gentleman who spread the gospel of the buddha day in and day out.  

Nas-Lifes a bitch and then ya die/thats why we get high/cause you never know when ya gonna go. 

Az- Life is a bitch, you do die, and you never know when you’re going to go. So why not get lifted once a week/day/hour or so?

Redman-I can do what the fuck I feel is real/blaze the pook with D don.

Devin the Dude-Twist a Philly, Zig-Zag, brown or wide/I don’t give a fuck just put some killer in side. 

Bone Thugs- We havin a celebration to stay high.  

People Under the Stairs-Locate a shady spot so we can circulate the stress/Mary Jane invades my brain now I can’t complain/ I’m sayin what else is there to do besides relax/ Let the problems in your mind become ancient artifacts.  

People tell me smoking makes you dumb.  I say most people are dumb to begin with; you decide what you make of your life, pothead or not.  But really with all the fear/violence/hate/lil wayne/selfishness in the world, passing a doobie to da left hand side may be the most productive thing any of us can do.  Stay up.

Devin the Dude-Doobie Ashtray

Bob Marley-Easy Skanking   

Today the Wizards may have been barely beaten by the Cavaliers but there is a bigger story brewing, the feud of DeShawn Stevenson vs. Lebron James. It’s already starting to bubble with the pre-halftime confrontation between the 2 teams.

First Stevenson said this in March:

DeShawn was obviously holding back in that session with reporters around his locker. When he was leaving the building, Mike Lee was chatting him up and mentioned LeBron again. DeShawn has obviously heard enough of that.

“He’s overrated,” DeShawn told Mike. “And you can say I said that.”

Lebron responded with this:

“With DeShawn Stevenson, it’s kind of funny. It’s almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy. It doesn’t make sense to respond.”

What a horrible analogy. And by using the analogy isn’t that some sort of response anyway?

What does DeShawn do?

In fact, Stevenson responded to James’ comments by inviting Way to an upcoming playoff game. Stevenson promised to have Way at courtside in a Wizards jersey. Way said he will accept the invitation. He is expected to attend either Game 3 or Game 4 in Washington.

Watch, to make it harder to hate on him, Soulja Boy will become the Wizards lucky charm as they’ll beat the Cavs in 7.

“I’m all for it,” Way said. “He invited me out, and I don’t have a problem coming . . . I’m [cheering] for whoever backs me. I can’t go for whoever’s going against me.”

It really is amazing that Soulja Boy is still getting any sort of mention at all here at ML.

Last week, I went to Coney Island which will soon be redesigned and cease to exist as we know it. We ate at Nathan’s and rode the Cyclone. On our way to the Ferris Wheel, my friend exclaimed, “Look it’s 2Pac and Biggie!” I turned expecting to see a fat guy standing next to a guy selling Thug Life t-shirts. Instead I saw a finely painted mural of 2Pac and Biggie on Astroland’s Polar Express ride.

It always warms my heart to see Frank White and Makaveli get that recognition.

Watch a video of the ride

Got all of these via email. It’s about 1/20th of  what I have yet to check out.

Mp3: Nakim-I Get It In

Produced by the Runners, Nakim is a new artist from Mickey Factz’s GFC New York.

Mp3: Three 6 Mafia-Lolli Lolli

Ok track, the hook is painful though with a T-Pain knockoff.

Mp3: Tay Dizm Ft. T-Pain & Rick Ross-Beam Me Up

Production by Bangladesh, If you need one reason to listen to this song, its for an incredible Alien sound.

Mp3: Shawty Putt Ft Lil Jon-Dat Baby

This is being posted strictly on the strength of the Maury Povich Show sample (I kid you not, best use of sample since using A.I.’s practice rant).

Mp3: Rick Ross Ft. Triple C-Ridin Thru The Ghetto

Itunes Bonus track from Trilla.

Some others:

Mp3: Young Buck-It’s Not OK

Mp3: Hawk Ft. Flo-Rida & Brisco-Where Da Breat At (Produced by Cool & Dre)

Mp3: Trae Ft. Lloyd & Rick Boy-Ghetto Queen sidenote: does Trae have the deepest voice of any rapper ever?

Mp3: Stat Quo-Double Bubble This has to be some gum commercial, right?

Mp3: Pitbull Ft. Young Boss & Trina-Go Girl.

“Just trying to pay tuition/liar”

Never thought there would come a time when this site would be covering multiple cooking shows hosted by rappers. It’s been a while since the premiere, so let’s check in with Mr. Jazze Phizzle and see what he’s cooking.

Romance To Dance Chicken (with fruit roll-ups & peach rings):

Bologna Omelet:

Jazze’s got a frickin’ DJ on his cooking show! For my money, Coolio’s show is funnier and focuses more on actual cooking. But I’m still definitely checking this just to see what kind of dishes Phalon will come up with.

Is this rapper cooking show coverage excessive, ML readers?

We are busting out the kleenex box, cause this is the series finale. With this finale you realize that Coolio would be the best Hibachi chef ever.

Don’t snitch on Coolio’s dime bags of seasoning folks! Ground Beefah!!

Late pass please, I remember reading about it around the time it came out in 2006 but I’ve never actually seen it till now. If you haven’t seen this it is pretty funny, the casting is great, think hip-hop meets Spinal Tap. Stars Snoop Dogg as Head, David Banner as David, Lil John as Jonathon Davis, and Xzibit as Fieldy. I miss rocking out to Korn in Middle school.

Def Jux continues to be one of my favorite labels because they are always signing new and interesting acts with an emphasis on originality. Chin Chin is no exception. If you’re waiting for the rhymes to drop on “Appetite” you’ll be waiting a while because Chin is the first non Hip-Hop act signed to Def Jux. They still bring the groove though, and this songs funkiness will delve into your brain and get nice and cozy. According to AG, Black Book likened the group to “Outkast meets the Dap Kings.” Not a bad rap.

Chin Chin: Appetite

Chin Chin’s self-titled debut will be out April 29th. hit that up!

I’m big on cool stickers and it doesn’t get any more cooler than these:

You can buy em for cheap here. Be sure to check the some previous editions also on TTL. Don’t be surprised to these pop up in a future copped feature.