Compilation albums are a lot like mixtapes in that they don’t call for powerful personal narratives. A producer putting together a compilation album just needs dope verses from a dozen rappers and if the producer is lucky, his rappers will adhere to some theme or concept. For his contribution to French producer Dela’s new album, Blu exercises his lyrical muscle with a mix of stock rap imagery and any other slick wordplay he can fit in a rhyme. Master wordsmith that he is, Blu carefully avoids any boring ‘rapping about rapping.’ Dela provides the requisite nostalgia-dripping soul sample and classic drums.
While you had your finest L.L. Bean camping gear setup in a line at the mall waiting to pickup the iPad 2, a bunch of hip hop names joined in the act, minus the camping & lines part, of course. The one exception seemed to be Freeway, who mingled (and videotaped) his experience standing in line with all the non-rapping folk at a Philadelphia mall.
Killer Mike is getting some good mileage out of his menacing No I.D.-produced single. The video dropped last year and now Big Boi adds a verse to the remix. Big Boi, Killer Mike, and Pill also claim they’re working an album together, which, between Pill’s signing to Rawse and Killer Mike’s album with El-P, will come out in 2035.
Freddie Gibbs is known as the new breed of gangsta rapper, but that hasn’t stopped him from doing left field collaborations like this. Bass producer Mexicans with Guns got Freddie for his album and did a special 7″ mix with a verse from Bun B.
“Box Chevy Pt 3” was the high point of Yelawolf’s breakout mixtape, but the song’s standout verse belonged to an unknown rapper whose scalding double time verse prompted many a Google search of the name “Rittz.” All they found was a MySpace of a guy who looked like Carrot Top’s country cousin. It turns out Rittz was on the verge of hanging up the mic when Yela called him.
Over a year later, the Georgia rapper is signed to Yelawolf’s Slumerican imprint and he has his own mixtape out. Packing dozens of words into each second, Rittz lets out a lifetime’s worth of frustration with women, friends, and his career. He also parties it up with lots of drugs. It’s a true country rap affair with appearances from Yelawolf, DJ Burn One, and Supahot Beats. Time will tell if White Jesus does for Rittz what Trunk Muzik did for Yelawolf.
Update: Apparently, the tape has been “Re-Mastered,” so download it again.
“Pie” has a gangster ass guitar and sounds like caviar, yachts, and ice sculptures, but Rittz and 8Ball elect to rap about the simple pleasures of a night at the club. White Jesus finally drops March 8.
