Rick Ross "Deeper Then Rap"

I’m not going to lie… Ricky Ross was my nigga (pro-black term of endearment). The whole lying about being a CO thing and 50cent taking his baby momma fur shopping and then sex-taping another baby momma… in other words 50 killed him. 50 killed him harder then he killed Ja Rule when his last CD dropped… ummm… what was the name of it……. ummmm yeah 50 killed him dead. So, I went into this lessoning of ‘Deeper Then Rap” (4/21/09) Rick’s latest effort looking for nothing at all but finding something else.

First of all let me say this… Rick Ross is dope, his music is fire and if it wasn’t for the 50 and CO thing this would be the album of the year, but if MJ didn’t play basketball what shoes would all the Asian and Black kids in America wear? Anyway, I’m just saying that it did happen so it’s not the album of the year. But for me to say that, I listened to Rick’s new album like Rick Ross was a Hollywood created character who had told tales of drug smuggling and hoe banging on a epic portion much like my man Vin Diesel as Riddick. Rick Ross is Riddick… If you can look at it this way then this is the dopest fucking CD out right now. His tales of sex and gangbang on a low-end BOSS level is dope as shit… Stand out tracks like “All I Really Want” feat The Dream and “Usual Suspects” are dope money, but the track “Rich of Cocaine” makes me giggle a little. Then I think wait this is the Chronicles of Riddick a.k.a Ricky Ross; I’m sure that “Ricky Ross” got rich of Cocaine and not government funding and tax returns i.e. a regular ass job.

If you can look at this as audio cinema and make believe that this character Rick Ross is just that a character, then this would be the album of the year. If you actual care about things like street credentials or if you are on a no bacon diet, then this is iPod blasphemy and deserves to be gang raped in the weight room.

BOOTLEG IT!!!!!!!!!!
But if you want to listen to it… DM my twitter and I’ll shot you the link… cheers

A Fresh BreakDown: Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind

"Six Albums Later You'll Deposit Every Word, Till Your Memory Bank give me the Credit I Deserve, Top 5 Damn Right but really it just hit me, that 3 of ya top scared to FUCK WITH ME!!"

For a long-ass-time, I've been callin' Ludacris NEW "King Of The South". Bein' from the south n all, I get to hear these little rants for Lil Wayne, T.I., ect ect. Dependin' on where you go. (FYI... Scarface is no longer King Of the South cuz he's been the GodFather of HipHop for a while.. Anyway!) Ludacris put out a hell of an effort for his last CD, some claim it to be a classic. But what was noticed and something everyone could agree on, is he showed alot of growth in that CD. For the past two years Luda hit us with a smooth mixtape with Dj Drama, and he's been quietly KILLING, I mean absolutely KILLING these feature verses he's been on. But will the man deliver in "Theater of the Mind"?

Ludacris first comes on pretty good with his annual album intro. Y'know, alil' bit of talkin', then you'll hear some bars from Mr. Bridges. He then starts to crank up the onslaught and his claim for being "Undisputed," with alil' help from another undisputed champ.. Flloyd "Money" Mayweather. And he further stresses the point on the Chris Rock accompanied song "EveryBody Hates Chris." I strongly believe that the Theater that Ludacris put us through a step-by-step guide for putting together a great HIP HOP CD.

"Luda Do it Cuz it's art!"

Ludacris has always been known for that universal sound, not just catering to the south. Nothing gets more universal than a southern rapper on a Dj Premier beat! As Luda states "The 1st Southern Rapper on a Priemo beat." He does a few more boastin' n braggin 'bout his skills even with Lil' Wayne on the track "Last Of A Dying Bread." Lil Wayne started off nice, but he then began to do alot of yellin' and I guess mistaken it for aggression, but it wasn't bad. Luda absolutely slaughtered this one though. But don't worry, Ludacris doesn't dragggg out his MC skills on purpose through-out the whole CD. To all my southern kin-folk, Luda still remembers us, as he always does, and comes with a smooth southern track with the Biggest Bawse. Rick Ross. Narrated by Ving Rhames, to give it a lil' story / documentary feel. But, catering to the south is also his lowest point on this CD, a song with T.I., T.I.P, and Clifford "Wish You Would." Now this doesn't mean it's a bad song, it's just the worse on this CD, it'd be a highlight on other CDs. It's really just a weak hook, and not the best attempt by T.I. to be honest, but it's still a nice song. Then Luda goes back to the universal crowd, where he goes and visits The Game in Compton and his artist, Willie Northpole in Arizona. All three delivered on their end.. (Yes, I even think The Game did well, he didn't do much name droppin'. Lol.)

Now.. It wouldn't be a Ludacris CD without that good ol' Luda-comedy now would it? Luda teams up with the industry's go-to-guy, T-Pain, and they talk about how your girl will get plugged, or the ugly girl will get plugged, if they keep on drinkin'. Unlike most songs, Luda's comical verse keeps T-Pain from stealin' the show, and T-Pain not on a verse either. A Nice feel-good song for everybody to enjoy. And to all the gentlemen.. I don't give a damn who you are, once you hear this song... You'll say "Yea, I've been there." Or something close to it. Lol. Now to keep it on a feel-good vibe, but more catering to the ladies, Luda gets alil' help from Jamie Foxx on "Contagious", and Mr. Bust-It-Baby Plies on "Nasty Girl." And we all know about "What Them Girls Like" cuz Chris Brown is what them girls like... Lil punk. Knowing how some rappers can get, when it comes to the ladies, they can get kinda cheesy, and it can hurt the album, but here, Luda prevents it from happenin', he also leaves it to only these three songs for the ladies to deal with.

After the good time, Luda comes back down to Earth, with alil' help from Common, they give people some good advice with a play on Spike Lee's ol' joint, "Do The Right Thing." A well-thought-out song, and it was executed well to put this joint on repeat like most of the songs on here.

Now.. I know you heard about this biggie. "I Do It For Hip Hop." Ludacris hops on a track with two no-doubt legends Nas and Jay-Z. The only thing sicker than the beat on this song is all three of their verses. Lol. Now this track was alittle fun, because after you listen to it, in some parts you can tell that they were all competing with each other. And Nas took a direct shot at Jay-Z, I'll let you pick out that line in the comment section, n we'll see who listens, lol. Now, who was the best on this verse? That depends on who you like, if your a Jay-Z guy, like me, then, you'll like Jay-Z's verse best, if you're a Nas kinda guy like my boss =!=, you'll like Nas's verse. If you're more new school, you'll prolly be more into Luda's verse. Truely a classic classic track. A rare gem where EVERYBODY who has the background steps up in the song. Now Ludacris holds strong with both of these guys, and does not stumble. Which says alot about Luda's MC skills.

You may be sayin' that "Damn, that's alot of muthafuckin' guest spots on one CD." It is, I agree. But when you're on your 6th CD, AND there is only ONE song where Luda's verse is only questionable out-done. And that's a big ass question mark. Since his verse is the one you end up payin' attention to, you'll never feel like you're listenin' to some compilation CD. Luda does a good job of keeping up the speed of his last CD, maybe even toppin' it. He also gives us alot of diversity in the CD, no overwhelming dope-boy bullshit or to many lady songs. Plus, the CD flows pretty damn nice in the exact order it's in, AND the songs are good! When you do all that correctly.. You get this kinda ratin'...

"Yea, I guess that's why Everbody Hates Cris"

Worth Buyin' - Think of the CD as Obama's campaign, SUPPORT IT!!!

Fav Tracks - What's not to like?

URB Magazine Reviews 808's & Heartbreak

In basketball, they call it a "heat check." Kobe Bryant has just hit eight shots in a row, so he pulls up from 35 feet just because he's open, just because he can, just to see how hot he really is. Most of the time, these shots tend to clang off the side of the rim. Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak is that.

There is almost no rapping on 808s & Heartbreak. Only a particularly villainous guest spot from Young Jeezy could qualify as actual rhyming. And it's an album highlight. And yes, Kanye uses autotune throughout the entire album.

Whether those same fans will buy into Kanye's heat check is unknown, but the idea is so focused (and occasionally flirting with monotony), that they'll be forced to tear it off the wall...either to stomp on and throw in the trash or steal it for their own wall.

So essentially if you fux with Love Lockdown, You'll likely fux with the album.

URB Reviews 808's & Heartbreak

A Fresh BreakDown - Lil Wayne: The Carter III

Seriously though, love 'em or hate 'em, over-rated, under-rated, on-point, off target, gay, straight, whatever adjective you use... One thing you can't deny. He's been the hottest rapper for the past year and a half it seems. It's like Jay-Z in the late 90's, he's just on everybody's request for a feature (not sayin' Jay still ain't, but Jay's price is alil' to high for your average rapper.) Also, what you can't deny, Weezy F. made a big impact and people started payin' attention as soon as he started doin' these Carter sets. Also, this is when he put that Gillie style to good use. Wayne is often praised for the crazy flow, and unique swagger of his, but to most hip-hop purists, he's criticized for his lack of substance in songs and ability to be versatile on his LPs. And pressure would be a great understatement for the self-proclaimed "Best Rapper Alive." Well, lets see if the main meal lives up to the hype... Or did all those appetizers (mixtapes, different verses) spoiled the hungry belly.

Quick FYI, The Carter is a drug house basically. That's why the other CDs had the beginning concept that it had. Now, this CD starts off on "3 Peat," the name suggests it all, so right away, you can probably expect that this CD doesn't have that same "Lemme take you upstairs" kinda thing. He's mostly boastin up his flow, nuthin' we haven't heard from the mixtape, but nice beat, nice flow, coo lyrics keep the song an enjoyable song.

Then Wayne goes straight in with what people have been lookin' for since the "Hello Brooklyn" was more of Wayne singin' than rappin', a track with Jay-Z. With the Just Blaze produced track with "Mr. Carter" bein' repeated throughout the beat is a for-sure head rocker. Another boastful song, where Dwayne gets him two good verses in before Shawn gets his 16 in. And he pretty much staples the song his, lol. Wayne gets another crack in the end, but it kinda seemed like he was outta steam tryin' to keep up with Jay, cuz Jay didn't do the regular Jay verse in this song.

Up Next is the "A Milli" track, which I'm sure you've heard already, so I'm not gonna break it down. Followed by the "Got Money" track where him and T-Pain get to have fun with the lil' voice effects. Not much to say about this track, 'cept it's a decent lil' club song, with an OK hook. Nuthin' we haven't seen from Weezy before.

We finally hear the Kanye laced beat with Babyface on the hook, a very very nice love song. And Wayne's lyrics and flow blend in nicely with the beat and hook.

Up next is a song alil' left field called "Phone Home," and as the name suggests, Weezy's from another planet. With the David Banner produced track, he does alot more flow boastin', with a crazy lil' hook. Pretty coo' track though.

Up Next is a Swizz Beats laced track, where Wayne plays the part of a Dr. gettin' ready to operate on Hip Hop. Very clever song, and the beat is very very old schoo', this song SHOULD easily satisfy any hip hop purist, if not, they're hatin' on the lil' man with the long hair.

Now we finally get to hear a softer side of Wayne. Well, I wouldn't say softer side, I say he's more pissed on this track because you hear him talk about his hometown in the N.O. You'll hear things like "They took away the football team, basketball team, and only left me to represent for New Orleans." With Robin Thick on the hook, and Kanye West ontop of the beat, it's a great tribute to the good ol' N.O.

Then Weezy comes back for two straight tracks bringin' some more lyrical heat, one beat from Kayne West on "Shoot Me Down," where it has an ol' wild west kinda feel. Then he follows it up with the "Playin' With Fire" track.

After this, is followed up by the ladies' favorite, "LolliPop" so I ain't gonna say much 'bout it. After that it's a track with Brisco and Busta called "La La." It ain't hittin' on to much, pretty borin' hook, and dry beat, so if it wasn't for the above-average lyrics, it's be a below average track.

Now.. After this, has to be the best damn beat from the Alchemist, MY GOD! This beat. With alil' help from Fabolous (Who obliterates the beat) and Juelz, Wayne gets his bragg on again, and also gets to have fun with the voice effects. ( Jury rules in favor of Fabolous on this track, lol, but that's jus my opinion..) But this is one of those songs where you put in ya car... N you turn it up high as it can, cuz it's gonna tear up that sub-woofer, lol.

Now the last Kanye produced song on the CD is called "Let The Beat Build". Wayne kinda gets off to a pretty slow start flow-wise, and it pretty much stays the same for the most part, so the beat builds alil' faster than he does lyrically. But, he does do a nice job cleanin' the track up on tha 1st part.

Weezy's called on the help of another dread-headed fellow in Wyclef for the next track titled "Mrs. Officer." And he gets alil' help from Mr. Bobby Valentino who delivers a very very addictive hook. Mr. Carter talks about hittin' on a lady-police officer. Pretty unique track here, since he's not sayin' "Fuck The Police" in the song, lol. Much praise for this track Wayne. He comes up with all kinda catchiness in the song with things like "lady whats ya number, she said 911, emergency only.... Then I beat it like a cop." Lol, greatness.

The last track, Wayne gets into a 9 minute plus track where he doesn't wanna be "MisUnderstood." But. He doesn't rap the whole way, about 3 minutes in, he starts talkin', and gettin' real political. Givin' alil' knowledge to people who didn't know this stuff already, he even blesses me with some new in-sight, sorta. And even gets on Al Sharpton's head, lol.

Well, what can I say about Lil' Wayne this go-'round? Was he successful, maybe to any other artist, this CD is a success, but for all the hype Lil' Wayne generated, and all the pressure.. It didn't match up to it. And can you blame him? Well, partially, boastin' he's the best rapper alive, and makin' so many verses. But, it's not his fault he gets on everybody's mixtape cover, it's also not his fault that his label won't let him make different type of songs. And I've always said, and still believe that the label, and/or Baby, won't let him be diverse. And that's what this CD, like the last few CDs have lacked, a diverse track-list. We see, maybe a better rapper, but we don't see a better artist. Because we see nice boastin' tracks, but, how many times have we seen this before? The whole concept of the Carter wasn't even in there this time. This CD totally contradicts the statement "I don't get into that boastin' shit," that he said in "Best Rapper Alive" on The Carter II. Cuz this CD was all about the boastin', and you could prolly tell with the intro track bein' "3-Peat." Maybe next go-round we'll see the maturity.

Album Ratin' - 4.2

Worth Buyin' - Although it wasn't much growth, but it's still a good enough CD

Fav Tracks -Nothin' On Me, Mr. Carter, Dr. Carter, Tie My Hands, Shoot Me Down, Playin' With Fire