Eminem - Not Afraid

Eminem's new single, "Not Afraid", is finally here. Produced by Boi-1da. Enjoy!



Download: Eminem - Not Afraid (prod. Boi-1da)

Bad Meets Evil are BACK!!! (Unofficially)

DJ Trackstar creates this unofficial Bad Meets Evil track by mixing Em's and Royce's freestyles together. They both go HARD on Drake's "Over" beat, and then move on to Lloyd Banks' "Beamer, Benz or Bentley". Enjoy!



Download: Bad Meets Evil - Over x BBB Freestyle

Game - "Shake" (Video)

"Me and Fifty ain't agree on shit, so I had to SHAKE! Ain't no tellin' what he puttin' in that protein SHAKE!"

Eminem - Despicable (Freestyle)

The King is BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!



Download: Eminem - Despicable (Freestyle)

Kids, don't do rap .............

Nailed 'Em - Drive-Through Rapping

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Kanye Appreciation: Jay-Z - "Heart Of The City"

With "Heart Of The City", Kanye West produces yet another great track for Jay-Z, which appeared on his 6th studio album, The Blueprint. Jay and Kanye make an excellent team together, and their collaborations often result in brilliant music. "Heart Of The City" is no exception, particularly due to Kanye's amazing work on the production boards. You crazy for this one 'Ye! Enjoy.



*Bonus Track* Here's another great Kanye-produced track from The Blueprint, which y'all might be a little more familiar with:

Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.)

Just Blaze Appreciation: Fat Joe - "Safe 2 Say (The Incredible)"

It's time for another banger from Just Blaze, and this track is up there with the best of 'em. Now Fat Joe isn't exactly the best rapper in the world, but he sure knows how to pick a beat, and this one's a beauty. With "Safe 2 Say", Blaze makes his best beat since Ghostface Killah's "The Champ" and Jay-Z's "Public Service Announcement", which is quite an achievement, but exactly what we have come to expect from this legendary producer. I noticed that they didn't have a video for this track on YouTube, so I made one myself. Enjoy!

Song With A Story: Royce Da 5'9" - "Part Of Me"

For this edition of Song With A Story, Royce Da 5'9" tells the tale of a lady's man who plans to have a one night stand with TWO lovely women. However, things don't quite go to plan for our "hero", and the night does not end well. Usually with storytelling songs, a good music video will make the track 10 times better, and that's definitely the case with "Part Of Me". Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Song Of The Day: "Ante Up (Remix)"

To put it simply, M.O.P.'s "Ante Up (Remix)" is pure "FIRE"!!! The beat sounds like something Just Blaze could've produced coz it's an absolute banger! On top of that, each emcee gives it their all, and the energy levels on the track are through the roof! In my mind, the only other track that comes close in terms of raw intensity would be Ghostface Killah's "The Champ", and that's saying something. Just make sure to crank the volume up to 11 if you truly want to experience this masterpiece in all its glory. Enjoy!

Kanye Appreciation: Twista - "Slow Jamz", "Overnight Celebrity" & "Alright"

For this entry into Kanye Appreciation, I've decided to give you three Twista tracks, made up of three great Kanye beats, with all three songs featuring Kanye West himself. That's three for the price of one! Now you've got be happy with that. The first two tracks, "Slow Jamz" and "Overnight Celebrity", come off my favourite Twista album so far, Kamikaze, whilst the third song, "Alright", is a bonus track from his most recent album, Category F5. Twista brings his world famous rapid-fire flow to each of the three tracks, and Kanye adds his legendary production skills to the mix as well, creating a handful of great songs that you now have the pleasure of listening to right here. Enjoy!

Twista - Slow Jamz (feat. Jamie Foxx & Kanye West)


Twista - Overnight Celebrity (feat. Kanye West)


Twista - Alright (feat. Kanye West)

Premo Appreciation: Termanology - "Watch How It Go Down"

Termanology comes out of nowhere and absolutely KILLS this Premo beat on "Watch How It Go Down". DJ Premier is in top form as usual, but Termanolgy matches Premo every step of the way with his great flow and even better lyrics. He's definitely one to watch, especially if Premo keeps providing him with more great beats like this one. Enjoy!

Favourite line: "And that's the reason little kids get hit by strays, coz motherfuckers can't act they're age! Before you learn how to shoot, better learn how to aim, there's already enough of our people that's dying from AIDS."

Just Blaze Appreciation: Talib Kweli - "Never Been In Love"

"Never Been In Love" doesn't demonstrate your typical Just Blaze beat, but it's still the best track to come off Talib Kweli's 2004 album, The Beautiful Struggle. Instead of making another one of those banging beats that Blaze is famous for, he decided to tone it down a bit and created a soothing, soulful beat that sounds like something Kanye would normally produce. Just Blaze pulls it off brilliantly though, and Kweli flows over the track with ease. Here it is for y'all to enjoy:

B.o.B - "Airplanes Part II" (feat. Hayley Williams & EMINEM)

It's finally here! "Airplanes Part II" featuring EMINEM!!! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy!



Download: B.o.B - Airplanes Part II (feat. Hayley Williams & Eminem)

Song With A Story: Slick Rick - "Children's Story"

It's time to add a new feature to my blog, just to keep things fresh and interesting. This feature will be called Song With A Story, and as the title suggests, it will simply involve me posting songs with a story in them. So to kick things off, there's no better way to introduce this feature than with the undisputed king of storytelling Hip Hop, the one and only Slick Rick.

Slick Rick has built his entire career on the art of storytelling, and has become one of the most respected emcees in the game. This particular track, "Children's Story", is one of my favourite storytelling songs of all time, and the perfect way to demonstrate Rick's amazing storytelling abilities. Rick spins the story of a young boy who chooses "the wrong path" in life, and the crazy journey this path takes him on, involving crime, dope fiends, cops and car chases. I don't wanna give too much away though, so just listen to the song for yourself. Enjoy!

Just Blaze Appreciation: Kanye West - "Touch The Sky"

First, I want y'all to check out this little known song by Curtis Mayfield, called "Move On Up":



Sound familiar? Of course it does, because it's the sample used for Kanye West's hit single, "Touch The Sky", from his second studio album, Late Registration. Now the reason I file this blog entry under Just Blaze Appreciation, is because this is the only track on the whole album that was not produced by Kanye West himself. Just Blaze was brought in for the production of only one song, which in my opinion, turned out to be the best track on the entire album. Blaze simply took the Curtis Mayfield sample, slowed it down, added his own horns and drums and created one of the best beats that Kanye has ever used. You already knew the song, but now you know the story behind it as well, so here's "Touch The Sky". Enjoy!

Song Of The Day: "Dear Mama"

I can't BELIEVE that I haven't posted a 2Pac song on my blog yet! I'm gonna have to correct that mistake immediately. "Dear Mama" is probably my favourite 2Pac song of all time, but it's really a toss-up between this track and "Hit 'Em Up". However, I've gone with "Dear Mama" as my Song Of The Day because it's just packed full of raw emotion, and that's exactly what 2Pac's music is all about. As a bonus though, I'll throw in "Hit 'Em Up" anyway. Enjoy!

2Pac - Dear Mama


2Pac - Hit 'Em Up

Kanye Appreciation: Kanye West - "Good Morning", "Champion" & "I Wonder"

Three more slept-on tracks from Kanye's third studio album, Graduation. The production is top-notch on all three tracks, and there's even a cool little video for "Good Morning" starring the Dropout Bear, so make sure to check it out. Enjoy!

Kanye West - Good Morning


Kanye West - Champion


Kanye West - I Wonder

Premo Appreciation: Royce Da 5'9" - "Shake This" & "Hip Hop"

If I had to choose my favourite Premier beat of all time, it would have to be "Boom" by Royce Da 5'9". However, as I've already posted that amazing song on my blog before, I thought I'd share with y'all a couple more tracks that these two giants of Hip Hop have made together. The first track is called "Shake This", which revolves around Royce's one year prison sentence that he served back in 2007. He really pours his heart out on the track so you'll wanna listen closely to the lyrics. The second track is called "Hip Hop", and that's exactly what the song is about. Pure Hip Hop. Now let's not forget about Premo, who produces two wonderful beats, and turns Royce's great lyrics into fantastic songs. Enjoy!

Royce Da 5'9" - Shake This


Royce Da 5'9" - Hip Hop

B.o.B - Airplanes (Part I) feat. Hayley Williams

B.o.B's new single off his upcoming album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Now I'm just waiting for "Airplanes (Part II)", featuring some white dude named Eminem. By the way, apparently Eminem KILLS it! Anyway, here's Part I:

Joell Ortiz - Lemonade Freestyle

Sick new freestyle from one quarter of SLAUGHTERHOUSE!!! Many rappers have gone in on this beat but no one can really kill a freestyle like Joell Ortiz.

Drake - Over (Video)

The video just dropped and I ain't that impressed to be honest. Still a great song though ........

Wale - Whole Time (feat. Young Chris)

Here's the newest addition to my iTunes library. It's a cool track with a beat that samples the theme music from the Bond film, Goldfinger. Check it out:

Song Of The Day: "2nd Time Around"

Simply put, Brother Ali absolutely KILLS this track with a single verse of flawless rhymes and raw passion for Hip Hop. Just about every second line that comes out of his mouth is a quotable as he unleashes a lyrical assault for over 2 whole minutes. This is unfortunate for Wale, the other emcee to appear on the track, who spits 2 strong verses of his own, but is completely overshadowed by Brother Ali's powerful rhymes. Not bad for the only white, albino emcee in the game. Enjoy!

Favourite lines:
"You really got the guns you claim in the track? Then my question to you is who you aiming 'em at!?"

"Y'all are all safe n' shit! Y'all are not sayin' shit! You just snap your fingers and dance n' make your label rich!"

"This is your chance to say somethin' and your wasting it! People are starving, you talking 'bout balling."

"80% of kids are listening to your shit. I heard that statistic, I almost cried. Never wanted so bad for 2Pac to be alive!"

Kanye Appreciation: Miri Ben-Ari - "New World Symphony"

Back in 2005, Kanye West got together with Pharoahe Monch and Miri Ben-Ari to create an epic track titled "New World Symphony". The track appeared on Miri Ben-Ari's album, The Hip-Hop Violinist. As a violinist, Ben-Ari doesn't rap on any of her songs, which means that the album featured many guest appearances such as Akon, Lil Wayne, Styles P, Scarface, Fabolous and Kanye West just to name a few.

This particular track features Pharoahe Monch, who is one of my favourite emcees, and has Kanye West in charge of production. The result is an epic orchestral beat led by the great violin of Miri Ben-Ari, and Pharoahe Monch just killing the track with his amazing flow. You've got to agree with Pharoahe Monch when he says "Kanye did it again!" Enjoy!

Song Of The Day: "Hard Knock Life"

Yesterday, I watched the Jay-Z documentary, Fade To Black, which revolved around his "retirement" concert and the making of The Black Album. I really enjoyed the movie, and as a result, I've been listening to Jay-Z tracks all day, so the next few posts may revolve around the Jigga Man.

Therefore, today's Song Of The Day is the title track from Hova's 3rd album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. This track became Jay-Z's most commercially successful single at the time of release, and was nominated for a Grammy in 1999. "Hard Knock Life" shows Jigga rapping about his life in the ghetto, but the greatest element of the song is the brilliant hook, which is actually a sample taken from the Broadway musical, Annie. The sample fits perfectly with Jay's lyrics and the simplistic beat, which is all credit to the producer of the track, The 45 King. This song is just classic HOV, and essential listening for any Hip Hop fan. Enjoy!

Just Blaze Appreciation: Joe Budden - "Pump It Up" & "Fire"

When it comes to creating Hip Hop club bangers, no producer does it better than Just Blaze. In 2003, for Joe Budden's self-titled debut album, Blaze produced not one, but two great Hip Hop bangers, which both became successful singles and featured in several Hollywood films at the time. Just Blaze gave Joe Budden a great start to his career by supplying two banging beats, which y'all can now listen to right here. Enjoy!

Joe Budden - Pump It Up


Joe Budden - Fire (feat. Busta Rhymes)

Premo Appreciation: Limp Bizkit - "N 2 Gether Now"

I never thought I'd be posting a Limp Bizkit song on my blog, but this track deserves to be heard for two main reasons: 1) It features a solid performance from Method Man and 2) DJ Premier produced the beat. Not surprisingly, Method Man outshines Fred Durst (the lead vocalist for Limp Bizkit), and luckily for us, Meth actually spits more bars on the song than Fred does. It also goes without saying that DJ Premier produces another classic beat, which even makes Fred Durst sound like a decent emcee. "N 2 Gether Now" is a great Hip Hop song from a crappy rock band. Who would've thought? Enjoy!

Kanye Appreciation: Lil Wayne - "Let The Beat Build"

It's about time I posted a Weezy track on the blog, and this one's probably my favourite song off his super successful album, The Carter III. Kanye West creates a magnificent beat on "Let The Beat Build", and Lil Wayne just can't go wrong when the production is this good. Check it out and enjoy!

Favourite line: "Gotta get it clear, suck my dick with red lipstick and don't let it smear!"

Wu-Tang Financial

The previous blog entry reminded me of this classic clip from Chappelle's Show, starring GZA and RZA:

Chappelle's Show - Wu-Tang Financial from Masta Killahhh on Vimeo.

Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit!

Parks and Recreation is the Wu-Tang of Comedy - watch more funny videos

Kanye Appreciation: Jay-Z - "Encore"

I wanted to post the original "Encore" on my blog for those of you that have been poisoned by the whole Jay-Z/Linkin Park mash-up crap, where Kanye's great production was thrown out the window and replaced with some emo, rock 'n' roll bullshit. In fact, the whole Collision Course album was a complete massacre of Jay-Z's music, and a real stain on the history of Hip Hop. That's why this one goes out to all the true Hip Hop fans, so they can hear the original "Encore" in all it's glory. Enjoy!

Song Of The Day: "Renegade"

This entry into Song Of The Day requires a bit of storytelling first. Once upon a time, Eminem and Royce da 5'9" (my two favourite rappers) formed a rap group called Bad Meets Evil. They made a few great songs together, one of which was titled "Renegade". Unfortunately, the partnership didn't last very long as Eminem and Royce had a falling-out, which led to a long rap feud between Royce da 5'9" and Eminem's "band", D12. I'm happy to report that this feud officially ended last year, so hopefully we'll be seeing Em and Royce back together and making some great music in the near future.

Anyways, back to the story. Fast-forward to the year 2001 now, and Jay-Z is in the process of making his 6th studio album, The Blueprint. He decides that he wants to make a song with Eminem, so he arranges a meeting. Eminem comes in and presents a little track he produced himself called "Renegade". He tells Jay-Z that the track is relatively unknown, so the verses from Royce can be removed and Jay can record his own verses instead. Jay-Z does exactly that and the song becomes one of the best tracks to come off the entire album. The end. So now that you know the story, here's the song:

Jay-Z feat. Eminem - "Renegade"


I've also added the original "Renegade" from Eminem and Royce for you to hear. I prefer Jay-Z's version better, but I still like the original version as well.

Bad Meets Evil - "Renegade"


And here's an interesting fact: Jay-Z released The Blueprint on September 11, 2001.

Premo Appreciation: AZ - "The Come Up" & "The Format"

So far in their careers, DJ Premier and AZ have only made 2 tracks together, but luckily for AZ, both of those tracks have been classic Premo productions. "The Come Up" was their first creation back in 2005, and a year later they got back together to make "The Format" in 2006. Here they both are for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

AZ - The Come Up


AZ - The Format

Just Blaze Appreciation: Jay-Z - "Kingdom Come"

"Kingdom Come" is a fantastic track, if only for the fact that Just Blaze took a ridiculous sample and made it work brilliantly. Everyone's heard "Super Freak" by Rick James, and will be quite familiar with it's catchy beat. If you need a quick reminder, here it is:



Well Just Blaze took that beat, chopped it up, added his own little flavour to the production and turned it into the best track to come off Jay-Z's 2006 album, Kingdom Come. This is another classic Jay-Z/Just Blaze collaboration and it only gets better with every listen. Enjoy!

Slaughterhouse!!!

In my opinion, Slaughterhouse is the best rap group in the game right now. This Hip Hop super-group consists of Joe Budden, Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and my personal favourite, Royce da 5'9". They've already made one quality album together, and a second album should be dropping sometime this year, hopefully in the coming months. Although they're very serious and professional when it comes to their music, they also have a "softer" side, which they display here in an hilarious video that cracks me up every time. Check it out:

The Slaughterhouse Rules from jeff on Vimeo.

Also, here's a track from their debut album called "Not Tonight". This one's a real banger:

J Dilla Appreciation (R.I.P.)

J Dilla was one of the most respected and influential Hip Hop producers that ever lived. He worked with many great artists and received much critical acclaim for the wonderful beats he created in his short lifetime. He passed away 4 years ago at the young age of 32, so I thought I'd dedicate this feature to him and share a few of his songs through my blog. May he rest in peace.

Common - Love Is...


Jaylib - The Red


Steve Spacek - Dollar


Q-Tip - Move

Kanye Appreciation: Common - "Be"

Kanye West produced 9 of the 11 tracks on Common's 2005 album, Be, which is probably the reason why I enjoyed it so much. Here, witness how Kanye produces the perfect intro track to a Hip Hop album, creating a beat with a great build up and a strong finish that gets the listener excited about hearing the rest of the album.

"Be" starts off with some random plucking of guitar strings, but slowly turns into a nice rhythm. A second instrument is layered over the guitar and suddenly comes the realisation that the beat is building up to something. Then the piano kicks in, and it adds a whole new dimension to the beat. Finally, the whole orchestra begins to play, the track is now in full swing, and Common begins his rhymes, completing one the greatest Hip Hop album intros I've ever heard. This songs leads right into another great Kanye-produced track, "The Corner", but that's another blog entry. For now, here's "Be":



Speaking of great Hip Hop album intros, here's another one I came across just the other day, off Black Milk's 2008 album, Tronic. The song is called "Long Story Short", and it's produced by Black Milk himself. The track begins with an alien-type sound but soon turns into a soothing piano. The piano sounds great, even though it doesn't quite represent a typical Hip Hop beat. Suddenly, the alien sound picks up where the piano left off, the drums kick in at the same time, and another great Hip Hop album intro is born. The fact that Black Milk rhymes about his journey through the Hip Hop game thus far is just the icing on the cake. Enjoy!