May 31, 2008 | Tags: Lil Wayne, Tha Carter 3

Finally, the highest anticipated album of the year is on the streets. And guess what? It’s exactly what I thought it’d be: a dope, 4-star album, but certainly not the five-mic classic that merits “Best Rapper Alive” accolades. I think I adequately covered my theory on the homie in my first Lil Wayne Blog, but I’ve still got some messages for both the stans and the haters of Weezy.
--
Stans:
Hopefully, this shows you that your savior is mortal. Everything that you love about Weezy F. is on full display here: that unmistakable voice, the nimble delivery, swag in spades, the comical punchlines, and the moments where he goes the fuck in and murders concepts. The problem is, when given the golden stage—press everywhere from XXL to GQ, a street buzz not even closely paralleled by any of his peers, cosigns by every rapper that matters, and production from the game’s premier knob twisters—he still couldn’t make a classic LP. EDIT: I know, it's still a "classic" due to it being the "album of the summer" and all that, but he failed to make an album whose actual quality matches up to the hype. To his credit, he’s still put together a dope album, and there are definitely some potentially classic songs here. But he’s got duds, filler and formulaic T-Pain songs just like anybody else does. It’s possible that homie’s prolific output has finally caught up with him: substituting “La La,” “Got Money,” “Playin’ With Fire,” and maybe even “Nothin On Me” [1] with highlights from his torrent of mixtapes may have pushed Tha Carter III over the hump.

Haters:
Go ahead and say he’s overrated, because he is. But like I said in my last blog, Lil Wayne’s hyperbole is something that’s understandable because of all of the other elements he brings. And if Tha Carter III does anything, it’s establish the dude as a bonafide talent. Even though he doesn’t make the classic that your stannish enemies thought he would, as I said in the last segment, he’s still put together some fantastic records here: “Dr. Carter” sent chills up my spine with the way he meshed conceptual originality with the style and aesthetic that he’s trademarked, and I’ve continuously maintained that “Comfortable” would’ve been a better single choice than “Lollipop.” He knows how epic “Mr. Carter” is and he shows it by going bar for bar with almighty Hov [2], and “Tie My Hands Down” is a passionate, well-constructed record that you’d be hard-pressed to justifiably hate on. And if you weren’t so busy scrutinizing his lyrics, you’d realize how potent the "style over substance" approach can be while listening to “Let The Beat Build.” Most of you (haters) that I spoke to about the songs they’ve heard have said something to the extent of, “Wow, this isn’t even half bad!” I agree.

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[1] Maybe it’s just me, but I thought was this joint with Juelz and Fabolous the album’s most disappointing song? Considering the previous collaborations between duos of them (Cassidy’s “6 Minutes of Death,” Juelz’ “Make It Work For Ya”), this was really forgettable. And one of Alchemist’s more disappointing beats in a while. Wasn’t a terrible song, but disappointing.
[2] Until Wayne’s last verse, that is. But hey: Lebron’s still a legend for this year’s Game 7 faceoff with Paul Pierce even though the Celtics took it, right?

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Why MI State's Better Than Yours: Final Edition

May 29, 2008 | Tags: none

Whattup doe?

As you guys know, I love the hip-hop in my home state. It seems like ever since the deaths of area legends J Dilla and Big Proof, we've been making a point to make the illest music ever to help continue the legacy they established from the ground up. It's too bad we've taken this long to get our just due, but I'll be damned if we aren't making the most of it.

I've been chronicling this movement for a few years, now, landing my articles everywhere from my Blogspot joint to URB magazine. I've also brought my allegience for the mitten here, whether it's through Producer's Corner pieces with Black Milk and Sicknotes, to my two installments of "Why MI State's Better Than Yours" on this very blog. I hold my peoples down.

I'm not one to shamelessly plug, but with the (miniscule) fanbase I've established here, I figure I should at least let you know what I've got going.

MichiganHipHop.com is a joint effort between me and M.O.S.Ologist, webmaster/promoter/everything else for the likes of Elzhi, Slum Village, OneBeLo, Nick Speed, and more. In case the URL wasn’t obvious enough, this site is dedicated to the documenting and supporting the burgeoning Michigan Hip Hop scene. MiHipHop uses news bits, show dates, interviews and multimedia to keep you connected to the complete, four-element Hip-Hop scene in the Mitten—from “mainstream” to “underground,” from “backpacker” to “street,” and everywhere in between.

We launched a few weeks ago, but check us out. We posted an interview with producer Young RJ (Slum Village, B.R. Gunna, Young Buck, Lloyd Banks) this morning, but previously, we posted two-piece articles with Guilty Simpson and Fat Ray, along with premiering the video for Buff1's "Beat The Speakers Up." What's scary is that we've got much, much more on the way.

To top it all off, we've got a launch party/fundraiser coming up. If you're anywhere in the state, you need to fuckin' be there. Our line-up's got weight.

Like I said, I'm not the type to plug shit very much, but this is my new pride and joy, so I had to do it once. From here on out, you'll see it on the blogroll to the left. Leave a comment here telling me what you think of the site, what you think of Michigan's hip-hop scene, or letting me know who/what you'd like to see on the site.

100.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Bow Wow: Gettin' Grown

May 23, 2008 | Tags: none

Bow Wow has made one of the smartest career moves I've seen since the homie Sickamore left Atlantic. As DX reported today, dude is giving up rap to pursue his acting career.

To me, Bow Wow has always been one of the most misunderstood emcees out there. Coming into the game as a little kid was cool back then, because he was essentially the same age as much of his demographic. Cosignage by Snoop and Dre and signing to Death Row wasn’t a good fit for the young’n, so he linked up with the king of kid acts in Jermaine Dupri, donned a chain with a Mickey Mouse charm, and clowned the singer of 3LW on record. Life was good.

But homie hit his high teens a few years ago, and just like anybobdy else his age, he wants to be an adult. Hell, technically, he is an adult (according to his bio on AllMusicGuide, he should be 21 years old or so now). Thing is, after coming in as a youngster, people don’t believe you, you need more people. So that’s what he tried to do—he got a grill from Paul Wall, wifed up Ciara, had cameos with the likes of Mike Jones, visits the Playboy Mansion, wheels pricey whips in music videos, and dismissed Will Smith as “a gimmick” instead of a rapper. He also declared himself, Kanye West, 50 Cent, and “maybe Jay” as the “only real rappers out there.” Him being younger only made the latter two comments worse, because it looks like he doesn’t respect those that came before him. But when it boils down to it, he was in a transitional period in his life just like everybody else his age was. *And as much flack as I’ma catch for this, dude is actually a competent rapper with a decent flow—“Let Me Hold You” was a perfect radio single aside from the kiddy chants at the end of the song, and I’d rather listen to verses from him than some of the lower-tier emcees saturating the airwaves.*

But finally, young homie’s smartening up. Just like he said on the “Oh I Think They Like Me” remix: “Pool in the front and the backyard, I ain’t gotta act hard, I’m under 21 with a black card.” He knows that musically he’ll always get hated on (some warranted, some not), and movies are where the money’s at anyway, so he’s refocusing. The same cat he dissed before, he’s now looking to as a role model. And last time I heard, he was gettin’ in this:

Looks like homie's gettin' grown.

EDIT: OK, according to Bossip (pause at being on Bossip), now, he's fucking with Dollicia Bryan. That young upgrade. Cover courtesy of 2DopeBoyz.

Shad's making it happen.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Where's The (?uest)Love?

May 05, 2008 | Tags: The Roots, ?uestlove

Damnit, ?uest!

Why are you such a fucking jinx for me?

I’ve been to three Roots concerts in Michigan, each with an opportunity to get a picture with you. Each opportunity ends up fucking up somehow.

First, I slip outside as you’re leaving, and I ask for this drunk guy to take a pic on his camera phone; but the bitch non-nigga makes a video instead of a pic. Next, I was backstage with your Tanqueray show in Pontiac. I get backstage, and I can’t even ask you any questions for my interview cuz hog bitch is dominating the time. Finally, at tonight’s afterparty, I try to leave early for the sake of my man who has to get back in early…lo and behold, parking people decided to let a crackhead take over lot supervision duties (literally), so his car is trapped until the end of the fucking thing anyway. Meanwhile, my man who stayed inside—he showed you a Dilla shirt he made, and talked about how he missed you six times—got to chop it up with you.

Maybe I’m just not destined to add your pic to my catalog with the rest of the legends I’ve met, like Primo, Nas and Jazzy Jeff.

But as much as I want to, I can’t quite hate you.

You embody this hip-hop shit more than anyone else doing it right now. Whether it’s your genuine love for the music—watching your facial expressions behind the boards when you’re playing certain songs is priceless—the fro, how you represent this culture everywhere you go, the intellect you show in interviews, or funding sites like OkayPlayer, you’re what hip-hop is all about. You even rep for the big dudes! You murdered Confidential Lounge tonight…before tonight, the last time I danced this much was in 2005, when Jazzy Jeff came through. And the album’s a monster, too.

Thanks for everything, ?uest. But fuck you.

*Picture courtesy of, well, me.

P.S.: I've got a new hustle. More details later.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

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Speech Is My Hammer...

Lil Wayne Is Who We Thought He Was! (c) Dennis Greene

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Why MI State's Better Than Yours: Final Edition

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Bow Wow: Gettin' Grown

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Where's The (?uest)Love?

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