It's the [Premix], baby!

The Paxtons - Ain't I (Premix)

It's been a while since The Paxtons have dropped a new joint, but it was definitely worth the wait. The Windy City Brethren went in on over the "Ain't I" beat and KILT IT DEAD. Don't believe me? Go ahead, click the link and see for yourselves. Disfruta.

P.S. The album's on the way!!

White Niggas I Fucks Wit

I'm not sure what's the cause of this lapse in ethnic pride, but there's a few white ppl who, if given the chance, I would invite to the family barbeque. The reasons vary, but I consider them all the truest white niggas in the game.

Feist
This white woman is like the Aretha Franklin of white people music to me. I say this because true soul music comes from *drumroll* the soul and carries with it all the nuances of a culture. There's a reason that Deep South down-home country soul music sounds like it does. There's a reason all black people can relate to it. It captures all the raw pain and sorrow, joy and hope, of a people, our people. In some way, I feel like Feist is so unapologetically and authentically white that she communicates the same thing for white people like Aretha does for us. I'm left feeling like, "Oh, this is how white ppl feel." It's different man, yall [white ppl] be on some other ish. It's cool though. I'm sure it seems like I'm jumping out the window with this one, but yo, Leslie Feist is the truth. She's the essence of whiteness from this imaginary place called Canada.

Chuck Norris
If it was McCain/Norris instead of McCain/Palin last November, I don't think our President would be black (nor would our Lambo's be blue).

Matt Damon
Yeah, some of yall might expect me to pick Brad Pitt. I mean, Brad does get to put his penis between Angelina's lips--which I think is as close to Muslim heaven as mere mortals can get--, but as far as actors go, Matt Damon is the most gifted in the world. Dude can act his [insert "no homo"-disclaimer worthy object here] off.

Penelope Cruz
Black women, I'm sorry. Penelope Cruz can have my children right now. I have this thing for talent. There are a lot of beautiful women in the world, but not many of them are talented. She's both, and both in both (as in beautifully talented and talented in her beauty--if that's possible). Plus she's only, like, one of the greatest genetic phenomena of our time. (Did you know there were two of them?!)

Michael Jackson
Because, white or black, he's still the greatest entertainer of all time.

Bill Clinton
I know we got Obama, but be real, Clinton was the first black president.

Sean Connery
Coolest white dude ever.

Honorable Mention:
Kanye West
We lost Michael. We'll eventually lose him too.

Limited Time Only

CD 1 | CD 2
EDIT: Links are closed.

I'm only keeping these links alive for a limited time so get 'em now. This compilation from British DJ Gilles Peterson is a cult classic. It was released in 2005 (which seems like a really long time ago) and featured live acoustic performances from artists spanning almost every genre, but with an overall jazzy vibe. The Roots, Beck, N.E.R.D., Bjork, Bilal, Dwele, and even the then-unsigned Jazmine Sullivan are some of the artists featured on this double CD. In other words: you want this.

You may or may not have noticed that this and some other drops have been labeled "The Vault," as I've been liquidating some of my music library holdings like it were WaMu stock. It's my gift to the faithful readers and fodder for the casual browser. Plus, the biters always need something to chew on. I've said enough, it's a double CD so click the links under the CD cover already. Disfruta.

Internet Years

The internets (not a typo) is a place where new gets old very quickly. "Yo, you got that new [insert supposedly-underground-esoteric-act]?" "Yo I had that like 2 days ago. And the first mixtape they had like 2 years ago. You late my nig." It's a conversation that I myself have to admit to have had with quite a few people, quite a few times. Especially in the blogosphere, if you're an hour late on a drop, you might as well quit the game. It's about that XCLUSIVE!!! Na na nana na na!!

:-/ Yeah, I fall victim to that blogger braggadocio myself, but it's important to always keep in mind that it's a computer and the internet is not a real place (or is it?) so even when I swing my swagger stick (nhjic) and complain that a few of my readers who also blog are biters, I'm still not as emo about it as I seem.

That said, these niggas dropped this week or less recently. Some I've listened to, some I haven't, but I feel they're all worthy of CPU memory. Links are stolen. Disfruta. Click the album covers to download.


Gucci Mane is the streets right now.


I really do love where hip hop is right now, and I especially love where NY hiphop is right now. Plus, N.O.R.E. is a funny nigga.


I'm not necessarily co-signing this, not outta hate, but only cuz I really never listened to enough of his ish to say one thing or the other. I did think this jawn came out a long time ago tho (in real time)... guess not. Irregardless, I always effed wit "Hood Nigga."

Capital Lingo

"Go Hard"- AB The Producer feat. XO, Pro'verb and Lyriciss

Confession: I've been slackin' on the hiphop tip for a minute. This school year has been bananas and plátanos so I haven't had much time to actually cull the wheat from the chaff from these new up-and-coming whippersnappers.

That said, I can personally co-sign Pro'verb and Lyriciss as true talents outta the DMV and XO's latest mixtape is just a few posts down from this one, (not to mention the cypher I caught with him, Charles Hamilton, and some other random niggas inauguration weekend--I might put that vid up this wknd). The energy comin outta DC is so ridiculous right now. I'm lovin' it.(c)

And shouts out to AB The Producer and Studio 43 for the link.

I likes um THICK

Chrisette Michele - Epiphany

I'm not sure how I feel about rapper cameos in R&B videos as love interests... On second thought, I don't care. Drake is "acting" in a couple scenes of this, and if you didn't see the Keri Hilson vid wit Kanye, holler. Looks like Chrisette lost some weight. Hopefully not too much tho, cuz a nigga likes some cushion!

The Virtue of Patience

Click the album cover to download

YH!SN... 10 Hottest Women In The Game alumna, Keri Hilson, is finally releasing her debut. It's in stores on the 24th. You can get it now by clicking the album cover. Disfruta.

Laymen's note: It's a .tar file so use this to open it.

Momma cooked the breakfast with no hog

I'm not a pork fiend by any means, but I do enjoy bacon and the occasional pork roast (not to mention pancetta). But after reading this, I won't be eating pork for a long while.

Reminds me of that dead prez song "Be Healthy":

An Apple A Day

Click the album cover to download

I borrowed a track from this album last year on RNLC3. It's claim to fame is another track though, "New Soul," which Apple co-opted as part of their ad campaign for the MacBook Air last year. Yael is French, but is also Jewish. Likewise, the songs are in French, Hebrew, as well as English. I found myself listening to this one on the ipod this morning while on an overcrowded trolley and figured I'd pass this oldie but goodie to those who never heard of her or don't have the album. Click and get. Disfruta.

The Juice Is Loose

Oran "Juice" Jones - The Rain (1986) -

Please, do yourself a favor. Give yourself a few minutes and reacquaint yourself with this classic video.

None like us, so none like us

Click the album cover to download

X.O.'s latest, courtesy of Major. Back cover with tracklisting below.

The Chris Paul Show

I can honestly say that this NBA season will go down in infamy for the abundant lack of ankle insurance and vision plans around the league. But real talk, niggas aint hooped like this and won games (let alone competed for championships) since the Bulls had their own video games. By the way your favorite rapper of the moment, Drake, was courtside chillin. [Thank God for NBA League Pass]

BEST DAY EVER

Today was a good day. Really good.

Groove Theory

Click the album cover to download

Woke up this morning and put on The Dream's new album. It's good. Then I listened to this jawn and was reminded of how good it was. Figured I'd share. Disfruta.

Lullaby

Click the album cover to download

Not my link. If it dies, I'll re-up it. Now I'm off to bed. Fa realz.

Doorbusters

Pre-party is at Ubiq from 3-6. Ubiq's also having a sale tomorrow that's so ridiculous they had to take the front door off its frame.

Well, not exactly, but kinda. I've got the worst headache in the world right now. I'm calling it a noche. Peace.

Flight of the Cockroach

I would like to begin with a warning: never google-image "cockroaches". It's a terrible idea.

So, it's after lunch. My kids are in their seats dutifully copying math notes off the board. We're studying area of polygons and today's lesson was on triangles, parallelograms, and complex figures. Needless to say, all of them were filled to the brim with excitement (yeah right). I begin the lesson as usual, reviewing what we did yesterday and beginning to discuss today's objective, but no one's looking at me. They're all looking at the wall above me.

I follow their eyes just in time to see a humongous cockroach crawl along the wall above my chalkboard. Just as I look, it decides to fly.

Yup. Fly.

Needless to say, the room quickly descended into contained chaos with screams and kids jumping out their seats, and, after it flew for the second time, I told my kids to line up in the hall so I could kill it. I hoped they'd exit orderly, but they're kids, and they're from the hood, so it was every man for himself.

One of my students however, decided to take matters into his own hands, literally. While everyone was clawing their way out the room as quickly as possible, this particular student smacked the roach while it was in mid-flight and knocked it to the ground. Then, with me and most the class watching, this student proceeded to stomp the shit (sorry no other word gets the point across) out of the thing till we were all sure it was dead. He then, very matter-of-factly, asked for the broom.

Now, does it matter that this student of mine is actually too old to be in 6th grade or that he sometimes misspells his own name? Something tells me yes. But I guess his talents lie elsewhere...

Just Watch It

Everything you need.

Gimme 2 Pair

I think the combination of the recession and me getting older has meant a maturation in my sartorial predilections. A nigga just can't cop 4 pairs of kicks in one day anymore. With money as tight as it is, and my AMEX not as friendly as it used to be, a nigga's gotta keep it simple. Outside of the eggplant foams, the last pair of shoes I bought were the Timberland Abington's, which I have not stopped wearing since. (Even my students have asked me to stop wearing them.) Before them it was my DQM Chukka's back in October. Those who know me know that that is a marked decline in shoe shoppage. (I did scoop a pair of RL loafers on a steep discount tho, but they don't count.)

My cabin fever is at an all-time high right now and when spring finally arrives, I'll prolly be on a similar steez. A few pair and that's it. So without further ado, the only shoes a nigga needs for spring/summer '09:
a pair to beat up.

a pair to chill in

And I just got an email about these:

i think i had a dream about this exact shoe a month or 2 ago.

No Yeezy's--although if any of yall wanna cop them Kanye LV jawns for me, I'm game--and I might actually make the trip to NYC to get them One's or maybe them New Balances. I'm currently considering selling off a few pairs at rock-bottom recession prices jus cuz i'm tired of having such a gluttonous collection. More on that later.

Dust Yourself Off

Had no idea dood had an album coming out. Click the album cover to download.

The Calm

Lurking

Jay Smooth is the Andy Rooney of hip hop.

Don't thank me

Christian Rich - Stacks (ft. Lil Wayne)

Thank modi.

And this is how you create anticipation for a release:


Just wish the original had that intro.

Snowday Special

Nickel Eye - "Brandy of The Damned" featuring Wale (Mark Ronson remix)

Music is the brandy of the damned. It's good. Trust me. It sounds like the first warm day of spring, in mp3 form.

That Porsche does look gorgeous

Jim Jones - "Na Na NaNa Na Na"

Yup, right after MLK.

Put yo stunna shades on.

Why do I have a camera in my hand?

Tragicomedy. Discuss.

I got a story to tell...

It was as splendid as it was hilarious. Kanye really did channel the inner-Jacko on this jawn. Kanye West - The VH1 Storytellers Live Mixtape for the audio, below for some A/V.

The Brazilian Badu

Click the album cover to download

Good music defies arbitrary boundaries like time (and race). Given my present spirit of generosity, I'm gonna keep unloading gems like this till I start feeling selfish again. Click the album cover to download. You'll appreciate me for it. Trust me.

And in my attempt to court the cynics, I give you this jewel:



You'll be hearing this again, but if that doesn't convince, hopefully this will:



I swear,(Brazilian) Portuguese might be the most beautiful language in the world. I didn't understand not a single word of what she was saying, but cot durn if I didn't enjoy it. Aight. I'm done. Scroll back up and click the album cover already. Disfruta.

Why God invented white people

For pure comedic purpose. My apologies to anyone who finds this vid offensive. And yeah, I said "invented."

Mighty Casey... word to Uncut

I'm on my white girl steez really hard right now. Why? No idea. But I say the results are great cuz it's prompting me to unload some personal faves for yall. I'm sure some of these are hit or miss, but for those who tend to be conservative on random drops like this, I'll give you this trivia night nugget:

You know Feist? The "1,2,3,4" Feist? Well, New Buffalo wrote that song. Hope that's enough for you. Click the album cover to download. Disfruta.

Law School

Salmon

Scheduled June release. My birthday is June. Feel free to purchase for said event. This and the Futura G-shocks are the only ones I've seen worth mentioning or paying for. It's salmon. Nuff sedd.

(The alife jawn is fresh too.)

Don't Forget The Chi, Yo

Cam'ron - Get It In Ohio

I'm posting this off the strength of the part shot in Chicago.

We startin to look like OnSmash Lite over here. Do I care tho? Nah, son. It's the only viral video I can watch at work.

Self-Esteem

Mavado - I'm So Special

It's old in internet years, but I wanted to officially co-sign every aspect of this song+vid combo.

R&Autotune

Jamie Foxx - "Blame It" ft. T-Pain

I've been anticipating this video for a long time. I think I played this song non-stop for about 2 weeks when it first came out. It was literally the only song I listened to. For 2 weeks. As a white person would say, it's, like, 8 different kinds of amazing, wrapped in pure dopeness. No lie, this is/was/has been/forever will be the joint.

The most interesting part of this song, though, is T-Pain's verse. Besides it being the best part of the whole song, am I the only person who picked up on Teddy P's not-so-subliminal diss to The Dream? For those who never picked up on it, I'll provide the text:

Shawty got drunk, thought it all was "a dream"
So I made her say, "Ah, Ah, Ah"
Now she got her hands on my legs
Got my seats all wet in my ride (all wet in my ride)
All over my ride (all over my ride)
She look me dead in the eye (eye, eye)
Then my pants got bigger
She already knew what the figure
Had her looking at her boyfriend
Like "Fuck that Nigga"

First time I heard this, I kinda did the whole "!?" face. As far as disses go, I think it's one of the best I've heard in a long time. (Full disclosure: I don't do a good job of keeping up with most internet-fueled rapper beefs anyway... still don't think I'm missing much.) Not only did T-Pain son The Dream lyrically, he basically jacked The Dream's Autotune flow on some "Gimme dat!" tip. "Ah... ah, ah"? The whole harmonized echo of "all wet in my ride" and "all over my ride" with the final line of "[eff] that nigga"? Cot durn. I stand by my statement that T-Pain shoulda made 2007's Hottest Rappers in the Game list as well as 2008's.

And oh, there's a motley crue of celebs in this jawn. It's humorous.

Identity Crises

Peter Bjorn and John "Nothing To Worry About"

Late pass on the vid.

Fat Tuesday

Yeah, I'm opening the vault a bit. Some slightly different ish. Came out about a year ago. Click the album cover to download.

Nite-N-Day

A dyslexic post about Scott's feelings... Sike NAH! In fact its the complete opposite. My favorite rapper from Houston not named after a classic Brian De Palma film (Bun-B & The Pimp hail from Port Arthur, Texas) has a new video and from the sounds of it, he might a have a niggerish jam on his hands!



For the confused... you've probably never heard this album. On the low, Already Platinum was a southern classic with a ridiculous hybrid of Neptunes production and screwed-up goodness. Catch up niggas!


Slim Thug - Already Platinum

Dear Iggy...

Protect ya neck in them Philly streets when y'all get back home.


Outside of T-Mac, Andrew Bynum, Amar'e, Al Jefferson, Batman, Jason Terry, Greg Oden and Carlos Boozer being injured, the League has yet to let me down this year. Illest clip I've seen in like... a week.

Emo Rappers

I and my compadres had an in depth discussion about this video last weekend. Rap has been building towards this moment for some time, but the emo rapper has officially arrived. Did you hear what this nigga Cudi said?

Emo Quotables:
"I got 99 problems, and they all chickens/ wish i was jiggaman"
"She bought the toys that I would play with when i was by myself/ why he by himself?"
"but they all didn't see... the lil bit of sadness in me/Scotty I've got some issues that nobody can see and all of these emotions are pouring out of me. I bring them to the light, it's only right,this is the soundtrack of my life, the soundtrack of my life."

Am I wrong for calling this a landmark moment in hip-hop? And by "landmark" I don't mean to say that I consider this a positive development; I'm actually neutral. I mean it's a significant point in the development of the genre. A rapper gets on a program and sing/raps about how he's a sad little boy... Even with Kanye and the mullet, I still never thought I'd see the day that a rapper would ever say that. Shoot, singers don't even do ish like that.

Unless their emo. < cudi voice > Welcome to Heartbreak < cudi voice >

Best Intro Ever

Heron Flow

Tabi's latest. Click the album cover.

What really happened between CB and Rihanna...

A pic of Rihanna beat-the-f-up surfaced late last night. It's not a good look (for Chris or Ri-Ri). Right now, everybody's been on some ole "support Rihanna" tip, which is admirable. I mean the girl definitely got the life damn near beat out of her, but I don't think this situation is as cut and dry as a nigga beating a chick up jus cuz. Remember, Chris Brown is a light-skinded R&B singer with star tattoos. Dudes like that just don't go around laying hands on broads.

The following is what I think actually took place that fateful night:

Rihanna told Chris Brown she cheated on him, repeatedly. Brown, unable to control his light-skinded R&B singer emotions, wailed on Ri-Ri (pun intended). The rest is history.

Why do I think this? I think Rihanna is a trifling ho.

Now, in my characterization of her as a "ho," I'm not saying this out of malice. I just think that the reason she's so successful is because she saw her fair share of penises on her way to that #1 billboard spot (and I don't think she regretted it). While the hollywood rumor mill is, at it's worst, just a place for busybodies to gossip about foolishness cuz they don't have real lives, much of what they generate comes from somewhere truthful. Rihanna has dealt with rumors of her tryna get ahead with some head since she got signed to DefJam. While they all could have very well been unfounded, the fact they've persisted her entire career should leave you to wonder something. I mean, we all know Cassie's been cavorting for tracks, but Rihanna was always a "rumor".

Meanwhile, you got dudes like The Dream announcing--ON CAMERA--that he's on his way to beat the brakes off Rihanna, even though everybody knows she's sposed to be with CB. I think Chris just got caught up in tryna turn a ho into a housewife... or the R&B version of it.

The moral of the story is, R&B couples don't work. Tammi and Marvin didn't make it. And we all know what happened with Whitney and Bobby... just a pair of star-crossed lovers.

EDIT: and here's the video of The Dream putting Rihanna's bidness in the street.

Knives and Nails

So Far Gone, chopped and screwed. This is gonna be a good weekend. Click the album cover.

So Far Gone > Mixtape About Nothing

I said it.

Nicks, Dimes, & Dubs

Kid Cudi - Day N Nite

New Deal

K'Naan - The Great Depression

For the Philly heads, K'Naan is at World Cafe on March 2.

Breath like some thunder

I kinda just wanted to say that. Pat's latest. Click the album cover.

Jägerbombs!

Cubic Zirconia Mixtape Volume 1: CZ Does London

All you need to know is it involves Tiombe Lockhart and features a dead prez/art of noise mashup. And that's just the first 5 minutes. Get to clickin'. It's one long mp3. More info here.

Play cold.

Drake - Congratulations

The bonus track from the physical copy of Drake's latest. Dropped yesterday, but hey, if he can be a day late, so can I.

I Hate Niggas (The Sequel To "I Heart Niggas")

Remember this nigga?

Not a day removed from All-Star Weekend and Zach couldn't wait to put hands on white folks... and this guy nonetheless.

How to Make a Grape Sandwich

Rachel Ray, eat your heart out.

Buffering...

Kanye was all over the internets today.

Kanye is a fool

Normally I wouldn't post this, but this dood is funny as a mug. Real talk, Cam'ron and Kanye need to team up on Cam's Larry David-themed sitcom.

The Bell Jar

The latest from Tahiry's boyfriend. Click the album cover to download.

Relax, Relate, Release.

I woulda had this to yall earlier, but the wireless is actin up. Click the album cover to download.

You can't tell me this ain't a go-go beat

Listen to the first 8 seconds and fast forward to 5:28 to the end. You can't tell me that don't sound like the beginning of any good live show. Much respect.

Video's great too.

How can you not find this exciting?

Joe Budden - "In My Sleep" Promo from Three/21 Films on Vimeo.

Parker Report, Take Notes

A REAL conversation between hip-hop legends. I said it: legends.

Ignorant S---.

^click the album cover to download^

Straight face. It's an album cover. Click it to download. Do not sleep. I tried to told yall... Niggas can't outdo me. I be on some other ish...

And if you don't bang with this, you on some ignorant sh--. This goes hard. Black History Month is a historic month as far as good music releases. This is no disappointment. And oh, it doesn't drop til April I think? Maybe March. Hmm...

open:close

Coming soon.

Happy Valentine's Day

Consider this the first official leak off RNLC 5.

A Day Late

Remember this guy? Well, turns out, the nigga could rap--WELL. So Far Gone, his latest mixtape, quietly had the internets in a tizzy cuz it was sposed to be released yesterday. I guess homey took his cue from General Weezy and decided that release dates are arbitrary except for creating and maintaining hype. Click the album cover to download.

I definitely didn't give him his due initially, but honestly, I wrote the first post off the strength of the cover art, and his DeGrassi resume. I'm also a certified hater. I was quickly converted into a fan after I actually listened to Comeback Season. And the anonymous post by The Conscientious Observer was posted on the strength of its opening Drake quote.

Once again, I haven't listened to this one yet. (School just ended. Kids just left.) But on the strength of the leaks off this mixtape, especially "Say What's Real," and his recent features and guest verses, I'll be disappointed if it's anything less than outstanding.

I'm using the OG link cuz I'm still at school and it actually helps consolidate homey's numbers, but if it starts acting up, lemme know and I'll re-up.

YEEEAAAHHH! GET MONEY! OOHHH!

Reasons why I'm posting this:
1. I think Weezy ghost mic'd the last part of Soulja Boy's verse, beginning with "knick knack paddy wack, give a dog a bone..."
2. I do recall Weezy saying "white benz, crome wheels/like a napkin on a nickel." Am I alone in calling that line brilliant?
3. This song, ignorance not-notwithstanding, goes hard.
4. Don't have to worry bout gettin posts deleted. 8-)