jGerson
jGerson: If I only had one staff pick this week it would be Big K.R.I.T.’s debut album, Live From The Underground. I can’t lie, Return Of 4Eva is still in steady rotation in my iTunes, but LFTU is the epitome of what a southern rap album should be. From soulful melodies to trunk rattling beats, LFTU is very well rounded and a excellent major label showing from K.R.I.T. My personal favorite joints include the single, “I Got This,” “Live From The Underground,” “Porchlight” and “Don’t Let Me Down.”
Staying on the southern rap tip, I must applaud Killer Mike for the set of visuals to “Big Beast.” The track which also features T.I., Bun B, and Future was laced with an ill mini-movie in which Mike cuts out a robber’s tongue and….well, you know what, just peep the damn thing for yourself.
I was also feeling “Popped Off,” the T.I. / Dr. Dre collabo. Yes, this track dropped months ago, but we were blessed with the final version this week which sounds great. By the way, how obvious is it that Eminem wrote Dre’s verse? I kind of like this more than “Topless,” too. So when’s Detox dropping, again?
T.I. “Popped Off” ft Dr. Dre (prod. Dr. Dre)
J Harmony: First things first, I want to give a big congratulations to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder for making it to the NBA Finals. With them knocking out fierce competition left and right, it’s safe to say that it’s the start of a new era in basketball. That being said, I was disappointed to see the Celtics lose their series the way they did. While the Heat are a great team, I don’t think they have what it takes to knock off the Thunder. #ThunderUp.
This week, Hit-Boy released “Jay-Z Interview,” a music video showcasing his first commercial attempt at rapping. With a title like “Jay-Z Interview” I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The video itself is very well made and chronicles Hit-Boy’s crazy life during the last few months. The style of video is almost reminiscent of Kanye’s breakout “Through The Wire” and even features clips of Kanye in it. Is Hit-Boy set to be the next big producer/rapper combo?
Keeping things G.O.O.D., after The-Dream provided vocals for Pusha T’s “Exodus 23:1,” Pusha returned the favor, spitting a verse on The-Dream’s latest track, “Dope B*tch.” The two definitely have some good chemistry together. Hopefully this won’t be the last we hear from them.
The-Dream “Dope B*tch” ft Pusha T
Serge: A week and a half ago, I got the chance to check out Ice T’s documentary, The Art Of Rap. It breaks down the history of the art, from it’s humble beginnings to what it has become now. It features artists like Eminen, Nas, Joe Budden, Doug E. Fresh, KRS-One, and plenty of others talking about their come ups, and even dropping verses. This is one of the better films on Hip-Hop that I have seen in a while, and it’s worth checking out. The film drops this week, June 15th, so check it out if you can.
Euro_Perez: So, Kanye and his G.O.O.D. music team came out with the “Mercy” video and it didn’t disappoint. It goes away from the green screen that most people use for their videos for stationary shoots. Instead, they’re in what seems to be a parking lot and let the camera and editing help make this video very impressionable. Just see the video if you been under a rock and haven’t seen it yet…
The other video that I was feeling for other reasons was that Danny Brown “Grown Up” joint. It has this younger Danny Brown going through growing stages and being a bad ass as well. It also has the story behind loosing his teeth which is pretty funny yet cool.
