Gucci Mane (feat. Lil Wayne) - Runnin’ Circles (Mixtape, 2013)
Is this Gucci’s “My”? Gucci’s having a lot of fun on Trap God 2, which is revitalizing after the anger sprayed off in every direction on the first installment. He also utilizes Zay more on this tape than he has in years, no doubt as a result of his resurgence after his work on Street Lottery.
Drake (feat. Lil Wayne & Tyga) - The Motto (Young Money, 2011)
How Wayne manages to look the most suspect in a video with Drake and Tyga, I’ll never know, but the video itself succeeds thanks to some finely timed cameos and Tyga’s weird methods of space travel.
Also, Chase N. Cashe. Seriously, this dude’s work as of late has been excellent, and I can’t wait for 2012, which will undoubtedly be an even bigger year for his production.
Master P - TMZ (Too Many Zeros) drops on November 16th. LiveMixtapes says it’s his first music in ten years, but his 2006 project proves that’s greartly exaggerated.
Lil Wayne - Sorry 4 The Wait (YMCMB, 2011)
Noz pretty much covered the general ideas and problems with this mixtape by listening to one song. Like No Ceilings was, this is cookie-cutter Wayne; Wayne doing his best impression of himself, or at least what he once was. I wish I could say this release is depressing, but I think the majority of us gave up on the young Carter (the old one too) sometime in 2008. Wayne sounds about as bored rapping as I do listening to him, but the Young Money fanbase’ll eat this shit up with no complaints. And that’s who this mixtape is made for; those naive, overly loyal kids who still think Wayne is the shit just because defecation is his favorite subject.
As I keep telling people who ask me when the Carter IV is dropping, or what I think about Wayne - I don’t really care anymore. We don’t really need Wayne anymore. His influence lives on in every active rapper but himself.
Lil Wayne - I Hate Love (internet, 2011)
This is over a month old, but I still can’t really get over how great it is, especially compared to the second official single, John - it seems that a significant amount of people are coming around to that record after the video was released (and the video is, as random as it is, pretty great), but I still feel the only thing redeemable from that record is Ross’ second verse, which is just delivered on a collassal (even for Ricky) scale. I Hate Love is a lot closer to what I’d rather hear from Wayne; it sorta continues the prog-rock vibes of lone-Rebirth stand-out Drop The World, with a very strong presence of guitars and tinny drums; but it’s offset by what’re some of the most revealing lyrics Wayne’s done since, well, Single. The atmosphere is very inviting, those opening synths welcoming you to what is about to be one of Weezy’s rare modern-epics.
Unfortunately, this won’t be on Tha Carter IV, which still has promise despite a terrible second single and ever worse cover. That was pushed back to June 21st; which is completely fine because GOBLIN will be here in less than two weeks, and I’m pretty sure that’ll dominate my 2011 musically.
I wrote about Curren$y’s Covert Coup over at No Jumper because I’m no slouch (also because I really like Spitta and this shit is fucking great). Check that out!
Chris Brown (feat. Busta Rhymes & Lil’ Wayne) - Look At Me Now (Jive, 2011)
Chris Brown’s upcoming F.A.M.E. is his first true post-Rihanna album, because everyone was still obsessing about how he socked that bitch in her mouth when Graffiti came out, making the music an afterthought. How does it hold up? Better than Rihanna’s latest, LOUD, at least, although it certainly won’t do the same numbers that album did. Brown is definitely one of the more interesting commercial R&B singers, especially with JT continuing to focus on his film career and The-Dream being unable to even get a gold plaque on his own music (he sure does rake in the dough with all those songs he writes for others, though). He’s one of the few Michael Jackson-impersonators who don’t come off horribly awkward; this is because he has a decent pen-game, a subtle, underappreciated voice and a good ear for music. Only some of that is present on this record - because really, Look At Me Now isn’t really Breezy’s show.
Look At Me Now is a record that is pretty much dedicated to showcasing sharp tongues (pause) - both Wayne and (especially) Busta bust this track down, Wayne speeding up his cadence to pleasent results and Busta just fucking shutting shit down on his verse using his signature what the fuck?! delivery. Chris handles the chorus, as he should, and his verses in the beginning aren’t nearly as bad as others are making them out to be. He’s not a good rapper, but he’s certainly not a horrible one either - he should definitely stick to singing either way, and don’t worry, folks, he will.
But the people truly behind the magic of this song are Diplo and Afrojack, who crafted perhaps the best beat heard thus far in 2011. A big, sprawling electronic epic, this beat goes in so many directions, all of them as fascinating as the last. Sounding very alien (or maybe L-E-N?) in nature, the extra-terrestrial qualities that this beat carries allow everyone on the track to adapt their flows specifically for the beat, making everyone aboard, including Chris, sound like their spacecraft just crashed nearbye, and their only method of communicating with the local residents is through rhyme; which would explain why Bus and Wayne are rapping with such a purpose, like their lives depended on it.
Lil’ Wayne (feat. Cory Gunz) - 6’7” (Cash Money, 2010)
How could anyone who loves rap ignore this? Mack Maine apparently described this song as A Milli on steroids, and that’s probably the only true thing Mack’s ever said; this crazy Bangladesh beat (yes, the problems are resolved) prove once again that his frantic, bass-heavy, minimalistic-sampling tracks bring out the best in Wayne. This is the first post-prison song I’ve heard from Wayne personally, and to say he sounds inspired would be an understatement. Not only is he rapping well again, which he’s pretty much been doing since No Ceilings, but he’s rapping with the energy that’s been sorely missing from all his recent material, save Bill Gates and maybe I Am Not A Human Being. Cory Gunz still isn’t all that impressive to me, but he doesn’t detract anything from the song at hand. Wayne’s charisma is absolutely seeping (ayo) through the speakers on this song, and it’s hard not to smile and chant SIX FOOT, SEVEN FOOT, EIGHT FOOT, HUT! along with the sample.
Gucci Mane Returns To Mizay Management
Jay Electronica Signs To Roc Nation
so, two of the most popular rappers on the internet towards the end of the Aughts have both made changes in their management and label situations, respectively. Between 07 and 09, both of these guys had a heavy internet presence, Gucci being the quintessential street-rapper and Jay Electronica being that weird fucking guy that just happens to be dope.In 2010, both of them have moved into a commercial consciousness, and their spots on the net have been filled by Waka Flocka Flame and Lil B (you can argue all you want, like B or not, his mystique is incredibly similar to Jay Electronica’s; the only difference is Lil B has made a thousand songs and Jay Electronica has made about thirty).
Recently, both of them have made big decisions in their career; I’ll talk about Gucci first because I’m obviously biased towards him. Returning to Mizay may seem like a terrible choice financially (that was the reason he left to begin with), but seeing as his music has kinda suffered since he departed from the label, maybe this re-union of Gucci and Antney will help get Gucci back to crafting the same stature of songs that he was making during the So Icey era. He’ll actually have a reason to be in the same roomwith OJ and Waka again (which could certainly help both of them out a lot, as they both, more specifically OJ, were at their most creative when Gucci was in their corner). It was always obvious that Gucci was close to Antney (to the point she signed her son and nephew to his record label, and mentored both), and even though her accountants may’ve put some dents in Gucci’s account by shorting him of money and booking him while he was imprisoned, it’s probably best that Gucci’s surrounded by the people assisted him in getting this far.
The Union Of Jay’s is a different story, though. I’m not particularly fond of anyone on Roc Nation as of right now (and that includes Jay-Z in 2010), so Jay Elec sitting on the same shelf as J. Cole and Willow Smith is kinda unsettling to me. Obviously, signing to Roc Nation was a far better choice than Bad Boy, where he would’ve dropped one album and got the Black Rob, G. Dep, Shyne, Lox- anyone not named Diddy - treatment, but certainly there had to be more reasonable options than signing with Sean Corey. Apparently Hov offered him an offer he couldn’t refuse (threesome with Rihanna and Beyonce?), but I don’t know how this will efect his career in the long run. Granted, Roc Nation did do wonders for hyping up J. Cole, who is about as boring as watching grass grow, so they should be able to find a way to throw Jay Electronica into the fold (maybe a guest appearance on the next Willow Smith album? oh God). At the same time, they failed Wale, who had a fucking song with Lady Gaga; who’s to say they’re not going to fuck up Jay Electronica, a guy who raps like The Riddler and looks like Bill Cosby?
I’m very interested in hearing a suit called The Shiny Suit Theory, though.
OJ Da Juiceman - I Talk To My Car (missed opportunities, 2009)
So, last night, when listening to Red Flame, Hugh Hefner came on, and I expected another Bitches On My Dick track; instead, I pretty much got Lil B’s rendition of Curren$y’s Michael Knight, complete with reference to that song as well as the skoodoodoodoo. Then I listened to Waka’s new song, Gangsta Hop, off Waka Flocka Myers, and I heard Waka namedrop KITT. Then I remembered this song; one of the most hilarious songs OJ ever created, and honestly one of of the last times I genuinely enjoyed listening to his music. I think this was the first time I recall hearing about Michael, KITT, and the whole Knight Rider meaning very expensive car with GPS gimmick that’s becoming ever so popular today.
Back in 2009 OJ could pretty much do no wrong (at least in my eyes), and he was starting trends weekly, it seemed. Asylum never capitalized on the full potential of OJ, and he pretty much was forgotten about when Gucci’s more serious (and talented) homie Flocka become far more popular than OJ ever was. Nowadays he’s rehashing everything that made his music fun on lackluster mixtapes, and God only knows what happened to his relationship with Gucci.
What I’m trying to get at here is the fact that rap is so resemblant of high shool, and this whole Michael Knight thing is the latest trend (and I’m sure it won’t stop until that Knight Rider movie is made here soon). I’m still surprised Lil B hasn’t made a song called David Hasselhoff yet, although I’m sure he will now. Actually, Based God, make a whole mixtape inspired by Bay Watch! call it Based Watch!
I’m tired. What other weird, obscure trends has hip-hop embraced that seem completely nerdy from any other point of view? Super heros were big for awhile, and still kinda are. But has anything else taken the hip-hop world by storm that really shouldn’t have?
aside from this guy:
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