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It Should've Stayed Lost - 50 Cent and DJ Drama Revisit Gangsta Grillz

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Thu, 24 May 12 03:30:00 GMT

There was a time, right before the Justice Department gave up what little pretense remained of their original mission statement and became a full time enforcer for the RIAA/MPAA, that the "mixtape" was a legitimate avenue to hip hop success. What originally began as a way for DJs like Brucie B to advertise their services back in the early 80's was transformed, in no small part by one Curtis Jackson, into a relatively cheap, supremely effective, promotional tool focused on the emcee. Taking a cue from mixtape entrepreneur turned pseudo-celebrity DJ Clue, who spent so much time talking over each song in the name of self promotion that he became something of a running joke in hip hop, Jackson went one step further and turned each of his mixtapes into an hour long musical infomercial for 50 Cent The Brand rather than 50 Cent The Emcee. The rapping on his mixtapes was besides the point - of the dozens of hits that he jacked for beats, only one or two of his mixtape remakes offered up any memorable innovation over the original (for example Give It To Me's achievement of being even less subtle than Busta Rhymes' clumsy collaboration with Mariah Carey) - so much so that the highlight of each song invariably arrived when 50 gave up the charade of trying to string together words that rhymed and began speaking directly to the audience, focusing his rage and wit on whatever rapper, label owner, boxer, or celebrity happened to be the easiest target at the moment. (Clearly aware that his rantings had become the main draw, 50 Cent eventually brought that same approach to his official releases as well with the high/low point being the use of one of Pete Rock's best beats as a backdrop for a two minute dialog covering topics as diverse as what he charged Ghaddafi for a personal performance to the role he played in The Game's regrettable decision to have a butterfly tattooed on his face.)

With 50's success, and the subsequent success of his G-Unit crew, his approach to mixtapes became a blueprint that other up-and-coming artists would follow to achieve mainstream success. Perhaps the most successful was DJ Drama, a dj who made up for his lack of skill behind the turntables with a knack for marketing and promotion. His "Gangsta Grillz" series of mixtapes became so successful that they not only generated hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue (allegedly), they also turned Drama into something of a Kingmaker within hip hop (proof of which being the fact that his selection of Asher Roth for a Gangsta Grillz feature briefly turned the college fratboy/rap hobbyist into a buzzworthy emcee).

The days of the mixtape being a jumping off point to a successful rap career abruptly came to an end during the late hours of January 15th, 2007, when an Atlanta SWAT team, directed onsite by employees of the RIAA, raided Drama's office and had him and his business partner, and fellow dj, Don Cannon arrested. He was initially charged with owning unregistered firearms - which the national media, seemingly being fed talking points by the RIAA, breathlessly reported as being a stockpile equivalent to that of the Koresh compound's - but the true crime was making money off of mixtapes without giving the RIAA a cut of the profits. Thus marked the end of an era for the mixtape, as the majority of commercial outlets for the tapes shut down within hours in fear of further reprisals; it certainly didn't slow the tide of mixtape releases themselves, as any and every basement emcee with a pirated copy of protools and photoshop began pumping out tapes faster than gmail's spam filter could block them, but it was never again as effective a tool for establishing an artist (Odd Future being a notable, recent exception) or for keeping an established artist within the limelight.

The purpose of my recapping events from the previous decade is twofold: first, to put the recent collaboration between DJ Drama and 50 Cent - Gangsta Grillz: The Lost Tape - into context. Second, and more importantly, is that the history of the mixtape is far more interesting than 50 and Drama's latest contribution to it. What once would have been a significant event, the joining of forces between two mixtape giants, has inspired little more than repetitious, perfunctory blog posts regurgitating the original email blast that announced the release. Deservedly so because, though there are a couple of tracks on The Lost Tape that show signs of the energy and passion for rapping that 50 Cent once had in his Power of a Dollar days, for the most part this offering is utterly forgettable beyond the names that appear on the cover of the tape. It's a watered down version of 50 Cent's previous mixtapes and it's something of an insult, both to the listener and to his former Queensbridge nemesis, that he would jack the title of Nas' album for this. Perhaps the strongest reaction this tape is likely to provoke is a brief bit of bemusement at the cynical decision to tag the AraabMuzik produced song Murder One with "Featuring Eminem," despite the fact that Eminem appears just long enough to mumble twelve words ("I was thinkin'...you should go back to the old 50 Cent").

There are a couple of noteworthy moments on The Lost Tape, however. For those of you who have been around this site long enough to remember our first mixtape in 2005, you'll be excited to know that Precious Paris, the female emcee who recorded a couple of songs for the classic "33Jones Mix-Mas 2005" tape, resurfaces on a track with 50 and Snoop Dogg. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but let's all take a moment to appreciate the fact that I was seven years ahead of 50 Cent on that one:

50 Cent featuring Snoop Dogg and Precious Paris - Remain Calm (right-click to d/l)

And here's what is perhaps the best cut off of The Lost Tape, which features 50 rapping in his Columbia Records-era flow:

50 Cent - You a Killer, Cool (right-click to d/l)

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Smoker's Karma for Alex Ludovico (Marlboro 27s)

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Mon, 21 May 12 06:30:00 GMT

Alex Ludovico - Marlboro 27s

If your aversion to cigarette smoke is as strong as mine, there's a good chance that you've never been exposed to the concept of "Smoker's Karma." Simply put, the idea is that if you're generous enough to give out a free loosie to a fellow addict that act of charity will eventually be reciprocated in a sort of cancer-promoting version of Paying It Forward. There's an underlying cynicism to it, an unspoken acknowledgement that while the recipient may not be paying for the cigarette with money, they'll eventually be paying for it with their health.

With Alex Ludovico's musical rumination on this concept, Marlboro 27s, the Atlanta transplant offers up a similarly nuanced view of repaying favors within the music industry. Ludo's embrace of emo/punk/hipster culture was a couple of years ahead of the rest of hip hop, in small part paving the way for a whole generation of emcees that found commercial success by adopting a similar " target="_blank">look, sound and lifestyle. Yet he's still waiting for that karma to be repaid through recognition by, or collaboration with, those who found fame and fortune on the trails that he helped blaze before them.

Given that this song was recorded during the same time as Fame Kills (and it's original title, Wayne Mclaren, continues the theme of dead celebrities from Fame Kills), an album that spent much of it's time dwelling on the downside of celebrity, there's something of a conflict of interest in his request for payback. And given that the song was originally titled Wayne McLaren - the man behind the "Marlboro Man" ad campaign of the 70's and 80's who later died from lung cancer - he's clearly aware of the conflict. Having recently passed along word that he's got three new projects in the works, and a Tupacian 65 songs waiting for release, he seems willing to take the risk, however.

Here's the mp3:

Alex Ludovico - Marlboro 27s (right-click to d/l)

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Slik D - Blown as Possible (Southern Cali Hip Hop)

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Sun, 13 May 12 06:30:00 GMT

Slik D - Blown as Possible

I must be slipping, because this kid Slik D has been amassing tens of thousands of hits on his videos and mixtapes over the past couple of years but I had never heard of him until I stumbled across Blown this morning. Apparently he's been making some noise in the Southern Cali underground circuit, but if he keeps pumping out weed anthems of this quality he should have no trouble gaining a national following among stoners and hip hop heads alike.

Here's one more video from Slik:

Slik D - Pass The Tea

For more from Slik D, check out his website Good Vibes.

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Zilla Rocca and Small Professor Reenact The Wire (Part 2)

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Thu, 10 May 12 06:30:00 GMT

As a companion piece of sorts to Curly Castro's recent ode to West Bal'more's Detective Bunk Moreland, Zilla Rocca has put together his own tribute to Bunk's partner in crime (fighting) Jimmy McNulty. As usual Small Professor sets the scene with his typically incredible beat work, while Mr. Rocca uses the hard drinking life and times of Detective McNulty as inspiration for a rather memorable verse:

Zilla Rocca - McNulty (produced by Small Professor) (right-click to d/l)

As I understand it, Bunk and McNulty are intended as a one-off coupling of songs. However, I'm hoping that the rest of Zilla's extended crew find themselves similarly inspired by The Wire and keep the trend alive. Ethel Cee as Kima, anyone?

Previously:
Curly Castro - Bunk (produced by Small Professor)

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Mally - Shine (Video)

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Sun, 6 May 12 06:30:00 GMT

Mally - Shine (produced by The Sundance Kid)

Following up on the release of his most succesful single to date, Shine - at least if success is to be defined by the metrics of downloading and streaming - Mally recently dropped a video for it as well. With visuals as clean as the Jordan 4's on his feet, the video for Shine is so good even Okayplayer took notice of it. Here's hoping that okp and the rest of the internet continue to show him love once his next album, The Last Great..., drops on May 15th.

If you missed it, you can download Shine over here.

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Chicago's Highest Low bring back that ol' Boom Bap

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Mon, 30 Apr 12 18:30:00 GMT

The Highest Low - Boom Bap

Further confirming my initial impression of The Highest Low as a group more intent on recreating (and further evolving) the sound of mid-90's hip hop than following the latest sonic trends of the genre, the Chicago duo of Just Wise and Snotty Pippen recently dropped a new video that is not only called "Boom Bap," but also references a line from the classic Choice Is Yours. As if to further prove its throwback credentials, the clip even makes use of that staple of 90's videos, the fisheye lens.

Boom Bap is off of The Highest Low's newest album, Insomnia, which you can cop for free over on their bandcamp page. As with everything I've heard from the group thus far, it's well worth a look.

Previously from The Highest Low:
I Heart Chicago
Starvin' Artist

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Blaise B. is not The Same as these other rappers (Chicago Hip Hop)

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Mon, 23 Apr 12 18:30:00 GMT

Blaise B - The Same

The homie Airospace put me up on this video from his fellow Chicagoan Blaise Bullion. Never heard of Blaise before, but his flow over this Raz Pro beat had me looking for more of his music. I couldn't find much, but he's got a mixtape coming out soon, Confessions of a Blunthead, that I'll have to keep an eye out for.

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Wu-Tang Pulp is sounding Mighty Healthy (Zilla Rocca and Curly Castro)

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Thu, 19 Apr 12 06:30:00 GMT

(Artwork by Dr. Quandary)

I didn't want a whole week to go by without mentioning the latest offering from Zilla Rocca and Curly Castro (two thirds of the Wrecking Crew trio of emcees, along with Has-Lo) off of their upcoming Wu-Tang Pulp project, so forgive the brevity and check out Zilla's reimagining of Ghostface's Mighty Healthy:

Curly Castro and Zilla Rocca - Monty Hall Expo (left-click to stream)

Aside from 2Pac's Hologram, Wu-Tang Pulp is easily shaping up to be the greatest homage to a 90's hip hop legend that we're likely to see.

Previously from Wu-Tang Pulp:
The Boxcutter Went
Scallops
New Wu freestyle

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RIP Viro the Virus

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Sun, 15 Apr 12 18:30:00 GMT

Viro the Virus & Snowgoons - Starlight

R.I.P.

Viro the Virus - Heaven

Viro the Virus - Heaven (Live)

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Manhattan emcee Wiki takes it back to 1993

mrjones@33jones.com (Fresh) — Wed, 11 Apr 12 06:30:00 GMT

Wiki - Wikispeaks

During a recent scan through twitter (@33jones, tell a friend!), I saw that Uncommon Records founder Nasa offered up a recommendation of an emcee I had never heard of, Wiki. It's not too often you see a record label owner give props to an artist that's not on his own label, so I had to check it out and I came away quite impressed after seeing the above video.

Hailing from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Wiki seems to currently be drawing the sort of shallow comparisons to Eminem that virtually every white emcee garners when they're first discovered. Yet his unorthodox delivery and lyricism mixed with that unique brand of swagger and slang that is found among NYC kids reminds me much more of a young Cage circa 1988. Regardless, I found his EP 1993 to be quite enjoyable and coming so soon on the heels of Joey Badass and Capital Steez's Survival Tactics, it has me excited about the future of NY rap for the first time in several years.

There are a couple of hiccups on 1993 that could prevent Wiki from achieving success outside of his current underground following, however. His nonchalant appropriation of the "N-word," consistently prefixed by "Guinea," seems likely to be a point of contention for more than just one ethnic group. And the bizarre 20 minute audio clip of an interview with Christine Choy that ends the album - either an inside joke that flew over my head or an incredibly cynical approach to stretching the length of the project from a 20 minute EP to a 40 minute album - may have some customers wondering what they just spent their $5 on. Nevertheless the six songs that are on the EP are about as faithful to the spirit of 1993's era of New York hip hop - without ever pandering to nostalgia - as you're likely to find in this day and age. And that, in and of itself, is worth a few bucks.

Here's one other song off of 1993:

Wiki - Retired Sports (left-click to stream)

You can purchase Wiki's 1993 over on his bandcamp page. For even more from Wiki and his Letter Racer crew, check out his website.

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