The Digs

No hip-hop today. Instead I'm going to post some nice clothes from one of my favorite skateboard/street wear companies Diamond Supply Company. Diamond was started in 1998 by Nick Tershay and has grown into one of the top American street wear companies maintaining its prestige within the skateboard industry and also on the streets of Los Angeles to New York. Here is a little bit of what is to come.

Diamond x Greg Street t-shirt collab. Since it is a hip-hop blog, why not?

Adjustable corduroy hats! I would like to get my hands on these.

The Diamond "coach" jacket.

These are the Air Jordan 2010 "W3lcome Home" basketball shoes. The "W3lcome Home" is for Dwayne Wade and his native Chicago. Wade is a free agent next year, maybe Chi will scoop him up.

That is all for now, if you want, check out Diamond Supply Co.

The Haps

Not much to post about right now. I got Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and as expected became some what addicted to it. Really got into Cam'ron's Boss of All Bosses 2 mixptape, which I linked for download a few posts ago. I'd like to point your attention to Tinchy Stryder's Star in the Hood album. I am definitely a British hip-hop enthusiast, as weird as that sounds coming from a North American, but Tinchy has talent. I was introduced to his album Catch 22 a few months ago, which is a more pop chart inspired album, with less "grime" content. Star in the Hood is much more grime, which is, to me, what British hip-hop is. Thanks to Kellen Barrett for bringing Star in the Hood to my attention.

Otherwise, the Celtics have had nothing short of a disappointing run since Kevin Garnett's injury, with a record below .500 since that fateful day KG's knee gave out again. At least they beat the Clippers last night by 6.

That is basically it for now. Schools in session.

Oh Canada!

I don't think it could have turned out any better.

Check Out: DJ Premier

I am confident that even if you don't know who DJ Premier is, you've heard a beat that he has made. He is acclaimed as one of the best producers of all-time due to his classic material, longevity and not to mention his influence in the New York hip-hop scene.

Born in H-Town, Texas, Premier moved back and forth between New York and Houston before settling in Brooklyn. He then began collaborating with artists in the late eighties - at the time he was known as the Waxmaster C. He is most famous for being the instrumental half of the duo Gang Starr with MC Guru. His influences range from some of eighties most prominent producers, DJs and turntablists like Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, Jam Master Jay, Marley Marl and more. Aside from working with Guru, Premier entirely produced Jeru the Damaja's first two albums The Sun Rises in the East and Wrath of Math - both widely praised for lyricism and production.

Premier's sound is unmatched when it comes to 90s hip-hop in Brooklyn. His use of aggressive piano, string and horn loops and scratching bring all of the important elements of the grimy New York City rap scene. After releasing albums under Gang Starr and Jeru's The Sun Rises in the East, Premier did some work on Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, Nas's Illmatic and Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt to name a few. Since then he has gone on to produce even more classic works for renowned artists like Kool G Rap, Ludacris, M.O.P., Big L, Royce 5'9", D'Angelo and many, many more. His main market is from New York rappers looking for that authentic east coast sound.

Some of my favorite Premier beats:

Jeru the Damaja - Come Clean

Gang Starr - Full Clip

Gang Starr - 1/2 & 1/2 Feat. M.O.P.

Big L - The Big Picture Intro

Notorious B.I.G. - Kick In The Door

Nas - Represent

Ludacris - MVP

KRS-One - I Can't Wake Up

Scratch That!

I decided to scratch my top 25 beat list for a number of reasons. One, I thought I would be able to step up the challenge, however, I couldn't even narrow it down to under one hundred beats. And as much as I would hate to admit it, there is simply too much out there that I don't know about - although I disclaim that they were "my personal favorites".

Instead, I am going to have a segment about producers every now and again called something along the lines of Producer Profiles to hopefully familiarize everyone with some top notch producers and DJs.

For now, since I might have disappointed a few of you, I am going to post some of the tracks I had off of my extensive list of beats. Including the one that I already had picked out as my fave of all-time.

Eric B. & Rakim - Don't Sweat The Technique (Eric B.)

Gang Starr - Mass Appeal (DJ Premier)

Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.) (Kanye West)

J Dilla - Don't Cry (J Dilla)

DJ Shadow - Building Steam With A Grain of Salt (DJ Shadow)

N.W.A. - Express Yourself (DJ Yella & Dr. Dre)

Dr. Octagon - Blue Flowers (Dan the Automator)

Jeru The Damaja - D. Original (DJ Premier)

EPMD - Intro (Out of Business) (DJ Scratch)

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Pt. 2 (Havoc of Mobb Deep)

RJD2 - Ghostwriter (RJD2)

Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man (RZA of Wu-Tang Clan)

Mary J Blige - Real Love (Mark Rooney & Mark Morales)

Skateboarding Caught on Tape

The first clip is the introduction to the skate video Fully Flared. The flick itself was directed by Spike Jonze, who I'm sure you all know; Ty Evans, a legendary filmed and editor within the industry; Cory Weincheque, who I honestly do not know much about. Shooting for the video lasted over the span of four/five years and is often compared to Girl Skateboard's Yeah Right!, which features a number of the same skaters like Mike Carroll, Brandon Biebel, Eric Koston and more. There isn't much I can say about this clip. Just watch it - the first time I watched it my mind was blown.

A lot of people that don't even skateboard know of Paul Rodriguez (Jr.). He is the son of comedian Paul Rodriguez (Sr.) and easily one of the highest paid skaters ever - just don't count Ryan Sheckler. He now has his own shoe and clothing series with Nike! This clip is P-Rod's part in Yeah Right!. He was still a teen during the filming of this video. I think it's evident why he is such a big name in the industry. The two tracks are by Nas: "Get Down" and "Made You Look" instrumentals.

Here is one of my favorite parts ever. It is Tim O'Connor, one of my favorite styles in skating and Brian Wenning, a technical wizard, sharing a part in Habitat Skateboards video Mosaic. The song is "Ghostwriter" by RJD2.

Cam'ron - Boss of All Bosses II

Hey y'all. Cam'ron and DJ Drama released a new mixtape the other day titled Boss of All Bosses II and it is available for legal download online. The tape is decent, nice production, as expected from a Drama tape, and the lyrics aren't too bad. I always felt Cam'ron was the strongest in the Dipset camp with exception to JR Writer so this album is absolutely bearable. Give it a whirl, its nothing breakthrough, but its nice and I'm sure you'll like at least a couple of tracks. Vado goes pretty hard on it.

Download

Album Covers, Pt. 2

Here are a few more album covers I like. There are surely a lot more out there, I'm just showing these for now.

Dreddy Kruger & Think Differently Music - Wu-Tang Meets Indie Culture

Rick James - Street Songs

Jedi Mind Tricks - Violent By Design

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return to the 36 Chambers

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis

What's New?

Sean Price a.k.a. Sean Wiggins a.k.a. the brokest rapper you know has a new video with Skyzoo and Torae titled "Duck Down". Click the link for the YouTube video.

Mobb Deep affiliate Big Noyd just released a track titled "Poker Face," sounds like some late nineties QBC/NYC rap. Feelin' it!

Bun B has a track titled "2 Damn Trill," which I am assuming is from a mixtape. Goes pretty hard.

After I heard French Montana's "I'm So Special" off of a Max B & Dame Grease's mixtape "Goon Musik 1.5" I always kept an ear out for him. Now he's got a new track titled "Go Hard" that is pretty solid.

I'll end this update with Joell Ortiz and Cory Gunz's track titled "Line Em Up". Enjoy!

Face Palm to the Max

Brooklyn's Finest is pretty much my favorite track of all time, so I was a little shocked to read one specific comment on facebook yesterday. Blurred out the credentials just because lolfbmoments.com does.

Greatest Hits, V3: The Notorious B.I.G.

Another artist that already has a Greatest Hits album, however, I like mine more.

B.I.G. has always been one of my favorites of all-time. Unstoppable flow combined with some shocking lyrics and horrific gangster stories that can paint a picture clear. A salute to Brooklyn's finest.

The bulk of these tracks come from either Ready to Die or Life After Death, easily Biggie's best work. However, I could not leave out the track "Come On" off of Born Again and also a thirteenth bonus track.

1. Warning

2. Gimme The Loot

3. Machine Gun Funk

4. Big Poppa

5. Juicy

6. One More Chance

7. Notorious Thugs Feat. Bone Thugs N Harmony

8. Kick In The Door

9. Ten Crack Commandments

10. I Love The Dough Feat. Jay-Z & Angela Winbush

11. Niggas Bleed

12. Come On Feat. Sadat X

13. Mo Money Mo Problems Feat. Mase & Puff Daddy (Bonus)

Boombox, V12

I thought I would do a quick update before taking a much needed afternoon nap. I'll start off with a little basketball. The Celtics have not been doing so well since Kevin Garnett got injured late December with more losses since Christmas day than the rest of the year. On a better note, Rajon Rondo has been killing it, getting a triple double against the Raptors on Sunday and scoring 26 points and seven assists last night in Boston's 102-96 loss to the Hawks. Hopefully Garnett's knee heals quickly and he can re-join the line-up in the games to come.

Now on to some hip-hop music.

This time around I am going to recommend some tracks from the 80s. Here we go:

Public Enemy - Night Of The Living Baseheads

Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full

De La Soul - Say No Go

Slick Rick - Children's Story

EPMD - I'm Housin'

Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force - Looking For The Perfect Beat

Eazy-E - We Want Eazy

N.W.A. - Gangsta Gangsta

Album Covers, Pt. 1

For lack of better updates combined with the fact that my friend Kellen does this on his blog, I present you with some hip-hop album covers I have enjoyed over the years whether artistic, wacky, colorful, unique, smooth or cool. Here we go with installment one:

Wale - Attention Deficit

A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory

J Dilla - Jay Love Japan

Dru Down - Can You Feel Me

Dizzee Rascal - Tongue N Cheek

Beastie Boys - To The 5 Boroughs

N.W.A. - Greatest Hits

Brand Nubian - One For All

Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock

De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising

The 2010 Forecast

Hey all, my number of updates are dwindling... no surprise with all this school work on my desk, but I feel like doing a little update regardless.

This update will forecast my most anticipated albums for 2010:

The Roots - How I Got Over - From the Late Night studio to the recording studio, The Roots are doing work. ?uestlove confirmed a new album release that will be politically driven, but in a positive way - this is an obvious reference to the Obama administration. Some confirmed guests include The Seed 2.0's feature Cody ChestnuTT; Blu; Phonte from Little Brother; Young Chris, who teamed up with Black Thought on Wale's Back to the Feature track "Hot Shit," and many more. Potential to be the 2010 favorite.

Ludacris - Battle of the Sexes - Ludacris featuring a handful of female artists (but not exclusively female)... could be fun. More mainstream and playful than Theater of the Mind & Release Therapy, I think we can all expect some classic Luda.

Kanye West - TBA - If it happens I hope that West takes it back to his playful rhyme style and not so much an 808 & Heartbreak.

Slaughterhouse - TBA - Rumors are circulating, but to my knowledge nothing has been confirmed. Their self-titled album was hard as fuck, hopefully their sophomore release, if it happens, will be as appealing as their first.

Dr. Dre - Detox - With Relapse and Before I Self Destruct out of the way, there is just a little less work for Dre to do for his proteges. Hopefully this will encourage him to do more of his own work in the booth instead of beat making.

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty - The album is basically finished, and will not be released with Andre 3000's solo album unlike Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Of the couple of leaked tracks, Shine Blockas was my fave.

Andre 3000 - TBA - Like Big Boi, 3000 is due to release an album soon enough. Hopefully we get some of The Love Below quality as Andre will most likely handle the production and feature a minimal, yet talented, group of artists.

T.I. - TBA - I'm personally not over enthused with how some southern artists are taking their music, but I always enjoyed T.I.'s flow and production. Hopefully his post-jail release will be a solid ATL classic that stays away from the likes of Gucci Mane.

That is all for now. There will most likely be more later.

Kick Push Fall

School is back in motion and I'll unfortunately be slow to update at times. So for lack of anything to post, here is a collection of clips from a forum post of rappers bailing on stage. Wonderful for the most part. I also added a Young Buck motorbike wipeout.

Young Buck

Dizze Rascal

Rick Ross

Lupe Fiasco

Lil Wayne

Beyonce

Drake

Keeping it Festive: Top 10 Tracks of 2009

Like every other music source online, on paper or on TV, I am still going to go strong on music lists. This list is my top 10 tracks of 2009. Of course, the song needs to be released in 2009 to meet regulation standards. Here we go.

10. Jadakiss - Grind Hard (Feat. Mary J Blige)

9. Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

8. Wu Tang Clan - Ill Figures

7. Wale - Say It Again (Feat. Royce 5'9")

6. Slaughterhouse - Not Tonight

5. Mos Def - Auditorium (Feat. Slick Rick)

4. Bone Thugs N Harmony - See Me Shine (Feat. Jay Rush)

3. Raekwon - House of Flying Daggers (Feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface & Method Man)

2. Big Boi - Shine Blockas (Feat. Gucci Mane)

1. Wale - Life's A Bitch (Feat. Talib Kweli & Joell Ortiz)

Nothing too surprising here. A lot of these tracks have been previously mentioned on the blog. Wale's Back to the Feature was a classic 2009 release in my books. It got tons of playtime over the year and still has its replay value. Life's A Bitch has been easily my most played song this year - can't go wrong with Wale, Talib and Joell on the same track.

Honorable Mentions:

Classified - Quit While You're Ahead (Feat. Moka Only, Choclair, Maestro)

Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind (Feat. Alicia Keys)

Redman - Coc Back (Feat. Ready Roc)

Jay Electronica - Exhibit C

Lil' Wayne - Sawg Surfing

Wale - Hot Shit

I would also like to wish everyone a happy new years! I spent mine at Robbie Leban's (half of Young Cadence) place with my girlfriend and some great friends and company. It was also nice to have some brief hip-hop conversations with Kellen, who was back for the holidays. It was like a Mount Allison blogspot meet-up... Sounded cooler at the time.

Cheers!