Yela

Big things in store for Yelawolf. First off, the dude toured with Wiz Khalifa on his Waken Bake Tour, which took place this fall/winter... whatever. He also has been collaborating with a lot of heads in the game, Big Boi, Bun B, Raekwon and Gucci Mane to name a few - not to mention the fact that he dropped his major label mixtape Trunk Muzik 0-60 in November, which got favourable reviews from critics, and, as of January 12, he is now signed to Eminem's Shady Records. Big things for this guy.

If you haven't checked out Yelawolf yet (come on now), do so by legally downloading his first Trunk Muzik mixtape or get the 0-60 version with a few added tracks and a few from the original Trunk Muzik. Saw dude live at Rock the Bells and he definitely killed it, even though it was 2PM and the crowd was only starting to slowly syphon in.

Check out the latest single (or is it now Daddy's Lambo???) off of Trunk Muzik 0-60 titled "I Just Wanna Party" featuring Gucci Mane. Nice flow and I love the beat. Gucci Mane is a sweaty mess.

Boombox, V18

It's been a while since I threw some tracks out there. Here is a taste of what I've been bumpin' lately:

Kali - Move On

Kanye West - All of the Lights

DJ Kay Slay - 60 Second Assassins (Busta Rhymes, Layzie Bone, Twista, Jaz-O)

Yelawolf - I Just Wanna Party (Feat. Gucci Mane)

David Banner - Be With You (Feat. Ludacris)

OutKast - Git Up, Git Out (Feat. Goodie Mob)

Ahmad - Back in the Day

Gang Starr - Royalty

The Notorious B.I.G. - Party & Bullshit

Fabolous - Into You

ENJOI!

I'm Back & 100 Proof: The Hangover

Hi there! Long time no see. How are you? I've been good. I started to miss writing on this ol' thing so I figured why not try and get back at it?

Not a whole lot has changed around here. Still a hip-hop enthusiast. Still watching basketball every night. Still skating. So with that being said I don't think I'll have any shortage of updates in the future.

For now, and I know this isn't entirely new, I will leave you with a link to an album that came out earlier this year by DJ, producer and CEO of Showoff Records, Static Selektah. It is called 100 Proof: The Hangover. His style of production is outstanding, sharing certain characteristics with the great 9th Wonder. How can you deny that? He has worked with legendary artists like NaS, Souls of Mischief, Styles P, AZ, Q-Tip and M.O.P. and is also acclaimed in the underground and bangin' out beats for up and comers.

Get the album 100 Proof: The Hangover.

Static Selektah production credits:

Crux Crusader

Hey y'all. Some of you might know, but for those that don't, I started contributing to my boy Kellen Barrett's latest project, Crux Crusader, which covers a wider range of topics, however, my contributions will most likely similar to what I've been doing here. I'm not gonna stop updating this, although it will be slower than usual.

Check out the Crux Crusader website, just tossed up a Sire Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty review. More to come from some fine writers.

Scal Says

Wow is pretty much all I have to say.

It's a few years old, but it has gotten a little more popular since the weekend when Lebron was officially sent to Miami.

Irrelevant

I came across this Jay-Z and Chris Brown diss today by Charles Hamilton. Seriously though? He even brings out "how much better Kanye's part on 'Run This Town' was than Jay's." That shit old! Check it out - you can add this to your 2010 list of irrelevant disses that most likely won't even be addressed.

The track appears on one of Hamilton's six mixtapes that were released a few days ago. He has really been pumping em out the ass, but I don't think a diss was a good call. Oh, what an attention seeker.

PS. Yeah, that's Charles below getting punked.

Ghettosocks x Muneshine

For those in the Moncton area that enjoy some good hip-hop, I advise you to check out the poster above.

Matt Johnson a.k.a. DJ Matty Jay sent me this posted via facebook and I think it is something you should consider. I saw Ghettosocks live twice and both shows were great, plus the show is free and drink specials will ensue (who can say no to that?). So, again, refer to the poster above for all the info, the show is less than a week away. Twin Peaks is a collaboration between Ghettosocks and Muneshine, check em out here.

The Haps, Volume 2

Alright, out of boredom I thought I'd do another blog post, so here we go.

I am currently writing from Old Orchard Beach, Maine, just minutes south of Portland. I am watching the BET Awards, which is nice since I never get a chance to watch TV at home, let alone the simple fact that we don't even have BET. I am actually watching the awards with my parents, which is kind of funny because I learned a lot about my mom's musical taste on this vacation. On the way to my uncle's house in Quebec City she asked me to lend her one of my hip-hop mixes... more specifically "the one that I listen to everyday on the way to work." She then proceeded to tell me how much she loves a few of the Three 6 Mafia, Jay-Z and Hell Rell tracks on it. Yeah, seriously. Tonight she told me how much she loved Drake. Now, this is nowhere near as impressive as her liking old Jay-Z (I'm talking Brooklyn's Finest shit) and some grimey East Coast Rugger Rell, but nonetheless, I think I know where I get my passion for hip-hop from.

Anyways... like I usually do when on vacation here is my most played playlist. Check out some of these tracks.

Click to enlarge.

The Haps

I've been on the road for a few days. Ended up in Quebec City on Wednesday, which, coincidentally was Saint Jean de Baptiste day, Quebec's "national holiday," and I must say it is the biggest and probably best celebration a person can attend. I left my uncles house in Beauport, Quebec City towards the downtown area by old Quebec with my cousin and his friend. The first thing we did was fill our backpacks with liquor. Before I even had the chance to ask if it was legal or allowed to drink in public downtown I saw a city bus filled with Quebecers, mostly late teens early twenties dressed completely in white and blue (Quebec's flags colors) with open liquor chanting. Obviously drinking in public is not legal, but on Fete Saint Jean anything goes... honestly. Once we arrived downtown, coming off a jam packed bus of at least 70 drunk, patriotic Quebecers I witnessed a party like I've never seen, and it was in the city's business district. We cracked open our beer and walked up the street, passing cops, who's job was to only maintain order, not prevent people from drinking and having a good time. Can you imagine this kind of leniency? I was shocked, but nonetheless excited and amazed. There was point where my cousin and I were urinating on a building, drinking a beer and chatting with a male and female police officer all in good humour. Saint Jean was one of the most amazing sights I've ever witnessed. Well over 150,000 people crowding several blocks of downtown Quebec City, all colorful, mostly between the age group of 16 and 30 chanting, wishing everyone a "Bonne Fete Saint Jean." I do think I was the only English person there, but regardless, my family comes from Quebec City. I even saw where my first ancestor in North America lived. Ballin' pad, too bad it's a Caisse Populaire now.

After spending a few nights in Quebec City I made my way to Old Orchard Beach, Maine. It kind of looks like a Jersey Shore style town, maybe a little smaller and toned down, but still packed with tourists. Here I did some shopping in Kittery, which holds a number of outlets, and checked out the local scenery here on Old Orchard Beach. The beach is in fact very nice, but nowhere near as busy as the beach back home (Parlee Beach, Shediac) even though the consumerist aspect of it definitely beats it fifty-fold.

Anyways, that's enough about that. I am really only writing this out of boredom. I am a little upset that I am missing one of my good friend Ryan's birthday celebrations back in Sackville. Happy Birthday Ryan "Tipsy Dragon" Wareham.

A Potpourri of Basketball, Me and The Roots

Wow I'm getting lazy. I guess that's fair though, I mean, it is summer and there are far better things than sitting around at my computer.

First thing first - I hate the L.A. Lakers. How the Celtics can blow a 3rd quarter 13 point lead is unbearably disappointing... it is the Lakers, I know, but you think all of the terrible off balance attempts for field goals in the 4th would have stopped acting stupid after so many scoreless possessions... I guess not. Also, I wish Doc Rovers would have elaborated more on his "be very physical" quote so that the Celts wouldn't have fouled Gasol or Kobe on every single Lakers possession in the last three or four minutes. Anyways, enough about that - it's done and there is nothing they can do now. I am proud of the Celtics and am definitely not ashamed of their season. They played well as a team in the playoffs, even though the "Big 3" had its inconsistencies they still managed to take Orlando and Cleveland in 6 games. Not to mention that they are still the most winningest team, ring-wise, in NBA history.

Otherwise, things are going decent. Typical summer stuff. Hanging out with friends, skateboarding, basketball, brews and the beach. I am off to Quebec City Wednesday to visit some of my family and celebrate St. Jean Baptiste Day (I think that's what it's called...). Afterwards I'm off to New Hampshire and Portland, Maine to spend some cash on what I hope to be cheap outlet stores. Might have some road updates, might not.

I also bought my Rock the Bells ticket yesterday, so that's super exciting. My boy Kellen bought his as well, so far us two are "officially conformed" but we have a list of friends that are potentially coming to see some amazing and legendary hip-hop acts... they would be fools not to.

Finally, The Roots' album How I Got Over leaked on to the internet. I'm listening to it right now and am so far very impressed. Kellen told me it was the best since Things Fall Apart. I really enjoyed Game Theory, Phrenology and The Tipping Point, so I'll definitely have to get back to him on my thoughts but his statement doesn't seem like a long shot.

Anyway, that's all for me now. I'm off to bed, but I will leave you with this:

Rock The Bells

Rock the Bells. New York City. August 28.

Check it... not missing this for the world.

Check Out: Juggaknots - Clear Blue Skies EP

I was browsing through The Main Ingredient and came across a link to download an EP by Juggaknots, an underground New York City rap group. I was kind of skeptical at first having never heard of these guys (and girl) but out of boredom I clicked the link and loaded it up to my iTunes. Probably the best decision I've made in a long time.

Clear Blue Skies EP came out in 1996. Oh those were the days. The New York City rap scene was on fire in the mid-nineties with releases like Illmatic, Ready to Die, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), The Infamous, Doe or Die and countless classics from the five boroughs. With these artists dominating the charts, there was little room for groups like Juggaknots, with their muffled, distorted, acidic, jazzy beats - not to mention being signed by an independent label.

Perhaps the lyrics were never meant for the mainstream. The double sided nine track EP explores subject matter from a white kid loving a black girl at his racist fathers disapproval to less radio friendly verses on tracks like "Troubleman" and "I'm Going to Kill You." Regardless, the group flows flawlessly over these not so usual beats.

The EP was never released on CD apparently - only vinyl, and is most likely hard to come across. Nonetheless it was praised as an underground classic by many New York heads and has been enjoyed by hip-hop fans from all over the globe. That being said, download it here and enjoy this hidden gem.

Some New Ish Ish

This is my 200th blog post! Pretty serious. Never thought I'd keep 'er going for this long, but what d'ya know?

I've been working quite frantically lately for that paycheck, and when I'm not working I'm skateboarding, so sorry for lacking in the updates department. It could be worse and I could be like my friend Kellen who hasn't touched the Mock Turtle in over a month! Yikes bro!

Alright, before I get into it, who else is pumped for the Lakers VS. Celtics NBA Final? That is going be quite the spectacle. Hopefully Rondo stays healthy (looked like he was nursing his back last game against the Magic) and tears up the floor like he has been this playoffs. Kobe is on fire, but what else is new... fuck the Lakers, really. I'm gonna be watching the game tomorrow with my Celts jersey in full effect.

Now on to the main event: some new music.

A Roots track featuring Chitown's John Legend leaked the other day titled "Doin' It Again," pretty nice track. I always like John Legend, and as usual, he drops a nice hook between Black Thought's verses. Pretty much sounds like a classic Roots track with ?uestlove on the drums and I'm only assuming Legend on the keys. Check the link above for a download link, and if that doesn't work then google search the track, I'm sure it'll come up. The Roots' album How I Got Over comes out on June 22nd, get hyped.

Anyone remember Capone N Noreaga? After starting out in the nineties then going solo for a bit they dropped an album titled Channel 10 last year, which was decent, none of the tracks really stuck to me. However, I just heard "Hood Pride" from The War Report 2 and must say that I was really feelin' it. I always felt that N.O.R.E. had one of the strongest voices in hip-hop, so to hear him go off on a solid beat with a lot of energy was pretty exciting - reminded me of old Capone N Noreaga. Faith Evans on the feature!

Royce and the gang from Slaughterhouse have been killing it lately... well, forever, really. Royce's Bar Exam 3 dropped not too long ago and goes hard. The track "Nobody Fuckin' With Us" features Texas legend Bun B, Joe Budden and Crooked I. Budden flows real nice on this one. (Side note: Can't find the version I have with Budden's verse, which is a damn shame)

That's about it for now, enjoy some of these new(ish) tracks and maybe check out Royce da 5'9"'s Bar Exam 3 mixtape while you wait for The Roots' latest to drop.

Boombox, V17

What's good? Not too much new over here. Boardertech Skateshop in Moncton had its grand opening in its new location on Saturday, which was awesome. The shop is now at 465 Main Street instead of 581 Main (it only moved a block away). I urge anyone either from Moncton, or visiting the area, to check it out. Tons of new stock, plus the place is a massive.

Also, since I don't have too much to say at the moment, let me recommend you some tracks:

French Montana - I'm On It (Feat. Nipsey Hu$$le, Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean)

Bone Thugs N Harmony - Mo' Murda

The Game - Hustler's Dream (Feat. Anthony Hamilton)

Sean Price - Bye Bye (Feat. Buckshot)

Check Out: The Originators

You know Bone Thugs N Harmony right? I definitely talk about them enough that if you've been on this blog you'd know I love 'em.

Bone Thugs hail from the Joakim Noah hated city, Cleveland, Ohio. These five thugs have been ripping into the game for nearly two decades, spitting hard, fast, and as their name claims, doing it harmoniously. After a few hiatuses and the imprisonment of Flesh Bone the group still manages to enjoy a decent amount of airtime on the radio, and certainly much playtime in my CD players and iTunes.

All of this being said, I would like to recommend to you one of my favorite albums, E. 1999 Eternal, released in 1995 under Eazy-E's Ruthless Label. The album consists of seventeen tracks, all produced by DJ Uneek while Eazy-E handled the executive direction of the album. The album was released just months after Eazy's untimely death to AIDS. This remains the group's best selling album, perhaps not surprising under the direction and influence of Eazy-E himself, combined with the unique, melodic style of lyricism and consistent, mellow beats that sound like a fusion of south meets west.

E. 1999 Eternal was well received by critics, which is quite a respectable for a horror core style album in the mid nineties. Lyrically, the album sticks to the midwest/horror core fundamentals... if you don't know what that is, I'd say it's something along the lines of Mo Murda which even has a screw hook (one of the more earlier songs with a screw hook from the midwest). There are also tons of lifestyle tracks about weed, payin' bills, getting welfare checks and being broke in the slums - what else is new in 1990's hip-hop?

There really isn't much more to say about Bone Thugs. If haven't heard them on the radio, on DJ Khaled's We The Best album, or on Chamillionaire's Ridin' Dirty then I don't know what to tell you except check out E. 1999 Eternal. I can listen to it through and through and not get bored. It's good ridin' music, it's good chillin' music, it's... just good music.

Check out:

Crossroads (Remix)

First of the Month

East 1999

Budsmokers Only

Convocation Weekend

I can now gladly say that I am a university graduate. Even though people my age had already graduated two years ago, through discipline changes and years off I can thankfully say that I finally made it through undergrad and am nothing short of satisfied with how my undergraduate "career" unfolded. Graduating is bittersweet. I definitely am not the first to say and think that, but I had to throw it out there because that was the first thing to ever come to mind after finishing my final class in mid-April. After meeting so many amazing friends in such a small, welcoming atmosphere, it is hard to think that I won't be there for next year to enjoy all of the fun and enjoy the company of the many people that made the past few years so amazing.

That being said, Convocation weekend just ended today and it was incredible to have so many friends, graduating or not, all in the same place with no agenda or schedule, just enjoying each others company over some beers (some is an understatement by the way). My room mates from last year all moved into a spot, which turned out to be one of the best houses in Sackville in my opinion. So we spent a significant amount of time either there, or at my friend Chris' house, all in good company.

On Friday night a group of us were directed to a 1990 Alumni party in Edwards House. We figured why the hell not... That is a prime example of the random and unexpected fun you can have on Con. weekend. Everybody was in good spirits, willing to chat about past experiences, catch up, and drop the good ol' "back in our day..." Basically could not have predicted that I would have had such a fun evening.

Saturday was much of the same. A group of us showed up at Chris Clements' place for a BBQ, and before you knew it there was full fledged party going on by 2PM. As you can guess, Saturday turned out to be a great evening as well. What really surprised me was how willing everyone was to continue partying on Sunday night. I honestly thought it was going to be one of those mellow nights at Ducky's pub, but it was almost as foolish as the two previous nights. But if you looked around at how people were acting, you'd know that they were worn out from the weekend.

Today felt like a collective hangover from the entire weekend, which wasn't that great since today was the actual graduation, but it wasn't too hard to stomach. The worst part was saying good bye to Sackville and a lot of friends that are moving onwards and elsewhere. I felt privileged to have such a great group of friends at Mt. A, so that was hard. The ceremony itself was amazing. Peter Mansbridge, easily one of Canada's most distinguished public figures, became Mount Allison's Chancellor. What that position fully entitles I don't know, but I got to shake the mans hand while he congratulated me in Latin, then English. I simply replied nervously with a "THANKS MAN!"

Unfortunately the moment I dreaded all weekend had arrived. Leaving. Con. weekend was easily one of the best weekends of my life. I'm not trying to sound like an alcoholic or anything, because what made it so amazing was the reunion of friends just having fun. And, of course, on top of that actually graduating.

I guess I'll stop there. I'm not even sure if people read my posts that aren't about hip-hop anyways. I just needed to stress how fun Con. weekend was, and will be for future grads out there. I know for a fact that I'll be up for the next one.

Check Out: Bone Thugs N Harmony - Uni5: The World's Enemy

On 4 May Bone Thugs N Harmony dropped their ninth studio album titled Uni5: The World's Enemy. I've always loved Bone Thugs - E 1999 Eternal is easily one of my favorite hip-hop albums and, arguably, Bone Thugs have not been able to rematch that kind of caliber and chemistry on tracks since that 1995 release.

The album comes over half a year after the release of the first single "See Me Shine," which I posted and often praised over the past seven-odd months. Between now and then a few other singles and leaks hit the net - some around equal quality, some not so much. "Rebirth" became the second single, which I feel obliged to praise as a solid first quarter release in 2010 hip-hop. More recently "Gone" and "Meet Me In The Sky" were released officially as singles. These two tracks, and I guess "Rebirth" are a clear step away from any old Bone Thugs ruggish thuggish horror-core rap to a more mainstream synth-pop inspired sound. Those that have followed Bone Thugs since the early nineties will most likely understand the progression and shift in style of the group, however, those banking on a classic Bone Thugs record will most likely be disappointed.

DJ Uneek handles a handful of the albums production, although not exclusively. Uneek has produced some of Bone Thugs most notorious and successful tracks, so this was obviously a nice treat to Bone Thug fans. A number of the beats, as mentioned earlier, are much different than usual for the group, however, their flow and lyricism is nothing new, maybe a little catchier than before, but now that's expected. Their style is what made them hot, why change that, right? Perhaps, you can argue, this album is more personal, in the sense that it is not as street oriented but more focused on addressing personal problems, getting rid of those devils inside, fame, recognition and what-have-you. I'm not saying this is bad. I mean, these guys have been around for over seventeen years. They don't need to bring horror-core Midwest hip-hop back. They've endeared hardship, struggle and came up in the game hard as hell, seeing jail time and putting out some of the most influential tracks in rap.

In the end, this is a good album. Nothing crazy, groundbreaking, overly influential, and I feel like Bone Thugs knew this. They put out an album filled with above par tracks, to say the least. It's no E 1999 Eternal or Creepin on ah Come Up, but it is enough to give Bone Thugs fans something fresh and new to listen to. All five members of Bone Thugs N Harmony on the same album, spittin' fast.

Skatemoncton.com

Almost six years ago I started a website called skatemoncton.com showcasing skateboard media from my friends in the Greater Moncton Area. The site was popular, at least, on a local level, and was updated quite frequently. But like a lot of things, the novelty and interest wore off and I eventually sold my camera and called it quits on the site after a five year run of constant updates. For the past year there hasn't been any real outlet displaying local skateboarding in Moncton except for the odd YouTube clip. Thankfully, two of my friends, Jeff Pineau and Dustin Seca teamed up to recreate the site with help from web designer Andre Banville. Jeff films and Dustin shoots photos, so the site is frequently updated whether it be snaps from a session or one of the weekly Hump Day clips, those boys are doing it up and keeping the scene going. So really, the point of this post is to promote the work of my friends and to congratulate them on a job well done. It always helped to tighten up the community by having some source of media on display.

Check out the all new Skatemoncton.com.

See Me Shine [Official Video]

Since I've first heard the Bone Thugs track "See Me Shine" last fall I've been pretty fond of it. It was easily one of my favorites of 2009, actually. The video was released not too long ago, but they left one of my favorite parts out! Nah, they didn't cut anyone out of the track - they got rid of the epic outro. It might have been too long on the leaked version, but this one does not do it justice at all.

Here is the video anyway:

... and here is the extended version that I'm sure will be on the album. The difference is at the end, probably around 4:20 in.

Heart and Soul of New York City

I came across this today.

Red Cafe - Heart and Soul of New York City by K1X from K1X on Vimeo.

It is a video for Red Cafe's "Heart and Soul of New York City" (read the author description of the video on that link) that will surely educate you on not only the city that never sleeps, but its street ball community. The track is produced by the legendary NY producer Pete Rock so you know it's good. Check it out for yourself.