mixtape maestro (2.0)

Understandably pissed after being left out of what’s become rap’s modern-day Olympics, MTV’s annual Hottest MC’s List, Lupe Fiasco has decided to make sure he makes it on next year’s rankings. This means temporarily backing away from epic, pop audience-targeting fare like this past summer’s blink-and-you-missed it “Superstar”-rewrite “Shining Down” and planting much of his focus on blessing the mixtape-hoarding crowd with stunning lyrical flexes like those found on the Jimi Hendrix-sampling beast “Fire” as well as nearly the entirety of his Thanksgiving Day-premiered set Enemy of The State: A Love Story (found in split version here).

On the teasingly brief State (it tops out around twenty-two minutes), Lupe breathlessly rips through miles and miles of clever pen-and-pad-less spitting atop instrumentals new (Timbaland & Drake’s “Say Something”), not-so-new (Lil’ Wayne’s “Fireman”) and, most intriguingly, non-hip hop (Radiohead’s “The National Anthem”), giving your rewind-button trigger finger plenty of work as you struggle to absorb all the random pop culture references (Street Fighter!! Tiny Toon Adventures!!) and genius-level wordplay trickery expertly embedded throughout his rapid-fire flow.

For us, one of it’s best offerings would have to be Lupe’s take on The Blueprint 3 joint “Thank You”. Not necessarily a highlight because it showcases Fiasco at the top of his freestyle game (though that is a plus), how “Thank You” really grabs us is in it’s pairing of an actual hungry emcee with a purpose against producers Kanye West & No ID’s lush, orchestral loop.

Having such a solid beat support Jigga’s umpteenth dishing of soul-less self-back-patting (at least for the first two verses) felt like a waste of an ill backing track; but that disappointment is quickly reversed the instance Lupe touches down with lines like “I aint the bomb/ I’m the company that got the contract to rebuild during the aftermath/ Have a blast” and this insane closing gem: “I’m the whole world, nigga you’re an island/ And the seas risin’, if I keep shinin’/
You gon’ have to take submarines to the drive-in nowwww”.

DL: “Thank You (Freestyle)” (alt)

Uncategorized freestyle rap, jay-z, kanye west, lupe fiasco, mixtape, no i.d., the blueprint 3

Seeing as though Timbaland and Keri Hilson’s attempt to re-create the sexy he-say/ she-say barb over Euro-pop beats magic of “The Way I Are” on her underrated In A Perfect World… single “Return The Favor” ended up being a major flop, it’s not all that surprising that for “Rumors”, their lone collaboration on Timbaland’s Shock Value 2, the duo would take a wildly different approach. What is surprising though, is how much a record that features not only Tim and Keri but also a cameo from Jay-Z, totally stinks.

Over a completely boring spare synth-and-tumbling drum shuffle that feels like it was concocted by a Timbaland protogee rather than the man himself, Keri extends what might have been an okay hook or bridge about dismissing ever-gabbing haters over two verses that fail to keep your attention even a few lines in, while Jay yawns through another forgettable sixteen.

Every few years Timbaland seems to hit these creative droughts where he’s simply re-heating old beats. And right now, he sounds like he’s there again, this time dragging a couple others into his un-inspired funk along the way. We say pass.

DL: “Rumors” (alt)

Uncategorized jay-z, keri hilson, shock value 2, timbaland

Back in 2000, Mya kicked off the release of her second album Fear of Flying with the single “Best of Me”, a Jadakiss-featured/ Swizz Beatz-produced midtempo about resisting a thug that managed a peaking of #14 on the R&B/ Hip Hop Singles Chart. Barely remember it? That’s okay, since most will only recall the remix version that would go on to dominate that year’s summer-time airwaves.

Titled “Best of Me (Part 2)” (aww, remember when urban acts had briefly stepped away from the whole ‘remix’ thing as an attempt to make their records sound like blockbuster big screen events?), the “sequel” completely wiped the memory clean of the original, thanks to one of Jay-Z’s hottest cameo appearances (“What’s a little me on top gon’ hurt?/ Maybe a little…”), it’s use of the shuffling beat behind Biz Markie’s classic debut single “Make The Music With Your Mouth Biz” and the accompanying video’s oh-so-sexy image of Mya in that North Carolina jersey dress (aww, remember THOSE!?!). With all these elements at it’s disposal, and Mya’s featherweight coo as the center, the track quickly garnered kudos as one of the better marriages of hip hop and R&B to ever arise.

Crate-digging remixer Siik (the man behind buttery smoove, soul-bathed re-hauls of “Single Ladies” and “1 Thing”) has taken it in as it latest project, and he succeeds at making it a must-have gem all over again, comfortably underlining the a capella vocals with the instrumental of Slum Village’s biggest hit, 2004’s Kanye West and John Legend-blessed “Selfish” (itself based off a sample of Aretha Franklin’s 1970 #1 “Call Me”).

Lay back and chill with the Mya/ Siik, Slum Village and Aretha Franklin cuts offered below.

DL: “Best of Me (Siik Remix)” (alt)

DL: “Selfish” (alt)

DL: “Call Me” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, aretha franklin, jay-z, john legend, kanye west, mya, remix, siik, slum village, soul sample

With the ‘Net world currently immersed in “new Jay-Z = meh” banter (thanks to the like 52 fine, but mostly underwhelming, maybe-or-maybe-not B3 Jigga tracks that have leaked this past week alone), it’s kinda easy to forget that things didn’t look so depressing waaaay back in January when a likable ditty titled “When The Money Goes” mysteriously bubbled onto the Web.

While it took a minute to figure out whether it was the first taste of the Blueprint junior volume or not (it was later revealed to be nothing more than an American Gangster outtake), what we did know was that we immediately liked it. And how could we not? Backed by crisp R&B-like production that honed in on a champagne glass-clinking, “livin’ the good life” luxuriousness, “When The Money Goes” featured Jay delivering a tight and concise narrative based on the tried-and-true “Can I Get A…” concept: “I know you riding with a nigga through the Gucci store/ All through Prada…but what if I had nada?”.

Hey, it sounded like a surefire hit to us. But somewhere along the line, Jay decided that he didn’t need to cater to radio so blatantly (he’d rather play the cantankerous old fogey role and denounce everything the kids liked, whether it be Auto-Tune or allowing Drake his own verse), so he opted on handing off the track elsewhere. Whatever. In the end, it makes for a nice grab for Fabolous, who adopts the “When The Money Goes” concept and beat, laying down three verses that are so sharp, Jay really isn’t even needed beyond the hook duties he’s reduced to here.

Catch the “Money Goes, Honey Stay” clip below, followed by MP3’s of Jay’s unreleased original and a nice “Jamerican Remix” of “Off That” featuring reggae/ dancehall newcomer Atiba:

DL: Jay-Z “When The Money Goes (Original)” (alt)

DL: Jay-Z featuring Drake & Atiba “Off That (Jamerican Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized atiba, fabolous, jay-z, reggae remix, the blueprint 3

“Welcome to the future”, Jay-Z intros on the latest (ho-hum) Blueprint 3 pre-leak.

And by ‘future’, he means an era where having a “high yellow broad” and a “best white mate” named “Chris” (Martin) and not wasting dough on “making it rain” or rocking rims, Timbs or ‘Cris puts him a cut above the rest. Oh, and slightly generic Timbaland shuffles will rock the clubs while promising “future” mic hopefuls are disappointingly reduced to only hook cameos.

Sssiiiiggghhhh. Something’s definitely not right when the Black Eyed Peas corny glimpse into what will be hot tomorrow sounds more appealing.

DL: “Off That” (alt)

Uncategorized drake, east coast rap, jay-z, the blueprint 3, timbaland

After letting Jigga’s A-list-assisted “Run This Town” marinate in our brains for nearly a month now, and after finally seeing the entirety of it’s long-teased, “What in the ‘California Love’/ ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ Hell?”-themed accompanying video clip, we have now decided to officially stick with our initial reaction of the record: It’s…just…okay.

Since busting out of his retirement all those years ago, Jay has built a steadily growing catalogue of records (both as lead and as guest star) that puff up a lot of hype simply via his attached name, but just as soon fail to merit much long-lasting appeal beyond their highly-anticipated release. We should have gotten used to this anti-climactic routine long ago, but what can we say, he’s arguably the G (Living Emcee). O. A. T. and we long to hear him justify that honor over and over.

More so than a lot of other material in recent memory though, high hopes had fallen on “Run This Town” (who could deny that exciting title, or the sheer collective weight of the top-of-the-game artists upon it?), so it’s only more of a shame that, in the end, it lands as just another meh notch in Jay’s increasingly dissapointing belt.

Atop producers Kanye and No I.D.’s dramatically buzzing electric guitar sting and heavy-thudding drum march rumble, Jay and Ri-Ri commit performances that remain boringly on par with their previously well-established artistic angles. His raps are admittedly slick but carrying little “hip hop head” value, offering more eye-roll-inducing references to his bulging bank account and knowledge of high fashion folk; she continues to be the fiercest dead-eyed yodeller around in a chorus that feels twice as long with all of it’s non-catchy, street-anthem self-seriousness.

Kanye is the only one to really make this cut worthwhile, which comes as no surprise given the fact that well…he’s Kanye, and that he’s proven to be good at making these joyless, un-dance-able hip hop arrangements crackle like any other major Hot 97 banger in the past (remember “Diamonds From Sierra Leone”?). His ending verse overflows with the wit and imagination severely lacking everywhere else here, from the opening “Joe Blow/ no homo” couplet on down, which, in our heads, brings about many burning questions, like:

A) Wouldn’t it have been smarter if his verse have been placed second, to help keep cats from switching this one off early, as we assume most have by now since “Town” began infiltrating radio?

B) After hearing West’s portion, didn’t Jay feel a need to upgrade his own parts?

C) Why couldn’t Kanye have just kept this one for himself, given us an added entertaining verse and just reduced Jigga’s role to a single sixteen?

Like everyone else, we’ll still be first in line (or, more likely in 2009, on-line) to cop The Blueprint 3 when it arrives (besides, we can’t miss that Drake feature!!!), but, and we SWEAR by this, if this ends up another “one-listen-than-quit-and-wait-for-all-the-other-rappers-to-rock-it’s-instrumentals-right” affair, we’ll have to…have to…hell, sit around and wait for the next Jay-Z project to drop so we can get all overly excited all over again. Damn you Jay!!!

Pre-order Blueprint 3 here.

Uncategorized east coast rap, jay-z, kanye west, no i.d., rihanna, the blueprint 3

Take note: The hip hop game is about to get REAL interesting in the coming days and weeks. Why? Because of all the overly-excited responses sure to arise from Jay Z’s hotly anticipated Blueprint 3 kick-off “D.O.A.”, the rap king’s sharp deathknell toll to all things Auto-Tune.

Highlighted by a sarcastic, shower-sung riff off of Steam’s deathless stadium staple (and second generation DeBarge sample source) “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” for it’s hook, “D.O.A.” sees co-producers No I.D. and Kanye West stewing up a fiery aural assault of blaring sax/ electric guitar-fueled furor as Jigga dashes off an endless spraying of slick hip hop quotables sure to bruise the feelings of plenty of today’s airwave-clogging, Auto-Tune addicts.

But for all of it’s arousing, game-changing event-like presence, one has to wonder if “D.O.A”’s cries of “Pull your skirt back down/ Grow a set men”, aimed at robo-throated, tight jean-sporting, bright clothes-loving “emcees” with voices “too light”, will actually even be able to succeed in…well, changing the game. It’s easy to admire Jay for fighting the “good fight” (and best believe, there will be plenty of co-signers coming along to grab the beat for their own anti-A-T tirades), but it’s doubtful that any of these “old fogey”-ish rants to bring rap back to where it was will REALLY bring an end to the genre’s current obsession with alien-toned, melodicized flows and the attractive big pop money it brings in.

Yeah, it’s nice to hear a reinvigorated Jay bringing to the table some major heat (and not some “Show Me What You Got”-esque disappointment) to jump-off his third Blueprint installment and we’re excited for the heated back-and-forth blog commentary “D.O.A.” will inspire, but we get the feeling that the (unfortunately indestructible-seeming) T-Pain’s and Ron Browz’ of this world don’t have anything to worry about.

DL: “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” (alt)

Uncategorized jay-z, kanye west, no i.d., the blueprint 3

Here’s a couple random goodies that have pierced the Maestro’s eardrums in a good way recently:

First up, the great DJ Ted Smooth gives Lady GaGa’s breakout smash “Just Dance” a nice hip hop tone, throwing in those beloved skittering drum patterns from Jay Z’s “Jigga What, Jigga Who” and a Busta Rhymes verse (“I’m back on my bullshit so much/ My bowel movement’s fucked up”) as backup to GaGa’s drunken exclamations (still love the WTF randomness of that “Where are my keys?/ I lost my phone” line).

Our lone complaint? Not enough Buss.

DL: “Just Dance (Ted Smooth Remix)” (alt)

Next, from the fingertips of DJ Fabian, comes a summer-ready blend of Jamie Foxx’ deathless “Blame It” atop the always-BBQ-friendly grooves of Arrested Development’s “Everyday People”.

Thank you Fabian, for being all too aware that you can never go wrong with a lil’ 90’s throwback vibe.

DL: “Blame It On The People (Jamie Foxx Vs. Arrested Development)” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, arrested development, busta rhymes, dj fabian, jamie foxx, jay-z, lady gaga, mash-up, remix, ted smooth

Not too many rappers could open up a song by stating “I can’t see ‘em coming down my eyes, so I gotta make this song cry” and then proceed to pull off just that with such flawlessness, but that’s just what Jay Z accomplished with The Blueprint’s introspective rap ballad “Song Cry”, one of the many moments of his career where all the elements seemed to come together perfectly.

Longtime up-and-coming R&B singer/ songwriter/ producer/ rapper Novel (who Mixtape Maestro has been a fan of since his early “I can eat a peach for an hour” days) taps into that Jigga classic on “Song Cry II” and it’s equally as mesmerizing.

Novel gives off a lil’ Al Green/ D’Angelo vibe here as he expresses the stifled woe of a young man hardened by inner city living: “I don’t cry/ Cause there’s something inside sayin’ ‘Don’t cry’”. But like the hip hop song he references, he does a good job illustrating that pain through the cut’s smooth, soul-sampled-enriched production and a vocal performance that finds him impressively weaving in and out of a moving falsetto.

An instance where the overly-repeated “one to watch” cliché holds some true weight.

While you eagerly anticipate the release of Novel’s debut The Audiobiography (set to drop sometime later this year), grab “Song Cry II” below, followed by the “making of” clip and final product of his “Soul Version” cover of Kid Cudi’s “Sky Might Fall”.

DL: “Song Cry II” (alt)

DL: “Sky Might Fall (Kid Cudi Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized cover song, grown folks R&B, jay-z, kid cudi, novel, soul sample

Dallas producer/ rap duo Play-N-Skillz have already nabbed one Grammy thanks to their work on Chamillionaire’s star-making “Ridin’” and could score another trophy next year with the Album of The Year-nod they recently garnered for Lil’ Wayne’s The Carter III (they helmed his “Got Money”). But as we’ve seen numerous times in and out the past fifteen years, it’s rarely enough to just score props for playing the backburner role, so PNS aim to strike up their own spotlight with new track, “Checkin’ My Fresh”.

Crafting it’s Jigga-”featured” hook from a looped “Swagger Like Us” line, “Fresh” finds Play-N-Skillz sounding heavily Swizz-influenced with it’s bombastic, spaced out musical display, screwed vocals and swag-based (read: depth-free) lyricism (“I can do the Coogi shirt/ I can do the Roc-A-Wear/ Only problem that I got is which rocks I’m-a wear”). As far as today’s hip hop scene goes, it serves it’s purpose well, bearing plenty of collar-popping one-liners that could end up on T-shirts or as someone’s on-line/ text message signature, but beyond that temporary trend-ish appeal, there’s little here to elevate them anywhere near the level of their star clients.

DL: “Checkin’ My Fresh” (alt)

Uncategorized jay-z, play-n-skillz, swagger