I’m reaching back a bit and showing my age here but, “I remember when…” Luda was Chris Lova Lova on Hot 97.5 in Atlanta, and I’m not saying that from reading, I was in ATL then. I remember him announcing he was working on something with Timbo then he played it and wow. “Phat Rabbit” was comedy rap but it was evident that dude had talent. Here we are 12 years, 7 albums, and 11 platinum plaques since then, talking about his latest album.

Intro
Produced by Xcel
I’m typically over intros’ on albums. There was a time I liked to hear the artist set the table for the album but after everyone started doing it, and failing, I just got to a point where I’d rather them just get into the music. This intro however, I wished were longer. The beat is dope as hell and as an indication, this one is for the 12’s. Luda’s frenetic flow is at home over the Southern bounce of this Xcel beat. Not to mention that the call/response hook of “Now the ladies, they aite but they ain’t hittin’ on nothin’ do my fellas run this muthafucka ( helllll yeaaaaaa)/Now the fellas, they aite but they ain’t hittin’ on nothin’ do my ladies run this muthafucka (hellllll yeaaaaaa)” seems very appropriate based on the title.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e..

How Low
Produced by T-Minus
The lead single off the album exploded onto the scene. He did this at the BET awards, and I remember being impressed by the song, his flow and stage presence on this one. This is def a club banger…strip or dance, take your pick, either club will do. Shout out to Body Tap, Strokers, Blue Flame, and of course, Magic City.

My Chick Bad
Featuring Nicki Minaj; Produced by The Legendary Traxster
Second single, and it appears we have a problem on our hands with this album. Not only has Luda set his sights on the club/strip scene HARD this time, he’s executing this with precision. The Legendary Traxster offers up simplistic head nod excellence on this track. I can hear ANYONE rapping on this beat easily. I do expect a few remixes of this track.

OK, I thought I’d pretend that I wasn’t going to mention my girl Minaj being on this song. Y’all know how I feel about her, so do I really need to say anything? OK, carry on.

Everybody Drunk
Featuring Lil’ Scrappy; Produced by DJ Montay
This song isn’t bad at all, a lot slower than the previous offerings and I think that is what turned me on it. We still get the southern bounce but it’s placed after two blazing songs and a incessant intro. It’s like trying to hit a John Tudor change-up after 3 straight Nolan Ryan fastballs. Still, I can see “Miracle” doing her thing to this one on stage.

I Do It All Night
Featuring Shawna; Produced by B Crucial & Tony Dinero
I’m not much up on the hip hop drama and backstory on a lot of things, but apparently, Shawna and Luda were going to do this entire album back and forth. Between then and now, she ended up “Disturbing the Peace” and leaving Disturbing the Peace. It’s a shame to, because her appearances on this album, starting with this song, are shining moments. To further cement the transition to slow songs after the heat of the first 3 songs, this one is offered up in the 5 slot. This is a pretty cool song, worth checkin’ out.

Sex Room
Featuring Trey Songz; Produced by Kajun
There are a few, very few, flat out sex raps that I like, so take my thoughts on this one with a grain of salt. It’s a cool sound and while there isn’t any beating around the bush on this one, no pun intended, this song is pretty elementary as far as lyrics and interest go. So, if you like overt slow sexual raps, this may be right over your alley.

I Know You Got A Man
Featuring Flo Rida; Produced by Infinity
I’m happy to hear the tempo pick back up with this song. I like the way Luda flows a little slower on this beat and changes his inflection for emphasis on his flow this time. What’s even more interesting than that is the fact that I don’t hate Flo Rida’s flow. Matter of fact, I REALLY like it. What in the hell…but yea, dude did a good job on this one. I would have liked to hear a chick flow in response to the fellas to complete the song rather than just being on the hook, but I can’t hate this song at all.

Hey Ho
Featuring Lil’ Kim & Lil’ Fate; Produced by Khao
Yes indeed, we have another club/strip club murderer on our hands. The hook may incite a riot and some spike in alcohol abuse and slapping incidences, but I’m sure there will be an dramatic increase to the number of women that dance and ignore the word “Ho” being chanted when this one comes on. Lil’ Kim goes hard for the ladies asserting that they cheat better than men, and she’s right. I could go without Fate’s verse and just got longer offerings from Kim and Luda though.

Party No Mo
Featuring Gucci Mane; Produced by Bangladesh
This beat is no “A Millie” by any means. In all seriousness, outside of the deep bass, I don’t like the track. The hook is terrible and it’s essentially a bland offering. Problem with that is that Luda really brought his A game lyrically on what is, essentially, a throw away song. He saved it from being a skip with lines like “Ya got mo’ dough, then homie ya gon hafta show me/You never say it rains like Tony Toni Tone/My Chevy’s outside and it’s sittin’ on Kobe’s/And I keep the hood with me like Obi OneKenobi”.

B.O.T.S. Radio
Featuring I-20 & Shawna; Produced by The Runners
I’ll let the cat out of the bag on this one right now, I-20 killed this song hands down. He went with straight bars, no metaphors or extra reliance on similes and wordplay, just flat out lyrics that work and flow. Luda and Shawna do good jobs, but he really set this song off. Musically, it just sounds like an extended intro or interlude that never really takes off. It goes with the concept of the song though so it works.

Can’t Live With You
Featuring Monica Produced by Khao
I have a feeling, that with Monica’s own project coming out, and the radio friendly vibe of this song, this will be the next single if there is a next single. There’s something off or flat about the hook on this one. Everything else is a nice song and is basically a blueprint of how to make a good song that is radio ready.

Feelin’ So Sexy
Featuring Shawna; Produced by Gaggie
We already discussed how I felt about overt sexual rap songs right? Ok…this is another. As you were.

Tell Me A Secret
Featuring Ne-Yo; Produced by Swizz Beatz
Um, a Swizz Beat? This song is damn near an R&B track. I’m impressed he can do something like this. Now unlike the previous songs sex raps on this album, I dig this one. The smooth laid back flow of Luda’s delivery, the beat, and Ne-Yo’s singing on the hook really make this a good song.

My Chick Bad (Remix)
Featuring Diamond, Trina and Eve; Produced by The Legendary Traxster
LADIES. Why you wait for Luda to coordinate this shit? The beat, as discussed, dopeness. The ladies flow and arrangement, insane. How is it that my flat out fave song on the album is the chicks version? I don’t know, but Diamond set it up nicely. Trina comes on and does Trina, you know what you’re getting here. Eve shocked me with not only her appearance on the album, but her verse. She finishes this one off nicely. Dope remix.

Sexting
Produced by The Neptunes
By definition, this is “Phat Rabbit 2010″. This song is a parody of Tiger going to sex rehab and the message he left one of them chicks about taking her name off her voicemail. Now, it doesn’t go along with the album sound like, at all. But it’s a really fun song and is a LOT more creative than the sound would make you think.

Bottom Line:
The title of the album is a bit misleading I think, but the fact that Luda features so many features on this album (15) and doesn’t lose in the expected quality of his music is a win. If you look at his record sales, he’s been fighting the battle against the download phenomenon as is languishing as everyone’s favorite underrated rapper. While his Conjure mixtape left a bad taste in our mouths, this album is definitely the right night cap for your evening. From the crib, to the club, the the car, the crib, it takes care of you quite nicely.

nappyPicks: Support the South’s secret weapon

Download: Ludacris – “Sexting”
Download: Ludacris feat. Diamond, Trina, & Eve – “My Chick Bad (remix)”
Download: Ludacris feat. Pitbull & Ciara – “How Low (remix)”

As we get closer and closer to March Madness, and I whimper to the reverberations of confirmation that Little Brother will put out there last album this year I thought this would be a good time not only to start this series of articles called The Starting 5, but to focus this first edition on Groups in Hip-Hop. The premise of the series is simple, who/what would be my starting 5 in a particular category. So come with me as I unveil my Starting 5: The Group Edition.

Point Guard: A Tribe Called Quest
The Point Guard (PG) job is to distribute the ball, call the plays, see the court, control the tempo and when needed to, score (of course, depends on the player.) The ideal PG is fast AND quick, makes good decisions, and can spread the floor with his quicks and range. This position is embodied in the music of A Tribe Called Quest. When you thought they were going to sound a certain way, they sounded different. When you thought they would do this, they did something different. Each album they came with made folks take a new notice of who they were while never compromising quality. With music that was clearly influenced by blue lights and smokey evenings, and lyrics that were the product of dedication and the long lost ability to construct a rhyme that even at bar 40 still has relation to bar 1 while not being so complex you had to pause and rewind just to “Check The Rhyme”, this group is one of the standards of group mastery not only in Hip-Hop, but in music. When you think about what other groups ATCQ has brought us or touched, this choice becomes even clearer. There were the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul which with ATCQ formed the Native Tongues. You also had classic work with Leaders Of The New School, Mos Def, Common, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, and Black Sheep. Nuff’ said.

Shooting Guard: N.W.A.
Typically, one of the best fusions of offensive skill on the court, the Shooting Guard (SG) is often asked to be the first scoring option for the team. They tend to have the ability to slash or hit the jumper, they have some handle and can pass well, and are generally the ideal look outside of the paint. With the primary goal being offense, I have to go with N.W.A. I wrote about them before in Classic Material but I’m not sure you understand. This group is probably the toughest group on record, period. I don’t mean that in any colorful, creative way nor is there any cryptic meaning behind that choice. Simply put, nobody has come harder or more direct than N.W.A. The way they played the game, they influenced the ENTIRE Hip-Hop culture and STILL have lasting impact well after the group has since disbanded and lost a core member in Eazy-E. Disagree, but lets check out a few rappers you may know that were influenced by or involved in this group shall we? Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, The Game, Eminem, and 50 Cent to name a few. How are they connected? Before N.W.A. Made gangster cool to mainstream America, this type of thuggery was only known locally. Gunplay and lyrics were dating before, but now they were married. Drugs and the dark life of the hood were myths before, but now they were fact. You can debate it all you want, but the idea of what it meant to be black and what it meant to love this Hip-Hop was not understood by the outsiders until N.W.A. With their best defense being offense and offensive, I’d have no other group shooting the rock….

Small Forward: Outkast
We can debate this one, but in my opinion, the Small Forward or Shooting Guard is the most important position on the court. The SF has to be able to not just shoot the J, but play with his back to the basket. He needs to be able to handle the rock inside as well as make the open pass. He needs to be offensively capable as well as be defensively minded. Let’s not forget they often have to be able to get the rebound as well as lead the break. This position is for someone who can do whatever you need done. Insert Outkast here. For my money, Outkast is the greatest group of all time. From the moment they touched the mic and blessed us with “Player’s Ball” from the classic album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, it was undeniable that we were in the era of Outkast. If you look forward from that album, they went on to give us what is largely regarded as 3 more classic albums. It’s hard to argue with over 25 million albums sold and 6 Grammy Awards. As many groups and artists do, they are responsible for putting their city on the map, Atlanta. The flip side is that they put an entire region (The Dirty South) on the map as well. I have all of their music and had to chop some stuff out to make it fit on one CD to play in the car. I had that CD in there so long, I had to press the eject button SEVERAL times to get it out. I don’t have anything negative to say about them or the music at all and for those of you that slept on Speakerboxxx, your loss.

Power Forward: Run DMC
One of the two largest players on the court traditionally, the Power Forward (PF) may have more responsibility to score or rebound depending on the team and player skill set. Someone like a Tim Duncan is the Point Guard of the big men where someone like Bosh is more of a Shooting Guard up top. Either way, they have to be able to pick up the pieces, occasionally score, but at all times contest anything around the paint. Run DMC (the first mainstream rap supergroup) is the Tim Duncan of Hip-Hop Groups. They are consistent, seemingly un-hyped in most “greatest” discussions, but easily have carried the genre further than any other group in the game (similar to how many players have won rings with Duncan at PF). They are the alpha of groups success in Hip-Hop and one of the cornerstones of the very culture we adore. With a group of firsts that would challenge even the most stubborn critic, there is no denying the greatness of this group.

Center: Public Enemy
The Center is usually the largest and strongest player on the team. They are often asked to score inside 5 feet of the hoop, control any rebound and defend any shot taken in the same area. Of course there are variations a’la Shaq and Yao Ming, but the thing all successful centers have in common, the ability to dominate. With a focus on defense and defensive rebounding, no group is more of an obvious choice than Public Enemy. I don’t think there has ever been a more militant or socially conscious visible group in Hip-Hop than PE. Their focus was clearly set on the struggle and strife of the voice of Hip-Hop in a world that had us on mute. They weren’t the gangsters of the West Coast, the flashy, braggart thugs of the East Coast, the different jazzy sound of the Couth, nor the pop funboys of the genre that some other groups were. They were The Voice of a people, the Voice of a culture. Public Enemy probably helped sell as many leather Africa medallions as Run DMC did Adidas and Kangol Kid did Kangols. Before PE, we had no one to spearhead the lyrical Black Panther movement and say what we wanted to say in the same arena we wanted to say it. The music of PE in the music industry (largely controlled by the same people that oppress the common folks) was the collective fuck you to the bosses that had the knees on their knees on our neck when we got to work at 9:01am even though they knew about the accident on the highway and that you took that route to get to work.

Notable Subs: (PG) De La Soul, (SG) Little Brother, (SF) The Roots, (PF) Wu-Tang*, ( C) Blackstar

*there are two reasons WU is a sub and not a starter, 1) I don’t think they have near the accomplishments of any of the previous 5 mentioned, and 2) they weren’t as much as a they were a collection of artists…kinda like a label. That’s my opinion I guess, but I think RZA said something like this too.

Anyway, who are your starting 5?

The transition of Phonte to a singer (who’s Foreign Exchange is nominated for a Grammy this year) and the anticipation of Lil’ Wayne’s Rebirth Rock album, I’m looking for other transitions this year. Now, I’m not talking about transitions like Flavor Flav’s transition to singing on his new song, but those moves that have potential to be…well, good.

Brandy as (Rapper) Brand Nu:
In case you’ve missed it, Brandy is plotting on a serious comeback, if you want to call it that. Check her out on YouTube to catch her giving you flat out singing greatness with no tricks, music, or Auto-Tune. While her impromptu singing performances have people buzzing and remembering what a great pure voice she has, her rapping has this dog;s ears really perked up. The female emcee game is a HOV lane on a highway of single occupancy cars…WIDE OPEN. While Nicki Minaj is taking the attacks of sexsationalism, Brandy has an image that isn’t marred by the controversy that is a women and her embracing her sexuality. Here’s the real caveat to that…she’s pretty good. You can hear her on “Symphony” on Timberland’s Shock Value II. Brandy, if you are reading this, you have to make this happen. Folks are really checking for you to do this, and are eager to hear you and Rodney Jerkins hook up and give some heat to the game.
Example: Timbaland feat. Brand Nu, Attitude, & D.O.E. – “Symphony”

R.Kelly as MC Kellz:
Scandal aside, this man’s musical dexterity and ability are unrelenting. His typically sets the trends in the game and makes others try and do what he’s perfected. On his latest offering, “Crazy Night”, we hear MC Kellz do more of the rapping that he’s slowly been working into his albums. Never mind that its a melodic clone of “Pop Champagne” by Ron Browz, he’s not half bad with the lyrics. I’ve also heard that with the explosion known as his Trapped In the Closet series he’s toyed with the idea of producing a play that sings sentences like he did in that song. Color me curious as well as optimistic. I mean, we are talking about a guy that has made some off the wall shit sound good and become hits, just check his catalog for examples.
Example: R. Kelly feat. Rock City – “Crazy Night”

The Roots with (Singing) Black Thought:
We’ve all become used to the musical prowess of The Roots music and Thoughts ever mastery on the mic. They are no longer our dirty little secret as Jimmy Fallon nabbed them to be his house band on his Late Night talk show. From the first moment we heard Thought hit melodies on some of the sketches to the impressive renditions of guests movie and show themes, everyone else outside of Hip Hop was introduced to this band that can sing and play, and has a black front man. As I attempt to remove my bias from the equation, they have secretly become the real reason folks still tune in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we will hear Thought singing some slow song a ccapella or them taking on he vocal acrobatics of “Halo” anytime soon.
Example: The Roots – “How I Got Over”

Angel Lola Love as Lola Monroe:
Ok, so this transition isn’t completely new and since the competition is so thin that I feel like I’ve been hearing about this move forever? Anyway, Angel Lola Love used to be on the arms of various cats in videos and causing sticky pages for some in magazine spreads across the country. She’s decided that she wants to hang up the thong and be a emcee. To back this up, she’s even (supposedly) dropped some mixtapes out there. I’ve heard her flow, and she’s not bad. I’m just excited to see more visible female rappers in the game again, cause as you know, Saule Wright loves the ladies.
Example: Yo Gotti feat. Lola Monroe, Lil’ Boosie, & Trina – “5 Star Bitch (remix)”

As the staff member that broke Drake to the site…ahem…It is my PLEASURE to announce his So Far Gone as nappyafro’s Mixtape Of The Year winner for 2009. If you don’t agree, let’s go over some simple facts about this mixtape. He’s nominated for a Grammy from a mixtape that came prior to any album release or even major label deal. This mixtape single-handedly propelled Drake into the stratosphere and has Vibe calling him Hip Hop’s new religion. It’s hard to deny that “Successful” alone, reintroduced the world to Trey Songz and reignited his career as well. Lastly, who releases a free mixtape THEN turns around and takes that mixtape and sells over 200k copies? Ok, so for those of you that are hard to please, MTV and Complex Magazine agree with us with Complex going as far as calling this one of the top 5 mixtapes this decade. Simply put, Drake has managed to put his fingerprint on a career that may see him release classics in R&B and Hip-Hop, and that is proof that he is So Far Gone from the nearest competitors for this award.

Runners Up:
Lil’ Wayne – No Ceilings
J. Cole – The Warm Up
Wale & 9th Wonder – Back To The Feature

I haven’t done a good job of putting you onto R&B lately like I should have, but with the Grammy’s around the corner, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about some of the nominiees. Now, there are way too many categories for R&B with them flipping in contemporary or traditional and all kinds of stuff to distinguish one from another. Me, I just want to talk about the music.

Anthony Hamilton – Garnering some much due respect and love for his work. If you see any interview, this dude is everyday people and he’s damn good at music. Since 2003, he’s put out 5 albums that are secretly must haves in the R&B collection of any real music lover. He sings and exemplifies the totality of bieng a true man and the dynamics of being that man and understanding feelings and relationships. I think he may split his noms with Maxwell, but he’s ahead of Maxwell as far as careers go in my book.

Maxwell – Now, I said that Anthony Hamilton was ahead…but according to sales, Maxwell just told me “bullshit”. The face of the neo-soul movement has had 3 of 4 studio albums go platinum and he’s less than 250k away from his 4th consecutive plaque. While BLACKsummers’night is a turn from his previous sound, he quietly put out the R&B album of the year…and it’s only 9 songs long. The scary part, “Pretty Wings” is a helluva song, and not even the best on the album. That award belongs to “Playing Possum”.

India.Arie – Admittedly, I’m biased. There is nothing elaborate about this statement, simply put, I love India Arie. She’s much more talented than you hear on her albums and I have had the pleasure of hearing her live, and I loved it. Her approach to the industry is admittedly underpromoted, underground, and strctly from the heart. She came to my college a few years back with NO advertisement outside of the local school paper. There were no commercials on the radio, no posters, no anything. Even more shocking was the cost…$10 bucks. Unfortunately, getting nommed and not winning a Grammy is know known as getting “India Arie’d” but lets look at the snubs: 2002-7noms no wins, 2003- 4 noms 2 wins, 2006 – 2noms no wins, 2007 – 3 noms no wins, 2008 – 1 nom no win, 2009 – 1 nom no win. So now we have her in 2010 with 3 noms. Unfortunately, she’s going against Maxwell for album of the year, Jamie Foxx and T.Pain for “Blame It”, and Foriegn Exchange for Urban Alternative Performance…whatever that is. I think she should win one, but I don’t know how when she’s going against such monsters as those. Understand this though, she doesn’t need a Grammy for you to appreciate this latest album.

Ledisi – Folks try and say that because she doesn’t look like the other ladies in the biz is the reason that she doesn’t get the shine she should. I don’t think that’s it. She has such a big talent, that in today’s music biz of put me in a box and package me doesn’t work for her. She can/does sing soul, jazz, and almost anything else that you can think of. On this album, she has gone very contemporary in comparison to her previous albums, but still manages to deliver one fantastic album. The most enjoyable revealation I got from this album was that she has now reached into the realm of Michelle Ferrell, the dopest female singer I’ve ever heard. I hate the phrase get your grown man/woman on, but Ledisi is the mascot for that thought process. If you are in the mood for something more in the jazzy soul arena, check any of her previous albums. Now, it’s always good to be on your Hip-Hop, but make SURE to Turn Yo’ Headphones Up to R&B

Ego Trippin’ wasn’t a bad album, hell, I gave it a 3.5 (more on that later). Like I said on that review, I had to let go of the Snoop from Doggystyle and Murder Was The Case, he’s not that guy anymore. That statement leads me right into this album, what more does he have to offer? His last album was a far cry from a Hip-Hop sounding album, but now, the climate has changed so much, he can’t do that again. Or can he? With the single that he released from this album with The-Dream, it seems he may try.

I Wanna Rock
Produced by Snoop DeVille & Dr. Dre
I can’t express how much I despise the use of the Rob Base sample on this song. When I head the sample at the beginning, I was excited…that quickly faded. Everything about this track is bad outside of the shout out to Hip-Hop history with the sample. I won’t go on, this song is terrible and cliché even for Snoop. SKIP

2 Minute Warning
Produced by Terrace Martin
There is a reference to Slim Shady in this song, and it sounds a lot like one of his beats from his first album. I haven’t decided if that is a good or bad thing yet. As the song indicates, this is a short song, sub 2 minutes but one of Snoop’s most focused flows in recent memory. Actually, the more I listen to this song, this is pretty good vintage Snoop here albeit too short.

1800
Featuring Lil’ Jon ; Produced by Lil’ Jon
Where the hell has Lil’ John been? Well, I don’t know but he’s back, and he’s up to his old tricks. This song is no less than a club banger and I wouldn’t be shocked to see this be released as a single. Lyrically, I’m not going to pretend it’s greatness, but the sound and delivery make me pretty sure this would be a hit in the club.

Different Languages
Featuring Jazmine Sullivan; Produced by Teddy Riley, Snoop DeVille, & PMG
I have never been so torn on a Snoop track. I’m literally on the fence about this one. The track is simple as hell and the keys are kind of loud, almost annoying. However, the bass and rhythm make it hard to dislike. Jazmine is on the hook and you know that I love her on anything, but they run her voice through some filter so it sounds odd, then they add this other odd voice as well. I’m not one to second guess Teddy…but I really don’t know what to think about this one. I love it, and I hate it at the same time. Snoop offers up some really elementary lyrics even for him on this track. “Uh, oh yes I am/This my plan/You my girl/I’m yo man/Take yo pain/Take my hand/Take my name/Make my kids/Do yo thang/Ain’t no game/Show no shame/If I’m the boss, Bosslady must be yo name.”

Gangsta Luv
Featuring The-Dream; Produced by The-Dream & Tricky Stewart
With the world seeing this song live on the BET Hip-Hop Awards, we were introduced to the collaboration of The-Dream and the D. O.double G. It took me a while to appreciate this song. The-Dream has really saturated the game with his sound so it’s hard to even appreciate his music sometimes. Not only that, but Snoop is on his usual steez, weed, women, and “pimpin’”, but it has grown on me. I can definitely hear this song being played in the more mature clubs because of the smooth groove of the synth and catchy baseline. Johnny Mac killed the hook for me though so I don’t see myself vibing to this one anytime soon (He said it sounds like they are saying “Gay Gangster” on the hook.).

Pronto
Featuring Soulja Boy Tell’ ‘Em; Produced by B-Don & Super Ced
I have always been one to say that the older vets in the game need to bring in and work with the younger cats coming up in the game, so even tho the pairing of Snoop and Souljah seems odd, I can give him credit for doing it. The hook of this song is one of the most annoying I’ve heard on a Snoop track and maybe one of the worst sounding Auto-Tune uses ever. The other side of the coin is that I like the way Souljah and Snoop flow on this track. Souljah starts his 2nd verse with the typical “I don’t freestyle cause my style ain’t free” but lands nicely at the end. Everyone else I’ve read hates this song, it’s not that bad to me…but that hook is terrible, I can’t defend that.

That’s Tha Homie
Produced by Danja & Timbaland
Danja and Timbaland had one thing in mind with this track, the bounce. Everything else seems misplaced, wrong, and loud. The song is purposely off-key and painfully busy. The nonsensical rhymes don’t help this song at all and I’d go so far as to say that this is one of Snoops worse songs…right next to the country song from the last album. SKIP

Upside Down
Featuring Nipsey Hussle & Problem; Produced by Terrace Martin & Jason Martin
The young man known as Lil’ Snoop (Nipsey Hussle) teaming with Big Snoop…wow, this should be good. DAMN RIGHT IT IS. The track is no nonsense bass with a nice drummer boy addition to it. I really dig this track. Once again, Snoop gives us some vintage lyrical assault and Nipsey is not a game.

Snoop: “Lil’ mama tryna show the Dogg her G-strang/While she sang ‘Ain’t Nothin’ But A G Thang’/A nigga throwin’ signs tryna let me know that he bang/Like I give a muthafuck what he claim!”

Nipsey: “End…all the speculation/The preconceived notions got me overcompensatin’/For you slow niggas that means I been concentratin’/On shittin’ on these records while you niggas constipated….my album on the way and I ain’t worried about the stats/But I can tell you how the streets gon’ react, they gon’ say put em on up!”

This song is the best on the album and should get some serious club love.

Secrets
Featuring Kokane; Produced by Battlecat
Shit, not another one. Some samples and sound just don’t work and this is another example. It’s not a skip because once Snoop gets on the track it sounds like a different song, a much much better song. They add a little more sound under his part and his flow really grounds the track and makes everything outside of his part sound like a bad dream…however, his part is far too short so you are quickly back in the bad dream.

Pimpin Ain’t EZ
Featuring R.Kelly; Produced by Nottz
Kells and Snoop back at it so you know the track should be pretty smooth and laid back. Well, I was close…it’s a really simple track that is really driven by the repetitive chord and the simple bass knock. I’m confident we could close our eyes and imagine what this one sounds like so I’ll move on to the next track. Oh, the one thing of note, Snoop again delivers some pretty interesting flow here.

Luv Drunk
Featuring The-Dream; Produced by The-Dream & Tricky Stewart
I don’t feel like I need to tell you about the track, it’s produced by and features The-Dream again, so you have a good idea what it sounds like…only on the slow groove tip. The OG is a LONG way from “Murder Was the Case” on this one, and gives us some forgettable lyrics on a song that would serve better as an instrumental.

Special
Featuring Brandy & Pharrell; Produced by The Neptunes
I’m gonna cut to the chase, this isn’t just one of my fave songs on the album, but one of my faves in his catalog. His game is off and on on this track and the initial lead in on his verse makes you cringe a little, but he gets it together. This song could have been flawless if Snoop had adopted one of his smoother sounding deliveries but he sometimes chops it up in places and kind of kills the groove. Brandy sounds great on the hook and Pharrell is really owning his false-setto. I’m sure you’ll hear this one on one of my FROCAST’s in the future.

Bottom Line:
Sometimes I wonder if Snoop is having an identity crisis. At moments he reaches back and grabs the skill and sound that made him one of the most revered guys in the game, then he follows that up with songs that sound like he’s trying too hard to stay relevant to a younger audience. He let’s us know that he’s a grown, family man now, then talks about pimpin’ and women like he’s still a single teenage kid new to the game. The title of the album almost echos that sentiment, that he’s somewhere between. The big problem with this album is consistency. When he has the right flow, it’s on the wrong track, when he has the right track, he has the wrong lyrics and flow, etc. Those problems make this album a tough listen, and I like Snoop. I think the die hard fans will give him a pass and keep on buying his music. For those of us that are just regular fans, lyrically, at times, this reminds us why we liked him in the first place at times, but mostly it solidifies why we get so aggravated with him.

nappyPicks: “1800”, “Upside Down”, “Special”

Download: Snoop Dogg – “1800″ (feat. Lil’ Jon)

Download: Snoop Dogg – “Upside Down” (feat. Nipsey Hussle & Problem)

Gotta say much love for the success of the previous FROCAST. You all downloaded in big numbers and signed up via iTunes. We got a lot of positive feedback from the first joint and hopefully, that continues with this second installment. I talk about the reason for the name in the podcast. Let’s be clear, there are some songs that won’t be on this one. A lot of songs that you would automatically expect based on the name, are not on here. I didn’t want to make this a collection of songs from your current library of music, although some songs just can’t be skipped on this subject matter. I dig into the history a little bit, and come all the way up to current songs around the topic. Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoy, download, subscribe, and share this second edition of the FROCAST. Peace.

Tracklist:
1. “Intro” – Saule Wright
2. “Girl You Know” – Scarface
3. “Laura’s Song” – Donwill of Tanya Morgan
4. “To Serve With Love” – Black Spade
5. “Don’t U Have A Man” – Drake
6. “Kanday” – LL Cool J
7. “Renee” – Lost Boyz
8. “1st Date” – Nicolay feat. Von Pea of Tanya Morgan
9. “Too Cute” – Devin The Dude feat. Erica Marion
10. “Beautiful (Blackstar Remix)” Mos Def feat. Mary J. Blige
11. “Baby Phat” – De La Soul feat. Devin The Dude
12. “Makin Love” – Fabolous feat. Ne-Yo
13. “Run The Streetz” – 2pac feat. Michel’le
14. “You Got Me” – The Roots feat. Erykah Badu
15. “Sincere” – Foreign Exchange
16. “(For Real) He Don’t Own Me” – Skillz
17. “Baby Don’t Leave Me Now” – Blu
18. “Outro” – Saule Wright
19. *Bonus Song*

Listen Below:

Download: FROCAST: Love, Relationships, & Shit Like That

OK, so you know The Black Keys right…exactly. That’s why this is a FFWD and not a track by track. I’m vaguely familiar with them, but Blues Rock doesn’t appear to be high on the radar for you, our nappyafro readers. Now, if we’re wrong, please comment and let us know you are checking for this and other genres of music.

Anyway, that aside, I was kinda amped for this album. With Dame Dash being involved and the list of talent to grace the album (Luda, Mos Def, RZA, Pharoahe Monche, Raekwon, Q-Tip, and Nicole Wray to name a few) I figured this one was a no brainer. I like Black Keys alright, and Rock n Rap is usually pretty cool, so bring it on. It sounds like what it is, very experimental. It’s not a bad album, but you really have to be open to the sound. This isn’t your Roots playing behind Thought, this is Rock music with folks rapping/singing over it. There are some moments on this album where it really seems to come together like “Stay Off the Fuckin’ Flowers” featuring Raekwon, but unfortunately, those moments are the background to what seems to be largely just something new.

Bottom Line:
Don’t let the names fool you, this is really a Rock album. The sound is amazing, you can hear every instrument played, but the songs and sound are really much larger than the artists vocals and steal the show on almost every song. Not only that, outside of Mos Def (shout out to The Ecstatic) and Rae, everyone else sounds kind of forced. I’m interested in hearing how this unfolds if they continue to play with this project.

Download: The Black Keys feat. Raekwon – “Stay Off the Fuckin’ Flowers”
Download: The Black Keys feat. Billy Danze of M.O.P., Q-Tip, & Nicole Wray – “Hope You’re Happy”

I ran across Danny Swain’s music a while ago in some forum where folks were sharing music. Now, the thing that made me check him out was that he was the only artist that had replies and co-signs. There were the Kanye comparisons, people commenting on how good the production was, and several folks saying he got next. Then, there were the comparisons to Eminem and even mention that this young rapper/producer/artist from South Carolina was being considered for the Grammy’s. Needless to say, I downloaded the joint. I was blown away by the album, that was Charm.

I purchased that and went on to purchase 4 other albums after hearing that. While I think Charm was probably the best album in the catalog (lyrical album that is, he does have 2 very rare instrumentals), there was never a dull moment on any of the albums. The claims were pretty dead on. He has a multi-sylable style of flow that is similar to Eminem at times, his style seems to be off the regular topics like Kanye was when he first started, he’s very abstract and sometimes goes really deep with his lyrics like a Lupe Fiasco, and the production was sample driven similar to 9th Wonder, but he was a lot more unconventional than that. I had to cosign this dude myself.

Most recently he signed with the Definative Jux label. This label seems to have the knack for finding some of the hottest indie acts in the game. Some names that they have signed include Murs, Dizzee Rascal, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Aesop Rock, and Mr. Lif. That signing garnered him a lot of attention as well as a mtvU appearance, single, and video release. He’s also racked up a following and garnered acclaim by being featured on most every website and in every magazine that has anything to say about Hip-Hop.

Leading into this latest album, reports were that this album would be, different. When I spoke to Danny, he declared the same thing. Now, I wasn’t sure what that meant…was he warning me or preparing me, two very different approaches if you ask me. I gotta say, he was right, the album is very different, and he was preparing me. In other interviews, he’d stated that folks had always loved his production but slept on his lyrics and often said, “His beats are nice, but lyrically….he’s OK.” D took that personally and went to the lab. Reports say that the reason that he let Alex Goose produce this album was so that he could focus on the lyrics. He’s clearly a lot more like his original flow than he was on Charm and And I Love H.E.R.. Swain went on to say in another interview that he wanted to say the most off the wall stuff he could get away with on this record just so folks would recognize his lyrics again. Was he successful? You decide.

With permission of one of the most enjoyable cats in my collection, nappyafro has a double feature for you. Initially, we were going to do a huge blow out for this album coming out, but delays and other things kinda of messed with the timing of that. I’ve been working with D. Swain to try and figure out how we can help him. So what we’ve got, is a double feature for you. I made a mix of some of his music to help you get introduced to who D. Swain is. The mix contains music from each of his previous albums, The College Kicked-Out, Danny Is Dead (Japan Bonus tracks), F.O.O.D., Charm, and And I Love H.E.R.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. It also has two hand picked instrumental jams that he wanted included. Along with that, we have, in its entirety and with full permission from his camp, his new album, Where Is Danny?. I’m sure that you’ll find his comedic-abstract flow and subject matter enjoyable and worth supporting. You can log onto www.DannySwain.com to get more of his music as well as iTunes.

Bottom Line:
I listened to this album and like I said, I agree, this album is definitely different. I didn’t mention that Swain attended The Savannah College of Art and Design but it’s important because that helps you understand this album a lot more. Dude is an artist, in every sense of the word. This album is very unconventional with somewhere around 17 songs being less than 3minutes long on an album with an instrumental, only 2 “interludes” and moments like “Man, Mutherfuck An Intro” and a commercial, you get a LOT of material to digest, and I think it’s probably easier to accept after you listen to his other music. I think it’s a good album, but it’s most assuredly a slow burn, meaning it will get better and better with each listen.

nappyPicks: “Where is Danny”, “Tattered Fedora Flow”, “Still Got Love”, “Theme Music To A Killing Spree”, “Lost One”, “Mama I Want To Fucking Sing”

1. Man, Motherfuck An Intro
2. Manic At The Disco
3. Where Is Danny?
4. Tattered Fedora Flow
5. Hoedown Showdown (feat. Von Pea)
6. I Ain’t The Walrus
7. Turn Me Up
8. Many Reasons
9. Still Got Love
10. Sloppy Joe, Pt. 1
11. Commercial Break (Interlude)
12. Fa Fa Fa
13. This Is Your Life (In West Watch-A-Ka-Tella) (Instrumental)
14. Off The Hook (feat. Che Grand)
15. George Wendt
16. Nah, I Don’t Like This Beat Yo
17. Theme Music To A Killing Spree (feat. Danny Brown)
18. Lost One
19. Scrambled Eggs
20. Sloppy Joe, Pt. 2
21. Seven Seconds Of Static (Interlude)
22. Mama I Want To Fucking Sing
23. Wake The Fuck Up Man (You’re Trippin’ Man)
24. Crank Dat (Hey DJ) (feat. Ladi Jade)
25. Get Down

Download: Danny Swain – Where’s Danny? [Full Album]

1. Janelle Monae (Instrumental)
2. The Lesson
3. Guess Who’s Back
4. Fly
5. Can’t Nobody
6. Charm
7. Mind’s Made Up
8. Grateful
9. I Wish
10. Prove Myself
11. Cafe Surreal Pt. 2
12. The Train (Instrumental)
13. No Gaurantees
14. Stay Away
15. The Lesson
16. I Only Wanna Be With You (Neptunes Remix)
17. Fullaschidt
18. Never Change
19. Rise & Shine (Interlude)

Download: nappyafro presents: Who the Fuck is Danny Swain? [Mix]

For a while now, we’ve been kicking around the idea of doing a podcast and how to do it. We’ve done research and all of this stuff, but at the end of the day, the first one has to be done. So, I jumped in. My boys Easy and Jerm are busy doing all the stuff us slackers aren’t so I took it upon myself to go for it.

As far as theme, eh, it’s music. I tried to give you a mix of stuff you haven’t heard, some stuff you may have heard, some new, some old, but all enjoyable. Now, its the first attempt so there are some issues. The file is HUGE, the intro part sounds crazy…not in a good way, but I couldn’t fix it. After “x” amount of takes, it just wasn’t happening. I got much better luck with the conclusion, but hey, it’s a beginning. As we get better and do more, it will get better and be more.

Anyway, enjoy it, hit up the form post about it, and offer up suggestions for the next one or talk about this one. It enjoyed doing it and hopefully you all appreciate the effort. (Update: Added tracklist)

Tracklist:
“Intro” – Saule Wright
“Grown Simba” – J. Cole
“Elephant Rome” – Cyne
“Strange Fruit” – Danny Swain
“Closer” – Drake
“Lock Shit Down” – Chali 2na feat. Talib Kweli
“Show Stealers” – Tef Poe
“Real Smoov” – Children Of The Night
“Granny Smith” – Random feat. Niz
“Long Days” – Somobe feat. Shadow Pilot
“Arrival And Departure” – Finale feat. Awesome Dre
“Graff Time” – Chali 2na
“Whatever You Want” – John Sportin
“Mash” – Strange Fruit Project feat. Big Pooh and Kay
“Pit Stop” – Cunninglinguists
“Culture Cut” – Bahamadia
“Check” – Murphy Lee
“One For the Road” – Cee-Lo
“The Getaway” – Little Brother
“Official” – Pharoae Monche
“See It In Your Eyes” – Rah DIgga feat. Fabolous
“Coldhearted” – Blu & Exile
“Plan B – Tanya Morgan
“How Can It Be” – Reks
“Outro” – Saule Wright

Listen Below:

Download: Frocast: Premier Edition