Ever since The Carter documentary was shown at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to great reviews, and ever since Lil’ Wayne’s camp tried to sue QD3 Entertainment claiming the film painted Weezy in a negative light (Meaning they showed a lotta drug use), I’ve been interested in watching this film. Seeing that it was just released released on DVD last Tuesday, you can figure how Tha The Carter documentary was a good choice for Friday Night ‘Fro. Enjoy. (Sidenote: I would have more commentary on the actual film, but have yet to watch it in full).

Being that I was the one who reviewed Wale’s debut album, Attention Deficit, I guess it’s only right that I get to speak on it’s  chart debut (I do all The Numbers Games anyway, but still…). Yea, in this column the whole purpose is to talk about album sales but honestly, Attention Deficit’s 1st week sales don’t tell the whole story. In a recent interview with HoneyMag.com, Wale stated that Interscope only shipped out 30,000 albums. So when you see that he sold 28,000 of the 30,000, that #21 spot could have been higher. Especially when the album is pretty good (3.5 out 5 is pretty good right?).

You see how Beyonce’s I Am…Sasha Fierce shot up 55 spots back into the Top 50? Is she gonna go triple?

Anybody else knew that Wycelf released a retail version of his DJ Drama mixtape, Toussaint St. Jean: From The Hut, To The Projects, To The Mansion? At least 3,000 fans knew. He lands at #171. You can download a free version here.

#4 Michael Jackson/This Is It [OST] (Last Week: #2) – 162,900; Total: 686,500 (Gold) [3 Weeks]
#16 Jay-Z/The Blueprint 3 (Last Week: #15) – 33,000; Total: 1,271,200 (Platinum) [10 Weeks]
#20 Black Eyed Peas/The E.N.D. (Last Week: #20) – 28,200; Total: 1,356,200 (Platinum) [23 Weeks]
#21 Wale/Attention Deficit (Last Week: NA) – 28,300; Total: NA [Debut]
#37 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #92) – 16,000; Total: 2,492,000 (2X Platinum) [52 Weeks]
#49 Trey Songz/Ready (Last Week: #51) – 12,200; Total: 318,100 [10 Weeks]
#171 Wyclef Jean/Toussaint St. Jean: From The Hut, To The Projects, To The Mansion (Last Week: Na) – 3,300; Total: NA [Debut]

Yep, I been waiting on this one for a second. Pill drops his follow up to his 4180: The Prescription mixtape. For those who have heard or seen the video for “Trap Goin’ Ham” and think that is all this guy is, pull up a seat. He’s not your average rapper out of the Atlanta. Grab the mixtape (The DJ or No DJ versions) and check out the album artwork. On a sidenote: King Jerm claims to have put me on the Pill. He didn’t, but since he likes getting credit…

Download: Pill – 4075: The Refill [Mixtape] (DJ)

Download: Pill – 4075: The Refill [Mixtape] (No DJ)

For some reason I honestly thought Beanie Sigel wouldn’t throw any major shots at Jay-Z here. Well, actually he didn’t. 50 Cent (Who was just on the hook) did it for him: “You changed man! You let the money change you Jay! You used to be from Marcy nigga! Now you’se a pass the Grey Poupon ass nigga! You don’t want the shooter? I’ll take him.” I’ll need more listens to the actual song before I give my opinion.

Hey, when is 50’s album dropping again? Pretty soon right? Okay.

Sidenote: This is a radio rip. CDQ will be added when available. Added CDQ

Download: Beanie Sigel feat. 50 Cent – “I Go Off”

Not really much movement this week except three debuts below #46. Since I really haven’t listen to either albums, you can see how it’s slow week…well, at least for me. Amerie, Ryan Leslie, and rapper Shwayze (From the now canceled MTV show Buzzin’) all sold 12,000 (and below) albums each. Besides that, Michael Jackson did receive a Gold plaque this week for This Is It. And that’s it. In other unrelated chart news, go check out our homeboy B-Double’s (aka Your Favorite White Boy) newest site Today In Rap (Which is a great idea). Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our new podcast Frocast (We on iTunes homie!)

#2 Michael Jackson/This Is It [OST] (Last Week: #1) – 195,700; Total: 569,500 (Gold) [2 Weeks]
#15 Jay-Z/The Blueprint 3 (Last Week: #10) – 38,100; Total: 1,238,200 (Platinum) [9 Weeks]
#20 Black Eyed Peas/The E.N.D. (Last Week: #13) – 28,100; Total: 1,328,000 (Platinum) [22 Weeks]
#41 Mariah Carey/Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel (Last Week: #31) – 13,500; Total: 303,800 [6 Weeks]
#43 Whitney Houston/I Look To You (Last Week: #30) – 12,800; Total: 778,300 (Gold) [10 weeks]
#45 Drake/So Far Gone (Last Week: #37) – 12,700; Total: 223,300 [8 Weeks]
#46 Amerie/In Love & War (Last Week: NA) – 12,700; Total: NA [Debut]
#50 Ryan Leslie/Transition (Last Week: NA) – 12,000; Total: NA [Debut]
#55 Shwayze/Let It Beat (Last Week: NA) – 10,800; Total: NA [Debut]

Damn, I can’t believe it’s been four months since my last Boomin’ System entry back in July with Blaq Poet’s Tha Blaqprint album. I guess now is a better time than ever then to drop something new with the recent slowness on the music scene (which is due to pick up with new albums from the likes of 50 Cent, Rakim, Wale, etc.). In between my prevalent rotation of The Salvation (Skyzoo), The Blueprint 3 (Jay-Z), and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II (Raekwon) since September, I found a chance to listen to new music that has been circulating. In light of the albums and mixtapes that I found on the surface including No Ceilings (Lil’ Wayne), Street Hop (Royce Da 5’9”), and K.O.D. (Tech N9ne)… No, Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em’s trilogy mixtapes didn’t occupy space on my hard drive… I came across Sean Price’s latest mixtape entitled Kimbo Price: The Prelude To Mic Tyson. This was a mixtape whose release I was actually anticipating and was looking forward to listening to after hearing some of the tracks (“Duck Down”, “Boost”, “MegaSean”) that leaked before its official release.

I can admit that I took a late pass on Sean Price in not really starting to listen to him until 2005 with his debut album Monkey Barz and not realizing that he was half of the rap group Heltah Skeltah. With that said, Sean Price is definitely not a newcomer in terms of the rap scene having been around since 1996 with Heltah Skeltah’s debut album Nocturnal, being apart of the Hip-Hop collective Boot Camp Clik, and having released two solo albums since then. His latest offering, Kimbo Price, in mixtape form serves as a prelude and lead up to his 3rd solo album Mic Tyson due next year letting listeners and fans alike know that he’s still been grinding since Heltah Skeltah’s D.I.R.T. album released last year. Sean Price happens to be one of the most creative and comical rappers in the game today as evident by his witty monikers (Deceptacon Sean, MegaSean, Kimbo Price, Donkey Sean, Jr.) and album titles (Mic Tyson, Jesus Price Superstar). This wittiness and comedy is also heard with his lyrics as Price throws comical punchlines in the midst of his confidently strong flow (“You do Coach bags, I do kush bags/You a douche bag, I’m the truth fag”…“Shared greedy, y’all niggas get scared easy/Queer like multiple pairs of Air Yeezy’s”) as heard on tracks like “Duck Down”, which sees Sean teaming up with Duck Down labelmates Skyzoo and Torae over a beat in similar likeness to Raekwon’s “Have Mercy”. Each emcee displays exactly why they’re a force to be reckoned with and the lyrical prowess of the Duck Down label.

The creative of Sean P. as mentioned earlier is seen on songs like “Pork Chops & Apple Sauce” in which he jacks not only Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know” beat but his flow in making a mockery of the artist and his song (while making it better and listenable at the same time) and “Boost” where in theme with Boost Mobile phones Price delivers a stellar verse in chirp mode over the phone. Other spots on the mixtape sees Sean Price in customary mixtape fashion putting his own spin over other artists’ beats as heard on “Abortion”, “Car Thiefs”, “Get Ya Sket Mic”, “This Is Us”, “P’s Up”, and “Bullshit (Radient Jewls Remix)”. There are some original songs to be heard on the mixtape as well like the aforementioned “Duck Down”, “Goodnite!!!”, and “Weed & Hoes”, which has to be one of the most clever sampling and turns of a Gospel song into a Hip-Hop song. Sean Price proceeds to make it one of the highlights of the mixtape with an effortless flow along with a nice guest verse by St Maffew. After 23 tracks of good material with various Kimbo Slice and Mike Tyson clips thrown in between songs, Kimbo Price does exactly what it’s supposed to do as a mixtape. Just as the title reads with it being a prelude to his next album, Sean Price delivers suitable music that will surely hold his listeners over until next year when Mic Tyson is released. A lot of people might not be too familiar with Sean Price as an artist and something like this is definitely a proper introduction to him and his lyrical abilities on the microphone. I look forward to hearing what Sean P. comes with next year on his Mic Tyson album and until then Kimbo Price will find a home next to the other three albums currently in my rotation.

Playlist: “Duck Down”, “Weed & Hoes”, “Boost”, “Car Thiefs”, “This Is Us”, “P’s Up”, “Bullshit (Radient Jewls Remix)”, “Goodnite!!!”, “Abortion”

You talked, WE LISTENED. We had no idea that you guys cared about the reviews until this week. We tried to broaden our horizons but we put our bread & butter on the back burner. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. The nappyafro boys are back focused. We took a little time off to fall back and re-evaluate the team, ourselves, and where we want to take this. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. You got to understand that we are regular folks just like ya’ll that work a 9-5, have families, and run a Hip-Hop site. So let this be a warning to all of you out there. The FRO IS BACK! I want to shout out the crew individually…B-Easy aka (the Diva), Saule Wright aka (Mr. 314), SBK aka (Billz), H2O aka (my godson), Kareem Abdul Jamar aka (where you at cuz?..for real?), Arkitekt aka (the noob), VG aka (Kid Knuckles), Infamous F aka (Forum champ), Mr. Jones aka (Mr. Jones), and last but not least, Mr. Chew.  We want to thank all of our long time supporters DJLP, Boricua, TS, Chip, SBA, and the rest of the readers that stop by everyday (even if we don’t put up stuff) WE THANK YOU. We are taking it back to what got us out there in the first place. We are still going to focus on the and More, but we have to bring the focus back to the Hip-Hop Reviews part. In the future, when we slippin…PULL OUR COAT and let us know. We was burnt out, but no excuses from us. WE BACK ON THE GRIND.

Another Numbers Game, another day I apologize once again for the lack of reviews. But hey, Michael Jackson is back on top of the charts; that’s something right? Sidenote: We (nappyafro) are gonna get back on our review grizzly. Believe that.

Anywho, the soundtrack to Michael Jackson’s highly successful movie This Is It hits the charts hard and get the #1 spot. It sold about 370,000 albums (Which is crazy). Even in death the King Of Pop is a force to be reckoned with. He even had another album/compilation (Selections From Michael Jackson) debut on the charts this week at #91. Respect.

Brian McKnight comes in at #20 with his 9th album Evolution Of A Man. He did okay and pushed 24,000 units. Even though I knownothing of this album, I can’t hate on the man though; I once went to a Brian McKnight concert.

Triple C’s prove the naysayers wrong and moves over the speculated sales figures predicted by 50 Cent. Custom Cycles & Cars lands and #44 sales 12,000 albums. Not to good? Better than the 4,000 Curtis thought they did.

Shout out to the comments section. We missed the review for Swollen Members. It’s happens (Even though I like Swollen Members the group). Their new album Armed To The Teeth comes in at #146.

I could have sworn Z-Ro’s Cocaine was a mixtape. An official mixtape? It comes in at #147.

That’s all

“Running on fumes but getting the team together.” -  Typo King.

#1 Michael Jackson/This Is It [OST] (Last Week: NA) – 373,800; Total: NA [Debut]
#10 Jay-Z/The Blueprint 3 (Last Week: #4) – 40,700; Total: 1,200,100 (Platinum) [8 Weeks]
#13 Black Eyed Peas/The E.N.D. (Last Week: #6) – 30,200; Total: 1,300,000 (Platinum) [21 Weeks]
#20 Brian McKnight/Evolution Of A Man (Last Week: NA) – 24,400; Total: NA [Debut]
#30 Whitney Houston/I Look To You (Last Week: #20) – 15,200; Total: 765,500 (Gold) [9 weeks]
#31 Mariah Carey/Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel (Last Week: #14) – 14,900; Total: 290,400 [5 Weeks]
#37 Drake/So Far Gone (Last Week: #28) – 14,900; Total: 210,700 [7 Weeks]
#44 Triple C’s/Custom Cars & Cycles (Last Week: NA) – 12,100; Total: NA [Debut]
#49 Trey Songz/Ready (Last Week: #37) – 11,300; Total: 294,200 [9 Weeks]
#91 Michael Jackson/Selections From Michael Jackson (Last Week: NA) – 6,100; Total: NA [Debut]
#146 Swollen Members/Armed To The Teeth (Last Week: NA) – 3,500; Total: NA [Debut]
#147 Z-Ro/Cocaine (Last Week: NA) – 3,500; Total: NA [Debut]

We haven’t dealt much with the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards outside of the cyphers this year, but I can’t act like it didn’t happen. This year’s show was, performance wise, one of the worst. However, from a production standpoint and things of that nature, it was one of the best shows they’ve had. It did however, leave some questions burning in my mind.

1. Is Joe Buddens THAT good?
I’ve heard some Buddens stuff, I’m not going to act like I am well versed on that dude. However, I don’t remember a time that I was like THIS DUDE IS A PROBLEM. After his flow on the first cypher, I was left scrambling to get re-acclimated. He perked my ears with the Slaughterhouse album, but it still didn’t send me searching for his music. But now, the combination of the album and the cypher, I need to go back to ground zero and research dude, because clearly, there is more to him than I thought.

2. Has Nicki Minaj FINALLY found her formula for success?
Minaj gets more than her fair share of hatred and doubt. Those two attacks are pretty standard uniform for female emcees in the game. I’ve always liked her on the mic and that was BEFORE I saw what she looked like. The net seems to be hell bent with proving she’s got fake body and Weezy writes her rhymes but lets be completely honest here. Number one, sex sells. It has sold since there was a way to put a price on it. If you are in the entertainment biz, and you are female, chance are, you are going to go under the knife at some point or at least add some tracks, nails, or something man-made to your structure. Lets not crucify her for what may or may not have happened to her, but routinely happens in the business. Secondly, ghostwriting or flat out writing for someone else is regular in music. I understand that Hip-Hop puts paramount importance on authenticity, but at the same time, its music is a form of entertainment. When we get around those two formalities, her new animated delivery and flow along with the void in the game, may have finally put her in prime position to make her mark. I’ve often found myself on an island when I speak highly of Minaj, but even those that didn’t care for her too much saw the light after her cypher and recent verse on the remix of “5 Star Chick”. Hopefully, folks will pay attention to her “Killin’ these bitches, Mike Vickin’ it up.”

3. When is BET going to really bring back RapCity or at LEAST do a show called The Booth?
Cypher 3 featured Mos Def, Black Thought, and Eminem spitting some of the most “oh shit” worthy flows ever done on BET. With everyone being able to write down lyrics and drop an album on iTunes, we rarely get to see this side of the game from experienced emcees anymore. You may get some hotlines from them when they show up to the radio station, but rarely do you get emcees of this caliber on at one time, doing what they love. BET, you can reach me at  saulewright at gmail.com if you want to work on this idea. I’m just saying…

4. What about graffiti?
There are four or five elements of Hip-Hop, depending on who you ask. However, no matter WHO you ask, they will both name graffiti as part of it. It clearly has transitioned to a legitimate art-form to the masses, but it has also seemingly been neglected and ignored by what we know as the Hip-Hop culture. I’ve seen more cars, jewelry, and basket ball hoops in music videos than I’ve seen actual tagging being done. Again, BET, you can reach me at  saulewright at gmail.com if you want to work on THIS idea. I’m just saying…

5.What happened to the Emceeing part of Hip Hop?
Disclaimer: Little Brother nor the Justus League do not pay nappyafro.com for our support or anything similar to that kind of agreement. Now that that’s out of the way, have any of you seen Little Brother in concert? If not, YouTube them, they are a recent example of stage presence and what being an emcee is about. They are clearly cut from the same cloth as Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, LL Cool J, Run DMC and other emcees that understand how rocking/moving the crowd is not just a hot lyric. The ability to put on a show doesn’t come with the signing bonus. The amount of underwear, crotch grabbing, pacing, etc. were at an all time high during this show while ability to perform was absent. I don’t know that I’ve been as unmoved or uninspired as I was with the collection of stage performances that happened at this show. I could go onto a number 6 being about having some excitable fans around the stage, but I think if the show is up to par, then the audience will show it, no matter how motionless they are.

So those are my questions, what are yours?

“When I throw the motherfuckin’ death blow… they don’t die right there. You expect them to die right there and they die six months later.” – 50 Cent from Gomez Bros. interview.

I’ll be the first one to admit it. I honestly thought Rick Ross had overcome 50 Cent’s full-scale assault to end his career that had claimed the lives of a few rappers in the past. Ricky had a #1 album with Deeper Than Rap, is definitely one of the hardest working men in Hip-Hop as of late (How many music videos has this guy put out this year?), and even got voted the #5 “Hottest MC’s In The Game” by MTV.

But then I heard the audio from the other day when 50 called in to the Gomez Brothers’ show on Shade45 and he made reference to his “death blow” (Around the 10:47 mark in the interview).

And then I thought about it: Did 50 Cent’s stream of baby momma interviews porno activities, cartoons, & financial records take too much out of Ricky’s career? Although Deeper Than Rap did debut at #1, right now the sales sit at 380,000 copies (It definitely should have did more with what was put into it). Triple C’s album did get released last Tuesday to almost no fanfare (Except 50’s trivia jabs, Rick Ross’s promotion & poorly received clips). Hell, we even late on the review for Custom Cars & Cycles and we haven’t gotten any comments or e-mails cursing us out about it.

To keep it all in perspective though: Honestly, this could be due to the economy. Or, did 50 Cent possibly fatally cripple another rapper? You waiting on Rick Ross’ next album?

Just thinking….

Listen: 50 Cent Interview With Gomez Bros.