It’s about that time again right? Break out the iPod and get your weight up. Weight meaning songs of course…uh, let’s go.

Download: Bun B – “Champion Freestyle”
Download: Bun B – “Pants On The Ground”
Year: 2010
Sadly even though Bun B has been dropping freestyles at a frantic pace recently, we here at nappyafro didn’t feature one track during this whole “No Mixtape” run. Well, these two tracks are supposedly the last he’s dropping before the actual No Mixtape drops February 1st with the hard copy dropping soon after. As for that “Pants On The Ground” track; I guess somebody had to do it.

Download: The Kickdrums feat. Big Pooh – “Impatient (Slow Down) (remix)”
Year: 2010
To be honest with you, I don’t give Rapper Big Pooh the props he deserves (You should hear some of the debates I have with King Jerm about this), but on this Kickdrums track he does his thing. And seeing as Little Brother is done after Leftback drops this year, he needs to step his game up as a permanent solo artist. This track is a remix of the one that appeared on More Than A Game soundtrack (It also came out a week or so ago but I just got around to it).

Download: Sean Price – “Figure Four”
Year: 2009
Hey, a guy outta Georgia can be a Sean Price fan right? I actually caught on sorta late (Right after Monkey Barz dropped) but it’s tracks like this that show how straight forward and nice Price is: “Ah, where was I?/Oh yes/Shawn Carter is nice but Sean Price is the best/Sean gone/No Sean Don/Sean is a don I don’t wear Sean John”. He released this track last year but the the video just recently came out (If it’s not on the sidebar anymore go here).

I had to do another iPod Hustle seeing that last one was kinda mediocre (What was up with that artwork?). Well, here’s three tracks off my iPod.

Download: Joe Budden feat. Royce Da 5′9″ – “40/40″
Year: 2010
The internet may have crippled the music business but it does gives us more relevant lyrics. In Royce’s verse alone he references Waka Flaka Flame’s shooting, Fantasia’s reality show, Jersey Shore, and Haiti. No 80 year old rappers and no motherfucking wallet chains, tight pants, and colorful shirts here (Budden’s words not mine). Is this a response for Benzino’s “Slaughterhouse Killaz“?

Download: Black Milk – “Keep Going”
Year: 2009
This came out right at the end of last year which is a shame cause I’ve been listening to this track more since and it could have made my Top 5 for 2009. The drums here (Courtesy of Daru Jones) are CRAZY! Album Of The Year (Milk’s title for his next album) drops sometimes this year.

Download: Project Pat fear. Crunchy Black – “Don’t Save Her”
Year: 2001
Have you seen Malice’s “Wake Up Calls” video? Remember that scene where their in the car rapping along to “Don’t Save Her”? That was me and my friends in 2001 in a silver Honda Civic. Even though I love complex lyrics, there’s a place for Project Pat on my iPod. You too Crunchy Black.

Going to sleep late and waking up even later messed up my original plans for today’s iPod Hustle. No worries, a lotta new (And unreleased) songs came out in the past few days. Easiest. iPod Hustle. Ever.

Download:
Big Boi feat. T.I. – “Village”
Dirty Money feat. Lil’ Wayne – “Strobe Lights”
Drake – “Love & Gunz”
Drake feat. Von Pea & Phonte – “My New”
Drake feat. Colin Munroe – “Where Were You”
Gucci Mane feat. Pharrell – “Solider”
Joe Budden – “Hate Me”
Rhymefest feat. Little Brother – “How High”
Rhymefest feat. Phonte – “Say Wassup”
T-Pain- “I’m Seein’ Brakelights”
T-Pain feat. Lil’ Wayne – “You Know What It Is”

Everybody that knows me knows that I’m really into Hip-Hop and that I’m attached to my iPod Touch. I’m also pretty addicted to iTunes Smart Playlist. Actually, I have over 30 of those on my iTunes and iPods. Some are artist based (“Jay-Z”, “Phonte”, “Nas”, “Kanye”, “Jay Electronica”, etc.), some are year based (“2000’s”, “90’s”, “2007”, “2006”, etc.), to even a little too precise (“50/R&B/15”: Last 50 R&B songs added in the last 15 days).

I bring up the thing about Smart Playlist because now I have a yearly ritual dealing with those. One is to empty my “Unrated” Playlist. These are mostly newer songs I haven’t given a good listen to yet to give a rating and until I do, they stay here. If they get lesser that a 4 Stars rating, it’s a great chance they getting deleted. On December 21st I had 425 songs in the “Unrated” Playlist. Now it’s at 20 songs. Not to bad.

The other thing I do is look at my yearly Top 50 Playlist (This year of course it’s called “Top 50/2009”). Of course this one contains all the songs with the year 2009 ranked by the numbers of play counts. It always surprises me what songs I played more than others. I may like Jay Electronica’s “Exhibit C” better than Drake’s “Little Bit”, but the Playlist says different (I like both songs a lot though).

A few notes:
*I’m not a huge Drake fan but he appears 11 times here
*People will continue calling me a Jay-Z stan. Hova appears 8 times.
*I honestly do listen to other music besides Hip-Hop. Doesn’t really show it here though: Only 8 other genres besides Hip-Hop here.

So, here’s my ”Top 50/2009” Playlist. Remember that this isn’t my 2009 rankings just the one from iTunes. Also, if you’re also Smart Playlist crazy like me, checkout SmartPlaylists.com or Lifehacker’s Top 10 iTunes Smart Playlists.

Sidenote: I didn’t include the play counts. You don’t even want to know.

1. Drake feat. Peter Bjorn And John – “Let’s Call It Off”
2. Drake feat. Trey Songz & Lil’ Wayne – “Successful”
3. Rick Ross – “Valley Of Death”
4. Drake – “Say What’s Real”
5. Fat Joe – “Hey Joe”
6. Asher Roth = “Lark On My Go-Kart”
7. Drake feat. Lykke Li – “Little Bit”
8. Jay-Z feat. Young Jeezy – “Real As It Gets”
9. Alicia Keys – “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)”
10. Jay-Z – “Thank You”
11. Mike Posner feat. Clinton Sparks – “Close The Door”
12. Big Sean feat. Kanye West – “Glenwood”
13. Drake feat. Nipsey Hussle – “Killer”
14. Kanye West feat. T-Pain – “Flight School”
15. Kanye West – “I’m So Appalled”
16. Beanie Sigel – “Mac’s Back Freestyle”
17. Chester French feat. Janelle Monae – “Nerd Girl”
18. Drake – “Fear”
19. Jay-Z feat. Swizz Beatz – “On To The Next One”
20. Jay-Z – “Venus vs. Mars”
21. Joell Ortiz feat. Joe Budden, Royce Da 5′9″, & Crooked I – “Move On”
22. Pill – “Hear Somebody Comin’”
23. Jay Electronica – “Exhibit C”
24. Joe Budden – “Russian Roulette”
25. Kid Cudi – “In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)”
26. Mayer Hawthorne – “I Wish It Would Rain”
27. Musiq Souldchild – “Sweet Lady”
28. Rick Ross feat. Nas & Kevin Cossom – “Usual Suspects”
29. Slaughterhouse – “Suckoo”
30. Wale feat. UCB – “Sweatin’ Out Weaves”
31. Wu-Tang Clan feat. Inspectah Deck, U-God, & Masta Ace – “Kill Too Hard”
32. Brother Ali – “Us”
33. Charles Hamilton – “Neverland”
34. Dirty Money fear. Drake – “Hurt”
35. Drake – “November 18th”
36. Drake feat. Lloyd – “A Night Off”
37. Eminem – “Medicine Ball”
38. Fabolous feat. Lil’ Wayne – “Salute”
39. Jay-Z feat. Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun – “What We Talkin’ About”
40. Jay-Z feat. J. Cole – “A Star Is Born”
41. Jay-Z feat. Kanye West – “Hate”
42. Jay-Z feat. Pharrell – “So Ambitious”
43. Slaughterhouse – “Sound Off”
44. Slaughterhouse feat. Kay Young – “Lyrical Murderers”
45. Wale feat. Curren$y & Tre – “Wordplay”
46. Wale feat. Joe Budden – “Tito Santana”
47. Drake – “Sooner Than Later”
48. Fabolous feat. Trey Songz – “Last Time (Gotta Go)”
49. Ghostface Killer feat. Lloyd – “Goner”
50. Killer Mike – “Man Up”

I might as well call this the “Late Pass” or “Missed Out” Edition of this iPod Hustle seeing that two of these songs are off albums that we didn’t review. Yea, we may have missed a few but I’m still here to give three good tracks by Wiz, Horse Shoe G.A.N.G., & uh, … Birdman (Okay, I’ll explain later).

Download: Wiz Khalifa feat. Kev Tha Hustla – “Red Carpet (Like A Movie)”
Album: Deal Or No Deal; Produced by Ryan M. Tedder
Even though we didn’t get around to giving Wiz’s Deal Or No Deal the proper treatment, I can still say there were few moments that I really enjoyed off the album. Out of all of those tracks, “Red Carpet (Like A Movie)” seems like the one that could propel Wiz Khalifa from underground artists to charts star. It’s takes a lot for me to bump songs for the ladies but this one is done so well, it gets a pass with me.

Download: Horse Shoe G.A.N.G. – “Deadbeat Dad”
Album: Gangsta M.C.; Produced by Produced by Komplex
The biggest thing that was against Horse Shoe G.A.N.G. is that they were known as Crooked I’s little brother’s group (And since Crooked I is still molding his own career, that may have not been the best look). Let’s be clear though, these four MC’s out of Cali got lyrics and talent. To me “Deadbeat Dad” is the best song off their debut Gangsta M.C. (Released earlier this year). It’s an open letter to all the older West Coast rappers how didn’t lend a hand to the younger generation: “He taking care of and feeding kids that ain’t even his/Signing niggas from the east and I ain’t eaten shit”.

Download: Birdman – “Money Machine”
Album: Pricele$$; Produced by Howard “X-Fyle” Metoyer
Okay, I know I already reviewed Pricele$$ and gave it 2 Stars. But, the other day in the car this came on my iPod and I was like, “Shit!”. It was already my favorite song off Birdman’s latest album, but this may be his best song after “#1 Stunna” (Which in all honestly is not saying much). The beat on this one is crazy; just remember to let the whole thing play out.

It’s that time again. More music is coming out and once again it’s up to your old friend B-Easy to round ‘em up. And thankfully this time it does not include Lil’ Wayne or Gucci Mane (Hey, just to change things up a bit). In this edition we have 50 Cent getting Norman Bates-like with Marshall, DJ Khaled calls some friends and gets fed up, and we get one foot out with Mike Posner. (*clicking through iPod and setting it to Hustle) Let’s get it.

Download: 50 Cent feat. Eminem – “Psycho”
Produced by Dr. Dre
Well, looks like Curtis’ Before I Self Destruct has sprung a leak almost a month before it’s scheduled release. And of course the first song I pick is the one that features Eminem with Dr. Dre on the boards.

Download: DJ Khaled feat. Usher, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, & Drake – “Fed Up”
Produced by The Runners
By now you should know what a DJ Khaled posse cuts sounds like: Runners on the beat; Akon Usher, Weezy Drake, Ricky Ross, & Jeezy on the track. Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Khaled’s Victory drops in 2010.

Download: Mike Posner feat. Big Sean & Freddie Gibbs – “Bring Me Down”
Produced by Block Beattaz
I just recently go into Mike Posner and what a good time since his second mixtape One Foot Out The Door just got released. Why did I picked this track? I fucks with Gibbs and Big Sean (Uh, you know what I mean). I ‘ll tell you what I think of Mike “Senior at Duke University” Posner another time.

I honestly don’t do iPod Hustle this frequently. But we kinda got some open space while we getting some reviews ready (Plus, this one is gonna be a quick one). In this edition we got Timbaland featuring Jigga & Miss Keri Baby, Gucci Mane jumps on 50’s remix, and Weezy gives us a glimpse of his No Ceilings mixtape. By now you know you should have you iPod set to Hustle right? Well…

Download: Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & Jay-Z – “Rumors”
Don’t get too excited Jigga stans fans, it’s mostly a Keri Hilson R&B track featuring Jay-Z (A quick verse too). That’s not a bad thing but it’s what you’d expect from Timbo and Keri at this point. It’s supposedly gonna be on Tim’s Shock Value 2. Sidenote: Miley Cyrus is gonna on Shock Value 2?

Download: 50 Cent feat. Gucci Mane – “Crime Wave (remix)”
The beat on this one goes hard and the original version of “Crime Wave” quickly made it to my iPod (Check out the music video here). And then 50 had to add Gucci Mane to the remix. I honestly don’t have a problem with Gucci but let’s be real; What does his add to the track? Sidenote: What’s the name of the sample used on “Crime Wave”? The same one was used on Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement (9th Wonder Remix)” and on Fabolous’ “This Is Family”. Update: Okay, Gucci’s verse wasn’t that bad.

Download: Lil’ Wayne – “Wasted” & “Swag Surfin’”
Of course the big news in Hip-Hop at the moment is Weezy pleading guilty to gun charges in New York and possibly getting a year in prison (NY don’t play about guns. Word to Plaxico & Shyne!). This track are from his soon to be released mixtape No Ceilings (Which is suppose to contain no Auto-Tune or features and drops Oct. 31st). By now by the titles I’m sure you guess what instrumentals he goes over but if this is a return to the Dedication 1-2/Squad Up days…I don’t know if this is that. Either way, shout out the Lil’ Wayne. I’m sure we’ll have enough music to hold us over for 10 years (If need be).

All new music for this edition of iPod Hustle. Mostly good too. In this go around: Jezzy tells us why trappin’ ain’t dead, Juelz mixes up the medicine, and Gucci (With the help of Usher) goes for the spotlight. Set your iPods to Hustle…now.

Download: Young Jeezy – “Trap Or Die 2”
Produced by Zaytoven
I remember seeing a video of Young Jeezy performing this song at Club Dreams and I was feeling it then. Yep, it sounds like The Snowman is taking it back to 2005 with this one. If this track is a sign of what kinda music will be on Thug Motivation 103, I’m looking forward to it (Plus I’ve been bumping Jay-Z’s “As Real As It Gets” a lot lately). Sidenote: I thought Zaytoven was Gucci’s favorite go to producer? (Zaytoven explains here)

Download: Juelz Santana feat. YelaWolf – “Mixing Up The Medicine”
Produced by Kane Beatz
Juelz hooks up with Alabama’s own YelaWolf to create a certified street banger. As soon as I heard that hook I was sold. Partner that with that fact that Santana sounds motivated again (The last time I remember that happening was at the 2008 BET Hip-Hop Awards): ”Take her out and trick around/I take her home and dick her down/Send her back to you like ‘Baby I was at my sister house’”. Hopefully this is the Juelz Santana we’ve been waiting for. Remember, his last album did go Platinum.

Download: Gucci Mane feat. Usher – “Spotlight”
Produced by Polow Da Don
Wow, Gucci Mane is in another one of my posts? I guess this is what the young kids are listening to these days. On this one Gucci Mane grabs Usher and puts on his best commercial clothes. Not to sound like a hater but the flow on this song is garbage. I don’t even listen to Gucci, but I think even some of his biggest fans will probably gives this a so-so rating. The State vs. Radric Davis is supposed to drop in December.

It’s been a while since I actually did an iPod Hustle column that was totally random. Just three songs off my iPod that really have no connection but were good listens nonetheless. In this edition, we check out some 2008 F-A-B-O, a smooth cut from Sa-Ra Creative Partners, and get Automatic Gunfire from G-Unit. Set your iPods to Hustle please…

Download: Fabolous – “Fall Back”
Mixtape: There Is No Competition [2008]
I’m sure I’ve already written somewhere about how the Fabolous & DJ Drama mixtape, There Is No Competition, was way too slept on for how good it was. It definitely was one of the best mixtapes put out in ’08. One gem off there was “Fall Back”. It’s filled with the slick wordplay that made Hip-Hop take notice of Fab in the first place; “You gonna make put ya in a headline/And your girl gonna help me come up with a head line/The suck game while I’m driving is a fool/She know it’s head first like she diving in a pool/Right stroke, left stroke was the best stroke/Bitch blow whistle like she got a ref’s throat/Foul, and I’m so flagrant” Fall back.

Download: Sa-Ra feat. Ty (of Ty & Kory) – “And If”
Album: The Hollywood Recordings [2007]
If you like me, your “Get Busy In The Bedroom” playlist on your iPod is probably devoid of any Hip-Hop. Do you really want to explain to your girl why you were trying you get it poppin’ to Plies’ “Plenty Money”? One of those instances where rhymes and sexy time mix well is Sa-Ra’s “And If” featuring Ty. It sounds like something PM Dawn would have made had their heyday been in 2007. The smoothness of this track is crazy…and it is a fixture on my “Lay It Down” playlist. What? Too much info?

Download: G-Unit – “Bang Bang”
Mixtape: Automatic Gunfire (G-Unit Part 4) [2002]
I know 50 just got a release date set for his next album Before I Self Destruct (Nov. 23rd), but I’d be lying if I said I was “highly anticipating” it. It wasn’t always like this though. Case in point, in 2002, 50 Cent (with Lloyd Banks & Tony Yayo) released one of my favorite G-Unit songs of all time; “Bang Bang”. From Curtis’ calling Irv Gotta a “fat cupcake eating motherfucker” in the intro to him calling Ja Rule a “Stuart Little looking motherfucker” in the outro, this track goes hard all the way through. And what’s crazy, it’s not really a diss song aimed at Murder Inc. It does show just how well the charter members of G-Unit flowed together; 50 Cent: “Bang bang from big heaters/Hundred dollar sneakers/Two seaters, two meters”/Lloyd Banks: “And a bundle of haze/At least enough to last fourteen days/Eat where they sell lobster/My eyes slanted like Pharrell’s partner”/Tony Yayo: “Nigga respect me like you father when it come to drama/I put the lima to you momma and beat her like a piñata”

It seems like it was just yesterday when Nas and Jay-Z were involved in the what some may call the greatest Hip-Hop battle of all time. But since then times have changed; people have squashed beef on stage, deals have been sign, and it seems that Jay-Z and Nas have put all of that behind them. Earlier this month when a tracklist for Hova’s The Blueprint 3 was released, fans were excited to see yet another track, “Empire State Of Mind”, with both God’s Son and Jigga featured. Fast forward to earlier this week, and we see that on the “official” tracklist, Nas has been replaced with Alicia Keys. Now, we all love Miss Keys. But you know the real Hip-Hop heads would have preferred Kelis’ baby daddy on the track. But hey, who knows? It could still change. But until we get a final word, let’s look at past Jay-Z and Nas collaborations.

Nas feat. Jay-Z – “Black Republicans”
Album: Hip Hop Is Dead [2006]; Produced by L.E.S. & Wyldfyer
We had already been teased when it was rumored that Jay-Z would jump on the Kanye West/Nas track “We Major”, but the highly anticipated collaboration finally took place on Nas’ Def Jam debut Hip Hop Is Dead. At first listen, I was a little underwhelmed. But what had I expected? The speaker to explode and the world to cease as we know it? Once you get past the impossible expectations, the track more than lives up to the potential (And is one of my all time favorites). Both rappers got one verse each over an epic beat. Plus, that hook was hard.

*Notable Jay-Z Line: “Huddlin’ over the oven, we was like brothers then (What?)/Though you was nothin’ other than a son of my mother’s friend/We had governin’, who would of thought the love would end”

*Notable Nas Line: “Just like an acrobat ready to hurl myself though the hoops of fire/Sippin’ 80 proof, bulletproof under my attire”

Jay-Z feat. Nas – “Success”
Album: American Gangster [2007]; Produced by No I.D. & Jermaine Dupri
I guess this was the trade off for “Black Republicans”. Nas returns the favor and does a guest spot on Hov’s 2007 American Gangster. This song also has the distinction of Nas maybe taking a jab at Hov (“Worst enemies want to be my best friends”). I personally think Jay-Z went hard the whole song, but even the biggest Jigga stan will admit that Nas’ Google Earth line killed it. Jay-Z had three verses (Or one long one) and Nas went last. “Let that bitch breath!”

*Notable Jay-Z Line: “Broad daylight I off ya on switch/Ya not too bright, goodnight, long kiss,/Bye-bye, my reply, blah-blah/Blast burner then pass burner, to TyTy/Finish my breakfast, why?/I got an appetite for destruction and you’re a small fry/Now where was I”

*Notable Nas Line: “Old cribs I sold, yall drive by like monuments/Google Earth Nas, I got flats in other continents/Worst enemies want to be my best friends/Best friends want to be enemies, like that’s what’s in/But I don’t give a fuck walk inside the lion’s den”

Ludacris feat. Nas & Jay-Z – “I Do It For Hip Hop”
Album: Theater Of The Mind [2008]; Produced by Wyldfyer
Let me first state that I thought Luda had the best verse but the actually song looks better on paper. It was good to have Jay, Nas, & Ludacris on the same track, but the end results did produce a classic track (Jay’s performance was so-so and this is me saying that). The song still has a great message though.

*Notable Jay-Z Line: “The past of time when I was gettin’ it in/Just so happens I’m so illegal with the pen/They ain’t want me to do anything illegal again”

*Notable Nas Line: “That’s who you are so when the cash and cars is gone/The day after tomorrow/Don’t be asking to borrow, ski mask ang it hard/Like the way you rap in your bars”

Young Jeezy feat. Nas & Jay-Z – “My Presdent (remix)”
Album: The Recession [2008]; Produced by Tha Bizness
Okay, so this wasn’t exactly a Nas and Jay-Z collaboration since Hov jumped on the remix version. But it’s still technically a track featuring both rappers. The remix came at the height of the 2008 election and Jay-Z on the remix pushed it over the top (It already was the “hood” Obama them song). I still wished Nas would have redid his verse for the remix.

*Notable Jay-Z Line: “My president is black in fact he’s half white/So even in a racist mind he’s half right/If you got a racist mind you’ll be aight/My president is black but his house is all white”

*Notable Nas Line: “For years there’s been surprise horses in this stable/Just two albums in, I’m the realest nigga on this label”

Shaquille O’Neal feat. Jay-Z, Lord Tariq, & Nas – “No Love Lost/Analyze This”
Album: You Can’t Stop The Reign [1996]; Produced by Tone & Poke
Do some of you youngsters even remember when Shaq used to rap? If not you didn’t miss much. But it was on one of Diseil’s album that we actually saw the first Jay-Z and Nas track. Well, almost. It gets confusing here. The original version of the song only had Shaq, Jay, and Lord Tariq (“Uptown baby!”), but somewhere along the line a new Nas verse was added and Shaqillie’s verse was taken off. Even through all that, I think it’s important to see what may have been the first Jay and Nas track together…13 years ago.

*Notable Jay-Z Line: “I got mine, your little bit of money couldn’t stop mine/Your block time, too hot, too many hands in your pie/Seventy thirty, the nigga you work for work for me”

*Notable Nas Line: “I flip my loot twice a week/On my most trifest streets/”You got no right to eat/By the laws of life you keep”

Download: A Collection Of Jay-Z & Nas Collabos