Glad I got back from Philly in time to write this…what do you get when you add a bottle of cognac to one of the world’s biggest egos?? Taylor Swift in tears, apparently. Damn. Kanye has jumped on stages before bitchin’ about not winning when he thought he deserved one, but he was out of line here for couple of reasons. First, Taylor Swift has never won a VMA before; it was her first ever award from MTV, and ‘Ye pretty much killed that moment for her. If somebody jumped on stage when Kanye won his first award, I bet he’d have something to say about it.

Second, he was even fighting for himself! He was fighting for…wait for it…Beyonce! Now I know Beyonce and Kanye are good friends, but can you even NAME all the awards that Bey has won in her career?? Plus later on that night, Bey ended up winning Video of the Year, so that kind of made Kanye look like a dumbass even more.

It was a good look for Beyonce to bring Taylor Swift back on stage with her. We all thought Kanye had calmed down after his mother’s death, but what he did here obviously shows that he hasn’t changed much at all. Kanye’s apologized like 3 times already, but c’mon: if Beyonce hadn’t won Video of the Year, do you seriously think Kanye wouldn’t have called MTV racist like he did two years ago??

Does this mean that I’m no longer a Kanye fan? No way, the man has a huge ego, but he makes damn good music. But for his actions Sunday, he is without a doubt THE DMF OF THE WEEK!

Kanye West Steals Taylor Swifts Spotlight

Kanye West Apologies On Jay Leno

Man, is it me, or is the Hip-Hop world asleep?? When every single major release is a mixtape and the latest interesting news is Joe Budden getting punched in the eye, you KNOW the game is asleep right now. This is one of the reasons why I hate summer. No high profile Hip-Hop releases, no good video games coming out, and crappy summer movies! Sure, we had Mos Def with The Ecstatic right before summer, but other than that, what were the high profile Hip-Hop releases? Maino’s debut album and Fabolous’ Loso’s Way. Loso’s Way is another good album from Fab, but he kept us waiting on that classic album AGAIN. Maino is aiight, but two high profile Hip-Hop releases for the summer?!? Wu-Tang’s Chamber Music was hot too; have to show them some respect. Same for the Slaughterhouse album; that was bangin’!!

But answer this question for me: What album are you really waiting for this year? A few of you will say The Blueprint 3 (I’m cautiously hopeful at the time of this writing), Detox (like that’s actually coming out this year), Relapse 2, Only Built for Cuban Linx II, and Before I Self-Destruct. Three of those albums are coming out next month, on the tail end of summer. But for real, a lot of you have been sleeping out there! What about Yung LA?? What about Lupe Fiasco?? What about Wale?? Exactly.

That’s why this edition of Boomin’ From The Stoop is called SLEEPING, cause all of ya’ll ASLEEP! Lupe released the first single off his album Lasers, which was formerly called The Great American Rap Album, which was formerly called Everywhere (whew!), called “Shining Down”. I’ve been listening to it, keeping it on repeat, but I didn’t hear not one person mention it on the site! Also, shout out to Spyzyda Myzayne for looking forward to Futuristic Leland. Someone is awake! How about Wale and his Attention: Deficit debut album?? Nah, everyone is too busy listening to his mixtapes!

This is exactly what the homie KAJ was talking about in his column. I’m sick and tired of seeing all these mixtapes during the summer. I’m not gonna lie to you, mixtapes aren’t really my thing; They don’t really appeal to me. I may download a mixtape here and there (who DIDN’T download So Far Gone??), but personally, I judge artists by albums, not their mixtapes. There have been some nice mixtapes lately, I’ll admit that. But we’ve said time and time again that we at nappyafro.com NEVER want to be one of “those” websites that post up a mixtape everytime it drops. Yet with the lack of Hip-Hop albums coming out, what choice do we have?? Reviewing R&B? Hell no!! The Hip-Hop artists in the game need to get they shit together and drop real albums.

But I digress, I didn’t exactly come here to rant. I came to put ya’ll on to three songs you may have been sleeping on.

Download: “Shining Down” by Lupe Fiasco Feat. Matthew Santos
First off, this song was leaked like 3 months ago, and no one said shit. Damn! At first I was a little skeptical about this song; getting Santos and Soundtrakk back together on one song sounds like he’s trying to make “Superstar” all over again. But the results here are nice. Santos’ hook is crack, and Lupe continues with the deep lyricism: “I don’t idolize America, I’m dancin’ with the stars”. Are any of you excited for Lasers? LupE.N.D. used to be my most anticipated album of the year, but since it’s not Lupe’s last anymore it fell out of the top 5.

Download: “Taser Gun” by Yung LA
For real, I don’t even know if this album is still coming out. If it is still coming out, I’ll bet money it does worse than Big Kuntry’s album (6k first week out!). I’ll be real though, to me LA is just ok. He comes hard with infectious hooks, but his whisper flow gets on my nerves a bit. I don’t know why, but I actually kind of like this song and the whole “space-futuristic” thing that LA is using as his theme.

Download: “Chillin’” by Wale Feat. Lady Gaga
Everyone should have heard this by now. This is official single version; it’s longer than the one on his Back To The Feature mixtape, and has a completely different beat. Personally, when I first heard the song, I thought it was aiight. Wale’s wordplay is cool, but I think in Hip-Hop nowadays, we already know to dismiss the first single from every album that comes out, which is actually kind of sad. Still, the beat is hot, courtesy of Cool & Dre, and Lady Gaga did her thang. While this song is kind of disappointing, I’m still excited for Attention: Deficit.

It seems like you can’t start a conversation about Hip-Hop without talking about one of the following: the latest hot single on the radio, Auto-Tune, and whether or not Hip-Hop is dead. Well, I’ve compiled a list of five things that we, the listeners, can do in order to save Hip-Hop.

1. Appreciate The New School
I’m not gonna lie, I’ve trashed both Soulja Boy and Bow Wow. I think both of them are cutting themselves short of their true potential. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t blast “Turn my Swag On” and “You Can Get It All”. And I have done the “Soulja Boy” dance. The point here is, the new talent that we’ve been getting is different in their own ways and we should embrace them. Not every song that Soulja Boy makes is garbage (Well, I guess that’s everyone’s personal opinion) and we should say: “Hey, he reallly did it here” when he does. Beyond that, we’ve also got a lot of new faces in the game, like Drake, Asher Roth, B.o.B., Wale, Mickey Factz, J. Cole, Saigon, etc. All of these artists bring something new to the game and it’s up to us to listen to their music with a open mind; not being so critical of them.

2. Buy The Records
You can’t expect rappers to function without sales. We’ve gotta stop downloading the album and not buying it. I mean, you don’t have to buy EVERY record but if you do download an album and you like it, buy it. If your favorite rapper drops an album and you want it, buy it. That’s why everyone was so surprised when Rick Ross only sold 160k in his first week. His album was hyped and everything, but we as a community have to buy these albums in order for Hip-Hop to be successful. Rick Ross’ album was good and it should have sold at least 300k in the first week to be completely honest that’s how hyped up it was. But because of the increasing downloading, no one actually went out to buy it. Look at the Weezy fanatics: Tha Carter III leaked almost 2 weeks before it dropped and STILL sold a million in the first week. Hip-Hop artists need fans like that.

3. Stop Comparing The Legends
2Pac and B.I.G. were two of the greatest to ever do it. But they’re dead now and they ain’t coming back. Ever. Even 2Pac’s new content sounds bad in the shadow of his earlier music. We need to move on from that. I’m not saying stop listening to 2Pac’s songs but at the same time stop taking someone like, say, Drake, and comparing him to 2Pac. “Drake’s wack, he’s got nothing on 2Pac”. That’s because he isn’t 2Pac! Just because he’s not as good as 2Pac doesn’t mean he’s bad. That’s like saying “A-Rod sucks, he’s got nothing on Babe Ruth.” If you like the man’s music it shouldn’t matter. You can still have your top 5 lists and your personal G.O.A.T., but if you like an artist that’s all that should matter, not whether or not they are better than a legend.

4. Stop Blaming The South
The South has been blamed for the quality of music that has been put out, but if anything, the South saved Hip-Hop. When rappers were in limbo, a bunch of rappers from the south held it down. T.I., Jeezy, Weezy, Lil’ Jon, Ludacris, Outkast, Khaled and his entourage, hell, even T-Pain! They came up out of nowhere, started dropping hot singles in the game and making all this money. The South and the Midwest have been holding the game down more than anywhere. The East? What was the biggest record from the east before Jadakiss? American Gangster 2 years ago! And the West is basically composed of four rappers: Snoop, who’s still barely hanging on, The Game, Ice Cube past his prime, and Dr. Dre, who may never release Detox. The South deserves credit for stepping up, so stop blaming them for Hip-hop’s condition.

5. Welcome Change And New Ideas
I ain’t gonna front, if you’ve seen my comments in the forums you know I hate Kid Cudi. It’s just too different. At the same time we should accept and welcome changes like the ones he’s made. How many different genres/types of rock music are there? You can’t name them all can you? That’s because there were so many different artists out there redefining what you could and couldn’t do in rock music, and that’s exactly what we need in Hip-Hop. Artists like Kid Cudi, Charles Hamilton, and B.o.B. along with albums like 808’s & Heartbreak, help to broaden the scope of Hip-Hop, and it allows people of all ages and musical tastes to join the community.

Our dedicated fans remember B-Easy’s column about Lil Wayne, and the reasons he listed why Lil Wayne wasn’t the best rapper alive. Well, while I agreed with him on several points, I ain’t even tryin’ to front, there have been several moments where I have been like: “Damn, Weezy could really be IT!” When I say it, I don’t mean the best rapper ever; I’m going to need a lot more proof before I say that. But I do really think that Weezy is close to being the best rapper alive, and here’s why…

1. His performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards 2007
This was the first moment where I can recall thinking; “Damn! Weezy done it for real this time.” Everything was perfect: the flames, the song, the emotion, the whole thing was just raw. I rewinded like five times on my DVR, and even showed it to my moms, who was impressed (she still thinks Wayne is ugly as sin). The studio version disappointed, lacking all the emotion, but this still comes to mind whenever I think about Wayne.

2. The Mixtapes
Some of Wayne’s best content has been on the mixtapes that he releases. Da Drought, Dedication, etc. All those were hot as hell. I remember getting into fight about who was the best rapper, and all of the people I argued with, their first defense was his mixtapes. I don’t know why, but he sounds and performs better on the mixtapes than on actual albums. While this doesn’t help commercial credibility, the streets know what he can do, which is arguably more important.

3. Too Many Drugs
B-Easy had this as a downside. I’m putting it as a positive. Even if you didn’t take Health class in high school, we all know that doing drugs makes people do stupid things. It’s a simple fact. However, the same opposite is true: people also get strokes of genius when high. Look at Notorious B.I.G. He came up with “Suicidal Thoughts” while high. Weezy has had plenty of strokes of genius, so let the man do what works.

4. He’s already famous
What’s it matter whether or not Weezy is the best rapper alive right now? He’s only 26! If Jay-Z can be a 40 year old rapper, then Weezy has at least 15 more years left to claim the crown. I’m sure he will do it within that time frame.

5. Young Money Ent.
Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella was the click to be in 2001, and the fact that Weezy’s Young Money is already almost famous will help. He’s already got something to fall back on if Baby and him ever start arguing (like that will happen). The artists on his label vary: some are hot (Drake & Nicki Minaj), some are garbage (Tyga, but every label has a Peedi…), but he can build up the roster as time goes on.

6. HUGE Fanbase
This man sold “A Milli” in one week. He ain’t going ANYWHERE anytime soon. Sure, a lot of his fanbase is ignorant, I’m not going to lie, but you know, who’s fanbase isn’t? The average Hip-Hop fan nowadays hasn’t heard the classics. Some don’t know who dead prez or De La Soul are. They haven’t heard the classic albums from The Roots. But hell, what about during the East Coast-West Coast feud? You think the brothers on the West were even paying attention to what Nas had to say? The East was still arguing his cover was stolen from Biggie! It’s happened to everyone, so even having a large fanbase is still good.

7. Hardly any competition
Yeah, the greats still exist. Andre 3K, Hov, Em, Nas, etc. Plus we still got veterans like Luda, Lupe, T.I. Jeezy, Kanye, etc. Still, hardly any of these people can match Weezy sales wise; Nas barely went Gold, Hov struggled to sell Platnum with American Gangster, Lupe did the same as Nas, T.I. still ain’t touchin’ him, same with Jeezy, Luda barely went Gold, and Kanye is barely right there with him. Only Em and Andre 3K are the only people I’d say could beat 3X Platnum. Weezy can take on all of the newcomers; there are hardly any people in Weezy’s age group that can match him.

8. All his best material leaked
This is probably one of my number one reasons: Tha Carter III could have been classic, or at least near-classic, but all the good songs got leaked! He had to push it back several times, make more new content, and then more content would get leaked. I think if the material that had been leaked hadn’t gotten leaked and made it on the album, then it would be much better.

9. “I’m Me”
This almost shoulda been #1 to me. I mean, this one song sums up perfectly why Lil’ Wayne could be the best rapper out right now. The beat is like majestic, just crazy, like Weezy is already king. His raps are just fire: “I know the game is crazy, it’s more crazy than it’s ever been/I’m married to that crazy bitch, call me Kevin Federine…Yes I am the best, and no I ain’t positive I’m definite/I know the game like I’m reffin’ it/This is Tha Carter, Tha Carter III, the new Testament/And I’m the God, and this is what I bless ‘em with”. Damn. Notice the “Tha Carter III” line? Yeah, this was gonna be on Tha Carter III. Imagine if all his songs like this were on the album!

10. He’s already in your Top Ten
When I say “your” top ten, I know there is about to be a lot of criticism there: “He’s not in MY top ten”. Well, he’s in mine. I’m not going to go into my top ten, but I know Weezy is in there somewhere. The point here is that it’s easy to go up in rank once your already there. Every rapper doesn’t start at #1. It takes time to build your way up and make it there. Weezy is only 26 and in the top ten, so give it at least 5 years I’d say, granted he’s put the guitar down by then.

Bottom Line:
Weezy has got to do at least five things before he can claim to be the best.
1. He’s got to get rid of the Guitar. If you gonna be the Best Rapper Alive, be the Best RAPPER Alive.

2. He’s got to set a bar for himself, and stop releasing all these songs just for the hell of it. No more “Pu$$y Monster” bullshit.

3. He gotta stop over saturating the game; you never saw any of the greats doing that, and for a good reason. The more exposure you get, the more people get sick of you. Remember how you hated “Lollipop” after the 100th listen?

4. He gotta work with the greats more. Greatness plus greatness equals greatness. Remember how “Mr. Carter” was the joint for a while? It wasn’t cause people were arguing over who won, it was cause it was a great record with two titans, similar to “Black Republican” (which is on some classic shit). How dope would it be for Wayne to hope on a DJ Premier track? Even the Wanye stans gotta be drooling over that!

5. And this is the most important one, and obvious one. He gotta have a REALLY good album. The Blueprint, for example, which reached all the corners of Hip-Hop to make a record everyone loved. Tha Carter II is definitely his best album, at least in my opinion. He reached out to 3 million fans with C3, but some people still aren’t convinced, and probably some will never be. But it really hurts Wayne’s resume that he has NO classic albums. He’s about 1 hour away from a classic album in my eyes. As soon as that album drops (Tha Carter IV, hopefully!) we’ll see.

One more thing I want to say before I stop. I know I compare Jay-Z and Wayne a lot, but consider that endearment: I see Wayne as the future #23 of the rap game (Not Kanye. You heard him; he’s Kobe). While he’s got a lot of people to convince, I think that he’ll do it and prove finally he is one of the greatest to touch the mic.

Yeah, yeah, I know we ain’t a moview review website, but with the soundtrack to Afro Samurai: Resurrection out, I figure this is the perfect time to tell you what I thought of the movie. To be honest, it was awesome, but I feel like something was missing…I wanted to see more fights between Sio/Afro, and Kuma/Afro, but the ending to the film was incredible; I wasn’t expecting it at all.

The movie is about Sio, with Kuma’s help, trying to revive Afro’s father. While it was thought it was to raise an undead army, it’s actually just to make Afro suffer: to die by the hand that raised him. This plot line is even better than what I thought it would be! Afro travels the land to put his father to rest once and for all. Ninja Ninja, after his “death” from the TV show, returns, proving he’s just a figment of Afro’s mind. However, his jokes are always hilarious, especially when he talks Afro up one moment and then tells him he’s getting his ass kicked the next. Samuel L. Jackson constantly switches from hardened warrior back to laughable sidekick almost too well.

The action sequence are just plain crazy. There’s one fight that takes place right in the middle of a parade with on-lookers watching and thinking it’s just a part of the show until Sio’s agents show up. One of the first battles occur on a shore with Afro just having caught some fish. He then battles scores of enemies, showing no mercy. The ocean even turns bloody red from the blood of the dead samurai. It’s just crazy!

However, there are some bad points that I’d be wrong not to point out. For example, it’s too short! It’s the length of three episodes, maybe four if you added in commercials. When I pictured Afro Samurai Season II, I just wanted a lot more. Further, there are a couple deaths in the movie I wasn’t happy about. One I expected, but the other I feel was unneeded and could have been avoided, plus could have been used to continue the series. Especially since at the end of the movie, someone else from the series returns, it’s a little weird to me.

One more thing I was disappointed with was the “one thousand deaths” claim. There are probably like 150 at the most. Not that I’m saying that isn’t a lot, but when I get told that I’m gonna get to see Afro slash through over 6 times that amount, it’s just frustrating. One last complaint would be the finality of the ending, but mainly because I’m a fan of the series. The thought that they would throw away all they put together has me worried, but after the quick glimpse of the future we are given at the end, I’m sure that’s not the case.

Bottom Line:
Overall, while it has flaws, this movie was just plain epic. I mean, if their goal was end to the series for good and finish on a high note, then mission accomplished. If they wanted to continue the series, it may be a little bit tougher now, but I’m sure they will be able to pull it off. I liked this movie a lot more than the TV series also, and even though it’s short, it leaves you satisfied. The DVD comes out February 3rd if you missed the movie

nappyScenes: The Shore scene, The Parade scene, Afro vs. his Dad, Afro vs. the Androids, and all of the scenes with Ninja Ninja.

Well, the awards are over, and it looks like 2009 should be great musically: you got Hov, Slim Shady, the return of Dre, 50, the Notorious soundtrack, Ludacris’ Theatre of the Mind 2, Kanye West, Drake, Common, Lupe Fiasco…I could go on and on. But I’m sure y’all already knew about the hits coming out this year: it’s time for me to count down my top five anticipated albums of the year. Oh, and as a disclaimer, my top five albums is different from the other staff’s.

5. Dr. Dre – Detox
I had to put Dre up here. Detox should be pretty much perfect by now, and I just can’t wait! But I know that it’s not a definite that Detox is coming out. That’s why Dre gets the #5 spot. While I’m almost 100% certain that this entire album will be a banger, I can’t be sure it’s coming out this year. I will say that if it doesn’t come out this year, I’m giving it up. I know some of you out there already have, but come on, give Dre one more year!

4. Drake – Thank Me Later
Drake, after grinding hard in the mixtape game and churning out 100’s of songs like another famous rapper, is now set to release his first studio album this year. Even though he still hasn’t made that first step to releasing a commercial album, Drake is already sounding like a veteran on some of the tracks that he’s put out. Anyone who’s heard Comeback Season knows what I’m talking about. That’s why Drake gets the #4 spot.

3. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
Being a huge Jay-Z fan, you’d think that he’d be higher on this list, but I can’t lie, I’m excited about BP3. “Jockin Jay-Z” to me was just okay, but it was “History” that made me a believer that Jay was really gonna go hard this time. That, along with all the extra songs he’s been doing (“Go Hard (remix)”, “Brookyn Anthem”, “Brooklyn We Go Hard”, etc.), I feel like BP3 will be the album that Hov gets rid of the #45 jersey and puts the #23 back on.

2. Eminem – Relapse
Em has been out of the game for 5 years now. He’s hungrier than ever and ready to take the game. “Crack a Bottle” is too hot, that freestyle he did was hot, and it just keeps me wanting more and more. That right there is what makes a great album buzz and keeps the public wanting more before you hit them with the hot fire. So far, Eminem hasn’t released a dud track off this, so I’m gonna have to put him at #2.

And the winner is…
1. Lupe Fiasco – LupE.N.D.
Surprised? Yeah, you should be. I don’t know why, but Lupe’s next project facinates me: three CDs in one album is definitely ambitious to say the very least. I don’t even think that’s been done in Hip-Hop (Eightball’s Lost doesn’t count)! Yeah, a lot of people have complained, wanting Lupe to stay in the game. Why release three CDs at once when you could stay in the game for three more years?? But I think that all the questions will be answered at the end of this year when LupE.N.D. is released. That’s why Lupe gets my #1 spot, and I’ll gladly review all three of those albums.

Honorable Mentions:
Ludacris – Theatre of the Mind 2
Kanye West – A Good Ass Job
Common – The Believer

Well, it looks like the Grammy Award nominations have come in, and it’s mostly what I expected: Weezy killed the shows nominations (8 by the way) and was the only rapper who got the Album of the Year nomination. That’s incredible. At this rate, Weezy will be last year’s Kanye at the awards. Ne-Yo getting an Album of the Year nomination was a good look too. It’s hard to imagine that 3 years ago no one knew who this guy was. However, both of them have tough competition. Actually, I take that back: Weezy has tough competition. Ne-Yo should clean up in the R&B category (If “Miss Independent” doesn’t win one award, I’ll be pissed).

After looking at the nominees, I feel like I know who will win, but even more so, I have my own opinion on who SHOULD win. And the Nominees are…

Best Rap Solo Performance
“Roc Boys (And the Winner is)…” – Jay-Z
“A Milli” – Lil’’ Wayne
“Paris, Tokyo” – Lupe Fiasco
“N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)” – Nas
“Sexual Eruption” – Snoop Dogg

*And the Winner is…
Lil’ Wayne – “A Milli”: I think we knew this was coming; this song was all over the radio; it was ridiculous. The only song up there that got more airplay was “Sexual Eruption”, but I doubt people even remember that song anymore (I didn’t until I saw it was nominated). The first Lil’ Wayne victory of the night.

*Who will get robbed…
Nas – “N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)”: It was in between “Roc Boys” and this for me, but Nas edges out Jay on this one because of the quality of the song that he put together. However, it won’t win mainly because it got no airplay. I can’t wait to hear the presenters say the title, that’ll provide some primetime entertainment.

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
“Royal Flush” – Big Boi featuring André 3000 & Raekwon
“Swagga Like Us” – Jay-Z & T.I. featuring Kanye West & Lil’’ Wayne
“Mr. Carter” – Lil’’ Wayne featuring Jay-Z
“Wish You Would” – Ludacris featuring T.I.
“Put On” – Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West

*And the Winner Is…
Jay-Z & T.I. featuring Kanye West & Lil’’ Wayne  – “Swagga Like Us”: Based on both airplay and the popularity of the sample. I’m actually not sure about this one; I’m fairly sure Weezy will take this one too, whether it’s “S.L.U.” or “Mr. Carter”. Second award of the night for Weezy.

*Who will get robbed…
Big Boi featuring André 3000 & Raekwon  – “Royal Flush”: Being a legend in the game just doesn’t mean much anymore, does it? I mean, check out the features on this! Not to mention that this definitely a great song. Oh well, better luck next time.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“American Boy” – Estelle featuring Kanye West
“Low” – Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
“Green Light” – John Legend featuring Andre 3000
“Got Money” – Lil’’ Wayne featuring T-Pain
“Superstar” – Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos

*And The Winner Is…
Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos – “Superstar”: Yeah, that’s right; I’m betting that Lupe will beat out Kanye for this award. “American Boy” was an amazing track and blew up the charts, but I’ve got a feeling that Lupe will take this one. If he does, it will put Lupe and Matthew Santos on the map.

*Who will get robbed…
John Legend featuring Andre 3000 “Green Light”: I’m not saying Lupe doesn’t deserve to win the award, but “Green Light”’s funky tune and John Legend’s crooning over the track is simply infectious. This is definitely one of my most favorite tracks of the year.

Best Rap Song
“Lollipop” – D. Harrison, Lil’’ Wayne, J. Scheffer, Static Major, & R. Zamor, songwriters (Lil’ Wayne Featuring Static Major)
“Low” – Flo Rida, M. Humphrey, & T-Pain, songwriters (Flo Rida featuring T-Pain)
“Sexual Eruption” – S. Lovejoy, Snoop Dogg, & D. Stewart, songwriters (Snoop Dogg)
“Superstar” – Lupe Fiasco & Soundtrakk, songwriters (Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos)
“Swagga Like Us” – Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, T.I., & Kanye West, songwriters (Diplo, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, M.I.A., Paul Simonon & Joe Strummer, songwriters) (Jay-Z & T.I. featuring Kanye West & Lil’ Wayne)

*And The Winner Is…
Lil’ Wayne – “Lollipop”: It pains me to even write this, but yes, Weezy will win this award, this was undoubtedly the song of the summer, with “Whatever You Like” a close second. Weezy’s third award of the night.

*Who will get robbed…
Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos – “Superstar”: Looking at the nominees, this category is just plain sad. Lupe’s excellent collabo with Matthew Santos easily outshines everything else on the list.

Best Rap Album
American Gangster – Jay-Z
Tha Carter III – Lil’ Wayne
Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool – Lupe Fiasco
Untitled – Nas
Paper Trail – T.I.

*And The Winner Is…
Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III: We all expected this one. When you get nominated for the Album of the Year of the award and your the only person to nominated in your genre, your guaranteed this award. Straight up, I don’t agree with this at all, but at least it will quiet the Lil’ Wayne stans out there. Weezy’s fourth award of the night.

*Who will get robbed…
Nas – Untitled: Nas outshines everyone on this list. Jay-Z would’ve won this last year against Graduation, but I guess that’s the penalty of releasing your album in Q4. Same thing goes for Lupe, and T.I.’s album just doesn’t stack up the other stars on the list. Nas’ Untitled is probably the most intelligent release of the year and should win this award.

Bottom Line:
This will be a “Lil’ Wayne Grammy Awards” show in every aspect. He’ll win at least four awards when February rolls around. I knew this was coming. No matter how you shake it, 2008 was Lil’ Wayne’s year, hands down, whether you think he had the best album or not. While I’m not going to get pissed off that Nas, an undeniable legend in the game who hasn’t won one Grammy in his 14 year career will get snubbed by Weezy (OK, maybe a little…), I will say this: if Weezy wins the Album of the Year award over heavyweight contenders like Ne-Yo and, my favorite to win, Coldplay (Who will also clean up), he can lay claim to being the Best Rapper Alive, but I’ll have lost all respect for the Grammys.

As the youngest member of the nappyafro crew, I find that it is my duty to show a different side of the new school Hip-Hop. I mean, Bow Wow USED to be a decent rapper, right? And Romeo isn’t that bad at all. I feel like the new school generation gets a bad rep only because they cater to their same generation: a group of teenagers who just want to jump on the floor and move. Only problem is they make their ENTIRE album like that and their actual talent is lost in the mix.

But I was surfing the web and I found a couple of Hip-Hop artists that I just haven’t seen in a while. Are they finished? Have they given it up? I don’t know; some I wish they would just quit, and others I kind of want to stay in the game. At any rate, here we go.

Asia Cruise

I first saw her on BET’s 106 & Park when her video was the new joint of the day. Her song, “Selfish”, is kind of blah, but I mean that’s one more female in the game, right? Plus she’s Asian! I love seeing diversity in the game, to be honest; Hip-Hop and R&B should be open to all people, not just African Americans, and to me that’s what the game needs. This single came out in March, and then POOF! She was gone, just like that. I guess the album was pushed to next year?

Arab

I know I dissed him in one of my other columns, but come on: we all gotta eat. I can’t front: he’s got no skills at all, but I thought he would make a bigger imprint on the rap game then just a one-off single that he featured on. Well…OK, I take that back, but at the same time I expected a single to be released around this time for him, or something. At least an appearance at an awards show.

Saigon

I could spend all day on this one…WHERE ARE YOU MAN?!? After a bunch of mixtapes and even more delays, my patience for the “best album in the last 20 years” is growing thin. I mean, you had the time to do four episodes of Entourage; where the hell is this album? Jay, please release Blueprint 3 so you can sign this nigga and get his shit straight. Damn!

Young Dro

Not sure where he is either. Like King Jerm, I co-sign this dude. I don’t think he’s the absolute best on Grand Hustle like he does; T.I. recently got better with Paper Trail. Dro’s lyrics are really good; he showed a lot of skill on his debut and even went Gold, something even T.I. can’t claim to have done. But after two singles (both pretty hot), he was gone. I saw him Big Kuntry’s music video, but that was it. Shame, again, just like a lot of Grand Hustle artists. Is T.I. becoming the Jay-Z of Grand Hustle? Let’s hope not.

Memphis Bleek

Haven’t seen much of this guy in awhile, and by a while I mean in three years, ever since his last album. He’s never been the best rapper, but he is just ONE hit away: I’d like to see him get that hit and become the success story that Common is today, but seeing as once Jay starts Roc Nation up, Bleek will be flying solo with his own label, I don’t know if that will happen.

Bottom Line:
Well, I wish the best of luck to all of these artists. I’m probably missing out on a whole bunch of people: shout out to Wale, Kid Cudi, and most of the “New School of 2008″. Let’s hope they get a hot single or something?

In case you haven’t heard by now, Jay-Z & 50 Cent’s albums have been delayed to early ‘09. This marks the first time EVER that Jay hasn’t released an album in that “end of the year” window since Reasonable Doubt, which doesn’t really count in my book because it came out in the summer. As for 50 Cent, well, all I can say is at least we know he’s actually working on this one (just kidding!).

Seriously though, while I appreciate 50’s effort along with Jigga’s, I really can’t wait for either of these albums. Well, ok, I can wait for 50’s, but Jay killed it on “Dope Boy Fresh” and don’t even get me started on “History”! If you out there hating on that song because you don’t get the lyrics, you should quit while your ahead: Jay pretty got as deep as you can get on a song and even turned it into a possible single!

But beyond me being a Jay-Z stan (B-Easy; what’s haapnin’?), I think I need more from 50 before I can truly say I’m excited for his album. I mean it is a good deal: it’s shipping with an album and TWO movies, but I feel like at this point in 50’s career I just can’t get excited when he announces he’s dropping an album like I could when he dropped his debut. Maybe if he releases a REAL single other than bullshit like “Get Up” I’ll change my mind.

Oh, and I guess it’s safe to say that the Three Headed Monster will DEFINITELY be postponed. Eminem has already said he’s dropping in ‘09. And if Detox is supposed to come last, will we have to wait another TEN YEARS before this drops? Need I remind you that both Dre AND Snoop said that Detox was done and dropping this year. Damn! I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he’s waiting until both Em and Fif’s albums drop, but if it doesn’t come out next year, it never will.

50’s album should drop at the top of the year in January, with Jay dropping in February. Good luck to both of them, and remember you got this info straight from The Stoop!

When I heard Lupe’s last album The Cool, I knew then and there, and even now that Lupe was/is one of the best doing it. I was also almost heartbroken when I heard that he was retiring seemingly in his prime: his first album had critics screaming it was a classic, and it was so heavily anticipated it leaked a year before: think Tha Carter III, only worse: dude had to make a WHOLE new album, and even that was leaked about a month before. His second album didn’t leak early, and was given positive reviews, along with a good commercial debut.

Now, Lupe is prepping his final album. He originally described very favorably, stating: “After I put this out, people will be saying ‘Damn! Now you can leave”. That’s pretty bold, isn’t it? I mean, it was awful for me when I heard my first Jay-Z album, The Black Album, and then found out it was his last album. That made me spend the next three years looking through his albums and becoming the Jay-Z stan I am. But Lupe has only two albums out: there isn’t really enough there to look through, however good it is. Until now.

Lupe recently announced his final album, LupE.N.D., will be a THREE DISC CD. That’s right: three discs of music. Lupe’s last albums have averaged 18 songs on a CD, so that’s 52 songs in one album I’m guessing. That’s insane: to me, it sounds like something that Lil’ Wayne would do. I don’t know why, but I could see Weezy doing something just like that. The three CDs will be given names from the acronym E.N.D.: Everywhere, Nowhere, & Down Here. Originally, it was supposed to be a two-disc CD based on his song “Streets on Fire” about the end of the world, but I guess that idea was scrapped.

Of course, there is only one problem with double, or, uh, triple albums: they almost always contain large amounts of filler material which is a field day for critics who are forced to comb through over 20 songs and give a review. That’s over 2 hours of music! I remember B-Easy had to go through 30 songs of Tech N9ne’s Killer. It would be different if every song was done with intense care and was treated like a huge record, but not every song is. Hopefully Lupe will end his career with a bang, and show the world finally he’s one of the best.

Lupe Announcing LupE.N.D.