With the good response that Freaknik: The Musical received this week, I couldn’t help but think of another animated show on Adult Swim that had a rapper’s co-sign. In 2007, David Banner helped create the show That Crook’d ‘Sipp. Here’s a quick summary:

The Beauregard family, much like their Mississippi mansion, is falling apart. Relics of the Old South, this dysfunctional clan sits in stark contrast to the modern crunk-fueled Dirty South that has grown up around their crumbling estate, Frenchman’s Bend.

And if you find the art style here familiar, you’re not mistaken. While the pilot for That Crook’d Sipp was to originally receive 6 additional episodes, that plan was later scrapped in order to create Freaknik: The Musical.

Here we are again (Well, it’s actually been a month). This is where I pick some songs off my ever present iPod and explain to you what I’m currently listening to. Sometimes it’s new stuff; sometimes it’s old stuff, but all the time its good stuff. In this go around, I going all new shit. Eminem returns to make his fans have a relapse, Kanye premiers another track, and we check out DJ Green Lantern’s new Obama mixtape. Let’s get it…

Download: Eminem – “I’m Having A Relapse”

Album: Relapse (2009)

Well will you look at this shit? The timing for this was spot on seeing that fans just recently voted Eminem the winner in Vibe’s Best Rapper Alive Tournament (I guess absence DOES make the heart grow fonder). And Slim Shady doesn’t sound rusty either (But for some reason he does sound a little British)! Eminem dropped this freestyle the other day on Shade 45, where he also announced that he new album, entitled Relapse, would be released in ‘09. Em’s flow & style are still crazy (“Hand me the 18 month old baby to shake ‘em up”)! Let the countdown begin.

Download: Kanye West – “Heartless”

Album: 808s & Heartbreak (Nov. 25, 2008)

I’m really think Kanye is willing everybody into liking this new album. I mean, it’s working either way; no matter what I think about the new tracks, I’m still gonna check out 808s & Heartbreak. Now that I bring up 808s & Heartbreak, from what I’m reading, it’s only gonna be 11 tracks longs, the feature are only Lil’ Wayne & Young Jeezy, and the Auto-Tune will be in full use. As for the track “Heartless”? It’s more of the same as with “Love Lockdown”. I’m quietly, sorta, almost, liking it. Tell me what y’all think (That’s a fan made cover by the way).

Download: David Banner, Busta Rhymes, & Talib Kweli – “Black President (Remix Pt. 1)”

Album: Yes We Can: The Mixtape (Oct. 14, 2008)

Green Lantern & Russell Simmons’ Barack Obama mixtape Yes We Can finally dropped Tuesday. It contains tracks and skits from Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Nas, Charles Hamilton, Joell Ortiz, Busta Rhymes, Joe Budden & more. All in all, it’s a good mixtape and more importantly, it doesn’t make Obama look bad. Download the full mixtape here.

What do you do when you really don’t have any idea of what song to choose for Song of the Week? You put up old reliable Weezy. I remember this song when an a capella live version was released a while back ago and know this version pops up with production by David Banner. If you don’t know what the song’s topic is, let me explain it this way: I haven’t met a girl that says she hates it.

Download: Lil’ Wayne – “Pussy Monster”

Okay, of course we all expected Nasir to grab the top spot from Weezy on the Billboard 200. I’m still suprised that after all that publicity Nigger/Untitled recieved from main media outlets, that it only pulled in around 180,000. I guess everybody can’t leak 2 weeks before the official release date and still sale a million copies. In other chart news, Tha Carter III continues to do crazy numbers, David Banner cracks the Top 10, and the rest is the whatever….

#1 Nas/Untitled (Last Week: NA) – 187,078; Total: NA [Debut]
#2 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #1) – 105,490; Total: 1,912,053 (Platinum) [6 Weeks]
#8 David Banner/The Greatest Story Ever Told (Last Week: NA) – 51,902; Total: NA [Debut]
#10 Rhianna/Good Girl Gone Bad (Last Week: #8) – 41,269; Total: 1,482,574 (Platinum) [59 Weeks]
#19 Usher/Here I Stand (Last Week: #11) – 26,071; Total: 906,641 (Gold) [7 Weeks]
#24 G-Unit/T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight) (Last Week: #9) – 21,219; Total: 159,369 [3 Weeks]
#26 Plies/Definition Of Real (Last Week: #17) – 20,522; Total: 400,789 [6 Weeks]
#29 Three 6 Mafia/Last 2 Walk (Last Week: #16) – 18,431; Total: 156,835 [4 Weeks]

Taking a break from his recent stint in Hollywood, David Banner releases his fourth major release The Greatest Story Ever Told. Taking three years since his last album, Banner took on worthy causes on while away from the mic. Standing up for Hip-Hop in front of cameras in a time when Hip-Hop was becoming public enemy #1, Banner wasn’t looking for publicity. He was doing was he’s always done, speaking his mind. So do you think the Mississippi native will stop now?

So Long
Produced by Get Cool
Banner starts off the album with a bang by calling our generation a bunch of cowards. DAMN! I’m not mad, because the truth hurts some time. The song is HOT! Is it me or does Banner sound like Nas on this track? It doesn’t matter, the song is bananas!

G.S.E.T Intro
Produced by Warryn Campbell
Yeah, you have an intro as the second track. Awesome.

Suicide Doors
Featuring UGK & Kandi; Produced by David Banner
Sampling one of my favorite songs “Shoulder Lean” and featuring one of my favorite groups, UGK, Banner comes off with a BANGER! The production is top notch, along with a verse from Pimp C (R.I.P.) and his partner in rhyme Bun B, the song is a must hear.

9MM/Speaker
Featuring Lil’ Wayne, Snoop Dogg, & Akon; Produced by Akon
This is the official lead single off the album where you have Weezy making his obligatory appearance along with Snoop and Akon behind the boards. The song is pretty tight; but I get tired of Akon on the hook.

T. I. Speaks (Interlude)
T.I. fills us in on the history of him and Banner.

Get Like Me
Featuring Chris Brown & Yung Joc; Produced by David Banner
The second single off of the album that has summer written all over it. You’ve heard this one before, if you haven’t, turn on BET and watch for about an hour and you will see it.

Shawty Say
Produced by David Banner
This is the supposed to be the third single off the album. Kind of funny that “Lollipop” gets sampled already. But Banner does a good job with the beat and the rhymes fit the beat. I have to say the ladies will love this one when it comes on.

A Girl
Featuring Dre; Produced by Cool & Dre
This song is terrible! SKIP!

Syrup Sipping (Banner Beat Break)
Produced by David Banner
Banner gets on the soapbox and speaks his mind for a little bit.

Hold On
Featuring Marcus; Produced by David Banner
Banner gives us a Pac style of song on this one. Banner just kept it “real” on this one, and it worked.

Cadillac On 22’s Part 2
Produced by David Banner
Banner goes back five years to make a sequel to one of his biggest hits “Cadillac on 22’s.” While he can never outdo the first one, the second one is soulful. I like it. Check it out!

Uncle Swac (Interlude)
Banner on the phone with his uncle recalling the story how he drove 751 miles with a sick baby Banner on a pound of “reefer” and a fifth of Hennessy. Uncle Swac sounds like a fun person to be around.

I Get By
Featuring Carl Thomas; Produced by David Banner
Banner takes an Isaac Hayes song and recreates a nice track on this one. The production and lyrics paint images and memories of the South on the song. CHECK FOR THIS!

Freedom (Interlude)
Really it’s a freestyle by Banner where he touches on some social matters. Banner stays giving it to you raw.

B.A.N (The Love Song)
Produced by  Warryn Campbell
This beat is TIGHT! This is the song dedicated to all those fuckboys out there. This is one that will get heavy play at all the clubs across the South. BANGER!

Fuck You Hoes
Featuring Jim Jones; Produced by Cool & Dre
Cool & Dre save face on this track with an assist from Jim who gives us his signature “Baaalllllin” at least 25 times. It’s a hot song with a nice beat on it.

Marz (Banner Beat Break)
You have Banner just playing around on a beat.

Ball With Me
Featuring Chamillionaire; Produced by Nitti
Nitti assists on this “Rubberband Man” sounding beat featuring Chamillionaire. Interesting choice to put Chamillionaire on this song, not that he doesn’t fit, it just doesn’t seem like his kind of song.

K.O.
Produced by David Banner
Banner will incite riots with this song when it comes on in the club. I bet this will be the background to somebody getting knocked out on YouTube in a little while! If this comes on in the club, GET CLOSE TO THE WALL!

Fly
Featuring Jazze Pha; Produced by David Banner
Damn Banner was doing well until I heard this one…STRAIGHT DUD! I don’t think the SEXY when I hear Jazze Pha crooning. SKIP!

Faith
Produced by David Banner
Banner’s song about some trials and tribulations he went through. You have to like songs where the artist paints a picture. Banner recounts about his travels from Mississippi to New York and back that included his Astro van getting stolen in Alabama.

Wealth (Banner Beat Break)
Produced by David Banner
Banner gives you some Hip-Hop/Jazz just without the rhymes. DIG THIS!

Bottom Line:
David Banner delivered the best album of his career with The Greatest Story Ever Told. This album has two major slips ups and nearly six interludes. Other than that, this is a solid album. This album has something on it for everyone to listen to, which might help out with mainstream sales. This is an album that is worth the money to pick up with it being stacked from top to bottom. David Banner will surprise a lot of people when they listen to this album.

nappyPicks: “So Long”, “Suicide Doors”, “B.A.N (the Love Song)”, “Faith”

Download: David Banner feat. UGK & Kandi – “Suicide Doors”

Here we are again. This is where I pick some songs off my ever present iPod and explain to you what I’m currently listening to. Sometimes it’s new stuff; sometimes it’s old stuff, but all the time its good stuff. In this go around: I’m checking out another Lil’ Wayne track that should’ve been on Tha Carter III (maybe), my favorite track of N.E.R.D’s new album, and something off Jeezy’s new mixtape. Let’s go…

Download: Lil’ Wayne feat. Busta Rhymes & David Banner – “La La” (remix)

It’s crazy to hear about the numbers Tha Carter III could possibly do. I was talking to P-Body this week (You remember P-Body don’t you?) and after long debates, I finally feel that Tha Carter III is the best album so far in 2008 (When you think about it, that’s not saying much). While I still don’t think it’s a classic, one song off the album that isn’t getting much praise is “La La”. At first I hated this song, but it’s slowly starting to grow on me. Another version was released last week and it has David Banner on it (the producer of the track) instead of Brisco. If this is a real track, why wasn’t this version on the album?

Download: N.E.R.D – “Anti Matter”

We got a lotta hate last week because we didn’t review the new N.E.R.D’s album Seeing Sounds. It’s not that we don’t like Pharrell and company; we didn’t review Seeing Sounds for the same reason we didn’t review Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple. by the way, I actually like Seeing Sounds and have been listening to it recently. I don’t know if it’s for everybody though. My current favorite track off the album is “Anti Matter” (Check out the girl killing it on the hook).

Download: Young Jeezy – “I’m Here”

This weekend, my girlfriend and I were in downtown Atlanta by the Phillips Arena. My dumbass totally forgot that Saturday was Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash concert (featuring Webbie, Soulja Boy, Gorrilla Zoe, Rocko, Shawty LO, Plies, Jeezy, and T.I.), so it was crazy out there. I did see people advertising for Young Jeezy’s new album The Recession and T.I.’s upcoming Paper Trail, among other things. Dudes were passing out mixtapes galore, and while most of them were bullshit, I did get one that was okay; Jeezy’s new mixtape The Prime Minister (It’s been a while since I had a hard copy of a mixtape). I saw this one pop up earlier online, but I didn’t check for it. After listening to, it’s average at best; nowhere near Trap Or Die. I did like a few songs off of it; “I’m Here” is the intro of the album (The quality falls from there).