You can say a lotta things about Jay-Z, but one thing you can’t say is that he didn’t shut down The Garden on Friday night. Fuse had been heavily promoting this concert for a minute and I think it lived up to the hype. Hova performed everything from “Jigga My Nigga” to “Venus Vs. Mars” to “Public Service Announcement” to “Where I’m From”. With Memphis Bleek playing hypeman, Jay-Z didn’t slack on the guest appearances either: Santogold, Kid Cudi, John Mayer (Who killed on the guitar during “Death Of Autotune”!), Rihanna, Kanye West, Beyonce, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz,Mary J. Blige, & Diddy. I think it’s things like this that reminds people of who Jay-Z is. I thought I was assed out on seeing this because I wasn’t gonna make that trip up to NY and I definitely don’t think my cable company carries Fuse (The channel the concert was shown on). But then again this is the internet. Shout out to youraudiofix.com for the USTREAM. Check out the video of the concert below.

I can still remember my ex-girlfriend calling me early in the morning and telling me about Biggie’s death. March 9th 1997. 12 years later, Iam glad to say that Christopher George Latore Wallace’s name is still alive and well. After seeing the trailer for this mixtape, I was definitely interested. Cookin Soul takes the original samples used on Ready To Die & Life After Death and flips them with original appearances from a whole range of rappers paying their respects to Frank White. DJ Drama hosts. Check out the tracklist and then download.

1 – “DJ Drama Intro”
2 – Tek (Smif-n-Wessun) – “Juicy”
3 – Grafh – “Things Done Changed”
4 – LA the Darkman & Willie the Kid – “World Is Filled”
5 – Freekey Zekey & 730 Dips – “Dreams”
6 – CL Smooth & Skyzoo – “Big Poppa”
7 – De La Ghetto – “Ready To Die”
8 – Styles P – “Kick In The Door”
9 – Emilio Rojas – “Young G’s”
10 – Nipsey Hussle – “Another”
11 – Shiest Bubz – “Going Back To Cali”
12 – “Miss Info interlude”
13 – Lil’ Cease & Cardan – “Ten Crack Commandments”
14 – Amanda Diva – “Get Money”
15 – “Dough Skit”
16 – LA the Darkman & Willie the Kid – “I Love The Dough”
17 – Jean Grae – “Hypnotize”
18 – Uncle Murda – “Long Kiss Goodnight”
19 – Chaundon – “Who Shot Ya It’s Over”
20 – “P. Diddy Outro”

Download: DJ Drama & Cookin’ Soul – The Notorious B.I.G. Tribute (Mixtape)

Yup, T-Pain is back. Wait, did he ever really leave? Just like Weezy, T-Pain has over-saturated the game constantly: he openly admits it and treats it like it’s his job. That said, T-Pain’s albums have always been…alright. I mean, the singles from the albums are almost always banging: “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)” and “Buy You a Drank” have both been on my playlist for a long time now. Still, as a whole, they aren’t really that solid; he always seems to let a few songs slip through the cracks. Well, now Thr33 Ringz is out; can T-Pain prove he’s more than just a hitmaker? Let’s check it out.

Brand New Show
This is just a skit to start the album: a couple of guys complaining about running the circus stuff. It doesn’t really get me in the mood, but T-Pain’s voice is funny; you can tell which one he’s playing.

Welcome To Thr33 Ringz
After a quick shout out to the Nappy Boy Ent. label, T-Pain launches into a rap just to start out the album. I really don’t think Pain is the best rapper. He uses punch-lines that aren’t the best: “They think a niggasandwich”. slicker than a mayonnaise Still, the beat is bumping! I wish I had the instrumental. At the same time, it’s less than a 2 minute song; by the time you feel like skipping it, it’s over.

Ringleader Man
I remember T-Pain performed this song at the BET Awards 2008, proclaiming himself to be the “Ringleader of this Rap Game”. This song got me really excited for Thr33 Ringz, and it’s awesome. It’s really a melodic song, and while I’m not completely sure, I think T-Pain didn’t use the auto-tune for this. If that’s true, wow! He’s actually not bad of a singer without it. The beat is dark, but it all works well. One of the standout tracks on the album.

Chopped & Screwed
Featuring Ludacris
I think this should have been the first single off the album. It’s all about men getting blown off by women, and as a teenager, I’ve had experience there. T-Pain commands the track well, and it sounds like the circus theme that he’s been trying to get with this album. Luda spits a good verse to add to the song; his lyrics haven’t really wowed me lately with his new album. However, that doesn’t diminish the quality of this song. It’s great, and another one of the top tracks off the album.

Take A Ride (Skit)
Yeah, time for another skit. T-Pain’s voice is still hilarious as he plays the circus worker chilling in T-Pain’s Cadillac with his buddy. They go for a ride in Pain’s Cadillac, talking about going to this strip club, when the dumbass riding with the circus worker burns the guy’s hand while smoking, causing them to crash Pain’s Cadillac. This skit is hilarious, period. I listen to this one a lot, it’s much better than the other ones.

Freeze
Featuring Chris Brown
After “Kiss Kiss”, let’s just say that my expectations were high for this song. While it isn’t exactly “Kiss Kiss II”, it gets the job done as the “get up and dance” song. Teddy’s crooning on the track is superb, and Chris sounds good on here: the two of them actually make a formidable duo. This was recently released as a single, it should do well. Not as well as “Kiss Kiss”, but good.

Blowing Up
Featuring Ciara
This feels like “Bartender II”, to be honest. It’s weird, but for some reason it’s got that vibe, even though the beat and the track is a lot slower. Ciara and T-Pain sound really good together on this track because their voices mesh together very well. At the same time, it ends up being just an OK song; not one I would really put on repeat.

Can’t Believe It
Featuring Lil’ Wayne
I think I already covered this song when I did a column on the music video for this song. T-Pain’s choice for the first single was good, as this single’s performance proves. I was expecting something that was going to be as huge as “Buy You a Drank”, but hey, #7 on the Hot 100 ain’t bad, and not every song can beat “Whatever You Like”. Lil’ Wayne’s verse is actually awful; at first I had no idea what he was saying, but now that I do, I can say without a doubt he’s better than this. I mean, rhyming “doing” with “ooing”? Man, that’s some Shawty Lo shit! Even if you a Weezy fan you can’t tell me that wasn’t weak. Still, he doesn’t bring the song down, though he doesn’t add to it either.

It Ain’t Me
Featuring T.I. & Akon
Finally! I’ve always wanted T.I. and Teddy to work together. It’s basically talking to all these girls who run up on all these dudes ask for stuff. As T.I. says in the beginning of the song: “It ain’t what I can do, it’s what I will do.” This coming from the man who made “Whatever You Like”? Anyway, this song is really good; Akon sings kind of whatever; he is continually getting overshadowed by T-Pain. T.I.’s verse is really like his Paper Trail verses: it’s good to see that even after his last album he’s still writing stuff down. Really good track, it stands out from the others.

Feed The Lions (Skit)
The “Circus Worker” is back here, bitching about how his pay and how much he does. He tells a story about how a lion who was under fed, ate up three little white children after they threw popcorn at it and T-Pain blamed him. Then T-Pain comes out straight up yelling at them for smoking in his Cadillac. It’s pretty funny to hear Pain arguing with himself. Not a bad skit.

Therapy
Featuring Kanye West
This is my favorite track on this whole album, even though the lyrics on the track are a little questionable: “5,6,7,8/ I don’t need your sex I’ll masturbate.” No comment there. It’s basically just about T-Pain getting over this one girl. Kanye jumps on the track as well. When I first saw his name, I was kind of worried. Would it be the 808’s and Heartbreak Kanye, or the Graduation Kanye? Kanye is actually rapping on this track, and man, it’s a breath of fresh air from the singing he’s done. Kanye MURDERS this song. In fact, I’m not even going to put any lines from his verse up because I’d have to put the whole thing up. Just check this out!

Long Lap Dance
T-Pain here is basically making a song for all the people out there who hate short lap dances. Because of that, he makes a song that is pretty long for the lap dance crowd. This song is kind of a quiet slow jam for the ladies to do their thing, but as a song it’s really not that good.

Lorraine (Interlude)
I just don’t get the point of this skit. It’s a British guy (Yeah, a British guy) who calls up Pain claiming to have fucked his girlfriend Lorraine. T-Pain then responds that the girl Lorraine is NOT his girlfriend at all. Yeah. SKIP! On a side note though, T-Pain says in the skit he has 11 #1 records this year alone. Damn! Get ya money man!

Reality Show
Featuring Musiq Soulchild, Raheem DeVaughn, & Jay Lyriq
This also could have been a single. It’s like a super-R&B collabo with T-Pain, Soulchild, DeVaughn, and Jay Lyriq all singing one verse with T-Pain doing the hook. I feel like though they all gave great performances, Jay Lyriq kind of sticks out as being the weakest link of the group, which I understand since he’s only been on songs with T-Pain before, never releasing any albums or even singles before. The strongest performance is definitely Raheem though; he did his thing for sure on this track. Overall, great song.

Keep Going
T-Pain throws the auto-tune away and sings without it for a track about the people in his life who keep him going in the music business. While it shows again that T-Pain is a good singer without the vocoder, I feel like this track doesn’t belong on the album. It doesn’t really fit with the other tracks in beat or sound, and not just because he’s not using the vocoder. I’m almost leaning towards a skip here, but I’ll leave that up to you.

Superstar Lady
Featuring Young Ca$h
First official dud of the album. It’s 3 minutes long, about the same thing that you heard done better in the previous tracks, and it has a terrible rapper on it called Young Ca$h. Man, these rappers are getting really creative with their names nowadays, aren’t they? SKIP!!!

Change
Featuring Diddy, Akon, & Mary J. Blige
See the big names on this track? Forget it, this track is awful! Diddy doesn’t spit one bar, Akon is weak, and though MJB can do no wrong, she can’t save this track. Did I forget to mention it’s over 5 minutes long? SKIP! SKIP! SKIP!

Digital
Featuring Tay Dizm
I think it’s time to mention how much I hate Tay Dizm. This nigga was on Rap City in the freestyle booth and lasted like 6 bars before stopping. Then T-Pain, the host for the episode, goes on and spits like 30 off the top of his head, completely putting him to shame. How is an R&B singer gonna freestyle better than a rapper?? However, I didn’t even get to Dizm’s verse before I had to skip this song. It’s just terrible. SKIP! SKIP! SKIP!

Karaoke
Featuring DJ Khaled
I knew this song was coming with all the people with vocoders nowadays, I knew T-Pain was going to talk to all the people out there jacking his style. T-Pain actually spits some amazing bars on this track, but the real problem here is DJ Khaled: he sucks! There is no hook on this song, just Khaled yelling randomly “We the best!” and all the random shit he yells. So, after you hear T-Pain spit a memorable line like: “This ain’t no disrespect, go ahead and do ya shit/But my daughter told me to tell y’all ‘get off my daddy’s dick!” (DAMN!), Khaled jumps on with all his nonsense. This nigga even had the nerve to yell out “We Global!” at the end of the track for publicity. No matter how cool T-Pain is with Khaled, that’s just disrespect. If you can ignore Khaled, it’s a hot track, but for me, SKIP!*

(*Note: ALL of the deluxe tracks suck, and they’re all SKIPS to me.)

Bottom Line:
Let’s get the bad out of the way: like a Three Ring circus, Thr33 Ringz is really disorganized. The rapping, singing, and skits sometimes don’t mesh together. Furthermore, T-Pain’s guest stars sometimes don’t live up to the billing: Akon sucks, I actually think he should quit while he’s ahead, Khaled is Khaled (nuff said!), and the rest of the Nappy Boy crew (Tay Dizm, Jay Lyriq, and Young Ca$h) are well below what they should be at. That said, Thr33 Ringz is undoubtely T-Pain’s most complete and finest album to date. Only thing that would make it better is to trim the fat: cut down the tracks at the end that don’t work and make it at 14-15 track album. Still, in the end, T-Pain shows a lot of potential both with and without the vocoder, and finally shows he’s a lot more than a hit-maker, but actually a talented musician. With this album under his belt, he can claim the title of Ringleader, and even better, live up to it.

nappyPicks: “Therapy”, “Chopped ‘N Screwed”, “Ringleader Man”, & “I Can’t Believe It”

Download: T-Pain feat. Kanye West – “Therapy”

I was on the internet and I saw a thing Vibe was doing to settle once and for all who is the best rapper alive. They made a bracket type thing to have the readers vote on who is the best; it’s like the March Madness brackets. They’ve got the four brackets based on some of the legends in Hip-Hop: The Notorious B.I.G. Bracket, the Tupac Bracket, etc. On the surface it seems cool, right?? WRONG!!

Vibe seriously fucked this up! Man, this could have actually been the official thing to prove who was the best rapper alive, but I’m like “what the fuck” for real! They had the nerve to put niggas like Soulja Boy and Rich Boy on here, but no mention of Freeway, Young Chris, or Blu. Not to mention they seriously messed up the match-ups: Shawty LO versus T.I.? We all already know who won that, but maybe the votes will snap Shawty LO back into reality. Kanye versus FOXY BROWN!?!? Oh come on!

I bet you can’t wait to hear who came out as the 1st seaters: Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, Eminem, and Andre 3000. Eminem beat out NAS!?!? What kind of bullshit is that? Nas has at least dropped 2 hot albums in the last four years. Nas has been in the game longer, and everything. I could go on and on with this. #2 Seaters are Kanye (Not bad man!), T.I. (He edged out Luda!), Nas (Boo!!), and Snoop Dogg (Fair).

But you really can’t fuck with these match-ups: Jay-Z gets a BYE!! (He either has to go against Jim Jones or Diddy…). He’s too good for that! Then in the second round, he goes against Lauryn Hill!!! How ’bout Missy Elliot versus Lil’ Mama! Or Mos Def versus Talib Kweli! Lil’ Wayne versus Trina! I could really go on and on, but you can look at these fucked up match-ups yourself.

You can look at the brackets here

Below, I made a list of rappers that got robbed. I didn’t get everybody, but I got a quick list off the top of my head.

Freeway: You got Soulja Boy and Rich Boy up there, but this nigga has serious skills and they overlooked him! Two albums out, in the game for almost 10 years…

Blu: He’s got more skill than most of the niggas on that list, and that’s real.

Styles P: Man, where the fuck was he?? I can’t believe they overlooked him. They had Jadakiss on there, but they forgot P!

Rakim: Do I have to say anything here? He’s still alive people!

Dr. Dre: No Words here…

KRS-One: No Words here either…

Vibe seriously fucked up on this one. Here’s my prediction:

Final Four: Nas, Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, and Andre 3000

Top Two: Lil’ Wayne and Nas

Winner: Lil’ Wayne

That’s a realist prediction. Personally, I think either Jay-Z or Nas is the best rapper alive, but Lil’ Wayne is going to win, and we all know that. And if he does, it truly shows how fucked up Hip-Hop in my opinion; that a rapper with no classic albums under his belt (unless you consider C3 classic…yeah, right…) could take it all away from 3 rappers with at least 3 classics under each of their belts. Just my opinion though.

You can vote right now to see who is better right now out of Jim Jones and Diddy. So far, Jim is winning…yeah. Anyway, if you want in on this, go to Vibe.com and vote starting July 21st. Let’s see how this plays out: any predictions?

Damn, it’s kinda quiet on the Hip-Hop front huh? No review going up today, so I guess it’s as good as time as any to do another iPod Hustle. 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 edition I‘m going all Nas. Yep, in anticipation of the “official” release of Untitled/Nigger, I looking at the Nas songs on my iPod I’m currently listening to. Not saying that these are the best or even the hottest Nas songs, just a few that I currently playing (That’s not on the new album).

Download: Nas – “Nigger Hatred” (2008)

I’m sure you’ve seen this one online (It was also played in the intro of “Be A Nigger Too” music video). But since all the links seem to be taken down, why not put it here. While “Queens Get The Money” is a worthy intro, I still hope this ends up on the official album (It may be a bonus track). It’s just piano and Nas spitting some revolutionary shit; “This is the genesis/I don’t even see a worthy arch nemesis/I get loose like the Jena 6/They put a noose on Pac/Now I’m defending Vick/And free that nigga Tip”.

Download: Diddy feat. Nas & Cee-Lo – “Everything I Love” (2006)

A lot of people hate on Diddy (including me) and I admit he does some cornball ass stuff. But that last album, Press Play, wasn’t half bad. One track that was a standout was the Cee-Lo/Nas featured and Kanye produced “Everything I Love”. Of course Nas outshines Diddy; “Think fast before I blast holes/Like grassy knolls/Went from scraggly old clothes to the illest fashion/The realest rappin’”(There’s also a remix featuring Jadakiss, but this isn’t about Jada).

Download: Nas – “Where Y’all At” (2006)

I’m still mad that this song wasn’t on the original album (Best Buy bonus tracks don’t count). It was this song that that initially got me hyped for Hip Hop Is Dead. I remember even the self proclaimed “Kufi Smacker” Jim Jones even said that the song was hot and good for New York. Nas channels his former ’94 self over Salaam Remi production; “Eat with my elbows top of the table/Street etiquette with speech impediments/And still see presidents, no matter who paid/Cause you ain’t take the last dollar made/Long as they keep printing it, there’s chances of getting it/Money’s my bitch, and we stay intimate”.

I’m a big kid. You know it, I know it. I paid to see all the Spider-Man movies and all three X-Men movies. I own the entire collection of Star Wars movies on DVD. The “Special Collector’s Edition” of course. So when I started seeing the trailers for the new Batman, Iron Man, and Incredible Hulk movies I was happier than pig in slop.

The closer we get to the release date the more excited I get so I decided to call my ten year old nephew and pass my excitement on. It didn’t work. It turns out that the youngest of us doesn’t really care too much about Superman or Batman or any super heroes for that matter or at least not as much as us old folks. This is how our conversation went.

D.: Hey Zeke. You having a good summer?
Zeke: It’s boring but it’s better than school.
D.:Yeah I know the feeling. So are you excited about seeing the new Batman movie?
Zeke: Nope, not really.
D.: Ahhh c’mon man we’re talking about Batman! Ok what about  Superman?
Zeke: Uh huh
D.: You know you can shoot him and he doesn’t die.
Zeke: Neither does 50 Cent.

Damn. He’s got me on that one.

D.: Yeah Zeke but Sperman can fly!
Zeke: Does he have a G5 like Jay-Z?
D.: Go read a book or something and put your dad back on the phone!

That’s when I realized that Hip-Hop stars have become the new Super Heroes to a lot of kids. Sad but true. So I decided to do a little comparing to see which hero and Hip-Hop star correspond to each other.

Superman/Jay-Z: The most recognizable hero and easily more powerful than all the others. He also married to a really hot chick that is quite ambitious and aspires to be the best reporter there has ever been or as like to put it “the hottest chick in the game”. Figure it out yet? Easy I know. Jay-Z is one of the few rappers that has gained the same level of respect that Tupac and Biggie didn’t receive until after their death. He also lives his daily life as the mild mannered Shawn Carter before flying to the rescue of the artist at the Daily Planet….er Def Jam or Roc Nation if that ever actually happens. The best rappers in the world aspire to be him and of course Beyonce is our new Lois Lane. I would say that Jim Jones is Lex Luthor but that’s giving that little piss ant too much credit.

Batman/Diddy: Billionaire industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist. Unlike many other superheroes, he does not possess superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, technology, and physical prowess in his war on crime. He’s one of my least favorite superheros for that very fact. Sean Combs is his name and Puff Daddy, Diddy, Papa Diddy Pop or whatever name he’s going by today is his alter ego and like Batman he isn’t really talented. He made his fortune from stealing other people’s music and now he’s more of a personality and known for his clothing line than his rap songs. Batman has the best superhero costume and Puffy is usually the flyest person in the room.

The Incredible Hulk/50 Cent: He has little self-control and his actions have often either inadvertently or deliberately caused great destruction. As a result, he has been hunted by the military and other superheroes. Bruce Banner meet Curtis Jackson. Other than their remarkable physical similarities they both wreak havoc even when they are trying to do good. We all rooted Curtis on or as his known, 50 Cent, as he destroyed Ja Rule but like the Hulk he lets his rage get the best of him and subsequently starts beef with any and everyone in the Hip-Hop community. And yes Zeke like Superman and the Hulk bullets are useless against Fiddy.

Spider-Man/Eminem: Spider-Man’s early stories broke ground by attempting to relate to readers with a teenaged character who is not a sidekick but a hero himself, and who balances his personal struggles with his heroic exploits. Interscope Records along with Dr. Dre decided to make a white guy a Hip-Hop hero instead of a sidekick as well. Peter Parker has been updated to Marshall Mathers. The Amazing Eminem has made a career spewing intricate web like rhymes about his own personal struggles with his family including his mother and wife whom he’s married and divorced twice. Spider-Man tries to do the right thing, but many authority figures view him with suspicion. Thanks to a continuous smear campaign by the publisher of The Daily Bugle, many people consider Spider-Man little more than a costumed menace. The Source magazine did the exact same thing to Em but like the Daily Bugle was unsuccessful.

That was fun, weird but fun. Well it was either cool or I have my head where it can’t get any sun. I had a few more but I’ll stop there and maybe I’ll do a part two if you guys like it. With that being said I love Hip-Hop but I’d still rather have my heroes be fictional. So feel free to add any hero to Hip-Hop comparisons you have.

As I guide my way from site to site, I read all the articles and questions pop up in my head. This week some crazy things have been going on, and I had to bring some things to light. So this week we have Diddy, Amy Winehouse, Lil’ Wayne, Jim Jones, and The Game stopping through. Enough of the small talk, you came here for the QUESTIONS!

Question #1: What is Lil’ Wayne thinking?

Or should I say, is Weezy thinking? Okay, so you have 3.5 ounces of weed, over an ounce of coke, and 41 ecstasy pills, 22 grand, and a couple of pistols. Now granted, he had a license for the gun, but what are you trying to do kill yourself? Maybe Wayne is taking the “rock star” thing a little too far. Weezy is talented, but I don’t want him to have a “rock star” demise either. Come on Weezy, we want to hear the Carter III, but if you keep it up with all the charges, one of these are going to eventually stick, and you are going to get sent up the road!

Question #2: Why did The Game get ANOTHER tattoo on his face?

What these rappers are running out of real estate on their bodies? I sure hope he is putting some away for a rainy day, because what kind of job could some of these guys get with tattoos all over their faces? First it was Iron Mike, now we have The Game. When will these guys learn? Well at least this time it isn’t anything feminine, like his butterfly!

Question #3: Who cares that Diddy changed his name…AGAIN?

So this is the way you make news, Sean John? That’s the new alias in case you didn’t know. Here is a direct quote: “Right now I want to be Sean John because that’s where I am.” So what is this, the sixth name the guy has had. So Puff Daddy, Puffy, Puff, P. Diddy, Diddy, or Sean John, can we just call you what your Mom named you?

Question #4: Why do we have this love affair with Amy Winehouse?

This is the first time I have mentioned her, but B-Easy loves her and her music! But is her music that good to hear about her every move? So she wants to smoke crack, who cares? I get it, people love tragedies. We are watching a train wreck that no one is stopping. How many crackheads get as much airtime as her? Maybe on Crackheads Gone Wild, but that’s about it. So this is my one time mentioning her, and hopefully she can get some help, because all of you buying her music are supporting her habits!

Question #5: Where is Jim Jones new album?

2006 was big for Jim Jones, he had a quiet 2007, a remix here, a remix there. But he has to put out some more music for 2008! What how long did he think “We Fly High” was going to keep him on the charts? Now we will find out if he can hold the ball all alone. Hip-Hop is a strange game, one minute you’re hot, the next you’re not. Let’s hope that Jimmy is in the studio prepping some real music and not just some more mixtape music!

Well that’s all for now, see you again real soon! Don’t forget; if you have any questions or want to tell us how much you love us, hit us at nappyafromail@gmail.com!