I know this mixtape series came out last night, and believe this or not, but B-Easy really wanted to do this. He didn’t want his name associated with it, so he passed it to me. I guess he didn’t want you guys to know that he is a closet Gucci Mane fan. Oh well, since he is scared to admit the truth, King Jerm will give the people what they want. How better to celebrate making MTV’s 10 Hottest MC’s list than to release a TRILOGY of mixtapes! WHO DOES THAT? Ya’ll might not like his music, but Gucci loves his fans and he gives them what they want. All I can say about this is…DOWNLOAD. Gucci may never come out with an official album, and if I was him, I WOULDN’T. You can’t transfer this type buzz over to album sales.

Download: Gucci Mane & DJ Drama – The Cold War: Guccimerica

1. #6
2. Street Cred (feat. DJ Drama, Drake, & Killer Mike)
3. Diamonds
4. Follow Me (feat. Drumma Boi)
5. Throw Money (feat. Sean Garrett)
6. Guccimerica
7. In My Business (feat. Drake & Sean Garrett)
8. Gucci Bitch (feat. Kandi)
9. Bachelor Pad
10. Boiy
11. Outro
12. Dangers Not A Stranger

Download: Gucci Mane & DJ Holiday – The Cold War: Brrrussia

1. Gucci Talk Intro
2. Good Money
3. Break Ya Self
4. Gucci Talk P.S.A.
5. Ha Ha Ha
6. Party Animal (feat. Snoop Dogg)
7. I Am Legend
8. Diamonds
9. Gucci Talk
10. Foreign
11. Euphoria (feat. Waka Flocka Flame & Rocko)
12. Street Cred
13. Gucci Talk Outro

Download: Gucci Mane & DJ Scream – The Cold War: Brrritain

1. Great BRRRitain Intro
2. I’m Expecting (feat. Juvenile)
3. N.E.R.D.
4. The Other Day (feat. Jim Jones)
5. Outta Me
6. Burner
7. I Be Everywhere
8. Hush Ya Mouth
9. Greeat BRRRitain Outro
10. Timothy

Okay, let’s get this straight from the door: I don’t personally listen to Gucci Mane’s music. Never have and probably (And hopefully) never will. The only reason this mixtape will be gracing the front page is because King Jerm is at a Jonas Brothers’ concert unavailable right now and he asked me to post this. I didn’t catch the first DJ Drama assisted The Movie mixtape and I won’t be listening to this one either. I can’t lie though, Gucci does have the streets on smash right about now. But the title of “The World’s Most Ignorant Rapper” rests with La Flare. Uh, Enjoy?

Download: Gucci Mane & DJ Drama – The Movie Part 2

I think by now everyone knows what Eminem’s latest album (Relapse) sold. Personally I think 600,000 sales in the first week is great (King Jerm was disappointed). In this day and age: 600,000 = 1,000,000. Not really too much I say about the album that hasn’t been already said (Thanks to Saule Wright’s great review)

Meth & Red comes in next at a high #4 with the Blackout! 2. A lot of people disagreed with my giving that album 3 Stars. I honestly think people was just happy to see the two back together (63,000 in sales). Not to say I don’t like Redman & Method Man; I do. I’m happy to seem them get in the Top 5.

To me, it seems like Busta Rhymes kinda got lost in the shuffle last week. Yeah, most knew his album was coming out but Back On My B.S. just seemed to get ignored. But then again, it sold 60,000 units (Good enough for #6). Maybe it was just me. SBK said the album was okay.

DJ Drama also returned with his second album, Gangsta Grillz: The Album (Vol. 2). The homie Kareem Abdul Jamar gave an excellent review of the album but personally I thought it should have been called Gangsta Grillz Vol. 2: Get More Exposure For Willie The Kid & La The Darkman. It sold around 18,000 and landed at 26.

Freeway’s Philadelphia Freeway 2 actually made it in the Top 100 which is surprising because that was one of the worst promoted album I seen in a long time (We basically got in the e-mail at the last minute. H20 still knocked the review out). Not to say I’m not happy to see Freeway back; even independent. He moved 5,000 copies of his album; which is not that bad when you think about it.

Sheek Louch’s 4th album Life On D-Block…wait, was this a real album? No Jada or Styles features? This doesn’t smell right. Anyway, it debuted at #121 and sold 4,300 copies.

“What? There ain’t no more to it” (c) B.I.G.

#1 Eminem/Relapse (Last Week: NA) – 609,400; Total: NA (Gold) [Debut]
#4 Method Man & Redman/Blackout! 2 (Last Week: NA) – 63,400; Total: NA [Debut]
#6 Busta Rhymes/Back On My B.S. (Last Week: NA) – 59,300; Total: NA [Debut]
#20 Chrisette Michele/Epiphany (Last Week: #8) – 21,200; Total: 134,300 [3 Weeks]
#22 Rick Ross/Deeper Than Rap (Last Week: #9) – 19,800; Total: 290,300 [5 Weeks]
#26 DJ Drama/Gangsta Grillz: The Album (Vol. 2) (Last Week: NA) – 17,800; Total: NA [Debut]
#28 Keri Hilson/In A Perfect World… (Last Week: #16) – 16,900; Total: 296,500 [9 Weeks]
#32 Beyonce/I Am Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #21) – 15,800; Total: 2,188,800 (2x Platinum) [28 Weeks]
#34 Ciara/Fantasy Ride (Last Week: #10) – 15,500; Total: 122,800 [3 Weeks]
#35 Cam’ron/Crime Pays (Last Week: #3) – 15,300; Total: 58,400 [2 Weeks]
#36 Ruben Studdard/Love Is (Last Week: NA) – 15,200; Total: NA [Debut]
#38 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #22) – 14,200; Total: 934,900 (Gold) [23 Weeks]
#47 Jadakiss/The Last Kiss (Last Week: #34) – 10,700; Total: 269,300 [7 Weeks]
#98 Freeway/Philadelphia Freeway 2 (Last Week: NA) – 5,300; Total: NA [Debut]
#121 Sheek Louch/Life On D-Block (Last Week: NA) – 4,300; Total: NA [Debut]

DJ Drama. Arguably one of the most powerful and well-connected DJs in the game; the mastermind of the Gangsta Grillz series is back again with his new studio offering, Gangsta Grillz Vol. 2.

Diddy may have went overboard on the hype (like usual) in regards to the importance of Drama to the game, but hyperbole aside; the man is important. Drama gets new artists out in the open, brings out things you’ve never seen in some of your favorites (and not so favs), and stamps approval on what should be the new hotness. Gangsta Grillz as a series is the stuff of mixtape legends and a Cadillac standard that other DJ’s aspire to. Have you heard an artist shoot ANY ill will towards the Philly native?

….

…….

-still waiting-

That’s a rarity on it’s own. Aside from getting a little wordy over some of my favorite tracks (which is a cardinal sin amongst DJ’s aside from the DJ echo/echo/echo) Drama manages to put together heat with a seemingly limitless talent pool. The original Gangsta Grillz album had to be seen as an all-star meeting of Hip-Hop heavyweights. However, the album released with a bloated 21 tracks and not all of them as heated as tracks like “Cannon”, “The Art of Storytellin’ Part 4” or “Taking Pictures”. It just was too much and even Drama has acknowledged this, stating that he intended Volume 2 to be a focused, wall-to-wall banger.

So with the sequel on deck and the fat trimmed for this one at a sleek 13 tracks, DJ Drama faces the challenge of improvement (a trend these past few reviews) for Gangsta Grillz as a studio offering. And here…we…go.

1. A-Town
Featuring T.I., Young Dro, Sean P, & Lonnie Mac; Produced by David Banner
I love it when an album gets popping to start off. David Banner lays down a rapid fire drum pattern with his trademark horns and synth, a perfect canvas for our cast of Atlanta natives. T.I. leads the charge (naturally) with a smooth, autobiographical flow into his hustling roots. His company takes the same approach, making sure to shout out various neighborhoods and landmarks; authenticity is a plus on this. Nice to see Sean P still laying down his Southern style bravado; Lonnie Mac threatens to steal the song in terms of engrossing storytelling which I found impressive for my first listen of him. Young Dro is Young Dro, definitely not an insult. Just not show stealing.

Unexpectedly lyrical, with a nice bounce to it. This was definitely a choice track to start the charge and I’d definitely keep the windows down while making that ride on 85, ya dig?

2. We Must Be Heard
Featuring Ludacris, Willie the Kid, & Busta Rhymes; Produced by V12 the Hitman
A lyrical heavy-hitter on an album I wasn’t expecting many on. Not that I doubted him, but Willie (a Gangsta Grillz favorite) really holds his own with two proven lyricists in Busta and Luda. I love this beat and not just for the Godfather sample. This beat seems to be subdued on purpose for the sake of letting the trinity of flows shine as opposed to overpowering what they have to say. Definitely not a trio I was expecting for a track like this, but I love surprises, especially good ones. This track is all about the message here and it’s a well told, gritty one where paper is getting rough to stack. Must listen.

3. Love For Money
Featuring Trey Songz, Willie the Kid, Gucci Mane, La the Darkman, Yung Joc, Bun B, & Flo Rida; Produced by V12 the Hitman
V12 switches gears and unfortunately, takes a step backward with an almost generic synth and drum beat here. You’ve heard one like this beat, you’ve heard em’ all unfortunately.

The wordplay here is fortunately better. I was expecting this track to go epic lengths the likes of “I’m So Hood (remix)” given the feature list, but everyone takes abbreviated verses and it works. They do more with less and get straight to the punches. With some in this cast of characters (*cough*Gucci*cough*Joc*cough*) it’s a good thing. Trey Songz actually sounds motivated for a hook for a change and what a difference that makes. A better track than the sum of its parts. Not a standout, but very listenable.

4. I’m Fresh
Featuring Mike Jones, Rick Ross, & Trick Daddy; Produced by V12 the Hitman
V12 again, and this beat has a bit more meat to it than the previous. It’s like a refined alternate version of the one before; a tad more menacing. Mikes Jones handles hook duty on this one, probably the best place for him given his love of repetition. Trick Daddy hasn’t lost a step and Ross continues showcasing his improved lyrical ability. Even in swagger tracks like this, he’s come such a long way from his Port Of Miami style.

My only complaint lies in the fact that it’s just a good track. Still lacks a standout quality to it despite the participants and how well placed the participants were. [Mike Jones woulda been on my murder list if he had a verse like any on “Happy Birthday”. –readies suicide pill-] Otherwise, another hit for the album, just waiting to be taken back by something since “We Must Be Heard”.

5. Day Dreaming
Featuring Akon, Snoop Dogg, & T.I.; Produced by Drumma Boy
I see why this was a single. Beautiful, well crafted track on all accounts. This was originally set to be a track for Akon’s “Freedom” album entitled “Go-Go Dancer”, but found it’s way here as “Day Dreaming”. Akon’s loss, Drama’s gain. Drumma Boy crafts a synth track the way it SHOULD be done and it is perfectly seductive, how any girl could resist a tease to this song is beyond me.

Some have nicknamed this “I Wanna Fuck You Part 2” and I can see the similarities (especially in regard to two of the players involved, Akon & Snoop), but this I dare say is a better track and I can’t say enough good about it. Snoop turns in the kind of verse you KNOW he can turn in and T.I. continues his hot streak of features with a song stealing verse to bookend this one.

“Hey I sit and gaze hazy eyed as I day dream
Her and n her girls on the stage doin’ they thing
Double D’s full of silicon and saline
She thirty but don’t look a day over 18
Her booty big enough to swallow up a g-string
Hey gon put that ass on me like a bee sting
Hey let the King on, beat it like a tambourine
And peel ya out ya jeans and eat it like a tangerine
You see her face down, ass high

Make everybody throw they cash high
Back in the club already

she been stuck in my head since last night
That’s right
Girl you got my dreams so
Sexy when I sleep
No mo fanatsies
I want the real thing”

Standout by far and a good example of the right kind of single. I’m usually not a stickler for the ladies songs for the sake of them, but when they’re put together as well as this, I’m all for them. We have a winner.

6. Sweat
Featuring Ray J, Fabolous & La the Darkman; Produced by V12 the Hitman
Who knew Gangsta Grillz would have two shining examples of for the ladies/sexin’ (Got reintroduced to that word again recently.) songs done CORRECTLY. I’m shocked. I’m even more shocked that Ray J slays this track. I find him a very hit and miss artist, but he destroys this track and makes you believe he’s after the tenderoni (I’m bringing it back dammit.) in this track. Fabolous turns in his usual reliable feature and listening to it, I can’t understand why he’s left off so many “Best Rapper” lists. Man has got punches for days like Mayweather. Catch his Shawty LO metaphor early in his verse.

La comes through proper on this as well, lending the track the rough edge it needs when compared to Ray and Fabo. This track comes together so well and the V12 beat brings it all together to create a double feature of naughty tracks that wouldn’t be out of place for a business time mix, if you catch my drift. –hint hint-

A surprising winner on an album like this.

7. Ridiculous
Featuring Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, Lonnie Mac, & OJ Da Juiceman; Produced by Zaytoeven
-Shakes head-
I’m that grown man crying in Scarface’s song when I listen to shit like this. They had the NERVE to make this a single and make this the longest song on the album. The beat is as uninspired as the collection of flows on this track, with Lonnie probably the only one attempting to raise this up to something listenable. Again, I wonder where Juiceman gets all this hype with the stir-fried bullshit he called a verse on this one.

Skip. Please do. Barely listenable and compared to the other things popping on this album, it really points out just how bad this is. This whole track is ridiculous…and by that I mean the dictionary term….meaning it sucks. Thank you.

8. Come Up Boys
Featuring La the Darkman & Willie the Kid ; Produced by V12 the Hitman
I like tracks like this. Two hype MC’s on a star-studded album with a track to themselves. It’s up to them whether they rip it up or not. Fortunately, they make it happen and you may gain further respect for La and Willie after a strong track like this. V12 puts together a focused beat with light guitar samples to give it a sense of urgency and intensity. The kids get 2:27 to make something special and they do just that, but I can’t help but wonder why THEY didn’t get 3 more minutes added to shine; as if the Wack Wonders of the World© needed it on the track before. [Some might say that was harsh, but all 4 have the talent (allegedly) to prove me wrong.]

A winner and unfortunately, too short. Hope both find some new fans after this one.

9. Yacht Music
Featuring Nas, Willie the Kid, Scarface, & Marsha Ambrosius; Produced by DJ Khalil
It’s criminal how laid back this track is. I absolutely love it and DJ Khalil gets props for making a classy beat for all those blessing it. I was excited to see Marsha Ambrosius (formerly of Floetry, miss those dames.) on this, because she had a hand in the hands-down banger of the last Gangsta Grillz album, “Art of Storytellin’ Part 4”. She doesn’t disappoint on this one, a steady voice cooing lightly in the background and adding to the mellow factor when she belts out the hook effortlessly.

Another strange trio is made with Nas, Scarface, and Willie; and again, it works. All three produce subdued flows that still represent their styles, but add to the chill factor of this track. Another surprise on this album and not something I would have excepted to hear, especially the way the last album was crafted. Make sure to give this a listen, preferably after listening to “Yacht Club” by Rick Ross for your sea-based mixtape.

10. Stripper Love
Featuring The-Dream, La the Darkman, & Too Short; Produced by Christopher “Tricky” Stewart
Compared to the other tracks of this type, “Sweat” & “Day Dreaming”, this is decidedly average. It definitely sounds like a Dream track, even produced by his right hand man Tricky Stewart. It just feels out of place on this album and at times, lightweight. La’s verse is probably the weakest of his many on this album and Too Short’s feature is, no pun intended, too short to mean anything really. Yes, he does say “bitch”…but not like we know and love. This saddens me. Regardless, the track is merely okay, just lacks a quality to really add to this album as a whole. Can’t say you’re missing anything here.

11. Smoke
Featuring Gucci Mane, Willie the Kid, & Lonnie Mac; Produced by V12 the Hitman
Not bad here. V12 works overtime, producing his 6th of 7 tracks on this album. He’s in danger of getting exposed unfortunately, given 4 of the 7 come off like alternate versions of each other. Regardless, not a bad track at all here. The young guns take this track over and turn it some heated verses, Lonnie’s being his weakest of the album. Gucci Mane comes with his best of the album, which isn’t saying much, but at least he doesn’t come off like an idiot like on “Ridiculous”. Worth a listen for the sake of Kid and Lonnie. A nice addition to them album, just not among the strongest.

12. Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy
Featuring La the Darkman, Bun B, Styles P, & Jovan Davis; Produced by V12 the Hitman
V12 can finally take a rest after this one, his last beat being one of the better ones of this album. Jovan Davis, doing his best neo-Curtis Mayfield voice to offset the mean-spirit in the beat, hooks this track and it definitely works. Bun B takes honors for best verse, bringing it rough and rugged with the matter of fact metaphors you expect from him. P and La hold up their end as well, making this track an enjoyable mix of production and wordplay from another strange mix of suspects. Thumbs up to this.

13. Gotta Get It
Featuring B.G., Juvenile, & Soulja Slim; Produced by Drumma Boy
B.G. SIGHTING! And he hasn’t lost a step either. New Orleans stand up on this one, with Drumma Boy giving them a beat that’s worth ripping on this one. Haven’t heard from Juvi the Great in a good while either and his flow is more focused than his usual, given the abbreviated time on this track. Again I ask, why are bangers like this shortened, but we got 6 minutes for Ridiculous? -sigh-

Despite that gripe, awesome track and Soulja Slim comes from beyond the grave to put it down with his squad one good time. Banger status for sure, and a great way to close out Volume 2 of Gangsta Grillz. Now bring on the Hot Boyz reunion ASAP!

Bottom Line:
Drama made good on his promise to keep it focused and strictly the music on this one. The skits are packed in with the songs and aren’t long enough to take away from what it’s supposed to be about, hot tracks presented by one of the most respect DJ’s in the game. The formula works, already making this a better album than Gangsta Grillz Volume 1 for it.

I’m impressed with the combinations made for this album as well as the young guns they chose [La, Lonnie, Willie] to shine with established artists on this CD. They more than held their own and I hope nothing but big things for all three in the rap game. “A-Town”, “Yacht Club”, “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy”, and “Come Up Boys” put this formula on display and produce worthy tracks every time. I’m also surprised heavily by “Day Dreaming” and “Sweat”, two tracks that deserve play in the club or in a bedroom near you. They’re both THAT good.

You can see the care taken in crafting this album to be a cut above his last and that is to be commended. Just two issues when it’s all said and done.

“Ridiculous”, no matter how much (undeserved) hype many of the features had, DID NOT need that much time and arguably didn’t deserve to make the album. It really drags down what he was trying to accomplish here by having banger after banger.

Also, V12 put in some extra work for this one. However, some producers are meant to handle album brunts, others aren’t. I wouldn’t have made him my first choice with how similar some of the beats sounded. Drumma Boy coulda used more to do the way he was creating heat and Drama I’m sure had carte blanche of whoever he woulda’ wanted to use. Just a phone call away like Chingy, ya dig?

Despite all that, the bangers definitely outweigh the average and the bullshit and Drama has got a worthy successor to his previous studio album. Gangsta Grillz Volume 2 is focused, intense, hypnotic, and a look into the possible future of the rap game all wrapped in one. Steer clear of “Ridiculous” and you’ll find an awesome mix of artists and tracks. Definitely not a 4 star affair, a little more clean-up could have got it there, but a worthy addition to any Drama fan’s collection and a worthy banger for your CD or MP3 collection. This grill is gleamin’ and definitely a good look.

nappyPicks: “Day Dreaming”, “Sweat”, “Yacht Music”, “Gotta Get It”, “Come Up Boys”, “We Must Be Heard”, & “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy”

Download: DJ Drama feat. Ludacris, Willie the Kid, & Busta Rhymes – “We Must Be Heard”

Download: DJ Drama feat. B.G., Juvenile, & Soulja Slim – “Gotta Get It”

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)

Our 2nd annual nappyafro Awards week comes to a close. But , before we end this, we still got some categories to go. We still need to find out who is this year’s top producer or what was the collaboration of 2008. We also included the awards we already gave out earlier this week. Bye 2008; you wasn’t so bad.

Man Of The Year: Lil’ Wayne

Album Of The Year: Nas – Untitled

Songs Of The Year

DMF Of The Year: DMX

Best Collabo: T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Lil’ Wayne – “Swagger Like Us”

Yes, I’m tired of the word “swagger” too. But love ‘em or hate ‘em,  the song featured Hip-Hop’s premier rappers.

-Runner Up: Joe Budden feat. Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Crooked I, & Royce Da 5′9″ – “Slaughterhouse”
-Notables:
Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 7 Raekwon – “Royal Flush”
Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West – “Put On”
DJ Khaled feat. Rick Ross, Lil’ Boosie, Ace Hood, Trick Daddy, and Plies – “Out Here Grindin”
Statik Selektah feat. Saigon, Termanology, & Cassidy – “To The Top”

Best Group: The Roots

Not to say that The Roots didn’t earn this award (The did. Rising Down was pretty good.), but the field wasn’t really competitive. Well then again, what’s that group who made that song “Lookin’ Boy”?

-Notables:
Atmosphere
G-Unit

Best Music Video: Something From YouTube (and other video sharing sites)

While some videos were recommended, our video of the year was, uh…

-Notables:
Young Jeezy – “Crazy World”
T.I. feat. Rihanna – “Live Your Life”

Best New Artist: No real winner. Just some notables.
Wale
Mickey Factz
The Cool Kids
Flo Rida
Ace Hood

Best Album We Didn’t Review: Black Milk – Tronic

Why we didn’t review this album still is a mystery to us. From “Give The Drumma Some” to “The Matrix” the album was one of this years best. Maybe we’ll get around to it one day…

-Runner Up: Evidence – The Layover EP

Turn Yo Headphones up Award: Danny! – And I Love H.E.R.: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The often delayed And I Love H.E.R. proved to be worth the wait with many calling Danny!’s 4th album his best.

Best Mixtape: Mick Boogie & Terry Urban Presents Jay-Z & Coldplay – Viva La Hova

The Hip-Hop mixtape game may be a little over-saturated, but it took Mick Boogie doing the a Jay-Z mash-up with Chris Martin’s group to take the award.

-Runner Up: DJ Drama & Fabolous – There Is No Competition (Gangsta Grillz: Special Edition)
-Notables:
Wale – The Mixtape About Nothing
Nas & Dj Green Lantern – The Nigger Tape
DJ Drama & Gucci Mane – Gangsta Grillz: The Movie
Little Brother – Seperate But Equal (Drama Free Edition)
Runner Up: DJ Drama & Ludacris – Gangsta Grillz: The Preview

Producer of the Year: DJ Toomp

This was so close; Don Cannon REALLY did his thing this year. But DJ Toomp edged him out with stellar production credits on albums from Young Jeezy, The Game, Ludacris, Nas, & Rick Ross.

-Runner Up: Don Cannon
-Notables:
Jake One
Drumma Boy
J.U.S.T.I.C.E League

Beat Of The Year: Lil’ Wayne – “A Milli”

Was there any doubt? Can you NAME all the people who actually rapped over “A Milli” in 2008?

-Runner Up: T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye West, & Lil’ Wayne – “Swagger Like Us”
-Notables:
Nas – “N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)”
Wale – “Studio 43″
Rick Ross feat. Jay-Z – “Maybach Music”

Video Vixen: Bria Myles

Are there still video vixens? Or is this just an excuse for King Jerm to put up a pic of Bria?

Damn, it’s 2009 already? After almost doing this column 40 times now, it still feels like I just started this yesterday. What does ‘09 hold for Hip-Hop on the charts? We’ll see a new Eminem album, maybe Detox, hopefully Blueprint 3 as well as a host of other releases (January looks slack as hell by the way). But before we get to that, here’s the first edition of the Numbers Game for the new year.

I was thinking yesterday if Kanye’s 808’s & Heartbreak was really a failure. I mean, yeah he didn’t sell 800,000 albums in the first week like he previously did with Graduation, but who is? Five weeks since the release of Kanye’s 4th album and he’s already has sold a million copies. In today’s market when going Gold in the “new” Platinum, is this really a failure? Now compare that to Common’s new album. Where the hell is Universal Mind Control?

T.I. jumps up 19 places on the charts and sells almost 80,ooo copies of Paper Trail in it’s 13th week. It might take a while, but I seriously think T.I.P.’s 6th album will go double.

Like a young Jerry Rice in a 49ers jersey, Lil’ Wayne just can’t be stop. After almost a month on the charts, Weezy moves up some spots and sells over 50,000 copies of Tha Carter III. Sitting at 2,874,420 album sold, he may go over that 3 “Milli” mark next week. And who the hell is still buying the retail version of Dedication 3? It sold over 9,000 albums this week.

The goon Plies drops form #14 to #36 this week with his 3rd album Da REAList. Maybe he won’t be getting that 3rd consecutive Gold plaque after all.

This week could be looked as a sorta good thing for Soulja Boy. Yes, his new album iSouljaBoyTellem still sits a the bottom of the Top 50 at #47, but he only dropped 4 spots from last week. Most of the time if a rapper debuts at #43, he’s not in the Top 50 the next week. But it’s really hard for me to pull for the kid when he makes statements like; “Nas killed Hip-Hop”.

I’m not really going into the R&B numbers this week (You can still check out the numbers below). Don’t be mad if I might not put ALL the numbers up for ALL the Hip-Hop/R&B artists in the Top 50 (Do you really care about Akon’s numbers?). See you next week. Peace.

#2 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #5) – 210,918; Total: 1,458,853 (Platinum) [7 Weeks]
#5 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #11) – 148,157; Total: 1,023,927 (Platinum) [4 Weeks]
#7 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #2) – 126,506; Total: 448,591 [2 Weeks]
#9 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #3) – 104,506; Total: 369,868 [2 Weeks]
#15 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #34) – 78,319; Total: 1,522,103 (Platinum) [13 Weeks]
#16 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #31) [4 Weeks]
#29 Rihanna/Good Girl Gone Bad (Last Week: #37)  (2x Platinum) [82 Weeks]
#31 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #39) [5 Weeks]
#32 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #49) – 57,813; Total: 2,874,420 (2x Platinum) [29 Weeks]
#36 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #14) – 52,707; Total: 167,381 [2 Weeks]
#39 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #12) [2 Weeks]
#40 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Gold) (Last Week: #61) [15 Weeks]
#43 T-Pain/Thr33 Ringz (Last Week: #55) [7 Weeks]
#44 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #59) [9 Weeks]
#47 Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em/iSouljaBoyTellem (Last Week: #43) – 34,370; Total: 79,935 [2 Weeks]
#163 DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne/Dedication 3 (Last Week: #185) – 9,496; Total: 17,780 [2 Weeks]

What? You thought I was gonna miss out on telling you how much Plies and Soulja Boy sold last week. Consider this a early X-Mas present; The Numbers Game is here a day early (Now in paragraph format!). A lot of artists benefited from the holiday shopping boost (while some didn’t). Well since H20’s iSouljaboytellem review last week had the comments jumping, we’ll start there: After all the debate on Soulja Boy, the kid’s sophomore album performance on the charts was underwhelming with only 45,000 copies sold and a #43 debut on the charts. Hey, I think SB’s hustle was good, but this might be the beginning of the end.

One person who won’t stop (releasing albums that is) is Plies. Even though homie gets a lot of hate, somebody out there loves him. His third album in 2 years, Da REAList, pushes over a 100,000 copies. I guess that means we can expect more albums from Plies (And more goon references).

Did anybody else know that DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne was releasing a retail version of Dedication 3? Well they released it last week  and over 8,000 people knew about it and purchased it. Other than the actual mixtape not really being that good; Why would anyone buy a mixtape by an artist who is officially giving it away for free online? The Weezy fans are dedicated…

On the R&B front, all the debuts in the Top 50 all sold at least 100,000 albums. Keyshia Cole’s A Different Me gave her the #2 spot with over 300,000 copies sold (Country powerhouse Taylor Swift only beat her by 6,000 copies for #1 spot). Hey, I guess this shows that Keyshia has some real fans out there. Jamie Foxx’s second album, Intuiton (It’s officially his third), also did pretty good coming right behind Keyshia Cole at #3. It’s funny because Thic Saule actually recommended Foxx’s new album to me in the forums and I brushed him off (Saule: 1, B-Easy: 0). Just to prove that this was a good week for R&B, Anthony Hamilton’s new album, The Point Of It All, debuted at #12 and sold 130,000 copies. I like Anthony Hamilton, but I had no idea that he had an album coming out. None.

That’s all I really got for today; Here’s the half assed numbers. Shit, it’s the holidays. Peace.

#2 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: NA) – 322,085; Total: NA [Debut]
#3 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: NA) – 265,362; Total: NA [Debut]
#5 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #6) – 195,392; Total: 1,247,935 (Platinum) [6 Weeks]
#11 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #4) – 138,910; Total: 858,810 (Gold) [3 Weeks]
#12 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: NA) – 133,556; Total: NA [Debut]
#14 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: NA) – 114,674; Total: NA [Debut]
#43 Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em/iSouljaBoyTellem (Last Week: NA) – 45,565; Total: NA [Debut]
#49 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter 3 (Last Week: #47) – 37,822; Total: 2,816,607 (2x Platinum) [28 Weeks]
#185 DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne/Dedication 3 (Last Week: NA) – 8,284; Total: NA [Debut]

Props to the homie Obese @ itsanotherone.com and the homie BDK from thacartercartel.com for this. This might have been the most wanted mixtape of all time. Drama told Wayne that he wanted to do a Dedication 3, but it had to be done the right way. Everyone knows that Weezy or the million plus DJ’s drop a mixtape weekly, so Dram wanted to get with Wayne and make it official. I know you guys didn’t come here for me to talk about it…so here it is! I just hope this lives up to the hype. But come on, it is WEEZY F. BABY! You guys can thank me later!

If the link doesn’t work…let us know.

Download: Lil’ Wayne & DJ Drama – Dedication 3 [*Updated*]

Download: Lil’ Wayne & DJ Drama – Dedication 3

]]> http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/11/14/dedication-3-lil-wayne-dj-drama-free-download-by-king-jerm/feed/ 15 http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/08/12/ipod-hustle-the-madd-rapper-by-b-easy/ http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/08/12/ipod-hustle-the-madd-rapper-by-b-easy/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:25:03 +0000 B-Easy http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/08/12/ipod-hustle-the-madd-rapper-by-b-easy/

Reppin’ Brooklyn to the fullest and wearing his hate for rich rappers as a badge of honor, The Madd Rapper is quite frankly hilarious. As the creation and alter ego of producer Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, The Madd Rapper first got major exposure on the intro of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Kick In The Door” off Life After Death (The best Biggie song of all time in my opinion). He epitomized the hating, strictly east coast rappers that filled the scene at the time of his debut. After popularizing the verb use of “John Blaze”, The Madd Rapper then went on the pop up on most of the then preceding Bad Boy releases via skits and a few rare guest spots here and there with other artists (Who can forget him on the chorus of 50 Cent’s “How To Rob”). He most of the time was accompanied by his partner, The Madd Producer, who also had a lot of hate towards successful producers. This all culminated in the release of his very own album, Tell ‘Em Why You Madd. The album didn’t really live up to standards in way of comedy and beats (D-Dot was on Puffy’s Hitmen crew who had a big hand in the label’s early success). So then, we heard nothing. But then this year, The Madd Rapper started to turn out some new material. He first reappeared on DJ Drama’s official Gangsta Grillz album by way of an interlude. Then he appeared a song of his own called “Brooklyn Lets Go” featuring Brooklyn bred rappers like Red Cafe, Maino, Wais P, Papoose, & Joell Ortiz. The Madd Rapper also recently did a freestyle over Mikey Factz’s “Incredible”, but that really wasn’t notable. So you ask, why all this rambling about a fictional rapper that has received minimal recognition? Well, let me show you…

Download: The Madd Rapper – “Roll With The Cat”

Tell ‘Em Why You Madd (2000)
Yea this was by far the best track of Madd Rapper’s album. The beat, provided by Swizz Beatz (I think), was hot and the lyrics/delivery was surprisingly good. Even though the Madd Rapper creation was basically a big joke he sometimes surprised you with talent: “Crazy Cat, mic or gat/Hoes, I like ‘em phat/Shows I like ‘em pack screaming like Michael Jack/Whether is rolled or inna pipe I’m lighting that/Whether is guns or fistfights we fighting back”.

Download: Jermaine Dupri feat. DMX & The Madd Rapper – “Get Your Shit Right”

Life In 1472 (1998)
This is a really overlooked track. The funny thing here it that DMX was in his prime and surprisingly got outdid by The Madd Rapper. I guess with all of Jermaine Dupri’s flossing and X’s ruggedness, it all looks kinda ridiculous beside Madd Rapper’s funniness: “That’s why my women ain’t dimes/Not even close to 9’s/Sorta like 5 and 6’s with scares and stitches/Type of bitches/That spit in your face like Alomar/Broke hoes without a car/stashing fruit from a salad bar”.

Download: The Madd Rapper On Biggie, Puffy, & Mase

Life After Death (1997), Harlem World (1997), & No Way Out (1997)
At first I was gonna post The Madd Rapper’s verse on Black Rob’s mega remix of “Whoa”. Even though the verse was funny, I thought it would be also good to post some of the earlier Madd Rapper skits off Life After Death, Harlem World, & No Way Out (Especially you youngsters out there). Maybe this time D-Dot should bring The Madd Rapper back on some Gorillaz shit; who knows?