Once again it’s time for me to crank out another edition of iPod Hustle. And by looking at the numbers, it’s my 24th one. If I’d known last time, which would have been my 23rd edition, I would have made some sort of reference to Michael Jordan. 24 isn’t a bad number. Those are Black Mamba/Championship numbers. Anyway, in this Hustle: I look at a cut from the new How Fly mixtape by Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa, listen to the latest Slaughterhouse track off Joe Budden’s Escape Route, and dust off a classic (And unedited) song from DMX. Okay…

Download: Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa – “The Life”
Mixtape: Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa – How Fly [2009]
I’m not even gonna front as if I was bumping this when it was released earlier this week. Then I saw this video and was like; “What’s that shit?” It was “The Life”. By far my favorite track off the How Fly mixtape. Now, I don’t really like the whole album but that’s kinda how I feel about a majority of Curren$y’s releases. His mixtapes are stylized and well put together (And who doesn’t like hearing about jets all the time?). However it’s just something that can’t let me get through a whole mixtape/album. Maybe because I don’t smoke. I really haven’t listen to much stuff by Wiz Khalifa to comment. Infamous F put How Fly up in the forums up when it was originally released (You can get that here). He’s much cooler than me.

Download: Joe Budden feat. Royce Da 5′9″, Joell Ortiz, & Crooked I – “We Outta Here”
Album: Joe Budden – Escape Route [2009]/Producer: StreetRunner
I’m picking this song for a few reasons. First, as somebody who just reviewed Slaughterhouse’s album and gave it 4 Stars, I must say: This shit is not hot at all. The lyrics are there (As always) but that hook is garbage and filled with with Auto-Tune (They need to read Christina Aguilera’s t-shirt). Another reason I wanted to put this up because I don’t know if we’ll get around to reviewing the new Budden album EP, Escape Route. After a few listens, it’s reminds me of Padded Room (Really emotional and sometimes boring). If we do review it, it’ll be sometime next week….maybe.

Download: DMX – “Slippin’” (Explicit Version)
Album: DMX – Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood [1998]/Producer: DJ Shok
I’m sure you’ve all heard “Slippin’” (In ’98, we had a different DMX that you see these days). I’m also sure the version you heard had a lot of “woo’s” and “what’s” bleeping out the curse words (And this was the album version). Thanks to J. Tinsley from The Smoking Section for making me remember that I never got the explicit version. He’s also got other/true versions of Lil’ Kim’s “Big Momma Thang” (With 2Pac & Faith diss) and DMX’s “Get At Me Dog” (Also with a 2Pac and West Coast diss). I love shit like this.

I know I ruffled a few feathers this week with my post about Eminem and him never being the GOAT. So I decided to bring a real GOAT out for this installment of Song of the Week. Yeah, I know I buried LL Cool J in a column, but that was coming from a fans perspective. LL used to be my favorite rapper and I hated to see him still hanging around past his prime (take notes Hov). Some of you got it twisted when I said Em wasn’t battle tested, you guys are thinking I meant he must be involved in a “beef” to make his legacy. NO, that isn’t what I meant, but every GOAT has had a battle that made their claim to the throne legit. LL is one of the most battle tested emcee’s out there. He came up in a time where battling was what you had to do. Some of you may not be old enough to remember his battles with Kool Moe Dee, but I can assure you that they were epic. For the record a battle isn’t one sided, a battle goes back and forth and there isn’t always a clear cut winner (ex. Jay vs. Nas). Enough about history, some of ya’ll think I don’t know my Hip-Hop just because I embrace Beezy and liked Deeper than Rap. Notice how everyone on the track brings their A game, even Erick Sermon was on his shit on the production! We have all heard this one, so I’m not wasting anymore time on talking about it..so enjoy this installment of Song of the Week!

Download: LL Cool J, Canibus, Method Man, Redman, & DMX – “4,3,2,1″

You guys know King Jerm stay bumping some other shit, and this week’s installment of Song of the Week is no different. Don’t get mad at me if the music today isn’t as dope as it was, that is why my iPod stays on shuffle. This song is off of Jadakiss’ debut Kiss tha Game Goodbye, which dropped in 2001, featured DMX over some nice production from Mas and Rated R. The song came out the time he was beefing with Beanie Siegel (which is one of the better rap battles) and DMX had some lyrics that were aimed at someone, just can’t figure it out. Check out some of Jada’s lines: what you wanna bet the limer will squash you,/I been had a white fan base before the signing of Marshall. Damn. What about this one, the infamous line: Niggas can’t fuck with Kiss I meenie that/had to stop eating red meat cuz I ate too many Beanie Macs/I’m not one of them niggas/ and since you so righteous don’t make me send yo ass to Allah quicker/niggas gas you to force your hand/realistically you just a worker and your boss is my man! EXCELLENCE! After that line it was hard for Beans to recover. This is an oldie but goodie, so sit back and enjoy this installment of Song of the Week!

Download: Jadakiss feat. DMX – “Uh Hunh”

A few Tuesday’s ago (May, 19th to be exact) we saw album releases from Busta Rhymes, Method Man/Redman, & of course, Eminem. This was so far the biggest release date of 2009. All three acts that I mentioned are veterans in the game and well respected by their peers. Another thing they have in common: They’re all over the age of 30. If you think about it, most of Hip-Hop’s elite are over the age of 30. I guess it’s no longer a young man’s game. So I was thinking, since you see a lot of lists with titles such as “25 Hottest Celebs Under 25” or “40 Richest Under 40”, why not The Best 30 Rappers Over 30? But for this list, we got set some ground rules. #1 of course is the most obvious; you gotta be over the age of 30 (That throws out people like Weezy, Lupe, Drake, & T.I.). #2, you have to be 30 as of this list (Both The Game & Joe Budden will be 30 this year, but aren’t as of yet). #3, you got to be active and releasing records with new material that’s relevant (Rakim & Big Daddy Kane are legends but they don’t make this list). Other than that, the only requirement is being 3-0 or older. So, here’s it: The Best 30 Rappers Over 30 (Ordered from oldest to youngest). 30 is the new 20! Did I forget anybody? (Update: Fabolous replaces Beanie Sigel)

Ice Cube (June 15, 1969) – 39
Jay-Z (December 4, 1969) – 39
Raekwon (January 12, 1970) – 39
Q-Tip (April 10, 1970) – 39
Redman (April 17, 1970) – 39
Ghostface Killah (May 9, 1970) – 39
Fat Joe (August 19, 1970) – 38
Scarface (November 9, 1970) – 38
DMX (December 18, 1970) – 38
Method Man (April 1, 1971) – 38
Snoop Dogg (October 20, 1971) – 37
Common (March 13, 1972) – 37
Busta Rhymes (May 20, 1972) – 37
Black Thought (October 3, 1972) – 36
Eminem (October 17, 1972) – 36
Bun B (March 19, 1973) – 36
Nas (September 14, 1973) – 35
Mos Def (December 11, 1973) – 35
Andre 3000 (May 27, 1974) – 35
Styles P (November 28, 1974) – 34
Big Boi (February 1, 1975) – 34
Jadakiss (May 27, 1975) – 34
50 Cent (July 6, 1975) – 33
Talib Kweli (October 3, 1975) – 33
Rick Ross (January 28, 1976) – 33
Cam’ron (February 4, 1976) – 33
Kanye West (June 8, 1977) – 31
Ludacris (September 11, 1977) – 31
Young Jeezy (October 12, 1977)- 31
Fabolous (November 18, 1977) – 31

I have to give credit where credit is due. Last week I was listening to this song and my boy Slik P asked me who they was talking about in this song. I never thought that this song was aimed at anyone, but Slik being a big DMX fan informed me that they were talking about Ja Rule. WOW! After he let me in on this, the song became that much better! This is when X was killing the game, he released 2 albums in the same year and they both went over 3 million sold. X was that dude back then and spitting rhymes like this furthered his claim that he was the “best that ever did it.” Nobody has done what DMX has done; five #1 albums to start a career. If that doesn’t cement his legacy, I don’t know what will. Sit back and enjoy this installment of Song of the Week! Who knows what I will have in store for you guys on the next go round!

Download: DMX feat. The Lox – ” We Don’t Give A Fuck”

I got some e-mails about how some of my recent movie picks featured on Friday Night ‘Fro didn’t really relate to Hip-Hop. Well to answer that; I thought that was the point. (Y’all slept on The Wrestler!). But if the people want a more Hip-Hop movie this week, I’ll give them Belly. Even though Belly was mildly received by critics when it was released in 1998, it’s still a straight hood classic. You had music video director Hype Williams taking the helm for his first feature film (His only one still to this day), DMX & Nas acting alongside with Taral Hicks (That was a body double in her sex scene), rappers Method Man and Vita (“Yea, I sucked his dick!”), dancehall artist Louie Rankin, and R&B singer T-Boz from TLC. If anything stands out in this film it’s the highly stylized “noir-like” visual design and cinematography Hype used. Don’t get me wrong, there were flaws (Suspect acting + weak plot) but how many quotes do you remember from Belly? I personally don’t remember how many times me and my friends quote lines from Belly; “Man, you think I give a fuck about a montherfucking red light? Faggot cops can’t touch me. I’m out here smoking weed, speeding, all that, dawg. Fuck that. That’s me. Untouchable.” Also, this movie really spotlight DMX when he was on top of the world. That seems like a long time ago seeing that this year we Earl Simmons the DMF awards…but we did rank Tommy “Buns” Bundy one of the Most Influential Movie Bad Guys. So yeah, here’s Belly.

We don’t like kicking people when they are down, so this isn’t that type of party. DMX won the DMF of the Year award, but we didn’t really want him to win. We love DMX over here at tha ‘Fro. So Earl, get better! DMX did an interview from and Arizona jail recently and Earl looked like a different person. Earl even sounded different. He had put on some weight, grown some hair, and seemed better mentally. I was relieved to see that Earl was doing fine. I listened to the interview and when Earl mentioned that he was making a gospel album didn’t surprise me. Most people that go to jail find some type of spirituality between those bars. However, his most shocking statement was his wanting to become a minister. I felt funny about it at first, but then I thought about it; why COULDN’T someone like Earl become a minister? He has gone through many trials and tribulations, and who are we to say that he didn’t get the calling to do it? Saying that, I was wondering this: If DMX did become a minister, would you go to his church? I would, that would be one of the best church experiences ever. I don’t think I could become a member, but I would drop in from time to time.

DMX Jailhouse Interview

When I chosen to do this column, I questioned whether giving him this award would really help in the rehabilitation. However, this is nappyafro, and votes were cast and while it was close, DMX prevailed as the winner. Why you ask? The one time face of Def Jam was arrested more times than Pacman Jones! Nine times in a nine months has to be a record somewhere. His arrests range from speeding to identity theft. How X goes to a hospital and no one recognizes him is beyond me, but that might be an example of how far his status is fallen. Get this…X is still walking the streets. He said it in a song, “Only nigga walking the streets with four felonies!” Everyone has demons they deal with; I hope that DMX gets his life together. This has to be one of the biggest “Falls from Grace” in Hip-Hop history. X was in line to be the next 2Pac, then he went and messed it all up! How do you go from selling millions of records, selling out arenas, starring in movies to buying $30 worth of crack and weed on the streets? DMX, this is going to you as a person: put the game to the side right now and get Earl right. DMX will be okay once Earl is straight. I present this award to DMX, but I’m hoping that Earl Simmons will never make this award again.

Runner Up: Yung Berg

Video #1 “M.E.T.H.O.D MAN” – how gutter was the Wu when they first came out?

Video #2 “4,3,2,1″ – one of my favorites of all-time. Everybody killed it!

Video #3 “Mama Said Knock You Out” – LL’s triumphant comeback. So what that is was made in 1991!

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?