Let it be known that I’m a strong believer in second chances. Take Tyga for instance. Back in 2008 I had a chance to review Tyga’s debut album No Introduction; let’s just say I didn’t like it and leave it at that (Do you remember “Coconut Juice”?). I could see some talent in the music, but in my book it was too early for an album and the young Cali native needed some more seasoning.

Fast forward some time, check out some verses from We Are Young, and listen to this track…. I may have been right.

Download: Tyga feat. Lil’ Wayne – “I’m On It”

I don’t think anybody expected for Rebirth to do a million like Tha Carter 3, but is 170,000 copies in the first week a fail? Depends. Some say no because of the leak being months ahead of the actual release while some say that it a lose because it’s his follow up to C3. Hey, Weezy still got fans to buy his Rock album, I guess time will tell us more when we see the overall sales.

Other thoughts:
A lotta people got some sales boost from the Grammy’s.
Styles P & DJ Green Lantern’s The Green Ghost Project didn’t crack the Top 200.
Statik Selecktah’s 100 Proof (The Hangover) didn’t either.
What does that mean for DJ Khaled & Kayslay’s upcoming releases?
Trey Songz finally gets his first Gold plaque with Ready.
Alicia Keys‘ The Element Of Freedom will be Platinum next week (Probably right now)
Maxwell’s BLACKsummer’snight will too

And now the numbers…

#2 Lil’ Wayne/Rebirth (Last Week: NA) – 176,000; Total: NA [Debut]
#6 The Black Eyed Peas/The E.N.D. (Last Week: #10) – 69,700; Total: 1,999,000 (Platinum) [35 Weeks]
#11 Michael Jackson/This Is It [OST] (Last Week: #6) – 34,900; Total: 1,439,400 (Platinum) [15 Weeks]
#13 Alicia Keys/The Element Of Freedom (Last Week: #11) – 33,700; Total: 998,900 (Gold) [8 Weeks]
#14 Beyonce/I Am..Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #35) – 32,200; Total: 2,741,900 (2X Platinum) [64 Weeks]
#16 Mary J. Blige/Stronger With Each Tear (Last Week: #17) – 31,000; Total: 563,500 (Gold) [7 Weeks]
#19 Various Artist/Hope For Haiti Now (Last Week: #1) – 29,200; Total: 343,100 [3 Weeks]
#27 Rihanna/Rated R (Last Week: #21) – 22,000; Total: 617,800 (Gold) [11 Weeks]
#28 Young Money/We Are Young Money (Last Week: #28) – 20,000; Total: 291,300 [8 weeks]
#30 Jay-Z/The Blueprint 3 (Last Week: #41) – 19,200; Total: 1,596,900 (Platinum) [22 Weeks]
#34 Eminem/Relapse: Refill (Last Week: #42) – 18,400; Total: 1,823,500 (Platinum) [38 Weeks]
#36 Michael Jackson/Number Ones (Last Week: #33) – 17,700; Total: 4,138,600 (4X Platinum) [60 Weeks]
#38 Melanie Fiona/The Bridge (Last Week: #34) – 17,200; Total: 183,100 [14 Weeks]
#39 Trey Songz/Ready (Last Week: #47) – 16,800; Total: 503,300 (Gold) [23 Weeks]
#44 Robin Thicke/Sex Therapy (Last Week: #45) – 14,000; Total: 280,900 [8 Weeks]
#45 Gucci Mane/The State Vs. Roderick Davis (Last Week: #37) – 13,700; Total: 250,200 [9 Weeks]
#46 Maxwell/BLACKsummers’night (Last Week: #76) – 13,600; Total: 989,400 [31 Weeks]

By now you’ve heard that on February 9th, Lil’ Wayne was suppose to start his year of jail at Riker’s Island for a gun charge. But that was postponed until March 2nd due to a cracked tooth. On the first farewell tour, Weezy caught the the Saints win at the Super Bowl, did some interviews, did a concert, was on Ustream, and had a party. This time as jail time grows closer, we’re sure Lil’ Wayne will take it easier the second time around. nappyafro has the exclusive itinerary for his last 24 hours of freedom*.
*That means we made it up.

12a-1a
Wakes up in the morning & takes a knee and thanks god, then goes to the mirror and looks himself in the eyes.

1a-2a
Gets prison number tattooed on his face so he doesn’t have to hold up a sign in mugshot.

2a-3a
Pays up Netflix account for the rest of year

3a-4a
“Freestyle Session” with Nicki Minaj & Shanelle

4a-5a
Get a REAL guitar lesson from B.B. King.

5a-6a
Makes a mixtape

6a-8a
Smokes some Kush then takes a nap.

8a-9a
Wakes up…makes a mixtape

9a-11a
Hangs out with daughter (Reginae) & Toya

11a-12p
Hangs out with Babymama #2 & Dwayne III.

12p-2p
Shopping spree with Birdman.

2p-3p
Makes mixtape with Drake.

3p-4p
Smokes weed with Jae Millz, Gutta, & Lil’ Chuckie.

4p-6p
Hangs out with Babymama #3 (Lauren) & Lennox.

6p-8p
Hangs out with Babymama #4 (Nivea) & Neal.

8p-9p
Goes and gets another tattoo with Tyga.

9p-10p
Makes mixtape.

10p-11p
Smokes weed and plays Madden 2010

11p-12a
Turns on Sportscenter and watches till he falls asleep.

I didn’t think we’d end up reviewing this one since it’s not technically Hip-Hop; Plus most of you have had this album for the past couple of months anyway (Shout out to Amazon!). But we all love Weezy over here, so we figured why not. Lil’ Wayne has been pulling out the guitar like crazy right around the time C3 came out; now he’s here to prove that he can actually play it. Well, kind of. Most of the instrumentals on the album come from other producers with Weezy playing on a few songs. Let’s see if Rebirth was really worth waiting for.

American Star
Featuring Shanell; Produced by DJ Infamous
Lil’ Wayne jumps on an epic guitar intro, Auto-Tuning as usual. I don’t know how I feel about this one: Part of me thinks he’d sound a lot better if he left the Auto-Tune alone and actually tried to sing a little bit. The Auto-Tune/guitar combo doesn’t really work too well to me. Shanell makes the hook really hot (“Dope-boy with a guitar!”) and the track works very well, courtesy of DJ Infamous. The track kind of falters towards the end where Weezy pretty much loses control and starts yelling with the Auto-Tune. Overall, OK song.

Prom Queen
Featuring Shanell, Produced by DJ Infamous & Drew Correa
This was the first single off the album. This was the song that had even King Jerm questioning what the fuck Weezy was thinking. It must have aged well, because I kind of dig it now. I said KIND OF. Tt still has some of the stupidest lines I have ever heard (“I love her fancy underwear…”), but overall I think it’s an OK song. This is an example of a song where Auto-Tune actually works with rock, which makes it a notable song on the album.

Ground Zero
Produced by Patrick Stump
This is one of those songs that I really wanted to like, but it got good way too late into the song. The lyrics don’t mean much until the end of the song; Where society is going and how it seems like we’ve reached ground zero. It sounds really good, except for the hook which sounds like it was thrown together at the very last minute. Other than that, another OK song; nothing too notable.

Da Da Da
Produced by Cool & Dre
I gotta give Weezy props on this one; he did it here. The first of the song had me scratching my head, mainly because he cranked the Auto-Tune up so damn much I couldn’t hear anything he was saying. The hook seems lazy at first, but it gets to be catchy when combined with yet another flawless Cool and Dre production. Check for Weezy’s last verse on the song and you can’t tell me you can’t wait for C4. Plus, he actually plays an instrument on this song: the bass, which has its own solo in this song. First song off the album I co-sign fully.

Paradice
Produced by Kevin Rudolf
Kevin Rudolf of “Let it Rock” fame made the beat behind this one. I like the message of this one (Live your life, the price of fame, etc.).  Still, can’t get behind this musically. SKIP!

Get A Life
Produced by Tha Bizness
This sounds like Jonas Brothers…I’m not lying. Well, Jonas Brothers with f-bombs. I feel like they locked Weezy in a room full of syrup, weed, and various other drugs with Auto-Tune, and this song came out of it. SKIP!!

On Fire
Produced by Cool & Dre
Alright, I’m not gonna lie and say this song isn’t hot when it is. Cool & Dre production on this one sounds right at home. Wayne sounds a lot better on this track just straight up spittin’ rather than the auto-tune tracks he was trying to put together previously. Also gotta give Weezy props for the guitar solo at the end of the song, despite the fact that it was 2, maybe 3 chords at most. I’m surprised this didn’t make more of a splash on the Hot 100. Good track.

Drop The World
Featuring Eminem; Produced by Hit-Boy & Chase N. Cashe
I don’t think I have to say much here. Only thing I wish is that he would’ve saved this track for Tha Carter 4. The obvious stand-out track from the album, nothing else on here compares. Eminem blazes his 16 on this one:

“I came up from behind and pretty much snuck up
And butt fucked this game up
Better be careful when you bring my name up
Fuck this fame, that ain’t what/I came to claim
But the game ain’t gonna be the same on the day that I leave it
But I swear one way or another I’m a make these fuckin’ haters believe it”

This will be in my Top 5 songs of 2010, believe that.

Runnin’
Featuring  Shanell; Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
This another song I really liked off this album. It proves that Weezy needs to leave the singing to singers and just keep on rapping. Shanell does an excellent job with the hook on this song, providing some much needed emotion that was lacking on a couple of the previous tracks. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League is great here and gives something Weezy can actually flow pretty well over.

One Way Trip
Featuring Kevin Rudolf; Produced by Travis Barker
Travis Barker brought the drums with him on this one and Kevin Rudolf with the guitar definitely completed the song. The drums allow Weezy to let loose lyrically and let Rudolf take care of the chorus, which makes the song one of the highlights of the album. It sounds like at the point in the album Weezy realized he’s a better rapper than he is a guitarist.

Knockout
Featuring Nicki Minaj; Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Another great 90’s sounding guitar riff courtesy of J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Nicki Minaj isn’t as much singing as she is talking, but her voice sounds nice over the slower riff the song goes into for the hook. She also gets to spit a little bit with the Auto-Tune, which sounds lil’ fucked up, but it goes with the whole punk-rock thing that the song’s got going on. This sounds really similar to Jonas Brothers/Nickelodeon but it works here for some reason. Good song.

The Price is Wrong
Produced by Chase N. Cashe
Yeah, I’m not feeling this one at all…SKIP!!

Bottom Line:
Let’s be honest with ourselves: While some of us can applaud Lil’ Wayne for trying something a little different, I don’t think any of us can say that this was a good album. I’m probably only going to keep about 3 or 4 of these tracks on my PSP. I feel like if Weezy had dropped this album riding off the buzz of Tha Carter 3, this would have been a huge success, good music or not. But it’s on track to only sell 150K it’s first week, a far cry from “A Milli”. Because this album came out almost 2 years after C3, your fans are gonna expect a real album, not an experiment gone wrong. I just hope that after this Weezy drops the guitar for good and continues to show us why he’s known as one of the best rappers alive.

nappyPicks: “Drop the World”, “Knockout”, “Da Da Da”, “One Way Trip”

Download: Lil’ Wayne feat. Gudda – “Fuck Today (Rebirth Mix)” [NOT ON ALBUM]
Download: Lil’ Wayne feat. Nicki Minaj – “Knockout”

Going to sleep late and waking up even later messed up my original plans for today’s iPod Hustle. No worries, a lotta new (And unreleased) songs came out in the past few days. Easiest. iPod Hustle. Ever.

Download:
Big Boi feat. T.I. – “Village”
Dirty Money feat. Lil’ Wayne – “Strobe Lights”
Drake – “Love & Gunz”
Drake feat. Von Pea & Phonte – “My New”
Drake feat. Colin Munroe – “Where Were You”
Gucci Mane feat. Pharrell – “Solider”
Joe Budden – “Hate Me”
Rhymefest feat. Little Brother – “How High”
Rhymefest feat. Phonte – “Say Wassup”
T-Pain- “I’m Seein’ Brakelights”
T-Pain feat. Lil’ Wayne – “You Know What It Is”

There are a few songs out there that get immediate reactions from me. Some songs that fall under this category: Outkast’s“Git Up, Git Out”, Biggie’s “Kick In The Door”, T.I.’s “B-Eazy” (Obviously). But then there are some songs that will make me cold cock somebody at a moments notice. N.O.R.E’s “Banned From TV” featuring Nature, Big Pun, Styles P, Jadakiss, & Cam’ron is one of those songs (The video above could never compare to the actual song. Should have been more “I Shot Ya”).

With Weezy’s own rendition of the song off his No Ceilings mixtape, there been a lotta current talk about the track. Lil’ Wayne did the beat justice, but let’s not forget about the 1998 original.

The Opener: Nature’s Verse
I honestly think Nature’s verse here is one of the best opening verses of any Hip-Hop posse cuts ever. He killed it. That shit alone made me waist money and go out and buy the Wild Gremlinz album. But that verse still stands up 12 years later:

“Regardless of rain or snow, sleet or hail/I kick street tales, choking niggas like I’m Sprewell/Golden State, holding your fate in the palm of my hand/Blow you away like its part of the plan/I gotta call it like I see it, talk it like I be it/Walkin’ my walk, thugged out orthopedic/Cause I’m soon to be up, give me room watch me heat up/Niggas try to stick me like Abdul Lerima, follow the leader/Make me go extra hard, yo Nore should I hold back or show the repertoire/Quit at 16 or throw in extra/Bars just for the non-believers/I show them why its so hard to reach us/I get pussy with my father’s features/Puff heavenly, see me at 6′1″ weigh a buck 70/Catch me in spots yall niggas never be/Packed in like green bay/Harlem Week to Queens’ Day/Performing a capella, no DJ/98 Live, no replays/Make it seem easy, so tell a friend to tell a friend/That its them again, Nature, Noreaga, Wild Gremlins”

The Pain: Big Pun
The only one who could follow that verse on this track was Pun. It makes you say to yourself, “Oh shit. Back to back like that”. Big Punisher comes on the track talking about “Porkchops & applesauce” and “Hit your shorty while he potty training”. Crazy. Then comes my favorite quote of the whole track: “Soning niggas so long I think I gotta a grandson”. What? Do you know how many times I used that line?

“Yo, yo, champagne on the rocks/Pour on the Fort Knox Lazura/Shark salad with cabbage/Pork chops and applesauce/Twin connection, disrespect watch your body cave in/Pump the shotty gauging, hit the shorty while he potty training/I ain’t playing, I’m truly the worst/Simply the first to get his whole body fully reversed/Uzi it hurts, leave you double-dead/I’ma a bubble-head, I never listen to nothing my mother said/Ay yo i hold niggas ransom for money/Like Johnny Handsome been soning niggas for so long/I think I got a grandson/My passion is money, a stash and a honey/That won’t ask questions but will blast anybody/That’s my kind of girl, kinda of world i want to live in/Not a cell or a prison or in hell’s Armageddon/Just a little ghetto/Where my niggas control the middle/And know the riddles of life where others know only a little”

The Middle: Cam’ron, Jadakiss, & Styles P

Don’t think because I lumped these parts together it means that they were terrible. Naw. This was Cam when he was trying hard with the stutter flow and he gets in some quotables (“Your girl know I fuck her off of furlough”). And even though Kiss and Styles do the back and forth great, I thought them doing it here kinda slowed down the song. This whole portion may be the weak part, but it’s still not bad though (“And if the feds brung us in we get the same time Gotti got”).

The Closer: N.O.R.E.’s verse
Now at this point, N.O.R.E. has to be thinking; “Ain’t now way in hell I can go harder than these other dudes!”. But instead of trying to out rap the other rappers here, Noreaga used his charisma making it the sing-a-long part of the song. If you around people who know this song well, they will be yelling this part. He wins big points on crowd participation .

“A yo, there’s two ways into the hood, one plain/The other smoke chronic like straight to the brain/Ay yo lets get loose, Hennessey straight, with tomato juice/Queens stallion, my guns, fully Italian/now y’all niggas recognize medallions/I play the best hood, o-t with Tim Westwood/Used to be on section 8, now my section is good/Thugged Out niggas, we eat as much as we could/And I don’t give a fuck what! yo I save my shit/And I don’t give a fuck what! you can save your shit/Yall niggas like extra skin on my dick/Listen to Bob Marley, you funny niggas like Steve Harvey/Frontin’ live with a weak army/I play the nice guy too, I’ll smoke wit you/but the realness, I ain’t got no love for you/That’s why I never do a song with you/Not even if your babies mom fucked the crew/And promised to give us head and swallow too/I still say no, no is no, no can doe/ya niggas drinking Haterade drinking my flow”

So that’s it. A breakdown of one of the best Hip-Hop posse cuts of all time in long format.

I included the original “Banned From TV” song and the Lil’ Wayne’s version.

Download: N.O.R.E. feat Nature, Big Pun, Cam’ron, Jadakiss, & Styles P – “Banned From TV”
Download: Lil’ Wayne – “Banned From TV”

Bonus: The Making of Lil’ Wayne’s “Banned From TV”

Rebirth may never come out but I guess that won’t stop Weezy from releasing videos supporting it. “On Fire” is not bad though; it does makes me think about Scarface. The video on the other hand, not really grabbing me.

Lil’ Wayne continues his quest to rule the world with the release of HIS label’s collective effort We Are Young Money. This team features Weezy, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda, Tyga, Mack Maine, T-Streets, Lil’ Twist, Lil’ Chuckee, & Shanell. Not a bad lineup to have batting for you in a game. We all know that Hip-Hop and sports aren’t the same, sometimes too many stars don’t equate into a championship. One thing about YM is that if everyone plays their role, a championship isn’t out of the question. We have been hearing about Young Moolah for years, now it’s time to see if the hype was justified.

Gooder
Performed by Jae Millz, Lil’ Wayne, Gudda Gudda, & Mack Maine; Produced by Brizzy Blaize
This album starts out like any compilation: with a posse cut. I can’t even front, this song might have been even DOPER had Drizzy and Nicki would have dropped a verse. Even without Drizzy and Nicki, the song went hard. I see Wayne got his Auto-Tune machine out the pawn shop.

Every Girl
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, Drake, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda, & Mack Maine; Produced by Tha Bizness
This is one of the songs that you heard on the radio ALL SUMMER. I knew this song was going to be big, but anything featuring Wayne and Drake on the same song is sure to put up some numbers.

Ms. Parker
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, Mack Maine, & Gudda Gudda; Produced by Tha Bizness
Okay 3 songs in and I think I have an early favorite. Everybody remember the “Ms. Parker” line in their favorite hood movie, Friday, and this is an ode to her. Weezy went digital, better yet the whole crew went digital. This song will not be a favorite with all, but I LOVE this hook on the song.

Wife Beater
Performed by T-Streets, Lil’ Wayne, Jae Millz, & Tyga; Produced by Kane Beatz
This sounds like the theme to Halloween on sizzurp. I really think they were going at the strip clubs with this one, at least that’s the mind state this song puts you in. I can rock with this one. Shout out to all the NYMPHO’S out there!

New Shit
Performed by Gudda Gudda, Lil’ Wayne, Jae Millz, & Mack Maine; Produced by Chase N. Cashe & B.Carr
Remember earlier when I said I had an early fave, change that. Unknown producers come with the HEAT. The beat starts off simple, and then opens up on the hooks. WOW. The reserves are carrying this album so far. The Weezy features are really hooks, and the role players are keeping the team afloat. IMPRESSED.

Pass The Dutch
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, Gudda Gudda, & Drake; Featuring Short Dawg; Produced by Chase N. Cashe
This is what we have been waiting on, not really because we got that on “Every Girl”, but Weezy and Drizzy on the same track (Like they haven’t done this before…heard So Far Gone?). The production on this song was too plain. The beat was easily beat up by the crew. I applaud the effort on lyrics, but they lost me with the production.

Play In My Band
Performed by Shanell & Lil’ Wayne; Produced by Willy Will
The beat from this one could have been switched on the last one and the song would have been FIRE. Once again we get to see Rock & Roll Weezy on this one, and let me tell you he didn’t disappoint. I know I said that “New Shit” was my fave. Change that, (NO H2O) this is. I really was not on board with Rock & Roll Weezy, but he might be the one to bridge this generation to the Rock/Hip-Hop trend. DOPE.

Fuck Da Bullshit
Performed by Nicki Minaj, Gudda Gudda, Lil’ Wayne & Drake; Featuring Birdman; Produced by Andrew “Papa Justifi” Wansel & Warren “Oak” Felder
The First Lady is in the building on this one and she made Weezy and Drake step their game up on this one. I have to say that Nicki SET the song off! It’s something about her style that is HOT and infectious at the same time. Gudda Gudda surprised me the most out of the bunch. He was going up against some stiff competition, sandwiched between Weezy and Minaj, him just keeping up made me happy. FIRE!

Bedrock
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, Gudda Gudda, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga & Jae Millz; Featuring Lloyd; Produced by Kane Beatz
This is the current single beating the airwaves to death. Sounds like “Every Girl” to me, but this song was aimed at all those teenagers not some old cat like me. I can hate on the song. I’ll pass because I can’t say the song is GARBAGE because of its mainstream direction.

Girl I Got You
Performed by Lil’ Chuckee & Lil’ Twist; Produced by Infamous
Hold up…Wayne got kiddies in Young Money? I can appreciate what they are doing, but there isn’t a 15 year old rapper alive I can relate to. The song sounds like something I would have wrote at that age, which is what it should sound like. I don’t want to hear a 15 year old 50 Cent rapping, talk about stuff like this.

Steady Mobbin’
Performed by Lil’ Wayne; Featuring Gucci Mane; Produced by Kane Beatz
I was in the club recently when this came on…THE PLACE WENT CRAZY!!! The two hottest rappers on a song together equals BANGER! Line of the song…”You niggas softer than Roseanne’s son”. Are you serious? Stop it Wayne! I might be biased by the club atmosphere, but that is the feel you want when your song comes on.

Roger That
Performed by Nicki Minaj, Tyga, & Lil’ Wayne; Produced by Phenom
This is one of those songs that you have to sit back and let Nicki do her thing. She set the song on FIRE, but the person who made my head turn quick…TYGA. I really didn’t know he had it in him. *salutes* Of course Weezy shows up, but he got outshined by Lewinsky and Tyga on this one. DOPE SONG!

She Is Gone
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, T-Streets, Jae Millz, & Gudda Gudda; Produced by Kane Beatz
The production on this album continues to be pretty good, but this time the crew didn’t put up one of their best efforts. I don’t like the hook at all, “Where my old lady at?” Come on Fellas, really?

Streets Is Watchin’
Performed by Lil’ Wayne, Gudda Gudda, T-Streets, Jae Millz, & Nicki Minaj; Produced by David Banner
Why did he choose this name? David Banner on the beat so you know you are getting something FLAME. The boys get down on this one, but the standout again is your girl Nicki. She is going to be a hard free agent to keep on the team when it’s time for negotiations.

Nicki Minaj: “I’m the bad what bout to get a mani-ped/I’m the big bad wolf in ya granny bed/Even tho I’m in Mexico/I rep New York like Plax-ico/Look switched my name now I’m celebrating Hanukah/Lewinsky, bitches Young Money Monica/I been hot since Hedeghog Sonic the/So could you pass me the keys to the tonica/I meant Tonka/that’s the truck bitches.”

You can’t deny it…Nicki is that GIRL.

Finale
Performed by T-Streets, Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz, Tyga, Lil’ Chuckee, Lil’ Twist, Nicki Minaj, Shanell, Mack Maine, Drake, & Lil’ Wayne; Produced by Infamous & Angel “OnHel” Aponte
They end the album with a full fledge posse cut, everybody get a chance to spit on the mic. I have to say this was reminiscent to the old No Limit Soldier songs that usually start an album, but I think they placed this one in the right place. Good way to end it.

Bottom Line:
This was the first offering from Young Money, and considering their audience, this will be considered a good album. The Hip-Hop snobs will surely avoid this album because of the radio hits “Every Girl” and “Bedrock” but there are some pretty good songs that even they can appreciate. The Nicki Minaj appearances gave the album a different feel that male only albums lack. This album will be a stocking stuffer this Christmas, and those people will be pretty happy with this. If Young Money keeps this up, look for them to be one of the new age Hip-Hop “dynasties”. How about a hand for Birdman? He has put together two championships teams in two different decades. Kind of like Pat Riley. Update: King Jerm’s original rating was 3 and I mistakenly put this up as a 3.5. My bad. – B-Easy

nappyPicks: “Ms. Parker”, “Play In My Band”, “Fuck Da Bullshit”, “Steady Mobbin’”, “Roger That”, “Streets Is Watchin’”, “Finale”

Download: Young Money – “Roger That”
Download: Young Money – “Finale”

You eyes are not deceiving you, I’m doing a Friday Night ‘Fro on Saturday. Other circumstances prevented me from posting this movie yesterday. And to be real with y’all, I haven’t even watched this movie. The only thing I do know is that Forest Whitaker, Taraji P. Henson, Lil’ Wayne, & Bow Wow are in it, and what I read in the plot summary:

A year after Hurricane Katrina, Al Collins, a high school basketball coach in Marrero, Louisiana, assembles a team of players who had previously attended five different schools before the disaster and leads them on the path to the state championships.

I guess I also wanted to a least post something before Monday. Enjoy (And tell me what you think…).

With albums getting pushed back more and more these days it seems like we have more mixtapes dropping everyday. And of course it seems like 1,421,762 rappers release mixtapes everyday. Now as you probably know, unless you have no life, it’s impossible to keep up with what’s good and what’s bad in the ever changing mixtape circuit. So your boy is here to tell you the four mixtapes you should have got in the second half of 2009 (Sidenote: Whoever sent me Bitch! This Is My Mixtape #32…STOP). If you wanna see my first 4 picks for this year, check out Part 1 of Four Must Have Mixtapes Of 2009.

Download: Lil’ Wayne – No Ceilings
Even though the mixtape didn’t keep the promise of having no Auto-Tune or no features, No Ceilings had Wayne returning to form (This is what Dedication 3 should have been). From “Run This Town” (“The pistol mean business/That bitch should have a tie on”) or “Watch My Shoes” (“Don’t splurge around no hoe/No, I don’t shine in front no bitch/Cause after she get off my dick, I be like find the front door bitch”), Weezy showed he could still take a beat and make it his own. If it wasn’t for Drizzy this might be a frontrunner for Mixtape of the Year.

Download: Pill – 4075: The Refill
The sequel to 4180: The Prescription, Atlanta’s own Pill returned to once again show he wasn’t afraid to attack any beat (Like “Kick In The Door” or Destiny’s Child’s “Jumpin’, Jumpin’”). He also included some original bangers like “We Don’t Even Know” or Tha Bizness produced “Hear Somebody Comin’”. Can’t wait to see what’s next for Pill.

Download: Freddie Gibbs – The Labels Tryin’ To Kill Me: The Best Of Freddie Gibbs
Eight syllables:81 Motherfucking songs! Yea, this may have been either an overkill or the perfect introduction to the world of Freddie Gibbs. Either way, you gotta applaud the size of the project. And it mostly good music too.

Download: Lupe Fiasco – Enemy Of The State: A Love Story
Lupe isn’t known for constantly dropping mixtapes, but Enemy Of The State was a welcome addition to Lupe Fiasco’s music library. Personally I was scratching my head when it started off with Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down”, but by the time it got to “Turnt Up”, I was sold. This also showed me that Lupe is just in another space lyrically right now. Here’s hopping that we get another one of these by X-Mas (As promised).