Slaughterhouse Sees Dead People

You wanna talk about a match made in heaven...mixing the MVP of the MPC, @araabMUZIK, with @slaugherhouse. There aren't too many producers who can appropriately capture the schizophrenic temperament like araabMUZIK was able to on the track below. Given, it's an unfinished mixtape track that is supposed to land on the upcoming On the House mixtape put together by @DJDRAMA. Word has it the mixtape was supposed to drop yesterday, so we'll see if it surfaces before their big album release on August 28th.

If you're on the fence about giving the track below a listen I'll say this. Slaughterhouse is much more in their element on a track like See Dead People. It's clearly not positioned to be a single, instead it's more of a freestyle, which caters to all of their skills sets. The wordplay, creativity and storytelling are all at heightened levels and there isn't anything off limits including the statue of the late Joe Paterno (fast forward to the 2:48 mark for the reference). Plenty of interesting lyrical tidbits, so much so that I could probably write the whole post on quoteables ("My psychotic is sick, recite the bible on the toilet because my God I'm the s**t").

We'll see if their Shady Records debut lives up to the hype when it drops at the end of the month. Here's to hoping there's more of that off top like below...#WelcomeToOurHouse

Slaughterhouse - See Dead People (prod by araabmuzik)

"Drama Bout to Make it Rain on Mary Poppins and Her Friends"

Call it a remix or version 1.5 of We in This Bitch, either way it's got the same instrumental from @KANEBEATZ, so don't expect much different than the original. What you can look forward to are new verses from @drake and @1future who are both running a train on FM radio at the moment. It's been a minute since Drake dropped a new verse, so his 16 was a welcome addition to the track. There weren't the usual amount of quoteables that he usually comes through with, but his jubilant tone was a good sign.

Maybe I'm a little late to the bus stop, but I have yet to hear a verse or song from Future that's really stood out. I know he's being touted as one of the big new up and comers (I see you XXL). Maybe similar to newly minted G.O.O.D. Music signee @2chainz, his style will grow on me because he's rubbing shoulders with a lot of my favorite artists. For now feel free to get with his Twitter sweepstakes by tracking this...#SameDamnTime

DJ Drama feat Drake & Future - We in This Bitch 1.5 (prod by Kane Beatz)

"I Take My City Everywhere That I Go"

Like a lot people, I heard the track below and thought to myself, I know I've heard that somewhere. Turns out, it's an upgraded version of the original track Take My City off @djdrama's latest album Third Power. It will be re-purposed on @therealcrookedi's upcoming mixtape Psalm 82:6. You might be wondering what Psalm 82:6 entails?

"Says the Lord, You are gods and children of the Most High."

That aligns well with his whole Circle of Bosses (COB) movement and seeing that he's one of the few Hip Hop god of the West, the shoe fits.

Crook's new mixtape was supposed to hit the internet on March 8th, but since he's waiting on a few guest spots and cameos, it's looking like the week of the 22nd is more realistic. Shout out to @bobatl on the hook and Grand Hustle's own @NARDANDBNATION for the production. I'd call this a wholesome appetizer for the main course that is set to drop on May 15th when Crook and is clan on witty friends release Welcome to: Our House. I'm interested to hear what Eminem's executive production skills sound like when working with the uber-talented foursome. In the words of @madbacker57, CAN'T WAIT!

Crooked I feat B.O.B. - Every City (prod by Nard & B)

Some New Kane is in the Building

If you've read my blog before you know that a lot of the music that I enjoy and end up writing about has more to do with who produced the track rather than who performed it. That may seem backwards to a lot of you who don't attribute the success of your favorite artist to the producer or engineer who put in time behind the boards to craft the instrumental, but you probably already subconsciously think the way I do without knowing it. I say that because obviously the suits who invest a lot of money into artists want them to succeed and they attribute success to selling albums and making music that will appeal to a wide demographic, so that lots of people will buy it. You could argue that train of thought is also what is diluting the hell out of popular music like 40 proof CVS vodka, but that's a whole can of worms I'm not about to get into today.

What I can tell you is that @KANEBEATZ is one of the few producers in the game today that I will ride out with. When I say ride out, I mean that no matter who he works with, there's a pretty damn good chance I'm going to like the finished product. Again, I can say that because I have a lot of respect for the work that producers do in a thankless profession whose job is to make the "talent" look good.

I grouped all these tracks together on one post for two reasons. First, to provide perspective on why I feel like it's more worthwhile to follow the music that your favorite producer is responsible rather than your favorite artist. Second, to give some exposure to two other artists you may not have heard of but may end up liking with the help of a Kane beat. In other words, you may not have heard of @mrdontrip or @LAZEANDROYAL, but you damn sure have heard of @tip, @ludacris, @djdrama and @youngjeezy. Call the first one, We In This Bitch, the gateway drug that gets you hooked on my theory and open to expanding your Hip Hop interests.

Sidebar: smh to Luda for his, "Altoid can of blue pills that's my X-box" line. No matter what anybody says about Luda, nobody can take away his on-some-other-shit type creativity on the mic...#WittyIsAnUnderstatement

DJ Drama ft. Young Jeezy, T.I., Ludacris & Future - We In This Bitch (prod by Kane Beatz)

Don Trip - Lawyer (prod by Kane Beatz)

Laze & Royal - Winner (prod by Kane Beatz)

"Panties Off, Stupid Booty, Ready for War, Call Of Duty"

There are a few things you can count on in life. Snow in the winter, taxes due in mid April and the likes of Southern DJs like @djdrama and @therealdjkhaled pulling together big time collaborations. I'm not sure I'd put the track below in any sort of top 10 list, but it's still pretty awesome to hear @chrisbrown and @JColeNC together on a track. Being a fan of @TheAphilliates ever since they took over Atlanta about a decade ago, I found it noteworthy that one of their crew members, @V12THEHITMAN, produced the track. From DJ Drama to @djsense to @DonCannon, I'd challenge anyone to find me a more talented production crew.

DJ Drama's newest compilation hits the shelves next Tuesday, so don't be shy on copping The Third Power on iTunes pre-order. Add this one to the already successful Oh My and the yet to be released collab between @bobatl and @THEREALCROOKEDI called Take My City and you've got yourself the making of a powerful album. That play on words was pretty lame, you're better off just pressing play...

DJ Drama feat Chris Brown & J Cole - Undercover (prod by V12 Da Hitman)
|iTunes

Videos of the Week

Lot of Cudi this week and if you're not in the mood for a Steven Segal esque, me against the world beat down, then his new video for Mr. Rager may not be for you. I still love that Skylar Grey track and top 5 beat of 2011 by Alex da Kid on Invisible. Oh yea, that new J Cole is dope too, I might just have to go see him in Philly when he comes around in about a month...

Skylar Grey - Invisible (Video)

Kid Cudi - Mr. Rager (Video)

The Knux feat Kid Cudi - Run (Video)

DJ Drama feat Big Sean, Trey Songz, 2 Chainz - Oh My (Remix) (Video)

J Cole Performs New Song God's Gift Off New Album in Toronto

Travis Porter - You Don't Know About It (Video)

The Cool Kids feat Maxine Ashley - Summertime (Video)

Videos of the Week

Interesting week with respect to videos with a lot of randomness (Donald Trump co-signing Mac Miller, Anne Hathaway Rapping?) mixed in with some interesting live performances and music videos. Thanks again @s_c_, every time you decide to bottle pop and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting your champagne, people find their way to my site because of this pic...

@JColeNC - Workout (Video)

DJ Drama's Oh My (Remix) Behind the Scenes

Anne Hathaway Raps on Conan

Game Apologizes to Sherriff's Department for Tweet

The Donald Co-signs @MacMiller as the "New Eminem"

Nicole Scherzinger - Wet (Video)

Jay-Z Poppin' Ace of Spades Bottles While Dropping' 250k in Miami

Kanye's Autotune Freestyle in Tivoli, Denmark

@kreayshawn Performs Gucci, Gucci at the Highline Ballroom in NYC

"Got Them Racks on Top of Racks, Like I Was Hanging in a Closet"

Even though you'll never catch me playing this track over the original, I'm still posting it because getting @treysongz and @bigsean together on a track is, at the very least, noteworthy. The main differences between the original and the one below have to do with the remixed beat by @djdrama being a whole lot less club worthy and as a result, the screwed hook is a lot more understandable with the less-distracting instrumental. Maybe because I'm an avid supporter of just about any sample that is screwed/chopped, but the way @IAMDRUMMA did it on the original was classic type dope with the whole...

"Light skinned, dark skinned, bottom right, top heavy
Jeans fitting right, hair did, shawty you the best"

If you're wondering where the original track and the remix may fit album wise, look no further than the Third Power, due out August 30th. I like that title over the classy, but worn out Gangsta Grillz series.

Take it for what it's worth, a subtle reminder of the original with a little more R&B flavor and a couple nice verses. Nothin' more nothin' less, it's a perfect opportunity for those of you who actually care what the hell is being said on the hook. In case @MYFABOLOUSLIFE was rappin' too fast or you were listenin' too slow on original, y'all can keep up with this one...#SlowKids

DJ Drama feat Trey Songz Tity Boi & Big Sean - Oh My (Remix)

Videos of the Week

Shouts out to @DEREKPIKE for the space age production on the @djdrama video. The fast forward to the next scene at the beginning when introducing the rappers on the track is DOPE! Honorable mention goes to @FredoTovar & Scott Fleishman on the @kendrick_lamar video...
DJ Drama feat Wiz Khalifa, Fabolous & Roscoe Dash - Oh My (Video)

Kendrick Lamar - Hiii Power (prod by J Cole) (Video)
(Below is the disclaimer at the beginning of the video...interestingly abstract)

Drake Appears on Episode 7 of The Lebrons

Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg and Lady Gaga - 3 Way Skit on SNL

Top April Song: DJ Drama ft. Wiz Khalifa, Fabolous & Roscoe Dash - Oh My (prod. by Drumma Boy)

If there's such a thing as slow club Hip Hop, @iamdrumma has mastered that sound. If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about press play below...

Yea that's that ish that folks wild out to at the clubs and more recently, in between sets at every concert I've been to the past 4 months or so. Supposedly the first single off @djdrama's upcoming Gangsta Grillz 3 album, due out sometime in 2011, the track is so felony dope, like get sent upstate for like a 10 to 20 type of dope. Not only is the beat a heavy, rolling 808 masterpiece, it includes verses from two of my favorites @MYFABOLOUSLIFE and @RealWizKhalifa. Fab's whole verse deserves to be put on blast so follow below as you press play...

"I got one in Miami, she mean with a mouth piece
She like LeBron, I’m taking my talents down the south
Pineapple to chase it, go on girl just chase it
All we drink is my shit, coco loso wasted
Love that lil waist shit, damn them hips just sit out
Now I see who all these hating girls be talkin’ shit bout
From the front looking like she got some ass probably
They say that’s a sign girl ass-trology
Tight denim with them little rips in ‘em
Wait in line jeans, take a minute to get in ‘em
BBD say you poisen well I want some of that venom girl, girl" - FAB

In Hip Hop there's like Drake, Fab and Wayne type of lyrical creativity, then there's the rest (Honorable mention to Royce 5'9" and Joe Budden). So many repeatable, witty one lines scattered throughout each and every verse...if I had a style as a lyricist, I would strive to reach the creative and intellectual heights he does on his verses.

Pretty cool video below of Wiz dropping his verse below in a makeshift studio (props to Decatur Dan). Believe it or not this is actually how tracks are pieced together these days, all cut and paste style on the verses. Kinda cool how it works so seamlessly, right?

I'm adding this to new Josh HAMilton mix I created, powerful and beats in the (upper) deck...

DJ Drama ft. Wiz Khalifa, Fabolous & Roscoe Dash - Oh My (prod. by Drumma Boy)
|Download

"We'll Be Bouncing Like the Springs on the Bed"

The track below comes off Chris Brown's new "officially" released mixtape titled In My Zone 2, which has garnered a bronze rating on Datpiff for over 25,000 downloads (now up to 47k) in a span of 17 days. Consider this a bouncy (I know, corny considering the song title), mid-tempo, more than suggestive effort that goes down smooth (I just cringed when I wrote that, not parsing words well tonight). The beat is quirky, but different and credit is due to the underrated ghostwriter duo known as Rock City. Including this one, they're behind a lot of R&B tracks that they demo for the top artists like IYAZ, Keri Hilson, R Kelly, Justin Bieber, T.I., Flo Rida, Rihanna...the list of credits is a mile long. You may recognize their trademark Island dialect "Right aboat know!" at the beginning of a lot of tracks by @r_city. They've got a new single out prod by David Guetta titled Morning, Noon & Night that deserves a listen too while you're at it. Correction: The track is produced by Shandre, not Rock City, so my bad on that, go ahead and give @ESBProductionz some of the dap I gave Rock City for the work behind the boards.

It's a little over the top with the lyrics, but chalk this up to another well delivered effort by @CHRISBROWN. Don't neglect his new mixtape, it has a bunch of quality tracks that are worth a listen like this one and this one. Still digging his bonus track off In The Zone vol 1...definitely top 5 BMM track #IMO. Real question is when in 2011 are we gonna get F.A.M.E. 

Poll question of the day: Are you back to taking CB at face value for his music or are you still holding the Rihanna domestic abuse against him? Forgive, don't forget, have faith in change, but recognize the uphill battle mentally of someone who grew up in an environment that catered to how he acted...#FoodForThought...

Chris Brown - Boing (prod by Shandre)

|Download

4 New B.O.B. Tracks...Album Pushed Up To April 27th

To what do we have the pleasure of a multitude of quality material from the kid becoming known by many as Bobby Ray? Well, it seems that his new single Nothin' On You is doing so well that his album has been pushed up a full month from May 25th to April 27th. So many times we hear about albums continually being pushed back (yea that was directed at you Usher), it's a breath of fresh air to have a record company so excited to release an up and coming artist's album that they move up the release date significantly. See the Twitter post by Bob below..

This one is a deeply soulful, almost haunting track. Has that sort of Ain't No Sunshine feel to it, with some subtle snaps and a brief verse. Has the feel of an unfinished track that had a lot of potential in my opinion.Give it a listen...

B.O.B. - Down For Y'all New B.O.B.!!

The track above is nice, but the real new music from Bobby Ray is below off his newly released May 25th Mixtape hosted by DJ Drama.

In my opinion it goes like this Drake > Kid Cudi > Bobby Ray > Wale. They are head and shoulders above the emerging new artists that are revolutionizing the sound of Hip hop and expanding it's boundaries with every track. Even better they all have different places they call home (Toronto, Cleveland, Atlanta, DC), which results in each bringing their own unique ingredient to modern Hip Hop.

Bobby Ray has taken it as his responsibility, especially while T.I. has been locked up this past year, to further the progress and sound of Southern Rap with his own country slang and southern drawl. If you didn't know T.I. was the one who signed Bobby to his Grand Hustle record label and they both share an unmistakable way they pronounce their letter A's with an extra W added. I think in my last life I was from Atlanta...

Anyways, this first track goes Olympic downhill skiing hard...which by the way, isn't it crazy that we only see the US skiers runs and then all of the horrific crashes?? The speeds they're reaching are no joke...just like this track, which will have you bouncin' and lookin' both ways...you know what I'm talkin' bout, you'll be doin' it. The beat is perfect for Bobby Ray's choppy, bouncy, back and forth flow. Not gonna lie Playboy Tre's verse on the track is somewhat of a show stealer...hadn't been a huge fan of him as an artist (much bigger fan of his comedy when he acts himself at home...like here when he talks about gettin' his house robbed...his rant about the speakers around the 2:20 mark had me LMFAO). Anyways, do yourself a favor and give Bet I a listen, it's one of the better B.O.B. tracks I've ever come across...

B.O.B feat Playboy Tre - Bet I (prod by Kutta) Best off Mixtape!!!


Movin' on, here are two more of my favorites from his May 25th Mixtape, the first being another rhythmic, choppy, drum and percussionfest that B.O.B. seems pretty at home over like the first track...and it's followed by a track that is a polar opposite to the first two when a lil' dose of acoustic guitar finds its way on the track. I always preach being able to expand the sound of Hip Hop and not be known for just one type of song (cough cough Baby cough cough 50 cent). Versatility is key and B.O.B. is clearly into a little bit of rock and not very afraid at all to bring some different sounds into Hip Hop, which is very welcome in my book...check it out...

B.O.B. - B is for B.O.B. Hottt!!!


B.O.B. - Don't Feel So Good HOT!!!


AND THIS MESSAGE IS STRICTLY FOR MY SISTER...GO TO SEE B.O.B. IN CONCERT ON MARCH 26TH...HE'S NOT PLAYING NEAR ME SO IT'S UP TO YOU TO TELL ME HOW GOOD HIS LIVE SHOW IS...MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!