What's New In Dart's iPod #37 AKA The Independent Thought Day Edition

Hey, family! Tody in America we celebrate our American forefathers liberation at the hands of their British oppressors. Americans then proceeded to oppress, subjugate, murder, systemically endorse the genocide of and enslave Native Americans and Africans all throughout the nation. Not to be outdone, they also denied women basic rights as well. Land of the free, indeed!

I'm going to grill up some pork free hot dogs and hamburgers while playing PlayStation with my newly bought Dualshock 3 controller and I will make my way out to Fenway Park on the 8th to watch the Boston Red Sox play the Great American Pasttime, baseball. I believe that by doing what I'm doing with this blog I'm living up to the American spirit of making sure that my country lives up to it's claims in the Bill Of Rights and the Constitution. So far it's not going so well.

Voices of dissent are just as important as those who claim to be patriots but blindly follow what decisions the government makes in our name blindly. If you're not questioning the system or the policies put in place then you're not truly exercising the rights given to you as an American in my opinion. Therefore, I don't celebrate Independence Day (because sometimes in America I feel like a 2nd or 3rd class citizen to be frank with you), I instead celebrate Independent Thought Day.

If our founding fathers didn't say "Fuck the Stamp Act!". I wouldn't be typing this blog out right now. Because these men didn't blindly follow a decree handed down from the Crown to the American colonies across the Atlantic this nation now exists. The city of Boston was the catalyst in that revolution and a man named Adams had a central role in it. I'd like to think I'm doing my part in the digital revolution that's happening right now (shout out to Boston's own Amalgam Digital!). Alright, enough of this shit, lets get to the reviews!

The three projects I'm reviewing today are as follows and will be reviewed in order of listing: The Cool Kids "That's Stupid: The Mixtape", Shawn Jackson "First Of All..." , Nas "Nig..Untitled" (seriously, who are we kidding with this?). For those of you new to the party, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:


Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maeby (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's in your lane or not.

Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

If I could travel to the 1700's I'd push a wheelbarrow full of dynamite through your covenant © Nas

Best Joints: Oscar The Grouch, That'll Work, Dinner Time, Full & Paid, Box Of Rocks and Don't Trip

Hot Garbage: Ass Full Of Diamonds was okay...except for it actually being called "Ass Full Of Diamonds".

Dart's Take: I liked this mixtape slightly better than "The Bake Sale EP" because all of the songs didn't sound alike. The Cool Kids retro style is appealing to some but it does tend to grate on your nerves when you're looking for some extra syllables in their lines. The beats are okay but the joint is so short that by the time you get into it, it's over. If you like/love The Cool Kids then this is for you. If you're still undecided then download it and give it a listen then try to find "The Bake Sale EP" if you like it. Best I can do is a solid maybe. Download it here



Best Joints: How Y'all Feel, First Of All..., Soopafly, Fix Ya Face, Gold Medal Kids, Backstage, Strategies, Go There With You, Feelin' Jack, Countdown, Hate Down and Maan Up!

Hot Garbage: N/A (I was pissed off that it ended)

Dart's Take: This album was nothing but heatrocks from beginning to end. I've had it for close to two months now and it's never left the regular rotation. Tracks like "Soopafly", "Fix Ya Face", "Gold Medal Kids", "Strategies", "Feelin' Jack" and "Maan Up!" are definite rewind material and the production and guest appearances are both top notch. This joint is one of the t0p 25 albums of 2008 so far in my opinion. Shawn Jackson isn't gonna go slept on for much longer after this effort. Go cop this joint when it drops on July 8th!



Best Joints: Queens Get The Money, You Can't Stop Us Now, Breathe, Make The World Go Round, Hero, America, Sly Fox, Testify, N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave And The Master), Louis Farrakhan, Fried Chicken, Project Roach, Y'all My Niggas, We're Not Alone, Black President, Nigger Hatred (bonus), Be A Nigger Too (bonus), War Is Necessary (bonus)

Hot Garbage: Some of the beat selections were lackluster but I looked past them and instead focused on the content/concept/theme of the album. Since it's an advance it's missing the two official bonus tracks "Like Me" and "Proclamation".

Dart's Take: This album is not easy listening. If you were perusing this album and looking for "heat rocks" or "bangers" or judging it off the beats then prepare for disappointment. If you don't feel like being open minded and patient or listening to this album and paying attention to it's content and judging it on that then you shouldn't even bother with it at all. Is this a classic album? Far from it. Does this album have flaws in it? No doubt.

What Nas does is he does a great job of dealing with the issues of Black identity, stereotypes, American history in relation to Black people,the justice system, Fox News, and many other touchstones of the Black experience in America. I even ended up liking "You Can't Stop Us Now" though RZA just used it. The lyrics made "Make The World Go Round" go from tolerable to rewind material. Joints like "Queens Get The Money", "Breathe", "Hero", "Sly Fox", "Louis Farrakhan", "Fried Chicken", "Project Roach", "Y'all My Niggas" and "Black President" really begin to resonate with the listener after a few listens. Did you all catch what Nas was saying in "Testify"? Raise your hands if you did.

In conclusion, since this album does have a few stumbles and the subject matter makes it a harder listen plus some of the production is on the disappointing side even though the songs were still well constructed this effort falls short of a mos def and gets a highly recommended maybe. This album just isn't for everyone because everybody isn't going to under/overstand it.



Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):



Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop:

Albums I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop:

Joe Budden-Padded Room
Rhymefest-El Che
Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light

Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good

Termanology-Politics As Usual
Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & Black Milk-Random Axe
Platinum Pied Pipers-Abundance
Method Man & Redman-Blackout 2
Redman-Muddy Waters 2

B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.

The Alchemist-Chemical Warfare
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
AG & O.C.-Oasis: Together Brothers
Baatin-Titus
Common-Invincible Summer
Omen-Be The Judge
Capone-N-Noreaga-Reporting The War
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
Heltah Skeltah-D.I.R.T (Da Incredible Rap Team)
Royce Da 5'9"-The Bar Exam 2
Elzhi-The Preface


Dart's Fat Tape/CD-R (as of July 4th, 2008):

All In One (5 Mics)-Reks f/Lil' Fame (prod. by Blaze P)
Ha Ha Da Rah Rah-Tame One f/Sean Price
What You Made Me-Malik Yusef
Put It In The Box-O.C. & A.G.
One Lonely Beat-Naledge (prod. by C.H.I.)
Agreed-Jon Hope
I'm The Shit-Killer Mike
Never Say-Scheme (prod. by Dario)
Fix Ya Face-Shawn Jackson
Swing Your Rag-T.I. (prod. by Swizz Beatz)
Keep Moving-Mickey Factz f/Fresh Daily
Grow Up-Bishop Lamont (prod. by Dr. Dre)
Missile-Busta Rhymes
Full & Paid-The Cool Kids
Y'all My Niggas-Nas
Vics-Spec Boogie (prod. by Suburb)
The High-TiRon (prod. by Jack Sample Pros)
Obey (The Statesmen)-Almighty
Infinite-Scheme (prod. by Evolve One)
Soul Hop-U-N-I
Would Be Killer (Remix)-Elucid
Is There Anyone-KiD CuDi f/Wale
Tobacco Road-Common Market
Strategies-Shawn Jackson f/Guilty Simpson (prod. by Snowman)
Sly Fox-Nas
The Patriot Act-Muja Messiah f/I Self Devine


Independent As Fuck! © Company Flow

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