What's New In Dart's iPod #47 AKA The Worst Week Ever Edition

First, I got sick as hell over the weekend and my brother's temp job ended so he's back at the crib in the morning during the week. He's back on his beatmaking/production hustle meaning the room that's normally my office from Monday to Friday has now become his studio. This means I need to work out a new schedule with him to figure out how and when I'll get my blogs written and/or posts up. It took me a while to get over being sick after the weather jumped from 60º to 86º one day and then dropped back down to the 70's the next. By then it was already Wednesday and I needed to figure out how to salvage this week of posts.

I should have everything figured out by Monday and I'll be filling in missing days in the past week with posts over the weekend. The Fat Tape/CD-R will also be late this week...again! It should be done by Saturday afternoon, though. Revenge Of The 80's will make it's return next week and the Dallas Penn installment of my Livications series is upcoming as well. That's enough of convincing people that I wasn't posting because I was upset that Tom Brady is out for the season (a rumor that Eric @ When They Reminsce told me about), let's get to this week's leaked albums.

This week I'll be reviewing seven new projects that leaked in the following order: Illa J "We Here"/"R U Listenin'?", DJ Warrior & Rapper Big Pooh "Rapper's Delight", DJ Revolution "King Of The Decks", Gym Class Heroes "The Quilt", LMNO "Let 'Em Know", LL Cool J "Exit 13" and Ill Bill "The Hour Of Reprisal". 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.


I hit niggas in the head like Vonage! © Lil' Wayne

Best Joints: We Here, R U Listenin'?

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: These two tracks have me waiting on the edge of my seat for that "Yancey Boys" LP to drop later this year. Well, actually I'd been waiting on it since I heard the Illa J EP last year with "Me And My Brother" and "I Ain't Gonna Die" on it. Either way, these two joints have been gettin' regular burn in my iTunes since they officially dropped. I give this single a recommended maybe.





Best Joints:Rapper's Delight, Roll Call, Plastic Cups, Reality Check, Respect It, Nobody Like Me, Dusty, Dumb It Down, Money, Crazy, With You, Geez Like Deez, Regular Nigga, Text Me and Rapernessmo

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: DJ Warrior always does a good job with his mixtapes (Caltroit, anyone?) and Rapper Big Pooh gets heads ready for his "Dirty Pretty Things" LP coming later this year the right way. This is a nice collection of head nod/riding music that will get hella burn from me over the coming months. Justus League crew members appear all over the project and Big Pooh does his thing. Homie doesn't get the respect he deserves on the mic and this will open some eyes. I give "Rapper's Delight" a recommended maybe as well.




Best Joints: King Of The Decks, The DJ, Do Your Thing, Funky Piano, The Big Top, Start The Revolution, Invaders From The Planet Sqratch, Ey!, Casualties Of Tour, Damage, Willie Lynch, Blow Da Spot, School, Spit Ridiculous, Pro's & Cons, Man Or Machine, The Re-Match and Raided R

Hot Garbage: N/A

Dart's Take: It was good to hear a good 'ol fashioned DJ/producer compilation with actual turntablism featured on it alongside emcees for a change. This project didn't suffer the fate of being bogged down but sub par production or talent as it boasts appearances from KRS One, Sean Price, Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9", Boot Camp Click, Bishop Lamont, Crooked I,Evidence, Planet Asia, Guilty Simpson, Termanology, Special Teamz and a gang of other heads. This was a good listen from beginning to end and it was well executed since it blended scratch tracks from DJ Q Bert, DJ Spinbad and DJ Raid in the mix as well. I give "King Of The Decks" a highly recommended maybe.




Best Joints: Guilty As Charged, Drnk Txt Romeo, Peace Sign/Index Down, Like Father, Like Son (Papa's Song), Blinded By The Sun, Catch Me If You Can, Live A Little, Don't Tell Me It's Over, Live Forever (Fly With Me), Home and Coming Clean

Hot Garbage: Cookie Jar, Kissin' Ears and No Place To Run

Dart's Take: This just isn't for me, period. The last album was hit or miss for me and this one is pretty much background music. If I wasn't reviewing this album I wouldn't seek this project out on my own and now that I've heard it a couple of times and reviewed it I'm free to forget all about it and erase it from my iTunes. I couldn't repeat one of Travis' lines if you paid me rent money and the songs were just okay to me. Since nothing about "The Quilt" made me press the rewind button but it wasn't absolutely horrible (Exit 13, I'm looking at you!) I'll just give it a maybe because who knows.




Best Joints: Where I've Been, Make Tracks, James Brown, The Brand New Payback, On & On, In Love, No Less, Never Secondary, It's OK, Psychomicrocosmic, Walk With Me, Piece Of Art, Blast Off, Creation Of The Gun, P.T.K.S., Branching Out, I'm Not Having It, Stay On The Grind, The What's To Come, The Brunt, In The Making, Achieve, It's True, Give It To 'Em, Us Against Us, Played Out, Never Stop, Let 'Em Know and Where I'm Going

Hot Garbage: Rolls Up, Shake It Out and Prescription

Dart's Take: This is the perfect project to get people that aren't normally LMNO fans into him. 32 tracks in 64 minutes. Since LMNO's rap style tends to grate on people's nerves you couldn't ask for anything more. Production is on point throughout the hour plus of this mix CD so it's an enjoyable listen. I'll be rocking this joint from time to time seeing as how I'm an LMNO fan from way back but I give this a maybe because I know from experience not everyone can rock with dude.




Best Joints: Rocking With The G.O.A.T., This Is Ringtone Murder, Ur Only A Customer and We Rollin' (Cry, It's Time For War, Old School, New School, Feel My Heart Beat, Like A Radio, Mr. President, Speedin' On A Highway/Exit 13, and Dear Hip Hop are all meh)

Hot Garbage: Get Over Here, Baby, Baby Rock Remix, I Fall In Love, American Girl and Come And Party With Me

Dart's Take: This album gave the fast forward button on my iTunes a workout. This project is so godawful that I think Barack Obama should announce that if he's elected president that he will make sure that LL Cool J doesn't make any more records. That would get him a fair amount of new votes in my opinion. There were only about three songs on this whole album that sounded like LL Cool J and the rest of this bullshit just gave me the impression that he has no idea what he's doing anymore. Hopefully, this will be the last album from him on a major label so he'll be easier to ignore next time. I give this pile of flaming horseshit an oh no. Fuck this album.



Best Joints: Babylon, Doomsday Was Written In An Alien Bible, Trust Nobody, A Bullet Never Lies, White Nigger, My Uncle, Society Is Brainwashed, This Is Who I Am, Too Young, Pain Gang, U.B.S. (Unauthorized Biography Of Slayer), Coka Moschiach, The Most Dangerous Weapon Alive, I'm A Goon and Only Time Will Tell

Hot Garbage: Riva and War Is My Destiny

Dart's Take: I reviewed a fake advance copy of this same album months ago and I gave it a recommended maybe while reminding people that too many of those tracks were from old mixtapes and didn't fit the tracklisting that Underground Hip Hop.com had up. Now the album has an official advance copy available and I got a chance to review it. This album sounds like what any Ill Bill/Non Phixion fan would come to expect with Bill lyrically killing track after track. Ill Bill also did a lot more production on this project instead of Necro handling the brunt of the work. There are also tracks from DJ Premier, DJ Muggs, DJ Lethal, and T-Ray. If you love intellectual thug music made for goons and hooligans then this is for you. I give it a mos def.



Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):


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

Kanye West-808's & Heartbreak
Rhymefest-El Che
Illa J-Yancey Boys
Jay Electronica-Act II: Patents Of Nobility
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot
Mos Def-The Ecstatic LP
Q-Tip-The Renaissance
88 Keys-The Death Of Adam
Magnif & J Dilla-Detroit Royalty
Blu-God Is Good
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
Omen-Be The Judge
Capone-N-Noreaga-Reporting The War
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
Prodigy-Product Of The 80's
Royce Da 5'9"-The Bar Exam 2
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Skepta-Microphone Champion
Wiley-I See Clear
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
New Jack Hustle (Shawn Jackson & Newman)-Sound Check


Dart's Fat Tape/CD-R (as of September 12th, 2008):

Focused Jazz-Terrace Martin (prod. by Focus)
Ey!-Joell Ortiz & Termanology (prod. by DJ Revolution)
Daykeeper-Foreign Exchange f/Muhsinah (prod. by Nicolay)
Plastic Cups-Rapper Big Pooh feat. Chaundon & Joe Scudda (prod. by J Dilla)
Lear Jet-Folk & Stress f/Blu (prod. by Folk & Stress)
Gamble On Ya Boy-Madlib f/Defari (prod. by Madlib)
I Can't Make It Home-Devin The Dude
Brolic-Ayatollah (prod. by Ayatollah)
Purple Track 3-Black Milk (prod. by Black Milk)
Wake Up-Pacific Division (prod. by Haircut)
School-Planet Asia (prod. by DJ Revolution)
Doomsday Was Written In An Alien Bible-Ill Bill (Prod. By Ill Bill)
Dubbz-Big Boi (prod. by Big Boi)
Unwind-Now On (prod. by Haircut)
3 In The Chamber-O.C., Torae & Kaze (prod. by Ayatollah)
Anotha BBQ-People Under The Stairs (prod. by PUTS)
City On Fire-Che Grand
Purple Track 9-Black Milk (prod. by Black Milk)
Everything Is Borrowed-The Streets (prod. by Mike Skinner)
The Most Dangerous Weapon Alive-Ill Bill (Prod. By Necro)
Heat To The Streets-Royce Da 5'9" (prod. by Green Lantern)
Who Run This-Jadakiss f/Jay-Z
Start The Revolution-Boot Camp Click (prod. by DJ Revolution)
Quiet-Folk & Stress f/Aesop Rock (prod. by Folk & Stress)
Geez Like Deez-Rapper Big Pooh f/Quan (Produced by Illmind)
Still Risin'-Tunji (prod. by KNO)
Monster-M.O.P. (prod. by Fizzy Womack)
There's Nothing You Can Do-Common f/Pharrell (prod. by The Neptunes)
Taste-Pacific Division
Never Be Another Me-Blu (prod. by Blu)
Sydney-TiRon f/Ayomari (prod. by Cook Classics)


I got cha camera! © Kanye West

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