This week was great musicwise and sucked in many other aspects. My Patriots managed to somehow beat the Baltimore Ravens yet once again I've failed to post about it on Armchair Linebacker. I posted up about three movie reviews on Nerd With Swag because the readers weren't really feeling my other posts on other subjects all that much (go figure). The Boston Red Sox have been getting their skulls kicked in by the Los Angeles Anaheim Angels on the road as the Yankees pull off miracle wins due to A Rod coming up clutch. Wait, did I really just type that last sentence? The Celtics did beat the shit out of the Knicks in a preseason game this week but it's the Knicks so...
I'm continuing to pray for the quick recoveries of Hex Murda, Kon of Kon & Amir & DJ Hideo. I'm glad to report that Kutfather is back in action so thank God for that. Remember that the Hex Murda benefit will be in Detroit on October 17th and feature damn near all the illest cats in Detroit Hip Hop (hence Hip Hop, period). I cannot stress enough what this dude means for Hip Hop as a whole. We need to all show up for him.
This week I'll be reviewing seven new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: Chipmunk "I Am Chipmunk", Curren$y "The Jet Files", Dam-Funk "Toeachizown Vol. 4: Hood", Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One "Parallel Uni-Verses", Jern Eye "Vision", Saigon "Warning Shots 2" and Sene & Blu Are... "A Day Late & A Dollar Short". For those of you new to this blog, I don’t rate albums on a scale or assign them a numerical value out of 5 or 10, instead I merely answer the all important question of “Is it worth buying or not?”. Here's how my recently revised "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:
I'm continuing to pray for the quick recoveries of Hex Murda, Kon of Kon & Amir & DJ Hideo. I'm glad to report that Kutfather is back in action so thank God for that. Remember that the Hex Murda benefit will be in Detroit on October 17th and feature damn near all the illest cats in Detroit Hip Hop (hence Hip Hop, period). I cannot stress enough what this dude means for Hip Hop as a whole. We need to all show up for him.
This week I'll be reviewing seven new projects that recently hit the 'net/bloggerverse and/or will be landing on store shelves soon in the following order: Chipmunk "I Am Chipmunk", Curren$y "The Jet Files", Dam-Funk "Toeachizown Vol. 4: Hood", Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One "Parallel Uni-Verses", Jern Eye "Vision", Saigon "Warning Shots 2" and Sene & Blu Are... "A Day Late & A Dollar Short". For those of you new to this blog, 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 recently revised "Cop It Or Not" ratings system breaks down below:
Opinions be damned. This particular project has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and should come with a Surgeon General's warning and/or a biohazard sticker. It should only be handled by hazmat teams or bomb/demolitions squads. To quote Common & Canibus, this album is your worst nightmare squared.
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.Fuck this fucking shit © Hex Murda
Best Joints: Saviour, Chip Diddy Chip, Man Dem, Lose My Life (the Kano influence is obvious on this one), I Am, Dear Family, Beast, Role Model and BusinessHot Garbage: Oopsy Daisy, Diamond Rings (sounds like a fake Beyonce feature too much), Look For Me (corny) and Sometimes
Dart's Take: This major label Grime release from the UK differs from most other ones in the sense that while it does have the expect obvious reaches and attempts at pop hits/singles it still manages to stay somewhat Grime sounding for the most part. For that reason alone, I was able to tolerate this album a lot more than Dizzee Rascal or Tinchy Stryder's who went all Electro and UK Funky House on you. Tracks like "Saviour", "Man Dem", "I Am" and "Beast" really exemplify why Chipmunk was considered the the the best of the younger Grime emcees for years. I give it a maybe because Americans don't know shit about Grime and they wonder why I continue to review albums from emcees across the pond they've never even heard of before.
Best Joints: The Dossier, Perfect Time, On My Way, Smoke N Maintain, Sleepless in New Orleans, Stay Up, Tokyo Drift, The Seventies, The Pledge, Burn An Ounce, Bring Her Home, I'm Just Dope and Fly OutHot Garbage: N/A
Dart's Take: I'm not the biggest Curren$y fan but I need to admit that he hasn't made a wack album or mixtape in 2009 so far. Between "This Is Not A Mixtape", his Fly Union mixtape and this I have to admit he's had a pretty damn good year. My biggest gripe with his last project was the inconsistency of the production but the sonic aspect of this project is much improved over his previous effort. Curren$y's bars are always going to be there as this entire album was a good listen from beginning to end. Nothing had me wanting to smack a nun but nothing made me wanna smack Curren$y either so I'm settling on a recommended maybe.
Best Joints: Brookside Park, Kill Dat aka Killdatmuthafu*ka, Hood Pass Intact, Mobbin' Thru Busters and Boogie SlydeHot Garbage: N/A
Dart's Take: Buy this shit yesterday. Or wait until the 5th part drops on October 20th & cop the entire "Toeachizown" collection from Stones Throw or whatever music store you normally frequent (if you can actually wait that long, I mean). Mos def. Why even waste time trying to explain why? As soon as you hear it to quote the hook on the Jay-Z album "You will understand". Sheeeiiit! © Clay Davis
Best Joints: Intro (Magic), Keep It Up, Flashback, The Franchise, Specifics, I'm A…, Before This, We Taking Over, Life Sucks, Teddy, Special and Gaining GroundHot Garbage: N/A
Dart's Take: Do you like listening to two of the illest emcees of the past two decades trade bars over crazy productions for close to an hour? That being the case then you really need to look into copping "Parallel Uni-Verses" produced entirely by the team Parallel Thought. Just a caveat, if you're not already a fan of Tame One & Del's then you might be driven crazy by hearing these two trade bars over some unorthodox (but still dope) beats. While I was rewinding verses I could imagine some other listeners wondering to themselves "What the fuck did I just roll up on?" like when people turn to "Donnie Darko" for the first time 30 minutes into the flick. I give "Parallel Uni-Verses" a recommended maybe because Del and Tame both kill it.
Best Joints: Now, So And So, Beautiful, Burnin', Get Down, Seasoned, Something's Wrong, Change, Difference, Get Right, Who's To Say, Cali, Vision and Blowin' UpHot Garbage: Pleasure Of Love
Dart's Take: Bay Area emcee Jern Eye pops up with another project that is going to go under the radar as far as the Hip Hop industry as a whole is concerned but it will turn out to be one of the better efforts and easily one of the best produced projects of the entire year. Jern Eye trades bars with Guilty Simpson, Planet Asia & Rasco (Cali Agents), Mistah FAB, Zumbi (Zion I), Roc C, Nightclubber Lang, his crew Lunar Heights, etc. over production by luminaries such as Jake One, Illmind, Keelay & Zaire, DJ Vinroc, etc.
If you can hear bangers like "Now", "So And So", "Beautiful", "Burnin'", "Something's Wrong", "Change", "Get Right", "Cali" and "Blowin' Up" without making the thizz face or gettin' your head nod on you'll need your vitals checked. I gave "Vision" another recommended maybe. Unfortunately, you'll problem still sleep on it anyways. Don't.
Best Joints: Nothing Comes Easy, That's Not What's Up, Fatherhood (Rayne Dior), All Around The World, Fuck Me, Fuck You (yawn), Rusty Gunz, Who Can Get Busy (feat. Grand Puba) and Gotta Believe ItHot Garbage: For Some Pussy, Cookies & Milk, Be On Time, G Optified, Aye Aye Aye Nigga, Copping Pleas and For Some Pussy (Remix)
Dart's Take: Sai didn't even try. When I told him I was disappointed in his effort on this product on Twitter dude tried to defend it at first but admitted that several tracks on here were just whatever and he didn't even want to make them himself. Saigon says on the project that this isn't his album. These are just warning shots and his album is that REAL SHIT. I opt to wait for the real shit and not spend my dough on throwaway tracks. It's a recession, homie! Oh no.
Best Joints: Press Pause, Won Lover, Quarter Water Supporter, Why Bother?, Won Thousand Girls, Some Rose Buds On Ashy Avenue, The Wonderers, Cloud Climbers, Eye Cry-The Before, Owl Thru Gotham, Every Deja Vu, Ain't No Justice, Eyes Dry-The After and Jus A Suggestion
Hot Garbage: N/A
Dart's Take: Sene and Blu take you on a full sonic adventure with "A Day Late & A Dollar Short". I really feel like this album was a legitimate collaboration between a producer and an artist as opposed to just a dude rhyming over some submitted beats that he picked from. It's clear they tried to create a sound and an overall aesthetic to this project. Sene was more than up to the task of carrying his album. I commend Blu for staying behind the boards and overseeing the project like Exile, Ta' Raach & Mainframe did with him. If you appreciate quality Hip Hop then you really need to cop this jawn. I give it a mos def. What more can I say? © Milk Dee
Late Passes (For Doz Dat Slept):
Projects I'm Looking Forward To Reviewing Once They Leak...I Mean Drop in 2009:
Rhymefest-El Che
Jay Electronica-Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Big Boi-Sir Luscious Leftfoot, Son Of Chico Dusty
Pac Div-Grown Kid's Syndrome
Blu-God Is Good
Drake- Thank Me Later
Alchemist & Oh No are Gangrene
Eternia & MoSS- At Last
B.O.B.-The Adventures Of B.O.B.
Billy Danze-Behind Gatez
AG & O.C.-Oasis: Together Brothers
Lil' Fame & Termanology Are 1982
Baatin-Titus
Phat Kat and Elzhi are Cold Steel
The Beatnuts-The Planet Of The Crates
Ski Beatz-Half Man, Half Amazing
Evidence-Cats & Dogs
Statik Selektah-The Hangover
Buff1 & Rhettmatic -Crown Royale
Apollo Brown & Boog Brown-UPS
To donate to the Hex Murda benefit if you can't make it down to Detroit, go to http://tiny.cc/TheHexCareFund. Email address is: TheHexCareFund@gmail.com. Hip Hop needs to take care of it's own. For real.One.
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