On the eve of his third studio album, Ready, Trey Songz still remains one of the most talented, yet seemingly underrated artists in music. While respected throughout the years for his seemingly endless amount of remixes, features and cover tracks, the Petersburg, Virginia, native still finds himself somewhat on the outside looking in as far as R&B’s elite is concerned. Boasting two impressive albums and a slew of hits, many forget Songz’s work ethic is what sets him apart from most other acts (not named Ne-Yo).

Unlike areas such as New York City, Atlanta, Chicago or Miami, the 804 area of Virginia does not boast a laundry list of acts that have gone on to achieve mainstream accolades. While names such as Missy, Timbaland, The Neptunes, The Clipse and Chris Brown all openly claim Virginia, Songz has always remained the one I have paid close attention to seeing as how we both rep the same area. Which is why, with the assistance of Karen Civil, I wanted to release “The Anthology of Trey Songz”.

Comparable to Jay-Z’s “Library Of A Legend”, “The Anthology…” details close to EVERY NON-ALBUM track Songz has appeared on since roughly 2005. Consider this the ultimate crash course on Songz and a great gift for those who don’t frequent the internet’s top blogs. You shouldn’t see the same track twice, but if you do, charge it to the game. As a warning, the files sizes are large, but it’s free music, so really, how much can you actually complain?

(Keep reading…)

To be perfectly honest, this is a top five Eminem song and one of his best singles to date. To read my thoughts on the record, click here.

Spotted @ Legend’s

It’s like this. About five months ago, a then virtually unknown rapper from Toronto dropped a mixtape co-signed by the likes of Trey Songz, Lil Wayne and Bun B. What happened next is one of the more meteoric rises to fame in music history. With two successful mixtapes prior to “So Far Gone” under his belt, the question wasn’t whether Drake could blow up, rather it was WHEN. Days after February 13, the number of downloads attached to release reached the hundreds of thousands and basically everyday since then Drake has been on the minds and mouths of anyone remotely interested in rap.

On that very same release was (Keep reading…)

Buck Marley liberated this earlier with tags, and as accustomed with internet etiquette, the tagless version follows.

Sidenote: Anytime Wayne is on a track solely for a hook, the result is usually heat rock. See “My Life” with The Game, “Duffle Bag Boy” and “Big Dog” with Playaz Circle if you need references.

DL: The Alchemist feat. Travis McCoy & Lil Wayne–I Know Your Name (tagless)

In the handbook that is responsible journalism, the first and most important rule of thumb is fact checking. Before reporting what is believed to be factual information, one must check, double check and in some cases, triple check their sources to assure the information that will soon be leaked to the public is, in fact, valid. When this is not acted upon properly, events such as the one today occur.

Earlier today (July 1), allegations that famed mixtape personality, Big Mike (aka Mike Wilcox), was the victim of a federal raid on May 29 surfaced and found themselves on several websites. The rumors stated the raid uncovered over $200,000 and over 15,000 mixtapes. These same websites waited until the actual story was posted via Twitter.

In a KarenCivil.com exclusive, the voice behind Jadakiss’s “The Champ Is Here” mixtape spoke on the allegations.

“The story is completely bogus. While I do have a prior legal situation I can’t speak on, I can say today’s claim is absolutely false,” Mike told Civil.

Mike’s former business partner, DJ Empire, also confirmed the falseness of the report.

“Even with our differences, I still wanted to set the record straight. [Big] Mike did not get raided.”

Big Mike has been busy in 2009 dropping a barrage of mixtapes including two official tapes with Cassidy and Styles P.


Recently, Duct Tape Ent.’s new release was posted in the mixtape section. Now comes the promotion for their lead artist, Alley Boy. Perhaps you’ve heard of him, perhaps you haven’t, but the young man is establishing quite the buzz for himself in Atlanta. With everyone’s favorite trapper, Gucci Mane, riding shotgun and Drumma Boy providing the framework for the first single, Alley Boy could potentially be on to something.

DL: Alley Boy feat. Gucci Mane–I’ma Smash It (prod. by Drumma Boy)

As seen on my other blog, College Radio Music.

Separating himself from nearly every R&B artist currently making music, Trey Songz is one of the most respected (yet underrated) artists mainly because of his work ethic. Since his introduction to the music world almost five years ago, Songz’s covers and mixtapes have garnered a style unique solely to the young man hailing from Petersburg, Virginia. Comparable only to the rates of Lil Wayne and Ne-Yo, the rate at which his music has been released in 2009 has been nothing short of blinding. Already holding the title for arguably the year’s hottest hook, the marketing and promotion for his third album, Ready, has been completely grassroots oriented.

By communicating with his fans via Twitter (and live streams), coupled with the leaking of new music every Monday, the anticipation for any material from Trey is beginning to reach alarming heights. The liberation of his demo tape, “Genesis”, and with his performance alongside Tyrese and Johnny Gill at this year’s B.E.T. Awards only helped set the scene for what would prove to be one of the most impressive releases of ‘09.

Approximately thirty minutes after midnight last night, the second in a line of three pre-album mixtapes, “Anticipation”, was released. Fast forward 24 hours later, the file has been downloaded nearly (Keep reading…)

As the lackluster economic times rage on in America, another staple institution finds itself shutting its doors for good. For a year that has already seen several print publications expire, including the Chicago Sun Times and KING Magazine, the Quincy Jones start-up, VIBE, will also add its name to the list only days before what would have been the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary.

Throughout the 1990’s, the publication became a staple in urban journalism detailing the careers of (Keep reading…)

Has Bun B ever had a problem with anyone? Aside from Byron Crawford, I can’t think of too many who have acted as antagonists towards Pimp C’s brother. From across the pond, Bun keeps it trill with the legendary DJ Semtex on a variety of topics including:

  • His respect for Dizzee Rascal
  • Drake and his role on “So Far Gone”
  • The legacy of the late Michael Jackson
  • The UK streets

It’s still UGK for life. R.I.P. Pimp C.

“What could’ve been…”

That happens to be the only thought that runs through my mind when listening to these three record new music together. While all three have gone on to achieve some mainstream success on their own accords (State Prop was successful in its own right as well), it was never to the level I, and millions of others, believed it would be during the Roc’s glory years.

Regardless, Philly is most certainly at full representation on this record with Chris and Free trading bars back and forth and the Broad Street Bully himself playing closer with a verse only he could spit and make believable.

Look for this on the new mixtape from Chris, “The Network”.

Shout to BoBo

DL: Young Chris feat. Freeway & Beanie Sigel–The Last Two

Categories