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Ask anyone who considers themselves a fan of Hip-Hop who their favorite duo is and you’ll get a list of the usual suspects. Outkast. UGK. Eric B & Rakim. Jay-Z & Kanye. The list could go on, but a selection that usually gets overshadowed for a variety of different reasons. Beanie Sigel and Freeway may have never put out an album or mixtape together (State Property not included). Yet, these two helped put Philadelphia back on the rap scene in a major way. Where Will Smith brought the commercial aspect years earlier, Beans and The Phreezer captured the grim, grit, hustle, violence and depression that is Philly’s inner city.

Their styles were unique, but the penchant for capturing the surroundings of the inner city which damn near took their lives and manifesting them into actual lyrics went a long, long way into helping carve their way the genre’s history. “Philly Niggas” was found on Kanye West’s I’m Good mixtape released many, many moons ago. Some may have heard it awhile back, some may have never heard the record to begin with, which is fine, too. That said, the chemistry these two had for one another was a tour de force that was beyond apparent. Maybe Freeway was more “lyrical” and maybe Sigel was more of the emotion-based rapper, but whatever the formula may be, it worked. And it worked quite often.

K.C. and I talk music every now and then. For the most part, our tastes mirror one another (give or take some preferences). The other day, she mentioned how much she used to play J.R. Writer’s “Bird Call” some six years ago. Being the Dipset enthusiast as I am, I instantly remembered the video and decided to take a trip back in time via YouTube. And what happened next reminded me of five interesting traits the song presented.

1. J.R.’s buzz, at one point, was insane and was dubbed as one of the more promising names in music. His style was similar to Cam’s, but his Writer’s Block mixtape series was one of the tougher of the time period. Had the Dips never dissolved, who knows what becomes of Writer’s career. I always believe he and Hell Rell could have/should have been bigger than what they ultimately became.

2. I guarantee most people have totally forgotten about this Wayne verse. His rise to dominance was partially aided by The Diplomats, who frequently reached to Wayne during this time period. Cam, Jimmy, Juelz and company had one of the more recognizable sounds in music and Weezy was beginning to crack the shell into the marathon recording zombie, pop culture superstar he is now.

3. I have that Diplomats shirt somewhere. Granted, I haven’t seen it since like 2006, but still.

4. Seeing Juelz Santana and Wayne together allows me to present this question. Will we ever hear what I Can’t Feel My Face sounds like? The bootleg version that was released in 2006 was mighty impressive and the main reason a buzz still remains for the project.

5. Cam went directly at Jay-Z’s neck right here. Just listen to the verse again and realize this song dropped not long after Roc-A-Fella’s demise became public.

In high school you was the man homie, that’s what a fan told me
Shit, same ole cat, get his kangol clapped
Brains blown back, dissing Dame, Dame don’t rap
Shame on black, the game so wack
Dame sonned you children
From in front of ya building right to a hundred million

Jay openly boasted he raped Def Jam until he was “the hundred million man” on “You Don’t Know. So, this verse (along with several other songs prior to “You Gotta Love It” and their well documented relationship, or lack thereof) the process of elimination leads me to believe there was only one person Cam was talking about here. You be the judge.

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Man, listen. Wayne’s shot at Jay-Z was witty and good for a chuckle. I give him that, yet when it comes to Jay-Z disses, I’m talking legit disses to Shawn Carter (outside of “Ether”), there’s only one that comes to mind – Cam’ron’s “You Gotta Love It.” First, let’s set the scene. The time was 2006 and the Roc was crumbling while the Dips were at their height. Also apparent was the belief that Jay-Z and Cam weren’t exactly buddy-buddy. Urban legends say their one collaboration, Come Home With Me‘s “Welcome To New York City,” was something Dame orchestrated to commemorate Killa’s arrival to the label; something long since rumored Hov vehemently disliked.  (Keep reading…)

Yesterday, Lil’ Kim released her highly anticipated mixtape Black Friday, for a small price of $9.99. In no more than 28 hours, Kim had posted via her Twitter that she already sold 113K mixtapes and was the top seller on PayPal. Wait, what? I took it upon myself to look further into this matter, because as a PayPal user, somethings just weren’t adding up. While on the phone with multiple representatives, I live tweeted the conversation as it was happening.

Due to the fact that the mixtape was not sold through eBay, eBay reps were unable to assist in the situation. We learned that there is no such thing as being a top seller because information isn’t track in such a way, and that your account must be opened for a certain amount of time in order to receive such a high amount. Further more, if Kim actually made $1,128,870, her amount would’ve been shut down for suspicions of fraud. Also, her bit.ly link has only been clicked 24K+/- times, so… 113K sold? Slow down on the anesthesia and medical cocktails, Kimberly. Biggie didn’t teach you this.

SA

A few weeks ago, a patna of mine who got out of prison in May after serving six years told me he was planning to join the military. Why? Mainly because it was damn near impossible to find a job in today’s economy and his last intention was to do something stupid landing him back in the place he just left.

Times are hard for people with no felonies, so imagining life with one just seems close to impossible to make work in your favor? So who was I to really tell him no by doing something which could potentially alter his life for the better. Whether it was coincidence or by luck, but Trick Daddy’s “Thug Holiday” crossed my path later that day. (Keep reading…)

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It’s crazy to believe half a decade has passed – September 8, 2005, to be exact – since I first heard this track.

Back during this time, Twista was coming off Kamikaze, the album which still ranks as his most commercially successful to date. That said, finding out he wouldn’t be working with Kanye heavily for the ’05 follow up, The Day After, didn’t bode to well. And while the album did not succeed its predecessor, that’s not to say there weren’t some quality tracks sprinkled throughout.

Evident by the title, the Pharrell-featured “Lavish” was definitely one of the standouts. In a nutshell, the song spoke about the desired fruits of life and the lengths people will go to have them. The beat was smooth enough for Twista deliver his signature flow, but also drop some knowledge at the same time. Looking back, however, the highlight was Pharrell. His verse was – for the lack of a better term – crazy and still one of my favorites from him to this day. (Keep reading…)

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Looking back, there probably wasn’t any crew affected by the death of their “leader” than Terror Squad was with Big Pun’s. Junior Mafia, at least, managed to release an album before Biggie was taken away. And Lil Kim went on to achieve her own level of fame. The Outlawz never seemed like a group who could become true forces without 2Pac. Even Bone Thugs N’ Harmony sold platinum albums after Eazy-E passed.

Yet, Pun’s death seem to bring to light the dark side of Terror Squad. Promises weren’t fulfilled. Acqusations of abuse still surround his name. Potential was never reached. The worst part? Life-long hatred materialized as a result. (Keep reading…)

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I’ve never met Mack Maine, but I’d imagine he’s a cool dude. As one of the longest standing members of Cash Money/Young Money, he’s also one of the biggest reasons for their continued success over the years. Before becoming an executive, his original job title was that of an artist. Last year, he dropped This Is Just A Mixtape with Don Cannon which got some good burn from me during the winter and spring of ’09. If I remember correctly, it came out a few weeks before So Far Gone.

Anyway, one of my favorite tracks from the tape was the Mistah FAB featured “Man Cry.” As trivial as it may sound, Cannon’s Young Dro drop was one of my favorites in recent memory. I know it sounds stupid, but that’s one of the things I remember about the song. More importantly though, the most piercing element of track was the sample. (Keep reading…)

Last I heard, Max was still slated to do 75 years. Stories of appeals come and go, but I never heard anything official. So as of this moment, I don’t expect to see Max B again as a free man. Hopefully I’m wrong though. The last thing I want to wish is someone incarcerated for a crime they didn’t commit. That being said, the man who made “wavy” cool left behind an immense body of music to enjoy and analyze.

Between his time with Dipset, his partnership with French Montana and his own solo projects, he had more than enough music than I could ever keep up with. To many, Max is known for his penchant to hold on a grudge (see Jim Jones and Hell Rell). To even more, Max is known for creating a catchy hook in his day. Dig through the crates deep enough and you’ll find more than a handful of records to support this. One of my favorites was “Never Wanna Go Back.” (Keep reading…)

Chances are if you ask me to name my 10 favorite projects from 2000 – 2009, I feel confident in saying Mood Muzik 2 would be one of the selections. This was before the social media explosion took place, so your favorite artist still had a sense of mystery around them. I’m not saying they don’t now, but times have changed and artists are more accessible, which can (or cannot) be an excellent thing in many ways. In 2005, we all knew the story of Joe Budden. Buddy was neck deep in a beef with what seemed like the entire institution of music industry.  In turn, however, it helped spawn timeless music. At least, I like to this so.

I’ve listened to MM2 from front to back more times than I’d like to admit over the past five years. It’s riddled with classics like “Are You In That Mood Yet?,” “6 Minutes Of Death,” “Three Sides To A Story” and my personal favorite, “If I Die Tomorrow.” Joey laced venom on the entire project. I like to think it still ranks as one of the rare instances of what it’s actually like to hear someone’s heart speak over instrumentals. One of the rawest tracks and one I still readily identify with to this day is the cryptic tune, “The Future.” (Keep reading…)