Rap Round Table, Week Ending 2/3/2012

Music Analysis & Reporting:

Don Cornelius, R.I.P. by Jeff Weiss

Practice, Practice by Sasha Frere-Jones

Classics Revisited: Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle by Aaron McKrell

Born Into The 90’s © R. Kelly & The Public Announcement by Dart Adams

Rep Yo’ City: 40 Hip-Hop Hometown Anthems by Beware

A Career-Defining Guest Verse From Jadakiss by Justin Tinsley

The 10 Non-Hip Hop Rookies To Watch In 2012 by Andreas Hale

Fat Tape – January 2012 by Abe Beame

The Mixtape of the Revolution by Sujatha Fernandes

Nicki Minaj's 'Stupid ...' Video Too Hot for TV by Gerrick D. Kennedy

Boldy James: Concreatures and Crack Spots by Jimmy Ness

5 Theories Why Established Rappers Don’t Pay Taxes by Tony Grands

Different Ways to Humanize Your Drums in Beatmaking by Amir Said (Sa'id)

Lil B - "Surrender to Me" by HL

Banned By BET? What The Alleged Censorship Of Nicki Minaj's "Stupid Hoe" Video Means by Maura Johnston

Drake: No 'Merit' to 'Marvin's Room' Lawsuit by Gerrick D. Kennedy

Lana Del Rey Just Wants to Be Loved by Maura Johnston

Album Reviews:

ScHoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions by Francisco McCurry

Gangrene (Alchemist & Oh No) - Vodka & Ayahuaska by Phillip Mlynar

Saigon - Warning Shots 3: One Foot In The Grave by Edwin Ortiz

Chip Tha Ripper - Tell Ya Friends by Matt Wright

A$AP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP by Standos

Young Buck - Live Loyal Die Rich by Alex Thornton

Waka Flocka Flame & French Montana - Lock Out by David Turner

Rockie Fresh - Driving 88 by Adam Fleischer

AraabMuzik - Instrumental University by Carrie Battan

Sean Born - Behind the Scale by Eric C.

T.Shirt - The Fuck by Brandon E. Roos

Ana Tijoux - La Bala by Ernesto Lechner

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die by Lindsay Zoladz

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die by Erik Stabile

Wilco - iTunes Session by Stephen M. Deusner

Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas by Mike Powell

Profiles & Interviews:

Lord Finesse’s 10 Favorite Sample Flips by David Ma

End of Discussion: Sean Price Says Ghostface Killah’s "Supreme Clientele" Is Better Than "Ironman" by Insanul Ahmed

Interview with A$AP Rocky by Henry Adaso

ScHoolboy Q on Kendrick Lamar, How Rappers Influence Kids to Gangbang and the One Question He Hates by Rebecca Haithcoat

Erick Sermon Details His History With Rick Ross, Says He "Coulda Had Biggie" And Reveals EPMD Is Done Making New Music by Paul W. Arnold

Question in the Form of An Answer: Mayer Hawthorne by Matt Shea

Yasiin Bey: The Year of the Underdog by Petar Kujundzic

Download: Homeboy Sandman's Interstellar Voyage "The Miracle" by Christopher Weingarten

Who Is Schoolboy Q? by Insanul Ahmed

Kendrick Lamar: The "Mantras" Interview by Insanul Ahmed

Organized Noize Tells All: The Stories Behind Their Classic Records by Linda Hobbs

Answers for Questions Vol. 70 by Blockhead

Who Is A$AP Mob? by Ernest Baker

A Question In The Form of An Answer: Quelle Chris of Crown Nation by Aaron Matthews

Mannie Fresh Discusses Possibly Signing to G.O.O.D. Music, Reveals Kanye West's Cash Money Past and His Current Relationship with Mystikal by Paul W. Arnold

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Ka - The Interview

Grief Pedigree coming not soon enough.

Re-Upped

A Tribe Called Dilla

This project has been on the Hip Hop Is Read backburner since February 2008. That's just ridiculous. Since that time, Q-Tip released the much-acclaimed solo LP The Renaissance - also in 2008 - which included a Dilla-produced track ("Move"). You won't find that record on this mix, however. My intentions with A Tribe Called Dilla were to focus strictly on the signature sound style of the Ummah era, which spanned throughout the second half of the nineties. One might argue that Tribe's new production work, which was a clear break from their earlier aesthetic, may have led to the group's disbandment. In my review of Michael Rapaport's 2011 documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, I noted an important point of criticism which was introduced in Werner von Wallenrod's review: the film's failure to include the narratives of J Dilla (then Jay Dee) and Consequence - and the two artists' inclusion with Tribe. That being said, one can only speculate - as many already have - as to whether or not Jay Dee's affiliation with the crew somehow led to A Tribe Called Quest's falling out. When you compare Tribe's first three albums with their latter two Jay Dee-assisted joints, I suppose it's easy to jump to conclusions. But I call bullsh*t on that. The music speaks for itself and the production on A Tribe Called Dilla, as I see/hear it, is amazing. Those drums! Those drums... Happy Dilla month! Enjoy my mix! And as always... Turn it up!!

The Combat Jack Show ft. Dallas Penn: 2/1/2012

The Combat Jack Show (Sha Money XL & Ryan Grant) 2-1-12 by PNCRadio

Previous episodes:
January 25, 2012 (w/Maino + HHIR Shout-Out!!)
January 11, 2012 (w/Toure)
January 4, 2012 (w/Bun B)
December 21, 2011 (w/Rah Digga, Sean Price & Nitty Scott, MC)
December 14, 2011 (w/Attorney Kenneth Montgomery)

My Infamous Life: Prodigy's Upcoming Paperback Release

Get my book, kid. You know my function.

In the spring of 2011, Simon & Schuster published the aptly titled My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy - arguably the preeminent hip hop memoir released thus far. (Read my thoughts on Prodigy's autobiography here.) On February 7th, just a week from now, the paperback edition will be hitting bookstores and e-shelves. Now would be a great time to pre-order a copy and finally check out P's Infamous Life if you missed out on the hardcover release.

40 Glocc's New World Agenda

Toe taggin' and swaggin'.

Between the Mayans' alleged predictions of humanity's annihilation and the upcoming presidential election, 2012's shaping up to be one hell of a year. Colton-bred emcee 40 Glocc's planned his own day of reckoning - and we're only still in January! Tweaking the acronym that's damn-near synonymous with the city of Compton, G-Unit affiliate 40 Glocc has been prepping his 2003 solo debut album The Jakal since, well, I can only assume 2003. That's a long time. I wish I could say it was worth the wait. New World Agenda is an ambitious album that offers more than just your garden variety gangsta rap. 40 plays around with synths and pop aesthetics here and there, most notably on the Cee Lo Green-assisted "Electric Lady", which would have fit perfectly onto any of the two Gnarls Barkley albums (The Odd Couple, most likely). It's a bold experimental approach for a rapper with such a hard-line street pedigree and, surprisingly, it works.


However, New World Agenda is marred by its attempts at covering all the bases. Even the purportedly anti-Illuminati thesis behind N.W.A. is swept aside as quickly as the album's intro fades into track two and beyond. Snoop Dogg does a better job of pulling off this multi-tasking pop/gangsta schtick on his 20+ track-long albums. 40 Glocc? Not so much. Maybe it's because I/we cut Snoop some slack because of his fun(ky) persona. I don't know enough about 40 Glocc to give him that leeway. Nonetheless, there's a handful of great contributions to reap from New World Agenda's hefty tracklisting that are worth pointing out. "Can't See Me" is an upper lip-scrunching head bopper quickly followed by the equally-murderous "21 Gun Salute", with a guest spot provided by Prodigy of Mobb Deep. Capping things off, the West Coast family comes together late in the album on "Welcome to California" (featuring E-40, Too $hort, Snoop Dogg and Xzibit) and "America" (with Pomona legend Kokane). Clocking in at just under the maximum of eighty minutes in length though, New World Agenda is not the earth-shattering Mayan prophecy of an album it ought to be.

LISTEN: 40 Glocc - "Electric Lady" (feat. Cee Lo Green)

PURCHASE: 40 Glocc - New World Agenda