Giving Thanks--Hip Hop Style

It's November 24, 2010.  A time for thanks.  I give thanks every day for many things--a job, my health (kind of) and my family and the few friends I have.  However, since the world is feeling very thankful at this time, I wanted to share with you the top ten things I'm thankful for in hip hop. 

#10 - No One Man Should Have All This Power

 10.  "Power", Kanye West:  Kanye's triumphant return from the Taylor Swift incident provides hip hop heads some of the most powerful wordplay of the decade.  The first time I heard the track, I was sitting in a McDonald's using the free Wi-Fi.  Right now I am writing this while sitting in a McDonald's using their Wi-Fi.  No one fast food chain should have all that power.....

#9 - This is the ONE pic where she had clothes on!

 9. Nicki Minaj: I remember hearing about this female game spitter at the close of 2009, but as with all things fresh, I didn't embrace her at first.  Oh how she changed my mind.  I first realized I was missing out when listening to Drake's album and hearing her spit the verse on the track right after the Kanye produced "Show Me a Good Time."   

#8 - BUY THE INSTRUMENTAL VERSION!!

 8. Thank Me Later Drake: I don't like Drake, but there is one thing I should give him credit for: having an album full of great production.  The production on this album was incredible.  Other than that it was a C- at best.

#7 -Rosewood, G.O.O.D Music and the best clique since the Golden Girls

 7. Pusha T & Mos Def Sign to G.O.O.D Music:  If you know hip hop at all and have any idea who the greats are through the years, you know that these two signings only strengthen the Kanye West segment of the hip hop world.  Mos is a great, Pusha made "Runaway" a hit!

#6 - I envy the kid, I really do

 6. Raekwon x Kanye x Justin Bieber:  What a trio.  People read this and laugh but the track wasn't half bad.  It's funny how Raekwon can make even the most pop sounding music hood status. 

#5 - The Ruler's Back

 5. Jay-Z Decoded: The book to end all books.  I call it the hustler's Bible and the rappers Q'uran.  If you don't know why Jay-Z has blown up into one of the world's greatest businessmen, please read.  Warren Buffet, Bill Gates..you have nothing on Shawn Carter.  It's truly the rags to riches story from the ghetto perspective.  At least check it out at your local library (if you have one). 

#4- You spoiled little L.A. girl..you just an L.A. girl

 4. VH1 Storytellers, Kanye West:  Not too many stories told on this one, but it's incredible how the performance went.  Imagine, Kanye in a suit with a heart on it talking to himself while 100 people watch.  I love the soundtrack more than the video to be honest.  The best song "Touch the Sky."  It's my fave anyway but this version really brings together the Curtis Mayfield-like harmony of "Move on Up."  Classic.

#3 - I coulda just put the pic of the album but this one humanizes Rozay

 3. Teflon Don, Rick Ross:  If it wasn't for the classic album from Ye, Ross' Teflon Don would definitely have been number one.  The album is captivating from beginning to end. "Free Mason" took controversy and squashed with one of Jay's most lucrative verses in years.  "Live Fast, Die Young" reminded us that Kanye West is a producer first...although the verse was SICK.  Finally "Aston Martin Music" made me wish I had me a Chrissete Michelle down chick and a Maybach so that we could cruise to that ish all summer.  Great album, great production, and Ross solidified himself as a top five artist hands down.

#2 - GREAT music

 2. Authenticity, The Foreign Exchange:  Some people really think that rappers are only rappers and have no other abilities other than spittin lyrics that rhyme.  In 2008 I was introduced to the FX and was blown away by their Leave it all Behind album.  It was a classic, in my mind better than Ye's 808s & Heartbreaks.  The smooth R&B sounds of Little Brother's Phonte make me appreciate that good music still exists, even if in a small form.  I never understood why people choose Eminem and Nicki Minaj over music like FX's, but I guess the taste of the world isn't quite the taste of yours truly.  If you haven't listen to the FX, please take the opportunity to introduce yourself to good music...wait, GREAT music.

#1 - The album to end all albums, this pixilated cover is one of six total (if you count the pixilated and un-pixilated separately).  The other five are awesome too but not as awesome as the edited cover. Haha

 1. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West:  Oh yes, the man who makes great music finally releases his fifth album...TWO years after his last.  As you might recall, the last album was filled with love songs, depressed lyrics, and heartbreak for sure.  People were livid over the fact that he was singing in 85% of the album.  However, after a couple of months, people began to respect and enjoy the album.  Well, flash forward to 2010, and the album to end all albums was made.  Released this past Monday, there is no doubt in the minds of music critics that Kanye West is back and ready to make people feel stupid once again.  Couple that with the controversial Taylor Swift and George W. Bush issues and you have yourself a marketing machine.  It's funny that the more people that dislike Kanye, the more albums he sells.  We'll see next week how the album sells.  One thing is for sure, though: Kanye is king of music, king of pop in our day.  You can call him an asshole, a douchebag, a scum bag...he doesn't care.  His motivation is making music from the soul.  As Russell Simmons put it, Kanye West is the most passionate artist alive.  NOBODY even comes close.  The passion is sometimes taken to the extreme but nobody can deny the output exceeds the input for sure.  Classic albums aren't made with catchy hooks and sex appeal.  Classic albums are made when artists reach deep down into their soul and remind people that we are all human...as f*cked up as we may be, we are ALL human and that the world is a dark, twisted place.  No one man should have all that power, but he does.  This is the one thing I'm most thankful for in hip hop....

Honorable Mention: G.O.O.D Fridays; Wale; Black and Yellow; Lupe Fiasco Rally; Illuminati Talk; Swizz Beatz at NYU

Drake "Thank Me Later" Album Review

One of the most anticipated albums ever, Drake's Thank Me Later has taken the hip hop world by storm and created a Drake "frenzy" amongst the music biz's biggest fans.

To me, Drake is a robot. He has nothing in the way of lyrical skills nor mic presence. I first heard Drake about four years ago on some random mixtape remix of a Weezy song. I hated his sound then and I dislike it the same now. However, there are some high points to Drake's ability to sell records.

Typically I don't listen to albums made by Toronto rappers who got their big break as a child actor. It's not my cup o' tea if you dig me? But for some reason unbeknownst to me, I had to look at the situation from a strictly musical perspective and take my bias against production line rappers out the question. Here's what I came up with:

Track 1: "Fireworks" f/ Alicia Keys: So there are a million advantages of putting the most beautiful female singer alive on the chorus and the people in his camp knew exactly that fact. It's kind of weird but there are few things that I enjoy more than hearing Ms. Keys sing the word "fireworks" over and over again...oh wait, one of those few is hearing Drakester talk about his realtor. I'm sorry but real emcees don't talk about the repoire they have with their realtor. Fact. What saves this track is the fact that Ms. Keys is singing about fireworks. The piano at the very beginning is good too. Gives you hope.

Track 2/3/4: Irrelevant. The album really could've done without them. Just sayin...

Track 5: "Show Me a Good Time": Alright, so this track is produced by none other than Mr. Kanye West. Of course Kanye is the greatest act alive...but the real one up here is that Kanye produces one of the smoothest sounding tracks ever, without a sample! There is a video on MTV of Drake typing rhymes into his blackberry for this very track...geez, sounds like he truly is the hardest working man in hip-hop (PLEASE!) The thing I love about this song is the last bar of the track: "call me over rated or creative or too jadedbecause any way you put it bitch I made it, YUP" To me that is one of the greatest lines ever spit to people like me...who aren't too fond of the Drakester. Honestly when I first heard it, it felt like I got slapped by a four year old girl. Great stuff!

Track 6/7/8/9: Again, quite irrelevant, although it's definitely worth noting that Drake and T.I. have a song called Fancy and it's an ode to women...like Best I Ever Had was an ode to women. Not that I am against odes to women, but seriously? Play a different card Drakey, cuz that one's played out.

Track 10 "Light Up" : Without a doubt of my two tracks with the ability to not make me vomit, I really like it because I think this Jay-Z guy is really gonna be a hit! Best line: "F*** ni***s, b****s too/All i got is this money, this'll do" Hahaha, great line! The worst part of the track is where Jay-Z likens himself to Windows 7....pretty sure that's not apples to apples Jigga man!

Track 11 "Miss Me": Quite possibly the worst song on the album, Drake goes back to his roots (Weezy) and gives us a glimpse into the world of someone who truly believes that she wants to miss him. Weezy's verse on this track was not only stupid and nonsensical, but the flow was whack too! It's a bad attempt at cementing Drake as a true hip-hop elite. Sorry buddy, you should be thankin Weezy F. Baby!

Track 12 "Cece's Interlude": So Drake, 23, wishes he was in college so he could have her in his dorm room....ummm, Drake buddy, have you ever thought that maybe it could work the other way, where you go to one of those crazy college campuses and you can meet her in HER dorm room. Idiot!

Track 13 "Find Your Love": Now this is the joint. Drake finally utilizes the better of his two sub-par musical skills...singing! I personally enjoy the lyrics after going through the weirdest situation I have ever went through in my life..."I'm more than just an option (hey, hey, hey)Refuse to be forgotten (hey, hey, hey)I took a chance with my heart (hey, hey, hey)And I feel it takin over" I was an option for about three months and tried not to be. I could dig what Drake was feelin here. I actually like it. Not as much as, let's say, watching grass grow, but it's good!

Track 14 "Thank Me Now": The theme song for the instant self-gratification that is society today. Pretty sure I won't be thankin Drakester for anything in the near future...except, of course, if he stops rapping so mechanically.

Overall the best part of the album...the production. Two tracks are produced by Kanye West. The rest are produced by a Kanye protege, Noah "40" Shabib and Boi-1da (who are also with Kanye's production label, Hip Hop Since 1978). So there is no wonder why the production on the album is so sweet. If nothing else, get the instrumental version of the album. If you do I know you will give it five mics.