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If you’re at home watching MTV’s 2009 Video Music Awards and you’re looking for some commentary, you’ve come to the right spot. Kev gave me the go ahead to LIVE BLOG the entire show with my roommates from our pad here in San Diego. Hit the jump at 9pm Pacific Time for the party and feel free to jump in with your comments!
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There’s an old adage that states that the sequel is seldom better than the original. Godfather II, Shrek 2, and The Dark Knight are some obvious examples that contradict that way of thinking. But for every X-Men 2, two Spiderman 3’s get made. So far, rap sequels haven’t measured up that well, either. For example, neither of the subsequent Blueprint albums lived up to the original, which is understandable considering how highly regarded The Blueprint is. Raekwon’s long-awaited Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II has quite the name to uphold, as the original, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, is one of the most legendary albums in hip-hop history. The challenge is to grade this album on its own merits, not compare it to the extraordinary piece of work that was the original.
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The Wu-Tang Clan enjoyed unprecedented success as a group and as individual members during the early-mid-90s, finding massive success and critical acclaim with their debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and successive solo albums from Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah. Arguably, the album that stands out the most from that group is Raekwon’s debut solo album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Of all the adjectives that attempt to do the album justice, from haunting to pioneering to grimy, the one word that comes up most often is cinematic, and for good reason. It is hip-hop’s Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas, Casino. RZA scores movies for Quentin Tarantino now, but he cut his teeth on making movie music by handling the production for OB4CL, and directing it like he would a movie in a sense, with Raekwon as its star, Ghostface Killah as its scene-stealing, Oscar-winning supporting actor, and cameos from their Wu brethren and Nas.
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Jay-Z is one of the rare MC’s to drop multiple classic albums. It’s even rarer that he drops them during different eras in hip-hop. His 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt came during the end of hip-hop’s Golden Era from the mid-80s until the mid-90s. Backed by Kanye West and Just Blaze, his soul-influenced 2001 album The Blueprint created a dynamic shift in production style and arguably led to the death of the “bling-bling era.” Two years later, he was ready to call it quits with The Black Album, which would have been up there with Scarface’s Emeritus as textbook examples on how to make a final album had Jay-Z stayed retired.
With almost 20 years in the game, Jay-Z has a wealth of jams that cannot be contained in a Top 25 list. Much like Kevin Nottingham and Michael Jordan, you can’t stop them, you can only try to contain them.
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“Song Cry” is Jay-Z at his realest. It’s hard to find a rapper who would willingly cast aside their baller/gangster/mafioso persona and put their real-life problems on wax. Sure, he distances himself by saying he has to make the song cry because he can’t, but the last verse is pure sorrow, saying he’ll mourn and live with how he did his girlfriend wrong forever. If something like that doesn’t touch a nerve, then you must be a stone-cold gangster.
Lyrics (OHHLA) and live version of song from YouTube after the cut.
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Back in the summer of 2007, Cam’ron was busy ducking 50 Cent’s verbal barrage. These attacks usually coincide with the release of a 50 Cent album (in this case, the half-hearted effort known as Curtis). He responded to 50’s smack talk by appearing in a video in his boxers and chilling near a pool, claiming he was “on vacation, B. Look at the palm trees!” And that was the last the hip-hop world would see of Cam’ron for a long while, as he managed to drop off the face of the Earth, ducking all questions about the internal strife and the eventual breakup of The Diplomats and managing to stay out of the spotlight. Then in 2009, the man with the pink mink coats and purple Range Rovers returned, with the appropriately-timed single “I Hate My Job,” a veritable recession anthem. Like it or not, Cam’ron is back in our lives, with a Diplomat-free comeback album, Crime Pays.
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It’s been a good 13 years since the West Coast dominated hip-hop, and almost that long since it was even deemed relevant. As the Pacific eagerly awaits the rise of its young stars such as Blu and Nipsey Hussle to return it to the glory days, it also relies on its veterans to contribute to the effort. Younger hip-hop fans may not even have been alive when DJ Quik and Kurupt came on to the scene repping Los Angeles and reaping the rewards of the West Coast’s reign. While running in the same circles for the majority of each of their respective careers, Kurupt and DJ Quik haven’t collaborated as much as you’d think. Now in the later years of their careers, both artists have undergone a maturing of their sounds. DJ Quik is enjoying a rejuvenation of sorts with QDT partners Snoop Dogg and Teddy Riley, finding a party sound that set the tone for Snoop Dogg’s Ego Trippin’. Kurupt has reached back to his East Coast roots, working with New York legends Pete Rock and DJ Premier. Now united for Blaqkout, two of the West Coast’s elder statesmen offer an album that doesn’t try to take it back to 1995, unlike many other artists who come from the same time period. Rather, Blaqkout is an album presented as a testament to where the artists are currently at in their careers.
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Five years ago was when we last heard an Eminem album (if you don’t count The Re-Up). Starting with his critically-panned Encore, Eminem went into a downward spiral that included the cancellation of the European leg of his Anger Management tour, his second divorce from the infamous Kim, and the tragic death of best friend and fellow D12 member, Proof. Eminem turned to sleeping pills to help him cope, and became addicted, making him a refugee from the spotlight and eventually led him to thoughts of suicide. But thanks to rehab, Eminem cleaned up and hit the studio with Dr. Dre to have a relapse with his favorite drug of all: hip-hop. With his new album Relapse, Eminem tackles familiar topics: drugs, addiction, celebrities, his mom, absurd violence, and some deeply personal stories. Is Eminem back? Hell yeah…
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Rick Ross has certainly had a whirlwind of controversy surrounding him, perhaps since he blew up with Port of Miami. He had legions of fans believing he was this huge cocaine kingpin, playing to his “boss” persona. This bubble famously burst when he was exposed for being (gasp!) a corrections officer with no ties to gangs or coke cartels. Combined with his beef with 50 Cent (which inspired 50 Cent‘s absurdly hilarious “Pimpin’ Curly” videos) and unflattering testimonials by ex-girlfriends, Ross was radioactive; rap fans didn’t want to touch him. But Ross, seemingly inspired by all of this, reminds us that in the end, it’s all about the music. If one’s music is on point, the peripherals don’t matter. As people point to his transgressions and harp on him for being a phony, Deeper Than Rap shuts all that out and delivers as one of the most enjoyable albums of 2009.
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Producer J Wells has been active in hip-hop since he was 16, starting with his own group, Rocswell. Since then, he’s had success with working with some of the West Coast’s most illustrious MC’s, including Snoop Doggy Dogg and Kurupt, and was inducted into the legendary collective known as the Likwit Crew. His productions have even popped up in commercials, The Sopranos, and various EA Sports video games. Due to his collaborations with some of the West Coast’s finest, he has a wide network to toil with on his second album, Digital Master Vol 2.1, which features Snoop Doggy Dogg, Estelle, Kurupt, Da Brat, WC, Roscoe, J-Ro from Tha Alkaholiks, Rah Digga and Mack 10.
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South Central Los Angeles in the 1980s and the early 1990s was a hotbed of hip-hop talent, much as it is now. It was also a hotbed of gang violence, police brutality, economic despair, and the lasting effects of the crack epidemic. From those ashes rose the rap group N.W.A, a super group composed of MCs and DJs from different groups and collectives. Their debut, N.W.A and the Posse, was more of a compilation of their own songs and songs from associated acts like Arabian Prince and the Fila Fresh Crew. From the success of this effort, N.W.A members Eazy-E, MC Ren, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and DJ Yella decided to do their own album. Six weeks and only $8,000 later, Straight Outta Compton was born. Once the album hit the streets and kids’ tape decks, hip-hop was changed forever.
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B-Real, the longtime frontman of West Coast legends Cypress Hill, has gone the way of fellow members DJ Muggs, Eric Bob, and Sen Dog by dropping a solo album. B-Real’s debut on Duck Down Records, home to backpack favorites Boot Camp Clik, sticks to the formula of the Hill aesthetic. Smoke N Mirrors looks like a Cypress Hill album, complete with calavera artwork and marijuana references. However, that’s where the comparison ends. B-Real makes sure that this is a B-Real project, not a Cypress Hill project, with only one Sen Dog appearance and nothing from DJ Muggs nor Bobo. Instead, the guest appearances include Soul Assassins affiliates Alchemist, Kurupt, and Sick Jacken; labelmates Tek and Buckshot; and former collaborator Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley.
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Directed by John Singleton
Starring Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nia Long, Morris Chestnut
During the early and mid-90s, Hollywood saw a number of movies dedicated to showing the experiences of young black men growing up in the ghetto, most notably New Jack City, Menace II Society, Juice, and, to a lesser extent, Don’t be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. With the growing interest in West Coast gangsta rap and the stories that they told, Hollywood decided that it was time that these stories were told on screen, accurately and tastefully. Enter Boyz N the Hood, which was written and directed by John Singleton, who based the movie and characters on events and people he was familiar with while growing up in South Central Los Angeles.
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Hip-hop dates back to 1979, but for me, it started in 1995, when I officially discovered hip-hop. I had been given a tape of Regulate…G-Funk Era, Warren G’s debut with the old West Coast anthem, “Regulators”. I fell in love with “Regulators”, “Do You See”, and “This DJ”. From there, I started listening to KSFM 102.5 in Sacramento, the local hip-hop station. Every day, I was treated to this whole new world of Dr. Dre’s production, Snoop Doggy Dogg’s smooth delivery, B-Real’s nasal tone, and this introspective gangsta rapper named 2pac. As with most things I become interested in, I instantly wanted to know all I could about this music. From there came interest in E-40 and Too Short, N.W.A, Dogg Pound, Cypress Hill, and everyone else from the West Coast’s illustrious history. And as I got deeper into the coast most known for gangsta rap, I realized that the term itself, “gangsta rap” is not what everyone thinks it is. Rather, painting such vividly violent and shocking pictures through hip-hop could actually move the establishment to act and do what they could to help the traditionally ignored neighborhoods known as the ghetto.
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As a rapper of many names and identities, the man originally known as Daniel Dumile has changed it up, yet again. After finding success as MF Doom, he’s going as just DOOM for his new album, Born Like This. Loosely sticking to a formula that produced numerous critically-acclaimed albums, Born Like This keeps the short songs, villain references, and odd-ball lyrics coming. Unfortunately, “new” is a term that might be used loosely to describe this album, as a number of the songs are nowhere near new to the dedicated hip-hop head. With recycled beats joining fairly old tracks on the project, DOOM heads who have been craving all-new material may come away from Born Like This a little disappointed.
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