Where The F Did I Go?

To my legions of readers, don't fret. I am in the process of developing a new and improved blog that will kick your fuckin ass. Stay tuned....

Soundscan Top 5

1. Bon Jovi - Lost Highway - 291k
2. White Stripes - Icky Thump - 223k
3. Brad Paisly - 5th Gear - 197k
4. Toby Keith - Big Dog Daddy - 73k
5. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full - 64k

Top 3 are debuts. Bon Jovi still got it, shit. Everyone is gonna start doing country albums now. No hip hop or pop in the top 5 this week. Can't say that I have any one of these CD's either.

Stronger

It's aight.

New Music Tuesday

Kelly Clarkson - My December
All this hoopla about her album being trash, Clive shittin on her in public, her first single making me go deaf in my left ear and what's the result? A piece of shit album. They bumped the album up because why pour more $$ into a project that has no potential? Let's throw it out there and keep it moving. No tour, no manager....looks like Clive is teaching a lesson. Album sounds like a bunch of throw away joints. Not one hot song on this fuckin thing except for maybe "Irvine." I wasted too much time just writing this review. Grade: D



Pharoahe Monch - Desire
He'll never get that commercial love, but it's good to hear this dude still make music. At the risk of him sounding bitter, he really serves as the voice of a lot of artists out there who make that raw shit who don't get that shine. Solid listen for the underground head, but he can do better with some better production. Grade: B -



Marc Broussard - S.O.S. - Save Our Soul
Banger from a soul and r&b white boy who returns with this indy release. Definite listen to check out front to back. Grade: B

Joint To Bump For The Weekend

Ja Rule f/ Lil Wayne - Uh Ohhhhh

Uh oh is right, this track is crazy. Brings you back to when Ja first dropped.

Soundscan Top 5

1. Toby Keith - Big Dog Daddy - 204k
2. Fabolous - From Nothin' To Somethin - 159k
3. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full - 106k
4. Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long - 87k
5. T-Pain - Epiphany - 81k

The game is fucked up man, country debuts only brings in 200k. Fab has a respectable debut, Paul is a Beatle, Maroon 5 sticks (album grows on you, just like the last joint) and T-Pain hangs around.

Notable mentions: Khaled in at 8 with almost 80k scanned. Paramore with a top 20 debut. And believe it or not, Timbo isn't even gold yet.

9th

Great 9th Wonder Interview at hiphopgame.com (although I'm not feelin the new design of the site)

Same Girl

No New Music Tuesday today, ain't nothin really bumpin to me right now. But, in lieu of that, enjoy the vid for "Same Girl."

Joint To Bump For The Weekend

Rihanna f/ Chris Brown - Umbrella Remix

Soundscan Top 5

1. T-Pain - Epiphany - 171k
2. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad - 162k
3. Paul McCartney - 160k
4. R. Kelly - Double Up - 120k
5. Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long - 112k

You know the game done changed when Paul McCartney ain't good for a number one anymore. T-Pain suprises everyone taking the #1 spot from stiff competition from McCartney and Rihanna (Jay must be tight). Kells and Maroon still holding strong good numbers. That Maroon album is growing on me.

J Timberlake, Now How Heavy Is That

Peep the new vid for "Lovestoned." A little dark....I think it's cool....not sure.

Oh! This Fuckin Guy!

So the final episode of the Sopranos has everyone pissed off. Shit was weird, but it ended right. If you've been disappointed over the years behind the other weird shows, this falls in that category, BUT, it did answer THE question. Was it Phil or Tony that was gonna take the hit? Phil caught it, and caught it in a bad way. Shit was good enough for me. The whole episode was symbolically done, well done. So everyone that ain't like it, watch it a few more times to get the gist and get back to work. You've wasted enough time bullshitting with everyone at work about it like I have.

New Music Tuesday

Fabolous - From Nothin To Somethin - Fab's notorious for being that BK rapper with the most potential that never really got there. One of the illest lyricists in the game period, his Def Jam debut started out a little nervous, like every release that has come before it. He always comes with the weird left field first single that no one really catches, then goes for the sure fire crossover joint. Thank god for Ne-Yo and Jay who both passed this record and eventually got to Fab. Can't say that there is anything on this album thats worth keeping as its all just slick punchlines over decent production. No growth, no insight and no real big cuts other than "Brooklyn" and slightly better production overall. Not that I'm surprised, but I hear the mixtape is nasty, which they've always been and what seperates the mixtape mc from a career artist that puts out albums. Grade: C-



DJ Khaled - We The Best - Feels like we just had a Khaled album, right? Mixtape albums are tough to get a look outside core hip hop, but Khaled takes a step further by getting anyone who's anyone to drop verses for this. Dope first single to open up the project, though the timing was off, but its almost worth getting the album just for this track, but who does that anymore? First half of the album starts off strong, second half is ehh. I guess I didn't see the Bone Thugs thing ever happening again, but they get a look here too. Stand out tracks are "I'm So Hood" and "Before The Solution." Grade: B-



DMX - The Definition of X - They say once a greatest hits compilation comes out, your career's a wrap. Feels that way now for X. But lets live with this for a second and remember the jewels he's dropped us over the years and recognize that he was one of the most important voices for hip-hop from the late 90's to the early 2000's. Dope compilation, no grade cause it's a bunch of hits.

Joint To Bump For The Weekend

Kanye - Stronger (full version)

I want my bday party at a Louis Vuitton store.

Meet Esmee Denters

Timberlake makes a statement with his new label by snatching up YouTube princess Esmee Denters. She's from the Netherlands and posted songs from her sisters webcam of her doing crazy dope covers and getting over 20 million views in the process (similar to how Cassie got picked up as the princess of MySpace). She's already been on the cover of Billboard. Get to know her. esmeedenters.org and myspace.com/esmeedenters

Soundscan Top 5

1. R. Kelly - Double Up - 385k
2. Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long - 171k
3. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight - 126k
4. Jason Aldean - Relentless - 98k
5. Daughtry - Daughtry - 69k

Kells helps keep the lights on at Jive with another #1 album, Maroon take the normal industry dip on week 2, LP still strong and already Platinum. Jason Aldean is some country guy I know nothing about and Daughtry rounds out the top 5 as he inches towards 3 million. Notable increases from Winehouse as the country gets used to her and Thicke as Oprah brings him back on the show just because.

New Music Tuesday

Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad - First let me say, Rihanna got a record. Suprised as all hell, but when you got the right songwriters (Ne-Yo and Justin Timberlake), producers (Timbaland), a&r's, Jay Z, LA Reid and a Michael Jackson sample, you can make anyone sound good. Rihanna continues her move into pop superstardom with what's probably going to be the album of the summer. That said, she ain't the best singer, or dancer, we know this, but when you're in your video wearing nothing but silver paint, you can't hate too much. Stand out tracks are "Don't Stop The Music," "Breakin' Dishes," "Question Existing," and "Good Girl Gone Bad."



T-Pain - Epiphany - No longer a contender for the 1-hit-wonder category, T-Pain is all over the fuckin radio. The album is pretty much how you think it would sound, crunk-n-b, synths, sex, all that shit. I personally can't listen to a whole album of synth vocals, but it aint trash. Stand out track is "Suicide" (very opposite from say "69" or "Backseat Action"). Not iPod material.

Summer Jam Recap

I'm just starting to dry off from the show now. Got in a little late and missed a few openers, but was greeted with the beautiful Ciara upon entry. And the rundown goes...

Ciara - felt like a weak set even though the stadium was pretty packed at this point

Swizz Beats - dont remember where in the program he was, but this was one of the highlights of the night with him bringing out Kanye to do a battle of the beats thang.

Ne-yo - decent set, the crowd was feeling it, everyone got open when Fab came out to perform "Make Me Better." They did a nice job of seg-waying in the acts, Fab did "Diamonds" with Jeezy, then Jeezy went right into his set.

Jeezy - not bad, crowd pleaser was "I Luv It." I believe Jada came out on this one to drop a jewel.

Luda - probably had the Busta-like performance where he just ripped every song and the crowd was in it the whole way. Bobby V came out to do his joint.

Reggae Set - Bobby and Jaba killed the crowd spinning all the reggae joints. Very heavy aroma clouding the stadium at this point.

Chris Brown - This dude is the real deal. Best r&b performance of the night. He's the next Usher. Brought out Juelz and Weezy, shit was fire.

Lil Wayne - After being brought out twice before in the night, and the crowd loving every minute of it, Weezy gets into his own set. He brings out Fat Joe, who smashed it with "Make It Rain." Solid set to him walking off to "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston. Pretty funny.

Diddy - Everyone thought he was closing the show, as did I, so I started to make my way out because I don't think it was possible to get any more wet than I was and you know how traffic is. In typical Diddy fashion, he breaks out the fireworks, brings out The Lox, Kim, Joc, TI, Ele and the kitchen sink.

Akon - I was out by this time but heard the rest of the stadium bounced as well, so Akon had to kick it into high gear with Khaled, TI, Baby, Weezy and the rest of the crew on the "Takin' Over" remix. I believe Rich Boy came out as well.

Overall: Solid line up, decent show. The rain fucked it up though. I know they want to go for the gusto and perform in front of 50,000, but mad people weren't even checking for it after a while as more people were by concession stands than in the seats just to get dry. Bring it back to the Garden. B -

Yeah Right

Ain't mad at it, but why the Twin Towers?

Props to eskay/onsmash.

Joint To Bump For The Weekend

Lil Wayne - "La La La"

Not cause I'm crazy about the song, but because we all know he's gonna kill Summer Jam this Sunday.

New Music Tuesday

Ok, we're a day behind, it was a holiday.



R. Kelly - Double Up - R. Kelly's 85th album or something like that cements that he still gots it. You can't deny it, he's one of the best to ever do it, no matter how many young girls he pees on. Stand out tracks are "Rock Star," "Get Dirty" and "Double Up." Songs that fall into "Jesus, I can't believe this dude still gets away with this shit" category are "The Zoo" and "Real Talk." Almost every album of his is worth getting and this one is no exception.

Meet Sean Kingston

Get to know this guy, he's gonna be big time real quick. 17 years old, rolls with JR Rotem, this kid puts some serious records together for someone who's not even legal yet. "Beautiful Girl" is going to be the joint for the summer and flips Fab's "Make Me Better" crazy. He's about to Akon / T-Pain the game. myspace.com/seankingston

Soundscan Top 5

1. Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long - 429k
2. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight - 197k
3. Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain - 151k
4. Young Jeezy & USDA - The Mixtape - 95k
5. Used - Lies For The Liars - 92k

No surprise here, Maroon 5 runnin shit, LP taking a big dip. Ozzy still got that swag and an impressive debut for USDA.

Ya'll Can't Tell Me Nothin

Yeezy rockin that big ass Sunday mass scarf that my grandma has.

Joints To Bump For The Weekend

Let's do 2 for the long weekend:



Fab f/ Jay Z & Uncle Murda - Brooklyn




Swizz / Fab / Cassidy - Big Things Poppin Freestyle

Big ups to nahright.

Top 7 Albums Hip Hop Needs in '07

1. Beanie Mack - The last couple of street joints reminded me how good this guy really is. He's back with the Roc, though I'm not sure if he'll be getting any Kanye or Neptune beats on this go around.

2. The Lox - If produced right, one of the best hip collectives ever will jump right in where they left off.

3. DJ Drama - As long as the formula stays the same for the major release, we'll be good.

4. Joell Ortiz - The Koch release is slept on, but it's just prep work for what Dre is about to do with this guy.

5. Saigon - This generation's Nas needs to come out. Seriously.

6. Joe Budden - Hip hop's moody dude stays sprinkling the streets with bangas and is able to keep his name up even if there's no major release in sight.

7. Uncle Murda - This guy will bring that fun gun play rap back to the streets.

Who Buys CDs Anymore?

Well, there are people that still do, over 600k of Linkin Park's fans haven't grown past them and that's both a great look and suprising. What's even more surprising is that a record 80,000 digital albums were sold. That is pretty fuckin significant. I was wondering what the advantage was of having a pre-order for an album set up over 2 months in front of a project, like for TI and 50 (felt very long), but it seems the psychology behind buying records may be on the upside for actual digital albums (shit...I hope so). On some weeks, 80,000 can give you a #1 record, and the fact that this was moved on digital albums alone shows that there may be some hope yet.

Soundscan Top 5

1. Linkin Park - Minutes To Midnight - 622k
2. Tank - Sex, Love & Pain - 103k
3. Michael Buble - Call Me Irresponsible - 87k
4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky - 87k
5. Gretchen Wilson - One Of The Boys - 73k

Linkin Park take the big honors this week, they apparently still got it with the biggest first week release this year. They also got a bunch of #1's across the world. Tank in at #2, I had no idea he had a record out. Buble in at #3, somewhat of a new Sinatra right? I wonder how many Oprah fans bought the record? People still buying Wilco records. Gretchen Wilson comin in at #5 with 73k, disappointing for Country music, no?

Got Yourself A Gun

Was figuring out how to get a Sopranos post up without it coming left field....here you have it. The official Sopranos book for the coffee table, bookshelf, conversation piece, whatever. One of the best shows ever, now on paper.

New Music Tuesday

Maroon 5 - "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" - In short, definitely not as good as the first, but good enough to play while you are cleaning the apartment on a Saturday morning (or Sunday Morning).



Young Jeezy presents USDA - "Cold Summer" - If Jeezy put Boyz N Da Hood together himself, these guys would be in it. Definite mixtape feel. Not bad, not great. This makes me want another Jeezy mixtape out there.



Cold War Kids - "Live At The Paradiso EP" - 3 live tracks from a show in Amsterdam (nice). Rock dudes with that bluesy "I don't give 2 shits" sound. I like it. Check for the album too.

Who Cares?

This band is a wrap anyway. 1 hot album every 5 year average, and thats so laaaaame.

Amy Lee spoke candidly about her recent marriage and the recent departure of two of the members of Evanescence in a post on the band's message board over the weekend. Calling marriage "the most incredible thing to happen in my life so far," Lee explained that she returned from her honeymoon and "discovered the fact that I was unable to defend myself for a week [and] was taken advantage of quite a bit." Lee said guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray, who left the lineup earlier this month and were recently replaced by Dark New Day's Will Hunt and Troy McLawhorn, "both made it clear they were ready to move on." LeCompt and Gray "were very vocal about the fact that they didn't really care about Evanescence at all and just stayed around for the money," the post continued. "They were miserable. They are no longer playing with us because I love this band too much to see it driven into the ground." Lee also said that Gray didn't quit, as he's claimed; she contends he was fired, after weeks of threatening to quit. ....... mtv.com

Update: DJ Treats from Lvn Proof says... "who the fuck likes this shit?... that chicks voice is so annoying, i rather hear a full album from LaLa from mtv or like rocsi chopped and screwed than listen to evanesence"

Lose Myself

I was suspect of how a new Lauryn Hill song would sound, it's a little 3000 like, takes a minute to get used to, but I ain't mad at it. Enjoy.

Bullet Bullet

Nice and hood.

Joint To Bump For The Weekend

Let's try to do this every Friday. And now, it's time for the remix. Ich Ni San Chi.

Grafh Talks Bidness

They Tried To Make Me Go To Rehab

but I said no no no...

Big Things Poppin

Little Things Stoppin

Top 5 Dead Or Alive...

Here are the Top 5 releases that are going to be poppin for the second half of the year:



1. Lil' Wayne - who's not waiting for this album, best rapper alive, his time is now.

2. Usher - you know it, I know it, he's gonna sell a shitload of rekkids.

3. T. I. - the King's back, no other rap album will sound better.

4. Kanye - it's like pizza, even if it's bad, it's still pretty good.

5. Paramore - my rock group for the year.

Top 5 that dropped in the first half (roughly):



1. Robin Thicke - best r&b album of the last 3 years.

2. Amy Winehouse - best thing out of London since London Fog jackets (remember those?)

3. Gym Class Heroes - this was actually dropped last year, but people (such as myself) just started figuring it out this year, these guys are much more than a hit single.

4. Lil' Wayne (Da Drought Mixtape) - you know what, not many good albums out there and most this shit was dope, so, there you have it.

5. Lloyd - great first 2 singles, not a bad r&b album.

Cocaine...

...back up in a big way.

What A Maroon

Album on The Leak. Listen to it. I haven't decided if it's hot shit or a hot mess.

Yeezy and Weezy

"I'm making beats. The dude is the hottest rapper," 'Ye said. "We already made some songs that are incredible. I'm not going to tell you who's on them, but I can talk my sh--, 'cause we already got a couple of bangers under the belt. Hopefully I can deliver some product with him to push it to MTV even more, where hopefully he'll be opening up some award shows and getting his rightful spot. Right now he's ripping down every mixtape, going crazy with it. It's unabashed, raw lyrics. I think it's the realest form of hip-hop right now." - mtv.com

When it's reppin time, they get on extra grind.

Not A Bad Year For Danja

The producer of the moment (ok, year) got honored for his contributions to bringing sexy back, saving the career of a Portuguese Canadian, and reviving the career of one of the illest producers ever.

Looks Like Tip Was Performing At This One

Rule 53: Don't be a punk ass beeeiitch and throw shit on stage at a concert like you poppin.

Meet Kevin Michael

Slow news week, so I'm on a new music kick. Kevin Michael is this dude from Philly with a mixed bag of funk, r&b, soul, hip hop slang....all that good shit. Get to know him and his hair. Oh, and you can get his single for free at iTunes now, so cop it. Free music, imagine that.

Meet Keri

Keri Hilson that is. She's been with Timbo's camp for a minute and she's on one of the hottest joints on his album. She's also on Diddy's next single. Danja's droppin the beats, JT is co-writing, sounds like something to look out for. Get to know her.

Killa in the Kufi Category?

This has the internet goin nuts. Is Cam in? Out? What's really good, right? All these burning questions and more as Jim sets the record straight tonight with Flex.

Update: No visit to Flex.....yet.

"...My Metal Shoot Lead Thru Your Mellon Douche Bag..." - Grafh

Something for the weekend. Bump this shit.
(props to eskay)

Ooohhh Kelly Clarkson!!!

Last album was dope, but with the sound of the new single off the upcoming album sounding like hot garbage, I was not surprised to hear about this.

Update: (cause I know you all care) It looks like their sticking to their guns to deliver this one. I still ain't feelin that shit.