Premier indeed.

I will always associate DJ Premier with the blissful era when I truly became a dedicated hip hop head. Before that, hip hop was still just a mix of sounds and rhythms in a way I abstractly and subconciously appreciated. The only names I associated with those sounds were the ones emblazoned on the album cover (namely, the MC). Premo's name was the first one I actually started to recognize in the album's liner notes, the one who laid the foundations of all those songs I loved. The architect of my addiction. The PRODUCER. Yeah, yeah... I knew other producers like Dr. Dre and all them... but mostly because they had their name on the front covers too. Preem's name was only on the inside cover of those Gangstarr albums. And after I wrapped my feeble mind around the concept of the "producer", I started digging further into what the concept of a hip hop producer entailed... how they actually took older records and chopped them up to create that entirely new sound that I was now a fan of. In a way, Premo largely shaped my appreciation for music outside of the boundaries of hip hop itself.

So XXL has done all of us Premier fans a huge service in presenting us with the definitive Premier interview. This is a must read for any true hip hop head. Preem gives us the back stories on a few events from the past that he had only hinted at before. Like what really happened in the beef between Jeru the Damaja and Bad Boy. And how that affected his work with Big. And how Big even tried to get some beats from Dre for "Life After Death". And how he made up with Chuck D after the "Crack Commandments" drama. And his thoughts on how things ended with Guru. And why he hasn't worked with Jay lately. And if we'll ever get that collab album with him and Nas. And how you might have even heard his work in some Wal-Mart commercials. Do yourself a favor and read this.

DJ Premier: The XXL Icon Interview.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

We as hip hop fans have been promised many albums over the years. "Helter Skelter". "Oh My God". "The Nacirema Dream". A Nas/Primo collab. Yet with every announcement, we hold out hope that these dream projects might actually come to fruition. Very rarely do we wait years on end and actually get the album delivered to us.

It seems like next February, two of the albums on my personal wishlist may finally see the light of day. Saigon's "Greatest Story Never Told" has been promised to us multiple times. And it seems I've written about it multiple times also. We've seen photos of an album cover and even the final mastered copy sitting on Just Blaze's mastering board. So this newly redesigned album cover could very well be another tease. Perhaps I'm just making myself the idiot who keep running back to that little bastard who won't stop yelling "Wolf" at the top of his lungs. But I am choosing to believe it's real this time. Saigon never delivered that 8-song appetizer he promised a couple months ago. But he has dropped about half that amount of songs during that time to prove he's back on he's grind. Let's take a moment to imagine how great the album could be if it sounds anything like this on track number one...

Beats, rhymes, and life.

It's amazing how much hip hop has evolved since its inception. Obviously, everything will change, for better or for worse throughout the years... but it's mind blowing when you sit back and really think about it. Growing up as a teenager in the suburbs of the Pacific Northwest, the music I heard was created by such luminaries as Dr. Dre and DJ Premier in the far off distant lands of Los Angeles and New York. D&D Studios might as well have been Never Never Land for all I knew. An MPC could have been a contraption created in Willy Wonka's factory that required three brains and a Mensa certification to operate. All I had to go on was the final product that I knew and loved blasting out of my cheap ass Sony headphones and my imagination. Hip hop, in effect, was bigger than life.

These days, you no longer need thousands of dollars of equipment to build the sonic landscape of your dreams. Just get yourself a laptop from Best Buy, a bootleg copy of Fruity Loops if you don't want to buy the real thing, and you're good to go.

Witness Lex Luger, the 19-year old producer extraordinaire... now with such street classics as Rick Ross' "BMF" and "MC Hammer" to his name. Love his music or hate it, you can't deny that at this moment, his bounce-heavy trap-style production is in full demand. And thanks to World Star Hip Hop, we can all get a glimpse of his creativity at work with the click of a mouse.

Monster of the double entendre...

So after all these years of being promised a tome from the almighty Jay-Z, some sort of glimpse into his mind... we are getting "Decoded" on November 16th. I guess that truly revealing biography written by Toure was axed... so this will have to do. I'd rather read about his own personal insight into his lyrics than tales of hustlin' OT in Virginia or struggling to get a deal on a major anyways.

Here we get the first sneak peek into the book... a breakdown of "American Dreamin'" from "American Gangster"...

http://online.wsj.com/media/JayZDecoded2.pdf

Some of it is obvious to any listener that actually bothers to listen to the lyrics instead of "skim through it". But it is obviously written to appeal to the broadest audience possible. The average rap fan, even the most suburban of them (which I'll admit includes myself), would know what the term "pitching" meant after hearing countless rapper's stories about hustling on the block. However, Jay-Z, by explaining the lyrics, also makes the descriptions semi-autobiographical in turn. An excerpt:

"And it's not like we're professionals movin' the decimals/Know where to cop? Nah! Gtt a connect? No!"

Initially the decision to hustle is freestyled. These kids in the cipher, the ones with their feet up and the dreams of foreign cars, have absolutely no idea how to go into business, even one that surrounds them like the drug game. Do they know where to go to cop the work? No. Do they have a drug connect? No. They're like anyone starting out in business; they need someone to give them the plan.

Greatest Story Finally Told??

Could it be? Could Saigon's long awaited debut finally see the light of day? According to his Facebook, it's finally coming in early 2011 via Suburban Noize Records (???)...

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1586936227300

Hmmm... what kind of label is Suburban Noize exactly? According to their web site, their acts include such industry heavyweights as Hed P.E., Slaine, and um... The Dirtball? At least hip hop heads will recognize La Coka Nostra and Swollen Members... but...

Doesn't it seem like eons ago when Sai was guest starring on "Entourage", the hottest cable show at the time? And such mainstream publications as Time and Rolling Stone were calling him the next one to look out for? And he was being co-signed by everyone from Nas to Jay to Q-Tip??

At this point though, what label puts the album out is the least of my concerns. Maybe Sai can push a few units and regain a little traction in his career so the next album won't be far behind. And the rest of us can finally hear the album. Because a real hip hop head doesn't care about sales anyways, right?

Then again, we've been promised release dates before. Maybe I shouldn't hold my breath on this one.

Daaamn homie... you used be the maaaan homie...

I was one of those die hard Canibus fans who thought he would be hip hop's savior from the shiny suit era. I was wrong. The trajectory of Canibus' career stands as one of my most disappointing memories in hip hop. So much potential wasted. You can blame Wyclef, you can blame LL, you can blame the industry, the label, whomever you want... but as it stands, let's just face it, the music never lived up to the hype he built for himself. I've expounded upon this in a previous post before so I'll end it at that.

So now he is about to release his 10th album (!) on October 5th. Ever since "2000 BC", I've kind of half-heartedly been keeping my ears open to what he's been doing since. The harder-dying fans will swear that albums like "Mic Club" and "Rip the Jacker" are classics... but nothing has really sparked my interest since his second album. But then I stumbled upon this album sampler for the upcoming "C of Tranquility" and my interest has once again been renewed. Bis spitting over beats by Primo, DR Period, Scram Jones, Jake One, Domingo, and more?? These are the producers he should've linked up with years ago. Check it out... maybe there is life in Rip the Jacker's career yet.

Canibus Snippets (v2) from Interdependent Media on Vimeo.

Strap your Combat boots on.

As I've expressed multiple times before, I love these behind-the-scenes stories about the hip hop industry. Combat Jack, entertainment lawyer by day, hip hop blogger by night, has shared his stories with Complex behind some of hip hop's biggest classics. Check out the stories here:

COMBAT JACK PRESENTS: True Stories Behind 25 Rap Classics.

And here's an excerpt to spark your interest:

"Jay-Z, In My Lifetime"

"Clark might have convinced Dame that Jay-Z was the best rapper alive, but no labels were signing dude. Along with Dame and Clark, we must have shopped Jay to every label under the sun. I remember specifically sitting in Def Jam begging Lyor Cohen for a shot. He passed. I also remember how some exec at Polygram asked us why they should sign a Jay-Z when they had the platinum-selling group Black Sheep on their roster. Eventually, the only label that showed interest was this small indie called Payday Records which was run by record exec Patrick Moxey (who later managed Gangstarr). Moxey signed Jay for like 25-30K, had Jay locked in for a couple of singles and several albums. Jay dropped the single 'In My Lifetime' with minimal marketing support. You already know, the one with the yacht that Jay, Dame, and Biggs chartered with their own money. For the record, 'In My Lifetime' was Jay's second official solo single. His first was 'I Can't Go For That,' which Dame and 'em dropped from out the back of their trunks a year prior. 'In My Lifetime' was dope, but because Jay was totally unknown, the record flopped. Shortly after the single dropped, Moxey and Payday dropped Jay-Z. Yes, dropped Jay-Z. Two years later, Jay dropped Reasonable Doubt. To this day, whenever I run into Moxey, I get the feeling he can't look me in the eye because of how I know how he dropped Hov. Not a good look to say the least. No shots, though."

To all my LA people...

Go check out my homeboy... just signed to Snoop Dogg's Doggtown Entertainment... POPPA HEAT... settin' fire to the West Coast! Live at the Burgundy House, 6202 Santa Monica Blvd, LA CA... Saturday September 18th!!! Doors open at 9PM.

Your favorite rapper's favorite rapper.

I'm not just saying this because it's en vogue these days to say Scarface is one of the greatest... but since I initially started becoming the pathologically obsessed hip hop fan that I am (1990 or so), Scarface was one of the first genuine hip hop artists I liked (along with Public Enemy and NWA). I admit his grimy slow flow and introspective, macabre tales are not for everyone. But I think that's what drew me to his music. He is one artist you can truly say, regardless of what you think about his music, there is nothing sell-out about him.

I also love reading these "making of", "behind the scenes" type articles. So this was a great read for me... and hopefully will be for you too. The original poster on SOHH does not list a source but it seems legit. So here is the link directly from their forums.

Scarface breaks down his solo and Geto Boys catalog...

Taking you back... way back... back into time...

These days it is damn near impossible to be first to share any new track with anyone. Anyone with internet access can hear a song the second it's available. We even hear the tracks that aren't meant to be available for public consumption just yet. So once in awhile, I go back and see what tracks people might have missed...

To me, this is Kanye West's most underrated beat ever. I think most people in the general public, anyone other than dedicated hip hop fans, likely have not heard this song. I don't even remember when Smitty's album dropped... even though he had a Swizz Beats track as the lead single and everything. Anyways, I always thought this was the era Kanye was at his purest. Before he got too experimental and big headed. This is when he was just straight digging in the crates and finding the sickest soul samples to speed up. Anyways, if you've never heard it before... enjoy...

Judged by 12 or carried by 6?

Either way, hip hop is still not doing well. Well, maybe I just wanted to an excuse to use that Cube line because I always loved it. And it was the first hip hop lyric off the top of my head that used the number "six" in it. But it is also appropriate because, as the perpetual pessemist in me (well, when it comes to the hip hop industry, at least) will always insist, hip hop music is still slowly dying. But as it stands, here are a few of the lone reeds standing tall amidst the vile cesspool of cliches and consumerism flooding the airwaves per usual. (And now as I finish typing this post, I just realized I only have five tracks, not six. Oh well...)

Royce Da 5'9, "Over" Freestyle

T.I. "I'm Back"

Reflection Eternal, "In This World"

Nas & Damian Marley, "Strong Will Continue"

Young Chris & J. Cole, "Still the Hottest"

Slaughterhouse indeed.

Royce kills the new Drake beat "Over". I've only heard the Drake version once and I'm kind of glad. Because the beat was the best part. And Royce goes homicidal on the Boi-1da beat. How come Royce can't cop more beats like this for his own albums?? I have to say Street Hop did not live up to my expectations. And ever since Royce first came on the scene, I always thought he had the potential to be a classic MC. So far, only "Death Is Certain" has come close to his potential, recording wise.

The new Snoop? Or the next Bishop Lamont??

We all know Dr. Dre's track record when it comes to his "proteges". The long and distinguished includes genre-defining legends such Snoop and Eminem (and to a lesser extent, Game)... but includes even more fallen-by-the-wayside outcasts such as Hittman, Last Emperor, Joell Ortiz, Joe Beast, Brooklyn, Rakim... and most recently Bishop Lamont. So this new cat, Hayes, apparently also has Timbaland's co-sign, who will be joint-producing the debut with Dre. Check him out... what do you think fate has in store for him? Multi platinum plaques? Or just more tax write offs for Iovine?

Also, you can catch up by reading a recent interview with Hayes here.