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...