Get To Know H.E.R.

I was browsing through the internet this morning when I came across a link for Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die, The OG Edition. Supposedly this was the debut Biggie wanted everyone to hear, if it wasn’t for those damn sample issues. This basically means that even if you own a copy of Ready To Die, you’ll want to check this out. Some of the tracks are actually better than the originals and along with the unreleased demo tracks and freestlyes at the end, this will definitely be worth your time. Tracklisting is as follows. (I’ll place the links for the mixtapes at the end of the entry)

01.  Intro (Original Version With Uncleared Samples)
02.  Things Done Changed (Original Version)
03.  Gimme The Loot (Never Before Heard Uncensored Version)
04.  Machine Gun Funk (DJ Premier’s Version)
05.  Warning (Original Version)
06.  Ready To Die (Original Version With Different Beat)
07.  One More Chance (Original Version With Uncleared Sample)
08.  Fuck Me (Interlude)
09.  The What (feat. Method Man) (Original Version With Unheard Lyrics)
10.  Juicy (Pete Rock’s Version)
11.  Everyday Struggle (Original Demo Mix)
12.  Me & My Bitch (Original Version With Different Beat)
13.  Respect (Original Extended Edition)
14.  Friend Of Mine (Original Demo Version)
15.  Whatchu Want (Unreleased Original Version)
16.  Suicidal Thoughts (Pete Rock’s Version)
17.  Come On (feat. Sadat X) (Unreleased Original Version)
18.  Who Shot Ya? (Original Demo Mix)
19.  For The Macs & Dons (Unreleased Track)
20.  Pepsi Freestyle (Unreleased Track)
21.  Biggie Got The Hype Shit (Unreleased 1991 Demo Track)

So going along with the spirit of the whole Notorious B.I.G. thing, I figured I would up you guys some Biggie related mixtapes I spin on the regular. This first one is a mash up by DJ Doc Rok of Biggie’s rhymes over some Hendrix sampled beats. Strange concept at first, but it sounds surprisingly nice. Tracklisting is as follows

01.  Intro
02. Party and Bullshit - Foxy Lady
03. Nasty Boy - Purple Haze
04. Things Done Change - If 6 Was 9
05. Notorious Thugs - All Along The Watchtower
06. Hypnotize - Wild Thing
07. Dead Wrong - Fire
08. Who Shot Ya - Cocaine
09. Young G’s - Voodoo Child
10. Juicy - Are You Experienced

The second mixtape I have for ya’ll is a very nice mashup of Jay-Z and B.I.G. There’s a bit of Dj blabber to be found and some of the collabo mix choices are questionable, but if you can get past that, this is a pretty solid mixtape. If only the actual supergroup The Commission would’ve done something before Biggie’s untimely death, that would’ve been nuts.

01. New York New York (ft Alicia Keys)
02. Roamin Thru NY (ft Akon)
03. Can’t Stop The Reign (ft Rakim and Tupac)
04. Ride (ft Kool G Rap and Fabolous)
05. Big Playas (ft Ma$e, Foxy Brown and Aaliyah)
06. Interlude (RIP Aaliyah)
07. Can’t Fade Us (ft Nas and Quan)
08. Interlude (The Commision Takeover
09. Oh My Lord
10. I Love The Dough (ft Angela Winbush)
11. Big Cruisin (ft Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg)
12. I Dare You
13. Interlude (Comin Up With Kane
14. Makin Moves (ft Big Daddy Kane)
15. Interlude (Making Of Brooklyn’s Finest)
16. Brooklyn’s Finest
17. The Commission (ft Shyne and Lil Kim)
18. Interlude (Battling DMX)
19. If You (ft DMX, Jadakiss, and Styles P)
20. Young Gangstas (ft Big L)
21. Interlude (When Biggie Died)
22. Feel It In A Dream (ft Black Rob and Phil Colins)
23. Outro
Ready To Die (OG Edition):  http://rapidshare.com/files/133739916/DJ_Semi_And_The_Notorious_B.I.G.-Ready_To_Die__The_O.G._Edition_-_Bootleg_-2008-Xplode.rar.html

Biggie Hendrix Experience:  http://rapidshare.com/files/133923631/Dj_Doc_Rok_-_The_Biggie_Hendrix_Experience.zip.html

The Commission:  http://rapidshare.com/files/133934508/Jay-Z_And_Notorious_BIG_-_The_Commission.zip.html

Yesterday I reviewed the first disc of the 2 disc reissue of Freddie Foxxx’s Crazy Like A Foxxx LP. It managed to exceed my expectations and in fact I consider it to be a hair above Industry Shakedown. Now it’s time to see how disc 2, the DITC version holds up.

The Good:

2. Call Of The Wild - The production on this track is a lot more organic than any track on the first disc. I don’t really have a preference either way, but this track sounds pretty damn great.

3. Can’t Break Away

5. 8 Bars To Catch A Body - It’s a great track, but so far a lot of these tracks sound a lot like each other. Since each track still rocks, I can overlook that in this case.

6. Project Mice - I can’t really make up my mind as to which version I enjoy more. Disc 1’s production has a real ominous feeling to it, while this one sounds like nitty gritty mid 90s NY rap. Depends on your mood really.

7. Rev Glock - In this case I prefer disc one’s version to this one. However, that doesn’t mean that this one’s a bad track. It’s actually pretty good.

8. Crazy Like A Foxxx - The strangest thing is hearing Foxxx rap over a beat that most people will associate with Big L’s Da Graveyard. Although this track technically was created first, so it’s not necessarily beat jacking, especially since DITC was involved in both projects. Get over the Big L thing and it’s a great listen.

9. Man Destroys Man

11. Who Is The Middle Man

12. Cook A Nigga’s Ass (ft Kool G Rap) - A simple beat ripped to shreds by one of my favorite rappers of all time is always a win in my book.

The Solid:

1. Intro - Not needed, but it doesn’t hurt the overall experience. It’s just Foxxx explaining what the deal with this album is.

4. Click Click - After a great first two tracks, this track just doesn’t seem that special. Still a solid effort.

10. Pressure On The Brain

The Bad:

Final Score: 9.0

Both discs make for great listens. As for which one is the better of the two, I would say this one but only by the slightest margin. The lack of interludes just makes for a much more focused listen straight through and Kool G Rap’s guest feature is much appreciated. I would buy this double cd set as soon as I can since your getting two great albums for the price of one.

Freddie Foxxx is one of those rappers who nobody really hears about, and yet could probably seriously fuck up your favorite rapper both lyrically and physically. He’s a veteran rapper who just hasn’t really earned the legendary status of colleagues such as Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. I for one blame that on his lack of a good ol’ classic album under his belt. His best album was undeniably Industry Shakedown, and while that album was great, to call it classic would be reaching quite a bit. But now, with the release of his long lost 1994 album, Crazy Like A Foxxx, we can see if hip hop history would’ve been changed if it had been released at its proper time. Had it seen its original release date, would the world have regarded Foxxx as a GOAT, or would it have made no difference whatsoever? (Speaking of altered histories, most people don’t know that Freddie Foxxx was originally supposed to be Eric B’s partner instead of Rakim. How different would hip hop be if the world had never received Paid In Full? Just something to think about)

Since the reissue has 2 discs, with each being somewhat separate albums, I’ll review both separately today and tomorrow.

Disc One: Jail House Version

The Good:

1. Can’t Break Away - Listening to this first track makes me feel weird about billing this as a “new album.” This has 90s NY rap written all over it and it’s nostalgic as fuck.

4. So Tough - Great beats, great rhymes and no dance move gimmicks. What more could one ask for in a hip hop track?

5. Daddy Boot Knock

6. Project Mice - I would never call Freddie Foxxx the greatest story teller in all of hip hop, but he’s good enough and with the help of the ominous beat, it makes for a pretty good track.

7. Jailhouse Rock

8. Killer (ft Tupac) - Great track featuring a surprising feature by West Coast’s Tupac (RIP). I never realized it before, but Foxxx actually does remind me a lot of Pac sometimes as far as voice and flow goes.

9. Meet Some Skins

13. Funk In Your Brain - A track like this is going to have a hard time finding an audience in today’s hip hop world but as we all know, popularity has almost nothing to do with overall quality these days anyway.

14. Step (ft Chuck D)

16. Pressure On The Brain

18. Rev Glock - You know that one episode of The Boondocks, when Gangstalicious is telling Riley about his nightmares of Ice Cube? That actually just about sums up what I think about Freddie Foxxx.

19. Crazy Like A Foxxx (alternate mix) - This version is far superior to the Ultramagnetic Dis version found earlier on this disc.

20. Amen

The Solid:

2. Crazy Like A Foxxx (Ultramagnetic Dis) - As far as dis tracks go, it’s pretty average.

3. Interlude

10. Interlude

11. Shotty In The Back

12. Interlude - What the hell is it with all these interludes. They’re not horrible or anything but I’m not for interludes and skits that add nothing to the overall listen.

17. Rev. Glock Skit - Same as above. Just a dressed up interlude.

The Bad:

15. Do What You Gotta Do - No one element here is actually bad in any way but for some reason I can’t seem to get into this track. Doesn’t help that it’s pretty long as well.

Final Score: 9.0

The overall sound really brings you back to the mid 90s, and it sure is great to hear “new” material that sounds like this. Crazy Like a Foxxx is a bit more consistent than Industry Shakedown was and is probably the better album (although RNS kicks the living crap out of any one track on this). However, the number of skits do drag the album down some and most fans of today’s music might have trouble getting into the vibe (what with the outdated beats and actual fucking lyrics). I also don’t think it would’ve placed Foxxx on the legend pedastal even if it had seen a proper release. As for those who feel compelled to argue I can only say this. Illmatic, Ready To Die, Word…Life, and The Sun Rises In The East. I rest my case. Come back tomorrow for the review of Disc 2, The DITC version.

Random Shit 1.

So the other day I was searching up Illmatic on amazon.com to see if there the 10th anniversary edition was being sold at a reasonable enough price to pick up. While scrolling through, I chanced upon this.

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Use-Mics-Reading-Illmatic/dp/0465002110

It’s a book slated for an early 2009 release, and lo and behold, it’s about the greatest rap album ever committed to wax, Illmatic. Books about rap are usually not the greatest reads in the world, but this one looks as if it’s shaping up to be an exception. In the description it’s written that the “brightest minds” were brought together to reflect upon this masterpiece, so as long as they weren’t greatly exagerrating there, I think we’re good. If I hear anything more about this, I’ll update you guys on it, but in the meantime, I just thought people should know.

Random Shit 2.

If you’ve read my Reks review a couple of days ago, and had listened to it in that timespan, you would’ve heard Termanlogy rip it up on two tracks. Even if you haven’t heard Grey Hairs yet, underground hip hop fans have probably heard of the name for a good minute now, and may have heard his Hood Politics mixtapes. Recently, I received a track via email that’s supposed to be off of Term’s Politics As Usual LP, due this Sept 30th. It’s produced by DJ Premier and features one of the greatest from the south, UGK’s Bun B. Check it out.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=Smp2S3hiTERFd2MwTVE9PQ

In my writeup of Skillz’ The Million Dollar Backpack, I wrote that I would provide you with a link to his end of year rap ups. As most of you who have heard of Skillz before know, rap ups are a little thing he does at the end of each year to, well, wrap it up. They’re actually highly enjoyable, and I look forward to it every year. Give it a listen and feel the nostalgia.

http://rapidshare.com/files/132941243/Rap_Up.zip.html

The second mixtape I’m gonna share with you guys today is a mixtape by Charles Hamilton, a rapper who apparently also likes going by the name Sonic The Hedgehog. I would’ve normally skipped checking this out, as it was by a rapper whom I’ve not heard much from before, but it’s hosted by none other than evil genius Green Lantern and managed to capture my interest. I’ve yet to listen to the whole thing, but what I’ve heard was not bad at all. Check it out and see for yourself what you think.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=Smp0ckhRYTIwMEZjR0E9PQ

Before I continue, just thought I’d let you know. I added two new pages at the top of the site. The first is just a compilation of best of lists that I’ll do and the second is a timeline of soon to come albums. Just for your convenience.

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t exactly know too much about this guy other than that he was inspired to rap by listening to Ice Cube, KRS One, and Slick Rick (got that from his Myspace), an eclectic group to have affecting your style. So why did I even bother hunting this album down to review it for all of you? Simply put, his 2001 album, Along Came The Chosen, was and is a pretty great album. And now, in 2008 I’m willing to review an album by a rapper about whom I know next to nothing, based on that. Shit, I don’t go blind into albums much, so here’s to hoping for the best.

The Good:

1. Grey Hairs - Anytime a rap album decides to skip the intro and jump straight into an actual song is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. When the song in question is actually pretty good, it’s the most beatifulest thing in the world.

2. The One - The beat fails the track just a bit, but overall it’s an enjoyable song.

3. Say Goodnight - I’m led to believe this is the first single off the album. At least, that’s what I think upon hearing that this track was produced by none other than Primo (all these underground cats heavily advertise any of their shit thats been touched in some way by this man). The beat isn’t touching Premier’s 90’s greatest, but compared to some of the stuff he’s been putting out lately, it’s pretty good. Not to mention, Reks manages to rip it a new asshole or two.

4. How Can It Be

5. Stages - With underground rappers, the biggest problem is usually in the production (hell, even big names like Nas face this problem). That being said, I’m pleasantly surprised at the quality of the beats so far.

6. All In One (5 Mics) (ft Lil Fame) - Basically, they do their best Pac, BIG, Big Pun, and Big L (why do all these dead rappers have the word big in their name?) impersonations and it makes for a pretty darn interesting track. All the impersonations are pretty on the money, with the exception of BIG’s, which could’ve been done a little better.

7. Next 2 Me

9. Black Cream (ft Big Shug) - This actually wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Nas’ Untitled album. Hope that gives you some idea of what to expect with this one.

11. Rise

12. Telescopes (ft John Hope and Lucky Dice) - The piano sample makes for a nice backdrop to a great song. I even love the hook on this despite its being a sung one.

13. Day 2

14. Premonition (ft Termanology and Consequence) - With Termanology and ‘quence on the feature, I was expecting something hard hitting, and in your face. What I got was the complete opposite, but I’m not disappointed in any way.

16. Cry Baby

17. Long While - I’m not sure I’m completely on board with what they did with the beat on this one but in the long run, I don’t think I care if I am or not.

18. Big Dreamers (Lawtown Remix) (ft Termanology and Krumbsnatcha)

19. Isiah - A pretty damn near perfect marriage of rhymes and beat. It’s not that either one is necessarily the best I’ve heard, but they match each other in such a way, it’s better to just listen to it.

20. Hidden Bonus Track - I’m a sucker for Jay-Z vocal samples. Somehow or another, I think they add flavor to even the blandest of tracks. Not that this track needs the Jay sample in the beginning to be hot, it’s a sick track in it’s own right.

The Solid:

8. Money On The Ave (ft Skyzoo) - I never understood the hype surrounding Skyzoo and thought he was average at best. This track doesn’t do much to convince me otherwise.

10. Love Sweet Misery - I could care less for the beat, but the lyrics on this hit the heart. All in all, I’m very conflicted on where to place this track.

15. My Life (ft Paula Campell)

The Bad:

Final Score: 9.5/9.0

Quite possibly the best album I’ve heard all year. I’m being 100% serious too. This just may be this year’s Below The Heavens. Reks has improved his rap since Along Came The Chosen, and he’s managed to somehow garner a bunch of great beats to match. It may be a bit too early to be talking about best ofs, but this album is a strong contender. Besides, Blu and Exile dropped in mid July last year as well, and I knew almost right away that that shit was something different.

O and let me link you guys to a couple of bonus tracks that are going around the internet.

http://rapidshare.com/files/131729802/Reks-Grey_Hairs__Bonus_Tracks_-2008.rar

Skillz is a rapper that many people now know more for his end of the year Rap Ups than anything (or that video of him at Best Buy handing out free copies of Rising Down). Honestly, who here has a copy of his debut album? Well, I do, but then again, that doesn’t really count. Anyways, if you’ve been listening to his rap ups for the past couple of years, you might’ve thought to yourself that you should pick up an actual album by him as soon as possible only to discover that his debut album is now out of print and that his sophomore Confessions of A Ghostwriter isn’t really worth it. Well now your prayers have been answered, and Skillz has finally dropped his long awaited new full length. In actuality, even if you hadn’t been praying for a new Skillz album, you should be interested because the man is a pretty damn good rapper. Let’s see how this one holds up to his last two.

The Good:

1. The Million Dollar Backpack Intro - Maybe it’s because it’s produced by Jazzy Jeff, but this intro is a head above your average rap intro. The muffled voice effect could’ve been done without though.

2. Where I Been

3. Don’t Act Like You Don’t Know (ft Freeway) - I think Freeway is a very underrated rapper due to his affiliation with Rocafella Records, which isn’t exactly famous for producing any real lyrical emcees. As such Free and Skillz have a pretty good chemistry together and it makes for a great song.

4. So Far So Good (ft Common) - If you’ve been a fan of Skillz before today, no doubt you’ve been bumping this song since it leaked months ago. It’s a good listen even if Common doesn’t sound very inspired in some parts.

8. Yea Ya Know It

9. Hold Tight (ft Black Thought) - Great freaking track. Seriously, just Skillz alone on this track would’ve been enough for me to like this. Black Thought’s appearance raises its status to greatness. With all the mutual friendship between Skillz and the Roots, I wonder how long why he’s never been featured on a Roots album?

13. Hip Hop Died - Despite the track name, Skillz is not arguing that point at all and instead makes a case for how hip hop’s been exploited and raped for profit, but it’s still around as long as there are emcees who are around to fight that. It’s a nice track and for the record, hip hop ISN’T dead.

14. Preachin To The Choir

The Solid:

7. My Phone - It’s a decent track, but I can’t really see myself listening to it again and again. Still, you shouldn’t skip it the first time around.

11. I’m Gon’ Make It

12. Be Alright

The Bad:

5. Sick - Skillz comes off nice enough, but the beat is horrible. I’m not one that asks for overproduced glitter, and I love simple beats as much as the next man, but this is just bad.

6. (For Real) He Don’t Own Me - The beaten to death “I like you, you like me, but we can’t be together because of your man” track. It’s whatever and to be completely honest, I actually liked Nelly and Kelly Rowland’s Dilemma better. Shit, there goes all my blog credibility, I guess huh?

10. Crazy World

Final Score: 8.5/8.0

It’s a pretty good album, but honestly I’m a bit disappointed. Skillz’ lyrical skills (no pun intended..really I just couldn’t think of another word) haven’t fallen off one bit and actually they’ve gotten a bit better (no more sounding like a southern Big L clone) , but he does seem to suffer from the dreaded Ras Kass syndrome as far as beats go. His debut album was littered with solid beats by the likes of Large Professor and Jay Dee, and as such the beats here just fall flat. Still, there are enough good tracks on here to warrant a purchase, or at the very least, your time.

I decided to change my scoring system a bit to factor in the goodness of the good tracks and the badness of the bad tracks. So I went back to my previous entries and fixed the ratings as to have them all on the same standard.

Jean Grae and 9th Wonder - Jeanius: 8.5/8.0
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill: 9.0/8.5
Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock: 9.0
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III: 7.0
Little Brother - And Justice For All: 8.5/8.0
N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds: 8.0
KRS One - Maximum Strength: 7.5
Craig G and Marley Marl - Operation Take Back Hip Hop: 8.0
Run DMC - Raising Hell: 9.5/9.0
Eric B and Rakim - Paid In Full: 10.0/9.5
Vast Aire - Deuces Wild: 8.0
Immortal Technique - The Third World: 9.0/8.5
Three 6 Mafia - Last 2 Walk: 7.5/7.0
G-Unit - Terminate On Sight: 7.0/6.5
Common Market - Common Market: 9.0
Gorillaz - Demon Days: 9.5
Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded: 10.0
Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II: 8.5/8.0
Mc Shan - Down By Law: 9.0/8.5
The Roots - Game Theory: 9.5/9.0
Kanye West - College Theory: 9.0
Pharoahe Monch - Internal Affairs: 9.5/9.0
Nas - Untitled: 9.0
Pete Philly and Perquisite - Mind State: 9.0/8.5
Kong - Shackles Off: 8.5
Opio - Vultures Wisdom Vol 1: 8.5
Murs and 9th Wonder - Murs 3:16: 9.0
Fakts One - Long Range: 9.0/8.5
Murs and 9th Wonder - Sweet Lord: 8.5

So…I know in yesterday’s entry I promised the review of the Million Dollar Backpack. Well, I guess I have to eat those words, because Christmas has come upon us in the middle of July. A couple of entries ago, I mentioned that 9th and Murs would be giving us their new (although I have heard that this album was actually recorded some time ago) album entirely for free. Well, I had no idea how soon that release date was gonna be. Less than a week from that entry, here it is. No wait…

http://www.mursand9thwonder.com/download.html

There it is. So…how does it hold up to the duo’s past contributions? Here’s a quick breakdown.

The Good:

1. The Intro - Murs and 9th Wonder albums have the greatest intros, and this is no exception. Murs hasn’t fallen off at all since Murray’s Revenge and the first 9th beat is a winner. Great start.

4. Give Us Free - Other than the monotonous chanting of I’m Free on the hook, it’s a sick track.

5. And I Love It

8. Marry Me - A very nice track for the ladies. Usually tracks like this come off as pretty damn corny, but Murs pulls it off. Doesn’t hurt that the beat is alright as well.

9. Love The Way (ft Tyler Woods) - A lot of tracks for the girls on this album. I’m not always a fan of these, especially when there’s an R&B hook coming along with it, but I’ll have to make an exception here.

10. On The Smooth Tip (Murs Inatra) - It sounds like a continuation of the intro and ties the whole album together very nicely. I do wish there was more actual rapping though, since about half the track is taken up by Murs’ talking.

The Solid:

2. Are You Ready - It’s usually a bad thing when the first actual song is worse than the intro. However, the intro was pretty freaking damn good, so I guess I can understand. I just don’t care much for the singing and the beat.

7. It’s For Real

3. Nina Ross - Almost comes off as Freak These Tales pt II, but a lot more PG.

6. Push - I actually hated this track on first listen, but with repeated exposure, this shit kinda grows on you.

The Bad:

Final Score: 8.5/8.0

Just like the two albums before it, it’s a really short album. That of course means that with the short number of tracks, you gotta hit and hit hard. Sweet Lord, while overall a good album, lacks the knockout great tracks that its predecessors had an abundance of. The Intro is actually my favorite track on this whole album, which actually is more of a testament to the greatness of the intro than a complaint about the rest of the tracks. Like I said, it’s a great album, and that it isn’t as great as Murs 3:16 and Murray’s Revenge shouldn’t defer you from listening to this at all. Besides, it’s free!

And more…

Just some old news I chanced upon in hiphopdx. In the years that hip hop has been around, certain albums have come around that managed to reach legendary status without even being released. Legendary for the number of delays it has faced in coming out, and with those delays has come hype beyond no other. It seems that we may actually see the release of two of these legendary rumors before the year is up. Dr. Dre’s long awaited Detox is now slated for a tentative November/December release that has been confirmed by the good doctor himself. The second of these, is Rakim’s Seventh Seal, which was rumored to have come out last July, 7th (7/7/07). Of course as we all know, that date passed, and we had no new Rakim. However, Rakim has confirmed a fall release date, so if we’re lucky, we may get ourselves a dose of the god MC before the year is up.

Yeah, you know what this means. I’m gonna be a bit too busy today to do an album review, but tomorrow I promise you the review of Skillz’ newest, The Million Dollar Backpack. That should be a good time, but for now, all I got for you are some videos of a couple of my favorites. Some of you guys probably prefer watching videos and learning more about the culture than reading my album reviews anyways, so enjoy today’s light entry.

Before ANYTHING, just thought I’d let my few readers know. Madvillainy 2 is up for digital download via StoneThrow’s website. Despite the friggin misleading name, it’s not the sequel that fans have been patiently waiting for since the first one rocked the shit out of our world. According to Stonethrow Records, the official second album is coming, but in the meantime, Madlib couldn’t wait, so he decided to remix the first album and put it out there. You know what this means. It’s all fucking MF Doom’s fault that this is taking so damn long. Him and Del should seriously be nominated for the “takes forever to get to recording promised albums” award. Anyways, I haven’t had the chance to give it a listen yet, but if it’s anywhere near the first, it’s gonna be a great album. Besides, Madlib rarely disappoints.

http://www.stonesthrow.com/

And now, on to other things.

First up is my one of my favorite breakers, Ronnie. Dude has never failed to place in the top three of the Red Bull BC One, and actually took first place last year. Here’s the video of the 2007 finals in which Ronnie, representing the US, beat fellow US breaker Roxrite for first place.

Alright, next up we got Kid Koala, the DJ behind the boards of the critically acclaimed supergroup Deltron 3030. If you’ve never listened to solo DJ albums, Kid Koala is a great place to start. His music somehow lets the listener know just how much damn fun he had making his records and that makes it that much more enjoyable. Here’s a video of Kid Koala doing a sort of Drunk Trumpet II in which he pretty much plays the trumpet with his turntable. Enjoy

So as I said in an entry about a month ago, Fakts One’s Long Range is technically not a new album, but a long lost, never released one ala Jean Grae’s Jeanius. For those who don’t know, DJ Fakts One is a member of the Perceptionists, along with rappers Mr. Lif and Akrobatik. Strangely enough, I was never a fan of Mr. Lif, but Akrobatik and the production by Fakts One helped me to appreciate their debut effort, Black Dialogue. Shortly after their debut was released in 2005, Fakts One’s solo effort was supposed to see the day of light. However, due to unknown reasons, this never happened. Until today that is. A couple of months ago, fellow groupmate Akrobatik released an absolutely great album to loads of blog acclaim. So how will Fakts One’s solo hold up? Will it be disappointing after the long ass wait we’ve been put through? God I hope not.

The Good:

1. Ridin’ Dirty - Don’t worry, it’s not that ridiculous Chamillionare song. It’s the intro to this album, and I’ve put it under the good section, because I happen to enjoy the simple beauty of scratching over drums.

2. Grown Folks (ft. Little Brother) - I put this track up as a promotional leak for you guys a while ago. The song was great then, and it still rocks today. Little Brother over great production = win every single time.

5. Born For This (ft Chan) - I actually got to see this dude at my school a couple of years ago. He just may be the only Asian rapper not named Kero One that I think has actual potential. He’s at least miles ahead of a certain other Asian rapper who released a ridiculous single about learning Chinese a while back.

6. Don’t Stop (ft Boot Camp Clik) - I thought that there was no way this track would meet my unreasonably high expectations for it, but somehow someway it did. Hip Hop needs another solid BCC group album. In the meantime, I guess we’ll make do with Jesus Price Superstar and The Formula. Although I do hear that there’s another Heltah Skeltah album in the make.

7. The Showstarter (ft The Perceptionists) - AK and Mr Lif spit nicely over a beat that somehow works despite being chaotic as hell. Nice to see Fakts One working with his bandmates again. Would be nicer if we could see a new full length release by these guys soon.

8. Audiovisual (ft J-Live) - J-Live deserves a whole lot more attention than he gets. Dude has never released a wack album, and he does the job right on this track.

10. Set The Mood (ft Grayskul)

13. Longevity (ft Rasco, Planet Asia and Da Mayor)

14. The Showstarter (Walkman Remix) (ft The Perceptionists) - A very nice end to the album. I highly prefer it when the last track on the album is an actual track, and not some really long, often boring outro.

The Solid:

3. Life Music (ft Rocklyn and Maya Azucena) - Long Range provides a wide range of guest artists, ranging from veteran rappers, to underground rappers, to way deep deep down underground artists whom I’ve never even heard of before. Rocklyn falls into the third category for me, and this track doesn’t do much to make me want to hear more. It’s decent enough to listen to once or twice through though.

4. OK (ft Kingsyze and Outerspace)

9. U From The Q (ft Universal)

12. Selfish (Akrobatik and Iyadonna) - The song is actually pretty good. It does feel a bit long though, and starts to get a boring towards the middle.

The Bad:

11. Moments Later (ft Tajai) - The beat sounds like a it’s straight off a really bad 8-bit video game soundtrack, and Tajai’s guest appearance is pretty damn disappointing.

Final Score: 9.0/8.5

When all is said and done, we’re left with a very well made album by Fakts One. Was it worth the wait? Maybe. It isn’t anything mindblowing, but it is entertaining enough to warrant a bit of heavy rotation for a little while after you get it. As for how it holds up to Akrobatik’s Shock Value, I think it’s too close to call. Both albums are great, and both deserved to be picked up by readers like you.