Papoose Talks on Remy Ma's Jail Term

Rapper, Papoose, gave his take on his wife's jail term, and what they are together doing about it. If you didn't know, Papoose, and Remy Ma (former terror squad rapper), got married some 2 years ago or so.

The story below courtesy of hiphopdx.com:
It was announced on Thursday (February 24) that rapper Remy Ma's appeal to overturn her 2008 convictions on assault, weapons possession, and coercion charges was rejected.

Accordingly, her husband, Brooklyn emcee Papoose, had insight to Remy's state of mind, and was able to give his own take on the matter as well.

“She wasn’t happy about it, but she understands the situation that she’s in,” he said in an interview with XXLmag.com. “Mentally she’s free, her mind is right. She’s a strong person [and] she’s got strong family around her so she gonna be alright. We just gotta continue to fight.”

Papoose indicated some hope, as two of the seven judges ruled in her favor, including the chief judge. “That’s definitely a good sign that somebody is definitely seeing the truth of what’ really going on here, which is the fact that she’s innocent,” he added.

If no other channels can be taken to reduce Remy's sentence, she will remain in prison until 2016.


I wish both of them all the strength they need, because, seriously, it can be heart wrenching for your freedom to be taken away from you. 

Lil Kim Releases Diss Documentary Aimed at Nicki Minaj

I just got off youtube.com to watch the documentary, it is titled "carbon copy"...you can follow this link to watch it- carbon copy. Okay, back to the subject, i must say that i am a big lil kim fan, i think she is the best and most consistent female rapper ever. I respect mc light and the other pioneers, but you see that i put "consistence" in my defining kim- i am a Man, but i got all her albums, and i loved all she features she did with her male counterparts in the industry back in the day, she has always held it down, in my own opinion. I would also like to say that i think Nicki Minaj is dope, and for a second there, i thought kim should just chill, but until i watched this video, i didn't understand what kim had been saying all this while. I think you need to watch it before you go on reading- carbon copy.

I remember when people were complaining about GAME going to hard at G-Unit, but the fact is that the man that has the lower advantage should fight the hardest in any battle. People are scooping up anything nicki drop right now, and they would not take anything kim drops as a fact, so she has to go the extra mile. And you have to understand that Nicki Minaj dissed her first...even before Roman's Revenge.

If you look at nicki's pictures (start with the one i put up) and kim's from back in the day, and the whole Barbie movement, you would know she is a huge lil kim fan. I mean a stan.  Don't get me wrong, that does not take away from her talent, but i am just saying.

Yeah, you can watch the video to black friday hereblack friday official video. Thst id the diss track to nicki.

Whatever, i do not like negativity, but i like the creativity it brings out of people, so let us see what happens after this.

Just Blaze Names His Top 5 Dead or Alive Rappers

I just went through the list from hiphopdx.com, and i must say i am surprised. It is either he is very different from what i thought or he is just trying to name names people do not usually name.
Anyway, read his list and tell me what you feel.


Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys has to be in my Top 5, as a group. And you gotta remember, one thing about the Beastie Boys is that none of them ever really had "verses". Everything was them playing off of each other. They write collectively. It wasn't like, "I'm gonna write my verse and then you're gonna write your verse." You can't break them up. They deserve a spot on my list. So I'm gonna have to say that's one.

Prodigy

I would have to go with '95 Prodigy. I loved everything about him back then. There was a point where he was the best out, in my opinion. You think back to how many great opening lines Prodigy's had in songs. From "Shook Ones" to "Survival of the Fittest" to "Godfather Part III" to "Quiet Storm", he was the maestro to the opening line. So I would definitely put mid-1990's Prodigy on the list.

The D.O.C.

D.O.C.'s gotta be in there. You gotta remember with him, there really wasn't a West Coast vibe around his era. He was from Texas [and] formed a group with artists who were from the West Coast, but his album just felt more universal. I think what we consider these days as the "West Coast" sound was more so like the G-Funk era. Up until that point, everything that for the most part was coming out in terms of hip-hop was still different spins on it. It was like the East Coast sound was more rhymes and imitation and then D.O.C. kind of came out of nowhere, relatively unknown, from Houston, rapping the way he [did]. He's definitely one of the greats. He put out one album and that one album still stands the test of time even to this day.

Brother J

I've gotta keep it to what I listened to growing up and so I have to name Brother J from X-Clan. If you listen to a lot of those old X-Clan albums, they specialized in just jacking everybody else's beats and rhyming on 'em. So listening to an X-Clan album felt almost like you were at a house party. It sounded like somebody was just on the mic freestyling. His rhythm, his flow, his vocal presence, the knowledge he was kicking, all those factors are important. At the time, a lot of people were trying to kick knowledge but not too many could do it like him. Whatever you listen to at 12, 13 years old, it always sticks with you for the rest of your life. Even though he was rapping over everybody else's beats, his rhyme, his cadence, his flow, his rhyme patterns and just what he was saying in general, it's always stuck to me over the years. I can still go back to those first two albums.

Chuck D

My last pick would probably be Chuck D. Public Enemy's concept and pride in black nationalism at the time was important. It was such a movement more so than anything else. He might not have had the best rhymes or flow, but his voice and his presence made you stop and listen. His voice was one of the few that actually had the ability to control the people.

What do you think of Just Blaze's list?

Rap Albums on The Billboard Charts

Recovery is back up the charts this week, probably because of Eminem's wins at the recently concluded Grammy Awards. The album sold 61,000 this week, making it the highest selling rap album on the billboard charts for the week. Recovery has sold a total of 3,634,000 copies, on its way to 4 million sold- and that is in the U.S alone.

Pink Friday from Nicki Minaj is up next with 46,000 copies sold this week. Nicki's debut album, which she promotes heavily on twitter, has sold a total of 1,127,000 copies till date.

Lil Wayne is still selling copies off his EP, I Am Not A Human Being, which was first released for digital sales only,-the physical copies became available several weeks later. The EP sold 21,000 copies, and it is now at a total of 770,000 copies so far. That is not bad for a EP- I think he needs to drop Carter4 a.s.a.p.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the 5th studio album from Kanye West, sold 17k copies this week, and the total is now at 1,032,000 copies. T.I's NO MERCY album sold 15k this week, which brings the total to 440,000 copies so far. Saigon's GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD sold 11,000 copies in its first week in stores. From what i have heard, the album is nothing short of classic material, little wonder why it sold so little.

Lloyd Banks Talks About the Art of Making a Real Rap Album

Lloyd Banks recently shared his opinion on how albums are being made now- how artists just focus on making one hit, and then hope that one hit sells the whole album, which would just basically have album fillers all round. I think that is what hiphop got to in the last couple of years, but i think it has gradually made a turn around for the better in the last 28months or so. In fact, i could not believe Raekown's Only Built For Cuban Linx2 would sell that  much.

Read below on what he said.
"The game turned into a singles game where you just drop your single and make a dance to it and go. But then you have artists like myself who can put together a whole album to where 1-14 tracks on the record will have a different feel. One record might be towards the females, one is about my neighborhood, one is a concept record, then you have a weed record, a drunk record, you got an in love record, and you got a fuck a girl record. It has to be every kind of thing in order to make it a classic." (The Well Versed)
"Sometimes people get out of reality and they want to just party and wear skinny jeans like you said or whatever it is. But I think everything comes back around full circle in due time and I think that everybody has their movement. So the same way people may get exhausted with gangsta rap or party music -- it's up to artists like myself and Jay-Z, Eminem, Raekwon, 50 Cent and artists like that who put together great albums and every song is different that makes people respect the album." (The Well Versed)

Saigon and Joe Budden Name Top Five Dead or Alive

Recently, sohh.com, put up a list from both Joe budden and saigon's top 5 dead or alive emcee's and i decided to put it up. There are some surprises...just read.

Joe Buddens pick
Ice Cube is a pioneer. I grew up [on] Ice Cube as well as N.W.A. They were the trend for gangster rap along with Ice-T. He made incredible records and he was just great. He made great music over such a long period of time. 
Saigon's pick
I put Grand Puba in the Top 5 list because he's a trend-setter. He's set a lot of trends for the fashion, Tommy Hilfiger. He's got classic records, he's got conscious records, he's got party records. He helped bring Mary J. Blige out with What's The 411? and all of that. He was in a legendary group, went solo and had a successful career. He's just one of the most influential guys out there.
Joe Budden's pick
I think Andre 3000's creative mind is unparalleled. He's one of the most lyrical guys to ever pick up a microphone. What else can I say? He's one of hip-hop's pioneers. 
Saigon's pick
I put Busta Rhymes in here as well because he transcends so many generations. He's got classic verses and classic albums. He kind of revolutionized the music video game with how he would do videos and putting all those characters in it. Missy Elliott's whole look came from Busta. What she was doing in her videos, it was inspired by Busta. I think he's just one of the best lyricists, one of the best performers, so he's in there.
Joe Budden's pick
Black Thought's just a monster. He's also a hip-hop pioneer. Black Thought is an artist who's been able to just rock with a live band for seventeen years or however long he's been doing it. It's amazing to me. 
Saigon's pick
LL Cool J is another one. He's a guy who transcends mad generations. He was a teenager with some of the illest battles. He also shut down a lot of careers; that's a good thing, it's a part of hip-hop. He was one of the first artists that was killing careers as far as on the battle scene. He had the ladies, he had the hardcore hip-hop fans loving him with "I'm Bad" and "Mama Said Knock You Out." You just can't keep him down. You know he's always going to come with a hot record to kill it. He's a dope artist and he had a h*ll of a run. You gotta give him his props. Over 20 years in this game is long. Most artists' careers don't last three albums.
Joe budden's pick
Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R." When I first heard that record, it was just mind-blowing, ground-breaking to me. It was a record that always stayed with me. Definitely one of my Top 5 favorite hip-hop records of all-time. He's a lyrical monster. 
Saigon's pick
First of all, with Ice Cube, he was one of the first writers of the whole N.W.A. He was writing all of Eazy-E's sh*t, he was writing his own sh*t, writing Dr. Dre's sh*t. And he was young, like 17-years-old putting it down like that. And then he left a very successful group in their prime and went ahead and had a very successful solo career. Aside from the acting, he put out solid albums. That Amerikkka's Most Wanted is a classic. Most artists can't get one classic off, this dude has four or five classic records. He pretty much brought gangster rap to the forefront along with N.W.A. but he was the lead vocalist in that group. So you gotta give his props.
Joe Budden's pick
[Jada]Kiss is just a beast. He's just a beast and that's point, blank, period. He gets in my Top 5 list without a doubt. 
Saigon's pick
People don't give Fat Joe his respect. He might not be the most lyrical but for him to keep creating himself for 15 years, being relevant, that's not an easy thing to do. He's always been able to have a song working and a look. He did bring out Big Pun and he did a lot of big things.

The surprise? Fat joe. I didn't believe anyone would pick fat joe- i am happy though that he is getting some respect, a lot of people overlook the great works he puts together in his album, and just judge by the commercial singles they hear on radio. I have been a fan of his since i heard LOYALTY, and i went back and bought the albums before that, and have not missed buying any of his albums since then. This brother started rapping in 1991, that is 20 straight years ago...20 long years ago, and for him to still be heard on radio is an achievement on its on. I have always respected joe cos i know he does it for the love.

The other surprise is that Jay-z is missing from saigon's list. I read an article on allhiphop.com where he talked about that jay was his ultimate number one best rapper, so i am surprised...

Other than this two surprises, i know there are a lot of surprising names that are up in their lists. 

Lil Kim Talks About Record Label Status

I can remember Lil Kim being on Atlantic records for as long as i have known her, but she recently comfirmed that she has been off the label since she got back from prison in 2005; basically meaning she has been independent all this while. So, the video of Black Friday and the other things she has been doing to promote her brand is all her, no company putting in any form of money. Hmm! I think she is really hustling- i think i respect any female that has that kind of hustling energy.

Anyway, below is what she had to say;
"What people don't even understand is that I've been independent for a long time now. I've been independent for about 5 years now. As soon as I came out of prison the Atlantic situation was basically done. I was on my own for a long time. Atlantic haven't helped me with anything in about 7 or 8 years so they have absolutely nothing to do with my music career at all. Period. Everything you see me do I use my own money to do it; I've been my own boss. The other girll, she may answer to her own boss but 'I am' my own boss. She probably gets checks cut to her but I cut my own checks." (That Grape Juice)

She also talked about whether or not she would opt for joining any Major label-
"I definitely wouldn't go in to the same type of situation I just came out of. No no no! I fought long and hard to just to get out the last situation with my record company so I would never go into the same situation. It would definitely still be independent but I'm defiantly open to doing partnership with other record companies." (That Grape Juice)

Rick Ross's Maybach Muisc moves to Warner Music

Rick Ross just moved his Maybach Music label over to Warner Music from Defdjam. I think things are looking good for the boss; plus the fact that he just signed WALE to the label.
Below is more on the information-
Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group has found a place to park. After meeting with various labels, the Miami rapper has signed a deal to bring his roster of talent to Warner Bros. Records. "Its official!!!!!! @maybachmusicgrp has partnered with Warner Bros!!!!!!!!!!!s/o Lyor Cohen..Tod..Joey I.e..dallas..and mybrother GucciPucci," tweeted the Bawse in the early hours of Saturday. "Deal of the CENTURY!!!!!!!!!!!!! #MMG #WB." While details have yet to be announced, the deal is expected to include distribution, marketing, and promotion for artists Ross signs to his imprint. (Rap-Up)

He also talked about signing Wale-
"[Signing Wale and Meek Mill], it just solidifies we're one of the fastest-growing labels in hip-hop...I mean, it is what it is," Ross said in response to the bidding war for his Maybach Music Group. "Right now we're on fire. We making, and it's not just a temporary thing, but we're making the best music, man. And we make all ranges of music. I think the industry's just understanding that. So it's not just about Rick Ross and Maybach Music, it's our brand, it's our movement, it's the type of sound that we done brought to the game -- We getting paper, what else can I say?" (The Source)

Lil Kim's "Black Friday" Mixtape Sells 113, 000 in 28 hours

Yeah, according to Lil Kim via her twitter page, she says she has sold 113,000 copies of her latest mixtape, BLACK FRIDAY, which is aimed at Nicki Minaj. I guess it is going to contain a couple of more diss tracks aimed at Nicki, and have some other tracks, Anyway, she claims she sold 113k copies of the mixtape via paypal, at $9.99, so if she is right, she just made a million off a mixtape.

I would be happy for her if it was actually true, because a lot of peole online are doubting it, but i don't, asides from Kim being a very dope rapper, i guess the mixtape was bought by some nicki minaj hatters.

Below is what was on her twitter page:
Thanks to you guys!! #lilkimblackfridaymixtape sold 113,000 copies in 28 hours which made me the #1 seller on paypal ever =) !!! THANK U! RT
about 4 hours ago via web
Lil' Kim
LilKim

Sheek Louch Say's he is Fire Right Now

One third of The Lox, Sheek Louch, says he is fire right now- i think i believe that, and i like the fact that he is working on a lot of material. The only thing i do not like is how he does not work the album after he drops. I think, asides from his first album, WALK WITH ME, he didn't have singles after the first one wared out. That is one thing he got to understand- if you want to make money out of this music industry, it is not about talent alone, you gotta build a brand, and how you do that is by staying in the peoples' eye...by building a brand...drop single after single, video after video, until you become a household name. I think you at least need to drop 3 singles backed with hot videos every time you drop an album as an artist.

I wish him luck, because, i think he really got better after he dropped his solo project, and he has been getting better after that, he is no longer the weak link in the group. I can say i would pick him over styles p now- although, i love them all, and i love when they are all together in a song.

Below is what he had to say about himself-


Like before, all you would really hear is Jadakiss and Styles P before I started having to do what I had to do. And that's what made me go out and do my solo projects, so I've been proving and proving and proving what I'm about every time I drop something.

So it's like, I want people to be like, "Oh d*mn, all right. Here he comes with that 'Kiss Your A** Goodbye' and '2 Gunz Up.'" And then I come with something else, so I'm continuing to show that so it's like, I'm still swinging in here. And right now, people are starting to say, "Wow, that n*gga's nice."

Every time I do something I feel like it's big. I even take that approach with the mixtapes. I know they're listening and watching, especially the motherf*cking haters. They're just doing that to say something and nine out of ten are saying, "Yo, that sh*t is fire." And then they gotta go, "D*mn, you know what? You're right. It is kinda fire."

Game Talks About Nas's Reaction to "The Kill" and a Possible collaboration

One thing i know Game has accomplished that a lot of his contemporaries have not is the relationship he has with a lot of the Greats in the rap game (asides from Jay-Z). I mean, the dude has a song on his mixtape (purp and patron) where he features Dog E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, and K.R.S 1- the song is nothing short of classic. I guess it is this same quality that had him falling out with 5o cent, cos 50 wanted him to beef with Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Nas. Those are New York Rap legends- in fact, they are rap veterans, period! 50 might have all the money in the world, but he does not have that love from other rappers. I guess 50 is just in it for the money.

Anyway, back to the story. Last week, game talked about how nas hit him up with a text message propping him over the quality of his latest mixtape (purp and patron), with enphasis on The Kill. He said he hit Nas back, but nas didn't respond. Read about it below-
"You know Nas went through the whole Kelis thing, and he been going through some sh*t," Game explained in an interview. "He was staying low. Then he put the album out that he had with Damian Marley. He had to tour that. But, when I dropped the [Purp & Patron] tape, I got a f*cking text from a 917 number. I was like, 'Who the f*ck is this?' I open the text up, and all it says is 'N*gga. It's Esco. The tape is crazy son. 'The Kill' -- crazy son.' Then I replied to the n*gga like 'Yo yo yo yo.' Then the n*gga disappeared on me (laughs). He's like phantom my n*gga (laughs). He just came in to say that 'The Kill' and the tape was crazy, then that n*gga went on and away." (Baller Status)

He also talked about a possible collaboration between him and Nas on The R.E.D album.
"But I love him for sh*t like that man," Game added. "Then he hit me back the next day, and said he was getting on a plane that's why he ain't respond. Then he hit me back the next day and said he'd be in LA in a week. He said he was going to come and listen to all my songs, give me his whole input on the album, then find a song right for us, and he's going to do it. Hopefully that sees the light of day, because n**** this f***ing album [R.E.D. Album] is nothing short of a miracle man." (Baller Status)


They have always made beautiful music together, so, i do not expect anything short of another great track. Their first collaboration was on Nas's "hip hop is dead" album titled HUSTLERS (A Dre Dre produced track); the they did the "why you hate the game" track on game's DOCTOR'S ADVOCATE the same year (2006). Two years later, there was another collaboration on Nas's UNTITLED album, the track also featured CHRIS BROWN- and then, the same year, 2008, they appeared together on "letter to the king", on L.A.X. With all this tracks, it is enough reason for them to go into the studio again.

RZA Address's HEARTBEAT Song Issue With Game

A couple of days ago, after GAME released the Purp & Patron mixtape, RZA's camp were taking some legal actions against game for putting the Heartbeat song on the mixtape. Game hit twitter, and addressed the issue.
If you didn't know, i will bring the re-cap of it below-
"I think RZA [is] tryin' to sue about ['Heartbreaker'] or somethin'," confirmed Game in an interview. "That's f*ckin' crazy. Like, I don't even know how RZA sues The Game." From Game's understanding, the song was an agreement. "He came to the studio and brought the ['Heartbreaker'] track to me. He's like, 'Yo Game, this is for you. You can have that.' Those are his words." Game also maintains that RZA's company on that day, Rev. Burke, was invited to rhyme on the record. "His boy spit crazy. I [rapped after] him." (Hip Hop DX)

That was what game said about the issue last week. Below is what Rza twitted recently after it-
"Tired, and on this twitter to respond while I am in China working. I have nothing but love for Game.," RZA tweeted Monday (January 31). (RZA's Twitter)


And, from RZA's camp-
"This is Tam, [RZA's] assistant. The issue boils down to we wanted to get the song on the album that was coming out for Game at the time. We went to the studio that night and Game felt the track and it was all good. The issue came about when it did not make it to the album because there was not enough time to clear the track. We spoke with Tony Martin, who informed us that the track would not be used and if it was, we would be notified. Now, that being said, they put it on a mix tape and never said anything to us; and we got an offer to have the tracked purchased by someone else. So this is not anything personal, and RZA has nothing but love for Game, but this is business and in all fairness, it would have been cool if they would have just let us know what the intent was, because we began soliciting the track for purchase and its looks like this was a double sale issue when it wasn't." (Statement)

Okay, thank God that has been cleared, cos i couldn't really imagine real emcees beefing over issues like over a track.