m.i.a compares nas and jay-z

In a recent interview, "sri lankan" native singer, M.I.A, compares the musical success of legendary rappers "nas" and "jay-z". M.I.A brought up the fact that 10 years ago a lot of people were arguing on whos was better between jay and nas, and that a lot of people have forgotten about that now. She also said that because it happened that jay-z ended up a more successful artist don't necessarily mean that he is a better rapper than nas.

Below is what she had to say about the two legends:

M.I.A.: I think Kanye is trying to take it into a new realm and he’s sort of putting the artistry back into it and sort of taking it in that direction. I was having a conversation about Jay-Z and Nas and how it was really crazy how they were having this Nas vs. Jay-Z moment 10 years ago and no one really talks about it now.
Jay became the biggest representation of rap music who’s still alive, started dating Beyoncé—everything was so much bigger and better with Jay-Z. I hope people don’t think that that wins. The fact that Nas didn’t become all this sort of stuff changes people’s perception about the music and the work he achieved in his lifetime. I don’t wanna say Jay-Z sold out, but I just feel like we have to wait another 10 years to see what happens. Jay-Z’s ambition was to become like Frank Sinatra, a household name all over the planet, and own a casino in Vegas and stuff like that. And I think Nas was really sticking to knowledge. I still think the biggest point about hip-hop is in there somewhere, what happens to those two artists.

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 5/23/2010 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 5/23/2010 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales

Yeah, above is the link to the album sales for this week; as written by hiphopdx.com.

My man nas didn't do to well with the numbers, but the collabo album is great. You need to listen to the fusion of rap and reggae by nas and damian marley; it is classic. I know it is that album that pple would be talking about in about 5 years times.

Every other rap album on the chart are old ones; and i think ludacris is the only one doing good numbers. I listened to his latest album, "battle of the sexes" yesterday, and i can say it is great for start to end. I din't know what to expect with the concept and everything, but i was not disappointed one bit.

m.i and modenine beef

Like the cold war that went on between the east and western world a couple of decades ago, their has been something similar going on with m.i and modenine. Everybody recognised modenine as the best rapper in nigeria a couple of year ago; eventhough there was a lot of debate then who had the crown between he and rugged man, but the real rap enthusiast knew the crown was comfortably on mode's head. That is until the kid m.i showed up about two years ago, and turned things around.

M.I came on the seen around 2007, but started gaining a lot of buzz around 2008, and then he exploded last year, 2009. Since then, there has been a silent debate on who holds the crown for the king of rap in the country. Although mode is known to stay true to the art, rapping with no gimicks, m.i has the mass appeal with his unique style of rhyming. Apart from being a lyrical m.c, m.i also has a very catchy delivery to his raps.


For a while now there has been some sort of beef between m.i and modenine. I happen to have a friend in the entertainment world that gives me information, "classified", information on what is really going on when these artiste hang out outside the studio, and i heard that you would never catch m.i and modenine in the same room. And then my source told me that the song "somebody want's to die", was directed at modenine.

After i heard that, i started listening for any form of subliminal diss from either of them, untill i heard modenine's new single, "badman". On the third verse of the song, mode dropped the line, "you're just a generic version of lil wayne". I don't think you need anybody to tell you that line was meant for m.i. Just make time out to listen to m.i' especially that "safe" song, and tell me m is not biting off wayne's style. Unless you just want to be a blind fan, then you would agree that he stole wayne's style and swagger.

Anyway, i don't even need anydoy to tell me otherwise, because he said it himself on an interview on "top f.m". About a year ago, he came on "top fm" and during the course of the interview, he said he was listening to a lot of lil wayne before and during the recording of his album; "talk about it."

What i just want to know is who would win in a lyrical battle between m.i and modenine. I have to tell you i am on neither's side, because as much as i do agree that m.i is a generic version of lil wayne, mode is not so different, because modenine's whole style is built on dropping metarphors, and if you are a lil wayne fan, and lisen to his rap, then you know that is his big advantage.

I just need your opinions and comments on this one.

what's up with fat joe?

As i said before, and i would repeat, i am a fan of fat joe's music; and i don't care what people say about him. You can keep hating and saying he has been using "big pun's" rhyme book all this while; come on! Howmuch rhymes could pun have penned down? I laugh when i hear people say stuff like that about joe.

If you really want to feel the real fat joe, then go and listen to any of his albums, and not just the songs you hear on radio, and i guarantee that you would change the way you see him. But, i can't force you to like any rapper, you are entitled to your opinions.

Joe is currently about to drop his 10th album; like him or not, howmany rappers get to drop 10 albums, and whether you are talking positive or negative about him, at least he is still relevant enough to be in your discussion. And if you want to count success; he might not have sold millions and millions of copies of his albums; but he does have albums that have gone platinum, and a lot of singles that have sold in excess of 3 million copies, so you can't fault him.

And another reason why i would always be a fan of his music is because, no matter how commercial he might get, you would know that he is doing this rap thing for the love and nothing more.

He is about to release his 10TH album, THE DARKSIDE VOL 1, which will be dropping on june 29. Apart from the first single, "slow down: ha-ha", which features southern rapper, "young jeezy", he is dropping the follow up, "if it ain't about the money", on may 24th. The single is to feature r&b crooner, "trey songs".


WATCH OUT FOR THE DARKSIDE

JUNE 29TH

nas says there is no best rapper alive.

Yeah, i just read an article where nas says you can not really call any rapper the best or the greatest....
Below is what he had to say.

"There is no best or greatest MC. Should never happen, doesn't make sense," he said in a blog post. "It makes sense temporarily when you're striving to be number one. It makes sense for [the fans] to see that, but you have a long run to be the greatest. To me, people already felt like they were [the greatest] in more ways than they should have and I think that hurt them. There is no greatest of all time. We won't know that until we're 60 years old. I think there will be like four to five great ones at the end of the day, but there will be none that's greater than the other. Impossible...[Jay-Z] is the one that smacks everybody in the face that's out there and wanted to say what he wasn't and what he couldn't do. The challenge is that people always count you out and even when you have a hit record and put out a hit album, you're gonna have people dissing you. I think he's showing you: I won't be stopped ever. And that's motivation for everyone else." (VIBE)

justin beiber getting a B.E.T award

Fellows, i need to get your opinion on newcomer, "justin bieber", getting a B.E.T nomination. It is just weird to me; don't get me wrong, i bump his song all the time, but isn't B.E.T meant to mean BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELIVISION? The last time i checked, JUSTIN BIEBER was white. And the awards are meant to appreciate the black artist in the music industry...just my thoughts on the matter.


I would like to know what you guys feel though. I do bump the guy in my deck, but i am just wondering what criteria they considered before nominating him, or is in some form of gesture to slowly erase racism? Then B.E.T should no longer go by that name.

It's all good; one love, keep us together.

Lil Wayne - No Ceilings No Walls Pt. 3 | Download New Hip Hop Mixtapes & Rap Mixtapes

Lil Wayne - No Ceilings No Walls Pt. 3 | Download New Hip Hop Mixtapes & Rap Mixtapes

This is lil wayne's official new mixtape; i want you guys to listen and tell me what you feel. I am going to reserve my comments till i start getting comments from you. So start clicking; and start listening.

rap albums on the billboard charts

B.o.b is still on top, or the top seller for this week in the rap category on the billboard charts. His album, "the adventures of bobby ray", sold 28,000 copies this week, bringing the total of the album so far, after about a month on the charts to 148,000 copies sold.

Southern champion, "ludacris", is next up on the top rap sellers on the chart. Luda's album has been on the charts for a while now, and is slowly approaching gold status. I saw the video of the dj khaled song, "all i do is win", and luda's new video, "my chick bad", back to back today, and i must say, luda has still got it.
It is almust like he is a hungry rapper, the way he murders any rapper that is on the same song as him.
Luda sold 14k this week, bringing his total so far, for his "battle of the sexes" album to 405k; that is almost gold.

Bone thug-n-hamrmony's new album, uni5; the world's enemy" which dropped last week, sold 9,400 copies this wek. This brings the total sales of the album to 39k.

Trina, the southern queen of rap, is on the charts again this week, although she too is not selling too much; she sold 9,400 copies this week. Her "amazing" album, has sold 42k total so far.

mystikal making a comeback.

You must remember "mystikal" from back in the late 90's and early 00's when he was hanging with "master p's" NO LIMIT record, and then he went solo. I can remember his banging hit single "danger", it had people doing back flips, not literally though.

Anyway, he disapeared off the scene for a while, i think to do some time in jail, and now he is trying to make a comeback. I wonder if he had flipped his flow, or it is still the same "shouting in rap verses" style he had.

Below is what singer, lloyd had to say about mystikals comeback.

"The stars are aligning in 2010. It's a year of new beginnings ... him being released from prison, me getting free from The Inc.," Lloyd said in an statement. "'Set Me Free' is so much more than a song to us; it's our reality. Like Mystikal says, 'I'm back on the beach, muscle up, b*tch!' ... The track has that 'second line'/brass band sound that you can only get back home in New Orleans. I never made a song that repped for my birth city, and when I wrote the record I had only one person in mind. I wanted to make it authentic, so I went back home during Marti Gras. Me and Mystikal got in the studio, and we knocked it out. The energy was crazy! And as you can see, he hasn't lost a step. Wild Wayne of Q93 [in] New Orleans and Greg Street of V103 [in] Atlanta help bring the collaboration together. It was a blessing to work with a legend that I've admired for years." (MTV)

az talks "firm" re-union

If you have been listening to rap music for over a decade now, then you would know that "dr dre" put up a rap group, in conjuction with nas's then manager, "steve stout", back in 1996, and they dropped an album in 1997. Although the album didn't enjoy commercial success, it was loved by hip hop enthusiast all over the world.

There have been rumors going around about a re-union for a while. When nas was asked about the re-union, shortly before he dropped his "hiphop is dead" album in 2006, he said it was possible, but that it was hard to reach "a-z"; that he had not been in contact with his former rap partner for a while now.

Out of all the members of the clique, nas was and is still the must relevant artist. Back then, it was nas, "foxy brown", "nature" and "a-z"; "Cormega", nas's old time friend was originally slatted to be in the group, but was removed by steve stout for some reasons best known to steve. Must people said it was primarily because cormega was constantly getting into trouble with the law.

Anyway, below is what a-z gad to say about the re-union;
"The Firm album which came out in '97 featuring Nas, Foxy, myself, Nature and Cormega, we actually working on a couple of records so far," AZ revealed in an interview. "Nothing is confirmed, without Nas though, but with Foxy and Cormega, so anything is possible. Keep your eyes open, you dig? The Nas and Damian Marley joint, I mean it's cool. I didn't really get to hear it too much but it's good for hip-hop, it's all good." (Montreality

Throwback Thursday Video - Jaz-O f. Jay-Z: The Originators | Watch Hip Hop Music Videos & New Rap Videos

Throwback Thursday Video - Jaz-O f. Jay-Z: The Originators | Watch Hip Hop Music Videos & New Rap Videos

what do you think about jadakiss working with lloyd banks

I just read up that there is a new remix of lloyd banks latest single, "beamers benz and bentlys", featuring "ludacris" and "jadakiss". WOW! Sure, i know there is no more beef between g-unit and d-block, but it just kinda feels odd that banks would go and get jada on his song. But i think it is all good for hip hop; spread the love.

I know jada and GAME are really cool, and i wonder if game would react to this. Of cos i know it would be childish to react negatively to something like, but the funny thing is that that is the same thing that caused the beef in the first place.

In 2005, game was asked what he felt about "nas", "fat joe" and "jadakiss" and he said he respected them as rappers and would like to work with them sometime in the future (which he did do), and then "50 cent" felt offended and kicked game off g-nuit before he even made it home from the interview. Now, i am just saying, just letting y'all know...more like i am reminding you guys, lol!

Anyway, that is that; i hope it is some great music; infact, i know it would be great, because anything luda gets on turns out great. I am going off to listen to it right now.

what new rap albums are you waiting on

Yeah, what is popping people? I would really like to get comments up on here; i know at least, 30-40 people view this page daily (thanks to statcounter.com, i know that for sure), so i am wondering why people don't always leave comments. Anyway, i am cool as long as y'all keep coming back.

Anyway, i wanted to talk about new albums that are dropping soon; "drake's" THANK ME LATER album is dropping soon, J.COLE's album, i can't remember the name, is also dropping soon; the collabo album of my man "nas" and damian marley is dropping next week, make sure you go out and cop that, support real hip hop. DISTANT RELATIVES, the album by nas and damian marley, is dropping next week, may 17th. Yeah, that is one album i have been waiting on for a while now. I have heard a lot of singles from the album, and i think it is going to be a great one.

Another album i am looking forward to getting on my computer is GAME'S "red" album. You all know i am a game fan, so that is a must for me. I think you are going to hear another type of game on this album, but nothing short of a classic(okay, maybe i am blowing game's horn too much, but i am sure the album would be good). The album is dropping on june 29th; mark your calendars and make sure you go out and get it.

Another album dropping on that day would be "diddy's" LAST TRAIN TO PARIS. I respect the fact that diddy has held up his on for so long, more than15 years in the game; for that alone, i would cop the album. But bullshit asides, i like the kind of music he has been making lately, with his "dirty money" clique, giving us that 90's feel again. I feel you should mark your calendar for that one too.

As i said, i would really appreciate comments from you, my readers, and the followers i have.

sheek louch moving to def jam

I remember on sheeks second solo album (after taxes) when he said, "jigga didn't go platinum till his third", refreing to the fact that jigga didn't sell platinum till his third album, vol 2. And i was really hoping that sheek would be able to make it happen with his third album, but i guess it didn't happen that way.

I am a big L.O.X fan, and i love jada, style's and sheek's music; but after sheek dropped his solo album, "walk with me", i became a bigger sheek fan than the rest two. Sheek used to be like the weakest link of the three back in day, but he had switched up his flow, and was dropping some mad verses. I knew sheek had that fire for greatness, without going too commercial like jada likes to do sometimes, so when i heard, recently, that he had inked a deal with def jam, i was happy for me.

I hope this works in his favor, because i would really like to see a sheek album go gold, even if he can't reach platinum.

Below is what he had to say;

"I got some real good music coming out," he revealed. "I needed that right machine behind it to get that record past the level that it stops, to push it further. And I was shopping it to a lot of the majors...but my man L and Butch, Czar, Mike Caruso and Lenny S...they brought me up in there to Def Jam. And Chris Hicks and L.A. [Reid] they seen the vision. And it's on...It's between a couple spots that's actually throwing real nice numbers and ideas at [The LOX]. I know everybody's been hearing about that project but it's for real, for real...we're meeting with [Diddy] on Wednesday." (XXL Mag)

game claims that jay-z'sv relationship with pharell stopped him from dissing the veteran

You all know that "game" was planning a diss/war on jay-z last summer when jay mentioned his name on the intro to "blueprint 3", and then he dropped the rant all of a sudden, and i was wondering what happened, because i know game is not the type to drop out of a beef just like that. Although jay claimed not to have been dissing game on the track, game, and a lot of people in the industry (like dj green lantern), believed it was false. I think so too, and i think jay just used it to get some buzz for his album. Anyway, i still stand by my words any day that game would have done a lot of damage to jay's career. You have to know that game can be reckless on the mic when it comes to beefing. And, i am not saying game is a better rapper than jay, far from that, i am saying that game is a better beef/battle rapper than jay. Game would never have backed down. I am kinda happy that jay didn't respond to his warning track.

Anyway, game has come out to tell all that are willing to listen, the main reason why he didn't go on with the beef.


"Maybe I stepped over the line because I listen to Beyonce's music," Game said in an interview. "My girl listens to Beyonce's music. All girls do. So, when I did that, I got rained on by like, it was like a chick army at my next show. Plus, I didn't really mean that much harm, man. It's just rap, man. As far as Jay, he's a good friend of Pharrell's and he worked with Jay recently. I decided, along with [Dr.] Dre and Pharrell, that being at odds with him wasn't beneficial to what we're trying to do in the future, so later for that." (Yahoo)

a quick review of nas and damian marleys album;distant relatives.

 I have read a lot of articles on the collaborative effort, which materialized into an album, of nas and damina marley, and have not come across any which capture the full picture in a professional way like this article.
Please, enjoy the reading, courtesy of hiphopdx.com


Much has been said about Nas and Damian Marley since they announced their collaborative endeavor as Distant Relatives. While much of it was praise in anticipation, expectations grew to nearly unattainable heights. Both Nas and Jr. Gong are no strangers to this - both sons of famous musicians, both with hits in their history. Each held in high regard within their respective genres, individually, they have managed to forge rich legacies in the streets, while always maintaining a message in the music. With the message behind a project like Distant Relatives - drawing strong parrells between the music of Africa, America and the Carribean, as well as the "one blood" that flows within us all, it would be easy to get too preachy, too informational. Luckily, Damian Marley's powerful production creates the perfect surface for he and Nas to educate and demonstrate their points masterfully.

Lyrically, the album boasts thought-provoking, introspective writing. Distant Relatives exemplifies the type of lyrical prowess both artists have become known for, with songs like "Welcome To Jamrock" and "If I Ruled The World" in their respective catalogs. The Realtives speak on current events (“My Generation” ), their own triumphs through troubles (“Strong Will Continue” ) and worldly issues (“Africa Must Wake Up” ) with the same amount of dexterity, deftly covering topics with skill and insight. They lend words to the power of loyalty (“Friends”), good fortune (“Count Your Blessings”) and religious beliefs (“In His Own Words”), sharing personal touches with every turn. Both take risks, and balance their master-plan, as Nas candidly forecasts the birth of his youngest child. Throughout the album, Nas and Jr. Gong ask the right questions (“Why do we all collide? Why do the young die?”) and provide just enough inspiration in the process (“Only the strong will continue, I know you have it in you”). They offer the right amount of positive influence with a balanced realism, juggling intellect with lived experience. They also manage to do something few traditionally "conscious"-labeled artists pull off; they never sound corny or contrived. Only artists of this stature could pull of this kind of undertaking. With honest emotion, intelligent bars, enjoyable melodies and fluid delivery throughout, this is a benchmark album for Damian and Nas, both as artists, but also as social poetical prophets.

The production on the album shows just how much thought was put into the project, one that also shows range. Where many have forgotten about the lost art of full length album making, this project is best served whole. Whether mixing live instrumentation with cleverly flipped samples (“The Promised Land” ) or borrowing from various cultures and genres, the beats here do not disappoint. Not often thought of as a Hip Hop producer, Bob Marley's youngest son (with some assistance from brother Stephen) assert themselves as versatile studio conductors. It’s refreshing, for instance, to hear tribal drums on “Tribal War” following the up-tempo breakbeats of “As We Enter” . All of this sets the stage for “Strong Will Continue,” which acts as one of the standouts in a heap of uniqye cuts, an anthem that blares with electric guitars, piano keys and a potent drum pattern. They can also mellow things down (“Leaders”), bringing the acoustic guitars out (“Count Your Blessings” and “In His Own Words”) and borrow from various cultures and languages, something heard on chants in “Patience” “Dispear” and “Friends.” They can go from the accessible (“My Generation”) to the gritty (“Nah Mean”) with ease and keep heads nodding throughout, without ever losing the cohesion that makes this a complete album. Like Madlib, Damian Marley has the ability to make his music sound globally relevant. The production matches the lyrical points perfectly, which may be one of the most challenging achievements on such an ambitious project.

From the moment the listener absorbs opening-cut, “As We Enter,” the chemistry is solidified within Distant Relatives as the two trade bars and this collaborative spirit can be seen throughout the album. Nas' and Damian's work together is superb and each guest (Stephen Marley, Joss Stone, Lil Wayne, Dennis Brown and two guest spots from K’naan) fits sensibly with the project's perimeters, ensuring that nothing is done for show and no detail is spared. Front to back, this album provides no filler and boasts substance. In a genre-bending effort, the duo manages to succeed in creating a best of both worlds collaboration without compromising anything - a feat rarely seen. The relativity between Nas and Marley comes across in this music as well as it does in their message, as both men create a benchmark in their rich careers.

eminem receives "artist of the decade" sound scan award

Yeah, your favourite white rapper, "eminem" just bagged the award for the artist of the decade, based on sales of his albums. It is obvious though, because if you check the sales of all his past albums, must especially the older ones, then you know that he deserves it.

I think two of his albums sold diamond, "marshall marthers lp" and "eminem show". Diamond is when your albums sell is in excess of 10 million copies. Although his last album, "relapse", has just sold 1.9million copies in the U.S, the rest of his albums would sure make up for the it.

BELOW IS AN ARTICLE FROM hiphopdx.com

it is no surprise that Eminem is one of the top-selling rap acts of all time. But fans might be surprised to know that Slim Shady was, in fact, the top-selling act in all of music in the 2000s - surpassing pop acts like N' Sync, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

Recently, Eminem was awarded the Nielsen SoundScan "Artist of the Decade Award," which recognized him for having sales exceeding 32 million units domestically (worldwide, his sales are approximated to be near 80 million). The award was presented to the multi-platinum rapper by Nielsen Entertainment President Eric Weinberg and Nielsen Entertainment's Retail Relations Vice President Chris Muratore.

2000's The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002's The Eminem Show were each certified diamond, meaning over 10 million records sold domestically. 2004's Encore sold over seven million, while 2005's greatest hits album Curtain Call nearly reached double platinum status. 2009's Relapse managed to hit platinum before the decade ended as well.

In addition, Eminem was part of other high-selling projects which did not count towards his tally as a solo artist, including two platinum D12 albums in 2001's Devil's Night and 2004's D12 World. Other platinum releases included Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 8 Mile, and Eminem Presents: The Re-Up.

Below is a picture of Eminem receiving the award. Left to right: Jimmy Iovine (Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M Records), Dr. Dre, Eric Weinberg (President, Nielsen Entertainment), Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg (back row), Chris Muratore (VP, Retail Relations, Nielsen Entertainment), Eminem, Steve Berman (Vice Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M Records). Berman was featured in a number of skits on Eminem albums (Marshall Mathers LP, Devil's Night, Eminem Show, Relapse) as a cantankerous album executive.

a look at the billboard charts

It is that time of the week again when we view the rap albums on the billboard charts. Thank God there is a new rap album doing good numbers on the charts. B.o.b, the new rapper, debuted at the number one spot on the billboard top 200 albums chart this week.

I was really getting tired of quoting all the pittiful looking numbers that the rap albums on the charts were doing. Ludacriss had been leading the pack for weeks with his "battle of the sexes" album, but he has been bumped off the spot of the highest selling rap album for this week, by b.o.b.

B.o.b, the 21 year old georgia state origin, clamned the number one spot on the charts this week, with 80k sold. I did a research, and found out that the his sales is the second lowest numbers done by a number 1 album; the first is chrisste michelle's "ephinay" album, that sold 83k last year.

The young rapper, whose album titled "the adventures of bobby ray", featured two heavy weight rappers, "lupe fiasco" and "eminem", is signed to GRAND HUSTLE/ATLANTIC.

The next rap album on the charts this week that has the closest numbers to b.o.b's album is luda's "battle of the sexes" album which did 17k numbers this week; brining the total to 373k so far.

Veteran rap group, "cypress hill", that debuted that new album in 6 years on the charts last week, did  6,800 copies this week, brining the total to 25k. I think that is not encouraging, but they would just have to accpet the fact that every year, hiphop listeners and buyers of rap albums are getting younger; they getting into the young age group that don't know them.

Gucci mane mixtape, "burrprint2", did 5,800 copies this week, bringing the total to 34k. I think that is impresive for a mixtape.

The trio of ghostface, methodman and raekwon sold 3,400 copies of their collaborative effort this week. The "wu massacre" is now at a total of 64k copies sold so far.

The other notable rap album is that of "devin the dude", which debuted last week. The album "suite #420, sold 2,500 copies this week; bringing the total to 8,700 copies in 2 weeks.

That is all for now; let us hope that new rap albums with more encouraging sales drop in the future.

What's up with j.cole?

Yeah, everybody seemed to be talking about the kid j.cole, who is the new rapper on the block, who is signed to "jay-z's" ROC NATION rap label. It is almost like i have slept on the guy so far.

I remember last christmas, one of my friend comes over and keeps saying j.cole this, j.cole that, trying to make me listen to all the guys mixtapes songs at the same time. But their is something i hate, and that is being forced to like someone, or being forced to listen and feel a rapper. I have to discover a rapper; he has to catch me with a line or two, or a verse, or a couple verses, or a couple songs, before i can say, yes, this dude is fire; this dude is a problem, but i didn't. Maybe it is because there wasn't a lot of his songs being played on radio, and i have not been listening to songs on the internet lately, but i think i would go ahead and start listening to his sings from now on.

Infact, i will go over to youtube right now, and listen to about 5 of his songs; or better still, i will get his two mixtapes, "the come up", and "the warm up" and see what i feel about him after that.

Below is what he had to say about his two mixtapes at a recent interview:

“I don’t think either one of them I like better. I mean certain days, I’m feelin’ a certain way and I’d probably pick one over the other. But I think The Come Up was way more raw; it’s raw just straight rappin'. I am just trying to prove I can really rap with anybody, I can hang with anybody. I was trying to keep up with the [Lil] Wayne’s and all that at that time. And then The Warm Up was more so me trying to show that I can put together an album and a body of work, something with songs, and a concept, and it flows, and a sequence that tells a story. So that’s more like what The Warm Up was about.  I think my style was more represented with The Warm Up. That’s my style now.”

Cole's style heard on The Warm Up seems to be effective, as quite a few songs have been huge successes with his fan base. “Lights Please” and “Get Up” are two such songs, and are also favorites of the North Carolina rapper. “Those are some of my favorites too. I think people like when you talk about something these days. It’s more than just the generic flashy ‘I get a lot of girls, I’m fly.' I do those songs and those verses [too], and those are cool, but how many of those can you do? So I think it's refreshing for people to hear somebody actually hitting you with a concept, and talking about issues, and not in a corny way. Some rappers do it, but it’s corny like, ‘Man I don’t want to hear this nigga preaching to me on this song.'  But to me, I feel like it doesn’t come off preachy, I feel like it’s almost like we are having a conversation. I am almost like your friend, some days we talk about bullshit, and some days we actually talk about some real shit. I feel like that’s how you feel when you listen to my music. Whatever you want to discuss, I got a song for.”

When asked what artists he would like to produce, J. Cole stated, “I would do a whole Nas album, I feel like I got one more classic waiting. I believe that somehow if he someone reads this, I got a classic waiting for him. I’d produce a Wale album. If I could really get my weight up, I would produce a Beyonce album. Not just because she’s Beyonce and she’s the biggest, just because I feel like she’s the best.”

Though J. Cole’s career is just beginning, he has big plans for himself in the next five years.  “I hope to have four or five classic albums. And just have more freedom to do what I want.  If I want to write a movie, I want to be able to write a movie, if I want to act, I want to be able to act. I want to have my production game on a whole other level. I want to be respected as a producer, really respected as a producer. So hopefully that will take off too.”

With his debut album currently in the works, fans have been anxious for the arrival of the album.  We asked J. Cole to tell us in one sentence, what we can expect from his album.  With a confident answer, he replied, “Something that lasts forever.”

Hmm!! I don't know what to say still, but i sure will listen to a whole lot more of his songs, cos he keep bringing up NAS's name in every of his interviews, and you guys know that nas is my favorite rapper of all time.

Anyhow it goes down, remember i told you about the kid j.cole.

A little news on eminem

Yeah, we all know that eminem had the highest selling album of last year, beating out JAY-Z's "blueprint3" by about 200k plus copies. Em's "relapse" album sold over 1.860,000copies in America alone.

After, or even before the album was out of people's ipods/cd' players, he was meant to drop a follow up album, titled "relapse 2". All his fans, and rap enthusiast kept waiting for it to drop through out the last half of 2009, till the first quarter of 2010, but recently, eminem has let fans and all concerned know that he is no longer dropping "relapse 2", but changing the name all together.

The album is going to be titled "recovery" and the first single off of it hit radio just last thursday, 29th april, and people that have heard it confirmed that emimen is no longer using the accent he used all through his last album, relapse. The single is titled "not afraid", and would soon be being played on radio all over the sates and beyond.

Yeah, i must comment on that; i bought relapse when it dropped but i couldn't, or wasn't encouraged to listen to the album until about a month later because of the funny accent eminem had picked up. See, i know eminem is talented and has got some mad skills, but i just wasn't going with the new accent he picked up; like some blend of arabian and indian. I just thank God that he has decided to drop that.

So, for all the em fans, he is back and better, and the new album is to drop on june 22.

a look at the rap albums on the billboard charts

Ludacris is still at the lead of rap albums moving units on the charts. His 6th album, "battle of the sexes" moves 21k units this week, bringing the total sold since its release to 356,000 copies.

The veteran rap group of the early 90's, "cypress hill" are on the charts this week with their new album, "rise up". The album debuted last week, and has sold 18,000 copies in one week.

Gucci mane's "burr print 2" cd moved 8,600 copies this week, bringing the total to 28,000 copies sold. Not bad, so far, for a mixtape/street album.

Devin the dude also debuted with his new album this week, "suite #420. The album sold 6,200 copies in its first week.

The trio of method man, raekwon, and ghost face sold 4,900 this week, bringing their total sales of their "wu massacre" album sales to a total of 60,000 copies.

Kurrupt also dropped a new cd last week, and he is on the charts this week. The new cd is titled "streets lights". After one week, he has sold 2,900 copies.


All in all, i think the numbers are not really encouraging at all. Rappers need to step their marketing games up.