Brookly Go Hard (Jay-Z)

One of many anticipated tracks from the The Notorious Movie soundtrack

Clipse- Road To Till the Casket Drops

"The hood Obama, shovelin' McCain" Yeah, the best crack rap in the biz is back, promoting their new clothing line (Play Cloths) and their upcoming album. Their third full length, Till The Casket Drops, is due early next year with production from The Neptunes, Kanye West and Rick Rubin among others.

Hit the link to Nahright or Complex for a fast d/l.

Public Service Annoucement

I dont know when, why, or how kids have the nerve to say chuck norris can woop bruce lee's ass, but this just better be proof that your absolutely wrong. this guy made enter the dragon...ENTER THE FUCKING DRAGON. chuck norris is a hairy, texas ranger, who happens to know some karate, bruce lee invented JEET KUNE DO( basically his very own style to woop ur ass). this is in no way shape or form a diss to chuck norris, just simply a PSA for anyone with the thought that chuck norris is this ultimate badass, totally negating the fact that chuck norris would have been jim kelly's light work!

Sonic The Hamilton Review

If this guy is "sonic the hedgehog" then i guess you could say before i heard this mixtape i was "dr. robotnik." I'm finally starting to come around to the hype around this kid. His conversational freestyle offers an interesting way of listening to music, it feels like hes holding a one sided conversation with whom ever chooses to listen and subconsiously respond.

Hes original to say the least, boasting a "swaggerless swag." im almost positive that hes the first to flip sonic the hedgehog gameplay melodies and tones to create a quality mixtape. when you "enter the hedgehog" charles lets you know early that his "zone" is a unique one, that hes in it by himself and you are only being taken on a journey through it.

His flow is simple with complex content, and his i dont give a fuck persona lets him rap about basically anything he damn well pleases. his sonic personality, and pink clothing stems from the belief that "god is a woman, the color pink is the inside of a womans womb, therefore its the color of life, it takes a man to enter a woman in order to create life, thats how you know god is a woman because she had to create a man in order to enter her, to create a cirle of life, like sonic the hedgehog, cause life goes in a cirle, sonic the hedgehog lives in zones, and as long as he stays in a positive zone he will always win, sonic means sound, hedgehogs burry themselves underground, i'm sonic the hedgehog because i burry myself into sound and music" with an explanation like that you already know hes in a league of his own.

"i'm not a looser i just dont like winning, so i'm here to take over the game." With jimmy iovines (interscope records) check book paired with charles' originality give him a legit shot of doing such. his comfort in his own skin embody's what arists are all about, he puts himself on these videogame tracks and does it well.

On tracks like "ringtone rap" hamilton explains what gives him power, golden objects, in lou of golden rings, which make sonic be the hedgehog he is, charles perfers grammys. while perfecting his flow on mixtapes his lyrical prowess certainly guaratees his future "golden rings".

His swag is far from his fellow dipset/birdgang harlem natives, and this he knows. hes more concerned with the message of his music than his unkept style (a Harlem no no). his style meshes seemlessly on his tracks throughout the tape. he explores different flows and beats on the same tracks. it may seem as if its all just thrown together but with good reason and still manages to flow well.

His cover appearance on XXL proves to his haters that he's official. toted as 1/10 of the next generation of rap by xxl... he is agressively blunt and always speaking his mind.... Sonic the Hamilton is only another installment in his series of mixtales to reaffirm this belief. "Baby Sonic" prolly outlines best his character in life, how/why he got to where he is, and where he wants to go.

I wont interrupt the "happy ending," infact i hope its only the beginning of what could be a great career for this young lyricist.

Review: Kanye West- 808s & Heartbreak

Kanye West has always taken himself seriously, its the fact that his listeners do as well that he gets away with it. Ever since his 2003 debut this college dropout hasn't particularly fit the mold of a traditional rapper; he was a superstar by the time he released his second album and he did it by pushing every one of his eccentricies as far as he pleased, resulting in a persona that was equal parts humble rhymeslinger and boisterus producer. He could be a backpack rapper if his backpack wasn't burberry and his beats weren't so expensive. So no, he couldn't be a backpack rapper, he could only be himself, and thats worked out pretty well so far. On his latest album, the telling 808s & Heartbreak, he's hoping that being himiself will be enough for his audience to hold onto.

He rose to fame producing hit singles for Jay-Z, his flipping of a Jackson 5 sample on "I.Z.Z.O (Hova)" was so beyond recognition that it elevated the simple placement of an older song in a new beat to art: he's believed in the art ever since, his techniques have never remained complacent. Riding the wave of his sped up soul acclaim throughout his first album, he released it's follow up Late Registration to equal amounts of praise. It was here where he truly started distancing himself from his peers, as if being a world renowned producer/rapper wasn't enough; he commissioned Fiona Apple producer Jon Brion for the string section on many songs. This, compiled with his touring live mini-orchestra, put the rapper in a leaugue of his own. The album, much like it's predessecor, was stuffed with a dream team of guests and a running time clocking in at just over an hour. These first two albums showed a true artist in embryoic form; he was throwing every idea he had at the wall and picking up the pieces with minimum restraint, his reach just exceeding his grasp.

If he was growing by leaps and bounds on his first two releases he took a breather before his third, expanding his musical palette and focusing his ambition. Graduation was a sleek 13 songs, with minimal singing guests and only one other rapper in the form of Lil Wayne. Sampling Daft Punk and finding influence in Euro club music, he defeated 50 Cent in a sales "fued" by a mile, further honed his production, gained more acclaim for his lyrics and secured his position as arguably the biggest name in music. Than his world collapsed around him.

2008 hasn't been West's best year, he lost his mother and his fiance of years within the same couple of months and took an unusually long break for a usually prolific artist. He rebounded with guest verses for Lil Wayne and N.E.R.D., but the kicker was his highlighitng spot on Young Jeezy's "Put On". His voice autotuned, he came in at the end of the song, distant in tone but he let his emotions squeak through the electronic babble. "I lost the only other woman that knows me best" and so it continues; in brief three week span West wrote and produced the bulk of 808s, giving it a structured theme in production and lyrics, 808 drums and heartbreak respectively.

According to him making this album was better than commiting suicide (duh) and he feels it necessary to cement his status as a legend in music. He feels he's the "voice of a generation", maybe hes right. He hasn't "made my Thriller yet", the mans got big aspirations, and simply rapping just wont satisfy them.

The album starts with the the over six minute "Say You Will", his vocals drop out halfway through and a choir picks up the pace. 52 minutes later a live freestyle finishes things off. In between these songs is his most cohesive album yet, due to the structure of course, but it never makes a susbatntial dip in quality. He hinges on big hooks throughout, minimalist beats designed for maximum impact, and a slender guest list. Young Jeezy stops by to deliver the only real rapping on "Amazing", while Lil Wayne, West's fellow crooner, goes all Axl Rose on "Tell Everybody That You Know".

He premiered his first single, "Love Lockdown", to close the VMAs this year. The anticipation for new 'Ye was of course high, and when it was revealed the result was muted excitement at best. It was the most minimal song he'd ever made, his voice floating along barely anything but drums, relying on the pitch of his emotions to sell it. And thats 808s & Heartbreak in a nutshell, one of the biggest artist in the world following his depressed muse to find solace in unkown territory. It's a shock not only to fans of his "signature sound", whatever that is, but to his percieved image. Just a couple of years ago he was the young man who uncomfortably stated that "George Bush doesn't care about black people, now we have a black president and his oppinions are nowhere to be found. Hes lost in heartbreak and ahead of his time, waiting for the world to play catchup.

Lil Wayne- Hot Revolver

HIP HOP NEWS @ DEFSOUNDS.COM

"She said do you have the time, to listen to me whine? Baby i'm a star, imma imma star, and im too high to remember who you are...."

I guess he wasn't kidding when he said hes gonna be a rock star.

Lil Wayne- The Drought is Over 6 trailer + new song

It drops tomorrow, supposedly with 16 new tracks, here's one of em.