DOWNLOAD MP3 JaredEvan-UmaThurmanftLilFame.mp3 Summary: A little jazzy hip hop / R&B. About Artist: I don’t know much about Jared Evan. I’d never heard of him before but apparently he’s a singer/songwriter from New York. Apparently his debut EP The 4th Chapter came out in 2012 and is definitely something I’m gonna go check out. You can read Jared Evan’s Wikipedia article here for more info. Lil Fame is half of the longtime famed hip hop duo M.O.P. who have been making music since the mid 90s. Statik Selektah is one of my favorite producers. The musicality and vibe he brings to his music really matches my taste and I always try to check out projects he’s been involved in. Check out more Statik Selektah from gregshiphop (mainly from this EP 1982 that I was obsessed with for a bit). About Song: This song was one of the singles from the just released collaboration album between Statik Selektah and Jared Evan titled Boom Bap & Blues. I can’t say enough about this LP. I would post almost every track from the LP on this blog, in fact I just might. You can listen to the entire album on Jared Evan’s official website and on soundcloud (links at the bottom of the post). Favorite Part: I LOVE STATIK SLEKTAH’S SOUND! The soulfulness, jazzy old school kinda sound just sounds soooo nice. If you like this track at all you NEED to check out the rest of Boom Bap & Blues.
I’ve really been into music like this and Jose James, and the Robert Glasper’s Black Radio, so check those two out if you like this kinda music.
DOWNLOAD MP3 BigSean-24kOfGoldftRaekwonJCole.mp3 Summary: A chill little riff on Nas’ If I Ruled the World. About Artist: Key Wane is the producer of the track. I don’t know much about him except that he’s a young guy from Detroit. I would encourage people to check out So Many Keys because while most of the tracks have already been released on other projects you can really get a sense of Key Wane’s sounds. Big Sean hails from Detroit and is a young rapper signed with Kanye’s GOOD Music. J. Cole is another young buck with a ton a skills and a diehard following. He comes from North Carolina and was one of the first artists to sign with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Raekwon on the other hand is the longtime New York legend from the Wu Tang Clan. About Song: This song orignally appeared on Big Sean’s late 2012 mixtape Detroit however I rediscovered it when it appeared on producer Key Wane’s collection called So Many Keys which I would highly encourage people to download. The song kinda plays off of Nas and Lauryn Hill’s hit If I Ruled the World. Favorite Part: I want to give Key Wane credit cause I really like the sound of song. The rap is just some nice dressing on top.
DOWNLOAD MP3 PushaT-Revolution.mp3 Summary: A super short track recapping the career to date of Pusha T. About Artist: Pusha T is a rapper from Virginia currently signed with Kanye’s GOOD music, originally one half of the duo Clipse and a member of the Re-Up Gang. He’s come a long way in his career, I’ve always been a fan, and am happy to see his solo career blossoming. The Neptunes is the famed production team of Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams. About Song: This song is off of Pusha T’s 2013 mixtape Wrath of Caine which is meant as a promo to his upcoming album My Name Is My Name. Favorite Part: I like this song because it gives a summary of Pusha T’s path over the years. Check out the RapGenius lyrics for Revolution to learn the story if you don’t already know.
DOWNLOAD MP3 DJDrama-SoManyGirlsftWaleTygaRoscoeDash.mp3 Summary: I don’t normally like ‘these kind’ of hip hop songs, but theres something about this track that gets me so hype (and I’m pretty sure its not the misogynist rapping). About Artist: DJ Drama is mainly a mixtape DJ. He’s done about a bajillion mixtapes most notably the Gangsta Grillz series and Lil Wayne’s Dedication mixtapes. Wale is a DC rapper who I used to really love but has kind of taken a different artistic path lately (you can find a lot of Wale on this blog). Tyga is part of Lil Wayne’s Young Money. I think his songs are really hit or miss, he definitely has talent but so many of Young Money’s songs are just so dumb. Rosco Dash is a young ATL rapper who most famous for his song All The Way Turnt Up. The song was produced by Boi 1da who I really really like and who obviously makes this song what it is since the rapping is not amazing. About Song: This song is off of DJ Drama 2012 album (yes album) Quality Street Music. The album is pretty good and of course has a crazy number of features from Ludacris and 2 Chainz to Kendrick Lamar and Wiz Khalifa. Favorite Part: My favorite part is when the intro drops into the beat. It just gives me that party energy!
DOWNLOAD MP3 Common-TheNextChapterStillLoveHERftJPeriod.mp3 Summary: A Hip Hop song for Hip Hop. About Artist: Common has been around since the early 90s. Out of Chicago, he’s been know for his positive lyrics and his involvement in hip hop culture and community. J. Period is more of an underground producer/DJ but is well known within hip hop and is very highly respected. His innovative style works to push the boundaries of hip hop an good example being this gregshiphop post which comes from J. Period’s The Messengers Trilogy About Song: This song is off of a J. Period mixtape called Rage Is Back. This mixtape is a soundtrack of sorts to Adam Mansbach’s novel Rage Is Back: A Novel which tells a story of a group of New York subway grafitti artists in the hip hop scene of the late 1980’s. I haven’t read the book but it’s gotten very good reviews. This song is also a part 2 of Common’s famous 1994 hit I Used to Love H.E.R which opens with the famous lines
“Yes, yes, y’all and you don’t stop
To the beat ya’ll and you don’t stop
Yes yes, y’all and you don’t stop
1, 2, ya’ll and you don’t stop”
Which is a love song of sorts to Hip Hop (H.E.R being Hearing Every Rhyme) Favorite Part: J. Period does an awesome job on the production. And finally Common’s on a song where he’s doing what he does best and doesn’t sound whack doin it.
DOWNLOAD MP3 TYSAlexB-YoSoyTuHombreftLR.mp3 Summary: This song is a little spanish valentine’s day song of desire. This song is also a Throwback Thursday joint, a blast from the past, 2009 (not exactly That long ago but still…). I really like this song and really want to make my own cover, or music video, of it. About Artist: Honestly I don’t know much about any of these three artists. I’ll try to link to some of their pages at the bottom if your interested but as far as I know they aren’t that big time. About Song: I started listening to this track in August 2009, a wild and crazy summer. I keep coming back to the song because I like it so much but I have no recollection as to how I got a hold of it in the first place. Favorite Part: I really like this song as a whole. I’ve spent time looking/listening to the lyrics and they only add to how much I like the song.
DOWNLOAD MP3 Wale-BadftTiaraThomas.mp3 Summary: Another little love track for valentine’s day. Note this song isn’t exactly a happy love song but I like it none the less. It makes me happy to know that at least the line “I never made love, but I sure know how to fuck” doesn’t apply to me. About Artist: Wale used to be one of my favs but the Rick Ross kind of direction that his musical style went made me less of a fan. Wale is from DC and used to rap over some awesome go go beats from DC, his mixtape 100 Miles and Running is still one of my favorite music albums of all time. About Song: This song was produced and sung by Tiara Thomas (who also did the vocals on one of my favorite track’s off of Wale’s mixtape More About Nothing called The Cloud). Now that I look I see I did a gregshiphop post on The Cloud HERE. On both songs she does a great job on the chorus. Favorite Part: I really like that Tiara Thomas brings to the song. Wale’s verses aren’t spectacular but he sounds really good on a song like this. I think my favorite line is
“Bad girls ain’t no good,
and the good girls ain’t no fun,
and the hood girls want a smart nigga,
college girls all want a thug.
So it seems that we fiend what we don’t need”
(0:57-1:16)
DOWNLOAD MP3 BoB-StillInThisBitchftTIJuicyJ.mp3 Summary: This one’s a banger. Loud speakers required! About Artist: If you’ve followed this blog at all you know that B.o.B is one of my favorite artists! He plays instruments, he produces, And he and fcking rap. He comes outta Georgia and while he is known more for his pop music (launching the career of Bruno Mars with the song Nothing On You) he is also keeps it so real on the hip hop world. T.I. also comes out of Atlanta and signed BoB to his Grand Hustle music label a few years back. T.I. has long been recognized as one of the hip hop kings of the south. Juicy J is yet another southern rapper. Juicy J has been in the game since the early 90s as a member of Three 6 Mafia. While Juicy J has always been around he’s seen a huge resurgence as a solo artist with his recent single Bandz a Make her Dance. This track was produced by Mike Will whos been crankin out many hot beats from Atlanta the last several years (check him out!). About Song: This song is off of BoB’s 2012 mixtape Fuck Em We Ball, which was a kind of return to loud southern rap songs. Favorite Part: Well the beat speaks for itself. This one you just can’t help but crank!
I’m pretty sure I like B.o.B’s verse best. And my favorite part is at 0:44
DOWNLOAD MP3 Game-JesusPieceftKanyeWestCommon.mp3 Summary: Just a solid rap track. About Artist: The Game is a mainstream LA rapper. Leading west coast rap in the early 2000s under Dr. Dre, Game joined 50 Cent’s G-Unit clique before leaving due to an apparent feud between him and 50 Cent. His 2005 debut album The Documentary was quite successful with singles including “How We Do” and “Hate It or Love It”. Kanye West is from Chicago and is obviously one of the biggest names in hip hop nowadays. Common is also from Chicago and has been in the game for quite a long time with his first album having been released in 1992. Common is both and R&B and Rap artist and was known for quite a while as a ‘conscious’ rapper, including uplifting and positive lyrics in his songs. Currently Common also pursues an acting career and is now a part of Kanye’s music group G.O.O.D. Music. About Song: Jesus Piece is a song off of the Game’s 2012 album by the same name. Favorite Part: I do really like the beat and the Game’s verses sound solid over it (Kanye’s signature ‘huh’ on the chorus doesn’t sound bad either). However I think my favorite part is Common’s verse at the end of the song.
DOWNLOAD MP3 Currensy-Sixten-Switchespt2.mp3 Summary: Classic Curren$y on a short one minute track. About Artist: Curren$y, is know as a ‘weed rapper’, and is my favorite of the genre with withs smooth and mellow style. About Song: This track is a taste of off Curren$y’s Febuary 2013 mixtape New Jet City. Curren$y is a mixtape machine and New Jet City has been reviewed as a return to the basics where Curren$y excels. Favorite Part: There’s not much to this song, it’s just laaaiid back.
DOWNLOAD MP3 JustinTimberlake-SuitTieftJayZ.mp3 Summary: Basically a Pop song (sorry for all the recent pop) but I like style of it, Justin’s voice doesn’t hurt either. The video really adds a lot and in fact I didn’t really like the song at all until I saw the video About Artist: Justin Timberlake, ever heard of him? Formerly NSYNC, currently one of the sexiest men alive. Jay-Z reigning king of hip hop. And this song was produced by longtime veteran, heavy hitter, and music legend Timbaland. Each artist has their own dynasty of music so expectations for this song were pretty high. About Song: It seems like this song will be a single off of Justin Timberlake’s hiiiighly anticipated upcoming album 20/20. The song isn’t extremely excited but the video adds a lot and you can feel some of Timbalands style on the beat. Favorite Part: I just love hearing Justin Timberlake sing
“Let me show a few things”
“…Ass tight demin and some dunks.
I show how to do this young.
No papers, catch vapors
Gettin high, out in Vegas
…
Tell your mother that I love heExplainr cause I love you
Tell your father we go farther as a couple
They ain’t lose a daughter, got a son
I show you how to do this, hun!”
(3:49)
I also found it very interesting how the track switched up completely for Jay-Z verse and how much darker the sound and lyrically his part of the song was compared to most of the song where Justin Timberlake’s is singing carefree.
DOWNLOAD MP3 BigBoi-MamaToldMeftKellyRowland.mp3 Summary: This is one of more Pop sounding tracks off of Big Boi’s December 2012 album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. About Artist: Big Boi, half of the hip hop duo Outkast, is a huge force in southern hip hop in his own right. Kelly Rowland of course also has a pre solo career as a founding member of Destiny’s Child. About Song: This is off of Big Boi’s second solo album “Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors” a great album that will definitely have more songs featured on this blog. Favorite Part: This song is pretty pop but I like the light and fun vibe. Big Boi does his thin on it and Kelly Rowland fits perfectly on the hook. I think favorite part Is the chorus.
DOWNLOAD MP3 KingLouie-FeelingLikeABillionBucksProdByJUSTICELeague.mp3 Summary: Full and beautiful instrumental porduction by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. just solid song. About Artist: King Louie is a not so well known Chi Town rapper. J.U.S.T.I.C.E League (Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever) is one of my favorite group of producers and have worked witha artists like Lil Wayne, Yelawolf, Drake, Nas. JUSTICE League has song real gems in the underground hip hop scene. About Song: This song comes from King Louie’s 2012 Mixtape Drilluminati. This song sticks out from some of the other tracks that are mostly meant to listen to at full blast, faded as fck. Favorite Part: I like the flowery production, and King Louie’s simple thug flow goes well over it.
DOWNLOAD MP3 KanyeWest-SchoolSpirit.mp3 Summary: Throwback Thursday is back! This song was my first super favorite Kanye song and still holds a very special place in my heart takin me back to 2004. About Artist: Kanye West is… whatever just look it up if you live under a rock. About Song: This song is off of Kanye West’s 2004 debut album College Dropout, one of my favorite albums of all time. Tons of good songs on that album that were my jams but this one in particular I used to rock everyday. Favorite Part: Well I really like the track despite the chipmunk sound. And while there aren’t a lot of verses Kanye’s rapping is pretty good in a Kanye kind of way, I like the…
“Chasing y’all dreams and what you got planned,
now I spit it so hot you got tanned” (0:42)
