LISTEN: Papoose - Who Shot Ya (Uncle Murda Diss)

DOWNLOAD Papoose - Who Shot Ya (Uncle Murda Diss) (MP3)

Papoose talks greasy about Uncle Murda. My main gripe with Pap is that he can't seem to make a decent song from a songwriting perspective. This track is WAY too long and has no structure. Pap = the anti-Kanye West.

VIDEO: 50 Cent Is Serenaded By African Rapper

Nigerian rap star Eedris performs 'Welcome To Africa' in a damn near serenade to 50 Cent who's on stage and shows off his dance moves. He is off the Fat Joe school of dancing and leans back. This video was clearly directed and shot by the same person who produced the new Papoose video I posted earlier today. Eedris makes everything extra uncomfortable by publicly apologizing to 50 for an altercation they had on an airplane earlier this year.

VIDEO: Papoose - F*ck The Hip Hop Police

No-budget street video for Papoose's 'F*ck The Hip Hop Police'. LOL @ Pap's claim: "We goin' gold, we goin' platinum, we goin' diamond'. Ha, not even Mariah Carey is going diamond anymore. I think right now Pap should be aiming for goin' 'cubic zyrkonia' or 'coated cardboard'.

NEWS: J.A.M. Awards Tribute To Jam Master Jay

It killed me to not be able to attend this due to birthday obligations (my own) last night. Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Jim Jones, Papoose, De La Soul, Dead Prez, Everlast, Raekwon, Snoop Dogg and others performed at the J.A.M. Awards, a tribute to the late Jam Master Jay’s vision of Justice, Arts & Music. This sounds it would've hit the old school sweet spot: "EPMD took the stage to perform classics including “You Gots to Chill,” “So Wat Cha Sayin” and “Headbanger.” LL Cool J joined them for a verse, putting his fist in the air for JMJ." (More over at RS)


Related: Inspired by the recent murder of Sean Taylor and other violent crimes recent, P. Rosenberg wrote an interesting, long and worthwhile post about violence, hip hop culture and responsibility here called 'We Must Change This Ourselves'.

LISTEN: Busta Rhymes - Step Up (Prod. by J.Dilla)

DOWNLOAD Busta Rhymes - Step Up (Prod. by J.Dilla) (MP3)


Busta Rhymes and Mick Boogie have teamed up for a brand new mixtape called Dillagence that also feature Papoose, Cassidy, Talib Kweli, M.O.P., Rah Digga and others. This track shows the genuinely joyful Busta we know and love pre-hardbody.

Unrelated Bonus: Freeway got on the mic the other night when Mick was spinning in a club.

VIDEO: Common Vs. Papoose

Watch the difference btween..

A focused MC using every word with purpose...


..and an unfocused MC warbling.

NEWS: Kay Slay Hustles Jive Records For $1.5 Mill

I guess I was wrong when I said that signing Papoose to Jive Records was a bad business move. It was a bad move only for Jive. Kay Slay hustled them out of that $1.5 million signing bonus.

“It was like a fucking year of hell,” DJ Kay Slay said. “They meant well, they believed in the project. Unfortunately we almost became victims of A&R hell. You can not put a 60-something year-old white man on a 20-something year-old black kid’s project from Brooklyn and think it’s going to pop. We wound up with records that we didn’t want to come out.”

Was it really unclear previous to signing this deal who the A&R would end up being? I doubt it. It's funny how money changes situations.

LISTEN: Papoose - Fitted Hat Low

DOWNLOAD Papoose - Fitted Hat Low (Prod. by Scott Storch) (MP3)


Photo via Prefix Mag
Yes, Papoose killed the streets for a while with his mixtape performances and Kay Slay backing. Not to be a hater, but I still think it was an unwise business decision to sign Pap to a massive major label deal with an eye on crossing over and a huge sum to recoup from the advance. Street rap is his niche, and I just don't see him being a universally accepted pop rap star like say 50 Cent. On this track he talks about wounding your girl with his chain, he recites a Biggie line, and he has a pitched up faux children's voice on the hook. And Scott Storch, the already forgotten and never respected producer, contributed the beat.