WWW.WHITEGIRLRAP.COM

For Christmas, I got money to buy a domain name for my blog. So I switched all my posts to WordPress and bought the damn thing. So I will only be posting there from now on. www.whitegirlrap.com Still the same great rap and R&B posts, just with a new look.

The Weeknd - Echoes of Silence

A couple of days ago, Canadian R&B singer/producer and Drake homie The Weeknd dropped his new mixtape Echoes of Silence. As a follow up to both Thursday and House of Balloons, it measures up to his past projects. The first track "DD" will surprise younger fans because it's a cover of "Dirty Diana" by Michael Jackson. It's an excellent approach to a classic, yet underrated MJ song. The rest of the tracks sound like a slowed down hybrid of Drake and The-Dream. The production value of tracks like "Initiation" which consists of the slowing down and speeding up of his voice, without adjusting the background music, stands out. However, the vocals are coupled perfectly with the beat and underscored bass lines. I really like his use of wailing guitar solos as track intros and overall samples. Maybe it's because he's Canadian, but I've really never heard anything like this before. The lyrics are raunchy and explicit, yet Weeknd's smooth and wide-range vocals make them seem more tame. "Same Old Song" features  Weeknd belting out what seems to be a heartfelt and emotional diss at a girl. "Next" highlights the strength of his voice and showcases his interesting production techniques. I'm pretty sure he produces everything himself, but I could be mistaken. I know he produced some of Take Care. The closing track is a piano-driven bookend to what will surely be a critically acclaimed mixtape. 

Out of all three of his mixtapes, I think this one is the best to date. I wasn't too impressed with Thursday, but I'm a huge fan of House of Balloons so I guess I really like this new one. He's just such a dynamic singer. I definitely think he's going to get huge next year. I think with the help of Drake and the rest of Young Money, this dude is gonna be a superstart. It's impossible that with his talent, he won't get noticed.

As someone who gave The Weeknd half a chance because of certain dumb blogs praising him, I must say I'm really impressed. This is a pretty great early Christmas present. I'm excited to see what 2012 holds for this guy. 

Download for free here.

Young Jeezy - TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition

So last week, Jeezy put out a mixtape (which was pretty good) and everyone thought his album would be pushed back. But today, after many push backs and about a year of me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for this album, TM: 103 Hustlerz Ambition finally came out. I guess before I dive right into this review, I need to explain that Jeezy is my #2 favorite rapper, second only to Nas. I think he's encompasses everything that hip hop stands for. He represents the streets, but he tries to make them better. MTV just aired a really great documentary about him. He's been doing a lot of really amazing charity work for more than ten years, even when he wasn't famous. I also think Jeezy is the most "real" (for lack of a better word) rapper, probably ever. He's like a way more talented and smarter Gucci Mane. That's not even a good comparison, but I'm only doing it because they're both hood as fuck. Anyway, after three years of countless mixtapes and push backs Hustlaz Amibition is now out.

I was worried that Jeezy wouldn't be able to follow up 2008's The Recession, but so far this album is an excellent end to the Thug Motivation series. Radio hits like "Ballin" and "I Do" (feat. Jay-Z and Andre 3000, what an amazing lineup) are indicative of the rest of the album's greatness. There are some really great songs buried within the star-studded hits. ".38" and "Nothing" are typical synthed up Atlanta rap songs with hard hitting bass lines and firearm references. "Leave You Alone" featuring Ne-Yo is a fusion of soulful R&B and Jeezy's gritty rapping style. Songs like "OJ" featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss feature a fast-paced and a piano background sample. The hook is "killing that white bitch, OJ." I mean, whatever, take hip hop lyrics with a grain of salt. You know he's just talking about selling coke, not actually killing women. I love Jadakiss, so I was excited to see him team up with Jeezy and Loso. Ah ha!     (That's my attempt at verbalizing Jada's signature high-pitched laugh). "F.A.M.E." featuring T.I. is a heartfelt rap ballad about the bad things that come with being famous. It's on the radio so I hear it all the damn time; it's really not my favorite. I was surprised to see that J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League only produced two songs on this album, with the principle producer being Lil Lody. The album is full of guitar and piano samples, with hard hitting bass lines and fast-paced synths. It's pretty typical of Jeezy, but somehow it's different and innovative.

I don't think any rapper has so explicitly chronicled the life of an everyday drug dealer besides Young Jeezy. His personal stories of the streets, matched with original rhyming and excellent production, puts him at the top of the list of influential and truly impacting rappers. At face value, his music is just dirty rap about selling drugs, but once you delve deeper into his lyrics, you'll understand his conflicting and remorseful attitude about his past. This album is the last chapter of his soon-to-be legendary Thug Motivation series and I think it's an excellent end-cap. It details a new turn of events in Jeezy's life, with (hopefully) his complete dismissal of illegal activities. It's hard to tell, but dude is making millions of dollars legitimately, he doesn't need to flip birds anymore. Jeezy, who famously said "who the fuck cares about friends? If you mix the baking soda with it, you can get a Benz" is an icon for making tons of money from selling coke and chronicling his illegal activities over dope beats in an original and innovative way. Considering the fact that Jeezy has been linked to the actual Black Mafia Family (not the "Blowin Money Fast" shit Rick Ross talks about), no other rapper has been involved in such large scale drug distribution. Not saying that's why he's so good, but he raps about what he knows and what he's seen to provide white kids like me authentic hip hop about something we'll never quite understand.

Slim Dunkin Murdered in Atlanta

Today, 1017 Bricksquad member/associate Slim Dunkin was shot and killed in Atlanta. What the hell. First of all, he was on a bunch of songs on BAYTL and Lock Out. Both of those came out this week. He was a talented dude and had a lot of potential. It just sucks that rappers are still involved in inner-city violence. I feel like, if you're making money legitimately through music, then why associate yourself with people and things (drugs) that can get you killed? Especially when you're talented and could have gotten pretty big. It just sucks. Not all the details have been released, but still. Shit's crazy.

Lil B - Green Card *NEW VIDEO* *WOW* GOES SUPER DUMB!! WOW DOPE!

I just watched a video from 2008 where he learns how to shoot an automatic rifle so I find it funny that he's kissing his AK-47 in this video. I mean, this is a great song. Love the Bay Area/hyphy style of this song.

Various Things

I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like to because of finals (only one more semester of college!) but I have a few things that I need to get off my chest real quick:

• BAYTL came out yesterday. It is literally the biggest disappointment of 2011. I've read a lot of reviews (all bad) and they all basically say the same thing: Gucci Mane's rapping has significantly improved but it's totally overshadowed by how wack V-Nasty is. She's really bad. I really can't believe that this is a major label studio album. It would make more sense as a mixtape, but what the fuck. Who would ever buy this? I think Gucci and V-Nasty are sleeping together. They're both pretty gross, but cool in their own right, so whatever. I was really looking forward to this too.
• Waka's new mixtape Lock Out with French Montana is so damn good. Thank God at least one member of 1017 Bricksquad (I think they're just Bricksquad or BSM, but I'm an OG fan and I know them as 1017) put out some good music this week. This should have been an album. I've been listening to it all night and it's amazing. Waka's rapping has also gotten a lot better and the production value is really good. I think this dude Chinx Drugz who's on a lot of songs (I gotta look him up because he's good) sounds a lot like Jim Jones or Cam'Ron. This mixtape kind of sounds like Dipset or even 50 Cent. I gotta look up French Montana because I bet he's from New York. I just checked and he is!! I knew it. This mixtape has a northeast feel to it. This dude is also signed to Bad Boy, so cool. Go listen to this tape, it's one of the best this year. I'll write a full review of it soon. 
• I think production value in today's hip hop has made it easier for mediocre rappers to get signed to major labels. I think a lot of kids are getting really good at Logic and are making dope beats and then they try to rap and it's like ....ugh stop. The first person that comes to mind is of course Tyler, The Creator. He's a pretty decent producer (he's the main producer of Odd Future) but his rapping just flounders. Also, guys like Lil B and even Soulja Boy. I'll be honest, I'm basically Soulja Boy's biggest fan but his songs are mostly good because of the production. I think his rapping isn't that great, but his songs are always amazing cause the beats are sick. A$AP Rocky is a guy that is both an amazing rapper and his songs are well-produced, but he's getting lumped into this "new wave of rap" bullshit. 
• Just wondering, but does Drake ever mention Degrassi in his raps? I really doubt he does (I even googled it) because I'm sure he doesn't wanna bring up the fact that his only street cred comes from when his token black character on a Canadian teen soap opera from the early 00s got shot and subsequently was paralyzed. It makes him seem a bit soft, no?
• I was recently reminded of this song (Drake mentions it in one of his songs off Take Care) and the video is so hood. I live a few blocks away from Magnolia St and this looks like it could be filmed in my neighborhood. Uptown New Orleans is my neck of the woods too. 

Meek Mill - House Party feat. Young Chris [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

I used to not really like Meek Mill, but he's from Philly so I gotta like him. This song is really dope. Tupac Back is like a guilty pleasure of mine also.

2012 Predictions/Hopes

So 2011 is almost over and I've written a few year-end lists about the best albums and songs. I think 2012 is going to be bigger and better for music. There are a lot of albums coming out and I really can't wait. Here are my predictions/hopes:

• A$AP Rocky is going to BLOW UP. He's going to become really big. He's already hanging out with Drake and taking photos with Terry Richardson. I bet he's putting out an album to follow up his popular mixtape. 
• I hope Odd Future slips into obscurity or Tyler decides to quit music or something. I would say "I hope they get into a plane crash with Mumford & Sons, with the plane being piloted by Jimmy Kimmel, and then they crash into Coldplay's tour bus" but that's really fucked up. I don't wish anything bad, but I just hope they stop making terrible, lame, white, nerdy rap. Unfortunately, those dweebs are probs gonna get hugely successful. FUCK. Somebody's gotta stop them!
• Soulja Boy's new album, possibly produced by DJ Drama or Cheers Club, is going to be FIRE. After a year of amazing mixtapes, this album is gonna be ridonkulous. 
• Kreayshawn and White Girl Mob are also going to pop off in 2012. V-Nasty is putting out an album with Gucci Mane tomorrow. Kreayshawn is gonna be on Soulja Boy's new album. 
• Other new rappers like Kirko Bangz and Vinny Cha$e are gonna pop off. 
• I hope Trey Songz puts out more rap mixtapes. He's a dope rapper and a great singer. 
• Big Sean is supposedly putting out a new album in 2012, should be amazeballs.
• Personally, I plan on getting more tattoos. I got 3 new tattoos this year, and I want like 10 next year. Also, I'm graduating college in 2012. I want to either get a full-time writing job or go back to my job at MTV. I just wanna be making that paper, y'all. 

Okay, 2011 was a GREAT year for music, but 2012 will be better! Let's goooo. 

Vinny Cha$e - Survival Of The Swag (Starring Souljaboy)

Just found out about this dude Vinny Cha$e cause he's in Soulja Boy's new video. He's really good. He's from Harlem and hangs around A$AP Rocky and people like that. He's part of this "Cheers Club New York" collective/group. I wanna listen to more of this guy's stuff; I'm downloading his most recent mixtape now. He's so good.

A$AP Rocky

I'm sure I've written about him before, but A$AP Rocky is where it's at. This dude is SO GOOD! The XXL 2012 Freshman Class list leaked out this week and he was on it (along with Kreayshawn and Kirko Bangz, who I also love). So cool. Rolling Stone wrote about him in their feature called "Rap's New Wave" called him "Harlem's Finest" which I disagree with, because hello, Dipset. But he's good.

He's from Harlem, but a lot of his songs sound chopped and screwed and he even says that he's "Texas trill" which is pretty cool. His style is so different and unique; rap hasn't seen anything like this dude. His main producer, Clams Casino, is really amazing and I've known about him for a while because of his shit with Lil B. He makes some seriously dope beats.

I can't stop listening to this dude. He's definitely gonna pop off and become super huge in 2012. YOU HEARD IT HERE ON WHITEGIRLRAP!! Jk, but seriously. He's about to blow the fuck up.

Elephant in the Sand

Man, I really love this mixtape. I've never been a huge G-Unit fan, but I've enjoyed their stuff. This is a great tape. It's basically a big diss to Fat Joe and the title is a play on his "Elephant in the Room" which came out on the same day in March 2008 (Yeah this is an old tape). Also, that's him on the beach on the cover, which is another play on the title. So cool and funny. 50 Cent doesn't play when he has a beef. He forced Ja Rule into retirement!

I listened to this a lot my senior year in high school. I bumped it in my '95 Mitsubishi Eclipse (which had some pretty good speakers btw). I especially loved "I Fucked Your Girl" which is a remix of The-Dream's "I Love Your Girl" which subsequently got me to listen to The-Dream. "Hollow Thru Him" is a dope jam with a bumpin beat. "Chase Da Cat" is a 50 love song, very similar to "Candy Shop." It's so good. All the tracks are dope as fuck. I wish they made mixtapes like this/I wish 50 still rapped like this. 

Chilldren

So apparently everybody at my school knows that I'm a huge rap fan. Yesterday, one of my professors stopped me in the hall and said "I need to talk to you about something." Thinking I was in trouble like I usually am (she follows me on Twitter and says some of the things I say are NC-17), I was like "Uh oh, what did I do/say this time?" She actually wanted to tell me about one of her students who is a rapper. She thought I'd like to talk to her because "rap is obviously your expertise" and that I like to discover new rap. So I listened to this group called Chilldren (I LOVE that name because I love to chill). First thing I noticed is that there are 2 white kids in the group and they were saying the n-word, which is not cool. But then I realized that one of their members is socially allowed to say that, so it's all good. Their stuff is a lot like White Girl Mob and goes with "rap's new wave" that's so in right now. I love this shit so much. I love local and upcoming rappers and to know that there are some seriously talented kids at my school makes me realize that Loyno isn't as bad as I thought after all. Whoever produced this stuff really knows what they're doing. I love the video game/chopped and screwed beat in "Super Effective." The best part is that I remember these kids were dancing and going buck to the music I played when I DJed a gig at Loyno a few weeks ago. They're playing a show this Saturday that I will be attending.

I just love that people know me as a music writer and come to me with new rap and for advice. Really makes all the writing that I do worth it.

BEST OF 2011: Spotify

This summer, the most coveted email invitations were for Google Plus and Swedish/Bristish music sharing/listening interface Spotify. I got both and was so excited. Unlike Google Plus, Spotify wasn't a lame Facebook ripoff. It's really the best thing to happen to my music listening experience. Here are the reasons I love it:

1. Unlike Pandora, you can make playlists of specific songs, not just artists. They have most everything, except Rock the Boat by Aaliyah (which is dumb). 
2. It syncs up with your iTunes, so you can put whatever music that's on your computer on your Spotify playlists. I love this feature because I listen to a lot of mixtapes that aren't on Spotify so I can integrate that music with my Spotify songs. Amazing.
3. If you pay $10 a month for premium (which I do, such a great deal), you can make your playlists "available offline" which basically means you can download music for (almost) free.
4. Also, if you have premium Spotify, you can sync it up with mobile devices like iPhone or Android products. I have an Android tablet, so I can listen to my Spotify on that offline. 
5. They have a radio station that's not as specific as Pandora, but it's still cool. 
6. There's no limit if you pay (I think it's 10 hours a week for free, which is nothing, but you're getting individual tracks for free!)
7. You can share your playlists with your Facebook friends. I have a lot of amazeballs playlists that I always share with my homies. Everybody's favorite is my Houston playlist. 
8. They have reviews under most albums, which is pretty cool.

This is one of the best things to happen in 2011 and if you don't have Spotify, you should get it right now. 

Big Sean, New Orleans 12/6

So last night I saw Big Sean at the House of Blues, because I knew it would be entertaining. And it really was. It was the last stop on the Finally Famous tour and it was a blasty blast. My friend and I got there just before he went on and caught the last few songs of the opening act, Cyhi da Prynce, another rapper on Kanye's GOOD Music label and he was pretty good. He mentioned Stevie Williams (pro skateboarder who basically encompasses the whole black hipster/skater/streetwear look that so many rappers are obsessed with right now) and had a song about "emotional dudes." He was pretty good, but his set was basically just an opportunity for me to drink a few beers for Big Sean came on.

Big Sean started right on time and began with a few mixtape tracks. He then explained his love and appreciation for mixtapes, which I thought was so cool because I'm a huge supporter of mixtapes. Of course, he played his big songs like "A$$" and "My Last" and "Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay." He also did my fave songs from his album Finally Famous like "High" and "Live This Life." He said he was working on a "bigger and better" album for 2012, which made me really happy.

During a break, Big Sean thanked all of us for coming to his show and expressed how his fans are the reason his grandma is proud of him. He also talked about how you have to follow your dreams and do what you love, because that's what he did and now he's a famous rapper. He should really be a motivational speaker because it really moved me, no joke. I really have a great deal of admiration for him because of his dedication and love of rap.

My favorite part of the show was when he took off his jewelry before he jumped in the crowd. I used to go to a lot of local pop punk/scene/hardcore shows in high school and I don't really go to rap shows as often as I'd like. It's just so different from the shows I used to go to. I don't think any lead singers of the bands I used to see had to take off their $50,000+ gold and yellow diamond bracelets before crowd surfing.

I used to hate Big Sean and called him "Drake 2" but I've really changed my opinion about him. I'm glad I paid 20 bucks to go to his show because it was really so much fun.

RIP Pimp C

Since I already tweeted about it like 7 times today, I might as well write a blog about it: today is the 4 year death anniversary of Pimp C. He was a legend in Houston and rap was greatly impacted by him. UGK is one of my favorite rap groups of all time. I just wanted to pay some respect to one of the greatest rappers to live. Rest in damn peace, sir.

Nevuh fuck without a rubbuh

BEST OF 2011: Songs

Here's my list of the best songs of 2011. There were some amazing jams on the radio (and not on the radio) that I loved this year. Obviously, there's gonna be a lot of Soulja Boy and Lloyd, but there might be some curve balls. LEGGO:

15. Chris Brown - "Deuces"

First of all, obviously it's hard for me to put someone like Chris Brown on two of my year end lists, but he's so good. This is my fave song off of F.A.M.E. and the remix is amazeballs. Andre 3000's verse is really out of this world. Plus Rick Ross rapping over a slow beat is hilarious. I identify with this song because I often feel like throwing up the deuces to some triflin' dude that I'm keeping around for Lord knows why. Nah mean?

14. Beyonce - "Girls"

Over the summer, I went to a live taping of 106 & Park and my friends and I were the only white people there and we were put in our section of the audience, which was fine with me, I was just happy to be there. The audience coordinator (whose job is just to pump up the crowd for the camera) knew all the dance moves to this song and it was hilarious. Obviously, a Beyonce song on 106 & Park is gonna get played more than "Yonkers" at an LA skate park, but you know. Great jam, so inspirational. Great job, B.

13. Wale, Rick Ross, Jeremih - "That Way"

Rick Ross and Wale were recently on the cover of The Source, which is a huge deal, partially because of this song. What a hit. Great rapping from both Wale and Rick and Jeremih adds the R&B flavor to this rather slow song.

12. The Weeknd - "The Morning"
While The Weeknd is a little boring and definitely targeted towards lame white nerds who view Pitchfork as the absolute music gospel, but this song is amazeballs. For a Canadian R&B singer who is BFF with Drake, he's got an amazing voice and this song was beautifully produced. The build up and the drop of this song are just amazing. I found out about The Weeknd because Soulja Boy has a video where he's riding around in a drop top Rolls Royce bumping this song.

11. Drake ft. Nicki Minaj - "Make Me Proud"
I was completely thrown off by how good Take Care was and this song was equally as surprisingly good. The ascending and descending beat matched with Drake's real rapping and Nicki's perfectly commercial verse makes this song one of the best of the year. Good job, Drizzy.

10. Lil Wayne - "6 Foot 7 Foot"
When Wayne got out jail, I said "man, I hope he got better in jail" and when I heard this song, I immediately thought "YES!!!" I love this song, his rhymes are so good. It's reminiscent of Carter III-era mixtapes. Unfortunately, the rest of his album, Tha Carter IV, is not as amazing. In fact, it lacks what we've come to love from Wayne and adds his ever-present penchant about cunnalingus. Disgusting.

9. Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne - "Motivation"
I know Beyonce is probably the most famous person from Destiny's Child (obviously), but nobody forgot about Miss Kelly. I really like this song, despite how dirty it is. Weezy's verse is great too.

8. Big Sean ft. The-Dream - "Live This Life"
Big Sean's album Finally Famous is really good, surprisingly, and this almost-titular song (the chorus says, "Oh shit, I'm finally famous and I'm rollin' with the motherfuckin' top down) is one of the best. I really like anything The-Dream is involved in, and Big Sean is a hilarious/decent rapper, so this matchup is fantastic.

7. Soulja Boy - "No More Holding On"
This is the song I tell people to listen to if they want to change their opinions on Soulja Boy. From his best mixtape this year, Supreme, this song is the best. It has a sweet Kanye-esque 1960s sample and an awesome beat, plus this rapping is some of Soulja's best. He pours his soul into this song and it really shows. This is definitely my favorite Soulja Boy song to date, it's so incredible.

6. Drake ft. Rihanna - "Take Care"
The titular title off of Drake's shockingly amazing album is really out of control. It doesn't really build up to anything, but somehow that fits. The lyrics, the beat, the melody all blend together in perfect R&B/pop harmony. Love it.

5. Beyonce ft. Andre 3000 and Kanye West- "Party"
Besides the disgusting "swagu" reference this is an excellent 90s-inspired radio hit. Beyonce really outdid herself with 4, it's so amazing.

4. Big Sean ft. Nicki Minaj - "A$$ (Dance)"
I've said this before and I'll say it again: "A$$" is the 2011 version of the great American classic, "Thong Song." It's so raunchy and ridiculous, but the beat/sample ("Hammertime") is amazing and it's really catchy. "Kiss my ass and my anus cause I'm finally famous" will be what I say when I'm finally famous. I freak out every time this song comes on the radio, but it's edited, cause you know, ass is such a bad word.

3. Terius Nash ft. Big Sean - "Ghetto"
A few months ago, mega producer The-Dream put out a "free album" (aka a mixtape) under his real name, Terius Nash. 1977 is a great transition from his previous "Love" series of albums. He has said that he won't be making anymore albums, which sucks, but if he keeps putting out free albums like this, I'll be happy. "Ghetto" serves as the lead single and it's pretty much a hit. I haven't heard it on the radio, but it definitely has potential to be on it. The Big Sean verse is perfect and the slowed-down Atlanta/Houston/Detroit feel of this song is really outstanding. It's a great song.

2. Bei Maejor ft. J.Cole - "Trouble"
I cannot stress enough how much I like this song. Bei Maejor is mainly a producer and he is also an R&B singer and he is very comparable to The-Dream. That's probably why I like him so much. This song is just so good. Even J.Cole's rapping is tolerable. Actually it's more than tolerable, but whatever.

1. Lloyd ft. Andre 3000 - "Dedication to My Ex"
Lloyd is just gonna headline all of my year-end lists because King Of Hearts is literally one of my favorite albums of all time. This song was released as the third single and it's the jewel of the who album. The 1960s soul influences fit so perfectly with the nature of the song. Although it's hard to take the normally chivalrous and emotional Lloyd seriously when he says "I'm gonna kill this bitch!" but whatever. I think this is one of the best R&B songs of the past ten years.

Rap Songs That Mention Wonton Soup

There are a lot of odd references in rap these days. For example, I love how Lil B raps about wearing "tiny shirts" and "tiny pants." (BTW- he's now following me on Twitter. Amazing.) Another hilarious trend I've just noticed is references to wonton soup, and Asian food in general. There are three songs that come to mind when I think about this. The first one is "My Last" by Big Sean and Chris Brown. I think Sean says something about Benny Hanna and eating wonton soup. Pretty tame. The next one is "Martians vs. Goblins" by The Game. His wonton soup shout out is disgusting, so I won't repeat it. (Another trend- rappers rapping about cunnilingus. I thought guys were ashamed of admitting doing that and these dudes are bragging about it? Lil Wayne, I'm looking at you.) The last one is actually called "Wonton Soup" by Lil B. Not sure if this song is about the soup, but it hilariously makes my point.

Now I'm hungry

Cam'ron - Bang Bang

This is Cam'ron's new song and I like it. However, it's pretty obvious that Cam has gotten significantly, um, fat and old. He's still awesome though. This song kills it, but I think we all know he doesn't sell crack anymore. But, whatever.

BEST OF 2011: Albums

So, it's about to be December (where did 2011 go?? Damn.) and I have a lot of year-end lists to write, so I decided to start off with the best albums. Some really great albums came out this year and I really should talk about them. My music taste has changed dramatically this year. I have started to only primarily listen to rap and R&B. I've warmed up to Chris Brown and Trey Songz, etc. I might think of more albums, because there's still December and the Gucci/V-Nasty album is coming out, as well as more Soulja Boy mixtape. [WARNING: Some of these albums came out in 2010, but had a lot of singles in 2011, so I'm including them in here like the Oscars]. LEGGO:


15. Talk That Talk 
Rihanna's new album recieved pretty bad reviews, but I think this is underrated. I mean, it just came out, but I've been listening to it a lot. I think the thing that carries this album is that it has a lot of amazing producers. Bangladesh ("A Milli", "6 Foot 7 Foot") made "Cockiness" a dirty jam and The-Dream had this hand on a couple of tracks. Chase & Status produced her dubby "Red Lipstick" which is about getting lipstick on a joint haha. Overall, this is a pretty good album.

14. Ferrari Boyz
I always thought it was a little ambitious for Waka and Gucci to release their duo album on the same day that Watch the Throne, but whatever. I LOVE this album, however, it's like every other Waka and Gucci album: repetitive, uncreative beats and screaming nonsense. I really like the titular track and "So Many Things" which is an homage to Wiz Khalifa (Waka even says, "I'm smoking on reefa with Gucci and Wiz Khalifa" which is a shoutsout). It's good, but not great.

13. Skate Boy
I toyed around with the idea of doing a separate list for the best mixtapes of the year, but I decided that I'll just include them because whatever, it's my blog. This is Soulja Boy's September/October mixtape and I like it a lot. Some of the best tracks are "Tear It Up" which is a solid, steady rap with a decent beat and "This One Right Here" which is heavy and very Atlanta. It's not his best mixtape (I'll talk about my favorite towards the top 5) but it's good.

12. Finally Famous
If you're like me, you probably judged Big Sean by his lame single with Chris Brown, "My Last" which was such a smash hit even though it sucks. A month or two ago, I decided to give him another chance because I really liked "Marvin and Chardonnay" and I realized his debut album is pretty damn awesome. First of all, we finally have the "Thong Song" of the 2010s: "A$$ (Dance)." What a hilariously great song; it reminds me of old Ying Yang Twins songs. I really like his collabos with The-Dream ("Ghetto" from Dream's 1977) and the song "Live This Life" is really quite the jam. Overall, this album kills it.

11. F.A.M.E.
Just like with Drake, it really pains me to say that I actually enjoy Chris Brown now. I really can't support a fucking criminal piece of shit. He should be in jail. Who does he think he is, beating the shit out of Rihanna and strutting around like he got away with it? He should be beaten just like how she got beaten. ANYWAY, that was my little rant about him . This album is pretty good, despite how awful the person who made it is. "Deuces" which is essentially an anthem for dumping lame people, is the album's magnum opus. The remix with Kanye and Andre 3000 is ridiculous. "Look At Me Now" was one of my summer jams because it was literally on the radio 1/4 songs. Chris Brown rapping is a little ridiculous though, he should stick to singing."Yeah 3x" is an obnoxious club anthem and is reminiscent of the essential Chris Brown sound-- much like "Run It." Honestly, this song is what I usually would expect from him, but the rest of the album drowns out this mediocrity. I really like "She Ain't You" despite how lame it is. Any song that references Lady Gaga songs are automatically awful, but this one is kind of an exception.

10. The R.E.D. Album
As much as I love G-Unit, I never really liked The Game. I kind of think he talks a lot of shit and is only a so-so rapper. This album really won me over. There are so many great guest appearances. Any album with Big Boi, Lloyd, Young Jeezy, Dr. Dre, and the others is a guaranteed smash success. The hands down best track on this album is "Paramedics" featuring Jeezy. Really wish I could put into words how hard this song goes, but I honestly couldn't even. The matchup of these two really blows every other gangster rapper out of the water. I even like the song with Tyler, The Creator. "Red Nation" featuring Lil Wayne is the album's "main" song. I don't know how else to describe it, I just feel like it's the titular song but it isn't really. Anyway, this album kicks ass.

9. Watch The Throne 
I've said it before and I'll say it again, forever: this album is a 46 minute commercial for how great Jay-Z and Kanye West are. All of the songs are literally about nothing except money and cars and more money. Oh and clothes. Lots of very expensive clothes! Can you afford a $6000 jacket? Didn't think so! But Kanye can. It kind of makes me sick, but it also makes me want to have all of their money. Both these guys are hip hop heavyweights; they absolutely deserve all the recognition and respect in the world for the paths that they both paved for rappers today. Kanye West brought back 1960s soul to hip hop and Jay-Z has made some of the best rap and is generally one of the best lyricists of our generation. HOWEVER, they have both gotten mad soft and mediocre. Their rapping just isn't what it used to be. Kanye, unlike Jay-Z, was never a phenomenal rapper. He is, however, one of the best producers of all time. As hyperbolic as that sounds, it's absolutely true. This album has some extremely well produced tracks, which is not surprising at all. Some of my favorites are "No Church In The Wild" which features Frank Ocean from Odd Future and "Who Gon Stop Me" which samples a dubby Flux Pavilion song. Also, "Why I Love You" is ridiculous. I really love this album honestly, but like I said, these two make me sick. I believe they once were the best hip hop rapper/producer matchup in the game, but not so much anymore. Some of their early work (like from The Dynasty and The Blueprint) gives me chills, it's so good. This album just doesn't do it for me. It's still ridiculously good though. I just don't think it lived up to the hype.

8. 1977
Speaking of amazing producers, one of my favorites is Atlanta-based auto-tune and heavy synth enthusiast, Terius Nash aka The-Dream. You might know him from such super smash hits as "Umbrella" and "Single Ladies." He also wrote a lot of Beyonce's new album with Diplo. He's really a fantastic musician. His first mixtape, 1977, is really something else. The tracks that stand out are "Ghetto" featuring Big Sean (the mixtape's first single, great video that goes along with it) and "Wish You Were Mine." I hope he keeps making mixtapes, since he said he wasn't making anymore albums (wtf).

7. Passion, Pain & Pleasure
Another R&B newcomer (kind of), Trey Songz put out his new album this year and it's really fantastic. The radio friendly singles, coupled with the heartfelt slow jams like "Can't Be Friends." Trigga follows the example of guys like Lloyd who do that type of fast singing/almost rapping. Turns out he's actually really good at rapping. This album is really something special.


6. Ocean Mobb
I really think rappers read my mind when they decide to collaborate. Whoever thought Soulja Boy and Waka Flocka Flame would be a good match was a GENIUS. I love this mixtape so, so much. Can't say enough good things about it, just listen to it.

5. Supreme
I've obviously recently discovered that Soulja Boy is an amazing rapper. In September, he released Supreme which is my favorite of his mixtapes. It's so great. My favorite song is "No More Holding On" which features a 1960s, Kanye-esque soul sample. I always tell people to listen to this song if they want to change their opinion about Soulja Boy. The beat, sample and his rhymes flow so perfectly into what I believe is his best song (besides Cold Summer). Other songs like "Different Girl" and "Go Hard"are solid reminders of Soulja Boy's raw, less-than-mature style. There are also retarded songs like "Left Cheek Right Cheek" and "Wanna 69" but that's to be expected, somewhat. He's a goon, but he's richer than God and he's actually a good rapper now, so whatever.


4. 4
I feel like I am legally obligated to include Beyonce's new super smash hit album on this list, but damn if this isn't amazing. She's so awesome; she's like the Diana Ross or Patti LaBelle of our generation. There are so many great jams on this album like "Countdown" and "End of Time" and "Run The World (Girls)." Even the slow jams are great like "1+1" and "I Care" and "I Was Here" (which I'm pretty sure I want to be played at my funeral).  Andre 3000's (who I think is on every album on this list) guest appearance on "Party" makes Kanye West's disgusting "swag sauce" somehow right. B really knows the range of her voice and you can tell by so many songs on this album. It's so great.

3. All I Want Is You
Miguel, an R&B newcomer, put out some really fantastic songs this year. My absolute favorite, "Sure Thing" is a slightly chopped and screwed, heartfelt ballad. "Quickie" is a well-produced hit about casual sex, while "All I Want Is You" featuring J. Cole is a passionate love song. There are some slow R&B jams, but that's to be expected. It's a well-rounded albums with songs that stand out and it should get more recognition than it did.


2. Take Care
I had to put this at the top of the list, because it's really grew on me. It's so damn good. Drake is the most popular and best-selling artist right now and there's a reason.There are some really great songs on this album and it seems like Drizzy has finally grown up and grown into his own style. I have to say, as much as it pains me to do so, I like him a lot. I really like the radio hit "Headlines" and the newest single "Make Me Proud." The song with Rick Ross is amazing and the one. "Crew Love" with The Weeknd is the shining star of the album because of the ridiculous beat and slow, smooth voice of both of these Canadian crooners. It's an amazing album, good job, Drake.



1. King of Hearts
I definitely saved the best for last. I never would have thought that I would be so obsessed and impressed with an R&B album until I heard this one. Lloyd is basically one of the strongest R&B singers out right now. I always just thought "Get It Shawty" was a pretty decent jam and I liked his chorus in "Bedrock" but this album knocked me on my ass. It came out of left field. I pretty much stumbled upon it, because I liked the second single, "Cupid" and decided to check out of the rest of the album. There isn't a song on this that doesn't completely impress me. The production, vocals and background instrumentals are so dynamic and unique on every track, it's such a treat listening to this album. There are a few radio smash hits like "Cupid" and "Lay It Down" which was the lead single. The song that stands out the most is "Dedication to My Ex" featuring Andre 3000. This is a perfect example of how Kanye brought soul back to hip hop. It's a soulful, hate song about betrayal that's been proclaimed as this year's "Fuck You" but it's so much better. Other great jams include "Be the One" which has Trey Songz and Young Jeezy. The bass breakdown in this song for Jeezy's verse is like opening a door to some serious rapping by this dude. It's absolutely perfect. "Bang!!!" is a hard hitting, bass-heavy jam buried deep in the album, sandwiched between the "Jigsaw" and "Be the One." I also like "Luv You Girl." Lloyd has perfected this certain type of fast, almost-rapping singing that's so prevalent in contemporary R&B and this album is an ode to it. If you want to hear really great pop R&B, get King of Hearts. It's probably some of the best music on the radio right now. So impressive. I also think Lloyd and Young Jeezy should exclusively make music together.

Lil Wayne - I Feel Like Dying

I believe this song was on one of Tha Carter III-era mixtapes, which in my opinion, are the absolute best mixtapes to ever grace hip hop. This song is so far ahead of its time. It's definitely Lil Wayne's best track. It details the dark life of drug addiction, with powerful lines like "I'm a prisoner locked up behind behind Xanax bars" show how deep Wayne's addiction really is. It makes me feel bad for him. My favorite line, and it's so fucked up, is "I feel like buying and if my dealer don't have no more, then I feel like dying." The haunting sample, coupled with Weezy's heart wrenching lyrics, makes this song so amazing. I do, however, want to play basketball on marijuana streets. I see no harm in that, honestly.

Remember When Lil B Could Rap?

Because I do. You might remember him from the Berkeley-based one-hit-wonder group, The Pack, that put out an ode to the titular skate shoe by completely ripping off N.E.R.D. I mean, I like this song. Pretty sure it came out when I was in 10th grade. I definitely listened to a lot while I wore my "punk rock shoes." Lil B has the first verse and he is YOUNG. Dude is my age and he was probably 16 in this video. Also, he could actually rap. I like his verse the most and I always have. I wish he wasn't too busy rapping about wearing "tiny shirts" and "tiny pants" and doing ridiculous songs with Soulja Boy (actually he can keep doing that.)

THE NBA IS BACK!!!

Everybody get up, it's time to slam now. We got a real jam going down. Welcome to the Space Jam. It's your chance, do your dance at the Space Jam, alright.

As a huge basketball fan, I am SO relieved that the NBA is officially out of lockout and there will be professional men's basketball on Christmas day. Thank you Jesus! Let's go Sixers, let's go Hornets.

Video Production Styles

I've noticed recently that with underground (I use that term incredibly lightly) hip hop, there's a certain type of viral, low-budget music video that goes along with the "singles" from mixtapes. The first people that come to mind are Soulja Boy, Kreayshawn and Lil B. I guess Odd Future too, but I don't waste my time watching their videos. Kreayshawn started out as a music video director, so that's why her videos are so well done. Soulja Boy puts out so many damn mixtapes like every other day and he pumps out videos just as frequently. I know he has a lot of money, but he can't possibly afford $1 million+ high production, Hype Williams-type videos. So he probably keeps around some dude (or girl, like Kreay, who has actually directed some of his stuff) who knows somewhat what they're doing and has a decent video camera.

Usually in these videos, the rapper is hanging out, smoking and kickin' it with their homies. With Soulja Boy, he brags a lot because he has A LOT of money so he's just showing off all his weed and jewelry and red iPhone (THEY DON'T EVEN MAKE A RED IPHONE). Soulja is also really good at lip syncing, I'm guessing from all the experience he's had making high budget music videos for his actual singles.

Since I watch these videos all the time, I am extremely interested in them. I'm a huge fan of DIY-music and videos go hand in hand with music, so it makes sense. I think these videos match their songs very well. I love mixtapes and to get singles and music videos from them is really awesome. Here are some examples:

Kreayshawn - Bumpin Bumpin 

Soulja Boy - Tear It Up 

Soulja Boy and Lil B - YGRN

Lil B- Wonton Soup

Soulja Boy - Bammer, Bammer, Bammer

Newest Soulja video. I like this song a lot. I'm surprised I haven't heard it because I have his newest mixtape, unless he JUST put one out. I'm usually up on this stuff. Anyway, not too sure why he's trying to skateboard when it's obvious he can't. I guess the whole streetwear thing has inspired him to skate. Whatever. Also, I like how he's the self-proclaimed "Twitter king." As far as musicians go and how they market their music and outreach to fans, I would have to agree. This song has a killer beat and is well produced, matched with excellent rhymes by Soulja Boy.

Side note: I watched the "Crank That" video and I have to say, he's come a long way from that.

get higher - JUICY J / U trippy mane - juicy j feat kreayshawn

I love this combo - Juicy J (Three Six Mafia, you know, an Oscar winner) and Kreayshawn. Amazeballs.

Machine Gun Kelly Ft. Dubo - Cleveland

I'm so obsessed with this white kid MGK. This song is awesome. He's one of the only white rappers I can even look at. Usually I hate white rappers, but this dude is good. I like that he reps Cleveland.

Lloyd - Girls Around The World ft. Lil Wayne

Lloyd had like 8 different hairstyles in this video. Must have taken like a week to film this week. Honestly I prefer him with short hair; he's really hot without long hair. Anyway, this is a dope song/video because Lloyd and Lil Wayne go well together. Hype Williams is such an amazing director, definitely gonna write about him soon.

Lloyd ft Lil' Wayne - You

Just think this is a really amazing song and I've been listening to it a lot lately. Pretty sure it's from like 2007 or 2008. The remix with Andre 3000 and Nas is unreal. I just love that combo of Lloyd, Lil Wayne, Andre 3000 and Nas. Also, it's 6am and I just wanna listen to some late 00s R&B and rap.

MGK - Wild Boy ft. Waka Flocka Flame

Never really listened to MGK before this, but he is honestly one of the only white rappers I can stand/actually like. He's a lot better than I expected. His rhythm and rhymes are perfectly coupled with the production of this song. Waka's verse in this song goes so hard, if you're not scared of him after watching this, you are not scared of anything. I also love that he reps Cleveland so hard, cause I used to live there. Word up.

MGK: Do you think you're a good rapper?

Waka: Fuck no!

AMAZEBALLS.

Soulja Boy - Weed and Chopped and Screwed

Soulja Boy - Weed and Chopped and Screwed

I decided to try to chop and screw "Weed and Shoes" by Soulja Boy and this is what it came out to be. I'm pretty happy with it. I think I might have slowed it down too much though; it's a little scurry.

Justin Bieber Exclusive Rap

This is Bieber rapping over the "Otis" beat. OBVIOUSLY, he's not freestyling, but he is actually decent. He's got some really great rhymes. I think he's good at rapping because he's good at singing (whatever, it's true). It's like how Justin Timberlake beat boxes and occasionally raps. I like this a lot.

Soulja Boy - Real Money (Cali Life)

"Pulling up in the car that I can't pronounce"

New Beezy song, I dig it a lot. He just bought the first 2012 Bentley 2012 coupe in America. Fuck with him, he has the most expensive and desired car in America right now.

Trey Songz - #LemmeHolDatBeat2

So, earlier this month, Trey Songz put out a new mixtape, #LemmeHolDatBeat2. I was skeptical about listening to it, because I listened to his last mixtape, Anticipation II and hated it. It was all slow R&B jams, but whatever, I'm hungover and I wanna listen to new music so I downloaded it from datpiff.com. Turns out, he raps and doesn't sing. Well, he sings a little bit (mostly backup vocals and choruses). I was REALLY surprised (I always say that, but it's true) by how good this mixtape is.

I really like the opening track "Jackin For Beats" and the "She Will" remix. Overall, it's a pretty nice little change of pace from the usual Trey Songz. I'm actually a huge Trigga fan, his newest album Passion, Pain & Pleasure is really good. I'm very pleased with this mixtape, glad I decidedly to listen to it today. 

[Side note: I got a Wordpress blog today -www.whitegirlrap.wordpress.com - and imported all these posts so I could easily transfer it to a real URL soon. Watch out for www.whitegirlrap.com soon!]

Lil Wayne - Paranormal Activity

Soulja Boy is really on top of his mixtape game, but he has nothing on Wayne. I've always been a huge Weezy fan, mostly because his mixtapes are absolutely amazing. Some of his best songs are from mixtapes. My favorites are Drought 3 and really the whole Dedication series. I just downloaded his new mixtape, Paranormal Activity and I'm pretty impressed so far.

I really like "Lite It Up" which is essentially a "Racks" (from Sorry 4 The Wait) and "Sure Thing" remix. It's really trippy listening to it on my headphones. He keeps saying "acid trip" and it pans from left to right. I may have just hallucinated. If anyone knows about drugs, it's Lil Wayne.

I also like the song with Game and Tyler, the Creator "Martians Vs. Goblins" and the song with Birdman and Nicki Minaj "YU Mad." I've heard that on the radio a lot, which is funny because it's off a mixtape (unless it's on Baby or Nicki's albums but I don't think so).

I need to listen to the rest of this tape to really develop an opinion on it, but so far it's pretty decent. I love Lil Wayne and his mixtapes are always generally good. It's his albums and his stupid shit with Young Money that sucks.

Childish Gambino - Camp

I've heard a lot of good (and bad) things about Donald Glover, the Community actor/occasional rapper under the pseudonym "Childish Gambino." So, I decided to give his new album Camp a try. So far, it's pretty good. One of his lines is "the only black kid at a Sufjan concert" which upset me because I really hope this dude isn't another Odd Future-type lame-o, but it seems like he might be. I'm very impressed by "Bonfire" and "Outside" however. His rhymes are fresh and innovative, but he's not that hard, obviously. He has a degree in writing from NYU, I mean, come on.

I'm still very skeptical about this kid. I just read that he isn't actually Danny Glover's son, so I don't like him as much as I thought I would. Just kidding, but I'll just have to see what else he does and listen to the rest of this album. I'm weirded out by his Casey Anthony reference in "Bonfire" but I like it? It fits well.

This guy...no not really

THIS guy. He's a cutie too. 

Wiz Khalifa - Kush & OJ

I don't think there's any other album that's more chill than Kush & OJ. You might remember this mixtape from back in 2010 when Wiz Khalifa could actually rap. I love the following songs:

• That Kid Frankie- great Loose Ends sample and just an overall great dance jam. 
• In the Cut- if you smoke weed, this is the best song to roll an EZ Wider and burn to. So damn chill.
• Never Been- the beat is so haunting and dope.
• Still Blazin'- another great smoking song.
• Spotlight- just good.
• Visions- great sample.

Anyway, can't remember why I started listening to this mixtape. It was the soundtrack to my winter break last year. I wish Wiz Khalifa wasn't lame as fuck now. He used to be mad decent. Everything's better when you're high. 

The Weeknd - The Morning

Heard this song in Soulja Boy's newest video where he's blasting it in his brand new convertible Rolls Royce. This song is sOoOoOoOo good omg! It sounds like Miguel and the beat is sick. It's amazing. Found my new jam. I wish I had an expensive car with a dope system so I could blast this jam.

Kanye West - Through The Wire

I just wrote about Kanye and now I'm revisiting some of his great jams like this one. He recorded it when his mouth was wired shut. Honestly, I like him with his mouth wired shut so he doesn't say dumb ass shit and only raps well. Ye was primarily known for his work with Jay-Z on The Dynasty and The Blueprint so that's why his accident was on MTV. I love the line "Thank God I'm not too cool for the safe belt" and "I looked like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky." Kanye is such an amazing producer that, even still, everything he makes is solid fucking gold. Definitely one of my favorite producers of all time.

Brandy - Talk About Our Love (Ft. Kanye West)

This is a great song that I remember loving in middle or high school. Brandy and Kanye West sounded great together, when Yeezy could actually rap. Miss those days. He was one of the best and most popular rappers when I was in high school. Definitely a big part of my music taste back then.

The R.E.D. Album

The Game released The R.E.D. Album this past August and for some strange reason, this weekend was the first time I decided to listen to it. I guess maybe because I don't really like The Game. I think he talks a lot of shit and is not that good of a rapper. I always considered him the weakest member of G-Unit (why the FUCK is a West Coast rapper in an East Coast group?? Mysteries of the universe.) but I really, really like this album. It has some amazing tracks and is an overall great album. Definitely added it to my best albums of 2011 list. Here are the reasons I like this album so much:

• There's a very diverse list of guest rappers. Everyone from Lil Wayne to Lloyd to Tyler, The Creator to Young Jeezy to Dr. Dre to Kendrick Lamar to Snoop Dogg to Chris Brown to Big Boi to E-40 to Nelly Furtado. Wow, what a group of great musicians. There's no G-Unit appearances, though, which I find odd.
• The Game seems to have gotten a lot better at rapping. He's actually pretty decent and very hood. 
• It's got a dynamic sound that melds all the styles of the above musicians and of course Game's West Coast flavor. The track with Tyler sounds very Odd Future-y. The Jeezy track sounds straight out of Atlanta. 
• The best track, in my opinion, is "Paramedic" featuring Young Jeezy. 
• Jeezy and Game are GREAT together. They're both so hood and good.
• This song goes SO hard. So so so hood.
• The guitar-sounding synth sample is amazing.
• The beat is so fat, but is drowned out by the synth, in a good way.

Overall, it's a fantastic album. I highly suggest listening to it. Stupid Spotify only has the edited version so I might have to buy the actual album. 

It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp

There's no secret that hip hop has been objectifying women since the beginning. After talking with my roommate about prostitution and sex slaves, I realized that rap music sensationalizes and promotes prostitution and pimping. No, it's not hard out here for a pimp. Whatever, I'm white and I don't understand the socio-economic implications of the inner-city and the lack of education that leads to this way of life. I'm reading a book about being poor and black in the inner-city and it says that young black men sell drugs and dress sharply and hang out on the corners because it's part of their culture. The author blames black culture for the reason why crime and prostitution and unwed mothers in the inner-cities of America. I don't think rappers should write about being a pimp ("Big Pimpin" etc), but again, I can't connect with their lifestyle. This book I'm reading is really interesting. This is something I'm pretty interested in, so I'll probably write about it more in detail but I wanted to put in my two cents. One.

No Professional Basketball This Year

Billboard featured a list of songs about basketball in honor of this week's announcement that the NBA players and the association couldn't come to an agreement. As a huge basketball fan, I'm very upset. It's the only professional sport I keep up with these days. Anyway, these songs are great. Maybe people will pay attention to the WNBA and Sheryl Swoopes will save basketball for America! I sure hope so. College basketball will have to suffice; I always loved March.

Wale - Lotus Flower Bomb ft. Miguel

I usually don't like Wale (who I like to call "Whale") but this song's beat is just so dope. Plus, Miguel's voice is perfect with the slow beat. The fast-paced synths are a perfect touch with this song. I could listen to this song all day. What a jam.

Soulja Boy Mixtapes This Week

This past Sunday, Soulja Boy released three new mixtapes: one with Waka Flocka Flame (Ocean Mobb), one with Lil B (Pretty Boy Shit) and a solo one (Swag on Deck). I can't decide which one is my favorite, probably Ocean Mobb.

I love the rap duo of Soulja Boy and Waka, coupled with a few verses from Lil B. I guess they're in a new rap group called the Ocean Mobb. I dig it. I can't believe how much free music Soulja Boy puts out. All the fucking time, he puts out a new mixtape or three a month. I love that he put out three fucking mixtapes in ONE DAY. This dude is one of the hardest working rappers in the game right now. Download these mixtapes and search Soulja Boy and click "most recent."

Lil B also released a new mixtape this week that I talked about yesterday or the day before. It's good, but shocking.

I love this underground, DIY style of rap that Soulja Boy is currently the king of. Keep an ear out for the next mixtape from Soulja.

Tyler, The Creator ft. Frank Ocean - She

I hate Odd Future and that's no secret, but I LOVE Frank Ocean. First of all, he's from New Orleans! Second, he sings and only raps a little bit. His rapping isn't as horrific and mundane as the rest of those stupid twerps in OF and his singing voice is really good. This video is creepy though, I'd shit myself if Tyler, The Creator was in my bedroom with black contacts and a ski mask. But his Supreme sweatshirt is DOPE. 

Lil B

I've been listening to a newcomer from Berkeley, Ca named Lil B. You may know him from the short-lived one hit wonder group, The Pack, known for their song "Vans" (an ode to the classic skate shoe). Lil B is like the west coast Gucci Mane or Soulja Boy. He's part of Stacks On Deck Money Gang (SODMG) and often raps with Soulja Boy. I like him a lot, besides his "BASEDGOD" obsession/whatever you call it. I don't get the word "based," I think it means "swag" but who knows. I need to brush up on my ebonics.

A few months ago, Lil B released his album, "I'm Gay (I'm Happy)" supposedly to show support for the LGBT community. This was met by much chagrin by the rap community. He was forced to add the "I'm Happy" part to it. He says he's not gay, so I believe him.

 He just put out a new song called "I GOT AIDS" which freaks me out. Lil B is really shocking; he doesn't have AIDS, but again it's for AIDS awareness. Check it out, it's not too bad, but it's shocking:

DJ Drama feat. Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa & Roscoe Dash- Oh My

This song came out last May, but for some reason I'm just hearing it? I like it. As much as Wiz Khalifa sucks now (he used to be SO good, but his new album is turrible), this song is pretty good. I LOVE Fabolous and Roscoe Dash always adds spice and radio playability to a song. DJ Drama is such a sick producer, known best for his work with T.I. and Lil Wayne, I might write something about him. OH WAIT, I have heard this song before. I remember seeing this video on MTV Jams the other week when I was in Houston visiting my Dad. He didn't like it, but I did. Plus Wiz Khalifa has great style, I love his hats. Anyway, keep an eye out for my post about Drama.

50 TYSON - "ICY"

I thought this guy was a joke when my friend showed this to me once and I just watched a 2010 interview with Soulja Boy (by DJ Drama, btw) and he said he was "looking into" 50 Tyson. Are you serious???

Soulja Boy Diary Video

I love this. I love behind the scenes videos like this. Plus, he's in the studio with fucking Waka Flocka Flame. I hope this is for his new mixtape. Also, I would pay probably 80 million dollars to hang out and smoke blunts with these dudes!!

Chris Brown feat. Tyga - Holla At Me

Ok, I spoke too soon about Chris Brown's rapping. This song is actually really good and Breezy's rapping isn't as cringe-worthy as it is in "Snapbacks Back." I like these two together. Tyga's not a bad rapper. Plus this video came out a year and a half ago and it has almost 24 million damn views. Jesus H. Christ. Great song.

Tyga - Snapbacks Back feat Chris Brown

First of all, Tyga and Chris Brown definitely did not bring snapbacks back. A lot of rappers, including Soulja Boy, did. This is a really good song. Tyga's surprisingly not that bad. This is also a song where Chris Brown raps, not sings. Oh man. Personally, I think he sounds like what Tommy Pickles would sound like if he rapped. I laughed out loud when I first heard it. Who does he think he is? He sounds like B-Rad from Malibu's Most Wanted. Beside's Breezy's horrific rapping, this is a good song that remixes an oft-remixed song. Well done, Tyga. Chris, go back to singing puh-lease.

Big Sean ft. Nicki Minaj Dance (A$$)

Well, I think we finally have the "Thong Song" of the 2010s. "Dance (A$$)" is a hilarious tribute to womens' asses. It's really great actually. The "Hammertime" sample is perfect with the comedic rap that Big Sean's got with this song. Nicki's verse in this song is also great: "Kiss my ass and my anus, cause I'm finally famous" which is a tribute to Big Sean's debut album, Finally Famous. 

The video is a little ridiculous though. I could have had a lot less asses bouncing around, but I guess the song is called Ass after all. I like Big Sean's line about Pootie Tang, especially since I recently watched it, great film. I like when Nicki Minaj is bent over Big Sean and he's just got his arms out like "whatever" :

Basically, this song is retarded, but good. One of my favorite jams of the year. Props to Big Sean, I'm slowly warming up to him as a rapper. 

Polow da Don

A few posts ago, I talked about appreciating the producer of a rap or R&B song (I think it was The-Dream post). Polow da Don is one of my favorite producers. He's a low key type of guy, but he knows how to make a smash hit.

Some of my favorite songs that he's made:

• Back to the Crib by Juelz Santana ft. Chris Brown
• Spotlight by Gucci Mane ft. Usher
• Dedication to My Ex by Lloyd ft. Andre 3000 and Lil Wayne
• John by Lil Wayne ft. Rick Ross
• Lil Freak by Usher ft. Nicki Minaj
• Love In This Club by Usher

He mostly works with Usher and Lloyd and other Atlanta artists. He's so good. He always makes great radio hits. 

The Original Street Poet

Nas. I don't even need to write this (but I will) because everyone should be legally obligated to listen to and appreciate Nasir Jones. He's so important, so so important. I probably can't even put it into words how much he means to hip hop and all of music, but I'll attempt it.

Illmatic came out in 1994 and blew out all competition out of the water. It was released one month after Biggie Smalls died and it was exactly what east coast rap needed. Some new kid from Queens exploded on the scene and gave the east coast back what they had lost with Biggie. "Life's A Bitch" is a heartfelt ode to the streets where Nas grew up. "Halftime" features a typical 90s beat matched with real lyrics. This album is so important. I really can't say that enough. It's one of the best rap albums of all time and I am NOT the only one who believes that.

It Was Written was released in 1996 and was the beginning of his long feud with Jay-Z. I like this album a little bit better than Illmatic but only because one of my favorite hip hop songs of all time, "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" featuring Lauryn Hill). "Imagine smoking weed in the street without cops harassing" - SUCH A GREAT LINE. I really connected with that line and the whole song.

I could go on and on about Nas. I loved his album with Damien Marley, Distant Relatives. "As We Enter" is such a jam. His newest song "Nasty" is so good and it proves that he hasn't changed or gotten bad over the years. This is such a dope 90s-inspired jam. Original street poet. He is hands down my favorite rapper of all time. Nas is just the best.

ASAP Rocky

So, my brother recently told me to download newcomer ASAP Rocky's most recent mixtape, Live Love ASAP. I've heard "Peso" on a mixtape I downloaded from a blog this past summer. I listened to his new mixtape and I like it but I have a few notes on it:

• Clams Casino is a great producer. I've heard of him before because of his work with Lil B. He's great. His haunting, slow beats and steady bass make for a great platform for ASAP Rocky to rap. 
• That said, some of the songs sound like Odd Future songs. Honestly, besides OF's pedestrian and trite rhymes, their beats are pretty dope. So I guess that's a good thing?
• ASAP sounds like Wiz Khalifa. I mean, he says "rollin doobies up in the cut." That should be copyrighted by Wiz.
• I like the Jamaican/Reggae beat coupled with high bell-sounding synths in this song. 
• Some of the songs, including "Purple Swag" shoutsout Mike Jones, DJ Screw and other H-Town rappers. That's good of him to pay homage to the greats on this chopped and screwed track. 
• I think this is a great mixtape. I've been listening to it all weekend. ASAP Rocky is gonna blow up soon, probably later this year or in 2012. I'm calling it here folks.

Download Live Love ASAP. I think it's on DatPiff, so go cop it. 

Atlanta

Just found out I'm going to Atlanta next weekend and I couldn't be more excited. I went to Houston a few weeks ago and both of those cities are really fun for a rap fan, like myself.

I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but I really believe Atlanta, Ga. is the hip hop mecca. I could name like 15+ rap superstars that call ATL home. It's a perfect mix of metropolitan/city and dirty southern rap. I'm gonna list a bunch of my favorite rappers and talk about why they make Atlanta so great.

• Outkast - I wrote about them recently and I really can't say enough good things about them. They really encompass everything that Atlanta stands for.
• Soulja Boy - obviously. 
• Lloyd - I think I wrote about him, but I can't remember. He's one of my favorite R&B singers of all time and he's got one of the best albums of the year. 
• Young Jeezy - also wrote about him and he's definitely one of my favorite rappers of all time.
• The-Dream - do you see a trend? I mostly write about rappers and R&B singers/producers from ATL. He's a great producer and reps the A hard.  
• T.I. - definitely one of my favorite rappers of all time. He's just so influential and inspirational. I love everything that he stands for. 
• Dem Franchize Boyz - hilarious. They filmed "Talkin' Out the Side of Your Neck" at my friend's high school (Grady HS). 
• Ying Yang Twins - also hilarious. I love them.

I'm sure there's A LOT more, but this is what I could come up with. I stay on that FILA - Forever I Love Atlanta. 

KREAYSHAWN GOT COMPETITION WHITE GIRL RAPPING

Dude, this chick goes hard. Fuck yeah, turns out white girls CAN RAP. Plus she can sing really well. This surprised me. I thought it was just gonna be some triflin' ass ho who just wanted to challenge Kreayshawn. I don't know who this is, but I'd love to listen to more of her stuff.

Kreayshawn - Rum & Coke

New Kreayshawn song. I like the electro feel of it. Modern pop rap is very electronic and I'm not sure what I think of it. This song is a like a harder version of a DEV or Cataracs song. I'm excited for her new album. She has a song called "Left Eye" about burning down her boyfriend's house which is pretty funny. She's like a humor rapper, like Biz Markie or Weird Al. I gotta be careful about my rap comparisons because I got in trouble for saying that Odd Future was like a lame, teen version of 2 Live Crew. Whatever, it's all shock rap.

Book Idea

So I have this idea for a book that I want to write before I'm 30 (8 short years away, yikes) and I kind of stole it from this book I read in high school, but mine will be way different. I want to travel across America and visit cities that have well-known, but out of place music scenes. Places like Omaha, Neb. and Athens, Ga. Also bigger cities like Seattle, New Orleans, Atlanta and Minneapolis. I want to learn more about their music scenes (not necessarily rap, but that will be a big part of it.) Here's my long list; I probably won't be able to do all these cities so it's pretty ambitious:

Omaha, NE
Southern California (Orange County)
Athens, GA
Phoenix, AZ
San Francisco/Oakland/Bay Area, CA
Atlanta, GA
Philadelphia/Southern Jersey
Long Island
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Austin, TX
Memphis, TN
Nashville, TN
New Orleans, LA
Mississippi
Minneapolis, MN
Seattle, WA
Portland, OR
Cleveland, OH
Detroit, MI
Boston, MA
Alabama
Branson, MO
Virginia Beach/other parts, VA (Chris Brown, Clipse, Pharrell)

So I need to start visiting these places, like yesterday. It's an ambitious goal, but I'm committed. 

Tha Carter III

I was wondering if there's any album as perfect as Tha Carter III. This was Lil Wayne's much anticipated breakthrough album which was one of the best in 2008. God, what an album. For a rapper who had been in the game 10 years and who had released marginal hits every now and then and who put out hundreds of mixtapes, this album was far from what we were used to from Lil Wayne. This is also the last album where Lil Wayne is good. I don't know how else to put it, but it has some phenomenal rapping, but it was the beginning of Wayne's downfall. Shortly after, he fully assembled and introduced Young Money (*shudder* I hate Young Money). I'd like to blame Drake for ruining Lil Wayne. He's like Jay-Z; he's still amazingly dope, but he just can't rap as well as he used to. 

I recently re-listened to this album after reading and writing about Jim Jonsin, who produced "Lollipop" which was one of the first times we heard a non-T-Pain rapper using Auto-Tune. I had a friend in high school who had a really nice car with a bumpin' system and he would listen to this song a lot and I can remember how my brain shook after the heavy bass in this song rocked my head. Jonsin knows how to work with bass. "A Milli" which was the album's second single, is a steady badass rap similar to Lil Wayne's mixtape style. This song goes hard. "Let the Beat Build" uses an old soul sample and has some great rhymes mixed with a steady background vocal track, a piano track and a rolling drum clap. I almost wrote "this song has a Kanye West-esque soul sample" then I realized that he produced it. I like the matchup of Wayne and Kanye, honestly. They go well together. "Tie My Hands" featuring Robin Thicke is a sad reminder of Hurricane Katrina that had devastated Wayne's (and my) city three years prior to this album. "Phone Home" introduces Lil Wayne's weird, promethezine-fueled hallucinations of alien life. He believes he's a martian, what a nutcase. The beat in this song is sick, though. My favorite track hands down, is the hardest one: "You Ain't Got Nuthin'" featuring Fabolous and Juelz Santana. What a great trio of rappers, wow. It's just an amazing song. "La La" featuring Busta Rhymes and Brisco is pretty good, but not the best. The weakest song on the album is "Mrs Officer." I just never got into it.

This album is just so important. It made Lil Wayne the superstar he is now. I have such an emotional attachment to this album. It's definitely one of my favorites of all time. 

Outkast

I don't think there's any other hip hop group that is so universally popular and loved by pretty much everybody besides Outkast. I always say it's unpatriotic to not like Outkast. They've been putting out records for almost 20 years and have had smash hits such as "Hey Ya" and "Ms. Jackson" and others. I can't really explain why they're so good, but somehow they are.

About six months ago, I interviewed Big Boi. It was probably the most amazing 25 minutes of my life. He is so damn cool and smart. He said some really hilarious things, including quoting his own songs ("we're the coolest motherfunkers on the planet" and "you're only as funky as your last cut") and called me baby.

Basically, every album before Idlewild is my favorite. I love ATLiens so much, though, because it's such an important 1990s Atlanta rap album. Outkast is legendary and I hope they put out another album soon. Big Boi wouldn't tell me if they were going to do that, but I bet they will. Andre 3000 is too busy being on every popular rap and R&B song ever and Big Boi is doing whatever the hell he wants to. They're the coolest.

My Music Taste

I wanted to explain my music taste, but I wanted to wait til I wrote more before I wrote this post. Tonight, someone said something really hurtful to me that I've heard before and I'll always hear it - "you don't know anything about music." I know, I say a lot of outrageous things and I like ridiculous music, but so what? I don't know how people have the nerve to say shit like to me. It's the most hurtful thing anybody can say to me because it really is my bread and butter.

Here's the deal. I grew up on a lot of different music. My parents loved Bob Marley, Prince and a bunch of other stuff. The classics, etc. I learned how to read by looking at CD liner notes. My mom thought I was weird and socially inept because I'd become obsessed with music, like when I lived and breathed Tragic Kingdom when I was six years old. I was a six year old Gwen Stefani wannabe. No Doubt was my first favorite band. I was in middle school when I first started listening to obscure stuff, like Morrissey and Radiohead. What 12 year old do you know that listens to Morrissey? I went through a brief punk/hardcore phase from ages 12-15. When I was 15, I started listening to pop punk and emo. Throughout high school, I was very into the local and national pop punk scene and went to shows almost every weekend. I went to Warped Tour every summer during high school. During this time, I also was listening to rap such as Clipse, Lil Wayne, Outkast, etc. I never admitted it, but I loved hip hop and pop music. In college when I moved to New Orleans, I abandoned my pop punk roots and started listening to indie (hello, college) and more rap and pop. Time went by and now I mainly listen to hip hop these days. I still actively listen to everything I used to love.

I never claim to be a music expert, but I do know a little bit about it. I read a lot and try to keep my finger on the pulse of the music industry. If you wanna challenge me, that's fine. I'm a writer and I'll always be hurt by editors and critics. It's cool, I knew this all along. But please, don't be so harsh. It makes me want to seek a different career, but I really don't want to.