They Try To Take Me Out The Game But…
I is alive. This post probably should’ve happened a thousand months ago but it didn’t so it is happening now. If you haven’t noticed Cocaineblunts is all tumbleweeds and dead links to old Trina songs but do not worry because I still make words about rap, I just do so elsewhere. Many elsewheres, actually. As a matter of fact I now have more columns than Zeus:
- HALL OF GAME at Pitchfork is a about rap and rap music.
- HIP HOP PIT STOP (aka CARPETBAGGERS CHOICE dammit) at Red Bull Music Academy looks at the regional rap legends of then and now.
- BEAT CONSTRUCTION at Fader is a series of conversations about beats with the people who make them.
- I also write the hip-hop reviews column in THE WIRE every other month (and occasionally more frequently than that) but you are going to have to leave your house or subscribe if you want to see it.
- Plus I’m still a TUMBLRER when I have time to be and a FREELANCERER when I’m allowed to be and a TWITTERER every waking moment of my godforsaken life.
So yeah there’s all of that and you should be sure to read every word. I’m sorry that this can’t be a regular blog anymore but the internet has changed and I can’t even buy a penny with Adsense nickels these days. What do you think? Will you miss this site? Will you dance on its grave? Where is Maynholup? Who stole the last piece of chicken? SPEAK ON IT!
Tumblin' Erb
October 18th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Glad to see youre being paid to do this, all those posts so far were good. I think the only thing we’ll really miss is comments and shots fired.
Im half glad Maynholup rode into the sunset before his legend was sullied, blog game/rap game arent that similar.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:56 am
I do miss the comments section here
October 19th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
I REALLY enjoyed the Richmond Raps article. Props for mentioning C.I.N.
Did you see E-40 mention in his interview with Nardwuar that Calvin-T will be featured on his next album(s)? Pretty excited for their collaboration to happen even if it is like 15 years later than expected. Also there are miscellaneous Calvin-T raps on youtube and myspace that have been recorded in the last decade or so if anyone is interested.
October 19th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Will miss this site. It’s been a regular online destination for years, if even recently just visiting and hoping to see an update. I have been trying to keep up with your writing in other places. Thanks for all these links in one place.
I never comment so let me take this opportunity to say thank you. I’ve been listening to rap music for almost 30 years (since Beat Street made me a life long fan as a kid) and I would say the last 3-4 years have been the most fun for me, based in large parts on the raps (both new and old) I have discovered through your writing. Appreciate your critique. Keep it up.
October 19th, 2012 at 6:07 pm
Will sorely miss the comments section. Easily one of the best on the internet. If you can measure the intelligence and integrity of a website’s baseline through its comments section(kind of a frightening thought, but also kind of true), than this has been one of the most reliably smart sites I’ve ever read. Keep posting links.
October 19th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
All the pay work you’ve ever gotten is built on the success of this blog. I’ve been reading since 2004, back when this was the ONLY site on the internet to find information on the history of Rap-A-Lot and Sic-Wit-It. I still keep up with and enjoy the work you post elsewhere but personally, I think you should make time to do one post a month at the old CB address. Once per month you could expand one of your longer posts for tumblr and put it here instead of there. I think that would be sufficient to keep the old site alive. It would be a mistake to abandon it. This is your foundation.
October 19th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
ive been checking this site off and on for years. gotta admit its got more e-sentimental value than most
October 20th, 2012 at 11:36 am
BRING BACK THE ‘NEW RAP MUSIC’ POSTS!!!!!!
October 20th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
e-sentimental for sure. what up everybody.
noz the new features you have at the other places are dope, keep writing and i’ll keep reading regardless of where it is. i read your twitter on a fairly regular basis and get mad insights n chuckles for days.
rip “speak on it” we barely knew ya
October 20th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
You guys got it twisted. This isn’t a retirement post, it’s a placeholder. I’ll probably continue to update at the same snails pace I always have.
I do agree about the comments. Would it be constructive if I were to just do a basic ass blank post for comments around landmark stuff in hip hop. Ie. KENDRICK LAMAR ALBUM SPEAK ON IT porst or whatever. Or even just a standalone link post to my review or something?
October 20th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
I’m especially enjoying the RBMA pieces and am glad to see you (getting paid to) cover all the nooks and corners of rap.
Some kind of occasional open thread could work, but it’s not worth it if you can’t also participate.
October 21st, 2012 at 7:47 am
OH I CAN PARTICIPATE
October 21st, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Yeah this is a good idea.
October 22nd, 2012 at 2:39 pm
You should do what you do on Tumblr over here instead. As Agallah nearly once said : you might be Noz, but all you need is one site.
Tumblr is just the most heinous medium with its unfriendly search function, lack of comment section, and people lazily posting Youtubes with no sort of accompanying text.
Not to mention, at least 90 – 95% of the Rap to emerge from Tumblr has been terrible; how can people continue to use a website which is responsible for the Flatbush Zombies having a career?
October 22nd, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Plus the lack of comment section meant the only people allowed take part had to be bloggers. MAYNHOLUP.MAYN wasnt real no matter how many times I clicked on it
October 22nd, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Tumblrs just addictive, its not any good
October 23rd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Can I speak on it? On the one hand, I agree with a lot of your review. Kendrick clearly thought long and hard about each song and the overall message he wanted to convey. The production’s got a consistent sound, and yea, he’s just damn good at rapping. At the same time, I have a few problems:
1) This album is way too long. If you cut the last two songs and the one w/ Drake, it’s a really depressing album, sure, but it’s a much more concise statement.
2) The skits do too much explaining, and are quite humorless. But if he ended w/ the ‘Thirst’ skit, it feels quite powerful.
3) I would have liked more weird flows, whether or not it distracted from the message.
I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about the second verse of “Sing About Me.” The ironic ending of “I’ll never fade away” loses its power after the abrupt ending of the first.
October 24th, 2012 at 11:11 am
You should definitely keep this place open.
I checked out your pieces on Pitchfork, and thought, “weird, no comments”, then I discovered that there is no comment function, just buttons for sharing their articles on the twitter and FB.
That kind of goes against what the internet is about. Sure way to kill of any conversation about the subject at hand, but perhaps a good choice for Pitchfork’s “brand building” (going viral on social media)?
October 24th, 2012 at 11:57 am
Yeah I noticed Pitchfork doesnt have comments recently and felt the same. Twitter is the worst place for those kind of discussions
October 25th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
http://i.imgur.com/RF7LK.jpg
November 8th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Didn’t notice this until now, but I fully agree about the comments. Whether it would be adding comments back to TumblinErb, or finding a way to direct things back towards here, or something else entirely, I’d love a place resurrect that. I’ve learned more from this site than almost any other rap page over the last six or seven years, but there was also a lot of knowledge dropped in the comments that turned me into other insightful writers like David Drake, et al.
November 19th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
great site. taught me lots bout memphis and u always showed love to us baycats. thanks
November 21st, 2012 at 8:11 pm
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December 3rd, 2012 at 3:59 am
I miss the comments section too. I somehow found myself on the 6 Kiss post and discovered that not only was Keyboard Kid on there, but there were also some dudes claiming in seriousness that Lil B was a satanist. How amazing is that?
December 12th, 2012 at 9:31 am
Dear Noz,
I just wanted to say thank you so much for still linking to great, well-selected mp3-blogs in 2012! Right when I think I read all the blogs there are, guys like you throw a link to sites like diskographytumblr (via their gigantic Harry Fraud post) where I found some great Cormega compilations and tapes (and much more). Or the 12manrambotapes blog, with all the great bay rarities – I love that Saafir demo. (Though sadly the guy didn’t upload all tracks of each tape and cut off some tracks – still a treasure trove!)
Blogs not dead yet!
December 16th, 2012 at 10:33 pm
I agree about what everyone said about the lack of comment section.
April 24th, 2013 at 1:07 am
Until now I Loved rap and rap music
April 24th, 2013 at 1:11 am
The amazing Video… I like it!!!