If you haven’t yet noticed, most of my day-to-day hulkshare coverage has been taking place over at Tumblin’ Erb. Still sometimes things get backlogged and that’s when the old New Rap Music column rears its head. Which is what is happening now, right before your eyes.

E-40 f/ Beeda Weeda & Work of the DB’z – “In The Morning”

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from Revenue Retreivin’ (Sick Wid It, 3/29)

Trying to pick a single track to feature out of the 40 that 40 is about to drop next Tuesday is like trying to choose your favorite member of the Dungeon Family (it’s not necessarily Andre goddammit). Minus a few very minor missteps the second round of Revenues is two and a half solid hours of impeccable spittums and blink and you miss it imagery Ooooh sinister mob shit / choppers all in the closet / hydrogen lamps in the attic / warm broccoli spinach and cabbage / vacuum sealer on the counter / right next to the money counter / that’s right next to the scale / for weighing nuts and fruits not yayo / that’s my excuse if they take me to jail. I went with “In The Morning” for that open, in part, (Beeda and Work hold their own here too) but also that. Goddamn. Beat. There’s one song on Overtime Shift (which, on first listen, is feeling like the superior sibling) that opens with an approximation of the THX deep note test sound. Not the most original conceit – Dre did it (and was later sued) – but it seems like an apt metaphor for 40′s production selections right now. Every song has me feeling like the goddamn Maxell man. Wig blown completely back. This ties into what I was saying about Pharoahe Monch a few weeks ago – with age the most technically effortless rappers have the curse of becoming predictable in their unpredictability. The best way to combat this staleness is by continuing to expand the production palette. As out as 40′s beats get he’s still miles ahead, but new sonics bring out the best in him.

Freestyle Fellowship – “Welcome“

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I had perhaps unfairly written off the impending Freestyle Fellowship reunion project too early. The LA quartet is comprised of some of the greatest breathing raw talents that rap has ever produced but they also have a chronic streak of underachievement. Much of their recent solo output has been a far cry from their heyday and this is their third reunion in about twelve years, where the two previous ones haven’t quite delivered and they aren’t getting any younger. The few crew tracks that have leaked thus far have been passable but frustratingly conservative and far from awe inspiring. But over the past few days Jupiter has been leaking very lo-fi rips of their recent recordings (96kbps is the new Maxell hiss – though weirdly the files I downloaded were actually ripped at like 400+ kbps?) via his Soundcloud page and it turns out these guys are still outstanding rappers when they want to be and, more importantly, masters of setting an atmosphere. “Welcome,” with its upright bass and endearingly rambling styles upon styles raps, recalls the mystical shamanic vibe of their very underrated late ’90s Shockadoom sessions. The crew fell apart before that album was ever completed. Hopefully they can keep it together this time around.
(more…)

“Grandma probably rise from the grave / heard what I paid for it…“

Gucci Mane has released something close to a hundred songs in the last two weeks or so. I hope Warner doesn’t sue me before I finish giving each and every one a full and thoughtful listen. Here are some highlights from the Cold War saga, plus a few other loosies that have dripped to the web in recent days.

Gucci Mane – “Break Ya Self”

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from Brrrussia (Mixtape, 2009)
For UGK being his favorite group, his production is usually far from Pimp’s classical trunk funk. So it’s nice to hear Guch hop on some heavy Hammonds once in a while. It has been a long time since I’ve heard a rapper use the word “dolo.” Of course, rhyming it with “solo” is probably not the most inspired decision but the other rapps more than make up for the slippage.

50 Cent f/ Gucci Mane – “Crime Wave (Remix)“

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The biggest secret in rap is that 50 still makes good to great music. Even if every beat he rocks these days has the exact same drum pattern. It’s strange that more parallels aren’t drawn between Gucci and Fif. Not so much musically, though they are both making a killing with a drawl, but morally. Gucci is on the cusp of wearing the rap villain belt that 50 once held. At least since Tupac, every era of rap has had a major villain. A force so evil that the crusaders for real hip hop (no tony d) and detractors against all hip hop must constantly remind us how the mere existence of these rappers is destroying the world. (Until, of course, a few years pass and their detractors either soften with nostalgia or are pandered to directly by a villain who has reinvented himself as a hero.) The vilification of major gangsta rappers is to be expected, even necessary, at this point. (more…)

Not cold meaning good, but cold meaning “met with indifference from the public.” MTV has once again done rap listeners a great service by telling us which rappers we already anticipate, CB will now do the opposite and remind you of the rappers you consistently overlook. Some of these are great rappers who are recording great music. Some are once great rappers recording bad music. Some of them never should have rapped in the first place and deserve every ounce of non-acclaim they’ve ever received. I don’t really intend to kick dirt in the faces of up and comers (or down and goers) so mostly these are still fairly established acts who are were at least signed to major labels within the past few years. Yes, Big Bank Hank and Seff The Gaffler and Mr. Complex aren’t very hot right now, but that’s not really what we’re talking about. Nor are we looking at one hit wonders, because they are what they are. (more…)

Wait… what? Did Devin father this nascent trend? Or does it go back to Marley and the Beasties? In my day rappers were perfectly content with helicopters. (more…)

Gucci Mane – “I’m Back Bitch”

Gucci Mane f/ Plies – “Wasted” FUCKWMG

And so it begins. After years of bubbling under it only took a split second for Gucci to make that rare leap from street hot to industry hot. From virtually unblogged* to sharing a track with two of the biggest selling rap acts of the decade. It’s appropriate, too, that one is none other than 50 Cent, the man who created the modern model for mixtape ascension. A baton passing, of sorts. (Pause?) BC, Before Curtis, tape favorites like Canibus and The Lox mostly fizzled when faced with the major label system. 50 made street buzz convertible energy, brought marketability and songwriting and form and (dare I say?) artistry to a medium that was once exclusively about lyrical lyricism. Tip and Jeezy and Wayne and especially Gucci followed suit. “Boom Boom Pow” is not only a reminder that Gucci is the next man, but that 50 can still rap. (And, yes, that the Black Eyed Peas are completely unbearable. But respect to them for rocking the old styled remix – new beat and new lyrics.)

“Wasted” for the hell of it. “Gucci Bandana” FUCKWMG and a lonely footnote after the jump. (more…)