Lil Wayne: The Carter Catch 22

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Depending on your age you may or may not be familiar with the old (young) Lil Wayne. The Lil Wayne who couldn't curse. If you aren't familiar the Wayne of today and the Wayne of the mid to late 90s are two entirely different rappers.  As a youngster Wayne was more of a story teller. He stayed on topic and painted pictures with the words. Now he's basically a punchline rapper who just so happens to make hit singles from time to time. 

The Carter 3 is his best album to date and, to me, it still sucks. It has a few nice singles but aside from those it sounds like another Wayne mixtape except it has original beats. They could have left that "You Ain't Got Nuthin" in the past where it originally was. Songs like "Let The Beat Build" don't move me at all. It's like he's just looking for an excuse to rap about nothing. I want to hear Wayne spit more stuff from the heart. Lyrics with actual meaning like he did on this.

That is the Wayne I want to hear. I know he used the verse on the album but it's not the same. He just threw some shit together. 

We all love mixtape Wayne but when is enough, enough? Everything cannot be a random number of bars being spit with simple punchlines about nothing. I believe Wayne knows that but he continues to just rap because his fans are so pleased with it. The same fans that quote his most simple lines like they're golden. I don't get it. You can see other rappers like Kanye West following this trend. Wayne needs to find a balance between who he is currently and his old self. I think that would give us the best possible music out of him. 

I'm anticipating The Carter 4 but if 6 Foot 7 Foot is any indication of what's to come then I am not pleased. It's like they said "Hey, let's try to remake A Milli without actually recreating the same song." I honestly doubt it will make the album, though. I'm sure Birdman just wanted to put something out and get some money. It was also a good look for Wayne's newest artist, Cory Gunz. Can't judge too much since it's his first track since his release but I'm hoping it was just a warm up.

Eminem ft. Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, & Cashis - Syllables

This song is terrible. I don't even get it. Eminem is complaining about bad rapping and bragging then Jay-Z brags before Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, and Cashis rap horrible verses. The beat sounds like an NES video game soundtrack. It's just overall bad. Listen if you want but I wouldn't advise it.

Lupe Does 180 On 360 Deal. The Show Goes On

You may want to watch this video to help you better understand the situation.

Shit is real. Labels are losing money because artists aren't selling as much as they used to. Instead of trying to increase sales by putting out quality product they try to enslave artists into what are known as 360 deals. In 360 deals your label receives a percentage of EVERYTHING you do. If you land a movie role they're getting some of that money. They're getting some of your tour money. They basically own you. They don't even have to set something up to get a percentage. You could go land a movie role without help from anyone. When it comes time for you to get paid your record label will be getting a cut.

Lupe's last album The Cool went Gold. Apparently that is not enough for Atlantic so they told Lupe that his album would not release if he did not sign a 360 deal. He refused to sign the deal. He said that he would build a buzz for his album independently but Atlantic said they would sabotage any attempts to do so. He lashed out against Atlantic and once his fans caught wind of what was going on they started to take action. They first started an online petition that received over 28,000 signatures. Then the fans got together for a protest outside of the Atlantic Records office building on October 15th, 2010. After this the label had a meeting with Lupe and they came to the agreement of no 360 deal. They also announced a release date of March 8th, 2011 for his album Lasers. They have released a single produced by Kane Beatz entitled "The Show Goes On".

Lupe's fans may have saved his career from going into limbo but there are many other artists facing this same issue. Artists have to understand that they are the ones with the real power. Don't sign the first deal thrown on the table. Your best bet is ALWAYS to have multiple options. The more in demand you are as an artist the more leverage you have when negotiating your contract. Artists have to refuse 360 deals no matter what. It will never be worth it. If they don't refuse them the labels will just keep offering them and the industry will eventually self destruct. Artists and fans have to take the power back from the labels. DEATH TO 360 DEALS!

Drake: So Far On

Fast forward past the beginning and we have Drake arriving on the scene in 2009 with a hit single (Double Platinum) in "Best I Ever Had" which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top 100. The song, which was originally featured on a free mixtape, became so popular that they decided to release the original songs from the mixtape as an EP. The So Far Gone EP went on to achieve Gold status with the RIAA, bringing in over 500,000 sales.

From there Drake began to pop up on hooks for everyone from Birdman to Jay-Z. He quickly made it known that he a commodity when it came to song writing. Along with Alicia Keys and his producer Noah "40" Shebib, Drake wrote what would become one of his biggest songs to date. Un-thinkable was a hit and stayed at #1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart for 12 consecutive weeks. The song helped push Alicia's  The Element Of Freedom to Platinum status.

In March of 2010 Drake released the first single from his debut album. The song "Over" peaked at 14 on the Hot 100. It was a cool song but got old pretty fast. I haven't listened to it since April. The 2nd single was the Kanye West produced "Find Your Love". I never really felt the song. It sounded like a throwaway track from 808s & Heartbreak. It received higher recognition than "Over" and the Billboard charts prove it. It was actually his biggest song since "Best I Ever Had". The album Thank Me Later released on June 15th, 2010 and didn't take long to achieve Platinum status. They went on to release two more singles from the album with "Miss Me" and "Fancy".

A lot of people seem to hate Drake and his music. Some of them are early fans who say he sold out. Others say he isn't good enough as a rapper. I have seen countless people compare him to J. Cole which baffles me. Their music isn't close to being similar. J. Cole's singing isn't comparable to Drake's singing. I have never heard him sing a full song. J. Cole may have a little more depth with his lyrics and subject matter but his music is boring. Drake is entertaining and that's exactly what music is supposed to be. Drake isn't the greatest rapper but he touches on topics most people can relate to and he understands what a song is.

People say he's going to have a short career but I'm going to have to disagree with that. He understands music. He understands how to structure songs and how to convey emotion. The only thing he doesn't understand is that you can't use the same flow on every song. He also needs to understand that he looks silly doing those little dances and hand waves. All in all I hope Drake is around for awhile. He does him and he doesn't rap about selling drugs, which is always a plus. He just has to continue to grow as an artist and he'll be alright.

On a completely unrelated note. I need to hear a collaboration between these two. IT MUST HAPPEN!

Jay Electronica: The Part-Time Rap Star

Like any other rapper some people were already on to Jay Electronica's music before he dropped Exhibit C in 2009. Although he was known by a nice amount of people Exhibit C is the record that blew his name up to the "masses". I put masses in quotation marks because no one outside those of us who spend countless hours on the internet every week knows who he is. He is the newest act on Roc Nation and he even has a Mountain Dew commercial. He seems to have a lot going for himself right now except music.

This character who once fronted on his own city and upbringing to be accepted in northern cities delivers 3 songs a year, MAXIMUM and they aren't even really songs because they rarely have hooks. Yes, he can rap but his raps are just backpack with a twist of religion. He's the one man version of Jedi Mind Tricks except he doesn't yell like Vinnie Paz LOL. I'm 100% sure if Just Blaze never gave him a beat no one else would have given a fuck. He's just another rapper that was hyped up by the internet. He has a, seemingly, terrible work ethic and has not released a full project (not even a mixtape) since he has started gaining notoriety.

It looks like Roc Nation is the new label for rappers who have no mainstream appeal. Jay Electronica raps for hood niggas who read a book or two on philosophy and think they're scholars. The lost Wu-Tang member if you will. What do you think?

Wale: The VERY Mad Rapper

Hear Wale's exchange with the radio station.

 We all know artists can get rather emotional at times and Wale is well known for it but I think it's warranted this time around. Kid CuDi basically opened the "Wale Slander Floodgates" when he said "We don't fuck with you musically." It seems like since then his name has been getting dragged through the mud. Onto the topic at hand.

Apparently there's been some ongoing stuff between Wale, radio station 92Q, and some local Baltimore rapper named Bossman. Wale called the station sounding VERY pissed off about the whole situation. It seems that the radio station has been playing ever diss song that Bossman made towards Wale. He says they're playing him, which I agree with. Radio people are good talkers, though, and they do a decent of convincing Wale that they aren't to blame. He goes from saying "y'all" (92Q and Bossman) to "he" (Bossman). I know Wale knows he's still right about the radio station but it's politics. Anyway I agree with him 100%. He probably could have handled it a little better but this is what happens when your name is being slandered 24/7 for no reason. I see people shitting on Wale all the time from Twitter to TV so I know the slander is real.

Im happy that he finally stood up for himself. It might have been on some kind of childish shit but I think he got his point across.

Top 5 Dead or Alive? Jada Please.

I'm sure you all know someone who lists this guy as their favorite rapper. Idiots. This slightly above average slick talker may very well be the most overrated rapper EVER. He has NO good albums and only a handful of SONGS that actually matter. He is a strong force as a member of The Lox because their styles (No pun intended.) even each other out but as a solo "artist" (I'm using the term VERY loosely.) he doesn't even deserve to be mentioned. Like most mixtape/punchline/street rappers from the east coast this guy can't make a decent hook to save his life and would rather give you a barrage of bars than an actual song. 

I wonder if he hates Def Jam yet. I'm sure he didn't want a song with OJ Da Juiceman on his last album but when you can't make a good song by yourself your label has to try and help you out any they can. It was a terrible idea but I'm 100% sure it helped him more than it hurt him. No one, outside of New Yorkers who love street rap (They don't buy albums.), is checking for this dude's albums. I'll keep this one short. I only posted it because I almost got murdered by everyone in the barber shop for saying Jadakiss is overrated. A few had the nerve to say top 5 dead or alive. I think they believed it too. I prayed for them when I got home. 

What do you think? Top 5 DOA or no way?