Why Nicki Minaj Is Going To Outsell Your Favorite Artists

This chick Nicki Minaj completely switches it up on her debut album Pink Friday. I gave the leak a listen last night and for those of you who think it's going to be another rap album, think again. She came left field wit some pop shit. In a good way. Her album is LACED with hits. I mean LACED. She has a joint with Will.I.Am that is basically the female version of Usher's OMG. I don't know if she writes her own singing stuff or not but it works. It's a different sound too. You know it's pop when you hear it but it doesn't sound generic at all. Females across the nation are going to eat this shit up! Nicki is going to take over your local KISS (pop) radio station for the entire winter. She might have enough for spring as well. If they market this right and release the right songs she could EASILY do Rihanna (Good Girl Gone Bad) numbers.

If I were them I'd let it rock and drop half of the singles planned. THEN, since Wayne isn't on the album, do a couple remixes with him, add couple new songs, and re release the album after 6 months or so.

Maybe I should consider marketing. LMFAO!

The Aftermath Umbrella and How They Ruined Hip-Hop.

Aftermath Entertainment was started in 1996 by Dr. Dre. He claims that it was started with a quality over quantity standard but I don't buy it. His first release was The Firm album in 1997. It sold enough units to go gold but it was never highly acclaimed by critics. The group disbanded shortly after. In 1998 Dr. Dre sold his soul to the devil in exchange for Eminem (I mean he had to do something, right?). This is where it all starts. Eminem brought in all of these kids who had never liked Hip-Hop before. He had a crazy impact. I won't front like I didn't buy his first two albums but i quickly outgrew his subject matter. Now, 12 years after his debut you have these same kids who didn't listen to Hip-Hop until Eminem giving their opinions on any and everything Hip-Hop like they deserve that respect. Eminem's music, outside of an album's worth of songs, is worthless. He's a really talented rapper who makes really stupid music. I don't see how these kids get all excited hearing him try to rap faster than the speed of light about how good of a rapper he is. If that's all they did it wouldn't be a problem but they claim Em is the GOAT and, since he's white, if you disagree they will call you a racist. It is amusing but at the same time very annoying and childish. 

In 2002 Eminem signed one of the most negative influences we have ever seen in the world of Hip-Hop. 50 Cent came on the scene with an even bigger buzz than Eminem (which is fucking absurd). Due to his 9 gunshot wounds and street background he became a huge hit with suburban america. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. His debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' went 6 times platinum and he became a global icon basically overnight. 50 may be best known for his "beefs" with other artists (which were really just marketing ploys to sell his albums) which his career seemed to live (Ja Rule and others) and die (Rick Ross) by. In these "beefs" all 50 did was talk about how none of his adversaries sell records. In turn leading his simple minded fans to believe that selling records has anything to do with being talented or making good music. That mentality has stuck with Hip-Hop for awhile now. It basically voided lyrical ability in a battle. How is that good for Hip-Hop? Now there are millions of people out there who believe that if you don't sell records your music isn't good and if you do sell records you're great. That is retarded. 50 Cent's buzz has died off but he still doesn't want to let go. Now he's running back and doing songs with the artists he "beefed" with which is pathetic and shows that he never really had a real beef with anyone. It was all marketing.

This is the same guy who made "High All The Time" but claims not to drink or smoke. Hip-Hop has always been about authenticity and while I believe that you can stretch the truth a little every now and then lying about getting high is just corny. He said he would retire if Kanye West outsold his Curtis album with Graduation. Kanye did outsell him and the AntiRap is still around making music. What a fraud.

In 2005 he did the unspeakable. He added newly signed rapper The Game to his G-Unit line up. The Game is one of the most AVERAGE rappers ever. Fans of Aftermath artists seem like EVERY artist on the weak ass label because they all have that similar formula to their music. Dr Dre's beats have sounded exactly the same since around 2003. There is no evolution in the Aftermath umbrella. There is no honor. There is no love for music. Their whole existence is based on greed and the bastardization of the music we know and love.

Remember Detox? Yea, THAT Detox. Dre finally dropped a single for it. Guess what? Nobody cares! I think the run of their formula has run out or people finally wised up. Either way their buzz is dying (except Eminem's but we know why that it) and I can't wait until is completely gone and they are no longer around tainting the music that I USED to love so much.

There is a reason some of the most respected artists that have been signed to Aftermath left the label. They probably didn't want to sell the fuck out like some lames. Art is only art until you stop caring about it. Since 2003 the Aftermath umbrella has been manufacturing music for mass distribution. It is basically brainwashing music for idiotic people. The good news in all this is that it seems Hip-Hop fans are slowly but surely going back to listening to music because it's actually good. Thank God.

J. Cole : The Write Up (My Thoughts On His Career)

*DISCLAIMER*

This is just my review of J. Cole as an artist. It is very detailed thus it is not a short read.

The new General of the Internet Soldiers (as cosigned by Joe Budden) seems to have some of the most annoying fans in the world. Yes, J. Cole can rap. A lot of people can rap. This guy makes some of the most boring music I've ever heard. His topics range from rap to north carolina, to his weak ass struggles, to the hood, to college, and finally to the degree that we ALL know that he received from college (because he mentions it in EVERY song). 

He's been signed since 2007. He still has no buzz outside of the internet. He's basically the non emo, less lyrical version of Joe Budden. He's already getting the same treatment that Joe did except his album got to drop and it went gold. If you pay attention you would see that Jay mentions Drake more than he does his own artist. J. Cole is the perfect proof that rap ability is damn near meaningless when it comes to making good music. Even some of his fans say he needs a lot of work with making songs. A label is not going to be able to sell records based off of your lyrical ability. It just doesn't work like that. What? You thought it was still the 90s? 

Let's break down his sound. It's simple. J. Cole is a poor man's Kanye West (College Dropout era) with watered down subject matter/beats/hooks and VERY minimal songwriting ability. From the beats to the rhyme patterns it's all old 'Ye. I don't see how you can just look past the blatant style biting and from an unworthy artist nonetheless. The first thing you have to do Mr. Cole is stop doing those 24 and 32 bar verses on every song (they're fine in moderation). You're not that nice, sir (no one is). Next, you have to actually finish your beats. Third, you need to buy some hooks until you learn how to write them.

People like to compare him to Drake which is honestly a joke in my opinion. Drake was signed 2 years after J. Cole and already has a platinum debut album while Cole is wondering if his album will ever receive a release date. People will say "He's a better rapper." but is he really? Punchlines are not the only way to be lyrical. Drake may not be the most lyrical but he definitely gets his point across is a manner that isn't hazardous while operating heavy machinery. Cole seems as if he's trying so hard to impress the listener that he's actually not saying much at all. It's the exact same thing he said in his last verse and the one before it. Let's just say he is the better rapper. Who is making the better music? 

I'm all for lyricism but what happened to being complete? Jay-Z is a complete artist. Nas is/was a complete artist. Lupe is a complete artist. Even Joe (Budden), when he's not on those weak ass J Cardim beats, is a complete artist. They're all lyrical yet they know how to construct songs that don't serve as audible Ambien. At the end of the day music is music. A lot of music doesn't even have lyrics so you can't say something is good just because of "good" lyrics. If all you care about is lyrics you should hit up some local poetry readings. Leave music to the musicians. 

Don't worry, all hope is not lost. He just needs guidance but that innocent college boy rap isn't going to get him anywhere. He might want to get the fuck away from Jay too. Jay is that nigga musically but he isn't the best judge of talent (Bleek) or character (Beans). Besides I think if Cole were to go independent he could have a nice little career on some underground shit. Being on a major isn't doing anything but hindering him.

Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 4 (A Turn 4 The Worst) RETAIL

01. Pray For Them
02. Come Along
03. Remember The Titans (featuring Fabolous, Lloyd Banks & Royce Da 5′9″)
04. Short Summer (featuring Emanny)
05. Role Reversal
06. Mop Salad (Skit)
07. Black Cloud
08. Follow My Lead (featuring Joell Ortiz)
09. Weekend Warrior (Skit)
10. Sober Up (featuring Crooked I)
11. Hello Expectations
12. Something To Ride To
13. Stuck In The Moment

Download

This is NOT the same as the mixtape that leaked a few weeks ago. This is the full retail release featuring a few different tracks and does not contain songs that had uncleared samples. Get it now.

Full Kanye West Interview With Funkmaster Flex (No Commercials/Music Breaks)

Download (MP3)

Breakdown of subject matter by time.

5:20 -Taylor Swift
8:12 -Award shows
14:00 -Nude pics
17:19 -Album artwork
28:00 -Kim Kardashian
29:21 -Selita Ebanks
30:48 -Amber Rose
40:00 -Jay Z

Kanye West live on Hot97 with FunkMaster Flex until 12am... (LIVE NOW!)

Click here for the live stream. I will update this tomorrow with download/stream links to just the interview parts.

New Music : Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer

Just came across this album on good ol' Twitter. I'm listening to it as I re upload it. Yes, I'm a blogger with integrity. I don't steal links, just music lmfao. This is sounding amaizing so far. I'm on "Bodies" and so far the album has a very old school feel. Some with a twist of MJ (upbeat and downtempo) and others with more of a 50s or 60s era feel. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Bruno Mars and crew (The Smeezingtons) handled the bulk of the production on this album. They have brought back the old school feel but they made it current somehow. It just works. Anyway check it out. I may revisit this post but I don't wanna type an essay lol.

Download
Alternate Download

1.	"Lady Killer Theme (Intro)"
2.	"Bright Lights Bigger City"
3.	"Fuck You"
4.	"Wildflower"
5.	"Bodies"
6.	"Please" (featuring Selah Sue)
7.	"Satisfied"
8.	"I Want You"
9.	"Cry Baby"
10.	"Fool for You" (featuring Philip Bailey)
11.	"It's OK"
12.	"Old Fashioned"
13.	"No One's Gonna Love You"
14.	"Lady Killer Theme (Outro)"

One last thing. "Fool For You" has to be a single.