“Niggas don’t want beef, they vegetarian
Scared of pussy you climbed outta ceasarian” - NaS

Nas fans gather round…remember back when Jay-Z nearly ended your favorite rapper’s career with a flurry of insults on stage and on wax? In vain you waited for a response from the lyrical monster in NaS to unleash your faith in the man again. Those were the trying times. In the aftermath of a disappointing outing with 04’s Streets Disciple, the trying times are back.

It’s been 4 months since 50 Cent dropped the mediocre dis joint “Piggy Bank”. It’s taken another agonizing waiting period for Nasir fans to get a response from the self-proclaimed King of NY. On the song, NaS hints that “MC Burial”, which Statik Selektah recently aired on Sirius Satellite, is only a warning shot. The reason for this cautious approach? It’s a well-known fact that if you go all out in your first response to a diss song, you only give your challenger the privilege of knocking you out in the 2nd round. Remember the post-summer jam “Stillmatic freestyle” which turned out to be a disgusting prelude to the classic “Ether”.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the real deal. But for now, enjoy:

Would a song like They Reminisce Over You(T.R.O.Y.) still be considered a classic if CL Smooth didn’t have Pete Rock’s soul-tugging beat to lace his crispy rhymes to? Or just imagine what”Takeover” would sound like without that grimy anthem-like sample-infested beat underneath the vicious lyrics. Bottom line: producers, though under-appreciated by everyone ranging from fans to BET, help make the music happen. So, in this ‘Producer Appreciation Post’, I’ve put together a list of Hip Hop’s 25 most powerful beat-makers of all time, and I aint talking about tinkerbell beats.

25. Stoupe (of Jedi Mind Tricks)
24. Rockwilder
23. Megahertz
22. Jay “Waxx” Garfield
21. ?uestlove
20. Salaam Remi
19. Havoc
18. Kanye West
17. DJ Clark Kent
16. Madlib
15. Rick Rubin
14. Hi-Tek
13. The Alchemist
12. L.E.S.
11. DJ Jazzy Jeff
10. RZA
09. Jay-Dilla
08. Marley Marl
07. Diamond D
05. Pete Rock
04. Dr. Dre
03. DJ Quik
02. Large Professor
01. DJ Premier

Other Producer-Related News:
Recall that rumor about Eminem hanging up his mic? Well Eminem denies retirement, and says he’s only taking a break in order to produce his artists. Does this remind you of a certain west coast producer/rapper?
Speaking of Em, his newly-hired DJ, Alchemist is said to have been seriously injured in the tour bus crash that affected other Shady/Aftermath artists including Stat Quo. Looks like it’s gon be a while before Al returns to the boards.

Song of the Moment: I See Now - Little Brother ft Kanye West
(Chitlin Circuit 1.5 in stores now! Cop that shit!)

“I can give a fuck what category you place me…
As long as you place me amongst one of the greats
When I hit the heavenly gates I’ll be cool beside Jay-Z” -
Eminem

Eminem Hangs Up His Mic:

Yeah right! Anyway in this new age of ‘Retiring Rappers’ Mr. Mathers gets his Jay-Z on, and claims to have made an exit from the game.
Details of Em’s Retirement.

Now you know what retirement means, don’t you. Quadruple guest appearances on all G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath recordings, passing the baton to Bizarre, releasing previously unreleased remixes of released tracks, leaking exclusive freestyles, and banging out 500 similarly-sounding beats a year.

Following the footsteps of Nas’ baby mama Carmen who detailed her past affairs in a book( including her sex-life with both Jay-Z and God’s Son), Kool G.Rap’s ex-wife and much-publicized professional groupie Karrine Steffans unveils the naked truth about the celebrities whose slut- list she’s graced in the past.

Excerpts from her book, Confessions of a Video Vixen

Eve’s Sex Tape:
Speaking of sex-made-public, Aftermath’s first lady Eve is the latest celebrity hit with the string of sex tape expose. If you’re an avid internet fan, you might have come across the video which shows Eve and ex-boyfriend Stevie J making use of a sex toy. Don’t bother searching for the full tape on limewire, it’s only 19 seconds long. Eve’s video is nothing compared to Paris Hilton’s but with the rampant release of these porno tapes, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Who knows? Maybe next we’ll see a homemade flick of Jay-Z & Beyonce getting it on!

R.I.P. Luther Vandross

HAPPY JULY 4th !