I keed! I keed!! But seriously, how the hell did he earn that ‘Freestyle King’ moniker?

Still trying to wrap my head around this bizarre news: sound architect Disco D reportedly committed suicide Monday night:

Details regarding his death are still sketchy, but sources close to Disco D told BallerStatus.com that he had recently divorced from his Brazilian wife and was having a hard time coping with the split.

The producer had over 10 years of experience in the music industry beginning his career in the dance scene in Detroit, Michigan.

In 2005, he produced the track “Ski Mask Way” for 50 Cent’s Massacre album, which put him on the hip-hop map.(Ballerstatus)

May God bless his soul, and grant his family the fortitude to pull through this inexplicable tragedy.

Ciara: Sucker for covers

-Poll: Who will get the hip-hop vote in 2008?

-The Game backs down from Africa, Canada.

-Common is getting a little too excited about this “Smokin’ Aces” movie. I would too, if I had to chill with Alicia Keys all day.

-Man, what on earth happened to Lil’ Kim?

-It was only a matter of time. Rapidshare comes under fire.

-Bloggers who criticize government may face prison. No comments.

-MP3 of the DayFreddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles) - “Hard Ghetto” (Jacked from Spinemagazine.com)

-First it was Jay-Z, now Fall Out Boy have teamed up with Kanye West on their new album, Infinity on High.

-While the RIAA was asleep, Redman jacked Jay-Z’s “Lost One” beat.

-Can’t make this stuff up.

Raekwon & El Michels live in NYC.

El Michels ft. Raekwon - The PJs…from Afar (mp3)
A deftly intertwined combo of vintage Wunometrics and nostalgic rhymes.
What’s good with Cuban Linx II anyways?

(Cover by Vangogfx)

This is it.

Mixtapes = Hip-Hop. No mixtapes, no hip-hop.

Well, it’s not quite as conclusive as that, but it’s pretty f**kin’ close. The top selling rappers in the world attained their breakthrough via the mixtape circuit.

We all know 50 Cent’s story: Shortly after he was ditched by Columbia, 50 flooded the streets with mixtapes. A bidding war ensued, and he eventually signed a $1 million contract with Em & Dre.

Chamillionaire is known to the world as the “Mixtape Messiah.” He can no longer reach his ambition of dishing out 26 more Mixtape Messiah installments as promised.

Papoose, Saigon, Crooked I, and Joe Budden–some of the fledgling wordsmiths expected to shoulder the weight of hip-hop in years to come–gained notoriety through mixtape collaborations with Kay Slay, Whoo Kid, Clue and others. They would still be wannabe rappers today, if not for those mixtapes.

What will become of the Justo Mixtape Awards, which was designed to applaud the efforts of mixtape artists and DJs and also gave us a forum with which to celebrate Justo Faison’s legacy?

How will the Clipse, Joe Budden, Ras Kass, and other artists whose albums are in limbo over some b.s. label politics, afford to feed their families…without mixtapes?

What about the artistry and structural leeway that mixtapes bring to the table? If Jimmy Iovine came short of convincing Game to knife a 9-minute gem in half, how will he react to a 12-minute long, 300-bar heavy track?

The sad thing is that rappers don’t have many options here: either slave harder to make your albums worth copping, and pump more money back into the pocket of the corporate guerillas OR legitimately release those mix CDs via labels and still pump more money back in the pocket of corporate guerillas. It’s the reinforcement of musical neo-colonialism as we know it.

Now, how we handle the situation will also determine we’re headed from here on: do we wild out and throw pebbles at the RIAA’s nose; or do we back down and attempt to reach a reasonable compromise? Honestly, neither is a healthy option.

The promotional wheels have been removed. The lane has been altered.

Unfortunately, this is our burden; hip-hop accounts for a good portion of the blame in this cultural intrusion. Let’s be serious, it has nary a thing to do with racketeering, or the so-called adverse effect of piracy on sales, or the gazillion ounces of cocaina they expected to find at the AMG office. Sure, Drama and co have been victimized–he was the #1 DJ of 2006 for godssakes–but in the long run they’re atoning for the sins of others. We’re merely paying the price for commercializing our own culture.

The price of our gain = our loss of freedom.

Sean Price f/ Block McCloud - Mess You Made
(Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted)

This is Sean Pee minus the “punch your neighbor in the face ’cause he stylin’ on you” belligerence displayed on “P-Body.” The best part is that this is an album copy–no smoked-out promo announcer constantly reminding you that you’ve just stolen “Sean Price Jesus Price Supastar Copy No.33.”

One of the most consistent albums I’ve heard all year. The year is only 3 weeks old, so what…sue me.

Tracklist.

Wu-Tang - Da W (Remix)
This bowl of cherries is taken from the forthcoming Nature Sounds compilation Mathematics Presents: Wu-Tang & Friends Unreleased , due out on March 6th.

What we have here is the prelude to that long-anticipated Wu reunion. I have nothing short of respect and admiration for the Clan, but is it really necessary to coerce 8 rappers who’re currently unaligned into a theatrical reunion? When will folks learn that it’s best to leave while the ovation is still loud?