Jay-Z – “Go Hard (Brooklyn)” (Featuring Santogold)
This ain’t hip-hop, this is black hoodie rap. I gather that “Go Hard” is off the Soundtrack to that crappy-looking Notorious film. It samples Santogold’s “Shove It.”

[Huge props to Legend for sending it over]

Spirits that be, I call on thee
The spirits of Tupac, east and west shall you divide
Until you are here, right by my side

Call it hip-hop seance, but some psychics tried to contact the spirits of Biggie and 2Pac. Through the course of their conversation, Biggie laments that he’s not at peace. 2Pac states that he’s disappointed in Suge Knight. Shakur doesn’t say exactly why he’s disappointed, but I’m sure it has something to do with the Knockout Kid.

See details of the psychics’ convo with Big and Pac over at Naked Eye

[Thanks, Omar!]

Behold the music video for Bambu’s “Like Us”, taken from his Exact Change LP. I don’t know how I managed to sleep on this one, but it’s fresher than a pair of red & white Force Fusions.

[First spotted @ OnSmash]

We all knew that Biggie Smalls wrote most of Lil Kim’s rhymes. What we didn’t know was that he also recorded references tracks to guide Kim through her rhyme sequence and structure. Or that said tracks have been crawling the interwebs for a hot minute. Luckily, our friends at Buhbomp have unearthed some of the reference tracks Biggie cut for Kim way way back in the day, when some of you were still in underoos. One of the cuts (below) finds Biggie spitting Lil Kim’s “Queen Bitch” joint in its entirety. Reference track or not, it still feels weird just hearing B.I.G. say rhymes like, “Got buffoons eating my pussy while I watch cartoons” and “I’m rich, I’ma stay that bitch.”

Biggie – “Queen Bitch” (Reference Track)

Biggie – “Player’s Anthem” (Reference Track)

[Props: Buhbomp]

Devin the Dude and the Coughee Brothaz came through to Warehouse Live on Thanksgiving Eve. Devin set the building ablaze — literally and figuratively. He gave the crowd of mostly teenage fans a whirlwind tour of his catalog with hits like “Lacville 79,” “Anythang,” and “Doobie Ashtray” (one of my favorite Devin tracks). When “What A Job” came on, though, the building erupted. I managed to take some pics, the inadvertent high from second-hand smoke notwithstanding.

Check them out after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Ludacris’ 7th album, Theater of the Mind, won’t do it for you so let me remind you that he’s one of the illest MCs in the game. Nasty flow? Check. Ear-grabbing delivery? Check. Unique voice? Check. Memorable punchlines? Check, check, check. The chink in his armor has always been his inability to make an album devoid of fillers. That’s what separates the likes of Em, Jay, and Nas from Ludacris. Unlike those guys, ‘Cris can’t carry an album in its entirety. Theater of the Mind carries on that tradition, but not without a few pleasant surprises. Read the rest of this entry »

Ashley Alexandra Dupré, the ex-prostitute who shot to national spotlight after blowing Eliot Spitzer, is now looking to extend her 15 minutes of fame by whoring herself out to the music biz.

Dupré has hooked up with Chris Lighty, famed manager of mega rap stars 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, and Missy Elliott, according to the NY Post’s Page Six.

Spitzer Girl is not a complete stranger to the music biz. Prior to Spitzer’s prostitution scandal, she had recorded some R&B songs and posted them on her MySpace. Needless to say, her music is bland and simplistic. With the Violator machine behind her, however, she could easily become the nation’s most prominent hooker.

I see it now: Ashley Dupre (feat. Karrine Steffans) – “SuperHo,” produced by Scott Storch.

Update: Chris Lighty has denied managing Ashley Dupre’s music career.

Lil Jon makes a special appearance on LazyTown. There are so many things wrong with this video, I can’t even begin to point them out. Julianna Mauriello’s facial expression at 1:08 is classic.