Video for Ev’s “Solitary Confinement,” probably inspired by Prodigy’s incarceration.

Here’s Ludacris rocking the stage at his Theater Of The Mind album release party, which went down at the Velvet Room in Atlanta, GA. Anyone feeling this album?

Houston hip-hop artists always pride themselves in their ability to unite behind a movement. This year’s Los Magnificos Car Show & Concert, held at Reliant Stadium, gave H-Town rappers a chance to reaffirm that spirit of harmony. Every major player in Texas hip-hop scene graced the stage on Sunday. Beef? What beef? Smiles and handshakes were exchanged backstage. Chamillionaire was hanging out with Paul Wall and Krayzie Bone; Bun B was chopping it up with Slim and Paul, etc.

The performances were solid, but no one rocked the stage harder than Mr. Scarface himself. After his set, ‘Face accepted the Pioneer Award on behalf of Geto Boys. The only disappointment was that the artists didn’t perform together as promised. Mike Jones’ set was mad quick and his exit was even quicker. Someone should have told him that Trae wasn’t slated to arrive till 2 hours later. Oh yeah, that beef.

A bunch of pics below. Read the rest of this entry »

Common – “Gladiator”
When Common and Pharrell closed out their Houston show with “Gladiator,” the building exploded. I’ve been waiting for the studio version since then and I have to say it was worth the wait. Common’s Universal Mind Control arrives on December 9th.

Bonus Cut:
Common – “Punch Drunk Love” (Feat. Kanye West)

[Thanks, Legend]

As I mentioned earlier, Jake One’s album is a doozy.

• Download -> Chamillionaire’s Mixtape Messiah 5

Consider it my early Thanksgiving gift to you. Cham’s new album, Venom, is scheduled for early 2009 (which could mean anywhere from January to July). In case you missed it the first time, here’s his lead single, Creepin’ (Solo) featuring Ludacris.

Ludacris and T-Pain were the musical guests on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live. In the incredibly hilarious skit, Luda informs T-Pain that he’s been replaced by the Blizzard Man — an artist who looks like a cross between Vanilla Ice and Rick Astley. T-Pain starts off criticizing Blizzard Man’s style but later yields to pressure after realizing that he’s waging a losing war. A subliminal message about the “monkey see, monkey do” attitude that pervades today’s music industry perhaps? Funny nonetheless.

“I Got Bass” was one of the songs that heightened my anticipation for that scrapped Interscope album of his. Good to see that he went ahead and shot a video for it. I hope it makes the cut when Back on My Bullshit drops next year.