Back when Nasir Jones was a kid with a dream and still went by Nasty Nas, he dropped a demo in 1991 to get himself a little visibility in the hip-hop scene. The demo tape, which turns 18 this year, has re-surfaced and we thought you might like a little ol’ skool Nasir to vibe to on your lunch break.
[Raise a bottle of Dom to Slang Rap Democracy]
Kicking off the weekend party a day early. But you don’t mind.
Identity | The Shocker | A Fool’s Lullaby
His 10-track opus, Love Money and Music, splendidly blends a low-fi approach with novel rap anthems. It’s well worth your time.
Catch 8thW1 at the Knitting Factory tonight. He’s opening for Atmosphere.
AC’s “New Soul,” which samples music from Apple’s Macbook Air commercial, is a new favorite of mine. The sample is ingenious. The pop references are creative.
Pure proof that you can still inject freshness to the game without using a vocoder.
[Props to yaboy]
Wildahead Portibeast feat 6th Sense – Machine Gun
Some clever rapping from Wildabeast and 6th Sense over a Portishead beat.
There’s a Rap Up shoutout right around 1:25. We major.
P.S: This has to be the #1 song on T.I.’s playlist.
Around this time last year, Bekay dropped his own version of a year in review joint a la Skillz’ yearly Rap Ups. This time, he sums up 2007’s major events over one of the most memorable beats of that year. It sound promising at first, but falls off in the middle. And it’s definitely not as entertaining as the Skillz Rap Ups.
[Full Disclosure: Bekay is part of the Rawkus 50 Group]
Trina – Single Again
Taken from Da Baddest Bitch II, due out in February.
This has all the makings of Top 40 hit. And I bet you she won’t be single for too long.
(*G-Unit Stans skip this part*)
It’s good to see Ja “the original rap-singer” back on the scene. “Uh-Oh” is the first single from his new album, The Mirror, due out September 25 (Keep in mind: Curtis will now be released on 9/11). It’s also featured on an upcoming Step Ya Game Up mixtape, available via Get A Buz.
Boo Boo could not be reached for comment at press time, as he was too busy soliciting a ghostwriter for his next dis song.
Photo via MTV
