Kay (of The Foundation) is a well known MC in the Houston hip-hop scene. And you probably remember Nicolay from his Foreign Exchange project with Phonte. The two have merged forces on Time:Line, due out in Europe today (February 12th in the U.S.). The album revolves around the concept of life, from birth to death to rebirth (if you believe in that sort of thing) over the course of 12 songs.

Tracklist and Album sampler after the jump. (more…)

Here’s what American Gangster looks like, according to iTunes:

• Amen
• Blue Magic
• The Return*
• Alright, Alright
• You Don’t Know
• And the Winner Is
• American Gangster
• Welcome
• Ignorant Sh*t
• The Demise
• Pray
• No Hook
• Say Hello to the Bad Guy
• Success

I could’ve sworn that Hov has already used “Ignorant Sh*t” and “You Don’t Know” as song titles. Then again, this is the same Jigga that created two different songs and named them “Anything.”

*iTunes lists track 3 as “Untitled,” so it’s probably the secret Nas collabo “The Return.”

Pssst: Obviously, XXL and Vibe.com have previews of American Gangster. The final tracklist is expected to be 14 tracks, including an updated version of “Ignorant Sh*t” featuring Beanie Sigel.

For his sophomore LP, Cham bypassed the big league producers and opted for a dime-a-dozen Kane Beatz assortment instead. And you damn right Weezyanna is on this album too. I’m starting to think that all rap albums are required (by the labels) to have at least one Weezy joint these days.

Dissect the full tracklist below: (more…)

Havoc, one of the illest producers on the mic, is back to show Ye how to do this son. Ok, I know it’s Hav we’re talking about here, but judging by Hollywood P’s last album it’s safe to assume that these fellas only know how to make O.G. Mobb Deep albums when Fifty isn’t watching.

Peep the tracklist, dun dun. (more…)

Look who’s dropping an album a day before my birthday. 9th Wonder’s Dream Merchant 2 is slated for release on October 9th, 2007. All the usual suspects, as well as some surprise guests, are on board for the project. Tracklist after the jump:
(more…)

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass Tracklist
1. Keep Off The Lawn
2. None Shall Pass
3. Catacomb Kids
4. Bring Back Pluto
5. Fumes
6. Getaway Car (feat. Cage and Breeze Brewin)
7. 39 Thieves
8. The Harbor is Yours
9. Citronella
10. Gun For The Whole Family (feat. El-P)
11. Five Fingers
12. No City
13. Dark Heart News (feat. Rob Sonic)
14. Coffee (feat. John Darnielle)

Good to see that there are still people who’d rather take the time to create a compelling artwork than pose shirtless on their covers.

None Shall Pass is due out August 28th, with production from El-P, Blockhead, and Rob Sonic.

Def Jam will release The Definition of X: Pick of the Litter–a collection of X’s most ridiculous hits–on June 12.

DMX - Definition of X: Pick of the Litter Tracklist
1. Prayer II
2. Ruff Ryders Anthem
3. Get At Me Dog
4. Stop Being Greedy
5. How’s It Going Down
6. What These Bitches Want
7. Black Out
8. What’s My Name
9. Where The Hood At
10. Party Up
11. X Gonna Give It To U
12. It’s All Good
13. Who We Be
14. The Rain
15. Here We Go Again
16. No Love For Me
17. We Right Here
18. 1 More Road To Cross
19. Slippin’
20. Prayer I

Somewhat related: A glance at DMX’s soundscan numbers over the years reveals an interesting pattern.
• It’s Dark & Hell Is Hot (1998) - 4.607,812
• Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (1998) - 3,366,895
• And Then There Was X (1999) - 4,912,860
•The Great Depression (2001) - 1,854,963
• Grand Champ (2003) - 1,192,335
• Year Of The Dog…Again (2006) - 315,878

You see, the only time X failed to crack platinum (or gold for that matter) was when he took advice from Pastor Ma$e.

Here’s the official tracklist for Fab’s understandably-delayed Def Jam debut, From Nothin’ to Somethin’, now slated for June 12. The folks at Black Oasis are fully cognizant of the fact that no one listens to Fabolous before the summer.

Fabolous - From Nothin’ to Somethin’ Tracklist
1. Yep, I’m Back
2. Return of the Hustle (ft. Swizz Beatz)
3. Change Up
4. “You Make Me Better” (ft. Ne-Yo the R&B singer)
5. So Fabolous
6. “Diamonds” (ft. Young Jeezy)
7. Hustler’s Poste Child (ft. Cassidy)
8. Real Player Like (ft. Lloyd)
9. Foggin’ Up the Windows (ft. R.Kelly)
10. What Should I Do (ft, Lil Mo)
11. Back to School
12. All Jokes on You
13. I Shine, You Shine (ft. Makeeba)
14. “First Time” (ft. Rhianna)
15. Paperman (ft. Neyo the Matrix)
16. Brooklyn
17. Chirp Back (ft. Blu Davinci)
18. Gangsta (ft. Junior Reid)
19. This is Family (ft. Freck Billionaire, Red Cafe, Ransom, Paul Kane, and Joe Budden)

It’s probably worth mentioning that Fab had some strong words about Track 10 when I interviewed him a while back. “It’s really where people are writing me fan letters and they look to their favorite artists for guidance. They’re writing me letters asking me what they should do about their situations, so I answered them. There’s a lot of responsibilities that come with being an artist and I wanted to show them that.”

I guess I should also point out that Track 9 has the most amazing song title ever.