What hasn’t Pete Rock done for Hip-Hop? Who hasn’t he blessed a track for that didn’t come off doper than the average? Shit’s never gonna stop for the almighty Pete Rock and he obviously, has no plans in retiring as hinted on the single “Till I retire.” Pete Rock’s new album “NY’s Finest” is a hefty bag of ill-minded treats featuring some of Hip-Hop’s elite. In the same tradition of his Soul Survivor collection, Pete hand picks the featured talent over his signature beats. I was surprised by the Lord’s of the Underground featured track “The Best Secret,” and while they’ve toned down their mic presence, it’s good to have them back. I like seeing Jim Jones (and Max B) on the collabo tip with PR… the beats for “We roll” are fitting of Jim’s style which is rocked very well. Other tracks to look out for include “914″ featuring Styles P and Sheek, “Best Believe” with Redman and “Bring Ya’ll back” featuring Little Brother. Again, Pete’s instrumentals bring out the best in these already talented emcee’s hungry for a Petestrumental.

While many have questioned the choice of artists featured on the cuts, Pete’s new album is a refreshing blend of sampled beats and good old fashioned boom bap. The best kept secret is out there- Pete Rock’s New York and all of Hip-Hop. Check out my favorite cut on the album… Till I retire.

I had to plug this amusing video featuring Charlie Murphy… yep, he’s down with Duck Down Records! I was checking out The Bootcamp Clik’s myspace page and came across 9th Wonder and Buckshot’s recent video “Go all out” that had Charlie Murphy breaking down how Black Moon had developed there backpack style back in the days… check it out, the skits pretty amusing and the single is off the chain!

…No I didn’t stutter! Free mixtape mash up courtesy pf J.Period, Skillz and Don Cannon!
The best part… it’s dope!

This is what I’m talking about… it’s always the free stuff from talented cats like J.Period and Skillz that drop the dope shit for free which I can totally appreciate. Skillz said it himself… “I don’t make a lot of mixtapes but I had a ball making this one… this is new material and if you like Hip-hop from from what they call the Golden Era than you’ll love this shit!” With the help of DJ J. Period, Skillz conjures up a lyrical fury of entertaining word play that only he can pull off over a barrage of 90’s finest Hip-hop beats!

Don’t sleep on this free download! Who know’s how long Skillz and company are gonna keep it up!

Click here for the exclusive mixtape courtesy of Skillz, J.Period and Don Cannon!

One of my favorite cuts off of Buckshot & 9th Wonder’s new album “The Formula.” Featuring Talib Kweli, “Hold it down’s” got that jazzy vibe 9th wonder holds true in his production with Buck and Talibkilling it verse for verse. I love the laid back approach of the single with the lyrics and beats just vibin’ together. Don’t sleep on “The Formula” Duckdown’s hot ticket!

You gotta love Kidz in the Hall’s presence in Hip-Hop. Young, talented, they choose the right beats (thanks to Double-O) and conjure up lyrical wizardry.(courtesy of Naledge) There’s no question that their new album “The In crowd” is gonna catch heads spinning. I like to think of these cats as the underground version of The Clipse boasting the same formula that made them popular. Cool kids ain’t got shit on Naledge’s mic skills and Double-O on the beats is a refreshing vibe Hip-Hop heads have been asking for bridging the gap between hype and credibility. “Drivin’ Down the Block”, which samples Masta Ace’s song “Born to Roll” is a nice addition to the summer time anthems of 08.

Where do I begin? How about… did Foxy write her own lyrics on this album? Her new album “Brooklyn’s Don Diva” is a rip off of Lil’ Kim’s last album“The Naked Truth” and while the beats are on point, there’s nothing new under Fox-boogies verbal skills. Expect the same ol’ lyrical ramblings of how wet her pooter is, how plump her bootie got and how everybody wants a piece of the Ill-Nana! Oh, and sprinkle some “she run Brooklyn and just got outta’ prison so I’m hard as fuck” type lyrics on top of her nasty jive talk. I will say that it is interesting to see this new release courtesy of Black Rose/Koch recordings. It ain’t no Def Jam where she was spoiled with hit making producers and chart topping singles featuring todays hottest talents. Think of Brooklyn’s Don Diva as Foxy’s path to the independent route. Rather than having Jay-Z and past hit makers like The Trackmasters and Jermaine Dupri, Fox doubles up on producers catering more to the streets than commercial radio. (Fizzy Womack of M.O.P. drops a beat for Fox!) It’s also interesting to point out Lady Saw bringing her Rasta-flavor alongside Foxy’s steez. (Peep “The Quan, the beat is fresh to def)

While I can’t totally bag on this release, the beats come to the rescue for a clueless Foxy Brown. Lets face it, all that talk of being sexy and hard on the streets is old. Come clean and show us who you really are Foxy, not what’s written on paper and than acted out. There was a time when I thought Foxy was gonna make it big… (which she did…) she killed it with Jay-z on “Ain’t no ni@@a” and stood out on Case’s “Touch Me Tease me” single… but after that, she traded in her style and finesse for “eat my pu$$y” talk.

Left: MC Lyte’s 5th solo album “Bad As I Wanna B” courtesy of Elektra/Asylum Records
Right: The very best of MC Lyte courtesy of Rhino Entertainment

My favorite female MC? The number one spot without a doubt goes to MC Lyte (with Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifa, Lady Bug Mecca, and Jean Grae to name a few below that list) I actually picked up these 2 releases at the same time and wanted to shed some light into Lyte’s incredible career.
(more after the jump…)

Feeling Gangsta’ today? I’m actually feeling this one, and while new school heads don’t know who this trio is… these cats made a lot of noise during the 90’s. As Ice Cube would always say, this is that OG sh!t. Priority records recently compiled 2 west coast favorites into a greatest hit’s format consisting of The Westside Connection and Mack 10’s top hits. (separate releases) For those that don’t know, following the death of 2pac, Westside Connection was a group consisting of Ice Cube, WC, and Mack 10. Can’t get enough of that Gangsta’ SH!t…

Westside Connections greatest hits consists of such classic Cali anthems like “Bow Down” “Gangsta’ Nation” (feat. Nate Dogg) and “Gangstas make the world go round” which only Cube, WC and Mack 10 can hold down. The compilation also collects a number of singles collected from their individual releases like “Westside slaughterhouse” off WC’s “Curb Servin’” album and the “Hoobangin’” remix. (taken from a Mack 10 album) For those of you who don’t know where to begin with Mack 10’s career, his Greatest hits compilation collect a handful of enjoyable Mack 10 joints hand picked off his library. Hit’s include “Foe Life”, my personal favorite… “Only in California” and “Nuthin’ but a Cavi hit” taken from the “Rhyme and Reason soundtrack. Mack 10 wasn’t my favorite of the 3, but this comp saves the time and money in collecting his average releases.

Curiosity drove me into picking up Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s sophomore effort “Riot Musik.” That and a ¢50 cent price tag at my local Rasputin Music Store. Released back in 2005, the album had very small promotion if any and wasn’t backed by a major label. No B.I.G, No Lil’ Kim, no Puffy, no Lance “Un” Rivera… why even bother? I even passed up this cd in the bargain bin dozens of times until I flipped the song list on the back and saw Jadakiss and Prodigy of Mobb Deep featured on the album. Yes, I was still curious and gave it a chance. The verdict… it was aiight but gave new breath to Lil’ Cease’s career. The beats weren’t sub-par, they were actually pretty good. Think of it’s production value of beats similar to other independent releases like AZ’s “A.W.O.L.”, Royce 5′9″s “Death is certain” or Cormega’s “The Realness” with Riot Muisk featuring beats by NY’s finest… The Hot Runners, Heat Makers, DJ Twinz and China Black to name a few.

The upside to the album… The beats no doubt. If there was an instrumental version I’d scoop that up with the quickness. 2nd, Lil’ Cease coming off tighter than expected. The lyrics are more consistant than his past solo release and it’s been a loooong time since I’ve heard Cease on the mic. Think of it as the second coming of Lil’ Cease. The bad part… MC Klepto and Banger (formally known as Larceny) join the ride with unispiring lyrics that flatten out the beats offered to the crew. Bland emceeing on their part. While Cease holds it’s own with hot production, Klepto and Banger flatten the albums value. It’s good to see JM back on the grind, and with the crew going their separate ways from Kim and going the independent route, I don’t think they were planning on making a huge splash… you can tell by how poorly promoted the album was.

Wu-Tang Forever was the name of the game in 1997 and boy did it have a big impact on the Music Industry. Although I would have been happier with a single disc release over the double album, …Forever had it’s shining moments (and a handful of filler tracks…) Triumph was a big success that created an even bigger following for the Wu. I was so amused at radio stations trying to add it onto their playlists because the track was so ahead of it’s tiime, there was no comparison to the sugar coated comercial tracks flooding the airwaves back in 97′. Big up to Triumph’s special effects of that time- the video felt like a blockbuster summer hit!